Next up The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide recommends to you, independent comic books. These are for the more daring comic book reader on your list who may be looking for something a little less homongenous than what DC or Marvel are publishing these days, here’s a list of some fun comics that aren’t distributed through traditional means.

Of course, before we dive in, I need to remind you that you can still get great stuff from The Charlton Neo folks, whom we have plugged in previous years. Go check ’em out HERE.

The Charlton Arrow is one of the books that made me turn back to independent comics after years of not really paying enough attention. Growing up, while I was mainly a DC Comics guy, I loved finding cool, offbeat stuff like the Undergrounds, Star Reach, Atlas Comics, the original Charltons, Canada’s Comely Comics (which somehow wound up in Dunbar, West Virginia) and other cool independent stuff.

I was even lucky enough to find Steve Ditko’s Mr. A at Paperback Mart once. I love the variety of unbridled creativity when it’s not filtered through a corporate marketing machine.

That’s why I like telling my faithful readers about new independent comics, so you can get that rush of experiencing new stories told by new creators. Self-publishing and Kickstarter have been real game-changers over the past few years. Here’s some gems to get you started on your journey.

Atomic Pulp has some cool-looking comics out via Indy Planet. Space Crusaders looks like great old-school sci-fi fun, and head writer Christopher Mills has teamed up with some fantastic talents on books like Gravedigger. Check out his website HERE.

You may notice that Space Crusaders is reviving some classic characters, like Basil Wolverton’s Golden Age Spacehawk. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with this.

Just as The Charlton Neo folks used Facebook to revive the spirit of Charlton Comics, so to the folks at the InDellAble Facebook Group have managed to revive the spirit of Dell Comics, with titles such as Popular Comics and Tales From The Tomb. These are loads of fun, and you can order them from Amazon. Titles available now are All-New Popular Comics #1, All-New Popular Comics #2, All-New Popular Comics #3, Cartoon Cuties #1, Cartoon Cuties #2, Tales From the Tomb #1 and InDELLiprose.

This is some great old-school comic bookery here. It’s loads of fun.

You can join the Facebook Group HERE for info on their upcoming projects.

Alterna Comics can be order through Diamond by any comic shop, and you can find them at Books a Million and other outlets, but I’m including them here because their comics have a wild spirit of funkiness behind them, and they’re cheap and printed on newsprint.

Finding Alterna Comics on a newstand is like, back in the day, when you’d go to get your DC and Marvel fix, and find Atlas Comics on the racks.

You can find out more about Alterna Comics by visiting their website.

That’s it for this gift suggestion. There is an entire world of indie comics out there, and in the coming year, with your PopCulteer’s eyes settling down a bit, I hope to tell you about many more of them.