April 24, 2010
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A Sort of Homecoming #2
In case anybody read the first issue of this series and had any doubts about it, this should put them all to rest. This issue is basically a collection of flashbacks to earlier times with David and Owen. It starts to show why they lost touch in the first place (although it leaves the future, potentially explosive confrontations for the next issue) and some of the great times they had when they were younger. I don’t think Owen actually talks to a single living human being in this issue. Look, the reason this book, and everything I’ve seen by these two, is so great is that everybody can relate to what they’re trying to say. Who out there doesn’t have a friend (or two, or ten) that they always thought they were going to hang out with but here they are, years later, and they haven’t seen that person in years? Still, at the back of your mind, there’s usually some piece of that friendship sitting there, coming back to the front of your brain when you see a reminder of times that you once had. It’s a great, true series so far and I can’t wait to see how it ends. $3.50, contact info is up there.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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A Sort of Homecoming (advance preview)
One pet peeve right off the bat: if you’re going to have a special preview edition, it helps me a whole bunch if you let me know when the actual book is coming out. I’ve scanned this book a few times and I just don’t see it. If I had to guess I’d say that it would be in the first few months of 2004, but that’s just because it’s apparently going to be a three-part graphic novel and he already has a lot of pages done here. Enough already, you might be thinking, what about the story? Well, it begins with a young man, Owen, learning that someone close to him, David, has died. We learn instantly that he has a complicated relationship with David, as he talks a bit of shit about the guy before he learns that he’s dead. The rest of the book is Owen’s reaction to the news intercut with flashbacks that show how they met when they were little kids and various things that have happened to them over the years. This serves perfectly as a preview, as all it really does it get you wondering just what the heck is going on. It’s $2, so you can probably get a copy of it off the Alternative Comics website. I’d recommend just getting the first book, frankly, as these two have completely won me over. His stuff might break through to the mainstream if he keeps this up, if that’s what he’s looking for. Other contact info is up there…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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My Uncle Jeff
Wow, my scanner finally made a cover look better than it actually did. Not that it’s a bad cover, it’s just a plain grey background instead of the patchwork-like cover up there. You guys are used to me rambling aimlessly in these reviews by now, right? Good. This book has apparently gotten a mountain of good press, although I haven’t been around comic stores enough in the last year to have heard any of it. Not to ruin the surprise or anything, but let me go ahead and add my voice to that list. If you have any questions at all about this book after you read it (and I had a few), they are going to be answered in the lengthy afterward from Damon. This, despite its short size, really is a “novella”, as the cover suggests. It’s the story of Damon’s family, primarily dealing with his father’s side. He still gives a wonderfully descriptive family tree of the other side of the family and his reasoning for not dealing with them in so long. It doesn’t seem necessary at first glance, but it really does help in the big picture. It’s mostly, as he says in the afterward, a love letter to his favorite uncle, and the opportunity to tell the highlights of Jeff’s life through Damon’s eyes. The minutiae of family life are all on display here, good and bad, with no apologies given and none necessary. Jeff is Damon’s favorite uncle because he’s always managed to stay free. He may be broke, but Jeff understood at an early age that freedom was much more important than material goods, and it’s a lesson that Damon has taken to heart. This is a moving, honest story about a man who has to reconcile his freedom with the need to care for his ailing father, even though that’s only a tiny part of the story, if that makes any sense. It was also nominated for an Eisner, although I don’t know if it won. $3.95, check out the website or just send Damon an e-mail.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Sermons #1
Generally speaking, sketchbooks don’t do much for me unless i am really into the work of the guy doing them. Too many people seem to do them instead of putting out a “real” new book. Well, Kevin could do pretty much anything and I would enjoy it, based on what I’ve seen so far, and this has the added bonus of being done in church, so it’s pretty introspective. Sloppy as can be, and some of that handwriting is downright indecipherable, but if you’re a fan of his work, this is a great peek into his brain. And, in case religious subject matter just bores the crap out of you, this doesn’t have a bit of preaching in it, it’s just him sitting in church thinking and/or sketching people. Good stuff as always. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Or Else #3�
| The comic’s world is a better place when Kevin Huizenga is making comics. This is something that can be said for a few people, such as (and please don’t think this is anywhere near a complete list) John Porcellino, Jim Woodring, Dan Clowes, Renee French, and Chester Brown. Some of those people are still producing on a regular basis, and some have more or less moved on, but their defining characteristic to me is that my day is vastly improved when I happen across a new book from any of them. That being said, I thought it was great news when I heard that Kevin had a regular comic with Drawn & Quarterly. To those of you who knew about him all along, this is something of a mixed blessing, as this issue of Or Else is filled mostly with material that was already released in old issues of his (is it too soon to call it “classic”?) mini comic Supermonster. He punches up the art for these stories, although it’s hard to notice without the original material close by. For everybody in the world who didn’t see Supermonster or just couldn’t get any copies of the minis before they sold out, this is a wonderful way to get some of these stories in one place. Stories in here include I Stand Up For Zen (one of my favorites, as Kevin struggles with the moral dilemma of putting in the ad copy “Fashionably Zen” to some crappy spirit beads), and Al & Gertrude (about his older neighbors slowly losing their independence). There are also plenty of shorter stories dealing with subjects from a snippet from Kafka’s diary to dealing with sales tax over the phone. Great stuff as always from Kevin, and this reminded me that it’s been far too long since I’ve read most of his stuff, a situation I plan on remedying soon… $3.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Or Else #1
i really need to get to the comic store more often. That’s the only reason I can think of for not knowing that Kevin has a new series out, when his last series became one of my favorite things in the world in no time at all. In this one you have a Glenn Ganges story (which, really, is more of a tease than anything else), a slightly re-jiggered version of a story from Supermonster #9 called NST ’04 that’s impossible to describe accurately in less than a day, Fight or Run (which is also indescribable but for completely different reasons), Chan Woo Kim (an idyllic collection of drawings with text from actual adoption papers), And Jeezoh, which is about the spirit that protects children from the demons in hell. I think I liked his original version of NST ’04 better, but this is done right after reading a bunch of comics from Dave Kiersh, which automatically makes this one fascinating. Every time I see one of his comics it’s guaranteed to improve my day, so my review is not at all unbiased. Still, if you still haven’t seen any of his comics, go through the Supermonsters and come back for this one. $3.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book One
I want to make one thing very clear, as this review isn’t going to be all positive: I think Kevin Huizenga is one of the most important people doing comics today. His Supermonster series is one of the best things to come out in recent years. It’s something that gets significantly better with each issue (kind of like Eightball), and if there’s any justice in the world he’ll be rich and famous soon and maybe we can see reprints of the older, out-of-print issues. That being said, of course I had nothing but the highest expectations going into this, and those expectations are almost impossible to live up to. It didn’t happen this time around. Kevin has half of a new Drawn & Quarterly Showcase, and he has a few stories in here, all centered around “Glenn Ganges”. If you’re not following, check the rest of the reviews on this page. The first story is an odd, rambling tale about missing children and refugees from Sudan. Boiled down to the simplest possible terms, of course, which is hard to do with his work. The ending is just odd and this should probably have been broken up into two stories, if the universe was under my command. Then there’s the best piece in the book, an adaptation of the fairy tale “The Feathered Ogre”. It’s a long piece and an absolutely bizarre story, about a couple trying everything they can to conceive a child. Great stuff and worth getting the book just for that, although I should mention somewhere that this book is $14.95, so I guess you have to decide that “worth it” thing for yourself. Finally there’s a story about bird migration, still slightly connected to the previous adaptation. I actually learned a lot with this one, so there’s not too much bad to say there. Overall, he’s done better work, but this is still a pretty solid bunch of stories. I’d say get his Supermonster stuff first, if you haven’t already, and then check out this book. Although you might want to know about the other half of the book too, so you can make an informed purchase and all that, so check out my Nicolas Robel review, why don’t you…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Supermonster #14
How do you top an issue that has the best story of the year in it? Well, you start by putting out a much bigger issue than the last, and then you throw in an utterly unique fold-out centerfold that has to be seen to be believed. I was going to scan it for you guys but screw that, buy the book. No, I’m not going to describe this one either. OK, Glenn Ganges goes to the grocery story. Happy? Listen, in my humble opinion, you can’t go wrong with this guy. If I see anything to change my mind about that, you’ll be the first to know, OK? For now, if you can only afford one of these books, get #13. And #14. And probably #12 too, and #11, and #10, and #9…
Send him money the old fashioned way at: P.O. Box 12999 St. Louis, MO 63157. Or e-mail him. Or go to his page, the one I already told you about…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #12
A story about some old neighbors who quietly fade away and a mostly wordless tale about Glenn Ganges in the Wild Kingdom. I ran out of words to say how good all this was a while ago, folks.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #11
If I had any vague, ill-formed complaint about the other two issues, it would be that they were too short. He answers this “problem” admirably in this issue. A great story about him dealing with his bank and some new fees, a philosopher wondering about the meaning of everything, and a story about a diner where people hang out through the wee hours of the night. This is the one that I’d start recommending to absolutely everybody instead of just mostly everybody.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #10
This one is an illustrated letter from his Grandma. Again, simple, innocent and wonderful. Writing about these things seems silly, everybody should just go out and buy them. But I guess that’s why I’m writing anything here at all, right? To convince you to listen to some guy you’ve never met? How about this: If you like John Porcellino (and if you don’t, get the hell off my page), you’re going to love Kevin Huizenga.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #9
I want to say right away that this guy is incredible, amazing, tremendous, and every synonym you can think of for those words. I had heard about him for a while and he blew his hype away, which is more than I can say for most folk. You can’t go wrong with any of these books, really. I’m on the hunt for all the back issues that I missed, and you can find at least one issue on his website (which is also incredible, www.usscatastrophe.com) . This one is the story of an adoption told alongside some beautiful drawings of trees. If that sounds corny, you’re thinking about it too much. It’s wonderfully done and I was already thinking at this point (I ordered #9-14 all at once) that I was in for a real treat.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #7
Here’s another review of an old comic, as this one is from 1998 (or at least I think it is, it’s not like most minis bother to mention the publication date) and I’m writing this review in early 2010. Once again, I don’t think this is available anywhere outside of an old bargain bin at one of the few good comic stores, assuming you’d even be lucky enough to find something like this is one of them. It’s also hard not to notice that my reviews on this page were the length of haiku’s, as I apparently hadn’t yet mastered the art of rambling about nothing and filling space. As you can see from the fact that I haven’t even mentioned the comic yet, I’d say that I have developed some serious “skills” in that regard. This is the story of a walk. Sounds simple enough, and would be dull as hell in less skilled hands, but Kevin manages to make it engrossing. Kevin has recently moved to a new neighborhood, so he wanders out early one morning to get the lay of the land. Along the way he stops and notices the little things: voices through screen doors, wind whistling through the grass, kids on playgrounds, birds tweeting from wires, a hint of shampoo on the breeze. You really have to fight against the sense of calm you get from reading one of his books, assuming that you have something against calm. I still think that he reached a ridiculously high level with later issues of this series that he hasn’t quite reached by #7, but it’s still better than an awful lot of the other minis out there. If you can find this anywhere, you could probably get it for a couple of bucks.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Supermonster #6
Hah! Look, he had some awkward moments too at the start! Sorry, but the guy was just too amazing for words up until I got a couple of older issues. Don’t get me wrong, this one is still amazing and well worth picking up for anybody who can find it, but it’s not the life-changing read that everything after, say, #12 was. This one has the story of him playing a video game walking around, telling a phone story, and retelling a college tale (or making one up), along with a couple of shorter pieces. A couple of things verge on awkward, true, but this is worth picking up for the end of the video game part alone. I still think that I would have thought he was amazing if I had seen this issue first, now I’m all spoiled from the incredible work he has done lately.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Bumperboy #3 Now Available! $3.25
What a fantastic cast of characters. Nuts the Squirrel, the Banana Posse, Stompy the Elephant, Peevo, Starbo, Big Baby, Gotar the Robot, and (my personal favorite even though we only see him for a brief moment) Cheepoo. If I had any pull in the entertainment world I’d say this universe is ready and waiting to be made into a cartoon. This issue is the marbles tournament that has been coming for the previous two issues, and she even managed to surprise me on the ending, which is always a good thing. This series is gorgeous and it’s fun. It’s a bit simplistic at times, granted, but that doesn’t take a thing away from the positives in here. More comics soon please! Let’s just say this one is $3 too, even though it’s a bit bigger than the other ones…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Bumperboy #2 Now Available! $3
OK, I haven’t seen much here to convince me that this series is anything less than adorable. Whether or not that’s a good thing is entirely up to you and what kind of stuff you enjoy. What I did see in this second issue was a glimpse of some of the other characters that are in this Bumperboy universe, and it’s hard to complain too much about that much diversity. This issue is all about Bumperboy (and Bumperpup!) trying to find all of his lost marbles. The quest takes them all over the place, and they run into Rupert (who lives in a great oak), Jeannie (some kind of a lifeguard who’s also a dog), and Bam and Bop (who are onomatopeople). There’s more going on here than this adorable marble tournament, and I’m hoping that we get to see more in future issues. Good stuff though, unless you only enjoy guns and things exploding in comics. Contact info is up there, there’s still one more issue for me to review in the coming weeks…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Bumperboy #1 Now Available! $3
Watch in wonder as I learn how to work a new website system! The great part is that I’m only going to be using this for a few weeks, so I get to forget it all right away! Anyway, this is about a comic, not my problems. Bumperboy is a three issue series by Debbie that is, frankly, adorable. Check out the sample down there if you don’t believe me, and get back to me if there’s something about that that’s anything less than adorable. In this issue Bumperboy and his dog Bumperpup, who seems to speak in pictures, meander. Bumperboy has to get to the park to play marbles with a friend, but things keep popping up to keep him from his goal. It’s a fun book, but I’m reserving judgment on the whole thing until I read the other issues. A promising start though. If you hate things that are too cute at times, however, I’d advise you to read something with more guns in it. Unless, of course, this is so adorable that it melts your cold heart, which is entirely possible. It’s $3, here’s a website, check it out!
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Sandwalk Adventures
If this guy keeps this up (“this” meaning putting out a great all-ages graphic novel every couple of years) he might end up being the first famous educational cartoonist in the world. Both of the books he’s done so far should be taught in classrooms and there are very few people I can say that about. Anyway, the collected version of this book is much better than its parts. The cover is from #5 as I just read all of the issues in a row and there’s no image up for the cover yet on Amazon, if anybody cares. I think he did a much better job with this series of really making things entertaining for everybody too. I felt with Clan Apis that he was leaning towards writing for kids mostly, or maybe he was just getting the hang of things, but this is a much better effort all around. The appendix in the back of the book is invaluable too. It’s good to see that pile of books that I can show to absolutely everyone who’s interested in comics growing by leaps and bounds. It’s $14 on Amazon right now and well worth a look. The art has gotten crisper, the writing is downright adorable (I mean that in a scholarly, educational way, of course) and it just comes together really well.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Clan Apis
It took me long enough, but I finally managed to get this book. A birthday present no less, but here it is. A few comments about it before I get started. You know as soon as you open it that the guy knows what he’s talking about because it’s by Jay Hosler, Ph.D. It’s also always refreshing to see books that aren’t from Top Shelf, or Highwater, or Fantagraphics, or Drawn and Quarterly, or any of those people. Sure, most of the things that they put out are at least pretty good, but it seems so cliquish. Three cheers for the Xeric Grant. Without it there would be a tiny, exclusive club producing quality work and that would be all that we had to choose from.
It’s obvious pretty quick that this isn’t going to be anything like True Swamp. True, Jon Lewis does some serious research, but this guy is already a Ph.D. and obviously knows his stuff up and down. I had huge expectations going into this too, purely because of the great word of mouth surrounding this thing. It’s broken up into 5 chapters and I had some serious doubts after reading the first one. It was informative as hell, don’t get me wrong. I learned all kinds of things that I didn’t know about the process that it takes to make a bee. But the dialogue was dopey as hell and I was starting to think that this was more of an educational book than it was entertaining. Chapter 2 started off pretty dopey too, but at some point in it it got a lot more interesting. The characters were allowed to develop (as much as bees do develop, that is) and it was funny while being informative. He never looked back after that and I liked the rest of the book a lot. Really, if you have any interest in how honey is made, or how bees live, or just how a guy with a Ph.D. would do a comic, get this. There’s a text section in the back called “Bee Lines” that has all kinds of little facts about insects. This is all a lot more interesting than it sounds, I swear. You also get a bonus story at the end about Jay and his sudden allergic reaction to bees, which proves that he really can draw more than just bees. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see this in classrooms in a few years. Last word of advice, if you do get this, stick with it. Don’t give up after the first chapter because it gets a lot better. Fun for all ages, in a way that few things are.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Hicksville
Back when Pickle was being put out on a regular basis, it was my favorite comic. I had a lot of “favorites”, I guess, but none of them would get me running to the comic store like if I knew there was another issue of Pickle there waiting for me. Hicksville collects his major running storyline from that comic and gives it something that it didn’t have before: a sense of coherency. It was always great, don’t get me wrong, but it came out too infrequently for me to really get everything that was happening. And to think that I almost didn’t get this collected edition on the reasoning that I already had all the comics… This is the story of the fictional town of Hicksville. A town where everybody knows comic history, where the old legends of the field are respected and revered, where all the things that weren’t allowed to be published because of politics or finances are lovingly preserved. Good luck finding anybody who has read this book and who loves comics who wouldn’t like to live in that town. Listen, in my mind, there are three books that everybody who likes comics has to read, no questions asked: Maus, Stuck Rubber Baby, and Hicksville. David Boring might make it, same with Jimmy Corrigan. Give me another couple of years of having them around before I say for sure. The Alan Moore and Frank Miller stuff is essential too, if you have any loyalty and/or love left for the superhero genre. But for the average Joe who still reads anything at all, the three books I mentioned are essential. By the way, he also apparently still has a bundle of mini comics left from back in the day. Go buy them.
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Posted by Kevin
