BLACK EYE No. 2

With new comics and art by: Max Clotfelter / Richard Cowdry / Hugleikur Dagson / J.T. Dockery / Brecht Evens / Quentin Faucompre / Julia Gfrörer / Sam Gross / Danny Hellman / Ian Huebert / David Hughes / David Lynch / Benjamin Marra / Paul Nudd / Onsmith / David Paleo / Helge Reumann / Martin Rowson / Stephen William Schudlich / David Shrigley / Ed Subitzky / Brecht Vandenbroucke

With texts by: Paul Krassner, groundbreaking editor and founder of The Realist (1958-2001), who provides a previously unpublished essay / Bob Levin offers up an excerpt from his unpublished satirical novel The Schiz / Jesse Nathan, poetry editor of the McSweeney’s Poetry Series, contributes new poetry and prose pieces / the late Michael O'Donoghue, a major creative force behind the early years of The National Lampoon and the first head-writer for Saturday Night Live (on which he appeared as "Mr. Mike") is present with a long out-of-print essay that once appeared in Spin magazine.

Also included: MEMORY OF POSADA, in which 18 illustrators/graphic artists/cartoonists respond to the work of Mexican artist J.G. Posada. The contributors are: Stéphane Blanquet / Marie-Pierre Brunel / Lilli Carré / Frédéric Coché / Sue Coe / D.B. Dowd / Henrick Drescher / Bill Fick / Sanya Glisic / Donald Kilpatrick III / Peter Kuper / Jeff Ladouceur / Mats!? / Marc Brunier Mestas / David Sandlin / Mahendra Singh / Wouter Vanhaelemeesch. Designed by Paul Goodrich and Javier Guerrero

"BLACK EYE 2 reminds us that behind the deadpan there is often deadly pain. A vital anthology which proves the tradition of black humor remains laceratingly alive. " —Jeet Heer, Canadian cultural journalist and historian

"BLACK EYE 2 is punishingly grim, even nihilistic. But it's high quality nihilism, which is significant." —D.B. Dowd, Drawing The Social Landscape: Writings On Visual Culture

"The "dark populism" of Posada is reflected as a whole by Standfest in the contents of this issue, emphasizing imagery related to a sort of death and decay mixed with vitality and joy. Despite the gruesome and visceral nature of Posada's work, it very much represented life as it was lived in Mexico, as a series of contradictions that encapsulate stirring beauty and stark horror. Standfest's editorial vision is much the same, as BLACK EYE 2 manages to be dark but not downbeat; it's laughing into the abyss." —Rob Clough, The Comics Journal