April 24, 2010
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8 Stories
Hey, guess how many stories are in this one? Rob has to be one of the more prolific small press folks out there, which is a good thing as he always has something interesting to talk about. First up there’s the story that covers the bulk of the comic, written by Shonagh Ingram, about a city by the lake that falls in love with a reflection of itself. As you can probably guess if you’ve read the fable about the dog that sees another dog in the lake that is also holding a bone and tries to grab it, things don’t end well. Next up are a series of short pieces, one about Rob’s rules of life (part 6 in a series where the first five parts are mysteriously missing), the comic sampled below, a story about Rob finally climbing a small mountain near his home, a disgustingly hilarious piece about the Math-Ro-Mancer, and a shortie detailing something that a lot of people already know: kayaks are horrible, horrible things. Things go off the rails a bit in the last story, as Rob details his night out seeing a favorite band from his past, apparently drawing the story at the bar, if the quality of the art and the handwriting is any indication. There’s also the lovely fact that the copying was off for this story, so bits of text are chopped right off of every page, which is probably for the best as it’s mostly illegible anyway. Exceptions to the lousy art and handwriting are in the story, but overall it’s better skipped, as that still leaves you with 7 great stories. Oh, and there’s also the one on the back (which I almost missed until I scanned the comic) about a vending machine and its dream of taking over the world. OK, so it’s not a perfect comic, but anything that’s 7/8 fascinating still has a lot going for it.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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The Pasty Anthology (edited by Rob Jackson)
A note to the American readers who have never watched any tv shows or read anything from the UK: pasties look like calzones, but with (I’m guessing here) fruits and cheeses inside. They look to be a bit much for a breakfast food, assuming that’s all they are, but what do I know? This is an anthology, with all of the stories theoretically dealing with pasties. First up is a story by Steve Butler which relates a conversation between two friends. One of them is going to get a pasty, the other has been told by his girlfriend that he has to lose some weight so goes off to get something healthier. Without giving anything away, it has an excellent ending. Next up is a piece by Francesca Cassavetti about… chewing gum. Nope, no pasties in that one. It’s still a great story, dealing with being told as a child that swallowed gum always stays in your stomach and eventually kills you. Jim Medway is next with a unique perspective, as he has a week in the life of a pasty clerk told through the faces of the recurring customers. The next piece by Dave Hughes deals with an obsessive young man, making his pasty and having everything planned out just so, only to have it all ruined by gravity. Our hero Rob Jackson has the central piece in the comic, dealing with the Greggs and their role in inventing and then improving pasties over the years. As I have no idea how much of this is historical I’m just going to leave it alone, but it’s an excellent story either way. Next is… hey, who put a text piece in here? There’s a three page story by Anthony Mercer called Devil in a Blue Tabard and, as a sucker for the hard-boiled stuff, I loved it. It’s all about a pasty shop, a missing young woman, a grimy detective and a very shiny worker. Dave Hughes has another piece next, this time dealing with a pasty festival, a pasty eating contest and the effect this contest has on the wife of one of the contestants. Finally there’s another text piece, this time by Matt Badham, dealing with the Japanese equivalent of the pasty (sort of), the natto.  It took me a second after reading this to get the catch of the story, and it’s wonderful in an anthology like this, so there’s no way I’m going to ruin it. Good stuff all around, which is more than you can ask for from anthologies.  I think it should also come with a free pasty so we can get an idea of exactly what they’re like, but I have no idea how that would work in the real world. No price, but I’m guessing it’s around $4.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Great Deeds Against the Dead #2
As you can probably guess from that cover, that mysterious creature from the cover of the first issue does indeed come into play this time around. This is also the end of the series, so all my questions from the last issue are neatly wrapped up. That creature with the giant gumball head is the most evil toy ever, made after a the residents of a frat wake up hung over, send their dopiest member to pick up the toys needed for a school project (if they don’t finish right away the dean will throw out their entire fraternity!), and he accidentally picks the box marked “evil toys”. They’re all melted down, poured into a mold, and form into that thing in the front of the train. This thing gets sent back in time (after which the experimental time machine blows up), so he/it has had plenty of time to set some evil plans in motion. I’m trying not to ruin anything again this time around, but if you look closely at that cover you’ll see one half of the psychic adventurers, the artist Tisdale Carnegie and his lawyer (strapped to a board). So clearly they all end up together eventually, but the fun is in the journey, right? Bits in here that I feel OK giving away involve the psychic adventurers being trapped in a funhouse (and being forced to stand around all day in costume to earn their daily meal of hot dogs), Tisdale’s agent running into the lawyer for that creature (with disastrous results for the agent’s friend), and Tisdale building a box out of his dead love’s picture (which is the only thing that lets him see). That’s just scraping the surface of the insanity in here, but Rob does an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends and bringing it all home, even managing to end on a (darkly) funny note. There’s even a tiny strip on the front and back cover dealing with the early days of the evil gumball machine creature. The story is wrapped up, you can get the whole thing in two easy installments, and I think it would be an excellent idea if you did so. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
Great Deeds Against the Dead #1
The man does have a knack for excellent titles, doesn’t he? A scroll down this page will confirm that for you, in case you don’t believe me. This issue is the projected first half of this story, which is a creepy tale of haunting, lost love and hopelessness. An old artist (Tisdale Carnegie), devastated after the death of his wife, gets a house as far away from civilization as he can. The neighbors are curious, as the house has been empty for years, but we don’t see much more from them quite yet. The agent for said artist, needing some signatures, goes to visit Tisdale and is appalled at the state of the artist, but is unable to leave due to a sudden rainstorm and mudslide. He is forced to stay for the night but gets the undeniable impression that the house wants him out (possibly because he hears it say “there’s something wrong with this house” three time) and even hurls shingles at him when he goes outside to close the gate. Curious, the agent looks into the history of the house when he leaves, and runs into a pair of people who are also trying to discover more about the house. The agent, being delightfully human and utterly uninterested in wrapping this story up neatly, gets a call from another (more profitable) client and runs off, leaving the pair of “psychic adventurers” to check out the place for themselves. Letting this thing unravel is half the fun and it ends on an utterly bizarre cliffhanger, so no more info from me. I can’t wait to see what happens next, and to see if that creature on the cover plays any role in things. There are also two shorter pieces in the book, a silent story about graffiti, a fight and a floating man that flew right over my head and a one page strip on the back cover that details why Rob loves comics.  It’s getting hard to keep track of all the series this man has going, but this one sure looks like a keeper. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Gin Palace #1 (edited by Rob)
“Welcome to the first meeting of the society of enormously be-hatted gentlemen!” I don’t usually start with a quote, but how on earth could I pass that up? This is a fantastic anthology put together by Rob, with only one story that was mildly disappointing in the bunch (and that was mostly because the copies were a bit off and cut off some text). Rob has two pieces, although you could argue that it’s just one piece split up into two: The Ballad of Hatty Jack. It’s the story of a land where wearing hats is practically required, but a poor young boy isn’t allowed because his mother was killed while chasing a hat into the street, so naturally he takes to fighting crime while wearing a giant hat that covers most of his body. Other stories in here include Little Scary Monsters by Dave Hughes (in which the world of science learns how to avoid making little monsters), In The Gin Palace by Simon M. (dealing with trying to get the attention of a bartender on a busy night to buy drinks), Interview by Ant Mercer (the sampled piece below, as it starts well and ends poorly), Measuring Up by Francesca Cassavetti (relating the story of how she reluctantly grew to love alcohol, and how that reluctance faded over the years), The Rain by Jarod Rosello (a silent piece about a dog in the rain and the heartless people who would keep him outside), Kennedy by A. Mercer (a shortie with a good punchline), and The Adventure Journals of Sin Cat by Lee Johnson (a meandering story of Sin Cat, damaged because of the awkward cropping but still with plenty of funny; if this is the worst piece in the bunch you just made a hell of an anthology). Other than that all you need to know is that it’s $4, mostly looks great and is something you should probably rush out and buy. $4
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Hard Times #8
There seems to be an endless assortment of ways to make fun of modern office life. If you work in an office, these ways are either a helpful way to blow off steam or an unwelcome reminder of where you’re going to be stuck for the next 40+ years of your life. Or maybe you’re lucky enough to not work in an office at all and these representations of office life are a bit like looking through the glass at various zoo animals. Either way it’s an easy concept to screw up, but Ed seems to have a decent handle on the theme. This is the story of Jay, the (unmentioned) giant talking cat of the office. There were 7 issues before this one, but it’s no trouble picking up on the action, as the first 7 issues were either about different things or the office life described here is so constant that we don’t even need a recap. Jay is working his way up through the ranks, although he’s doing it without a raise and by working much longer hours. He’s also dealing with a boss who’s happy to fire everybody around him for any reason he can think of, coffee that tastes like washed feet, an overzealous security guard and the fact that Sunshine Coffee is putting up new stores everywhere. You know, flipping through this again it just occurred to me that this was probably done on either a daily or weekly basis, as every page seems to end with a joke. The art seems to have unerased pencil lines all over the place, and if that’s a mistake it’s something that grew on me by the end of the issue. It seemed to somehow flesh out the characters more, as without the smudges and shading this whole thing would look fairly flat. I have one more issue here to help me make a final verdict, but based on one issue I’d say this is worth a look, although possibly best to stay away from if you prefer to think that offices don’t actually exist. No price, so… $1?
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Decaff Blues #2
Right at the top of my list for things not to do with your mini comic would be to misspell the title. Granted, “decaf” is an abbreviation so I suppose you can mess it up a little bit, but it’s also commonly used and it’s hard not to know how to spell it. It just gets the comic off on the wrong foot and it’s so very easily avoided. Anyway, this is the story of the lead character trying to get into town for a job interview. He takes the bus and deals with what everybody deals with while trying to get anywhere on the bus: stopping to pick up a handicapped woman (and the invariable asshole who wonders why they have to stop to pick her up at all), being picked up late, offending other riders, trying to reason with a bus clerk, being hassled by people trying to sell you (obviously stolen) goods, and getting cheated at three card monty. All of this leads to our hero finally getting to his job interview very late, and I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to tell you that employer’s don’t care what your excuse is if you’re late to a job interview, they’re not going to hire you. It’s a fun story, but I have to point out again how obnoxious all the unerased pencil lines are. It makes everything look rushed, and the fact that the pages are poorly centered doesn’t help at all. At least he used staples this time, although that just has the effect of occasionally chopping off dialogue. See that crease at the bottom right of the cover scan? That wasn’t from my scanner. There are simple fixes to all of these problems, that’s why I continue to complain about them. I read it and enjoyed it, but I run a website about this stuff. Most people seeing this is a shop would probably glance at it and move onto something that looked more professional. Yes, I am aware of the fact that I’m looking for professionalism in mini comics. Not really, just a command of the basics and the ability to make a good story look good on the shelf. <angry old man rant over> $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Calloway June
What a sweet little story. Everybody as a kid probably wanted to be the kid without rules, without parents (at least for a little while), the one who made his/her own rules. This is the story of Calloway June, a young boy who lives in a treehouse by himself, as told from the perspective of another young boy who lived close by and could hear Calloway playing his banjo through the night. Calloway was able to fool to school principal for a while into letting him attend classes (he always said his parents were away on parent/teacher night), but eventually another young boy learns the truth. This young boy complained about this amazing life to his mother, who told somebody else, who told somebody else, and Calloway’s secret got out. The rest of the book is the mad dash of society to catch Calloway and put him in an orphanage and no, I’m not going to tell you how it ends. The art is all simple linework, with giant expressive eyeballs all over the place. It’s just a pretty thing to look at, no trouble at all to linger on panels here and there. Joey has the art and the concept of telling an engaging story down already, and this is the first thing I’ve seen from the guy. I think maybe he should make a habit out of this comics thing, if he hasn’t already. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Art Tatum – Meeting the Kings
For those of you out there who don’t know your jazz masters as well as you should, this is an excellent introduction to Art Tatum. His name hasn’t survived as well as some (like Coltrane, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk), but he was an acknowledged master at the time. This mini recounts the first time some legends of Harlem heard Art, and how they were able to recognize the prescence of greatness almost at once. Granted, some of this might be creative license, but it’s hard to imagine the greats hearing this guy and NOT thinking that they were hearing something completely different. Joey breaks down the specifics far better than I could, and does an excellent job of transforming music into images. If you’re at all curious about this kind of music Art Tatum wouldn’t be a bad place to start, and this comic wouldn’t be a bad intro to all of it. No price, so let’s say $2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Morgenmuffel #16
More tales from Isy as she tries in some way to slow down the destruction of the planet, and this time we even get to take a close look at protesters at the G8 summit. Harrassment by the cops, trying to feed over a thousand people at a time, dealing with the elements and trying to get a meaningful protest in anywhere, all good times. She also talks about a horticultural show (as Isy is apparently quite the cook, more on that later), Climate Camp 2007 (the Camp from the previous year was discussed in the last issue), pancakes, tv shows (the good ones at least), beech trees, and whisky. If you’re not terrified enough about the looming effects of global warming she also has a handy chart showing how it’s all going to go to crap over the next century or so. One of the highlights of this book was all the hate. Various people had lists of things they hated most in the world, and it was a diverse enough group of folks to make for a fun read. Oh, and in regards to the cooking thing, Isy has put out a huge (258 pages) vegan cookbook, and that’s even something a meat eater like me would be curious to see. Hey, healthy eating is healthy eating, and the only thing stopping me from eating more vegan dishes is the lousy tastes I invariably seem to run across. Here’s a website where you can pick that up, or probably just e-mail her at the link up at the top of the page for more details… $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Morgenmuffel #15 Now Available! $2
You know, for somebody as overtly socially conscious as Isy, it’s surprising how little preaching she has in her books about any chosen cause. Sure, she mentions corporate greed, oil and veganism, but she manages to pull it off in a very accessable way. This issue is more of the same, which is a good thing, in case that wasn’t clear. It mostly talks about her summer vacation of 2006, with her meandering to all sorts of places. Also included in here are a diary about a trip to the lake (illustrated, of course), a history of the Cowley Club, some zine recommendations, games to kill time on long road trips and various drinking games. My favorite, which I suppose isn’t a game really, deals with tequila shots. For you youngsters out there, generally I’ve seen it as licking salt (usually off your hand, but creativity is encouraged), drinking the shot, then biting down on a lemon. Apparently in Leeds they snort the salt, drink the shot and then squirt the lemon in their eye. As an American, I am shamed by our collective wussiness once again. The only “problem” I had with this issue is that her panel layout is occasionally impossible to follow, as arrows can’t always help tell you where to go next if whole panels are left out of the map. Still, the stories she tells are usually about various travels, where it’s not essential to get everything in a linear order anyway. Just wanted to throw a bit of negativity into an otherwise glowing review.
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Morgenmuffel #12
Here’s another solid bunch of stories. Lots of stuff for your buck too: it probably took me about an hour to read this whole thing. Text pieces, comics, reviews, hate lists… a diverse selection of stuff to keep you interested. Stories in here include passing the time, cycling, yeast infections, their club, drinking (and drunken stories), eczema, and working (or being unemployed). In other words, she doesn’t shy away from the goriest personal details, but she always keeps it entertaining. Good stuff all around. I said it in the last review and I’ll repeat myself here: I wish there were more comics out there like this. Seems like a bunch of them are just thrown together at the last minute to have something for the next convention, while stuff like this are done over a long period of time and are so obviously done with love of the medium. Contact info is up there and apparently there’ll soon be a collection of #2-11, which will probably take something like 8 days to read, but at least it’ll be worth it…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Morgenmuffel #11
There aren’t enough comics like this around any more. It’s basically a collection of tales about things that happened to Isy. You know, autobiographical stuff. She’s an anarchist and draws stories about trying new things, trying yoga, a typical day in her life, trainspotting, testing video games, going to music festivals, and she even has a story about an activist who’s still in jail. One look at the cover should show you the sheer level of detail she puts in her art, and her writing is the same way. Everything is as casual as can be, it comes across like you’re listening in on some of the conversations she’s having with friends. There are also a couple of text pieces in here. One is about her trying to get a bar/bookstore opened up with some friends and another is a rant by someone named Adam about why he likes comics. Great art, engaging dialogue, and she leads enough of an interesting life to make autobio fun. Send her a few bucks (I’m guessing here, but if it’s too much maybe she’ll send you some other comics too) at: P.O. Box 74 Brighton BNI 42Q. Or just e-mail her…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Vampire Free Style #2
OK, this time around things were a bit harder to follow. Chances are all will be revealed after the next issue (and the inside cover has a list of characters, something this issue sorely needed), but for now it’s all a bit muddled. I’m still not entirely clear on the story of this guy who can tell that the cat is really a girl (assuming that it is really a girl), and I’m not completely sure why the cat hates Auntie Margarhita. Anyway, minor things, as it’s still as eerie and mildly unnerving as the first issue. This time around Edward sees a vision of something trying to hurt the cat/girl, some stars come down to try and help the cat remember who it is, and the witches try their own spell to move things along. This is really one of those “in between” issues, so nothing was really resolved or identified. The next issue should convince me one way or the other, and I’m even more on the fence than usual right now. This could end up being a pile of style over substance, or it could all coalesce into a genuinely great gothic love story. Find out next time!? And what did I say last time, $5? Something like that, or check out that website above and see what you can see…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Vampire Free Style #1
Who’s in the mood for a good gothic fairy tale? This is the story of a prince looking for his lost princess, a witch learning how to fly, a nosy aunt who dresses up cats, a young man who is curious about the same cat, and, of course, the cat, who seems to know a lot about what’s going on. It’s essentially good clean fun for all ages, with some nice creepy atmospheric art. Oh, and one bleeped out “fuck”, so maybe it’s not going to be for all ages for long, who knows? In this issue we see the cat meet up with the witch and the curious young man and get the barest glimpse of what’s to come, but luckily I got the next few issues along with this one in the mail so it won’t be a mystery for long. I’m a bit mystified about the price, but let’s say around $5 and leave it at that as that’s a gorgeous cover and it’s a pretty thick book. Of course, you could always just wander around that website listed above, maybe contact Jenika and find out for yourself…
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
Website
The Dreamer #3
For those of you who are interested in this sort of thing, that is the variant cover to this issue. Nothing against Lora’s cover, but come on, look at that thing. That’s fantastic. The story just keeps rolling along in this issue, with Beatrice learning a bit more about the situation in her “dream” world, finally goes on a date with her real-life dream guy, and learns a pretty important fact about her dream life. You know, I forgot to ask Lora at the last convention if this was a limited series. It seems like it would fit more easily in a set number of issues rather than just keeping it going, as the real angle to all this (whether or not her dreams are “real”) has to get wrapped up sooner or later. Either way, the end result of her date are almost certainly going to have consequences in her real life. Unless she ends up staying in her dream life. If it is, in fact, a dream. Ah, now I’ve gone and confused myself. The important thing is that Lora still has a great ear for dialogue, there’s some genuine suspense and mystery on both ends (maybe not as much with her life in modern day), and it’s still a kick to try and figure out what’s going to happen next. Sounds like a decent comic to me. $3.99
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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The Dreamer #2
Well, I regretted not getting more issues of this series after SPACE, and now all I have to regret is that I chose to get two more issue of the series instead of just getting the graphic novel. Oh well, live and learn, and forget, and make the same mistake, and then maybe learn the next time I see her at a con. In this issue Beatrice tries explaining to her friends that she’s probably not going to go out with the guy she’s liked since 8th grade because she’s in love with a man in her dreams… and it goes about as well as you would expect. Her friends eventually convince her that she’s being ridiculous, and it all leads up to one of the more wonderfully awkward attempts at asking somebody out that I’ve ever seen, and this is coming from somebody who has been involved in more than his fair share of such things. Go ahead, guess which end of it I was on, I’ll never tell. Hint: I run a website about small press comics. Ahem. Anyway, Beatrice is still having her vivid dreams (one in class and one right before her big date in this issue), and as such we get to learn a lot more about the man she’s in love with in her dreams and their “history”. Lora is trying to get this into high schools, and I have no trouble seeing it fitting right in. It’s smart enough for an adult but it is a story about high school kids and, from my increasingly hazy memory of the time, it’s pretty accurate. This is one of those rare books you could actually share with your teenage child, assuming said teenage child is still speaking to you. $3.99
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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The Dreamer #1
If there is any justice in the small press comics world, Lora will be a successful comic writer/artist in no time. I picked this up at SPACE 2009, and it was put out in October 2008. She had #1-5 available at her table and the graphic novel collecting all these books should be out soon. Granted, this isn’t a self-published mini. IDW is a fairly established publishing company at this point. Still, she clearly didn’t get the memo that small press folks are only supposed to put out 2-3 books a year. So fine, her production level is admirable, how about the quality of the actual comic? She mentioned something about going to a Disney-themed art school, but she seems to have mostly come away with a serious level of artistic skill without picking up the cutesy, obnoxious aspects of the Disney style. Granted, the males are often as pretty as the females, but a little bit of facial hair here and there should clean that up. This is the story of a young girl in high school who wakes up after a particularly vivid dream. She’s in a bit of a daze all day at school from this dream, even barely noticing when a guy she’s had a crush on for ages finally asks her out. We get to see a bit more of her dream world when she goes to bed that night, and it apparently deals with a remarkably consistent stretch of time during the Revolutionary War and her romance with a young soldier. Granted, this is all the first issue and things could fall apart from here, but it’s an intriguing setup, the dialogue is smart and funny, and as for the art, she’s clearly a pro. This is definitely worth keeping an eye on and one of what I’m sure will be many things that I wished I’d picked up more than one issue of at SPACE. $3.99
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Blink #4: Barefoot in America, Breakfast in the Park Now Available! $3
Hey, I’m the official online retailer for Blink Books! Sorry, I just noticed in the back of this issue and had no idea. Well, OK, some idea, as I am selling them… Oh this thing with selling comics, it’s like a constant revelation to me. Max says that with this issue he’s going to start focusing on the lives of the main characters Blink, Sam and Hank (you may or may not have known that that last one was a main character) by going to the full issue stories rather than the 4-8 page bits. I could and have argued both sides of that particular argument, but it looks like he’s going to occasionally put out shorter minis anyway, so it’s the best of both worlds. This issue is essentially a conversation in the park between Blink, Sam and Hank, as the two women run across him playing Supertramp by himself. The relative merits of their music is discussed, as well as Hank’s woefully inadequate knowledge of blue’s music. The conversation is all well and good, as Max has a great handle on dialogue, but the highlights to me were the quiet intro (animals running around) and the conclusion, with Hank running into a friend and telling the guy not to be a pig in describing Blink and Sam. It’s a great way to start this idea of telling the story of their lives, by not having everything begin and end with their conversations. All told it’s another solid issue, if you haven’t figured that out already… $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 24, 2010
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Blink #3: Space to Breathe Now Available! $2
This is the last of the available Blink’s (as of 8/6/07, anyway), and unfortunately, it’s a SPACE issue. That means (and this applies to other conventions as well) that it’s much shorter than the other issues, as it looks like Max wanted to have something new for SPACE of last year. Still, the other two issues are mini comics too, it’s not like he’s cheating a whole bunch here. There are only two short stories in this one, the first with Sam and Blink looking up at the stars and talking about the world and the second with Max telling a story from his parents about stopping to notice the good things in life. It’s a peaceful little shortie and another solid issue, I just get greedy when I find a series I’m enjoying and hope that all future issues will be about a hundred pages. $2
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Posted by Kevin
