New review today for Alligator Milk #1 by Max Clotfelter, which we can only hope is a continuing series.
Update for 2/15/12
February 15, 2012
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Posted by Kevin
Clotfelter, Max – Alligator Milk #1
February 15, 2012
Alligator Milk #1
Now that is one hell of a cover. Anybody looking at it is either going to be compelled to pick this up or run screaming in the opposite direction. The cowards will miss a thoroughly entertaining show while the rest of us will almost certainly have at least one of Max’s hauntingly extravagant drawings pop up in our dreams. On the first page this is called FEMA Camp 2012, which is based on the fever dreams of professional carnival barker and gold shiller Glenn Beck, so it’s instantly fertile ground for some extra insanity. Two guys are in line, trying to decide what they should wish for (the reader is not immediately told what this is all about), when one of them gets too happy at the prospect of a sandwich and gets admonished by a guard. The smiling persists, so the admonishment gets much worse, leaving only one of the guys to try and make it to the end of the line. As for what’s waiting for him at the end of the line, I’ll refer you to the title and leave it at that. I will say that it’s impossible not to love that last page but will offer no further hints. That would be a perfectly fine mini comic for a measly dollar, but that’s not all that’s in here. In the middle of the book the action stops to show two larger illustrations. One of them covers two pages of the story (we even get a “continued on third page following” warning like in old comic books) and the other images folds out from the center pages. The smaller drawing (and keep in mind that describing these drawings without you seeing them is a bit of a hopeless task) has two monstrosities that are tentatively trying to tongue kiss each other while clinging to a ceiling and towing along a bucket of horribleness respectively, while the larger drawing will take your breath away. It shows a man (ish) dragging along an incredibly heavy burden of melted bits of all sorts of creatures (or at least they seem mildly melted to me, and again I must point out the pointlessness of describing something that is almost certainly is its own unique thing) while another man, his dog and a snake creature all look on. At first I thought that this large picture was showing what happened to the people in that camp, now I’m not so sure and think they may just be two images that are completely disconnected from the main story. Either way, if you’re a fan of Max’s work they’re not to be missed. $1
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/14/12
February 14, 2012New review for Takilma by James Stanton, and I shall now return to the defensive crouch that is necessary for all single people on this crappy day.
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Posted by Kevin
Stanton, James – Takilma
February 14, 2012
Takilma
Ah, dream comics. They’re damned near review-proof, at least in terms of the story, because what are you supposed to criticize? I can say that it now makes sense to me that James rarely uses humans, as the few unobscured human faces in this one were flat and their mouths never opened, but even that is a petty point to make, especially when it’s always possible that the faces were drawn without much detail based on the dream. So what is the dream about? Ah, this part is always fun. Two girls are out in the dark following a trail only by the soles of their feet, but when they reach a fork in the path a comet comes by to briefly light their way. They find the house that they were looking for, but after knocking on the door a large cluster of ghost crows emerge and light the forest on fire. The girls wonder if they should move away from the flames, but out of the forest emerges what appears to be a badger wearing a cloak and with two human legs. Or is it one large beast leg later on? Again, it’s a dream. This almost excuses me from my pledge not to do spoilers, but not quite, so I’ll leave it there. James has a nice afterword explaining the point in his life when he was inspired to do this comic (the dream wasn’t his, so he couldn’t explain it to the reader anyway) and a few more drawings from that time in his life. If I come across as hating this book, that really wasn’t the case. I loved the wisps from the house welcoming the girls, the transformation of the crows, and more than a few other little touches. As to whether or not you should buy it, that depends purely on your opinion of dream comics. It’s a worthy addition to that field, but clearly this wouldn’t be your best bet if you were looking for a definitively coherent story. $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/13/12
February 13, 2012New review today for The Greatest by Kelly Froh. Looks like almost all of my eBay stuff is done, but I did list a few more really old Marvel comics computer games recently if that tickles your fancy.
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Posted by Kevin
Froh, Kelly – The Greatest
February 13, 2012
The Greatest
Ah, to live in a world where the talented small press comics people had all the resources in the world at their disposal. I’m generally a fan of Kelly’s covers anyway (mostly because the combination of the title and her often fantastic title got me wanting to read the book immediately, which is kind of the point of a cover), but in this case she got a friend from art school to design the book for her (his name is Manfred Naescher if you wanted to look him up) and he designed a really gorgeous book. Crikey, do I need to get my parenthetical asides under control. Anyway, this comic is basically a listing of some of the more interesting seniors that Kelly has met working in retirement centers and their various personalities. It’s not as dense as some of her more personal comics, but there’s still plenty in here to love. That sample below was my favorite, but there’s lots to choose from, and I always love it when there’s coloring in small press comics that’s done this well. A low bar to clear, you would think, but it’s surprising how many people either rush that aspect or screw it up. With her experience in this field I’d say maybe it’s time for a new generation of Duplex Planet, what with David Greenberger not doing the comics any more (unless I somehow missed any new stuff completely since around the year 2000). Kelly clearly has some stories to tell in this field, and there’s always a place in the world for some forgotten wisdom from people who have seen it all. Or, you know, just guys with half a moustache. $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/10/12
February 10, 2012New review today for Nibble #7 by Tom Cherry, as I can rarely resist the temptation to review a short comic on a Friday. Most of the eBay stuff I keep pushing expires either this weekend or Monday, so place your bids soon! Or not, but I could sure use the money. As I never mentioned anything specifically that you people might actually enjoy, here’s a partial list: Victor Banana’s soundtrack to “Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron” by Dan Clowes, a clump of Howard the Duck comics (which should not be discounted just because the movie sucked), the single issues for the last two graphic novels worth of Preacher, What If? comics (both the original series and the 1988 second volume), Clive Barker comics from the early 90’s, the soundtrack from the “Crumb” documentary, and “How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.” And about 20 other auctions that might contain an issue or two that you would like. Happy weekend everybody!
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Posted by Kevin
Cherry, Tom – Nibble #7
February 10, 2012
Nibble #7
I finally figured out what these comics remind me of. Stop me if I’m already used this in a past review from Tom (although how you’d stop me when you haven’t read this yet and I’m just now writing it is beyond me), but these comics are basically Sunday funnies. Oh sure, they’re puffed up ever so slightly to make up an actual comic, but the tone is the same, if often a little smarter. I’m also thinking back to the Sunday comics of my youth, which probably seemed better at the time than they actually were (if the current selection of Sunday comics is any indication, anyway) but they, like this, were just good-natured fun. So how about this particular issue? As you can see from the cover, there’s some roughhousing going on in this one. Two kids are using empty wrapping paper rolls to bash each other around until their older brother admonishes them for acting like kids. As violence is always the answer in these books (albeit harmless cartoon violence), things work themselves out rather quickly. Like all of Tom’s stuff, this one is definitely worth a look, and he’s somebody you probably want to follow if you’re desperately looking for examples of fun comics that you can show your kids. $.25
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/9/12
February 9, 2012New review today for The She-Ma’am Fella Hatin’ Sorority Feminazi #1 by Mister V, but don’t worry, I used one of the sample images that’s safe for work. Well, relatively, anyway. Now I remember why I don’t like hyping things up when I list a bunch of comics and such on eBay: I get sick of doing it in a hurry. But if you have the cash and would like some comics, I could certainly use the money.
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Posted by Kevin
Mister V – The She-Ma’am Fella Hatin’ Sorority Feminazi #1
February 9, 2012
The She-Ma’am Fella Hatin’ Sorority Feminazi #1
Hey wait a minute, that lady isn’t in a sorority! As you can probably guess from the cover, this comic is not for the easily offended. Then again, if you’re easily offended, why are you reading small press comics? All kinds of offensive shit in a whole bunch of these things. Anyway, this is a book of origins by the mysterious Mister V, although it’s not really possible to be mysterious these days, what with the social media and all. The first origin deals with the title character, and that title is long enough that I don’t want to write it again, but our hero in this tale is an abused Mexican maid. She can’t afford to get fired from her job, so she puts up with all sorts of nonsense from her rich boss. Then one day she finds Eva Braun’s strap-on in his attic (which gives the wearer super powers, obviously) and decides to test the device out on her boss. Next up is the story of Roswella, the last Martian, and how her race was wiped out, leaving her to find a suitable mate to repopulate the species. Jungle Jane is next and yes, she fucks a monkey. Her origins are still a little vague, but we do see what happens to people who track her down in the wilderness. Finally there’s Sequential Sally, who is a parody of female auto-bio types who use their cuteness to cover up their utter lack of anything interesting to say. My white male liberal guilt compels me to mention that there are also plenty of male autobio authors who fall under that heading, but this comic is all about the ladies. This particular story deals with her trying to convince people at a comics convention to buy her new book. Mister V was nice enough to send the first few issues of this series, so I checked the covers and these origin stories do have a point, as he tends to stick with the same characters. There’s also plenty of other minis available from the man, several of which couldn’t be considered offensive in any way, in case you wanted to check out his work but hate sexy parts, both real and strapped on. From what I can tell almost all of his stuff is up for free at his website, so check it out for yourself, but I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the art. No price listed, so… $4?
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/8/12
February 8, 2012New review today for Grandma Stories by Sam Spina. Still selling stuff through eBay, just in case anybody out there has a few bucks that are crying out to be exchanged for old comics/CD’s/even older computer games.
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Posted by Kevin
Spina, Sam – Grandma Stories
February 8, 2012
Grandma Stories
It’s always a good sign when I go to a creator’s website to check on the price of the comic I’m going to review and end up spending a good 10 minutes thoroughly enjoying the strips. Sam also does a (mostly, it seems) daily four panel strip about his life and, from what I can tell from 10 minutes of reading, it’s fantastic. But we’re here to talk about this comic, not his apparent awesomeness in general. This comic is exactly what the title implies: it’s Sam having conversations on the phone with his grandma (with a short phone conversation with his mom thrown in for some history on his grandma) as she tells him stories of her life for his 24 hour comic. It didn’t technically end up being a 24 hour comic, as he apparently didn’t finish inking 9 pages out of the 24 during the time period, but this comic has an amazing level of detail for a 24 hour book. Backgrounds a’plenty, and it only looked a little rushed in a few isolated spots. Anybody who has read a few of these timed books knows that it can get ugly, and this book had none of those problems. Anyway, stories from his grandma include her collecting supplies for the WWII war effort (when she was a kid), trying to convince her young brother to like his school, an incident with a sled and some barbed wire at the bottom of a hill, and collecting smooth stones to use as toys. There are also a few bits thrown in about life as it’s happening to her now (these are phone conversations, after all) and Sam eventually concedes that she’s told him way too many stories to put into this book. That sounds like a graphic novel to me, as everything they talked about was thoroughly entertaining, but what do I know? There’s also a nice color epilogue on the back page where Sam talks about spending time with his grandparents when he was a kid. It’s a thoroughly engaging little book, and don’t get scared off because you think this one might be too sweet for you. It’s touching, sure, but also funny as hell, and that one always wins out for me. $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/7/12
February 7, 2012New review today for Sunnyville Stories #4 by Max West, and now that all the pieces are in town and working normal reviews will resume as of today. I did want to point you folks toward my eBay link, as I’m selling some comics, CD’s and a few very old computer games. What can I say, I’m still unemployed and broke as hell, and I can’t set up a Kickstarter fundraiser thingie like the folks with actual artistic talent. So if you would like some of those items, or perhaps have a kid who you’d like to get started on some old Marvel comics, bid away! There are also a few genuinely decent lots too, like the pile of Howard the Duck comics (believe it or not) and some of the Vertigo stuff, so it’s probably not a complete waste of your time to click on the link.
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Posted by Kevin
West, Max – Sunnyville Stories #4
February 7, 2012
Sunnyville Stories #4
One of these days I might actually pick an opinion about this series and stick with it. Feels like I’ve been all over the place on this one, and I do wonder how much of it is just my mood on any given day. On this day I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and hope that Max finds a happy niche for himself in this crazy business. On past days I could get nitpicky about the little things, which would kill the whole issue. Well, that and I’m generally too cranky to enjoy something that’s so good-natured for long, but that’s more of a personal failing. Enough about me rambling away the start of yet another review, what about the comic? This tells the story of a pair of sisters who bring a toaster oven in to the local store for repair. They’re told that it’ll be at least a month until they get it back and learn from their parents that the owner of the store is sad because he got into a fight with a kid he considers his nephew years back and they never managed to make up. From there we get a cautionary tale from another town resident about the dangers of waiting too long to make amends before things start winding down. Yes, even now I’m not going to throw spoilers at you, even though if you’ve read past issues you know that a bloodbath is almost certainly not the ending. One thing I’m really starting to appreciate about Max’s comics is how well he uses his set number of pages. He always gives himself plenty of room to work with, so even though the backgrounds can feel a little thin at times he has time for all the conversations between family and friends that would occur around a town problem like this, while even throwing in bits here and there to advance the characters. And I vaguely recall having issues with sloppiness in past issues, but that wasn’t a problem here. Everything looked nice, no unerased pencil lines for lettering, and this time around the story was able to win out over any minor quibbles. If you are looking for a bloodbath then you have a wide range of options out there, but this comic isn’t one of them. It’s a nice, quiet all-ages book with a decent message. Yeah, I’m almost certainly going soft. So sue me… $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/2/12
February 2, 2012New review for Glade & Mark in: “Rocky Mountain Chomp” by Mark Hensel/William Cardini. I’ll either post a regular review tomorrow (either without images or with images pilfered from a comics site) or I’ll head back to Champaign to get the parts necessary to go back to doing things with my scanner.
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Posted by Kevin
Hensel, Mark – Glade & Mark in: “Rocky Mountain Chomp”
February 2, 2012Glade & Mark in: “Rocky Mountain Chomp”
You know what I didn’t think through in my request for online comics to review yesterday? The fact that I still wouldn’t have sample images for the reviews, as images for online comics are gigantic and I lack the means here to shrink them. Oh sure, there’s probably some easy way to do it for people who are less stupid than me, but this is the brain you folks are stuck with on this site. Anyway, Mark was nice enough to send along a few online comics, and I didn’t even click on the second one after seeing this. This was the comic that Mark put out for his wedding (Glade is apparently now his wife, or he picked a fake name for his wife in his wedding comic, which makes no sense), and it’s very different from his usual stuff in that, well, people can read it. I don’t mean that in a bad way, although that’s probably how it’s going to sound, as this is still as delightfully fucked up as most of Mark’s comics. It just has a clear narrative arc for all to see, while some of his other comics may take a little more work to decipher. This is the story of Glade and Mark’s battle with a giant monster that’s trying to eat the Rocky Mountains. As you might have guessed from that title, or maybe your natural instinct isn’t to see that title and automatically jump to “oh, it’s clearly about a giant monster eating the Rockies.” Anyway, they get a call from the President and set off to save the day, and even a big old monster can’t stand up against a serious shrinking. From there it gets downright cute, as a wedding comic should, but this is one case where you can click on that link and read the whole thing for yourself. It’s relatively short and you’re probably just killing time at work anyway, so go for it. And congrats to the happy couple!
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Posted by Kevin
Update schmupdate 2/1/12
February 1, 2012So I made it to Momence for the dog/cat/housesitting, but apparently I missed a cord or two needed to use my computer up here, meaning no scanner to post images for the reviews. I’ll probably be heading back to Champaign soon to pick up a few things, but in the meantime if you have a comic that is only online I’ll review it and use those images in the review. Other that that I mostly don’t review comics that I can’t physically hold, so hurry to take advantage of this short window!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/27/12
January 27, 2012New review for Star Pilot #6 by Frank Swartz, happy weekend y’all!
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Posted by Kevin
Swartz, Frank – Star Pilot #6
January 27, 2012
Star Pilot #6
Is two issues enough for a pattern? Because if it is then it’s safe to conclude that this comic has nothing to do with stars and only very little to do with pilots. Unless maybe either the monkey or the rhino (see the last review for this guy if you’re confused) is a licensed pilot, that is. Anyway, this one starts off with a musical genius who makes one mistake in his performance. The papers go crazy because of this error, so the musician finally decides that he has to get away from all the negativity and do something new. He finds a mountain that has never been successfully scaled and makes his way up, but comes across some small and starving birds. He decides to save them and give up his quest for personal glory, but the mountain remains treacherous and he still has to make it down alive. Oh, and the monkey and rhino from the last issue also play a very small but crucial role in things. This one lacked the sheer insanity that was #5 of this series and instead went with something like 85% insanity. That’s more than enough for me, and this comic was a lot of fun, even if page 14 did feature a ridiculously out of proportion yeti. Pretty sure this is also still $1, and the entire comic is up at Frank’s website at the moment if you wanted to read it for yourself. Of course, it’s better to buy it, so maybe just read a few pages to know that you either will or won’t like it.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 1/26/12
January 26, 2012New review for Gnarlton Livingston by James Stanton. Attention comics senders: I’m going to be out of town dogsitting for most of February (depending on whether or not I pick up a temp job in Champaign at any point in the next month). So if you’ve already sent me review comics, not to worry, I’ll probably either get them before I leave or a friend will pick them up for me if I’m nice enough to the guy. But if you haven’t sent the comics out yet it might be best to wait until I get back to Champaign and give the all clear here.
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Posted by Kevin
