April 26, 2010
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Stylish Vittles: I Met a Girl
One thing I’ve learned while reviewing books is to NEVER read other reviews of the book before I’ve written anything down. Then I’m never sure if I’m just rehashing old positions that I just read about, not that anybody but me would ever notice anyway. I’m mentioning this because I just read some reviews, and I’d like to refute some of the problems these people had with this book, because it’s a damn fine piece of work that everyone should seek out and take a look at. It’s an autobiographical tale about Tyler and the start of his senior year when he meets a girl, like the title says. It’s a graphic novel, in case I haven’t made that clear, not just a regular sized comic. I was trying to figure out if it was a comic first and just collected here, but I’d have to guess that this story would be really hard to read in any other format. I’m not going to spend too much time talking about this, because if you like autobio stuff you should really check it out because it’s an incredibly genuine and moving tale about falling in love, and he didn’t leave out any of the little dorky things that you’re usually embarrassed by afterwards. If you don’t like autobio, you’re not going to buy it because you’re hopelessly biased against good things. The quibbles that people had in other reviews is something that I’d like to address. The book opens with probably 30 or 40 pages of zooming in on the planet slowly from far outside our galaxy and is then silent for the next 20 pages or so. That sounds dull and I think some people felt that it slowed the story down considerably. I thought it was brilliant. I mean, really, who takes the time to set stuff like that up? One of the main things Tyler talks about throughout the book is his place in the universe, and what better way to really show that then to take his time to show just how much else there is out there? As for the problem with the lettering, well, I kind of agreed there. Kind of sloppy, but it didn’t take away from anything that much for me. I also didn’t like how the narrative shifted to his girlfriend’s point of view a couple of times. Didn’t really do anything for the story and it disrupted the narrative flow. Again, a minor thing that only happened a few times anyway. Well, if the fact that I just wrote the longest review for this thing ever show you how much I liked it, I don’t know what will. Go to his website, check out some more stuff from the guy and buy the book!
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Posted by Kevin
April 25, 2010
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Misery A Go Go #1 (preview)
Here’s the preview edition of another book from Douglas, Mark Crnolatas and Randy Crider. Randy did the art, Douglas and Mark did the writing, in case you were wondering. There are a couple of short pieces in here about a pedophile merman, a hilarious POW escape attempt and free trade (hard to believe, but it’s funny too). And then there’s the bulk of the book, which is dedicated to a story called Human Interest, about a man with no arms and his inspirational story. The problem is that he’s a bitter, miserable human being, and there’s nothing remotely heartwarming about they guy. Look, there’s nothing cute or fluffy about the humor here, it’s actually fairly brutal, but that’s the point. The important thing is that it’s funny all the way through. Granted, it’s only a preview and there might be some dull spaces in the actual book, but the preview edition is packed with funnies. Contact info is up there, the preview edition was free but I’m guessing the actual comic was $2.50 or so, judging from his other books…
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Posted by Kevin
April 25, 2010
Akira 6
A classic series. Not the best series ever (I still think Lone Wolf & Cub is going to win that prize), but something that every student of comics should read. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that this isn’t a fun series. I think there was more carnage in that last book alone then I’ve ever seen in any series, and boy it that saying a lot. Everything comes to a head here and almost all of your questions are answered. A fairly happy conclusion, all things considered (hey, if you’re reading the review for #6 in a series you must have already read the other books), but the journey is the important part. I mentioned that I think all students of comics should read this series because there are plenty of things done here that just aren’t done in American comics, from the nonstop action to… well, the nonstop action, mostly. A whole bunch of people could learn a thing or two from this. it would cost a chunk of change to own the whole thing, granted, but trust me, it’s worth it. I just spent my whole Monday working at the comic store going through this series and my day just flew by. My ears are somehow ringing from all the written screaming that was going on, but that’s just about my only complaint. Yes, the thing with the pills was brought back again, and it turned out to be one of the most important things in the series. The only subplot I can remember that they didn’t go back to or that didn’t turn out to be vitally important was the school nurse that Kameda talked to in the first book, and that’s so tiny that you can just go ahead and pretend that I never mentioned it. I still can’t figure out why they called this series Akira instead of Tetsuo, unless maybe they thought that would kill the suspense. OK, you know my opinion, time to decide for yourselves!
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Posted by Kevin
April 25, 2010
Akira 5
I don’t think there’s ever been a time when I was so happy that I didn’t buy a whole series when it first came out, because there’s no way in hell that I would have been able to stay sane if I had seen the last few pages of this book and known that I couldn’t know how it ended for another few months. I’m trying to review just this book, really I am, but it’s hard. Basically, everything that has happened before is starting to make all kinds of sense, and everybody is getting ready for a huge final battle. Regardless of what I’ve said before, don’t you dare buy this one first. You’d be cheating yourself out of the buildup for this great book. In this one Tetsuo is evolving past himself, Kei is the only real chance to save the world, Kaneda is determined to kill Tetsuo before Kei tries and the governments of the world are finally trying to put a stop to everything. Now quit bothering me, I have to see how this ends…
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Posted by Kevin
April 25, 2010
Akira 4
It took exactly one book in this series to turn it into a masterpiece, and this is it. Granted, it was somewhere between very good and great before, but this took it to the next level. Book 3 ended with Neo-Tokyo being destroyed by Akira, and it looked to me like there weren’t very many places to go from there. Instead, Katsuhiro has opened everything up completely, making the first part of the story a mere introduction to what’s to come. This book opens with Akira in charge of everything and Tetsuo playing the role of servant. The few characters who survived the last blast have had their roles completely thrown away, as there is no longer a government to fight or control. The role of the Colonel is still unclear but he has the potential, and this is something that I didn’t see coming at all in the beginning, to be one of the big heroes of the series. #19 has taken over half of the city, Kei is still fighting, and Kaneda is missing, to name a few. If you’re leery about buying 6 of these books at almost $30 each, this might be a good place to start. You won’t be able to resist getting the other books once you read this, but maybe you can at least stagger your purchases if you start with this one. As always, the recap in the beginning is fantastic. I’m not going to call this the best series ever until I’m done, but it certainly has a chance.
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Posted by Kevin
April 25, 2010
Akira 3
That… that can’t be the end of the third book of the series. I just don’t get it. I was wondering how they were going to keep up this pace for the whole series, and I guess I just got my answer, because everything they were trying to prevent just happened. The plot got a lot more complicated in this book, with different factions of resistance showing up and the Colonel taking over the government. Akira finally remembers who he is and stuff starts getting out of control soon after that. If you’re wondering how I feel about this series, I’m going to cut this review short so I can see what happens next, if that tells you anything…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Akira 2
And here I thought the first book was a quick read. At least that one had to set up most of the major plot points, so it took a little while to read, but this one was pure mayhem. One of the major plot points of the first book was that Tetsuo needed a powerful drug that only the government could give him to control his headaches. That seems to have been forgotten almost immediately here, as he escapes pretty early on in this issue to find Akira. Maybe they’ll go back to it later, but if they don’t it’s a pretty major thing to forget all about in my book. Anyway, the series is still great. I can’t wait to see what happens next pretty much all the time, although I honestly can’t see how they could keep this pace up for the next four books. Luckily I’m doing this one book at a time so all I have to worry about for now is this one, and this one if pretty damned good. Mayhem all around, we get to see Akira even if we’re still not sure what he’s capable of, and the other superpowered beings finally show what they can do, even if their fight seems hopeless. It looks like you could even buy these in any order if you really wanted to, as there’s an extremely detailed “story thus far” page at the start of the book. All in all, another great book with a plot point forgotten about, at least for now.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Akira 1
AKIRA!!!!! One thing about most of the manga that I’ve read (Lone Wolf & Cub being a notable exception), there sure is a lot of screaming. It’s hard to review a series like this in modern terms, seeing as how it been ripped off and imitated so many times. I’ll try to break it down to the bare essentials: the story. The story is set 38 years after WWIII, back before that was a total cliche. Anyway, it starts with what looks like a shriveled child on the run from some mysterious government agency. A gang of teenagers on bikes runs into the guy, causing one of them, Tetsuo, to get hurt. The government takes him in and discovers that he has the potential for tremendous power, which leads to a book-long chase scene, basically. The pace for this is constantly frantic. This book is over 350 pages and it took me maybe an hour to read it. I love the panels that have all kinds of dialogue going on at once because a lot of what they say is so ridiculous. Whether that’s the translation or whether Katsuhiro is just incredibly gifted at dialogue is open to debate. There are times when some of the dialogue seems incredibly silly, but the plot is incredibly dense (we still only have the vaguest of ideas of what Akira is after the first book) and it has a great ability to keep me on the edge of my seat. A cliche comment, I know, but I figure it’s justified when describing one of the books where a lot of the modern cliches came from.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock ‘n’ Roll
Before anybody gets any preconceived notions about this book, it’s not a collection of stories about rock bands. There’s some of that, I suppose, but it’s not the main focus. These strips (they’re each only one page long) are mostly about music and the ways people try to express themselves through it. And then there are plenty of strips that are just about an important moment in someone’s life (a lot of these stories are submitted to Joel by various people, including John Porcellino), sometimes having little or nothing to do with music. There’s some really great stuff in here and it’s rare that I’ve been impressed by so much of a collection of strips. The worst of these are just people aimlessly wandering through life, while the best of them are about people doing exactly what they’d like to be doing at whatever moment they’re chosen to remember. My scanner is too small for this huge book, but here’s the man’s website. Go and enjoy what there is to see, then buy his incredibly cheap ($6.95!) book.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Thunderhead Underground Falls
What a thoroughly beautiful book. This is the story of a young man on his last weekend before going off to join the Army, and his time with his very new girlfriend. It’s told in a haunting, dreamlike way, with flashbacks and bits of dream interspersed with the quiet acceptance of his last weekend. Deserting is discussed briefly, but isn’t something that’s ever seriously considered. Instead we see a mostly deserted town and campus, where the pair wander around, taking every little thing in and trying to enjoy this last weekend together. Everything is lingered on, from the falling snow to every quiet moment that usually flies right by. The are is deceptively simple for large stretches of the book, as complexity is not necessarily the name of the game here (but in a good way), but some of the bits at the end show Joel’s chops as an artist in a big way. You could do a whole lot worse than this book if you think everything is flying by and you need to take the time to enjoy everything. $14.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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The Rouge Knuckle Gang
Every time I review one of these sketchbook-type books, I mention that there’s not much to be said about them. Well, it’s still true, but bear with me for a minute, as this isn’t exactly a sketchbook. It’s a gang of absolutely ridiculous characters in poses. I sampled my personal favorite, but there’s plenty of great characters in here. It’s either $1 or $2, which isn’t much for a comic with no story, but maybe you’re more of a visual person, in which case this comic is just about perfect. Contact info is up there!
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Arrows Bring Comfort (with John Hankiewicz) Now Available in blue or green cover! $2
I can’t seem to get John Hankiewicz to link up there, so here you go. Jeremi and John both did half of this book, which is an alphabet book, meaning that it goes through the letters and has a picture for each one. Simple enough, right? I had fun trying to figure out who drew what, until I figured out the very, very simple way that they split up their duties. Did I mention that I’m a doofus? Good. Anyway, good stuff. This gives them both a chance to show off a bit with things that they don’t usually get to draw, which is always good. It’s $2, you can order a copy from the website above, and it also has a fancy blue cover, if you’re in that kind of a mood.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Gag-Hag Now Available! $4
This reviewing thing is, at times, the easiest thing in the world. Dan Zettwoch, Ivan Brunetti, John Hankiewicz, Jeremi Onsmith, Chris Cilla, Ted May, David King, Bryce Somerville and Johnny Ryan contributed to this collection of one-panel gag strips. So what you have here is some of the funniest people around and probably the best title for a collection of this type imaginable. What, you’re still reading this? OK, I’ll also mention that I had a really hard time just picking one sample, but I’m trying not to give too much away for free here. It’s $4, as you can see, and it’s available here, as you can see. What’s stopping you? Don’t you like to laugh?
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Baka Geta (with Ryoko Oguchi) Now Available! $1
In case you were wondering, that cover is almost exactly the real size of the comic. Oh, and the title means either “Nonsense” or “Stupid Sandals”. Useful information all over the place today! This is a comic about Jeremi’s first trip to Japan with his girlfriend. It’s basically a collection of images and impressions that he got from the trip, with pages dedicated to the many insane cartoon characters and advertising mascots that are all over the place. I should also mention that Ryoko’s drawings are adorable. Adorable, I tell you! No strictly linear story here, but a nice assemblage of impressions from a fascinating place. Contact info is up there, I’m sure he has more samples if you need convincing…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Claptrap #1
Three cheers for Jeremi getting his own book! Yes, I’m biased, so move along if you’re looking for me to bash this. OK, I will say one thing: put out a comic with a continuing story, not a sketchbook! Still, as far as sketchbooks go, this one is pretty good. Lots of one page gag strips, mostly funny, and I’m always happy just to see the range of characters he can throw together. I should also put up the link to Mike Stiehl’s page here, as most of Jeremi’s other work can be seen in Bomb Time For Bonzo. It sounds like he’s getting to work on another mini, so here’s hoping it’s done in time for the next big convention. Still, this book looks great for a buck. I love the detail he puts into faces. Check out the website or send him an e-mail, why don’t you.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Mistakes and Regrets
It’s a flip book, you see, so instead of picking a cover I just went with both of them. One half is the story of a boy, the other half is the story of a girl, and they’re dating. The problem is that the girl is moving away, the boy has made some mistakes in the relationship and he’s not sure if saying “sorry” is still going to cut it. It’s tiny, as they both get around six pages to tell their side of things, and it’s not complete until you read both halves. That’s obvious, I know, but it’s told in a way that’s almost completely one-sided for each person, so reading the first half of the story (which is whichever one you want it to be, I guess) only makes a little bit of sense. It’s a neat concept once you read the whole thing, but kind of annoying at the moment that you’re only halfway through. Contact info is up there, again with the pence, let’s call it $1.50 because of the smallness…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Monstrum Horrendum #2
Who doesn’t like mermaids? In theory, anyway. This is a comic about a crew of people who are on the lookout for mermaids. There’s a captain, scientist, big game hunter, legendary fisherman and a “fish-boy”. They do a bit of research about the phenomenon of mermaids and then set off to look for them. I can’t exaplin why, but this comic resembles nothing to me as much as an old episode of Johnny Quest, and I barely even watched that show. The story is the same basic thing as that of The Sirens from ye olde Greek mythology, at least in parts. Good stuff most of the time, although how you get that huge underwater gear on in time to save somebody from drowning is beyond me. It’s, oh, let’s say $3 (I don’t know from pence), here’s a website for the author.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Zoonbats #2
Wow, this page hasn’t been touched in years. In that review for the first issue of this series I talk about all the “months” that I’ve been doing this. Considering that I started this in August of 2001 and that I’m going on 9 years rambling now, that was a VERY long time ago. This was also apparently back when I would occasionally scan all books that were sent to me and post them without reviews, in the hope that I would get back to them eventually, and I clearly failed on this one. Still, one scanner without the proper software + a prescanned comic = a new review! Refer back to the review for the first issue if you get too confused, as I tried to sum up the whole thing. This issue takes place entirely in the truck of Murray, as he gives Wayne (an alligator) a ride. The first chunk is spent with Murray explaining the many wonderful things about his truck, followed quickly by his description of the drugs he takes to make his deliveries on time and his constant need for coffee. This would make for a pretty dull issue, but then Murray tells the story of the time when a bunch of road pirates (for lack of a better term) attempted to hijack his truck. He manages to zap one with his cattle prod, but that still leaves five on the truck, trying to get the trailer loose and bash him in the skull to prevent any other zappings. It ends on a cliffhanger (although you know that he survived, what with him telling this story to Wayne and all), and it’s been way too long since I read these to have any idea what happens next. Not sure if this is still in print, as I couldn’t find a hint of it at his website, but the fact that it’s still named Zoonbats gives me some hope. If you can find it, it’s worth checking out…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Zoonbats #1
If I ever bitch about having this website and working on reviewing comics, somebody find out where I live and punch me in the nose. I’ve found out about so much great stuff in the months that I’ve been working on this that I probably wouldn’t have seen for years, if ever, if I was just out trying to find good stuff. This series is great. Giles calls it a “urban fantasy road trip sci-fi adventure novel” and it’s eventually going to be 450 pages long. He’s putting it out in 12 page installments, so it might take a few years to get done, but it’s worth sticking around. This is one of the rare books where you know it’s going to be best all collected (as almost everything is) but there’s still a great flow from issue to issue so you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time getting the little books. I was afraid that anything with a talking alligator and a robot giraffe who could also turn into a dragon would be ridiculous, but he actually pulls it off really well. Fun dialogue, interesting adventures, good art… it’s hard to find much to complain about here. I’m not sure where it’s going yet, but I plan on getting in on the action now. I do have a couple of minor complaints with it, but they’re mostly tiny technical things. Still, maybe he doesn’t know about them, so here goes. The synopsis at the start of every issue is a great idea, especially with a story like this, but you have to leave a little bit to the imagination. They should make you know what’s going on but still be curious to get the actual issues that the artist is talking about. He explains things to death in #6. If he keeps it up, he won’t have any room for the actual comic in a few more issues. I didn’t like all the covers being blue, but that’s mostly because people who see this in a comic store might not take the time to look and see that they’re all separate issues and jut grab one of them. Minor things, like I said. This book is a lot of fun and I’d recommend it to anybody who likes intelligent, thoughtful adventure stories. Check out his website and go ahead and scroll down here for some samples.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Cecil the Nice Wasp
Why do so many of Gary’s books look rushed? Maybe he draws them on planes on the way to conventions or something. Either way, the rushed, sloppy art does help add to the frantic pace of a book like Cecil. This is a short book about Cecil, a wasp who just wants to be loved! But he’s a bully and doesn’t see how this would put people off, so he decides to take his revenge! It’s much too short for me to tell you anything past that. Look, sloppy art or not, I liked this one. I love the sheer randomness of his comics. I’d guess this one is $2-3, it’s gorgeous anyway and can’t imagine it’d be less. Send the man an e-mail (this one is different from the one posted above and this comic is more recent, so I’d say this is where to go) or check out a version of this comic online.
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Posted by Kevin
