April 22, 2010
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Sour Pussy
Here’s another pretty solid book from SPX. This is a story from 1993, when Robyn was in high school. It’s mostly about the time she spent with her boyfriend and in school. It’s half of a book with Kelli Nelson, so it’s short, but it’s good. It’s easy to screw up “high school memories” comics, but this feels real and natural. If that makes any sense to you, great. Both of the stories in this are worth a look, and you get to check out the work of two talented new people (I’m guessing they’re relatively new, or maybe I just haven’t seen their stuff), so what are you waiting for? Send her an e-mail or check out her website, I think this is $2 and she might have more stuff out.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Delicate Axiom #1 Now Available! $7
There’s a fine line I try to walk in these reviews, where I theoretically tell the audience enough about a comic to pique their interest without giving too much away. Some people don’t mind at all and some people would even prefer to learn as much as possible about something before buying it, but I can’t stand spoilers so you’ll get no such information from me. That being said, it’s really tough not to spoil anything in this one. It starts as a conversation between two female friends in a bar. Ramani is upset because her boyfriend hasn’t been the same since he witnessed the death of his friend Jericho. His other friend Abdul was with him at the time, but they’ve since stopped speaking and the details of the death are left vague. After some searching (without her boyfriend Ken being involved) they manage to locate Abdul, but he’s off in the mountains and unreachable. Anything past that point would be giving too much away, at least in my view, as a good deal of the joy I got out of reading this issue was the constant, completely unexpected surprises and I’m not coming close to ruining that for anybody. I will say that it’s gorgeous, funny and smart, three very good things in a comic, and I’m more than a little curious to see what else Richy has done. Richy lives in London, so the exchange rate puts this up to about $7, but it’s a fat comic and well worth it.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Tempo Lush #10: The Heartache of Square McBear
Well, if I’ve learned nothing else from the weekly reviews of this collection, it’s that it is possible to make a set of ten mini comics seem like an epic. And all it took was not reviewing them as a clump! This issue is, as you can probably guess from the cover, the story of Square McBear and his heartache. He is in love with Boxy McFoxy, but it seems that she doesn’t know he’s alive. He chats with her flatmate (Circle McTurtle) and learns that he is not really her type. From there he gets more advice from characters that rhyme, tokes up and gets nothing out of it, and finally goes to the local comic store to cheer up. I try to never spoil the ending of a comic, but because this is the last issue of the set and because the ending is so fantastic, I’m going to tell you how it ends, so stop here if you don’t want to know. It turns out that Foxy is also a fan of comics, she sees the pile he’s getting and tells him that they should get together to chat. Ah, the dream of the single comic fan everywhere: that the person you’re interested in is secretly interested not only in comics, but in the kind of comics you read. Bravo to the whole set, here’s hoping it gets picked up at a few places here in the U.S. so more people get a chance to see it. If the $16.50 price scares you, well come on, what else are you going to spend that money on, food? It’s not like that food is going to sitting on your shelf for years to come, or here’s hoping it’s not. The whole package is worth picking up.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #9: You Are Such a Pathetic Loser
If you can read that text on the lower half of the scan, you already know what the book is all about. If you can’t, it says “22 responses to an insult”, and yep, that’s what you get here. It tells you some excellent responses by being dismissive, foul mouthed, self deprecating, psychological, sexist, visual, sensitive, and violent, among other ways, and you can count how many are left for yourself if you’d like. It’s a simple concept done well, and he once again manages to make the last panel excellent and completely unexpected. There really just isn’t a whole lot more to be said about this, so for once I’m just going to shut up about instead of rambling on and on. $16.50 for the set, and still not a stinker in the bunch…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #8: The Sculptor
Hey look, a silent comic! I was wondering if Richy was going to get around to that in this set. This is the story of a man who sees a huge chunk of rock and sets to sculpting it. Um, this might be clear from the title. As he is sculpting he is noticed by a rich man, who offers him a sizable chunk of change once it’s finished. Sadly, sculpting takes precision and the artist is briefly distracted, which leads to some serious damage. The artist is devastated but still determined, and he eventually gets another offer to finish his sculpture. Still, there are so many distractions out there, and it’s so easy to deliver that fatal blow to a sculpture. If I say more than this I’ll ruin the ending, and it was a delightful ending that I somehow didn’t see coming (one of those “oh, of course that’s where it was going” reactions, but clever enough for me to miss it). Another solid entry to this collection, which is a perfect 8 for 8 so far, and is right around $16.50 for the set.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #6: The A-Z of Absolute Truth
Well, that is certainly a definitive title. This mini is a slight change from a mini comic format I’ve seen more than a few times in my years of reading as many minis as humanly possible: doing an image per letter of the alphabet. This time around it’s done in the guise of a comic adaptation of song lyrics, and I get the distinct impression that the band is Richy’s as well. Shame on him, he’s not allowed to be good at comics AND music. The rest of us might well get a complex of some kind. Anyway, some of the choices for letters are amusing (I particularly enjoyed the randomness of mentioning volcanoes (and then saying, for some reason, that they never tear your home apart), how God and homosexuals hate each other and the cliffhanger of never explaining the reference to the octopus), some mildly amusing and some just plain lazy. I mean, cat and dog? Maybe it rolls of the tongue better in the song. If it was all by itself maybe this comic would be considered so-so, but in the rich tapestry of the whole teddy bear box seat it’s a wonderfully complementary mini. $16.50 for the set of ten comics.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #4: Mish Mash Mosh
Not only has Richy managed to come up with something fresh and interesting for each of the three minis I’ve read so far, he has also managed to make a great mini involving multiple ideas with this one. Yes, this means single panel gag strips, and stories of a few panels, and even a “big” story involving the entire back page. When this tiny thing is folded open, that is, as a big story involving only one panel wouldn’t be that impressive. Or would it? Hey, there’s an idea for somebody with writer’s block: can you cram an entire story in one panel? Better yet, should you? OK, I’m wandering. As I said, this comic has several things going on, including making pies in the shape of famous actors, a llama in disguise, falling in love with your therapist, an old man counting people he’d like to kill, Tori Amos’s previous life as a doodle, freezing time to steal mints, and trying to rein in the powers of Cereal Box Tip Over Girl. Then there’s the big story, and it’s all about finding the perfect woman, featuring a few guest artists and models, all combining to turn what should be a good idea into something hideous. If I haven’t mentioned it yet, I appreciate how Richy crams these minis full. Even on the legal and link pages he’s managing to throw a joke or two in there, making the most out of the tiny amount of space he has to use. I’m very clearly smitten with this set, and this is without even being halfway through it. I’m sure there’s a stinker in here somewhere, as the law of averages says that at least one of these minis was rushed out or half-baked. So far so great though, and I’m gradually starting to believe that that might be true for all the minis. The collection is $16.50 US, and I have mentioned the adorable little teddy bear container that holds all these minis, right?
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #2: Dr. Geary’s Notes on Subject 14D
Richy goes with something completely different for the second issue of this series, as this one deals with a mysterious new life form. Note to the readers: when you get this comic open it up completely and then read it like a regular page. Sometimes these fold-outs get a little tricky, this time it was as simple as could be and thus had me fooled. Anyway, an egg is found on an island (it doesn’t really need much more setup than that) and hatches to reveal a lumpish creature with serious intelligence and the ability to depict whatever it wants to on its belly. It also carries a bit of a grudge, as it remembers the scientist that it attacked (after said scientist drew blood) and seems to want to do the man some serious damage. It is ordered that the creature be destroyed, and any more given away would completely spoil this tiny thing. Let’s just say that the creature may know more than it seems, and would this comic really just up and kill that adorable little blob? This comes on graph paper (if I remember my schoolin’ correctly), which is a nice touch with the format of being told as a series of scientific notes. Another solid entry in this batch of ten which, as mentioned above, goes for about $16.50 in US dollars at the moment.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Tempo Lush #1: Lucy the Octopus
Three cheers for the mini comic box set! I don’t see nearly enough of these things. Mostly because people don’t create enough mini comics to put one of these things together, I suppose. This is the first of 10 comics included in this collection, which comes in a tiny and adorable teddy bear/comic holder. Sadly it defies scanning, but a look at his website should give you a clue. So how about the comic? This is a series of short pieces about octopi (a word you don’t get to use nearly enough) that generally manage to be funny. There’s incomprehensible childhood taunting that makes just as much sense for octopi (tee-hee) as it does for anything else, giving the gift of pets to the little children, accessorizing, wishing for popularity, Lucy’s misguided attempt to stand up to bullying, and a slightly longer piece about how baby octopi are born (and what happens to the parents). Like I said, it’s generally funny stuff, and I loved how it’s a fold-out comic, meaning that it takes a little bit of puzzling to figure out how it all fits together. Not too much, as the stories make the order abundantly clear, but I do love the fold-outs for whatever reason. And did I mention the fact that this whole issue is in vibrant, necessary (for underwater stories) color? Like I said, this is only the first of 10, so there are plenty more to come. No price for individual issue, but this thing is roughly $16.50 if you convert it to US dollars. UPDATE: screw you spellcheck, octopi is too the plural for octopus! Also, according to Wikipedia, octopuses and octopodes. You can have those last two, I’m sticking with octopi.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Zeek The Martian Geek Full Color Special Now Available! $5
It’s about time he put out a full color book! Don’t get me wrong, usually I bitch about the cost of doing a mini in full color (to the artist and to the people who have to buy the books), but if there’s anything that screams for full color, it’s Zeek and his wanderings. In this one we finally get to see Mars (and why Zeek never seems to go there), Zeek tries to meet some earth women (then settles for videos of Winona Ryder), and Brian fills in the rest with assorted one page strips. I didn’t notice that the sampled page was one I used for an earlier issue, and I’m also not sure how much of this was already in older issues. It mostly seemed new to me, but I read many hundreds of these things every year and my memory for specifics is lousy. Either way, if you like his stuff, it’s never looked better than this. You can even compare color kitty strip down here to the black and white version above if you don’t believe me. Of course, if you’re new to the Cattapan universe and just want to check him out, chances are you’re better off working your way through some of the cheaper minis before buying something for $5, but I’m not the boss of you. $5
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Exiled Here On Earth #2
More illustrations from Brian (see the above review and all sorts of other places around this website for my general views on sketchbooks), but with a twist this time: some actual comics are thrown in. The illustrations (it’s really not far to call them sketches) cover characters we’ve already seen in various Cattapan minis doing various things: Nurdy doing yoga, Zeek with a lightsaber, Nurdy as an actual girl, the two of them bowling, a vampire/zombie conversation, a zombie bride, and a sad zombie, among other things. The comics deal with food regret, absorbing knowledge, bowling, the sad love life of a vampire, and a crazy bat. I’ll say one thing for it, it’s a hefty pile of comics. I still, in my old fashioned way, prefer regular comics to this sort of thing, but if you’re a fan of Brian’s work there’s plenty to like here. If you’re just trying to check out Brian’s work, you might want to check out some of the other minis on this site and work your way up. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Exiled Here on Earth Now Available! $2
Regular readers of this site know that I don’t much care for sketchbooks in most cases, as I’d rather have an actual story than a collection of drawings, and that general rule holds here. This is a collection of drawings from Zeek the Martian Geek and characters from Vampires Need Love Too, different in the fact that this isn’t a sketchbook, it’s a pretty nice collection of drawings. Too many of the vampire collections look like the main character has been caught by surprise, but other than that these drawings are fine aesthetically, I’m just biased against this sort of thing. It’s a good companion piece if you know you already like Brian’s work and just like to see his art, but if you’re just trying him out for the first time I’d put this far down on the list of things to check out.
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Vampires Need Love Too #3 Now Available! $3
Do you people still scroll all the way down this page when I mention the updates? Brian is going to change the way these pages are set up all by himself if he keeps this up. And, seeing as how he’s been sending me these comics for most of the life of the site at this point, I don’t see him slowing down any time soon. This comic, like the last two, is comprised of daily strips, so the story kind of comes and goes. At times he seems to be focusing on a larger piece, then it stops abruptly and veers off in a different direction. There are still a few funny bits and a few groaners (nature of the beast with the pun-oriented strips), but the funny does outweigh the groaners and I like the new zombie roommate. Subjects in here include having the Grim Reaper as a friend, moaning about a lack of love life, a stoner/drunk turned into a zombie and his friends being unable to tell the difference (that one was a bit heavy-handed), being in a blues band, what’s really in your coffee, the difficulty of giving death gifts, stalking vs. courting, and being stuck with a vampire stereotype. I should also mention (in case I never have on this vast page) that Brian has been getting other artists to do representation of his characters for a while now, and this time around gets Graham Annable and Matt Metzler to do some damned impressive work. Check out the pile of free samples on his website if you need convincing, and it’s linked way up at the top of the page. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Vampires Need Love Too! #2 Now Available! $3
I seemed to be mildly confused in the review for the last issue as to why so many of the pages seemed to end in bad puns, and in retrospect it’s simple enough: these were done as daily online strips, one page each. Naturally that means there has to be some sort of payoff on each page, and this is where my traditional dislike for the four panel strip comes in. Luckily this issue tells a decent enough story on its own. It’s still all about this sad vampire wandering around, trying to find love, and this issue also has said vampire running into a variety of zombies, the bat and lizard from the previous issue, a brief girlfriend resulting from a blind date (more about this momentarily), a new pet, and Death. This brief girlfriend had a few moments where it seemed like pages were missing, I guess because this book doesn’t print all of the online strips, maybe because some of them didn’t make the cut, or maybe they just refer to things that happen off-panel. Comics can be tricky that way. OK, thanks to the wonders of the internets I was able to just go over to Brian’s website and it looks like plenty of the pages in this book aren’t even posted there, so the missing pages will remain a mystery. By now you’ve seen enough of Brian’s work on this page alone to know if you like the guy, if so, you’re sure to love this one too. If you’re undecided, maybe start with a little Zeek or check out the website first, you know the drill. $3
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Vampires Need Love Too! #1 Now Available! $2.50
It looks like Brian has graduated from the world of tiny, tiny comics into the world of “regular” sized mini comics. I’m not sure what he’s planning on doing with all those other series, but I think there are at least characters from some of them that’ll pop up here and there in his work. This one is about a lonely, sad vampire, as you can probably tell from the cover, and his quest to find a woman. He runs into a blind, obnoxious bat, a Mexican lizard, and a tiny fairy who offers to help him find a woman, at least until she discovers that he can’t dance. This has a lot less mayhem than the average Cattapan comic, and I’m all for mayhem. Of course, it’s a more quiet, introspective book by nature, so less mayhem might be expected, for now. And I don’t get why so many pages end in a bad pun. Pace yourself, man! You have more than 8 pages to work with now, you can throw as many bad puns in as you like! All in all not his best work, but it’s OK. Future issues will tell the story. Contact info is all over the place, or you could check out an issue through me, if you like…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Certain Confusion #4 Now Available! $2.50
Looks like another one of his books has made the jump to being a full sized mini comic. Wait, does that make any sense? Oh well, I think people know what I mean. The strips are getting a bit smarter, to be perfectly honest. I still don’t like the format for most people, but he manages to make it funny on occasion. Strips in here are about dating, drinking, drunken sex, and art. Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned this before, Brian hand colors all of the covers. The price has jumped a bit to $2.50, but this is also the best issue of this series yet, so it’s up to you whether you’d like to sample a couple of issues for that price or just pick up the best one. There’s a new website in this one too, although the old one still seems to work…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Certain Confusion #3 Now Available! $1
Just how many series does this guy have going at any given time anyway? Not that I’m bitching, it’s a good thing to show some range. This one is a short collection of the dreaded four panel gag strip. The first one was basically just an ad for a band and there was one on the back inside cover, so that leaves 8 gag strips. Out of those I thought 5 of them were some degree of funny, so I guess that makes this a winner! Topics include working, death, coffee, hate, and comics. If you’ve looked at the rest of this page you already know the drill for his books. If not, it’s $1, contact info is scattered over the page. See if you can find it!
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Cay… the Night Huntress #5 Now Available! $!
OK, so THIS is the last issue of the series. Or so it says at the end of it, anyway. It’s the big confrontation between Kay and that mattress guy, and a chance to end the piles of vampire zombies coming after her. There’s a bit of a rant against men in general and Zak in particular, then the series moves on and everything is settled… OR IS IT? I think this might be my favorite of his series, although it’s a close race with the scaredy cat. Still, kudos to Brian for completely winning my over by the end. Everything else will be in larger format, so get yer tiny comics while they last!
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
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Cay… the Night Huntress #4 Now Available! $1
Take a look at that cover compared to the one for #3. No, there’s nothing different about the artistic style, I just got a new scanner today and I’m in awe. Anyway, I was wrong about #3 being the end of the series, obviously, but it’s OK because this one is better than the rest. Collage is still a big theme for whatever reason, as is Kay’s general problem with men. He’s had plenty of practice with this format and he has it down pretty well. OK, forgive me, but I’m too impatient to see what the other sample looks like on the new scanner to ramble on here…
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Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Cay… the Night Huntress #2
It looks like Brian actually has a continuing story going on with this series. Sure, Zeek is the same character, but there’s no clear direction of where it’s going. This one is about Cay, who apparently has to kill all things undead. He goes on about how horrible collage art is (in his trademark “between the panels” rambles) and throws in a few vampires that act suspiciously like zombies, unless of course they’re zombie vampires. Another shorty but I like where this particular series is going, and it’s cheap as the rest of them too. Check it out already, here’s the website again if you don’t feel like scrolling up…
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Posted by Kevin
