Psychopia
Encyclopedia
Psychopia is a small press
zine
featuring reviews and articles on British comic books and small press comics
and interviews with cartoonists. Unusually for comix zines it focussed almost entirely on British comics such as The Beano
and The Dandy
ignoring American superhero comics.
Issue #0 was the first published in 1994. Psychopia was created by cartoonist/writer B. Patston. The fanzine
evolved out of his small press comic Oy Mister!! published in 1992. Like Escape Magazine
it printed comic strips.
Patston drew comics in his bedroom in Linslade
typing up articles on his manual typewriter. He pasted up the final pages on his card table. The zine had a very downbeat amateurish look to it due to the underground sensibilities of the editor. The misspelling Psycopia for the magazine originated with the reputation for text mangling, technical typesetting failures and typographical errors, and once misspelled its own name on the cover as "Psycopia".
Psychopia has printed comics by small press
artists including "The Slap Of Doom" by Joe Berger
, Ben Hunt, Lee Kennedy and "The People Under The Bed" by Vic Pratt
. In addition Psychopia reprinted artwork by Darryl Cunningham and Marc Baines. Also from issue #3 Psychopia featured jam comic strips with many artists including Vic Pratt, Victor Ambrus
, Caspar Williams and underground
cartoonists Pete Loveday
and Robert Crumb
contributing to "TV Funnies" in Psychopia #5.
At the same time Patston was offering comics for sale as a mail order
distribution "Pretentious Mail Art".
It also currently exists as a website with an Image board and forums.
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
featuring reviews and articles on British comic books and small press comics
British small press comics
British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to...
and interviews with cartoonists. Unusually for comix zines it focussed almost entirely on British comics such as The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
and The Dandy
The Dandy
The Dandy is a long running children's comic published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The first issue was printed in 1937 and it is the world's third longest running comic, after Detective Comics and Il Giornalino...
ignoring American superhero comics.
Issue #0 was the first published in 1994. Psychopia was created by cartoonist/writer B. Patston. The fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
evolved out of his small press comic Oy Mister!! published in 1992. Like Escape Magazine
Escape Magazine
Escape magazine was a landmark British comic strip magazine founded and edited by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. Nineteen issues were published between 1983 to 1989...
it printed comic strips.
Patston drew comics in his bedroom in Linslade
Linslade
Linslade is an English town, located on the Bedfordshire side of the Bedfordshire-Buckinghamshire border . It abuts onto the town of Leighton Buzzard with which it forms the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade. Linslade was transferred from Buckinghamshire in 1965, and was previously a separate...
typing up articles on his manual typewriter. He pasted up the final pages on his card table. The zine had a very downbeat amateurish look to it due to the underground sensibilities of the editor. The misspelling Psycopia for the magazine originated with the reputation for text mangling, technical typesetting failures and typographical errors, and once misspelled its own name on the cover as "Psycopia".
Psychopia has printed comics by small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
artists including "The Slap Of Doom" by Joe Berger
Joe Berger (illustrator)
Joe Berger is an illustrator and cartoonist from Bristol.He has been making films, illustrating and cartooning since 1991. In 1992 he drew his own British small press comics Shooba heavily influenced by underground cartoonist Robert Crumb...
, Ben Hunt, Lee Kennedy and "The People Under The Bed" by Vic Pratt
Vic Pratt
Victor Alfred Cornelius Eustace Beltane Diggory Penrith Pratt more commonly known as Vic Pratt is an artist, writer, musician and actor born in 1971. He lives in Muswell Hill, North East London....
. In addition Psychopia reprinted artwork by Darryl Cunningham and Marc Baines. Also from issue #3 Psychopia featured jam comic strips with many artists including Vic Pratt, Victor Ambrus
Victor Ambrus
Victor Ambrus , is an illustrator best known for his regular appearances on the Channel 4 archaeology television series Time Team, where he visualises how the sites being excavated may have once looked...
, Caspar Williams and underground
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
cartoonists Pete Loveday
Pete Loveday
Pete Loveday is a British underground cartoonist. He drew many comics charting the adventures of hippie character Russell including Big Bang Comics, Big Trip Travel Agency, Plain Rapper Comix printed by AK Press....
and Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
contributing to "TV Funnies" in Psychopia #5.
Interviews
Psychopia features interviews with comic artists including- Terry Bave
- Davy FrancisDavy FrancisDavy Francis, born 14 March 1958, is a cartoonist from Belfast, Northern Ireland.As a child he drew comics influenced by The Beano and sold them to his family for an old penny each...
- Trevor MetcalfeTrevor MetcalfeTrevor Metcalfe born May 1939 in Brotton, Yorkshire is a British illustrator and comic book artist. Known for his comic strips in IPC Magazines comics such as Sweet Tooth and Junior Rotter in Whizzer and Chips....
- David MostynDavid MostynGeneral Sir Joseph David Frederick Mostyn KCB CBE is a former Adjutant-General to the Forces.-Military career:...
- Bill RitchieBill RitchieBill Ritchie was a Scottish cartoonist. He is known for work on comics published by D. C. Thomson.-Biography:...
- Lew StringerLew Stringer-Biography:Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular Brickman character; these were read by several pro creators who encouraged Stringer to try comics as a profession and Stringer recalls that "Alan Moore actually introduced me to one of...
- Daniel ClowesDaniel ClowesDaniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....
At the same time Patston was offering comics for sale as a mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
distribution "Pretentious Mail Art".
It also currently exists as a website with an Image board and forums.