READERSVOICE.COM: First up, where are you going overseas and what for?

SHAWN HOKE: It’s a pleasure trip.

My wife and I are going to St Barts in the French West Indies.

We rented a villa there for our honeymoon last year, and loved it so much that we are returning this year for another week.

RV: Where do you live and what’s your daily routine?

SH: I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and my routine is not very exciting.

I get up early and go to the gym. Then it’s off to a day job where I work as a project manager for a non-profit healthcare research group.

In the evenings I catch up on email and either work on the SIZE MATTERS blog or relax with a book.

RV: What gave you the idea of starting a blog about mini-comics?

SH: For the last few years I’ve written a weekly column about comics, mostly art comics and small press projects that receive less attention from other websites, and I’ve always sprinkled in some mini-comics coverage.

I guess the idea of a blog about mini-comics could be traced to Alan David Doane of Comic Book Galaxy.

He invited me to write a column over at his site last year.

When I told him that I would want the freedom to cover mini-comics, he came back with the idea of a column entirely on mini-comics.

That column was called SIZE MATTERS and it lasted for a couple of months.

I had some problems including all of the images that I wanted to in the CBG format, so I just decided to turn the column into a blog instead.

I think it’s worked out well, and almost every day a new mini-comic lands in the mailbox to be reviewed.

RV: Can you describe what mini-comics are?

SH: Not in 1000 words or less, unfortunately. Kurt Wolfgang did a hilarious issue of “Low Jinx” on that very subject.

He would define what mini-comics are or aren’t only to have another character trot out to demolish the definitions.

Mini-comics can encompass so many formats, sizes, and subject matters that it’s almost impossible to create a definition.
The traditional mini-comic started out by taking a sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” paper and quartering it.

Now you can have oversized mini-comics that are bigger than your typical comic book, or even mini-comics with fold out centerfold pages.

You’ll also see accordion-type minis that unfold from one long continuous sheet of paper (Fay Ryu’s Hello is 20ft long) or mini-comics that come in their own homemade boxes.

Peter Conrad made a mini-comic out of a Rubik’s Cube, where you had to solve the cube by color hints to read the mini-comic.

And the guys at Global Hobo made a mini-comic in the shape of a pyramid that you have to unfold before reading it.

A lot of mini-comics covers are made using a screen printing process that allows the artist to use color in a way that’s cheaper than a traditional color printer.

This process is hard work though, and it takes some skill and materials to make it work effectively.

All of these things help to make a mini-comic feel more like art and less like product.

I guess the one thing that mini-comics have in common is their lower print runs.

Minis are usually cranked out on a copy machine, then hand stapled on someone’s kitchen table or living room floor.

Mini-comics have that craft appeal and a DIY attitude that I think makes them very special.

RV: When did you first become interested in mini-comics?

SH: I didn’t even return to comics until 1998, so probably in the year 2000.

I think a Comics Journal review of a Jennifer Daydreamer mini-comic was what caught my eye initially.

RV: Did you ever draw any yourself, or know people who did? If so, what were they about?

SH: I’ve drawn about a dozen minis myself.

I usually draw them for my wife on her birthday or other special occasions.

Now if I were to get her a nice gift, but no mini-comic, I’d be in trouble.

It’s kind of our little thing. She drew a great mini-comic for me this month on our first anniversary.

Our comics are little inside jokes about our lives, usually starring our cats.

I did a mini-comic for her and our friends about her addiction to fashion.

It culminated in the purchase of a pricey Marc Jacobs purse. I’m working on a mini-comic right now that looks at the relationship of wood and environment in making whisky.

I’m fascinated with the thought of how much work and time goes into a glass of whisky that you or I might drink today.

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