Optical Sloth

Website

Neil Jam #15

It’s odd to me how the issues focusing on the “lesser” characters seem so much more… well, “coherent” is too strong a word, but they seem to have a little more flow than the other issues. Whether or not that’s a good thing is entirely up to you, as a lot of the charm of Neil Jam is seeing all the random characters interact with one another. Still, there were two main stories going on in this issue and, while they did meet other random characters along the way, the drive of the issue was clear. There’s a new ghost in town who’s going around asking people if it’s OK that he haunts them, and there’s Fenwin and the reactions he’s getting from everybody else. As usual, Neil nails it, as it was hilarious to watch that ghost learn what it’s supposed to be doing, and the sheer terror Fenwin inspires by being different (in a world of oddities) is a wonderful thing. There are also a few pages at the end of the “regular” issue dealing with all the main characters, just in case you were starting to miss them after almost two full issues with the new and/or rarely used characters. Oh, and have I ever mentioned that the insides of the front and back covers of these issues invariably have famous characters from all sorts of places with giant black Neil Jam eyes? You get your money’s worth with these issues, that’s for sure, and you have the extra added benefit of being haunted by those huge black eyes for days. What’s not to love? $2

Website

Neil Jam #14

Finally, some quality time with the lesser characters of Neil Jam. This issue and #15 are both dedicated to the characters we may not see quite enough of, and with this issue Neil Jam has officially taken over the planet. The stories in this issue are longer than your typical pieces as well, with Caroline (the talking carrot) taking the bulk of the issue to grow a new friend, as she’d really rather not be seen with Cotton, the rabbit who’s in love with her. Cotton gets a new outfit to cheer himself up, then kicks a Tot into somebody’s face (not sure of the name, he looks like the anti-Willis), which has the desired effect. Other highlights among many include Bat Jam (in which “Batman” runs away from beauty), the Sleep Sheep’s ongoing quest to sleep with Willis, and the introduction of Fenwin, Caroline’s new friend. Well, as Neil Jam has officially taken over the planet with this issue the man doesn’t need any words of encouragement from me, but this has remained a delightfully disturbing book for years and years, so kudos to the guy for that. And for giving the fans what they want, namely more time with the odd characters that we don’t see nearly enough of. $2

Website

Neil Jam #13

Ah SPACE, land of the new Neil Jams. Three new ones this time around, so expect to see a few more updates in the coming weeks. My only regret is that I forgot to go back and get that color print of Neil Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Sigh, maybe next year. This issue introduces the Tots, although I’d swear I’ve seen them in these pages before. Jerry continues his efforts to fly (this time with a clear sign from above), Ona and Willis keep their “romance” going, a rabbit falls in love with a giant carrot, and King Tot has his revenge for all the little tots. As always with the Neil Jam books, it’ll take me a few minutes to stop seeing everything in the world with those giant black eyes, and that’s a good thing in my book. $2

Website

Neil Jam #12

Why isn’t Neil Jam a weekly strip in alternative (do they still even use that word?) newspapers? Seriously, he has an established cast of characters, those giant black eyes make everything adorable as hell (or unbelievably creepy, depending on your point of view), and he seems to be able to put these things out on a regular basis. Either I’m just missing it where I live or there’s a giant untapped market waiting to be filled with Neil Jams. This comic is more of the same from Neil, which is a wonderful thing indeed. There’s the increasingly creepy Sleep Sheep, kicking the bird, a ghost that isn’t scary, a mean dinosaur, and being a loser (by Justin Madson). About the only complaint I have about Neil Jam is that some of the punch lines aren’t funny, but isn’t that true of punch lines by nature? You’re only hurting yourself if you don’t read these, you know…

Website

Neil Jam #11

Looks like Neil has mostly gone back to doing the issues himself (see the review for the last issue if you’re lost), which is fine by me. I do think he should keep up with the idea of Neil Jam as a franchise done by other people though. Maybe Neil Jam Jam, a “spinoff”? Anyway, this is another solid issue. The cast of characters seems to be expanding all the time. In here you have the eternal struggle of Willis trying to impress Ona, the other eternal struggle of Jerry trying to get up the nerve to fly, a very insistent little guy called Sleep Sheep, an insulted vegetable, Willis as pimp, a giant adorable bunny-like creature, and another Neil Jam story by Justin Madson. Oh, and a wonderfully fantastic back page featuring versions of Neil from various artists, the best one far and away Kurt Wolfgang’s theory of just what’s behind those giant eyes see. Look, you all know by now that Neil Jam is required reading for decent people everywhere, right? Good. There’s more than enough to convince the stray newcomer out there to check out this issue as their first, but the rest of you should already know all about this comic by now…

Website

Neil Jam #10

Man, check out that cover! His stuff is looking better and better all the time, or maybe it’s just the fact that I have a new scanner now and it all just looks better. Regardless, it had been far too long since I had read an issue of Neil Jam and I was happy to see some new stuff at SPACE this year (2005). He’s working on making Neil Jam a franchise, so a lot of this issue was done by other people. He still has the website going strong with his strips, so if you absolutely have to see more of Neil’s work you can always go there (it’s linked on this page, don’t worry, you can find it), but I liked having a variety of hands interpreting this world. Neil does the first few stories, which were a dream about a duplicate, a tribute to the Peanuts comic strip and a Nintendo Jam, where he’s obviously played way too much of Super Mario Bros. 2 and couldn’t get it out of his head, so onto paper it went. Still, a cute little story. Then you have Justin Madson (who does Happy Town) giving his spin on the Neil Jam universe, as one of his main characters end up there in a dream and hilarity ensues! Finally there’s a story by Jesse McManus, whose silent take on things makes the whole world seem a whole lot creepier somehow. Good stuff all around, a ton of variety, not really much to complain about here. Let’s say $3, contact info is around here somewhere…

Website

Neil Jam #9

The ninth issue of Neil Jam was split up into three minis. One is talking shit about Batman, one is all about kicking and has a great last panel (not to give anything away), and one is about dinosaurs bugging people. $3, and have I mentioned yet that these are all incredible? The only thing I can think of that it reminds me of even a little would be Steven by Doug Allen, but I’m not sure what my reasoning is behind that.

Website

Neil Jam #8

A huge issue with super Willis and regular Willis competing for the affection of Ona. I can seewhy they’d be fighting, as Ona appears to be the only female in the world of Neil. $2.50

Website

Neil Jam #7

A great silent issue and it’s the first time you get to see Willis as a superhero. You really don’t need words with those huge eyes… $2

Website

Neil Jam #5

A “talking” guitar who falls in love! A cute rabbit who gets kicked around! Robot! Bird! Giant black eyes! You know, I was going to review every issue, breaking down the finer points, but then I realized that pictures from this incredible series will convince you more than I ever could. You’d think that kicking cute creatures around would get old, but you’d be wrong. I was thinking that this wasn’t one of the better ones and then I remembered the guitar. Pretty much all the stuff I got at SPACE (this and everything after it up to #9) is worth getting. $2

Website

Neil Jam #4

Well, the good news is that at least two more of these have been put out. The bad news is that this guy is still doing these himself when one of the big independent publishers should have noticed him and given him a lot of money by now. Or whatever passes for a lot of money in the small press world… Anyway, the world of Neil, for the uninitiated, consists of a series of characters who all share giant black eyes that take up most of their faces. Some of the stories are a page or two, but they keep the same underlying theme for the whole comic. Mostly tales of violence and confusion with a complete inability for most of the characters to relate to one another. A funny and creepy book, those giant black eyes pretty much hypnotize you by the end. It kind of has to be seen to be believed (keep checking, I’ll get this scanner working one of these days), but I can tell you that I’ll be ordering as many of the other issues as I can afford.