Minimum Wage started with an 84-page original graphic novel published by Fantagraphics in July 1995. Minimum Wagevolume 2, the series, was published from Oct. 1995–Jan. 1999 and lasted for ten issues. The series was collected as Minimum Wage Book One and Minimum Wage Book Two: Tales of Hoffman. The entire series was extensively reworked and collected in 2002 by Fantagraphics as the graphic novelBeg the Question. The whole thing was later collected in 2013 as an oversized hardcover by Image Comics, Maximum Minimum Wage. This edition included a lot of new extra material, including the script for the unreleased eleventh issue of the series. Following the release of Maximum Minimum Wage, Fingerman began work on a new six-issue series, published by Image, which was collected as a trade paperback titled Focus On The Strange. After this, Fingerman released a second six-issue series through Image, titled Minimum Wage: So Many Bad Decisions, which was collected into a trade paperback of the same name. In the letters pages of the new Minimum Wagecomics, Fingerman confirmed that he would like to continue into a third series, but that this would be dependent on sales.
Plot
The original Minimum Wage series follows the two main characters, Rob Hoffman, a neurotic freelance cartoonist and illustrator, and his girlfriend Sylvia Fanucci, who manages a beauty salon but has higher ambitions. The cast is rounded out with their friends, who include Rob's friends Jack, Max, and Matt; Sylvia's former girlfriend Maddie; Elvis, who publishes a sex-themed alternative newspaper; and other colorful characters. Issues addressed in the first series include the struggles of getting by in New York City on a limited income, the stresses money put on relationships, abortion, and the prospect of "settling down." The third volume begins three years later in Rob's life, as he has returned home to live in his mother's apartment and is looking for love all over again.
Reception
Critically, Minimum Wage has consistently been a success, and many other comic professionals have confirmed that they are fans of the series. Minimum Wagebook 2: Tales of Hoffman won the 1998 Firecracker Alternative Book Award In 2003, Beg the Question was nominated for both an Ignatz Award and two Eisner Awards.
