April 22, 2010
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Chucky
Ah, I do love the 24 hour comics, especially when they somehow end up looking as great as this one. This is the story of Bill Chickowski, the creator of a comic strip called Chucky Chicken. Bill started as someone with great ideas, someone who hoped to make a difference, but gave it all up when his girlfriend was gunned down in front of him protesting the Vietnam war. Bill has grown to accept the fact that Chucky has become a bland corporate mascot over the years, until he reads a story that says Chucky is going to endorse George W. Bush in 2004, and promptly snaps. It’s a great story about trying to keep some sort of artistic integrity when you’re in the meat grinder of daily comic strips, not to mention dealing with the legions of fans who can’t see why Bill would ever want to change “their Chucky”, nor do they understand why he’s able to do so with impunity. Worth checking out if you have a buck lying around, I do with people who did these 24 hour comics would put some sort of afterward in their books though, I sometimes get the idea (due to the quality of the work) that they must have been cheating a little bit on inking or something…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Null and Void #6 Now Available! $1.50
Let’s see, this comic is being reviewed on 1/25/09, years after I read the issues before or after this, meaning that I have just about no idea what led up to this issue or what comes after it outside of reading my own ancient reviews. Meaning that this review will be even less informed than usual, so be warned. There are basically two stories going on here (and I’m going to take the easy way out and treat this as a stand alone issue), one involving a young woman going to see a dopey car crash movie with a dopey guy while her while her much cooler friend (with an obvious crush) wonders what she’s thinking, the other dealing with the mutual theft of high school mascots and symbols as a way to “stick it” to the other side. There are a few moments of fun, but making fun of car crash movies comes across as more than a little dated, as us folks in the future are much bigger fans of juvenile vampire movies. And I have no idea how this comic gets us to #7, as based on my review that was a dark and somber issue and this one ends with the promise of a good old fashioned chase scene to come. Probably still worth it for the presence of a few funny moments, and what has this man been up to in terms of comics? I’ll have to look into that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Null & Void #5
I didn’t like this one as much as the other ones, and I think it’s for a fairly simple reason: it was all set in a house. I know, the title of the story indicated that that would be the case, and it was interesting, it just seemed like there wasn’t much going on. And the spelling errors, they are easily fixed. Really. Just have somebody else read it before you print it or do a spellcheck (and I don’t mean to single Donovan out, as there weren’t THAT many spelling errors, it’s just such a simple thing to fix). The story is that Nigel and Jack have a pretty typical day, with Nigel’s Grandma giving him a hard time because a female friend of his stays at his house to get away from her abusive mother and Jack fighting with his sister. Some funny dialogue and the art just keeps getting better, with the exception (WARNING: EXTREME PICKINESS ALERT) of one panel where Jack has a bunch of oddly-drawn bubbles surrounding his head. This is one of those comics that’s better read in clumps rather than single issues, but it’s still a good book. Contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Null and Void #3
Another solid issue, this one is basically a day in the life of all the main characters, focusing on classroom problems and dealing with members of the opposite sex in high school. Don’t get me wrong, there are some points in these books where it gets kind of silly, but overall I think he’s on to something. There certainly aren’t many other people out there covering the high school niche. The bit with the “don’t throw away” note was hilarious, as were several of the conversations in the school. In other words, it’s worth sending him some money (they’re $1.50 per issue) to check it out. Send him some money at: 3209 Eastland, Muskegon, MI 49441.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Null and Void #2
If this was a world where everybody read comics, this would probably be one of the more popular things read by kids in high school. Unfortunately, the print run for every mini comic is tiny and I’m not sure where Donovan finds his audience. It’s a good series, about some freshmen in high school and their activities. This one is all about a party that an older classmate sneaks them into. It makes a lot of good points about drinking without getting too preachy and the dialogue is natural and believable. All ages fun. The poor guy doesn’t have much of a sense of comics history though, thinking that Alex Robinson was the first person to use the question and answer concept with his characters to flesh them out a little bit. Poor Dan Clowes is rolling over in his grave…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Hojuween Now Available! $.50
Well, at least the price is appropriate. Don’t get me wrong, this comic has more than a few fun moments and I actually thought the coloring looked good. The trouble is that (with the odd exception of the page I sampled) most of the text looked like he filled it in on the way to Kinko’s. Words are way outside the bubbles, errors have just been scratched out, you can even see him scratching out a letter on the cover! I’ll never understand why people who spend so much time on the art (and in this case color) can’t spend an extra half hour or so to make sure the simple things work. OK soapbox, you can leave the room now. The story is a simple 6 page thing which involves the gang, of course, going trick or treating. They threaten a neighbor, Hoju runs into an evil clown and a good time is generally had by all. I probably shouldn’t be so hard on him, as this is from 2002, but it’s such an easy fix: make the word balloons bigger. Ta-da! Still, it’s not bad for the price and kudos to him for coloring this thing. In other words, if you like his other stuff, splurge a little and get this. If not, try some of his more recent work first. $.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Hoju #2 Now Available! $2
I can’t really figure it out. Am I allowed to say I like something “just because”? That’s the kind of quality review work you people have probably come to expect here over the years. Really, there’s all kinds of reasons not to like this. “Your” in place of “you’re” is really fingernails-on-a-chalkboard annoying for me, and Edgar gets it wrong almost every time. It was used correctly in one panel and it was shocking. The lettering is sloppy and often crammed into tiny word balloons, with him occasionally having to draw a little addendum balloon just to finish his sentences. The stories often go nowhere at all, and he thinks “poop” is far too funny. And yet I was smiling throughout this issue and did manage to get a few genuine laughs out of it. Maybe he’s just benefiting from my Friday mood. Stories include a gangsta God greeting an annoyed young man in heaven, Hoju getting his first soul (and finding out how to deal with the ladies), the little creature in Hoju’s head telling him the secrets of the universe, Hoju going to New Orleans searching for answers (and, of course, hitting Mardi Gras), some serious mayhem involving ghosts and making new ghosts, and Hoju chatting with his good and evil sides. Again, you’d think that all the flaws would have me hating this, but it really was a blast. Now if he could get all those spelling errors worked out he’d really be onto something… $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Hoju #1 Now Available! $2
Random submissions are always a crapshoot, and this one started off a bit rough. If you look up at that top right corner you’ll see the issue number chopped off by the copier; a minor thing until you see that the first story (after an introduction of the characters, which is always a good thing) suffers from the same problem and is damned near unreadable because of it. Luckily you can still see most of it, as it turns out to be the origin story for a few of the regular characters. From there things pick up considerably, with the only noticeable errors being spelling and grammar. Seriously, if this website can do anything for the comics world, I hope it’s to relentlessly point out the difference between “your” and “you’re”, “their” and “they’re”, etc. Don’t just guess and throw one of them in there, take a half a second and find out which one is right! It’s probably just a pet peeve of mine, granted, but I always feel like the people who get it wrong just aren’t taking this seriously, which is quite possibly a legitimate position when you think about career opportunities in this field, but if you’re going to spend weeks (if not months) drawing something, can’t you at least fix the easy stuff like that? Yes, I am in fact always good for a rant on that subject, and Edgar didn’t have mistakes in every panel or anything like that. He just consistently got it wrong. As for the content, it got funnier as it went on, and he has a strange enough cast of characters that this could be the start of a very good thing. Stories in here include waiting to ambush the taco man, sadness about being fugly, turning down a date due to excessive cynicism, taking your creature for a walk in the park, the dangers of windows to a talking bird, finally confronting the real taco man, and finding out the real story of the lonely “taco man”. Finally there’s the one long piece of the comic, dealing with an accidental zombie outbreak that was oddly confined to only a few people… that they know of. All kinds of potential here if a few minor things are tweaked. Oh, and another tip to you youngsters: write your words before the word balloons. Crazy, I know, but it saves all that word cramming later. I bring these things up because I care, you know, and because there are enough things that can go wrong in making a comic that it’s good to at least have a firm grasp of the basics. Also, my lawn was doing just fine before you damned kids started walking all over it. My curmudgeonly nature aside, this is worth a look. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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My Cat is Satan Now Available! $2
Anybody who reads this site on a regular basis knows that I have the same view of cat comics as that of a stereotypical middle-aged woman: I love them. I start from that position, and unless the comic itself is terrible that’s usually where I end up after reading it. Just wanted to make that perfectly clear, in case anybody out there thought I was capable of being professional and objective while reviewing this one.  This story (which was apparently done online first, in a page a day type of thing) is about how Satan decides to force people to reborn as pets for their punishment, but all the people rise up and throw him through the pet portal instead. Satan as a cat is, oddly, not much different from many cats I’ve known and loved. He (although the cat ends up being a sh, much to his chagrin) latches onto the ceiling, barfs his acidic puke on his owner, stabs the guy in the head and is just generally, well, evil. Other stories (not so focused on the cat) include playing Mario to the exclusion of all else, a religious guy stopping by, the owner blowing all his money meant for the vet, and of course the actual trip to the vet. It’s a pretty funny collection, all things considered, but the guy still has some serious trouble with spelling. And there’s still some minor trouble with the copier, but at least you could eventually figure out what everything was supposed to say this time around.  It’s worth a look and has some potential as a series, which is all you can ever ask out of these things. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Formula of the Living Dead
Yep, zombies. Stick figure zombies no less. Over three years have passed since I last reviewed one of his books, and the art is pretty much the same, but when your main characters are stick figures the art probably isn’t going to change much. Listen, it’s brutal zombie violence, so it gets the seal of approval from me. A character named Burn decides that math is too hard for him, so he’s going to make up a new form of math. To do this he grabs the nearest book, the Necronomicon. Zombies, of course, ensue. I thought it was a fun book, fairly tiny but entertaining. Oh, and Necronymous is a great name. $1.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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X-Mass (with Michael Doak, Tim Corrigan & Willard Petry)
Could it be? Am I only in a good mood because of the holidays, as I didn’t particularly love his other work? Well, whatever the case, I thought this book was cute. The story is that Santa gets his butt kicked by a group of Christmas super villains: Dr. Fruitcake, Ornament Lad, Light String and Figgy Pudding. They’re out to ruin the 12 days of Christmas one day at a time, so Santa has to call on some friends (hey, it’s no mystery, just look at the cover) to help him. Everything is done in rhyme and, while that might be annoying to some, there’s not much bad you can say about somebody who uses “forsooth” for a rhyme. It’s entirely possible that this would only be entertaining about three days out of the year, but today (12/24/02) I loved every bit of it. Contact info is above, send him $1.75 and relive the holiday!
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Unplugged (written by Derek Currant)
It’s many, many months after SPACE now, and this one only shook itself loose with my recent move. This is a series of four panel strips of household appliances chatting with each other, usually ending in a punchline. Yep, they’re “gag” strips, something that generally doesn’t do a thing for me, and it’s at this point that I should point out that plenty of people in the world like this format just fine (as the continued existence of countless unfunny newspaper comics would argue) and, if you’re one of those people, or even if you don’t have my exact brain, you may like this just fine. As for me, I smiled a couple of times but there was never an actual chuckle. I should also point out that there are only 6 strips in this tiny thing, so it’s not like there was a huge opportunity to win me over. Gags in here include a stinky fridge, a staring contest between a toaster and a can opener, a toaster that always ruins the good stuff, and an inexplicable strip with a vacuum hacking up something that was important to the can opener. It was a nice touch for the back cover to have the names of all the characters though, and it might have upped the funny a bit if I have seen that before reading this. Eh, this is funny enough, I’m probably just cranky. If you like the sample, as always, you’ll probably like the book, and it’s certainly cheap enough… $.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tranz
If anybody out there has a better guess at the title than that, let me know. I’m just guessing based on the first word, and then it starts melting, so who knows? This is a mini by William Cardini aka Mark Hensel, but the website listed (which is not actually his website but will connect you with his wide array of blogs) has a comic done by both William Cardini AND Mark Hensel and no, I have no idea what that means. I’m stalling the actual review here because, in fitting with the general theme of confusion going on here, I have no idea what to make of it. This is a series of one page strips with various creatures and items melting, meditating, growing or blooming, with a three page extravaganza dedicated to an utterly indescribable creature replicating. In each of these stories the creature/item starts off normally enough, then progressively devolves as the short strip goes on. Everything looks great and William/Mark is certainly not short on imagination, I guess I’m just more old fashioned in my comics reading, what with my general preference for linear stories and all. Still, there’s a lot to be said with the “where the hell is this going to go from here?” school of making comics, and I’m all kinds of intrigued to see what he does next and what he’s already done that might or might not be more accessible than this to the common folk. If you have a decent sense of artistic adventure this is worth checking out, but I’d recommend checking around that website and getting a look around first. $2.50
UPDATE: The title is Tranz. Yeah, I can kind of see that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Froghead Hangover
Quick, what’s going on in that cover? If you don’t have it sitting in front of you you’re out of luck, as it continues on the back cover. Froghead is sitting in front of an empty bottle of booze, and an old man (who you may remember from the last issue) is passed out nearby. It’s a nice cover; I’d sample it but the size would either screw up the page or, if I shrunk it down enough, it would lose its impact anyway. So how about the comic? The old man wakes up and is surprised to see a serenely smug frog head, as he has little recollection of the previous night. He tosses out the frog head (and I just love how it never changes expression), freshens up and starts to remember things, like how he ran into a shaman at the bar, invited him back to his house and beat his at Dr. Mario. Satisfied, the old man decides to leave to get some food and finds the frog head where he tossed it… but grown to a ridiculous size. Anything else I say is ruining the awesome, awesome ending, and I just won’t do it. I’ll just say that any ambivalence I had about the last issue is gone with this one, as this is a pile of fun. Those frog eyes will haunt you if you’re not careful, if you read this you’ll see what I mean. Check it out already. If this is what William can do when he’s rushed for a con, I say he never has to take his time on a comic again. Since the last one was $2.50, let’s just say this one is the same price.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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The Satan Spectacular
The problem with dopey humor is that sometimes it becomes too dopey. The book doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on when the humor falls flat, and that’s what a lot of this book does. Basically it’s an excuse to put Satan in a variety of odd positions (going swimming, clubbing, and telling a story to children). Derek Baxter wrote a couple of the stories, so I can’t put all the blame/credit on Brian this time. Still, there were a few good moments, particularly in the clubbing story. Not that the other two comics were masterpieces of modern literature or anything, but this one was just kind of dull and some of the punchline jokes fell completely flat. Add that to the fact that it’s $2.95 and shoddily put together and you should probably just stay away. Look, check out his other stuff, if you love it, you know where to get this one. The other ones are cheaper though, so it makes more sense to try them first.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
The Adventures of Plungerboy #2
More of the same, meaning more of my chuckling to myself at random bits of silliness involving superhero and supervillain parodies. Hey, I didn’t think I would find it funny either, but there you go. I do have to point out, though, that his cover isn’t centered. It’s possible to screw up on the centering once or twice in the actual comic and get away with it, but on the cover? Come on, that’s just plain lazy. Still $1 and, like I said, it made me smile.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
The Adventures of Plungerboy #1
This book has a lot of things that I hate about mini comics. Misspellings, invented grammar, poor xeroxing skills with words disappearing off the page with alarming frequency… and I still thought it was kind of funny at times. That says a lot. There’s not much here that exactly sets the world on fire. The story is your typical superhero parody stuff, but Brian has a dopey, simplistic approach to humor and it’s hard not to at least smile at how stupid some of the jokes are. Not sure if that’s what he was going for, but there are some genuine laughs in this too. Check out his website, there are enough samples there for you to find out whether or not you want to send him a few bucks for some comics. These are $1 a piece, and it’s up to #4 according to his site.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Favorites
OK, answer this honestly now: do you have a pair of shoes that you wear all the time that, by any honest standard, should have been thrown out ages ago? I’d be willing to bet that even if you don’t have one now, you have at one point in your life. This comic is, as Susie confesses on the cover, ” a sappy autobiographical story about Susie Cagle’s shoes”. She takes us from the day she got her shoes (a gift from her grandma) all the way to… well, today. Not to ruin it or anything, but there is no great moment in here about how she finally realizes that the shoes have to go. She does have a rule about then the shoes have to go (my rule was always “once the soles become detached”), namely, “once you can see a whole toe”, but she manages to get out of that one by using duct tape. In between we get a tour of what exactly the shoes have been through and why exactly they probably should have been tossed ages ago. Even if you’re one of those odd people who throws their shoes out every 6 months or so, there are still more than enough quiet, personal moments in here to make it worth taking a look. It’s $2, or you can get this along with her other minis (which will be up here shortly) for $5.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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This Is What Concerns Me
If there was a “truth in advertising” award in mini comics. I’d nominate Susie Cagle. This mini is a collection, of, well, things that concern her. Yes, it is more interesting than just making a list, as I’m just now starting to get an appreciation for her use of facial expressions, for one thing. Some things that concern her (without giving too much away) are: smelling like San Francisco, high heels for babies, Obamania, and crackling knees. Those are from her short lists. The longer pieces in here include the ordeal vegans must go through to get groceries, Susie slipping on what I’m sure she hoped was a banana peel, surveillance cameras in her neighborhood, and a possible undercover police station. So let’s see, in this comic you have your funny, your excellent art (OK, some of the poses looked a little odd, but the facial expressions more than make up for it), and your few things that you didn’t know about before opening the comic. What more could you ask for for $2?
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Nine Gallons #1
Technically Susie didn’t put a “#1” on this issue, but she did mention in the letter that this was part of a larger product, so I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume future issues. This is one of those cases where I probably should have gone ahead and scanned the wraparound cover, as it makes the front part a lot clearer. She also draws some excellent hands, which I know is one of the tougher things to draw. So how about the comic? This is the first part of the story of Susie’s time with Food Not Bombs, a group that goes by the theory that with so much money being spent on wars and with the fact that a fraction of that money could feed the world, how do we justify spending any more money on wars? In this issue she meets other members of the group, starts interacting with homeless people and just generally gets the lay of the land. There are all the various personalities to consider (the people getting food and the ones she’s working with) and the slight fact that the city officials seem to hate them. This was a really strong effort on a subject where she could have easily gone preachy and lost her audience. Everybody in here seems real (she does say she tried to stay as true as possible, just changing a few names), from her awkwardness getting started to the vast array of characters she meets. It’s a subject that gets just about zero attention and she handles it wonderfully, what more could you want? $5
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Posted by Kevin
