April 26, 2010
Website
Phillip!
Now come on, isn’t that just about the best cover you’ve ever seen? It’s even better once you read the story and it’s really not even meant to be salacious. OK, it’s meant to be slightly salacious, granted. But this is the story of a boy named Phillip, who gets in trouble in third grade and doesn’t come back to the school of the narrator (presumably Shannon) until sixth grade. At that time this perennial troublemaker hasn’t had much of a change of heart of his previous ways and now he’s dealing with the onset of puberty. I don’t want to give the whole thing away, as this is only a 4 page shortie (and you’re already seeing half of it in samples) but it’s funny and only a quarter, so who can beat that?
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Brush and Pen
I do love the random comics, and this one was more random than most. It’s all about a brush, a pen and a sharpie, so far at least The brush and the pen are married (as you might be able to guess from the cover) and the sharpie is a horny friend of the pen from work. Not sure what exactly work is, but it’s at an office, and it doesn’t really matter at the moment. This issue is mostly a conversation between the pen and the sharpie, another one between the brush and the pen, and, well, the brush and the pen having sex. So if you were ever curious what a brush and a pen having sex would look like (and who hasn’t been?), then look no further. I should also mention that the characters were drawn with their respective items, like the pen being drawn with a pen, the sharpie with a sharpie, etc It’s a fun little story, but the man wanted impartial criticism, so here I come to pile on some negativity! There were almost no backgrounds here, so these already odd characters seemed to be living in a vacuum Slightly unsettling, to say the least And some of the word balloons had some serious run-on sentences that could have used some punctuation, and yes, I’m aware of the irony of me complaining about run-on sentences. Overall it was a pretty good book though, especially good if it was a first effort. Removing them from the void would do wonders for it though. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Asymmetrical Opossum
I’m going to need to develop a new format specifically for Shannon’s books. A cover sample and one sample from inside the comic is fine for most things, but when the comic is only four pages long it almost feels like stealing. This is the story of an opossum who was born with eyes and ears of different sizes. Naturally, this causes resentment and anger in the locals, who immediately try to kill the poor thing. This leads to an elaborate revenge plan from the opossum, and yes this is a lot to pack into such a tiny comic, especially when you consider that the cover is one of the four pages. Shannon also manages to find the time to make fun of Republicans (or morons of all stripes, it depends on your perspective) and make a moral point or two. Good clean fun, probably not more than $.50, and, for whatever it’s worth, it’s a 12 hour comic.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Shannon Smith is Addicted to Distraction
Generally speaking I’m against throwing your own name in your comic title, but if you’re going to go all the way like Shannon did and also picture yourself bursting through the cover, I say more power to the man. This is a collection of odds and ends, so naturally some pieces are going to better than others. Things start off slow with a baffling story of a man who runs into an all-powerful Jimmy Hendrix and gets taken to heaven with a bunch of naked ladies who preach nothing but love. Oddly, the guy can’t wait to get out of there, but seems to have gotten something from the whole experience. Then there a few one page autobio pieces, at least a couple of which I’ve already seen in his other minis, but the piece sampled below was new to me and nicely reflects the struggle to ever find a copy of The Comic’s Journal. The heart of the book is up next, and 24 hour comics folk take note: Shannon has blasted you all out of the water. He decided to do a one page comic every hour of Super Bowl Sunday, starting at 8am and ending around midnight. It’s especially impressive because the guy is a Steeler’s fan and he still took time out of the day to make a comic. Granted, the art is about as simple as you can get, and I got a lot more out of reading this hourly strip that I just about ever have by reading most daily diary comics. The hourly format really gave him time to dig into the small details. There’s waking up, dealing with a nagging headache, cleaning up cat puke, picking up toys for his kids, making unhealthy food for the big day, playing with toys with his kids, and finally watching the game. If that sounds like too much detail for you, you’re clearly not a fan of autobio. You can’t get much more “day in the life” than this. Finally there’s a pile of sketches in the back of the comic, mostly stuff he’s sent to people who’ve mailed in over the years. I particularly enjoyed Ant Man fighting an ant over a twinkie, but maybe Wonder Woman using her lasso the make the Invisible confess her true love would be more your thing. It’s a pretty nice pile of comic any way you look at it, and well worth checking out. It’s $4, and if that’s too rich for your blood at the moment there are always all the cheap, cheap minis listed below this to convince you. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Website with more comics
Un Petit Carnet de Voyage II: Hiroshima, Miyagima & Saijo
Generally speaking, I’m a big fan of travel diary comics. The artist goes to some place that I’ve (almost always) never been to, and I’m all for the occasional vicarious trip to a strange land. The thing is that often, when you’re sketching out what you’re seeing and putting your thoughts down in a travel diary, things can turn out sloppy as hell, and it’s best to clean it up a bit before putting a comic out. Ryan’s art isn’t the problem here at all; the sketchy, casual feel is perfect for this sort of thing. The trouble comes up when I can’t read whatever the hell it is he’s trying to say. His handwriting (and I can feel my glass house crumbling around me as I type this) is awful. It has a tendency to clump, making it appear that he’s throwing a cursive word or two in among the printing, which just makes the whole thing tougher to interpret, which is tough enough when you’re reading about a foreign place and most of your mooring are already gone. So, to make a long point just a little bit shorter: proceed with caution. I’ve gone at such length because it’s a damned shame. I’ve long wondered just what Hiroshima is like these days, what with us utterly destroying it 64 years ago and all. Here’s what I took from this comic: the impressive state of the trains, how polite everybody is with their fractured Japanese, the variety of foods, the awkward karaoke, the majesty of the trees, the architecture, the many wandering cats, how even the bums are nicer than here, the Atom Bomb Dome, and the horrific dog monsters. Clearly I still got a lot out of this comic, it’s that trying to read it may make you a little crazy. Check out his Two Eyes of the Beautiful first, then make your way back to this one. Or just check bits of this out on his website and see for yourself… $5
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Website with more comics
Two Eyes of the Beautiful
One more reason to love working on this website: a couple of days ago I reviewed a fairly bad anime-style comic and said that, generally speaking, I wasn’t a big fan of that sort of thing. Anime in comics, that is. Of course, manga can often be a completely different thing, as this issue is tremendous. Well, except for a few printing problems, or actually just the one that makes some of the pages darker than they need to be. There’s only one place where the lettering becomes illegible, and then only briefly, so it’s not that big of a deal. Just figured I’d start things off with a complaint. This is the story of a young movie star who has a horrible flesh-eating disease. Her only concern is saving her beauty, and she’s very clear that she’ll do anything to accomplish this. An extremely shady doctor tells her to leave public life entirely, move to a remote location with her young daughter and await further instructions. The world, naturally, notices her disappearance but eventually concludes that they must be dead. Her daughter has been having trouble adjusting (as it’s hard to make friends when your mother is terrified of being recognized) but does make friends with a young girl from the local orphanage. Finally, there’s a phone call from the doctor: they need a healthy, beautiful young girl that they can use for any purpose they wish. Once again I’m in danger of telling the whole story here, and that ain’t right. The rest of the issue deals with a mad struggle and authority figures and their reaction to fame, or I’m reading too much into it. One thing: there is a second issue coming, correct?  Because if this is just a one-shot I have a serious problem with the way this thing ended. Assuming this is part of a larger series, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s creepy in a big way, and there’s still the big overriding mystery of how exactly they plan on making the movie star beautiful again. If this is the only issue… well, that’s just mean. No price, and the man sent it from Japan, so I have no idea of the exchange rate. Isn’t $3 a good guess? I think so. It’s probably correct, give or take a dollar.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Shuck Comics #3
The obligatory “origin issue”, done with a bit of a twist. See, with most origin issues we have some idea of what’s going on with the main character. I guess we know a little about Shuck, but most of it has to do with his search for his wife and that he watched souls for a while. The website has an issue listing (future, of course) up to 12, so they have a lot to tell us yet about this whole thing. Beautiful to look at and intelligently written, you can’t ask for much more out of a comic. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this series and I wasn’t sure at all that I was going to like it from the descriptions, but I was completely won over. Seek this out, enjoy, and then sell these first issues on eBay for a zillion dollars in 5 years when these two are incredibly rich and famous. All the contact info you’ll need is on their website too, so just go there is you have any other questions.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Shuck Comics #2
This is the best one in the bunch, at least so far. Shuck has to deal with what’s happening with his old job of watching over souls when they all escape from the creature that was supposed to replace him. If this all sounds too gothic or weird for some of you, it’s really not. It has its own view of things, and this guy is confident that he’s going to be around for a while because he only reveals a few tiny things per issue, but this could be read and enjoyed by just about everybody. What is it these days, 5 issues and then you put them into a graphic novel? If and when he does that, I’ll be at the head of the line telling you all to get it. This is the kind of stuff that’s better in one sitting, but still enough of an ongoing series that you’re not annoyed waiting a month between issues. Yes, you read that right, this book has started off monthly. I don’t know if they can keep up that kind of pace, as it’s been known to make people crazy and I wouldn’t mind having a late issue or two as long as the quality is the same when it does come out. Still, it’s an admirable goal, and at least possible with two people working on it.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Shuck Comics #1
For those of you who wonder if it’s better to send me one comic in your series or a whole bundle of them, take note (and no, this isn’t just a sneaky way for me to get free comics, although I do like free comics…). The review for this series was going to be positive with an “if” thrown in before I got about halfway through the second issue. See, there’s a certain style of talking that is used in these comics that, at first glance, is annoying as all hell. To me, anyway. About halfway through the second issue I realized that I wasn’t even noticing it anymore, and after I was done with the third one I was enjoying it quite a bit. You’ll see what I mean when you read the samples, or go to his website and read all the samples there. This issue is about Halloween and the preparations this goat-headed main character does to entertain the dead people who are going to be eating at his house. No intro, no idea who these people are or what’s going on, and that’s just fine. A funny, unique issue. I don’t know where this guy (and his incredible artist, Tania Menesse) came from, but I’m sure glad they did.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Fool’s Errand #1
When I got Paul’s other book, I asked him which two issues I should get to sample his stuff. He said to get this one and the one directly above this. Speaking purely in terms of art, I can see why, as the quality has taken a tremendous leap upwards here. As far as the story goes, helpful summary on the inside cover notwithstanding, I have very little idea of what’s going on here. See, #1 of Exit at the Axis was the first part of an 8 part series. This series starts another story arc, AFTER the other series has ended, which leaves a lot of catching up to do. I spent most of the issue trying to figure out who everybody was, honestly, so I don’t have much in the way of constructive criticism to offer. What these two #1’s have done is make me intensely curious about what came before. Contact info is up there and it’s my opinion that this guy is well worth checking out… but I’d really recommend getting a few issues in a row.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Exit at the Axis #1
OK, I have very little idea of what’s going on here. It’s the first issue of an 8 issue series, so Paul assumes that people are going to be around for the whole thing. It’s nice to have that much confidence in your abilities, but I picked this up at SPX in kind of a “sampling” mode, trying to get as much stuff as possible from as many different people as possible. That being said, all I have to go on is the first issue, so I’ll do my best. The art is Dave Sim all the way, with a little less polish. Not to say that to bring the man down, it’s just that Dave had 20 years to perfect his style and Paul probably hasn’t had as long. He uses the long conversation style of putting the pictures on the inner side of the pages and the dialogue on the outer edges, as well as intricate backgrounds (although I guess that’s more Gerhard’s style than Dave’s). The story is about a man, Johnny Shallow (yes, I’m hoping there’s some reason for that stupid name too), who’s in love with a girl who I think is just a friend to him. He spends time around Christmas trying to get to see her early, while he’s being stalked by a mysterious man with a gun. Throw in an economics reporter and you have a story that’ll probably make a lot more sense a few issues from now. Still, it shows some serious potential. I’d probably check out a graphic novel of this, if such a thing existed. It’s $2.50, contact info is up there.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Odd Job Rod #1
This is an OK little book. The theory here is that Odd Job Rod is a guy who comes when called and helps out, no matter the situation. These are mostly one or two page strips with a gag leading up to a punchline of some kind, leading me to wonder whether this was a weekly strip or something. It’s funny at times and downright stupid at others, as is that case with most weekly strips. The highlight is probably the two-pager that’s set up with a man who gives a garbled three name cry for help, which leads a bunch of three name “heroes” to come and offer their assistance. It looks good, it’s fairly detailed stuff, and it looks from the back page like he has a vast backlog of stuff to choose from. I’d be curious to see what other stuff he has out there, whether it’s more humor or serious stuff. Hey, I might have more of it here, my strategy for picking books to review is to grab randomly in the pile of stuff I got from SPX, so who knows? I’ll keep the site posted, as always. Check out his website or just send him an e-mail if you’re sufficiently curious…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Salvager Kain #5
Hey look, a multi-part storyline! Technically I think that’s what you call a “series”, which is what this already is, but who am I to quibble? In this issue Kain runs into a couple of adventurers (and their intern) after he makes it to the caverns. After seeing the massacre that they’ve committed (and being quickly disabused of the notion that the creatures attacked the adventurers first), Kain starts trying to figure a way out of his situation, which is helped immensely by the fact that the main adventurer is insane. It’s another solid issue, and while very little happens on the “moving the story forward” end of things, the dialogue between everybody involved is brilliant, and who could blame them for massacring such an obviously dangerous band of creatures as we can see in the sample? On top of all this (which, I feel compelled to mention, is available for free and in color through the link at the top of the page), there’s a fantastic recap to the story from the bees in the last issue, and a epilogue of sorts from Paul where he tells us all about himself. As of this moment (12/5/09) there are only two new pages from the next issue up at his website, but seeing this issue in full color is thoroughly impressive, and the couple of pages available already show that Kain is thoroughly tired of being kicked around. Check it out and see for yourself, this issue is $3.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Salvager Kain #4
OK, before I get to the actual issue, you should know that it ends on just a bit of a cliffhanger. I mention that because Paul has decided to make this into a web comic to reduce the wait between issues and to make it full color, to which I say: huzzah! This is one of those comics that screams out for full color. How he’s going to manage printing that once he gets an issue together (and he says he’s going to keep putting out regular issues) is beyond me, but more power to the man. And the comic? Isn’t it obvious from the above reviews that I’m hooked? If you’re looking for an unbiased observer, that man isn’t me. Still, I like to think I’d call something a pile of crap if it was a pile of crap, previous biases be damned. And this… is not a pile of crap. Kain is looking for a river, which should lead to a waterfall, which should lead to a tunnel. Naturally, this task isn’t going to as easy as all that. Along the way he meets up with a particularly hungry creature, the bees on the cover and a rightly pissed off fish. This issue is, if anything, a transition issue, which makes the fact that I can go right to the man’s website and pick up the story that much sweeter. It’s rare for something to already be “I can’t miss an issue” at #4, but here it is. Paul also says that these early issues won’t be web comics, so you’ll have to get the old fashioned printed edition to read them. If he keeps up the story like he has, that means you’re going to want to get the early bits before they go out of print. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Salvager Kain #3
More pieces to the puzzle are revealed in this issue, and Paul is smart enough to start off with a recap for those poor souls who only managed to find this issue. It always amazes me that more creators don’t throw a synopsis into the start of their series, especially when keeping tabs on what came before is so crucial to understanding what’s happening now. In this issue we get to see just what “Kain” means, how the bartering society operates, and what happened to all the women who managed to survive. Intrigue, betrayal, treachery… all by a character that still only has the vaguest idea of what’s going on. The art is still tremendous (seriously, Paul must chain himself to his drawing table to keep up this rate of productivity), the story is still fascinating, and the pace is just about perfect. I think the man may be onto something. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Salvager Kain #2
Dribs and drabs, that’s the way you want to build up a regular series like this. In this issue we get to see Kain finally run into somebody on the outside that has their act together, somebody who knows that you have to take food where you can get it, even if that means dead people. He briefly takes Kain under his wing, but everything in the outside seems to have a price. We also get our first look at some of the creatures living here in the outside world. For my money the anorexic Big Bird was the creepiest thing around, or least it was until those flying skulls came out of the woodwork. In the meantime we still have little to no idea of who Kain is or exactly what’s going on around here, and kudos for that. I may just break my “only one review per creator on the main page” rule and get the next issue up here in a hurry just because I’m thoroughly hooked and can’t wait to see what happens next. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Salvager Kain #1
Aspiring comic artists, take note: if you’re looking to make an impression, you could do a lot worse than to follow in the footsteps of this guy. Scroll down this page and you can see me review the first issue for a couple of series, one of which lasted 8 issues and one four, then today in the mail I got the first three issues for this series. These were all done over the last half dozen years or so which, in the small press world especially, is a ridiculously productive pace. And there’s the minor fact that there’s noticeable improvement from series to series, which is even more impressive when you consider that he wasn’t bad at all to begin with. Kudos to the man, that’s all I’m saying. Well, how about the comic? That whole diatribe would seem pretty silly if I hated it, now wouldn’t it? What we have here is an excellent setup for a series. We see a big wall, behind which is a kingdom, theoretically at least. We’re introduced to the main character right away, as he’s indignantly dragged out and sent into exile. As a precondition to his exile (and to the exile of more people that we see soon enough) his mind is wiped, leaving him with no memories and no idea of who he is. Once he’s out he meets a few of the options in his new world. He can stay by the wall (out of fear of heading into the unknown forest), get eaten by cannibals (who live in said forest) or join up with a seemingly together group of people who are arming to take the kingdom by storm. Or not, as he figures out soon enough. The name “Kain” comes from an odd set of sticks the man sees, and in this entire first issue we’re given very little to go on in regards to the inhabitants of the kingdom and the main character, just bits and pieces of life outside the walls. All of which is a great setup to a series, as what keeps people coming back for more faster than multiple mysteries? As for the art, it’s tremendous. Paul has a serious lock on facial expressions (useful for illustrating what are essentially a bunch of blank slates trying to figure out the world) and the whole thing is just gorgeous. I can only guess that he keeps himself chained to his drawing table, as what else explains this impressive productivity? Like I said, I have two more issues to get to in the near future, but from the first issue this looks like something well worth checking out. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Worrywart
Well, apparently “Wednesday Week” is on the back burner at the moment, so to anybody who was looking forward to a regular series from Katie (like me), you’re just going to have to wait on that one. Still, at least she’s still putting out little stand-alone comics like this one. There are three short stories in here, all from her childhood. In the first she agonizes over what to do after she thinks her teacher might have heard Katie call her a bitch, the second is from the first time she managed to get cigarettes from a convenience store, and the third is about the first time she heard about STD’s and overestimated the likelihood of her getting one from kissing. Good stuff again and it never hurts when it’s cheap. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Wednesday Week #1
It’s been entirely too long since I’ve seen anything from Katie, so it was great to see not only this new issue, but the part in the back of the book where she mentions that there are at least two more issues of this series coming out this year. What’s it about, why should you be so excited? Well, I guess it’s not going to end world hunger anything, but she has an art style that lends itself to being completely adorable at times without going over the top, and that’s a balancing act that’s hard for anybody to pull off. This is about a girl named Lundy, her roomate, her new cat and her daily goings on. Yes, you’ve probably seen something like it before, but isn’t it always good when it’s done well? Lundy is trying to find a normal boy to date (after a slew of freaks) but finds herself drawn to the freaks anyway. And that dream sequence is worth the price of admission by itself, even if I don’t have any idea what it was about (yet). Let’s say this one is $2 and well worth a look, if you like these sorts of things…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Accident
What do you know, there are funny three panel strips out there! Sorry, I know there are a few, but it’s always worth noting when another one comes along. There’s some great ridiculous, absurdist humor in here, which is the best kind when it’s done right, and this is done right. It’s hard to describe this stuff, but I’ll give it a shot. In here are strips about rat mind control, giraffe sex, implants, guillotines, naked animals, a floating head, a bath with grandpa, graverobbing, and Sylvia Plath, among other things. If you think this is your kind of thing, well, it is your kind of thing, so stop arguing about it. And it’s only $.50Â How can you go wrong with that? Website!
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Posted by Kevin
