Warehouse Find!

Not really, but I was going through my closet and found some old stock of my comix. If you're interested, I have the following issues for sale. Add 50 cents for postage.

Postal b/w I Yam What I Yam (3 copies) - $3

Candy or Medicine - $1 each

Vol 4 (3 copies)

Vol 5 (3 copies)

Vol 8 (1 copy)

Vol 9 (1 copy)

To order, email me at joshblair83 (at) gmail (dot) com

See you again in a year???

lunarcy II - COMING SOON!

Six years in the making! The follow up to the smash hit lunarcy, lunarcy II features 16 pages of our lone existential satellite. Coming first quarter 2017. Only $1! Don't miss it.

Volume 17 Out Now

Candy or Medicine Vol. 17 is out now! This issue features "The Training Beard" by Bobby Mono, "Pizza Bill" by Jon Light, some lesser known awareness organizations by M Young, "Dungeon Dudes" by Buttersword, "Waltz No. 7" by Harry Nordlinger and front and back covers by Willard Herman. Good stuff all around.

You can order on the Candy or Medicine Etsy page or click the Paypal button below to order. Sixteen pages for $1.50 shipped.

Record Store Day 2011

If any of you are in Cincinnati, stop by Shake It Records tomorrow for Record Store Day. There will be 50 free copies of Candy or Medicine available. Don't worry, long time fans, it's just the Free Comic Book Day 2009 issue. I chose that because not many people in Cincinnati have seen it because I was living in Syracuse, NY when it was originally published. I wanted to offer something on that day because it's a cool idea, Shake It will be packed, plus they sell my comics there, so hopefully if someone likes the free one, they'll pick up one (or more) of the regular issues.

A portion of the comics section at Shake It, where you can barely make out some issues of Candy or Medicine

Shake It's storefront

Cincinnati Jam Poster For Sale

I just listed a poster for sale, featuring a jam by Greater Cincinnati based artists that was created at SPACE. The artists are Josh Blair, Nathan Kissel, Ron LaCour, Joe Kuth, Tim Fuller, Eric Adams, Brian Hagen and Rodney Fyke.

The poster is double sided and printed on cardstock 11 x 17 paper. Only $1 (plus shipping, of course).

Featuring Mr. Redlegs! Shadowhare! Marge Schott!

Click here to order on Etsy.

News and Notes, March Edition

March was a busy month. Here's what went down:

• You can preorder HIVE FIVE, featuring Noah Van Sciver, Ed Choy Moorman and yours truly.
• The Onion's AV Club interviews Noah Van Sciver. You can also order Blammo #7, which is really great, by the way. Here's a review.

• Daniel Olson was featured in a Bleeding Cool article about C2E2.
• Josh Blair/Candy or Medicine featuring in a Liberal Ohian article about SPACE.
• Katie Omberg offers her SPACE recap.
• Kyle Nolan has a new comic out and it's pretty rad.

• Candy or Medicine Vol. 11 is reviewed in another SPACE recap.
• Tori Holder now has her debut comic for sale.

Volume Nine Contributors Revealed

I know it's not as exciting as the "Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed" show, but here is the list of contributors to Candy or Medicine Volume Nine, which will see a late March/early April release in time for SPACE.

Jonny Smeby (cover, seen at right)
Daniel McEwen (three pages)
Cameron Callahan (two pages)
Alex Chiu (two-page center spread)
Joseph Carlough (one page)
Maggie Morrill (three pages, one of which can be seen below)
Sean Steward (one page)
Danny Ferbert and Sarah Bunker (one page)
Tyler Stafford (back cover)

Still sixteen pages, still printed on nice paper, still just a buck.


Two new issues recently? Three blog posts this week? I'm not sure where all this productivity came from. Since purchasing a new computer a couple weeks ago, it's been much easier to put the issues together, if only I can pry myself away from Plants vs Zombies long enough to get any work done.

Free Comic Book Day 2010

It's not often I accomplish a task way before deadline, but this past Sunday, I picked up 500 copies of the Candy or Medicine Free Comic Book Day Special in anticipation of the May 1 event. I've celebrated Free Comic Book Day the past two years with free all-new, exclusive-content Candy or Medicine issues/PDFs, and this year is no exception. The only thing I'm doing different this year is 1) printing about 200 fewer copies and 2) distributing them to fewer stores. The reason being, of course, finances. I'd love to print a million of these and have them in every comic book/record/zine store in the world, but I can't. So I've decided to ship them to a few select stores that either a) already stock Candy or Medicine, b) are mini-comic friendly or c) are local to me.

Of course, if people want a copy, and they don't live near one of the listed stores, all they have to do is send me an e-mail and I'll drop one in the mail or they can download the PDF when it's available on May 1. Currently, the FCBD Special will be available at the following stores (about 10 more to come): Chicago Comics, Zanadu Comics (Seattle), Jim Hanley's Universe (New York City), Meltdown Comics (Los Angeles) and Clifton Comics (Cincinnati).

Here are the details of the comic: "Candy or Medicine presents its third annual Free Comic Book Day Special. All new, all ages, exclusive content for zero dollars. Featuring a cover by Indonesian artist Fami Faminas, a tired ghost by Josh Blair, punk rock/shark/tornado madness by Patt Kelley, a silent comic by Slovenian artist Domen Finzgar and two pages by the all-knowing Tyler Stafford."

I'm not one to brag, but every page of this comic is spot on. I'm really happy with the was this issue turned out, and I know everyone will enjoy it. It features the same quality of every Candy or Medicine issue (printed on nice paper). The only difference is that it's eight pages and, more importantly, it's free. 

Plus it features the coolest contributors page you've probably ever seen, courtesy of Tyler Stafford.

A Late Introduction

I see you've met Jonny Smeby. Jonny's artwork will grace the cover of Candy or Medicine Vol. 9, which will be out this month. I was supposed to write a post introducing Jonny, but I'm a little late. Oh well. I'm a big fan of Jonny's work. He is a very talented guy and I'm happy to have him in both the pages of Candy or Medicine and on the blog. I'm also glad that in his first blog post he reviewed a mini-comic because that's something I haven't had time to do in a while.


Make sure you visit Jonny's Web site and order all of his comics. Mulder & Bolder is a really fun comic set in a world that has existed in Jonny's head for a while. He has a lot of really great ideas and he knows the characters and their world inside and out. Plus there is a free Mulder and Bolder comic coming out this month, so keep an eye out for that.

While I haven't had a chance to check out his Jonny RPG comic, the previews I've seen look great and what seems great about it is that it's a complete mini-series, so you don't get the typical issue #1 and no subsequent issues, and, seeing as how the series is complete, you have the whole storyline at your disposal. It's also not a typical autobiographical comic. It's loosely autobiographical featuring monsters and intense action.

So a big thanks to Jonny Smeby for being a part of the team, making some damn good comics and having a really cool name.

Matt Feazell Convention Appearances

Matt Feazell, whose sketches appeared in Candy or Medicine Vol. 2, will be at the following comic conventions:

March 29

INTER-FAN JAM
Portage, IN
www.inter-fan.org/Interfan2

April 6

GEM CITY COMIC CON
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio
www.gemcitycomiccon.com

May 16–18

MOTOR CITY COMIC CON
Novi, MI
www.motorcityconventions.com

For Your Eyes Only

Tentative cover to Candy or Medicine Volume Three. By the magnificent Kel Winser.

Vol. 3 Contributor bios

Complete bios for contributors to Candy or Medicine Vol. 3 are now up. Go to www.candyormedicine.com to check them out. The cover will be published within the next two weeks. Stay tuned.

Update from Kel Winser, cover artist for Vol. 3

Hi, there. My name is Kel and I drew the cover of Candy or Medicine Volume 3, due out April 15. I thought I'd stop by and let you all know a thing or two about what I do and where you can see it! I run a little comics organization called Linoleum Press (www.linoleumpress.com) where we (that's my cohort Rich Lillie and I) make little nuggets of comics goodness and post it on the site. You will find our portfolios with lots of great images for your eyes to drool at, online comic jams and information about our live comic jam events. The live events obviously only happen in the UK at the moment but we are looking into that! You can see pictures on the Web site though!

However, the online comic jam is open world wide and welcomes contributors from all over. The are
two plot lines currently running and feature some of the best UK small-press comics artists currently
running around the convention circuit here in the UK. Please go there, even if you draw a little, and
contribute the next panel in the ongoing adventures. All e-mailing details are on the site.

My own stuff is mostly slice-of-life or semi-autobiographical stories but I have also created a superhero
strip 'Jeff Legend' and his adventures can be read on Linoleum Press as well as on my blog
messyfingers.blogspot.com along with any art I may be creating at the time, please stop by and take a
look -  and don't forget to bookmark! Alternatively, become my friend on Myspace
(www.myspace.com/idrawcomics) and get all the updates there!

One of my goals in life is to become an educator in the field of comics storytelling and cartooning. I
currently work in a high school as an Art Technician and I teach comics at after-school clubs. I am
planning to go into Art and Design teaching in September 2008, but continue to create and draw
comics as my own method of communicating my dreams, fears and anxieties.

Thanks for reading and enjoying my stuff. See you in the funnies! 

Candy or Medicine blog now online

This blog will have regular updates about Candy or Medicine and its future and past contributors.

Candy or Medicine Volume Three will be out April 15. It will feature nine contributors from three countries and five states. The final contributor list is: Kostis Tzortzakakis, Dan Taylor, Kel Winser, Eric Meyers, Curtis Noel and Erik Dauplaise, Russ Walton, Molly Mullen and Colin Tedford. It will be 20 pages, black and white, quarter-sized (4.25" W X 5.5" H) and still only $1 (plus postage).

A preview and the cover will be posted soon. For more information, visit www.candyormedicine.com.