Here I am thinking that I had just read a mildly grim, thoroughly engaging if inexorable but self-contained mini comic, only to discover that it’s part of something called the “Graduation Day” universe. See, this is what I get when I gravitate to the small comics at CXC in the (completely vain) hope that I can maybe not spend all of the money that I allotted for the con while still checking out lots of new stuff. In case you were wondering, this year, as always, I spent more than that. I blame the completely unexpected new Marc Bell book from Drawn & Quarterly, but it was more than that. Anyway! Christ, there’s a comic right in front of me I’m meant to be talking about. This is about the friendship between Kaylee and… the unnamed main character? Maybe I’d know it if I read the other book(s) in this series. They’re getting ready for their confirmation, so if you went to Catholic school you know all about that. They’re inseparable, and have a crush, purely hypothetical, on a boy with bangs named Skyler. After the narrator gets talked into going to a show by Skyler’s band, he ends up taking an interest in one of them which, if you know anything about how best friends could behave in the early teen years, came with disastrous consequences. Or maybe not disastrous so much as inevitable, as the “loser” pulling away from their friend in jealousy is exactly the kind of thing that blew up so many friendships in those years. It’s a mildly heartbreaking story, but it’s honest, down to the utter bewilderment of the “winner” in the situation, and how once the crush was seen in reality and not from a romantic distance, the dude kind of fell apart. Check it out, but maybe get the other books in this universe too for context. Don’t be a cheapskate like me! $5
Go ahead, try to take in the majesty of all of those colors. You really can’t, because I can see the comic itself next to that scan, and there’s no substitute for the real thing. Did I occasionally get distracted in the conversation I was trying to have with Maggie at CXC because my eyes were drawn back to the cover over and over again? Reader, you know it. So sure, the colors are ridiculous, but how does it hold up as a comic? Well, as a professional comics reviewer (no matter how many years I do this, that kind of statement will always be laughable to me), I have to say… I have no idea! Genuinely don’t know how to separate the two. This comic tells the story of four little creatures: Piper, Bun, a tiny baker, and a surprise guest that comes later. And others, I think, but I may have lost consciousness a few times from all the colors. They want to make a cake, but they constantly forget about it, don’t understand the concept of a cake, or sometimes even forget each other. The whole story is perpetually disorienting while also being adorable, a combination I did not know could really be a thing. Do they eventually get their cake? No spoilers, but what a sad ending that would be for a comic as joyful as this if they didn’t. The really baffling part is the “#1,” but Maggie mentions clearly that it’s the first issue on the back cover, and I am absolutely fascinated to see what comes next in this series. $14
It’s time for another deep critical dive into everything wrong with the latest issue of King Cat, as per usual. Ha, tricked any new readers! I rarely if ever have anything bad to say about King Cat, so if you’re looking for a pensive, thorough, unbiased review, take it elsewhere. I mostly still write these reviews so that they appear on my website as a kind of beacon, even for people who scroll through the main page, that a new issue is out. Still, I will happily talk about what’s in here, because it prolongs the King Cat-ness of my day by at least a little bit. What’s John up to these days? Things start off with a grim comic detailing his empty apartment after his second divorce and the loss of his cat, followed by a comic about his incredibly leaky apartment. Next we see him waking up after falling asleep with a pen in this hand, writing a eulogy for his beloved nine year old Shar Pei dog, and taking his terminally ill mother around town to visit spots that she’s always enjoyed, which naturally leads to John taking his own trip down memory lane. Am I giving that story short shrift, seeing as how it’s probably the longest one in the book? Yep, and that’s so you can read it for yourself as unspoiled as possible, because there are plenty of lovely bits to it and I don’t want to yap about them here. There are a few pages of letters (I know letters pages are rare in any comic, but his are the only ones where I never skip a single one of them), a few more pages of dreams (several of which would ideally be transformed into comics if I had a pile of money that I could give to John so he could just make comics forever), and then his top 40 list, which made my idly wonder if there was ever exactly 40 items on one of his lists. That’s a lot of comic, are there more stories in here? You’d better believe it, this is a hefty issue. Just hints from now on though, so you’ll see an owl, a dead mouse, dogs, a tire shop, items spotted on a walk, a memory of plastic bag lined boots on a childhood walk to school, and a demolition derby. Another great issue of King Cat, and once again I have no idea where I’d recommend a new reader hop on this train (maybe Hospital Suite or one of his other collections if you can afford it), but the beauty of his stuff is that any issue is a good place to start. $7
True confession time: when there’s a code to be broken in a comic, even when the creator is nice enough to put the key to it on the inside back cover (like Chris did), I rarely if ever bother to crack it. Comics shouldn’t be work, is my general theory, but to each their own! Plenty of people would love to crack codes in their comics. I mention this because several key plot points of this one are in code, so buyer beware. Or buyer enjoy! It all depends on your preference. But then, you may ask, why am I bothering to review this, especially when Chris was nice enough to send me a few of his comics to choose from? Well, have you seen that title? It is mandatory for me to review any comic with a title that awesome. So what’s the comic about, except for the page that I didn’t translate, but believe it or not I did translate the rest of it? Jonas (after a wonderful page of a warning to the reader that what follows would be terrifying) is invited to his uncle’s castle. The message is cryptic, and references a code that his uncle was unable to decipher. He went along with it out of familiar duty, but the castle unnerved Jonas, seemingly more every time he visited. He decided to read the message that his uncle had left for him in the castle, which I glossed over, because it’s a full page of code, life is short and I am lazy. From there the skull appears and delivers his warning, which I DID translate, and which led to a chase scene. The rest of it is up to you, gentle reader, because I’m not spoiling the whole thing. It’s a fun book, even with me only having the vaguest idea of what a seemingly critical page says, with a solid ending. $6.50
Every time I try to start this review I think of another layer of meaning to the whole thing and up doubting myself. Screw it, it’s not like anything on the internet is a historical document, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Just for as long as I keep paying the hosting fees, basically. Anyway! On the surface this is a simple tale about Lauri Kennta, the overlord of Mars, as he returns home after being away for eight years. We see almost nothing of Mars, except for his sad (and apparently constant) attempts to ask a young woman to marry him, as he’s politely misdirected by her parents. In terms of a palace, royal court or anything befitting and “overlord,”we’re left to wonder if the man is delusional or if they’re just details that aren’t relevant to this particular story. This particular story, again on the surface, shows him returning home, getting a hero’s welcome (so maybe I shouldn’t overthink things as to whether or not he was really an overlord), and finally getting some sleep. His dream, such as it is, shows the hopeless desperation he feels towards ever marrying that girl, and it also reminds him of the murder of a friend of his. For a “bonus” story, we also see a brief interlude from the perspective of the murderer, and it’s not a cheerful perspective to anybody involved. Have I broken my usual rule about saying too much about the contents of the comic? Kinda, yeah! But there’s a lot bubbling beneath the surface here, starting just with the cover image. It screams “get outta my yard!”, not the raw power of an overlord, and who knows what’s under the porch? And what’s the significance of his sleeping quarters changing to “fit the whole of space” in his dream? Plenty of stuff like is what I’m leaving for you to discover, so enjoy. $7.95 (or $22 for the latest set of four mini kus comics, which is what I always recommend)
Well, it’s inevitable with the mini kus books. I always run into one where I either don’t fully understand what the creator was going for or just don’t comprehend it. Sometimes both! As always, assume the fault is mine, but to help out, I’m going to do that thing where I quote the entirety of the synopsis on the back of the comic. It’s at least more coherent than I’ll be! “Toni ventures into the thicket, intending to perform a magical ritual to connect with his springtime spirit. As he delves deeper into the wilderness, he is forced to confront his innermost fears.” This is a wordless comic, meaning almost fully open to interpretation. It’s also gorgeous; Mark conveys quite a range of emotions from a character who is only showing his eyes for the entire comic. The fears that he confronts in the thicket grow increasingly terrifying, and they’re almost entirely in the second half of the comic, which is the part I rarely review anyway because hey, shut up reviewer! Don’t give the whole thing away. Is what I say when I’m reading a review, so I do my best to follow my own advice. Toni is clearly working through some PTSD and one gets the impression that he’s seen some terrible things, but this does seem to be a journey of renewal. Does it help him? Read it to find out! Like I said, it’s a gorgeous book, so don’t take my lack of understanding as a negative. If you’ve read more than a few mini kus books in your life, you know it’s pretty safe to trust these folks. And hey, if you’re worried, just buy the bundle of 4! I always recommend it for their comics anyway. $7.95 (or $22 for the sequence of 4)
Gosh, what a wholesome and innocent cover! I sure hope that I don’t open this up and find out that oh dear. Well, with a title like that you should already know to keep the kids away, if not it will be fine if they learn all about “a cast of polyamorous characters who live in someone’s rectum (from the synopsis on the back cover).” And really, that’s only a fraction of the story. Things start off with a beautifully colorful page of various animals, dinosaurs and sea creatures frolicking with each other. If you take a minute to really examine the image you’ll see that some of them are doing more than frolicking, but never mind that. Then we meet our hero from the sample image, but we only follow him for about half of the comic. And oh, what a half! He dresses up for the convention named in the title, where we meet a spectacular array of characters talking about doing a spectacular array of things. It’s all mostly implied up until this point, but then somebody at the con makes the mistake of laughing about violence, which completely enrages Mr. Octopus, who murders several convention goers, and then the scene switches to someone who is, um, thoroughly enjoying the snuff film of the event, until he’s interrupted by somebody with his own agenda. I’d better stop there, as there’s plenty more for you to discover; and really, even me describing a few things doesn’t lessen the effect of you seeing it depicted here. It’s a cornucopia of sexual mayhem, and you’ll learn a lot reading it. One way or the other, but if you’re a prude, come on, live a little! $7.95 (or buy the bundle of four different comics for $22)
Oh, mini kus. It’s always a delight to get a new stack of comics from these fine folks, and I’m always excited to see just what selection of four or more artists and stories I’m going to be reading this time around. Then I grab the first one out of the stack, and it’s a devastatingly emotional tale of trauma and loss and how impossible it can be to pick up the pieces, and suddenly my mood is changed completely. It’s an amazing comic, don’t get me wrong, but here’s a trigger warning for anybody who’s gone through physical trauma like this and maybe don’t want to be reminded of it. It’s a story told in a word or two per page, sometimes less, and you can almost feel the pain on the page with the many black smudges from Sara’s fingerprints. It feels like a story that had to come out, that hurt to come out, and the reader is left with the uncomfortable question of whether or not it’s any better for her now that it has. Never assume autobiography, is a lesson I’ve learned (and forgotten) many times while writing these reviews, so I can only hope that this is fiction. I doubt it, but this much pain on the page still has me hoping that that’s the case. $7.95 (or here’s a link to this and the next three issues of mini kus)
I accidentally read through #15-17 first, so I’m going to do my level best not to let loose with any spoilers for those last two issues in this review. Let’s watch how this old clunker of a brain does with that task together, OK? I actually thought that #15-17 worked seamlessly as a chunk of the overall story (same characters, same focus), but that’s not what I’m talking about here. #13 is mostly a dinner conversation with Gabe (one of the cops) and his friends, sharing theories about the killer and just generally chatting. A fairly casual issue, until you get to the very end of it. This is where my “no spoilers” policy on individual issues kind of falls apart, because #14 starts off with a jogger discovering the body from the end of the last issue, and this victim was also at Gabe’s dinner from the previous issue. Most of this issue is spent with the cops going through some theories and trying to knock down obvious dead ends, and then Gabe is called to the scene. In a rage, he decides to make a statement to the killer through the assembled media, which goes about as well as you’d expect, considering the fact that he just found his friend murdered. #15 is all about the consequences of that press statement, further theories about the victims and how they may or may not be connected… and a mysterious phone call. Too many spoilers? Eh, these multiple issue reviews are tough. The overall point is that this storyline is humming right along, which is a thing that definitely continues for the next two issues as well. It feels like one of those stories where the clues of who the killer might be are all here and it’ll end up being an “oh, of course” moment when he or she is revealed, but who knows? I’m still invested in the mystery, which I’d call solid work out of Brian after 15 issues. Check it out, although I’m obviously recommend an earlier compendium to start out, what with how numbering systems work and all. $4.99 (or $1.99 per issue)
You know what? Now that I’ve already written a half dozen or so reviews for random issues… I’m thinking that I’m going to go back and review everything that is left in order. What, were you trying to make sense of my thought process here? A hopeless task. But it’s clear that several of these characters do show up again later, meaning that there is a linear story going on here, even if it isn’t in every issue. So what’s going on this time around? We start off with a brief interlude of our hero showing how to forgive ourselves for past mistakes, then get into the story proper, which sure looks like a hero’s quest of some sort. He meets a wizard, who gives him a fairly standard choice at the start of his journey: would he choose a sword, a book or a pen? He chooses a book, its meaning is still ambiguous, and then we shift perspective to the porcupine, who has just that moment gained self-awareness. It’s alarmed, and hey, wouldn’t you be? The wizard then gives some final advice to our hero before vanishing, and we even get a character sheet for our hero for the nerds. Or anybody who’s curious about how exactly that dude’s qualities break down, I suppose. Then our hero and the porcupine both start their journey in the labyrinth, but I’ve maybe already said too much. Do they ever meet? What the heck are those two glowing points in the distance, could they be eyeballs? And who on earth is that dude on the last page? Questions to be answered in the next issue, I reckon, which I will be reviewing next, and not some random issue of the series. Probably. Assuming I remember this new plan. $5
I keep forgetting to link to Patreon pages for people, but please give me a virtual pat on the back for remembering to do it at least once. Maybe one of these days I’ll go back and update the contact information for 23 years worth of reviews and good lord just typing that made me break out into a cold sweat. Anyway! This is a collection of a year’s worth of John’s “A Fistful of Babies” web comic. It’s rude, it’s crude, it’s probably going to offend you in some way or another… and it’s mostly hilarious. As always, when I’m reviewing a collection full of short strips, I’d strongly advise anybody curious to just check out his website, as it’s chock full of free strips. If you like his humor, you’ll know it fairly quickly. For everybody else who can’t be bothered to click a link, I shall now go on to describe comics that are meant to be funny, meaning that I’ll say what they’re about, but those descriptions will be missing the bits that actually make them funny. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Subjects include realizing when you’re free from work, the horror inside of a melted snowman, a pretty solid nonfunctional internet joke but for life support, a punk mermaid, an embarrassed wizard, a formerly intimidating robot, a cleverly disguised principal, the grim reaper standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, a cat’s attitude to phone notifications, what the sun looks like from behind, a flasher bear, super fetus, a game of hide and seek that went too far, giving the sun a hug, an amoeba party, an alien losing a contact, and Garfield as a girl. That’s maybe a quarter of the strips, so don’t fret about me spoiling too much. I don’t know if any of these got a straight up guffaw out of me, but plenty of them got chuckles. What does that mean for a rating scale? Hell if I know, as I’ve never used one. Let’s call it a 73 and move on. $10
Well, here’s a flaw in my plan to go back and review some of the older comics that were sent my way and then misplaced: some of those artists may just disappear from the internet. Granted, Martin (as far as I know) never even posted Part II of this series on his website as available for sale, and the same is true for Part III. The website he listed in the comic has expired, and all but one of the comics he has listed is sold out. But hey, there is a contact tab on it, so I live in hope that he can still be found. Meanwhile, I’m going to be all optimistic and review this one anyway. This one starts off with a warning that the story comes directly from the first two parts, for the new readers. Is it inaccessible to everybody else? Nah. Things start off with a hilarious (accidental?) duck murder that’s unrelated to anything else, and then we’re back into the story. To be clear, I read the last issue a few years ago, so most of the specifics have flown out of my head, except for the bits I just reread via my old reviews. Thanks again, past me! Although sometimes I wish you were more specific. Things start off with our heroes the snails having a conversation, which devolves into an argument, which further devolves into a drunken car crash. And it somehow even gets worse from there! Next up is back to our other heroes the bunnies, with maybe the calmest conversation in the book. Graded on a curve, of course. One of the two morbid pigeons is back next, being interviewed about his new movie and what happened to the other pigeon, followed up by catching up with what’s left of said other pigeon. The scene then seamlessly transitions to the two characters on a “wanted” poster (seriously, that was a Mr. Show level transition, which is the highest compliment I can give), who have a time machine, and boy howdy does that ever lead to some adventures. There’s lots more, of course, but I’ve probably already said too much, and the fun of this sucker is in the ride. I also have to add that his written note towards the end explaining what happened to the original last five pages of the comic was brilliant, and made what otherwise would have been some lackluster final pages into something hilarious. I hope Martin hasn’t stopped making comics, but if he has I wish you luck in tracking these three issues down. They’re worth it! $5 (probably, or $10, or who even knows if this comic still exists)
This right here is one behemoth of a comic book. If you’ve seen past issues of this series, Sam has a helpful intro to start things off detailing that he now has a full plan for the series, meaning the first issue is basically not “canon” (and it clearly hurt him to use that word in all seriousness, which I have to respect). Also the issues are self-contained, so if this is your introduction, don’t worry too much about it, OK? One thing I’d suggest for Sam in future issues: if you keep this up, you’re going to need more than those few headshots on the cover to keep people updated on this gigantic cast of characters. This one is set mostly in a mall (with some time in high school and traveling thrown in), so if you break into a cold sweat whenever you see a mall setting, look out! He does mention that this is the most personal comic that he’s ever made, so clearly chunks of this are taken from (or at least inspired by) his past. Malls are just about extinct as far as I can tell, but in this comic, they are exactly as they always were back in the day on a Friday night: overrun with teenagers who are just a step away from being completely out of control at all times. So hey, what’s actually happening in this book? Things start off Claire and Zoey being reluctant participants in a gym class game of volleyball, and we spend a bit of time getting to know them. I thought the comic might be all about them (as they’re also prominently displayed on the cover), but then we take a detour into private conversation with a couple of other characters, and during both of these sections we learn more about a few more people. If you don’t have a good head for names and/or faces, stick with it; I feel like I got to know most of them pretty well by the time it was all said and done. Next up we get an extended story about Spike and Spunk trying to get tickets to an Acquiring Satellites show (which is also the main motivation for Claire and Zoey throughout the book, and you’d better believe that this all comes together with everybody involved), and the lengths they go to to even have a chance to get tickets. We then finally get to the mall, and I just have to point out that every single image in that mall is absolutely alive with detail. You can see about a dozen unique happenings going on with various people that we don’t even meet. Sam says that this book took him three years to complete, and clearly he spent a large chunk of that time on backgrounds. Neither of the two pairs in the lead stories are able to get tickets easily, and they both have to come up with some creative methods to get their tickets. Along the way there’s all kinds of drama, bullying, more character introductions, a break-up, observed and implied cheating, whether or not to tell the other affected party about the cheating, running from the law (or at least the mall law), and those spectacularly creepy twins. You can see the care and attention to detail throughout this thing, so if you’re looking for a new book to try out, why not try one where the creator has just settled on a master plan for the whole series? It’s always fun to get in on the ground floor! $15
Public service announcement: Robb has released a collected edition of his Sludgy comics, which is required reading for anybody who likes laughter and/or pathos. Or just great comics. But hey, howsa about this comic here? It’s another collection of gags and funnies, with maybe a lesson or two to be learned if you’re not careful! Or not; any morality learned from these strips is strictly up to you. Stories in this one include a very practical deal with the devil, Dripsy Mutt and his sad efforts to make people laugh, good ol’ Chucky and his unlucky (then lucky, then unlucky again) attempt at dating, a few ads against smoking that would be more effective than whatever else is currently running, those lovable scamps DIngus and Dum-Dum and their lengthy journey to try and make chicken soup, the struggles and horror of Toddler Body, and John Kinkade and his journey to bring the residents of a small village… freedom maybe? There’s also a full color bit in the middle with our friends from the Lemonade Brigade trying to shake down a lemonade stand and their attempt to start a band. Please understand, as always, these are my fairly dry descriptions of strips that are filled with laughs, and it is forever a hopeless task for a reviewer to try to convey humor through description and/or light critical suggestions. As for that end of things, about all I have on that front is a few spelling errors, but I’m guessing they’re the kind of things that only stand out to real pedants, like me. If you’re also like that, see if you can spot them! If not, take in the funny and enjoy why don’t you? Oh, he also says that supplies are limited for that Sludgy book, and since this particular issue is already sold out on his website (don’t worry, I linked to a source that still has copies), I’d be inclined to believe him on the limited copies. $10
Is this the first time we see actual humans in the world of Brick, or is my memory just that bad? Betting on my memory being crap is usually the safe way to go, but I think this might be the first appearance of humans. Anyway! Several stories in this one, most involving pages much more complex than the sample image I used, but if you think I’m going to pass up a chance to post an image of Silver Surfer Brick, you are off your rocker. Stories deal with Brick and family making and eating breakfast (if you were curious which of those three holes was used for food, the mystery has been solved!), Brick cleaning house and coming up with a solid use for the funk in a vacuum bag, Brick trying to ride a bike through rush hour traffic and ending up crashing through a window (which leads to a big disagreement when the driver makes a natural assumption about how it happens; I should also point out that everybody besides Brick in this one is human), Brick winning a baseball game and the necessity of using a creative interpretation of the rule book to have it happen, Brick as Brick Tracy (although we only get one of the villains from that ridiculous rogue’s gallery, but it’s a good one), and Brick and family getting jostled on a walk home. Finally there’s the big story of the book, dealing with Brick trying to observe an eclipse, getting too close of a look at it, and ending up a cosmic surfer who just so happens to be silver. Heavily inspired by Jack Kirby (which David mentions), and it’s really a gorgeous homage to the man. I approve of Brick getting more out into the real world, as that really opens up the story possibilities. Give it a shot, everybody! I’m still hoping for Brick becoming a household hero/part of some vast cinematic universe. $15
You know, I don’t think Greg or Fake put their names anywhere in this sucker. Every comic is somebody’s first issue of your series, always put your name in their somewhere. Don’t make me turn this website around! OK, scolding over. This is another really solid issue of the series, and one thing that stands out immediately is their wild success in finding all kinds of comics people willing to put little ads in their book. Good lord, I really could make it a full time job just following/reading/reviewing all of those people. If, you know, it paid anything at all. Stupid rent and food requirements. Anyway, there are several stories again this time around. First up is a dastardly plot to shut the power down for the entire town, but unfortunately for Captain Drake and Dr. Steel, they try this plan out on a Friday night when the Santos Sisters are just trying to settle in and watch a movie at home. This also leads directly into an ad about a retro website dedicated to keeping old characters like those two alive, which I assumed was part of the joke, but I just looked it up and it’s a legit website so??? Now I wonder where those two villains originally came from. Next up is a story with a title that’s so descriptive that I can’t even include it here, but let’s just say that a cleaning lady for a couple (who’s appreciated but more than a little taken for granted) gets bitten by a scorpion. Their actions next are the perfect villain origin story, although it turns out to be a bit more civil than that. Well, outside of what happens to our poor heroines, that is. Next we see whether or not it’s a good idea to chase after somebody who’s stealing copper from your construction site, followed by gaggles of those ads I was talking about. I recognized maybe a third of them, and there’s some solid stuff in there, so you could do a whole lot worse than actually checking up on some of those ads. Finally there’s the start to a longer story, in which we get a long and convoluted explanation of the wisdom of keeping secrets from a man with a metal jar and copious face tattoos. Where’s it going? Who knows! That’s what future issues are for. So yeah, you should keep reading this, and if you haven’t tried it yet, this seems like a solid place to start, what with the beginning of a new story and nothing connecting directly to past issues. And $5 is pretty damned cheap for comics these days.
What do you think about if your consciousness never leaves your dead body? Terrifying to even think about, isn’t it? The concept of this one is fairly simple: an astronaut has been sent out to try to find another habitable planet in the universe. It didn’t work out, and he ended up dying and then drifting through space for who knows how long. But the company he worked for didn’t want those valuable memories to disappear if the astronaut died, so they implanted a chip to keep his memories intact. This chip also kept his consciousness intact, which, you know, yikes. The human brain can go to all kinds of dark places in this sort of helpless constant awareness, and it’s grimly fascinating to see and read through it. Let’s just say that you’re unlikely to end up with a good opinion of a species that would leave you in this state, especially since the whole point behind it was because they had already ruined their original planet. Still, there’s not much of a story here without some forward momentum, so we get to witness the orbit decay for this poor sucker and we get to see what happens next. And hey, if you’re curious about that, this is the part of the review where I tell you to read it for yourself. As a concept, it’s entirely too plausible that a future corporation would force their workers into this situation, and it’s more than a little plausible that several corporations are already working on it. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, so give this one a shot why don’t you. $8 (and it comes with a sticker, in case you want an image of a corpse drifting through space on your backpack/book/whatever)
Boy howdy, Andrew has been building up to this one for awhile now, and it looks like he nailed it. Backstory for anybody who is just hearing about Andrew and his comics now… yeah, not possible, sorry. The very short version is that he started off with a series called Meeting Comics, which was basically him drawing funny strips during his boring work meetings and generally mocking office culture, and although this one is technically “Meeting Comics #29,” there are no meetings and no offices. If there’s a series that has evolved this much over a couple of dozen issues (and spinoffs), I can’t think of it offhand. He also put together a zine that’s literally called “Previously in Meeting Comics” and I hope he has lots of copies of those for conventions. But hey, it does mean that you could buy that along with this (he’s even doing a bundle sale of the two) and be basically caught up. Hey, what about this specific comic? It helpfully starts off with a very brief synopsis of how all of the characters got to this point, along with little faces to help you keep track of them, and follows THAT with another page of various ancillary characters. Did I find myself flipping back to these pages a few times, even though I’ve read every issue? Reader, you’d better believe it. The concept of this one is simple, despite how complicated the sequence of events was to get them here: Kevin and Ellie are divorcing, as are Thomas and Tina. The complications are mostly due to the fact that they’re divorcing because Ellie and Tina are now seeing each other. Kevin and Thomas have both moved on, with some lingering bad feelings, but everybody wanted to put a final stamp on the whole thing in a fun, festive way. So we see everybody (and I do mean everybody) get together, have all kinds of people interacting who rarely if ever have before, and unexpectedly have another long term relationship take a big step forward. It’s a joyous book, with just straight up dancing going on at times, and if I ever get divorced (after the first step of getting married, I suppose) I hope it’s as wonderful as this seems. This also seems a bit like clearing the decks for future stories, and as always I’m fascinated to see what he comes up with next. So yeah, long time readers, check it out! New folks, take advantage of that synopsis zine too, you’ll need it! $8 (or $10 for the combo)
Note: the images were, um, “borrowed” from Steve’s online store. I think these books are getting bigger, as they don’t even kind of fit in my scanner anymore. Well, somehow Steve has managed to put out 4 issues of this series in the last year, which is ridiculous, and since I’m a dummy I only grabbed the most recent one at SPACE this year. I remember the earlier issues being mostly single page gag strips with a few longer pieces, but he seems to have evolved into mostly longer pieces with a few shorties. And it works! Mostly because he’s fully leaning into some genuinely bizarre stories, which is my happy place. There are seven stories in this one, and I feel kind of guilty giving you one of them as the sample image, but I figured it was a solid example of his humor. Don’t get it or don’t think it’s funny? Chances are that you won’t like the rest of it. Also chances are good that we wouldn’t have much in common if we ever met, but you’ll just have to live with that. For the rest of us, other stories deal with a rogue hamburger decontamination squad, a leech art show that gets completely out of hand, a cool new toy that let you skate around on a trail of snail mucus, and the terrifying brutality of tree jail. Still, the heart of this sucker is Tourists in the Nightmare Realm, which is almost a parody of a family vacation where the parents (the Dad specifically) are determined to show the kids something new and to insist that everything is going great no matter what’s actually happening. As you might have guessed by the title, a family goes to a nightmare realm (Steve does some excellent work with the monsters; they were mostly hybrids of existing creatures, but they were creepily unsettling). They can barely find a boat to get them to the island, it’s unknown if the captain is even willing to come back and get them, and there’s no internet reception (much to the chagrin of the “influencer” daughter). Oh hey, thanks WordPress for telling me that “influencer” isn’t a word! I agree, but sadly the culture has outvoted us. Anyway, without giving anything away, most of the story is the part of the horror movie where you’re constantly yelling at the hero not to go in there or not to do that, but genuinely funny and somehow almost lighthearted at times. It’s an odd mix, but Steve nails it. So basically this book is gorgeous and it got several actual laughs out of me. If those sound like a good combination to you, give this a shot. $15
I’m a little worried about whether or not Michael is still active, as the last update on his website is a link to my review of his work for War on Dental almost three years ago, but hey, maybe he just doesn’t update it all that often! Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that. There’s also the question of the title of this comic, as the website is Cartoon Flophouse too, but boy can I ever go on so I’ll shut up about stuff other than the comic now. This is a collection of strips, varying from one page to several, starring a chicken (Clucky) and a turtle (Brett) having adventures of some sort. The sampled image is the first strip, to give you some idea of the mayhem involved. Other strips deal with showing up at the very wrong party, taking a turn on the idea of buying wedding gifts, going through an informative and hilarious set of definitions for a “Saturday Night Special,” borrowing a dollar from the U.S. Mint, doing everything it takes to maintain access to the free food at a wedding, and dealing with Clucky getting a bonk on the head and thinking he’s Shakespeare. The rest of the stories are longer, dealing with a search party out looking for a house party that gets out of hand (with a really solid gag at the end of the strip), the boys getting access to the model party of their dreams and how they manage to screw it up, and the disastrous results of their impromptu competition to see who can do better on an online dating app using only their charms with no photos. There are also several pages with various images and outtakes, as the man knows how to get the most out of his pages. Pretty funny collection overall, which is all you’re really looking for out of a comic like this. The man takes orders through email or snail mail, so if you’re interested in giving this one a look, try chipmunksandsquirrels@yahoo.com. Here’s hoping the guy is still around! $4
Posted by Kevin 
