April 23, 2010
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Johnny Public: Out of the Wilderness
OK, you can all see that this is only a preview, right? Because that point needs to be perfectly clear before I launch into anything. This is a sample of an (apparently) already published 80 page graphic novel about a man named William Denn. William has many, many personalities in his head, and the book is (supposedly) about all of them trying to work out their places in the internal hierarchy. I’m throwing all of those qualifiers in because the preview didn’t make much clear at all. To give you an idea of my reaction, here’s how I read this comic: read the intro from Wendi which, frankly, didn’t tell me much of anything about the actual story. Then I read the 8 page comic, followed by the issue by issue synopsis, followed by the glowing reviews on the back cover. Just a friendly hint to the both of them: if I learn more from the reviews than from the actual preview, you could have put out a better preview! Anyway, after I read the reviews, I turned the book over and read it again, hoping that it would make more sense. No such luck. So, what am I trying to get at here? Just that I can’t say much about this series one way or the other. It seems like an interesting concept, and the reviews were glowing, not that that tells you much. I’d say at least give the first issue a shot to see where it went, but I would definitely tell you to avoid the preview. Here’s a website, maybe some confusion can be cleared up there!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #6 Now Available! $1
Kelly takes care of one of the worst problems with autobio comics right away here, as she has plenty of interesting things to write about. A fair amount of comics like this are just plain dull, and that is never an issue with this one. This covers the summer of 2005 and as such it’s a remarkably focused book, sticking to a pretty strict timeline. It starts off with an awkward date with an internet friend (portrayed as one silent page of panels) and keeps right on going from there into living with her parents again (at age 31, briefly), trying to find a summer job, her dealings with the people at her pizza place job, saying goodbye to everybody, taking a trip to Seattle and finally ending up back in Vancouver. She uses all sorts of different techniques here, sometimes going with silent stories following text pieces, sometimes going with the more traditional comics with text (although no word balloons, maintaining an unintentional website theme for the day), and occasionally even going with photographs. It’s a great layout for a book and even ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, even though I have some idea how it turns out, as this was about the summer of 2005, after all. And all that for a measly buck!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #5 Now Available! $2
I suppose I should pick one issue out of all these Slithers and recommend it to anybody who wants to get a good example of Kelly’s work. And that would be… this one! It’s odd, because this is the least “comic-y” of all her issues, as the bulk of this issue is a text description of her second semester at art school in Baltimore. Luckily for the reader, Kelly is equally capable of excellent writing as she is at the pretty pictures. Things are broken down into seemingly minute detail, but it never manages to get dull. She tries to adjust to a new city while having no money and few friends, starts counting all the time she’s wasting waiting for the perpetually late bus, walks the usual tightrope of trying to keep peace with a roommate, and starts a phone relationship with somebody she met online. This relationship seems to be the thing that takes the most out of her, as this guy lives across the country and their phone conversations pretty much have to occur at (for her) 3 in the morning. As usual, Kelly doesn’t disappoint with the effortless honesty in describing how things went with the guy, even including a free insert comic detailing how their eventual meeting turned out. It’s rare that you can curl up with a mini comic, but on this rainy March day this was a damned welcome way to spend a chunk of the afternoon. In my continued war against chronological order, this is the last issue of the Slither pile reviewed, and I have to honestly say that you could pick any issue out of this pile and still see what she’s capable of. A bit of a rarity, especially considering how first issues are generally just hints of what’s to come. She did improve over the course of the issues, granted, but there’s plenty to love all the way through. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #4 (art by Chris Warren & Aaron Mew) Now Available! $1
Checking over that last review I can see that Kelly promised depravity this time around, and she delivers! Or at least she delivers if you consider talking about sex like an adult talking to other adults “depravity”. This issue covers a time span (I believe) through 2004, dealing with such things as traveling, dealing with her family for a wedding, visiting all sorts of friends, trying to imagine how she could ever fit in in New York, the sheer delight of kicking an asshole in a movie theater as he walks by, and Warren. Warren was her love interest (is there a more modern term for that I could use? “Love interest” makes me feel downright prim and proper) at the time, and Kelly honestly goes through how they got together, how she resisted at first but eventually got won over, how Warren lost interest once he saw that he had achieved his conquest, and how she let the whole thing die. The thing I love most about Kelly’s descriptions of her relationships is the absolute lack of any self pity. She tells a story about Warren telling her a pretty cruel thing, but it’s very clearly told because it’s an integral part of the story, not out of some desire to get sympathy from the reader. Self-indulgent auto-bio cartoonists, take note. The issue wraps up with the reader matching outfits to their respective cities, and a listing of the various types of people who ride buses, and I think I’ve seen all of them except the overtly paranoid guy. Another excellent issue, and anybody who doesn’t take a few minutes (and a few dollars) to get a stack of her comics is only hurting themselves.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #3 Now Available! $1
It’s the second year of Kelly’s time at art school, and this issue goes through the horrors involved, or at least the highlights. Maybe “horrors” is too strong a word, maybe “uselessness” or “inanity” would be a better word. Essentially she’s there trying to learn, improve her craft, get a little sense of art history, that sort of thing, and what she gets are egocentric teachers: one who wants to do her work for her, one who has a creepy alter ego, and one who is so in love with the sound of his own voice that the class is lucky to get any useful information at all. She goes through the rest of her year in this issue as well, telling us all about nights out, a sexy wedding, an art show, her intimidating pilates class, an awkward night on stage with a comedian, a date with a filmmaker, and some things she will both have and never have, given her debt and imagined status in life, I suppose. It’s all wrapped up with a few pages of looks people cultivate to find a soul mate, and good luck not finding something to laugh at there. Another solid issue, although you have to forgive me if I’m a little more excited for the next issue, as she promises depravity inside. Yes, it’s Monday and I’m already looking for more depravity… $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Wormdye #2
That cover is just gorgeous. I don’t think this scan does it justice, and this is a pretty decent scanner. Again, I have to commend the sheer level of detail in this, as it’s the little things like that that always impress me. So what’s the story here? Well, you have a new race of people, a power mad Pope (like there’s any other kind), Medusa, and an island. Seriously, this one is more about the visuals, as there are more than a few pages here without dialogue and I could just stare at this for hours. Well, OK, lots of minutes anyway, as my attenion span has been severely shortened with all this computer time. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #2 Now Available! $1
So who wants to read the sometimes painful process of living with your parents out in the middle of nowhere (Wisconsin) while pushing 30? Kelly has yet to disappoint with one of her minis and this one is no exception. This issue tells the tale of the time with her parents, with flashbacks thrown in occasionally to illustrate who exactly these people are and their meaning in her life. She also goes through a failed romance over her time in Wisconsin with an old friend who just happens to be married. Most of the book is dedicated to this time in her life, with the last few pages telling a morality tale about how maybe it’s not so bad to be trapped in corporate life after all. Another engrossing issue, if it wasn’t for my personal policy of reviewing stuff from people sporadically instead of all in a row (to give more theoretical readers a chance to see their name on the front page) I would have torn through all five issues already. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Making a mini comic by Austin English
The Tenth Frame #12
Hm, I seem to have a bit of a Tenth Frame gap in the issue numbers. In the meantime Austin has decided to go with continuing stories, which is great in my book. First up is Parts of Christina’s Heart, a text-heavy piece about a girl reminiscing about her time as a child, but not the usual sappy memories about how great everything was when we were kids. This one is more about staying with friends out of habit rather then affection and overhearing them starting to lose interest in you. Then there’s the tale of Abby getting married when Austin was 6 to a security guard who was also a painter, and the efforts of the family to get him a working studio. Both of these are continuing stories and, on a completely unrelated note, Austin is only 21, so he has plenty of time to really develop into something special, at least based on what I’ve seen of his early work. No pressure or anything. This issue is hand colored, like some of his older issues, and is a pretty good deal at $3, considering all the work he puts into each issue.Contact info is up there and I think I’ve been pretty clear about how much I like his stuff…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Slither #1 Now Available! $1
And here I thought these Slithers were going to be something of a straight line in the life of Kelly. Turns out that there are plenty of surprises still to come in issues 2-5, as #6 (the one reviewed first, for anybody who’s reading this, not looking inside my head and is a bit confused) appears to come directly after #1, at least chronologically. This issue details Kelly’s return to college after about ten years away, her living with two stoners (never, ever rent a house unseen), trying to make friends in Vancouver, a spider with a vendetta, and a few throwaway pages at the end with senior pictures. It’s always tough to say, when checking out the early work of somebody you like, whether that work is going to be painful, watching them learn as they go. Kelly has the storytelling figured out right off the bat (although the art does get better as she goes) and I’m really looking forward to filling in the blanks in this series in the coming weeks. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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I: You’re Living in the Past Now Available! $1
Thought I’d start with the afterward of the mini this time around, as it’s a genuinely wonderful thing and deserves to be quoted in its entirety: “Though both Eve and Josh do appreciate your patronage, it is their sincerest wish that next time you drop in to examine their wares you spring for something other than the cheapest book on the table.” Of course, that only counts at conventions (and it’s something I do everywhere, but then again I’m the guy trying to sample the wares of every table). For buying stuff online, I think it’s the best way to figure out if somebody is right for you. Maybe you looked at those Icecreamlandia samples and thought they were a bit too odd, or maybe that gigantic $3.50 scared you off. Whatever the case, now you have smaller, cheaper bites to check out. Oh yeah, how about that comic? It’s a shortie, hence the price, and subjects in here include a eulogy, columns, the Hollywood golden age, prank calls, and smart keys. Explaining this stuff in detail takes away some oomph, so I’ll just say that if you enjoy random funny and/or insightful unconnected bits strung together in a loose comic format, this is now officially in the price range of even the poorest person with an internet connection.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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The Cheapest S.O.B.’s Now Available! $1
I’d have a hard time listing all the reasons I still read comics, a general sense of masochism having to be one of them, or at least it feels like that on days or weeks when there’s nothing good to be read. But then there are times like this, when I read something that I’ve never seen in a comic: a woman tearing her still-living grandparents to pieces for being unbelievably cheap. Kelly makes it clear in her intro that she’s gone through stages of calling them frugal or thrifty, but that it’s simply impossible to give them any more credit at this point, and then she proceeds to thoroughly document why she’s right. And boy, they do not come out looking good in here. I sampled the most disgusting example of their cheapness, but she also throws in the fact that they reuse Christmas cards, steal vegetables from community gardens, dig through dumpsters instead of going to thrift stores, read old papers discarded from a retirement home, and attend cancer survivor picnics just for the free food. Like it or not, there’s probably at least something in here for everybody to relate to about some relative or another. I loved it, but maybe that’s because all my grandparents are dead and I had no guilt about laughing through this. Some of you more sensitive souls might have a harder time. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Stewbrew #2: Meet Erin
Again, to make this all perfectly clear: Meet Erin is half of a collected two parts called Stewbrew #2, the second half being Coot’s Day by Max Clotfelter, and the whole thing is available from Max for $3. That being said, if Kelly and Max ever decided to combine these two real people into some sort of a fictionalized “date”, well, I would have to think that hilarity would ensue, even if the two would never speak in real life. This one is all about Erin, a woman that Kelly met while working in retail, and the sheer ridiculousness she brought to every day. From a fakey accent to reading Ann Coulter in public to seemingly everything she said, the woman was more than interesting enough to warrant a mini comic. We also get to see her briefly as an actual human, a sobering moment, but one which doesn’t last long. Great stuff, I have to say I like this even better than the other half of Stewbrew, mostly for the sheer level of dirt we get in this one. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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The Five Year Itch of Dorothy Barry
People have occasionally asked me over the years how I pick what I’m going to review on any given day, and it’s a simple formula: I keep a literal pile of comics, with the ones sent in the mail at the top (as they get precedence over the ones I buy), and sort of reach in and grab a random one. In the case of this comic, I’ve been moving all week, have no idea where much of anything is (and my “pile” is scattered through various boxes), but this comic fell out of a pile of old bills, and voila! Internet magic! This is the story of a resident at an assisted-living home where Kelly works, with the names changed to protect everybody, who flips out every five years, invariably causing her to get kicked out of wherever she’s living at the time. Kelly paints a great picture of the chaos that comes over the whole establishment as Dorothy starts to think that she’s actually the one in charge of everything, ending with a black eye for an employee and cops getting involved. Great stuff from Kelly as always, and my advice to her, which I’m sure she already knows: there are probably plenty of stories to be had from that job. I worked for a few years as a night watchman at a home for… is “mentally challenged” the right word now? Anyway, while there are lots of dull days, the ones that aren’t dull are certainly memorable. No price, but let’s say $2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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I’ve Been Forced To Get To Know You
Nobody, but nobody captures the awkwardness of dating as well as Kelly does. She manages to make it hilarious and insightful while not being afraid to show to throw in any awkward truths about herself. This is an older mini, and it’s clear that her technical abilities have grown by leaps and bounds since this came out. Still, it’s impossible not to love this little thing. Kelly, after a long time being single, watches a lot of tv and ends up identifying with Drew Carey and hopes to find a boyfriend in that mold. She briefly meets a guy on New Year’s Eve, has what she thinks is a “moment” with him, but he ends up leaving with his friends before midnight. She admirably decides not to let it go and puts one of those “I saw you” ads in the local paper. He sees it and they eventually get together for a date… and that’s where the real awkwardness begins. The only thing they really end up having in common is their mutual interest in making art, which ends up making the night much longer than it otherwise would have been. Things eventually get mildly heated, they end up back at her place, and I’m about to tell you the whole story here, and nobody likes that. Let’s just say it’s not as salacious as I’m making it out to be. I’m hopelessly biased towards Kelly’s comics at this point, so of course I’m going to love this one. If you have to have your comics with excellent technical proficiency, maybe you should start with some of the later Slithers and then work your way back to this. If you like heartfelt awkwardness in all forms, it’s hard to go wrong here. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Big Deal #5
Uh oh, looks like the cover’s crooked! Oh well, you get the idea. Also, I think Patrick has a new e-mail address, which you can try by clicking on this, although the one up there might work just fine. So what’s the story with this one? I completely loved the first issue, still liked #3 a hell of a lot and this one? Well, OK, I mostly loved this one too. Strips in here tackle such subjects as the wisdom of wearing a wizard hat, what you can do with x-ray eyes really, being an outdoorsman, making it in Hollywood, floods, french doors, insomnia, how to tell if your lover is a washing machine, being a shrunken band, and the fact that werewolves are cool. Much more too, of course, and he even does a serious strip or two, but you’re going to have to buy this to find out what I’m talking about. Hey, when have I ever steered you wrong before? It’s only $2 you cheapskate you.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Debbie’s Story
Be honest now: how many of you have taken the time to get to know the real stories of your relatives? I have various assorted stories for different relatives, but I have only rarely gotten the real “whole story”.  The Debbie mentioned on the cover is Kelly’s aunt, and Kelly takes the time to question where the current version of the woman came from and gives us the story in lovely mini comic format. Debbie is, at present, essentially a stunt double for her mom: same basic attitude, same interests, and they talk on the phone every day. Back in the day, however, she ran with a gang (well, the small town version of a gang from 40 years ago or so) and hung out with a local scumbag until her parents sent her away to the National Guard. That’s right, that was her punishment. Still, where a lot of people would take that punishment as a hint to never come back or to make their own way in the world, she chose to return to her hometown, marry one of the losers from the local gang and have a couple of kids. She also got a job cleaning (alongside her mom) and has settled into a quiet, uneventful life. It’s the personal family bits in here that make this special though, as Kelly gets inside information from family members to make this a more complete portrait. It’s not going to come as a shock to any regular readers that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it really is fascinating. I can even see Kelly still being able to enjoy family dinners after this, as things never get TOO personal, although I can see that being a subjective judgment.  Check it out, then go down the rest of this huge page and think about sending her a chunk of change so she’ll send you a pile of comics. No price, so… $2?
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Gabagool #3
What’s not to like about this comic? You have the “bounty hunters” on a quest to retrieve the guitar of Ace Frehley, another great rant from Cousin Lenny, fighting, swearing… everything you need. Add that to the fact that these two are putting these out, what, every couple of months or so (how often can you say that about anybody these days?) and I don’t see any reason why they can’t take over the world. Look, these days, any comic that makes me laugh gets my vote (yeah, I’m biased about things actually being good, what can I say). I love the art, the characters are becoming more and more memorable with each issue (and they’re helping their cause a lot in that department by putting these out so quickly), it’s just a great comic. Contact info above, I think I set a new record for parentheses…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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The Magpie #1
This might just be my favorite mini comic of the year. Well, I read a lot of comics and I have a notoriously bad memory, so that might not be as impressive a claim as it sounds right off the bat, but I loved this comic a lot. There’s a great quote on almost every page, a delusional (occasionally) magpie running around threatening people with physical violence, and general revelry. What’s not to love? What’s even more impressive is that Doug says this is his first mini comic, so I guess those sketchbook-like things were a good warmup. I’d say this is $3, I don’t want to ruin any more of this with analysis so I’ll just say that you should check the contact info up there immediately, send the man an e-mail and get a copy of this. Really!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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The Hed-Sed Murders
Sketchbook! That’s just a little advance warning in case you were expecting one of them there “formal reviews” or something. There are a couple of pages of something vaguely resembling stories, other than that you have sketches of dinosaurs, robot love, odd creatures, Rod Serling and many other things. Hey, why tell you everything that’s in here? As is the case with most sketchbooks, if you like the guy’s work, well, you’ll probably like this. If you don’t know who he is you’d probably be better off with his other book on this page before you decide if you want this one. Luckily it’s a free country (as of 3:35pm on 4/8/05, anyway) and you can ignore my advice if you want. Contact info is up there, this is a buck or two!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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The Stories of Tiny and Odd
Here’s an odd little tale (although I guess you can get that from the title) about two creatures who get out into the real world and decide to eat at a generic fast food place. One of the characters has never had it before and just wants the quiet life, the other one loves the greasy food. I wish I could tell you more than that, but there’s only 8 pages of story here (as well as some sketchbook pages that I liked a lot), so that’s all I know. He’s pretty clearly influenced by Dave Cooper and Marc Bell, which are two pretty great people to be influenced by. This may or may not be a good series, it’s hard to tell from just this issue, but I got more stuff from him at FLUKE and I’ll be able to give you a better idea in a few weeks or so. Here’s an e-mail address, this is 2 or 3 bucks (another one with a mystery price).
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Posted by Kevin
