Posted in: Comics | Tagged: cartoon museum, london, mark stafford

Mark Stafford Launches Salmonella Smorgasbord At Cartoon Museum

In a week's time at the Cartoon Museum, Mark Stafford will be launching his Salmonella Smorgasbord collection of his work across the decades.

I have called Mark Stafford one of the greatest cartoonists you have never heard of, though I have done my best to rectify that.  I published him in my Dirtbag and X-Flies comics back in 1995, gave him advertising work on the video game KKND, he did covers for my Avengefuls comic books and for Civil Wardrobe. I always believe that at some point a major publisher will spotlight him and he will become one of the biggest creators around. And in a week's time at the Cartoon Museum in Wells Street, London, just over Oxford Street from Gosh Comics, he will be launching his Salmonella Smorgasbord collection of his work across the decades.Despite working with Bryan Talbot and David Hine on big projects, published by Dark Horse and Boom Studios, being made an artist in residence at the London Cartoon Museum, being sent on international diplomatic cartooning missions, and curating galleries all over it hasn't happened in thirty years yet.  But maybe this might be the moment?

Mark Stafford's Salmonella Smorgasbord is a book coming up from Soaring Penguin Press that gathers work from across his varied career in creating fascinatingly grotesque art.
Soaring Penguin Press is as much a fan of Mark Stafford's work as I am, with a story by him appearing in their first publication back in 1997.

Best known as the co-creator of the graphic novels Cherubs! (with Bryan Talbot), The Man who Laughs, Lip Hook, and The Bad Bad Place (with David Hine), along with extensive work on other projects, Mark has twice been chosen by the British Council to collaborate on projects in South Korea. He is also the current artist-in-residence at The Cartoon Museum in London, UK. This new collection presents stories and pieces in a hefty 200+ full-colour pages, celebrating the grotesque imagination of one of Britain's most inventive comedic/horror artists. Salmonella Smorgasbord brings together many of Stafford's rarely seen short comic strips, alongside restored older comics, and even more recent design work for theatre posters, record covers, beer labels, and T-shirt designs—meaning there's plenty to discover, even for the most ardent fans.

Soaring Penguin Press Co-Publisher John Anderson and former neighbour of mine spoke about the collection, saying: "Mark's work deserves to be seen, and has to be seen to be believed. Believe me when I say that once you start on Salmonella Smorgasbord it's, well, unkeepdownable." Co-Publisher Tim Pilcher added, "I've been a fan of Mark's work for over 30 years and I'm full to bursting to be able to serve all these rarities in one literary repast. This collection is what his work has long-deserved and is perfect for existing gourmands, and a mind-blowing entrée for those yet to discover the twisted world of Stafford. Bon Appetit!"

Salmonella Smorgasbord is a 200-page paperback collection, UK £16.99/US $25.99. It was scheduled for publication last year from Soaring Penguin Press but good things come to those who wait. And is "perfect for anyone with an appreciation of horror, comedy, and underground comics." Until then, you can look at more of his work on Instagram and see if you can see what I can see.

Mark Stafford tells me "I spent a fair chunk of my life under lockdown digging out old files and scanning art, restoring some stories and completing others and putting them all into some kind of order that makes sense to me. So it contains my small press comics, contributions to anthologies, unpublished gems, beer labels and posters, two stories and a foreword by Mr David Hine, an afterword by Dr Bryan Talbot, a collaboration with a Korean poet, two adaptations of olde folk sings, a library mural, a bittersweet Busan love story, much creepy business and an interview conducted by Mr Jason Atomic at the end to vaguely explain why you're reading what you've read. I'm pretty happy with it, and it's all done bar a few cover wrangles and the printing."

If you like comic books, and I hope you do reading Bleeding Cool, there is nothing bigger or better than I can recommend in this festive season, to welcome you in the New Year. Whatever 2023 brings in terms of doom and despondency, bringing Mark Stafford's Salmonella Smorgasbordinto the world may make up for a lot of it.

People aside from me who have backed his crowdfunding campaign include Gene Ha, Mike Mignola, Kieron Gillen, Hunt Emerson, Rian Hughes, Shelly Bond, D'Israeli, Joseph Cavalieri, Bob Fingerman, Dave Elliott, Gary Spencer Millidge, David Hine, Bryan Talbot, Mike Collins, Jamie Smart, Roger Langridge, Alan Cowsill, Rufus Dayglo and many more

Or maybe read the start of this Kaiju story from the book… one of the many stories in the 200+ page volume, his Godzilla story, Clash Of The Behemoths, which reflects Japanese culture in both the actions of kaiju and also the social embarrassment of society…

How does this resolve itself? Are they tired of trampling Toyko? You'll have to pick up Salmonella Smorgasbord to find out, published widely from the 15th of July.

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