Quick, if you’re in Columbus, go to SPACE right now! There’s still time! Actually, with the time difference there may not be. Anyway, new review today for Skin Horse Volume One by Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells.
Update for 3/20/11
March 20, 2011
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Posted by Kevin
Garrity, Shaenon K. & Wells, Jeffrey C. – Skin Horse Volume One
March 20, 2011
Skin Horse Volume One
Occasionally here at the chaotic offices of Optical Sloth (i.e. my apartment) some comics and/or graphic novels will fall through the cracks for no good reason. Maybe they get buried by other comics, maybe they’re the victim of a cleaning spree and don’t see the light of day again for weeks, months or even longer. The first volume of Skin Horse is one of those unfortunate comics. Sometimes the staff here in the office (i.e. me) just plain screws up, and we feel better talking about it if we can use general terms of blame instead of just being accurate and saying “it’s all my fault.” Anyway, the good news is that there’s already a second volume of this out, so you can find out immediately what happens next. Believe me, if you read this book you will very much want to see what happens next. I didn’t have the highest of expectations, granted, but that was mostly due to my general ambivalence towards daily comic strips. There’s that seemingly legally required first panel recapping the last panel of the strip from the day before, which is a waste of usually 1/4 of your daily strip right there. This series doesn’t engage in that kind of nonsense, so that’s worth about a billion point in my random and meaningless scoring system. Then, and this took me several pages to wrap my head around, this strip is funny. I mean that I chuckled out loud more than a few times, and any daily strip that can do that is always welcome around here. But wait, there’s more! This strip is often much smarter than you might think. Again, my expectations for a daily strip are staggeringly low, but this surpassed those expectations instantly and just kept getting better as it went on. I should probably mention something about the plot here, right? Things start off strong by dumping the reader right into the thick of things with a team of vague government agents who have the job of collecting talking animals. This may come a bit from Shaenon’s previous series but, as I haven’t read that, this may have also started right here with this first strip. Anyway, the talking lion that they’re after ends up getting taken back to their base (spoiler alert, I guess, but this all happens on the first few pages) and then we get to the really good stuff: figuring out what these characters are all about. There’s the head agent, Tip, a cross-dresser who’s also a hit with the ladies. This one could have been played for stupid laughs in any of a number of ways but it ends up being a fairly nuanced and adult portrayal of a transvestite, so kudos for that. Then there’s the talking dog, the zombie girl who’s also on the verge of a deadly rampage, the security guard who gets his mind wiped on a regular basis and is constantly alarmed at the stream of oddities heading into the office, the robotic receptionist from the 1800’s and the boss of the whole place who is essentially a sentient swarm of bees. Once we get all that out of the way Tip has to head down to the basement and arrange a truce between the sentient silverfish, centipedes, zombie heads, cobras that only want to hug, a giant rat and a vastly intelligent crystalline species. That isn’t even the first half of the book, but it’s intricately woven together and too damned smart to be that funny. Later story arcs include the zombie girl trying to get the talking dog to go on a rampage, the team heading out to determine who has jurisdiction over a helicopter with a human brain and a lengthy fight with panda bear. There’s also a fantastic introduction and opening story to go along with a “Customer Service” video for new members of the team and some drawings by other artists. Plenty of free strips are up at their website if you still need convincing, but I thought this book was fantastic and they had to completely win me over to get me to that point. They managed to completely blow away my natural animosity to the daily strip with very little effort. Oh, and I have I mentioned how great the art is? Again, considering the whole daily strip problem, this series and its vast and eclectic cast of characters always looks good. So yeah, I think you should check this out immediately. $14.00
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/17/11
March 17, 2011New review for Panel #16: “Sweet” 16 by the Ohio anthology masters. Most of them will be at SPACE this weekend in Columbus, so you should maybe think about heading that way. I’m almost certainly too broke to make it, but that’s no reason for YOU not to go. Oh, and as far as the scanner goes, it just so happens that turning my computer on and off multiple times seems to get it to work, so back to normal updates until that temporary fix stops working too.
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Posted by Kevin
Panel Anthologies – Panel #16: “Sweet” 16
March 17, 2011
Panel #16: “Sweet” 16
There is a dark, cynical corner of my brain that is just itching to pounce on a crappy Panel anthology, one where they coast on the production value and the content for once. I’m not proud of it, but there it is. This particular issue of panel will be giving that corner of my brain no joy today. Of course, that means that it’s another solid anthology, which makes the rest of my brain very happy. As you can see from that cover this issue was done up like an old school notebook (do kids even use those in class these days? Man am I old), doodles on the back and all. There’s also the usual excellent pile of creator bios in the back, although only a few of the artists had the courage to show their high school photos. For shame! And the content? Yeah, there’s a pile of great stuff in here, and if you thought this would all be tales of woe from high school, this crew should have proven by now that they’re not content with sticking with the obvious. Stories include Tony and Jessica Goins (a married couple) signing up for eharmony.com to see if they would be matched up on that site, Dara Naraghi and Ross Hardy’s silent piece about two girls stuck at a bus stop after their dates got a little too “handsy,” Andrew Lee traveling back in time to tell his 16 year old self what to avoid, Dara Naraghi and Molly Durst’s piece about modern love (making me very happy that the women I date all speak in complete sentences and know how to spell), Tim McClurg’s genuinely sweet piece about how his wife is the only person he remembers vividly seeing for the first time, Sean McGurr and Andy Bennett’s piece on trying to track down a forgotten star of “Sixteen Candles” and KT Swartz and Brent Bowman’s fantastic take on the concept of coming of age. In other words, yes, this anthology is still going strong. Buy it and see for yourself! $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/16/11
March 16, 2011Hey look, the scanner worked today! New review for Window #7 by Dave Lapp. If this scanner is really working again I’ll be back to the daily reviews, if it was all a trick then it’ll be sporadic posting for another week or so until I can get it replaced or have a bundle of cash fall into my lap.
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Posted by Kevin
Lapp, Dave – Window #7
March 16, 2011
Window #7
Dave mentioned in a letter with a recent batch of review comics that his Window series had never gotten reviews on an issue by issue basis before, which is nothing short of baffling to me. Are there really that few small press comics review sites out there? Did reviewers think that talking about a few issues of this series was enough? Dave is a fairly well known name in this little section of comics, so I have no easy answer to that one. More for me, I guess. Dave’s eye for revealing and uncomfortable conversations with his students continues with this issue, as the first half of the comic deals with Dave talking to a student about his venus flytrap and why the kid’s dad is on disability. Most of the second half is also a delight as it’s all close-up pictures of various insects and their nests and/or hatching places as he takes a group of kids out to a field. The silent story baffled me a bit, as I know it has something to do with a shower and separate rooms, but maybe it’s been too long since I read past issues for it to make a whole lot of sense at the moment. Maybe you can puzzle it out better than me, but either way this comic is worth getting for the two longer pieces, otherwise known as the bulk of the book. I’m still looking forward to each “new” issue of this series, which is all you can ever ask for from the world of mini comics.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/15/11
March 15, 2011Oh yeah, there are still some books in the online store that went unreviewed. New review today for First There Was The Scribble by Brad W. Foster and a bunch of other artists. I’m hoping my tax return will be able to pay for a new scanner, as my current money has to go to getting new glasses (the frame for the old ones exploded for no good reason) first. I’ll still manage to get a review up for the last Panel book before SPACE this weekend, but my ability to afford going to it is doubtful at best. If any millionaire reading this could send me $1,000 for the trip out of the goodness of their hearts… right, like any millionaires read this site. And like any of them have hearts…
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Posted by Kevin
Foster, Brad W. – First There Was a Scribble
March 15, 2011
Now Available! $1.75
First There Was The Scribble
Anybody out there with writer’s block? Is that even the right term for somebody who is creatively blocked from making new comic characters? Anyway, if you have whatever the right term for that is, you should maybe look at this book. The title sums it up pretty well: start with a scribble, and try not to have any preconceived notions about it. Make it a genuine doodle. Then take a minute to examine the doodle and see what you can some up with out of it. This comic contains Brad’s first attempt at this and the second mini comic he put out on this theme. The first shows Brad’s attempts of making art out of doodles. Some of them are more impressive than others, naturally, but there are some seriously impressive images in here. The second section includes doodles and their results by Jamie Adler, Bob Conway, John Cosgriff, John Howard, Dave Miller, Reg Platt, Roldo, Jim Ryan, Dan W. Taylor, Edd Vick and Keith Woods. Don’t be alarmed if you’ve never heard of some of those names, as this book was first released in 1994. Different perspectives added a lot to the experience, as Jim Ryan named all the characters he created and Reg Platt put together a Sherlock Holmes story from his characters. Brad points out that a few of the doodles in the second half are cheaters, but hey, why not? Nobody is keeping score and the whole point of the exercise is a new outlet to express creativity. It’s an interesting project that some of you creative types should maybe try if your current output it mostly theoretical. $1.75
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Posted by Kevin
“Update” for 3/10/11
March 10, 2011After eight rounds, the scanner wins the fight for a review today by knockout. If I ever get that stupid thing working again I’m going to scan sample images from as many comics as I can before it explodes, in the meantime feel free to order some comics to help out or continue to wait patiently until I’ve managed to pile up enough pennies to get another one.
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Update for 3/9/11
March 9, 2011New review for Night Animals by Brecht Evens. This would have been a Top Shelf Tuesday update yesterday, but I didn’t win my most recent battle with my scanner until today. Slowly earning enough cash to get a new one and stop bitching about it, but I’m also still perfectly happy to have anybody who wants to help me get a new scanner buy some comics from me…
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Posted by Kevin
Evens, Brecht – Night Animals
March 9, 2011
I don’t think it’s ever taken me longer to read a silent comic. In case that’s not clear enough, that is high praise. It also made it difficult to pick a sample image, as a good chunk of the pages in this fantastic book are two page spreads, chock full of weird and alarming characters. There are two stories in here and each has more creatures than I could describe if I used a million words. The first is “Blind Date,” in which a man solemnly dresses in his finest bunny costume before a date. He follows a series of painted arrows to his date, traveling through a sewer, forest, underwater nightmare land, and a series of tunnels before finally making it to his goal. I particularly enjoyed that last arrow, but if I tell you what that’s all about then I’d be ruining a perfectly good punchline. The second story deals with a young girl getting her first traumatic period at school. She goes home and is lured from her bed by a creature that seems to promise only fun and good times to go with her new adulthood. Again, one of the final images is of the creatures juxtaposed with that of a perfectly ordinary search party, and once again Brecht hits exactly the right tone with their ethereal but obvious presence. Yes, it does too make sense, and if you read the book you’ll be able to see what I mean. Overall I’m left without a single complaint, which is always a welcome occurrence. The art was pitch perfect in every single panel, the sheer range of the creatures presented shows the work of a vibrantly imaginative mind, and any one of those two page spreads could be happily examined for minutes at a time and you’d still be running across little surprises that were thrown in. It’s still fairly early in the year, granted, but this is the best book I’ve seen in 2011. Granted, that’s partially because the huge Alec collection was technically released last year, but it’s still high praise that I don’t go casually tossing around. $7.95
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/4/11
March 4, 2011New review for Bird Brain #2 by Francois Vigneault and, as the universe clearly hates me, the frame for my glasses just exploded for no good reason. It’ll be a little longer until I can get a scanner that works every day, and my plans for going to SPACE this year are looking increasingly unlikely. So if you have books that you generally hand to me in person at SPACE, you may want to think about getting a package together to mail to me instead, barring a minor miracle or the discovery of a rich relative.
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Posted by Kevin
Vigneault, Francois – Bird Brain #2
March 4, 2011
Bird Brain #2
If anybody out there hates birds, it’s probably best to move along to the next review. Who hates birds? Well, somebody is bound to, right? People either hate or love all sorts of things that seem to mild to me to feel strongly about either way. Anyway, this is another collection of birds Francois has observed and drawn in his travels. Birds that he has observed include herons, ospreys, tree swallows, hummingbirds, swallows, bald eagles, Candian geese, screech owls, warblers and a few more to leave you some surprises, as I have no idea what constitutes a spoiler in this sort of book. He does a masterful job of conveying the birds, but that’s no surprise because he’s also extremely gifted in drawing people. There’s also a nice introspective author’s note in the back detailing why he loves larger birds and how their sudden acts of violence remind him that our world, though appearing tame, really isn’t far from that sort of thing. In case you think that this is simply a collection of bird drawings, well, no. He makes them funny on occasion and includes his observations throughout, so if you like his other stuff there’s no reason in the world to think that you wouldn’t like this one. And who doesn’t like his other stuff? $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
Udpate for 3/2/11
March 2, 2011New review for Cheetahs Never Win #1 by Steve Reeder because today is Austria Wednesday! Just today though, unless all kinds of Austrians start mailing me comics in the very near future. Oh, and the scanner worked fine today, thanks for asking, so if it can hold together for a few more weeks I should be able to replace it myself and stop bugging the lot of you about it.
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Posted by Kevin
Reeder, Steve – Cheetahs Never Win #1
March 2, 2011
Cheetahs Never Win #1
Ah, it’s a nice, uncomplicated series of short pieces. Mostly they’re one panel strips involving animals in some sort of humorous situation or saying something funny (or hoping to be funny; these things never land 100% of the time), with a few actual people thrown into the mix. Strips include existential dinosaurs, an excellent warning sign for elephants, looking for meaning while being attacked by a giant squid, animals discussing various states of inebriation, Does Your Cat Look Like Hitler, dodos talking about the good old days, directions on how to annoy yourself, rich assholes saying stupid thing and a self-justifying stick-up dog. There’s also a section no various lies that Steve has told throughout his life, with my personal favorite being that Steve’s Dad wrote for professional wrestling. Why the reality of his Dad actually BEING a professional wrestler wasn’t cooler I’ll never know, but it was still a good one and the illustration for it nailed it down as my favorite. So clearly if you need a linear story right this second you had best move on to something else. If you’re fine with a consistently funny series of shorter pieces, I’d say you have everything you need in this rather hefty (for a mini comic) package. $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 3/1/11
March 1, 2011New review for Moulgar Baggg Digest #3 by Rusty Jordan/Brent Harada, and it nearly came without a sample image because my scanner died again after getting the cover scan. A few well-placed punches later and it was back in action. Stay tuned tomorrow to see whether or not the scanner works! Oh, and for a new comic of some kind if it does.
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Posted by Kevin
Harada, Brent/Jordan, Rusty – Moulgar Baggg Digest #3
March 1, 2011
Moulgar Baggg Digfest #3
Oh Rusty Jordan/Brent Harada, it has been far too long since I’ve made a fool of myself trying to write a coherent review for one of your comics. As for that title, well, that’s how he wrote it on the back (at least it was included somewhere on the comic) this time, so that’s how I’m going to type it. You can’t stop me! So anyway, the story in here starts off with a man throwing some bait into what appears to be an ice fishing hole although, come to think of it, there’s no fishing line. The bait sinks, and everything else is all guesswork from me. There’s an image of excessive choking violence, what appears to be Scott McCloud in a straw hat, the man peering into his fishing hole, a monstrous creature getting grabbed where its gonads should be, a death, a toilet paper turban, some drugs, and an ending that I think involved the answer to all the questions in the universe. Oh, and there was also the part in the middle that was shockingly banal to bring it all together. A more disturbing and eclectic bunch of images you’re not likely to see anywhere, and a smarter man that me could probably easily make some sense out of them. Me, I go for the pretty pictures and try not to take too much meaning out of anything. No price, but let’s say $3 and hope for the best.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/28/11
February 28, 2011New review for Panel #15: The Movies by those Columbus folks who keep putting these things out there for the world to enjoy. You probably noticed that the review came with pictures, as the scanner worked again today after multiple attempts. To be blunt, I can’t afford to buy one for at least another couple of weeks, possibly more if I want to go to SPACE this year, so I’m asking again for people to buy some comics to help out. I hate fundraisers as much as the next person, which is why I’m not calling it one, and it might not even matter, as the scanner might hold up in its rickety condition for another month or so. But if you enjoy the site and think that it would be a bit worse without sample images (and have some money lying around that you would like to transform into comics), then I should be able to stop mentioning this after I get between $75-100.
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Posted by Kevin
Panel Anthologies – Panel #15: The Movies
February 28, 2011
Panel #15: The Movies
It’s difficult to tell from that cover scan, but this comic comes in a DVD case. Yep, the Panel folks keep stepping up their game, threatening to finally quit fooling around and design an anthology that is utterly perfect, negating the need for anybody to try again. Of course, if they ever do get there I’ll be the last person to point it out to them, because if I did they might stop putting out anthologies, and nobody who likes comics wants that to happen. So, right off the bat, the DVD case. That cover is pretty great (I particularly enjoyed the “Special Appearance” blurb followed by a couple of new names) but the back cover is pretty sweet too, featuring panels from the comics and a nice synopsis. It houses a regular comic, not some strange hybrid of the two, so don’t be alarmed. The “Chapter Selections” are neatly laid out on this back cover and the bios of all the artists and writers is again a high point. Fine, isn’t there a comic in here? Yep, and it’s over 60 pages at $5, which makes it very cheap considering all the bells and whistles. Well, I guess the only expensive bell and/or whistle would be the DVD case, and they probably found them in a landmine somewhere, as all DVD cases will outlast us multiple times over. Still, kudos. Highlights? There’s Brent Bowman with movie posters for theoretical movies that never got made (oh, to live in the universe where Kubrick directed “Lord of the Rings”), Sean McGurr & Tim McClurg with a simple but accurate description of the many assholes you’ll run into at a theater these days, Craig Bogart remaking an old Panel story by Andy Bennett, Dara Naraghi & Dan Barlow going through the excruciating process of making their own movie (and the hilarious premiere night), Tony Goins coming to the logical conclusion that you’d be better off just making a comic, Sean McGurr & Brent Bowman telling the story of Sean’s (or maybe Brent’s) fear about terrorists at the Spiderman 2 premiere in 2004 and Ross Hardy with a tale of various Star Wars characters locked in a drunken card game and talking about the films. The Matt Kish pieces were a bit of a highlight, as usual, but odd as they were both written by other people (Dara Naraghi and Sean McGurr respectively), even though they were both explicitly about Matt. The first was his reaction to the awful (hypothetical; we should be so lucky) Spudd 64 adaptation and the second was Matt illustrating some of the classic lines from Star Trek 2, which wouldn’t seem to require much of a writer at all, but what do I know? I think the man is on the right track and that he should immediately start drawing more of his interpretations of famous movie lines, but I’m biased enough to wish that Matt would also draw a running commentary of my life. I left out some pieces for no good reason really, as there wasn’t a terrible piece in the bunch, just a few I enjoyed slightly more than the others. Buy this, why don’t you, these people need to know that what they’re doing is seen far and wide and that people want them to keep it up. $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 2/25/11
February 25, 2011New review for Sunnyville Stories #2 by Max West, and the “help buy me a scanner” beg-a-thon rolls on. I figure they’re between $50 and $100, so once you buy enough comics to cover that I’ll stop talking about it. Or through sheer despair if nobody buys anything, because I am easily made sad.
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Posted by Kevin
