April 23, 2010
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Skyscrapers of the Midwest #2
I think this one was a bit more normal than the last one. Not that I mean that in a bad way, and I think it mostly has to do with the fact that there weren’t any robots… oh wait, there was a robot in the last story. Just talking out of my ass again then, don’t mind me. You have in here highjinx with the Optimistic Youth Summer Camp, a young boy playing around in his head to avoid going to church, a brief but very effective comic about why life isn’t fair, and the story I forgot about with the robot. Also in here are letters answered by a drunk, angry cowboy, a pamphlet about the summer camp, and a listing of all the merit badges that the kids could get, which was easily the funniest part of the book. What, you’re still wasting time reading me when you could be reading this comic? What’s wrong with you? The guy has done two incredible comics, what else is it going to take to get you to spend $2? Christ!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Nate Corrigan’s Gumshoe Sketchbook #3
Number 3 in a series of sketchbooks� As a general rule, it’s best to have more comics available than sketchbooks. Granted, this is based on my limited knowledge of the man and I’m probably completely wrong about the amount of work he’s produced, but that’s a lesson for everybody out there. Free of charge! Anyway, this one is mostly about detectives and hobos, although there’s also dinosaurs, cowboys, indians, a ninja meatball, and a giant carrot attacking the starship Enterprise. As always, sketchbooks are mostly for people who are already fans of a certain artist, and you’d certainly have a lot more fun with the comic posted above this one. If you’re already a fan, there are certainly plenty of creepy/odd images in here to keep you entertained… $.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Captain Spectacular #4
I missed an issue in there (maybe I can find it at the next SPACE), but this issue seems to me to be a big improvement over #2, and I liked that one just fine. It had (and I know this is a big claim) the single best kick to the groin in the history of comics. This issue deals briefly with Captain Spectacular fighting the Geyser Geezer, and after that’s taken care of it’s time for him to use him secret identity: The Janitor. It turns out that The Janitor is also a super hero, although his job is exactly what it sounds like: he sneaks into buildings under cover of darkness and cleans them. This has set off local law enforcement, as they seem to hate vigilantes of all types. This had the feel of a bit of an “in between” issue, as it starts with a fairly meaningless (but amusing) fight and ends with the appearance of what must be the next big villain. In the meantime we get to see both heroes in action, the obsessed detective and get a clear view of how the world sees both the heroes. The art seems to have improved as well, as the backgrounds are impressive in their scope and Nate can definitely tell a story with facial expressions alone. As far as superhero parodies go, there are a lot of stinkers out there, but this one seems like it’s worth keeping an eye on. $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Captain Spectacular #2
As I hope you were able to guess from that wonderful title, this comic doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yes, it is a super hero parody, so if you hate them all go ahead and move along, I won’t be offended. If you only like the really good parodies, well, this one is somewhere in the middle so far. #2 in a series is, in all fairness, still pretty early in the game. I missed the first issue, but this one starts off right at that cover image, namely with the Captain about to get beat up by a giant mushroom. In the background of this story there’s another vigilante super hero wandering around, this time apparently a janitor, and spend some time with the owner of the farm where this fight is going down. If you can look at that sample without grinning then you’re probably not going to like the rest of this. As for me, I’m curious to see where it all goes, but this one was still pretty fun on its own. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Questor
Ah, my favorite genre: the indescribable silent mini. I love it so because it gives me a chance to prove my complete lack of insight in interpreting these things. Well, here goes. This starts off with a creature tearing off his umbilical cord. When he looks into the cord, he sees a man on a journey, eventually falling into the mouth of a giant king. The man guts the king and takes his intestine back to the creature from the start of the comic, and anything more I tell you will ruin the whole thing. It’s gorgeous, especially after the two main characters finally meet up, all loops and whorls. It’s also a compelling story, as long as you don’t mind more than a little ambiguity. No price on it, but I’d say $2 at a guess…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Queen’s Day
Here’s an older work from Leela. I’m mentioning that fact now because I didn’t like it nearly as much as Subway Series but, as that’s the later work, she’s doing great work now. This one has three stories. The first is a dream involving the Baba Yaga, but she’s nothing like the stories. She’s just a kind old woman. The second is the most powerful of the bunch, a story about the suicide of a young man and his sister trying to get over it. At least I think it’s a suicide, sometimes it seems like he died on the mountain. The last one is a story about a young woman in Holland trying to find herself after things didn’t work out as she’d planned. The suicide story was great. The sister climbing that mountain was cathartic as could be, and grandma offered her some great advice about the absurdity of death. The other stories I didn’t think much of one way or the other, honestly. Still, $4.95 is a pretty cheap price for one great story and two OK ones. Maybe you should wait a few years until she’s rich and famous before getting this, unless you’re already a big fan.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Subway Series
Here’s another one from the long list of names that I was supposed to check out years ago. As far as I can tell from the legal stuff in the front this is a book of entirely new material. It’s slice-of-life type stuff, the story of a girl who’s trying to live her life while being pursued by two different boys. Yes, that’s as vague as I can be and nothing in this is anywhere near as simple as that, but thanks to the wonders of the internet this book is at your fingertips. Ain’t life grand? I thought this book was great. Liked the art. loved the dialogue, thought she did a really great job of capturing the confusion of dealing with members of the opposite sex who also happen to be dating other people while chasing you. This is the first thing I’ve seen from her, like I said, but I’d like to see more. The ending was kind of abrupt, I guess, unless you stop to consider that that’s how these things usually end. Anyway, it’s big, it’s $10, and it’s well worth a look.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Moving Forward
No, the whole comic doesn’t look like that, if you were curious. I do like the cover though, it sums up the feeling of the comic pretty well. This is another shortie from JP about driving, thinking, and holding out hope for the thinking 1% of the population. Or at least that’s what I read into it, but I’m just some schmuck with a website. It’s a combination of two different prose pieces combined with images, so the writing has a very lyrical quality to it. There’s a tiny glimmer of hope here for the world, which is always nice to see in a comic. Contact info is up there, I’d say this is $2 if I had to guess…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Untitled (Green)
Jp is one of those guys where I always feel like I’m cheating writing a review. His books (that I’ve seen so far) are short, quick poems adapted into comic form, and I’m just not that big of a fan of taking something line by line and analyzing the hell out of it. So all you get here is my rambling, but what’s new about that? This one is about reaching for something better and possibly failing while nobody even knows that you tried. Like I said, not much more to be said about it than that. This is $1, contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Untitled (Blue)
Hey, that’s how it’s listed on their website, so that’s what I’m going to call it. I think there are other minis with covers of different colors, so it’s sort of like a series that’s not connected in any way. Or maybe it is, I haven’t gotten to the other issues yet. This one is all about a young man ruminating on how it’s always easier to go up. He tries to play his piano becuase it seems to bring him peace but that bothers his neighbor, so he’s forced to go watch television. It’s a quiet book about making the choices that are best for you. And maybe about how stupid tv is, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. It’s a shortie but an interesing concept. $2, I already linked the website once but I’m feeling generous, so there you go again.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Untitled
Ah, the untitled mini comic. Make up your own! Also, some of you may be looking at that cover and thinking this should be on the page for Barry Rodges, but this really is from Jim Coon. Have I mentioned yet how impressed I am by the sheer range of books he has available? This is the wordless story of two creatures who meet and fall in love. Which wouldn’t be much of a story, but one of said creatures is a space explorer who accidentally crash lands on an odd planet. It’s love at first sight with a local creature… at least until science catches up to them. And boy is it tempting for me to describe what that means, but I’m going to resist. Kudos on that one page spread amidst all the cuteness…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Tail of the Samurai Cat
Well, when all is said and done, this comic at least has the honor of having the best reaction from a character after being cut in half. No, I’m not going to say what it was (as this is an 8 page shortie and I’m not going to post the best line from it), but trust me on this one. Other than that, this is the story of a samurai cat who’s seeking revenge after somebody else put a price on his head. Not sure why he was out on a revenge quest BEFORE said villain killed his wife and kids, but really it’s just a perfunctory set-up for some samurai mayhem. I don’t think this has much of a long term future as a series, as the cat meets up with his nemesis at the end of the first issue, but who knows? This was an OK issue overall, but it’s entirely possible that the novelty of a fat cat samurai could wear thin quickly. I’m guessing this is a $1…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Zombie Preschool
Ok sure, zombie stories have been done to death, much in the same way that monkey stories have been. But have you ever seen a story about zombie preschoolers? If so, I guess this is redundant, but it’s all new to me. Not a whole lot of plot here, but this is a fun little story about an average day of zombie preschool, one in which a new kid has the misfortune of wandering into this place. We never see the teacher, so we don’t know if he/she is also a zombie, but it doesn’t make much difference. This is a real shortie, and as such there’s not even much of a chance for mayhem. A solid mini overall, but nothing that really jumps out and grabs you either. If you’re a big fan of all things zombie, I’d say pick this up. Otherwise go with Jim’s other work first and work your way down… $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Hard Times #10
Well, one thing is for sure about this issue: if you ever see movies in the theater, you’ll relate to it. You can tell from the cover what this is going to be about, and you can probably tell from the cover whether or not it’s for you, but it handled the subject well, while managing to make the subject funny. Granted, if you can’t laugh at assholes talking on their cell phone in the movie theater you’re probably incapable of laughter. Still, there was every chance that this wouldn’t be funny, so credit where it’s due. In this issue our hero and his date decide to take in a movie. After choosing a movie from the list of crappy options that are out there today (really, this comic is timeless in this way, as the variety of movies available has been about the same since the TV remake craze started), the two main characters deal with long lines, commercials before the movie, people talking during the movie and the incessant use of a cell phone. This doesn’t even get into all the nonsense happening on the screen, as they sneak into two other movies to get their money’s worth out of the experience.  I can’t say any major ground was broken with this comic, and there are still hints of pencil lines (although, in all fairness, not nearly as much as in the last issue) and way too many spelling errors, but it’s still a fun issue. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Steve’s Sweet Life
Steve, as you may have guessed from the title, has a pretty sweet life. Until he gets his leg knocked off in a car accident, that is. Then suddenly there’s a dog running away with his leg and an incredibly awkward chase involving a lot of hopping and a pirate, who is nice enough to give Steve a hitchy back ride, so then you have running with a peg leg, which could also probably be considered hopping. This is too short for me to go on or the whole thing will be ruined, but I will say that this is a fun little comic. The art is little more than stick figures if you’re snooty about that sort of thing for some reason, and it has a completely unpredictable ending, or maybe it just surprised me. Hey, who am I to say what would surprise the average comic reader? And are there enough comic readers left to even make an average comic reader? And with that this ramble shall end, I’d say this one is $2 at a guess…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Dead End #13
There’s not much to say about a comic that’s mostly an 8 page long fight scene, but I’m sure I can find a thing or two to bitch about/praise. For one thing, there’s not much point in having a character with blue skin in a black and white comic, unless it’s absolutely essential, and I can’t say that it isn’t after only reading one issue. Too much explaining every issue, you’re bound to bore even your faithful fans with reading that every time. Also the art was great, but it looked either shrunk down or just smashed into the page. He should really consider a larger format, or maybe just more pages with larger panels. The story here isn’t much, as the main character is wondering about his mother, who he had previously believed to be dead, before he is attacked by some racists (I think). Then the superhero action started (no, the blue guy isn’t a superhero) and it started to get a bit silly but, as I said, this is all my impression from one tiny issue. It might get interesting or it might get cheesy, but kudos to Jim for making it to #13 regardless. Check out the website, I’m sure there’s more info to be had there.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Catch as Catch Can
I’m of two minds on this one. On the one hand, Greg’s art is gorgeous, an absolute treat to look at. If you ignored the words completely this would be one of the better books out there. That sounds unduly harsh, as the story isn’t terrible, it’s just completely random. The idea is that a gingerbread man buys cigarettes for some kids and then gets in trouble with the police. There are some beautiful panels of a long chase scene, something that I thought would have been difficult to pull off in a comic, and then it’s all over the place. The gingerbread man is on the run, but ends up having to cross a river with The Big Bad Wolf. One of the kids he buys cigarettes for ends up getting a crush on him and writing it in her diary, which causes a fight with her brother. There’s an interesting assemblage of characters and the story moves along at a good pace, but it just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Who knows, maybe that’s the point. This book is something that I read a couple of years ago, when I was first starting the site, and I couldn’t really come up with much to say about it. My rambling skills have improved since then, so I have a bit more to say, but all this boils down to a bottom line of me being indifferent to this book, and this artist is too unique to put out a mediocre book. Hear-Say was wonderful, so I know he’s capable of amazing work. I won’t settle for less! Still, if aesthetics is your thing, this is a book that’s hard to ignore. Check out the Highwater page for samples from Greg and all their peoples…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Hear-Say
The wordless minis (or graphic novels, for that matter) have always been more about reading them than talking about them. Sure, a bunch of stuff happens, or very few things happen, whatever. But they invariably have to be read to be appreciated. In the case of Hear-Say, it’s an old man going through his daily routine without being able to (or without wanting to, depending on your interpretation) hear what’s going on around him. It’s a simple story and it has a simple, powerful message. He also has a very sparse drawing style that perfectly illustrates the daily minutia that goes on in the story. The wordless minis always, for me at least, evoke a very visceral reaction of like or dislike, and I liked this one quite a bit.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Double Cross #17 (reviewed by Jason Dupuis)
this particular issue of double cross is quite a bit shorter than the other two (#13 & #16) that i picked up at space. i don’t know if that affects the price because i don’t remember how much i paid for them. anyway, this is kind of a weird issue. it contains two stories about abusing elderly women, one of which is written by alex robinson (box office poison). they are both a bit depressing and a bit funny. actually, a lot of his stories are like that. kind of paradoxical, i guess. there are also a couple of other stories, which are quite entertaining, and a blasphemous “pin-up” by kieron dwyer (lcd). i really like consiglio’s drawing style and his stories are well written and engaging. his panel layouts and composition are really well done. i should know, i have a phd in comicbookology. take it from an expert, you need to buy some stuff from this guy.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Double Cross #16
This one’s a bit different from most of the other issues of Double Cross that I’ve read, as it’s mostly not about Tony. This is basically stuff that was published in other, probably long-gone anthologies. The first story, Numb, is about a man who finds his wife after he had been told that she had been killed years before. It’s a nice little suspense story, different from his usual stuff. Also in here is a short Dracula story, a tiny one about Tony and his girlfriend and a great back page by Alex Robinson on how things would change if he was the king of the world. Is there anyone left out there who doesn’t have all of Tony’s minis? I feel like I’m wasting my time writing this because everybody already knows how great his stuff is. Well, if any random person ever stumbles across this page who has never heard of the guy, even if they don’t like comics, they should send the man $5 for some great stuff.
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Posted by Kevin
