Frequently Asked Questions

What is Death By Music?

A minicomic/zine about music, clubbing, goths, grungers and other mopey, suicidal shit. It contains a four page comic, music reviews from local DJs and back covers by guest artists.

And it's completely free.

 

Where Can I Get A Copy?

Selected goth nightclubs, alternative record stores and the occasional comic book shop in Melbourne, Australia. Exactly which nightclubs and record stores depends on which ones I make it to after I print up the latest issue. Good places to try are:

Abyss Nightclub: 1st Friday of every month @ the HiFi bar.
Blue Velvet Bar & Nightclub: 60 Smith St Collingwood.
Peril Underground: 17 Elizabeth St, Melbourne.
Heartland Records: 61 Peel St West Melbourne.
Missing Link: 262 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

If you can't find DBM there then e-mail me at davidw@gothic.net.au and I'll try to get some copies to you.

IMPORTANT: If you e-mail me, include the words DEATH BY MUSIC in the Subject field. Otherwise I might delete your mail along with all my spam.

 

How Often Does DBM Come Out?

Infrequently.

It can be anything from a few months to over a year between issues. The best way to know when an issue is coming out is to send an e-mail to davidw@gothic.net.au , include the words DEATH BY MUSIC in the subject field, and I'll let you know.

 

What's the History Behind DBM?

In early 2000, I started drawing a 16-page minicomic about a goth/electro band.

I gave up on it pretty quickly.

Most minicomics linger unread at the back of weird book stores. It felt like too much time, money and effort to produce something maybe ten people would read.

A few months later, I designed a three-fold CD cover for a friend. And I thought: this would make a great format for a minicomic. Three pages, so it's quick to draw. And so cheap to print I could hand it out for free.

It made perfect sense: a comic about music, given away in nightclubs and record stores. You hit the target audience head on, and it's a great way to chat up girls.

I called it Blisters Of Mercy, printed about 150 copies, and gave them away. Enough people liked it for me to do more.

But first I made some changes.

I scrapped the 3-fold CD-cover size. It was just too much work to cut out. The new layout is half an A3 sheet, cut lengthwise.

I know quite a few DJs, so I got them to review music for me. And I know quite a few artists, so I got them to do back covers. Now more people have a stake in the comic.

And I changed the name to Death By Music. It gives a better idea of what the comic is about.

Another year passed before I finally got DBM up on the web.

And now my friends are ripping off my idea. Keep an eye out for PSI, by Jason Badower and JAn.

 

David W.