April 26, 2010
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King Cat Classix #2
If the quality of the first collection of King Cat comics was a bit spotty at times (the guy was, after all, just starting out), that problem is taken care of in this second volume. It collects the best bits of #11-20 (in case you can’t read that on the cover) and even has a few stories taken from anthologies or previously unpublished, so even if you were awesome enough to collect these when they first came out you’re likely to run into something you haven’t seen. Stories in this issue include whether or not mice turn into money over time, a dream of dancing with the Throwing Muses, a jam comic involving penises pulled too hard, a silent shortie about a family picnic (barely), attending an art school party that ends with John going to the bathroom and being drunk enough to see two penises (definitely the first time I’ve used “penises” twice in one run-on sentence), a fantastic center spread, a dream involving John as a detective that is impossible to describe, teaching a cat to jump from car to car, rescuing a cat from a roof, his job that he could only take for 2 1/27 days, The Mouse getting in trouble, a giant dream cat and a bloody nose. That’s the bare bones of it. If it’s true that I have even the tiniest voice in the land of mini comics, somebody make this so: put these old minis back in print! If Fantagraphics can put out a huge collection of comics from the 80’s, why not put all of these comics into one huge volume? It’s not like you’d be hurting for material. Oh well, most likely wishful thinking. If you can find this for the love of Jehovah buy it, but you probably know that already…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
King Cat Classix #1
The trip down memory lane continues, as today I’m reviewing another out-of-print comic. Or at least it looks like it’s out of print, judging by his website. Of course, judging from his website it looks like most things are sold out, which is just a shame. So anyway, this one collects the best of King Cat #1-10, and raise your hand if you were awesome enough to buy any of those when they were available. Unless you really had your artistic act together in 1989, I doubt it. For anybody who has ever complained that John’s style was too simplistic (those people who have missed the point entirely), it’s very clear that his art has improved from these issues. Everything is a lot more raw, he’s clearly experimenting with thicker lines, and he eventually ended up where he is now. So what’s in this? Dream comics, stories of his time as a mosquito abatement guy (are these in the eventual collection? If so did he clean them up when they were collected? I should probably know these things), a simple story that is almost too perfect called 3 balls, John running into a guy trying to get to Chicago by walking along the railroad tracks, his new discovery of the reality of ticks, a drunk comic, a short piece about his dad, and his detailed (and hilarious) description of a sleepless night. I’m way too biased to offer any kind of objective criticism of this series, which should be painfully obvious by now to any regular readers of the site. Still, somebody should at least put these Classix volumes back in print (even though there are only 3 that I know of, so maybe add on a couple more), or maybe they should get in touch with Top Shelf or somebody and put the whole series out as a phone book type graphic novel. Hey, a guy can dream…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Know of any contact info for Linc? Please e-mail me!
I Belong to Jonas #10
Well, if this comic proved one thing, it’s this: cancer can be funny, at least when it’s only infected a mouse. Of course, Linc goes to so much trouble to make these characters seem likable that it’s a bit of cop-out to imply that it wouldn’t have been as funny with human characters, but I am nothing if not a walking contradiction. Anyway, this is the end of the latest batch of stories, although I suppose more could easily come from here. I hope they do, as these little stories are a blast, and it’s not like you could run out of mice to tell stories about in the world, and you just can’t beat the $.25 price tag on these things. One more time with the address, and I’ll get any e-mail or website up here as soon as I see it: 5638 Cranston St., Portage, MI 49002
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Know of any contact info for Linc? Please e-mail me!
I Belong to Jonas #9
Here it is, the penultimate issue! Granted, it’s not as big a deal when they’re all tiny issues and I know the whole story is already sitting here in front of me, but it’s still fun to say “penultimate”. Go ahead, try working that into a conversation naturally, it can’t be done. Anyway, that tumor has gotten completely out of control of this one, one of the mice has built a castle of shit and things seem to be building towards a dramatic conclusion. And might I just add, I don’t think anybody has ever drawn a more gross tumor than this one, so kudos to Linc for that…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Know of any contact info for Linc? Please e-mail me!
I Belong to Jonas #8
“It was like an epiphany. God had crashed my ass party, and it felt good.” MAN, is it tempting to just leave that as the review, but I’ll ramble on for a bit instead. That’s my favorite quote from this one, or possibly any of them, or possibly any comic ever. In this one you have some cancer progression, a new, fancy mouse on the scene, and that nasty tumor. Still funny (obviously), still worth checking out, still incredibly cheap…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Know of any contact info for Linc? Please e-mail me!
I Belong to Jonas #7
This time around we have mice sex and what the mice think is happening to them when they get taken out of the cage to get discarded. Oh, and how’s that cancer coming along anyway? Ew. Funny stuff again, even if I can’t shake the impression that I’m reading a book one page at a time. I guess that’s tempered a bit by the fact that mice have such short lives (especially THESE mice), so it’s not like this is going to turn into a great modern epic or anything…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Know of any contact info for Linc? Please e-mail me!
I Belong to Jonas #6
OK, this time around, I’m going to review each of these issues, mostly because I crammed it all into one review last time. Chances are they’re going to be short reviews, as they’re short minis (funny how that works), but I’ll ramble about each of them all the same. This one starts off with a mouse named Keith introducing himself to his fellow captive mice. They’ve all been picked up by a hippie, who we don’t see, and given new hippie names. Oh, and one of them has cancer. Slow build-up again, I’m guessing, but if it’s anything like the last bunch it’ll be worth it. No website or e-mail that I can see, just the address that’s referenced above, but these are an extremely cheap $.25 each…
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
When Are You Coming Home?
Thanks computer! The last time I checked, the backspace key was for going back a space, not going back a page, thereby killing my review dead just after I finished it. Obviously it was a great review, probably the best ever in the history of the page, but it’s out of my head now. Sorry. And it’s possible I wasn’t being entirely serious there, for any incredibly dense readers. So how about this comic? Christine deals with a few fascinating philisophical questions, including trying to understand the true nature of the universe, asking about the value of fear (and whether it’s a good or a bad thing to lose one’s fear), making a landscape from pure thought, and trying to remember the things that her old soul is trying to tell her. Her genuine earnestness kills any desire I might have for a smart-ass comment or two, much as I would like to try based on my conflicting views of some of her theories. Still, it seems like very few books are asking these sorts of questions anymore, and anybody who likes a good, thoughtful comic would love these two books. $8.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
A Capella Volume 2: Open Heart
Poetry, to me, can either be beautiful or profoundly annoying, based purely on whatever mood I’m in at the time, which isn’t the slightest bit fair to the book that I happen to be talking about. In this case though, this was the perfect book for the perfect mood. There are three stories in here, all generally about trying to work through things through chatting or in your head. First up is What Price Love, with Christine (I’m going to assume these are all meant to be her, although I’m obviously just guessing) sitting in a field, wandering around nature, and trying to decide if the price for love (and dreams) is worth it. Next up is Open Heart, which takes up the bulk of the book. Christine has her heart stolen, literally, by a passing monk.� It blows away, but she has to chase it, and eventually ends up, in dream-like fashion, entering her heart and talking to a turtle who tells her to trust in herself. Lastly is Do You Believe?, a story about related souls reconnecting throughout the ages. As I most definitely do not believe I’ll resist the urge to say something smarmy, to each his or her own, I suppose. The painted, smudgy artwork is a pleasure to look at, it really leads you through these stories wonderfully. Worth checking out, if you don’t mind the peaceful things in life. $10.95
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
The W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G Technical Pamphlet #1
I’m all for comics people getting into something a bit meatier. One shots about how crappy life/relationships/everything is are fun for awhile, but give me a decent series or mini series any day. Lucky for me, Ed has started an 8 part story detailing the life and eventual incarceration of an infamous computer hacker. Things start off slow in this one, as it mostly deals with the very early years of Kevin “Boingthump” Phenicle (yes, the nickname is explained here). The inside cover wraps around with comments from people who knew the man throughout his life, something that’ll make a bit more sense as the story moves along, and the whole thing is told as part of a radio broadcast detailing his life, although it’s mostly there to set things up and it transitions into a normal comic story smoothly. In here Kevin learns the basics of getting things without paying for them, scamming his way into a free pizza, as much Pac-man as he wants to play with one quarter and an unlimited bus pass with a simple paper hole puncher. Oh, and he gets beat up a lot because he’s much smarter than everybody else and a quiet kid. It’s an interesting start, maybe not the greatest comic in the world as a stand-alone mini, but that’s not what it is, after all. It has all the makings of a great graphic novel if everything keeps up and Ed keeps putting these out on a consistent basis. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Isolation Chamber #2
More diary strips, this time from 12/23/04 to 1/28/05, again with days getting skipped here and there, again with him only chiming in when he actually has something to say instead of just doing a strip for the sake of doing one that day. At least that’s the impression I got. This one is more of the same from #1, but Ed is also dealing with a tiny degree of fame from the American Splendor book and keeping his comics group tiny and elitist after a newspaper article comes out about said group. He also deals with drugged out friends, lending money to his parents, mentoring his baby sister, creeping baldness (at 22), and snowmen on car hoods. It looks like he decided to abandon the diary strip idea after this, which, while slightly disappointing, is OK by me if it means he has more time to do things like Deviant Funnies. In the meantime there are some good insights in here on artistic integrity and the technicalities involved in getting anything sold and/or published. $1.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Isolation Chamber #1
After reading the two comics listed above, just about the last thing I expected to see from Ed was a diary comic. Yet here it is, and it’s as good or better than his other stuff. This is a history of his days from 11/19/04 to 12/21/04. Days can take anywhere from a couple of panels to a full page, and this is how diary comics should be done. He has the space to talk about anything that pops into his head and tells all sorts of embarrassing details that he’s probably regretted ever since, especially the stuff about his parents being secret online swingers. Oof, that’s a tough one to live with. The problem I have with stuff like the Kochalka diaries (which I’m aware I’ve praised in the past) is that it’s the same thing every day, four panels and that’s it, often done obviously just for the sake of doing a strip that day. Ed has the space here to dig into his relationship with his father, deal with his book with Harvey Pekar (Our Movie Year) coming out, talk honestly about the seeming futility of the local comics collective, and daily life at 22 while still living with his parents. The lettering is a bit sloppy at times, and that’s just about the only thing to bitch about. If you’re a fan of the diary strip idea, this is what the worst of them could be in a perfect world. $2.50
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Marvel Gang-Bang (with various creators)
If you pick this one up thinking it’s nothing but hot Marvel on Marvel action (sex, that is), you’re going to be sorely disappointed. How you could be disappointed after seeing that cover is a mystery to me, but I’m sure it’s possible. What you have here is an anthology of loose tributes to various Marvel characters and artists. There’s Pat Lewis doing a Spiderman story involving J. Jonah Jameson and Magneto, Anne Moffa showing the day to day life of a few heroes, Ed Piskor depicting Ant-Man as a deranged Bill Nye the Science Guy, Tom Scioli doing possibly the best Kirby tribute ever (and I know that’s saying a lot, but the panels where the action is lost in the eyes of Ikarus are just too much), Mark Zingarelli doing one panel bursts about various characters (sampled below) and Paulette Poullet showing the dangers of Hulk hands vs. Thing hands. As is always the case with anthologies like this, unless you know the subject material a whole lot of this will be lost on you, but if you do know the material (and come on, if you’re reading this you probably know at least some of it) this is a thing of beauty. No real weak piece in the bunch, which is always the bane of the anthology. Oh, and it’s free, so if you can find any of these people at a con or send Ed an e-mail, there’s a decent chance that you could get this fairly easily.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Long Tail Kitty: Outer Space
Now that is one adorable comic. Or disgustingly cute, probably depending on your mood, but I liked it. Kind of reminded me of some of this obnoxiously cute anime cartoons where everyone has the giant eyes and they’re always yelling at each other, but in a good way. The yelling, I mean. Anyway, this is the tale of Kitty getting a “be-boo” out of a tree for some aliens. Yes, that’s already pretty cute. Then Kitty mentions that hr/she has never been to space, so you know what’s coming next. Like I said, more than a little cute, but still well worth a look. It also serves as a pretty stark contrast to her Stories From the Ward. All the contact info you need is above, go check it all out.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Stories from the Ward #4
In case you’re wondering, yes, the cover is supposed to look like that. It has a murky, hazy kind of underwater feel to it. I don’t know much about the background of this book, so I’m going to assume that these are all made up stories and not based on anything else. If I’m wrong, I’ll change this page. Anyway, Lark is a fine poet, and I have to say that I’m tremendously impressed with her art. There are straight lines, solid blacks, and possibly charcoal on the different stories, and she seems to have mastered them all. This is a huge mini (54 pages) with lots of little stories sandwiched between two larger ones. One is about a girl in a mental ward, the other is about the quest for love when there is something irremovable that stands in the way. These were the strongest pieces, mostly because they had time to grow, but there’s a lot to be said for the creepy “Love Conquers All”. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable if disquieting book. E-mail Lark or just go to the USS Catastrophe page to get it and everything else they have available.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Mercury Lounge
Remember back in the day how you would go to all kinds of random concerts, meet girls there who you thought were the best thing ever to happen to this earth that you would then never see again? Oh, you still do this? Well hooray for you. You damn kids! This is a wordless comic about going out to see a show and meeting a girl who’s friends with one of your friends. Sparks fly, smiles are exchanged, she grabs your arm in a crowded club with the band too loud to hear anybody actually talking… and if I go on I’ll ruin the whole comic, as it is just a mini, after all. A pretty good comic that obviously has me a bit nostalgic, although I still think that Marcos should be forced to do Carl Is The Awesome and Tear-Stained Makeup stories until I get tired of them… $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Tear-Stained Makeup #6 Now Available! $2
My saying nice things about everything on this page might be getting old for people, and I apologize if that’s the case. But what’s the alternative? I can lie and say that this one sucked, even though Marcos managed to include everybody in the larger plot (which is saying a lot) and flesh out all of them in this mini, even if only a little bit. I could point to the lack of a recap at the start of the book, but he’s fixed that, putting a concise and informative recap right up front. Or I could bitch about the crappy artwork, which in fact started off fine and has been getting stronger with each passing issue (even if the occasional background do vanish). Sorry folks, this is just a really great comic series, and Marcos (so far at least) can do no wrong. In this issue Stella finally gets her act together to go and see Laura, Tildy gets a makeover, Robert gets a guitar, and just about every little character you’ve seen in previous issues pops in for a panel or two. Oh, and Marcos goes into detail in the end about various panels and pages where he had issues, so it’s even useful as an instruction manual on how to make mini comics, for those of you who think this all looks so easy. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Tear-Stained Makeup #5 Now Available! $2.00
Hey, more flashbacks! A necessary step, as far as I’m concerned, into figuring out what these people are all about. This one deals with the “origin story”, more or less, of Tildy, as well as a bit more of the history of Dee. Marcos has also decided to go with this smaller format (16 pages) in the hopes of getting these out on a more regular basis, which sounds great to me. The cover is also a shimmery silverish sort of thing, impossible for the scanner to pick up but pretty neat when it’s in your hands, if you go for that sort of thing. One minor complaint: for those of us with lousy memories (i.e. me),a handy “previously on” is never a bad idea to sum things up. I love this series and some of the minor details were still lost on me. All in all, it’s another solid contribution to the ongoing storyline, with the promise for more to come on a regular basis, so what’s bad about that? $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Tear-Stained Makeup #3 Now Available! $2
What ever happened to that woman who tried to kill herself in the first issue anyway? Or how about the doctor who is trying so hard to save her, what’s his story? Don’t worry your pretty little heads about these things a moment longer, as they’re answereed here! Well, mostly. Sort of. OK, he at least starts to talk about them. Also, you get to see what a scumbag that singer from the last issue is, but now I fear I may have said too much. Another great issue, all around, with more questions than answers, but still more than a few answers, which is why you keep coming back in a regular series, right? Something about the art wasn’t as crisp in this one either. I don’t know if it was rushed, bad equipment or what, but it looked like it. Which isn’t to say it was awful, as the man has a serious talent with the whole drawing end of things, just that I’ve seen his stuff look better. A blip on the radar once the big collected book comes out with the first ten issues or so, whenever that happens, and it better happen, becauise I find myself already invested in these characters.
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Posted by Kevin
April 26, 2010
Website
Tear-Stained Makeup #2 Now Available! $2
OK, now I’m completely won over. Objectivity has left the building until he does a really crappy comic and loses me. Just a little warning in case you heart negative reviews or something. This one is all about Tildy, the librarian from the short story in the last issue, and the person who’s easily the most intriguing story so far, even if the other character did throw herself in front of a taxi. This is mostly a “day in the life” story, following her trip on the subway to what was meant to be a quiet night at home (after she hears the news about Laura Dee and the taxi). Of course, if that’s all there was it wouldn’t be much of a comic, but why ruin more than that? So far these are great, and most of the fun of reading great comics is that you get to discover things for yourself. So there!
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Posted by Kevin
