WHAT IS APPLESAUCE? APPLESAUCE is a bimonthly (twice quarterly) publication that features comics from up and coming talent as well as some of the best cartoonists in alternative press today. It is published in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and is distributed to coffeehouses, head shops, comics stores, tattoo parlors, and other venues in many cities in the continental United States and abroad. APPLESAUCE's true origins trace back to the fall of 1994 when then college students Omar Rodriguez and Cayetano "Cat" Garza decided to produce a zine wherein they could publish their disdain for their university's blatant disregard for its students. Full of piss and vinegar, Omar and Cat printed the very first APPLESAUCE (which was at that time a full page, front and back, xeroxed) under assumed names. The zine was a great hit with the student body, tired of the flacid student publication's weekly offerings. APPLESAUCE continued to be printed monthly for the next year and a half, increasing in size and page count. The publication sponsored art exhibits, poetry readings, and concerts during the time of its publication and was supported by ad money from area merchants. Omar and Cat put APPLESAUCE to rest in '96 when Cat graduated and Omar turned his full attention toward his band Suicide Tuesday. Time passed and the boys got the itch to publish a zine again, this time with the help of the university's art department in 1998, which agreed to fund the publication as long as department news and happenings were included in the content. There was only one issue of this version of APPLESAUCE.. By the time San Diego Comicon 2001 came along, APPLESAUCE was a long distant and fond memory for Cat. While at the Con, Cat got the dubious honor of sitting next to personal hero and Heavy Metal alum RICK GEARY. Cat soon devised a plan to put together a publication that would allow him to not only spotlight new comics talent, but one that would highlight many if not most of his favorite cartoonists. At least those that would agree to be a part of it, if nothing else. Response was overwhelming, with MOST of the initial invitees sending multiple submissions to the new zine. Money was tight, however, and APPLESAUCE went on the shelf while Cat scrambled to find advertising revenue to sponsor the publication. Finding none, he decided to publish the first issue himself. Asking Omar's permission, he chose to use the name APPLESAUCE, since its inception is very reminiscent of those early days when the publication was on a shoestring budget, but full of quality content and vigor. click on the apple to return to the main page