August 19, 2012
Website
Baltic Comics Magazine #11
Huzzah for international anthologies! Getting a comic from Latvia is a sure way to keep me fired up to write more reviews for another six months or so (international artists take note). One note right off the bat: it would probably be a good idea for them to put the title of their book on the cover. In this case “Artventurous” refers to art both being made and not made and the various adventures surrounding different types of art. Don’t get me wrong, that cover is going to grab your attention sitting on a shelf anyway, but that one descriptive word might have helped them pick up another reader or two who was too lazy to open the cover. Anyway, for me a 2/3 success rate is more than enough to recommend an anthology, and this one is closer to 4/5 fantastic/provocative/fascinating, which covers that spread quite nicely. Please note that I’m not going to talk about every single story in here (because then what would be left for you to discover?), but a full list of artists is down there in the tags below the review. My favorites from this boo include the closed loop story by Martins Zutis dealing with The Odyssey, the silent piece by KJ Martinet called “Ideal Form” (I don’t want to give away a bit more than that), the fantastically creepy “Leda” by Betty Liang, the mind-boggling amount of detail in “Necropolis” by Jean de Wet, Jen Rickert’s “The Loon” and its shifts between what is happening in the moment and the flashbacks from its murderous protagonist, Konig Lu Q’s simple (but not simplistic) extra commandments, Roman Muradov’s story that disintegrates into little pieces in the middle, the sheer adventurousness (and never discount the value of a giant robot yeti) of the Mikus Duncis story, the social horror of Olive Booger’s piece, the gleeful mayhem of Elina Braslina’s story, and the plausible paranoia of Dilraj Mann’s story. And this is all without me even mentioning Simon Moreton’s story (who, if you read this website at all, you know is a favorite of mine), which should tell you something about the overall quality of this anthology. Honestly, I should maybe even bump up that 4/5 quality estimate, as even the (many) stories I didn’t mention here usually had something going from them, between the vibrant splashes of color and the various social anxieties based on growing up around art or just trying to produce something of value when so much incredible stuff has already been produced. Pick it up if you get the chance, that’s what I’m saying, as it’s impressive that they’ve made it to #11 and they should shoot for many more. $13
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Reviews | Tagged: Aidan Koch, Baltic Comics Magazine, Betty Liang, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Damiano Fenoglio, Daniel Werneck, Dilraj Mann, Elina Braslina, Emelie Ostergren, Ilde Betanzos, Ingrida Picukane, Jean de Wet, Jen Rickert, KJ Martinet, Konig Lu Q, Leonards Laganovskis, Marc M. Gusta, Martins Zutis, Mikus Duncis, Nicolas Mahler, Nicolo Pellizzon, Olive Booger, Oskars Pavlovskis, Renata Gasiorowska, Roman Muradov, Simon H, Simon Moreton, Ugo Schiesaro | 
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Posted by Kevin
August 17, 2012
Website for Brad W. Foster
Website for Simon Mackie
Website for Dexter Cockburn
Website for Macedonio
Too Blue Comix #1
Granted, I don’t usually list contact information for everybody in an anthology, but figured I could make an exception for an eight page comic. This is a series of comics with adult stories, and in this case that means boobs and penises (peni?) and such. Which has proved to be impervious to critical analysis in the past, but hey, it’s Friday, I’ll give it a shot. The bulk of this comic is Simon Mackie’s story about a man taking his son out to get laid. He brings him upstairs to a prostitute and leaves them together, at which point the young man is alarmed by the woman with very little clothes on and flees. But he does manage to get “laid.” Sort of. That’s where the comedy comes in, you see. Dexter has two single page stories next, one dealing with all the depravities listed in an adult comic (and where the line is of going too far) and one that combines making a deal for a good grade with the brief, sad life of sperm as it hits the air. Images by Brad W. Foster and Macedonio bookend this comic nicely. Dexter covers all the really graphic stuff this time around, so if that offends you you could always skip those bits (even if they are the most consistently funny bits in the comic) and read the rest of it. Then again, why would you have purchased an adult comic if comic characters having various forms of sex offended you? The point is that you get some funny mixed in with some sexy here. If that’s your thing, $1 isn’t much to ask for this, is it?
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Posted by Kevin
August 15, 2012
Website
Oh Babies!
It’s possible that you could see that cover from a distance and think that this was a comic all about cute little old babies, which would quite possibly make you back away slowly, which would be a healthy reaction. Relax! Once you get a closer look at that cover and see the five o’clock shadow on one of the babies and their general shapes you should start to get a better sense of what you’re in for here. If you make it to the first page you’ll know for sure that this is not a preciously adorable comic, as there’s an all-out brawl going on between the babies and it’s pretty nasty. Hair pulling, using a chair as a weapon, spitting, they’re letting it all hang out. Things stop suddenly when a nurse wheels in a gigantic baby. They stop fighting when the nurse comes in, obviously, as otherwise she would know that something fishy was going on with all these tiny talking creatures. A plan is quickly devised to kill this new baby, and we get to see the industrious little critters at work. I’m in danger of saying too much about the plot already, but we learn more about these kids along the way, and things start to get really interesting when that sample page comes along. The rest of the book is a complicated plan to save that kid, even though they were trying to kill him earlier, and that discrepancy is never mentioned because hey, babies. Jeff can do very little wrong in my book and this is another fun comic from the man. Well, maybe “fun” isn’t the exact right word, but that dialogue is fantastic and that story could have only come out of a very special head. It’s worth a look, that’s what I’m telling you, unless babies in all forms just terrify you, in which case you probably have bigger problems to worry about than which comics you’re currently reading. The spinning random price wheel lands on… $4!
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Posted by Kevin
August 14, 2012
Website
Krunk #7
I should really start putting the “vol.” indicator up there, as the numbers from this series and the original Krunk series are starting to blur together. There’s also the small fact that this second series is called “Introduction,” but let’s not get bogged down in stuff like that. Anyway, last time around I was slightly confused by the lack of a recap after not reading the book for so many years, but this time it really didn’t matter at all. Why? Because damned near this entire issue takes place on a bus, and it’s all about the conversations that occur. That being said, I’m only going to give you the highlights, because this comic just flows all on its own, and it should be experienced by you folks who enjoy such things. There’s the slight shifting of your walk that you do when approaching somebody who you think is homeless to prevent any loose change from jangling (what, you never learned that trick?), the gold chains from the 70’s that laid worms into your chests to help with hair growth, the possibility of a ghost pen (followed by the best strategy for saving or not saving the pen for its rightful owner), sitting down against the rights of a person in a wheelchair, Hollywood’s continued quest for a perfect gruel of entertainment that nobody likes (but which also doesn’t offend anybody), getting married at 13, the “sin” of eating a eucharist when you don’t believe in that nonsense and the inevitable condemnation from the churchie on the bus. And that’s only the first half of the book! I particularly loved how that religious conversation ended which, once again, you’re going to have to read for yourself. Lots more good stuff in the second half of the book, including a fight scene if you demand such a thing, and why wouldn’t you? This is a hefty issue, so it’s $4, but it’s so packed with goodness that you’re still getting a deal. $4
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Posted by Kevin
August 13, 2012
Website
Star Pilot #8
So here’s one possible spoiler alert to start the review, although I’m not at all sure that it’s a spoiler: this issue is a prequel to the first issue in this series. I checked on his website and Frank has all of the past issues up for free, so it’s not as bad of an idea as I originally thought, but it would still help if that information was given out at the start of the issue. But hey, who am I to tell the man his business? This also means that I’ll have to go back and read the entire series now that I can see that he has a clear plan, but I don’t have the time at the moment, so consider this another half-assed review. Huzzah! Well, I will use my whole ass to review this particular issue, which sounds terrible, so let’s just forget that I said it. This is one of those rare cases where I used the first page as the sample page, so you can see how he starts things off. From there we meet Kid Sampson, see a calamity at an air show, learn the truth about the minotaur myth, have possibly the quickest saving of the world that I’ve ever seen (hey, it’s a prequel; it’s kind of a given that the world will be saved), and even get a very brief glimpse of the monkey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the madcap charm of the issues of this series that I’ve read so far, and this one is slightly lacking in that department (which is bound to happen when the monkey and the rhino are absent), but their loss is allowed because now I can see that Frank is building something here. That wasn’t entirely clear to begin with, but it instantly makes to curious to see more. And to read the earlier issues, which you could do right now if the mood struck you. He has everything up there except for this one. No price, but a couple of bucks sounds reasonable.
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Posted by Kevin
August 7, 2012
Website
Other website
The Index #1
Caitlin manages to nail down the essential problem with so many of the angsty comics in the world in the first few pages: the authors of said comics have invariably had pretty damned good lives, which is itself the cause of all the angst. Lack of adversity can be a creativity killer for sure. This one starts off (after a damned funny but unrelated intro that you can discover for yourselves) with Susan (our heroine) arranging blank index cards on a shelf. Each blank card represented the sum total of the achievements in the lifetime of a single human, and she uses them to bask in her own insignificance. This worked for Susan just fine until her boyfriend John moves in, and he doesn’t like that constant reminder of the insignificance of his own life one bit. Things get a little tense from there, but why should I spoil all that for you? Caitlin does an impressive job with the art on this one, and I’m always up for a story that points out the inherent insignificance of our lives when put into any kind of context. And yes, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, which makes that “prelude” thing on the cover a retroactively welcome sight. She has all kinds of other comics up at her website, if maybe you need more convincing, or if maybe you just like reading free comics online. As for me, I like the cut of her jib and I’m damned curious to see where she goes from here. No price, so the random price wheel today lands on… $3.25! Damn, that is random.
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Posted by Kevin
August 4, 2012
Website (Ted May)
Alternative Comics
Injury #4
Before I say a thing about this comic, I need to make a very important thing clear: this comic marks the return of Alternative Comics, as they’ve been absent for the last 4 years, and that is a damned good thing for small press comics. Not that this was 100% published by them, as Kickstarter and Ted were involved in the publication too, but an established company like them will make it easier to get these books out to a wider market. I have to admit right off the bat that I haven’t seen the first three issues of this series, but it doesn’t seem like they contain any crucial information for enjoying this one. The bulk of this comic deals with a group of boys getting stoned and having detention, and it has to be the most pitch perfect representation of such a thing that I’ve ever seen. Jeff (writer) and Ted (writer/artist) really let this piece breathe, as we get several pages of the kids silently passing a joint back and forth, reminiscing about an Iron Maiden concert, before they go inside to take their punishment. Once they all sit down for their enforced quiet time one of them realizes that he’s way too high and paranoid hijinx ensue. The other big story was “Blade of Grass,” and this one felt distinctly like a continuation of an older story (and it’s “to be continued” this time too). Still, it’s a fairly self-contained story about a party clean-up and a few conversations that were mostly lost on me. I’ve yet to see Ted make a bad comic and this one is no exception, but it may take a collected edition for this story to make sense to me. Still, it’s worth it for that main story alone. Buy this comic and support the rebirth of Alternative Comics! And the people who are making this comic, obviously, but you know what I mean. $6
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Posted by Kevin
August 4, 2012
Website
My Life in Records #2: Into My Heart
Who says that you need free time to make comics? Grant is an art teacher with two small kids and this is still his second full color comic produced within the last year (unemployed slackers with one comic out in the last three years, take note). He also apparently put his master’s thesis into comics form, although I don’t know if the world at large will ever see it. But enough about that, how’s the comic? The music is much less prevalent this time around, but it does effectively take over a scene when it is used. Things start off with Grant (age three) being annoyed that he’s been confined to the kiddie pool and taking matters into his own hands by jumping into the big pool. Where he proceeds to sink like a stone and is rescued by another swimmer (the details are still hazy for the guy). There’s an abrupt transition from this section to Grant remembering older Christian records that he listened to as a kid and the idea of a giant box of crayons, then comes the Jesus. The rest of the book deals with Grant trying to work up the nerve to get baptized after his near-drowning and gradually coming around to accepting Jesus. Which will always and forever be a little creepy to me when that “decision” is coming from a kid and not an adult, but that’s my own personal bugaboo and not something that should concern you or take away from this comic. This is another gorgeous book, and it will probably hit you spiritual types a bit harder than it hit me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an interesting story even for us cranky atheist types, but a journey to Jesus is probably most appreciated by other people who have journeyed to Jesus. Here’s hoping his schedule eases up a little bit (not likely with two small kids, but you never know), as I curious to keep reading the “origin story” of this man and how music factored into it. $6.50
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Posted by Kevin
August 2, 2012
Website
Quark #2: Dream Me A World
Well, so much for this being a regular Friday review. Instead I’ll just make it a regular weekly review until I regain something resembling a normal schedule. Last time around we were taken on a journey through the creation of everything, so naturally this time we go a little bit further. This all starts once the concept of “two” is introduced following patterns repeating themselves, which leads to a third variable, which… well, you get the idea. Then the concept of three dimensions gradually comes about, which leads to all of the stuff in those three dimensions, with much trial and error being done along the way. Not by the hand of a bearded man in the sky, mind you; these were basically tests to see which things/living beings worked best. Once again it’s a fascinating look at the way in which everything might have started, and this one ends on a cliffhanger of (spoilery spoilers) man building Eden. So yeah, I’m curious to see where they go next, and I’m thoroughly happy with how inventive it’s been so far. And yes, I do realize that it’s mildly ridiculous to have these reactions for mini comics that are 30 years old, but hey, it’s all new to me. $1
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Posted by Kevin
July 30, 2012
Website
The Fifty Flip Experiment #15
Dan has been doing this comic for 15 issues now (obviously, and huzzah) and he’s clearly getting tired of this one particular view of reality. This time around he’s mixing it up even more, throwing himself in a few times (and not obnoxiously; Dave Sim, take note), and generally treating the stories and panels as his playground. And why not? I’d say he’s been doing this long enough to have earned it. The very first strip with a drunken Pinocchio talking to Gepetto (I’m not giving away the punchline) should have been your first clue, as it’s always a good sign when the opening strip is fucking with you. From there we get a single page image of an attacking helicopter, Darth Vader getting blown/cut with an axe, somebody fleeing from a burning building, a giraffe, and a viking holding a bong. Next is the strip I sampled below, and from there it’s best if you peel the layers of this particular onion yourself. Subjects in some of these stories include funnies about Diogenes, a funny (in a New Yorker-ish kind of way) joke about slavery, pirate humor, a night at Perkin’s (this one may only make sense to people who live in Champaign, unless that place is a chain of some kind), creepy Dan and a woman trapped in her bed, the soul destroying powers of TGI Friday’s, and happily ever after. Dan seems to be taking more time between comics these days (no human could keep up the pace he was on when he started), but if the result is books like this then I’m all for it. Not that I hated his older comics by any stretch, but I’m all for packing as many layers in as possible. $4
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Posted by Kevin
July 25, 2012
E-mail
Zombies Attack!
Shouldn’t I be sick of zombies by now? Hell, shouldn’t everybody? But somehow I’m still not, and the country as a whole clearly is not, and seemingly won’t be any time soon. Then again, maybe werewolves are in for a turn as the newest big deal. Anyway, this comic is basically a series of trading cards put together into comics form, all dealing with various zombie attacks or methods of zombification. Or as Don puts it on the inside cover “the subjects are paradoxically entrenched in stereotype, genre and consumer culture; viewed through the warped lens of disposable media.” Oh, and there are also subliminal skulls in some of the images. As I’ve proven time and time again on this website, I just don’t have a lot to say about comics without a story, but I’d buy this if it was around as a set of trading cards. Or I would if I bought trading cards. Subjects in here include seeing a zombie while on acid, zombie Jesus, gold diggers taking their name too literally and paying for it, a zombie on a beach, a ninja on a zombie killing spree, a zombie running across a passed out drunk, and a zombie pirate against a shark. $2
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Posted by Kevin
July 24, 2012
Website
Blacked Out #1
I would never recommend that somebody buy a mini comic because it will eventually be worth something, as they suffer the same fate as most other comics: it takes decades, if that, before they’re worth more than the cover price, and even then you have to find somebody willing to buy them. That being said, if the sheer quality of Max’s comics doesn’t convince you (and there’s plenty of that in the two issues I’ve seen so far), this guy is so clearly going to be a big deal in comics someday that you’d be stupid not to buy these early minis. The technical term for his art is “crazy awesome fantastic,” he seems to be doing a nice job of building up his characters, and he also looks to have a long term plan for this one. I should probably talk about the plot at least a little bit and no, that ridiculous cover of his was not a fake-out. This comic starts with our hero waking up in a bar from being blackout drunk, only to discover that every biker in the bar has been either beaten senseless or killed (his friend says killed, but I think there may be a few more repercussions for something like that than are depicted here). They go back to their apartment, where we see that the two of them are roommates with a young lady who appears to be his concerned platonic friend. They tell him that the can’t hold his liquor, what a problem that is, and eventually wander off to a party with all the booze they can drink for $30. You’d think that you could see where this is going from here, but you’d be wrong. At this party our hero meets up with an older redneck man who’s been watching our hero, and he decides to impart his wisdom about being blackout drunk on the dude. It’s so brilliant that I don’t even want to give it away here, but kudos to Max simply for coming up with that idea. I’m really looking forward to future issues of this one, and you can always tell a book is a winner when it instantly raises your opinion of the past work of the artist. More, please! $3
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Posted by Kevin
July 22, 2012
Website
Bowman 2016
Is it condescending for me to say that it feels like Pat is now all grown up as an artist? Almost certainly, yes. But hey, I have been reviewing his comics for around 10 years and have nothing but respect for the sheer volume and increasing quality of his comics, so I’m going to say it anyway. And that’s with me not fully understanding everything that goes down in this comic, but that feels more like a failing on my part than on his. First off, giving the hero of the book a horse with the head of Garfield was brilliant. And yes, it does say/think various Garfield-like things throughout the book. Our hero is chasing down some creature/man, eventually catches up to it and savagely bashes its head in. After that he takes the leftover bits of uniform from the creature and puts them on (as detailed in the sample below, which is probably the simplest page of the comic). There are also a few flashbacks thrown into this book to show how our hero got to this point, although honestly they could have been made to look a bit more distinct from the rest of the book to avoid confusion. Anyway, our hero goes to a big city with his new uniform, and those few pages have more detail that most entire comics. I don’t think Pat left a bit of background blank in this entire book, and the result is a feeling of complete immersion in this world. Things get increasingly ridiculous (and I mean that in the best possible sense) from there, with space gods, giant monsters and huge battles going on all over the place. My only complaint is that I wish the translation for the letters of the alien language could have come at the start of the book instead of the end, but other than that my advice is to sit back, relax, and let this book wash over you. And then read it again, as you’re probably going to need to to put the whole story together. And then flip through it one more time, without reading anything, just to appreciate everything that he’s thrown into the backgrounds. So yeah, I’d say that’s worth $5.
Comments Off on Aulisio, Pat – Bowman 2016 | Reviews | Tagged: Bowman 2016, Hic & Hoc Publications, Pat Aulisio | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
July 22, 2012
Website
Godzilla King of the Monsters
Was there ever a Godzilla movie that was told from the perspective of the monster? I know there are dozens of Godzilla movies by now, so they’re bound to have thought of that at some point. Still, Marc uses this comic to answer that question and tries to come up with what Godzilla was thinking when all this shit went down in the first movie. After all, the trouble begins when people start driving boats over his home, dropping bombs and radioactive residue down into it, so why wouldn’t he be a little annoyed? The rest of the comic deals with his potential motivations every step of the way, up to and including how the humans most likely treated what was left of Godzilla when they managed to kill him off. Even though, like I said, there were dozens of sequels with a living, healthy Godzilla. Marc also wonders how future movies went if that’s the case. Hey, I know: he could review/interpret them like he does here! That would end up being a hell of a lengthy series, assuming that he doesn’t get bored a few movies in. This was an interesting read, and my only problems with it are technical, as there are the usual few spelling mistakes/bad usages of “your.” And it’s more like a zine than a comic, but I’m the one reviewing it on a comics website, and I don’t see anything on here making the claim that this is a comic. But yeah, if you’re looking for a new take on Godzilla, you could do a lot worse than this. No price, so let’s say $2.
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Posted by Kevin
July 20, 2012
Website (where you can buy his books)
Quark #1: Determined to be Different
Jerry and Brad have both been in this business way too long to not have any kind of contact information in this comic. Hey, if I’m going to get annoyed at the new artists for making that mistake, it’s only fair to do the same thing to the old pros. Granted, this is a reprint of a comic from 1982, but single mini comics can end up in the strangest of places and you always want the person who finds it to have easy access to the rest of your work. So, what’s it all about? No big deal, just establishing consciousness and a sense of self. This one starts off before the very concept of time itself, when all there was was nothing. Nothing was alone and it noticed potential for there to be more, which gave it another frame of reference, and things build up from there. It provokes a whole lot of thought for being crammed into eight pages, and good luck reading this and not veering off into different philosophical directions of your own. Oh crap, and I just noticed that it’s “to be continued!” In that case I’ll just make this a regular Friday review (unless I’m not around on that Friday, as my current schedule is proving to be all over the place), because I’m very curious to see where they take things from here. Or took things as, like I said, this series is from 1982. Yes, children, mini comics existed back then. $1
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Posted by Kevin
July 18, 2012
Website
Temple
What exactly is an ear palace? That’s probably not the best way to start for such a thoughtful, imaginative (and hirsute, if Jun’s letter is to be believed) comic, but it jumped right out at me. This comic is the story of a man who finds an unexpected treasure in the ear of another man. Before you run away from the computer shrieking, hear me out. This man is walking behind another man in some kind of spiritual procession. Or maybe they were just walking? It’s not relevant. Anyway, the comic starts off by revealing that treasure, which I’m not going to reveal to you. Granted, it’s not much of a spoiler if it comes out on the first page, but maybe you can figure it out from the hints that I’ll give you, and if not it makes the comic that much more intriguing. It turns out that this man noticed a glow from the ear of the man who was walking in front of him, and he strained his eyes to try and make it out. Inside that ear he eventually heard the sound of flowers falling and trains rustling, then tried to see past an obstruction of moss and flowers. From there he noticed something staring back at him from a gap that was between two horses, and I can say no more without giving the whole thing away. This is a tiny comic, but it’ll leave you with half a dozen of those thoughts that batter away at the comfortable part of your brain when you aren’t paying attention, which is all you can ask for out of a comic. Jun is also working on a longer comic which, after reading this, I’m damned intrigued to see. Buy a copy of this for $2 from the man to motivate him to keep going, as I’d hate to see somebody with this much potential quit before he really gets going.
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Posted by Kevin
July 15, 2012
Website
Herman the Manatee #5
Ah, Herman the Manatee. Is it a bad sign that a comic this grim always cheers me up? Most likely yes, but I can live with that. The subtitle to this one refers to the fact that Herman has had enough, but he’s pretty much “had enough” from the get-go, so there are less changes here than you might think. Well, outside of the death of one of the main characters. Spoiler alert! Ah, relax, I’m not going to tell you which one dies. So by now you know the drill, as these comics show Herman, either alone or with some of his friends, dealing with his predilection for hitting his head on passing boats. That and his severe lack of a will to live, although most of his friends aren’t much help in that regard. Topics this time around include another look at Herman’s early years, the advantages and hilarious side effects of social networking, how manatees can be mistaken for mermaids, all kinds of self-pity, learning to dance, hoping for a nice afterlife, relaxing yoga poses, and casual murder. Those are the strips in the first half anyway. The second half is when things really pick up steam, what with the assault on a seahorse compound and the death of that character I mentioned earlier. Jason’s art has been damned near perfect from the start, and if I’ve never mentioned his penmanship before, well consider it mentioned. Sloppy lettering can take you right out of a book (if you can’t understand the words, it’s a little difficult to get lost in a story), but the man never crams words into word balloons that are far too small for them, he always spells everything correctly (and you know that I can be a dick about that if it goes wrong) and it’s alarmingly neat. Also, I’m only mentioning his penmanship because I’ve already praised every other aspect of his books and assume that you’re all reading this series by now, especially considering the many free samples on his website. If not, go over to his website, read some strips, forget about your own mortality for a bit. It’ll brighten up your afternoon! $3
Comments Off on Viola, Jason – Herman the Mantee #5 | Reviews | Tagged: Herman the Manatee, Herman the Manatee Has Had Enough, Jason Viola | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
June 25, 2012
Website
Lemon Styles
Huzzah for a comic that’s too big for my scanner! These images have been lovingly pilfered from other websites, including David’s, where you can read most of these strips for free. Or maybe all of them? Maybe all of them and more? Yeah, I think it’s that last one. Anyway, this collection has a few dozen of his four panel strips that can be read in any order (as David mentions a few times) along with a longer piece that’s meant to be read in sequential order. It might have made more sense to put all like things together instead of breaking them up with the sequential piece, just like it might have made sense to put page numbers on the strips when he refers to one of them by its page number in the end, but what do I know. These strips are damned difficult to describe to somebody who hasn’t read any of them, and I recommend that you go do that now. Some are funny, some are sad, some seem to make no point whatsoever until you let it rattle around in your brain for a bit and finally hit upon the meaning, but all of them have that special something to them that makes a good comic. No, I still don’t know how to describe that something, 11 years or so into my ramblings about comics, and that’s fine with me. Subjects in here include that long tube, a 40 year old eyelash, a dusty moth, a chaotic drone, a chemical that inhibits emotions, the future of murder, how can it be you if it’s not you, being boring, and learning to play an instrument. Sort of, anyway, and you’ll see what I mean when you finally read some of these for yourself, which you should have already done when I mentioned it earlier in the review, unless you prefer to finish things that you start reading instead of getting distracted in the middle. That makes sense. $9
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Posted by Kevin
June 21, 2012
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Krunk #6
Ah, my master plan of reviewing comics is still working. In this case, I read the past issues of Krunk (both volumes) until George stopped sending them for review in maybe 2006. Then I waited patiently for him to remember to send me more comics, and nearly six years later my patience has paid off! OK, it’s possible that this wasn’t the plan at all, but Krunk comics in my mailbox are always a welcome sign. Luckily me in the past republished the recap from #5 directly into the review for that issue, as otherwise I wouldn’t have had the slightest idea of what was going on in this issue. So for those of you who haven’t read any of these, or, like me, haven’t read them in many years, I don’t know what to tell you. Read that recap in the review for #5, that should help a bit. Otherwise George drops the reader right into the action with nary a recap to be found. Still, don’t be too alarmed, as this comic still works pretty well on its own. In this issue we get our blind hero in his quest for a cane (which he does while walking around and looking at canes), a mysterious disappearance by his homeless guru, another character details the process involved in getting hired and trained by a telemarketing company (including both the genesis behind the idea of the company and how long he lasted on the job), our blind hero taking a metal detector instead of a cane (at least until he was mocked for using it), an awkward religious conversation occurs, a guy spraying graffiti on a wall has his spelling corrected, and there’s even a fight scene. Most of my comics are already sadly packed up or I would have read the past issues of this series to get all caught up, and as such I must confess that I’m not quite yet totally back in the Krunk frame of mind. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot to love in this issue, not the least of which is the final panel from that fight scene. I’m absolutely thrilled that George has kept up the comics over the years, as he’s way too talented to leave all this glamour behind for a regular job. Which I’m assuming he has anyway, but you know what I mean. $2
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Posted by Kevin
June 20, 2012
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Throb
It’s always good to see a labor of love see the light of day. Granted, the impact is lessened a bit when the general public has no idea that this project ever existed, but it’s still heartening to see it. Jaime had the idea for this book (based on Zoom and Re-Zoom by Istvan Banyai, which I hadn’t seen until I checked You Tube just now, and I suggest you do the same for some context) back in the 80’s. He finally managed to put an issue together in the mid 90’s, but printing problems made a mess of the book and he ended up trashing his few remaining copies (out of a tiny print run). Still, he wanted to revisit it and finally put this book together, touching up his art where needed. Oh, and the title refers to the constant zooming in and out of the images, in case you were curious. Which brings us up to date on the history of the comic and the meaning of the title, but what’s this comic about? Well, it’s more of a visual exercise than it is a detailed story (otherwise known as art). Images zoom in and in and in, focus on what appears to be a speck, then zoom back out to show a completely unexpected scene, and on it goes for 24 pages (with a nice surprise at the end). I thought it was impressive as hell and think Jaime should think about making a video out of these panels like with Zoom. As if he hasn’t already spent enough time on this project in the nearly 30 years it’s been rattling around his brain! Well, it’s a thought, anyway. It’s worth a look, and maybe some of you comics creators out there could take this concept and run with it, eh? $3
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Posted by Kevin
