April 23, 2010
Asaf’s Website
Tomer’s Website
Bipolar #4
It’s just great to see a series like this unfold. Every issue is stronger than the one before and it’s hard not to imagine great things for these two. The one complaint that I have, and I’ll get it out of the way before I start gushing: typos! I know it’s being translated from Hebrew and all, and I don’t pretend to understand what a complicated process that is. But having something look this smart and well put together coupled with typos and misplaced usage of “your” and “you’re”…. well. it’s unnecessary. Anyway, this one continues the fascinating Kamikaze story and I’m not going to ruin anything about it because it’s coming to a close in the next issue. If you’re not already reading it, it’s one of the best serialized stories going. The first half of the book is about a man stuck in a hospital in Morocco. He spends his time remembering his life and wondering what might have been, but the story isn’t anywhere near as cheesy as I made it out to be. Look, I’m sold on this series. If you don’t want to buy something that you’ve never heard of, get to a decent comics shop near you and read part of an issue in the store or something. Whatever it takes, I think you should give this book a shot…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Asaf’s Website
Tomer’s Website
Bipolar #3
I’m always up for getting into new worlds in comics. Sure, I like the autobio stuff just fine, when it’s done well, but there’s nothing like a fully realized universe that the creators are going to use for several issues. I’m not sure if that’s where this is headed, as this is the first one I’ve read, but I sure hope so. The book is broken up into two stories. The first, Kamikaze (written by Etgar Keret), is about an afterlife filled with people who have committed suicide. One man learns that his old girlfriend killed herself and he’s determined to find her. What makes this so fascinating is that everybody there killed themselves, so there’s a depressing story behind everybody just waiting to be told. I won’t ruin any more than that except to tell you that most of those stories are left to the imagination thus far. The second story, Telekinetic, is about a man who’s experiencing chronic stomach pain and the agony of losing all joy in the world. A quietly introspective tale, it makes a nice contrast to the first story in the book. Both of these are filled with more philosophical asides than most books have in their entire run. This is a wonderful find for me and I plan on getting whatever else they have in print to see if they’re as good as this one. I’ll let you know, OK? Click on the title for the link to order it and a few more samples.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Handbook Now Available!$3
I’ve found that it’s just about impossible to scan only one page of one of John’s stories and have it make any sense. So I tried to scan two pages in a row, and… well, you tell me if it helped. This one is a collection of shorter pieces that I hadn’t seen before. There’s one about Dancing, one about Epictetus, Amateur comics and some stories about jazz and asthma. Mostly those stories really aren’t about any of those things, but you mostly have to figure these things out for yourself. Go back and read any of my other reviews to see what I think of the guy. Sorry to be so predictable, but what do you want from me? When he puts out a book that doesn’t make me think, doesn’t include at least three things that I’ve never seen before (this one has a great quote, someone grabbing a lightning bolt and the best depiction of a small child I’ve ever seen), and looks in any way rushed, I’ll be all over it, but in a negative way. Until then, be happy that there’s someone out there who’s putting out such consistently thought-provoking work. Contact info is around here…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Eleanor E. Is Home
I’m almost more excited about this website I just learned about than I am about this comic (not that there’s anything wrong with the comic, but more on that in a minute): The Holy Consumption of Chicago. It has new comics every Sunday from four different people. either Andres Nilsen, John Hankiewicz, Paul Hornschemeier or Jeffrey Brown. Check out the site, it has quite a backlog of comics already. As for this one, the main part of the comic is going to be in the next issue of Tepid in a longer form. So far it seems very… coherent for a comic from John. Odd that that sentence could be seen as a negative comment at all and, granted, there’s a lot of story yet to come, that was just my initial impression. The two shorter pieces, You Or I and Miller School didn’t suffer from that, with the latter story actually using a rubber stamper for a legitimate reason in a comic. Wonderfully surreal and interesting stuff, as always, and the art gets better every time. That’s not to say that I don’t already love his art, which is what makes it even scarier that his art keeps getting better. Send him a buck and check it out, or at least go to that website up there and check out comics from all of those great artists.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Tepid: A Mini Comic
Here it is, the first issue of Tepid. It was done three years before the other issue that I saw, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Then John told me (I got this at SPACE) that it sucked, and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. What’s the verdict? Well, if you’re wondering what the funk is on the cover, my cat threw up on it, so I guess that’s a bad sign right there. It’s OK, but it’s only the kind of thing that you’d probably like if you read all his other stuff and were desperate for anything you hadn’t seen yet, like me. You could tell that he had some idea of where he wanted to go, he just wasn’t sure how to get there yet. The Satan story was pretty good, and a few of the shorter pieces were good. I think I still would have thought of him as having a lot of potential if I had seen this years ago. Anyway, he still has a few of these left, so you can send him $1.50 for it if you’re interested.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Tepid Spring 2002
It’s always a happy day when I get a new issue of Tepid in the mail. John wrote to me that this is a bit of a “lame” issue, as other parts of it appear elsewhere, and it depends on what you want to compare it to. Compared to the other issues, it’s true, this one is short and doesn’t have too much going on. Compared to the rest of the comics out there, I still think this is one of the best and this issue is still great. There’s some Hanshaw Development stuff and a big story about a boy who can’t even look at his grandfather. And I was one of the lucky ones who got a drawing on the front cover! Anyway, you all know that I love his stuff, and this does nothing to change my opinion. Get the other ones first if you’re just looking to try him out, but if you already know about him you won’t be able to pass this one up.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Tepid 2001
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Mr. John Hankiewicz. These are the most unique comics that I’ve seen in a long time and I think everybody out there should own them. As far as I can tell he’s the David Lynch of comics. Those of you looking for an easy read should go elsewhere, but to those of you who don’t mind a challenge and enjoy studying the panels to see just what the hell is going on, there’s not a better series out there than this. If I had to pick one issue, I’d say get the one from 2000, even though they’re all head and shoulders above most everything else out there right now. And that’s saying a lot when you stop to think that I consider the amount of quality books out there to be pretty immense. Clicking on the titles will bring you to the usscatastrophe page. As long as you have Paypal, you can get all these titles too. Have I made it clear yet that you should do your part to make this guy rich and famous?
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Tepid: The Gimmick Book
Maybe I’m just having an odd day, where I can’t think of anything insightful or important to say for any of the comics. Or maybe, like this one, they simply defy description. Are you tired of the “you really need to read this to see what I’m talking about” style of review yet? Me too. OK, I’ll give it a shot. Ostensibly, it’s about a garage sale and the memories that a wooden horse bring to the surface, along with what the children think of the whole thing. In reality, it makes a whole lot less sense than that. And if you think I’m saying that like it’s a bad thing, you’re wrong. This is kind of like Jim Woodring mixed with Twin Peaks with maybe some Gilbert Hernandez in some of his wordless stories. Like it or hate it, it’s a pretty unique book, especially for a measly dollar. I just found a great sample on Kevin Huizenga’spage, check it out. It’s not this story but it should show you what the man can do. You can get it directly from the creator or you could just send $1 asking for it (and a couple of stamps for a catalog) to Paper Radio PO Box 254 Allston, MA 02134. His home address is 18 W. Traube Avenue Westmont, IL 60559 and you can also e-mail him. I also just found something vaguely resembling a homepage…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Asthma Now Available! $17
If you ever wanted to try out John’s comics but wanted to wait for something more substantial than his mini comics (or his giant regular issues), this is perfect for you. It contains pieces from old minis like Handbook, Martha Gregory and Dance, along with a couple of pieces that you may have seen in The Chicago Reader. Well, you may have seen it if you live in Chicago. For the rest of us, it might as well be new. John’s comics have never been easy to review, mostly because so much of it is open to interpretation, and the bits that aren’t are better appreciated seen than described by some yahoo like me. That being said, I am legally required to make a review more substantive than “reviewing is hard!”, so I’ll give it a shot. There is a series of silent pieces in here that may be my favorite thing John has done involving a little (although giant in perspective) girl, a house with two inquisitive arms, pipes oozing goo, a naked couple who slowly find clothes and explore their surroundings, and a series of four panel strips involving hands that always end in the rich, detailed hands being made into cartoon hands. I don’t know why that image effected me the way it did, probably because John is so meticulous and detailed that simple images thrown into that can have a substantial effect. The jagged landscape (the ground is littered throughout these pieces with what appears to be broken glass), the waves of sound (unless they really are lightning bolts, they’re mostly coming from what appears to be a speaker), and the interaction between all these players really comes together by the end. At least chunks of that story were in Handbook, maybe it took seeing them all together in this giant format for them to really hit me. Well, that’s one piece (made up of a number of smaller pieces, granted) in this giant book, what else is here to be discovered? There the series of Dance pieces (which mostly have nothing to do with dancing), a set of silent pieces involving a man alone in a room with a rotating cast of objects, a story on betting, the Martha Gregory comics, a story of the train station his mother worked at when he was a child, and a personal story about Lot C. Yes, that’s the simple version. Didn’t I already make it clear that these things are best discovered on your own? This really is his most substantive work to date, and that’s nothing to sneeze at when you consider the amount of detail he puts into everything he does. If you’re scared of the price I do have minis here you can check out, but I recommend just diving in and going with this. $17
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Bald Knob
OK, generally speaking I try to review things that most people at least have a chance to get themselves, because otherwise there’s not much of a point, but I noticed after reading this that there were only 68 copies made. Maybe it’s only a first printing, maybe this will be included as part of some future graphic novel, or maybe this review is only for myself and 67 other people. Still, even if that’s the case, it’s as good a chance as any to get John’s name up at the top of the main page again. This is a mini, which is rare enough for John these days (and boy am I looking forward to getting to John’s massive Asthma when I get the chance), and he’s more than good enough to be able to make one think whichever format he’s using. This is the story of a young man reminiscing about his father while the images are densely inked pages of a couple of young men searching through a desolate rural landscape. That’s one thing you can always count on with John: even if the nuance of the plot loses you for a minute, you know damned well that he takes “meticulous” to a whole new level when it comes to his art. The story has a poignant moment or two, with more than a few silent, thoughtful images thrown in, then it’s over, as this is a shorty. It’s worth a look, as is everything this guy has done, although you may want to dig into something meatier and then work your way backwards. No price, but there’s a nice color cover, so… $5?
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
All-True Sometimes Now Available! $2
Why don’t more people do the daily (or weekly, whatever) bio strips? Is it just because newspapers don’t want them and, if so, what difference does that make when everybody alive has their own website? Just curiou. This is a collection of strips, mostly true (judging by the title, anyway) about a variety of things. chopping trees, Sleepy Town USA, bagels, Duran Duran, getting older, joke time, sickness, bug karma, Petey the Unicorn, sweet tea, boys, Atkins, cheap holliday gifts, and apples on a roller coaster. Random enough for you? They’re not all fantastic, but enough of them are good to make this worth your time. Contact info is up there, let’s say this one is $2!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Catholic School Funnies
Full disclosure: for those who don’t already know, I’m a former Catholic myself, so I pretty much love these types of stories. This one is about a few days from Mary’s stint in Catholic grade school, dealing with a nun, punishment, church and a statue that isn’t crying. It’s a short book so I don’t want to give more away, but it’s good stuff. The art is good too, although it’s without backgrounds in more than a few places. Still, when there are backgrounds they’re pretty intricate, and that’s a minor complaint, all things considered. It’s $1, here’s an e-mail address and an address: P.O. Box 948 Athens, GA 30603,
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Robot 13 #3
Hey look, an exclusive! Or at least something approaching an exclusive. Thomas was nice enough to send me an advance .pdf of this book (due to come out on March 10th) and, even though I usually don’t deal with anything other than physical comics, the timing of this one was perfect, what with all the chaos of my recent move/house-sitting going on. This is the story of a land of monsters and one man-made hero with amnesia. Or at least that’s my initial impression of this first issue. Yes, first issue. Even though it says “#3”, the end of the story indicates that this is book one of a story, so I’ll go with that. It appears to be set in modern day (judging from a bombing at a restaurant), but you can tell from that cover and the sample that it’s not a modern day that most of us see on a regular basis. So anyway, the story begins with a giant cyclops (called Colossus on the cover) learning that an unnamed man of metal has returned. Vowing to kill this mystery man, he sets out and the scene shifts to an old blind hermit on a hill tending to, well, a man of metal. It’s a creepy looking man of metal, as he has a fishbowl for a head containing a human skull, but he seems like a nice enough guy, even if he can’t seem to remember anything about himself. Anyway, the giant cyclops does eventually locate the metal man and things get ugly from there. It’s always a bit touch and go with me when I read a fantasy like this, but this was a blast. I loved that loopy, almost Mike Mignola-ish art, and the writing did a nice job of setting up the series and making the metal man a sympathetic figure. Hey, any first issue that makes me want to see more did its job. Look out for it on March 10th, no price was included but I’m going with the random figure of $4.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Robot 13 #1
Ah, so the whole story is called “Colossus”, not just the third issue that I reviewed a few weeks ago. Daniel (or was it Thomas? I threw away the envelope) was nice enough to send me physical copies of a couple of issues, and I was hoping getting a chance to read this first issue would clear up a few things about the third issue. Nope: our hero (who is one of the creepier heroes I’ve seen) is lifted out of the ocean by a fishing net, utterly unable to remember who or what he is, and before he gets a chance to blink that giant creature on the cover is attacking the ship. He does seem to take to killing monsters like the proverbial duck to water, as he seems to instinctively know exactly where the weak spot is on this giant creature. Or it could be the fact that anybody who’s ever played video games knows to go right for the giant eyeball. Anyway, you won’t learn much more about the origin of this monster killer in this issue (except to see how he got his start this time around), but it is an intriguing beginning to a series that has some thoroughly impressive artwork and seems dedicated to coming up with increasingly difficult monsters for this guy to deal with. If you’re looking to uncover the mysteries of life you might want to start with other books on this website, but if you’re just looking for a smart, fun pile of mayhem (that also somehow manages to be only $3 while being in full color), I think you’ve found your comic book. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
A Sacred Text Now Available! $3.95
Sometimes the back of a book can sum up the whole thing better than I could. Still, they pay me the big bucks to ramble, so off I go. This is the story of a former slave who escapes under mysterious circumstances. He’s on the run and comes across a temple with a religious service going on, and the rest of the book is the story of his living with these people and trying to move on with his new (and suddenly free) life. It’s a fascinating story about destiny and love, among many other things, and it well worth a look. It also won the Xeric award in 2001 and I have seen very few bad things come with that caveat. I have a bit of a problem with the sloppiness of the lettering at times. Never anything too serious and it’s just me seriously picking at nits, but I had to find something negative, right? Anyway, every one of his books is available here now and I really like his art. Contact info is up there!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
True Travel Tales #3 Now Available! $3.95
There’s only one true travel tale this time around, and it ends up possibly being the best of the bunch. A young woman named Sarah goes off on a two week tour in Mexico right around the holidays, as she wants to avoid the whole family affair and is at the lowest point in her life. She meets another woman on the bus, Helena, who has recently had her children taken from her (we’re never given the exact reason for this). They make an immediate and profound friendship, but things get complicated when Sarah discovers that Helena isn’t sleeping, and hasn’t slept for at least three days. Things get progressively crazier from there, as Helena slowly breaks down completey, falling into three distinct personalities, going so far as to act like a whore and speak Spanish fluently at times, something she had never been able to do. The struggle to keep Helena from hurting herself and/or out of a Mexican mental institution (a place, they are told, where crazy people sometimes never make it out of) is what makes this book such a beautiful thing, as these strangers give up large chunks of their vacation and sleep just to try and keep this woman going. Justin’s art has never looked better, and he explains in the afterward some of the artistic liberties he took (like telling the story from Sarah’s perspective). It’s odd to say that you should start at #3 and work your way back if you’re interested in this sort of thing, but this really is the best of the bunch. $3.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
True Travel Tales #2 Now Available! $2.95
These issues of True Travel Tales (#2 and 3) seem to have been forgotten about in the “online store” box for years, due mostly to the confusion of all the other comics coming in, and it’s a damned shame. One of my biggest complaints about autobio books, when I have anything to complain about, is that some people can manage to make a comic about nothing at all, having never been anywhere interesting or done much of anything worth noting. That is not an issue in this series, as these tales take place over various parts of the globe. The first story here involves some silent snorting of coke, followed quickly by a near-brawl as said coke ends up missing (they were silent because the walls were thin, it’s not a silent story). Next up is a shortie told in the rain dealing with reactions to the start of the Iraq War (this came out in 2003), and the shame which the author was already feeling back then. A familiar piece is next, or at least it’s familiar if you read the 2003 SPX anthology, dealing with masturbation and a Bible reading. Next up is A Final Goodbye, dealing with seeing a friend on what ends up being their death bed but, assuming they’d get better, never saying a proper goodbye. Finally there’s a text piece about the Fiesta de la Cruz in Bolivia, and how it can be dangerous to be a foreigner in a private, sacred event. These were all drawn by Justin but told by other people, usually with pseudonyms, unless perhaps we’re supposed to know Agustin “Tin Tin” or Sam “Le Pelona”. I can see why they remain basically anonymous (especially the woman masturbating in the dark church), and it all looks gorgeous, so what does it matter? I realize that this issue is basically an antique in comic years at this point, but fascinating stories like these never really get old. $2.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
True Travel Tales #1 Now Available! $2.95
My love of good autobio stuff is probably common knowledge to anybody who reads the site on a regular basis. So when I tell you that this is a collection of stories from various authors, all drawn by Justin Hall, well, it’s probably a safe bet to say that I liked it. About the only thing that could hurt a book like this is if these were all “you had to be there” type of stories. You know, the ones that are good to the people who lived them, a few close friends and not many other people. Happy to say that almost all of these are fascinating and riveting. You have someone almost falling off a cliff, a sexy grandma story, a sexy random encounter story, a lead singer on fire, a creepy masturbator, a possible alien and a visit from the Lizard God. All good stuff, which makes this well worth picking up. Great art too, it really made these stories come alive. Check out the website, I’m sure there’s contact info and samples up there…
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Posted by Kevin
