Top Shelf Tuesday! The 120 Days of Simon by Simon Gardenfors is reviewed today.
Update for 12/7/10
December 7, 2010
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Posted by Kevin
Gardenfors, Simon – The 120 Days of Simon
December 7, 2010
Simon is apparently a bit of a celebrity in Sweden, as he also raps and it looks like comics as a whole are a bit more respectable around those parts. So he figured that he would ask people around the country if they’d be willing to let him crash at their place and occasionally buy his plane tickets. and enough people responded to make it happen. His only rules were that he couldn’t return home and he couldn’t stay in one place for more than two days. Things start off awkwardly for him, as he is falling in love with a girl but doesn’t want to be tied down with a relationship while he’s traveling. He wanders around Sweden, playing gigs every so often, taking as many drugs as possible, and having sex with various fans. Oh sure, he also got beat up and had almost all of his stuff stolen (luckily he did manage to recover his travel diary) and dealt with what he thought was a serious death threat, but overall he was having a grand old time. Then word came back to him that his hoped-for girlfriend when he got back had something else serious going on. Simon is broken up about this for a day or so, but it didn’t stop his interest in other ladies and hey, maybe things turn out OK in the end after all. This isn’t going to be very helpful if you were looking to explore Sweden in comics form, but it’s an absolutely engrossing story. Simon is very honest about his problems before, during and after the trip, and he shares more than a few details that make me wonder how this was received when it was released in Sweden. Sure, he often changes names/faces, but he does list the number of each stop, and how hard could it be for the people who live in any given place to piece it all together? Him hitting on the 16 year old daughter of a family he was staying with, talking about his various conquests and constant drug use with all sorts of people can’t have gone over well everywhere. It does say on the back cover that it caused a “scandal,” but that can mean a lot of things these days. Oh well, I’m glad he was fearless in his recounting of the story, as it made for a fascinating comic. Also, this thing may be as thick as a brick but it moves right along. It’s just about the right size for a train or plane right, which is exactly where you should probably be reading something like this anyway. $14.95
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 12/6/10
December 6, 2010New review for Because I Am: Stories 2004-2009 by P.F. Davies. Holiday shopping is still open for business around here, and I bug because I think your loved ones deserve some great comics for the holidays. Don’t you agree?
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Posted by Kevin
Davies, P.F. – Because I Am: Stories 2004-2009
December 6, 2010
Because I Am: Stories 2004-2009
I’d love to put an actual website up there for contact information, but there’s nothing on Google for P.F. and the only thing listed on the back of the book is a Twitter account, and fuck Twitter. Ahem. Not that I have a strong opinion about it or anything. And that awful cover doesn’t get the book off to the most promising of starts, as it’s almost always a bad idea to put a story on the cover, even if it is a good story. You’re trying to draw people in who might see this at a store or a convention, and that national attention span is too damned short to read a story on the cover these days (see: Twitter). Luckily things take a decided turn for the better once we get to the actual stories. Actually, it’s damned near flawless once you get that far, almost enough to get me over my annoyance that a graphic novel can be put out in this day and age without any proper contact information for the author. Stories include an old man and his granddaughter and his quest over the years to nail down the specifics about a comet he’s discovered, meeting a nice girl while out on the town but missing the planned date due to being too responsible, a kid biting off more than he can chew in trying to pull off a bike trick, a silent (and brilliant) piece about the body fighting off indigestion, playing in a construction zone against the rules and having something go horribly wrong, a man taking a brief break from war by staying with a shepherd, the mystery uncovered by a metal detector, an old timey-tale about sniffing out the guy who’s sneaking in to sleep with another man’s daughter, and a silent bathtub dream about a pearl. It covers a wide range of age groups and types of people and every bit of it is expertly handled. There’s genuine emotion over here, a real laugh or two over there, and all the messy bits in between that make up life. This book is well worth a look, my minor quibbles aside. And Lulu is selling it for $7.54 at the moment, which is a steal for a book that’s this hefty.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 12/4/10
December 4, 2010New review for The M.I.E.A #1 & 2 by Jason Neuman and Dave Hudson, as I’m all snowed in anyway, might as well read some comics and yammer about it…
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Posted by Kevin
Neuman, Jason & Hudson, Dave – The M.I.E.A #1 & 2
December 4, 2010
The M.I.E.A. #1 & 2
One thing is for sure about Jason and his comics: he certainly gives you your money’s worth. This is a collection of the first two issues of his Multiverse Incursion Enforcement Agency (in case you can’t see it on the cover), and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Groups of heroes travel to different universes to stop potential threats. This gives Jason (and Dave, who is the penciller while Jason does everything else) plenty of opportunity to get creative, as these teams of three heroes can be pulled from any universe ever thought of. The first issue deals with a team that is sent to fight… oh, let’s be honest, it’s Godzilla. It has a different name here, but that’s pretty much what it is. The three of them fight it and quickly realize that they’re outmatched, but eventually pull together to exploit the creature’s obvious weakness. Or they’re all brutally killed; I don’t want to spoil anything. The second issue is a bit more complicated, as a completely different team sets out to find a group of raiders that also has the ability to travel between universes and is stealing vital supplies. A Benny Hill-ish chase follows (except there are no women in bikinis) where we get to see a good number of other universes before finally wrapping things up. It’s a great idea and the sky is the limit for what he can do with it. The only potential problem I see is that the reader will never have the chance to get invested in any of these team members, although he is starting to develop the people on the cover who are actually commanding all these missions. I’m sure that if this goes on into the double digits my other concern will go away, as they’ll probably start re-using the occasional hero. Either way, these are a couple of issues that manage to be fun and exciting without veering over into being stupid, which is no mean feat. Keep it up you guys, I want to see what happens next. This isn’t listed on his website yet, but if the first issue was $3 then this collection must be $5, right? It makes sense anyway…
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 12/2/10
December 2, 2010New review for Smoo #3 Preview by Simon M., keep those holiday orders coming! Otherwise you hate capitalism and therefore America, and nobody wants to be accused of such a thing, right?
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Posted by Kevin
M., Simon – Smoo #3 Preview
December 2, 2010
Smoo #3 Preview
Last time around I asked Simon about the preview and the “1/2” issue, and he had good reasons for both. Actually, the full edition of #3 is out now, so you could just get that and skip this entirely. So why am I talking about it? Two reasons: I’m in a rush (it’s a little thing) and I don’t have a copy of #3 yet and wanted to remind you all that he has a new issue out. Hey, but aren’t I the guy who complains about people who rush out books for cons? What’s the difference between that and my rushing out a review? One thing is a piece of art, the other is… whatever it is that I do here, so it lands a bit low on the hypocrisy scale. Wasn’t there a comic somewhere in all this? A very tiny one, yes. This starts with Simon fantasizing about throwing his phone into a lake (ah, we’ve all been there), then musing on whether this is a fad or a piece of technology we’ll be stuck with for a long time, all in his own inimitable way. This is only a few pages but, like I said, the whole issue is out now, so you should probably just go ahead and buy that one. How do I know that it’s worth it? Well, this is a great little story, and it’s not like he’s done anything awful yet, so let’s call it a leap of faith.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 12/1/10
December 1, 2010New review for The Natural World #4 by Damien Jay, and I mentioned that all comics ordered before December 20th would get to you at no extra cost by Christmas, right? OK, just checking…
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Posted by Kevin
Jay, Damien – The Natural World #4
December 1, 2010
The Natural World 4
Why aren’t there more serialized stories in the small press comics world? Oh, I don’t mean the people who write for one of the “big” publishers, but among the mini comics folks it seems to be exceedingly rare, and that’s a shame. Damien says at the end of this issue that he thought he would be about ready to wrap up the story at this point, but that it “has already strayed a few times from its anticipated course.” Good! Let it stray, let it expand, and let it be whatever story it’s supposed to end up being. If I had a large chunk of disposable income I’d ask my favorite dozen comic creators to come up with ongoing series and give them money to put them out instead of focusing on single, unconnected issues. What set me off on this subject? Um, it’s Wednesday? Who knows. So how about this issue? Well, if it really was only a three or four issue series, it would have arguably been a waste of time, as what we get is Shannon (the crazy guy living in the woods) and Walter (the only slightly less crazy guy with the dog) chatting in the forest. In a shorter series, this might have been a bad idea. In a series that is probably going to go 10 issues, it’s perfect. We’ve seen both of these guys plenty but haven’t had much of a chance to get into their motivations or what they’re all about for any length of time. Here that’s ALL we get, and it’ll almost certainly pay off big in the long run. So what did they talk about for an entire issue? Screw that, buy it and see for yourself. If you’re not already reading this series you certainly should be, so why should I give anything away? OK, a taste: that carved bird pops up again, we learn that the dog doesn’t like Shannon very much, and much fun is had with Walter’s way of talking. $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 11/30/10
November 30, 2010Yeah, I took a few extra days off, so sue me. The Top Shelf Tuesday review is for The Playwright by Daren White and Eddie Campbell.
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Posted by Kevin
White, Daren & Campbell, Eddie – The Playwright
November 30, 2010
Is it better for a writer to have a wealth of sadness and loneliness to draw from for his work, or is a fulfilled life without art the preferred outcome? It’s only due to the mastery of Daren and Eddie that it took me so long to figure out that that was the central question of this book. Things start off with a sad and lonely playwright who ostracized his family years ago by writing a play which was based heavily on the life of his retarded older brother. This playwright meanders through life, looking for excuses to look at women but without having the courage to actually talk to them, and never seems to dwell much on the essential emptiness of things, as he decided long ago to go for financial success over everything else. We learn about his formative years, his first exposure to the wonders of internet pornography, and his stunted attempts to at least keep current with the rest of the world. Daren White, for you whippersnappers out there, edited the DeeVee anthology in the 90’s, and it’s entirely possible that it’s still going and I’ve just missed it. Eddie Campbell needs no introduction, assuming you have any sense at all of great comics. Both of them weave this tale together masterfully, as Eddie has the visuals of the life of this sad little man down perfectly and Daren manages to guide things over to a chance for redemption naturally. It should go without saying that a book with Eddie Campbell as a contributor is required reading, but just in case maybe you thought you could skip this one for some reason, you’re wrong. This is a beautiful meditation on making art to the exclusion of all else and how it’s impossible to lay a thoroughly black or white judgment on that choice. If you’ve somehow missed Eddie’s work up until now, this is an excellent place to start. Everybody with even a mildly artistic mindset should read this book. $14.95
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 11/24/10
November 24, 2010New review for Bantam #1 by Lupi Miguinti, and that’s probably it for me for a couple of holiday days, although I still have some minor tinkering to do around the edges that you probably won’t even notice, so forget I mentioned it…
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Posted by Kevin
Miguinti, Lupi – Bantam #1
November 24, 2010
Bantam #1
I’m assuming that Lupi has put out more than two books, but I’ve only seen two, and the difference between this and her last book on forced female genital mutilation is stark. “Duh” would be an appropriate response to that statement, and good for her that she has fun with comics as well as trying to inform the reader. This one is all about the bad puns, so be warned. Yes, it’s a Batman and Robin parody and no, the world probably doesn’t need too many more of those. Things start off with Bantam on the trail of the Jerker, who is trying to shake and bake innocent civilians. Bantam gets captured (and seems pretty ineffective throughout), Little Pecker (that’s his name, he’s the Robin character) gets smothered by Mother Hen, and we eventually get to the real villain. I’ve spared you the puns; if that’s your thing you should pick this up and you’ll get your fill. It does end up being funny at times, despite the best efforts of the puns to batter me into submission. That “#1” on the cover indicates more to come, but it sure seems like the story wraps itself up pretty neatly. It’s cute and occasionally funny, but your mileage may vary and the very concept will give you a solid idea if this is something you’d enjoy. Oh, and I JUST now noticed that my last review before Thanksgiving involved a comic with a turkey for the main villain. Huzzah for unintentionally picking a theme book! No idea how much this costs, so I’ll go with the random guess of $2.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 11/23/10
November 23, 2010New review on this Top Shelf Tuesday for Superfuckers by James Kochalka.  Avert your eyes children!
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Posted by Kevin
Kochalka, James – Superfuckers
November 23, 2010
I can’t even express how happy I am to finally have another James Kochalka book around that I love completely. I’ll admit it, all the all-ages stuff got me down. Not that it was awful, or at least not the parts that I read, it was just that there was so damned much of it, and so little of it was actively awesome. This comic right here, as if you couldn’t tell from that explosive cover and the title, is actively awesome. Oh, and I get to say “Superfuckers” without the asterisk because I’m an adult and I’ve earned it. Kids, please insert that asterisk in there in your brains so you don’t think adult thoughts accidentally. It’s a bit silly that I’m complaining about the childish nature of his recent books when this could be accurately described as a series of jokes featuring the words “gay”, “retarded”, “fart” or “homo”, but there’s a way that it all makes perfect sense. You see, the juxtaposition of wordplay with the intricate… hey, look over there, that house is on fire! As I was saying, this book is fantastic. All of the issues of the series are included, even the hysterically priced first issue ($7!), along with a bonus issue to reward you for buying the collected edition. It’s only #1, right? There’s more to come? One can only hope. The cast of characters features Superhero Dan, Plant Lad, Jack Krak, Princess Sunshine, Grotessa, Vortex, Orange Lightning, and Donkey Anus. OK, I made one of those up. Their powers are irrelevant, as it’s not like they spend any time fighting crime or anything. They mostly get high off the slime trail of Grotus, remain blissfully unaware of their nemesis (a lump of goo who hangs around outside their house, hoping to catch a glimpse of Princess Sunshine), and insult/try to kill each other. The highlights (among many) include Jack Krak becoming a Christian, superhero tryouts (in which the last one standing gets to be on the team), Tumor and Grotus gettin’ it on, the pocket universe, the murder of Orange Lightning (um, spoiler alert, but only kind of), and the choices Vortex makes when setting up the new universe. This is exactly the reason I was such a fan of the works of James Kochalka back in the day, and the reason why I’ve been “meh” on it for ages, not that I can begrudge the guy some cash for books for kids. James’ super power is making books like this one, which is why I wish he would focus his energies in this direction more often. Buy this to restore your love in comics and superheroes, or buy this to reaffirm your belief that superheroes are really, really stupid. It works for everything! $14.95
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 11/22/10
November 22, 2010New review for Borderland by Dan Archer & Olga Trusova. I should point out that while the store still seems to be broken, I’ll guarantee all orders placed before December 20th get to you before Christmas. How can I do that if the store is broken? Simple: I can still see the orders you TRIED to make. So if you go through the regular ordering process and get an error message, I’ll see exactly what you tried to order and send you an e-mail asking you if you’d still like to place the order. If so you send me the money through Paypal, I send you the comics, everybody wins. Yes, it’s an extra step or two in an age when everything has to be immediate, but getting quality comics is worth a little extra effort, right? This may all be moot if the store gets fixed, but I’ve learned better than to promise a damned thing on that front…
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Posted by Kevin
Archer, Dan & Trusova, Olga – Borderland
November 22, 2010
Borderland
Raise your hand if you think all slavery in the world went away in 1865. Now take a minute to feel just a little stupid, both for raising your hand and for actually believing that. Human trafficking is alive and well, and the people doing it are finding new ways around the law at every turn. One particularly assholish way of doing it is to kidnap people to work for months or even years, then give them a payment for their services of something like $20 so that the worker can’t say that they were never paid. Yes, apparently that is enough to trip up some courts. This comic tells the story of seven people who were involved in various forms of human trafficking, but at least they all eventually made it out alive. I believe the setup is that Dan draws the stories while Olga writes them, but most of these are based on testimonials told to other people, so it wouldn’t shock me a bit if Dan occasionally worked on the writing end of things as well. Anyway, the horror stories in here involve a woman who was cut and left for dead as a baby (and things didn’t get much better for a long, long time), a man who found himself trapped in a work camp with armed guards, a woman who was chained to a pole and forced to live with the animals (and allowed to “escape” when her foot become infected to avoid them having to pay her), a woman forced to work in a public bakery, a big tough guy trapped in a labor camp, toxic exposure to some nasty chemicals while being forced to work, and a woman forced into sex work. It’s a powerful and haunting group of stories, and it draws attention to something that is often either ignored or considered not to exist. My only quibble is on a purely thematic level, as some of the stories just trail off without any resolution. Granted, they all lived to tell their stories so some semblance of a happy ending is implied, but the story of the big tough guy in the camp in particular baffled me, as the intro seemed to be pointing out that ANYONE could find themselves in this situation, but left how he got out of it a mystery. Minor quibbles, like I said, but the content is heartbreaking, and it’s all too easy to see how desperate people (or even some that weren’t desperate) could find themselves stuck in this situation. $8
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 11/21/10
November 21, 2010New review for Team Girl Comic #2, and sorry about the absence, but real life does occasionally get in the way of my rambling about comics. I know, I think it’s annoying too.
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Posted by Kevin
Various Anthologies – Team Girl Comic #2
November 21, 2010
Team Girl Comic #2
Go Team Girl go! Sorry to give away the ending of the review so quickly, but I’m all for increasing the role of women in comics, as there isn’t a thing wrong with getting some new perspectives on the genre. Not like there haven’t already been women in comics for ages, but you know what I mean. Or you don’t, and I don’t have the energy to explain it to you. Anyway, this issue has even more stories this time around, with a fairly persistent theme of zombie and how to identify them/protect yourself . The only problem is that while all pieces seem to have some indication of their creator, it’s often in the form of a signature, making it a pure guessing game as to who is responsible for what. Ah well, I’m starting to get convinced that chaos is a badge of honor in anthologies. Stories include Gill Hatcher getting distracted while on the verge of curing cancer, Emma McLuckie’s piece on a ghost who is easily frightened, somebody (see what I mean?) getting serious inspiration from the life of Harvey Pekar, Mhairi Hislep with the identifying characteristics of zombies, somebody else (aargh) with a brilliant piece about Jesus as a zombie, Mhairi again on how to dress fora zombie attack, and the differences of driving perspective right after getting a license and one year later. Seriously, why nobody else (that I know of) has connected the obvious fact that Jesus was probably a zombie after rising from the dead is beyond me. Plenty of other stories are in here too, as it’s really crammed with pieces, but half the fun of anthologies is going through all the little bits and pieces. And it’s only a measly $5, if I have the conversion rate even close to right…
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Posted by Kevin
