What a difference a week off makes, huh? You might think that you’d be seeing more reviews from me, what with the country more or less on pandemic lockdown. Sadly, Board of Elections employees are considered “essential staff” (which sounds a whole lot nicer than “expendable”), so my work schedule is still normal. If that changes, I just got a box of comics from Spit and a Half and I’d be happy to ramble on about all of the comics. New review today for Sremmeh Fo Dog by Dustin Holland!
Holland, Dustin – Sremmah Fo Dog
March 24, 2020
Sremmah Fo Dog
There’s this thing I do at the start of reviews of comics I didn’t particularly enjoy, and it’s to find the silver lining to it and compliment what I can. What’s that? That’s a terrible trait for a reviewer to have? Yeah, well, that might explain why this is still a hobby 19 years after my first review. Anyway! This comic has a number of visually inventive touches, with some occasional subtle mixes of art and pictures of real objects. And… yeah, that’s about it. The best thing I can say for this comic is that I never got into it as a story, and it’s entirely possible that it’s on me. But the writing for this was damned near impenetrable, and I don’t think that’s entirely my fault. Do you remember those poetry magnets that people used to put on their refrigerators? They were just a series of unconnected words and phrases that you were supposed to put together to make your own poems. This book feels like nothing less than a complete volume of those poems. Go ahead, check out the sample page and tell me I’m wrong. As for the story, I legit have no idea. As you can tell from the title, this is about the god of hammers, and you can tell that because the title is “god of hammers” backwards. I just read a whole book about the dude and I couldn’t tell you what he does. There was plenty of violence, a character that also talked backwards (and that’s a terribly awkward way to read dialogue, especially when they’re talking in full sentences), and the second half of the book was almost entirely double page spreads of a place called Motorcycle City. Also he has more than a few spelling errors in here, which is death for a book where the dialogue takes a lot of work to understand to begin with. Look, this is the first comic I’ve seen from Dustin, so I don’t want this to seem like a thorough trashing. I did enjoy some of the imagery and that alone tells me that he definitely has potential. How about this: if you like your comics abstract, give this a shot. Otherwise give him another comic or two, then check back in to see where he’s at. That’s my plan!
P.S. (Yes, I know reviews don’t have postscripts. Bear with me.) Since artists often send me their own comics to review, chances are the artist also reads the review when it goes up. So I’d like to remind Dustin or anybody else just starting out: don’t let any reviewer make you feel like you’re not doing good work, or that it’s not worth the effort. If you’re making great art, the rest of the world will come around. If you’re making art and it feels like only you thoroughly enjoy it, there’s immense value in that too. Still, find a friend that’s excellent at spelling and grammar, and pass your book around to a few friends before putting it out into the world and see how they felt about it. Have them ask questions about the plot and story structure. If you can answer their questions and satisfy them, you’re on the right track. If not, take another pass, see if clarification really is needed. Um, also, eat your vegetables. Bye!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/12/20
March 12, 2020New review for King Cat #79 by John Porcellino, the 30th anniversary issue! I already said I’d most likely be out next week for the election, but I’ll mention here too that you should buy what you can from John’s Spit and a Half comics distro as soon as you can, as the man is talking about retiring. Get them comics while you can!
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Posted by Kevin
Porcellino, John – King Cat #79
March 12, 2020
King Cat #79
30 years! This is the 30th anniversary of King Cat, and it’s yet another great issue. It’s packed with nostalgia, exactly as a 30th anniversary issue should be, and a fair chunk of it is relevant to me on a personal level, so I’ll most likely do my best to keep myself out of it and fail completely. Anyway! I put John’s comic origin story as the sample page, for those of you who are curious. I went to Record Service (in Champaign Illinois) dozens of times myself, but my comics origin story was at a different location… dammit. Didn’t take long to mention my own stuff, did it? Maybe I should stick to saying what the comic is about. Stories in this one deal with his time camping with the cub scouts (and the inevitability of his getting the worst burger when it was his turn), several stories about his time in school with the science club and their many field trips, a few illustrated poems, his patented (but not really) top 40 list, letters from readers, the story of his tamed squirrel and her kids, an old story about the kindness of his grandfather, and the mystery of the gravity hill. Look it up, it’s damned odd! Other bits in here include a story about John from Gabrielle Bell (who you already know if you know anything about comics) and an epilogue to his comics origin story that was somehow both inevitable and shocking. I know, I didn’t think it was possible for a thing to be both either! John also mentioned a couple of times that he’s planning on retiring in the near future. I really, REALLY hope he’s just talking about Spit and a Half and not King Cat as well, but 30 years is a long time to do anything. Speaking of his comics distro service, I just placed a big old order with them in case he closes up shop suddenly (and because I got a raise recently, and what else would I spend that money on but comics?), and I’d highly recommend that y’all do that too. A number of items were sold out, so get what you can while you can. As far as recommendations go, of course you should read it! It’s an issue of King Cat. Always get the new King Cat! $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/10/20
March 10, 2020New review today for Dr. Carl Willendorf: Psychoanalyst of Creatures, Monsters and Other Beasts by Grant Thomas. One more review this week, then it’s most likely radio silence until after the election. Vote!
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Posted by Kevin
Thomas, Grant – Dr. Carl Willendorf: Psychoanalyst of Creatures, Monsters and Other Beasts
March 10, 2020Website
Dr. Carl Willendorf: Psychoanalyst of Creatures, Monsters and Other Beasts
It’s election season around the website, meaning that I have a tendency to go for the shorter mini comics, knowing that I have limited time to talk about comics. I know, I hate it too! Anyway, Grant sent along a couple of his latest comics recently, and this one was tiny. This usually means that there’s not much time to form an opinion one way or the other; it’s generally a quickly amusing tale or something that comes and goes without leaving an impression. It’s just the nature of the beast when you’re talking about a comic with 8 panels; no disrespect intended to people who make such books. Anyway, I wanted to make one thing perfectly clear: I absolutely love this concept and hope that Grant makes dozens more books like this. Or bigger, so we can really dig into it. What’s it about? The title should make it obvious, but it’s a psychoanalyst talking to monsters. Or, for the purposes of this comic, one monster: the minotaur. It’s great! Insightful, funny, even a little alarming, all in 8 panels. There are a whole lot of monsters out there, so I hope Grant takes this concept and runs with it. Check it out, it’s a measly dollar and you’ll love it!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/27/20
February 27, 2020New review today for Kids With Guns #2 by Alex Nall! Also I’m hoping to keep the reviews steady through the primary on March 17th (vote!), but if I vanish from time to time, that’s the reason. If that happens just dig through the archives a bit, you’re bound to find some amazing comic that you missed when I reviewed it the first time around…
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Posted by Kevin
Nall, Alex – Kids With Guns #2
February 27, 2020
The title starts coming into play this time around, and it’s as depressing and realistic as I figured. There’s a lot happening this time around, which I’ll get to in a minute, but there’s also the constant background noise of another school shooting being covered. As the comic goes on we learn more about what happened, who died, how even a former army veteran wasn’t able to stop the rampage… and nobody involved in the story bats an eye. Nobody acknowledges it, nobody seems to change their behavior at all, it’s just an accepted part of the background. Which is a damned accurate summation of the general American opinion on mass shootings in 2020, grim and hopeless though it may be. A lot of the rest of the comic is just regular life going on, so we get Milo going to visit his grandma and his (maybe mildly autistic?) brother, watching cartoons and eating dinner, while Melvin flashes back once again to his days in the war before trying to get out of speaking to a veteran’s group. Once again I feel like I’m not accurately conveying the complexity of what’s happening, but you’ve read some of Alex’s books by now, so you know what he’s capable of, right? He’s also gotten really good over the years at panel angles (is that a term?), of keeping a static scene looking dynamic through different areas of focus and perspective. Give it a shot, or if you’re lucky maybe if you wait a few years he’ll put this whole thing into a collected edition. Meanwhile, this one is $8.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/25/20
February 25, 2020Sorry about the gap in reviews, long time readers will know that I tend to get awfully busy around election season, what with my job in elections and all. Also go vote! If you’re not motivated now I honestly don’t know what would do it. New review today for The Audra Show #3 by Audra Stang!
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Posted by Kevin
Stang, Audra – The Audra Show #3
February 25, 2020
The Audra Show #3
The mysteries of the Audraverse are slowly being revealed! That’s right, I’m sticking with my made-up name for Audra’s comics, in the hopes of her eventually getting a Marvel-esque multi picture deal out of it. Don’t forget me when you’re incredibly rich, Audra! As for the rest of you, you’re probably here to read about the comic, and this is the issue where Audra spells out why there are two sets of characters: Bea and her friends/coworkers are in 1988, and Adelaide and her friends/celebrity crush are in 2008. What connects them exactly is still unknown, but she’s clearly getting there, so I’d advise patience. In the 1988 section we have Bea being miserable at her job, Dan hitting on her before being forced to clean the bathrooms, Flower deciding to take a hike, Owen missing Bea, and Dan being all Dan to everybody. The 2008 section gets less space so it’s more of a transitional story, as everybody arrives at Adelaide’s house after the events of the last issue and get into a brief discussion about refreshments. Like I said, the main action is in the first story this time around. Have I mentioned that the mystery has me hooked? Because it has, even though I’m not even completely sure that there’s much of a mystery to be resolved. But I’ve grown attached to the characters, which makes this series a success in my book. Check it out, here’s hoping there’s a fourth issue when I next see her at a convention… $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/13/20
February 13, 2020New review today for Open Molar by Lille Carre, a mini kus book that almost slipped through the cracks. You can’t escape me, mini kus!
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Posted by Kevin
Carre, Lille – Open Molar
February 13, 2020
Long time readers of this site will know that every now and then a mini kus book will leave me with not much of anything to say. It’s not that I hated it or loved it, it will just leave me baffled. I’ll still try to cast around for something meaningful to say, some insight, but in these occasions I’ll usually end up beaten. It’s been awhile, but Open Molar, come on down! Ya done beat me. Here, I’ll paste the description on the back of the book, maybe that’ll help: “A list of instructions for this afternoon. Learn to create a drop-shape for slow relief. This solution is only intended for gapped interiors. Do not skip the first step.” There you go! You now know as much as I do. I should point out that the text is so faint that it apparently didn’t come through in the scan, but on the sampled page it says “Set it as you would your watch. Warmth can lead to excessive foam.” Does that help you? Perhaps there are clues to be had in the title. As a good chunk of this deals with teeth, this feels like the right track! Alas, I still can’t make it form a coherent whole. To be clear, this would drive a lot of people crazy, but I love it. Baffle me, mini kus! Leave me books to have around just so I can show them to friends and try to get them to make sense out of them. As to you, reader, who is just trying to read some good comics with maybe a suggestion or two from this end, should you give this a shot? There are at least a dozen mini kus books I enjoyed more, so I’d check back through those reviews and start there. But for anybody who loves a challenge, I present to you… Open Molar! $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/11/20
February 11, 2020New review today for Alienation by Ines Estrada, and that should do it for the graphic novel reviews for now. Unless I find another “best of” list full of amazing books I hadn’t read, so I guess I’m making no promises…
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Posted by Kevin
Estrada, Ines – Alienation
February 11, 2020
Would you believe that that cover actually tells you the whole story? OK, maybe not totally, but a good chunk of it. After you read it maybe you’ll agree, but I’m not going to explain why here. Oh right, the review! This is set in 2054, right as a lunar eclipse is happening in Alaska. The story is not set in Alaska, but our hero (Eliza) is able to watch it on Starbucks Live Cam. Yes, this is another story about a dystopian future that’s all too plausible based on where we are today (early 2020, future readers, assuming humanity survives that long), but Ines packs all kinds of new ideas into this formula. Most of life in 2054 is lived online, through various types of virtual reality. People do still have jobs, but they’re quickly becoming automated, with very little thought given to what happens to those workers when the jobs are fully automated. Hey, just like today! They’re able to do and see literally anything their heart desires (they have a concert in their living room, go to a rave from 1997, go see Jimi Hendrix in the 60’s, etc.), to the point that they sometimes forget to buy food. They go on like this for a bit, until eventually what she suspects to be an AI breaks through and forces her to communicate. She’s freaked out by this, especially when this keeps happening and she has no control over it, and it culminates (after she’s able to access her medical history which, horrifically, is controlled by McDonald’s) in her finding out she’s pregnant. Despite not having had sex with her boyfriend in at least a year. Things get fucking weird from there, but I’ve spoiled more than enough of this journey. I’ll just say that several parts of this have really stuck with me (I finished this a few days ago and I’ve been gathering my thoughts, which maybe makes this more coherent than usual but probably not), and this is very much worth your time. If you’re optimistic about the future somehow this should cure you, and if not you’ll feel right at home. $19.99
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/5/20
February 5, 2020New review today for Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers. If nothing else here’s hoping all these graphic novel reviews are giving you some ideas for library books…
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Posted by Kevin
Flowers, Ebony – Hot Comb
February 5, 2020
This is really her first book? Really? Well, consider the bar raised, everybody else who’s putting out their first graphic novel! This is a collection of stories about growing up and just generally living while black. Starting things off is the title piece, which deals with Ebony convincing her mother to let her get a perm as a kid, and exactly what goes into it. White people who have never considered such a thing, it’s excruciating, and she goes into detail here. Other stories are about dealing with a crazy lady on the train, the flood of memories that hits her at the funeral for an elderly relative (and her conversation with another relative that caused the older lady no end of grief), a particularly odd reaction to her hair from a child, her little sister and how her relationship to her softball team changed her life (her hair changed when she went into the pool, which caused her to become a sort of “good luck” symbol for the team, which is not something she wanted, to put it mildly), her playing with ducks and the utter lack of patience from her mother when she was playing, and (maybe the highlight of the book, although it’s tough to choose) a long conversation with three friends that goes over several locations. It’s difficult to describe why it was riveting without going into minute detail, which would ruin your reading experience, so just trust me on this one, OK? Bottom line, it’s a pile of great stories from an author I’m assuming we’re going to be hearing a lot from going forward, so get in on the ground floor before she takes over the world! $21.95
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/3/20
February 3, 2020New review today for Good Talk by Mira Jacob, and yes, I’m obviously still reading “best of” books a lot more than mini comics right now. I’ll get back to them, don’t you fret.
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Posted by Kevin
Jacob, Mira – Good Talk
February 3, 2020
Hey, who wants another debate about what exactly makes a book into a comic? Nobody? Yeah, me neither, but since this is mostly a collection of still drawings over real backgrounds, I’m sure somebody has brought it up by now. So instead let’s just call it a book and talk about how incredible it is, OK? This is, as it says right there on the cover, a memoir in conversations. Mira is an Indian who was born in America, which becomes relevant quickly or I wouldn’t mention it, and since this is the America of 2020 at the moment, there are entirely too many assholes out there who are concerned with such things. Stories in here include her parents’ arranged marriage (how it came about, how they both always championed it as a concept despite their not being in love, and how for a while there they hoped for something similar for Mira), how Mira was seen differently in her own family because her skin was the darkest of the bunch, her adventures in dating while constantly worrying about whether or not she was thought of as a fetish object, and her reactions to the 9/11 attacks while living in Brooklyn. And yes, the realization that anybody with brownish skin would have a tough time of it afterwards hit her very quickly. The most powerful story that runs throughout the book is her conversations with her son (around 6 when they started) and how that all paralleled with the rise of that dickhead in the White House. It’s a horror story where we all know the ending, and she naturally made promises to her son that the country wasn’t awful enough to elect the man. Whoops! She also married a white Jewish man along the way, meaning their kid was mixed race, meaning the news that her white stepparents supported the racist was devastating to her and to her whole family. This was a conversation that played out thousands of times over the course of the campaign, but it doesn’t make it any less depressing to see again. They knew he said racist things, of course, but they didn’t think he meant it. And besides, that Hilary woman sure was awful, wasn’t she? Mira tried repeatedly to convey the pain they were putting them through, their son tried to convey the damage it was doing to their connection (which was very strong up until then; Mira had started called her stepmother “Mom” pretty much right away), even talking about how it was affecting their son didn’t change their minds. The book ends on a hopeful (ish) note, as they’re all on a flight in early 2017 to go visit the stepparents, with Mira unsure what to expect and all of them a little nervous about it. I’m obviously curious about what happened next, but that’s left to the imagination. Maybe they came around? Maybe they’re still making excuses for the racism even today, as so many are? Regardless, this book is chock full of fascinating stories (I’m only mentioning maybe half of them, this book is hefty), and very much worth checking out. $30
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/30/20
January 30, 2020New review for The Empress Cixtisis by Anne Simon. And if I could toot my own horn just a little, this book is now available in the Columbus library system because I noticed it wasn’t there, so if you’re in the area, check it out so they know to get more of this type of thing! Also if you live in the area they’re very responsive to requests like this, so check to see if they’re missing your favorites. Probably not, because they have a lot of comics, but still…
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Posted by Kevin
Simon, Anne – The Empress Cixtisis
January 30, 2020
Watch out, this is a sequel to The Song of Aglaia! Which isn’t that big of a deal, as this stands alone quite nicely, just a public service announcement. This one is going to be difficult to sum up, despite being a lot more linear than a lot of comics that befuddle me. Cixtisis and Aglaia each rule their respective kingdoms, but Cixtisis has a much larger army, so she can more or less have her way with them. The book starts off with Cixtisis on a very long journey for negotiations with Aglaia, as Cixtisis has kidnapped most of her male population. Cixtisis seems to be an absolute monster in every other way, but it’s still shocking when she announces that the men that she kidnapped have all been castrated. Which is maybe a bit of a spoiler, but it happens early, and “I’VE CASTRATED THEM ALL” is in large letters on the back cover. Anyway, negotiations obviously take a turn for the worse at this point, but she had noticed that there was a pregnant woman at court, which is confusing since she thought they had all the males. A brief search later, the hideout is found, and the rest of the book is dealing with the fallout/preparing for war. With the hopes of convincing an army of french fries to help them. Yeah, you thought it all seemed normal enough before that, right? This book is also relentlessly funny, although often in a grim sort of way. I’m going to go back and read the first book immediately, and there’s a sequel coming called Boris the Potato Child, and good luck keeping me from reading that one. As for this book, yes you should read it, of course you should. $16.99
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Posted by Kevin
