April 27, 2010
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Chick Magnet #1
Well, in case you were wondering if the authors are starting to blend together for me, the answer is yes. I did the other review a few weeks ago and saw this one when I was looking through my older comics for stuff to review. The name looked slightly familiar but that was about it. Turns out that I’ve had both of these for several months (I actually bought them at the same store and I never connected them). This is the guy you people are trusting to show them new and wonderful comics, remember that. My brain could fall completely out of my head at any moment… Anyway, this will give me a chance to compare something other than a mini against of one of these Robot Publishing people, right? As to my reaction to this one, I’m conflicted. There were parts of it that were OK, but most of it read like a secret journal that I wasn’t supposed to be peeking into. Oh, granted, the story was just about an interviewer (an old acquaintance of the protagonist) wearing a Catholic schoolgirl outfit and talking to a television variety host. He’s worried about a co-host escaping prison and killing him, among other things, and they drink a lot and talk about this fact. That’s what it was on the surface. What it looked like to me was that he was showing his schoolgirl fetish to the world. Sure, you’d have a hard time finding a heterosexual male anywhere who wasn’t at least a little turned on by that look, but this was all over the place and constant. Throw in a whole lot of bad puns and the bad kind of outweighs the good. The art is still nice to look at. I liked his stuff in his other book and it’s just fine here too. The job of a #1 (at least when a #2 is planned) is that it has to make the reader really want to see what happens next, and I didn’t really care with this one. But I finally do have an address so you can ask this guy for his comic (I assume he has The Envelope Licker too). It’s 4324 Purtell Drive, La Canada, CA 91011.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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The Envelope Licker
Finally, one of these Robot Publishing books that takes me longer than a minute to read. This one is about a man who is gifted with an extremely long tongue and a propensity for getting in all kinds of trouble. He eventually settles down and buys an envelope licking company after his boxing career is cut short when he’s attacked and maimed by a group of angry young men. It’s interesting to watch all the things this character goes through in 16 pages. His life is destroyed a couple of times and he becomes a legend all because of licking envelopes… Anyway, this is a good one. You can find it on the Top Shelf page for $2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
Website
Tread #8
Here’s another fine collection of random comics from Greg. The guy on the cover with the huge eyebrows is in a story getting his ass kicked (along with a guy with a mohawk) and in plenty of one page pieces getting run over (not literally) by his girlfriend. You also have the sampled piece (which I mostly sampled because I wasn’t quite sure how to describe it, which is always a good thing), a tale about birds and porridge, Bible Adventures, and almost seeing Traci Lords on Oprah. Perfect for the fans of comics full of many random stories! And who hasn’t known someone with giant eyebrows who just had beating after beating coming? Seriously, if you haven’t checked out any of his stuff yet, this is a good place to start, as he’s really been honing his skills with the previous issues and this one has all new stuff in it, so you don’t have to catch up or anything. It’s $3, contact info is up there I’ll bet!
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #6
Greg goes back to a bunch of short stories in this one instead of one longer one, proving to me once again that he’s getting to the level of doing everything right. The story of his travels was great, partially because it was one long, coherent story, but I think he has the timing down of the short stories pretty much nailed. Don’t make me choose which one I like better! The main story is about a snake charmer. Written by Robert Young (and shame on you if you don’t know who he is, as he’s putting out the only real competition to The Comic’s Journal), it’s also the basis for the lovely wraparound cover. It’s a grim and dreary tale, but also fascinating, so don’t be sad. Next is a quiet, poignant story about the culture of fear that’s been so prevalent since 9/11, as he describes all the little things about an airport. The last one is a wandering story about a cockroach and a woman. Still interesting, it kind of meanders a bit. All in all, it’s another solid book, and I don’t see that changing as long as Greg keeps trying new things. Check it out, and read his older stuff too if you haven’t already…
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #5
It’s hard to say much bad about an artist who has a better effort every time out than his last one. This is the conclusion of his travel journal to India and London and it’s just fascinating. He has a very real and self-deprecating way of looking at how other people must see him in his travels and a real appreciation for how lucky he is to be seeing all the amazing things that he is. This book is all about his trip, no shorter strips involved, and I think it helps that all we have to focus on is his trip. If and when he ever collects his stuff I think this should all be in one volume. There aren’t many artists out there who do much of the travel journal stuff, Peter Kuper and Joe Sacco being notable exceptions, but I think Greg could be in that illustrious company if he has the money to keep going places and the will to keep writing about it. I’m fascinated to see where he’s going from here, and to everybody who’s been reading me ramble about him for a while now but still haven’t checked him out, this is an excellent place to start. Go to his website and check out his stuff!
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #4
It’s always a treat to get a new one from Greg in the mail. This one was mostly about his trip to India. A travel journal is kind of a different direction from him, but it was fascinating to read. He was traveling a few months after 9/11 and perceptions were (and maybe still are) different. His experiences around town are fascinating. It wouldn’t be a Tread comic without a few short strips though. You’ve got one in this book about the Smiths, one about him talking to Eddie Campbell, and a couple about robots. I think this is probably all around the best issue he’s done to date. Everything in here was interesting and well put-together, and I have a hard time asking for more from a comic. If this is my first review of mine of his work that you’re reading, well, I think he’s got all kinds of potential and you should be reading his stuff. You know, it actually sounds kind of bad to say “potential”, as that implies that he’s not doing great work now. He is and you should be reading it. Contact info is above, all you have to do is scroll up…
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #3
The latest from Greg Vondruska came today, and it’s a good one. He takes it in a slightly different direction with this one, veering a little bit from the introspection that was in the first couple of issues. Which is a good thing, as that can only last for so long and be entertaining. It’s good to see that he’s stretching. Lots of stuff about fish in this one, with one of the characters being swallowed by a fish and the other one meeting a school of talking fish underwater. Throw in a few stories about Peg Boy (not the band, and I wonder how many people out there will get that) and one about love after death and you have a pretty well-rounded book. It’s $3 and it looks nice. My opinion on this guy hasn’t changed, folks. He’s got some good stories in him and you should buy his stuff. Check the other issues for contact info, I’m too lazy to link everything again…
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #2
#2 has plenty going for it too, don’t get me wrong. Manic Dreams, Sleepless Nights (about the protagonist’s intense paranoia of cops and his descent into temporary madness) is great, as are a few of the shorter pieces. Check out his website for more samples of his stuff. If you want to buy these, send money to Greg ($5 for #1, $2 for #2) to 16812 Landings Pte. Lne. #304 Tampa, FL 33624. Or e-mail him and ask what he’s up to. Basically, these were two thoroughly entertaining books, with #2 maybe being a little bit weaker because it’s shorter. Not much to complain about here, folks.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Tread #1
One of the quotes on the back of #1 talked about the lyrical quality of his writing, and that sums it up as good as anything. He actually puts lyrics in #1, maybe he’s a musician, I don’t know. If he’s not he should think about writing songs. What about the comics? His strength lies in his longer stories, at least that’s what I’ve been able to tell from the stuff I’ve seen so far. A Token and Two Bucks (you can see half of it here, by the way) is fantastic, although it doesn’t come close to The Death of the Reader. Was that one ever nominated for anything? Anybody? I know it’s an older piece, but that should have been a comic exclamation point right there. It’s the story of a man who has given up on painting, which was the only thing he ever wanted to do, had a job that he hated and was recently divorced. Then he spots a mysterious book store that he had never noticed before and I kind of thought it was going to degenerate into a “mysterious shop” story. You know, the kind where the shop appears out of nowhere, our hero goes in and gets something, usually for free, and when he goes back to ask about this item he finds that the shop is gone. Not the case, as the shop owner charges a whole lot for the book that he gets, which has these strange symbols on every page… If you want to know more than that, buy the first issue. That’s the stronger of the two in my opinion, which almost isn’t fair because it’s so much bigger than #2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
Website
The Airy Tales Now Available! $15
If you were one of the 100% of people who saw that title and thought, “Huh, that sound like ‘fairy tales'”, give yourself a pat on the back. This is essentially a book of fairy tales, but told in Olga’s unique, um, airy way. It does too make sense! Everybody and everything in these stories seems to float along, sometimes literally so. This is broken down into chunks, and those chunks are broken down into smaller pieces that make up the chunk, but almost any short piece in here could be read all by itself and make perfect sense. Stories in here include the only man who is able to see the strings guiding all our choices, a man who lives in and is made out of rain (and his meetings with various people who come to him for help), a small town that lives on giant leaves from a tree and how they rise or fall based on what’s on their leaf, a man who comes to town with only a rooster on display and the attempts of the townspeople to make sense of it, the birds that control the strings mentioned above (also what they’re made of and who’s in charge of them), a man made entirely out of ice cream and the reaction of his doctors, a sad man who finally gets a smile but has it worn down by people asking him why he’s so happy, the relationship between a crow and a lamp, a snow hat, a man who is always losing everything, and a series of one page pieces in the back that shall remain a mystery. Briefly describing each of these stories doesn’t do a thing to convey the constant sense of wonder and innocence that pervades this book. It really is a children’s book in the strictest sense of the term; I can picture kids being fascinated by the utter unreality of many of the stories in here and the breezy art that accompanies them. That man made out of ice cream desperately trying to save himself from all the lickers, the way that the crow and the lamp are both determined to prove that they are more than a number, the sad man who is finally happy getting beaten down by society, there are some brilliant touches in here. I was afraid after her other comic that this might be a meandering mess, but that’s far, far from the case. It’s a damned near perfect book of modern fairy tales and is one of those rare “good for all ages” books. $15
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Website for Juliacks
Rock That Never Sleeps (with Juliacks) Now Available! $6
Ah, interpretive comics. The perfect chance for me to look like a complete doofus trying to interpret them. There are two stories in this comic, and both of them deal with memory loss. Olga is up first with the story of a town that is slowly losing its memory, the woman who put on the puppet shows in the town, and how said puppet makers go about trying to get their memory back.  Honestly, it’s less a comic than a children’s book, although the line is blurry. I demand at least one word balloon to call it a comic, although I do realize that I’m alone on that one. I do love her use of words, how phrases and concepts float through the panels, and the totally unique way that she draws throughout her text boxes. Oh, and I just flipped through the story again and saw that there was one word balloon, so I’m happy to call this a comic and kill off this controversy that I started a few sentences ago. The other story is by Juliacks, and it cycles into this story in an odd way. This story happens in 2196, has flashbacks to slightly older times and is much more subjective than the previous story, meaning that I’m still having trouble unpacking the damned thing. The art is much more open that Olga’s. The pages just feel bigger somehow, even though that makes no sense at all. Both stories obviously deal heavily in memory, what holds memories together and what makes them true, so if you’ve ever had any interest in the subjects (and who hasn’t?) you’ll probably find something thought-provoking in these pages. $6
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Friends #3 Now Available! $4
I may resort to gushing in this review, which I apologize for in advance, not because I’m sorry I like the comic so much, I’m just sorry about the gushing; it’s unseemly. This whole issue is dedicated to the story of the Jacks from the previous issue. They deal with crushes, friendship, reality and when exactly it’s time to leave a town. One of the Jack’s is set on leaving, while the other has known for a little while that he doesn’t want to go (mostly because of a crush on a girl) but hasn’t made that information known. Gah, every time I think of a point I want to make I realize that it’s ruining something about the comic, and I enjoyed this so thoroughly that everybody should be able to read it without much of a preconceived notion, or so the logic goes in my brain, anyway. Francois bemoans the fact in the back of this that it took almost a year to get this issue out, but sometimes that’s a good thing. There are layers and layers of meaning here and the art has made another leap forward. There’s also a pretty through synopsis to start things off, so it’s not the end of the world if you missed the last issue. Absolutely, positively essential reading. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
Website
Friends #2
Well, the second issue is usually the one that convinces me of a book, and I’m officailly won over with this one. It’s not a continuing story, by the way, so let’s establish that right now. The first story in here is about two guys named Jack who want to join a card counting scam in Vegas. One of the Jacks hates everybody and sees the value in keeping this information secret before they leave, the other one has different ideas. The second story (or really series of stories) is about some of the various crushes that Francois has. The fascinating thing about this, besides the fact that I love the hopeless crush stories anyway, is that the subjects here know that they’re going to be in a comic, and they know why. Or at least they do eventually, but I may have said too much already. There’s a bit of sloppiness in the early crush stories, but as they’re called “sketchbook confessions” I think that’s allowed. That’s as close as I come to criticism here. A thoroughly enjoyable comic, which is the reason I keep doing this website. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Friends #1: Speak Now, Or Forever
Sometimes the simplest stories are also the most enjoyable. This is about a guy who meets a girl on a bus from Chicago to L.A. Sounds simple enough, or at least it probably does if you’ve never met a girl or a guy on a bus, train or other random place where you only had a finite amount of time to get to know them. The art is a bit raw here and there, and yes, that cover is off-center, but this is also his first comic (or at least I got that impression from the letter) and those kinds of things tend to work themselves out after a few issues. The important thing is that the man can write, as it would have been really easy for this to slip into silly melodrama or “woe is me” stuff. Never happens, and it’s a pretty damned good story because of it. This is the first in a series; no idea yet if it’s one big story or just little ones under the same title. I should have the second issue up here in a few weeks, which should clear that mystery up. Until then check out the website, unless you don’t like comics. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Riverwurst #5
OK, there are two possible ways for me to review this book. One is to treat it as just another anthology, and on that front it’s not bad at all. Fairly typical, actually. A few great good stories, a couple of crappers, and a whole bunch somewhere in the middle. The other way I could review this, however, would be to see it as a piece of political protest, an informed piece of dissent, and on that front it pretty much sucks. Is there a single good political comic being done out there? I don’t mean the newspaper stuff, I mean a regular, independently published small press comic. There’s nothing new in here about George W. Bush, and most of criticisms are simple, easy jabs about him choking on a pretzel or being a small man with a huge ego. That’s great, but I’ve seen it done a hundred times, and most of the book has nothing to do with GW. So why the cover? Were they just trying to cash in on the flood of anti-GW books out there? If so, kudos to them, but you should at least make the entire book about the guy and his administration, and do some research! I know it might be a bit boring, but there’s plenty to nail the guy on that doesn’t involve just calling him names. Most of the usual suspects are here from the last two issues, which automatically means that a lot of talent was involved, and I have to repeat that this is far from a bad anthology. It’s just that one look at that cover gives you an entirely different impression of what you’re going to get on the inside, and it’s hard to consider that anything other than a disappointment. Contact info is up there, this is $3, check out #4 if you want to see what this crew is capable of when at their best, and I’m perfectly willing to accept the hypothesis that I didn’t like this book all that much because the artists didn’t tear GW apart nearly as much as I would have liked to have seen, especially after the election…
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Riverwurst #4
It’s always great to see a good random anthology. Seems like these are a dime a dozen, but real quality books are always hard to come by. Here are some familiar names from this website, at least: Nick Jeffrey, Larned Justin, Jen Sorenson, and Jenny Gonzalez. All kinds of good strips in here from people that I’d never heard of too, and a former sex worker who had an essay about how great boobs are, Candye Kane. What’s the book about? Well, you can read the cover for a few themes (it’s magazine sized, I just shrunk it down), but it also has Pickle Dude by Ben Liesch, a story about the ironies of eating meat from Jeremy Kirk, tattoo revenge by Bill Krupinski, some old strips from Denis Kitchen (you know, the guy who ran Kitchen Sink Press), a couple of incredibly funny strips from Dug Belan, and a disturbing story about a young girl who wants to be a robot from Heather Shinn… and that’s only the the first half of the book. Great stuff all around, probably the best anthology I’ve seen so far this year… but it’s early yet. Here’s an e-mail address, #3 is available too, and this is a great way to spend $4 if you like comics.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Riverwurst #3
Man, I was expecting so much more from this one. I read #4 before #3, in case you were wondering, and this was an issue that was all about Halloween. I was really expecting great things from this one, and instead I got a mish-mash. Certain stories are pretty funny, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot more poetry in this one, and at least one of the poems looks like somebody had those poetry magnets and just threw it onto a page. Not that I’m an educated critic of poems or anything, but blech. A lot of the same people are in here that were in #4, but I’m much too lazy to type them all again, so scroll down there if you’re curious. All in all I’d say you should get #4, as that was a solid, thoroughly entertaining anthology, while this one was your typical anthology: a few good stories, a great one or two, but mostly it’s not worth the time or effort. Oh, stories in here include zombie love, old Denis Kitchen stuff, eggs from hell, a bad dream, demon night, aliens making fun of Earth, piercing humor, a punk rock zombie, and the true story of Satan. $3, contact info is down one title, and get #4 instead!
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Panel #11: Work
The Panel crew is at the point where they could coast. They have a solid, consistent group of contributors, a near-limitless capacity to come up with new subjects for the individual issues and (I would hope, anyway) a group of people who will check out any future issues. And still they manage to keep everything fresh, starting right away with the packaging. Yes, that is a plain old interoffice envelope, familiar to any of us who have spent any time in an office, signed apparently by all the creators. Inside of this envelope is a series of individual mini comics (and one printed on a large sheet of paper), meaning that they can all be sold by the creators individually at cons or whatnot. To top it all of is the “memo” inside, an introduction to the comics, using all the appropriate buzz words like proactive, impactful and synergistic. An instant work of art, and I haven’t even mentioned any of the comics. The big sheet of paper is Broken, a silent story by Brent Bowman of a repairman witnessing the end of a relationship. Next is All in a Night’s Work by Dara Naraghi & Matt Kish, another silent tale about a day in the life of a henpecked knight, and you know I’m going to love anything that gives Matt the chance to draw dragons and various odd creatures. Pyramid Scheme by Brent Bowman & Sean McGurr is a tale of a man trying to convince his friend of the validity of his pyramid scheme, and this comic is actually shaped like a pyramid, although this point I think they’re just flaunting their creative awesomeness. Craig Bogart is up next with A Strange Farewell to Reginald Everbest, in which the people of a town don’t show enough respect when the town mortician dies, leaving the dead to rise up and do it themselves. Molly Durst has Wink! Wink! An Interview Gone Wrong, in which the interviewee has a nervous twitch that makes him wink, but I’m not going to spoil the punchline. Finally there’s Goby by Steven Black & Tim McClurg, another silent piece, and the one that made the least sense to me. There’s a little fish, see, and it gets thrown back after getting caught by a fisherman. Then said fish is swallowed by an octopus, which gets captured and cut up, which reveals the fish, which then transforms into a mermaid, and then time moves forward about 50 years, bringing a snail onto the scene… Sorry, that one lost me. It looks gorgeous though, and that has to count for something. The fact that this is still going strong at #11 is impressive as hell to me, as is the fact that you can pick up just about any issue of this series at any given con and expect a quality anthology. $4 and worth every penny…
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Panel X: Sex
Well, it’s about damned time they got to sex. I can see where they’d want to wait until #10 though, so I suppose it’s excused. My instant complaint: there’s surprisingly little nudity here. Except for a few stories, most of it is tastefully covered up. My opinion: if you’re going to have a book about sex you’re automatically going to offend people, so go for the gusto. Plenty of stories in here though. There’s Tony Goins & Steven Black with Dual Cultivation showing two blind people trying to reach a higher state of being through sex. Then there’s Dara Naraghi and Matt Kish Weird Sex Stories with probably the most graphic piece in the book, a foul thing involving alien porn that probably scarred me for life. Dirty Cop by Craig Bogart and Dara Naraghi has one of the funniest death scenes I’ve ever seen because really, why take it with you? Readers of this comic will get that and possibly guffaw, everybody else, well, maybe you should check it out for yourself. I’m still not completely sure what’s going on in Spent, the two page spread by Tom Williams, but I should probably still be offended. The After Kind by Dmitry Sharkov deals with love through assassination, maybe not the strongest piece in the book but not bad for a first contribution. Mr. Love by Tony Goins, Ellen Armstrong, Dan Barlow and Tony Goins (whew) have probably the strongest piece in here, dealing with various cupids trying to make love happen, how some people don’t know who they are yet and how love can actually hinder them from figuring that out. Sean McGurr & Tim McClurg have a short anecdote called Third Moon From Endor, only loosely related to sex but the punchline is worth the ride. Backstage Pass by Dara Naraghi & Andy Bennett deals with a succubus (sp?), but luckily she’s after an asshole, so all remains well with the world. Finally there’s The Garden by Brent Bowman, where all the crazy sex happens. It’s a brilliantly filthy retelling of the creation myth from the Bible, a story I thought was impossible to tell from a fresh perspective at this late date, and how the snake fucked it up for Adam and Eve because he wasn’t included in all the crazy sex. This is $5 and I think it was put out between SPACE conventions, meaning that there’s going to be yet another one when SPACE 2008 hits in a couple of weeks. Kudos to these people and their committment to quality work, I wish more anthologies were as consistently enjoyable as these.
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Posted by Kevin
April 27, 2010
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Panel #8: Travel
Once again, nice work with the production value here. As the theme is travel, this is made up like a passport. The usual cast of suspects are brought together here again, which is quickly becoming a good thing in my book. First up, by Sean McGurr & Tim McClurg, is Good Humor, a shortie about a language barrier and ice cream. Next is Random Encounter by Tony Goins about a, well, you figure it out, at a rest stop in Ohio. Craig Bogart’s Fat Man Walking is a delightful story about losing hope in the people of this country, getting it back and then losing it again while trying to walk across the country. Matt Kish’s story is probably my favorite of the bunch (this is becoming a pattern), as he tells the story of a man who gets killed and all the crap he goes through before coming back in Round Trip. Uprooted is a sweet, melancholy little story by Matt Kish & Steve Black about all the places you once lived, who lives there now and what exactly is “home”. Bystander by Dara Naraghi & Andy Bennett is all about pictures of various places around the world that all have the same mysterious man staring at the author. Transcendence by Steve Black & Sean McGurr deals with wanting to leave the physical world and the dangers of doing so (although I have to admit the punch line was lost on me). A Day In West Virginia by Tony Goins & Dan Barlow is about a man who hangs out at a rest stop all day, watching the people, trying to figure out the concept of “home”. And finally there’s Tom Williams, who at this point is literally mailing it in, as most of his Vegass was done on the backs of postcards. Another solid anthology, and if I have to bitch about one thing it’s that some of the pages were awfully light. But that’s just if I HAVE to bitch about something…
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Posted by Kevin
