New review today for Best of Three by Sean Knickerbocker, as that Cartoon Crossroads review train just keeps rolling along.
Knickerbocker, Sean – Best of Three
October 9, 2025
I finally met Sean for the first time at Cartoon Crossroads this year (or at least it seemed to both of us like it was the first time meeting; it’s always possible we met briefly at a previous con and then forgot) and he’s delightful, in case anybody was wondering. When he told me that this book was a collection of previous stories from his anthology Rust Belt Review (up to #7 as of this writing, and for anybody who wondered why I stopped reviewing them after the first issue, I just haven’t seen any more out in the wild) I figured it would be a collection of unconnected stories, but since I’ve liked his other comics I had no troubles with that. Reader, this is a graphic novel, and a damned good one at that. It flowed seamlessly, with no indications that it was previously released in serial form in his anthology series. I actually reviewed the first maybe dozen pages years ago, and it’s after that that things really start getting good. The basic story is that there’s a slacker named David living at his friend’s house, going nowhere in life, until his friend decides to move back and gives David an ultimatum to move out. That’s right around the time that David’s father reportedly died, leaving him $20,000, which is what he needs to maybe work on his dream of starting a landscaping business. But of course he throws a party first, and that’s where the reader sees that he’s under surveillance. The cast of characters just keeps growing from there, as we quickly learn that a large amount of money was stolen by David’s father (closer to millions than $20,000), the people who had the money stolen are trying to track it down, his father’s old partner is also trying to track it down, and Sean keeps up an admirable pace with this heist story. Well, not heist, I guess, more of a “getting the money after the heist” story. Is there a word for that? Anyway, it keeps you guessing throughout, Sean spends the time necessary to make every one of these characters feel believable and real (with their own quirks and problems), and it all comes together beautifully in the end. Thoroughly recommended, give it a shot why don’t you? $20
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/7/25
October 7, 2025New review today for I Never Found You by Emma Jon-Michael Frank, and you’d better believe that this is another week of Cartoon Crossroads reviews.
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Posted by Kevin
Frank, Emma Jon-Michael – I Never Found You
October 7, 2025
I’ve started this new tradition at cons where if I get to the table for Floating World Comics while I still have money to spend, I’m getting a random graphic novel. Sure, I could spend five minutes going through them to make it less random, but then I’d inevitably want to get half a dozen of them, and since they mostly sell graphic novels and my billionaire benefactor has yet to appear, this seems like a bad idea. I mention all of this to say that I didn’t know a thing about Emma’s work before reading this book, and flipping through it at home made me wonder why I picked it. At first glance the art is crude, but after reading it I’ve revised my opinion of the art upward (it’s sparse, but lush when it needs to be, and it’s not like the many panels of Egbert thinking about his lot in life need lavish backgrounds). But the story more than makes up for anything else I might think is lacking. This is the story of Egbert, a thoroughly miserable dude who only finds meaning in his bird-watching habit. But he’s terrible at that too, consistently being the one with the fewest sightings in his club. Even in his club of kinda sorta societal rejects he stands out as pathetic, and he’s consistently unpleasant enough that he doesn’t evoke any kind of sympathy from his peers. We spend a whole lot of time with Egbert in his (completely alone) home life, where he actually puts himself through “training” to become a better bird watcher (I’m not going to spoil this wonder by revealing his methods), talks a lot about (and to) his “online therapist,” and falls in love with anybody who’s even slightly nice to him (but he doesn’t seem to have much of a idea of what love is). I was settling in for another comics tale of a sad sack loser when something happens that changes the whole dynamic: Egbert finds a severed hand in a tree. Suddenly he has the respect of his peers, has an interview scheduled on the news, and overall thinks this is his big chance to make a splash. And, predictably, it fizzles out; there was never a realistic chance of the evening news airing a long interview with a guy who found a hand. But now Egbert has the itch and knows what he has to do to get attention, so how far will be go to chase that high? It’s a genuinely funny book on top of all of that; the recurring gag of him being called a creep because he was walking around everywhere with binoculars surprised me several times, as did his habit of completely forgetting that he owned a cat. I wouldn’t call it a laugh riot, but it’s an engrossing and balanced read, and Egbert even gets the confrontation he was dreaming about by the end. Check it out, it also turns out that Emma has several other books available, so my graphic novel purchase might be a little less random next year. $20
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/3/25
October 3, 2025Oh hey, maybe birthday, future me! Self-indulgent, but you’re allowed to do it if you have your own website. New review today for Trans Girls Hit the Town by Emma Jayne! And after my previous disappointment at being unable to find ways to buy the comics I’d been reviewing from the con, you can get a copy of this one online easily.
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Posted by Kevin
Jayne, Emma – Trans Girls Hit the Town
October 3, 2025
I was so hoping that this would be a light romp about some friends talking and having a fun night out on the town, but considering the subject matter (and the country) involved, I guess that was never going to happen. There’s still plenty of humor, love and insight, but there’s also terror and threats possibly coming from every direction. I should backtrack a little: this came out in 2019 and won the Ignatz award, then won the Prism award in 2020, so plenty of people knew all about this, it’s just new to me. There’s even a sequel (Trans Girls Hit the Field) that I’m all kinds of curious about. I bring this up because the reality on the ground is probably even more grim now than it was in 2019, so I don’t know why I was expecting all sweetness and joy. Well, hoping, not expecting. Still! I’m an optimistic dummy sometimes. This one is all about Cleo and Winnie going out on the town, obviously. Cleo is new to transitioning and is incredibly self-conscious about her appearance and whether or not she’s “passing,” while Winnie has been at this for awhile and is the one encouraging Cleo to keep going with their planned fun night no matter what they run into. Reading this also really highlights the genuinely terrifying list of threats that you have to clock if you’re trans on any given night. Why is that dude on the train staring at you? What’s the best way to react to getting casually called a “gentleman”? There’s also the sheer terror of having to use a public restroom and the relief of finding one that just contains a single toilet. Still, I don’t want to spend too much time on the negatives (if I haven’t already), because the heart and soul of this comic is the joy and the conversation. Winnie always being a source of comfort and courage (even though it’s eventually revealed that that’s mostly because she’s been through exactly what Cleo is going through and knows that it does in fact get better), Cleo pushing ahead in spite of it all, and them managing to have a mostly wonderful time out, assholes be damned. Flipping through this again, it’s the joy that stands out, and that’s what makes up the bulk of the comic. It’s a comic that pulls no punches, but it’s also a hell of a read. Check it out, is what I’m saying. $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 10/1/25
October 1, 2025New review today for Untitled (2024) by Glenn Baskin, and I think this makes 100% of the comics I’ve reviewed from Cartoon Crossroads so far that have no noticeable way to actually buy them online? Help me out here, people!
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Posted by Kevin
Baskin, Glenn – Untitled (2024)
October 1, 2025
Untitled (2024)
I mean, I was VERY tempted to call this “Oh Peas and Carrots,” but I doubt very much that that’s actually the title of this mini. Which led me to conclude that there probably wasn’t a title at all, so here we are! This is a delightful comic, which folds out to show different excuses for calling in sick for every day of the week. I doubt very much that any of them would work in a practical sense, but they were funny, and hey, if you’re on your way out at your job anyway, try a few of these out to see what happens! There’s also a recipe for hot dog sauerkraut casserole, which sounds horrific to me because I can’t stand sauerkraut, but honestly? The rest of it sounds pretty damned good. Which overall makes this comic pretty practical, right? Excuses for getting out of work and a workable recipe. His art style reminds me slightly of Max Clotfelter, mostly because of those densely penciled black backgrounds, but Max still has a leg up on him for sheer sordidness (which I mean in the best possible way). I managed to grab a few more of Glenn’s comics at the con and it doesn’t look like any of them have a title, so it’ll be fun trying to keep these all straight in the weeks ahead. Oh well, reviewer problems, I guess. One comic in from the guy and I’m intrigued, so check this out if you get the chance. $2 maybe?
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 9/29/25
September 29, 2025Oh sure, NOW I get a bunch of comics to review in the mail. Sorry folks, it’s going to be Cartoon Crossroads time around here for at least a few more weeks, but I’ll get to them. New review today for Bogue #5 by Ruby Carter!
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Posted by Kevin
Carter, Ruby – Bogue #5
September 29, 2025Website
So last year at Cartoon Crossroads I got Ruby’s graphic novel “bird comic.” (that’s how it’s always listed), but I got it from her publisher, not her directly. So this year I got an issue of Bogue, but didn’t make any connections to the previously mentioned graphic novel, since I didn’t get it from her. Which is a shame, because I loved that book, and would have happily made a fool of myself gushing about it to her in person. Oh well, I’ll have to find some other way to embarrass myself, I reckon. But hey, what’s the deal with Bogue? Well, she had several issues of this series available, and I got this one more or less at random. Which actually turned out to be fine; it’s not the usual case at all where I’m lost by jumping into the middle of a story. Each issue is basically a fashion show for various types of bugs, sprinkled with some funny bits and (in this issue at least) a sneaky but warranted bit of social commentary. I’m about as far away as possible from being any kind of a fashion expert, but this is adorable and some of these bugs would absolutely benefit from some cute outfits. The hats alone on that first page were a perfect look for those bugs. There doesn’t seem to be a simple way to actually buy these comics at her website, but if you send her an email I’ll bet the two of you can figure it out. For fashion lovers this is mandatory, for the rest of you, be honest: you’ve always been curious about bugs wearing clothes, right? This is a safe space, you can admit it. Well, here’s your chance! $5 (if I’m remembering correctly)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 9/25/25
September 25, 2025New review today for The Canine Revolution Part 1: The Book of Yinlod by Tim Ballard. This is one of the first two books that I got at the convention that were both about dogs, but sadly I couldn’t keep that up for the entire convention. Some people made comics about things other than dogs, can you even imagine?
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Posted by Kevin
Ballard, Tim – The Canine Revolution Part 1: The Book of Yinlod
September 25, 2025
The Canine Revolution Part 1: The Book of Yinlod
I have to imagine that most people reading this would be at least open to dogs taking things over at this point. How much worse could they do, really? This series sure feels like it’s heading in that direction, but since this issue is mostly setting the stage, we’ll have to wait a bit for the actual revolution. Tim explains in his introduction that this story was originally intended to be a background story for a graphic novel he’s working on, but a concept like that was always going to get out of hand and now he’s torn between keeping it as a short series or making it a graphic novel of its own. As you may have guessed from that cover, this story is told as a recap to a younger generation of dogs who have only known the world after the revolution. Things start off with our hero gaining awareness in a cage, trapped in a terrible and hopeless place. I originally thought it was a PetSmart or one of those places where they keep the cats and dogs caged in tiny rooms, but it’s even worse, as you can tell if you read the sample page below. Yinlod escapes, enjoys his freedom for a bit, and finally digs up a bone with mysterious writing on it. This causes him to have a vision, and I’m assuming we’ll get more information on that the next time around. Tim also included the first chapter from the graphic novel that this story was originally meant to be part of, which was maybe kinda sorta autobiographical up to a point? He mentions in his introduction to that story that he was suffering through a breakup while writing it and the character was suffering through a breakup, so maybe I’m just assuming over here. That one goes along like you might expect for a few pages, before his dog gets up on his hind legs and makes him breakfast. I’m not going to lie, I’m also very curious about the direction that that story is taking. Also I hear you cat people, especially since I’m more of a cat person myself, but let’s be honest: cats could never get organized enough to take over the world. Smack it around like a ball of yarn, sure, but not run it. Two future graphic novels (probably), small bits of each included, I’d strongly recommend giving this issue a shot. Even if it isn’t up on his website quite yet, but if you get ahold of Tim he has copies available (unless he ended up selling out at Cartoon Crossroads). I think this one was $8 maybe?
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 9/23/25
September 23, 2025Back from Cartoon Crossroads, which was great once again, thanks for asking! One of these years maybe some kindly rich person (since they’re oh so common out there) will give me enough money to buy a copy of every comic at the con, but I did the best I could! New review today for Tales to Demystify: The Perfect Breakfast Sandwich by John G.
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Posted by Kevin
G., John – Tales to Demystify: The Perfect Breakfast Sandwich
September 23, 2025
Tales to Demystify: The Perfect Breakfast Sandwich
Go ahead, get your arguments ready in your head. I thought I’d have quibbles with whatever ingredients John ended up using in this comic, but in the end he won me over. I see you, bacon fans, eyeballing that sausage patty and perhaps not seeing any bacon anywhere on that sandwich. Bacon is a wonderful thing, that’s one of those universally acknowledged truths (except for vegetarians, and most of the ones I’ve been friends with liked bacon, they just didn’t eat it for moral reasons). But a sausage patty is the perfect shape to cover a bun, so it’s always going to be the clear winner here. But wait, am I really not going to list John’s suggested ingredients? Reader, I am not. That’d basically be spoiling the whole thing! You can make an educated guess from the image, but you’ll get at least one of the ingredients wrong. The only thing I take issue with is that he puts the jam UNDER the cheese, which goes against decades of training on my part, but considering the cheese he uses I can see the whole thing working out really well. I knew this would happen, but now I have to go get a breakfast sandwich. I do want to mention that John has been making comics for many years (I even reviewed one of his book before the great website rebuild of 2010, see if you can find it!), and in hindsight I would probably have been better off getting one of his heavier autobiographical comics. But I’m always going to walk away from Cartoon Crossroads wishing I’d picked up more comics, and this one was a lot of fun. It’s not on his website yet, but I think it was $3?
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 9/19/25
September 19, 2025To round out the week I’m linking to my reviews for Steve Steiner, and I’m really hoping that he has some new editions of his giant newspaper comics at Cartoon Crossroads this weekend. Come to the con why don’t you?
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 9/18/25
September 18, 2025If anybody in the world is a fan of my especially long and rambling reviews, all of Nate Powell’s work that I’ve reviewed has been graphic novels, and I do go on when it comes to those.
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 9/17/25
September 17, 2025Today I’m linking to a newish favorite around here, Karl Christian Krumpholz! And yes, since I’ve been doing this for 24 years, somebody that I’ve only been reviewing for 9 years does count as “newish.”
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 9/16/25
September 16, 2025Today I’m posting the reviews for somebody who’s a featured guest at Cartoon Crossroads this weekend, but I started reviewing his stuff when he was still doing mini comics: Matt Madden! Crikey, look at the text formatting on some of these oldies…
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 9/15/25
September 15, 2025It’s a trick! There are no actual reviews this week, but I am going to post a link to all of my reviews for somebody who’s going to be at Cartoon Crossroads this weekend every day. Watch how they/I evolve over the years! Probably more them then me, honestly. I’m mostly still the same old dope I’ve always been. Anyway, let’s start things off with reigning champ of the website (i.e. the person I’ve reviewed the most) Brian Canini!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 9/4/25
September 4, 2025New review today for The Bible Drawings Part One by John Mitkoff. I wasn’t able to get to Chicago this weekend as planned, meaning my options for review comics until Cartoon Crossroads in a couple of weeks are just about gone. Will I get enough comics over the next week to write reviews next weekend? Probably not, but maybe!
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Posted by Kevin
