October 24, 2010
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Florride #3
This is apparently the comic from the Amy Martin pile that I was waiting for, as I loved it with no reservations. No, i couldn’t tell you exactly why that is, which is why they pay me the big bucks. Probably something to do with the fact that as a single guy in his 30’s, I don’t necessarily identify with single women on the prowl or complaining about the menfolk. Granted, there’s some of that this time around too, but also more genuinely moving stories. One highlight of the book is an imaginary conversation Amy has in heaven, in which she gets her baby disallowed due to the dissolution of a relationship and tries to cut through all the bureaucracy to find out if she’s ever going to get pregnant again. It was a hilarious portrayal of red tape on the one hand and the nonsense that is “heaven” on the other. The other highlight was Amy remembering some awful events from her past in a beautiful landscape, wishing for a way through it but not knowing how it’ll end up. Then you have the shorter pieces, dealing with the guilt of corn chips, a serious conversation behind a rabbit, and a few shorties about boys or being a happy woman after seeing boys. It’s a complete comic, full of heart, sincerity and humor, and kills whatever lingering doubts I may have had about Amy. Hey, I’m a critic, like it or not (never thought I’d be one, but that is at least a part of what I do here), so I’m allowed some healthy skepticism. My favorite part of the “job” was when somebody wins me over completely, so here’s to Amy making my day! Yeah, it’s a little steep at $6, but there’s plenty of content and it’s all good.
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Posted by Kevin
October 24, 2010
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Kozmowstraduh #4
Looks like Dave has abandoned any kind of spelling consistency on his title, and as long as he keeps making comics as thoroughly entertaining as this one I couldn’t care less. There are times when I just want to say a comic was frickin’ awesome and leave it at that, and this is one of those times. This is a wordless mini involving a half-naked young woman living in a savage land. She is attacked by a terrifying creature, escapes briefly before being attacked by a Jim Woodring fever dream.  Yes, I know that Jim Woodring doesn’t own the trademark to all odd characters, but it’s hard not to think about him when things get really out there, and I hope it’s obvious that I mean that as the highest form of compliment possible. A mysterious stranger helps her out, they are attacked by an even stranger cast of characters, and the chase is on. I’d love to ruin the rest of the comic, but my “no spoilers” policy is holding me back. If I had some kind of “star” ratings system for these reviews this one would have 80, which is why I don’t have a rating system of any kind; I’m too prone to hyperbole. Still, this is one ridiculously entertaining comic, and if you’ve heard about this Dave McKenna fella in the past and don’t know where to start checking out his stuff, start with this one. If you don’t like this there’s no point in going on to the rest of his comics, or any other comics, or life in general. See what I mean about being prone to hyperbole? And all this for a measly $1!
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Posted by Kevin
October 23, 2010
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Perfect Agent #1
Finally, a secret agent for the government that has no moral compass. It’s always a bit baffling how the James Bonds’ and Jason Bournes” of the world will happily kill dozens if not hundreds of people but still fall squarely on the side of goodness and right. It has never made a bit of sense and this issue, if we’re lucky, will start changing that direction. OK, granted, one mini comic series is not going to change the culture, but at least a few people will read it and call “bullshit” on the altruistic ideal, and that’s a good thing. This one hits the ground running, as Tara (the agent) tries is breaking into a Russian embassy and gets involved in a gun and knife fight. The government needs a scapegoat so she gets fired, although I think the usual punishment in a situation like this involves killing the agent, but maybe I watch too many movies and I’m willing to let it slide regardless. She ends up as a freelance agent, and gets her first assignment to take out a fundamentalist Senator. I won’t spoil any more, but the ludicrous outfits of the sampled page are explained and Tara’s thwarting of another prospective assassin has to be seen to be believed. It’s fun, looks great (although a few backgrounds next time around wouldn’t hurt anything) and has me wondering what happens next, so I’d call that a success. $2.99
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Posted by Kevin
October 23, 2010
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Monkey Squad One #6
Well, if the last issue at least mildly dealt with the characters, this issue is all about mayhem. I’m also torn on the recap, as it’s funny as hell, but functionally useless. Ah screw it, I’ll let “funny” win out. Anyway, Monkey Squad One is getting their behinds kicked by the giant monster from the last issue, Monkey Squad Two is happy to come to the rescue (after they finish eating dinner), and the cast of villains is still watching the spectacle from a nearby rooftop. The monster gets increasingly out of control until one of the MSO members shoots a giant laser beam out of his eyeballs, which seemed a bit odd to me, but I don’t know the full history here. The giant battle continues, Monkey Squad Two shows up (and they sure seem a lot more competent than Monkey Squad One), then we get to the point where I can’t say much else without giving stuff away. It’s a reasonably fun ride, although it may not be for me, as I’m mostly over giant anime robots, sadly enough. Still, that’s not to say that you wouldn’t like it if you enjoy mayhem, giant robots and interpersonal drama with a team of teenagers (?) and their constant efforts to save the world, so don’t let my general fuddy-duddiness get you down. I did approve of Doug’s obvious fixed to misspelled words, even if did stick out a bit, because it’s better than the alternative of leaving the wrong spelling in out of laziness or stupidity. And the art was impressive for what the genre needed to show, so I don’t have a clear explanation of my generally “meh” reaction other than, like I said, my own personal inability to feel joy. If you still have that power, get this comic and enjoy! $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
October 21, 2010
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Pork Belly #3
One of these days I’m going to ask Dan at a con what exactly are the differences in his various anthology titles. Theoretically he could just put them all out under one title, or there are basic structural details I’m missing. As they’re pretty consistently entertaining it’s a bit of a moot point. No sense in me complaining about one of the few guys in the business who puts out comics on such a consistent basis. So how about the actual contents? Things get started with a delightfully disgusting piece by Kel Crum about the standards of bird vomit, Macedonio has a piece about “illegals” and who to really be worried about and a piece about ethnic birds, and Dan has mildly awful pun on the cover and two other pieces inside. Those two are fantastic, one dealing with a man shipping himself to save money on a trip and the eventual consequences and the piece I sampled below. Embiggen that sucker and be amazed at how the encroaching police state hits even little kids, then get mad and do something about it. I recommend watching some TV, like I’m one to talk about political activism. It’s another pile of great stories for a measly buck, so what exactly is stopping you?
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Posted by Kevin
October 20, 2010
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Life is Good #3
Reality is starting to sink in by this issue for Brownie, as he sees that those precious unemployment benefits aren’t going to cut it but he still has time to kill before he can find another job. While having no money and living in a big city. Hijinx ensue, as it really is tough to find anything entertaining to do for free in such an environment. Then there’s the return of the altruistic hippies who are, surprise surprise, mostly in it to make themselves feel better and not so much to help others or the world. I know, that’s a horrible thing to say about the hippies who really are trying to save the world, but I’ve met a lot more hippies in my time who just wanted the moral high ground than I have hippies who really wanted to save the planet. The ones who were most amusing were the ones who didn’t get the disconnect, but then again I am generally profoundly cynical and the inevitable destruction of the planet doesn’t amuse most people as much as it does me. Yep, I can still bring a review down, no question about it. Other happenings this time around include a drunk fight on the street that costs money to watch (and the method for blocking out this fight was hysterical), hanging out with a friend who used to be cool and seeing how sad his life has gotten, and the lengths these two will go to in order to get booze when they’re both broke. Once again it’s a pile of funny, especially if you’re unemployed or have been recently and can relate to exactly what these sad sacks are talking about. Check it out why don’t you, that creature that blocks their view of the fight is worth the price of admission all by himself… $4
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Posted by Kevin
October 19, 2010
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Winter Break 2010
I’m starting to detect a pattern with Lisa’s comics, something to do with school terms. Ah, it must be a coincidence. This one deals with a trip to Mexico to observe odd bugs and their migrations involving the pair of Leo and Vega. This is probably based on a real trip, unless that picture on the back is just a stock photo from somewhere, but I don’t know if Leo and Vega are based on real people or completely made up. What difference does it make? Not much, I’ll grant you that. Anyway, butterflies are discussed (as well as the disappointment over the “Butterfly Theory” movie), a traumatic incident involving butterfly pinning is recalled from childhood, fun is attempted and squelched at the full body scanner at the airport, and much fun is had wandering around the city eating the food and seeing the sites. Except for Leo, who spent much of the comic in bed. It’s an interesting travelogue, unless it’s all fiction, in which case it was expertly done lies. Lisa is always good for packing her panels full of information and this comic is no exception. “Bang for your buck,” I think that’s what they call it. Check it out and no, you are not required to get the first issue in this series to understand this one. It’s a good comic too though, so you really might as well. $2 (?)
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Posted by Kevin
October 15, 2010
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Three #1
Ah, the collection of three different comic artists, it just doesn’t happen enough. Sometimes bigger anthologies can get unwieldy, but one with one three people gives them all room to tell a story, and this one even manages to be full color! Well, Joey’s story is full color, the other two are yellow and blue respectively. Eric Orner is up first with the bulk of the comic, dealing with his time in Israel, his reluctance to learn the language (he was sure that he was going to be transferred out at any time), his time in gay bars and meeting guys for sex online, and a charming piece of English graffiti that he kept seeing around town. Joey Alison Sayers is up next, and while my ego is not big enough to think that she started using “Alison” because I mistakenly called her “he” on an old review, I do think that her inclusion of a middle name is a new development. For those of you keeping track of such things, and shame on you for being so obsessive, you imaginary obsessive you. Her story deals with a landscaping job and the awkward question asked by the owner of the house. My sample will give that question away, but the ending to that page was too good to pass up, and the strip gets better from there anyway. Finally there’s the piece from Robert Kirby that deals with his constant desire as a child to be hidden and/or invisible, his chance meeting of a three-legged dog and his anti-climactic “running away” from his boyfriend at the time with only a Visa card and $67. Each piece had plenty to offer, and that story from Eric could be a comic all by itself. If you enjoy a great anthology but sometimes get overwhelmed by the sheer number of names attached, I’d say that this comic was made for you. Sure, it’s a little pricey at $6.25, but I did mention all that gorgeous color, right?
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Posted by Kevin
October 13, 2010
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Life is Good #2
Hippies! You see a couple of them on the cover, looming over the city like some bespectacled Godzillas. Godzilli? I don’t think there was ever a need for a plural of “Godzilla,” so who knows? Anyway, hippies are a good chunk of the theme this issue, as Charles wakes up from another drunken bender to hear two hippies bemoaning the sad state of his pond before it devolves into an argument about bumper stickers. Naturally, they decide to team up on some sort of crusade that isn’t clearly defined yet, but there are still two more issues to come in this pile, so I’m sure all will be made clear later. Meanwhile Brownie wakes up after that same bender, needing to get down to the unemployment office, with very little time to spare and no money. After not doing much but getting drunk for a few days he doesn’t look all that presentable, and that’s not necessarily the best shape to enter an unemployment office in. Good news follows, unexpectedly so, but you have to realize that this would be a pretty boring comic if it really stayed good news, right? It’s another solid issue, and damned relatable to me in my current unemployed state (except for the whole “getting unemployment checks” angle; no, nobody pays me to write on my own website about comics.) The character development is still a bit on the thin side, but this is a funny book, not something that is designed to delve into the past of these two and find out why Charles is so lazy. A couple of clues would be nice, but it’s early in the series yet and Steve still does an excellent job of nailing the funny bits. Check it out already, chances are it will make you smile, and there’s not a thing wrong with that. $4
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Posted by Kevin
October 12, 2010
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Abstracted Comics
If there’s one thing I hate about Pat’s comics, it’s that they’re so linear and easy to understand. Wait, where’s my “snark” button? Yes, that may have been sarcasm, but Pat gives up the ghost entirely here with this comic. The title is absolutely accurate, as this mini appears to have once been an actual comic, then it was printed over with another comic, then possibly another comic. The result is occasionally fascinating (I’m not sure if my scan did the sampled page justice), but in no way resembles a coherent story. If that’s all you’re asking for in a comic, run for the hills! If you’re willing to read something that won’t make any kind of literal sense but that will still leave you with a visceral impression, or if you’re already a fan of Pat’s, then you might want to give this a shot. This also comes with a minier mini, a little black and white things that’s shoved into this color comic, which features abstract art as well, but only one layer of it for panel so at least you have some idea what you’re looking at. Not much more to say about it than that, and I’ll forgo my usual urge to just keep rambling until something stops me. As this can’t be judged against other comics, I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, if those concepts even mean all that much to you. I don’t see this listed for sale on his site (update that list dude, you have all kinds of new comics to put up there!), but I’d say it’s in the $2-4 range.
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Posted by Kevin
October 11, 2010
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Window #5
This mound o’ comics on my desk completely buried my pile of Window comics, so if you were keeping up with my sort of regular updates to that old series, my apologies for the delay. #5 was another solid entry in the series (I’m starting to detect a pattern here) and yes, you should probably get it if you can find a copy or if this stupid, stupid rental idea of mine ever gets off the ground. Stories include trying to avoid a wide range of beggars at a bus terminal, another odd tale about Dave’s time teaching children, a big fish in a little aquarium, and a typical night in that turns ugly. That last one is what really stuck out from me in this issue, as Dave lived high up in an apartment building and had a friend come in saying that he saw fire trucks and cop cars coming in. They hear loud noises, check over the balcony and see a body covered up far below under a pink sheet. They watch awhile, change their mind and go watch a movie, and spend a good chunk of time going back and forth before realizing that they won’t be able to concentrate until this is resolved. The really strange part of it was hit other neighbors pointing a laser pointer at the scene or a flashlight. It was just a spectacle to those people, but really there’s not a whole lot else to be done at that point. Just a haunting and mildly depressing story about human nature. As always buy a copy and enjoy it if you can find one, and if not maybe try bribing somebody at one of the bigger small press companies to put all these back in print. $2ish
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Posted by Kevin
