April 25, 2013
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Bad Habits #1
So a blind nun, a cranky nun and a hooker nun walk into a bar… This is one of those rare occasions where the potential origin story for these three is almost certainly as interesting as the comic itself. The story here is that there has been a rash of otherwise happy mothers drowning their babies and this special nun squad has been called in from the Vatican to deal with it. I clearly watch too much political news, as the idea that the Vatican would give the womenfolk any kind of power doesn’t strike me as believable, but that is not what most humans are supposed to be thinking about in this fictional tale, and rightly so. Anyway, the nuns notice something that is the same in all of the pictures of the drowned babies and start investigating the anomaly. Again, I couldn’t get over the fact that nobody blinked at the nun in the hooker outfit coming to question them, but that’s still just me. We learn a bit more about what’s going on, there are some great conversations along the way, and things are “to be continued” until the next time around. Oh, and I just now saw the back of the book, which tells us that each of these nuns has a “unique talent” that we haven’t seen yet. It’s a fascinating book and, like I said, I’m damned curious to see how this all came about, even if that’s not supposed to be at the top of my mind. All I can say is that for those of you who have been hoping for a squad of crime solving nuns: your dreams have come true! $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2013
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Fool Girl: Of Monkeys and Masks
If you don’t like this comic then I probably wouldn’t like you if I met you. There, I said it. Maybe I could see a person or two not buying it for that cover, thinking that it was another superhero comic (although her holding a six-pack, not to mention that monkey, should be enough to draw you in). But once you start reading this it’s impossible to keep a smile off your face. This starts off with the heroine of the book crashing down to the sidewalk and interrupting a couple of people having a conversation. They naturally assume that she is there to rob them, she insists that she’s actually a superhero, then drunkenly hits on the female member of the pair. It’s not easy to make a graceful exit from such a thing while hammered, so the rest of the first half of this book is her clambering up a wall, trying to get her monkey to help her up. Without giving too much away I’ll just say that the rest of this book is when they get to the serious drinking (on the page, that is, as it’s pretty clear that drinking happened before the book started), and we learn a bit about Fool Girl and two other “heroes” at the bar. I don’t how well a whole Fool Girl graphic novel would hold up, whether it would get annoying or whether it would end up being the best thing in the world, but this mini is fantastic all by itself. And that last page! That is exactly why everybody should have a monkey. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2013
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Fuzy
Finally, an anthology all about beards! Shame on you, comic universe, for not making this happen up until now. Or if you did and I just missed it, well, forget what I just said. You wouldn’t think that the range of possible beard stories would be all that large, but you would be wrong. Steve Seck starts things off with “The Beard’s Beard’s Beard,” which makes perfect sense when you read it. Let’s just say that it’s all about the beard of a famous actor, the home life of this beard, the beard that he married as a “beard” against his homosexuality, and his lover. I couldn’t get past the question of where exactly a female beard would go on an actual female, especially considering its shape, but it’s probably best to leave that alone. Next up is Baldemar Byars with his tale of growing a beard after heading off to college in 1966, including the panicked reactions of his family and the alarming reactions by some of the anarchists on campus at the time. Jonathan Pekin is up next and he answers the timeless question: in a zombie apocalypse, is the apocalypse itself more traumatic than losing a beard? Sango Imai-Hall shows how awesome a bearded woman warrior could be, and Aaron Cockle shows a long philosophical conversation between two bearded men that might confuse you a bit until you get to the payoff, but it’s worth the ride. Jeff Mumm may have the best story in the collection next (although there are many contenders): a silent tale of a guinea pig and his quest for a beard. It’s done in old-timey animation style, with unexpected, arguably unnecessary and hilarious violence all over the place, and I’m not going to ruin a bit of it for you. Mark Thisse wraps it up with his tale of the missing beard of a magician, and he might have the best title in a bunch of good ones. This is made for bearded people, but even people who can’t grow a beard (most ladies and even some men) should appreciate this chance to see how the other half lives. Well, the other 1/10 maybe, as not that many people really grow beards. $6
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2013
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In The Sounds And Seas Volume 1
Damn you Xeric Foundation! I heard from Marnie at SPACE this year (2013, o comics readers of the future!) that the grant was no longer being given out to comics artists which, and this is putting it mildly, sucks. Really and truly. Sure, they gave it out for 20 years, launching dozens if not hundreds of careers that probably wouldn’t have happened without their help, and they have made the comics world a better place in countless ways… but couldn’t they have just kept going forever? Or better yet: hey you multi-millionaires out there! I know at least a few of you read comics, don’t try to hide it. Why not start up another grant for such things? It wouldn’t take much convincing to get me to quit my job to oversee such a thing, and I’d be willing to do it for the slightly above poverty level wages that I get now! Do it, make the world a better place for art and artists! Oh right, there’s a comic that I should be talking about. The whole Xeric rant did have another point, because Marnie won it for this book and she still has two planned volumes of this series left, so here’s hoping that somebody with some money realizes good work when they see it. Astonishing work really; no sense in selling this short. This is the story of the world and its creation. Sort of. Eh, I can already see that my trying to describe this is not going to go well. The first sections show three people in a circle before and during the act of creation. This is a silent book and a quick read so I’ll keep this all as vague as possible to avoid spoilers. The second part shows people living in this creation and two people in particular. One searches through a series of doorways for three things that he needs while the other oversees and examines what’s in his workshop. I expect the whole thing to come together once the entire book is finished, and it’s always a bit maddening to comment on what is essentially 1/3 of a book, as I’m bound to only have the slightest idea of what I’m talking about. One thing I can tell you is that the art in this book is ridiculously good; her attention to detail puts the word “painstaking” to shame. If she does have a full time job other than comics I have no idea how she does it, unless she’s been working on this for the last ten years. Individual leaves, pieces of tree bark, the various animals she shows in clusters, it’s all impressive as hell. Don’t forget that name, because if it has to come down to a Kickstarter style fundraising effort in a year or so to get the second volume out I will be pestering you all mightily until the goal is met. $12.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2013
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Ghost Castle
I might as well start this one off with my only complaint: I’ve never been a fan of covers of only one color. Granted, your main thought should not be of how your comic would look on a shelf at a comics store, but the question should still be considered. Other than that (meaning “the actual comic”), I thought this was damned near perfect. It’s a mostly wordless tale of a young man who is… OK, it’s not exactly clear what he’s doing. Which is fine! We meet him as he’s bringing a flower to a castle. He gives the flower to the giant beast that is guarding the door, who then proceeds to let him in. As the young man is exploring he hears something begging for help, but in front of that door there’s a very large man in full armor, so our hero takes a good look at the situation and decides to keep going without discovering the source of the pleas. He comes across a clump of flowers, decides to take one to the guard in the hopes of repeating his luck at getting into the castle, and I can’t keep going with this or I’ll ruin all the surprises. Of course it doesn’t all go smoothly or there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell, right? The art is gorgeous; the shadows of those solid blacks really bring out the mysteries of that castle, and you’re right there along with the hero in trying to figure out what could be in them. I was under the impression that this was her first comic for whatever reason, but she has a few more listed on her website, which I’m now really curious to see after reading this. But check this one out first, as it’s a sweet and terrifying little story that is perfect all by itself. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2013
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Full Sanction: Road Trip!
Oh stick figures, there’s no better way to make a comic that shows everybody else that they can make comics too. After all, anybody can draw a stick figure, right? The funny thing is that I’m pretty sure all of these backgrounds were made on a computer, which means that it’s entirely possible that the stick figures were too, which is funny as hell if true. Anyway, this comic is, as you may have guessed, about a road trip. One of our heroes (don’t ask me how you tell two stick figures with identical features apart) gets a message from his carrier pigeon about their getting a job reading comics to kids in Michigan. They set out, have a number of adventures along the way (the number of adventures that will fit into a 12 page book), and hilarity ensues. No really, there are more than a few really funny bits, and for the love of all that is holy don’t forget to flip this thing over and look at that back cover when you’re finished. I’m also not going to ruin the funny books for you, because I already mentioned how long this book is and there’s already a sample page down there. If that doesn’t get you curious, maybe dig around their website a bit, because for real, it’s funny.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2013
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Villains Galore #1
One thing I’m having trouble nailing down lately is perspective in reviewing these things. This comic, for example, is just fine by itself, with some really imaginative writing, solid artwork and more intriguing bits of character development than I’ve seen in one book of this type in ages. On the other hand, the intro makes it clear that this book took 6 years to finish, it’s listed as being printed in Spring of 2012, and there still doesn’t seem to be a second issue out a full year later (somebody please correct me if I’m wrong!). This has all the potential in the world to be a really fascinating series focusing on the happenings of villains in their daily lives, along with the ones who have retired for real and the ones who are looking to get back in the game. But if this ends up being a two or three issue series? I’d have to consider that a failure, or at least as something that didn’t live up to its potential. Better to try and fail then never try at all, right? But hey, we only exist in this moment if you’re feeling all philosophical, so all I have to go on is this single book. We start off with the guy on the cover (Snowball) hypnotizing a guy into stealing some money for him, and from there we go to another character on a motorcycle contemplating his life as a villain. He proceeds to make a fool out of a hero (?) who tries to take him down, and we see another villain (with a hilariously inept method of robbery) try to mug a couple walking down an alley. The rest of the issue is mostly spent in a bar with these characters having conversations with each other, and it’s a decent introduction to all of these characters. It could be better because most of them aren’t given names when they’re introduced and we’re left to figure out their connections to each other on our own, but maybe it’s not the best idea to lay all that stuff out in a first issue anyway. Still, future issues should come with either recaps or character guides, assuming there are future issues, and I’ve already been all over that. This is very much worth a look if you’ve ever been annoyed by the lack of focus on villains in various comics, or if you just like seeing people down on their luck. And wearing costumes. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 19, 2013
No time for reviews today (although next week should be packed to the gills), but I do have to point out a Kickstarter fundraiser that you should all think about supporting. Chris Monday is trying to get the printing costs together for an anthology called My Stupid Raygun, featuring himself, Cassie Phillips, Jed Collins, Lauren Purje, Charlie Touvell, Matthew Presutti, Meagan Alwood-Karcic, Max Wheeler, Nate McDonough, Heather Hively, Nick Perry and Aaron Andrews. He’s hoping to make a ten issue series out of this, featuring artists who are “compelled to make art at every moment that they can.” Sounds like a worthy goal to me, so throw him a few bucks if you can!
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Posted by Kevin
April 18, 2013
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Reptile Museum #1
This right here is a whole pile of potential. I’m always excited/dubious to see another comic that’s supposed to be published on a regular schedule (this one offers subscriptions in the back where it promises 6 issues per year), mostly because I’ve been burned so many times, but hey, I’ll go with cautious optimism this time around. Ignoring all that past history from other artists, this is a completely engaging story that could still go in all kinds of different directions. Things start off with us seeing that the world has been devastated by something or other, apparently with roving gangs with bombs wandering around, as the first thing we see is a clean-up crew taking down an unexploded bomb. From there we see a brief flashback of this same person meeting a small kid 15 years ago, then that same kid coming back to this person after being mysteriously missing for the last 10 years. Explanations are not forthcoming, but we do see some hints as to what he went through. Finally there’s a confrontation between our hero (his name is Pants) and a group of roving muggers? Bandits? Whatever the case (I’m sure there will be more about them later too), you’ll have to read this to see how it’s handled. I have WAY more questions than answers, which is perfect for the first issue in a long series, and you should all buy the first couple of issues from this man to keep him motivated. $5
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Posted by Kevin
April 18, 2013
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The Pilot’s Voyage
Imagination will win out over coherence for me every time. And that’s not to say that this story was incoherent, just that I’m not sure that I understood all of it but, as always, your interpretations may differ. This story all takes place in a fantastic future world (or maybe just another section of space entirely) where a pilot is joining with his living ship for the first time. The training is referenced, as is the need for these two beings to be completely in sync to survive their voyage. This part was inventive as all hell, and I particularly enjoyed the way that the ship spread out tendrils to anchor itself during its voyage into a black hole. The trouble is that this is where things start to get confusing, as the scene shifts to two people who are watching a third person enter a walking dream state. I think I got what they were going for in the long run (although I can’t talk about it here without ruining the surprise), but the way the pages were laid out could have been done a little more clearly. Oh, and fix a spelling error or two (not that there were a bunch of them, but still). There’s more than enough in this book to make it worth a look, at the very least so that you can see his unique interpretation of the concept of a living ship (not to mention some of those dream creatures), so don’t mind my quibbles.
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Posted by Kevin
April 17, 2013
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Cartoon Clouds #1
Hello art school graduates! Here’s a story that was written especially for you. Well, actually I’d guess that the story was written for Joseph, or not for any particular person at all, but it is a story about graduating from art school, so I’m guessing a lot of people can relate to it. Anyway! This one starts off with the main character (Seth) getting his final critique from an art professor. The professor references his own show, suggests that Seth use his student I.D. card while he can still get a discount to see his show, and generally takes every opportunity to make the grading all about himself. Once that’s over Seth has a stoned conversation with a friend, has a nightmare about Indian food, goes to a party that he’d just as soon skip and has several conversations with people that he was trying desperately to avoid. In the background of the party is Allison, a purely platonic friend of Seth’s, and the clear undercurrent that Seth is running out of time to tell her how he really feels before their “real life” starts. Seth is presented various paths that he can take after graduation by these people, some more realistic than others, but is understandably pessimistic about any of his friends earning a living with their art. Art school tropes are punctured, hopes are dashed, a good time is resolutely not had by Seth at any point for very long, but hey, there’s more to come. The art is fantastic and I’m curious to see what happens next, which is the entire point of the first issue in a series. There were a few spelling errors that will continue to baffle me every time I see them (as a spell check takes significantly less time than drawing a single panel on one page), but don’t mind me being a curmudgeon on that. If you can relate to anything I described here then give this a shot, if not but if you still like a good story then I’d also say it’s worth your time. $5
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Posted by Kevin
April 17, 2013
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Pretending You’re Not Crazy
Let’s hear it for depression! Just think of how boring comics would be if the writers were happy all the time. Granted, as a human being you’d rather be happy than sad, but… nope, you’d just rather be happy than sad. This is a series of mostly one or two page strips detailing his descent into depression, hoping that he has hit bottom and his pharmaceutically assisted climb back up. Ryan seems to think that taking anti-depressants is essentially “losing,” as he can’t find his happiness on his own, but I disagree. Take your happiness where you can find it in this life, provided that you aren’t hurting anybody else. Ta-da! All depression is hereby solved! Subjects in here include realizing that he wasn’t really wishing for death, an epically scatterbrained week, some wisdom on playing “the game,” trying to come to terms with depression without drugs, feeling buried under various forms of media, getting buried in “shoulds,” finding the enemy and realizing that he was out of options, trying to work out a system to get a handle on his life, his “quarter-life crisis” (which he says can happen in your 30’s which, mathematically, makes very little sense), trying to blend in with the regular adults at work, and trying to make anti-depressants funny. You can probably still read some of these up at his website if you’d like more samples, but basically this is a thoughtful, engaging series of strips from somebody who is trying to figure out the same thing as the rest of us: how to live a good and happy life. Or at least a happy life.
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Posted by Kevin
April 16, 2013
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Teeth
Have you ever had a moment of terror while you were chomping down on a nut, or taffy, or a piece of popcorn, where you heard what sounds like an unusually loud cracking/crunching noise? Depending on where you were when this happened, you might have had to spend several minutes or even hours unable to completely check your teeth, wondering if you had done yourself any permanent damage, with plenty of time to imagine all sorts of horrible changes that would come to your life because of your shattered tooth/teeth. That particular feeling sums up this comic pretty well. It’s a brisk seven pages of comic, in which we see our hero anxiously checking his teeth in a mirror (using the trick of sneaking up on yourself, walking away and then turning back before quickly checking again), explaining to a friend why he’s acting so strangely, and listening to advice from another friend about his obvious need to live a little. It’s a claustrophobic and creepy little book, and it’s hard to imagine this subject matter being covered any better. No price, and from his website it looks like Jeff is reworking some of his comics, but I’d guess that $2-3 would get you a copy of this one.
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Posted by Kevin
April 16, 2013
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Seasonal #1
It is always tricky to try and deconstruct a breakup. Luckily for us Sarah and Bobbi have decided to lay one out for us, a little bit at a time. Not that we see that right away, as things start off with a random woman exiting her house and we only later learn that it is the woman who was broken up with by our main character before this series started. Or maybe it’s not, as it’s never clearly mentioned, but it would be odd to focus on this random person if that was not the case. Anyway, next we see our hero (Kermit) having an awkward dinner with his dad, trying to decide where he’s going to live. We get a significantly more awkward conversation with his mom, as she’s making out with some hippie in front of him, and her advice isn’t all that useful anyway. Kermit wanders back to his old place of employment, and we get a flashback showing some of the problems that their relationship was having. Only bits and pieces so far, but enough to come to the conclusion that Kermit did a really shitty thing by abandoning this person. Unless he didn’t. Ah, I love reviewing single issues of an ongoing series. The chances that I’m going to be totally wrong/end up looking like a complete doofus are staggering. Well, whatever happens with it, they’re off to a damned intriguing start, with what I’m sure is more emotional pain to come. Hop on for the ride!
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Posted by Kevin
