April 26, 2010
Website
Alone in the Night (with Tony Brandl)
What is it about lighthouses that’s so fascinating? Is it just me? This is the story of a man who takes over as the keeper of a lighthouse where a bunch of strange things are happening. He doesn’t really get briefed on the details, but he notices that something is wrong pretty much right away and spends the rest of the comic trying to get used to his new surroundings. It’s an interesting story, although I think every lighthouse ever in a story has been haunted in one way or another. The art’s smudgy enough to be just about perfect for a rainy, dreary story and the writing is desolate yet hopeful for the peace and quiet. Good stuff, although a spellcheck would have been nice. It seems petty to bitch about something like that, I know, but if you’re going to the trouble to type the lettering anyway, why not check it?
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Status Quo #1
Another day, another OK comic from a couple of people that I’ve never heard of. It gets kind of silly at times, and they use pretty much the same joke for a few of the one page strips, but the whole thing still holds together. I just get the feeling that they had a lot of fun making this, and sometimes that can push an OK book over the top. Let’s see, what’s in here… a talking dog, the Middle Ages, locusts, aliens, sasquatch, and the creators. You can’t go wrong with most of those things, and it’s hard to fault them for wanting to be in their own comic. I don’t know. It might not be the greatest comic in the world, but I’d probably buy #2 if I saw it at a store. Not the most ringing endorsement in the world, granted, but I think it’s worth a look. Go to their website for ordering info and more samples. Hey, knowledge is power, right?
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Laughter of the Damned #3 (with Mark Crnolatas & Randy Crider)
So here it is, a year or so later than my last review for this guy, and I still can’t figure out what I think about him. This one left me pretty cold the first time through, but I found myself chuckling at more than a few things when I was flipping through the book to get a good sample. Everybody who’s reading this site knows that I can be the most wishy-washy reviewer in the world, so no surprises here. I think Doug’s stuff has gotten a lot darker since the last time I saw it (gags in here include a dead fairy on the windshield, exchanging the bristles of a brush with needles, and a man eating himself to death). A lot of people wouldn’t like this stuff at all, and I’m afraid that the farther we get into the land of political correctness (or whatever it’s called this week), the less likely people are to allow themselves to laugh at this book. That being said, there were still a few gags in here that weren’t funny precisely because they were obvious gross-outs. Are you looking for a coherent opinion here? Hope not. The bottom line is that there’s not a ton of funny stuff in here, but the funny stuff that you do find is hilarious in ways that you rarely see. In other words, a mixed bag, but still worth a look. $2.75, here’s hoping that the contact info up there is still good because I don’t see it in this comic…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Arsenic Lullaby: Apathy for the Devil
There are a number of things that you can do to improve a comic when you put it out in TPB form. Fix spelling errors, draw that head that you forgot the first time around, jazz things up a little bit. If you don’t do any of these things with such glaring errors, why bother to put out a book? Granted, Douglas says that things in the book might be misspelled because it is done phonetically to “add an extra dimension”. That’s ridiculous enough, but it’s OK when you at least stay in that logic. Instead all kinds of things are just missing a letter or two when that alters the meaning, and that’s just obnoxious. OK, rant about a lack of editor over. What about the book? Well, it takes a certain type to read this. I go between thinking that it’s too tacky and thinking that certain things are just hilarious. Any time the main character (if there is a main character) is a man cursed to help people get revenge who employs little zombie fetuses, well, you’re already off to a pretty odd start. I like the transitions between stories in the issues, as they just flow back and forth between stories, returning eventually. It gives it a nice sense of all being in the same place, which I’m assuming he was going for here. All in all, once you get past the stupid, stupid problems that could have been fixed with a chimp correcting this stuff, not a bad book. He probably has a step or two he has to take before he makes it to “consistently funny”, but I think he’s on his way. Take a look at these. You should be able to decide pretty quickly if this is your cup of tea or not… Past that, head on over to his website, there are even more samples there.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
The Ill-Fated Voyage of the Yacmobile
Hey, when I get to pick the title I’m always going to go with just the better one. Tod had the brilliant idea to cut back on expenses for hotels, flights and rental cars by getting an RV and touring the country. Seriously, it’s such a good idea that you know already there’s no chance of it working out well. Before getting started on this tour Tod decides to take it to Michigan with his fiancee and his cat, as they’ve decided to move there. It’s a comedy of errors from there, if you could call the vehicle systematically falling apart “errors”. This is a fantastic travel journal all around, and this is free as a “thank you” to all the people who helped while this vehicle was impounded and/or in need of repairs. Personally I think he should sell the minis for $1000 each to try and recoup the losses, but there’s probably a lot more to be said for giving these things away…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Messages From Home
Speaking as somebody who still stops to pick up random pieces of paper laying on the ground, I have to say that this is the best concept for a 24 hour comic that I’ve seen yet. Tod took litlte scraps of paper that he found and jammed them together into a rambling yet still cohesive story. There’s a man named Russ who starts off at work and has to deal with annoying parking people, crazed letters from his mother, angry notes from an ex-girlfriend and other random tidbits. More good stuff from Tod, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anybody at this point. Contact info is up there, this is $2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
I’m Just Here For The Pornstars
Here’s another one of those tiny Jack Chick-like comics, another cheapie at only $.25. This one is all about setting up the Young American Comics table, being full of hope at the prospects of having many people discover their comics… only to find that almost everybody who’s at the convention is there either for the pornstars, anime, or to buy action figures. It’s a cautionary tale, I guess, and, after all, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? If you were confronted with spending your last $5 on pornstars and action figures or some independent comics you’d never heard of. Contact info is up there, they have more great comics than I can count on both hands there, which is always a good sign…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Something Happened on the Way to the Market
Here’s another one of the 15 minute shorties, this one about a monkey on his way to the market, as you may have guessed from that title. Well, except for the monkey, as he’s not mentioned until you open it up. From there things get odd, as the monkey is trying to remember what it needs from the store, but then it gets kidnapped. Or it doesn’t, as why would a monkey be going to the store in the first place? Unless, of course, he was going to the store all along! Tod tackles all the deep questions about existence and being in this confusing universe of ours in a short 8 page comic. Or possibly he just wanted a comic with a monkey in it and it went off the rails a bit due to the 15 minute deadline. You make the call!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
That Guy
Do you know that guy? Everybody knows at least one of “that guy”. Constant asshole, ruining everything, always thinking that he’s the best thing in the universe? This is a 15 minute comic (it didn’t say so, but it’s the same size and it’s sloppy, so I’m just guessing) about that guy. He runs into a couple of women at a restaurant and regales them with his tales of success. It’s a funny book, and I think most people will be able to relate to it. Contact info is up there, it’s tiny so I’m sure it’s cheap.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Idiot Box
This is a tiny one. It’s all about a guy with a box with a head who sees the “this is your brain on drugs” commercial and is immediately hungry for eggs. The twist is that he also throws in some self-deprecating comments when the situation warrants, like when he can’t draw hands cracking eggs or is obviously having trouble coming up with an ending. It’s only 8 pages so it’s hard to say too much about it, but it’s a fun little book. $.50 maybe? Either that or a dollar, check the contact info on the page and find out, although I’d pick some of his other books first…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
The Young Americans #1
Ever wonder what would happen if eight people with super powers were forced to live together in the same house for six months? Yeah, me neither, but it’s not a bad concept. All eight people were just regular young people, but after winning a contest they’re all given super powers, some of which are yet to be determined. This is the first issue of six, meaning that this one is mostly here to set up the characters. There’s still a bit of hijinx, don’t get me wrong. I’m not completely positive what tone this is going to take, which I guess is why there are five more issues of this. It’s a lot of fun though, and the interaction between radically different types of people is fascinating. There’s also a lot of mystery yet here, as the eighth member of their group came in at the very end and there are plenty of powers yet to be uncovered. It’s $2 and well worth a look, contact info is up there. Seriously!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Support Indie Comics, You Dope!
Another tiny one in the Jack Chick style, and I had to check this page to make sure I wasn’t reviewing something I had already done, but sure enough, they’re two separate things. This one is more of a “what if” story, as Tod wishes in a moment of rage about his lot in life that he had never started drawing comics. He wakes up as a married full time employee working in a corporation, when eventually he runs across another employee making illegal copies at work, and I can’t describe any more or I’ll run out of comic. It’s funny, $.25, and worth a look. Contact info is scattered around, I’m sure you can find it.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
The Secret Lure of Independent Comics
Everybody out that run into one of those Jack Chick religious comics by now, right? If not, you might want to skip this comic. If you have, this book is a great parody. It’s basically just Tod wandering around, trying to figure out why nobody buys independent comics. He’s eventually offered fame and fortune if he sells his soul, and hilarity ensues. Honestly, this book is too tiny to say much about. It was entertaining, and if that cover makes you nostalgic for those crappy Jack Chick comics, then it’s probably only $1. Contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Curses The Jewel of Denial
The cover’s a bit less creepy with that rainbow effect, isn’t it? It’s books like this that makes me glad the 24 hour comic was invented. I don’t think it could have been done better any other way, although I’ll be the first to admit that the art could have improved. Still, the harried pace of the story fits the rushed look of the artwork just perfectly. There’s a jewel that causes whoever touches it to basically turn into an out-of-control, homicidal monster. The comic follows the progression of the jewel, from the man who finds it, to the man who recovers it from what’s left of #1’s body, to the rat who picks it up from #2’s body, to the cop who picks it up from the body of the giant rat he was forced to kill, etc. Look, as long as 24 hour comics are fun, I don’t have much to bitch about, and this one was a blast. Go to the website and buy this book if you like mayhem. If you like a quiet, thoughtful story, well, you could probably skip it. $2!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Website for Broken Lines
Website for Famous Fighters
Broken Lines Book One Now Available! $12
Well, this isn’t a comic exactly, and it’s not a short story exactly either. It’s mostly a short story with comical interludes thrown in, but what a story it is. I can’t remember the last time I was this impressed by a story where I had no real idea what’s going on. It starts innocently enough in an all-night diner with a cowboy and a man in a spacesuit eating dinner. Their waitress can’t work up the enthusiasm to be too curious about them, and things proceed slowly for a bit until Maggie ends up having to get a ride home from these two. After they part ways, Maggie meets a group of demons from hell dressed as firemen (firemen make fires and kill people, firefighters are the ones who put them out, you see) before eventually ending up back with Cowboy and Spaceman and their silent friend, Vampire. She joins them on their journey across the country, trying to make enough money to survive along the way, while being chased by… well, we’re not sure what. Nor do we know where they’re going or why they’re going there. None of that matters even a little bit, as an engaging cast of characters (I haven’t even mentioned Myron or the Vampire Hunters because why not leave a few surprises for you?) and a constantly funny dialogue keep things moving even when they’re stuck doing inventory in a grocery store to make a few bucks. Spaceman is possibly a small retarded child judging by his actions, Cowboy is the stereotypical cowboy except with a clumsy streak, and I don’t have the slightest idea what Vampire is yet, except that he seems to have given up drinking blood. What can I say, I was mesmerized and damned sad to see the last page of this book. It’s projected to be the first of four issues, so at least there’s plenty more to go. I can’t recommend this enough for those of you who don’t mind a lot of really wonderful text thrown in with the pretty pictures. Oh, and Thomas did most of the drawing himself, except for a page each by Mister Reusch, Jason Goad and Matt Smith.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Website for Broken Lines
Website for Famous Fighters
Failure, Incompetence
Want to make your book critic-proof? Or at least for wishy-washy critics like me? Here’s a quote from the brief (but hilarious and insightful) intro: “I hope that you find the jokes-to-dollars-spent ratio to be within acceptable parameters.” That’s it, I’m shut down completely. $5 is a bit much for a comic, granted, or at least it is in my fantasy 1997 world where that sort of thing was still rare. But all you have to do is pick this thing up and you can tell by sheer weight that you’re getting a lot of pages. And he’s right, there are jokes packed all over the pages, so even if you don’t like two or three of them, well, there’s still 5 more right there either on that page or the page next to it to make you laugh. The only complaint that I have about this is that, as this is my first impression of the guy, I could have done with a slightly smaller book that didn’t have some of the dumber strips in here. But then, as humor is mostly subjective, who’s to say what that is? At least this way you get to see the bad with the good. So what’s actually in here, as I seem to be skirting around that? Well, it’s mostly because there’s no chance for me to tell you everything in here without this being the longest review ever, so I’ll just stick to a (relative) few of them. Australians, outer space adventures, voodoo, fat rats, superhero school, and when he was a headbanger. That’s probably about 1/100 of the book right there. He also has a few text pieces that I really loved, including the best blanket apology that I’ve ever seen. Oh, and out of all the things I could have sampled, of course I went right for the potty mouth…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
My Life in Family Vacations
I’m regretting it more and more all the time that I didn’t get more of these when I had the chance. This looks like a perfect series to just sit back and read on some lazy afternoon, and at the end of that afternoon I get the feeling that you’d know an awful lot about Kimberly, which is what good autobio comics are all about, right? This one, obviously, is about various vacations she has taken with her family when she was a child. Washington DC, Niagra Falls, wax museums, camping, a ferris wheel, and trying without success to get to Hershey, PA. You can probably tell by the samples that this isn’t the most gorgeous artwork in the world or anything, but man are these fun to read. Contact info is up there, again only $.75!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
My Life in Scars
That’s only a tiny bit smaller than the actual size of the comic, just so you can get a comparison. Kimberly has done a series of “My Life In” comics, telling all kinds of stories about various parts of her life. You can get a better idea of her comics at her website, and if you look around there you’ll see that she’s done a whole lot of comics in a short time, and after reading this one I’m really wishing that I had gotten more at FLUKE. This one, obviously, is about scars that she has gotten over the course of her life. There’s her brother stabbing her with a pencil, spilling a pan full of boiling water down her legs, getting a piece of slate stuck in her forehead… This girl has a lot of scars and she tells you all about them. Me, I’m a sucker for a good autobio comic, and this certainly is that. It’s tiny, but there’s a lot of content here and she has a vast body of work. This is only $.75, here’s that website I was talking about…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Kick in the Butt #11
Dammit, I really wanted to like this one, especially after loving the “My Life in __” comics. Then there’s the fact that even getting to #11 in a series impressive in comics (it looks from the website like this made it to #13, put out on a mostly monthly basis, before vanishing). But when large chunks of a tiny book look rushed and sloppy and when only a few of the strips were genuinely funny, well, I’d have to say you’re better off getting one of the “My Life in ___” books to see what Kimberly’s really capable of. Unless, of course, this was just an off-issue, as she was moving and GW Bush had just been reelected (which removed all hope in the world from a lot of people). Comics in here deal with said election and her response, her dog, moving, trapeze artistry, turkey, Erkle, cold weather, and barfing. I did like the slowly accumulating mound of dishes, that was done very well over the course of a daily strip. Other little bits also made me chuckle, like her boyfriend (husband?) dreaming about puppets and her take on a Marilyn Monroe movie. All in all she’s done better work, and I’m hoping that the sudden stop of these has more to do with her not updating her website than giving up on comics altogether. $1.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Mini Vittles #1
What’s a safe level of expectation for a mini comic with a bunch of unconnected odds and ends when it’s from a guy who put together one of your favorite graphic novels of the last couple of years? If you answered “guarded optimism but also ready for the worst”, you’re right! I thought the first Stylish Vittles book (of which I ramble about for quite a while up there) was tremendous. I didn’t get to his table at SPACE until the end of the day, meaning that most of my money was gone, so I couldn’t afford the second installment. Still, I didn’t want to leave empty-handed, so I picked up the mini. And, well, it’s kind of a mess, but at least he’s honest about it.In here is the inspiration for the first graphic novel, an untitled page (that goes nowhere), Grocery Boy, a sloppy ramble on self-doubt, Dryer Girl, babysitting, and a cat. The best part of the book was too little kids sitting on a doorstep and talking about marriage, but overall this is only something to get once you’ve exhausted your other Tyler Page options and are still curious about his work. Check out the graphic novel, this is $2 if you’re interested and contact info is up there.
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Posted by Kevin
