April 22, 2010
Website
Backseat Drivers #1
It’s a rare comic that, when I finish reading it, I immediately go back and read it again. That can be a good or a bad thing, of course. It could happen because the comic is so amazing that it has to be read again to be fully appreciated, or it could be (as was the case with this one) that there was so much happening so fast that the whole thing needed to be slowed down to make any sense. A group of heroes, or possibly villains, decide to confront a local mad scientist, Dr. Herman, each for their own reasons. Most of these reasons aren’t spelled out here, but that’s OK, as this is the first part of a four part series. There’s Doyle Lee, an old lady with many, many guns who seems to be after Dr. Herman to shave his moustache. Molehill is only interested in worshipping the guy. Ruffian, after escaping from some cops, seems to be along for the ride. Rhodes doesn’t say much of anything, but she does seem to be looking for the guy too. And finally there’s Cosmic Norseman, who spends most of the issue fighting with a random villain who uses old laundry to attack and Doyle Lee, who covers him in hot apple pie. Why is this all happening, who are these people? Damned if I know. It’s almost too busy, which is a strange thing to complain about. Most of the characters seem to have gotten where they are by accident, so I suppose it’s all a cosmic coincidence that they all end up finding what they’re looking for. Clint does get some serious style points for all the sound effects (my favorite is “crubble”), but a book with an editor AND an assistant editor shouldn’t have any misspellings. All together, taken as the first issue of a series, it’s a blast. It may fall apart completely from here, as all these characters and motivations are going to have to start making sense at some point, but for now it’s worth a look. $2.50
Comments Off on Basinger, Clint – Backseat Drivers #1 | 
Reviews | Tagged: Backseat Drivers, Clint Basinger | 
Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
The Cosmic Norseman #1
Once again, I’m torn about a comic. I know it’s a shocker, but bear with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Backseat Drivers series that involved the Cosmic Norseman and other assorted heroes, mostly because of its ridiculous plot and nonsensical hilarity. That and it had an air of mystery, as all these heroes (and were they all really heroes?) were working towards something. The first issue of this series is mostly about probably the most interesting character of the bunch getting into a series of unconnected cosmic battles. Granted, the sight of the Norseman defeating a Voltron-like convergence of space brains with a cosmic sloshmo (causing brain freeze) was hilarious, but it seems like there’s more potential to this character than a series of random fights. How about a longer story? Randomness has a place in longer stories too, you know, and there’s also time there to get to know some characters. All that said, clearly this isn’t a bad book, and there’s more than enough here to recommend it on its own. It’s just that I occasionally get called out for not putting enough specific criticisms in these rambling reviews (which I’m sure comes as a shock to anyone reading this), so I’m asking for a coherent storyline, with something like this issue coming along every so often to serve as a break. The fight scenes in here include the Norseman fighting the Martian Were-Moose, Spacesquatch, and Peanut Butter Squid, with a large chunk in the middle dealing with his hero team (the Backseat Drivers, as you can clearly see if you scroll down the page) fighting some robotic chickens. Is this last one taken right from the pages of the other series or is it new material? I haven’t read the whole series so I don’t know if it was, but if so… for shame, tsk tsk and all that. So I’d say check out the other series first and then come back here if you’re craving more Cosmic Norseman. $3.50
Comments Off on Basinger, Clint – The Cosmic Norseman #1 | Reviews | Tagged: Clint Basinger, The Cosmic Norseman | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
I’d Sure Like Some Fucking Pancakes
If there were prizes just for titles, this thing would win a very hefty trophy from me. Or from some official comics organization, if there was any justice in the world. Well fine, it has a great title, what about the comic? Good news on that front too. This is a nice pile of short pieces, and I hate to have to point this out, but I should reward the people who get this right as much as the one’s who can’t manage it: no spelling errors or production problems! Kudos. This issue starts off with one of the more convincing “please read this” that I’ve ever seen, as she acknowledges right off the bat that anybody she sent this to is basically obligated to look at it. Hey, with a title like that, I would have looked at it anyway. Stories in here include a list of things she worries about (I particularly enjoyed the sampled page for her unwillingness to draw any of the things that really terrify her), a bird losing its feathers and its life without them, a list of likes and her “the grass is always greener” syndrome, a creepy dream where a dog turns into a fat kid, a short piece about how pancakes and grilled cheese are always better if somebody else makes them due to the hassle involved, and a lovely tale about her killing a unicorn. I feel obligated to point out that science has found a way around the pancake problem, as there are now little containers where all you have to do is put some water in it, shake it up and voila! Batter. It also turns into a very odd goo if you leave it in your refrigerator long enough. Anyway, this is a pretty great comic, one that manages the difficult task of living up to that title. Check it out, why don’t you? $2
Comments Off on Barnett, Lauren – I’d Sure Like Some Fucking Pancakes | Reviews | Tagged: I'd Sure Like Some Fucking Pancakes, Lauren Barnett | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
A Story About Fish
Is it possible to break the category of mini comics down into even minier comics? If that’s the case this would fall into the latter category, as it’s only 8 pages long with one image per page. It’s still a fun story, and probably one of those ones you can relate to if you’ve ever won goldfish at a carnival. After all, you suddenly have a pet and a responsibility to keep them alive, even if fish are pretty low maintenance. Lauren and another person (judging by her use of the word “we”) won a couple of fish at a carnival. The story ends tragically, if you’re hyperbolic enough to think that the death of goldfish represents a tragedy, but if I get much more into it the whole tiny comic will be ruined. I’ll just say that I loved her imagined last “screw you” from the fish as they were flushed into oblivion and leave it at that. Maybe you should pick this up with her other book about pancakes, as it would make a nice bookmark for the other comic. $1
Comments Off on Barnett, Lauren – A Story About Fish | Reviews | Tagged: A Story About Fish, Lauren Barnett | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Was That Supposed To Be Funny?
As should be obvious to any regular readers around here, I am occasionally easily impressed. One of those things that easily impresses me is a knack for great titles, and, though it might be a stretch to declare such a thing after three minis, I think Lauren has that knack. This mini is split up into random stories and adaptations from her old diary, covering random times from when she was 9-13. Stories in here include Broccoli proving to Asparagus that he/she (Broccoli, and I’ve never asked the gender of vegetables) isn’t a bad dancer, the ups and downs of daily life in Brooklyn, how it’s a shame that you can no longer go to your room and slam your door as an adult, her cats plan of attack against bags of all kinds, talking herself into going out more often (but failing to follow through), another day in the life of her cat, worrying about her teeth, searching for a decent apartment, her theory on the flavor of milk duds, and an excellent thrift store find. Old diary bits include watching Jaws, catching the 1992 debates, seriously not being jealous at a classmate getting an award that she didn’t, playing office (and living it today), getting hit in the face with a baseball, and a big crush. That’s a huge pile of stories, not even counting the excellent into and outro pieces. The only trouble I have (in theory, as us high-falutin’ reviewer types often get these things free) is that it’s $5.50, which makes some sense for a fancy color cover, but it’s still kind of steep. It’s worth the price, I’m just sayin’…
Comments Off on Barnett, Lauren – Was That Supposed To Be Funny? | Reviews | Tagged: Lauren Barnett, Was That Supposed To Be Funny | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Birds of the Baltic
Color! Sorry, it always amazes me when people are able to get the money together to put out a color book, especially one as gorgeous as this one. It’s a travelogue, basically, with an emphasis towards keeping an eye out for birds of the region. E.J. and her husband (?) Brian went to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia more or less on a whim and this was what came from their travels. It’s gorgeous, like I said, and tells of a bunch of little stops and people along the way, not just the birds in case you were thinking it might end up being dull. Which, if you hate birds, I suppose it still might be, but why on earth would you hate birds? Weirdo. $3.95
Comments Off on Barnes, E.J. – Birds of the Baltic | Reviews | Tagged: Birds of the Baltic, E.J. Barnes | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Arithmetic on the Frontier
And now for something completely different from EJ, as she adapts a poem from Rudyard Kipling about war. It’s a shortie, granted, but the fact that there are two full pages dedicated to historical asides and information about the author (and EJ) makes this informative and entertaining, as my personal knowledge of Rudyard Kipling is limited, to say the least. Good stuff again, and this one a much more somber book than her humor books, obviously. Contact info is up there, I’d say this is $1.
Comments Off on Barnes, E.J. – Arithmetic on the Frontier | Reviews | Tagged: Arithmetic on the Frontier, E.J. Barnes | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Tales of the Ling Master #1
Apparently EJ is putting a bunch of these minis together into a collected book of the work of “Blaster” Al Ackerman. Also, I guessed incorrectly, as EJ is a she and not a he. Whoops! Not the first mistake I’ve ever made and it certainly won’t be the last. Anyway, this particular volume (and I, Stallion is also included in that list of Al Ackerman stories, in case I didn’t make that clear) is about a man who’s obsessed with bread dolls and eventually decides to make one of the size and shape of a young boy. He decides to show his friend, the reclusive detective known as The Ling Master, once he discovers signs of life coming from the doll, and that’s when the Vug-Randolphs get involved. Honestly, I’m fascinated with Al Ackerman now, and that’s not meant to take anything away from EJ, who does a fantastic job of interpreting his stories. Or at least it looks like she does to me, as it’s hard to tell without reading the short stories. Still, the comics are completely original, which is never a bad thing, and there’s more to come in this same vein, which is also not a bad thing. It’s only $1, so it’s worth the risk to check out, at least I think it is. Contact info is up there, send her an e-mail!
Comments Off on Barnes, E.J. – Tales of the Ling Master #1 | Reviews | Tagged: E.J. Barnes, Tales of the Ling Master | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
I, Stallion!
Hey, where’s the cover? Actually, I think it’s a great idea to start a book like that, especially one as tiny as this. Between this and the sample I’m giving you 1/4 of the book, so I hope she doesn’t mind. This is a story about two guys talking at a bar. One of them wants his other friend to break his arm so that he can kiss his elbow, thereby bringing some magic back to the world. It was too short to get much more than a surface impression of what the guy was capable of, but I liked what I saw. The bit at the end with the narrator talking to himself was brilliant. Anyway, like I said, I’m intrigued. Send her an e-mail to get a copy of this, as it can’t be more than $1, and see what else she has floating around.
Comments Off on Barnes, E.J. – I, Stallion | Reviews | Tagged: E.J. Barnes, I Stallion | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
My Brain Hurts #4
Note: this is premiering at SPX this year, which is October 13th and 14th for those of you lucky enough to have a functioning car, free time and enough money to get there. If you don’t, I’ll bet this will be available at that website up there soon enough. This one focuses almost exclusively on Kate, as Joey is still in a coma. This time around she’s getting stalked by one of the guys who beat up Joey and trying to come to terms with being an open lesbian in public, even though all of the other high school kids already make fun of her for it. Great stuff again, unless you’d rather be as far away from the world of high school as possible, which is a legitimate position to be in. The art’s still great, there was some major character development and it ended on quite the cliffhanger, so no complaints here. $3
Comments Off on Baillie, Liz – My Brain Hurts #4 | Reviews | Tagged: Liz Baillie, My Brain Hurts | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
My Brain Hurts #3
Here’s another great random mini, this time from New York (must be something in the water there). This deals with the stories of Kate, a 16 year old lesbian, and Joey, a 13 year old gay ex-runaway. Sorry if that seems vague, but I don’t know a whole lot after one issue, although the recap of the first two issues was done very well and is something that every serialized comic should have. Anyway, Joey’s formerly abusive Dad is trying to get Joey to clean up his act, and wants him to start by trying to get into a private Catholic school. Kate is trying to get over her brief infatuation with a girl named Verona and is hitting it off with a new girl, Desi. Christ, this sounds like an after school special. That’s not how it comes across as you read it, as the writing is sharp and realistic and she puts some serious work into those backgrounds. It’s still a bit raw, but all she needs to do to fix that is to keep putting these out for a few years and then that stuff tends to fade away. Well worth a look if you can find it, and she seems to hit all the major cons so you should be able to find it out there, or you could always check up that website on the top of the page… $3
Comments Off on Baillie, Liz – My Brain Hurts #3 | Reviews | Tagged: Liz Baillie, My Brain Hurts | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Double Woodwork
If you’re not convinced after reading the first two reviews that this is something you should check out, I don’t know what else to say to convince you. I don’t know if there’s any art that I enjoy just staring at more than John’s, which is a pretty big deal with all the comics I see. In here you learn a little more about the man, have a few more disappearing phrases, read a diary-style two page strip, see some class photos and learn the sordid things the vestment supplier hears. Oh, and if I had a million dollars I’d love to see every single page he’s ever drawn done up in the coloring of the front and back cover. $3
Comments Off on Bagnall, John – Double Woodwork | Reviews | Tagged: Double Woodwork, John Bagnall | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Bushels of Coalsmoke
A welcome problem to have when I’m trying to pick a sample from a comic is having something be worth showing on every page. It doesn’t happen often, but I honestly believe that I could have sampled anything in here (with the possible exception of a page in the long story here, just because it wouldn’t make much sense out of context) and it would show you just how incredible this is. More disappearing phrases, a sampling of some daily strips that he did, a story about the dangers of sloth and an old remedy for the flu called Police Bottle. I don’t know if I’m legally allowed to call art “quaint” without sounding like a jackass, but that’s the best that I can come up with for this. Also, every single panel in here has plenty going on. No lazy drawings of people living in a vacuum so the strip is easier to draw, there’s all kinds of detail here, the kind of stuff that’s more rewarding each time you look at it. Kudos all around on this one, I don’t have a bad thing to say about it.
Comments Off on Bagnall, John – Bushels of Coalsmoke | Reviews | Tagged: Bushels of Coalsmoke, John Bagnall | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Get Yourself a Gobstopper
You know what I love? I love the fact that I can come home from a crappy day of work and have a random, wonderful comic waiting for me from the UK. Can’t beat it. So, I guess I ruined the surprise a bit on this one, huh? So what’s it about? Do you still want to know after that cover and that sample? OK, fine. It’s a collection of short snippets, such as disappearing phrases, single pages about different crafts, different places and grumpy people. What I love about this is that he seems to care as much about the characters (granted, not that they’re allowed to do much in a page or two) as he does about their surroundings. It’s always great to see this level of detail put into the backgrounds without giving up a bit on the characters. It’s a bit short, but luckily he sent a few more along with this one, so I should be able to tell you more about his other works in a week or so. $3, or $8 for this and the two other minis he sent…
Comments Off on Bagnall, John – Get Yourself a Gobstopper | Reviews | Tagged: Get Yourself a Gobstopper, John Bagnall | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
The Bradleys
Ah, a look at where the famous Buddy Bradley came from. I have a problem with the ending, not because of what happens but because… what the hell happens in between the end of this and the start of the first Hate collection? You spend all that time getting people to care about what happens to your characters, then you just make all the bad stuff go away to start the new series. Still, it’s a minor point, and it’s entirely possible that I’m just missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere and I’m getting annoyed for no good reason. This book on it’s own is a vastly entertaining piece of work, and that’s probably how I should take it.
It’s tough to pick a favorite part though. Bab’s Diary was incredible, as was the Christmas story, and the Mom being a phone operator and dealing with the family in general. Granted, Bagge gained a lot of maturity when he focused on Buddy and everything he went through, but I miss the days when the whole family was around and causing havoc. He goes back to them a few times during Hate, so it’s not like they’re lost completely. Just seeing how Babs and Butch turn out in that series is enough to make this essential reading. Try to reconcile the Butch you know from Hate with the one in this series who believes in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. This is another one of that rare bunch of series that I think could be appreciated by everyone, and I think that was shown in the phenomenal sales numbers he had with Fantagraphics. Well, phenomenal for small press comics, anyway.
To anybody who’s thinking of reading Hate over again, I’d recommend highly that you find this book and read it first, if you haven’t already. I’m still confused as to why Stinky’s such a big deal, as he was barely in this book too. And whatever happened to Tom, Buddy’s friend? I guess it doesn’t matter, it just goes to show what a great job he does with characters in his work. So let’s see, the recipe for Hate: read this book, then move onto book two of the collected stuff (the first book is OK, but it’s not like you’re going to be missing an important part of the story as he pretty much skips over a couple of years) and go from there. If you’re dying for more Bagge stuff after that, read the first book and any of the older stuff that’s still in print.
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – The Bradleys | Reviews | Tagged: Peter Bagge, The Bradleys | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Buddy Bites the Bullet
Here’s a lesson for you youngsters who think, like me, that it’s sometimes a better idea to read the series as it’s put out in graphic novel form and not when it’s done in comic form. Once you read all the big books, it’s done. I guess it is for the people who read the comic too, but there have at least been a special or two put out since this series ended. All I want right now is to be able to read more of this wonderful series and there’s nothing left to be had, except for the specials that I missed. Reading this all in a row is the way to go, that much is obvious.
So what happened in the actual book? Well, everything got wrapped up in a nice little bundle. Or a messy giant bundle, but pretty much everything was wrapped up to some extent. Stinky was taken care of (literally, but I’m not telling you anything that you can’t tell from looking at the cover), Buddy and Lisa saw the light, Ma Bradley is happy again, George and Valerie both seem happy with their lot in life, even Babs seems to have things worked out. Combine that with the best ending of any comics series ever (and any fan of Sam Henderson knows exactly what I mean), and you have the best book of the series to end the whole damned thing. Which is horribly frustrating, because I don’t know if he has any plans to do a major series from here on out. He had a regular strip on suck.com (which you can probably still find in the archives) and in theory had a cartoon somewhere online, but I never saw it. Probably the best part of this book, though, is the four page sequence where a girl from the Starbucks next door comes over and flirts with him, turning his bachelor world upside down. It’s beautifully done and perfectly captures the confusion of trying to figure out exactly what the hell women are talking about when you’re single (in my world, at least).
As I’m done with this series, I feel obligated to say something. This is a series that everybody should read at some point, especially if you’re anywhere near the 20-something age group that is represented so flawlessly here. Maybe you can find some of these at a library or something if you’re totally broke, I don’t know. Some comic stores supposedly have deals set up where they’ll give you your money back for something like this that they believe in if you buy it and don’t like it. I started re-reading this series thinking that it was mediocre and I wasn’t going to like it that much, and ended up tearing through the whole thing much faster than I had intended. Going from giving it a 6 (on a scale from 1-10, and I really hate ratings systems so I’m not going to do this very often) to a 10 merely through re-reading it should say something about the quality of the work. I don’t know if I would have thought more of it at the time if I had been reading it issue by issue, but history has allowed me to correct that mistake by reading them all in a row. I must have at least thought something of them subconsciously if I insisted on getting all the books when they were coming out.
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – Buddy Bites the Bullet | Reviews | Tagged: Buddy Bites the Bullet, Peter Bagge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Buddy’s Got Three Moms!
Man, talk about action packed. Buddy’s Dad, the fate of the Buddy/Lisa relationship, Bab’s ex playing at least a minor role… It’s almost like he knew the series was almost over, which I guess he did, what with him being the writer and all. This one is the best of the bunch, and I’ve been trying to tell you all that they’re been getting progressively better each time. I’m almost tempted to go back and read the first one again and give it another chance, even though I just read it a week ago and I’m pretty secure in my opinion. This one is all color too, and it just seems to increase all the little details about a million times. I never really noticed the background before this.
I’m going to use a little quote here from The New York Press, and I hope they don’t mind because they’re obviously just much better critics than I am and are able to sum things up so much more neatly (to show how stupid I am, I wanted to use “succinctly” there but am too stupid to know how to spell it): “Smart and sardonic, but in no way exclusionary or too ironic for its own good”. That was a big part of my problem back in the day, I think: I was looking for something that nobody else could get, and was way to busy to appreciate the things that were just good clean fun. It’s a good thing I got over that too or I never would have read Preacher, but that’s another story entirely. The back of pretty much all of these books say that they’re the best underground comic of the 90’s and, while there are a few people who would argue that (myself being one of them), it’s certainly up there. I think that either Eightball or Love and Rockets could be ranked higher, but once you get up to levels like that it’s really just a question of semantics, and as long as they’re all great it really doesn’t matter which one is slightly greater.
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – Buddy’s Got Three Moms! | Reviews | Tagged: Buddy's Got Three Moms, Peter Bagge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Buddy Go Home!
Buddy moves back in with his parents with Lisa. Hilarity, as you can probably figure out, ensues. I’m running out of words of praise for these beauties. I think part of my problem before is that these are deceptively conventional. I only saw the obvious things when I read through this a few years ago, like the obnoxious 20 something complaining about everything in the world, instead of seeing just what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Also in this volume: Buddy opens up his own business and spends a day babysitting his sister’s kids. Look, I’m going to cut this one short. Anybody who’s already read this far in the series isn’t going to need any convincing to get Volume 4, and anybody who hates this series with a burning passion isn’t going to read anything in this volume that changes their mind. It’s the same old Hate, which is something that has rarely been equaled, as far as I know. Oh, I should mention that this volume is also in color, which brings a lot more than I thought it would to the book. I would have said that it didn’t need it (hell, 99% of the stuff I read doesn’t have it and I think it’s the best stuff around), but it really added a whole new dimension. I might not even have noticed it was a big deal here but the last few (short) stories in the book are in black in white and it just seems so much shittier than the color stuff. Who knew that that thing on top of Stinky’s head was yellow? And I don’t know how Bagge could have even drawn that monster truck if it would have been in black and white. Maybe that’s what’ll convince people to start reading it with this book: it’s in color and he moves back in with his parents, so it’s kind of like a new beginning in two different ways. Are you buying it yet?
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – Buddy Go Home! | Reviews | Tagged: Buddy Go Home, Peter Bagge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Fun With Buddy and Lisa
This series keeps getting better and better. This one shows a lot more of Stinky and the general mess that is the relationship between Buddy and Lisa. This volume actually almost makes them seem like a normal couple, whatever that is. Valerie is thrown back in the picture, and the whole thing ends with them leaving on a trip to see Buddy’s family, so any desire that anybody had to see how the family is doing should be satisfied in the next volume.
Have I mentioned yet how horribly wrong I was about this series not being incredible? I can see how it would have been one of the better selling titles put out by Fantagraphics because it does seem to be accessible to a wide variety of people, but that doesn’t make it any less good. This guy’s a master of comedic imagery. Buddy getting punched is just hilarious, mostly due to the incredibly exaggerated reaction. And just how does Stinky get all the women, anyway? The ones that know him well hate him, but he has no problem picking up the random girl… oh wait, I have a few friends like that too. Highlights: In Search of the Enigmatic George Cecil Hamilton the Third (after George prints up a scathing review of Buddy’s personality in his zine), The Old Flame (when Buddy sees Valerie again and goes to a dinner party without telling Lisa), and My Pad (Revisited). Nothing in the book beats My Pad (Revisited) for sheer mayhem and high-larity. Easily my favorite story of the book, and that’s saying a lot because this one is my favorite of the bunch so far. Having the last story in the book be my favorite is probably a good sign too because it leads right into the next one, so things can only get better from here. There, have I rambled on about this book long enough yet? Can you get off my back so I can read the next one? Thank you. Have I mentioned yet that you should buy these? You could probably give a stack of these to somebody who doesn’t even read comics as a birthday present or something and change their life around, at least a little bit.
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – Fun With Buddy and Lisa | Reviews | Tagged: Fun With Buddy and Lisa, Peter Bagge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
April 22, 2010
Website
Buddy the Dreamer
OK, maybe I rushed to judgment when I shouldn’t have. This still isn’t the best of these books (I remember liking the last three quite a bit), but it is a lot better than I remember it. I don’t know what my problem with it was back in the day. I guess I had to believe that every comic out there was breaking some boundary, otherwise it wasn’t worthwhile. I’ve known for years now though that it can be enough for a comic to just have a great story.
And this book has no trouble pulling that off. This is mostly all about Stinky’s band and Buddy trying to manage them, with the constant Buddy/Valerie/Lisa drama playing out in the background. Solid stuff all the way around and I can’t wait to move onto the next book. This does bring up a pretty important question though. When reading all the volumes of a series in a row, is it always best to start with #1 and move on from there, even if the series improves significantly from one book to the next? The volume I have also has The Bradleys in it after these first two books. Sure, I should have read it before I started all these, but I seldom plan that far ahead. Now what though? Would the last couple of books in this series have been as good if I didn’t have the previous material to refer to? Would reading The Bradleys right now make everything else that much better, no matter what the quality of that book was (and I seem to remember it liking the most of the three in this volume when I read it for the first time)? Or should I wait until I read the whole series and then go back to this story? I’ve already decided on what I’m going to do, but I wonder what the popular opinion is out there. Do you recommend to friends that they read the first volumes of a series first if some of the later ones are significantly better? I know I always tell people to buy Love and Rockets #2 before #1.
Oh yeah, the actual book. Sorry about that tangent there, but I am curious to see what most people do in that situation. The strongest stuff in this book was the relationship stuff, messed up as it is. Seeing George on a date was classic, and having Lisa be the date was just a fantastic story decision. I never liked Stinky much for some reason, and that continues with this book. He’s fairly one-dimensional in Hate, and it seems like there was more to him in Bagge’s earlier work (which I’ll figure out soon enough, I guess). Valerie gets fleshed out quite a bit with the visit to her parents, then is left out of most of the rest of the book. That was one of my original problems with this series: not as much character development as I would have liked. I can see how ridiculous that is now that the whole series is complete, but I always felt like I was having to assume too much when I was reading the early stuff. This is the book that I’d probably pick to start with if you haven’t read any Hate at all. There are bits and pieces in the first book that you’ll miss, sure, but it’s nothing that you can’t figure out with this book. And it’s stuff that you’ll probably be a lot happier to see once you see how good it gets later on…
Comments Off on Bagge, Peter – Buddy the Dreamer | Reviews | Tagged: Buddy the Dreamer, Peter Bagge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
