Reviews « Optical Sloth

Lopez, Fran – Fascination

March 13, 2025

Fascination

When I started reviewing Fran’s comics, should I have done that thing I sometimes do where I review several comics from the same artist in the same week? Looking back and seeing how all of these stories seem to tie back to each other in ways great and small, and seeing as how I’m not currently seeing all of the connections because of time spent between reviews, I’d say yes! Still, we’re dealing with the brain that I have and the decisions that I’ve made, not what I retroactively wish had happened, so you’re getting a review for this particular comic with a warning to the reader: if you buy a few of Fran’s comics, do yourself a favor and read them all at once, eh? Anyway, as that cover suggests, there are two stories in this one. First up is the story of a young woman who had a famous catch phrase in a commercial years ago and is getting recognized on the street for it. The only trouble is that she can’t exactly recall filming the commercial, and if it only aired for a week decades ago, why are so many people coming up to her and shouting her catchphrase at her now? Next up is a story called Waiting, in which a mother has a lot of spare time as her newborn sits in an incubator. She talks to the baby about how she came about, and it involves a discovery from space (that looks suspiciously like a satellite from this planet), how she met the baby’s father at an event celebrating the discovery of the space item (and how the rest of their society had more or less moved on by then), and what eventually ended up happening with the father. It’s another solid addition to the world of Fran’s comics, and if and when Fran puts out another comic, assuming it’s set in this same shared universe, I’m going to go back and put the pieces together to see exactly how it all fits together. $6

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Posted by Kevin

Seitchik, Daryl – Exits

March 11, 2025

Did I pick a wildly unrepresentative sample image this time around? Kind of! If you read the book you’ll see why I decided to go that route. If you haven’t read it and you’re only continuing to read the review until I explain it (weirdo), it’s because the quiet sense of barely existing was difficult to convey on one page, as there was a slow build throughout the book. Maybe I should get into the book, huh? Things start off with Claire working in a mirror store, miserable and sick of her boss. Her life isn’t great, to put it mildly, until one day she’s chased down the street by a literal man-baby who has some definite bad intentions. She ends up fading away while escaping, which lets her get the upper hand on the guy… but it also leaves her completely invisible to the outside world. Everybody has their “what would I do if I was invisible” fantasies, right? Well, Claire spends a lot of time doing exactly what she wants to do, with the overall problem being that this all ends up with her even more isolated and alone than before. She is found out by a dog and bitten eventually, which at least helps the reader keep better track of where she is on the page (after she bandages her hand). We also get flashbacks to some of the events that led her to this state, and she does eventually make an attempt to go back to at least parts of her previous life. But how much can she really do if nobody can see her? The overwhelming feeling I got from this comic was “melancholy,” but it was also riveting, and it was entirely too easy to see that Claire didn’t have a lot of great options and was overall maybe better off as invisible. Still, “riveting” should be your takeaway from this review, and I was happy to see that Daryl has plenty of other comics available, so they’ll instantly go on my personal “hey dummy, don’t forget to check on this artist” list so I can periodically check to see what else they’ve been up to. You can buy a copy through the link on the title, or if you hurry (as of 3/11/25) it’s on sale at John Porcellino’s Spit and a Half shop for half off. Whatta deal! $15 (or $7.50 if you hurry)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Daryl Seitchik, Exits | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Sally, Zak – A Monty

March 7, 2025

A Monty (link here to buy)

Is it really 13 years since I’ve reviewing one of Zak’s comics? That’s way too long. On his website he’s posted the whole thing for free (which I’ve linked here, along with a way to buy the physical copy, because it feels like one of those rare “drop what you’re doing and read this” comics), and before that he says that he’s been thinking about it for 15-20 years and that it’s not for the weak of heart. Accurate, but it’s also something that should be read far and wide. I thought it was going to be a comic about bullying from Zak’s childhood, and that’s technically accurate, but I was not expecting Zak to be one of the bullies. It’s a story about trying to fit in but also being content to stay away from the aggressors; Zak got tossed around a bit during their games but never seemed to be in serious physical danger. This is also a story of childhoods long ago, so for the younger readers when there were three channels and maybe that many radio stations, kids had to make up their own fun. This one is set in 1978, so well before, as Zak put it, we “cured boredom.” Anyway, Zak no longer had to worry about being picked on once Monty came onto the scene, as he was an older kid that rode a large tricycle, sang to himself as he rode and was most likely developmentally disabled. But that’s not the word people used in the 70’s, and in a really terrible history repeating itself way, not the word that the ruling party wants to use today. There’s nothing horrific, if you’re worried about this triggering anything from your own past, but Zak refuses to let himself off the hook for any of the taunting either, going as far to admit that people can convince themselves of just about anything in their own memory, especially when they were the one at fault. The end of the book, which is what elevated this from a very good to an excellent comic, deals with Zak growing up and discovering that the “adults in charge” were just nowhere to be found and that we’re all on our own. Terrifyingly timely, if you follow the news at all (or work for any part of the government and can’t help but follow current events because they involve your job/life). It’s a sobering, haunting read, and you should really either read it or buy it right now. Or both, if you can afford it. $8

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: A Monty, Zak Sally | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Allison, Matthew – Cankor

March 5, 2025

Cankor! A creation like this has never been before, and most likely never will be again, unless Matthew has more like this in his system. It’s a singular vision, that’s for sure, even if the influences are clear (and clearly called out) by the artist at times. I read this a few days ago and have been puzzling over how to summarize this book ever since. I’ve failed! There’s just no way. First off, this is a collection of four comics (or at least four parts), covering a decade of Cankor. There’s no introduction, no afterward, no clue what you’re getting outside of what’s in the comic itself. The very first page might give you the idea that you’re about to read a superhero comic, sort of, although you can instantly tell that it’ll be different from that predictable norm. It’s titled “Van Halen Versus The Clash” (for seemingly no reason), and has a Cankor with a cape and one without a cape talking about the futility of trying to go back and change the past. Then the one with the cape forcibly transforms the other one, which is the one we follow for the rest of the book. Sometimes. Unless he’s killed by another Cankor. Ugh, this really isn’t conveying how transfixed I was by this whole book. There are fights, but no real beefs that seem to be driving them, or at least not consistent ones. There’s disfigurement and mauling, but none that seem to stick, and even when they do there’s always another Cankor around the corner. Why are they fighting? Who’s winning? And now we’re taking a break to see the artist explain that he has no excuse for not starting to make comics until he was almost in his 40’s. Or the brief scene at a convention, or the nicely done King Cat parody, or sweet Jesus the body horror. So much body horror. And the language! This man seemingly puts poetry into the rage and mayhem, but also in the quiet moments; this was absolutely a book where I’d have preferred to put up about 40 sample images. It feels like a book where you could open it up anywhere and read a few pages, then go somewhere else and repeat the process, until you’ve read the whole book. Would it be a greater or lesser experience? Or just different? Look, I hadn’t heard of this book at all, and at $35 (although it’s on sale for $30 as of this writing), it was my riskiest pick from the latest haul from Spit and a Half. It’s also one of the best things I’ve read this year, even if my words are a poor vehicle to convey why exactly that’s the case. Cankor! $35

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Cankor, Matthew Allison | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Froh, Kelly – Senior Time

March 3, 2025

Senior Time

I’ve been thinking I should do this for years, and maybe it’ll actually happen some day: I really need to set up some kind of reminder system to check in on the artists I like every year or so. Sometimes I remember naturally! Sometimes I stumble across a comic while buying other comics to remind me. And this one is from 2016! Anyway, this is my usual long-winded way of saying that I’ve always enjoyed Kelly’s comics and this one is no exception. It’s a mini comic with a lot going on, as Kelly starts off by saying that she’s a failure in many ways because she’s been laid off from several jobs. Which is a horrible way to determine whether or not you’re a loser (probably the happiest years of my life were when I was working different temp jobs until I got sick of them, quitting, then just living my life until I had to do it all again), but it sets the tone for a switch in Kelly’s life. She set up her own small business where she’d spend time with senior citizens, helping them with various tasks and just being around for them. She also spent lots and lots of hours setting up art shows, so that’s two things that are significantly more worthwhile in the big picture than various office jobs. Leaving out the whole “needing to pay the bills” aspect, which is always hanging over all of our heads, but it seems like she’s making it work. There are also a lot of short anecdotes and conversations, with an ending that made me feel actual emotions, so kudos to Kelly/shame on her for such a thing. It’s a hell of a comic, and here’s hoping that I actually remember to go back and buy some of her newer comics when I get my next paycheck. $6

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Kelly Froh, Senior Time | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Pidge, L. – Infinite Wheatpaste Volume 1

February 24, 2025

Infinite Wheatpaste Volume 1

Ugh, my apologies for the lousy scan of the sample image, I tried it a few times and it just couldn’t be made clear with my scanner. But if you’re looking for sample images, L.’s website is chock full of them, so maybe go there? This is a behemoth of a collection of the first nine issue of L.’s Wheatpaste comic (I’ve seen it as one word everywhere I’ve looked, so that’s what I’m sticking with), and it feels like the kind of thing that I should really sit with and contemplate for a few days, but guess what? There’s an election this week (as of February 2025, we still have those in America, although y’all should keep checking back about that), meaning I’m swamped at my job, meaning that I can either write this review now or in a week or so. So you’re getting my nonsense ramblings, fresh off of reading the book! In other words, if you’d prefer to back away slowly and check out L.’s website instead, I will hold no grudges. Like I said, this book covers her first nine issues, and judging from her website she’s up to #16 as of this writing, so another volume will most likely be coming along sooner or later. Which is good news, because I have many questions. This starts off with a page of the important characters and brief bios, which was helpful, but it didn’t take long before there were more important characters than there were bios. Each issue mostly followed either one main character or a series of characters (sometimes for one issue, sometimes for a few), and figuring out how all of these people tie together is still sometimes a bit of a mystery. In the first issue we get a sad and injured god taking a heroic and fatal stand, in the second and third issues we have Soe (who has a lot of trouble just keeping track of her own reality) trying to make a connection amidst all of her chaos, the fourth starts a storyline with Groob in space, and there’s no way I’m going to make any sense of this if I try describing it in a linear fashion like this. Look, the important thing to realize is that this is an alien, futuristic society, and damned near every page has something completely alien in the background that gets your attention. Not, “huh, that looks weird I guess” level of alien, more of a “I’m instantly curious about the entire backstory for that creature” level of alien. If you’ve read my reviews over the years at all you know that’s my preference; convince me that you’ve thoroughly thought through this alien world/future and you’re already 90% of the way to winning me over. There’s so much strange in here that I hardly know where to begin. Soe falling through the ice even though she knows it’s going to happen, Groob hooking up with that alien, the thin mints, the cloned clone and his son, poor doomed Jeff, the “cats” under the trailer, OT 15 and his simple desire to be able to smile; the more I think about this book, the more layered it becomes. She also includes a foreward, afterward and several knitting patterns, with fascinating information in each of them, and that comes from somebody who doesn’t knit. When I Googled L. I noticed her name pop up on the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus page, so here’s hoping that refers to current events and she’ll show up there this year. This book is a freaking journey, and I’d highly recommend that you all take it too. $20 (ish, don’t make me try to convert currency)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Chase Hutchison, Infinite Wheatpaste, L. Pidge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Scully, Claire – Outer Wilderness

February 12, 2025

Outer Wilderness

Well, I’ve got a “good news, bad news” type of situation in regards to this comic. The bad news (which is what I always ask for first) is that this comic doesn’t appear to be available on the Avery Hill Publishing page. The good news is that this comic is the third part of a three part series, and that entire story IS available on their website, with the link provided on the comic title. So that way you don’t have to be like me, reading only the third of three parts, and can instead read the whole thing. So what did I get out of this book, reading only the end of it? First I should mention what it is, in Claire’s own words: “A sequence of events occurring over an unimaginable period of time in the vastness of space.” It’s what appears to be images of the same location, with each page being a silent image, but as if each image was a picture that was taken millions of years after the previous image. Honestly, if I’d had to guess I wouldn’t have thought that it would work as well as it does, but it absolutely does work. Based on some of the preview images for the collected edition I’m guessing it does touch on human history here and there in previous volumes, but by the third volume humans are long gone and we’re seeing a dead planet. Or is it just life that we don’t recognize? That’s where you come in, reader! There are all kinds of gorgeous images in here, and I loved how completely alien she made several of them look. Which is kind of the point, granted, but not everybody can pull that kind of thing off. Check out the completed edition why don’t you? Don’t be a dummy like me and only get part of the story.

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Claire Scully, Outer Wilderness | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Jackson, Rob – Crowthorn: A Village Built By Orphans

February 10, 2025

Crowthorn: A Village Built by Orphans

Rob’s back with another of his comics without word bubbles, which is a terrible way to describe his historical travelogue comics, but it is also technically accurate. This time around he took a walking tour around Crowthorn, which is near Bolton in the UK (I’m shamelessly stealing that from Rob’s description), and like in his previous travelogue comic, Rob provides the history of the area during his tour. It’s fascinating and more than a little grim; the subtitle of the comic is literal. But in a “for the best of intentions” sort of way, if that helps? The full story is in here, obviously, but for review purposes I’ll do my best to sum up a bit. Rob goes into detail about the man who purchased the property back in the 1800s and how it eventually got settled in 1872, by a married couple and 24 orphan children. This man (Alfred Mager) didn’t see a reason to hire people to do the work that the children could do, so they worked under some brutal conditions for years to clear out and then build up the area. There was at least one mutiny due to the working conditions, but the general “tough love” idea of the place was to give these kids practical skills that they could use in the real world when they grew up. Was that a balance that we’d have today? Exactly like this, absolutely not. Anyway, the school was eventually opened, improvements were made throughout the years, and there are many more details that I see no reason to spoil for anybody actually interested in the history. It’s a completely different place now, as Rob’s walking tour thoroughly illustrates. I don’t know if this is the general direction that Rob’s comics are going these days or if it’s just A direction, but both of these comics have been fascinating, and that’s coming from someone with no idea of the layout of the area and very little idea of the history. I hope he’s selling these things locally so people can learn more about their history, in convenient comics form. $10 (ish?)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Crowthorn, Rob Jackson | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Frade, Charlo – Goathearded

February 6, 2025

Website

Goathearded

Sitting down to write this review right after reading this comic has the effect of making it feel like I’m still in a dream. Maybe I should give it some time to settle? Eh, best to ride that feeling. So right away it’s clear that if you’re looking to get off of this planet for a bit, this comic is a good place to start, eh? It’s probably best not to write this like it’s analogous to our own reality, but I’ll give it a shot. First there’s nothing, then something, then several people fall from the sky encased in what looks like gelatin cubes. It seems like many are content to stay there, but one of them lands near a flower, pushes his way out, and meets the creator of the universe. Or at least somebody who seems to have some answers. These answers may be more questions, and there may be conditions placed on these answers. Still, what would an origin of the species story be without the protagonist eating something that he probably shouldn’t? This, as it must, leads to a polka dot onesie. From there a sleeping pegasus is seen in the distance, and a creature as curious as this one is obligated to check it out. This pegasus allows him to fly, but is this a good idea? How much wisdom is really out there? This is a damned fine comic, with maybe more questions than answers, and an ongoing question of whether or not the creatures who think they know what they’re doing actually know anything. But isn’t that always the way? $10 (ish, once again I don’t know currency rates)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Charlo Frade, Goathearded | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Pomery, Owen D. – The Hard Switch

February 4, 2025

The Hard Switch

If you want to keep my interest in any sort of science fiction or fantasy comic (as I am aged and jaded), it helps to have one heck of a premise to start with. This one certainly has that covered, as the central conceit is that there’s a finite resource that allows faster than light space travel, that resource is about to run out, and everybody has to figure out where they want to be when that happens. Some people have the resources to make that choice for themselves, some don’t and are having that choice made for them. We’re following a small crew of scavengers who are trying to find scraps of this material in shipwrecks while still managing to get to where they’d like to end up when it all runs out. Naturally, there are other scavenging crews with the same idea, and things tend to get a bit tense at times (as that sample image may indicate). Still, an interesting concept isn’t going to take you very far if there’s no character work, but Owen has that covered too. In the space of about a dozen pages we get a solid idea of the two human characters and the octopus (ish) alien in the crew, and it’s hard not to get instantly invested in their struggle. He also does an excellent job of world-building, although I guess universe-building may be more accurate, along with the changing attitudes of the people doing business with each other. There’s a glimmer of hope to the whole thing as well, as there might be another option for travel. All they have to do is convince one of the richest people in the galaxy that it’s best to share it for little to no profit of his own. If you’re in America at the moment, you can probably already guess how that’s likely to go. This read like a self-contained graphic novel for most of it, but by the time all is said and done (without spoilers), it would be a shame if this is the end of the story. This is the first book I’ve read of Owen’s, but after this one I’m hoping to go back and see what else he’s come up with. That man can tell a hell of a story. $20ish (UK prices, don’t ask me to convert such things)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Owen D. Pomery, The Hard Switch | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #16-18

January 31, 2025

Plastic People #16-18

The link goes to the collected edition of these three comics for the sake of simplicity, but you can always get the individual issues from Brian’s website instead. Aren’t I helpful? These three work really well together, as they’re very focused on the police response to the serial killer on the loose. #16 is basically a chase comic, as Facelift calls the cop who made fun of him to try to explain why he’s doing what he’s doing, and the whole time the cops are trying to triangulate his location. I say that like I know what it means, but it’s on cop shows, so something like it must be real. Do they find him? Since there are two more issues to go in this review, I’d say it’s not looking good. #17 deals with the cop in question getting a gun sent to him in the mail from the killer, and another characters tries to find a church that’s right for them. Churches in this series don’t match many churches from our reality, so it’s a bit of a struggle. Finally #18 gets to the funeral for the city council member who was killed several issues back, with a grim and moving eulogy from his partner. The transition to the next scene actually got an audible chuckle out of me, so I’m not going to spoil it, but I feel safe saying that I’ve read enough to Brian’s comics to think that that was his intent. So overall the series is still moving right along, and I’d still recommend grabbing a compendium or two to see if it’s your thing. Will I ever catch up to him in these reviews? I’m only four issues behind now, so I live in hope. $4.99 (or $2 per issue)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Brian Canini, Plastic People | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Papke, Maryanne Rose – Adventures in Gondwanaland

January 29, 2025

Adventures in Gondwanaland

Most of the time I choose the sample image in the hopes of summing up a comic in one picture. As this is an impossible task, I usually fail. But I do at least always choose an image that either makes me laugh or blows my mind in some way, and the image below does both things. Just take it all in, before I get started talking about the comic. What do you think the comic is about? It’s Tile (a character Maryanne has been using in online strips and regular comics for a lot of years) going off on an adventure with her flying elephant. She’s worried about running into pirates, which is where the sample image comes in. From there she learns that she’ll have to deal with the flower-trees and their minions, as they’re stealing all of the paperclips from the capybaras. A secret tunnel is discovered, and inside of that tunnel is something that can help them with their task… or not. It depends on whether or not they run into Souffle. Even if that happens, they still have options. Also, will hats be involved? I hate to spoil such a thing, but yes. Yes they will. One of the things I love about Maryanne’s comics is that they’re so very hers. I feel like if somebody handed me four unnamed pages of this comic in a row I’d be able to tell pretty quickly that it’s one of her comics. There’s action, a quest, and capybaras. What more do you need out of a book? $2

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Adventures in Gondwanaland, Maryanne Rose Papke | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Bivens, Rachel – Once Upon A Time… There Was A Mouse!

January 27, 2025

Once Upon A Time… There Was A Mouse!

When I saw Dan Clowes give his talk at CXC (in 2023) he made a point that really stuck with me about the unreliability of memory. His mother and brother had just passed away, and while he had faith in their ability to tell their shared family history together, now that it was just him he had no way to verify anything that he might have misremembered and felt their shared history slipping away. Why am I bringing this up? Like I said, it stuck with me, but it’s relevant to my review of this comic. I got this at CXC 2024, and there’s a kinda sorta name (good old Google helped me out with an actual name), but no website, no way to find anything more about them. Then when I did find them, this comic wasn’t listed as being for sale. So, we’re left with my memory, and since I stopped by this table alone: was this tiny comic a con freebie to give people a sample of her work? Or is just currently sold out on her website? The story is fairly simple, but adorable: a mouse is enjoying the heck out of a chunk of cheese, but one day that cheese disappears. The mouse then sets out on a quest to find more cheese (but a short quest, as the comic is only 7 single panel pages long), but how does the journey end up? It’s a cute comic, and worth a buck or two if you see it at a convention. Or if it’s free, it’s especially worth it. Just don’t count on me being the one to remember which of those options is true.

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Once Upon A Time... There Was A Mouse!, Rachel Bivens | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Walden, Tillie – A City Inside

January 23, 2025

Website

A City Inside

I’m linking straight from the publisher because they’re in the UK and they have a lot of books you’ve probably never heard of. Explore, try something new! Anyway, this is my third Tillie Walden review, and in the first two I believe I used the word “masterpiece” unironically. So I guess you could say that I had high hopes for this one. And they were… met? I think? Here, I can’t resist quoting Tillie from her website trying to summarize this book: “This book. Oy. Probably my strangest work, and secretly one of my favorites. Don’t ask me what it means because I definitely don’t know.” And now you want ME to talk about it? Madness, but I guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks. Side note: nobody pays me any bucks, but I’m always willing to take them. This book is significantly shorter than her other two books that I’ve reviewed, but it feels like one of those books that is actually significantly more revealing of the author than they may have intended. Not that I have any inside scoop on that theory, which is why it’s just a theory. This one starts off with a woman on a couch, about to start a therapy session of some kind. We see what she sees, which is an exploration of her life, what she wants out of it (privacy and peace, mostly) and what causes her to leave her comfort zone, which is a relationship and a cat, not necessarily in that order. She tries city life, leaving the quiet city she’s built in her head, but in the end she just can’t take it. The rest of the book, which I’m not going to talk about because I’ve probably already said too much, deals with her unpacking her decision and taking in all of the pros and cons. Among many other things, but that’s why you can read it for yourself. It’s at least partially fiction, because her time in space is mentioned, and there’s a lovely ending that I didn’t see coming. I hope she’s done with her Walking Dead spinoff comic soon, as I’m really curious to see what other original stories she can come up. As for you, if her gigantic graphic novels seemed too intimidating, here’s a shortie just for you! $17

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: A City Inside, Tillie Walden | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Bilyeu, Chad & de Wit, Juliette – The Re-Up #6

January 21, 2025

Website (Chad)

Website (Juliette)

The Re-Up #6

See, this is the trouble/joy of reviewing a series issue by issue instead of all collected into a graphic novel. Last time around I was a little down on the comic, or at least a little “meh” about it. But this issue takes a completely unexpected turn, and I’d be willing to bet that that previous issue will still end up being an important piece in the whole story before it’s all said and done. In this issue we get to see a bit of Chad’s early life and how his relationship with his family suffered during the years that he was selling weed. See? Unexpected! Things start off with a kitchen conversation between Chad’s mother and grandmother, and it’s the first time we see something that turned out to be a regular occurrence: Chad’s mother calling him to check in, and Chad ignoring the phone call. As his grandmother’s health declines the need for him to take one of these calls gets more and more urgent, but since he’s not aware of any of this the reader is left wondering if he’s ever going to do the right thing or if he’s unable to focus on anything past dealing. We also see young Chad, who had his problems for sure, but boy is it ever mandatory to slap anybody who says “you people” in that tone. Not that I could hear the tone, but it practically screamed off the page. While this was all going on we also still checked in with his dealings, and his annoyance with the whole thing seems to be increasingly impossible for him to ignore. And there’s a letter column! With thoughtful questions and equally thoughtful answers from Chad! Sorry to get so excited, but you see that kind of thing so rarely anymore. Any doubts I might have had about this series starting to become too predictable are now gone. Now the only question is if I manage to wait until the next con to grab the next issue or just order it straight from him. It’s not available as of January of ’25 (2025 in case AI me is writing these in the distant future), but they’re prolific enough that it’ll most likely be out soon. In the meantime, be like me and get caught up why don’t you? $10 (ish, or you could order the set of the first six issues for $50ish)

Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Chad Bilyeu, Juliette de Wit, The Re-up | Permalink
Posted by Kevin

Lopez, Fran – Still Making Your Diary Comics?

January 10, 2025

Still Making Your Diary Comics?

Go ahead, admit it: you have a very specific idea of what this comic is going to be like. That’s OK! I did too. But Fran really takes this in a completely unexpected direction, and it ends up being all about that creature he’s holding on the cover. It starts off like you’ve seen these comics start out countless times, as the first strip is about Fran talking himself into doing diary strips again, then we get a few about mundane aspects of daily life, even hitting the “I’m bored” type of strip very early in the comic. Then he literally stumbles across this creature, seemingly on the edge of death, and they quickly have to decide what to do with it. From there they have to deal with what to feed it, what kind of diapers to get for it, and how to hide it from the neighbors, before finally deciding that they’ll need to get out of town entirely. It turns into an odd surviving in harsh conditions/raising a child comic (even though the child is an alien maybe) which, again, kudos. I did not see any of that coming. He also has thin pencil drawings on each page (in the space not filled in by the strip), and each of them end up telling their own story if you’re paying attention. This one was an unexpected blast, which is the kind of thing that makes this whole reviewing hobby of mine still seem fresh and worthwhile 23 years into it. I still have one more of his comics to review, but after two comics I think it’s safe to say that yes, you should check out his stuff, and at this point it’s probably safe to just do a random grab of whichever one looks most intriguing to you. $5

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Posted by Kevin

Krumpholz, Karl Christian – In The City #3

January 8, 2025

In The City #3

Last time around I think I mentioned something about Karl’s comics making me want to grab a few drinks (in the “let’s get together with friends and talk nonsense” way, not the “sadly drinking alone” way). This time around I’d say he’s convinced me to somehow quit my job and go back to being a broke barfly full time. Logistically, this seems tricky! But it never hurts to have goals, right? This is more of Karl and Kelly’s late night tour of the city, with all of the horrors and joys that that entails. Like that sample image below. Would you believe that I picked it for the bottom part of the page, and the fact that that sleeping man had his middle finger up didn’t even register with me until now? Baffling. This time around the happy couple try to get their very drunk friend home safely (and discover a worrying long term problem along the way), end up on the wrong side of a gun (which, believe it or not, has a happy and hilarious ending), run into another friend and end up at a party on the top floor of a tall building where a game of chicken bingo breaks out (go ahead and guess the rules, then read the comic. Were you correct?), and eventually wind up in an excellent spot to see the sunrise. Of course, that’s only the big stuff. The charm of this series, the reason it might be the best thing he’s done (even with the shocking lack of Oola), is in the constant small interactions that make up the evening. I genuinely don’t know if he takes notes as he goes or if what’s depicted as one evening was actually several, but everybody he sees is a potentially completely unique situation, with the constantly increasing booze levels only raising the potential hilarity in each one. And there’s the possibility of danger, which he doesn’t shy away from here, but it helps that between the two of them they seemingly know everybody in town, which makes for a great safety buffer if they’re ever in a spot where they might need it. It’s another great issue and you should buy it. What else needs to be said? $15

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Posted by Kevin

Kalagayan, Jay B., Speeg, Dylan & Basinger, Clint – Messed #1

January 6, 2025

Website

I picked this one up at CXC (2024, future readers), mostly because Jay was a charming and relentless salesman. Also please understand, “relentless” is a good thing at a con; I can’t count how many tables I didn’t engage with because the artist couldn’t be bothered to make eye contact even though I’d stopped to check their stuff out. Anyway, I had a plan to review this one as a first issue, making a few suggestions, maybe a harsh criticism or two while the guy was just starting out to help in the long run… and then I checked out his website. This comic is from 2016, and he’s put out roughly a dozen issues since, so he’s both prolific (mandatory for this sort of story) and has most likely learned everything I was going to tell him by now. But hey, I’ve got to say something, so let’s all pretend, OK? This series is all about Lilliput, a sewer worker who sees all kinds of strange and unexplained things beneath the city. I’m guessing that this series really opens up in future issues (several images on the website were intriguing), but the first issue is pretty basic, with two main stories. The first one deals with Lilliput clearing out a clog of what looks like tiny versions of the worms from Tremors (which was a comparison Jay brought up to me at the con, and which is probably what sold it for me), and the second involves her having a long walk and talk with a giant talking… cricket? Both were told as if these events were a routine part of her day, which raises a lot of questions that I’m guessing get addressed later. So there’s plenty of weird stuff going on, but for a first issue I was honestly hoping for more. What’s Lilliput’s story? Who’s writing these reports we see between stories? Not a lot to push me towards a potential second issue based on this comic alone, but since he’s kept it up consistently in the intervening 8 years now I wish I’d bought the collection at the con and not just the first issue. So, to make sense of this jumbled mess, as a first issue I’d rate this as intriguing but so-so. Knowing that there’s another dozen issues changes the equation considerably, and I’m looking forward to getting the first collection at CXC 2025. Oh, also one of the artists is Clint Basinger, who seemed familiar to me. As is usually my solution to this vague sort of memory, I looked him up on my own website and it turns out that I reviewed a few of his comics back in the late 00’s. Look up his name and be amazed! $7

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Posted by Kevin

Stang, Audra – The Audra Show #7

January 2, 2025

The Audra Show #7

Well, my big plan to reread the series before reviewing this issue fell apart after I was unable to find the first couple of issues. Does this mean I don’t have them? No, it means I moved a few months ago and my general comics organizational plan was iffy even before that. If and when there’s a #8 for me to review, I’ll be doing my own archaeological dig. Speaking of my crappy memory, has Audra done much autobio in these issues before? This one is about half and half, and all of the stories are a few pages long at the most. I mean, the second half is all Audra, so it’s not like she was mixing both types of stories together. Stories about her life deal with her obsession with American Idol back in the day (which inspired some of her first art, so I can now officially say that that show wasn’t all bad), putting together her own scrap books of famous people, her innocent phone call to the mother of a contestant, and the looming, seemingly inescapable presence of her asshole of a father. He starts off as background noise for a few of her other stories, but he really makes himself known by the end, to the extent that her last story is called “I’m Glad I Didn’t Kill Myself,” told as her current self in reference to the previous stories. I hope that dude fell down an open manhole and lives in the sewers now. Anyway, the first half of the book is back to the ongoing story, and I don’t know why I’m reviewing the book like this so shut up about it. This is heavily about Adelaide, as she’s having a thoroughly miserable time watching other people have crushes when her crushes don’t feel the same way about her. There’s also a brief dream of Owen’s, which naturally involves something bad happening to him at his job. Oh, and she prints a few letters! Well, emails, I’m assuming, but still, that’s always nice to see. I don’t know where she goes from here, whether it’s focusing more on personal stories or back to her universe, but I’m excited to see what she comes up with next. $12

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Posted by Kevin

Auman, Chris – Cassetty

December 31, 2024

Oh, the audio history that young folks will get from reading this. Quick, what’s the first method you consciously used to listen to music? If you’re roughly my age it’s a cassette, although CDs were right around the corner from that. If you’re born any time after 2000, it’s a safe bet that no physical media of any kind was involved. Well, dig into the history of the various options, and have yourself a few laughs while doing it. There are several stories in here, all involving our good old pal Cassetty. He stops by a bar where he runs into friends and enemies of various media types (including an LP who’s very happy about the recent trend of people using records again, some CDs and an old eight track that introduces him to some even older formats). And his l’il unknown child which is, of course, a micro cassette. Other stories include Cassetty going on a rampage in Chicago (since Chris lives in Chicago, this seems like it was probably cathartic for him), a double page spread of his dreams, more evidence of his rage towards CDs, his most humiliating moments and his hazy times during the peak of his popularity in the 80’s. Finally he really digs into some of the oldest obsolete formats, including a few I’d never heard of, along with some solid reasons as to why they didn’t make it. I’ll always have a soft spot for cassettes, even if they are objectively inferior to other formats, so watching this little man going on a rampage or two was a blast. If you don’t have that same sentimental attachment, that’s OK too, as you’ll learn a whole lot reading this comic. And there’s violence, so what else could you ask for? $7.50

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Posted by Kevin