While "researching" a recent Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom offers many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.
Though primarily remembered for Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man (see C.O.U.S. #1), Adhesive Comics produced several other titles including six issues of the anthology JAB, Sam Hurt’s Eyebeam: The Trilogy, Pal-yat-chee (stories by cartoonists Tom King and Walt Holcombe), and the cyberpunk series Eden Matrix. Created by writer Aubrey McAuley, Eden Matrix evolved from the "SplitPhaze" stories– written with McCauley’s ex-wife DeAnne and drawn by Ashley Underwood– in JAB #1-3. In 1993, Adhesive Comics offered the full color Eden Matrix Mini-Comic #1 to promote the forthcoming Eden Matrix series. The mini featured two stories, both written by McAuley, in a flip format.
"The Serpent’s Tale"
Click on images for full sized versions.
Eden Matrix Mini-Comic #1 Cover A (Adhesive Comics 1993)
Art by Theron Smith
From Eden Matrix Mini-Comic #1 "The Serpent’s Tale" (Adhesive Comics 1993)
Written by Aubrey McAuley
Illustrated by Theron Smith
Colors by Martin Thomas and Adhesive Media
"Waste Land"
Eden Matrix Mini-Comic #1 Cover B (Adhesive Comics 1993)
Art by Ashley Underwood (not credited)
From Eden Matrix Mini-Comic #1 "Waste Land" (Adhesive Comics 1993)
Written by Aubrey McAuley
Illustrated by Michael Washburn
Colors by Ashley Underwood and Adhesive Media
The mini also advertised the new eponymous BBS service. In the days before the World Wide Web, computer users dialed directly into a local server into what was essentially web page hosted on local computers. (BBS stands for Bulletin Board System.) Eden Matrix the BBS eventually became a webhost, operating out at eden.com. The domain and company are currently owned by UNICOM System.
McCauley again teamed with Underwood to create the two extant full-sized issues of Eden Matrix. As were norm for comics of the early 90s, both issues come out in two separate cover editions– one sf and one horror focused. The interiors of both issues were identical.