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Stupid Comics For Stupid People

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Updated 9/01/06

THWAK is a humor magazine in the tradition of MAD. It looks like MAD, feels like MAD, even tastes like MAD. That’s where the similarities end, though. If you hold a brand new copy of THWAK up to your nostrils and take a huge whiff, you’ll find that it smells nothing like MAD at all…THWAK smells far worse. I don’t know what Publisher/Editor Marten Jallad mixes in with that ink, but I’d rather be chained to a restroom stall at a Chili Cook-off than have to breathe through my nose while reading a copy of THWAK magazine. On a more positive note, THWAK has proven to be a more absorbent diaper, a more reliable doormat and a longer burning cigarette rolling paper than its predecessors, according to clinical studies.

THWAK Mission Statement From

Owner/Publisher Marten Jallad

WHY THWAK?

THWAK magazine:

Supports and encourages new talent by providing a forum for artists and writers to showcase their humorous work in a magazine format. Along the way THWAK has also gained the attention of some seasoned pros who continue to grace our pages with their wonderful contributions.
Serves as somewhat of a fanzine for all humor magazines by continually paying homage to those publications by providing interesting tidbits from some of the artists and writers who helped create these great magazines.
Self published, limited print run, grass roots publication whose creators are having a blast producing. So help to support writers and artists of humor-BUY THWAK TODAY!

Thank you and enjoy!

Marten Jallad

THWAK #5

Also Still Available:

THWAK #4/Journal Of MADness# 15 Double Issue

THWAK # 3 “ALL MONSTER ISSUE”

THWAK # 2

Scroll down to see an interview with THWAK

Publisher Marten Jallad !

When you’re done reading Marten’s interview,

scroll down further to read a review of THWAK #1

that appeared in Comic Buyer’s Guide # 1485,

May 3, 2002

THWAK Staff

Publishers:

Marten Jallad and Buddy Finethy

Editor:

Marten Jallad

Creative Consultants:

Ed Olimpio and Dave Newton

Design Director

Ed Olimpio

Artists and Writers:

Noel Anderson, Ben Boling, Carson Demmans, Jerry Fuchs, Kent Gamble, Billy Genius, Scott Gosar, Martin Hirchak, Marten Jallad, Garth Jones, Andy Lamberti, Kit Lively, Mike Morse, Dave Newton.

Inspiration:

All satirical humor magazines past, present and future.

Special Thanks:

To John Hett (The Chief Dung Beetle) for his support and encouragement.

…And tell ‘em Stupid Cupid sent ya…not that gap-toothed schmuck!

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http://www.orcafresh.net/interview/inmain.html

Comic Art On The Edge:

An ORCA Q&A With THWAK’s Marten Jallad

Comedy is hard, and in a post-9/11 world it’s been made a little harder to know what’s funny and what’s too freshly sensitive to try to make funny. Comedy is a medium that can be used to challenge the masses, as some folks have proven in recent months. Some comical artists worry too much about offending someone, others ambitiously take on current, topical subjects while still trying to be sensitive. I would put the folks behind THWAK and namely Marten Jallad, one of the creative forces behind the humorous comic mag, in the latter category. I met Marten last year at the Atlanta Comic Con and recently had a chance to catch up with him and get his take on comedy and his approach toward THWAK.

ORCA: While I know you didn't realize who Carmine Infantino was when you first met him (at last year's Atlanta Comic Con), after catching up on his status at DC (and role in PLOP), how much fun was it to get to meet him?

Jallad: Carmine was a blast to talk to! He was down to earth and when he got going about his memories of PLOP he really let go. We (Carmine, Buddy [co-publisher Buddy Finethy] and myself) started cutting up and I can only imagine how much fun he must have had with Sergio and Joe putting PLOP together. For more on our Carmine meeting check out page #2 of THWAK #1.

ORCA: What made you decide to pursue your own magazine versus trying to contribute to MAD or contribute to one of the online comedy forums (such as THE ONION)?

Jallad: I had previously submitted a number of premises to both MAD & CRACKED with only a growing collection of rejection letters to show for it. I realized that there must be more talented humorists out there that were trying to find an outlook for their work and therefore decided to pursue a dream of mine and create a humor magazine. THWAK (a Don Martin sound effect) magazine was actually an incarnation of THWAK the comic book that was published in 2000. This was originally Buddy Finethy's idea to put together an anthology comic book of some local Atlanta cartoonists. I had met Buddy a few months prior and was asked if I'd like to contribute. Naturally I did, wanting to see my cartoons in print. We decided to change format to magazine size realizing that comic book anthologies don't have that broad of a market and have been at it for close to a year with issue #2 hitting the stores next week (Editor’s Note: this was said in a March 14, 2002 e-mail, it can be assumed “next week” would have meant on or around March 20) and issue #3—the all monster issue—out in a couple of months.

ORCA: Was there much of a debate between you and co-publisher Buddy Finethy about allowing 9/11 related humor/commentary in this first quarterly edition? Are you afraid of any kind of backlash? On a related note, am I right in assuming that contributor Billy Genius is heavily influenced by R. Crumb?

Jallad: We felt that the 9/11 material was presented as a commentary on how the public was and still is feeling. It was in no way meant to make light of the terrible tragedy that had occurred but more to say that we were speaking for what some people may be feeling/thinking. Besides, by the time THWAK #1 was published there were plenty of political cartoonists using their craft to make a statement on the whole issue. We feel that people understand what we are doing. Billy Genius' style is definitely heavily influenced by Robert Crumb. For a related piece by Billy on "War Propaganda-Then and Now" check out issue #2.

ORCA: Is there ever any comedy that you attempt that after looking it over for awhile you reject because it "may have gone too far?" Or to a certain extent, do you believe comedy should push the boundaries (particularly in times like these), much like Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor did for standup comedy many decades before?

Jallad: I believe that comedy can sometimes push the boundaries although THWAK is not necessarily a forum created for that purpose. If material is interesting then I'll definitely take it under consideration. I am not interested in any racial, overtly sexual or graphically violent material. Unfortunately there is too much of that out there already.

ORCA: Artistically would you say most of your influences stem from MAD, or do they stem from elsewhere?

Jallad: Personally my artistic influences are from MAD magazine most notably Don Martin whose work I am enamored with continuously. I am also influenced by Gary Larson's The Far Side, Asterix The Gaul by Uderzo and most recently Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows. Most of my ideas are more slapstick and taken from experience than from watching the news. Having grown up in Britain I love Monty Python, Black Adder, The Carry On series and Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther movies. Wow what a twisted mess of crazy influences.

ORCA: What's been the hardest part about publishing your own magazine. What's been the best part?

Jallad: The hardest part about self-publishing would have to be the financial side as well as trying to get as much exposure for your product. While the best would surely be meeting plenty of interesting contributors and hearing someone say how much they enjoyed the magazine or a specific page I drew. After all that is why I'm publishing so people can have a good old laugh at no one’s expense. That's a good feeling!

ORCA: Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I may have not asked about?

Jallad: THWAK is always looking for new artists and writers so if you'd like to be a part of this new humor magazine then please send submissions to:
Marten Jallad

2837 Hickory Lane,
Snellville, GA 30078.
Single copies are $4.00 postage paid and subscriptions are $20 for 5 issues.

*******************

What The Hell Do They Know? Dept.

Recently, a copy of THWAK # 1 was sent to Comics Buyer’s Guide for critique in their widely trusted and highly respected publication. To further our chances of being favorably reviewed, we also enclosed a 12-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and two tickets to David Spade’s stand-up comedy tour, which just happened to be playing in the city that CBG is published. The following comments appeared in CBG # 1485, May 3^rd, 2002. To say that we were aghast at what we saw would be a horrendous understatement. We at THWAK can remember when Pabst Blue Ribbon and tickets to a concert by one of the 21^st century’s true comedic geniuses could buy a decent review, but I guess, as Dylan sang all those years ago, “The Times…They Are A-Changin’.”

THWAK # 1 Tool / THWAK Publications

3.99, b / w, 32 pgs. , available now.

Reviewed by Jack Abramowitz

The legend under the title on the cover reads “ America’s Favorite Humor Magazine-They Just Don’t Know It Yet.” That’s doubtful. On the contents page, it says “Stupid Comics For Stupid People.” That seems more likely.

THWAK wants to be MAD in the worst possible way and it accomplishes that goal admirably-it’s MAD in the worst possible way. Most of the articles vary from derivative to gross to just not funny, with few bright spots in between. “The Refund” and “Before And After September 11^th” show promise, but they’re going to have to lose articles like “101 Uses For A Turd.”

The Elvira parody, which acknowledges that it is a dated reference, is competently rendered.

The art is more reminiscent of CRACKED’s Nanny Dickering than anything from MAD, but the writing appears to be an excuse to run off as many parodies of monster movie names as possible. (The Fat Bum Of The Opera?)

Especially bewildering is an editorial in which we are told how Carmine Infantino told them that THWAK was a bad name for a magazine, they agreed, but they named it that anyway.

One Good Turn…Dept.

(The following is a review of Comics Buyer’s Guide that I found on the Internet. Seems that no one is immune from “the poison pen”, eh guys? Keep on THWAKin’ and ‘ferchrissakes, spend some money on some decent ink, will ya?)

CBG: 56 Pages of Newsprint, and getting Thinner by the Day!
by bkiser | Dec 22 '00 (Updated Mar 25 '01)

Pros: trustworthy, good quality writers
Cons: often "dry" reading, fewer pages than ever before
The Bottom Line: Good for hardcore comic enthusiasts, but lacks the excitement that some readers want.
Recommended: Yes

I've been reading Comic Buyer's Guide, or CBG, since around 1990 when a friend turned me on to them. It was the heyday of comics back then. Speculation drove comic sales, which frequently sold into the millions of copies for a single comic book. A poor selling book was one that sold under 100,000 copies. Today, the outlook is completely different. A book that sells 100,000 is a wild success. No comic books sell in the millions, and books that sell 30,000-40,000 copies are considered fair sellers. CBG has been around all these years to keep us informed.

Comic Buyer's Guide is the Wall Street Journal of comic books. It's printed weekly. CBG is a large-size, newsprint paper that reports comic-related news and includes articles by comic writers and journalists. Peter David is one such regular columnist who writes a column in the back called "But I Digress". His topics vary, depending on his mood and what is happening in the comics field. Of note is the fact that he's also written Babylon 5 episodes, many Star Trek novels, and screenplays for several Trancer sequels. There are other well-known writers, but I enjoy Peter's column the best.

Unfortunately, due to the current comic recession, I've noticed CBG is getting thinner and thinner, but the $2.95 price tag remains the same. CBG is heavily composed of reseller advertising (hence the name CBG), and with comics selling poorly and little speculation in the current market, CBG has almost "dried up". The page count has dwindled down to about a third of what it used to me. There are still articles, but since they always composed the minority of the text, there's precious little left to read. CBG is at times dry reading. Also, the material is not really fun to read, like Wizard, a competing comics magazine. CBG covers the facts, but I find myself laying it down out of boredom sometimes. Being in newspaper format, the ink bleeds off onto my hands and/or sofa. That sounds like a joke, but I hate getting it all over me. I wash my hands after every time I read it. I'd much rather buy CBG in a slick magazine format that's easy to read and store. On the good side, CBG reports the unbiased truth. They report industry news, legal dealings, disputes, thefts, who's working for who, upcoming creator projects, comic convention coverage, and anything else comic-related that is of interest.

Despite CBG's accurate and factual reporting, the lack of material inside has lessened it's appeal to me. It's messy and somewhat dull reading. I don't think I'll be renewing my subscription. However, I can wholeheartedly recommend CBG for die-hard comic readers and people interested in learning more about the comic industry.

Thanks for reading.

Brian
Subscriber: Yes, for more than a year.
Plans to renew: No