Zero Zero (comic)

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Cover of Zero Zero #12 (September/October 1996), drawn by Max Andersson
Cover of Zero Zero #12 (September/October 1996), drawn by Max Andersson

Zero Zero is an alternative comics anthology that was published by Fantagraphics Books from 1995 to 2000. It was notable among comics anthologies for the number of serialized works that appeared in its pages, including Richard Sala's "The Chuckling Whatsit", Dave Cooper's "Crumple", Mack White's "Homunculus", Kaz and Timothy Georgarakis's "Meat Box", and Kim Deitch's "The Strange Secret of Molly O'Dare" and "The Search for Smilin' Ed".

Zero Zero was published in a typical 6 1/2" x 9 3/4" comic book format. Issues ranged between 40 and 64 pages in length, printed mostly in black-and-white with a color cover but occasionally including sections printed in one or two colors, notably a series of stories by Al Columbia. Zero Zero's release schedule was irregular, fluctuating between bimonthly and quarterly intervals over the course of its run. A total of 27 issues were released.

The back cover of each issue of Zero Zero featured a captioned illustration depicting a numbered "Sign of the Impending Apocalypse", implying that the anthology's title is an oblique reference to the coming millennium. For the final issue this feature was replaced with an Al Columbia strip depicting the demise of an experimental subject named "Cheapy the Guinea Pig," which can be taken as a metaphor for the end of Zero Zero itself.

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