New review today for Outer Wilderness by Claire Scully, which only leaves one book left for me to review from my Avery Hill Publishing pile, but it’s a big one. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rob Jackson (from Monday’s review) is doing a sale of his comics on his website, which is only for people in the U.K., but if that’s you… what a deal!
Scully, Claire – Outer Wilderness
February 12, 2025
Well, I’ve got a “good news, bad news” type of situation in regards to this comic. The bad news (which is what I always ask for first) is that this comic doesn’t appear to be available on the Avery Hill Publishing page. The good news is that this comic is the third part of a three part series, and that entire story IS available on their website, with the link provided on the comic title. So that way you don’t have to be like me, reading only the third of three parts, and can instead read the whole thing. So what did I get out of this book, reading only the end of it? First I should mention what it is, in Claire’s own words: “A sequence of events occurring over an unimaginable period of time in the vastness of space.” It’s what appears to be images of the same location, with each page being a silent image, but as if each image was a picture that was taken millions of years after the previous image. Honestly, if I’d had to guess I wouldn’t have thought that it would work as well as it does, but it absolutely does work. Based on some of the preview images for the collected edition I’m guessing it does touch on human history here and there in previous volumes, but by the third volume humans are long gone and we’re seeing a dead planet. Or is it just life that we don’t recognize? That’s where you come in, reader! There are all kinds of gorgeous images in here, and I loved how completely alien she made several of them look. Which is kind of the point, granted, but not everybody can pull that kind of thing off. Check out the completed edition why don’t you? Don’t be a dummy like me and only get part of the story.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/10/25
February 10, 2025New review today for Crowthorn: A Village Built By Orphans by Rob Jackson. Hey, as international comics month is still ongoing (at this website, anyway), if you live outside of the U.S., why not send me some of your comics to review? Or maybe even a local comic that you enjoyed but think that I might not otherwise see? If I get it soon I’ll review it this month, if it doesn’t make it here by the end of February then I’ll just review it later. My address is on the side bar, and if I get enough of them to make it possible after the end of the month, I’ll just do another “no comics from the continental U.S.” month soon. What fun!
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Posted by Kevin
Jackson, Rob – Crowthorn: A Village Built By Orphans
February 10, 2025
Crowthorn: A Village Built by Orphans
Rob’s back with another of his comics without word bubbles, which is a terrible way to describe his historical travelogue comics, but it is also technically accurate. This time around he took a walking tour around Crowthorn, which is near Bolton in the UK (I’m shamelessly stealing that from Rob’s description), and like in his previous travelogue comic, Rob provides the history of the area during his tour. It’s fascinating and more than a little grim; the subtitle of the comic is literal. But in a “for the best of intentions” sort of way, if that helps? The full story is in here, obviously, but for review purposes I’ll do my best to sum up a bit. Rob goes into detail about the man who purchased the property back in the 1800s and how it eventually got settled in 1872, by a married couple and 24 orphan children. This man (Alfred Mager) didn’t see a reason to hire people to do the work that the children could do, so they worked under some brutal conditions for years to clear out and then build up the area. There was at least one mutiny due to the working conditions, but the general “tough love” idea of the place was to give these kids practical skills that they could use in the real world when they grew up. Was that a balance that we’d have today? Exactly like this, absolutely not. Anyway, the school was eventually opened, improvements were made throughout the years, and there are many more details that I see no reason to spoil for anybody actually interested in the history. It’s a completely different place now, as Rob’s walking tour thoroughly illustrates. I don’t know if this is the general direction that Rob’s comics are going these days or if it’s just A direction, but both of these comics have been fascinating, and that’s coming from someone with no idea of the layout of the area and very little idea of the history. I hope he’s selling these things locally so people can learn more about their history, in convenient comics form. $10 (ish?)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/6/25
February 6, 2025New review today for Goathearded by Charlo Frade. Both of the comics this week come from a sale I took advantage of from Avery Hill Publishing last year, which is a South London publishing company with all kinds of comics that look like they’re worth checking out. I have a couple more to talk about next week, meanwhile you should try some for yourselves. The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott is one that I could have sworn I already reviewed here, but a quick search here says that I did not. Huh.
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Posted by Kevin
Frade, Charlo – Goathearded
February 6, 2025Website
Sitting down to write this review right after reading this comic has the effect of making it feel like I’m still in a dream. Maybe I should give it some time to settle? Eh, best to ride that feeling. So right away it’s clear that if you’re looking to get off of this planet for a bit, this comic is a good place to start, eh? It’s probably best not to write this like it’s analogous to our own reality, but I’ll give it a shot. First there’s nothing, then something, then several people fall from the sky encased in what looks like gelatin cubes. It seems like many are content to stay there, but one of them lands near a flower, pushes his way out, and meets the creator of the universe. Or at least somebody who seems to have some answers. These answers may be more questions, and there may be conditions placed on these answers. Still, what would an origin of the species story be without the protagonist eating something that he probably shouldn’t? This, as it must, leads to a polka dot onesie. From there a sleeping pegasus is seen in the distance, and a creature as curious as this one is obligated to check it out. This pegasus allows him to fly, but is this a good idea? How much wisdom is really out there? This is a damned fine comic, with maybe more questions than answers, and an ongoing question of whether or not the creatures who think they know what they’re doing actually know anything. But isn’t that always the way? $10 (ish, once again I don’t know currency rates)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/4/25
February 4, 2025Since this is apparently “let’s declare a trade war on our closest allies” week, I’ve decided to review comics that aren’t from America this month. Do I have enough comics to keep that promise? Let’s find out together! New review today for The Hard Switch by Owen D. Pomery (South London, if you’re curious).
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Pomery, Owen D. – The Hard Switch
February 4, 2025
If you want to keep my interest in any sort of science fiction or fantasy comic (as I am aged and jaded), it helps to have one heck of a premise to start with. This one certainly has that covered, as the central conceit is that there’s a finite resource that allows faster than light space travel, that resource is about to run out, and everybody has to figure out where they want to be when that happens. Some people have the resources to make that choice for themselves, some don’t and are having that choice made for them. We’re following a small crew of scavengers who are trying to find scraps of this material in shipwrecks while still managing to get to where they’d like to end up when it all runs out. Naturally, there are other scavenging crews with the same idea, and things tend to get a bit tense at times (as that sample image may indicate). Still, an interesting concept isn’t going to take you very far if there’s no character work, but Owen has that covered too. In the space of about a dozen pages we get a solid idea of the two human characters and the octopus (ish) alien in the crew, and it’s hard not to get instantly invested in their struggle. He also does an excellent job of world-building, although I guess universe-building may be more accurate, along with the changing attitudes of the people doing business with each other. There’s a glimmer of hope to the whole thing as well, as there might be another option for travel. All they have to do is convince one of the richest people in the galaxy that it’s best to share it for little to no profit of his own. If you’re in America at the moment, you can probably already guess how that’s likely to go. This read like a self-contained graphic novel for most of it, but by the time all is said and done (without spoilers), it would be a shame if this is the end of the story. This is the first book I’ve read of Owen’s, but after this one I’m hoping to go back and see what else he’s come up with. That man can tell a hell of a story. $20ish (UK prices, don’t ask me to convert such things)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/31/25
January 31, 2025New review today for Plastic People #16-18 by Brian Canini. Didn’t I say that I was going to check and see if I’ve reviewed more of Brian’s comics that anybody else on this website? Eh, one of these days…
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Posted by Kevin
Canini, Brian – Plastic People #16-18
January 31, 2025
The link goes to the collected edition of these three comics for the sake of simplicity, but you can always get the individual issues from Brian’s website instead. Aren’t I helpful? These three work really well together, as they’re very focused on the police response to the serial killer on the loose. #16 is basically a chase comic, as Facelift calls the cop who made fun of him to try to explain why he’s doing what he’s doing, and the whole time the cops are trying to triangulate his location. I say that like I know what it means, but it’s on cop shows, so something like it must be real. Do they find him? Since there are two more issues to go in this review, I’d say it’s not looking good. #17 deals with the cop in question getting a gun sent to him in the mail from the killer, and another characters tries to find a church that’s right for them. Churches in this series don’t match many churches from our reality, so it’s a bit of a struggle. Finally #18 gets to the funeral for the city council member who was killed several issues back, with a grim and moving eulogy from his partner. The transition to the next scene actually got an audible chuckle out of me, so I’m not going to spoil it, but I feel safe saying that I’ve read enough to Brian’s comics to think that that was his intent. So overall the series is still moving right along, and I’d still recommend grabbing a compendium or two to see if it’s your thing. Will I ever catch up to him in these reviews? I’m only four issues behind now, so I live in hope. $4.99 (or $2 per issue)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/29/25
January 29, 2025New review today for Adventures in Gondwanaland by Maryanne Rose Papke. Her triumphant return to the website!
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Posted by Kevin
Papke, Maryanne Rose – Adventures in Gondwanaland
January 29, 2025
Most of the time I choose the sample image in the hopes of summing up a comic in one picture. As this is an impossible task, I usually fail. But I do at least always choose an image that either makes me laugh or blows my mind in some way, and the image below does both things. Just take it all in, before I get started talking about the comic. What do you think the comic is about? It’s Tile (a character Maryanne has been using in online strips and regular comics for a lot of years) going off on an adventure with her flying elephant. She’s worried about running into pirates, which is where the sample image comes in. From there she learns that she’ll have to deal with the flower-trees and their minions, as they’re stealing all of the paperclips from the capybaras. A secret tunnel is discovered, and inside of that tunnel is something that can help them with their task… or not. It depends on whether or not they run into Souffle. Even if that happens, they still have options. Also, will hats be involved? I hate to spoil such a thing, but yes. Yes they will. One of the things I love about Maryanne’s comics is that they’re so very hers. I feel like if somebody handed me four unnamed pages of this comic in a row I’d be able to tell pretty quickly that it’s one of her comics. There’s action, a quest, and capybaras. What more do you need out of a book? $2
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/27/25
January 27, 2025I’ve struck a new vein of comics to review in my search of moving boxes, so I should be OK for a few weeks. Still, I’m taking comics for review, as always, around here! New review today for Once Upon A Time… There Was A Mouse! by Rachel Bivens.
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Posted by Kevin
Bivens, Rachel – Once Upon A Time… There Was A Mouse!
January 27, 2025
Once Upon A Time… There Was A Mouse!
When I saw Dan Clowes give his talk at CXC (in 2023) he made a point that really stuck with me about the unreliability of memory. His mother and brother had just passed away, and while he had faith in their ability to tell their shared family history together, now that it was just him he had no way to verify anything that he might have misremembered and felt their shared history slipping away. Why am I bringing this up? Like I said, it stuck with me, but it’s relevant to my review of this comic. I got this at CXC 2024, and there’s a kinda sorta name (good old Google helped me out with an actual name), but no website, no way to find anything more about them. Then when I did find them, this comic wasn’t listed as being for sale. So, we’re left with my memory, and since I stopped by this table alone: was this tiny comic a con freebie to give people a sample of her work? Or is just currently sold out on her website? The story is fairly simple, but adorable: a mouse is enjoying the heck out of a chunk of cheese, but one day that cheese disappears. The mouse then sets out on a quest to find more cheese (but a short quest, as the comic is only 7 single panel pages long), but how does the journey end up? It’s a cute comic, and worth a buck or two if you see it at a convention. Or if it’s free, it’s especially worth it. Just don’t count on me being the one to remember which of those options is true.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/23/25
January 23, 2025New review today for A City Inside by Tillie Walden. I mentioned that I’m low on review comics, right? If somebody doesn’t send me something soon I’m going to have to unpack some of the boxes from when I moved that may or may not have comics I need to review in them. Please spare me this task that I definitely have to do sooner or later anyway!
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Posted by Kevin
Walden, Tillie – A City Inside
January 23, 2025Website
I’m linking straight from the publisher because they’re in the UK and they have a lot of books you’ve probably never heard of. Explore, try something new! Anyway, this is my third Tillie Walden review, and in the first two I believe I used the word “masterpiece” unironically. So I guess you could say that I had high hopes for this one. And they were… met? I think? Here, I can’t resist quoting Tillie from her website trying to summarize this book: “This book. Oy. Probably my strangest work, and secretly one of my favorites. Don’t ask me what it means because I definitely don’t know.” And now you want ME to talk about it? Madness, but I guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks. Side note: nobody pays me any bucks, but I’m always willing to take them. This book is significantly shorter than her other two books that I’ve reviewed, but it feels like one of those books that is actually significantly more revealing of the author than they may have intended. Not that I have any inside scoop on that theory, which is why it’s just a theory. This one starts off with a woman on a couch, about to start a therapy session of some kind. We see what she sees, which is an exploration of her life, what she wants out of it (privacy and peace, mostly) and what causes her to leave her comfort zone, which is a relationship and a cat, not necessarily in that order. She tries city life, leaving the quiet city she’s built in her head, but in the end she just can’t take it. The rest of the book, which I’m not going to talk about because I’ve probably already said too much, deals with her unpacking her decision and taking in all of the pros and cons. Among many other things, but that’s why you can read it for yourself. It’s at least partially fiction, because her time in space is mentioned, and there’s a lovely ending that I didn’t see coming. I hope she’s done with her Walking Dead spinoff comic soon, as I’m really curious to see what other original stories she can come up. As for you, if her gigantic graphic novels seemed too intimidating, here’s a shortie just for you! $17
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/21/25
January 21, 2025New review today for The Re-Up #6 by Chad Bilyeu and Juliette de Wit. Hey, I’m writing this review in the past. Is America still a country after the inauguration yesterday or naw?
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Posted by Kevin
Bilyeu, Chad & de Wit, Juliette – The Re-Up #6
January 21, 2025Website (Chad)
Website (Juliette)
See, this is the trouble/joy of reviewing a series issue by issue instead of all collected into a graphic novel. Last time around I was a little down on the comic, or at least a little “meh” about it. But this issue takes a completely unexpected turn, and I’d be willing to bet that that previous issue will still end up being an important piece in the whole story before it’s all said and done. In this issue we get to see a bit of Chad’s early life and how his relationship with his family suffered during the years that he was selling weed. See? Unexpected! Things start off with a kitchen conversation between Chad’s mother and grandmother, and it’s the first time we see something that turned out to be a regular occurrence: Chad’s mother calling him to check in, and Chad ignoring the phone call. As his grandmother’s health declines the need for him to take one of these calls gets more and more urgent, but since he’s not aware of any of this the reader is left wondering if he’s ever going to do the right thing or if he’s unable to focus on anything past dealing. We also see young Chad, who had his problems for sure, but boy is it ever mandatory to slap anybody who says “you people” in that tone. Not that I could hear the tone, but it practically screamed off the page. While this was all going on we also still checked in with his dealings, and his annoyance with the whole thing seems to be increasingly impossible for him to ignore. And there’s a letter column! With thoughtful questions and equally thoughtful answers from Chad! Sorry to get so excited, but you see that kind of thing so rarely anymore. Any doubts I might have had about this series starting to become too predictable are now gone. Now the only question is if I manage to wait until the next con to grab the next issue or just order it straight from him. It’s not available as of January of ’25 (2025 in case AI me is writing these in the distant future), but they’re prolific enough that it’ll most likely be out soon. In the meantime, be like me and get caught up why don’t you? $10 (ish, or you could order the set of the first six issues for $50ish)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/10/25
January 10, 2025New review today for Still Making Your Diary Comics? by Fran Lopez. Also hey, it’s a new year and I’m getting low on review comics once again. I’m going to make a Chicago run one of these days (Quimby’s and Chicago Comics being mandatory stops), but if the weather is going to be this miserable for the entirety of January, I’ll need some comics to get me through. Send me your latest why don’t you?
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Posted by Kevin
Lopez, Fran – Still Making Your Diary Comics?
January 10, 2025
Still Making Your Diary Comics?
Go ahead, admit it: you have a very specific idea of what this comic is going to be like. That’s OK! I did too. But Fran really takes this in a completely unexpected direction, and it ends up being all about that creature he’s holding on the cover. It starts off like you’ve seen these comics start out countless times, as the first strip is about Fran talking himself into doing diary strips again, then we get a few about mundane aspects of daily life, even hitting the “I’m bored” type of strip very early in the comic. Then he literally stumbles across this creature, seemingly on the edge of death, and they quickly have to decide what to do with it. From there they have to deal with what to feed it, what kind of diapers to get for it, and how to hide it from the neighbors, before finally deciding that they’ll need to get out of town entirely. It turns into an odd surviving in harsh conditions/raising a child comic (even though the child is an alien maybe) which, again, kudos. I did not see any of that coming. He also has thin pencil drawings on each page (in the space not filled in by the strip), and each of them end up telling their own story if you’re paying attention. This one was an unexpected blast, which is the kind of thing that makes this whole reviewing hobby of mine still seem fresh and worthwhile 23 years into it. I still have one more of his comics to review, but after two comics I think it’s safe to say that yes, you should check out his stuff, and at this point it’s probably safe to just do a random grab of whichever one looks most intriguing to you. $5
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Posted by Kevin
