New review today for the triumphant return of Sugar Booger (#4) by Kevin Scalzo! Also with the election season heating up, is this the end of reviews for awhile? I sure hope not, and I’m going to try to sneak them in when I can, but we’ll see how it goes. I do want to mention that there’s a new issue of So Buttons out by Jonathan Baylis, which I’ll get to soon, but I’m mentioning it here as more of a general announcement. Happy weekend y’all!
Scalzo, Kevin – Sugar Booger #4
October 25, 2024Website
I was surprised to see that it had been a decade since I reviewed one of these comics (and bereft to find out that I missed out on #3; if my memory wasn’t a flaming trash pile I would have grabbed one at CXC), but it turns out that this is the first issue in ten years, so I’m more or less on top of things after all. Also I feel obligated to link to this vinyl toy of Sugar Booger, which was one of the stars of the con for sure. Maybe one day I’ll go to one of those with unlimited funds, because I surely would have picked this one up otherwise. Anyway, it’s been ages since there’s been a new issue, what’s changed? Not a whole lot, and that’s exactly how it should be. Why mess with perfection? If you’re unfamiliar with the character/series, Sugar Booger is a… monster? creature? who mostly eats everything that the other creatures find, with hilarious and/or distressing results. This one starts with that pink creature showing Sugar Booger (who’s reclining on a clump of those peach colored creatures, who are seemingly delighted with the situation) a new type of candy. And, naturally, he eats it. Things seem to be going fine for a bit, until the inevitable rampage begins. One of the joys of these comics is the sheer level of detail; you can have a fine time just reading the story, but it’s packed with characters who don’t say a word but who are also drawn with enough specificity that you can imagine an entire backstory for them. His comics were always a hoot back in the day, and I’m thrilled to say that that hasn’t changed. Check it out, hop back on that Sugar Booger train! $10
Leave a Comment » | 
Reviews | Tagged: Kevin Scalzo, Sugar Booger | 
Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/23/24
October 23, 2024New review today for bird comic. by Ruby Carter, and I also had a chance to talk to her publishers at CXC. They’re called Fieldmouse Press, they have many intriguing comics already available, and they have big plans on putting together a complete collection of Ariel Bordeaux’s work, among other things. Support them while buying yourself some quality comics, OK?
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Carter, Ruby – bird comic.
October 23, 2024
Would I usually use punctuation and no caps in the title for a comic I’d reviewed? Probably not, but that’s how Ruby consistently has it listed, and respect the artist, I always say! This is a collection of strips, maybe from previous comics (but I’m not seeing any evidence of that on her website) about various large and small crises, feelings of hopelessness and wondering if you even exist. Would you believe that it’s also sometimes funny? Because it is. Also personally, as a guy who just moved back to a town I lived in 20 years ago, the sampled comic hit me right between the eyes. Wisdom of the move is still uncertain, but that specific old feeling doesn’t seem to exist here anymore. But enough about me, this is meant to be about a comic. I’m stalling because this is one of those where I shouldn’t say everything about it, or even most things, because those things are always and forever best discovered by the reader. But this is the path I’ve chosen, so I’m stuck with it. If I’ve already intrigued you, stop here and just check it out. It’s delightful. Strips in here deal with aimless walks, regretting those drugs you took hours ago when people were still around, holding onto a good feeling, missing smoking, trying to and not to smoke weed, losing yourself in a crowded city landscape, successfully achieving brain freeze, zoning out to a good show only to eventually have it end, and rejecting the phone for a different screen. Please know that that sentence was typed with a cat’s head trying to bonk my hand off of the keyboard, and that I stopped typing several times for pets. I’m not a monster, after all. If you’ve had any existential questions in your life, give this one a shot. If you haven’t, you need to read more, and you should also give this a shot. $10
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Bird Comic, Ruby Carter | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/21/24
October 21, 2024Hey Champaign Illinois people, there are now 12 early voting locations open around the county! Other Illinois people, check your local County Clerk to find your options. Other states, good luck. Speaking of voting, the new review today is for You Win… When You Vote! by Resistbot. It’s actually made by a person, but they didn’t put their name in the comic, and I wanted to talk about voting today, so here we are.
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Resistbot – You Win… When You Vote!
October 21, 2024
You Win… When You Vote!
Well folks, we’ve reached the portion of the CXC review comic pile where I’m not at all sure where I got a comic in the first place, meaning I’m not sure who made it, also meaning that they didn’t put their name in the comic. Rookie mistake, comics person! I was all set to give you credit for this comic, but here we are. This comic is exactly what it looks like: a guide for likely voters, unlikely voters, convincing unlikely voters in your family/friend group, and all of the resources you’ll ever need to make the process as smooth as possible. I kept waiting for a punchline or a bit of cynicism, but it’s to ____’s credit that this stays exactly what it appears to be throughout. Longtime readers will know that I work in elections for a living, so it’s a subject near and dear to me, and also that I’m a member of a particular party, and you can guess which one if you ask yourself “what’s the only major political party left even slightly tethered to reality?” Yes it’s true, fence sitters, and you’re not getting to heaven any faster than anybody else by wasting your vote on a protest candidate. You also don’t get to stay “pure” while the rest of us are stuck in the mud you basic, simple child. It’s tempting to go off on a longer rant here, but that made my point well enough, I reckon. If you have questions about the voting process I’d recommend checking out this comic, or even better that linked website, which has everything you’ll ever need to learn about voting and then some. As far as how much this costs, this feels like the sort of thing handed out for free at events, but I’d guess $5 if you saw one in the wild.
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Resistbot, You Win When You Vote | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/17/24
October 17, 2024No time to chat, I’m writing this quickly over a lunch break. Why yes, it is the busy season, why do you ask? New review today for Bedhead by Presley Taylen!
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Taylen, Presley – Bedhead
October 17, 2024
Note: that link in the title goes nowhere at the moment, but they said “coming soon” for their online store, so I’m taking them at their word. Or you could just contact them at one of the many options on their website if you’re the impatient type. So this is a comic that really speaks to me, with the sample image below really summing things up: getting a good pillow. A few years ago I went on a similar quest myself, and I still have several different pillow types in my closet. Short answer: the Purple pillow was the winner for me. But that’s just advice, I’m meant to be talking about a comic here. Max and Mazey are doing laundry and the process ends up destroying Mazey’s pillows. She has a very specific type that she’s trying to find, Max destroys her illusions about there being any good pillows out there, and the bulk of the comic is a quest to find the exact type of pillow that she already owned as a replacement. Some funny stuff in here, including a salesperson catching them getting a little too friendly with the pillows, and definitely plenty to relate to if you’re at all like me and have spent way too much time thinking about this subject. Give it a shot, and I’m curious to see what other comics they’ve put out when the store link opens up, as that “Max & Mazey in” above the title sure implies the existence of more of these. No price listed, but I’m randomly going with $8.
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Bedhead, Poltergrease, Presley Taylen | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/11/24
October 11, 2024New review today for Gullet by Ernie Roan, and this concludes the first of probably many weeks of reviews from CXC. Hey, I’m back in Illinois, maybe I can finally start hitting CAKE again. Too many quality conventions!
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Roan, Ernie – Gullet
October 11, 2024
One of the pitfalls of my “gotta grab ’em all” approach to conventions (which always fails; at best I come away with comics from about 1/3 of the attendees) is that I end up having to get the “affordable” comic from certain tables. Which is not to say bad things about this comic, or any other comic where that’s been the circumstance. Ernie has a larger comic called Bellwether out that looks intriguing, but it also cost twice as much as this one, so you can see where this is going. No, it turns out that I cannot actually have all of the comics. Benevolent billionaires, you can still sponsor the website! I continue to believe that it’s possible to get and review all of the comics, with resources and help, and without the time sink of other full time employment. Anyway, enough of the “boo hoo, I can’t have all of the comics” nonsense, what’s the story with this one? It’s a collection of three autobio pieces, which were probably new to this and not previously published in anthologies? I think. First up is a piece dealing with his annoyance at a writing class, confirming my sad suspicion that most of those classes these days are more about online engagement than the art. Nice hopeful message and a solid closing bit, not that I’m going to ruin it here. Next up is a story about a moment in time in his food service career, where one employee is having a bad enough day to storm out and can’t even find a brief bit of privacy on her way, this time with a closing that’s bleak as hell, at least to me. Finally there’s a story about collecting trash from a backseat, which I’m really glad he clarified on his website was based on a dream. It ends up being a bizarre contest where he has to convince people that his bag of backseat trash is actually clothes, with disastrous results. Nice solid pile of stories, and one more name I’ll have to be on the lookout for at Cartoon Crossroads next year. Oh, will the pile of quality comics never end? In case I haven’t mentioned it, my new apartment came with a fainting couch, so I’ve been looking to get the vapors whenever possible. Sometimes I have to give them to myself, like here. Still, worth it! $5
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Ernie Roan, GUllet | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/9/24
October 9, 2024New review today for The Re-Up #4 by Chad Bilyeu & Juliette de Wit, and that series is moving right along, so you’ll be seeing a few more reviews of it here before this convention reviewing business is through for the year.
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Bilyeu, Chad & de Wit, Juliette – The Re-Up #4
October 9, 2024Website (Chad)
Website (Juliette)
I’m happy to report that this series is rolling right along (this is me after attending Cartoon Crossroads ’24). I picked up the next three issues of the series and Chad said that they’re working on #9 already, so if you were holding off on checking this one out until making sure that it wasn’t going to become yet another promising series that flamed out and disappeared… yeah, I think they’ve passed that point. Go back to read the older reviews if you need to get caught up (or better yet, just get the comics), but this time around we get some insight into how much all of his dealing is affecting Chad’s classes. He’s taken aside by his Buddhist Religious Thought professor and asked why his work has been slipping so much lately. Side note: apparently his professor was in the religion episode of Ali G way back in the early aughts, so now I have to watch my Ali G DVD of that episode. Yeah, can you believe that the guy who only reviews physical comics still has physical media? Shocking! Anyway, during their conversation we see a flashback into what exactly it is that’s been keeping him from focusing on his studies, and it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see that it’s mostly due to him making $1000 a week or so dealing. Which is still real money now, but 20+ years ago that would clearly take precedence over his classes. We see a wide range of his customers: a student who insists that he’ll be a senator some day (I’d love to see an update on that kid), a group of students studying who just need to relax, one who’s all business, one who tries to make a game of it by having Chad choose which hand the money is in, etc. They all do seem to be united in saying that Chad’s code system (having people call or text saying that they need t-shirts) was stupid, which Chad solved by… making up some t-shirts and literally giving them out with the weed. Kind of a genius move, honestly, and the shirts were against a rival school, so there’d be no reason for them to cause suspicion. An ongoing saga throughout the comic is him waiting for one customer who repeatedly pushes off their meet-up, and still ends up being several hours late. Which is a gigantic hassle for him, obviously, but it turns out that she’s his best client, which makes it tough for him to make any ultimatums for her. There are also a few treats in the back of the comic, as he reveals his transcript (just in case anybody was worried about whether or not he dropped out) and has another funny and informative afterward. He’s looking for letters to fill that space, but honestly I’m enjoying the informal chat feeling of it. Get caught up, read the series, is what I say. He’s also selling a bundle of the first 6 issues to make it easy on yourself. $9
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Chad Bilyeu, Juliette de Wit, The Re-up | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/7/24
October 7, 2024New review today for Baggage by Violet Kitchen, and you’d better believe that this week is all about Cartoon Crossroads comics. Oddly, I’ve also been getting a lot of comics in the mail lately, which normally take precedence as far as reviews go, but, you know… convention.
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Kitchen, Violet – Baggage
October 7, 2024
Have you ever thought about the hotel room you’re staying in? I mean, really thought about it, what’s it’s seen, who’s stayed there, what they’ve done while staying there? As somebody who worked in a hotel ages ago, I confine myself to “they clean it every day,” because any introspection past that is terrifying. Violet, on the other hand, really gets into it with this comic. I wonder if this insight comes from former (or current) employment in the field or just natural observations from life. This comic is all aspects of the hotel stay, from the human compulsion to try to make the blank area look lived-in to contemplating anything and everything that was done on that bed. It’s a evocatively told story, and if somebody told me that it was Violet’s poem before they decided to make it into a comic I would absolutely believe them. There’s beauty in this subject too, as a whole lot of dreaming also went on in that room. This is one of those comics that will make you think about something you’ve possibly never thought about before, and you can’t ask for more from a book than that. Meanwhile, now I have one more person that I have to seek out at the next CXC to see what else they’ve done. Plenty, judging by their website, so when you stop by there to check this one out, grab another one or two, won’t you? $5
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Baggage, Violet Kitchen | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/3/24
October 3, 2024New review today for Sucker by Mary Shyne, and why yes, I am actually going to make a serious effort to get through my CXC review pile this month, or at least put a big dent in it. Too busy with work, schmoo busy with work, that’s what I say!
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Shyne, Mary – Sucker
October 3, 2024
Here I am thinking that I had just read a mildly grim, thoroughly engaging if inexorable but self-contained mini comic, only to discover that it’s part of something called the “Graduation Day” universe. See, this is what I get when I gravitate to the small comics at CXC in the (completely vain) hope that I can maybe not spend all of the money that I allotted for the con while still checking out lots of new stuff. In case you were wondering, this year, as always, I spent more than that. I blame the completely unexpected new Marc Bell book from Drawn & Quarterly, but it was more than that. Anyway! Christ, there’s a comic right in front of me I’m meant to be talking about. This is about the friendship between Kaylee and… the unnamed main character? Maybe I’d know it if I read the other book(s) in this series. They’re getting ready for their confirmation, so if you went to Catholic school you know all about that. They’re inseparable, and have a crush, purely hypothetical, on a boy with bangs named Skyler. After the narrator gets talked into going to a show by Skyler’s band, he ends up taking an interest in one of them which, if you know anything about how best friends could behave in the early teen years, came with disastrous consequences. Or maybe not disastrous so much as inevitable, as the “loser” pulling away from their friend in jealousy is exactly the kind of thing that blew up so many friendships in those years. It’s a mildly heartbreaking story, but it’s honest, down to the utter bewilderment of the “winner” in the situation, and how once the crush was seen in reality and not from a romantic distance, the dude kind of fell apart. Check it out, but maybe get the other books in this universe too for context. Don’t be a cheapskate like me! $5
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Mary Shyne, Sucker | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/2/24
October 2, 2024Boy did I ever get a lot of comics at CXC this year. You’ll be reading about them soon, but it’s also crazy busy season at work, so please, as always, bear with me. To a few people at CXC that I planned to go back and visit because their table was busy when I came by, my apologies for forgetting to do that. Hi Karl Christian Krumpholz and MS Harkness! Maybe next year. New review today for Bunworld #1 by Maggie Umber!
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Umber, Maggie – Bunworld #1
October 2, 2024
Go ahead, try to take in the majesty of all of those colors. You really can’t, because I can see the comic itself next to that scan, and there’s no substitute for the real thing. Did I occasionally get distracted in the conversation I was trying to have with Maggie at CXC because my eyes were drawn back to the cover over and over again? Reader, you know it. So sure, the colors are ridiculous, but how does it hold up as a comic? Well, as a professional comics reviewer (no matter how many years I do this, that kind of statement will always be laughable to me), I have to say… I have no idea! Genuinely don’t know how to separate the two. This comic tells the story of four little creatures: Piper, Bun, a tiny baker, and a surprise guest that comes later. And others, I think, but I may have lost consciousness a few times from all the colors. They want to make a cake, but they constantly forget about it, don’t understand the concept of a cake, or sometimes even forget each other. The whole story is perpetually disorienting while also being adorable, a combination I did not know could really be a thing. Do they eventually get their cake? No spoilers, but what a sad ending that would be for a comic as joyful as this if they didn’t. The really baffling part is the “#1,” but Maggie mentions clearly that it’s the first issue on the back cover, and I am absolutely fascinated to see what comes next in this series. $14
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Bunworld, Maggie Umber | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 9/26/24
September 26, 2024New review for King Cat #83 by John Porcellino, which is a fine comic to review right before Cartoon Crossroads, I think. Say hi if you see me wandering around the show, or at one of the talks (I’m definitely going to make Art Spiegelman’s on Friday night, Kate Beaton’s earlier in the day if I can get to town in time). I’ll be the blond guy with glasses who looks like he lives in Ohio but has actually recently moved to Illinois.
Leave a Comment » | Site News | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Porcellino, John – King Cat #83
September 26, 2024
It’s time for another deep critical dive into everything wrong with the latest issue of King Cat, as per usual. Ha, tricked any new readers! I rarely if ever have anything bad to say about King Cat, so if you’re looking for a pensive, thorough, unbiased review, take it elsewhere. I mostly still write these reviews so that they appear on my website as a kind of beacon, even for people who scroll through the main page, that a new issue is out. Still, I will happily talk about what’s in here, because it prolongs the King Cat-ness of my day by at least a little bit. What’s John up to these days? Things start off with a grim comic detailing his empty apartment after his second divorce and the loss of his cat, followed by a comic about his incredibly leaky apartment. Next we see him waking up after falling asleep with a pen in this hand, writing a eulogy for his beloved nine year old Shar Pei dog, and taking his terminally ill mother around town to visit spots that she’s always enjoyed, which naturally leads to John taking his own trip down memory lane. Am I giving that story short shrift, seeing as how it’s probably the longest one in the book? Yep, and that’s so you can read it for yourself as unspoiled as possible, because there are plenty of lovely bits to it and I don’t want to yap about them here. There are a few pages of letters (I know letters pages are rare in any comic, but his are the only ones where I never skip a single one of them), a few more pages of dreams (several of which would ideally be transformed into comics if I had a pile of money that I could give to John so he could just make comics forever), and then his top 40 list, which made my idly wonder if there was ever exactly 40 items on one of his lists. That’s a lot of comic, are there more stories in here? You’d better believe it, this is a hefty issue. Just hints from now on though, so you’ll see an owl, a dead mouse, dogs, a tire shop, items spotted on a walk, a memory of plastic bag lined boots on a childhood walk to school, and a demolition derby. Another great issue of King Cat, and once again I have no idea where I’d recommend a new reader hop on this train (maybe Hospital Suite or one of his other collections if you can afford it), but the beauty of his stuff is that any issue is a good place to start. $7
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: John Porcellino, King Cat | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
