April 26, 2010
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Berserkotron #2
What you have here is a quiet love story between two teenagers all the way through the end of their days… or maybe you could go by the cover and figure out that it’s about robots fighting. And honestly, which of those things makes for a better story anyway? This is the second half of the story of Berserkotron, but it’s mostly about the interplay between the two friends who are putting the most work into building the robot and how they seem to be drifting apart, with only the robot to hold them together. Behind that there’s also another student who’s building a better robot, one that’s bound to destroy Berserkotron, and their climactic struggle. David has a handy recap of the past issue here and he goes on at length after the story about why he chose this artistic style, why he wanted to write about robots in general and a few thoughts about his experience making comics. I honestly wish more small press folks did this, as now this is going to be a comic I remember for the story and for the motivations of the person behind it, instead of just another mini that ends up in a pile in my closet. Solid work all around, here’s hoping he has more stories after the thrill of robots fighting is gone… $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Dump #1
Because I’m going to be raving for the rest of the review, it’s best to get my one complaint out of the way now: how is it that something that’s this well put together doesn’t have any contact info? I’m guessing that the website listed above is still David’s main website, as it does have many samples (including stories from this issue), but Berserkotron is prominently featured, not this comic. Usually that would be enough to sour me on a book at least a little, but this comic is too awesome to bother with a little thing like that.  There are 10 pieces in this (as I mentioned) gorgeously produced comic. Starting things off is a bit of behind the scenes from the first of the new Star Wars movies, as the Jedi council starts calling each other racists for their disdain for humans and their habit of dying a mere 70-100 years after they’re trained. It’s funny stuff and David does an excellent job of portraying some of the faces on that panel… except for Yoda. That is one brutally ugly Yoda. Next up is Delhi Belly, about a young man who travels and comes back to discover he has Crohn’s disease. It’s not meant to be funny, but the fact that it was originally included in an anthology of poop humor is funny all by itself. Next up is a cautionary tale about pretzel makers and the value of getting your work done first. If you ever wondered what was going on in the heads of the being involved in the UFO’s in Space Invaders, the next story will be perfect for you, war crimes and all. The longest piece in the book is up next, as David takes the challenge to draw one panel for every hour of the day. It’s a fascinating peek into his life, assuming that it’s all autobiographical, as he manages to make a perfectly mundane day amusing. Oh, and spoiler alert: that baby is just a shrunken regular sized person. Next is a thoroughly random piece for Narrative Corpse, which thrives on randomness, dealing with sea monkeys, a shark and a guided tour. Then you have the brilliant piece I sampled below, followed by David’s ideas for what is going on in the head of various models who have posed in classes over the years. Next is maybe my favorite piece in the book (and an excellent reason to visit that website, as it’s featured on the main page), as David imagines a conversation between a man trying to find an appropriate comic for his son and discovering that a comic with robots on the cover (which happens to be Berserkotron) is not necessarily something that’s meant for kids. Finally we get to the title story, Dump, as we rejoin Bert Ainsley from Berserkotron looking for work. Capping all of this comic wonderfulness off is another recap of how these stories came about and where (in some cases) they were originally printed, and a hilarious online discussion about some of the great books in comics and which ones are appropriate for children. If Berserkotron left any convincing to be done, this issue has done it: this man is a serious comic talent. Once he gets that Yoda down I don’t think anything in the world can stop him. Price is 99p, to my American eyes that looks a little like $2 and, as an American, I am naturally too arrogant to double check.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Dope Fiends of the Zombie Cafe! (written by Sean Frost)
First off, is there a better comic cover than that in the world? There are plenty of good ones out there in the world and more than a few great ones, but is there a single thing about that cover that isn’t fantastic? The story in here is a parody/tribute to the George Romero monster movies and Reefer Madness, with a bit of giant people thrown in for fun. Kids on a field trip are given radioactive carrots and told not to at them which they, of course, do. Then almost all of the beatniks at the open mic night start craving brains. An effort to cure/kill the zombies begins, with a cure coming from the mad scientist, but they seem to just chop people up as soon as they get the cure. Why? Who cares? This is about pure mayhem and hilarity, and it’s done to perfection. It’s $3, contact info is up there and if you can resist that cover you’re a stronger person than I…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm: Seasons of Growth in the Field of Despair
OK listen Rafer, I try to run a tight ship around here. I try to keep things in some semblance of order, keep creator’s book all on their proper pages and whatnot. So when things get to the point where all I have to deal with is the occasional preview issue, keeping order gets difficult. Luckily the actual story content is excellent enough that it manages to shove most of my neuroses to the floor, so kudos for that. For all the people who have been waiting for the Chester origin story, the real thing, it doesn’t get much earlier in a character’s history to show them getting slapped around as a baby. This tells the tale of where Chester came from (although there’s still more room to dig in that subject), a bit about the people who took him in, what their plans were and how exactly he ended up at Greybridge. Rafer is planning on a big old graphic novel some time in 2009, and I’m really hoping that enough people have picked up on this series by now that he’ll be able to tell his story in that format and be successful. Judging from the bits and pieces I’ve seen so far it’ll be worth the wait…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm: Fertilizer
I’m going to start this review by going out on a limb and assume that everybody reading this has at least a passing familiarity with the story of Plastic Farm. The best thing I can compare the story to is a giant jigsaw puzzle where you only have a few of the edges complete, with maybe a chunk in the middle here and there, and no sense of the whole picture. As such, even somebody like me only has the barest idea of the whole story here anyway. This is an interlude in the main story, a chance for Rafer to tie up some loose ends and explain more thoroughly some confusing bits from before. This starts off with the preview issue, Plastic Farm 13.1, so if anybody caught that at a convention (or read the review right above this) you’ll know what’s going on. There are three stories in here: a significant expansion of that preview issue (with Chester’s parents getting married, the end of their cult and the beginning of the awakening of Jonathan), the story of an assassin named Eliza accepting her last assignment, and the two cops who were killed in issue 4 (or so my crappy memory says) coming back to consciousness and figuring out who and what they are… after some unfortunate experimentation. It sure looks to me like Rafer is inching towards bringing all these dangling threads together, but as long as he keeps the ride this much fun he’s welcome to take his time. We also get a much better sense of exactly what is keeping track of Chester although, like every time I read one of these comics, I feel the need to go back and read them all again to see how they all fit. Oh, and there is an excellent recap at the start here of everything that has happened, I just like catching all the details that those sorts of things leave out. If you know the Plastic Farm story this is an essential (if not directly connected to the “main” story) graphic novel, if you’re new to this universe, well, you might want to start at the beginning and work your way down. $14.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #13.1
Yep, you’re reading that right, this is one of those infamous “preview” issues. Rafer is putting out a graphic novel, sort of an in between thing, that covers the period between the end of #12 and the start of #13. The introduction to this book says that this graphic novel is coming out in 2007, but it’s getting towards the end of August as I write this and I don’t see much of an indication when this is actually hitting the shelves. Gasp! A comic that might come out later than the creator intended! Whatever shall the comics world do. Seriously, I’d love for it to come out this year, purely because I’ve really gotten attached to this series and there’s been a serious lack of new material lately. But if it has to wait until 2008 to have the quality the people involved want it to have, well, take your time, folks. This preview deals with Jonathan Picanos before he started killing people and when he was just starting to learn how to control his body and regulate external injuries. Yes, I should probably remember exactly who that guy is, but it’s been a long time between issues. One thing I did like about this preview is that, rather than being a disjointed chunk of a graphic novel, this functions as a pretty straightforward issue in its own right. Plenty of philosophical ramblings to mull over, and a nice “gap” issue to tide over the ever-increasing (I’m hoping anyway), rabid fan base.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Plastic Farm #12
Well, as promised (if about nine months later than I had intended), I did in fact go back and read all of these issues again, more or less in a row, to try and get a handle on just what Rafer is working towards here. Conclusion: yes, he does have his shit together. I noticed all kinds of little asides while reading them together, like other characters in backgrounds of other scenes and how the incredibly deliberate pace maybe, just maybe, is being done for an excellent reason: to have us know all about these side characters by the time they show up in the main story. I have to say that Rafer showed some serious guts by having his plan and sticking to it, all the while trying to get distributed and at least break even on Plastic Farm, while having a story that seems to be all over the map until you read it in chunks. So! This issue is a natural break, sort of, and it ended up being an actual break as Rafer took some time off to pay off all his debt from putting this book out for a few years. More people are arriving at the airport bar and Chester finally continues his story, this time going into detail about meeting his mother and relating some fascinating behind-the-scenes conversation that tells us more about who is chasing him and a tiny bit about why. OK fine, I still don’t know where plenty of this is going (like the cannibals, or the point of the issue with the lovers leaving each other as one went off to college, or the deep cover agent who was setting up the Senator) but the important thing is that it’s very clear that Rafer knows exactly where this is all headed. A quick glance at his website doesn’t show much in the way of new issues, which is a shame, but he is offering all 12 issues for $25, if you’re curious, and that’s certainly the way I’d recommend reading this. Even the artist changes that I thought were jarring the first time around all seemed to fit in. It could all fall apart, as the pessimist in me insists on pointing out, but right now this has the chance to be one of the truly remarkable comic series to be produced in the last ten years. Here’s hoping he finds a box of money so he can keep it up…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #10
Remember when I said I would sit down and read this whole thing when #10 came out to see how it all fit together? Well, Rafer said himself at the back of this one that he hopes people do that at the end of the 12th issue, so that’s my new plan. As for this issue, this is where the “oh, so THAT’S here he was going with that” moments start to creep in. It’s all about Jake Goner, a cop who’s investigating the deaths of the two cops from #3 (remember them?) until he’s suddenly called off from the higher-ups. Naturally, he doesn’t take this lying down, and mayhem ensues. Well, not mayhem so much as police work, but mayhem is a lot more fun to type. He also promises 5 chapters in the next issue heading off in all sorts of directions, so I think this is finally at the point where it all starts coming together. Frankly, he’s going to have to do a lot to pull that off with some of these dangling plot lines, but I look forward to seeing if he can do it.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #9 Now Available! $2.95
My pledge to you guys: when #10 comes out I’m going to sit down, read all these in a row, and tell you honestly what I got out of it. There’s a whole lot of stuff going on here and I feel like I’m losing the thread a bit just reading them when they come out every few months. Maybe I’m assuming that Rafer has his universe together more than he really has and maybe I’m not giving him enough credit already. Hey, I guess that’s kind of like a “tease”, huh? This one is about Ralph Baker, who has been going by the name of Raoul since he was experimented on for money and left a trail of debts (and damage) in his wake. What does this have to do with everything else? Well, as always, we’ll have to wait and see. The backup story is The Continuing Adventures of Fat Man and Little Boy (by Scott Christian Carr & Jeff Westover) is a post-apocalyptic tale, too short to really get much out of, but the art was too smudgy to see what was going on whenever the characters weren’t standing perfectly still anyway. To be fair, like I said, this was only a few pages long and it might be the kind of thing that grows on you after a dozen pages or so. Contact info is up there, I still think this is well worth the effort to try and figure out what’s going on here and where exactly this story is headed…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #8 Now Available! $2.95
Who out there has been reading this series, waiting patiently for at least some answers to what exactly has been going on here? Well, you get some answers here which, as is usually the case with the great series, also opens up some more questions. The vast majority of this one is the Kamikaze Kid talking about the state of things, how they might have gotten there and what might be done about it. Look, the man (Rafer, that is) is obviously building a universe here, and these things take time. This issue wouldn’t mean much of anything if you hadn’t read the other issues (other than to convince you that he was talking about the last few years worth of GW, or maybe I see that in everything these days), but it’s huge if you have. Contact info is up there, this is still $2.95 and I haven’t been this excited about a continuing, story-based series in quite some time, if that means anything to you…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #7 Now Available! $2.95
What the hell? Sorry, I know that these are only connected in the loosest of terms at this point, and obviously it’s all going to make sense when it’s done, but what the hell does this issue have to do with anything else? I know, I know, it’s probably just setting up characters who’ll play a major (or minor) role later on and it’s best to have patience. That’s not much of a problem because the next issue has one of the more interesting characters, The Kamikaze Kid, featured pretty heavily. Still, one of these days Rafer is going to have to start tying some of these threads together, at least loosely, or I’m afraid he’s going to start losing people. It’s an admirable thing he’s doing here, setting everything up deliberately and carefully, I just hope he’s not overestimating the patience of his audience. Not me, though, I’m pretty well hooked, barring some serious drop in quality. Oh yeah, the actual comic. I’m supposed to be talkig about that. Well, there are two stories in here. The first one is about a man who can turn his belly button from an innie to an outie at will and his subsequent rise to fame and the inevitable crash. The second story is about a paid assassin who gets a little too close to her target and her problems with the whole thing. I’d tell you more about how they relate to the rest of the larger story, but I honestly have no idea. Both entertaining stories in their own right though, with Jake Warrenfeltz pitching in on the first story and Rafer writing and drawing the second. This issue will probably make sense later, but it’s tough to recommend this story on an issue by issue basis. If you want to dig in (and you should, it’s a fascinating story in a lot of ways so far) you’re better off buying issues in chunks than one at a time. OK, contact info is up there, i can’t wait to get to #8!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #5 (with Jake Warrenfeltz) Now Available! $2.95
For some reason I haven’t been keeping track of the artist for these issues, as Rafer only drew #1 and 2 (according to his website). Oops. I’ll dig up the rest of them soon. I mention this because, really for the first time in the series, some of the art was noticably bad. I don’t know if it was rushed or if it’s just really tough to draw a rapidly changing party scene with people dancing and causing a ruckus, but those first 6 pages or so were tough to look at. After that it was fine, but that party scene was something else. Anyway, this issue still has nothing to do with anything else, at least not yet. It was titled “Sean”, so I’m guessing she’s the character to keep an eye on. Sean and a couple of friends crash a party, literally, and cause some havoc. The rest of the issue is calmer, dealing with Sean and her boyfriend, who is leaving as Sean sticks around for a year or so to get her degree. The backup story was an illustrated poem by Matt Dembicki called Witch’s Tongue, which had the benefits of looking great and being more than a little bit creepy. All in all this was the weakest issue of the bunch, mostly due to that crappy stretch of art and a disjointed story, but the disjointed story is one of the good things about this comic. What can I say, I’m taking them as they come. Maybe this’ll turn out to be a crucial issue later, but I’d say pick up pretty much any one of the other issues for a better example of what this series is capable of. $2.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #4 Now Available! $2.95
Another great, if completely unconnected, issue of Plastic Farm. This one is all about two people, Jack and Emily, who meet in school and fall in love. They’re both pilots and one of them goes missing after flying during a hurricane, and I’m already telling you more about this than you need to know, and I’m also making it seem like an absolute bore. Well, it’s not, it’s just a straightforward story without many bells and whistles, and there isn’t much I can say about it without giving too much away. If you like his other issues, and you already know that the man has a gift for realistic dialogue and social situations, then you know it’s worth a shot. As for the main underlying story that’s supposedly going on here, he mentions what’s coming in the next few issues, and it involves actual recurring characters, so I think we’re getting somewhere. The backup story is from Dennis Culver and is called Astrozombies, which is about, of all things, zombies in outer space. A good few pages of mayhem, which is never really a bad thing. This one’s a bit heftier than the other ones so it’s $4, contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #3 Now Available! $2.95
Well, this series has offically stopped making sense. Rafer mentions in his intro that this issue has little to do with the previous issues, at least right now, but for us to trust him because he knows what he’s doing. OK, I’ll trust him. After all, I still have three issues sitting here, so I can verify that he knows what he’s doing by what happens next. If it’s still a mess by the end of #6, watch out! Because, um, consequences will be dire! Anyway, this one has two unrelated chapters to keep us busy. In the first one we have two skinny people who are reluctantly eating their dog. They seem to have a working truck, so why they’re eating their dog is a complete mystery. They’re called on by a local commune to help with an injured member, and that’s the chapter. Then you have a drug deal of some kind going down involving a couple of detectives and a big crime figure. That’s it for the main story. I have no idea at all where he’s going with this, but he showed me with the first two issues that he can spin a compelling (and confusing) yarn, so I’ll stick around for a bit. The back-up story is by Sean Frost and Wendi Strang-Frost, and it might make even less sense than the rest of the book. All in all, easily the most confusing book of the series yet. Buy it today! $2.95, contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #2 Now Available! $2.95
This issue is a lot more focused than the last one, as it’s all about Chester sitting in a bar and telling his life story to the bartender. Well, part of his life story, anyway. It goes from his being left on a church doorstep as a baby to life in a home for disturbed boys right up to the point that he gets some advice about attempting an escape. In other words, great stuff for a second issue, because now I can’t wait to see what happens next. Rafer also mentioned something at the start of this of only having 48 issues left to go, so here’s hoping that he has a plan, and the ability to finish, a 50 issue run. The back-up story, called Progressions (by Jeff Coleman & Stephen Greenwood-Hyde), is a rollicking kung-fu romp involving cheesy dialogue, many killings and close-ups of feet. If you think that’s a terrible idea, shame on you. Maybe for a huge series or something, but for 8 pages it’s wonderful. Anyway, as I may have mentioned, I have no idea where the main story is going here… and I couldn’t care less. As long as it’s good to read issue by issue I’m willing to wait for some serious cohesion. Contact info up there, it’s $2.95 and, as there are already at least 6 issues out, it might not be a bad idea to check a few of them out and see what you think…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Plastic Farm #1 Now Available! $2.95
When something reminds me of Eddie Campbell in any way, it’s a good thing. I’m not sure if it’s the lettering or the way that the Kamikaze Kid reminds me of the Eyeball Kid. Only slightly so far, as this is the first issue, but it’s there. What’s this series about? Well, a man named “Cheez” wakes up in a pile of his own vomit with no idea what happened to him the night before or how he got there. Most the rest of the issue is about the Kamikaze Kid, with a tiny, tiny segue to get there. Then there’s the ending, which doesn’t make any sense at all right now, but it’s setting up for future issues so that’s OK. Overall, well, I loved this. The story had me constantly wondering what was going to happen next, the dialogue was smart and believable (which, considering some of the settings, was pretty impressive), and any artist that can draw a harpoon gun that well is wonderful in my book. Then there’s a short story by Sean Duffey & Jake Warrenfeltz about explorers in the future trying to find a new planet for resources. It was pretty good and I love the idea of having backup stories from different artists in each issue. Remember when Dave Sim used to do that? Ah, good Cerebus memories. Here’s a website, they sent me the next five issues too, so there should be plenty of time in the coming weeks to see where all this is going, and whether or not it’s worth going there. So far I’m intrigued…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Mishit #1
Hey, wait a minute, Rafer threw an obscenity in his title! I saw it as “mis-hit” before typing it out, now it’s clear what he’s doing with that title. Kids, ask your parents about it. This is, as the title suggests a collection of Rafer’s non-Plastic Farm comics for 11 years and, as such, is a bit spotty in the quality department. He starts with a series of his weekly strips for a college newspaper, not the best of the bunch (as he freely points out) but rather the ones that have survived over the years. Mostly forgettable stuff, but you can see the germs for bits of Plastic Farm here. Next up is a short piece about his grandfather and his time in WWII, or at least the bits that he as willing to tell his grandkids. Following this is a piece about the father of Behaviorism and his torture (basically) of a young kid while trying to prove his theories. The heart of the book comes next, and my favorite story, about a young man and his life of absolute piety. The trouble comes when he meets God after death and is told in no uncertain terms that he’s wasted his life… but gets a chance to get things right. A few more shorties round out the book, dealing with a world traveler finally settling down (after finding a successor), a melting dog, and a redrawing of a comic Rafer did when he was 9. I love the fact that he kept the dialogue exactly the same as written when he was a little kid, and the addition of some pages of original art from the story was a nice touch. It also helped show why he bothered to redraw it now, frankly, but modern day Rafer playing around with a variety of monsters is much more interesting than 9 year old Rafer doing the same thing. In the end, this is a collection that you’re going to be a lot more interested in if you’ve already read the bulk of Plastic Farm and just want to see more of his stuff. Don’t get me wrong, there’s enough in here to keep the casual comics fan entertained, but this is mostly aimed at people who are already fans of his work. Not sure about the price, and I don’t see it on his woefully unupdated website, but it looks like it would be about $10.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Sad Chemistry (“with” Sean Mac Roibin)
After reading Negotiating the Beast, I have to admit, I was curious to see if it was a fluke. Granted, that many really fantastic one page strips probably wasn’t, but the best way to find out was by reading something else from the man. The conclusion? Yep, the man has some serious talent. This is another collection of mostly one page strips, with a major difference: a 12 page internet romance in the center of the book. It’s the tale of John (although almost certainly not real, but who knows?) and Kaz, a significantly younger woman. John has some profound emotional issues, Kaz is a hopeless flirt who seems to want something real with John, and the dozen pages describe perfectly the state of modern correspondence: one person has all caps and sometimes barely decipherable abbreviations, the other manages to seem coherent and cogent at all times. Granted, the curmudgeon factor with me and internet abbreviations is considerable, so keep that in mind. It was a fascinating tale of “love” and loss although honestly, anything that takes space away from these incredible strips was bound to be at least mildly irksome. As for the strips, it’s the same story as Negotiating the Beast: various, seemingly pitch-perfect artistic styles, with the stories themselves being damned near too intricate for their tiny space requirement. Subjects in here include (and this is boiling them down as far as I can, which does them at least a mild disservice) early sexual awakenings, an eternal cynic, thinking too much, a realistic telling of the Disney Aladdin story, maternal bullying, an unwanted pregnancy, modern art, and a surrogate lover for the mentally handicapped. There are a few more pieces, but I feel guilty turning these stories into bullet points. Well worth a look, like the last issue, and it looks like the man has a few more things to choose from besides these two, assuming you check these out and love them…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Negotiating the Beast (“with” Sean Mac Roibin)
This comic was a welcome reminder to me that “a series of one page strips” can mean a number of things. In some comics, it’s a collection of gags, some funny bits thrown together and read in a few minutes. At other times it can have a bit more depth but, after all, how much can you pack into a story that only lasts one page? And then, on very rare occasions, it’s more like reading a book of short stories than anything else. This collection of pieces, written by Sean Mac Roibin (which involves a complicated bit of mythology that I maybe shouldn’t get into) is the first thing I’ve seen in years that reminds my strongly of the old Alec strips by Eddie Campbell, and it manages to pull that off without significant recurring characters. It starts off with a text piece dealing with the sad fate of Sean Mac Roibin and lets us know that all of these pieces were drawn based on stories left behind by the man. After that, I don’t know how I can do this book justice without writing a novel in lieu of a review, but I’ll try to hit some of the many high points. There’s a piece about letting go of your mother on the first day of school (while still letting the children believe that their mothers were just around the corner), wondering what would have happened if a young boy had gotten into that stranger’s car when he was younger, learning the fine art of fingering from your grade school friends, slowly starving yourself to death, worrying so much that life is a constant, horrific struggle, yielding to a macabre temptation while waiting for the bus, reliving emotions best left behind after learning that a sister is going to look up her sister’s old boyfriend, living life intentionally in a sick bed, and being stuck with only a guilty, horrible memory of a dead sister. This briefly covers about a third of the stories in here, each one being of such length and complexity that I feel like I’m cheating them by describing them so shortly. The art also varies perfectly for each story, sometimes being full of shadows and solid blacks and sometimes seeming more like a light, wacky sketch. It’s a tremendous piece of work, something I really can’t recommend highly enough. I don’t know from euros and pounds (sorry), but clicking on that link above will take you to site where you can buy this and a number of other international books (John is in Ireland). At a guess I’d say roughly $2…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
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Inside Outsiders #42
Another comic from John, another example of sheer brilliance. It’s a full length story this time around, more space to play around with characters and his art without having to cram in all those word boxes. The story here deals with a group of action figures (or, if you prefer to take away my masculinity, dolls) waxing philosophical and trying to stay out of the way of that hideous giant on the cover. There’s also a search for the missing Jean-Luc Picard doll, who is suffering through his own existential crisis trying to deal with dating the doll equivalent of the town slut. The action figures involved here are Skeletor and He-Man (referred to only as their “human” names), some apes from Planet of the Apes, the Six Million Dollar Man, the various monsters featured on the cover, and the slut, which I believe is a Bratz doll. It’s hard to pick just one highlight in this book, but there’s a neck and neck contest between the glorious ending and the earlier discussion between Skeletor and the Six Million Dollar Man on the nature of sexual need. Unlike John’s earlier books this one can be read in a few minutes (up to you if that’s a good or a bad thing, I generally like my comics meaty), but it’s probably my favorite book of the year so far, and possibly the only one of the ones I’ve recently reviewed that was actually made in 2009. It’s only a measly $2, if you had any affinity for any of these dolls… er, action figures, it’s not to be missed.
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Posted by Kevin
