New review today for Robbie and Bobby Volume 2: Bottomless Coffee and Candy Cigarettes by Jason Poland. Also, I seem to have lost my phone, so if I’m not getting back to you, there’s your explanation right there.
Update for 8/20/13
August 20, 2013
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Posted by Kevin
Poland, Jason – Robbie and Bobby Volume 2: Bottomless Coffee and Candy Cigarettes
August 20, 2013
Robbie and Bobby Volume 2: Bottomless Coffee and Candy Cigarettes
So let’s say that you’re somebody who read the first volume of this series and enjoyed it, as you are a human with a sense of humor. If you were tragically born without a sense of humor, I meant no disrespect, but that’s about the only way that I can picture somebody reading this without enjoying it. Anyway, let’s say that that’s true, but still you’re wondering if you should pick up this second volume instead of, say, stopping at a Starbucks and getting coffee a few times this week. Skip the coffee, buy the comic. Simple enough? This is another collection of strips with subject matter that’s all over the place, and once again it’s funny as hell. That’s assuming that hell is a funny place, which is the assumption I always go with. There’s also a little girl who pops up very occasionally, so the cast is expanding ever so slightly. Not that the stories need it, but she is still a welcome addition. Subjects include (and I’m going to do this in the vaguest way possible to keep away spoilers) flying toasters, puppy cones, God’s grenade launcher, a glitter vaccine, book fights, Bobby getting lost in a supermarket, a pizza car, the ghost in the machine, sad games, fart stencils, hammock revenge, a benevolent tumor, a selfish monster and ghost dinosaurs. That’s a small sampling of the many strips in here, which once again includes a few strips from other artists, and they seem to have universally captured the magic of this strip. I’ve said it many times, but collections of strips like these often trend towards being mediocre, usually for the sheer number of strips involved, as some of them are bound to be stinkers. This has not been the case for either volume of this series, as damned near every strip either had me laughing, vaguely creeped out of both. Read this and laugh! $10 (ish)
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/19/13
August 19, 2013New review today for With Only Five Plums Book 2: This Dark Age by Terry Eisele and Jonathon Riddle. Yep, I’m starting your week off with what will probably be the most grim book of a trilogy about the Holocaust.
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Posted by Kevin
Eisele, Terry & Riddle, Jonathon – With Only Five Plums Book 2: This Dark Age
August 19, 2013
With Only Five Plums Book 2: This Dark Age
This is the second of three volumes, so you might want to at least read the review for the first volume before reading this. Or, ideally, read the actual first volume. Anyway, this time around Anna tells the tale of her life immediately after getting separated from her baby, completely unsure about what has happened to the rest of her family. She mentions that she probably wouldn’t have had the strength to go on if she had known what happened to them at this point, so I can once again assume that it’s not going to end well for them. She talks about the experience on the train, packed in like cattle and unsure of where they were going and what would happen to them when they got there, and of how the older women would sometimes tell stories to pass the time. They eventually get to the concentration camp of Ravensbruck, and she again goes into excruciating detail as to what happened to her when she arrived. This volume actually tells most of the story of the war, as we see her trying to survive her three years in this camp, the various sections of the camp and how people would change when (or if) they came back from them, and her eventual march to an unknown location and fate. There’s even her moment at the end when a decent fictional story would have the heart to end on a happy note… but this, by and large, is not fictional. I still have the third volume yet to go, which contains the details of what happened to Anna’s tiny home town and her family, but I’m going to have to wait a few weeks to work up the nerve to go back into this world. No matter how many times I see them it’s always profoundly depressing to read the details of this era, as it’s unpleasant to think about just how close to savagery humanity is at any given moment and how little it takes to push us over that edge. Not that I’m saying that everybody would have behaved like the Germans in WWII, but there have been more than enough other atrocities committed in the years since that’s it’s clearly not that big of a leap for humans to make. Terry Eisele and Jonathan Riddle do a remarkable job of telling this story, as they’re perfectly content to let Anna’s words speak for themselves while still painting an uncomfortably vivid picture of exactly what she went through. This deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, so please give it a look. $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/16/13
August 16, 2013It may have been another short week around here, but at least I’m leaving you with something to savor over the weekend: Pennsylvanians #1 by Bart King.
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Posted by Kevin
King, Bart – Pennsylvanians #1
August 16, 2013
Pennsylvanians #1
Rarely do I just want to make delighted girlish squealing noises after reading a comic, but that’s my main reaction to this one. This is a genuinely original involving a subject that I was starting to think wasn’t even possible to make original any more, but Bart has really delivered here. I’ll try to contain my enthusiasm for a bit and describe the story to you, but know that I’ll probably have a stupid grin on my face for the rest of the day after reading this. It starts off with a couple having a conversation about what they’ll do if they “get one.” Several of their neighbors already “had one,” after all, and they should be prepared in case it happens to them. While watching the news (which is as close as we get to learning the extent of what exactly is happening) the dog of this couple starts barking, and they discover that one of “them” has arrived. This is the moment where a lesser comic would have had the couple freaking out, or panicking, or generally making a spectacle of themselves. But in this comic the moment is met with a “umm…” and “so…” from the couple. This “them” that I’m talking about, in case you haven’t figured it out so far (or can’t tell what he was going for on that cover) is an alien. These aliens have been coming into the homes of people, silently observing both the people and their surroundings, seemingly spending large amounts of time on insignificant objects. These aliens are also both intangible and imperturbable, something that can be extremely unnerving for the people being observed. I don’t want to spoil a single thing about this as everything about it was such a delight, but the slow burn of this series is going to be a joy to behold. The subtle changes of expression on the faces, the effect when the guy’s arm passes through the alien… I’m going to start describing everything if I don’t watch out. Buy this and enjoy, that’s all I have to say. Or you could read the whole thing on his website, but if enough of you do that that he gives up on finishing this series I’ll hunt you all down and punch you, so don’t forget to give the man some cash for this thing. No price listed, but I’m guessing $5.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/15/13
August 15, 2013Sorry, this week got away from me in a hurry. New review today for Fear of Flowers by Jason Viola.
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Posted by Kevin
Viola, Jason – Fear of Flowers
August 15, 2013
Fear of Flowers
I had to double check the name to be sure, but yep: this is the same Jason Viola who does the Herman the Manatee series. It seems like quite a leap to go from that to a comic with three stories/poems about different types of flowers, but hey, why the hell not? You’re not the boss of Jason and he can make comics about whatever he damned well pleases. Although more of those comics would not be frowned upon. Anyway, this is his take on three flowers, and I learned something new about each of them. There’s the sunflower, kadupul and orchid. I’d tell you the new stuff I learned about each of them, but this is a short mini and that would pretty well eliminate the need for you to read it, not to mention take away the joy of discovering this stuff for yourself. You may be thinking “I don’t care about flowers at all,” and I’d be right there with you, but you never know when this information might come in handy. Maybe your knowledge of the intricate composition of a sunflower is just what you need to wow that annoying boss at work, or to seal the deal with somebody you’re trying to date, or possibly save the world when you’re given a pop quiz about flowers by invading aliens. Knowledge is power! $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/12/13
August 12, 2013New review today for Madtown High #3 by Whit Taylor. Why are people forced to work in August? I’ll never understand it.
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Posted by Kevin
Taylor, Whit – Madtown High #3
August 12, 2013
Madtown High #3
This series is getting better all the time. The first two issues may have suffered a bit from “you had to be there-itis” (not a real illness), but this one seemed more universal in its problems. And hey, it’s not a bad thing that she focused so much on things that happened to her in those first two issues, as she is writing these stories about her high school years, but this issue just felt really well-rounded. Does that make sense? Eh, probably not without you reading this, and quite possibly not even then. Anyway, subjects include Whit watching her biology teacher go through a midlife crisis (depression, starting to crawl out of it, getting called out by the principal for the manner in which he was crawling out of it, then vanishing completely), dances and the cliches that happened at each of them (with a great final panel), how they fought back against a Christmas tree that they were forced to put up with near their lunch table (disgusting and hilarious), the mystery of a “poo” on a window and the various people who probably should have cleaned it up at some point, and the fake crush of all the ladies in her group on a particularly creepy teacher and how they used his picture on a birthday cake. This issue is full of funny bits, and once again you’re bound to relate to/cringe at a few of these stories and how they bring you back to your own time in that prison/wonderful early life journey. Oh, and they’re mostly up on her website if you’re too cheap to get the actual comic, but hey, why not throw a few bucks her way?
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/9/13
August 9, 2013New review today for The Golem of Gabirol by Olga Volozova. Happy weekend everybody!
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Posted by Kevin
Volozova, Olga – The Golem of Gabirol
August 9, 2013
The Golem of Gabirol
This is one of those comics that could have used a bit more room to breathe. I don’t mean that in terms of the length of the story, but more in the sense that this should have been the size of a magazine so that the reader had a bit more room to take in all of the little details, because there were bunches of them. The panels telling the story were surrounded (and, in some cases, invaded) by half-seen images of hidden people, leaves, smoke, and a mountain, among many other things. I’ve gotten ahead of myself here. This is the story of man in the 11th century who fell for a woman, but the woman ended up marrying another man. The man who was spurned (although it seemed like he never really even made his feelings known) made a golem with the face of the woman he lost and eventually even made little golem children. This did not go over well with the authorities of the time, but I shouldn’t say much more about it to avoid spoilers. This comic also introduces the notion that the original people who were here were erased when god made the world again, but they live on in the shells of peanuts. Go get a few peanut shells and look at them and you’ll see that a case for that could be made. My only problem with this story was the sheer amount of imagery everywhere, which is pretty much never my complaint, but in this case I had some trouble following exactly where the dialogue was heading (physically, not in terms of the story), which left me scratching my head a few times when something dramatic happened. As always, the most likely explanation is that it’s a failing on my part, but I still think that larger pages could have helped this out. It’s still a fascinating story, and if you’re one of those people who love finding hidden tidbits in art you’re fall in love with this comic. $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/7/13
August 7, 2013New review today for DemonDust #17 by Bernie McGovern, who is a comics producing machine these days.
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Posted by Kevin
McGovern, Bernie – DemonDust #17
August 7, 2013
DemonDust #17
That’s right, the cover show the Karate Kid in space. No, the comic does not build a complicated story explaining how he got into space, but is instead a dreamy comic about letting your mind expand, pondering your existence and trying not to overthink things. Can you relate to that? Sure you can. Bernie is still using this comic to experiment with whatever is most in his thoughts in any given month, but promises in his afterward to get back to more conventional narratives in future issues. For this one you get to spend a little time thinking about the big questions in the world, or at least the best way to go about not thinking about those questions. Three cheers for him keeping this up, and how he finds the time between this and his other projects I’ll never know. But he is making some of you slackers who only put out one book every few years look bad. Are you going to stand for that? Better get to work on your next three projects to show him that you can do it too…
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/6/13
August 6, 2013New review today for Optik Noize #4 by Matthew McDaniel, and if anybody knows his current website, please let me know!
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Posted by Kevin
McDaniel, Matthew – Optik Noize #4
August 6, 2013Website?
Optik Noize #4
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a comic with no clue as to who produced it or how to get in touch with them, but Matthew managed. That’s right, I already know who he is, but that’s only because I’ve been reading his comics for years. His website also appears to be down, so I’m not entirely sure how you’d get a copy of this if you’re interested, but I’ll do a review of it anyway because maybe you’ve also been reading his comics for years and have a good way to get ahold of him. I missed the third issue of this series, but he seems to be telling a continuing story, as the intelligent dog from the second issue is still around. Anyway, this time around Mark has decided to make a few clones of himself to help with an equation that’s been troubling him. No big deal, it just has the potential to solve basically every problem. That sounds a little too all-encompassing to me, not to mention vague, but I’ll let it slide. Mark decides to go to see a movie with Julie and to leave his clones to do the work, the clones run into some troubles and decide that they need another pair of hands, and they find out the hard way that it’s not a good idea to clone a clone. Some tricky moral questions get asked and dropped and a nemesis is still teased at the end of the book. Matthew has done a great job of keeping this a fun series over the years, although I could do with a bit more character development at this point. Still, it might be heading in that direction after the events of this issue, or it might already be there but I don’t know about because I’ve missed a couple of issues. Either way it’s still worth checking out. Provided that you can find a copy, that is, and I’ll update this with new contact information if I find anything out. That includes the price, obviously, so I’ll guess… $4!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/5/13
August 5, 2013New review today for Nurse Nurse by Katie Skelly. In other news, I feel good about getting more than three reviews together this week. Well, maybe not “good.” Cautiously optimistic, maybe.
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Posted by Kevin
Skelly, Katie – Nurse Nurse
August 5, 2013
Hooray for this being a completed series! Which is probably an odd thing to say, granted, but I saw the first issue for this ages ago and was afraid that it was one of many series that just sort of petered out. Not so! This story is set far into the future (3030, to be exact) at a time when nurses are being sent out to help out with various illnesses that colonists are coming down with while settling different planets. Earth has long since had a population explosion, so they’re forced to take some risks in keeping humanity growing. Why this constant expansion is always assumed to be a good thing is rarely explained in science fiction stories, but don’t mind an old crank like me, as that has nothing at all to do with this story. Anyway, the main nurse is Gemma, and her fellow nurses sabotage her right off the bat when they get to Venus. On Venus she discovers a mysterious gooey substance that comes from butterflies and seems to be causing people to hallucinate/fall in love with each other. She eventually gets reassigned to Mars, but a butterfly sneaks onboard her ship as she leaves, causing all kinds of problems. This was an eight issue series, but apparently the eighth issue was never released, so even if you were awesome enough to keep up with this series you still don’t know how it ends. Other things that I can mention without spoiling anything probably? Space pirates! Clones! Pandaface! Shooting the leg off a guy! Meeting the most popular band in the universe! A malfunctioning ship! There, that should be vague enough for you to not know what I’m talking about. This series is a pile of fun, especially because the small press comics world does damned little in the way of smart science fiction (or any science fiction at all, really). More like this please, and Katie has left herself a little room for more of these stories, so maybe if everybody reading this buys this book that’ll make it an easy call for her. $15
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/1/13
August 1, 2013New review today for Passage by Tessa Brunton. Have I settled into a lazy summer schedule of three reviews a week? We’ll find out together tomorrow, when I either do or do not review another comic. Exciting!
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Posted by Kevin
Brunton, Tessa – Passage
August 1, 2013
Passage
Hey artists, I have a rare rhetorical question for you all that I actually wouldn’t mind an answer to: when somebody says that they thoroughly enjoyed your book/comic/whatever, is it an insult or a compliment for them to say that what they really wanted was to see more? I’d think of that as a compliment, but maybe it’s an insult to the idea of your comic as a complete thing by itself. Either way, and with no insult intended, the only thing I didn’t like about this book was that it felt like a part of a larger whole. Not that it wasn’t complete by itself, it just felt like this could have been 32 pages in the middle of a graphic novel and it would have fit in just fine. This is Tessa’s story of her life when she was roughly 12 and a rite of passage that had been planned for her older brother. Her brother (Finn) had been retreating from the family more and more as he got older, so his dad and a few of his friends wanted to get together to throw him a sort of rite of passage ceremony. Tessa shows brilliantly how her parents had given up many of the trappings of a conventional life years ago, wanting only to exist in their own space with their family, so they thought it was important to let Finn know that his gradually pulling away from them was OK, but they also thought it was important to give him a few pieces of advice before he got too far away. It’s tricky to describe the narrative of this comic, as it bounced around a bit between Tessa and Finn and their parents effortlessly, but it never felt scattered or unfocused. Tessa is becoming a woman but is still forced to deal with her mother’s habit of treating her like a child, their dad had quit his job and loved goofing around with his friends (but still seemed to be an attentive and focused father from what we see here), their mom had her quirks like painting in her studio without showing the art to anybody but was also incredibly devoted to her children, and Finn had moved his stuff into a gazebo in the backyard to highlight his separation from his family. This comic comes down to being able to recognize the times when you’re effortlessly happy and to enjoy them while they’re happening, and who can’t get behind that? The art is layered and complex, far behind the abilities of a non-drawing human like me to fully document but trust me, there is plenty going on in every panel. Her two page spread of her house growing up is a real thing of beauty. There are plenty of tidbits in here that make me want to see the rest of the story, although at least one of those tidbits suggests that she may not be comfortable telling any more. Either way this is a hell of a comic, and looking around online I see that it was rightly nominated for a few awards. I can also see that she’s working on a longer story and has a few older comics available, so there’s still plenty to look forward to from her/go back and read. $6.50
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Posted by Kevin
