"Blaster" Al Ackerman (1939—2013) was the author of the Ling Master stories on which the Ling Master comics are based. Most of his work has been published in the small and "marginal" (ultra-small) press.

A fixture of the underground scene in various U.S. cities for nearly four decades, he has influenced avant-garde artists ranging from Istvan "Monty Cantsin" Kantor to Throbbing Gristle. His work has inspired filmmakers such as Steve "Sleaze" Steele and Chet Pancake. He has been described as "America's Cervantes" and "the Yogi Berra of the Twilight Zone."

Blaster was also a friend of and sometime collaborator with/satirizer of poet John M. Bennett (who is obliquely referred to in "The Squid Boys of Terre Haute") and the late "Vernacular Writer" Jack Saunders (cast as the antihero of "'I, The Stallion!'").

Drowned Town Press is honored to have known and worked with him.

Works

• Blaster: The Blaster Al Ackerman Omnibus, available by mail order from its publisher Feh! Press, Quebec, as well as from Normal's Books in Baltimore.
• I Taught My Dog to Shoot a Gun, from Popular Reality Press. Write Jason Rodgers, P. O. Box 10894, Albany, NY 12201.
• Corn and Smoke, available from Shattered Wig Press, Baltimore
• Misto Peas: Tiny Special Stories, available from Luna Bisonte Prods, Columbus, OH
• I Am Drunk, an audio recording of readings and performances by Blaster, available as MP3 from Ehse Records.
• Blaster Al Ackerman, The Complete Works from Lost & Found Times 1979--2005

Articles, Interviews, & More

• Obituary in Baltimore's What Weekly
• A collection of obituaries and article reprints about Blaster
• Ruud Jansen's Mail Interview with Al (Blaster) Ackerman, 1996
• tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE's review of Misto Peas
• John Held, Jr.'s interview with Blaster, from a few decades ago
• Video of Blaster reading at Normal's Red Room. Yes, that is a bar of soap still in the wrapper.
• Wayne Nelsen's animation/video compilation "This Will Explain" excerpting Blaster's drawings, letters, and writings, as well as reminiscences of colleagues

Comics adaptations of the Ling Master stories by Drowned Town Press artist E. J. Barnes

Drowned Town Press is pleased and honored to work with Blaster on the authorized comics adaptations of the Ling Master stories.

• Blaster Al Ackerman's Tales of the Ling Master #1 (PDF download only)
• Blaster Al Ackerman's Tales of the Ling Master #2 (PDF download only)
• Blaster Al Ackerman's Tales of the Ling Master #3 (Out of Print)
• The Complete Ling Cycle (No longer available)
• "2,976 Vienna Sausages" (Only at itch.io)