MUSICIAN FINDS LITERARY FREEDOM IN COMIX
Chipper Thompson’s ‘Mercury Retrograde’ is probably out there already, just waiting for your eyeballs to peel
‘Comix (which are typically understood as distinct from comics in that they intend a mature audience) got their start in the 1960s,” according to MerriamWebster’s definition. Back then, among hookahs, roach clips, exotic rolling papers and bongs, head shops and alternative bookstores marketed underground comix – crazy, edgy little publications in which you might find the misadventures of Mr. Natural, the Checkered Demon or the Furry Freak Brothers. As time marched on and the internet was born, underground became niche. But the tradition continues mainly because it’s easier now than ever just to sit down and start drawing, get your comix printed and if you really want to put some miles on your car or bike, get it distributed. Nowadays you can even use a comic book generator online that will do most of the work for you. And then there’s Chipper Thompson. The local musician known for his considerable musical talent and addiction to obscure movies has also quietly indulged his artistic talents on the side. Well, maybe not so much on the side ever since he landed a show of his artwork at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe a little while back. But, locally, you might have seen the elaborate posters he has designed for his gigs around town that resemble the sort of ‘60s style Haight-Ashbury funky style you might see advertising a show by The Grateful Dead.
His new comic book is called “Mercury Retrograde,” which is a rather amusing commentary on that cosmic thing people around here tend to blame for everything from broken-down cars to the reason your neighbor’s cat has been howling all night. It’s a handmade affair that might not get you in trouble with the human resources police but it’s amusing enough to grab while waiting for a mechanic for said broken-down car or in the middle of the night after being awakened by the aforementioned howling cat. So, we just had to ask him, What made you do it? “The short answer is I couldn’t get anybody else to do it,” he said. “So, I did it.” The long answer involves his longtime interest in the comic book arts, even going so far as to starting a few but never finishing them. For one of them, he even drew out some basic panels for an illustrator. Eventually, he set to work and approached it slow and steady. He’s not drawing everything for “Mercury Retrograde,” but he’s enlisted others to help with drawing and writing. “I would love submissions for ‘Mercury Retrograde’ from all the communities of Taos, the Pueblo, Hispanic and Anglo, not to mention male, female and LGBTQ,” he said. So, where do you find it? Local outlets are Brodsky Bookshop, Taos Market (by the Northside Taos Diner) and Maye Torres’ gallery Studio 107B on the Plaza. For the first edition, it’s free. You might even get two so you can put one in a plastic bag for posterity. You never know.