April 23, 2010
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Epic Tales of the Mundane #4
If I can put my cynical hat on here for a moment, web comics have been a tremendous boon to the mini comics artist. After all, if they haven’t put a book out for a few months (or, depending on who we’re talking about, a few years), it’s easy enough to take the internet content and cram it into a mini, right? Not that I’m taking Brad to task or anything, the guy already has 5 minis out (#5 will be up here in the near future). And it’s not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing, I often don’t dig around into the online content of the people I like, so the “web comix” books are usually new to me. Actually, I have no idea of the point I was trying to make there, but it’s best to leave all this rambling up to show the world how my brain “works”. This comic is, as indicated, mostly stuff Brad has made for his website. In his letter with the books he says he doesn’t think they work in this format, but I thought they were fine. Granted, I can’t remember seeing two panel comic strips before, and that’s mildly odd, but not a bad thing. It’s more of a diary strip type setup than anything, so instead of one or two mundane days over the course of a comic we’re treated to more like a month of mundane. Brad goes to shows, drinks, hangs out with his girlfriend, tries to work up the energy to go to work, and attends a literature class with a Trekkie. More than a few funny bits in here and the man keeps his books cheap ($1), so it’s definitely worth taking a look.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Epic Tales of the Mundane #3
Here it is, that epic tale he was talking about in the title. Only one story this time around, and it is epic, and it is mundane. This is the story of the last night of work for Brad at one of the major box stores (probably Wal-Mart, as it’s always Wal-Mart, but people seem to think that Wal-Mart scans tiny mini comics and never use their actual name). He gets woken up by his alarm at 8pm, gets invited to drink with his friends (as the fun is just starting for most of the waking world at that hour), gets accosted by not one but two homeless drunks on his way to work, and finally figures out what a colossal waste of time the job is. Not that most people don’t figure out that working at a giant box store is a waste of time, but eating and paying bills tends to obscure that fact, longer for some people than for others. It’s a great story, something that everybody who has worked nights (or a really shitty, hopeless job) can easily relate to. From his website it looks like he’s up to #5, and I’m really curious to see what he’s done lately, as he sure seems to be getting better with each issue. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Epic Tales of the Mundane #2
More mundane tales from Brad, and this time around he’s stuck to mostly longer pieces. He still throws in a few shorties to mix things up, dealing with a drinking problem (and it is a problem, just not what you’re probably thinking), a crazy Jesus freak, and standing in the wrong line at a gun show. The meat of the book is in the longer pieces though, the first one being a continuation of his story from the last issue about how he’s sure to die in a fiery car wreck. More odd coincidences occur but, as the guy is clearly still alive, it’s bound to have a bit of a anticlimactic ending. Not that I wish him ill or anything. The bulk of this issue deals with Brad and a couple of friends jumping a house-sitter, their varying recollections of the event and the revenge that the jumped guy swore on all three men. Brad is nice enough to show what happened when the guy ran across the three assailants later, so all the loose ends are nicely tied up. It’s a pretty interesting read, all told, the only real issue I have with it is that the recollections of the fight get a bit jumbled towards the end, and I’m still not entirely sure how it all “really” went down, assuming it’s a true story and all that. Quite possibly an error in reading comprehension on my end, but thought I should throw in at least one complaint. Still, $1 for this many stories is hard to pass up.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
Epic Tales of the Mundane #1
Brad certainly goes with truth and advertising here with that excellent title, although I think he sells himself a bit short with that sample image. Most of the stories in here are a bit more nuanced, although there is a bit of fecal humor if that’s your thing. This starts off a bit awkwardly with one page stories dealing with the tedium of work, brushing too hard, a dead ex and the medical effects of nicotine and caffeine, but Brad quickly builds a rhythm here once he gets to the longer pieces. In those he gets to tell us about the night before an extended period of abstinence (with more than a few of the gory details left to the imagination), crapping in a nasty toilet and having two car accidents happen right in front of him in a matter of days. It’s an interesting read, which is all you can ask for with these sorts of things, and Brad was nice enough to send a few more issues along, so I’ll be making a more informed opinion later. As for now, while there may not be a whole lot to separate it from most other autobio stuff, it’s done well and it’s cheap, with a bit of room for improvement. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Tozzer 2 #2
OK, I didn’t like this one either. Which is putting it mildly, but I’ll get to the specifics. The only benefit of the doubt I have left for this series is that maybe in the previous mini series all of the characters were fleshed out so wonderfully that I’m just coming into this late and I don’t get these people. That’s a pretty shaky premise, granted. So what bugged me? How about Michael Moore squeezing into a phone booth to get a pizza? Get it? He’s fat, you see. Or Vin Diesel speaking only in unintelligible grunts? He’s muscle-bound, you see. How about George Lucas yelling at somebody for wanting to use latex for an effect in a movie? His later movies are crap because of all the CGI. Or Eminem yelling faggot over and over (he’s apparently a bit of a homophobe in real life), or Michael Jackson registering for school as a 12 year old. The problem is that, while some of these things are true and able to be poked fun at, this is a lazy comic that is making fun of the stereotypes of these people a lot more than the actual people, which is what a good satirist does. It’s like all the people since the early 90’s who have been imitating Dana Carvey imitating George Bush Sr. instead of trying to imitate him themselves. It still looks good though, and at this point I think that if something is stupid enough there’s bound to be a huge audience for it somewhere. There’s a website up there, and it’s entirely possible that these guys could put out something good in the future, but this isn’t it. Oh, and if this hasn’t convinced you one way or the other, the next issue is apparently about Lara Croft of Tomb Raider fame. Just in case that does anything for you…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Tea Now Available! $4
You can see the names on the cover, right? I always feel like these reviews are a waste of time, because anybody who reads the site on a regular basis and/or knows mini comics knows that it would be tough for a collection like that to be terrible. So what’s good? The story from Clutch, about a woman going on a first date with a guy she likes and having to break down and tell him that she really doesn’t like tea, Dave Kiersh getting grabby, Dan Zettwoch revealing a secret recipe, and Scott Mills talking about his mom. Nothing particularly bad about this at all, although I think I liked Garlic better. Probably just the subject matter. Oh, and these are both now available, so check them out, or just go to the website if you need more convincing.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Garlic
I was going to just write the names of the contributors here to try and convince you to get this, but that scan came out nicely, don’t you think? You’ll notice that I really like most of the people on there, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I think this is amazing. I can’t even say that I didn’t like whole stories, just certain panels. People talking to cats in comics is either cute to me or way too cute, and Dave Lasky’s entry fell into the latter category. The rest of his story was good though. The bit by Austin English didn’t do much for me one way or another. Everything else is more than just worth reading, it’s required reading. That’s right, I’m forcing you to buy this. The only thing I’m not sure of is the price… $5 maybe? It’s a pretty big book. Eh, go to the website (down as of 7/22/07) for this (it’s the first in a series of anthologies about food) and e-mail the guy to see how much it costs. You can’t go wrong with this assemblage of talent.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Whisp #3
Maybe I should just come up with some kind of slogan for reading comics in yearly (or so) intervals and not remembering much of what I read last to make this easier. I mean, it must get annoying to read “yeah, this one is OK but I’m not altogether clear on what happened the last time around” over and over again for various people. It’s not even a matter of having a poor short term memory, as the fact that I read #2 of this about 2 years ago kind of keeps it outside of that time frame. Anyway, this is a pretty good issue, even if some of the specifics are hazy. There are a few things happening at once, and the panel layout makes you feel like you’re in a maelstrom of events with a bunch of different people all happening at once, but spread out over a pretty thick book. Kudos to Damian and Dann for pulling that off,it couldn’t have been easy. What you have here is an armed invasion of the rehab center, a mysterious enclave of folks who already know how it’s all going to turn out, more whisp and a new player or two thrown into the mix. Or, in other words, I’m too hazy about the past issues to make any concrete review at all here. Luckily for you they were supposed to put out a collection of the first three issues at the start of the year, so there should be an easily accessible collection out there. This is a measly $2 (no idea how they pull that off with the quality of the packaging here)…
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Whisp #2 Now Available! $2
You probably can’t tell at all by the scan, but the cover for this is slick. I mean that literally and figuratively, as there’s a different texture for the title and various other parts, and it’s just neat. Had to get that out there. Also, this is a full size book, and I think the story is even longer, although it’s been a while since I read #1, so I could be wrong. The art looks a LOT better in this large format, and the writing seems to have tightened up a bit too. My main problem with the book is that I have trouble getting what’s going on at times. It’s so dark that it’s occasionally hard to distinguish certain characters, and at least a few things happen that you’re just supposed to get without their describing it. There’s a new character in this, a man who’s worried about his nagging wife and trying to get the future out of one of the inmates. I did tell you that some of them could read the future when they’re on the drug, right? Anyway, I couldn’t tell at all what happened in the end (unless that’s intentional), but it’s a solid book all around. They seem to be keeping my complaints to a minimum, so that’s all I can ask for. Contact info is up there, and you can buy it here!
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Whisp #1
Before I start, I have to point out the fact that the contact info for these two (besides their e-mail addresses, which I’ll link to at the end of this) is 907 W. Stoughton, Apt. 103 Urbana, IL 61801. That’s a mere three blocks from my first home in Champaign/Urbana! Ah, hooray for things that are only meaningful to me. It’s good to see that are some talented comics folks (besides Layla Lawlor) in that area. This is a creepy, claustrophobic story about a junkie, surrounded by other junkies with the drug he’s craving, unable to get a fix. The drug, Whisp, gives certain gifted people glimpses of the future, but apparently gets them quickly addicted and helpless. Not much of the big picture is shown in this issue, as it primarily deals with the main character, Curt Blake, dealing with the despair of desperately needing a fix. At first I was slightly annoyed with how tiny and scrunched the panels were, then I slowly realized that it added plenty to the closed-in feel of the story, of this character trapped in the room with the other junkies. The art is solid, the panel spacing is tremendous and original, and the writer really has his shit together. Not sure what else you could ask for, but this one is definitely worth a look. It’s $2, contact the writer or the artist, or just go to the website.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Nowhere #1
I’m sorry, but this might be the ugliest comic I’ve ever seen. I’ve liked the work of hers that I’ve seen quite a bit and I was ready and willing to love this, but… well, here. This isn’t the norm for my reviews, but I have to show you what I’m talking about.
It’s a bit smaller than it should be because it’s color and I don’t have infinite space here, but if you can stand to look at those colors and enjoy the book, more power to you. I think this might be a case where my scanner actually made it look better. I felt like I needed 3D glasses to read the thing… Anyway, enough complaining about that, I just didn’t like it at all, OK? That being said, I don’t think the issue itself was bad at all and I might have been able to get over the color scheme if I had a whole collected edition to look at (that’s what Summer of Love is and the color scheme is different at least), but one issue alone didn’t give me that chance. Check out Daddy’s Girl, it’s a great, powerful book. If you like these colors give this book a chance, maybe it’s just me. What’s it about? A family has just moved and is trying to fit in. That’s the basic overview, I’m sure much more happens in the rest of the series. Click on the link to buy it or check out more samples.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Amazing Adult Fantasy #21
It’s always a bit odd to read these diary comics in anything other than sequential order. After all, you are reading about the lives of these people, and in this case things jump ahead 5 months. Oh well, it’s my own fault for getting a random selection of these from the cheapie Poopsheet sale. This time around Tim is running a comics shop, so there’s lots of inside info on that, and who among us who reads comics isn’t at least a little curious about the specifics behind the stores? Also included in this issue are strips about playing a gig alongside accidental hippies, talking to one friend on the phone when you think you’re talking to another friend of the same name, a text rant about how it’s impossible to be a good rich Christian, being too fat to fit in your good clothes, going on a diet, choking on broccoli, destroying a toilet, and offending Spielberg fans. There was also an annoying turn for the last third of the comic as Tim was starting up some sort of mystery project but was unable to talk about it, finally revealing towards the end that his comic store had taken over another store. Why the mystery? Were these things printed daily or something? Oh well, it did let him go nuts with the random imagery. He also announces in this issue that it’s only going up to #24, which he apparently stuck to. All told, it’s a fun series. A bit of a time capsule, granted, but it’s funny on occasion and insightful, which is all you can ask for from these things. Like I mentioned in the last review, these are $5 for collections of 6 issues, which would make on nice beefy comic.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Amazing Adult Fantasy #16
That there is an excellent title for a mostly mundane diary comic. Tim did this strip for two years, from 2001-2003, and put out 24 issues. These issues have been collected into larger books , which means they’re still available, which means I’m allowed to ramble about them here. Not that there would be anything stopping me otherwise. This issue details December of 2002, but Tim mostly does a good job of making it seem timeless, as he keeps the topical references to a minimum. I doubt if that was a conscious strategy to make the work more universal, but kudos to the guy either way. Every day is three panels and topics include trying to motivate himself to paint, drinking, going out to shows and movies, dealing with car insurance, getting his first credit card, stealing Mario, getting screwed (figuratively) at Kinko’s, and the usual general hanging out. Hey, it’s a diary strip, the format is pretty well established by now. Of course, the fact that he was doing this 8 years ago tells me that he may well have been at least mildly innovative with the format, it’s just been imitated since then. But wait, there’s more! Tim submitted a strip to Young American Comics for their Bizmar issue and he reprints it here after it was (probably rightly) rejected. Finally the book takes a sharply depressing turn as the last page is dedicated to stories of illegal abortions and their consequences from 1969-1970. Yeah, let’s outlaw that again, you conservative nutjobs.  My only complaint is that the print is occasionally smashed up a bit and/or a bit faint, but never really to the point where it’s completely illegible. It’s a pretty decent book overall and I do have at least one more issue to read, so that’ll give me a more thorough understanding of the guy. Meanwhile, these collections of this series are a measly $5 per 6 issue collection, which is a steal.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Goodbye Kitty
Hey look, it’s my first review from SPACE 2009… done while SPACE is still going on! Not that that’s going to do you a lot of good if you read this, say, 4 hours from now, but if you’re reading this RIGHT NOW and live in Columbus, you should probably head on over there. And as for recommendations, yes, you should check this one. This is a 24 hour (not mentioned in the comic, but Ryan mentioned it at the show) dealing with the relationship between a teddy bear and a kitty. The kitty in almost unbearably adorable, the teddy bear has been seeing a doll on the side and was talked into murdering the kitty. However, as any good student of Tales From the Crypt knows, these sorts of things never end well. In fact, they usually end with the zombified remains of the wrongly murdered party getting their revenge in bloody fashion. Well, there’s not a whole lot of blood in the average teddy bear, but you get the idea. The comic is a blast, it’s an idea that was executed damned near perfectly. It couldn’t have been easy to portray a teddy bear going through some serious emotional turmoil before and after the murder, but Ryan nails it here. This comic is also up for free on his website, so there’s no need to take my word for it. No price but let’s say $2, and this one is well worth seeking out. Oh, and the biggest concern for the 24 hour books is usually “how bad is the artwork?”, but there are no problems on that front either. The characters are meant to be a bit simple, so you barely notice the speedy drawing. $2
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
Website
L’il Buddha Loves You
I absolutely love the adorable, round and happy Buddha on the cover right above the disclaimer that this might not suitable for kids. I don’t know why but it just tickles me. This is a collection of Buddha strips that Ryan has apparently done for his website over the years, so the story doesn’t exactly follow a straight line. Then again, what good are straight lines in the quest for enlightenment? L’il Buddha gently cajoles Ryan (I’m assuming it’s him in these comics and not a nameless lead character) into meditating more often, gets Ryan to admit to an embarrassing personal story (which is smartly interrupted from our perspective by an ad for Tofu Buddha Dogs), makes jokes that fly right over Ryan’s head, transforms briefly into a business executive, helps Ryan feel OK with a general lack of direction (while advising him to strive for more), and explains how Ryan’s problems with women stem from him not wanting to admit to growing up. Of course, if this isn’t about Ryan then this review is damned near slander, but it’s still a good story even with a nameless main character. If you’re looking to understand Buddhism this doesn’t exactly dig deep, but there’s plenty of wisdom in this little package. It’s funny, smart and even informative. You could do a whole lot worse than this, and it’s one more thing that tells me that I should have picked up his graphic novel when I had the chance. Sigh, maybe next year. No price, but let’s say $2.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Racecar Comics #3
Huzzah, we have an e-mail! Send all mail up to that link at the top of the page, if you’re curious about this stuff. This issue is another full length tale, this time with various assorted beings taking a shot at becoming the next Mouse Skull star. It’s a parody of both American Idol and the old Legion of Super Heroes stories where the losers would try to join. In here you have Fluffy the Jungle Bunny, Mister Mann Who Wears Pants, Octo-Jesus (who brings down the wrath of Angry Jesus), Break Dancing Buddha, and Nebulous Man, among many, many others. There are more than a few funny moments in here, and some that fall flat, but it’s a fun little book for only a buck. I still prefer the shorter gag format for Matt, but oh well. Oh, and it still mostly looks like crap, in case you were somebody who only reads the gorgeous comics. $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Racecar Comics #2
How is it possible to put out two issues of a comic series and give no indication in either of any sort of contact information? Unless maybe these comics only exist at cons and it’s not possible to get them anyplace other than SPACE, or he doesn’t want anybody to read these. The second issue is a departure from the first, as this a cover-to-cover story, not a series of gags like last time. This one had its moments, but I honestly miss the gags. It’s the story of Iguana and Beer wandering around, dealing with the White Witch (of Narnia, and Matt’s hoping very much he doesn’t get sued), smoking some Narnia weed and ending up in hell. Oh, and starring in their own movie. It’s a convoluted tale, no doubt about it. Also more than occasionally amusing, like when the robber looked just like the guy from old Atari game Kaboom. This is definitely in the “low brow” scale of entertainment, but fun enough for what it is. It still looks like crap though, don’t be fooled there. Anyway, all of this is moot because this comic only exists on the computer screen you are currently viewing, as Matt Dow has no contact information. One of these days I’ll solve this mystery, until then you have to content yourselves with the sample.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Racecar Comics #1
Sketchbook funnies! There, that’s all a bunch of people are going to need to know about this one. It looks like crap (but well-intentioned crap), but it has a good number of funny strips. Matt started doing these at cons to sort of cover for his friend Kelly Howlett while she was doing serious sketches, they got a bit of a following and he decided to put them all in a book for a dollar. Topics include why he’s not an artist, animals, stuff he’ll probably get sued for (mostly parodies of trademarked comic book characters), musical strips, things sure to offend people, and completely random stuff. The musical stuff didn’t do much for me at all, everything else had at least a few funny strips, my favorite being the one about the hamburger. Also on the flip side is two of Matt’s characters (he has another comic coming soon), Iguana and Beer, stumbling across the corpse of Cerebus at the end of that series. He got Dave Sim to go along with it, but it’s a pointless little story. Still, what better place for a pointless little story about one of your favorite comic people than your very own mini comic? Can’t begrudge the man that, and it’s probably cute to the super duper Cerebus fans. Personally I still haven’t finished the series (I’m at about #275, not that that has anything to do with anything), but it was one of those formative things that led me into all these other small press comics, so there will always be more than a little love there for me. And what did that have to do with anything? Oh well. Matt also spent a fair amount of time in the back of the book trying to figure out what he forgot, and I figured it out: contact information! He left it for his friend Kelly Howlett (www.kellyhowlett.com) so just check out her stuff instead, I guess… $1
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Hectic Planet Book 3: The Young and the Reckless
Finally! A Hectic Planet book that reaches the level of his other work! We get absolute mayhem in the Vroom Socko: Paid in Full segment, mourning over lost girlfriends in the opening segment, and Halby punching a cop and getting away with it. Solid book, and the mark of a good book like this late in a series is that it makes me want to give the first parts a second chance. Now that the characters are fully developed and I know what he was doing all that time, maybe the first parts would come off better. Eh, maybe not. Whatever the case, this is still a great all around book.
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Posted by Kevin
April 23, 2010
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Hectic Planet Book 2: Checkered Past
Better. Still not fantastic, but better. The characters got a lot more fleshed out and there were more genuinely funny scenes. Still perhaps not a necessity for anybody but the most diehard of Dorkin fans, but a good book.
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Posted by Kevin
