Happy Times Comics and Stories

Historically Significant Flower Bouquets - Happy Times Issue 5.5

2009-09-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

5.4 x 3.8 x 1.5 cms, eight dollars.

An unorthodox addition into the Happy Times series, Historically Significant Flower Bouquets is a collection of thirty bouquets presented on cards (with a photographic representation on one side and an explanation of their significance on the other), packaged into a small matchbox. It acts as a sort of bridge between the narrative style of 'The Amateur Ornithologist' in Issue 5, and the theme of botany in the upcoming Issue 6.

Samples:

Review

2009-07-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when I sit behind the desk at Sticky, someone will walk in off the street with something so wonderful that my mind will be blown into a million pieces. But of course I play it cool, take ten copies, get them to sign the forms, put the zines out on the shelf, give them a little nod of appreciation, put on another cd (my box set of the complete Peel sessions by The Wedding Present is getting an in-store hammering at the mo) and generally do zine store business. Sometimes nine pieces of A4 paper, copied double sided with a cardboard cover can be so so so so good that I get a little flustered, surprised, bewildered, caught off guard, amazed, star-struck, honoured to be a part of history when this important piece of world art was brought to Sticky for the very first time. Such a thing happened this month. The zine is called “Happy Times, Comics and Stories #5”. The zine is made by Melbourne man/zine world hero Ilya Milstein and the boy is good. The boy is very very good. Ilya used to bring his comics into Sticky four or five years ago when he was just a fresh faced lad of fifteen. As Ilya says in the introduction to “Happy Times #5”, “If you are interested in finding any older issues of ‘Happy Times Comics And Stories’ it is best advised that these naive fruits of labour are left to rest”. But issue #5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my god this is a fine fine zine, a fully realised work of art that shows such maturity.

The zine features three stories. The first is titled “The Amateur Ornithologist” and features an old man talking about birds. The second is titled “Franklin Wecker And The Meaning Of Nudity (The Amateur Naturist) and features a middle aged man who discovers a new love in isolation. The third story is titled “Parisian Pierrot (The Amateur Detective) and is the jewel of the zine. Although all three stories get full marks from me it is Parisian Pierrot which really delivers. The story is just so big in its scope. My god, the whole zine is so grandly ambitious.

I know it’s only April but I am calling it already. “Happy Times Comics And Stories #5” is my zine of the year 2009. Copies are available from Sticky for the zine friendly price of $4 (we ordered 20 more copies yesterday) or you can get them from the boy genius himself by going to http://happytimescomics.blogspot.com/

(Thanks to Luke for the lovely words).

Issue Five

2009-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

34 pages, 21 x 14.8 cms, four dollars.

After a three year break comes a belated fifth issue of Happy Times. It is 'the Boring Issue'; the three stories are monologues delivered by lonely, fairly uninteresting men. One of the stories concerns an 89-year-old's lifelong interest in ornithology; another involves a middle-aged divorcee's monumental first-time experience with naturism. The other concerns a young man's obsessions with unidentified individuals in old family photographs. The comics are all dense with allusions to history and the arts. Evidently, there is undoubtedly something for everyone.

Available from
Bird in the Hand Zine Distro(Sydney, http://www.zines.bigcartel.com/product/happy-times
Corndog (London, http://corndog.co.uk/zine-distro/happy-times-p-512.html)
and at Sticky (in the Melbourne CBD subway, near Degraves St.).

Sample pages:

(from "Franklin Wecker and a Meaning of Nudity", a.k.a. 'The Amateur Naturist')

(from "Parisian Pierrot", a.k.a. 'The Amateur Detective')