I have a hard time writing introductions, but felt a good way to start this blog is to explain why I started Overglued.  I have a passion for zines, indie comics, and other small press publications.  I find that self published works and those published by small to medium sized companies tend to have more originality and more character than books and comics published by media conglomerates.  Don’t get me wrong, a lot of great books are published by major publishers, and one of my favorite graphic novels of all time (Y: The Last Man) is published by one of the “big 2″ comic book companies.  While I may occasionally talk about something more mainstream, my focus for Overglued is going to be on small press and self published books, zines, comics, etc… My goal is to promote zines and indie comics in hopes to get more people interested in these under-appreciated forms of media.

A little about myself: My name is Derek Neuland and I am 28 years old.  I was born in Buffalo, NY but moved to Portland, OR a little over a year ago.  I have been reading comics since I was a kid.  I was a big fan of X-Men growing up, but in the mid 90′s I discovered the world of indie comics through Too Much Coffee Man, Milk & Cheese, Hate, and Flaming Carrot.  I haven’t look back since.  I also bought my first zine around this time (1995).  It was a copy of Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll with Manic Hispanic on the cover (I’m not a fan of the band, I just remember that vividly.  I made my first zine in 1998, and have been making zines ever since.  I am also an organizer for the Portland Zine Symposium

I hope you enjoy the blog and get something out of it.  If there’s anything you’d like to see on Overglued (or not see for that matter), don’t be afraid to comment.  I love getting feedback and other people’s input.