April 24, 2010
Website
Atlas #3
You know, I’m actually old enough to remember when “Drawn and Quarterly” referred to the publishing schedule. Is there a single thing in their catalog that comes out four times a year? I’m mostly only annoyed because they have a tendency to publish books like this, which are (in the comical grand scheme of things) tiny slices of wonderfulness, yet they come out so infrequently that I often have to find the old issues and re-read them to remember what happened when the last issues came out a year or so ago. Anyway, Atlas #3. The first half of the book is cartoon Dylan’s continuing quest for Emil Kopen, in which we get a very brief glimpse into the oppression of his part of the world. The second half answers questions that I’ve had for years, namely what happened to Pickle and why Dylan’s output seems to have ebbed so much. Or at least it might do that if this is autobiographical. It uses Dylan’s name and refers to Pickle and the years since, but there’s no way to know how much is artistic license and how much is exaggerated for the comic. Either way it’s fascinating, funny and brilliant, much like damn near everything this man touches. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed, after years of reading Pickle and the at least mildly transformative experience of reading Hicksville, my objectivity with this man has long since gone out the window… $3.95 Oh, and here’s his page on the D & Q website.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Atlas #1
You know, I didn’t realize how much I missed Dylan coming out with comics on a regular basis until I read this one. Remember how I mentioned that Pickle was my favorite comic when it was coming out? I think Atlas might be my new favorite. It’s the story of Emil Kopen, a cartoonist in Corucopia and his life. Kind of like it’s A Good Life if You Don’t Weaken by Seth, or at least I think it might end up being like that. It’s hard to tell from one issue. There’s also a silent story that I think might be a tale from Emil’s past and a story about Hicksville by James Kochalka. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for this book to be serialized. It’s projected now to be a series of 12 80 page comics with backup stories each issue from different cartoonists about Hicksville. No idea who’s slated to be doing stories and that’s fine, I like surprises. You can’t really go wrong with 100 pages of comic for $3.95. I already can’t wait for the next book to come out to get this story started. I buy all the individual comics anyway, but this looks like the type of thing that everybody should just go ahead and get all the issues. The stories in the back alone look like they’re going to be worth the price of admission….
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Sequential #7: Stand on a Mountain. Look Back.
Wow. One thing I noticed about the first book of his that I got was the amazing amount of work that he put into the packaging, and this one absolutely blows that one away. This one is $7 (how the hell does he keep it so cheap?), is over 100 pages long and has some of the more experimental strips that you are likely to see. I didn’t like everything in here, but I don’t want to say one discouraging word about this guy. Everything in here might not work, but an awful lot of it does, and the amount of detail put into every inch of this book boggles the mind. The one criticism I might have is that he seems incredibly pretentious at times, but he takes it all so seriously that it’s hard to even think of that as a bad thing. Whether or not he’s going to be one of the better comics around in five years has yet to be decided, but very few people have the dedication to their craft that this man does. Buy this book, nitpick if you want to, but support him in his efforts to experiment. I’m leaving the contents of the book as a surprise because that’s how I enjoyed it: by watching every little experiment unfold.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Sequential #4
Finally, a regular mini comics issue from this guy. I’m sure he’s done at least 6, I’ve just seen the souped up collected edition and the fancy pants #7. Black and white, folded and stapled, that’s this one. I was afraid too that because the one I read was the best of #1-3, an issue by itself wouldn’t have that much to offer, or it would be at least half crap. Wrong again. The wordless story didn’t do much for me (maybe I missed the point of the bear with the strap-on) but everything else was at least worth reading. He’s fixed it since, but writing things that are too tiny for the human eye to read was a problem of his too. The last story, Lovers Lane, walks a very fine line between cheesy and heartbreaking, but I have to give it to him because it choked me up a little. I have yet to see anything from this guy that wasn’t at least worth reading, and what more can you ask for? Add this to my list of stuff that I’m going to get once I have a few dollars (back issues, that is). I’d recommend that you start with this one. $1.50 and wordy, just how I like ’em. The contact info (including the great website) are above…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Sequential: The Best of #1-3
The first thing I noticed about this book was that it looked damn good. Turns out that this guy has been doing this book for 5 issues and he says that the print run for #5 is 2000, which is huge for a small press comic like this. It’s not exactly mini, in fact it’s a little bigger than a normal sized comic. What about the inside? Well, the early parts are a bit raw, which he readily admits. But I saw the book getting better and better as it went on, which bodes well for #4 and 5. It’s all short stories, the highlights of which are “Bye Bye Elsie 5” (about the main character in a bar trying to get the nerve up to talk to a girl and imagining their life together) and “Seizure!” (a man has a seizure and a mysterious stranger comes by and saves the day). Those were also the longer pieces in the book. The one page strips were pretty hit or miss, but most of them were good. “I’d Do Ya!” probably being my favorite, but I also liked “First, Worst” (about the end of a first date) and Hip and Trip (about a hippy and an indie kid arguing about the nature of life), among others. Look, this is a pretty fat book with a lot of stories for $3.50. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you should probably order #4 or 5 first and then go back and get this if you like the other stuff, but this stuff does hold up pretty well on its own. It’s just that it might be even better when compared to his later and (in theory) better work. Don’t forget the website…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Forlorn Funnies #5 (preview)
This isn’t a real review, as this isn’t a real comic, just a preview edition for the 80 page, $10.95 monster that should already be out. Can’t find it anywhere online though (not that that’s saying much), but I just wanted to tell you that this looks incredible. He’s already had a few moments in the comics world where he’s convinced me that he the “next big thing”, but this solidifies all that. There were only 8 pages in here, and a full review will follow when I get the actual book, but buy this. Seriously. If I read anything in here to convince me otherwise I’ll let you know, but I laughed at 3/4 of this, and that’s saying something. Contact info is all over, but good luck finding the actual issue online. Oh, and sorry about the sample quality, but it’s actually supposed to look like shit.
OK, here’s the actual review, as I finally got around to buying this. It’s a flip book, for starters, with one half being chock full of depressing, sad stories, and the other half has constant wackiness, also tinged with a bit of a sense of the futility of it all. The bios at the back of the book are even different for each section, which is just another example of how much attention to detail Paul puts into absolutely everything. In the funny part (and this is an overly simplistic way to look at both halves, but it works, more or less), you have The Snob and the Blob, Whatever Dude, a story about as your loud, obnoxious boyfriend, a cute little thing running for no reason at all, and Vanderbilt Millions, a man who loves his horse but has some trouble with his wife. The depressing part has a crazy man with a gun (it’s a lot more complicated than that, but why ruin it for you?), a brutal killing on another planet, a doomed robot, and an orange. There are all kinds of things that impress me about Paul, but the thing that impressed me the most is his ability to master all kinds of different styles of drawing. Parts of this book look radically different, and the fact that it’s in color, while making the book expensive ($10.95), also make it gorgeous, and you should know enough about the guy by now, one way or another, to be able to make an informed decision about whether or not you think he’s worth it. He’s firmly entrenched in my list of favorites by now, that’s for sure. Contact info is around here somewhere…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Forlorn Funnies #4
As I’m tired of making excuses for my scanner, I’ll just say that, obviously, the cover isn’t supposed to be that blurry. This wraps up the story that’s been going on since #2 (or it at least wraps up this arc of the story). If I thought it couldn’t get much more depressing, well, I was way off. No, I’m not going to tell you what I’m talking about. Thomas goes to rescue his father from the mental institution. First we get to see how well it’s all going to go through his eyes, then we get to see what actually happens. One of the strengths of this story is that it’s told through the eyes of a seven year old boy. Yes, there are moments where you really want to know exactly what’s happening, but that just wouldn’t be possible and it’s good to stick to that. Like I said, the only real complaint I had was that it was terribly depressing, but the afterward says pretty clearly that the next issue is going to be funny (or at least half of it is), so don’t worry about it. If I thought the second part of this story wasn’t that great, well, this wraps it all up beautifully. He’s one of the most important people working in comics today, and he’s doing some of the best work. He gets the benefit of the doubt from me during long stories from now on. I can’t believe I don’t already have this website up here, as it features the work of Paul, Anders Nilsen, John Hankiewicz and Jeffrey Brown, four of the best people doing comics today. New stuff up weekly, so you can read great comics for free! Hard to complain about that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Forlorn Funnies #2
Don’t you hate those complicated books where you have to read it again when it’s all over with just so it makes sense? Yeah, me neither. One thing about Paul is that he’s going to go at his own incredible pace and just trust you to keep up. This is the first part of a longer story about a boy whose father is slowing going insane. Wait, that might be a secret. Pretend you didn’t read that. Anyway, it’s incredible, but it took until the end of the book for me to come to that conclusion. It seemed kind of all over the place as I was reading it and it only really started to come together at the end. Now I can’t wait to see what happens next. That’s one of the benefits of my erratic reading schedule: I don’t usually read things right when they come out, so there’s less time to wait until the next part of the story. There’s wisdom in that, trust me. All the contact info is still above and he still has a great website that people everywhere should look at. Oh yeah, and could somebody have pity on me and tell me how I can get a scanner that isn’t quite this crappy for a tiny amount of money?
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Forlorn Funnies #1
Sorry, but apparently all color scans just suck. That aside, it’s a new series for the wonderful (and remarkably prolific, considering how detailed all of his comics are) Paul Hornschemeier! He’s probably sick to death of being compared to Chris Ware by now, but that’s the best I can give you for a quick comparison. Past that, he’s pretty much unique. This book is about a bunch of different people and televisions characters and some of their goings-on, I guess. Some of them are real and some of them aren’t, but their stories all flow together pretty seamlessly, even if the segues seemed almost nonexistent at times. I guess I’m just spoiled on segues from watching Mr. Show over and over… Anyway, I think this proves once again that he knows what he’s doing and that he’s an exciting voice to watch. My only advice to him would be to make sure that people can read some of those really tiny panels, unless that’s the effect he’s going for. Past that, his art is flawless, his writing is witty and inventive, and I’m always fascinated to see where he’s going next. Check it out before he’s all rich and famous and decides, like the rest of the famous comics creators, that there’s no reason to put out new books on a regular basis.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Jack and Lucky #3
Oh, so THAT’S why that incredibly gorgeous woman has been spending so much time with Jack. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is, but this issue really gets the story moving, and has a great fight scene between Lucky and Luna’s dog. And the promise of more fight scenes to come! If you don’t know what’s going on in the story, why are you reading a review for #3? Go back and read the other reviews to get caught up, or just buy the damned comics already, there are only three of them and they’re a joy to look at. Luna and Jack go back to his place in this issue, and there’s even an autobio story in the back. First time I’ve seen anything by him in that genre (unless my crappy memory is failing me again) and it’s a good story. He talks about his formative years and how his parents never believed he was capable of doing much of anything. Fairly standard autobio stuff, but he does a great job of it. I can’t wait to see more, mostly because of the excellent cliffhanger ending, and can’t recommend this enough for those of you who are still into this comics nonsense mostly because you like purty pictures…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Jack and Lucky #2
Quick, what’s Anthony selling with that cover? Not that I begrudge him his constitutional right to draw beautiful, shapely women or anything, but a little bit of subtlety never killed anybody. Strangely enough, the inside of the comic is mostly about Jack and his job, which involves coming up with new ideas for video games. He also gets the recap of what happened to him when he almost drowned in the last issue, and at the end of a crappy day he gets asked out by Luna, that girl on the cover. I might have mentioned this before, but his art is damned near flawless. He skimps out on a background or two in certain panels, but you could only say that if you expect lavish backgrounds in every panel. As it is, more often that not there’s a lot going on in the background, and I’m just floored by the sheer talent of this guy. What about the story? Oh yeah, the story. It’s building, is all I can say about it right now. Looks like there’s more than the obvious to Luna, and things might heat up at work, and what the hell is up with the giant cat? For a book this gorgeous, I’m content to sit back for a few more issues and wait for the story to develop. Contact info is up there, it’s $2, buy these now before he’s tremendously famous!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #6 Now Available! $1.00
While I wasn’t looking Kitty Litter turned into a thrice weekly web comic, so if you’re looking for more from these two you can get new stuff for free at that link way up at the top of the page. Personally, I prefer the longer stories to the strips, as there’s more opportunities for mayhem with the longer format, although they do seem to be able to cram a lot into the one to six panel format too. I do like that fact: it’s not just a set number of panels every time, they do seem to wander around with that. In here you have strips about lazy ninjas, hair on fire, lots and lots of dead people (moving and not), vampire bites, pooping in shoes, and zombie chipmunks. If you still need convincing that it’s worth checking out after that list, along with the fact that it’s a measly dollar, I can’t help you.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #5
Eh, all that excitement over the zombie issue and the damned zombies are only in it for a few panels. Rip off! OK, fine, the rest of the comic was funny as always, and there’s plenty of good stuff to be happy about, but I choose irrational anger here, as my quota of zombie violence was not met. Besides the zombies you have Sophie making a tea party with some really awful ingredients and making friends with a female vampire. Oh, and it’s bigger than their regular issues, so there’s more funny to be had. I’ve already established that I’m a big fan of their work and they have to do something really bad for me to hate an issue, right? Good. And while the quantity of zombie violence was a little disappointing, the quality of it was top-notch. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #4
What was that I said in the last review about them quitting this series? Yeah, I was completely wrong on that. I got #5 of this at SPACE too, so it looks like it’s still going strong, and next issue there will be zombies (which made it hard to pick this one to review first) but chronology somehow won out over zombies. This one deals with a few things: a trip to the vet, robot kitty, and a virus that helps kitty take over the world by giving everyone a cold. Funny stuff yet again, and that trip to the vet will be all too familiar for people who own cats. I’m going to try and hold out a few weeks before reviewing the zombie issue, but no promises… $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #3 Now Available! $1.50
Pirates! Vikings! Monsters! Torture! Action lines! Turtle Wurtle! Mayhem a’plenty in this one, which should come as a shock to no one who’s actually read their stuff, and shame on you at this point if you still haven’t. The cat steals a pirate ship, tortures Nathan when he drinks her milk, and turns the two men into monsters for her own amusement (on accident, of course). Oh, and they seem to be getting tired of the whole thing, at least judging by their interruption from the “editor” at the end. That’s fine, I like their stuff but I also like how they’re constantly trying new things, so if this is the end I say it’s best to go out on a high note, and this is definitely a high note, with all kinds of little stories in here. That being said, there’s also something to be said for staying around, doing the same thing over and over again, getting fewer and fewer laughs each time, until eventually people are happy if you manage to even get one laugh. It’s called lowering expectations, people! $1.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #1
Why on Earth is this #1 when it seemed like the other one would be a #1, especially when the other comic they sent me is #3? Who knows? Better yet, who cares? Just another minor thing that I noticed, but there’s no big continuing story here, so it doesn’t make a bit of difference. What’s this one about? Well, you have more mayhem with the cat, of course, this time when she runs out of milk. She knows where milk comes from (refridgerators, of course), so she has to go out and make a machine that will bring the machines to her. Not as much fun as the robots running amok, but then, that’s a pretty high bar to set right off the bat. You do get to see refridgerators flying through roofs, so it’s hard to find too much to complain about here. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Kitty Litter #2 Now Available! $1.00
Getting a new comic from these two pretty much always makes my week, so you can imagine my elation at seeing TWO new books. The other one will be up here later, of course, but how about this one? Well, have you ever wondered what would happen if your cat got really bored one day while you were at work and decided to make a machine that produced robots to take care of every single thing in your life? Of course you have, we all have. Well, Ryan and Nathan decided to let us all live that dream for the span of this short mini. You’ve probably already guessed that things didn’t end well with the robots, but I’ll say no more to avoid ruining the finer points of the story. And, as a little bonus, there’s a terrifically gruesome little anecdote in the back of the book about nature. Sort of. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Raise the Dead
Can you ever go wrong with zombies? I don’t think so. This is a short one and it further convinces me that these guys have their collective act together. The premise is simple: Nathan and Ryan are making enough noise playing Resident Evil that the Mom is yelling at them that they’ll “wake the dead”. Sure enough, zombies come to the door and a very brief conversation and struggle ensue. Hilarious stuff, and who knew that zombies could be adorable? $.75 is all you have to pay for this and it’s worth every penny. Contact info is up yonder…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Slackmatic #5
OK, it has to be said: #5 is a lot duller than their other comics that I’ve read. Not that that’s a horrible thing, and everything else I’ve read from them has either had zombies getting chopped up or someone losing an eye, but this is a relatively quiet comic. The bulk of it is about their trip to SPACE last year, rancid gas station bathrooms and all. Then you have a series of one page strips about stapling, magnets, killings worms, pterodactyls, monsters, werewolves and puking cats. Pretty good stuff all around, don’t get me wrong, I was just expecting more gratuitous violence. Damn you Ryan and Nathan for growing as artists! Or maybe just unconsciously toning it down for an issue. How should I know? Contact info is up there, it’s a measly buck, you cheapskates!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website for the Kitty Litter comic
Slackmatic #4
You just can’t beat fun comics. This series is already at #4, and this is where my “sampler” approach at cons hurts me. I can only afford to get one or two issues from everybody (even that’s pushing it), unless they are one of the few people who know who I am and want to give me free stuff. That works great when I don’t like the comic, but when something is as thoroughly entertaining as this, it’s disappointing that I didn’t get more. Anyway, this one is about their trip to a con. It’s been done, I know, but it’s always funny when it’s done well. That and the rant on the first page about porn is worth the price of admission. Once they’re at the actual con nobody goes to their table, so they decide to start working on the next issue of their comic. The artist (Ryan) shakes his pen because it won’t work, it slips out of his hand and into someone’s eye, and hilarity ensues. Meanwhile, the writer (Nathan, but they both write it) comes across a creepy man selling anime porn and gets some Sailor Moon stuff. Hey, hillbillies and eye gougings are always funny, so there’s a lot to laugh at here. Three cheers for them getting to #4, keep it up together as I don’t think this would work as well without both of them doing it. Go to the website, see what you can see…
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Posted by Kevin
