At long last! I’ve put together a hardcover edition of my BugHouse comics, and I’m making it available direct to readers before it ships to the book trade & comic shops this summer.
Signed copies can be had at $45 PPD, with payment via Venmo (@Steven-Lafler) or Paypal (steve.lafler@gmail.com) – Just be sure to zip me an email with your address too, so you actually get your book!
A paperback version of BugHouse From the Top: The Complete BugHouse is available at Amazon for $34. Bear in mind that it will be an unsigned copy, and can ship as of official publication date in July.
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Meanwhile, I’ve put together a sneak peek of BugHouse if you like to preview the book. Drop me an email with the phrase “Ebook BugHouse #3 Please” and I’ll send you a complimentary digital copy PDF of BugHouse issue #3 from summer 1995.
Here’s a short synopsis of the story:
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.
I was browsing graphic novels at City Lights Books in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood not too long ago. This enlightened establishment had about the finest collection of graphic novels I’ve ever seen, A wide range of classic and new works, many of them lushly designed hardcovers from Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly and First Second among other publishers. In my mind’s eye I saw a BugHouse hardcover edition on the shelf here, where it belongs. So here it is, you get first crack at it (I still need to drop in on City Lights and present my case to them!)
The plan is to ship BugHouse From the Top: The Complete BugHouse to comic shops and the book trade for summer 2022.
In 2012, CO2 Comics put out a beautiful Hardcover of the complete BugHouse, but it was a Print on Demand title only; the step forward here is to make it available to the comic distributors and the book trade.
Don’t forget to check out the Cat-Head Comics catalog of graphic novels!
Praise for BugHouse:
“I’m going to recommend a graphic novel that is great because it is good, solid and delivers in spades what I most enjoy in a comic book; a comfortable mastery of the form, fun, surprises, a story I can get into and a light touch. In short its the kind of book you can flop down on the couch with of an afternoon, lie back and enjoy.”
–Jim Woodring, commenting on BugHouse for Boing Boing
“I love BugHouse. I’m fond of the little bug-creatures that inhabit it. With his masterful storytelling, Steve Lafler has created an alternate universe. His characters are not particularly cute (well, some of them are), but one can easily emphasize with their meaty human struggles with addiction, love, power, greed, and lust. Check it out!”
-Phoebe Gloeckner, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
“Many years ago, when I was drawing in gramma and grandpa’s living room on Cape Cod, Uncle Steve asked me if I wanted to see his new cartoon character. He borrowed my blue marker and drew Jimmy Watts holding a saxophone—and the excitement I felt back then as a boy is renewed today at the news of a Complete BugHouse book.”
-Dan Bandit aka GHOSTSHRIMP created and designed the world for Adventure Time
HEY THERE! Just now, you can order the Forty Hour Man graphic novel for $20 via paypal (steve.lafler@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Steven-Lafler). This is the re-issue of the classic 2006 book by writer Stephen Beaupre, with art by myself.
Retailers can order the book from Ingram, ISBN: 978-1-7341087-8-1
Here is all you need to know about this wonderful book with the universal theme of Shitty Jobs:
Forty Hour Man from Cat Head Comics by Stephen Beaupre with art by Steve Lafler
Author Stephen Beaupre has curated a Forty Hour Man Spotify Playlist to celebrate his hilarious book on the plight of the working stiff.
Title: Forty Hour Man (Stephen Beaupre, writer. Steve Lafler, artist.)
Format: Trade Paper 6″x9″, 248 pages. Color covers, matte finish, B&W interior
Retail: $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-7341087-8-1 The new edition of the 2006 book.
Is it a career, or a series of really lame jobs? Stephen Beaupre (author) and Steve Lafler (cartoonist) pose this timeless question in Forty Hour Man, a hilarious saga of one working stiff’s three-decade journey into the minimum wage heart of the American Dream. It’s all here – from scrubbing a steakhouse floor with a toothbrush to going bust in the Internet boom. Every bad boss. Every crazy co-worker. All the more shocking because it’s true!
Stephen Beaupre discusses Forty Hour Man and his playlist for the book:
“Welcome to the Great Resignation. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in record numbers are quitting their jobs, lining up to punch out with gusto one last time. Yes, karma seems to be finally catching up with bad bosses and toxic workplaces.
Now that the grand awakening has awakened, this is the perfect time to re-unleash 40 Hour Man — a memoir-esque jam session with maestro Steve Lafler chronicling all of my ridiculous jobs and suspect life choices spanning three decades. All shocking. All true.
Sure, some people go to the best school, major in business, graduate with honors, buy a business blue button-down and never look back. Not me. I chose a different path. OK, not really a path. More of a blindfolded stagger into the waiting arms of the siren Whatever.
Still, a life of only left turns doesn’t mean you’re not getting anywhere. Like the embroidery on countless inspirational throw pillows, it’s the journey that matters. And my history of bouncing like a pinball from one odd choice to the next has been punctuated with bliss.
One bliss-like moment was collaborating with Steve Lafler on this book. Steve and I have been friends for over 30 years and he was never far from these stories, oftentimes even driving the getaway car. So having him as a copilot on this ride, adding his sympatico visual punch to the plotline, was perfect. It turns out this is why I washed dishes in a cowboy uniform.
Now pour yourself a tall one and turn up this oven-fresh 40 Hour Man playlist.”
– Stephen Beaupre
Contact: Steve Lafler
CAT HEAD COMICS CATALOG yeah click here to buy some strange & wonderful graphic novels
Unusual Graphic novels by Steve Lafler, who has maintained his status as a loose cannon on the deck of Alt/Underground comics movement for decades.
1956 Movie Star
This “what if” take on mid-century Manhattan is the jolly conceit of cartoonist Steve Lafler in 1956 Movie Star—enjoy as you lean into that transcendent Coltrane solo over a martini just past midnight in New York City, smack in the center of 1956. 72 pages, trade paper, $12.99 at Amazon.
1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona
This graphic novella delivers readers to the bright lights and glamor of Manhattan in 1956 with Jack, Susie and Ramona. They cut deals in the Garment District by day and haunt the legendary Jazz Clubs of 52nd St. by night. 54 pages, trade paper, $9.95 at Amazon.
Death Plays a Mean Harmonica
Gertie and Rex get a wild hair and relocate to Oaxaca! Upon arrival in this cultural hub of southern Mexico, our intrepid migrants meet Eduardo, the crafty 1000-year-old Zapotec vampire who prefers chicken blood, El Rey Pelón (the skinny pot-bellied fungus who drives a taxi) and of course Death, who plays a mean harmonica. 144 pages, trade paper, $12.99 at Amazon.
Forty Hour Man
Is it a career, or a series of unforgiving yet hilarious jobs? Stephen Beaupre (author) and Steve Lafler (cartoonist) pose this timeless question in Forty Hour Man, a hilarious saga of one working stiff’s three-decade journey into the minimum wage heart of the American Dream.
$20 venmo @steven-lafler please include your address and the words “Forty Hour Man” / 248 pages, trade paper.
BugHouse Book One
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”. 192 pages, trade paper, $15.99 at Amazon.
BugHouse from the Top: The Complete BugHouse
The 406-page BugHouse trade paperback compilation, includes all three volumes of the BugHouse graphic novel trilogy. $34.00 at Amazon (orders begin shipping July 2022, the official publication date.)
Doggie Style: The Complete Dog Boy
Imagine, if you will, a young man with a penchant for strong coffee, cheap beer and blotter acid (not necessarily in that order) who happens to be outfitted with a big fuzzy Golden Retriever head. This irascible “Dog Boy” is given to bursts of enthusiasm—we find him expounding on everything from socialism to earth-shattering transcendent epiphanies. Well, sometimes we just find him stealing cars. 488 page oversize paperback collecting Lafler’s pioneering improvisational comics of the 1980s. $39.99 at Lulu.com
El Vocho: Love at the Twilight of Oil
Rosa the Latina hottie inventor and Eddie the geek artist meet in a fender bender. Tempers flare but sparks fly and they fall in love. Working together, they create the perfect clean energy motor while being tracked by goons working for big oil. 100 pages, trade paper, $12.00 at Lulu.com
Cat Suit: Comics Stories by Steve Lafler
Steve Lafler collects a pair of graphic novellas in Cat Suit, tracking edgy romances-we get hot cars, cute dresses, and snappy reparté. 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. 144 pages, hardcover, $31.99 from Amazon
Steve Lafler Interview at The Comics Journal published October 2021.
I’m stunned and delighted to report that I made two “Best Graphic Novel” lists for 2021–with two different titles! Ryan Carey’s Four Color Apocalypse names “Death Plays a Mean Harmonica” as #5 on the year, while Henry Chamberlain at Comics Grinder taps “1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona” for his Best of 2021 list.
Thanks for dropping by! I personally guarantee these are goddamn weird & wonderful graphic novels. Click on my name below if you’d like to zip me an email.
Contents ©2022 Steve Lafler and Cat Head Comics, all rights reserved.
I’ve launched 1956 Movie Star, my new graphic novella with a successful Kickstarter project, raising $2948 towards the production of the book.
Those who missed the Kickstarter can order the book directly from me via email. Just send your address and indicate if you prefer to pay via Paypal or Venmo. The price of $18 gets you a signed book with an original sketch on the title page.
1956 Movie Star is also available at Amazon.
The story builds on last year’s 1956 Book One narrative—Enter Ramona Lopez and Nikki Garcia, brimming with talent and intent to quit the streets. The two young women are keen to embrace their cultural ambitions. Can Nikki get her novel published? Will Ramona break through to a modeling career?
And of course, here’s Jack Rolfe and Susie Ferrari vying for the promotion to “Chief Buyer” at the McCurdy’s chain of department stores. Can these fashion industry avatars help Ramona & Nikki? More to the point, can Jack and Susie resist jumping into bed together?
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1956 Movie Star represents a new stylistic twist in my cartoon work and I’m thrilled to make it available to you.
Comic retailers will be able to order the book from Diamond Comic Distributors in the January Diamond Previews catalog for items shipping in March 2022.
Warm regards,
Steve Lafler
Greetings! I’ve been messing around with cover ideas for my upcoming graphic novella Movie Star 1956. This is what I’ve got so far, below. OK, I like it. Maybe I’ll add some color to the line art here. I’ll come up with a couple more ideas, trusting the muse to stick a some engaging images in my head.
I’m excited about Movie Star 1956, this title marks a new approach to my graphic storytelling. I’ve employed a lot of research and reference in creating the look of Manhattan in 1956, much more than in the past. I’m hardly going “realistic” as my drawings retain a sort of rubbery cartoon realism. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed capturing the look and feel of a particular time and place in mid-20th century New York City.
I’m a month out from starting a Kickstarter campaign to launch the book (running from Oct. 11 through Halloween.) I’ll be inviting you to order the book via the campaign, and will be offering some nicely priced original artwork, as well as a key title from my back-catalog, the hilarious 40 Hour Man (with writer Stephen Beaupre.)
Best to ya,
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Howdy! I’ve been posting about the three graphic novels I’ve published as trade paperbacks this year, but there’s more to the story. In the ’80s and ’90s, I produced more than 500 pages of Dog Boy comics. I’ve collected most of the work in a 488-page volume called Doggie Style: The Complete Dog Boy.
I’m not ready to throw this large beast into the book trade just now, but don’t fret! IT is available as an oversize 8″x11″ art book from my Lulu store for $39.99.
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The three titles I’ve shipped into the trade this year (1956 Book One, BugHouse and Death Plays a Mean Harmonica) can be seen at this link.
“Steve Lafler’s comics will have you keeling over backwards with laughter.” – Peter Bagge, Hate comics
I love BugHouse. I’m fond of the little bug-creatures that inhabit it. With his masterful storytelling, Steve Lafler has created an alternate universe. His characters are not particularly cute (well, some of them are), but one can easily emphasize with their meaty human struggles with addiction, love, power, greed, and lust. Check it out! -Phoebe Gloeckner, A Child’s Life
Meanwhile, a RANDOM BONUS! You can check out my band Radio Insecto here for free downloads.
Death Plays a Mean Harmonica, Steve Lafler’s graphic novel tribute to Oaxaca, Mexico, hits stores this August.
Gertie and Rex get a wild hair and relocate to Oaxaca! Upon arrival in this cultural hub of southern Mexico, our intrepid migrants meet Eduardo, the crafty 1000-year-old Zapotec vampire who prefers chicken blood, El Rey Pelón (the skinny pot-bellied fungus who drives a taxi) and of course Death, who plays a mean harmonica.
But why Oaxaca? What are our intrepid migrants running from? Turns out Rex is plunged into a newfound fear of mortality at age 50, while Gertie is bored with her writing career and harbors a secret ambition to become a Lucha Libre wrestler.
Cartoonist Lafler combines slippery optimism with a deep suspicion that time does not exist. A view of life, death and everything in between is encoded in brush strokes executed in magic black ink.
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First released in 2018 in a limited edition of 100 with a screenprinted cover signed by the artist, this is the first trade book edition of Death Plays a Mean Harmonica. The book is available now at Amazon, and will be in Alt/indy friendly comic book shops in August.
Order Death Plays a Mean Harmonica from Amazon for $12.99
“It’s pitch-perfect, a veritable clinic on how to draw the eye into scenes where most of the drama comes by way of interpersonal communication rather than dull fisticuffs, chases on foot or by car, etc. When you look at Lafler’s characters talking, you instantly want to know what they’re talking about.”
-Ryan Carey, Four Color Apocalypse
Ever the maverick marching to his own beat, Lafler enjoyed long runs of his improvised Dog Boy comic books as well as the jaunty, unhinged Buzzard anthology. From there the self-styled maestro settled into the BugHouse trilogy of graphic novels, a history of Bebop jazz realized with an all-insect cast.
Subsequently, the artist decamped to Oaxaca, Mexico with his family for a decade. There, he started a country punk band with locals, Radio Insecto.
Death Plays a Mean Harmonica is the artist’s fictional report on the sublime city of Oaxaca.
Death Plays a Mean Harmonica by Steve Lafler / GN for August Shipping
ISBN: 9780976969075
Publication Date: August 2021
$12.99 US
146 pages
Diamond Comics Item Code: JUN211410
Also Available: Amazon, Ingram Content Group
Also available, two more dazzling graphic novels from Steve Lafler
1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona
Notorious alt comix legend Steve Lafler delivers readers to the bright lights and glamor of Manhattan in 1956 with Jack, Susie and Ramona. In the new GN 1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet little Ramona, they cut deals in the Garment District by day and haunt the legendary Jazz Clubs of 52nd St. by night.
Order 1956 Book One at Amazon for $9.95
BugHouse Book One
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, novelist Dawn Powell and Beat avatar William Burroughs, cartoonist Steve Lafler delivers his indigo-tinged masterwork graphic novel, BugHouse.
Order BugHouse Book One at Amazon for $15.99
Coming for Fall 2021: 1956 Book Two: Movie Star
I’m delighted to announce that my BugHouse graphic novel is back in print on my Cat Head Comics imprint! It was first released by Top Shelf in June, 2000.
You can get a copy at Amazon, or ask your comic retailer to order from Diamond Comic Distributors.
For those new to this title, here’s a synopsis:
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.
BugHouse is available now from Amazon for $15.99 (or $2.99 Kindle)
The book is also available to the book trade from Ingram Content Group ISBN # 9781734108736
“This is a comic that transports you to a very singular and spectacularly-realized place and time and holds you fast to the point where you quite literally don’t want to leave. I felt absolutely privileged to pay a return visit to Lafler’s world, and envious of those who will be having the pleasure of experiencing it for the first time. Now more than ever, this stands out as one more the most purely enjoyable comics that I’ve ever read in my life.”
“A Loose Cannon on the Deck of Alt/Indy Comix since the Dawn of Civilization”
I’m super pumped to have my key graphic novels available for your reading pleasure and general edification! Here you’ll find four key graphic novel titles: Death Plays a Mean Harmonica, BugHouse, 1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona and Doggie Style: The Complete Dog Boy.
Scroll down for covers, synopsis and ordering info for each title.
Retailers can order 1956 Book One from Diamond Comic Distributors.
Gertie and Rex get a wild hair and relocate to Oaxaca! Upon arrival in this cultural hub of southern Mexico, our intrepid migrants meet Eduardo, the crafty 1000-year-old Zapotec vampire who prefers chicken blood, El Rey Pelón (the skinny pot-bellied fungus who drives a taxi) and of course Death, who plays a mean harmonica.
Death Plays A Mean Harmonica ISBN 978-0-9769690-7-5
Buy at Amazon for $12.99 ebook $2.99, or Venmo me @Steven-Lafler and be sure to tell me your address!
Retailers and libraries can order at Ingram Content Group
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.
BugHouse: Book One Buy at Amazon for $15.99 / ebook $2.99 ISBN 978-1-7341087-3-6
Retailers and libraries can order at Ingram Content Group.
Notorious alt comix legend Steve Lafler delivers readers to the bright lights and glamor of Manhattan in 1956 with Jack, Susie and Ramona. In the graphic novela 1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet little Ramona, they cut deals in the Garment District by day and haunt the legendary Jazz Clubs of 52nd St. by night.
Buy at Amazon for $9.95 (ebook $2.99) ISBN 978-1-7341087-2-9 Retailers and libraries can order at Ingram Content Group.
DIAMOND COMIC ORDER CODE APR211576
Imagine, if you will, a young man with a penchant for strong coffee, cheap beer and blotter acid (not necessarily in that order) who happens to be outfitted with a big fuzzy Golden Retriever head. This irascible “Dog Boy” is given to bursts of enthusiasm—we find him expounding on everything from socialism to earth-shattering transcendent epiphanies. Well, sometimes we just find him stealing cars.
Bookstores and libraries can order email Steve for discount information on Doggie Style; this title is pending for distribution through other channels.
Doggie Style: The Complete Dog Boy Buy for $39.99 at Lulu ISBN 978-1-7341087-1-2
Death Plays a Mean Harmonica, BugHouse and 1956 Book One are all slated for release in Spring/Summer 2021 via Ingram Advance catalog in the trade paperback format–so tell your local indy bookstore, library or comic shop to order big!
Diamond Comic Distributors are also on board with these three titles, look for this Cat Head Comics lineup to be listed in Diamond’s Previews catalog in April, May and June!
Individual and wholesale orders can also be placed with Birdcage Bottom Books.
As for the Doggie Style: Complete Dog Boy, at present it’s currently available via online order. Dog Boy chronicles my enthused wild ride through the 1980s and a young man full of his dreams (well, along with the beer and LSD!) While I consider the eighties my “developmental” decade, I highly recommend this near 500-page volume as a joyful, entertaining inquisition into the meaning of it all!
And yes, you can order direct from me by sending $ via Venmo: @Steven-Lafler
Just tell me which books you want and send me your mailing address!
Meanwhile I’m chained to the drawing board working on the next installment of 1956–and I have more of my back catalog titles scheduled for release before the year is out!
Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it!
Steve Lafler
click here to email steve
(Send me your email to join my list to be notified when my next graphic novel appears!)
Notorious alt/indy comix legend Steve Lafler (BugHouse, Dog Boy, Buzzard) returns with a new graphic novela, 1956 Book One: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona. on the Cat-Head Comics imprint.
The book is avaiable at Amazon in print or ebook format.
This is 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.
The above panel features John Coltrane, who makes a cameo appearance on the bandstand in the 1956 book.
Here’s the cover art from 1956: Sweet Sweet Little Ramona…
Here are a few pages from the book:
Along with 1956, I have many great backlist graphic novels for sale. Score my 2019 title Lucha Bruja at Amazon, and at my Lulu Artist Page You can order BugHouse, Dog Boy and Cat Suit, along with other titles.
Here are a few fellow artists who have weighed in on my work:
“I’m going to recommend a graphic novel that is great because it is good, solid and delivers in spades what I most enjoy in a comic book; a comfortable mastery of the form, fun, surprises, a story I can get into and a light touch. In short its the kind of book you can flop down on the couch with of an afternoon, lie back and enjoy.”
-Jim Woodring, Frank (Commenting on BugHouse at Boing Boing)
“I love BugHouse. I’m fond of the little bug-creatures that inhabit it. With his masterful storytelling, Steve Lafler has created an alternate universe. His characters are not particularly cute (well, some of them are), but one can easily emphasize with their meaty human struggles with addiction, love, power, greed, and lust. Check it out!” -Phoebe Gloeckner, A Child’s Life
“Stop! Stop! My sides are aching! You’re driving me to Buggyland with this stuff!” -Lux Interior, The Cramps
Thanks for your support — it is hugely appreciated!
Steve Lafler
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Steve Lafler Comics & Illustration 