Category Archives: Reviews
Reviews
Baylis, Jonathan – Live From New York It’s So Buttons!
Live From New York It’s So Buttons!
So at the recent talk that Dan Clowes gave at CXC this year, he mentioned a few times the unreliability of memory. It had been on his mind because his mother and brother had both passed away within a month of each other, leaving him nobody else from that time to confirm or correct his memories. As such, everything he had left from that time was roughly “a memory of a memory.” I say all this to point out that it feels like the main story in this one came out of another issue of his series… but it might just seem familiar to me because I’ve read the story before, just in a different format. Anyway! This is the l’il comic that came with the next issue of So Buttons; I’ll review it soon, I just couldn’t pass this one up. It has two stories, and they’re doozies, drawn by J.T. Yost and Jeremy Nguyen respectively. The first, the one that triggered my memories, is the story of when the punk band Fear played on Saturday Night Live. The powers that be really wanted John Belushi to keep appearing on the show and they offered to let him pick the musical act (they also wanted an audience of legit punks). Things got ugly, stuff was smashed, and it was the first and only time SNL has had dead air. The story was recounted by Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, who was one of the punks in attendance (he actually got his voice on the air after a mic stand was knocked into the crowd). The other story recounts the story of how Lorne Michaels managed to get seats for his show and the story of Jonathan’s favorite baseball team, sort of. Based on where he was born, he went a little rogue with it. It’s another couple of solid stories from the story making machine that is Jonathan Baylis (and his artist friends). This one is new enough that it’s not listed in his store yet, but I’ll bet if you ask him about them that he has a few copies available. $5
Harkness, M.S. – Time Under Tension
(Unasked for) peek behind the curtain time! Generally speaking, these days at least, I read a few comics on the weekend, sweep whatever thoughts float around in my head into a pile, write them out in a vague review format and set them to publish during the week. I mention that mostly because I read this a few days ago and it has spent the past few days battering my head all to bits and I feel like my thoughts about it are getting less coherent as time goes on, so unless I write something soon I might lose the power of language. M.S. has already shown that she’s fearless when it comes to telling tales about her life on the page, and if anything this book is her somehow peeling back another layer and getting even more revelatory. This covers the period of her life right after graduating from art school, when she was around 25. There were plenty of unresolved issues with Murmur, her kind of sort of ex who has a girlfriend (read past volumes, specifically Desperate Pleasures; it’s too much to get into here), her still making extra income with her escort work, trying to get certified to become a personal trainer, the usual attempt to figure out what’s next after graduating, her abusive father getting out of prison and him trying to reconnect, attempts to find a decent therapist that she could afford, even Murmur’s upcoming MMA fight. There’s a whole lot swirling around, and it’s all peppered with her devastating insights and mental journey, if that’s even a thing. I loved how it opens up with her alone at a bar, with no title or even the requisite legal info (that doesn’t pop up until around page 60). She’s at a celebration with some of her graduating class and seems like she’d rather be anywhere else. We get a series of flashbacks when one of them asks if her mother is coming, which does a fantastic job of laying out some basics for new readers while still including a lot of new information for the regulars. This is the part where I would like to hit you with a few quotes from the story (I even marked a few pages like a real reviewer) but you know what? Fuck that. You should read this, and discover those quotes, for yourself. Can you find the most devastatingly succinct way to to describe a fairly pleasant past relationship with some serious issues of all time? It’s on page 241, but that’s all the hints I’ll give. I’ve seen a few review quotes lying around (she’s on a nationwide tour as I’m writing this) that call her a generational talent, Ivan Brunetti even says on the back cover that she’s reached “the elusive ‘next level.'” Which, hell yeah she has. It’s a lot of pressure, no doubt about it, but after reading this? I think she can handle it, or just about anything else that life throws at her. $25
Krumpholz, Karl Christian – In the City Part One
You know how sometimes you’re watching or reading a mystery and the answer makes perfect sense when you hear/read it and you feel a little stupid that it never occurred to you? Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, I was wondering which direction Karl would take after his years of putting out The Lighthouse in the City, which were collections of his regular diary strip, in case you’re new here. After all the stories and talking of that series, he’s moved on to this, which still keeps his love for a big city front and center, but lets the reader take a few steps back to take it all in. If you’ve ever taken a walk through even a mid-sized city (one that’s friendly to pedestrians, obviously) by yourself, and if you managed to do it without listening to podcasts/being so glued to your phone that you’d fall into any open manhole cover in front of you, a lot of this will seem familiar to you. The landmarks, the people (in crowds or alone, drunk or sober), new reactions to familiar sights from others, overheard conversations… it’s a real love letter to the idea of a busy night in a city. His wife joins him halfway through, so the perspective shifts slightly from one of silent observation to taking in familiar sights through a loved one’s eyes; a solitary glove placed on a fence post was noticed by Karl on his silent walk, but it’s given new meaning through her eyes later on. Honestly, it feels like cheating to use one of the few pages with dialogue as the sample image, that’s how contemplative this one feels. I’m not clear on how to actually buy his comics online, short of contacting him directly and asking him, but I think it’s worth reaching out for this one. Unless you’re looking for a big shoot ’em up type comic, in which case this is frankly a poor choice of a website to visit. Check it out, is what I’m saying. $12
Cooklin – Small Sh*t
Oh, did I ever hedge on whether or not to spell out “shit” in the title. But in the end, that’s how Cooklin chose to present it on the cover of their comic, so who am I to randomly throw in curse words just because I can? If this is your first comic by Cooklin, you should know that they conducted a series of interviews with people who suffer from depression or similar mental illnesses. These comics are based on those interviews, with anonymity obviously protected. Based on their shop there were a whole lot of comics that I should have picked up at CXC due to fantastic titles alone, but sadly my money is not infinite. Oh, the comics I would have if it was! Anyway, this comic is just what it sounds like: helping your mental health by focusing on small stuff, things that you can control. Try to avoid the big highs and lows, just do your best to keep things on an even keel. This person, for example, would put a row of penguins along their bed, both as something pleasant to start the day off with and as an example of something they could control. An act of kindness could also help, as it’s tough to stay depressed after getting a compliment on something that they took the time to make for another person. There are a few other suggestions too and, as always (or at least after two comics), this seems like an invaluable resource for anybody trying to navigate their own depression. This particular volume isn’t listed in their store at the moment, but maybe just check with Cooklin to see if there are still copies available? Or catch them at a con, I suppose, but it would probably be faster to send them money and ask for books. $8
Eisele, Terry & Bowman, Brent – Far Tune: Autumn
If you’re wondering why a book would be called “Far Tune,” Terry and Brent don’t leave you in suspense for long. This book (and this series of books, I believe the plan is for one covering each season) is about a young Somali girl named Fartun, and “far tune” is how she helps out people who are confused as to the possible pronunciation of her name. Seems obvious to me from the spelling, but never underestimate the willful ignorance of Americans. This starts off with Fartun and her family (father, mother and brother) in a refugee camp in Kenya. Things aren’t great, obviously, but the people there are living as best they can. We flash forward a bit to 2005 with the family living in a rough looking apartment building in Columbus Ohio. Bit by bit we get pieces of Fartun’s life at the time, including her family dynamic (her mother had sadly passed away at the refugee camp, leaving just the three of them), her awkwardness with her two Somali friends (later revealed to be because she hadn’t clued them in as to where she was going to school for ninth grade), and of starting at a new school. This takes up a significant chunk of the book, but Fartun was lucky enough to find a friend very quickly, so she was able to settle in, or at least pick up a routine. This a roundabout way of me saying that the story surprised me at several turns, as I was afraid this would be a tale of bullying or having to compromise to fit in, but no, Fartun was remarkably self-assured at that age, while of course still being aware of the potential for problems all around her. I was also worrying about overt racism being inescapable, what with the time frame and all (9/11 cast a long shadow against anybody who was brown, kids who weren’t old enough to notice at the time), but while it does pop up here and there, overall this is just the story of Fartun living her life, trying to fit in her daily prayers and dealing with her family/school/work dynamic. Terry (the writer) said at CXC that he got to know Fartun later while he was teaching, and I’m hoping he gets into that in one of these volumes because it seems like there’s a story to be told there too. It’s a solid first book of the series, as I’m very tempted to just tear through the series so far (yes, of course I bought all three books that were available; after “With Only Five Plums” I’m thoroughly on board for whatever project Terry is working on). Give it a shot, there’s a lot to like here. $10 (although if you’re lucky he might be willing to do a package deal for a few volumes)
Weaver, Reggie – Ghost’d #0
Ah, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a number zero of a series. Brings me back to those awful Image die-cut covers back in the day, and yes, this seems to be the week that I really show off my age. As a #0 issue, this is basically a preview of the series to come, and looking at his website it sure looks like this was hot off the presses. Meaning that I don’t see any other issue available yet. This is the story of Herschel, a little boy who can see ghosts. Unfortunately he’s the only one who can, meaning that his friends (or friend in the singular, judging by this issue) think he’s probably crazy. This one starts off with his trying to retrieve a ball during a game of dodge ball, but once he’s alone he’s sent off on a mission by what appears to be a ghost that’s giving him instructions. I’m assuming that’ll get fleshed out more in the series, but hey, it’s a preview. His friend Doug catches up to him as he’s leaving, some ongoing tension about this ghost nonsense is shown, and Herschel heads out on his quest. This quest ends in a crashed car and a bit of a further mystery, which is exactly what a preview should do: leave you with more questions that answers. The rhyming was clever overall (the narrator spoke in rhymes, a trick that has the potential to get tiresome in a hurry but never did here), and a whole world for this kid was hinted that in very few pages. I don’t see a physical copy of this out there (refer back to my review on Tuesday if you’d like an extended rant on this subject), which isn’t actually all that bad in this case, as his plan is seemingly to release future issues only online, at least judging from the inside back cover. It’s geared more towards kids, so keep that in mind, but this is an intriguing preview issue.
Gao, Sunshine – For the First Time
There are many ways that it’s easy to feel out of touch after reviewing small press comics for 22+ years, but maybe the biggest one is the inability to direct people to buy the comics that I’m reviewing. To me it makes sense for that to be the easiest thing to find online, but increasingly it’s just about impossible. Case in point is this frankly fan-fucking-tastic book by Sunshine, which you can read for free at the link in the title, so it’s not like the book is hard to access. It’s just that if you want to hold this in your hands, you’re going to have to contact Sunshine and ask them for options. I think this was $15 at CXC? Maybe? But their website has no store, and Googling the name and title gets me nothing. Eh, maybe everybody else is content reading everything online and I’m the fossil for wanting a physical copy. I’ll get used to it eventually, I suppose. But then the writer/artist really is working for zero dollars, which doesn’t seem sustainable for an extended body of work. Lord, how I do go on, sorry about that. Because this book alone deserves my (and your) full attention. This is the story of a frantic rush in a restaurant, featuring our hero (a part time helper trying to learn the trade) and the couple who runs the place. Our hero is learning, and trying to take the criticism and suggestions in stride, as we see them going through the prep work and chatting with the owners. When the rush hits, it’s relentless, which leads to one of the better uses of the four page spread image (that can’t be appreciated in the online version, says the curmudgeon) that I’ve seen, beautifully depicting the sprawling chaos of that moment, coming across almost like a choreographed dance. Things briefly calm down and our hero gets a strange, garbled phone call from their mother. When they try to call back they quickly discover that the call came from a mental hospital, and Sunshine masterfully makes it clear that there’s a whole backstory here that we’ll soon be let in on, at least partially. The owners, as the restaurant closes, swing into action, realizing that our hero shouldn’t be left alone, and I may just tell you the entire story if I don’t shut up now. If you’re big on those popular cooking shows there will be a lot here for you, not to mention a complicated family dynamic that we only catch glimpses of. It’s one hell of a comic, and at the very least I know you can get a copy of it if you catch Sunshine at a con, but let them know you’re interested! Not every good thing on the internet is accessible with a single click anyway…
Bilyeu, Chad & de Wit, Juliette – The Re-Up #1
Note: the link in the title goes to a site where you can offer a fair price for all three issues that are currently available. If you’re looking for single issues Birdcage Bottom Books has them. Onward! I had a really great conversation with Chad at CXC this year (2023, future people), which is what pushed me to get all three issues that he had available rather than sticking with the usual dipping my toe in with one issue. Based on this first one, I’m glad that I did. This is the story of Chad’s life roughly from 2004-2008, or at least the portion of his life that you might have guessed from that title: his time dealing pot. It was a very different world for such things back then, as he so eloquently describes in his afterward, among other things. It’s odd to start a review with the afterward, but between that and the ongoing narration during the comic it’s obvious that Chad is a hell of a writer. This issue starts off with the moment that Chad decides to take over the business, but wait, we don’t know anything about him yet! Not to worry, because he launches into a flashback from there, detailing his time working A/V for Georgetown University (including a hilarious example of the type of work he did, which I would have thought ridiculous if I hadn’t seen that exact same scenario in a college class of mine ages ago) before a chance meeting with a guy smoking pot on campus. He had no interest in ratting this guy out, but the weed smell was so strong that he felt compelled to warn the guy about other people possibly smelling it. A friendship was born from this, and Chad gradually discovers that his new friend wasn’t a casual pot smoker but was instead a big time dealer in the area. Chad helped this guy out with a connection when everything had dried up, this bigger time connection also became friends with the dealer (he was already pals with Chad), and time moved along, as it does. Chad was reluctant to take over the business when his friend left town, but it’s probably not a spoiler to reveal that he got there eventually, what with that being the premise of the comic and all. Chad mentioned that they’re sticking to a strict publishing schedule (that I can’t remember precisely now, of course), and the plan is to collect all of this into a graphic novel when it’s all said and done. I’d call that an excellent idea, as I’m very intrigued to see where it all goes from here. So in other words, yes, I’d recommend that you give this a shot. Pot smokers should know/remind themselves what things were like back then, and uptight squares should know the reality of dealing instead of their cartoon villain version of it. $10
???? – Oxblood: The Untold Legend of Paul Bunyan
Website unknown
Oxblood: The Untold Legend of Paul Bunyan
I debated putting this one back in the review pile and picking something else, but instead I’m going with using it as a cautionary tale. Y’know, a sort of guide on what not to do if you’re selling your book at a convention. See, I vaguely remember talking to the guy who made this comic, which is why I think it was made by a guy. I could be conflating this with somebody else, so even that could be wrong. But there’s no writer or artist name given, no link to a website or even Instagram, and the name of the publishing company (or just the name they’re using), Rani Comix, didn’t bring up anything in a search. Neither did the title, and since most of the characters are public domain, that didn’t lead anywhere either. But hey, at least now I know that Noah Van Sciver did a Paul Bunyan book too. I’m hoping somebody reads this review so I can fill in the blanks, but for right now it’s the perfect example of what not to do if you’re hoping to get the word out about your comic. Which is a shame, as there were intriguing bits in here. As it says on the cover, this is really more of a zine than a comic, as it’s full of character bios and bits of lore that they’re clearly planning to use for a comic series. I’m only assuming that they don’t have comics already, as otherwise I probably would have grabbed an issue of that rather than this zine. Anyway, we’re given a list of monsters with intriguing names before learning that dragons are rumored to be returning. From there we see how heroes are made, learn what happened to Paul in the past and his current quest, and meet two other characters that are presumably going to be important in the series. Overall a pretty nice teaser, which makes it a real shame that said series is not easier to find. So yeah, if you know who this was, please email me and I’ll fix this review. If not, hey, maybe your Google skills are better than mine. Best of luck!
Delliquanti, Blue – Adversary
There’s a whole lot going on here, to the point that I’m not sure where to start. “At the beginning,” you say? Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense. Things start off in pandemic times (future people, if we’ve had several pandemics since, I’m talking about roughly 2020-21) with a man drinking outside on the patio of a bar. As he’s getting ready to leave a stranger at the bar buys him a drink, they have a conversation and after the man (Curtis) can’t place where he’d previously met the stranger (Anton, but we don’t know that yet), Curtis is given a hint that clears a whole lot up. They met in a self-defense class where Curtis was the instructor 5 years ago, and Anton is looking for a refresher on some of those lessons. It’s an unconventional teaching style, as Anton often initiates conflict unexpectedly, with some pretty damned sexy results. Believe me, it’ll make sense when you read it. But Anton is incredibly guarded and protective of their privacy, which makes all the sense in the world when we learn what their life was like through the early part of the pandemic. It’s hard to deal with all of the consequences of the pandemic even now, and a lot of it is due to not being sure which people that you talk to have any connection to reality, and which can only see things through a purely partisan lens. Side note: we may need to come up with a word other than “partisan,” because “refuses to wear a mask or believe in covid because my cult leader didn’t like the way that masks smeared his bronzer” is too long (though entirely accurate). Anyway, the difficulty of dealing with this goes up considerably if you’ve suffered a loss from covid, as this book so devastatingly portrays. The character building throughout is detailed and layered, the social commentary is present but muted (if that sort of thing scares you off, you big baby) and this feels like one of those books that you could start over right after reading it and get even more out of it. If you haven’t already read any of Blue’s stuff, this is a pretty damned solid place to start. It’s also listed as $5 through the link, which can’t be right? This is a full color graphic novel. Still, check with Blue, I’m sure they can clear it up…
Canini, Brian – Airbag #2
All of the Caniniacs out there (fan name subject to change, but I like it) are probably wondering why Brian occasionally puts out big old books like this, full of different types of stories, if he already has a few different ongoing series with a variety of different subjects. Why not make a few more minis? Well, because it wouldn’t work nearly as well to have interconnected stories in a variety of minis where the similarities wouldn’t be nearly as clear, now would it? Now that that imaginary strawman has been handily defeated, I can go on with the review. This is a collection of several stories, with comedy, despair and heartbreak (seriously, the first long story was devastating) all wrapped up into one bundle that still somehow works beautifully. Things start off with the “invention” of comics back in 1925 and the all too predictable reaction of the hoity toity types of the time. This picks up again later, but next we get the story of a woman who’s tasked with clearing out her father’s home after he passes away. Their relationship wasn’t all that close, especially after the divorce, but she learns a lot about the guy by digging through what he thought was meaningful enough to keep, which all leads up to the moment that explains a whole lot of his attitude towards her wanting to become an artist. From there we get an explanation of how a forgotten comics artist gets rediscovered before moving on to a comics convention, and am I ever thrilled that “DeForgian” is a descriptor that’s being used out in the world. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, read some comics by Michael DeForge. Yes, any of them. Anyway, the artist at the convention gets sick of it, find a “magic” pen and gets dragged into a magical comics land. There’s all kinds of things going on in here, as the artist takes a real spiritual journey, but this is one that’s best left to the reader to discover completely unspoiled. Finally it all wraps in the Billy Ireland museum in Columbus, as the forgotten comics are finally collected. OR ARE THEY? Yup, a mystery. That back page comic is also a winner, and a nice little dig at the newspaper business. So yes, if you’re just curious about Brian’s work, it’s probably more economical to get a few minis. But if you’re looking for something that’s complete in one volume with some serious variety to boot, this would be an excellent place to get started on his comics. I’m talking to the newbies, as I’m assuming everybody who already reads his stuff either already has this or is now ordering it now that you know it exists… $10
Cooklin – Depression is Cool!
I should really start linking to Substack pages for people as a matter of routine, as more and more artists are using it to finance projects. Let’s see if that mental note sticks! Cooklin had a gaggle of these types of comics available at CXC (I got three of them; I’m perpetually a sucker for “you get a discount if you get multiple issues” deals), although I’m not seeing this one listed in their store at the moment. Contact them, unless they sold out at CXC there are at least a few more of these out in the world. So this comic, and a number of others in this series, are based on interviews that Cooklin conducted with people suffering from various types of clinical depression. All anonymous, of course, and this one dealt with… hm. “An introduction into the lifestyle of depression” probably isn’t quite right, but in this case we learn of the origins of this person’s descent into depression. They basically used Tumblr to look up “depression content” (their term), got into the side of it that made it seem cool and mysterious, and it gradually overtook their life. Their more well-adjusted friends got tossed aside for another group of friends who were also suffering from some form of depression, causing a constant cycle of normalizing depression. If everybody else in their circle had it, and they seemed cool, it had to be OK, right? There were a number of things in this mini that I’d never considered about depression, specifically (as a guy who never uses social media) how easy it would be to keep yourself constantly engulfed in negative thoughts. My only quibble with this issue is that it kind of just ends; I was hoping for an indication of how they got out it out, or how their life is going now. But Cooklin did say that the plan was for all of these to make their way into a graphic novel, which I’m sure will deal with all of that. It’s a mesmerizing and deeply informative comic, and if you’re suffering from depression it’ll give you plenty to think about/relate to. If not, a deeper understanding of depression is always a good thing, right? If I remember right, these were $5 each (but don’t quote me on that).
Meeker, Audrey – The Prince’s Jester
Aw, I wish I knew that Audrey was based in Athens GA when I talked to her at CXC. I haven’t been to FLUKE (their own small press con) in over a decade and was curious how the scene there is doing. Ah well, a good reminder to try to make it there next year. This comic is a good old fashioned mini, meaning purely black and white and it looks like they were all copied and stapled by hand. The story deals with the title character and his pal who overhear an announcement that the prince is missing; it’s a general call to all heroes to help find the guy. Once they hear about the reward they realize that this can get them out of the debt they’re currently stuck in, so off they go on their quest! They don’t seem to have much of a plan, or any weapons to speak of, but they do have that promise of a pile of cash and freedom once they get it, so they do eventually manage to make it to the prince. But then what happens? Yup, that part, as always, is up the reader to discover. This comic is in more of the all-ages spirit than most of what I review, but it’s charming and has a few funny bits. One of those rare “you can get it for the kids and also enjoy it for yourself” type of comics. I’m not seeing a place on her website to buy this, but she does have contact information listed, along with a lot of comics, so ask her about it. I think it was $5. And yes, seeing all of those comics did leave me with a bit of regret, as I should have picked up more of her stuff. As always, as much as I wish it were not the case, I do have limited money, so sometimes just grabbing a random issue from a new creator person is the best I can do. As always, if there are any eccentric millionaires out there who want to sponsor me/the website, I’d be happy to buy all of the comics and talk about them forever. It’s just this pesky need for food and housing that’s holding me back… $5
Forker, Nick – Eyeland #5
This is the issue that pretty much solidified it in my mind: it’s fine to read/review these issues in any order. This one even ends on a bit of a possible cliffhanger, so I checked #6 (Nick was nice enough to send along most of his comics for review), and it doesn’t mention it. So, let chaos reign! It’s impossible to review this without revealing the identity of the “mysterious stranger” from the cover, but before I do, give that silhouette a look. What do you see? Any guesses? The mysterious stranger is… Dickchicken! Granted, the sample image gives it away too, but maybe I’ll end up rambling enough in the review so that you can’t see it without scrolling down. Anyway! It’s exactly what it sounds like, I guess: a “normal” human body, but instead of the head there’s a cross between an uncooked chicken and a penis. So what’s in the pants? Maybe he’ll get to that later, but for now you can leave it to your imagination. Dickchicken has seemingly just arrived on our world, as he spends some time getting caught up on the news and our current technology. Seeing the calamitous state of our civilization, he decides that the only rational thing to do is make a mysterious machine that will… improve things? It’s never defined, really. But whatever it is, it’s enough to get the attention of some shady government watchdog types, as they send an army of drones to deal with him. After getting knocked out by the drones, our hero dreams of a meeting with an undefined cosmic figure with some reluctant words of wisdom. From there we get some real final battle type shit, but that’s enough of the spoiling. This is definitely the most chaotic of the Eyeland comics that I’ve read so far, and I mean that in a good way. Maybe this one would be the best starting point for new readers? As long as you’re not offended/horrified by Dickchicken, I guess. Still, a thoroughly entertaining issue, and from now on my reviewing plan for this series is “pick a number between 3 and 9,” so who knows where I’ll end up next. $5
O’Dell, Giles – Zoonbats Chapter 4
So here we are, in the final chapter of these Zoonbats comics I’ve been reading for the last month (one review a week, people of the future), so I feel like now’s a good time to look at the big picture. And it’s… hazy? 200+ pages into this story, I kind of feel like I should have a better sense of where things are headed. But hey, I’m getting ahead of myself, as I haven’t even talked about the comic yet. This time around we’re back with Toast and Bloom, and we get all kinds of details about her upbringing and story. When we last saw the two of them they’d melted their car battery because they were using it to put the robot giraffe into sleep mode, so their current plan is to walk to the nearest train depot and ride the rails to their robot that’s run amok. Which is a thing I never get a chance to type in all sincerity. Anyway! We also learn what the robot’s name means, and it got a legit chuckle out of me, so good work there. Roughly the first half of the book is the two of them walking and talking, along with the introduction of gigantic structures that were abandoned decades ago. Long story, but essentially there was a miracle chemical that allowed structures to greatly increase their size very quickly, this same chemical was used in terrorist attacks, and this led to all kinds of construction projects in various stages of completion getting abandoned. Finally they’re able to hitch a ride to the train station, and naturally they make friends with their driver, which lets us learn all about another aspect of this vast world and the people in it. The notes in the afterward really are invaluable here, going into far more detail than the comic allows, so I hope he keeps them in whatever collected edition eventually comes out of this book. We also get to see a jacket that seems to be at least mildly magical (or it’s highly advanced tech), which I’m guessing plays a part in things later. So yet another solid issue, with me still totally on board to see what happens next, with ridiculously detailed artwork that seems to get better each time and a rich universe that’s literally been thought about and constructed over decades. So why is it that I’m still not sure if the whole thing is coming together? No seriously, I’m asking, because I don’t get it. Possibly that’s because the story literally hasn’t come together yet; these two groups searching for the robot giraffe are clearly going to meet up eventually. Eh, who knows. It’ll become clearer to me as the story goes on, with the next issue projected for late 2023. Until then, each chapter is up for free on his website, or roughly $10 per issue if you’re like me and are determined to be buried alive under an unfortunate comics collapse in their apartment.
Petre, Greg & Fake – Santos Sisters #5
These two have come up with a pretty solid metric for how well you should know the characters by the fifth issue of a comic, although that might not have been their intention. When I saw that sticker with free LSD on it after Ambar noticed it, sure, the better story idea would be to have her lick it and see what happens. But since they’ve spent the time to establish these characters, well OF COURSE Ambar would lick that dot, and that same personality carried through the rest of the stories in this comic. Job well done, you two! So she has a wonderful adventure in that story, with a perfect final panel to wrap things up. No details, because what kind of dummy tries to describe an acid trip depicted in a comic? From there we go the conclusion of the “Dude! Where Is My Car?!” story from last issue, in which the thugs corner Todd in his car as Ambar and Dirk spend their time not worrying about Todd at all, to put it mildly. Do we get a car chase after that? You’d better believe it, including an explosion on the highway. From there we get the classifieds, which I don’t usually mention because they’re not part of the comic, but it’s a really solid collection of people making comics and/or podcasts that you should check out, along with another reminder that I should really listen to at least a few comics podcasts. Anybody have any recommendations? There are just so damned many of them. The other story in here involving the Santos Sisters also includes a spell gone wrong in a mall Cinnabun, er, Cinnaloaf. When a revenge spell is cast the energy has to go somewhere, so why not into a delicious cinnamon roll? Todd even gets to do something heroic to help make up for his rough time in the previous story. Finally there’s a brief story about Boozy Beez being a creep at a baseball game. I’d swear that these comics are getting funnier, and they were funny to begin with. They also have a 48 page Halloween special coming out right around the corner, and the cover alone tells one heck of a story. So yeah, obviously I’m still recommending these comics, and at the pace they’re putting these books out you’re going to get left behind in a hurry if you don’t hop on this ride soon. $5
O’Dell, Giles – Zoonbats Chapter 3
I’m starting to wonder if we’re ever going to catch up to that robot giraffe. And if you’re coming into this review blind, reading the previous comics and/or reviews for this series would help with that one. This time around we’re back with Wayne traveling along in Murray’s semi. We get a flashback again, this time a flashback within a flashback for some extra oomph. Wayne thinks back to a strange musician mystic type who he was never sure actually existed. He tried avoiding her after the weirdness got to be too much for him, but she finally cornered him and gave him a vision of a traumatic piece of business in his childhood. It involved cops, flamethrowers and the disappearance or death of his mentor (I’ve read too many comics to assume a death without a body, so forgive my skepticism of his death), and it’s something Wayne had managed to put out of his mind for a lot of years. From there we learn about how that led directly to Wayne leaving town and his quest to try to find meaning, which lead in a roundabout way to being asked to help track down the robot giraffe and his “chance” meeting of Murray. Yep, we finally get some clarity on that aspect of things too, as Murray fesses up about a few things. Oh, and we briefly even see Wayne and Toast in the same panel, even if it’s not exactly a pleasant interaction and it only happens in a flashback. There are the usual notes about specifics in the afterward section, which was especially helpful this time around in identifying exactly what the cops were doing. He also includes a few older comics from various zines at the time (1995ish), so we can see some very early iterations of some of these characters. I’m still hooked on the story, even if I am starting to doubt that we’ll ever catch up to that robot. But hey, now that a few mysteries have been solved, I might be completely wrong about that guess. Check in next week to find out, I suppose. Once again I’m not sure how much it costs to buy the physical copies, but the whole issue is available online at the link.
Arnold, S.R. – Perry Shitlife
So you’ve had some time to digest the madcap insanity of S.R. Arnold’s Perry Midlife comic a year ago. Are you prepared to dig into some of the darkest and/or best days of his life, aka the early years? Well, really about a few days out of one of those early years, but it’s the kind of thing that most people who are worth a damn can relate to: booze, drugs, bad decisions, good times, dank basement punk shows, working up the courage to talk to the person at the bar you’re interested in (only to have the amount of booze needed to work up said courage end up causing a blackout so you’re not entirely sure what really happened), etc. Even if you were straight edge in your formative years you can still check a few of those things off your list, but if you’re like me and manage to hit them all, boy howdy is this comic for you! I say “comic” as if this 80 page behemoth isn’t basically a graphic novel, but in a field where there’s also a solid argument for calling this a “mini comic,” it’s best not to get bogged down in semantics. What’s this comic all about, anyway? In his intro S.R. mentions that he intended to make Perry Nolife next, but since that book would have dealt with his own mortality and it wasn’t a subject he felt ready to tackle yet, why not go back in time? Things start off with a hallucination of Perry’s conscience trying to talk to him, only to get smacked across the room and smashed. Rightfully so, I say. Then we really see the kind of mess Perry is in the morning, as he ends up monopolizing the bathroom, much to the annoyance of his roommates (although it does lead to a lovely full page spread of one of them peeing out of their third story window and the general state of their neighborhood). From there we roll through a day or so in the life, starting with band practice (which ends with a broken guitar string), moving on to dive bar pizza for lunch, and finally landing on a karaoke show. This last one is critical, as it’s where Perry saw a lady last week that he’s trying to work up the courage to approach, which leads to his spectacularly terrible choice for a song. There’s also a double page spread during this sequence that has all kinds of familiar comics folks in it. See which ones you can spot! I got about half a dozen them before I resorted to cheating in the back. His terrible song does end up succeeding in getting the interest of the lady he tried awkwardly to chat with, and they end up having a long conversation on the roof. But in the light of day afterwards, can he be sure of what really happened? There’s more, as I’m barely halfway through this beast of a book, but the rest of it is for you to discover. Absolutely positively check this one out, and if you’ve got the cash I’d also recommend getting this with a copy of Perry Midlife. This one kicked the dust off of some memorable times in my brain for sure… $15
O’Dell, Giles – Zoonbats Chapter 2
Last time around we spent most of our time with Wayne (and his traveling companion), but this time around we get to learn all about Toast and Bloom. Well, mostly Toast, but with the way things are going I’d guess we’ll learn more about Bloom before it’s all said and done. And if you’re lost by that opening, it might have something to do with your not having read the first review and/or issue, which is odd, as it’s up for free on his website, so it’s not like you have much of an excuse. Toast and Bloom are on the road, trying desperately to catch up to their runaway robot giraffe. They’re making progress, as the robot can only go 30 miles per hour while they have a car that can obviously go faster than that, but the process is wearing on both of them. But then Bloom has an idea (that Toast should have considered ages ago, honestly) that buys them both a bit of time. We also get to meet that giraffe, sort of, although we’re no closer to figuring why it ran away or its destination. A good chunk of the previous issue was a flashback and this issue sticks with that same idea, as we spend a lot of time with Toast when he was working in a restaurant. This section had some serious detail in it, enough to make me wonder if Giles ever worked in a restaurant, and his notes in the back made clear that a few things in it are taken directly from his life, including the spectacularly stupid way that they had to remove grease when the buckets filled up. Seems like a method that’s just asking for spillage or injury, and a trail of highly flammable grease leading to a restaurant sounds like an explosion waiting to happen. Anyway, we also see the guy who inspired Toast to make his robot, learn more about that guy, and see his amazingly complicated plan to get back at their horrible boss all the way through. And honestly, it felt too spoiler-y to use it as the sample image, but Toast bursting out of the kitchen while doing his part of the plan and screaming “terrible mishap!” was one of the funniest things in this book, especially considering the severity of what was happening. That was a long way to go to avoid spoiling the scheme, but totally worth it. And as I said, we get plenty of notes in the back of the book, with even more evidence that Giles has been thinking about this world for a long time and has a lot of very specific details worked out in his head. Oh, and we also see how that flower pot got on Toast’s head. It might be exactly how you suspected! Overall I really love a story that’s not afraid to take some time to establish the characters and the world, so I’m happy with the pace. Maybe next issue we’ll see just what that robot giraffe is up to.
Yinug, Marino – Jones Crusher Stamps Out Da Freakz
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Jones Crusher Stamps Out Da Freakz
Kid reviewers, if you ever get multiple comics in the same shipment and are only planning to review one of them right away, try to keep them together. Why? Because you may see another comic from the same batch months (or even years, if you’re me) later and have no idea who you’re dealing with. Sure, they should have their name somewhere in the comic, but in cases like this, you get to go on an internet scavenger hunt to figure it out. I won’t bore you with even more details about it, so I’ll just say that if Marino Yinug is not the actual name of the person who goes by Zaponator, let me know and I’ll fix it. Meanwhile, I’m confronted with another problem I’ve never figured out how to solve: how to review a 4-8 page mini. Especially one like this, where it’s actually five pages of story, and only one of them has more than one panel. So I’ll just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the old timey art style of his combined with a Crumb-esque style for his leading lady. As for the contents of the book, I’d refer you to the title, as it’s pretty much dead on. Did I, as somebody who is completely out of touch with anything resembling modern music, have any idea of the beef between the two bands mentioned? Reader, I did not. But hey, maybe you will! No price listed, and my detective skills were exhausted in the hunt for the name of the artist, so let’s say roughly $5.
