April 22, 2010
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Working Stiff #3
Watch out, name change! No idea why, as Blue Collar was a fine title. Oh well, whatever float his boat. And if anybody out there read comics as a kid (a fairly likely proposition, as you’re here, aren’t you?) then that cover just screams nostalgia. Pretty much all the Marvel comics when I started reading them had covers like that, something very dramatic that made you just have to pick it up… but then the cover image never happens in the book! Cheater! Ahem. Anyway, the Negotiator storyline continues here, and it seems to be veering a bit into schlock silliness, at least with some of the dialogue. Whether or not that’s a bad thing is entirely up to you. To me, this is looking like a longer story, so I’m still waiting to see how it all plays out when it’s read together. Also in here is a silly story about the devil appreciating a young punk’s artwork, a cautionary tale about getting too smart for your own good, a parody of those ads about a skinny guy getting sand kicked in his face on the beach, and a genuinely odd note that Craig apparently received after doing some digging under an overpass. Pretty good mix of stuff here again, and I have a couple of issues to review that aren’t part of this series, so I should be getting a much better idea of what else he’s capable of very soon. Contact info up there, $3!
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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True Stories Swear to God #6
Tom Beland’s mini was nominated for an Ignatz award for best mini comic last year, and that’s one of those instances where the line of what is and isn’t a mini gets kind of blurry. This title is basically a collection of the newspaper-style strip that he does. They’re mostly funny in a non-offensive kind of way, but they hardly hold together enough to win an award for the best mini comic of the year. All that being said, this is an OK book. It puts a smile on my face and keeps it there. If you’re looking for a unique experience (and there are a lot of them out in mini comic land) then you might want to avoid this, or at least wait to buy it until you’re rich. If you’re looking for an amusing title that you can read and just be amused for the time that you’re reading it, this might be for you.
E-mail Tom Beland (he says that he answers all his e-mails)
Check out his site to see some of his strips, maybe you’ll like them and a bunch of them are free
If you want to order any of his books, #1-6 are available for $2.25 each from:
True Stories, Swear to God PO Box 9020278
Old San Juan Station San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00902
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Willy Wonka: Candyman (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $.50
In case you were wondering, yes, this is one of those books that you can judge from the cover. If lookig at that doesn’t make you intensely curious at least to see what it’s all about, you’ve obviously never seen Willy Wonka (the one with Gene Wilder, I have no idea about the new one). It’s sort of a prelude to the happenings of the movie, except, of course, for the fact that the creators intended for none of this to be the backstory of the man. Wonka in this mini is a slave trader (the Oompa Loompas), a drug user, and someone who has no problem doing experiments on children. He gets close to his dream of making a candy that makes children addicted while also keeping them perfectly quiet and pliable, and that’s where things get dicey with the President. Any more than that and it’s just ruined, but the ending dovetails nicely into the start of the movie, and the real reason he offered the tour. This was originally a 24 hour comic that was apparently finished in the time allowed, but then Corey inked it days later, so I guess technically it can’t be considered a 24 hour comic. And if you’ve ever lost even a little bit of sleep thinking about such things, I am deeply sorry. The point is that it’s a little sloppier than your average mini as a result, but all that does is make Wonka seem more unhinged and manic. There’s also a genuinely unique and interesting story here, which is always nice when it comes to the 24 hour books, as some of them tend to be… well, less than completely thought out. No problem with that here, I recommend this completely to the people who grew up on this movie, although the people who didn’t may end up being a bit lost…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Solidarity Now Available! $.50
As I’m typing this the whole country seems to finally realize what a doofus we have running things and it’s not looking good for him to even finish out his term, judging from all the scandals hitting and still to come. That being said, this was made in 2003, when this country was a different place entirely. It’s about a man who takes his wheat paste and his fliers and posts them up all over town, trying to get people to wake up and take action. Of course the cops get involved, and that’s where things get tricky. If I had read this three years ago it would have been another chilling indictment of how far we’ve fallen, but I’m eternally optimistic that this country is going to get its shit together someday, so this just serves as a reminder of a time that is slowly grinding to a halt. Plus there are some great and practical instructions in the back on how to make the appropriate paste, and how to put up fliers all over town.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Pursuit Now Available! $.50
Oh yeah, now I remember why I didn’t review this comic until now (9/19/08, long after everything else on the page was reviewed): I didn’t know what to make of it. It’s a wordless comic, which can occasionally be the bane of my existence, as I often come up short trying to get a review anywhere nearly as profound as the work the artist put out, or at least as profound as they intended it to be. This follows the flight of a large bird through a city, focusing in on the people in the streets, all seeming to be either in a state of extreme nervousness and fear, perhaps of all the cops keeping an eye on things. And yes, it’s clear from his other work as well as this that Corey doesn’t entirely trust cops, and why on earth should he? They have free rein with tasers now, a “non-lethal” form of crowd control. Best to stay away from them if possible. We also see some reaction shots of animals, like a lion, monkey and a couple of dogs. Because… aw hell, I don’t know. I like his other books better (and am still wondering when he’s going to finish that damned Wizard of Oz trilogy), but if you’re a fan of the wordless stuff it’s certainly a cheap book to try out.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Parallel
I do so love the random submissions. This one is a short silent mini paralleling (duh) the day of a harried husband and a carefree guy who happens to be cheating wife the previous man’s wife. It’s done well and has a lot more of a punch because it’s silent, as words can sometimes just clutter up an otherwise potent comic. Yep, that’s my crappy bit of wisdom for the day. Corey also sent along a few more comics which will be posted here in the coming weeks, which is wonderful as I’d much rather have a well-rounded opinion of somebody’s work than just one book, even if it is a book I like such as this one. No price but I’d say it’s a buck…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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There’s No Place #2 (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $2
Hooray for qualified praise! I loved this issue, thought it was a great continuation of this series. We get to see the funeral for Glinda, Tinman trying to talk sense (or at least patience) into the lion, Scarecrow crashing said funeral with an army of crows, and, best of all, an attack by those famous flying monkeys. So why only qualified praise? Simple. This book, #2 of a three part series, came out in 2005. As of today, 8/24/07, #3 still isn’t out yet, or at least nowhere that it’s accessible online that I could find. Meaning that, fun as this book was, it doesn’t mean a damned thing unless this series gets wrapped up, and the sooner the better. Sorry to be a jerk about it, but after 6 years of doing this website I’ve had all the dangling series that I can take. As a whole, this series has some serious potential, for fans of the old Oz books or the movie (and people who have somehow never heard of either), as it’s a dark reimagining of these fairly simplistic characters. This issue in particular has some revealing conversations between the lion and the Tinman, as both are fleshed out in a big way and even the Scarecrow, mass murderer that he is, becomes a bit of a sympathetic character. So, a plea to the creators: finish what you started, realize the potential with this story that you’ve built up with these first two issues, and let me praise this whole series unreservedly.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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There’s No Place #1 (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $2
So what happens after the end of The Wizard of Oz? Scarecrow has his brains, Tinman has his heart, and the lion has his courage. Then what? This three issue series seeks to answer that question, or at least posits a pretty interesting theory. Scarecrow, it turns out, has plenty of knowledge but very little wisdom on how to use that knowledge. The story begins with Scarecrow, after trying to explain his philosophy to the Munchkins, deciding that the direct approach is the best way to go and ends up killing almost everybody in the village. The Tinman, who is trying to plant two trees for every one he cut down before he got his heart, learns of this and decides to look up his old friend the lion. The lion has turned into a bit of a beast, seemingly happy to solve every problem with violence now that he’s no longer a coward. Mixed into all of this is the damage that Scarecrow did to Emerald City in his time as ruler and Glinda’s efforts to set things right. It’s a fascinating concept, if a bit difficult to see the actor who played Scarecrow in the movie going on a major killing spree. Well worth a look, especially if they can keep this up for the next two issues. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Hate Yer State #2 Now Available! $2
What’s the best way to review a book of political comics? If you figure that out let me know, as I have no idea. There’s some pretty funny stuff in here if this is your political persuasion (“this” being mostly that GW Bush and Republicans in general are shitbags, while Democrats are mostly worthless), but if this isn’t your thing, well, it’s not going to do a whole lot for you. There’s also a slight problem with the fact that political strips are incredibly topical, so that even though this book was done in 2006, as I sit here in 2007 (as somebody who pays a lot of attention to politics, sadly), there are plenty of faces in various strips that were a mystery to me. Possibly if I read them the week they came out it would make perfect sense, but a year removed I have no idea who were committing the outrages of the week. Still, some funny and disturbing stuff in here, and call me an eternal optimist, but I have to imagine that most people out there who pay attention to this stuff at all are more or less in line with his political views…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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The Battle Within (written by Scott Oliver) Now Available! $.50
Who likes a good boxing match? Granted, there’s all kinds of subtext here to go with the text (one quick glance at the cover will fill you in on that much), but there’s also plenty of good old fashioned hitting to enjoy. This is the story, on the surface at least, of a man who slowly rises through the ranks until he’s given a shot at the championship. Said championship is being held by a man who clearly got the belt through help from shady people, and the challenger is informed that unless he takes a fall his family is in jeopardy. Cut in with the action are shots of the challenger as a caveman with a club and the champ as a giant monster, quite possibly a lion but I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, a nice little tale for a measly $.50, with an unfortunately dopey ending line. Other than that there’s plenty to like here though, as it looks great and, like I said, plenty of punching is involved.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Why We Call Them Robots Now Available! $3
First monkeys in space, then the origin of robots. It looks like these were the only two comics Sarah did in this format (these were done in 2002) but she could have kept this up forever as far as I’m concerned. This tells the story of the man (Karel Capek) who wrote a play about robots (after his brother Josef coined the term) in 1921 called Rossum’s Universal Robots. The robots in this were organic and meant more as drones to do physical work. The message of the play was lost in the novelty of the concept of robots, and we all know where it went from here, as we sit at least a decade or so away from the inevitable robot armageddon. The rest of the comic is about the life of Karel Capek and how the Nobel Prize committee lacked the courage to give him the Prize for literature but they were afraid of offending Hitler. Odd thing to see written these days, huh? Anyway, it’s a fascinating story and mostly new to me. If she ever wants to return to this format I’m all for it, but regardless if you check out this book you have an instant conversation starter for any occasion… $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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The Monkeynauts Now Available! $3
OK, so monkeys as a theme for comics (or almost anything, really) is about as played out as it can get. Even I have to admit to being sick of seeing monkeys all over the place. That being said, reading this reminds me of why I liked monkeys so much to begin with: their adorable propensity to act like people. This is a brief history of monkeys in the various space programs, but mostly the ones here in the USA. Frankly, I thought it would be a lot more grim than what I saw; turns out most of the monkeys made it back safe and sound after all. This is a great overview of the whole time period seen in a completely different light, and she even manages to make the story entertaining when it could have easily been a cold collection of historical data. Fascinating stuff, and this is sure to restore your love of monkeys if it’s been lessened by the recent barrage of monkeys…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Shuteye #4: Carrefour Now Available! $4
Huzzah, this time around I was able to instantly catch the connection from the last issue to #4! It only took me 4 issues to figure all that out, I must be the smartest man alive. This is another solid issue in this series, a bit different this time out because the tone has changed to one of constant terror. The man from the last issue, J.P, wakes up to start things off this time around, happy that at least his last dream (issue #3) at least wasn’t the recurring nightmare he’s been having. In his nightmare he’s being pursued by a creepy, bearded cajun guy (or maybe just a french guy) who seems to be out to do him harm. J.P. starts losing his grip on reality almost instantly, confusing his waking life with his images of the nightmare cajun, seeing him in his record shop, on the street, and accompanying J.P.’s girlfriend. Paranoia rarely leads to happy endings, but I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers. Like I said, another solid issue and I’m looking forward to one day putting these all together and making sense of the whole thing. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Shuteye #3: Night and Day Now Available! $4
I’ve known about Sarah’s work for right around a year now, and it already makes my day when I get a new comic from her in the mail. This is the story of a young couple who seem to completely love each other, but have to deal with roommates and their families not approving of their relationship for different reasons. They decide to take a long camping trip to get away from it all, and end up stumbling across a house in the middle of nowhere, and any more than that gives the whole thing away. This may (emphasis on the “may” here, as I like most of her stuff) be the best comic that Sarah has done yet. She sets up the difficulties of the relationship beautifully and deals with the awful truth of that house as honestly as possible. She also points out in the letter that came with this something I hadn’t picked up on, that the end of every Shuteye focuses in on one person dreaming and that person carries on over to the next issue. Missed that one completely, probably because I’ve been reading these things months apart. Anyway, it looks gorgeous and has a great story. What more do you need? And I’m going to guess that this one is $4 too…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Shuteye #2: The Liar Now Available! $4
OK, I’m officially impressed. Look, I’ve been doing this site for almost five years now and reading minis for twice as long as that (or so), so seeing something that’s genuinely different from the usual is always a thrill. This one is about a boy who’s always travelling (and drunk, apparently) and his desire to fit in somewhere, anywhere… but also his inability to be honest to those around him or even to himself. In the end we’re left wondering what of what we’ve just read is real and what isn’t, but she manages to pull that off without ever seeming like a cliche hollywoodish twist ending. And if you think I’m telling you too much you may be right, but she says it right on the back of the comic so it can’t be too much of a secret. It’s probably still a bit too early to say for sure, but so far Sarah seems like a new, unique voice in the world of small press comics, and another one of those is always a good thing in my book.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Shuteye #1: Vea Now Available! $4
This is the last of Sarah’s current list of books that I’m getting around to reviewing (just in case anybody comes here wondering how this all works chronologically, and it’s a horrible mess that way, so please don’t bother), and it’s another impressive effort. It’s about a man named Vea who deserts from a company of explorers in the Banda Oriental and his eventual time in an Indian camp. Vea spends a day with the Indians, only to wake up the next day to find that everybody has either vanished or changed significantly from the night before. This happens every day, no matter if he takes a wife the night before, fights in a battle, anything that happens is forgotten on a daily basis, to the point where Vea can’t even remember the life he had before the village. His story becomes a legend around his old group of explorers, although no one knows how much of it is real, if any of it, or what really happened to Vea. This is based on a story from David Becan and it’s a fascinating concept, although used in various forms in various other stories. It’s done extremely well here and this one, along with pretty much any of her other books, is well worth checking out. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Ouija Interviews #4: Mack, Agatha & Samantha Now Available! $4
I don’t know if Sarah takes these “conversations” down verbatim as she has them, uses snippets and turns them into a coherent story or just makes the whole thing up, but it hardly matters when the story is this good. The group finds Mack, who is sad, lost and looking for his mother. While they’re talking to him his sister Agatha comes into the conversation, and Mack says that he would be a lot happier if they could just find his mother. Mack asks them to find his sister Samantha, who might know more about the situation, and things get really odd from there. Yes, even more odd. This is a bit bigger than the other issues and it’s nothing short of a thoroughly entertaining read. If this was all taken verbatim from a ouija session that must have been one creepy session…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Ouija Interview #3: Naomi Now Available! $3.50
Full disclosure here: I believe in Ouija boards working about as much as I believe in the average alien abduction. That is to say, not even a little unless I see proof of some kind. That being said, it didn’t matter one bit because this was a great story. A group of people “called” on the board (sorry, no idea what the term is) and were answered by a dead young girl named Naomi. She died horribly and misses the boy she had a crush on at the time, who either died with her or is still alive, as she hasn’t seen him. I have no idea of Sarah’s artistic ability from this because it’s just images of this dead girl in various poses, but she does a great job with the girl and the backgrounds, for whatever that’s worth I don’t think I’m adequately conveying what a blast this comic was, but it made me laugh a few times, and that’s always a good thing. I have no idea on price, but let’s say $3 at a guess, and the outside is creepily gorgeous.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Ouija Interviews #2: Chip Now Available! $3.50
It’s tough to pick a favorite out of these four issues (and that’s after Sarah had to win me over to begin with as I’m not a big fan of the ouija), but this one might take the cake. Am I allowed to have “co-favorites”? No, didn’t think so. This is the story of Chip, a sassy dead man who enjoys very much having sex and his current reincarnated life as a strawberry. Yes, both at the same time. He is also very interested in the interviewers asking deeper questions, then seems to take delight in making jokes of the answers. Chip does, however, give us the meaning of life, and it’s about as good an answer as I’ve seen anywhere else. This whole series (assuming that it’s over) is a blast and should win awards in the comics world. Hell, maybe it even has, as I don’t keep up on that sort of thing. Either way, check them out. These are some of those mythical books that you can show to people who don’t read comics and win them over, and we all know how hard those are to come by…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Ouija Interviews #1: Theo Wallis Now Available! $3.50
(To anybody reading these reviews in order, I read #3 first out of these). Sometimes when you go back to the early issues of a series you can see the rough patches that led to greater things. It’s a bit unfair to call this one a “rough patch” as it’s still entertaining and has a few great lines in it, but it’s obvious that this concept for a story grew from here to become the greatness that is #3 (even though, at this moment, I haven’t read #2 or 4 yet). There’s nothing overtly awful about this issue, it’s just that the questions stay pretty simple and there’s not a whole lot to latch onto. Guy is killed by jealous wife but regrets nothing, it doesn’t dig much deeper than that. Ok overall, and worth a look if you’ve read the other ones and want a whole set, but go for the later ones first.
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Posted by Kevin
