A city of its own, Savannah is known for beautiful architecture, haunted buildings, and historical treasures as the first planned city in the United States. People travel from all over the world to visit.
Savannah is full of eclectic wonders from authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers and more.
Comic book creator Terry Drehmel and his wife Darleen are publishing the steeRANGE comic book here in Savannah, making a splash of intergalactic inked comedy genius.
Terry Drehmel created the first issues of steeRANGE between 1974 and 1975 using the Mimeograph process. For younger readers, the Mimeograph machine was an early process to make paper copies, using blue ink and giving a distinct odor from the process. The paper had to dry before you could use it.
"I’d been drawing the characters for a while and the stories got too long to be comic strips," Drehmel said. "I lived in rural Wisconsin, 10 miles from anywhere, so making my own comic book seemed to be the most logical answer."
Finding his muse from watching way too many Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons and reading MAD Magazine, as Drehmel described it, he decided to create his own comic book magazine.
"I thought, 'If those guys can do it, why not me?' I managed to pull it off and after the first issue was published, I was hooked," he said.
The steeRANGE comic book chronicles the comedic adventures and observations of an alien named "X", George Bell and Toast-2-Toast, Caffy Racer, and many more. The emphasis on observational humor and abject absurdity layer each issue, offering humor only obtainable for both high and low comedic levels. Drehmel's steeRANGE comics is funny for funny's sake.
"Comedy’s tough. Not everything is funny, but most things are absurd," said Drehmel. "I had a paying gig writing a comedy page for a motorcycle magazine in the 1980s and 90s and it helped develop my skills. When I found out the High Art world had the Absurdist Movement, it only made sense that an Absurdist could be a cartoonist. My favorite ideas come from the sciences, they can get pretty absurd."
Drehmel attributes his success of publishing steeRANGE comics to his wife Darleen.
"The publishing process is the serious part, we’ve learned as we go. My wife, Darleen, is the publisher and proofreader. She’s the one who said 'Let’s make a comic book out of this!' and here we are at Issue 12. Publishing each issue is like finishing any big project, there’s the relief part – followed by the 'Who’s Next' part because there’s always stuff that didn’t fit in the latest issue. Basically, I’m thinking about the next issue as we are pounding the staples in the latest one."
Previous issues of steeRANGE comics featured fun gimmicks like the old comic books used to offer.
"We’ve featured Particle Accelerator Collector Cards and a full-color 3D poster," said Drehmel. "So who knows what’s next but it’ll be fun finding out. Our website is currently a catalog, but that may change too. I’m not too big with online presence, I prefer the physical."
Drehmel encourages other creators who want to make comic books to go for it.
"To everyone I say -- don’t be afraid to express yourself, but don’t be mean either. Be prepared for critics but remember they’re just rubbing their legs together, that’s what they do."
steeRANGE is sold exclusively in Savannah at Planet Fun, E. Shaver, Booksellers, Graveface Records, and Neighborhood Comics.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Terry and Darleen Drehmel love making Savannah a little 'steeRANGE' with their comic books
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