New review today for Escape to Southside by Richard Katterjohn, as I continue to get closer to the bottom of the SPACE pile. Happy weekend y’all!
Katterjohn, Richard – Escape to Southside
June 13, 2025
Just fyi, neither of the links I provided show a direct way to purchase this comic. Still, between the two of them it’ll be easy enough to contact Richard, and I bet he could help you out with that if you’re interested! This comic jumped out at me a bit at SPACE, mostly for the design: there’s an outer sleeve for the comic (which is the cover I used for the sample image, going with the theory that if Richard wanted to keep using the original cover, he would have repeated it on the sleeve), and in this sleeve is a smaller mini comic (Cosmic Zoq #7) that has all of the backgrounds from this comic. I don’t know how much it added to the overall experience, but it was an interesting idea. The comic itself starts off with a wall of text telling the reader what’s going on in this world; the gist is that people are required to work to live, dissension is ruthlessly suppressed, and a group of rebels are trying to get to Southside to be free. This comic follows one of them as he tries to get the word out and stay one step ahead of the police. Richard switches to real world images as our hero gets closer to freedom, which was subtle enough to sneak up on me a bit. The overall art is maybe a little amateurish (open to different opinions, and I always feel like I’ll burst into flames when *I* critique the quality of someone’s art), but I did like his backgrounds and overall scene composition. And, while I can’t talk about, that ending was perfect and caught me completely by surprise. So maybe it’s worth a shot? No price, so I’ll go with my default of $5.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/11/25
June 11, 2025New review today for Margaux & Owen Go to the Shore by Audra Stang. Is this one actually left over from CXC of last year? I think it might be!
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Posted by Kevin
Stang, Audra – Margaux & Owen Go to the Shore
June 11, 2025
Margaux & Owen Go to the Shore
Warning: there are no scenes on the beach in this comic. That’s for the people who only buy comics that have beaches in them, because if you can imagine the fetish, it exists out there somewhere. For the rest of us, this is a sidebar to the overall story that is the “romance” of Owen and Margaux. This covers the conversation between the two of them after Owen confronts Margaux after she revealed his gills on the beach, against his express wishes from doing it in public. They have an argument, then they seem like they come to an understanding… and then things get weird. This is a shortie, so there’s not a whole lot to say about it (Audra specifically says on the back that it was drawn to qualify for a grant from a con), but it’s still an important piece of the whole puzzle. Or it will be? Guess I don’t know what the whole puzzle is yet either. But there’s rarely enough time to show the quiet moments in comics, and this one covers a gap nicely. In other words, the main series is significantly more layered and dense than this issue, and the main series is definitely where you should start if you’re new to Audra’s work, but if you’ve been keeping up, this is absolutely worth checking out to help fill in the overall big picture. $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/9/25
June 9, 2025New review today for In The City Part Four by Karl Christian Krumpholz. Not that it would have taken much convincing anyway, but I did say that the line was short for review comics that came in the mail, and a deal’s a deal.
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Posted by Kevin
Krumpholz, Karl Christian – In The City Part Four
June 9, 2025
For any comics creators out there who think that their comic isn’t complete unless they plaster countless bits of dialogue and exposition over every page, I’d like to introduce them to this series. Then, if that doesn’t take, I’d like to literally hit them over the head with it. This isn’t a silent issue (the sounds of the city alone would prevent that, and they’re essential to establishing an ambiance), but there are long sections of silence, and one way I can tell that a comic has fully captured my attention is that I’m paying as much attention to the quiet parts as I am to the dialogue. Every page without dialogue has stories happening in the backgrounds, and a good chunk of the fun of this series is trying to figure out what those might be. Take a few minutes with that scene in the bar before the band starts playing, why don’t you? Dozens of stories are happening in that two page spread alone. Speaking of silence, I don’t think Karl (or “Karl”; I’m never sure how much of this is autobiographical and how much is composite stories) says a single word in this comic. This led to a brief moment of panic: surely I would have noticed if he hadn’t said a word in the whole series, right? Surely. Should I get to the actual comic, rather than just my amazement at and enjoyment of the series as a whole? Things start off in a diner, where we’re once again surrounded by stories. This goes on for the entire issue until it’s over. Kidding! Sort of. I mean, I don’t think I’m going to sell anybody on this by talking about the town drunk getting bailed out of jail after being caught sleeping under a pool table by the morning clean-up crew at a bar. Or the woman with the necrotic leg who’s begging for money, or the late rock show, or the picnic in the graveyard, but they were all important pieces of the whole. Previous characters pop back in (the guy who attempted to mug them in the last issue returns and seems a little surprised that they don’t think back on the incident as being as funny as he does), new characters are introduced. You know, stuff that happens in a series. The next issue is the last one in this series, and it’s rare for me to be this excited to see how the whole thing comes together. $14
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/5/25
June 5, 2025New review today for Fish Out Of Water by Phoebe Mol. Also, that’s not the first time I’ve reviewed a comic with that title. Can you find the other one?
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Posted by Kevin
Mol, Phoebe – Fish Out Of Water
June 5, 2025
I don’t like to use more than one page for a sample image, but since everything was a double page spread, I had to go with two pages. But hey, if a few of you buy her comic, I won’t feel guilty about it! Birdcage Bottom Books describes this as her debut comic, and if that’s the case it’s a hell of an impressive debut. Judging by her website she’s made several comics since and she’s working in several different artistic fields. Still, that’s all clear from her website, what’s the actual comic about? It starts off with a question I’ve thought about plenty: how far back can you go in your own memory? Is it an event of just vagueness, something indefinable? Then we get a couple fishing out on a lake, talking about dreams, followed by one of them catching a truly disgusting fish. That doesn’t stop them from eating it, which is when the comic really opens up. Eating the fish gives them a connection to something primal, which all of the swirling colors and floating text really emphasizes. It’s a ride I’d rather not spoil, but the whole thing felt like an unheard song to me. No, that won’t make sense to most of you, but if you read the comic and read this review again, maybe you’ll get there. It raised all kinds of questions about the nature of existence and memory, with the feeling of a haunting but somehow comforting song fading out. If you’re still wondering, yes, I’d recommend giving this one a shot. $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/3/25
June 3, 2025New review today for Sportsbar, NY Part V by Martin Pohl, the first non-SPACE comic I’ve reviewed in a month. Still not much of a line for reviews these days, to anybody who’s interested. One of these days I should really figure out my password for the stats section of my own website. It’s entirely possible that I’ve been talking to myself for years and just haven’t noticed…
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Posted by Kevin
Pohl, Martin – Sportsbar, NY Part V
June 3, 2025
I mentioned last time around that #4 was a good issue for new readers to jump in, but after reading this one it sure looks like Martin is wrapping this series up and moving on to something else. Or not! There’s not really a big overarching story to wrap up, but that was just the sense I got by the end of it. And boy howdy, have I ever been wrong about this sort of thing plenty of times. Anyway! This is a mammoth 60 pages, so if you’re a fan of Martin’s work, you’re probably never going to get more of it in one chunk like this. Unless there’s an eventual collected edition, I guess. The through line, as you might have guessed from that cover, is that there’s a sheep out there with a gun killing people (and animals). He starts off with a frog that’s just trying to count sheep to get to sleep, goes on more than a bit of a killing spree from there, and then gets his storyline wrapped up by the end of the comic. What else is happening in here? It starts off with a recap that has nothing to do with what’s come before which, in the absence a real recap (an impossibility for this series, honestly), is my favorite kind of “recap”. From there we get a wide range of conversations with a cat and a mouse, the new show that’s sweeping the nation (“Two Suicidal Frogs”), a few brief appearances by the rabbits, back to the pigeons, a kid with an unconvincing case to be turned into a cyborg, an encounter with a killer dog (and Depression Wolf), a beaver at an office job, several strips about library patrons that sure feel like they’re inspired by real events, and all of our heroes coming together by the end, with several of them ending up dead (which is why I think the series might be over). Oh, and there’s also a back page with nothing to do with the comic, and Martin explains the reasoning behind that in hilarious fashion. It’s a behemoth of a book, and probably overall the best work he’s done so far. $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/30/25
May 30, 2025New review today for Transition Hacks For Ye Old Mascs by Leo Covault! That’s it for SPACE month, although if you think that’s the end of the SPACE comics you are completely wrong. But now I’ll also be mixing in other comics for review, which has also made me realize that I’m pretty low on other comics to review. Now’s the perfect time to send me some comics, as the line for reviews is currently very short. Happy weekend y’all!
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Posted by Kevin
Covault, Leo – Transition Hacks For Ye Old Mascs
May 30, 2025
Transition Hacks For Ye Old Mascs
Please know that it is practically causing me physical pain to not be typing “ye olde” every time. No, I don’t know why I’m like this either. Leo had several zines at SPACE that looked interesting, but since they were a bit on the pricey side and since I got to his table late, I was only able to get one of them. Still, there’s a lot to love about this one. As the title implies, it has a couple of stories that involve hacks for people going through transition, with the slight practical problem being that they’re both older fairy tales. One is from 14th century Portugal, and the other is from a Romanian folk tale. The first story deals with a young woman who’s promised to a pagan king, so she… well, look at the sample image below. She’s given a beard, which gives her a striking resemblance to another religious figure, and her father takes the likeness maybe a bit too far. The second story deals with the daughter of an emperor who has disguised herself as a man to become a warrior. The king sent her on three missions, and she had no trouble with the first two. But the last mission involved stealing holy water from nuns that never slept, so once they found out what this warrior had done they put a curse on her. Little did they know that that curse was exactly what that warrior wanted, but hey, no spoilers (although you might be able to figure it out by the general theme of the comic). Funny, informative and with the some striking black and white art, it’s well worth checking out. Next time I’m going to try to find his table earlier, because my life will not be complete until I get his comic “Women Be Shopping.” $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/29/25
May 29, 2025New review today for S. Padre Island from whoever makes the comics at Turtle House Comics. Their name, sadly, has been lost to history (when I went to SPACE last month).
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Posted by Kevin
Turtle House Comics – S. Padre Island
May 29, 2025
There came a point in my search to find the creator of this comic where I had to just assume that they wanted to remain anonymous. I bought two of their comics at SPACE, and only this one had any kind of clue as to where to search online to find any more information. None of the websites I found with their comics for sale had names attached to it. So if that was your intention, mysterious creator, congratulations! You are anonymous. If not, then this is where I once again leave this lesson for comics creators: always make it easy for people who stumble across your books to find you online. The books are easy enough to find, so kudos for that, anyway. I’m rambling, but it’s yet another unasked for peek behind the curtain here at the reviewing factory. The comic itself is basic, but adorable (at least if you like dogs): a couple is on a road trip with their dog Derrick and they make it to Texas. I genuinely think the couple talk more to the dog than they do to each other, so dog lovers are going to find all kinds of stuff here to relate to. Sleepy dog, barking dog, swimming dog, exploring dog, rolling around in filth dog, you’ve pretty much got the whole spectrum of dog behaviors covered. I also learned on the website that they also put out the Dick Blaster comics, which couldn’t be any more different than this, so at least it’s clear that that company has range. But yeah, this is a cute little mini about a playful dog. If you’re looking for that, you’ve found it! $2
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/28/25
May 28, 2025Like I’m going to go the entirety of SPACE month without reviewing a Brian Canini comic. New review today for Airbag #0! Also I finally did a control+f search for Brian’s name under the “review by authors” tab (highly recommended for finding comics you’ve never heard of, since the reviews start 24 years ago) and I do think he’s the overall winner of most comics reviewed, as this is #54, and it’s also not even including any anthology he’s in. Even John Porcellino barely cracked 30! So, congrats to Brian, I guess?
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Posted by Kevin
Canini, Brian – Airbag #0
May 28, 2025
How obsessively have you been following Brian’s career over the years? If your answer is not “just short of camping outside of his house (or apartment or whatever) to get the new comics as soon as possible,” then read on! This one collects four minis of his that are all out of print: Two Stories, Two More Stories, Three Stories and Four Stories. See the links on two of those comics? I already wrote reviews for those books, so I won’t be mentioning the stories in this review. But I thoroughly enjoyed most of them, so read the reviews if you’re curious. He was also nice enough to make those stories cover exactly the first half of this comic, which keeps me from having to do too much work keeping the stories straight. Especially since a couple of the other ones seemed familiar, which means I might have read one or both of those other minis and just not reviewed them? Madness. Anyway, first up is the tale of an overheard conversation on the school bus when Brian was a child (or he made the story up). It’s a ridiculously trivial thing for him to remember, but remember it he did, and he’s right: now it’s in my memory too. Next up is a young couple having a conversation about their relationship, which honestly wasn’t doing all that much for me until he really nailed the ending and made me think about the whole strip in a different way. Then there’s what I can only describe as a melancholic tale about a man attending the funeral of his mother and using that time to think about what it all means and if it’s all worth it, ending with a mundane scene at his job that feels like it’s answering the question for him. Finally there’s a scene set in the future (only noticeable because of the floating cars; I enjoyed the audacity of it) about a woman finally going to see her estranged mother while her mother is dying, with her daughters in the car peppering her with questions about the whole thing. Finally there’s a new strip on the back that I thoroughly enjoyed, and yes, I’m aware that I’m short a story in my previous descriptions. Think Pringles, and I shall say no more about it. I’m glad Brian put all of these stories in one place, as several of these were way too good to fall out of print. I’m thinking about his comic musing on the reason why he still makes comics in particular, but there’s more than that. Check it out, several of these stories are almost certainly new to you. $8
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/27/25
May 27, 2025New review today for Crime and Punishment by M.S. Harkness! No, she wasn’t at SPACE, but I managed to get her latest comics while in Columbus anyway.
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Posted by Kevin
Harkness, M.S. – Crime and Punishment
May 27, 2025
Here I was thinking that M.S. was probably working on another graphic novel after the revelation that was Time and Tension, but my visit to Columbus for SPACE proved me wrong, because The Laughing Ogre had both a collection of six new mini comics of hers along with this single mini. She’s a comics making machine, and the comics world is better for it. This one is basically a travel comic, as M.S. was invited to the Angouleme comic show in France and took Emi Gennis along with her. So half travelogue comic and half buddy comic? Roughly, yes. If you’ve read this website for any length of time you already know my thought about Emi’s work, and if you’re new here I’ll make it simple and just say to buy some of her comics immediately. Anyway, this one starts off with M.S. in a good place; she’s recently engaged and is enjoying life in Columbus. They get to France and immediately check out the work of Julie Doucet, which is pretty much exactly what I would have done if given the opportunity. From there the two of them see the sights, M.S. tries to get one of her minis into a french shop (a saga in and of itself that I don’t want to say much about, but man what a satisfying conclusion to it), debated going to the Louvre, hit up a day spa, and of course went to the catacombs of France. You know, the ones that are full of stacked bones and I have to keep reminding myself that they’re real whenever I read about them or see them. I’d recommend this comic for the conversation between Emi and M.S. alone, but I also learned a few things about France and its architecture, so if you could even put this into an educational comics pile if you were so inclined. Anyway, read this and all of her other comics why don’t you? $6
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/26/25
May 26, 2025Somehow last week got away from me, so I’ll end SPACE week how it began: with a review every day of the week, just like old times when I was still young and full of enough energy to do such a thing. New review today for Not What I Ordered by Matthew Northrup!
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Posted by Kevin
Northrup, Matthew – Not What I Ordered
May 26, 2025
Programming note: I couldn’t find a link to purchase this comic, so instead I’m linking to Matthew’s Kickstarter for a graphic novel he’s putting together, even though he seems to have hit his goal and then some. But hey, maybe it’s a good way to contact him about this comic too! Either that or through his Instagram page (also linked above), because this is a heck of a comic, especially if you’re either in Columbus or familiar with the area. It starts off with a dude name Robbie talking about his job of delivering food during the night shift, basically between midnight and 5am. As somebody who previously worked nights I’m a little jealous; it was fascinating enough to see who came into a hotel over the night shift, being able to see all of Columbus over those hours every night would be amazing. From there we have several full page images accompanied by text walls, and this is where the Columbus angle of things will hit you. The Short North, Cosi, even buckeyes get new context and a creepy backstory. Finally the back end of the mini shifts back to full comics, as we see somebody working the night shift at a bakery and finally a couple making it into their hotel room after a long day. There’s even a spectacularly creepy and completely unexplained ending, not that I’m going to touch it here. There’s a whole lot happening here and yes, I’d recommend checking it out. No price, so I’ll go with my default for unknown minis: $5.
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Posted by Kevin
