Thanks! You'll have my undying gratitude for helping this project along and having it start with a bang right out of the gate! I've never tried it this way before and I'm sure it'll be a great boost to the spirit to know that friends and family believe in me, my work, and the work of my young comic collaborators.

So Buttons #12 - the new issue!

Written by Jonathan Baylis, Cover by Jesse Lonergan

I meet Ethan Hawke, bump into Chris Claremont and Patrick Stewart, share birthdays with Kerry Washington, Grant Morrison, and Johnny Rotten, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi tells me about how he was on Saturday Night Live, I get punched in the face, bring a woman to give to birth, and my six year-old learns the word Shit!

Art by Rachelle Meyer, Lance Ward, Carol Tyler, Ben Passmore, Tony Wolf, Lucas Eisenberg-Baylis, Josh Bayer, J.T. Yost, Josh Pettinger, Miss Lasko-Gross & Kevin Colden, T.J. Kirsch, and Devy Goldstein

“Baylis continues to get better with every issue of his collaborative autobio comic… a solid, satisfying piece of storytelling.” Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

5.5" x 8.5", 28 pages. $8
Full-color covers and interior

This issues launches the second decade of So Buttons Comix! This all-new issue features cover art by Jim Rugg (Kayfabe, Street Angel) in tribute to Basil Wolverton’s cover for Plop! #6.

Includes a new, funny story drawn by November Garcia in a tribute to Scotch and a heartwarming tale about Make-a-Wish and John Cleese by British artist B. Mure. UK small press legend Phil Elliott captures a time when I lived in a London comics shop owned by a guy from Brooklyn. T.J. Kirsch shows why you can’t go home again and Jeff Zapata completes my intern cycle with my time at Topps. Bonus strip about Bazooka by Rick Parker

Continuing in this issue is a multi-part series of strips featuring famous folks that share my birthday, this time with Carol Channing, drawn by Maria and Peter Hoey (Coin-Op). Illustrations by A.T. Pratt, Garrett Gilchrist, Andy Rash, Fred Hembeck, my 5 year old son Lucas, and a back cover by Miss Lasko-Gross

“Baylis continues to get better with every issue of his collaborative autobio comic… a solid, satisfying piece of storytelling.” Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

5.5" x 8.5", 24 pages. $5
Full-color covers and interior

So Buttons #10

It’s the 10th Anniversary issue of So Buttons! This all-new issue features cover art by Thomas Boatwright in tribute to Jim Aparo’s cover for Detective Comics #469 (my first Batman comic). Includes new, funny toddler stories by Summer Pierre and heartwarming tributes to my passed dog Mocha by Haley Boros and New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake. Beginning in this issue is a multi-part series of strips featuring famous folks that share my birthday, beginning with Norman Mailer, drawn by T.J. Kirsch. I take a dive into some NYC Soul Food history with Princess Pamela collaborating with artist Nicole Miles and recount a piece of Saturday Night Live’s origin story with New Yorker cartoonist Jeremy Nguyen. And Paul Westover draws a snapshot of an old friend that led me to become a bone marrow donor.

“Baylis continues to get better with every issue of his collaborative autobio comic… a solid, satisfying piece of storytelling.” Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

So Buttons #9

A star-studded issue of So Buttons! This all-new issue features beautiful cover art by Alissa Sallah.  Includes new stories about love and babies (my baby) by T.J. Kirsch and Summer Pierre respectively, a comix jam about the greatest horror movie makeup artist of all time drawn by Thomas Boatwright, with a bonus illo by Miguel ECH Echemendia, a tale of roast beef and murder, drawn by the great James Romberger, a tribute to one of the most famous Harvey Pekar stories by Noah Van Sciver, and a harrowing comic book company internship tale drawn by classic Marvel Comics humorist Fred Hembeck.

With a doggie (my doggie) illo by Thomas Boatwright and a back cover by Becky Hawkins.

“Baylis continues to get better with every issue of his collaborative autobio comic… a solid, satisfying piece of storytelling.” Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

This issue features cover art by one of the best cartoonists working today, Noah Van Sciver, paying tribute to a classic American Splendor cover by Robert Crumb.  Includes a new story about religious rebellion drawn by Chicago artist Corinne Mucha, a comix jam about Lon Chaney and monster-make-up with art by Noah Van Sciver and Rick Parker, a touching tail tale about his first dog with Rachel Dukes, and finally some high false hope drawn by T.J. Kirsch. With illos by Diigii Daguna and Miguel “ECH” Echemendia and a back cover by Ted McKeever.

“Baylis continues to get better with every issue of his collaborative autobio comic… a solid, satisfying piece of storytelling.” Rob Clough, The Comics Journal

This issue features cover art by infamous NYC comix/illustrator Danny Hellman and includes Baylis's remembrance of another NYC luminary, Citizen Kafka, featuring his brush with underground comix godfather, Robert Crumb, artfully drawn by Joseph Remnant (Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland). Also, a childhood story of embarrassment featuring Valerie Perrine drawn by Paul Westover. And finally, a poetic attempt at an ode to coffee on a good morning co-starring Mocha the Boston Terrier with art by David Beyer Jr.

So Buttons, The Second Half! Get Issues 7-12 for only $25! (Six buck savings! That's like 20% but who can do the math!?!?)

Jonathan Baylis’s anthology of mostly funny, upbeat, true stories continues. Written by Baylis, but in the Harvey Pekar tradition, each is drawn by a different artist. 

This issue features cover art by underground and Garbage Pail Kids legend Jay Lynch and includes Baylis's longest story yet about art, life, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, featuring bookends by Victor Kerlow (Everything Takes Forever) and interiors by Becky Hawkins (French Toast Comix). T.J. Kirsch (She Died in Terrebonne) tackles the perfect holiday gift and Sam Spina (Spinadoodles) exploits imperfect revenge.  Fred Hembeck is back again with a follow-up tale from Baylis’s Marvel internship story. The book concludes with an appropriate solo piece by Josh Bayer about what it means to be an aging cartoonist in this industry.

So Buttons 5 - A perfect entry-level issue of the funny, true story comic!

Dogs and Dentistry! Steven Spielberg and Escalators! Moms and Brisket! And the Best Coffee Blend in the World!

Jack Kirby Tribute Cover by Tom Scioli (Godland, American Barbarian).Featuring art by Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics's The Hypo), Thomas Boatwright, Paul Westover, and Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg.

REVIEWS

"A+" -- Poopsheet Foundation

"Jonathan delivers four really entertaining stories along with an awesome cover." - Comics Bulletin

"As always, Baylis works with excellent artists" - Matthew Brady

"Baylis continues to improve both as a writer and a self-publisher, as this comic looks attractive without being too slick." - Rob Clough

So Buttons #4 written by Jonathan Baylis

Following in the Harvey Pekar model, Baylis partners with different artists to translate his stories into sequential art. The new issue contains artwork from Noah Van Sciver (Fantagraphics), Fred Hembeck (Marvel), Thomas Boatwright (Slave Labor Graphics), T.J. Kirsch (She Died in Terrebonne), and many others. So Buttons is an invitation to laugh and be moved by memories and experiences everyone can relate to.

What others have said about previous issues of So Buttons:

Chris Staros (Top Shelf) “So I went to L.A. - Nice story -- learned something too.”

Nick  Bertozzi (The Salon) "Don't let Baylis fool you. Yes, his comics are funny, but I read them for the quiet, human moments that will stick with you long after you've finished reading."

Dean Haspiel (on L.A./Kong) “I really dug 'So I Went To L.A.' great story/great art. The King Kong tale was fun, too [nostalgic]. I dig the artist you're working with. You two make a swell pair.”

SO DISTURBING!

Indie comics auteur Jonathan Baylis brings a more macabre approach to So Buttons #3

His work has been compared to that of the late autobiographical comics writer Harvey Pekar, but for the third volume of his work, So Buttons #3: So Horror-ble,, critically acclaimed author Jonathan Baylis is taking a somewhat different approach, presenting fictional tales of a more eerie vein.

Featuring a Danny Hellman cover inspired by EC Comics Tales from the Crypt, So Buttons #3 opens on ground familiar to fans of Baylis’s work, as the writer keeps to his auto-bio–storytelling roots. But it is a story rife with horrific underpinnings. In “So… I Went to L.A.,” the writer and a former girlfriend discover a body during what was supposed to be a relaxed, intimate getaway to solidify their relationship. Thus, it serves as the perfect transitional piece into the realm of horror. Thomas Boatwright’s moody art sets the tone, nicely balancing the real world with the terrifying thoughts of “what could be” that fill the couple’s heads.

Vampire fans disillusioned by the over-saturation of the genre in recent years will revel in the second story’s decidedly different take on the bloodsucking theme. “In the Old Fashioned Way” is a tale with a disturbing premise that leads to a terrifying twist. Artist David Beyer Jr., who’s collaborated with Baylis on the author’s previous two volumes, has a straightforward style which makes the unsettling nature of the tale all the more pronounced..

David Beyer Jr. stays onboard for the volume’s third feature, “In the Head, Please!,” a story first presented as a six-pager in Arcana’s “Dark Horrors #2” anthology, but expanded with greater depth and effect to eight pages. Again, Baylis tackles a seemingly tired genre—this time zombies—in a wholly new and refreshing way, a way that acclaimed Billy Dogma creator and The Quitter collaborator—with Harvey Pekar—Dean Haspiel quoted as being “Fucked” and having “a nice twist.” Beyer employs a style more reminiscent of classic EC Comics, utilizing a thicker brush stroke, and richer, deeper grey tones, fittingly suited to the story’s more grotesque bent.

Baylis wraps up the anthology on a lighter note that displays both his skewed sense of humor and his passion for films. In “In the Heat of Battle,” Baylis celebrates the recent discovery of Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein with a offbeat tale of how a “familiar” movie lover’s incessant ramblings whilst playing chess with a zombie ultimately prove his undoing. Artist T. J. Kirsch’s deft hand and muted palette compliment the two-pager brilliantly. It’s twisted tale that serves as a fitting transitional piece to So… Buttons #4, which Baylis promises to be “an auto-bio/film mashup!”

Inspired by the works of Harvey Pekar—with whom he has been compared—Jonathan Baylis’s So Buttons #2 features six autobiographical stories, wry observations on marriage, Vietnam, Republicans, Forrest J. Ackerman and John Lennon.

The book’s opener, “So… She Married Me Anyway,” relates the moments leading up to the author’s intended elopement, and is a perfect example of Baylis’s prowess as a storyteller, deftly handling the layers of emotions that accompany such an auspicious event with his signature economy and restraint.

In the collection’s tour de force “So… I’m Standing on the Deck of the USS Intrepid,” Baylis revisits the historic battleship with his uncle, who served on the ship during Vietnam.

Four additional tales round out the collection.

With a cover by T.J. Kirsch (Uncle Slam Fights Back by Oni Press), So Buttons #2 features color and black-and-white interior art by Kirsch, David Beyer Jr. (Tales of the Starlight Drive-In by Image Comics), and award-winning illustrator Tim Ogline.

So… who does this Baylis think he is anyway?  Well, inspired by the likes of Harvey Pekar and Jeffrey Brown, he tries to find out by writing his own auto-bio comix.  With attempts at humor, brushes with introspection, and failures at good taste, Jonathan Baylis tackles sex, race, Nazis, and musical theater.

Here’s what actual Xeric Award winning creator Nick Bertozzi had to say:

"Don't let Baylis fool you. Yes, his comics are funny, but I read them for the quiet, human moments that will stick with you long after you've finished reading." – Nick Bertozzi, author of “The Salon” and “Houdini: The Handcuff King”

And best-selling comics creator Jeffrey Brown noticed the schmekle in the peckle:

"A promising collection of collaborations… transitioning somehow seamlessly from interracial porn to the musical 'Annie.'"

-Jeffrey Brown, author of 'Little Things' and 'Incredible Change-Bots'

So Buttons, The Second Half! Get Issues 1-6 for only $25! (Six buck savings! That's like 20% but who can do the math!?!?)

People heard that I was selling the special coffee blend I created for myself for SPX and wanted some of their own! So, the dude abides...

Carol Tyler did a page for So Buttons this year and I created a print of it for sale to benefit the Justin Green Memorial Exhibition.

This is a signed and numbered limited edition print that includes an additional sketch by Carol

Carol Tyler did a page for So Buttons this year and I created a print of it for sale to benefit the Justin Green Memorial Exhibition.

This is a signed and numbered limited edition print 

(This one DOES NOT include the original sketch)