James McShane Selected Comics 2003-2008
Any Kramer’s Ergot readers out there? Of course there are, there are only so many decent anthologies in the world and you’re reading this website. There aren’t that many degrees of separation in the small press comics world. If you are, you’ve heard of James McShane before. If you’re like me and have enjoyed Kramer’s Ergot but have a terrible memory, well, it’ll basically be new to you. This is a selection of “bests”, with a few familiar themes repeating. The non-repeating stuff involves a mundane day out with a friend, a very handy guide on how to do book or zine binding yourself, and an extended (mostly silent) day called Peck. James seems to have invented a new form of diary strip (or at least used one I’d never heard of) where he draws his day in 10 minute increments. There are three of these pieces in here, and you could make a strong argument that that’s too many in a collection of only his best comics. It’s fascinating at first, then painfully mundane, then more than just a bit repetitive. Also I don’t think it takes 20 minutes to shave, or if it does I’ve been doing it wrong for years. Still, it is an interesting concept, one that I hope other artists pick up on after seeing this. Finally there are a few strips with The Sleepy Creatures, mostly formless pets that seem to do nothing but sleep. I’m curious how these strips first appeared, as the repetition of the title throughout the story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for something that was released all at once. There’s not a whole lot to the creatures (as they mostly only sleep), but the interactions between their owners and their eventual disillusionment with the creatures is fascinating. All told it’s not a bad pile of strips, I was apparently just looking for something with more “zazz” today, so don’t mind my grumpiness. There’s nothing wrong with something that deals with the mundane as well as this does. $5
