New review today for another mini kus book, BLINK by Martin Lopez Lam. If you like my reviews where I ramble and dissemble to try to cover up the fact that I didn’t really get a particular book, you’ll love this one!
BLINK – Lopez Lam, Martin
August 20, 2021
BLINK
One thing I’ve discovered about the mini kus books, and it seems to happen like clockwork: roughly once in every dozen comics, I’ll come across one that either doesn’t do a thing for me or that I simply don’t get. They almost universally have something else going for them if the story doesn’t hit home, like some artwork that looks like nothing I’ve ever seen, an intriguing idea or two, etc. Well, folks, you’ve guessed it: I don’t get this one! There, I said it. Here, I’ll use my old trick of pasting the back cover blurb to see if maybe this helps: “One day you pop up from the ground and the next you’re thrown over the world. BLINK is a loop world full of lazy and libertine monsters.” Clear as day, right? There are few to any words in this one, every image (outside of the first and last) is a two page spread, and as spreads I have to say that they are magnificent. I mean, look at that sample! I used the one from the dead center of the book, and I’d love it if you could tell me what was going on. That lady (?) running away on the far right is the seeming protagonist, but with very few words and very little sense of forward momentum, I don’t know what she was running from or why. Angry citizens, it looks like, but why were they angry? Who were they? I mean, I could keep going, but I’d always circle back to the same point, which is that I didn’t get this one on a very fundamental level. If a series of genuinely incredible images is enough for you, sure, give this one a go. If you like a challenge, or the idea of saying “I’ll show this dumb reviewer what this comic is about” gets you going, by all means, give this one a shot! In fact, go back through my mini kus reviews and only buy the ones that baffled me. Prove that I’m a dummy! If, however, you’re looking for a solid linear story, maybe go with a different mini kus book this time. $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/18/21
August 18, 2021So for this anniversary review week (during which, sadly, I’m pretty busy in my regular life) I decided to also include a couple of mini kus reviews. Hey, why not? New review today for Bridge by Matt Madden.
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Posted by Kevin
Madden, Matt – Bridge
August 18, 2021
I’m always confused in how to review 24 hour comics that end up being released in fancy, professional looking comics (like this, the 96th issue of the ongoing mini kus series). How much has it been polished for release, and how much is exactly how it looked right at the end of those 24 hours? I ask because this comic, as it is now, is damned near a masterpiece. Since anything I have to say about the 24 hour aspect would be sheer guesswork, how about I just leave that angle alone? Yeah, that seems fair. After all, I wouldn’t even know about the time frame if it wasn’t for the blurb on the back cover. OK, one more thing about the 24 hour comic idea: this was made with the condition that every page would have to be set a decade after the previous page, which is a hell of a condition to still end up with a coherent story. This one starts off with the fleeting memory of a young boy’s childhood, in which a mysterious old woman tells him about a mysterious bridge. He ended up spending his life in pursuit of this bridge, using whatever means he had available, and ended up falling short. Still, he passed his knowledge and his notes on to a ward, who then proceeded to spend his life in pursuit of the same bridge. He finally came to the conclusion (after a dream in which he saw himself on the bridge, along with the boy and the old woman) that the bridge had destroyed all of them, and so he destroyed all of his notes and attempted to end the whole thing there. Still the story was not over, as a girl in school stumbled across a trunk with many old notes about the bridge, which started the whole thing up again. I’ve already said more than I should, but the way this comic ends up a perfect circle was masterfully done, one of those “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming” kinds of endings that are so rare in just about any medium. It’s a big comfort to know that Matt has been teaching comics to students for what, going on 15 years now? Maybe even longer. This is a guy with a lot to teach, and I can only hope that his students pick up on the good stuff. So yeah, I’d say this one is well worth a look, if you’re at all interested in seeing what the medium is capable of. Another mini kus winner! $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/16/21
August 16, 2021Happy 20th anniversary for Optical Sloth! I’m not sure of the exact date, but I know that it started in August 2001, so I figure this is close enough for a celebration, especially considering the fact that there isn’t a real celebration happening. If you’d told me 20 years ago that I’d still be doing this, and I’d still be making roughly zero dollars at it (there’s still the “once in a blue moon” comics orders, but it’s exceedingly rare at this point), I’d have said you were cuckoo bananas. But hey, I still like comics, so why not. I have a few ideas on where I’d like the site to go from here, but considering my lack of follow-through on several other ideas, I’ll just leave that to your imagination for now. And, as always, if any millionaires are reading this, send cash and I’ll turn it into more comics. Or send me a huge pile of cash and you can have your own in-house reviewer! As for the review, I debated picking somebody like John Porcellino who I’ve been reviewing the whole time, or maybe mini kus #100, as it is in my apartment. But in the end, a cute little mini came in last week from a guy I haven’t seen before, and what’s more in the spirit of the website than making that the 20th anniversary review? New review today for Sludgy #3 by Robb Mirsky!
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Posted by Kevin
Mirsky, Robb – Sludgy #3
August 16, 2021
Sludgy #3
Well, this comic certainly lives up that tagline. Robb had a recap on the inside front cover dealing with what exactly a “Sludgy” is, which was a big help to somebody like me who was jumping in cold. The storyline itself didn’t seem like it needed much of a recap; this feels more like a series of adventures starring Sludgy, not some grand adventure where Sludgy saves the world at the end of it. Of course, if that does end up happening I’m going to end up feeling like a real idiot. This one starts off in fairly serious fashion, as two guys are digging a grave out in the swamp for a guy who’s currently in their trunk. When one of them goes back to retrieve the body he hears a voice from the woods and sees a shadowy figure. The man, what with him currently committing a crime at all, shoots at this shadow, which brings his partner to him. Then they both see the shadow, come to the same conclusion and shoot him a whole bunch of times. After that they split off to chase him, and mayhem ensues (yep, this is the point where I figure I’m getting to close to spoiler land). That covers a little more than half of the comic, but wait, there’s more! There’s an ongoing series of stories dealing with a mosquito who’s sucked up some toxic waste and the trail of destruction he leaves behind him, the natural result of a Sludgy sliding down a hill (and the hilarious conclusion), and the end result of a Sludgy trying to fly. As these creatures can split off from each other to make new Sludgys, there’s certainly a conversation here to be had about the nature of consciousness, whether or not the same consciousness in a different body is a new person or the same person, etc. But I’m not going to get into any of that, as it’s so clearly against the nature of this book, which is simply to have fun. That’s what ends up getting Sludgy into trouble every time, and it’s frankly refreshing to see in a comic about a toxic sludge monster. So yes, if you’re in the mood for some adorable horror (and you can keep those two ideas in your head without your brain exploding), this one is definitely worth a look. $6
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/5/21
August 5, 2021It’s mini kus time again! New review today for Before the Pandemic There Was a Touch Football Tourney by David Collier. #95 in the mini kus books, and they sent me a double batch for reviewing, which goes up to #100 and beyond. So yes, you’ll be seeing some mini kus reviews over the next couple of months, that’s for sure…
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Posted by Kevin
Collier, David – Before the Pandemic There Was a Touch Football Tourney
August 5, 2021
Before the Pandemic There Was a Touch Football Tourney
It’s always such a delight to read one of David’s comics. Did I give away the ending of the review already? Eh, it’s fine. The man has been making comics for 30 years (maybe longer?) now, and his mastery of the medium shows in books like this. You might think from that title that it’s all about a touch football tournament, but that actually only shows up for a few pages at the end. Before that the comic is about the last trip he took before the pandemic (to visit his son at college; it also shows his bemusement at now being the “old” person at a zine fair. There’s also a chunk with his son’s old artwork and a heartbreaking little bit about the death of his dog large in 2004 and the suddenness of it all. Then in two pages towards the end he manages to include ruminations on the necessity of clipping newspaper headlines in a digital age, his son’s covid scare at school, and how his scrapbooks are going to be the thing that gets him motivated for his next project. It’s damned near a graphic novel’s worth of stories,. just compressed and shortened into a mini kus book. Which is another thing that’s been an incredible mainstay in comics for decades, although David did get a bit of a head start on them (this one is #95 in the mini kus series, in case you were curious). Give this one a shot, it’s either a great introduction to David’s work for the newbies and another excellent comic from the man if you’re already a fan. $7
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 8/3/21
August 3, 2021New review today for Plastic People #8 by Brian Canini, meaning that I’m now over halfway done with the series. Man, that guy can put out the comics, that’s for sure.
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Posted by Kevin
Canini, Brian – Plastic People #8
August 3, 2021
It’s an eventful issue of Plastic People! As always, if you haven’t been reading this then number eight is an odd place to get started, but maybe your thing is to read reviews out of order of books you haven’t read. Who am I to judge? This time around we get an interview with the ex of the murdered woman and a better sense of what exactly was going on in her life when she was killed. The back half of the comic deals with a big old movie star going about his daily business, ending on one heck of a cliffhanger. Is Brian building up to something or is he making it up as he goes along? My money is on the first option, based on his past series like Ruffians. And based on the fact that he’s up to #15 of this series on his website, so he might actually be done with it for all I know. Check out one of those beefier 3 issue compilations, that’ll give you a chance to read a chunk of the story at once. Or get the single issues like this one for $2. You do you!
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/29/21
July 29, 2021New review today for Reluctant Oracle #1 by William Cardini, who has been making comics for quite a few years now. You know, what with the 20th anniversary of the website coming up next month, I was thinking about trying to find out what the first people I reviewed were up to today. Then I remembered that I somehow was motivated enough to launch the website with 100 reviews already written (which absolutely boggles my mind today), and I’ve mostly lost the original review dates for the first few years anyway, so I guess that’s out. I’m sure one of them was John Porcellino, and King Cat is still chugging along, so that’s something…
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Posted by Kevin
Cardini, William – Reluctant Oracle #1
July 29, 2021
Reluctant Oracle #1
Once again I’m reviewing a book before it even hits the creator’s website, so clearly this is THE place to be for new comic reviews. This makes maybe a half dozen times already this year! OK, granted, several websites post updates daily, and they’re dedicated to everything new that’s coming out, and… hey, look over there! This is another tale set in the Hyperverse, as William has put together a stealth universe all his own. It starts off wonderfully, as a great and powerful oracle has been beheaded and left for dead. The only times he regains consciousness is when a group of local rats powers him up and asks advice about their crops, which is not a subject that holds a great deal of interest for him. Eventually the Floating Crystal Witch finds him and makes him an offer he can’t refuse (you may have guessed from that cover that it involves getting a working body for him). She’s not entirely truthful in her offer, and he’s not entirely truthful in his response, so who’s going to come out on top? As always with one of Will’s comics, this one is absolutely gorgeous, and the full color spread really brings his comics up another level. He’s a master at drawing things that obviously couldn’t belong in this world or any other, but if you squint at them just right, don’t they look a little… familiar? It’s difficult to describe, and it’s possible that my brain just isn’t like other brains to elicit this response. Probable, even. Still, one of these days I want to gather all of his comics together and see how well it holds up as an epic. He clearly has a bigger plan in mind (and he did label this one as #1 after all), but since they come out so infrequently I’m curious how well the whole thing holds up. Until then, this is still a damned solid issue all by itself. I only wish he’d spent more time with the rats, because that stuff was comedy gold. $12
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/27/21
July 27, 2021New review today for Addicted by J.T. Davidson, from a mystery pile of mini comics whose origins have been lost to time. Intrigued?
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Posted by Kevin
Davidson, J.T. – Addicted
July 27, 2021
Addicted
Hey, it’s the third J.T. on the website! Relevant to exactly nobody but me, granted, but I thought it was odd. This is one of the mini comics that came in a pile from …? I wish I could say I remember exactly who sent me everything, even after months or years, but that is not even close to true. I remember it came in a bundle with several minis by different artists, and almost all of the ones I checked had no web presence at all. Makes it tricky to link for reviewing purposes, even if I do applaud them for staying true to the “trade and share” tradition of how mini comics uses to be found. Have I said a thing about the comic yet? Nope. Anyway, I did find J.T. online, although you’ll have to ask him about the comics, as there was no online store. This is a simple 8 page mini with a single panel per page, which is also maybe another reason why I’m rambling so much before getting to it. It’s all about J.T. questioning whether his grueling work routine is worth it, as he’s occupied seemingly every minute of the day. He’s also clearly responsible for quite a bit, so passing the buck doesn’t seem to be available to him as an option. Still, his question is answered when he gets home after work and sees what it’s all been for. I guess I won’t spoil the conclusion, even though it’s fairly obvious where it’s headed? Eh, maybe it’ll surprise somebody, who knows. It’s quick, but it’s a heartfelt story, and sincerity can be rare in the comics world. Like I said, I didn’t see a simple way to order this or his other comics through his website, but I’ll bet if you contacted J.T. he would have some ideas…
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/22/21
July 22, 2021New review for Heel on the Shovel #1 by Michael Kamison and Steven Arnold. Anybody have any good advice for raising a giant cat? Because one of these new kittens is looking like it might end up in the 20 pound range, and that’s way outside of my cat experience. Unrelated to comics, I guess, and I do apologize for wandering off topic for the very first time in the history of this website.
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Posted by Kevin
Kamison, Michael & Arnold, Steven – Heel on the Shovel #1
July 22, 2021
Boy, this one takes you on a real journey. I got one set of expectations from that cover, another one from the first few pages (although the hints were there all along when I went back and checked), and then quite another set after I really got into it. This is the first issue of three, and don’t fret! They were nice enough to send me all three issues, so there’s no danger of another unfinished series dangling around out there. This is a story mostly focused on three people: Adler, Muriel, and Daniel. Adler and Muriel are married and Daniel is their three year old child. You’d think there wouldn’t be a whole lot going on with a three year old, but Mr. Kamison has other ideas on that front. Things start off with full frontal male nudity, so if you’re at all prudish, move along I guess? Why you’d be buying small press comics if you’re alarmed by a dick is another conversation. Anyway, from there Adler and Muriel each go to console one member of a friend couple of theirs who has just broken up. Muriel is distracted because she’s thinking about biting people, and Adler just finds the apartment gross and tries to reassure his friend that every marriage has problems, even one that seems as perfect as his. From there things get dicey in terms of me saying too much about it, as spoilers for a comic that has two more issues coming seems like a bad idea. I’ll just say that Muriel is tremendously dissatisfied in her life (we get a brief synopsis of her former hopes and dreams) and finally decides to do something for herself, Adler tries to roleplay his way into cracking the case of the bathroom smoker at his school and ends up in an entirely different scenario, and Daniel tries to understand grownup problems as well as his new playground friend who is significantly further along the “woke” scale than he is, what with being three years old and all. All of this is expertly drawn into a collision by the ending, with everything coming together to cause a shocking ending. But hey, two more issues to find out what’s going to happen next! I had my doubts about the first comic from these two that I reviewed, but this one right here, this is an absolute winner. If you’re curious about their work(as they have a lot of comics to choose from), so far I’d say that this is the place to start. $8
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/20/21
July 20, 2021New review today for G-G-G-Ghost Stories by Brandon Lehmann. Even the title is spooky!
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Posted by Kevin
Lehmann, Brandon – G-G-G-Ghost Stories
July 20, 2021
G-G-G-Ghost Stories
It’s a big old collection of Brandon’s comics! If you’ve read any of my past reviews of his work you’ll know that I find the man to be full of funny, and that fine tradition certainly continues in this collection. Looking over his website I think some of these stories were previously in mini comics. Maybe some are brand new to this collection? I don’t know, as for once I’m so timely with my review that he hasn’t even posted this book as being for sale yet (give it a week or so, I’m sure it’ll show up). These all have some sort of generally spooky theme (more or less), and there’s even an epilogue section with a brief follow-up to two of the previous stories that’s delightful. But I’m getting way ahead of myself if I’m already talking about the epilogue, huh? Stories in this one deal with getting some cash for spending the night in a haunted house, how one Lyft driver is getting awfully tired of ghosts requesting rides, a cursed book where the severity of the curse is mostly in the eye of the beholder, a haunted house for cats (which is where the sample image comes from; without that context it’s one baffling sample image), daily phone calls announcing the impending arrival of the Viper (with one of the dumbest endings ever, but hey, Brandon calls that fact out in real time), and the Okiku ghost and her very specific rules for how many plates you need in your house before triggering the curse. There’s also the meaty center of the book, in which a man who recently became a werewolf goes to the local Barnes and Noble for some advice on how to cure his curse. So many wonderful little details in that one, and the fact that it constantly escalates without really going anywhere has to be seen to be believed. And if you think that means I didn’t like that one, incorrect! It’s probably second only to the haunted house for cats, and that’s because I’m hopelessly biased towards cats being weirdos. So yeah, this one is an all around winner. The man is awfully prolific (again, going off his website) so I’ll most likely be checking out some of his other comics soon. I was already pretty well sold after the last two comics, but this one has me convinced that more people should be singing the praises of this guy. $15
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 7/16/21
July 16, 2021New review today for Forever and Everything #7 by Kyle Bravo. It’s a pandemical comic!
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Posted by Kevin
Bravo, Kyle – Forever and Everything #7
July 16, 2021
Forever and Everything #7
The pandemic comics are finally starting to arrive, and this one covers a few areas that I had no experience with in my particular bubble. Early in-person voting, sure, I know all about that (98% of the people were great, but that 2% who weren’t, whooo boy), but what happened in schools was all hypothetical to me until reading this comic. This one reads more like a regular comic than most of his books, if that makes any sense. Kyle tends to keep his observations short in past issues, but this one started with the first time he heard about the coronavirus, how he dismissed it several times along the way and downplayed the severity of it when it did hit, all taking up maybe the first half of the book. It also showed how he tried to comfort his students, their reactions when they got the news that the school was shutting down (mostly centered around how anxious they were to be able to take their art supplies with them), and a bit about how he handled classes remotely. Other stuff in here is similar to how a lot of us had to deal with things, going from not being sure if it was OK to touch anything to figuring out how it was all about the masks. Other subjects include the oddity of fishing on a random Wednesday afternoon, trying to get some work done while being attacked by his children, going to the doctor for what he was sure was the corona, and dealing with a sudden glut of homemade masks. As we in America are mostly in the clear (this is July 2021, dear readers, so if the Mechagodzilla variant has hit by the time you read this, my apologies), there’s been just enough distance for all of this to be fascinating to me. Your mileage may vary! Maybe you’ve heard more than enough about the virus and want some distance. If so, give this one a while before checking it out. Otherwise, all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Posted by Kevin
