April 26, 2010
Matt’s Myspace page
The Saga of the Baby
The sample below shows you what the art is like the whole way through (simple, no backgrounds pretty much ever), so I’m not going to waste much time talking about that. Either you’re OK with simple, quick art, or you’d rather see some lavish detail. The story here is of a 30 year old man who dresses up as a baby. He goes into a bit of detail about why that’s the case, but mostly he just shoots up, punches a hooker and OD’s. There is quite a bit of funny here, don’t get me wrong, but the humor really started to hit you over the head by the end. I guess that’s the nature of a “saga”, but I probably would have enjoyed a smaller book a bit better. I’m guessing this is $3 because it really is huge, but I honestly have no idea. Send him an e-mail, I’ll bet Matthew can clear this up for you!
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website (not so much as of 2010)
The Wonderful Year #8
It’s hard to complain too much about something that’s getting better with every issue. Or maybe this issue is just so great that it makes me think they’ve been getting better with each issue, who knows? The important thing is that this is one of the best portrayals of a brother/sister relationship through the years that I’ve seen. Plenty of embarrassing things are shown from childhood, but they’re all real things, just things that people don’t talk about once they grow up. Then there’s the strained relationship with her roommate, which goes back to her trying to deal with her brother, and the way things are now. Or the way things were fairly recently, it’s still a bit tough for me to keep track of a linear chain of events in her books. Still, there’s more honest, pure emotion and unstated self-analysis in this issue than most auto-bio books have in their whole run. Contact info is up there, check this one out right away, then go back and get the other issues…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website (not so much as of 2010)
The Wonderful Year #6 Now Available! $2
I think I get it now. I blame the sudden bolt of discovery on drugs. It’s snippets of her life, mostly. Things that she overheard in the day, or thoughts that she had at certain times, or people that she knows, or events that have happened to her or somebody she knows during her life, all thrown together in a comic. Sometimes it stays linear for a while, sometimes it doesn’t, but there’s a definite sense to be made of the whole thing and I’m fairly stupid for not seeing it before. This issue is about her sister, an old friend, growing up, sleeping in, falling, and painting. Other things too, but it’s well worth the effort to discover for yourself. The art was always solid, but I’d swear it’s better this issue than the last. This book is steadily climbing my list of books that I most look forward to, so why not send her a couple of bucks to check an issue or two out? Contact info is up there, but you already knew that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website (not so much as of 2010)
The Wonderful Year #5 Now Available! $2
You know, I was fairly undecided on this comic before. Becca was kind enough to send me all of the issues that I didn’t have of this series, and now I know what an amazing thing it is. The comics all contain certain elements, which is just about the only thing that holds them together as a series. They all have random quotes, dreams, conversations and overheard dialogue, mixed together in a way that makes it hard to follow in any kind of linear way, but who needs linear? It’s a joy to see snippets of dates that may or may not have happened, conversations which may have been expanded a little bit from reality, and the general chaos that is this comic. If this sounds like it’s a bit too willy-nilly or something, well, you don’t have to buy it. If you like things that make you think (but might not make much “logical” sense to you even after you’ve thought about it), then check it out. It’s only a buck, you know…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website (not so much as of 2010)
The Wonderful Year #2
I’ve almost managed to fill in all the blanks on all of Rebecca’s earlier work, at which point… hm. Don’t seem to have an ending for that sentence. At which point the world will be a slightly better place, as samples from all of her comics (that I know of) will be on a currently functioning website? I’ll go with that one. This comic, as is the case with most of her book, wanders around a bit, eschewing that “traditional narrative” thing we’ve all gotten used to over the years. Still, who needs a traditional narrative? She manages to make her points in other ways. Subjects in here include various fantasies about funerals, “light as a feather, stiff as a board”, loneliness, watching something irony-free, keeping pedophilia simple, making out with the guy from Blue’s Traveler, and a dream of making out in a sink. Again, descriptions of this are just about pointless, so I have a tendency to leave it up to the reader… who will quite possibly never see this book, as it’s out of print. Oh well, that’s the price of reviewing old mini comics. If you can find this it’s probably only a couple of bucks, but good luck with that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website (not so much as of 2010)
The Wonderful Year #1
Well, her website is dead and I can’t seem to find any new contact information for her, although I am searching for “Rebecca Taylor comics” on google, so it’s probably hopeless. Even if I could find anything, I seriously doubt that her earliest issues are still available. So why bother with a review? Because when I get the comics rental thing off the ground (the hope is mid-April of 2010, which is theoretically possible), it’s comics like this that are sort of the reason for the project. Here’s a comic that’s way out of print, but I have a copy just sitting in a box, along with most of her other issues. Why not share it with the world? If any of you are thinking I’m coming across like Gandhi, forget it: I hope to be able to eke out a meager living, between that and selling comics. Then again, who makes any real money from comics? Wasn’t there a comic in here that has nothing to do with me or this rental idea? Oh yeah. There’s not much to it, and I am more than a little hesitant to even review this older stuff, as most of the comics people I’ve talked to would rather their earlier work went away forever. Their early work is often great, but that’s never stopped them. This issue meanders, serving as a (more fully realized than usual) sketchbook more than anything else. Her art has improved tremendously over the years, but you all know that it’s never wise to base your opinion of the artistic talent of these people on their first few issues. Topics in here include hanging around a coffee shop, trying to figure out how to do her comics, surf music, and getting ripped off at the beach. They all float around in the general area that is her comic, and it all comes across as things that she silently observed at some point. If anybody knows of contact information for this woman please send it along to me, as I’m hoping to use her books in this rental idea but have no idea how to get ahold of her. I’m guessing this is a buck or two, but good luck finding a place to buy it…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Ten Itty Bitty Shitty Pieces of Art Now Available! $.75
It is almost completely pointless for me to review this book. There, now that I’ve hooked you all in with that cliffhanger, I’m free to ramble about this comic for a bit. This is, as you might have guessed, ten pieces of art. “Shitty” refers to the show at which these things were introduced to the world, as apparently it’s a regular thing, although I have no idea if there were more shows after this one in 2007. Dan left his pieces art there to “find their own way around the world”. Some of the detail of these pieces has been lost when they were transferred to the mini comics format, unless that was how they were originally presented. Pieces in here include (and this is with my complete knowledge that briefly describing pieces of art, however shitty, does them a disservice) the artists, black goop, a collage piece about commerce, a three part profanity series, marshmallow flowers, a self-portrait, sunflower art and an instructional collage. Hey, I’m in this comics business for the stories, so this doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but it does serve as a nice contrast to the rest of Dan’s comics. Check it out if you’re already a fan and want to see what the man works on when he’s not drawing comics. $.75
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
The Cloud Now Available! $.75
Hey look, a fable! This is the story of Cyrus Helton, a sad man who has terrible luck, and a literal raincloud that follows him everywhere he goes. Cyrus has no luck at work, with his landlady, at cards, and has no illusions about anything ever changing. Which, of course, means, that something has to change. Cyrus wins the lottery, which dispels his cloud… but change isn’t always a good thing.  I’ve probably said too much, as this is a tiny thing and it’s hard to say anything about it without giving the whole thing away. Not exactly a shocking moral to the story, although Dan maybe could have spent another panel or two setting up why exactly change isn’t a good thing in this case. I get what he’s trying to do, but it’s still a bit much to see Cyrus pining away for the bad old days. Still, it’s a decent little story, and as a wise person once said “those who can, do; those who can’t, complain about those who can”. Or something like that, I always get all the good quotes confused. Point is that yes, I am aware of how silly it is for me to request that the artist add a few panels to their story to make it come together just for me, but hey, that’s the nature of having a website all about the mini comics.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Time Warp Comix #5 Now Available! $.75
This is easily the best “you damned kids, get off my lawn!” comic I’ve ever read, and it manages that feat while being a tiny thing. The tone is set right away with the cover, then there’s a one page story by George Erling (which doesn’t have anything to do with the theme I mentioned but is still a fun shortie), then there’s the gem of the book. Jim Siergey details the origins of mini comics, including things I’d never heard of, and I like to think I’ve at least kept up with this sort of thing. After two solid pages of learning, Jim goes off the rails with a delightful rant about how young cartoonists reading this aren’t going to learn anything anyway as “history to this generation is what happened 10 minutes ago”. Brilliant, and sadly true. Bob Vojtko has a one page story up next about how conventions have changed in the last 30 years, and the book is rounded off by David Miller and his 8 tracks. Not a single thing to complain about here, the whole thing is just good clean fun.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Time Warp Comix #4 Now Available! $.75
Here’s another anthology by Dan and some of the “old school” mini comics guys. Things this tiny (an 8 page mini) generally defy any sort of detailed analysis, but let me make one request to Dan: please list the contributors somewhere in the book. You’re killing all my street cred of being some sort of a mini comics expert (and I hope nobody thinks that anyway) when I can’t place Strauss, Vojtko and D. Miller. Anyway, there are some funny stories in here. D. Miller has a great two pager about a baby getting the hang of things, Vojtko has a funny piece about an old retired mini comic artist, and Krauss does a good job of taking some whippersnappers apart when their questions get too personal. All told, it’s well worth a look if you like old, cranky cartoonists who still have a sense of humor.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Time Warp Comix #2 Now Available! $.75
I hope nobody out there is trying to read these reviews sequentially. Once again, I read them way, way out of order, although now that only #3 is left to review I will be reading #2 and 3 in order. Whoopee! This time around the comic is half one-page pictures, meaning no story of any kind for those bits. In order, for the curious, those are an interpretive blot by Bill Shut, something utterly fantastic by M. Roden, a real mystery by… somebody (seriously, is there no space for some sort of tiny table of contents?), and a monkey with Frida Kahlos by Jim Siergey. You could take those or leave those (although I particularly enjoyed the Frida Kahlos), but then there’s still the comic story to consider, and it’s fantastic. It’s a three page tale by D. Miller about a burned-out artist trying to come up with fresh gags for a magazine about tits, dicks and balls. Comic versions of tits, dicks and balls anyway, and this artist is at the end of his rope in terms of being able to come up with anything else remotely funny. It’s a great piece and makes the whole comic damned near unmissable. Check it out, or go nuts and just get a pile of these cheap things.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Time Warp Comix #1 Now Available! $.75
It’s sad that it’s just now occurring to me that I should have read this series in order. Oh well, live and learn. And forget, and repeat the same mistakes. This is the issue where Dan explains his plans for this series, basically that he’ll put out the 8 page comic every time he has enough art to fill it. It started out as a tribute of sorts to Clay Geerdes, someone who was active in the 70’s and 80’s and was instrumental in getting the word out about all kinds of mini comics. The first story (by Jim Valentino) in here tells the story of Clay for those of us who are culturally illiterate as to how the mini comics “movement” started. There’s only one other piece in here, a two pager by Bob Vojtko of two old geezers pining away for the old days when they could make mini comics. The love for Clay is palpable here, it makes me wish I had actually seen something from the guy. Actually, chances are that in the piles of minis around my house there must be something with work from the guy in it, but I have no idea where that would be. Kids, you should read stuff like this, get a little sense of history. And for those of you old enough to remember the early, early days of mini comics, well, a little nostalgia never hurt anybody, right?
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Symphony in Ink #3
Geez, looks like I was cranky for the review for #2. I try to judge everything on merit and not let me mood effect anything, but really, who knows? However I’m feeling on any given day is bound to have an effect on what I write, which isn’t entirely fair, as my daily mood translates to a review that stays up forever (at least how time is determined online, anyway). Ah well. This one was a blast, and the construction of it had a lot to do with it. The contributors were Jenny Gonzalez, Steve Steiner, Andy Nukes, David DeGrand, Bill Shut and Dan Taylor, and I thoroughly enjoyed how Dan spaced out the stories, even putting little panels of his own under the Jenny Gonzalez strips when there was extra room. Everybody else but Steve Steiner had multiple pieces and Dan scattered them beautifully, with Steve getting the “centerfold”. As for the content, Bill Shut had a few full page pieces of art (didn’t do a lot for me), Andy Nukes had the same thing (oddly, I enjoyed his pieces), David DeGrand had a couple of thoroughly bizarre pieces about shaving a nose and giant fake heads (that I loved), Steve Steiner had a piece about why he hates squirrels (LOVED and am glad to see that Steve can see the truth about those vermin) and Jenny Gonzalez had 5 hilarious strips (she can do no wrong as far as I’ve seen). Oh, and Dan, in his job of “filling in the blanks” under the Too Negative strips, had a few decent funnies of his own. Definitely the best issue of the series so far. $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Symphony in Ink #2
Here we have an example of my fundamental problem with anthologies in general: even when I like a series of anthologies (granted, this one was only based on reading one issue), there are times when individual issues of it don’t do a thing for me. This is one of those cases, as I did like the first issue. This one starts off with a story by Lorena Caiazzo, probably the best piece of the book, about a couple of kids trying to figure out what to wear for Halloween. Tom Brinkmann is up next with a piece about Funky Fetish Fashion Dolls, an OK piece about dominatrix action figures. Michael Roden has a poetic piece next, an illustrated ode about flying through dimensions that didn’t do a thing for me. Finally there’s Dan’s story about a cold zombie who hangs around with a hobo for warmth, with predictable consequences. There are also one pagers by Brad Foster, Bill Shut and Thomas Ferranti with faintly amusing shorties. As a whole it’s OK. If you like enough of these people, as with any anthology, that’s probably enough for you to check it out. If you don’t like them or know them already, there’s not a lot here to make a fan out of anybody else. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Symphony in Ink #1
Ok, technically speaking this is an anthology, but as you can get copies from Dan, he gets to have these (there’s at least one more) on his page. Besides, that Various page is a behemoth at the moment. First up is an amusing tale about the hilarity that ensues when a new employee mixes up his job title between “business anarchist” and “business analyst” by D. C. McNamara. Next up is a wonderful example of a rampaging problem I have with some anthologies, as a little story called Weird Light (about, oddly enough, a weird light with a few historical figures) doesn’t have any indication of an author, so let’s just say that one’s by “Steve”. Thomas Ferranti has a rambling piece up next about a general lack of inspiration and his characters that are easy to draw. World of Voodoo is a gorgeous piece about various types of voodoo, although not much there in way of a story, if that’s your thing. Tony Consiglio, always a welcome addition anywhere, has a piece about a dead guy in a fast food bathroom and the inevitability of taking a shit. Tim Kelly has the longest piece in the book (and probably the oldest, as it’s dated 1991) about a couple taking a bath and the dangers of shrinkage. Finally there’s a one pager, also by “some guy”, with a wonderful, wonderful punch line. One of those mystery guys is Tom Brinkman and the other is probably Dan Taylor, but I’m not sure which is which, and seriously people, that can’t be that hard to nail down before publication. Not that I’m trying to single Dan out here, as all kinds of people do it, I just wish they would stop. All in all a pretty good anthology for $2.50.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Weird Muse #3 Now Available! $1
More tiny fun from Dan Taylor, this one a wee tale of the history of Muses and their troubles with Sirens way, way back in the day. It’s hard to do dig too deeply into these tiny things, and it’s a fun little light story, if you want to leave it at that. So naturally, I’m going to start picking. Typos always bug me, and even more so in little books like this (where there’s so much less to proof than, say, a graphic novel). In this case it’s even an italicized word (“Godess”), so it’s hard to see how it could be missed, but still a minor thing that most people probably just gloss over. Also, while the second half of the story looks gorgeous, bits of the first half (like the eyes on the Muse on page 3) look rushed and a bit sloppy. Just my two cents, as always. It may be a bit sloppy at times, but it’s still fun, so there are certainly worse things in the world. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Weird Muse #2 Now Available! $1
This mini (or at least half of it) is about a subject near and dear to my heart: where the hell does all the time go? A perpetually naked older lady asks this question, noting that Sonic Youth is pushing 50 (!), but also getting some joy out of the fact that the hot starlets of today will eventually be broken down old crones like everybody else. Well, I guess old men are called “fogies” more than “crones”, or at least they are in the 1920’s bubble I live in. Also in this issue is an interesting story about wishful thinking in an abuse victim, and a really, really awful pun in the story on the last page. Seriously, just let your eyes skip over that page if you don’t want to groan loudly. Other than that it’s a pretty solid issue though, and I was thinking that I had already gotten around to reviewing #1 of this series, so that should be up (seriously) in a few weeks or so…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Weird Muse #1 Now Available! $1
I think it was SPACE 2008 (or, sadly, maybe even 2007) when Dan asked me if I was ever going to get around to reviewing the first issue of this series, the one that “brought him back” to mini comics. Seeing as how SPACE 2009 is coming up in a few days, that served as a helpful reminder that I STILL hadn’t gotten around to it. And the verdict is: this is one solid comic, and I see why it (in part) convinced him to get back to making comics on a regular basis. Hell, a more than regular basis, if you look around this page and then check around to see how many other creators have this many books on their page. It starts off a little rough, with a really awful pun about fishing (at least to somebody who mostly doesn’t like puns, so what do I know), then gets great in a hurry. Dan quotes from a series of newspaper articles involving odd stories like a nine year old suspended for sexual harassment, an angry pack of chihuahuas attacking a cop, a man dying right after bowling a perfect game, terrorists kidnapping an action figure and an odd story about airport screening. With each of these stories is a funny comic panel, as these stories are crying out for some feedback. Next there’s an obituary for Clay Geerdes, (a small press pioneer), some tips and recipes and a collage covering the center spread. Finally there’s the big, um comic in this comic. It’s a conversation with two people, one of whom is convinced that he has all kinds of freedom, and one of whom manages to convince him rather easily that that’s not the case. Three cheers for Dan being pissed off about the absurdity of mandatory seat belt laws too; I’ve been thinking I was in the minority in being annoyed about that. If I don’t mind flying through my windshield if I ever get in a wreck, why should police? This is well worth a look, clearly, and probably a good starting point for anybody who wants to check the man out and is a bit overwhelmed with all the variety on his page. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
My Crow Comics #1 Now Available! $.50
Ah tiny comics, you are at least always easy to talk about. This one all about the short life and dreams of Shrimpy, a ghost shrimp who only lived to 20 (days), ate fish poop and dreamed of better things. It’s funny, the art is great (especially considering the odd creatures in a fish tank), so what more could you ask for from a tiny thing like this? Dan sent another mini along too, so I’ll get more of an idea of his work then, but for now I’m impressed.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Krunk Volume 2 #5
I’m pretty sure this isn’t kosher, but I’m going to reprint the entire “the story so far” at the start of this issue to give fans of his work some idea what’s going on here. For those people who aren’t fans, I have to think you’re a little bit stupid, or possibly you just haven’t read any Krunk yet. Anyway: “Terrence Krunk decides to travel and meets his friend Jimy and a new friend Jogn on the way to his first destination. Upon arriving, Terrence finds a place to stay and accidentally meets up with Jogn again. Terrence is, then, abducted by pirates. Jimy and Jogn save him. Terrence does not want them to turn the pirates over to the police. This makes Jimy yell at Terrence. In response, Terrence leaves his friends.” Everybody up to speed? Of course, this description is just the bare bones and leaves out all the wonderful, wonderful details going on in these issues. Terrence is down on his luck here (hence that image of him sitting on the street on the cover) but is lucky enough to meet a homeless man who takes him under his wing. Jimy attends a family dinner and fights to keep his mouth shut.We get to see the real history of cigarettes, and why people have to drinkexactly at noon. And I seem to have unconsciously mimicked the speaking style from the recap. Whoops! Oh, and there are some fantastic letters on the back of this comic, which is something that comics should do more often, assuming that anybody writes to comic creators these days. $2
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Posted by Kevin
