Apartment Varmint

    (Rent Controlled, 2005)

Apartment Varmint, published by Rent Controlled, was a quirky anthology comic that gathered contributions from a range of underground and alternative creators. Presented in a digest‑sized black‑and‑white format, the book featured short stories and strips with titles like Hyper Toast, GFY, The Solar Event, Libertad, Family Album, Sweet Shop Shenanigans, and Semesters. Writers and artists such as Justin DeCarlo, Jesse Reklaw, Shelli Paroline, Matt Leunig, Justin Hall, Geoff Vasile, and David Enos brought their own distinct voices, resulting in a patchwork of experimental storytelling and offbeat humor.

The anthology’s strength lay in its diversity: each piece reflected the playful, irreverent spirit of early‑2000s indie comics, often blending slice‑of‑life absurdity with surreal or satirical elements. Apartment Varmint captured the ethos of small‑press publishing at the time, offering a platform for emerging cartoonists to showcase unconventional narratives outside mainstream comics. Its eclectic mix of styles and tones made it both a snapshot of the underground scene and a testament to the creative freedom afforded by independent publishing.
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