July 29, 2013
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Look Straight Ahead
Somewhere out there is a human with no attention span who started reading this and gave up on it because they assumed that it would end up being another in a long line of graphic novels about a loser trying to get together with the girl of his dreams in high school. Which would be their loss, as this book has only the barest relationship to those very early pages. This is instead a story of madness, the attempts to deal with it and/or avoid it, and trying to come up with a good definition for mental illness. Jeremy is a kid in high school with few friends, but overall he’s made fun of and has very little luck with the ladies. Well, one lady in particular, who happens to be dating one of his few friends. Jeremy escapes a bit into his dreams and art, but these dreams gradually permeate his waking life until he finally ends up smashing a bunch of glass beakers during his chemistry class. It’s always best if you have your freak-out in high school behind closed doors, but Jeremy does not have that luxury, and he ends up getting sent to a facility where they try to get him back to normal. This is where I get into tricky territory in regards to potential spoilers, so I’ll just say that the rest of the graphic novel deals with his conversations with his demons (literally), the ups and downs of trying to regulate his moods and, above all, the world from his perspective. This is where the book really shines, as we’re immersed in his world and his view of what’s happening to him, along with his own internal logic about his conversations with God and his destiny. He also has to complete this destiny before he dies, because “they” have given him cancer and bugs crawling on his brain. It’s some genuinely terrifying and unnerving stuff, and the arc of it is beautifully done. This is damned near required reading for anybody who has had a friend/relative/acquaintance suffer through mental illness, as you see exactly what Jeremy was going through every step of the way. For a first graphic novel it’s damned near perfect, and I’m intrigued to see what else Elaine comes up with. This was published with help from the Xeric Grant, which is now gone, so I’m curious/nervous to see what replaces it. What, aren’t there any rich and famous people who want to help out with this sort of thing? Didn’t I see a quote from Jenna Fischer (from The Office) on an old Renee French graphic novel? Somebody who knows her should see if she wants to help out with a grant like this, as she definitely has a pile of money from that show. But I’ve wandered very far from the subject. Check out this book, that’s what I was getting at before I derailed myself. It should not be missed.
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Posted by Kevin
July 24, 2013
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First Fight #4
I don’t look at things like the Diamond pre-order catalog (assuming that’s even still a thing), and I don’t know if Bryan’s comics would even be listed in such a thing. But for whatever reason I couldn’t help but think of this being described as “a grown man trains for an MMA fight while losing to everybody but a 15 year old kid.” Accurate, but not at all the whole story. For those of you who haven’t been following this series, Bryan lost his first match, was out of it for three years and decided to get back into fighting. This issue deals with Bryan taking some family members to an MMA event to show them what he was getting into and training with both adults and kids to get himself into fighting shape. I have to say that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me not to check around online to see how this story ends (or at least how it’s progressed if he’s still fighting), mostly because we live in a culture of instant gratification and the production time involved in making and distributing comics is bound to keep him behind real life. With that in mind, it would be helpful if he maybe included a timeline somewhere along the line, although with the events he hasn’t covered yet left out so we can avoid “spoilers.” Of his real life. Maybe “spoilers” is not the right word in this case. Anyway, Bryan is doing the right thing here and taking his time, showing his training and what he’s going through every step of the way. It would be easy for him to put the equivalent of a training montage in here and then just showing his fights, but it’s important to see exactly what goes into an undertaking like this. As a man who’s perpetually not in great shape with periodic bursts of trying to get INTO better shape, I really appreciated his panel when he realized that he couldn’t move the next morning after a particularly tough day of training. I do have one minor quibble: in a story showing how easy it is to do damage to your hand if you hit somebody with your fist, he used the example of Homer Simpson hitting Barney in a bar while Moe stands by. As somebody who’s been watching The Simpsons for the better part of 23 years, I can’t remember such a thing happening. Unless it did, in which case I hope somebody is good enough to remind me of the episode. OK, fine, that isn’t an actual complaint at all, and Bryan probably just wanted to draw some Simpsons characters, which isn’t a crime. This series is still well worth checking out, even if you’re not a fan of fighting and feel squeamish about the whole concept. Believe it or not, the things you’re most squeamish about are also the things that the professional fighters try not to do. Read and be amazed!
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Posted by Kevin
July 23, 2013
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The Index #4: Diogenes
Did the comics community as a whole ever get a ruling on the merits of putting a book out in mini comics form vs. putting it all out at once in a graphic novel? Maybe it’s not a problem that can ever be definitively solved. This series, for example, is a series of philosophical discussions that I’m thinking would flow beautifully as a graphic novel. However, Caitlin hasn’t done a lot of comics before this, so maybe this series will get her the recognition/acclaim/$$$ necessary to get a graphic novel together, while if she had just released this all at once as a graphic novel that wouldn’t have given people several issues to get to love this series. There is no answer! Which is a fine way to attempt to start to review this comic. Segue! Caitlin puts a recap at the start of this one, which is absolutely necessary for anybody who picks this up starting with the fourth issue. John and Susan start off in the burning Library of Alexandria with Otlet taking over the index cards. The two of them instantly start feeling useless, but they deal with it in different ways. Susan wants to go for a walk, John wants to take back control of the situation. We learn about Diogenes and it’s not like anything I said here about the guy would constitute a spoiler, but it’s still better to read all about him and his ways yourself. It’s another madcap adventure into the efficacy of constantly categorizing everything, in this case literally as the library burns down around them. This is one of the smarter series you’re going to see, and if you don’t understand it, yes, that is a personal failing on your part. Nah, kidding, she manages to keep it accessible to everyone. Well, everyone who has a natural sense of curiosity and a desire to understand everything. If that’s you, you’re in luck!
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Posted by Kevin
July 22, 2013
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The Outliers #1
It’s worth taking a minute right away to mention how gorgeous the covers to this book are. Yes, “covers,” as there’s a dust jacket type thing that slips over a silver wraparound cover of what are eventually going to be the Outliers. Which is not a spoiler, as that’s what he says up front, but in this issue we only get to see one of these creatures. Oh hey, I’m jumping ahead of myself. This one opens up with a young boy being forced to get on the “short bus” when his bus has a mechanical problem. He’s riding with another kid who never talks (Tsu), they eventually get into an argument and the bus driver is forced to pull over… but not before he almost runs into the giant leg of a creature that we barely see. The bus crashes, the driver and the talking kid make it out, but Tsu is nowhere to be seen. They make it back to the street to find a giant creature placing the bus back on the road and Tsu chanting some words that seem to be controlling the creature. That would all be alarming enough, but those two are not the only ones who see Tsu’s performance, and these new characters seem to have some decidedly violent ideas for the giant creature and Tsu. From there we get a couple of confrontations, the barest glimpses of what may be going on in the big picture, and a solid setup for what’s still to come. In other words, a damned near perfect first issue. This is one of those times where I’m selfishly happy that small press comics have such a tiny audience, as I have a suspicion that anybody in Hollywood with a brain would snatch this story up in a heartbeat if they knew about it. Instead of getting a compromised big budget version of this story, instead we get the pure story in comic form! Eventually. Unless I’m wrong about somebody in Hollywood finding out about this. Eh, enjoy it while you can, as it’s a genuine blast of a comic. $5
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Posted by Kevin
July 18, 2013
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3-D Pete’s Star Babe Invasion Comics #4
Oh Star Babe Invasion comics, never change. It’s always refreshing to see these retro ladies and read about some of these classic science fiction movies from back in the times when special effects took serious effort to complete (not that the computer stuff is easy on the programmers, but it’s different than the insane amount of time that went into producing stop-motion animation). And for a comic that could easily take one short turn into lewd and creepy, Mike always manages to keep things tasteful and seems to genuinely appreciate the work that these women put into their roles. This one is mostly about Carolyn Munro, who starred in an Italian ripoff of Star Wars called Starcrash (that sounds fantastically cheesy and includes a young David Hasselhoff of all actors), a Sinbad movie and a James Bond movie, among other things. This gives Mike a solid chance to dig into Starcrash, and he joyfully picks apart some of the production problems and ways in which it was obviously lacking in comparison to Star Wars. Hardcore nerds can try and name the characters depicted in the next section to the villains that she played against, but all I could manage was “Jaws” from the James Bond movie, so good luck with that one. Other stories include how quickly computers are going to surpass humans in terms of independent thought, the painstaking process of the special effects of that previously mentioned Sinbad movie, a brief history of Sarah Douglass (the female villain Kryptonian from Superman II) and several full page spreads of either regular pin-ups or what actresses might have looked like in different roles. These comics are always so good-natured that they’re impossible not to like, and this one is no exception. Old and medium-timers, this will give you some serious nostalgia for the good old days (whichever time period applies to you, as we all know that our own preferred period is the best). Young-timers, back in the day they made special effects using actual objects painstakingly placed into position over a period of months or even years just for the sake of one movie. You should look into it! $5
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Posted by Kevin
July 16, 2013
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DemonDust #15
Bernie is on a serious roll lately with his comics. Hell, maybe with the rest of his life too, but I have no way of knowing about that. But he’s putting these DemonDust books out just about monthly, still working on his ridiculously impressive “An Army of Lovers Will Be Beaten” series, AND building a universe for another mini comic series that he’s starting up. Most comics creators would be content with keeping just one of those things going, and Bernie is out there making the rest of you look bad. The only way to make up that ground is to get to work on a series or two yourselves, other comics artists! Anyway, this issue deals with the troubles inherent in trying to create a comic by staring at a blank piece of paper and hoping for inspiration. This leads to a piece of paper that is able to breathe and talk, although seemingly only to ape whatever somebody near it is saying. We see the process by which this paper is made, reflect on the mantra of the paper, and finally get a character revolt about the content of the story. Bernie always ends these books with a text piece on the state of his life/projects/month, just in case you insist that a mini comic that looks this good that still manages to come out monthly is not enough for you. It’s another solid issue, but if you insist on a continuing story I’d recommend his other series. I haven’t read his new one, “The Cosmouse,” but his other series should be read by all humans and you know what? I’m going to recommend his new series without even seeing it. Eventually it’s possible to recognize when somebody just does good work, and I think Bernie has more than crossed that bar.
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Posted by Kevin
July 15, 2013
Hey look, I’m still alive! The cable box came at my new place without the cable modem, and it was a holiday week, so that took forever. Then I was out sick most of last week, which put me not at all in the mood to write comic reviews, or eat, or exist. But now things are back to normal, and if all goes well I should be able to get the usual 4-5 reviews up this week, assuming that I can find all of the comics I had yet to review, as that’s still a problem with the new place. But enough about me, the new review today is for The Unusual Death of Gregory Biggs by Emi Gennis.
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Posted by Kevin
July 15, 2013
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The Unusual Death of Gregory Biggs
You ever have one of those days where you’re not even sure if you’re the same species as other humans? Well, if you’re having one of those today, I advise you to stop reading about this comic now, because the casual inhumanity here is stunning. I actually remember reading about either this guy or a very similar story years ago, but the gist of it is that a young woman and her friend were out on the town and they drank a bit and did a few drugs. One of the women tried to drive home, a man was walking along the interstate very late and night, and she ended up hitting him. That would be bad enough, but it’s the kind of thing that probably literally happens every day. But hey, that would mean that the “unusual death” title was incorrect, and that is not the case. Gregory ended up stuck in the windshield, as a very unfortunate human dart. The first reaction of the driver was to try and pull him out of the windshield and then drive away, which is horrific enough, but at least then the guy might have lived through it. As it was he was too heavy for her to lift, so she just drove home with him stuck in the windshield, parked the car in her garage and had sex with her boyfriend. As this guy was pleading for help and slowly bleeding to death! She eventually told her boyfriend, they got him out of the windshield (this was the next morning and Gregory was dead) and they dumped his body in a field, as they wanted his family to find him so that they could bury him. I’ve probably said too much already, but this is such a macabre story that I couldn’t help it. The rest of the comic deals with the events after they dumped his body, how they were eventually discovered and what ended up happening to the people involved. I can be an ultra liberal squish on sentencing for crimes, but this lady is as clear of an example of a sociopath as I’ve ever seen and it would be absolutely insane if she was ever allowed to be a free woman again. Emi really seems to have found her niche with these types of stories (and the occasional Spaz, of course), and there are certainly more than enough out there to keep her busy for years, lucky for us. But hey, if you do find yourself walking home along an interstate at 3 in the morning one day, do what I do: if at all possible, walk on the other side of the guard rail. That way they at least have to really want to hit you…
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Posted by Kevin
June 26, 2013
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Tortilla #3
Have I ever mentioned my inevitable first reaction whenever I get a comic with a text story in it? Invariably, it’s “huh, this probably would have made a good/great (depending on the quality of the story) comic.” Which is odd, as I read plenty of novels and books of short stories. But hey, if it’s in the middle of a book of comics, it makes total sense, right? Anyway, Jaime has been on a bit of a roll lately, and he keeps that going here. Things start off with another chapter from his upcoming “Turk Street Serenade” graphic novel, and he’s wisely going to stop putting those chapters in his comic now, as why give away the whole thing for free? Well, not free, but you know what I mean. This chapter deals with him having a shitty day (in more ways than one) at work and his confrontation with a jerk. I can say no more, but it’s always funny to see assholes get their due. Next is the text story I mentioned before dealing with Jaime’s lifelong troubles with math, going back to his early days in middle school and the methods that his teachers used to get him to learn. Well, teaching him wasn’t really their goal, as he lays out in detail, but they seemed to think that cruelty could maybe do it all by itself. Finally there’s a story told from the perspectives of two very different people up until their eventual meeting. It’s another solid mini, and to be fair I do get why Jaime would do a text story instead of a comic about his math troubles: it would have been a lengthy and complex comic and hey, it’s not like him writing this story prevents him from ever making it into a comic. Check it out, and I’m really looking forward to him completing that graphic novel. $3
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Posted by Kevin
June 21, 2013
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Monkey Squad One #12
What a perfect comic to read on a Friday afternoon. Have you been following this thoroughly entertaining series for long? Maybe you find yourself a bit confused by the various plot twists and/or other realities and the constantly increasing cast of characters? Yeah, throw all that out the window. This is the last part of the current three part story, and Doug has a tendency to really bring the action in those situations. He didn’t disappoint this time around, as there’s all kinds of mayhem and explosions in here. And important story elements, don’t get me wrong, as one major character gets killed and the status of another one is in serious doubt, but the star of this issue was the non-stop action. The end of the last issue showed us the squidface Nazis, and three cheers for fictional Nazis for being so readily killable. Seriously, you can get away with just about any type of violence if it’s done to Nazis. Or zombies. Eh, at this point they’re the same thing. Anyway, getting into a lengthy review breaking down every bit of this would spoil the fun, but if you’re looking for a good time in comics, buy this issue already. Technically you should get at least the two issues that came before this to complete the story, but if you’re looking for pure mayhem this issue alone should do it for you. $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
June 20, 2013
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California #3
In this issue: shit goes down! There, I’m experimenting with shorter reviews, what with everybody using Twitter and willingly confining themselves to 140 characters per message. Eh, that’s cheating, as I’m assuming people come here to get a little more detail out of their reviews. What’s that? You say it’s mostly just to kill time at work? Fair enough. It’s impossible to say that this is Rob’s strangest comic, because there’s quite a competition for that title, but it’s steadily gaining on his other entries. In this issue Billy confronts Jake in the basement of the church and gets the barest glimpse of what exactly is happening. But when Billy wakes up the next day he discovers that everybody except for the preacher at the other (otherwise abandoned) church has disappeared, he has to go back to his friend from the first issue for advice. And that is when shit goes down. My policy against spoilers has rarely hurt more, but if you think that cover is a rare abstract Rob Jackson cover, nope. That happens in the book, even though you most likely have no idea what’s happening just by looking at it there. Things are “to be continued” again, although I’m guessing from the pace of the story that he meant to say “to be concluded,” but what do I know? This is another impressive series from a man who has built up his own personal library over the last 8 (or so) years, and you should damned well be reading it.
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Posted by Kevin
