Yup! That’s right, self-promotion! We here at Vitamin C4 believe, at least for those I am sitting next to, it’s a dog-eat-dog kinda world. So, if you’re going to get eaten- eat yourself – or, at least allow others to eat you when you are ripe. 

I am writing to you today to inform you about my, Austin Hartman, other sites that are in congruence with this site (in the incestuous kinda way of being from Santa Cruz). 

1) Nobody Poops But You
A webcomic that is a children’s story for adults. It is broken up into four chapters, two of which are currently available, and are not actually suitable for children.
Written by Austin Hartman & illustrated by Sir Tyler Benjamin Speas
sample art/pages:

2) Austin’s Comics & Blog
That’s right! I’ve got a site/blog in which I post my comics/doodles/drawings and more! I can’t explain much more other then that. But here is a taste of what’s on the site:

Alright. Check out the sites. (sorry Ethan, sorry Hiram. I guess I shouldn’t have been given the password for the site)

Sometimes when I am working at Comicopolis, and one of my bosses leaves for the bathroom, I walk over to the shelf, open a graphic novel and I smell the bindings. It’s not that I anticipate the smell of action leaping off the pages, I just like the smell of newly printed comics – mostly because I am a giant geek, or maybe it’s inherited. In any case, it’s time to hunker down on a couch or in your bed with a glass of whiskey and an exciting new graphic novel. We all need something to keep us warm when the heat dish breaks.

The Usuals
For me, and many of my comic reading friends, there are certain authors who I can always go to and read something astonishing. These authors, nine out of ten times, have the ability to pull me out of reality and into a world of fantasy. Below is a list of these aforementioned visionaries and a few of their finer titles.

Alan Moore

Swamp Thing (9 trade paperbacks), League Of Extrordinary Gentlemen (3 TPBs), From Hell, A Small Killing.

Warren Ellis

Freak Angels, The Authority (5 TPBs), Fell, Transmetropolitan (11 TPBs), Planetary (3 TPBs).

Grant Morrison

Invisibles (7 TPBs), Kill Your Boyfriend, Animal Man (3 TPBs), Sebastian O, WE3, Filth.

Neil Gaiman

Sandman (11 TPBs), 1602, Hellblazer.

Help From The Gods
While those previously listed authors may serve as my comfort food when I need to satiate my hunger for fantasy, other times I like to take a chance and branch out. The following are some tips and tricks to finding those hidden gems that lay buried at your local comic shop.

1. Look at the author of the introduction. With the above list of radical writers, look to see if they speak highly of a new book. For example, Alan Moore wrote the intro for Sam Keith’s Zero Girl – damn good read.
2. Find a long lasting series, because if they’re still making it, then it’s probably good. As a note, and a suggestion, Hellblazer is the longest running Vertigo series.
3. Look at the art! Do you like what you see?
4. Ask the totally awesome and friendly staff at Comicopolis, located at 829 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060.

So whether you already read a ton of comics or have never pushed a paneled page before, this article can only help. Whether your fancy be super heroes, crime fiction, mystery, science fiction, blah blah blah, there’s always something for YOU!

Austin Hartman