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I know it's weird to use the phrase "living legend" to refer to someone that you've never heard of, but it makes sense.
People can be legends in their fields but unknown to the general population. What makes this especially odd in this case,
though, is that Tim Corrigan is a comics legend and you've probably never heard of him.
The reason for that is that
Tim works in the small-press world rather than in mainstream comics. Fanzines, in other words. For decades, he's published
work in the ultra small press, where 1000 copies are a major print run and in which work is done for the love of the work
rather than for a paycheck or whatever small glory a comic creator can reasonably hope to receive.
Through his many
years of wonderful and dedicated work, Tim has become a living legend in his chosen field, winning a lifetime achievement
award at the SPACE convention for his terrific comics.
What makes Tim so interesting is that he probably could make
a buck or two in mainstream comics – his comics are terrifically fun and interesting, and he has lots of recurring characters
who really grow on the reader with repeated exposure. But Tim obviously enjoys his freedom in the small press. He can produce
the comics that he enjoys without any editorial intervention whatsoever.
Tim has exploited that freedom in the pages
of his eponymous monthly zine, which he has delivered to mailboxes every 30 days without fail for nearly 3½ years now. The
pages of Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories have been devoted to essays on everyday life and wonderful children's
stories. But they have been mainly devoted to two series that Tim has been presenting for years.
The first, and my
favorite, is "Tyran," which has been appearing off and on in TCCAS over the last few years. It's the story of a future
world civilization in which the dregs of society are exiled to a terraformed moon that contains bizarre monsters and some
very complicated human relationships.
Each story brings interesting twists and turns to the story – the latest
story, in TCCAS 40, explains much of the background of this fictional world while bringing up more questions than
it resolves. This issue brings the whole idea of social strata directly to the surface of the story, in the most thoughtful
sort of way.
"Tyran" is obviously a story that Tim has thought long and hard about, because he is continually delivering
new elements to the story which reflect a tremendous amount of consideration. The politics of the situation are fascinating,
and I'm thoroughly intrigued by the way that violence is portrayed in these stories as the wrong way to achieve goals –
nearly everyone who uses violence ends up having that choice hurt them in the end.
The better-known of the two series
is Tim's famous Mightyguy, the stories of an utterly inept super-hero who in his civilian identity of Mike McZiltcho works
as a cartoonist at a fifth-rate comics publisher. Mightyguy has had a whole series of zany adventures through the years. He's
the perfect guy for zany adventures, really; with his giant, bulbous nose, poor control over his super-powers and lack of
intelligence, Mightyguy is the perfect character for both long-form and short comics stories.
TCCAS 41 begins
a new Mightyguy story, as an alien spaceship – aww heck, let's let Fred Schmurt, Mike's boss, explain it: "Great simmering
snotbuckets!! It's that alien spaceship-critter that had the hots for McZiltcho a few years ago!!" Yes, as you can see from
the cover above, a kind of UFO with tentacles has come to Earth to ask Mightyguy to help her marry her true love.
It's
a bizarre setup for a story, but that's a big part of the charm on it. After such a wacky beginning, there's no way to know
what to expect from this comic – so Tim lays on scene after scene of silliness. The story is liberally peppered with
one-liners and sight gags that make the story giddily lighthearted. I love how the UFO girl's planet "is made out of worthless
diamonds," as she says, and how Schmurt goes crazy, like Daffy Duck in Ali Baba's cave, over the diamonds. Moments like that
had me cracking up all the way through the story. Oh, and dig the story title: "I Want to Hold Your Tentacles." That might
be the weirdest Beatles reference I've heard in a long time!
What's great about a comic like this is that Tim Corrigan
really is a living legend, and has a great command over every element of his comics page. He knows what he's doing, and how
to use his skills to get himself to his destination. So in reading a comic like Tim Corrgan's Comics and Stories
we get to watch a master at work, continually playing and experimenting to deliver stories that are always fresh, surprising
and a hell of a lot of fun.
Review: Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories #28-33
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If you follow small press comics regularly you're no doubt already familiar with Tim Corrigan. He's been
a prolific cartoonist and a staunch promoter of the small press movement for literally decades. Three years ago he consolidated
all of his various publishing efforts under a single title and launched a monthly comic. A gutsy move in the typically sporadic
world of self-publishing. But Corrigan is as disciplined as he is talented. With his current issue, number 36, he's celebrating
three years of on-time, take-it-to-the-bank, consistency. Congratulations to Mr. Corrigan for this remarkable track record
that shows no sign of abatement.
For Corrigan drawing comics has truly been a life-long pursuit. Perhaps his earliest creation was Elasticworm in 1957.
As a 7-year-old his imagination exceeded his drawing ability so his first character was simply a worm with a face and a cape.
In the following years he created hundreds of 4-page comics filled with Elasticworm's adventures.
He kept the character going and developed many other series in the years that followed. Late last year he dreamed up a
crossover story. Elasticworm, and the cast of his comedy series, Mightyguy, meet for the first time in #28. It's a six-issue
celebration of when worlds collide.
Despite the idea of a superpowered worm, Elasticworm plays it straight-faced. The cast of Mightyguy, on the other hand
is as slapstick as it gets. Mingling these two worlds must've been tricky but Corrigan pulls it off nicely with both camps
staying true to their established characters.
To be completely accurate, you could say the series begins with issue #24. That issue features a standalone Elasticworm
story that ends with our elastic hero transported to Earth during a chaotic chain reaction of galactic calamities. Elasticworm
enlists the aid of a young man named Billy who tries to help him find a way back to his homeworld. Billy works at a local
comic shop. When they consult with the owner they soon find themselves at the offices of Schmurt Publishing and so begins
the mighty worm's encounter with the Mightyguy. After the kickoff, most of these crossover issues' stories are self-contained
in one or two editions with the longer, overall quest to get home tying them all together.
Corrigan is a solid writer and cartoonist, but I think his greatest talent is his ability to tell a story. It's this storytelling
strength that really makes this series and the title worth subscribing to. The back-up feature, Tyran, is a fully continued
storyline that also spans these six issues. It's a science fiction yarn starring a Tarzan-like character and his "tribe" fighting
for survival on a hostile world.
Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories #28-33: Most issues are 12 b&w pages with full color front and back covers.
Occasionally, (issue 28 and 33 for example) they're 16 pages, with the extras being devoted to letters of comment from Corrigan's
small army of readers and fans. Single issues sell for $1.50 each, but at $15 for a 12-issue subscription, I'd recommend the
full monty. There are few opportunities for subscriptions in small press so it's a singular experience to find the latest
issue of Corrigan's comic delivered dependably to your mailbox every month. Try it for a year and you'll be hooked.
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The only monthly small press comic book that I know of is Tim Corrigan's Comics &
Stories. It arrives at my mail box right on time at the beginning of each month. With full color covers and top notch art
work. By that I mean fully rendered back grounds in each panel, no short cuts.
Issue 25, titled, "First Contact", even features a written story at the bottom margin
of each page.
Number 25 spotlights good old Fred Schmurt as the unwilling recipient of Marge the restaurant
owner's romantic advances. In the end Fred sees a way to possibly take advantage of Marge's affection for him. We will have
to wait for another issue to see how Fred manages to take advantage of Marge for his own selfish purposes.
Issue 26 "The Ferbles Yesteryear and Toupee" A MightyGuy story. Marvin decides to write
a MightyGuy theme song. Of course he is completely awful at it,...... and, well you get the premise .
As usual Tim Corrigan can make a very funny comic out of just about anything and he
does it in both issue 25 and 26. Each comic is digest size, 11 pages, with a cover price of $1.50 Send for your copies today!
Tim Corrigan, 10545 Co. Rt. 15, Fillmore NY 14735
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By Tim Corrigan
Tim Corrigan's 
Corrigan adds a running text footer below the comic pages to update his readers on his current projects — comics and
otherwise — vent his frustrations with the Bush administration, promote an assortment of zines from New Voice Publishing,
and request letters of comment he's anxious to publish in an upcoming issue.