New review today for A Box of Candy by etchingroom1, which is also the latest of the mini kus books. Halfway through their recent shipment!
etchingroom1 – A Box of Candy
July 16, 2025
Is it possible for a comic to be heartbreakingly quirky? Devastating and darkly funny? It almost feels like “bittersweet” could work, but that’s still not quite right. Hey, it looks like another mini kus book where you’ll have to figure it out for yourselves! If you’re curious, “etchingroom1” is an artistic group comprised of Kristina Yarosh and Anna Khodkova; since I have no idea if this was a group effort or the vision of one of them, I’m putting the collective name in the title and their real names as tags. More information than you needed or wanted, but there it is! This one starts off as a typical day, until the author walks by a candy shop. This brings up all kinds of memories of a recent heartbreak, and what follows are a series of imaginary candies that depict what it feels like to be going through a breakup and what comes after it. Most of these are double page spreads (and somehow manage to be both hilarious, grim and entirely too true), and I don’t want to give them away in the review. Outside of the sampled image, anyway, which kind of says it all about the “I know we shouldn’t be dating but I can’t bring myself to say anything” stage of dating. A few of these felt like gut punches, and if you’re ever been in love and then had it end badly you’ll most likely feel the same way. If you’ve never been in love but are curious about heartbreak (or are that mythical creature who married their high school sweetheart and have never had any problems), then this comic would do you some good too. See how the other half (or really 99%) live! This is $8 solo or $22 for a set of four comics; this is also the fourth comic of that set, so if you go back over the last few weeks you’ll see my reviews for the other comics and maybe that can help you make up your mind?
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Reviews | Tagged: A Box of Candy, Anna Khodkova, etchingroom1, Kristina Yarosh | 
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/14/25
July 14, 2025Last week was crazy for a few reasons, so my apologies for the lack of updates. Specifically it involved almost going on strike and moving offices in the same week, if you’re curious. But hey, there’s a new review today for They Must Know What They’re Doing by Fran Lopez, so all is right with the world. Also I mentioned the fundraiser for Ron Rege Jr a couple of weeks back, and that’s still ongoing. It’s great that a small press cartoonist was able to get (as of right now) 84% of his goal. But that’s not exactly 100%, and there have to be at least a few people reading this who have loved his comics for possibly decades. If you can afford it at all, please throw some money at the man to help him get through a rough patch.
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Posted by Kevin
Lopez, Fran – They Must Know What They’re Doing
July 14, 2025
They Must Know What They’re Doing
Is there such a thing as the perfect title? Maybe it’s just that I’m extrapolating it to also include the current state of the world and so very many world leaders, which was probably not Fran’s intention. But hey, it also works pretty damned well for these two stories, so kudos to him. As that cover says, there are two stories in here. The first one starts off with two revolutionaries in a situation that is rarely seen in popular culture: the moments before they go out on their dangerous mission, just making small talk and making sense of it all. The masks that they have to wear, for example, don’t let the person turn their head and still see properly. Part of the plan or further evidence that the bosses don’t know what they’re doing? One of the two revolutionaries has one opinion and the other chooses to be optimistic about the whole thing. We don’t see the actual event at all, but instead check back in with the two of them after things have gone horribly wrong, and this time they have to make a terrible decision by themselves. The second story is a bit more lighthearted, at least on the surface. There’s a monk who, after spending most of his life as a fairly normal and unremarkable person, suddenly shows up every morning in a new and ridiculous pose. He also can’t be moved from these new poses, despite the best efforts of the other monks and townspeople. Has he revolutionized how to practice his religion, or is there something else going on? Fran is becoming a master (if he’s not there already) of depicting the quiet moments and not taking anything at face value. This is another damned fine comic, so if you haven’t been reading his stuff yet, this is yet another good chance to get into it. $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/3/25
July 3, 2025New review for Fire Rabbit by Yuma Wang, as the mini kus train keeps chugging along. I’ve mentioned several times that I usually write these reviews on the weekends and have them autopost during the week, but I’m mentioning it again because Ron Rege Jr. is still doing a gofundme fundraiser after a rough accident, and as of this writing he’s at 71% of his goal. Maybe by the time you read this he’ll be up to 100%! But if not, help the guy out, will you? He’s one of the best around at this comics business and he could use a hand.
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Posted by Kevin
Wang, Yuma – Fire Rabbit
July 3, 2025
I feel like if I say that this book had a slow burn that I’ll be cast out of polite society, but I’m saying it anyway. Of course, if you read the synopsis on the back of the book (or the website) the whole story is right there, but I’ll still try my usual shtick of avoiding spoilers. This one starts off with our hero asleep in bed, with both hands immersed in buckets of water. For the first few pages we see her going about her day, always careful to keep her hands covered, before running into a child who’s becoming encased in ice. She takes her hands out of the buckets and they immediately burst into flames, which turns out to be a lifelong condition for her. She also runs into a thirsty dog (and has to give a warning about the hot water) and an assault, which is a pretty easy thing to break up if your hands burst into flame. Finally things take a turn for the worse, with life or death stakes for our hero. Can she get herself out of a mess? It’s another delightful tale from the mini kus folks, and it even stays that way if you stop reading before the ending. Oops, that was damned near a spoiler. Anyway, it’s worth checking out, and as always you can either buy it for $8 or buy four issues for $22. The savvy shopper, of course, always buys in bulk. $8
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/1/25
July 1, 2025New review today for Six Mini Comics by M.S. Harkness. Hey, guess who has two thumbs and got sick and didn’t go CAKE in Chicago this weekend? Yep, it’s this guy! It was also a solid reminder that if you can go to either day of a con, always go to the first one. I felt fine on Saturday damn it! So I’ll be using the old Google to search the artists from the show and buy some books online. Not as fun and more expensive overall, but I’ll get at least a partial sampling from the show.
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Posted by Kevin
Harkness, M.S. – Six Mini Comics
July 1, 2025
A note to the curious: I included a tag for the title of every mini comic in this collection, so if you’re worried that you’ve already read these stories, check out the list. It was entirely new to me, and I actively try to get new comics at cons, so maybe it’ll all be new to you too? There are six stories in here, all published from 2018 to 2023, with two of the stories being from full mini comics and the other four coming from anthologies or as parts of other comics. But before all that there’s a lengthy intro from M.S., where she really gets into what she gets out of comics and her thoughts on her older work. Also included is an invitation from her to skip it if you don’t enjoy such things, in which case I imagine you went right to the comics. The shortest piece starts things off and really sets the tone for the whole book; it’s her having a conversation with a giant dummy she took home from the gym, with just about a perfect ending. Next up is probably the highlight, or at least the one that’s stuck with me the most so far, which details her trip to an anime convention (to help out her friend at her table), her disastrous decision to both consume a giant edible cookie and also give one to her friend, and the experience under that influence combined with the aftermath. As somebody who has had “too much” of an edible once or twice, it was a harrowing tale (and it’s not like M.S. was new to edibles, she just found the most potent cookies on the planet), and just chock full of terrors. Her trip to get change for her friend through that particular crowd was actively making me nervous, and I’m currently sober as can be. There’s so much more, but that was the kind of story that you should buy collections for alone, so I’m not going to spoil any more of it. Next is Plunder Bird, an awkward tale of what she describes as her worst sugar daddy back in the time when she was still doing that to make some cash. How she kept a straight face once those tattoos were revealed is beyond me. Rotten is fourth, and the kind of thing that I can’t say much of anything about without giving it all away, but god damn, maybe that one is actually my favorite of the book. What was happening around her during those three months in the world, her efforts to hide it, the comments from people around her who didn’t know what was happening, that was just one damned near perfect comic. The Uncut Gem was the one story I had read (it was in an issue of Rust Belt Review), and it remains a rare action movie that I’d pay to see if somebody had the guts to film it. Finally there’s the story of her accompanying/coaching her friend for a big weightlifting convention, right as covid is hitting and nobody is sure what’s going on. There’s the drama of the competition, a quick side trip to the Billy Ireland museum, and shakes. What more could you want? The only quibble I have with this book is technical (there was a page that was printed twice in the last story, but it seemed like the next page was printed after that so nothing was lost), but overall maybe this is her book that I’d recommend first to people. Dig into her stuff with a collection of smaller stories, then you can tackle the graphic novels. $20
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/27/25
June 27, 2025New review today for Silent Observations by Apolonija Lucic, and you’d better believe that’s another mini kus comic. Also I just found out that Ron Rege Jr. had a serious accident recently and is running a fundraiser to help him get through it, which you can donate to here. I’ve reviewed more than a few of his comics and have read and loved quite a few more (it’s true, I don’t actually review everything I read), and if you can spare any money, please do so. The world needs that man making comics for as long as is humanly possible.
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Posted by Kevin
Lucic, Apolonija – Silent Observations
June 27, 2025
Did I assume one thing from that title and end up getting something else? Reader, you know I did. I took it literally, expecting a silent comic of, you know, observations. Not so! This is a more of a guide for how to unplug, take in your surroundings and respect them, even if you might have to invent some of those surroundings. It starts small, with a few surprise observations, before those carry her fully into a new way of thinking. She also details something that has always fascinated me, and that’s finding unique things on your walks. She uses sea shells mostly as an example, but these can be unique rocks, twigs, unknown detritus, etc.; just anything that strikes your fancy as being unique enough to be noticed. I speak from experience when I say that these are not necessarily going to be appreciated as gifts, so don’t even try it; these are more for your own personal fulfillment. She stresses that collecting is not the goal and that these found items are best placed back in the wild (after whatever length of time seems right to you), which is a fantastic message for this miserable modern world. There’s a genuine life lesson to be learned in this comic, which is rare, and there’s some fairly stunning imagery to go with it. What’s not to love? ($8, or $22 for a bundle of four comics)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/25/25
June 25, 2025New review today for Plastic People #19-21 by Brian Canini, so it’s kinda sorta another SPACE review. Hey, speaking of cons, CAKE is going to be in Chicago this weekend (6/28-6/29). Eddie Campbell is going to be there, which is a huge deal to me at least, and judging by that list of exhibitors, I’m going to be lucky to have enough gas money left to make it back to Champaign.
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Posted by Kevin
Canini, Brian – Plastic People #19-21
June 25, 2025
Could it be? There’s no listing on Brian’s website for buying these three issues together yet, have I maybe finally managed to catch up to him? Ha ha no. There’s still two more issues of the series for me to read, among other things. It’s more likely that he’s behind on updating his website than he is behind on putting out comics. Oh, and you’re welcome for the bonus schmutz that I accidentally scanned with the covers. I like to keep it real around here! Anyway, overall this story does seem to be heading towards a conclusion, as our heroes keep getting closer and closer to Facelift. #19 is where everybody finds out that Facelift has no finger prints on file, meaning he’s never had plastic surgery, which seems impossible in this world. I have my own theory as to why that might be the case, but since half the fun of a mystery like this is finding out the answer, I’ll keep it to myself (this also lessens how stupid I’ll look later if I’m completely wrong). #20 has Liz and Kim get their date redirected to check on a movie star, and as you can probably guess from how the rest of the series has gone, a wellness check is rarely going to end well. It even takes things a step further than that, which is why I made that cryptic comment earlier in the review. Finally #21 has a “View” like show discussing current events, followed by a very brief moral dilemma by our journalist friend Jorge. The killer seems to be contacting him directly, but he got fined the last time he didn’t turn the letter in right away. Does he give up the scoop and follow the law, or do his best to become a part of the story? The series is still a compelling mystery, so heck yeah I’d still recommend it, and I don’t see anything in Brian’s brief synopsis of #23 to indicate that that’s the last issue. Buy a collection or two maybe, see what you think! $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/23/25
June 23, 2025New review today for The Oddysee of Pal by Danny Ferbert. What with the ridiculous heat wave hitting Illinois and the potential start of World War 3, I can at least guarantee that there will be a couple more comic reviews coming this week. That’s something, right?
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Posted by Kevin
Ferbert, Danny – The Oddysee of Pal
June 23, 2025
I made this disclaimer the last time I reviewed one of Danny’s comics, and it’s probably best that I make it again: I’m more or less over purely juvenile comics. One can still sneak up on me occasionally and make me laugh, but overall if your comic is mostly farts or dicks, unless you’ve found some kind of landmark new angle about it, it’s not going to do much for me. And speaking of which, there’s this comic. This is the only one of the few of his comics I have left to review that didn’t make me roll my eyes just by looking at the cover, so maybe I just won’t review those? We’ll see. This one starts off with our hero chasing down some friends to tell them a “yo mama” joke, after which they get offended and try to chase him down, to which he responds by letting out a serious fart. And he’s half skunk, so maybe it’s less fart and more self defense? Nope, not spending any more time trying to figure that out. From there we learn where Pal came from (it’s in the sample image, in case you were curious), whether or not he answers the call to be a hero, and then ends in a way that throws away the comic that came before the ending, or at least changes the direction completely for seemingly no reason. So overall maybe this series could still develop into something? That’s the optimistic part of my review, anyway. Also, while the artwork is fine, the quality of the whole thing looks like something that’s been copied repeatedly and is starting to lose cohesion. It was more than a little bit distracting, at least to me. So overall maybe give it a look if the idea of a farting half skunk hero seems like your thing? As always, my opinions may very well not be your opinions. $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/19/25
June 19, 2025New review today for Zinj Very Small Comic by Pam Bliss, as the SPACE comics keep coming.
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Posted by Kevin
Bliss, Pam – Zinj Very Small Comic
June 19, 2025
Note: as I mentioned in my last review of her comics, ordering her stuff is a little tricky, but the link on the title takes you through the process. Don’t be scared, it’s not that complicated! Meanwhile, hey, what’s this comic about? As the title might imply, it’s all about Zinj and, as somebody who’s been reading Pam’s comics for literally decades now, it’s about time. Zinj is a character that shows up briefly every now and then, but if his “origin” has ever been explained I can’t remember it. This one starts off like it might be one of those “get through the comic” kind of minis. You know the ones, generally the “I have to have a new comic for the con” type of things, comics that are mostly about how they don’t have anything to say at the moment, or about the process of making comics. But it quickly makes a turn into Pam jumping into the story herself, explaining her fascination with the Zinj skull (full name Zinjanthropus, if you’re curious), how all of the early versions of Sasquatch in her comics came from the Zinj skull and how she eventually settled on having it be its own character in her books. It’s a fascinating peek behind the curtain, and Zinj is now just a little bit less mysterious to me. The character, anyway. The actual skull, and what that creature might have been like, still freaks me out a little bit. $2 (ish)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/17/25
June 17, 2025It’s the return of the mini kus books! New review today for Swelling by Walker Tate. And if you think this means that I’ll have at least a weekly review of these books up until they’re gone, you would almost certainly be correct.
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Posted by Kevin
Tate, Walker – Swelling
June 17, 2025
Link to a bundle of four mini kus comics
I did not expect this comic to be quite as grotesque as it was, but boy howdy was it ever disgusting. Maybe not if you’re one of those (almost certainly fictional) people who like mosquitoes, but if you’re as disgusted and annoyed by those creatures as I am, this one is just a step or two past completely plausible. The premise is simple enough: nature dude goes camping, settles in for a good night’s sleep, and is absolutely assaulted by mosquitoes. He gets through a thoroughly miserable night and wakes up to find himself… changed. No, he doesn’t become a super powered mosquito man. He’s just, as the title might imply, more than a little bit swelled up. He also can’t really communicate verbally any more, which makes his search for help a bit complicated. That search also raises far more questions than answers, as “I’ll have to return to the man who formed me” has sure stuck in my brain. Can our hero be saved? If so, how, and would it be a good idea? This is a series of full page images, so you can really take in every bit of the swelled up imagery on display. It’s also all kinds of disturbing, and if you think that means I’m recommending it unreservedly, you would be correct. $8 (or $22 for a bundle of four comics)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/13/25
June 13, 2025New review today for Escape to Southside by Richard Katterjohn, as I continue to get closer to the bottom of the SPACE pile. Happy weekend y’all!
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Posted by Kevin
Katterjohn, Richard – Escape to Southside
June 13, 2025
Just fyi, neither of the links I provided show a direct way to purchase this comic. Still, between the two of them it’ll be easy enough to contact Richard, and I bet he could help you out with that if you’re interested! This comic jumped out at me a bit at SPACE, mostly for the design: there’s an outer sleeve for the comic (which is the cover I used for the sample image, going with the theory that if Richard wanted to keep using the original cover, he would have repeated it on the sleeve), and in this sleeve is a smaller mini comic (Cosmic Zoq #7) that has all of the backgrounds from this comic. I don’t know how much it added to the overall experience, but it was an interesting idea. The comic itself starts off with a wall of text telling the reader what’s going on in this world; the gist is that people are required to work to live, dissension is ruthlessly suppressed, and a group of rebels are trying to get to Southside to be free. This comic follows one of them as he tries to get the word out and stay one step ahead of the police. Richard switches to real world images as our hero gets closer to freedom, which was subtle enough to sneak up on me a bit. The overall art is maybe a little amateurish (open to different opinions, and I always feel like I’ll burst into flames when *I* critique the quality of someone’s art), but I did like his backgrounds and overall scene composition. And, while I can’t talk about, that ending was perfect and caught me completely by surprise. So maybe it’s worth a shot? No price, so I’ll go with my default of $5.
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Posted by Kevin
