“Part adventure, part history lesson, and part treasure hunt”– Antiques Roadshow Anthology Preview

 

The countdown to CAKE is looming down to mere hours away and as can be expected, there seems to be an impressive blitz of debuts lined up. One release that could possibly be a shining star is ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, an anthology put together by Collective Stench’s Allison Dubois. A compilation of some of San Francisco’s most gifted indie cartoonists, this 52-page omnibus breathes new life into the wacky weirdness and demented oddities behind the beloved PBS program of the same name. 

 

Collective Stench, self-described as “a group of highly-skilled ruffians devoted to crushing the enemy law with the powerful force of COMICS” has been on the indie comics radar for a few years now, and it’s hard to miss their colorfully lavish tables at recent comic or zine festivals or the number of comics/anthologies that they’ve been spitting out as of late. They’ve even put together some memorable collaborative art shows, with a new exhibit called FOUR SQUARE planned for this fall in San Francisco. It’s pretty undeniable that a group as prolific and dynamic as Collective Stench embodies the heart of indie comics today– perhaps shedding light on the repeated success and growth of the independent comics scene.

With ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, Collective Stench member Allison Dubois has edited and published a 200 edition anthology showcasing a beautiful silkscreened cover as well as risographed interior, printed at Mission Risoplex with the help of another stellar newcomer to indie publishing, Youth In Decline’s Ryan Sands. The contributor list for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW reads like a complementary juxtaposition of many differing styles and aesthetics, ranging from the crisp brush lines of Roman Muradov to the severe and in-your-face inking of Niv Bavarsky, all of whom create a fresh and distorted envisioning that transcends the classic program’s simple hunt for valued relics of bygone times.

Here’s a nice illustrated listing of the contributors:

 

If you’re Chicago-bound this weekend, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW will be available at Table 73 for $15; a reasonable value for those looking to reconnect with their treasure hunting desires.