New review today for Relics by Whit Taylor and Oak & Linden #1 by Pat Barrett. I do have proof that the Google Checkout thing is working, just in case anybody out there was having problems trying to order comics through my store.
Update for 5/8/12
May 8, 2012
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Posted by Kevin
Taylor, Whit – Relics
May 8, 2012
Relics
This comic deals with a theme that a lot of people can relate to: grabbing for a chunk of stability in a world when it seems like everything around you is going to shit. Whit has had a tough year, with (according to her list) her grandpa dying from “a medical mistake in a routine procedure,” her cat of 19 years dying, her parents getting divorced, and her being forced into a career path that she didn’t really want due to the crappy economy. Her solution was to take her boyfriend to the Museum of Natural History in New York, which is where she would often go on field trips as a child. They take their time going through every part of the place, talking about the various things that they’re seeing and what they think might have happened to them. It’s also made clear to them multiple times that the things that we worry about so obsessively don’t seem like that big of a deal when compared to the vastness of the universe, or how the dinosaurs were wiped out in the blink of an eye, or even the many different kinds of minerals found underground. In a way it’s a trip to make sense of the world, but in another way it’s Whit coming to terms with the utter lack of sense in the world. Or that’s my interpretation anyway, your opinions will no doubt vary. It’s a hell of an impressive book regardless, as she avoids the pat answers that sometimes accompany stories of this nature. She also mentioned in her note with the books that she’s taking time off from auto-bio stuff for a while to focus on other things, and that sentence always sets off alarm bells in my head. If she means it literally, sure, it’s sometimes a good idea to get away from the whole genre for a bit, or to try your hand at telling a mystery or a science fiction story. But she’s too damned good at this for that to mean that she’s going to focus on her real job for a while instead. Not that I have any say in the matter, but she’s been increasingly onto that elusive “something” with her comics, and I’d hate to see her stop now. Hey, maybe if everybody reading this buys this comic she’ll change her mind! It’s worth a shot. She still doesn’t list any prices, but this thing is huge, so… $6?
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Posted by Kevin
Barrett, Pat – Oak & Linden #1
May 8, 2012
Oak & Linden #1
I should mention right off the bat that I reviewed the fourth issue of this series a few weeks back and that it’s just about never a good idea to go and review earlier comics from an artist after you’ve already read their later, more polished work. Right away there’s an element of “why weren’t you as good at the beginning as you were after you’d had a few years to polish your skills” about the whole thing that’s just not fair to an artist. That being said, the guy did send me a whole pile of his comics, so what am I going to do, not talk about them? And with that kind of set-up you’d probably think that this comic was horrible, when instead it was just mixed, which is what you can expect with most first issues anyway. There are four stories in this one, and I did like how Pat listed them all on the cover. First up is a piece about a time traveling Abraham Lincoln, taken from when he was a young man in 1832. If you like zipatone then you’ll love this one, but in terms of a story it’s pretty thin. Still, there are a few funny bits if you like over-the-top hyperbole between two brightly colored foes. Next up is a story “from the future” about a hip-hop robot and his rapid rise and fall. Hey, such things would be a bit of novelty act, even in the future. Another OK story, but again nothing to really fully hold your interest, unless you’re extremely interested in a hypothetical hip-hop robot in the future. Next is easily the best story in the comic about a petrified girlfriend. Well, she doesn’t start out that way, but she’s increasingly telling her boyfriend that she’s cold and that he has to warm her up soon, but the boyfriend gets to her too late and she ends up petrified. Hey, anybody who has ever dated somebody who’s extremely susceptible to cold has wondered if that was possible. The boyfriend takes advantage of the situation to finally show her Star Wars, but years pass and things move on for the boyfriend. I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers but I did thoroughly enjoy that story and apparently it was continued in future issues. Finally there’s a silent piece about a man with an old film projector for a head and his dream about playing in a baseball game. I did like the ending for that one, but overall it was another OK story. So if I had read this one first (instead of #4), would I have been so “meh” about it? Probably not; the potential of both the art and the writing is pretty obvious here, and we already know that he put it all together a few issues down the road. If the man becomes a small press comics god then you might want a copy of this one to see where he came from, if not then it looks like there are plenty of better, later comics of his available, so maybe you should stick with those. $6
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/7/12
May 7, 2012New review today for Habitat #2 by Dunja Jankovic. I only have time for one review today, but should be able to get at least a few double review days in this week. Just not today…
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Posted by Kevin
Jankovic, Dunja – Habitat #2
May 7, 2012
Habitat #2
There are a fairly large number of comics out there that deal with the various hardships of work and the problems associated with jobs, but this is one of those rare comics that reminds you of an awful fact: we don’t all get to relax at home. In this comic, that’s mostly because all of the little things of life add up to a picture of madness that should get just about anybody down. Hey, what can I say, screw reviewing an upbeat comic on a Monday. Oh, and this is a sequel to Dunja’s “Department of Art,” in case you were looking for the first issue of this series. The first one dealt (obliquely) with life at work, this one just deals with life and all of the seedy bits involved with it. As it’s damned near impossible to summarize this quickly, I’ll just mention some bits in it and you can put it all together in your head. There’s the horror of the landlady (and her quivering chihuahua) demanding the rent as soon as our hero walks in the door, a conversation about how the rent is collected (apparently tenants are required to collect rent from other tenants based on location), getting a song stuck in your head, being unable to fully submerge in a bathtub, and then things break down completely, as our hero is transformed while in the bathtub into… ah, I’ve said too much. Another notable bit of the story is the focus on the creepy crawlies in the apartment complex, as we see the secret lives of mice (turns out that there’s a lot of fucking involved) and follow an ant for a bit while he’s going about his day. The second half of the book is altogether different, and I’m sure you’ll be delighted to discover that difference for yourself. I’m not going to mention the ending at all, but the fact that this will still be continued into another issue blew my mind. I’m not sure how much further it’s possible for this sad sack to devolve (or evolve?), but we’re apparently going to get a chance to find out. Don’t worry if you missed the first issue, this one stands up just fine on its own. And it’s bigger than the first one, so you get a more substantial sense of unease this time around. $9
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/4/12
May 4, 2012New reviews today for Freddy Stories by Melissa Mendes and Trigger #2 by Mike Bertino. Say, these double reviews aren’t that hard. If I’m still unemployed next week maybe I’ll do this again. Hey, a crappy economy may be bad for me, but if it gets more comic reviews out into the world then it can’t be all bad, right? Also, RIP MCA.
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Posted by Kevin
Bertino, Mike – Trigger #2
May 4, 2012
Trigger #2
There aren’t many comic artists out there who could make a story about a man with sentient pants and have it be downright moving. The first story in this comic is called “Goo Pants,” but it’s not going where you might be thinking. These pants were given to our hero when he was eight by a hippie aunt, who claimed that they were made by elves. She choked on a “vegan chicken bone” before he was ever able to get a real explanation out of her, so our hero grew up with these pants. As they were magic pants they fit him no matter what, you see. Anyway, the pants became sentient when he (or anyone else) rubbed them, leading to more than a few awkward situations, and he tried to get rid of the pants a few times over the years but was never able to go through with it. Finally the man gets a job and is trying to make a good impression when somebody spills coffee on his pants, and things go quickly downhill from there. That ending is a thing of beauty, as it takes it into those few precious moments past the usual fade to black at the end of a story to show the toll this has taken. Next is the second part of his “Grown Ups” story, which will one day be collected into a graphic novel that makes Mike famous. I’m just putting that on the record now, so that all of the riches coming from accurately making that prediction will be mine, all mine! In this installment the teacher is still trying to connect with his students while combating relentless cynicism from other teachers about his prospects. The students are also a little wary of a teacher taking so much of an interest in them, and the teacher seems to be causing far more problems than he’s fixing so far. More to come in this story, so who knows overall, but it’s gotten off to a hell of a promising start. Finally there’s “The Biggest Banger!,” a science fiction story that deals with a civilization trying desperately to find a habitable planet as their ship slowly breaks down. Also starring humans as disobedient pets! There’s plenty of mayhem and gore in this one, just in case you were lulled into a sense of normalcy by the previous two stories. Once again Mike has put out a fantastic comic, and once again all of you people should buy it. There’s something in here for everyone to love, after all, and even if you somehow hate all of the stories in here (which could only be caused by your lack of a soul, I’m sorry to say), than nobody in the world could hate the full page drawings that bookend this comic. Spend your $5, you won’t regret it!
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Posted by Kevin
Mendes, Melissa – Freddy Stories
May 4, 2012
Freddy Stories
Is it OK to admit that I don’t really like kids? That’s a blanket statement, sure, but I mostly don’t care for the ones that I’ve met (as an adult, obviously). That being said, if all kids were like Freddy in this comic, I’d probably be surrounded by a gaggle of the little critters as we speak. Well, technically if they were like Freddy then they’d be off entertaining themselves and I’d still be doing exactly the same thing that I am now, which sounds fine to me. This graphic novel tells the story of Freddy, her uncle, her mother, her neighbor upstairs, her neighborhood friend and her dog. While there are doubts with some “all ages” comics on whether or not it would be appropriate for little kids, make no mistake: this comic would be be PERFECT for little kids. The world of grown-ups is told from a decidedly child-like perspective (and that’s actually a huge compliment, as it’s not an easy place for most adults to access creatively) and everything pretty much works out for Freddy in each individual story. Oh, and those stories include an average night with her uncle, her being a kid around a group of old men who are sitting outside and smoking (maybe my favorite piece of the book, as I loved how that entire group was unwilling to break that stony masculine silence to acknowledge her insanity), a day at the beach (where she never removed her hoodie, even in the water), the simple logic involved in seeing a series of dug holes and offering to help dig more (without having the slightest idea of or interest in what they were for), finding a star in one of the holes and trying to get it back into the sky, sneaking into her uncle’s apartment to borrow some flour while he’s sleeping (only to wake up startled when she slams the door to leave), and I’m in danger of just telling you all of the stories here, when really you should be discovering them for yourself. If your general opinion of kids is similar to mine, you might not enjoy these stories. You probably will, but I’m well aware of the fact that there are depths of cynicism to which I still haven’t sunk. I’m pretty damned cynical, but these stories were just so sweet and heartfelt that I may have to go read some political blogs for a few hours to get some of that cynicism back. For people with kids, this is an excellent “gateway comic” to try and get them interested in the genre so that you can someday show them the more adult comics. She has a ton of mini comics available too, but give this one a try. It’s a hard book not to love. $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/3/12
May 3, 2012New reviews today for Clam Juice #1 by Carrie Q. Contrary and Monkey Squad One #9 by Doug Michel. All this time reviewing this week and I still haven’t gotten to any of the many new graphic novels that I have laying around. Coming soon, I guess…
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Posted by Kevin
Michel, Doug – Monkey Squad One #9
May 3, 2012
Monkey Squad One #9
It was damned tempting, but I managed to not sample the page that revealed what that giant shadow was from the cover. Which, come to think of it, makes no sense at all with the characters depicted, but hey, Marvel and DC cheat with their covers all the time, so why not the little guys? This is the final chapter in the three part zombie story, and I have to say that it has a disappointing number of zombies in it. I guess the last two issues were chock full of them, so a little drop-off was to be expected. Things start off here with the team dealing with the fact that Logan was bitten at the end of the last issue. Then the boss of the group reveals that he has had secret super powers all along by throwing the other monkey squad at the nuclear missile that was heading towards them. The conclusion to that makes no logical sense whatsoever, he says while reviewing a comic about a zombie invasion that came about when the saddest song ever written was sung. Anyway, the missile is taken care of, Logan gets some advanced treatment (with an unexpected side effect), and Doug (in the comic, not the artist) gets his old band back together to sing the sad song needed to lure the zombies to their death. Re-death. Whatever. There are still a few solid pages of zombie mayhem, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that Doug set the bar a little higher with past issues on that front. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why he didn’t want to draw page after page with hundreds of zombies on them for this issue. It’s a nice satisfying wrap up to the story, there are plenty of funny bits sprinkled throughout and we even learned a tiny bit more about the driving force behind their team. I’m hooked and can’t wait to see what comes next, which is a far cry from my initial reaction to this series. Which is just a reminder to you people out there who don’t care for one of my reviews of your work, as it’s more than possible to win me over. Likely, even, if you keep at it and stick to your vision. Oh, and another possibility for that shadow just occurred to me, so maybe Doug wasn’t cheating after all. Or at least he has a very plausible alibi if he was… $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
Contrary, Carrie Q. – Clam Juice #1
May 3, 2012
Clam Juice #1
I know I’ve asked this before, but is there any way to review porn comics? Or is it wrong to call them porn comics, and should I instead call them “people having sex a lot” comics? And am I mildly prudish just to ask that second question? Damned if I know the answer to any of those, but I’ll soldier on regardless. See, for most comics I’d get to a little bit of a plot synopsis, but in this case it just doesn’t seem all that relevant. But out of a lack of anything better to say, why the hell not? Stories in this one include a young lady who’s shoved into a vulnerable position on a bus and seems to quite enjoy all the attention she’s getting, some sexy librarian poses followed by sex with a bespectacled young man, a tied up sex slave, and two young ladies who agree to study with a male friend. That last one was funny because it didn’t go the way that young man was probably planning, but everything else leads to where you’d probably think based on the set-up. The art does vary a bit, as the sexy librarian stuff looks like it was shrunk down (or lifted off a computer) for the sake of this comic, and the two studying girls has more of a manga feel to it. And yes, in case you were wondering, that title does come into play more than a few times. If you’re looking for an in-depth character study then you can move right along, but if you’re looking for a whole lot of fucking then you’ve come to the right place. $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/2/12
May 2, 2012New reviews today for Smoo #4 by Simon Moreton and Veggie Dog Saturn Special by Jason Young and all sorts of other artists.
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Posted by Kevin
Moreton, Simon – Smoo #4
May 2, 2012
Smoo #4
Hot damn, I think he’s done it. I think Simon has created the perfect comic about growing up in the suburbs, the little rebellions that you take along the way to try and keep things slightly interesting, and the shock of feeling exactly the same but finding yourself several years older, with irrefutable physical evidence of that fact. Now, “perfect” is a word that’s hard to quantify in much of anything, let alone a comic, and this is obviously my personal opinion (note: that fact is usually given away by the fact that I’m the one writing the review). But every single note of this felt like it was spot on, with no cutting of corners and no fake happy moments thrown in. I don’t want to ruin anything about this (even though I probably already did just by describing it), so I’ll go with some generalities. There’s the actual picture of Simon’s friends when they were younger to go along with the hazier drawn image of those friends several years later. There’s the fact that this house that 11 year old Simon moved into was mostly just a collection of angles and “other people’s carpets.” There’s remembering how every single thing that happened in the time when he was growing up was crucially important. Not “seemed” important, which is a meaningful distinction, but actually WAS important, which has to ring true for anybody reading this who has grown up. And every step along the way there are Simon’s drawings, sparse images against a field of white, that show how insubstantial the whole thing seems now. I’ve liked Simon’s previous comics, don’t get me wrong, but it feels to me like they were all leading up to this. I also have #5 here, and how it tops this issue I have no idea, but if you’re curious about Simon’s work, start here and work your way back. $5 (?)
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Posted by Kevin
Young, Jason and various artists – Veggie Dog Saturn Special
May 2, 2012
Veggie Dog Saturn Special
I do love the collaborative comic. There aren’t too many of them, what with so many people scrambling just to put out their own comics on any semblance of a schedule, but they’re pretty much always a ton of fun. This is a collection of stories that are written by Jason (except for the story that was written by Brian John Mitchell and illustrated by Jason) and drawn by the people that you’ll see listed in the “tags” section, or I’ll get to them as I continue rambling on about the book. Pretty much all of them have other comics listed on this site if you get curious about them, and they’re all very much worth you getting curious about if you’ve never heard of them. Things start off with a story illustrated by Kurt Dinse about a gigantic bully from grade school who would steal bits of food off all the trays of kids who didn’t eat quickly and how that affected him in later life. Well, it’s told by a very old man, so I’m guessing maybe some of these aren’t literally true. That part was a little vague in the introduction. Hey, as long as the story is entertaining, who cares, right? Next up is the story of a house party (illustrated by Jason Martin) where the bands show up and the author steps in to play a little guitar. PB Kain is next with the shame of depositing large chunks of money to the bank on a regular basis and how he’s sure that the tellers think he’s a drug dealer (when he actually works at a comic store). Chris Hoium has a story about a brief conversation of the worst things that people had done to their grandma, Carrie McNinch illustrates a piece on the dangers of having too much store credit at a tattoo parlor, Joe Grunenwald remembers a friendly neighbor who would show projected cartoons when he was a kid, and Eric Shonborn shows what happens when pranks involving a label maker go horribly wrong. There’s also the piece illustrated by Jason Young and written by Brian John Mitchell, dealing with an implausible vomit configuration that I couldn’t help but sample below. It’s a pile of fun, in other words, and if you’re a comic artist/writer out there who would like to do something like this yourself, Jason does mention in the introduction that literally every person he asked to be in this said “yes,” so maybe your hypothetical project wouldn’t be as hard to get off the ground as you may think. $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 5/1/12
May 1, 2012New reviews today for Homegrown Alien by Joe Davidson and Nervenkrank May 2012 Preview by Katherine Wirick. I’ll get through these giant piles of comics yet…
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Posted by Kevin
Davidson, Joe – Homegrown Aliens
May 1, 2012
Homegrown Aliens
Sure, I could have used a sample page detailing the plot of the book, but after that cover I’m sure that you folks demand mayhem. I know I would! This comic has a succinct (and charming) synopsis detailing how a meteor carrying seeds fell to earth, the seeds formed a plant, and the plant took the shape of the first person that it saw. Well, it clearly did a pretty poor job of imitating that person, as it remains a bit of a horror show, but at least it was trying to fit in. These two (the drifter it imitated basically adopted it) wander into a group that’s hunting down a yeti, and the simple-minded creature gets talked into looking for the beast. This yeti had been captured previously but escaped, meaning that it’s now wandering around in a foreign land causing all kinds of mayhem. A big (and fairly gruesome) battle occurs, which I won’t spoil even a little bit, but it turns out that the losing creature had defenses that the survivors could have never dreamed of. I think Joe is selling himself short by giving this one away, but hey, maybe he’s just trying to drum up interest in his other series and is using this to do it. Either way it’s damned funny/gory all on its own, and you should maybe try to email the guy to get yourself a copy. Oh, and if you go to his website, check out his latest comic (from 4/27/12, all you readers in the future), as it’s fantastic.
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Posted by Kevin
Wirick, Katherine – Nervenkrank May 2012 Preview
May 1, 2012
Nervenkrank May 2012 Preview
Whew! I was all set with a general “what the hell is happening here” kind of review, then I noticed that this is a preview for a work that is projected to be much longer. Most preview comics are a bit more slapdash than this, and this looks fantastic, so you’ll have to forgive me for being momentarily fooled. Another thing that led to my confusion was the fact that the person depicted in this comic was only explained after the comic itself, and things open up in a vague “outside Berlin, 1915” fashion, leaving me with very little idea of what I was reading until the actual comic was done. It might have served better, especially for a preview comic, to make that an introduction, but maybe she wanted to leave a bit of the mystery intact. So, technical quibbles aside, how was the comic? Damned intriguing, with two really powerful images in just a few pages of comic. John Heartfield served in the German army in 1915 and told his commander that he was mentally ill. Yes, that’s what “Nervenkrank” means in German, and once again I have to admire the sheer clunky elegance of that language. This eight page preview details his last day in a mental institution, and the conditions in 1915 are a bit shy of modern standards. John eventually plays a role on the side of the angels against the Nazis in WWII, but that’s a long way down the line. Katherine mentions that “this story is not strictly nonfiction, but it is based on fact,” which is a ripe environment for a graphic novel. In terms of the artwork, it’s already clear that she has a perfect handle on the various facial expressions of a man who’s coming out of an institution and the conflicting emotions that come with that, which does give me high hopes for an eventual larger book. She says it’ll be continued in September 2012, although I have no idea if that means another preview book like this, a complete “issue” (of what length I have no idea), or if she actually has this most of the way done and that’s when she’s planning on releasing the graphic novel. I highly doubt that last one, but I am eager to see more of this story in whatever format she has planned. $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 4/30/12
April 30, 2012Two updates today, for Ginger the Wonder Dog by Rob Kirby and Everythingness by Neil Fitzpatrick. And a note to some of you small press comic companies out there: my current address will always be listed prominently on my website. Luckily a couple of my old addresses house people who are more than willing to pass books along, but they would both appreciate it if they didn’t have to do so. Will I be able to keep the double reviews up all week? Eh, probably not. But maybe!
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Posted by Kevin
Kirby, Rob – Ginger the Wonder Dog
April 30, 2012
Ginger the Wonder Dog
A cautionary tale before I get started: there’s a fine line between packaging your comics so that they’ll be safe from the vagaries of postal workers and packing them too tightly for me to get at them without risk of damaging the books. You might not even be able to see it on the scan (I stopped quickly when I realized what was happening), but this book was so solidly packaged that I made a nice long tear along the top of it just trying to get the book out. I wish I had the perfect answer to give you on this one, but a good rule of thumb is to imagine what somebody would have to do to open a package as you are putting it together. Now that my scolding for the day is out of the way, who likes dogs? I’ve always been more of a cat person, but a few dogs in my life have definitely won me over in a big way and I totally understand the person who likes them more than cats. This is a collection of stories about Ginger, with a few guest artists coming in towards the end with their own interpretations of certain stories. Rob starts with a pictorial list of all of the dogs he’s had over the years with some brief commentary and ends with a list of all of his favorite dog stories in comics. He’s right, #38 of King Cat (which was apparently reprinted by Drawn & Quarterly a few years back if you’re interested, and you should be) was the greatest family dog story ever. Anyway, stories in here include Ginger’s awkward way of greeting new people, a day in the life of the “neighborhood patrol,” the inevitable meeting with a skunk, an adapted poem that sums up dog thoughts nicely, and a short list of pros and cons. The agree of adorableness in this book will vary based on your opinion of dogs, but even the biggest dog hater in the world would have to crack a smile at a few of these stories. Well worth a look for people of all pet dispositions and pretty much indispensable for dog lovers. As always, there’s a solid chunk of samples up at his website if you’re on the fence. No price listed though, so I’m going with $3 as my random guess.
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Posted by Kevin
Fitzpatrick, Neil – Everythingness
April 30, 2012
Everythingness
What if the quest for meaning was itself meaningless? And what if Neil decided to draw the whole thing? Chances are that this isn’t anywhere near what Neil was going for with this comic, but that’s what I’m taking out of it, dammit. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen one of his comics (for you whippersnappers out there, Neil has several issues of his “Neil Jam” series that have been coming out for many years now), and it’s clear that his art has tightened up a bit, and it’s not like it was terrible to begin with. The people characters look more like people, and even the Tots seem somehow streamlined. Which makes no sense, as they look like tiny animated teeth and it’s hard to streamline that design much, but that’s what this old defective brain of mine is telling me. So what’s this comic about? The description on the inside front cover sums it up pretty well: “The totality of existence… and beyond!” You get a sense of where things are headed when Neil steps out from behind the curtain to introduce the book (in comic form, not a written introduction) and gets into a discussion with god about who is more responsible for the comic, Neil or god. It’s pretty much impossible to argue with his conclusion either, so score one for Neil. Other stories include a magical moment between Willis and Ona (see past issues of Neil Jam if you’re having trouble with the character names, which he also kindly lists on the inside back cover), differences of opinion on what constitutes a magic bird or fish, god deciding to share his burden with his creations just for a moment, not being bound by expectations, who might be watching you, and finally a literal search for meaning. And hovering over all of these stories is the constant presence of Neil and god, popping up here and there to keep various characters on their toes. And the eyes. It’s not possible to talk about one of Neil’s comics without referring to those black, soul-stealing eyes of all of the characters. They’re mitigated a bit this time around by the smiles on some of the faces and general upbeat nature of much of the comic, but those eyes can get to you if you’re not careful. I defy anybody to read all of the Neil Jam comics in a row, then go outside and talk to real people. Those eyes will follow you. Um, I got off on a tangent there. I’ve been a fan of Neil’s for many years now and am thrilled to see him getting published, as to me that’s one more small step towards him becoming rich and successful at his comics, which means he’ll devote more time to them, which means those solid black eyes will slowly take over the world. Hey, we all have our own quest for meaning, you know… $5
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Posted by Kevin
