Between the panels: Regina comedian writer spotlights area of interest artists

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Comic artist Anthony Woodward launched Spare Parts Press to give voice to a niche corner of the comic genre, and it’s become a passion.

Anthony Woodward,  a local comic book artist, founder and publisher at Spare Parts Press, flips through a copy of his own title, Woodlands No. 1, currently stocked at Penny University Bookstore. Anthony Woodward, a local comic book artist, founder and publisher at Spare Parts Press, flips through a copy of his own title, Woodlands No. 1, currently stocked at Penny University Bookstore. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post

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Anthony Woodward has always been a fan of comics.

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Growing up in Australia, he read superhero titles as a teen, explored the medium as an art student and developed his skills as an artist producing strips and zines in adulthood.

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Standing in the midst of a bustling hall filled for the 2022 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, the Regina-based artist felt like a dream had been realized as he looked down at a table stacked neatly with copies of his fresh-off-the-press comic, Woodlands.

“I was kind of just pinching myself about what was happening,” said Woodward.

Beside him stood former Saskatoon artist David Collier, happily chatting about his newest title, Winter of Our Pandemic — published by Woodward and his fledgling venture, Spare Parts Press.

The pair rubbed elbows with fellow fans, artists and publishers in the Toronto Reference Library, enjoying one of the largest comic appreciation events in the world that welcomes some of the biggest presses in the genre.

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“You get a little imposter syndrome,” Woodward said with a laugh, several months later. “They actually put us next to Fantagraphics, which is a big name out of Seattle.”

Woodward described it as “surreal” and “intense” — a memory that moved too quickly but will always be vivid.

Looking back, he considers that to be the official debut of Spare Parts Press as a publisher. It began as a passion project several years prior but has since blossomed into an unusually specific venture sharing alternative genre comics as ebooks.

Winter of Our Pandemic is among a very small handful of print titles — an exception to the rule, joked Woodward, and only because of his respect for Collier as a Canadian great and long-time friend.

Although Woodward is the founder and publisher at Spare Parts Press, he considers himself a comic artist at heart. He prefers autobiographical comics as a genre, writing and drawing personal stories about his life and experiences, framed in the unique narrative style of a comic strip.

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“There’s a cathartic element to it,” Woodward said, explaining his love of the craft. “No one knows what it’s like in your head, and so you’re trying to get that across on paper.”

Woodward’s work is certainly personal. His 2010 sketchbook comic, This Town, chronicles a pivotal move from Australia to Canada with his wife and son. His most recent title, Woodlands No. 1, was freshly printed this year and builds on the adventure of being a newcomer in a new home, with a trio of connected storylines.

It’s a niche within a niche, he admitted — a comic genre pretty far off the beaten path, within an already small industry that has irrevocably captured his passion.

Anthony Woodward’s most recent title, launched earlier this year, is Woodlands No. 1. The three-story anthology builds on his previous work, This Town, and explores the experience of being a newcomer after relocating with his family to Regina from Australia. Anthony Woodward’s most recent title, launched earlier this year, is Woodlands No. 1. The three-story anthology builds on his previous work, This Town, and explores the experience of being a newcomer after relocating with his family to Regina from Australia. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post

Woodward’s love for personal, poignant comics is really what sparked the idea for Spare Parts Press. He first envisioned it as a way to share his own work, like the zines he once distributed around local coffee shops in his college town.

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But the deeper Woodward got into the idea of digital publishing, the bigger his vision grew.

“The more I got into it, the more I was thinking about all of the people I knew that do these fantastic comics that nobody knew about,” said Woodward. “They were obscure, hard to find.”

Soon, Woodward began reaching out to other artists who produce works like his own, offering to help publicize and distribute niche comics that live on the fringe.

Specifically, Woodward publishes ebooks because, as an indie creator himself, he understands the logistical hurdles in traditional publishing routes. Piling costs of printing, marketing and distributing leaves narrow margins, even for artists pursuing small-batch print runs to deliver to loyal readers.

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As an alternative, many artists instead exist online through social media, blogs or dedicated websites, putting their work out into the vastness of the Internet for readers to discover.

While it’s a tactic that works, said Woodward, it often comes with little-to-no compensation or reliability.

“You’re trying to play the game and use the right hashtags, play the algorithm,” said Woodward. “Online, you’re getting paid in clicks and likes and retweets, but that doesn’t pay the bills.

“(So) it was like, how can people publish digitally, get their work out into readers’ hands as easily as they can with social media, but on their own terms?”

Woodward saw the solution in ebooks: an untapped resource in the realm of comic publishing that offers affordable exposure, accessibility and an option for ethical production and consumption.

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Within his own skillset, he saw Spare Parts Press.

To build a press dedicated solely to digital distribution of autobiographical works puts Woodward in the minority of publishers — and certainly the only comic publisher operating in Regina.

“It’s about exposing people’s work and giving them a bit of a platform,” he said, “but also highlighting these kinds of different voices, different stories.”

Ebooks are widely available and make it easier to diversify library collections and obtain works from indie publishers.

Woodward should know, since he’s a librarian by day.

“I think a lot of people are unaware of that (online) market (but) there is one out there,” he said. “And there’s readers that are hungry for new things, different works from different people around the world.”

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With Woodward at the helm of a one-person operation, Spare Parts Press has successfully launched seven titles with five artists. That includes Australia’s Leonie Brialey, who acquiesced to a digital re-release of influential 2016 compilation Raw Feels, previously only available in limited print.

As a distributor, Woodward connects with big e-publication platforms like Apple Books, Indigo and Overdrive. He also offers books as direct downloads from his website and, in the case of his two print titles, locally through Penny University Bookstore in Regina.

Seeing titles hit the market keeps Woodward enthusiastic, and there are no plans to stop.

“The comic happens between the panels (on a page),” he said. “And that engagement from readers, investing their imagination into it, is what makes comics a bit magical.”

While Spare Parts Press remains a side venture for now, Woodward sees it lasting as something like a boutique publisher, allowing him to pursue his labour of love in promoting alternative comics.

“Maybe they aren’t going to be mainstream bestsellers,” he added, “but it’s important work that needs to be published (and) made available out there for people to know.”

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