I made this disclaimer the last time I reviewed one of Danny’s comics, and it’s probably best that I make it again: I’m more or less over purely juvenile comics. One can still sneak up on me occasionally and make me laugh, but overall if your comic is mostly farts or dicks, unless you’ve found some kind of landmark new angle about it, it’s not going to do much for me. And speaking of which, there’s this comic. This is the only one of the few of his comics I have left to review that didn’t make me roll my eyes just by looking at the cover, so maybe I just won’t review those? We’ll see. This one starts off with our hero chasing down some friends to tell them a “yo mama” joke, after which they get offended and try to chase him down, to which he responds by letting out a serious fart. And he’s half skunk, so maybe it’s less fart and more self defense? Nope, not spending any more time trying to figure that out. From there we learn where Pal came from (it’s in the sample image, in case you were curious), whether or not he answers the call to be a hero, and then ends in a way that throws away the comic that came before the ending, or at least changes the direction completely for seemingly no reason. So overall maybe this series could still develop into something? That’s the optimistic part of my review, anyway. Also, while the artwork is fine, the quality of the whole thing looks like something that’s been copied repeatedly and is starting to lose cohesion. It was more than a little bit distracting, at least to me. So overall maybe give it a look if the idea of a farting half skunk hero seems like your thing? As always, my opinions may very well not be your opinions. $3
Note: as I mentioned in my last review of her comics, ordering her stuff is a little tricky, but the link on the title takes you through the process. Don’t be scared, it’s not that complicated! Meanwhile, hey, what’s this comic about? As the title might imply, it’s all about Zinj and, as somebody who’s been reading Pam’s comics for literally decades now, it’s about time. Zinj is a character that shows up briefly every now and then, but if his “origin” has ever been explained I can’t remember it. This one starts off like it might be one of those “get through the comic” kind of minis. You know the ones, generally the “I have to have a new comic for the con” type of things, comics that are mostly about how they don’t have anything to say at the moment, or about the process of making comics. But it quickly makes a turn into Pam jumping into the story herself, explaining her fascination with the Zinj skull (full name Zinjanthropus, if you’re curious), how all of the early versions of Sasquatch in her comics came from the Zinj skull and how she eventually settled on having it be its own character in her books. It’s a fascinating peek behind the curtain, and Zinj is now just a little bit less mysterious to me. The character, anyway. The actual skull, and what that creature might have been like, still freaks me out a little bit. $2 (ish)
I did not expect this comic to be quite as grotesque as it was, but boy howdy was it ever disgusting. Maybe not if you’re one of those (almost certainly fictional) people who like mosquitoes, but if you’re as disgusted and annoyed by those creatures as I am, this one is just a step or two past completely plausible. The premise is simple enough: nature dude goes camping, settles in for a good night’s sleep, and is absolutely assaulted by mosquitoes. He gets through a thoroughly miserable night and wakes up to find himself… changed. No, he doesn’t become a super powered mosquito man. He’s just, as the title might imply, more than a little bit swelled up. He also can’t really communicate verbally any more, which makes his search for help a bit complicated. That search also raises far more questions than answers, as “I’ll have to return to the man who formed me” has sure stuck in my brain. Can our hero be saved? If so, how, and would it be a good idea? This is a series of full page images, so you can really take in every bit of the swelled up imagery on display. It’s also all kinds of disturbing, and if you think that means I’m recommending it unreservedly, you would be correct. $8 (or $22 for a bundle of four comics)
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
SPACE is a weird time to try to evaluate comic artists, because I might be getting their first comic, I might be getting something they’ve spent years working on, or a 24 hour comic, or anything in between all of that. Well, this particular comic is from 2015, and if I have Ben’s timeline right, he was still in school at the Center for Cartoon Studies at the time. So what, did I end up with somebody’s only comic again? Dear reader, I did not. He’s been putting out comics regularly since, to the extent that “minicomics” are just one category on his website. There’s a (pretty funny, from what I read) online strip dealing mostly with cons, a graphic novel, anthologies… the man is clearly putting in the work. But hey, we’re here to talk about this one! So since this is an early comic, is it a little rough around the edges? You know, not really. Maybe the line on his artwork has tightened up a bit since, but it’s not exactly terrible here. This is the story of a young woman who’s moving into her college dorm. She’s nervous, things are a little awkward, and eventually her first day ends and she goes to bed. It’s then that she’s woken up by a noise outside of her window, which turns out to be a restless ghost. She runs out of her room to get some answers and learns the whole story of how the previous building burned down and how her room was the only one that coincided with one of the rooms from the previous building. Well, her window, specifically. After getting the whole story (including what happened to a previous resident who tried to help the ghost) she’s left with the choice of what to do about it. Which is the conflict for the rest of the comic, so I won’t spoil any of it, but that last page is too perfect for somebody who was still in school at the time. It’s a really solid mini, so check it out why don’t you? Or if ghost stories aren’t your thing, the man clearly has a lot of comics to choose from. $5
So I’m going on my memory of SPACE (2025, future readers) and I think that I mostly bought this book because Ethan had the worst table in the house and I almost missed seeing it on my way out of the con. I think! As has been established here several times, my memory is crap, so I could be getting him mixed up with somebody else. But if I’m not (and this was my original point, almost completely lost by now), I’m glad I ran into the guy, because this was a really great comic. An old timey mini, with several unrelated short stories in one comic package. With a fancy color cover; bonus points for using that color for an additional color comic on the inside back cover. You can see the story subjects on the cover, but the one with the werewolf women veered off in a wonderfully unexpected direction, the one where a dude woke up one day as Richard Nixon was full of surprises (and had a terrifying ending), and what could have been a grim tale of a young woman finally moving out from under the thumb of her controlling father still had a few laughs in it. Why yes, I do put a lot of stock in being surprised by a story after all of these years, why do you ask? Other stories not mentioned on the cover deal with a woman getting flowers for her husband and coming home at what was clearly an unexpected time, and the secret of one particularly successful major league pitcher. No more details for either, as I’m leaving that to the reader. As far as criticism goes, and this always come from a place of love and hoping for a better comic, but some of the spelling was rough. It happens, sure, but misspelling a story title in particular just looks amateurish. But hey, it seems like he’s really just getting started, so check out his stuff why don’t you? He also has an issue after this one, so he’s moving right along. $8
Was this comic what I thought it would be based on that cover? Reader, it was not. I chatted with Lief a bit at SPACE, but as my memory continues to turn into pudding, the specifics of what Lief said to talk me into this specific comic are sadly lost to history. There were other comics at the table for sure, but here we are. This is actually based on a true story, sort of, as are most other “based on a true story” stories. There is a real storm sewer entrance in Columbus Ohio, but it’s called Gates of Hell on Google maps. A cooler name than “Blood Bowl”? Don’t make me choose, but Lief is nice enough to explain the reasoning behind the title in the afterward. Anyway, in theory a skaker died there in the 70’s (Lief could not find actual documentation of this), but this comic is more of a fictional cautionary tale. A group of kids decide to go exploring, then they’re given a choice as to which tunnel to explore, and I can’t say much more without spoilers. Except the whole “cautionary tale” part, I guess. It’s a fun story; my only minor complaint is that it ended kind of abruptly. Which, it could be easily argued, it kind of had to based on the premise. This is not specifically available through Lief’s website (which continues a rough reviewing trend for me this week), but I’ll bet if you asked for a copy that they’d do what they could to make that happen. I also think maybe I paid $5 for this but, again, brain bad. Give it a shot, learn a little about Columbus!
What would a trip to SPACE be like without grabbing some of Pam’s new comics? As strange as not seeing Suzanne Baumann at one of these shows, but that’s another story and I’m guessing she’ll be back next year. This review is yet another chance for me to remind comics folks to make their comics as easy to purchase as humanly possible, but at least Pam does lay out on her website how to get her comics, general pricing guides, etc. I got two of her minis for $4 (well, $3, because I was down to three bucks at that point in the con, but I’ll pay her that dollar back next year), so I’m guessing you could probably get this one for $2. And if you’re at all a fan of the Food Network, there is probably a lot in here that you’ll find familiar. Not me though! I would basically only see that channel in waiting rooms. But a lot of personalities were named, so I’m guessing they’re real people, or slightly disguised versions of real people. This one starts out with the dialogue of a conversation between Pam and her husband (I’m assuming here, beware!) at a yard sale where he casually mentions that Mr. Rock definitely has an easy bake oven. And lo, a story is born! I’d completely forgotten that Mr. Rock was so tiny, so that was briefly shocking. The little man posts videos of him cooking things with this oven, eventually gets an offer from the Food Network, which leads to a whirlwind trip through some of the more embarrassing aspects of fame, all culminating in a food show fight. This mini is meaty, if that makes sense. Sometimes Pam’s books are quick stories, but there’s a whole lot going on here and, like I said, some familiar faces if you kept up with this sort of thing in real life. Check it out, send her some money! She’s only been making comics since 1989, so show some support already. $2(?)
Finding physical copies online of the comics I got at SPACE this year seems to be a bit of an issue, but maybe this one is just too new to show up on his website? I’ll go with that. As always, you can contact the artist and ask them directly for a physical copy, but you all already know that. This one is a mostly silent comic, leaving me lots of room for interpretation, which can often end up with me hilariously misinterpreting something. Will I do it again? Let’s find out! This one starts off with our hero (the guy with the polaroid camera head) being asked by an unseen figure to tell them a story. Most of the rest of the comic is a series of silent movements, which may or may not verge into wacky territory at times, of our hero trying to accommodate this request. After the result of this search we see what the comic was actually about, which I can’t spoil here, but I can say that it was quietly devastating. It’s basically a book for people who feel like they’ve missed their moment, and possibly people who feel like they consistently miss their moment. Give it a shot if this describes you in any way, but first you have to find a copy of the comic. You can do it, says I!
A brief note here: the link in the title goes to the complete comic posted on Olivia’s website for free. I prefer to link to a place where somebody could purchase the physical copy (or a digital version), but I don’t see that anywhere at her website, so if you wanted to financially support her art, maybe send her an email through her website and offer to buy a book or two? Anyway, explanation over. This is a short comic about a band making their way to a gig. One of them (Cherry) asks if they’ve remembered everything, leading to another band member to accuse her of thinking that they’re all stupid, which leads to Cherry explaining the real reason why she can no longer let little things like that go. I’ve been in a few awkward car rides with conversations like that, and either one of the other people in that car could have made things easier, but I think Olivia just wanted to let that awkwardness sit around for a bit. They eventually have a real conversation about it, and it’s all wrapped up with a really solid punchline. People on any side of this conversation could find something to relate to here, and it’s admirable that Cherry (I realize that this is fictional) was able to express herself as clearly as she did. It’s common in anxious moments to shut down socially, at least for me, so I think a lot of people who deal with anxiety could come away with this with at least a helpful hint or two. No idea on the price, but you could either read it for free or offer to give her money if you’re curious. Follow your conscience!
This right here is a silent comic that’s going to appeal to a very specific group of people, and that’s mostly people who have memories of the original Nintendo games of Metroid and Metal Gear. If you’re in that category (and I sure am, as evidenced by the fact that I could have picked several mini comics from David’s table this year and couldn’t keep my hands off of this one), prepare to be blasted with nostalgia! First off, don’t make the rookie mistake that I did: this is a flip comic, so after getting to that glorious double page center image, stop what you’re doing, go to the back cover and start again from there. It’s just about impossible to review this one without any kind of spoiler, so I’ll just lay it out: the first half shows how Samus (what us nerds know as the real name for the Metroid main character) infiltrates a mysterious facility, and the second half shows Solid Snake (ditto for the Metal Gear main character) doing the same thing from another angle. For those of us who remember the games, the fun of the comic is in showing the little things from each series, so I’ll leave those bits for you to discover. If you’re not familiar with either of these games, would you still get something out of the book? Less, for sure, but it’s still a fun wordless adventure comic either way. So middle-aged nerds, this one is required reading, and younger folks (or older folks who don’t know their video game history), follow your hearts! $5
Posted by Kevin 
