Monthly Archives: August 2012
Update for 8/13/12
Geez, even when I’m around for a review, the website freezes up for no good reason. Anyway, I think I may have found a way around all the missed review days, but I’ll wait and see if it actually works before being sure that the problem is solved. New review today for Star Pilot #8 by Frank Swartz! Oh, and if you live in Columbus and want two new kittens (they’re not joined at the hip, so you could technically just get one), there are a couple of neighborhood kittens that are completely adorable. E-mail me and I’ll tell you all about them.
Swartz, Frank – Star Pilot #8
Star Pilot #8
So here’s one possible spoiler alert to start the review, although I’m not at all sure that it’s a spoiler: this issue is a prequel to the first issue in this series. I checked on his website and Frank has all of the past issues up for free, so it’s not as bad of an idea as I originally thought, but it would still help if that information was given out at the start of the issue. But hey, who am I to tell the man his business? This also means that I’ll have to go back and read the entire series now that I can see that he has a clear plan, but I don’t have the time at the moment, so consider this another half-assed review. Huzzah! Well, I will use my whole ass to review this particular issue, which sounds terrible, so let’s just forget that I said it. This is one of those rare cases where I used the first page as the sample page, so you can see how he starts things off. From there we meet Kid Sampson, see a calamity at an air show, learn the truth about the minotaur myth, have possibly the quickest saving of the world that I’ve ever seen (hey, it’s a prequel; it’s kind of a given that the world will be saved), and even get a very brief glimpse of the monkey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the madcap charm of the issues of this series that I’ve read so far, and this one is slightly lacking in that department (which is bound to happen when the monkey and the rhino are absent), but their loss is allowed because now I can see that Frank is building something here. That wasn’t entirely clear to begin with, but it instantly makes to curious to see more. And to read the earlier issues, which you could do right now if the mood struck you. He has everything up there except for this one. No price, but a couple of bucks sounds reasonable.
Update for 8/7/12
New review today for The Index #1 by Caitlin Cass. Happy (very tiny in Columbus) election day!
Cass, Caitlin – The Index #1
The Index #1
Caitlin manages to nail down the essential problem with so many of the angsty comics in the world in the first few pages: the authors of said comics have invariably had pretty damned good lives, which is itself the cause of all the angst. Lack of adversity can be a creativity killer for sure. This one starts off (after a damned funny but unrelated intro that you can discover for yourselves) with Susan (our heroine) arranging blank index cards on a shelf. Each blank card represented the sum total of the achievements in the lifetime of a single human, and she uses them to bask in her own insignificance. This worked for Susan just fine until her boyfriend John moves in, and he doesn’t like that constant reminder of the insignificance of his own life one bit. Things get a little tense from there, but why should I spoil all that for you? Caitlin does an impressive job with the art on this one, and I’m always up for a story that points out the inherent insignificance of our lives when put into any kind of context. And yes, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, which makes that “prelude” thing on the cover a retroactively welcome sight. She has all kinds of other comics up at her website, if maybe you need more convincing, or if maybe you just like reading free comics online. As for me, I like the cut of her jib and I’m damned curious to see where she goes from here. No price, so the random price wheel today lands on… $3.25! Damn, that is random.
Update for 8/4/12
New reviews today for Injury #4 by Ted May, Jeff Wilson & Mike Reddy and My Life in Records #2: Into My Heart by Grant Reynolds. See, told you I could manage four reviews this week! Granted, it’s a sadly low bar, but still. Oh, and in case you missed it in the review, Alternative Comics is back making comics after a four year hiatus (including a new issue of Magic Whistle very soon), so huzzah!
May, Ted & Wilson, Jeff & Reddy, Mike – Injury #4
Injury #4
Before I say a thing about this comic, I need to make a very important thing clear: this comic marks the return of Alternative Comics, as they’ve been absent for the last 4 years, and that is a damned good thing for small press comics. Not that this was 100% published by them, as Kickstarter and Ted were involved in the publication too, but an established company like them will make it easier to get these books out to a wider market. I have to admit right off the bat that I haven’t seen the first three issues of this series, but it doesn’t seem like they contain any crucial information for enjoying this one. The bulk of this comic deals with a group of boys getting stoned and having detention, and it has to be the most pitch perfect representation of such a thing that I’ve ever seen. Jeff (writer) and Ted (writer/artist) really let this piece breathe, as we get several pages of the kids silently passing a joint back and forth, reminiscing about an Iron Maiden concert, before they go inside to take their punishment. Once they all sit down for their enforced quiet time one of them realizes that he’s way too high and paranoid hijinx ensue. The other big story was “Blade of Grass,” and this one felt distinctly like a continuation of an older story (and it’s “to be continued” this time too). Still, it’s a fairly self-contained story about a party clean-up and a few conversations that were mostly lost on me. I’ve yet to see Ted make a bad comic and this one is no exception, but it may take a collected edition for this story to make sense to me. Still, it’s worth it for that main story alone. Buy this comic and support the rebirth of Alternative Comics! And the people who are making this comic, obviously, but you know what I mean. $6
Thomas, Grant – My Life in Records #2: Into My Heart
My Life in Records #2: Into My Heart
Who says that you need free time to make comics? Grant is an art teacher with two small kids and this is still his second full color comic produced within the last year (unemployed slackers with one comic out in the last three years, take note). He also apparently put his master’s thesis into comics form, although I don’t know if the world at large will ever see it. But enough about that, how’s the comic? The music is much less prevalent this time around, but it does effectively take over a scene when it is used. Things start off with Grant (age three) being annoyed that he’s been confined to the kiddie pool and taking matters into his own hands by jumping into the big pool. Where he proceeds to sink like a stone and is rescued by another swimmer (the details are still hazy for the guy). There’s an abrupt transition from this section to Grant remembering older Christian records that he listened to as a kid and the idea of a giant box of crayons, then comes the Jesus. The rest of the book deals with Grant trying to work up the nerve to get baptized after his near-drowning and gradually coming around to accepting Jesus. Which will always and forever be a little creepy to me when that “decision” is coming from a kid and not an adult, but that’s my own personal bugaboo and not something that should concern you or take away from this comic. This is another gorgeous book, and it will probably hit you spiritual types a bit harder than it hit me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an interesting story even for us cranky atheist types, but a journey to Jesus is probably most appreciated by other people who have journeyed to Jesus. Here’s hoping his schedule eases up a little bit (not likely with two small kids, but you never know), as I curious to keep reading the “origin story” of this man and how music factored into it. $6.50
Update for 8/2/12
Seriously, I will get four reviews up this week. If anybody out there has mastered time travel and could give me another hour or two in the day I’d appreciate it. New review today for Quark #2: Dream Me A World by Jerry Goebert & Brad W. Foster.
Goebert, Jerry & Foster, Brad W. – Quark #2: Dream Me A World
Quark #2: Dream Me A World
Well, so much for this being a regular Friday review. Instead I’ll just make it a regular weekly review until I regain something resembling a normal schedule. Last time around we were taken on a journey through the creation of everything, so naturally this time we go a little bit further. This all starts once the concept of “two” is introduced following patterns repeating themselves, which leads to a third variable, which… well, you get the idea. Then the concept of three dimensions gradually comes about, which leads to all of the stuff in those three dimensions, with much trial and error being done along the way. Not by the hand of a bearded man in the sky, mind you; these were basically tests to see which things/living beings worked best. Once again it’s a fascinating look at the way in which everything might have started, and this one ends on a cliffhanger of (spoilery spoilers) man building Eden. So yeah, I’m curious to see where they go next, and I’m thoroughly happy with how inventive it’s been so far. And yes, I do realize that it’s mildly ridiculous to have these reactions for mini comics that are 30 years old, but hey, it’s all new to me. $1
