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If you’ve been around mini-comics for a while or have read up on their history you’ve probably seen work by Clark Dissmeyer (also known as CAD). He’s been an incredibly prolific creator for decades even when not making a large effort to get the work out to the public. Although he’s dabbled in a variety of genres and approaches, The perfectly titled Through the Basement Window: The Collected Comix of Clark A. Dissmeyer 1984-1986 is a solid collection of some of his darker, spooky and sometimes macabre comics work. This is a 160-page trade paperback edited by longtime collaborator Marc Myers and designed by Richard Krauss.

Here’s an excerpt (taken from the book) from an unpublished 1984 interview that offers some insight into Dissmeyer’s approach as a creator:

“I want to avoid the familiar stereotypes, archetypes and cliches of comics — funny animals, heroes, continuing character humor, slapstick, ‘topical’ satire, straight gag formats, EC imitation, etc. I want to do good non-cliched horror comics, vignettes and short stories. To conduct experiments in narrative without falling into RAW-like obscurantism, and in structure to develop an individual visual vocabulary.”

You can see an incomplete list of his output at the Database. Many of those minis and zines are hard to find so this collection would be a great start for those unfamiliar with his work.

Through a Basement Window can be purchased at Amazon or, no doubt, by contacting publisher Marc Myers.

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