A raw, infamous piece of comics-industry history, The Staros Report 1996 is James Staros’ annual guide to the best, boldest, and most important indie and alternative comics of the year—back when the scene was tiny, hungry, and completely feral. It’s part buyer’s guide, part manifesto, part love letter to the creators kicking down doors in the ’90s: Fantagraphics misfits, self-published weirdos, early alt-comix legends, and the emerging wave of creators who’d shape the next two decades.
A relic from when the underground still smelled like toner and hustle. The Staros Report 1996 is Chris Staros’ cult-famous annual cheat sheet—the map hardcore readers used to find the smartest, strangest, most essential indie comics before “graphic novel” became a marketing term. This is the pre-internet compass: Xerox texture, mail-order addresses, raw enthusiasm, and that “discover it before anyone else” energy baked right in.
Inside you get Staros’ full recommended-reading list for the year—alt-comix killers, Fantagraphics lifers, Drawn & Quarterly heads, self-published mini-legends, plus early whispers from creators who’d blow up in the 2000s. Creator spotlights, publisher notes, distro info, the whole thing laid out like a love letter to the weird, the personal, and the defiantly non-mainstream.
Has some pen markup in it.
