Steve Lafler

Steve Lafler collects a pair of graphic novellas in Cat Suit, tracking edgy romances-we get hot cars, cute dresses, and snappy repart . Lafler throws in his signature deconstruction of time and space, a peak under the hood of reality as we know it. Oh-and of course a cameo by the Devil himself.Cat SuitWhat kind of whack job would put on a mask and a skin-tight suit and head out into the city after midnight? I mean, what is our man "Steve" really up to? What pathology, what proclivity are we dealing with here? Is he fighting crime? Hell no, he's just going clubbing-and he's frankly perplexed when the bar flies & drunks want to pick a fight with him.El DiablitoCall him what you like: Beezlebub, Old Scratch, Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, el Diablo... it's the same guy and he likes to mess with you, right? Or maybe he's just misunderstood? Could it be he knows something they're trying to hide from you, some important bit of knowledge and know-how?El VochoThe action starts with a fender bender between Rosa's classic '63 Impala low rider, and Eddie's beat up vintage VW Bug. BAM-it's the spark for an unlikely urban romance.Can laconic Eddie, the bohemian artist, endure the good-natured jabs from Rosa, the brilliant Latina hottie mechanic/inventor?Can they even survive when big oil sends out mobsters in pursuit of Rosa and her clean energy designs?

It's 1982-early dawn in the alternative comics movement. Steve Lafler, bohemian cartoonist, taps into his unconscious mind and finds his inner Dog Boy: An unruly man-child equipped with a Golden Retriever head.Reared on the incandescent comic book innovations of Jack Kirby, coming of age in the subsequent explosion of Underground Comix, Lafler sets out to chart his own inky journey.Marked by a shattering ego-death experience behind psilocybin on the cusp of adulthood, the artist roots around in his psyche, utilizing an improvisational, unscripted cartooning method. Pumping out page after page of comics penciled in a thick non-photo blue line, he furiously swings at a vision of the simultaneity of all action, reaching for the gold ring deep inside.Readers encounter a critique of wage slavery, plenty of strong coffee, a bit of beer guzzling and healthy dose of low-brow slapstick on this cartoon roller coaster ride. Lafler's early career improvisations soar, and at turns fall flat, but it's well worth the coin to join him on these good natured spelunking expeditions of the heart.

Tenor saxophone maestro Jimmy Watts leads his talented band of bugs from the swing era into the uncharted maelstrom of Bebop. As he and his band mates claw their way to the top of the jazz world, they must fight the temptation to be consumed by addiction to a substance known as "Bug Juice."Inspired by the postwar explosion of Bohemian cultural stylings from artists as diverse as jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and Beat avatar William Burroughs, cartoonist Steve Lafler delivers his indigo-tinged masterwork graphic novel, BugHouse.Comics writer Tasha Lowe-Newsome describes BugHouse: This volume collects the BugHouse books (BugHouse, Baja: A BugHouse Story and Scalawag: BugHouse Volume 3 ) as they grapple with the problems of addiction in the context of the creative life. Sax player and bandleader Jimmy Watts struggles with the substance "bug juice" - which can symbolize anything from booze to heroin. Inspired by Miles Davis's autobiography and Lafler's own increasing dependence on alcohol at the time, the books are set in a slightly surreal 1950s Manhattan peopled by characters with human bodies and insect heads. Yes, there is a nod to William S. Burroughs, and the Cronenberg adaptation of Naked Lunch. This might sound creepy, but it is actually very engaging. One of the most delightful things about this series is that Lafler sets up many possible pitfalls for his characters, then takes a different, more interesting, and less predictable path. The moralistic lessons so often found in stories of addiction are passed over. There are consequences, there are lessons learned, but not in the way that Hollywood would do it.

Auteur graphic novelist Steve Lafler invites you to join expats Rex and Gertie on a wild ride to the remote highland jewel of Oaxaca, Mexico. There they find Eduardo, a crafty 2000-year old Zapotec vampire who prefers chicken blood, and El Rey Pel n (the skinny, pot-bellied fungus who drives a taxi and of course Death, who plays a mean harmonica.

Notorious alt/indy comix legend Steve Lafler (BugHouse, Dog Boy, Buzzard) returns with the story of Jack, Susie, and of course Ramona. We travel to Manhattan of 1956 to meet our players, who haunt the wholesale Garment District by day, and the legendary jazz clubs of 52nd Street by night.Jack and Susie, junior buyers for the McCurdy's chain of department stores, are ambitious kids trying to make their mark as they vie for the position of Chief Buyer. And hey, maybe they happen to fall in love on the side? We'll see Ramona hails from Texas, a young trans woman looking to be herself in the atmosphere of 1950s New York City. It ain't easy She descends into working the streets to support herself while she dreams of becoming a fashion model.Against this backdrop, our cast of players congregate in the jazz clubs at night and begin to scheme. Are they competing with each other? Or do they work together to realize their dreams?