New review today for Mill Girls by Caitlin Cass. So do you think we’re all going to have to learn Russian when Putin’s puppet gets put into office in a month and a half? On the bright side, I’ve always wanted to read Dostoevsky’s books in the original Russian…
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Caitlin (who has to be one of the hardest working artists in comics) has veered off in a different direction for this issue, as it “captures the wordless day dream of a cotton mill worker.” Yeah, I cheated and looked that up on her website, but that was the overall impression I had anyway. Things start off with us seeing a few different women working in the mill. The faces that we can see through the windows are bleak pictures of despair, and the daydream starts with the image sampled below: with the women being completely buried under cotton while the owner made money on their suffering. In this dream the women go on strike, confront the villainous owner and, well, it’s a pretty picture of what reality should have been and I don’t want to spoil it for you. Caitlin often goes into more detail with the historical facts of her comics, but she manages to convey a lot of information here without saying a word. These women were exploited for their labor, they did work under extremely dangerous conditions, and undoubtedly many of them dreamed about seeing their bosses finally get what was coming to them. If you’ve somehow not read a single one of her comics yet I’d recommend starting with something meatier, but if you’re already a fan then this book is gorgeous and another great addition to her ongoing library of comics. $4
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New review today for Beef With Tomato by Dean Haspiel, and I’m still collecting thoughts and opinions on the new look of the website. No, I don’t like all the empty space on the sides either, so I’ll see what I can do about it. Cailey Tervo did the new banner (and is available for freelance work, hint hint), and here’s my contact info for review purposes:
Kevin Bramer 2405 Meadow Spring Circle Columbus, OH 43235
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How have I managed to get this far into the website in general and life specifically with this being my first Dean Haspiel book? Granted, I reviewed Aim to Dazzle years ago and have seen his work in various anthologies, but it’s just silly that this is my first book of his. Baffling. Anyway, I’ve always liked his work, but clearly haven’t actively sought it out. With all of the artists I review that makes some sense, but it’s an oversight I look forward to correcting after this, because this book was incredible in every way. These are mostly short pieces from his time living in New York/Brooklyn, and stories include Awful George (and his awful habits with regards to cats and his mother), NBC sticks and his new neighbors, running into a car door immediately after 9/11 and the unbelievable reaction of the driver of said car, his honest but unfortunate reaction to a basketball rolling his way at the park, trying to play nice with cops who are determined to be assholes, drunkenly wandering through a snowy night, exhibitionism and the end of a bench, a murder in his building, his ex who loved to get naked and parade in front of the windows and the effect this had on the neighbors, him getting hit by a car while he played a purse snatcher for a film, and how his community came together for the big NYC blackout. There’s also a large section towards the end of the book with some written stories and some other strips that were originally from other books (or at least some of them were: I recognized his story about the day of 9/11/01 from an anthology). The kind of life he’s led shines through in every story, as he’s constantly depicting himself with various bandages and scars from incidents that rarely even make it onto the page. The man is a seriously talented writer and he’s one of the best artists working today, so if you’re like me and have somehow made it this far without buying one of his books, this is the perfect chance to fix that mistake. $14.99
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New review today for Blammo #9 by Noah Van Sciver. Still soliciting opinions/suggestions on the new look for the website, you should still ask Cailey Tervo about any illustration work you need doing (she did that amazing new banner), and here’s my contact info for reviews:
Kevin Bramer 2405 Meadow Spring Circle Columbus, OH 43235
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I’ve had more and more of a compulsion to get political ever since Trump got elected a few weeks ago (future people, assuming any exist after this administration, we really can’t apologize enough, and please know that more people voted for Clinton but she still lost because America), so in that vein, please read that sample image I posted below. I can’t get out of my head the idea that the sad man baby in the top hat is now the face of the resistance. Sure, I don’t know the guy (Noah didn’t either, clearly), but we’re all going to have to get over this concept of “safe spaces” to survive the next four years. Oh, and Noah also has a new comic out, which is always good news, in spite of whatever else is happening in the world. And hey, he’s just one issue away from taking an independent comic into double digits, which is vanishingly rare these days. Stories in this comic deal with his recent time at the Center for Cartoon Studies (along with a letter from R. Crumb asking him why he was wasting time training when he already knew his shit), the true story of where Blammo comics come from, various strips about 19th century cartoonists, two people with broken hearts and a complete lack of the story going in any direction you may have expected, the dangers of playing a prank with egg sacs from a preying mantis, and his time at a comics convention as a moderately famous artist. It’s a dense pile of stories and you’re pretty much guaranteed to find something you enjoy/that will make you think/that may change your life in some way. Hey, life changes can come from anywhere, so it could very well come from a comic story. He also has quite a few new graphic novels out over the last few years, so if you’ve lost track of his work somehow you have some real catching up to do. $7
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Hey look everybody, I’ve changed the website around! And broken it in a few places, as I’m not sure how to fix the menus and my tech guy is out of the country for a few weeks. That new banner image is by the delightful, talented and incredibly patient (believe me, she had to put up with some serious delays on my end with all the work I was doing for the election) Cailey Tervo, and you should really think about hiring her for your illustration needs before she gets too famous to bother with freelance work. New review today for Everyone is Hungry by Anna Sailamaa, and since my contact information has mysteriously vanished I’ll just post it in these messages every day until I figure out how to fix it. Comments or suggestions (or tech advice), please let me know!
For reviews:
Kevin Bramer 2405 Meadow Spring Circle Columbus, OH 43235
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Regular readers by now probably know the hallmarks of a review where I don’t have much to say about a comic one way or the other. This doesn’t mean that the comic is bad or that I didn’t enjoy it, just that I don’t have much to add to the experience. In those cases I usually start off a review with a rambling bit of nonsense, trying desperately to kill time and/or fill space to give the appearance of writing a proper review. Eventually this runs out of steam, and I have to try to come up with something meaningful to say about the comic. Which would be right about now, I think. Hi, everybody who stuck through that! This is a mostly silent comic about some kids eating, them sharing their food with some birds and some flowers growing in the yard. Every bit of it is gorgeous and it’s a nice moment in time depicting a quiet meal with some natural beauty along with it. Maybe this won’t end up being one of the more memorable mini kus comics I’ve read over the years, but it is quietly charming, which is a welcome respite from the real world these days.
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Posted by Kevin
New review today for Scorched Earth by Tom Van Deusen, and can you believe that this miserable year is almost over? What other horrors can 2016 crap out before it ends?
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Old timey readers of this website may recognize that title and author, and that’s because I reviewed an earlier collection of this story, um… earlier. But don’t worry, as the story continues into this graphic novel! For those of you who don’t feel like digging into the archives, the previous comic told the story of Tom (or an alternate version of Tom) as he goes on a few OKCupid dates and is generally one of the worst people in the world while doing so. It also tells the tale of his mediocre to awful job and how little he does at work while trying to get through the days. He ends up falling for a lady who doesn’t seem to appeal to him in any way (outside of getting really drunk one time and sleeping with him), but that does launch him into a lengthy obsession with her and the man she eventually started dating instead of him. Along the way he also decides to try polyamory (after looking up the definition online) and is a big old creep at a party that his college roommate ends up throwing (Tom is described as being 8 years older than said roommate). The Scorched Earth story ends up as gloriously as anybody could have hoped, but wait, there’s more! Tom also tacks on two later chapters of the story at the end of the book, depicting a time four years later after that version of Tom has lost a lot of weight and is desperate to show the woman who spurned him just what she missed. He hires somebody through Craigslist as muscle for when he confronts them (not that he wants to hurt anybody), and things naturally go hilariously wrong. Whichever way you’re guessing it goes wrong, trust me, you won’t see this coming. Tom also included a few other strips in here, dealing with his trying to get in on the vape craze (kids, if you’re reading this after the craze has faded, vaping was people smoking either tobacco or some smokeless junk in a douchey mechanized box of some kind, and all of it was completely untested with nobody having a clue what would happen to them if they used it. Hilarious!), Tom bringing a katana to work and Tom getting a taste of power after he’s told to interview a prospective employee while the actual boss was away. It’s a damned funny book all around, and if you’re single it also serves as a handy guide on what not to do around women and how not to behave. Ladies, nobody asked for it, but if you’re looking for dating advice, “don’t date Trump supporters” is the best I can do for you for the next four years. Oops, I got political at the end. Sorry. Buy this book, laugh, and forget about the bleak reality of our lives! $16
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Posted by Kevin
New review today for What Happened by Simon Moreton. Don’t forget to shame a Trump voter today!
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I’m going to end up trying to make a bigger point about the nature of art and minimalism, so be warned, and maybe abandon ship on this review while you’re still able if that sounds insufferable. Here, I’ll even give you a short review to make it easier: I liked this comic, and you probably will too, assuming you have normal human feelings and a memory of how confusing things were back before you knew all the rules of social interactions. Because that’s what this comic is about: a six month span in 1995 (found that bit out from Simon’s website) when he was trying out different friends and what was and wasn’t OK to say to them. We get glimpses of a day spent watching a VHS tape on UFO’s, a walk through the woods, a day at the beach, a quiet day inside reading comics and watching TV, a brawl between a friend and his brother, and losing himself while listening to a cassette with a friend. Some or all of those vignettes will probably trigger a memory in you, probably from a time that you can barely remember… which has become something of a specialty for Simon. His minimalistic style, the choice that he makes to portray the past this way, mirrors faded memories remarkably well. Go on, try it out for yourself. Picture a memorable day from when you were a kid. Now picture the faces of the people around you and your environment. Really picture both; try for details. You’ll probably end up with something that looks a lot like what he’s drawn here, in one way or another. So yeah, this is another really solid comic from Simon. But it’s also one of the better representations of the fog of older memories that I’ve seen recently. $6
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New review today for Meat Locker by Michael DeForge, and I think things may actually be back to normal enough to resume regular reviews.
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Posted by Kevin
What’s your relationship to physical fitness? Casual gym person? Utterly indifferent to the very idea? Or fanatical health freak? This comic has three strips that deal with the more rabid side of that spectrum, although if you’ve somehow managed to combine being addicted to the gym with the ability to be easily offended if people are poking fun at you, you might have a little trouble with this comic. First up is a series of testimonials from personal trainers, giving their best pitch as to why people should choose them for training. If you’ve ever even been around a personal trainer for more than a minute you’ll find this hilarious. Next is a piece about a personal trainer as the equivalent of a sex phone operator, and the two are a lot more closely aligned than you might have thought. Finally there’s the story of the struggles that jocks go through in their daily lives, how they have to hide who they are and how even the children are forced to choose sides. It’s a dystopian jock nightmare world, which was a welcome change of pace from the actual jock nightmare world. If you’ve ever thought of an obsession with physical fitness as being a sort of mania, you’re going to find plenty that’s funny and/or mildly unnerving about this one. Oh, and Michael is yet another Adventure Time artist who makes incredible comics on the side (or is it the other way around?).
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Posted by Kevin
That’s right, an actual update! Mostly because this is my first day off in a month. New review today for The Plunge by Emi Gennis! As far as the recent election goes, I’ve had some time to think it over (even if my job requires me to relive the trauma every day by looking at ballots), and I’m torn between wanting to go down fighting and wanting to flee the country entirely. So if there are any single ladies in Europe or Canada who are looking for access to a ridiculous comics/graphic novel collection that spans 20+ years of small press comics from all over the world, get in touch with me! At this point I may even be OK with a loveless marriage just to get to a country that isn’t turning into a banana republic in a couple of months.
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So how much do you know about the first person to go over Niagara Falls and live? If you’re anything like me, it’s probably something along the lines of “some woman did it first, right?” If you already know everything about it, congratulations! Even so, I’d be willing to bet that Emi has uncovered a few things in here that you didn’t already know. The first woman to go over the Falls and live was Annie Edson Taylor. She lied to reporters and said that she was 43 when she was really 63. And, as was the case with damned near everything in those days, the man who did it after her ended up much more famous and financially set for life. It’s odd not to want to give spoilers for a historical comic, but that habit of mine is too hard to break at this point. Bits of information in this comic include the story of Annie’s early life, the various unexplainable holes in her biography, her reasoning behind wanting to go over the falls, how she got the barrel constructed and her life after the event. I had no idea that the first person to go over Niagara Falls was in her 60’s, which makes an already impressive feat downright ridiculous. This comic is a fascinating bit of history that I knew nothing about, something that Emi has come to specialize in for the last 5 years or so, and, as always, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. $6
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Emi Gennis, Kilgore Books, The Plunge | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
I’ve mentioned several times that I work for the local Board of Elections, right? Because that explains the lack of reviews lately. I do have comics here that I’ll start reviewing, most likely in the next few weeks, or if I unexpectedly get a day off I’ll sneak a review or two in. If not, pick a random letter of the alphabet and start going through the archived reviews. Some of them are so old that they’ll feel new again! Also, especially if you’re in Ohio, vote! Let’s maybe make it clear as a country that we’re not willing to elect the most famous con man in America as president, and that’s not even mentioning all his Russian connections and all those sexual assaults. Vote!
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Posted by Kevin
New review today for Our Mother by Luke Howard. Also if you’re reading this on the day that I’m posting it and happen to live in or near Columbus, Garry Trudeau is in town for that comic convention I mentioned earlier in the week. Yes, THE Garry Trudeau. And if you miss him today, not to worry, as Raina Telgemeier and Charles Burns (and so, so many others) are here for the rest of the weekend.
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Our Mother
Quick show of hands, who suffers from some form of clinical depression? All the technology at our disposal and nobody seems any closer at being able to fix any of that for a sustained period of time. This comic is the story of Luke’s mother and her history of depression… sort of. Things start off with a darkly hilarious bit about her parents meeting a mysterious figure in an alley and trying to come up with the best way to make their daughter’s life miserable. They settle on making it so that she doesn’t even want to eat food any more, and from there we get to see the incredibly awkward explanation given by Luke’s father (while his mother is slumped insensate on the couch) about why he’s leaving them. Still, a comic purely about her depression would be unspeakably, well, depressing, so Luke mixes it up with a science fiction story about giant robots in the future who are looking for living humans to care for, the humans who are seemingly invisible to them, and the fruitless nature of them trying to change anything. We also get peeks into Luke trying to give his mother any kind of happiness or relief, a quest to find and use a mysterious portal, the attempted training of an ape and finally the actual history of her depression and the efforts she’s made to get over it. The ending sort of petered out about, but since Luke actually incorporated that fact into the story I think he gets a pass on it. Plus we get to see a farting hotdog, which I did not think I would be doing when I woke up this morning. If you have any history of depression or know anybody who does (which should cover the entire population at this point), there’s a lot to love in here. And who knows, maybe you’ll even find something in here to help you or your loved one. If not, at least you get 20 minutes or so away from the harsh realities of the world, and isn’t that more or less priceless? $9
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Posted by Kevin
New review today for the collected Ohio Is For Sale by Jon Allen. What, you haven’t read the series up until now. Boy, are you in for a treat.
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