For the third issue of Detritus, a Bangor-based art and literary publication, editor and artist Chris Peary looked well beyond the borders of the state to fill its pages.
Detritus, which presently comes out on a yearly basis, this year features an array of essays, poems, visual art and comics from both contributors and from Peary himself. The first 200 issues feature hand silkscreened covers, also created by Peary.
“[Detritus] originally was intended just for my own comics,” said Peary, a native of the Aroostook County town of Washburn and a University of Maine graduate. “Believe it or not, as an artist in Bangor, Maine, it’s easy to feel isolated … So as it progressed, it became a way to get some sort of dialogue going between other artists and writers that I knew.”
The magazine contains a little bit of a lot of things, drawing on a number of different publishing methods, from higher-end literary quarterlies to art publications to comic books to ’zines — small scale, DIY publications. Peary, in addition to drawing and writing the poignant, drily humorous comics contained within the magazine, is also a visual artist whose work has been displayed at the University of Maine, the Bangor Public Library and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport.
“I’m still trying to figure out what Detritus is. It doesn’t fit neatly into any category that I’m familiar with. It’s not solely a comic book; it’s not a literary magazine; the closest thing I can compare it to is a ‘zine,’ although it doesn’t really fit that description either, due to its more polished production values,” said Peary.
In addition to contributors including writers Dana Wilde and Eryk Salvaggio, artist Adam Lacher and comic artist Amy Gagnon, all of whom have contributed before, Detritus issue three features photography from Todd Heller and art from graphic designer Megan Lynn Kott, both residents of Oakland, California. Peary’s girlfriend, Laura Supica, herself a former resident of Oakland, helped to coordinate their work and its appearance in the magazine.
Val Mayerik, an acclaimed comic artist known for his work with Marvel Comics and independent comic “American Splendor,” and as co-creator of Howard the Duck, has a two-page comic titled “Tales of the Enemy” featured in the issue.
Closer to home, Bangor native Sarah Farnham has contributed poetry, and Bangor violin maker Nathan Slobodkin contributed an essay about a decades-long, rather odd friendship.
Peary hopes that Detritus can continue on as a yearly publication. He’d like to increase it to twice yearly, but as the sole driving force behind the magazine, that might be a tall order.
“I find that once a year is plenty of work … it’s quite an undertaking,” said Peary. “But I’d like to figure out, somehow, how to do that.”
Detritus can be purchased locally at The Rock & Art Shop on Central Street in Bangor, and online at detrituspress.com. Back issues are also available at places including Bookstacks in Bucksport, The Store Ampersand in Orono and Longfellow Books in Portland.
