August 25, 2011
Website
Monthly
With the pace that Brian has established in making comics, it might be tempting to take that title literally. You’d be wrong, as it’s actually about a suicidal werewolf, but it would be an easy mistake to make. Anyway, yeah: suicidal werewolf. The only way this werewolf can be killed is by being shot through the heart three times by someone who loves him, so he has to spend the time between changes getting somebody to fall in love with them while still keeping them willing to kill him when he changes into a werewolf. Naturally this is a difficult trick to accomplish, as all the “I’m a werewolf” talk in the world wouldn’t keep you from being any less terrified when the actual change occurred. This first issue is mostly setting all that up, but it also managed to include a few intriguing questions. He still seems to chat with his mother, for example, and he can only be killed by somebody he loves, so… Well, it was intriguing to me anyway, but come to think of it I still haven’t seen a finished series by the man. It’s another fine addition to his comics pile, and if you liked his previous stuff I sure don’t see a reason for you to avoid this. I poked around on his website a bit today and saw that he has a number of past issues available for free download (including this one), so why not check out a few for free and see what you think? Then at least buy a few of them, as it’s a little sleazy to just read all his stuff for free. Yes, I am in fact one of the few people left who cares about such things. $1
Comments Off on Mitchell, Brian John & Shonborn, Eric – Monthly | 
Reviews | Tagged: Brian John Mitchell, Eric Shonborn, Monthly | 
Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 23, 2011
Website
Last Slice
It’s going to be a long time before we all figure out just how devastating the loss of Harvey Pekar was to the small press comics community. Sure, there was his own incredible work, and the world is poorer for the fact that there will be no new stuff (unless there are unfinished bits and pieces out there, but it’s still a damned finite resource). But the greatest thing about Harvey in my mind was the fact that he was a relentless champion of the medium and did all he could to help out artists that he liked. I’m bringing all this up here because Jaime mentions in one of his strips that he had actually stopped drawing entirely for five years before Harvey tracked him down and talked him back into it. I’ve been a fan of Jaime’s work for years and to think that all that talent was hanging on that thread is disturbing. Here’s hoping that other respected comics elders take up the slack, as I frankly don’t think people like reviewers have the standing to pull it off. So how about the actual comic? Yes, I do remember that that is the point of a review. These are the best of the “Slice O’ Life” strips (as chosen by Jaime, obviously), but he mentions that he had to cut some of them down from six to four panels, which immediately makes me wonder what that changed. He also mentions that these strips lack the detail that he uses on his other comics, as the strip was being printed in color and all that detail didn’t come out anyway, but there’s still more detail in each strip than I see in plenty of entire mini comics. Anyway, these are all four panel strips about a variety of different topics, with 40 of them in all. Topics include a dangerous stretch of river current, creepy religion, a crappy day, entertainment on the bus, the circuitous logic of a running man, assholes telling their most intimate details while talking on their cell phones, a dedicated drunk/druggie from high school, the meaning behind empty vanilla extract bottles that you might see lying around, the best surfer in the world, how risky activities have changed from when he was a kid to now, Santa in the hood, how the “razors in the apples” Halloween rumor ruined the free local caramel apples, the things that a dog brings home, and George Hamilton. That’s just the first half, you can discover the second half of strips for yourself. In case that wasn’t perfectly clear, you should buy this comic, and anything else he does (although I will mention it if he does a terrible comic, it’s just that I haven’t seen one yet). Don’t let this man drift away from comics again… $4 (?)
Comments Off on Crespo, Jaime – Last Slice | Reviews | Tagged: Jaime Crespo, Last Slice | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 22, 2011
Website
Bad Breath Comics #3
“Too” and “to” are two completely different words. Just saying, as that was the only glaringly obnoxious thing that stood out to me from this comic. Not that Josh is the only person who makes that mistake (far from it, sadly) but it still bugs the hell out of me every time I see it. So how about the content? It was strange and uneven at times, with hints of possible greatness to come. Or not, but I see potential. Stories in here that I enjoyed include an old man and his seagulls, the one about car auctions (until it devolved into utter nonsense in the last few panels, which sure looked to me like another one of those “I have no idea how to end this so I’ll just stop” stories), a long but oddly rewarding setup for a dragon pun, the CEO asking for more money on a street corner, a wordless protest against bras and fights (I think that’s what it was about anyway, but in any case it was a good excuse to have a naked woman running around for a few pages), and the dumb fuck trying to find a box of cereal. The long piece about a fake cola company trying to win over the public while doing some horrible stuff behind the scenes didn’t always hold together very well and it had another awkward ending, but I’m all for somebody at least trying to be political in their comics. Things have been falling to shit for ages now and people who speak up even a little bit should be encouraged. That cover is delightfully awkward, with nothing to do with the contents, and the back cover is pretty great too. That seems to be pretty much all of the stories that I enjoyed at least a little bit, and when I say that this was uneven I mean that most of the individual stories felt that way, but this also looks like early days for Josh in the comics business. With that considered he’s off to a fine start on his way to putting out 6-12 more comics of increasing quality until he takes a proper job and leaves all this behind. Not that I’m feeling overly cynical today or anything. But hey, $2 for this much content is a steal any way you look at it.
Comments Off on Juresko, Josh – Bad Breath Comics #3 | Reviews | Tagged: Bad Breath Comics, Josh Juresko | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 19, 2011
Website
Team Girl Comic #3
It’s finally happened: my brain is falling out. I can’t think of any other reason why a good chunk of these stories left me utterly flummoxed. Well, other than the fact that maybe they weren’t particularly good stories. Just to get this out of the way early, I know that some contributors to this comic are young (13ish) girls, and if I happen to overly criticize one of their stories, it’s meant to maybe give them constructive criticism that will help them over the long run (you’d be hard-pressed to find ANYBODY who was a brilliant comic artist/writer at 13). It’s a fine line to do that without also looking like a jerk, so my apologies in advance if I wander over that line. I have only the best of intentions! Anyway, it’s best to start with the stuff that I liked. Hoo boy, a functioning table of contents would have been nice too. OK, positive stuff, like I said: Karena Moore with the dog and the magic talking boots, Colleen Campbell with a funny one panel strip, Gil Hatchers’ strip on the problems of huddling for warmth with a mechanical bear, Penny Sharp and her series of fake full page phone ads, Emma McLuckie commanding a robot, Gil Hatcher lamenting her terrible skills as an older sister (before getting a nice physical reminder of why she’s too hard on herself), Laura Armstrong and her tale of robot rights, the smudgingly creepy ending to the story by Heather Middleton, Karena Moore’s midge story and Gil Hatcher’s story about trying to hide a candy purchase. The other stories either made no sense to me or left me cold. The story about the bear hugs was OK, but it was clearly resized for the comic (not the fault of the artist, obviously) and that really screwed up the look of it. The wordless “welcome home” story made no sense at all to me, “the interns” could maybe get better but it’s “to be continued” after two pages, the wordless story with a security camera flew right over my head and the “kids” story had a punchline that wasn’t remotely funny to me, but maybe it would make more sense if I had kids. Yes, I purposefully avoided using artist’s names for the bad bits, but that’s also because I wasn’t sure who did at least a few of those stories. If you’re looking for a good/not so good percentage (always useful in an anthology), I’d put it at roughly 80/20 good to bad, which is still a great ratio for one of these things. That and the fact that this group of women mostly from Glasgow is doing this at all is something that should be strongly supported by anybody who complains about all the middle-aged white guys in comics. Oh, and have I mentioned how much I love that cover? No price listed, but $5 seems like a reasonable guess.
Comments Off on Various Anthologies – Team Girl Comic #3 | Reviews | Tagged: Coleen Campbell, Emma Luckie, Evy, GIll Hatcher, Heather Middleton, Karena Moore, Kat Sicard, Laura Armstrong, Mhairi Hislop, Nondo, Pearl Kinnear, Penny Sharp, Purdy, Steff, Sue-Yin Lau, Team Girl | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 18, 2011
Website
The Escapologist #1
For those of you who were dying to solve the mystery of “Simon M.,” , I give you Simon Moreton! For everybody else who has no idea what I’m talking about, Simon is the guy who did all of those delightful Smoo comics that I’m sure you all dutifully purchased after I told you how much I enjoyed them. Simon is starting a new series with this comic, and a quick check of his website shows that #2 is already done (he’s just working on the publishing end of things at the moment) and that he’s also working on #3. Well, so much for my theory that this comic was one of those one-shot comics that small press writers invariably put a “#1” on. It’s easy to think that, as this is a comic about everything. I mean that: everything. It’s a lot to convey in eight pages, so it ends up being confined more to Simon’s general area, but it’s there. Things start off with Simon on the street, staring at birds, before he leaves his body and takes a journey of the city. then pulls it all back together with mentioning the fact that we also all hold together the very ink on the pages. It’s all very self-contained, which makes me a little surprised that #2 is already done, and more than a little curious to see what it’s about. This is mostly a wordless tale with one fantastic quote at the end. To me this comic was both a chance to escape for a minute or two (as the title implies) while also contemplating the manner in which the entire world fits together. That’s damned tricky to accomplish, and it may or may not have been what he was shooting for, but that’s what I saw. No price, but I think it’s around $4.
Comments Off on Moreton, Simon – The Escapologist #1 | Reviews | Tagged: Simon Moreton, The Escapologist | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 16, 2011
Website
Foie Gras and the Joy of Cooking #1
I think I picked the wrong book that Edie sent me to review first. The other book is apparently a lengthy collection of previous works, while this is a tiny mini. Oh well, it’s not like I could possibly stop this one and review that one right now. Why not? Um… look over there! So anyway, this one is a series of images (that look like they were taken from cooking instructions, or maybe they were just used as a reference/inspiration) with what appears to be a scattered poem. I’m lousy at defining such things, so I won’t even try. I do know that the combined effect of the words with the mostly innocuous images caused a few visceral reactions, so he’s clearly doing something right. The chopping of the prosthesis, the hand up the turkey’s ass with the words “about my boyhood” and the “fuck me like this” page being the prime examples. Dammit, I really should have read his other book first so I’d have more to talk about. Soon enough, and in the meantime this is almost certainly cheaper than that collected book if you just want a less expensive representation of his work. I have no idea how much is actually costs, as his website doesn’t say much about it, but let’s say $3 for the hell of it. His website also has a lot of sample images, if my word salad of a review was worthless to you today.
Comments Off on Fake, Edie – Foie Gras and the Joy of Cooking #1 | Reviews | Tagged: Edie Fake, Foie Gras and the Joy of Cooking | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 15, 2011
Website
Too Blue Comix #3
Would somebody please send me a handbook on how to review porn comics? Even parodies of porn comics are tricky, but I have no idea what to say about stuff like this. Do you like drawn representations of sex and various sexual situations by different artists, with funny punch lines galore? Then you’ll love Too Blue Comix! There, does that work? Artists in this one include Dexter Cockburn (it is his company putting this out, after all, and who draws better comic sex than Dexter?), Aung Min Min, Simon Mackie, Roy Cutting and somebody called JTW. Hey, it’s a comic with naked bits, I can see why you’d go with a pseudonym. Stories include the unintended consequences of getting a coin that hypnotizes people and asking a woman to “fuck my brains out,” double giant booties, and a real life action figure in the sack. There are also a few full page spreads, including Dexter’s back cover of a giant fuck sandwich. This is a short and tiny mini, and that first Dexter strip is already in another one of his comics, but hey, $1 for some serious nudity and sex can’t be that bad.
Comments Off on Various Anthologies – Too Blue Comix #3 | Reviews | Tagged: Aung Min Min, Dexter Cockburn, JTW, Roy Cutting, Simon Mackie, Too Blue Comix | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 12, 2011
Website (for the publisher)
Tall Tales for Short Kittens #1
Hey, wait a minute! There’s nothing resembling a kitten in this comic! Which is probably for the best, because if Jason took his title literally then this comic would probably be insufferably adorable instead of breathtakingly strange. In the best possible way, of course. The first story is the longest (clocking in at six pages), and it definitely sets the tone for things to come. See, there’s this blob thing (who is wearing a very fetching fez hat) who crashes his boat ashore. The blob really doesn’t seem to mind, but a young girl watched the crash and finds this lack of concern worrying in its own right, so she goes off to tell her father. Meanwhile, the blob has found a rat to be his companion at a local tavern, and everybody comes crashing together at the pier of the original crash. My general policy against spoilers prevents me from telling you exactly how the ending perfectly tied this tale together, so too bad for you. Other stories include heartbreak, Dyna and her diamond ring, an odd bird/blob creature staredown, jazz players and their stereotypical lifestyles, and Lil’ Red Hoodie turning the tables on the wolf. There’s also an activity page with a 3D maze, some jokes and instructions to color the entire book if you’re bored. This comic is a bit uneven at times, but taken as a whole it’s a compelling collection of work. Is it bad if I get serious enjoyment out of the fact that that cover, somewhere in the world, led a confused parent to buy this for their kid? Probably so, but I can’t help it. Anything that helps indoctrinate kids into enjoying smart, quality comics is OK by me. $3
Comments Off on Payne, Jason – Tall Tales for Short Kittens #1 | Reviews | Tagged: Jason Payne, Tall Tales for Short Kittens | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 10, 2011
Website
Sigh Fi Tales
My ridiculous scanner situation has kept me from getting to these Macedonio comics as quickly as I’d hoped but, as with all comics that are sent my way, I will get to them eventually. I mention this mostly because this the third comic I’ve read from the man and each one of them is a completely original book and concept. Maybe three doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but if he’ll be in damned good shape if he keeps up this level of inventiveness for all of his comics that I have around the apartment. Anyway, according to his introduction this comic deals with “something that could happen and probably has, to someone or something at one point or another. Stories with no actual end.” So if you’re looking for resolutions, look elsewhere. Stories in this one include the general wide range of strangeness that exists (with a final panel that perfectly sums up “strange” in my book), birds eating fried chicken scraps, the extremely dangerous sleeping patterns of a dreaming mouse, a parting gift from a tom cat, and several pages based on different versions of time. See? That’s a varied pile of stories right there. In case you haven’t read the other reviews about the man’s work, he’s been around (with a VERY long break in the middle) doing comics since the Weirdo days and you whippersnappers could learn a thing or two from the man. No price listed, but $2 is probably in the neighborhood.
Comments Off on Macedonio – Sigh Fi Tales | Reviews | Tagged: Macedonio, Sign Fi Tales | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
August 9, 2011
Website
Extreme Lost Kisses #1
It makes perfect sense. After all this time with various Lost Kisses that were mostly personal stories or quiet, contemplative pieces, the comics world was needing a good old fashioned shoot ’em up. The story behind this is that the nameless badass gets surrounded by baddies, takes them all out and eventually looks for and finds a stolen nuclear device. I loved the fact that the internal monologue never stopped, not even when the leader of the baddies was maybe making a few relevant points to the situation. I don’t see any way that this crew (or any crew) could keep this concept interesting or entertaining for more than a few issues, but Brian has proven me wrong on such things before. If you like stick figure mayhem, well, look no further. As for me, I’m looking forward to seeing how this one fits in to the eventual, inevitable crossover involving the storylines from all of these comics colliding. Oh, don’t tell me you never thought about it… $1
Comments Off on Mitchell, Brian John & Marino, Nick – Extreme Lost Kisses #1 | Reviews | Tagged: Brian John Mitchell, Extreme Lost Kisses, Nick Marino | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
