New review today for Past Coasts by Jon Drawdoer, who has kind of the perfect name for an artist.
Drawdoer, Jon – Past Coasts
June 23, 2015
Past Coasts
I’m going to break the rules and cut and paste a definition here to start the review, as I looked this up myself after reading this comic just to be sure that I had it right:
Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.
For those of you who are annoyed and confused by my educating you, don’t worry, it is all relevant to the comic. But it sounds like a great way to live, right? Anyway, there are three main parts to this comic, that I will address is a random order because I feel like it. First up is an hour of Jon’s life and all the thoughts that pass through his head, as he documents everything on a notepad while he’s thinking about/it’s happening. It was more fascinating than I would have guessed, and now I think that everybody should give it a shot. Of course, it would require an attention span, and the number of people I know who still have one is dwindling, but I still think people should give it a try and write about their experiences. Next up is a science fiction story dealing with a breathing ship, the wonderful visual effects of having your thoughts outside of your own head and the random, revealing things that are in there, and finally learning not to guess what a loved one is thinking but instead to just ask them about it. Finally there’s a piece at the end about thoughts, putting everything in boxes (and whether or not that’s isolating), your thoughts bringing you to a moment but then not leaving you alone when you reach that moment, and the letdown involved in everything going according to plan. It’s a damned thoughtful pile of stories, and my brain is currently split into thirds as I digest the various portions of this comic. Check it out if you’re a fan of thinking! $5
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/19/15
June 19, 2015New review today for Cringe: An Anthology of Embarrassment by various artists and published by Birdcage Bottom Books. Happy weekend everybody!
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Posted by Kevin
Various Artists – Cringe
June 19, 2015
Quick, think of the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you. Now imagine yourself writing and drawing a comic story about it. That right there should make you cringe, which means you’re in luck, as that’s what this anthology is all about! This book has right around 30 small press artists, some new and some who have been around for awhile, who are willing to share some shameful incident from their past. I don’t think anything in here will get anybody put in jail, but it’s hard not to cringe while reading some of these. I’m not going to review every story because there are so damned many of them (and for a measly $8!), but the highlights include Shaenon K. Garrity wetting herself while out with a group of other cartoonists (including a big name guy, but I won’t spoil the surprise; I particularly loved the way she ended her strip), Sam Spina’s unfortunate method for drinking a rum shot when he met the Bacardi girls, Adam Pasion’s particularly gruesome retelling of an incident involving a finger in the eye, Geoff Vasile dodging a bullet (not literally), Chad Essley and his series of embarrassing moments (hard to top the one where he volunteered to breakdance at school on stage), Fred Noland’s theories on some crayons he used to own, Chad Woody and his racist former roommate, Box Brown and his former habit of eating light bulbs (it’s not quite as life-threatening as it sounds), Stephen Notley and his experience of being “that guy” at a comic convention (you know the one, the guy who gets up to ask a rambling and pointless question and has no idea how to get out of it once he gets started), and Sam Henderson’s experiences with having seizures while surrounded by strangers. It’s a damned fine mix of stories, and at a ridiculously cheap price. Save yourself the embarrassment of not owing this anthology of embarrassment! Ugh, I feel dirty for saying that. I’ll let myself out… $8
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Adam Pasion, Alan King, Andrew Farago, Box Brown, Cara Bean, Chad Essley, Chad Woody, Chris Carlier, Cringe, Danny Hellman, Delaine Derry Green, Elijah Brubaker, Fred Noland, Gabby Schulz, Geoff Vasile, J.T. Yost, Jamie Vayda, Jeffrey Brown, Jess Worby, John Kerschbaum, Julia Gfrorer, Lizz Lunney, Noah Van Sciver, Peter Conrad, Sam Henderson, Sam Spina, Shaenon Garrity, Stephen Notley, Steve Lafler, Victor Kerlow | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/18/15
June 18, 2015New review for Against the American Dream by Matt Reints, which is mostly about Dusty Rhodes and not some long political comic against America.
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Posted by Kevin
Reints, Matt – Against the American Dream
June 18, 2015
Against the American Dream
Most of the time I’m just fine with artists going from story to story without holding the hands of the reading audience. More often than not we can tell when the story changes so, you know, do your thing! However, sometimes comics like this happen, where the story bounces all over the place, and in those cases slowing things down a bit is not a bad idea. A lot of this is me guessing, but I’ll try to walk you through this. The comic is, overall, a collection of wrestlers and a wrestling manager talking trash about (the recently deceased) Dusty Rhodes. I know this because I recognize Jim Cornette, one of the more famous former wrestling managers. But I’ll bet that lots of other people don’t know that, and he’s not identified anywhere by name. There are also quotes from three other wrestlers, and my best guesses for those are “Superstar” Billy Graham, Mr. Fuji (manager, I think, but maybe he wrestled too?) and… some other guy. You could have a table of contents on one of the inside covers, or you could list who they are in the same panel, but it’s mean to not identify them anywhere, and bad storytelling. Other stories interspersed with these speeches include three explorers who try to go to Area 51 (but the story peters out before we learn what happened, if anything), a dreamy piece on wishing for a better life, and photos of Lake Street in Minneapolis. That last one baffled me, as it didn’t seem to have much of a point, but it’s also entirely possible that I just missed it. Overall this comic was kind of a mess, which is a shame, as a comic based on people trash talking Dusty Rhodes had all kinds of potential. Luckily Dusty Rhodes had famous feuds that lasted years, so there could always be other issues with this basic idea.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/16/15
June 16, 2015New review today for BFF by Marie Jacotey, which I believe is the last of the mini kus comics. For now, anyway!
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Posted by Kevin
Jacotey, Marie – BFF
June 16, 2015
I should mention that there’s a technical glitch in this comic before I get started on the actual contents. About a third of the way through the comic a page repeats (the same page that appeared two pages previously). It really throws off the rhythm of the book, especially considering the fact that there are flashbacks and asides that make things hard enough to keep track of. I worked through it and ended up quite enjoying the comic, but if such things are a deal-breaker, you have been warned. Anyway! This is the story of two friends and the woman that gets between them. Rob comes over to visit his friend Stan one morning, and Stan can’t help but show off his latest conquest to Rob. Rob, horrified, recognizes the woman as Amy, who was basically “the one that got away” for him. They had never officially gotten together but he still thinks about her and is still obviously hung up on her, but he does the good friend thing and tells Stan that he should keep seeing her if they like each other. Still, he has to get out of there after Amy gets up and sees him, which leads to Amy following him out the door, and that’s as far as I go because of obvious spoilers. I completely loved how their important, dramatic conversation was interrupted by two young ladies on the bus and their conversation, as it’s always nice to be reminded that the universe doesn’t think that the events of your life are enough to stop things from being ridiculous. Sometimes the cursive writing was a bit hard to read, but overall it was a gorgeous book with a compelling story.
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/12/15
June 12, 2015New review today for Loud Comix #4 by Jamie Vayda and written by a bunch of other people that I list in the actual review. Happy weekend everybody!
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Posted by Kevin
Vayda, Jamie (and Various writers) – Loud Comix #4
June 12, 2015
Oh Loud Comix, if only all anthologies could be as entertaining as you. As always with anthologies, some stories are better than others, but even the weaker bits at least have a few good lines and/or a great closer. Five stories this time around, all of them drawn by Jamie Vayda, which I wasn’t sure of but looked it up to make sure. Thanks internet! First up is a piece by Sonny Joe Harlan about a hardworking and hard rocking man who would work and then rock (on the weekends) to the point of exhaustion, and it was such a deep sleep that not much could get him out of it. He’d occasionally go to the bathroom and eat while still sleeping. Well, this is a story about a night when that went wrong, as otherwise why would there be a story at all? Next up is a story of a punk rock detective by Jack Grisham and a case of his involving finding a missing punk girl. Lest you think this gets all grim and serious, don’t worry, it does not, and it’s probably the most thoroughly entertaining piece of the bunch. Alan King is up next with Ugly Dennis, which isn’t really about Ugly Dennis, but that does make for a great title. Mostly it deals with a bootlegging ring the author had worked as a much younger man, the ridiculous amount of money he made at it and the adventures along the way. Jeff Clayton has the shortest piece next, dealing with something getting thrown on stage during a show and the effect that said item had on the set. Finally there’s a story about Danielle (written by Alan King with art by Jamie Vayda), about young love involving the author and a crazy lady. Which, as he points out, is the best kind of affair to have when you’re that age, when you have no idea what to expect next but don’t particularly care in the pills and booze haze. The author had been living in a situation where his family could have dropped by at any time (even though they hadn’t for months), and this story is all about that happening at the worst possible time. Still, that ending was amazing, and we should all be lucky enough to live through something like that. It’s a solid mix of stories, and it sounds like they already almost have enough stories for #5, so this will keep going strong for the immediate future. If you have any interest in tales of drunken/stoned punk rockers/rockers in general, you’re going to love this. $6
Leave a Comment » | Reviews | Tagged: Alan King, Eric Perfect, Erika Lane, Jack Grisham, Jamie Vayda, Jeff Clayton, Loud Comix | Permalink
Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/11/15
June 11, 2015New review today for Sea Urchin by Laura Knetzger. I hereby declare today to be Friday, so nobody bother to go into work tomorrow. Yes, I have that authority, as does everybody who has been running a website for 14 years.
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Posted by Kevin
Knetzger, Laura – Sea Urchin
June 11, 2015
Sea Urchin
Have you ever had any questions about the meaning of things, or why you should plan out your life, or why you shouldn’t, or why you can’t, or the through-line of life that started way before you and will (theoretically) go on long after you’ve gone? If so, Laura asks all of those questions here and many, many more. If not, one of those philosopher dudes once said (paraphrasing) that the unexamined life is not worth living, so you should look into that. This comic is basically one long, uncertain primal shout at the universe and at everything around her and about her inability to get out of her own head. She doesn’t come right out and discover the meaning of life, but that’s not really her concern. This comic is all about exploring her own mind, her feelings of inadequacy and/or not having anything original to say, but then powering through that and being determined to have her own say regardless. It’s inspiring in a lot of ways, and early on there’s a great example of the dangers of answering the “how are you?” question too honestly. Nobody really cares, and there’s rarely if ever any follow-up, but it’s become the thing to say to other humans, so we all go along with it. If any of you work in an office like I do you must have experienced somebody asking you that while not even slowing down as they’re walking back to their desk. It’s a ridiculous thing to say, and it was a joy to see her take it apart. I don’t want to dig into the specifics, as there are a number of really beautiful scenes that you can discover on your own, but her comments about looking for stray cats every time she walked home and that sequence where she tried to work up the courage to pet a dog were fantastic. If you’ve ever unleashed a primal scream into your pillow, this comic will fill a hole in your life that you didn’t even know was there. And, again, if you’ve never thought of any of these things, maybe now is a good time to start? $8
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/10/15
June 10, 2015New review today for The Jernegan Solution by Dan Mazur. Yay, that was my last chance to misspell the title and… yep, got it right!
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Posted by Kevin
Mazur, Dan – The Jernegan Solution
June 10, 2015
The Jernagen Solution
OK, I’ll just tell you up front that this will be one of those cases where I dance around the substance of the story, as I’d like to leave it as a surprise for anybody reading it. Yes, even though the events of this comic should make it clear where things are headed. It’s based on events from 1898, which is far enough removed that nobody living then is still with us today (or if they are they almost certainly were too young to remember this), so why not leave it a surprise? Even if it is kind of a surprise that you can see coming? Let me just put my dancing shoes away and get down to it. This is the story of a revolutionary kind of technology that was discovered in 1898. A reverend (who claimed to have had a vision from god) and a chemist got together and found a way to extract gold from ocean water. As this would lead to gold being available in almost limitless supplies, they then went out to attract donors so that they could build more facilities and extract more gold. The story is told mostly from the point of view of a local journalist (Dan does a fantastic job on the back cover of going over which bits were real and which bits were based on his best guess, and he had to guess the personality of the journalist) and how he goes from skepticism to belief after seeing the process in action. He also documents the change that occurs over the town, as that much money coming in that quickly would be bound to cause some upheaval. There’s a bit of a twist towards the end, which you probably see coming even from reading this review, but I’m not going to be the one to spell it out for you. This is a thoroughly engaging comic that details a bit of American history that I was completely unaware of, and what better reason is there for a historical comic than that? Frankly, I wish more people did comics based on true events (Emi Gennis seemingly has a near-monopoly on it these days), as your options are damned near limitless. It’s a pricey $10, but it’s also a hefty book, so check it out why don’t you? $10
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/8/15
June 8, 2015New review today for Ink For Beginners by Kate Leth. In case you’re guessing, it’s about tattoos, not comics. But it’s also a great comic!
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Posted by Kevin
Leth, Kath – Ink For Beginners
June 8, 2015
Ink For Beginners
Tattoos! Going into this comic, I only had one opinion about them: eh, not for me. I thought for years that I would eventually find something that I wanted on my body for the rest of my life, but still haven’t come up with anything yet, so I figure the odds of it happening are decreasing rapidly by the year. That being said, I make no judgments on people who do get tattoos. It’s not my place, and I’ve seen some tattoos that are genuinely awe-inspiring. Anyway, now that you know my personal opinions going in, this comic is exactly what that title implies: a guide for people who are thinking about getting their first tattoo. Some of the advice may seem obvious, and Kate even admits as much, but it’s really best to think for a long time as to whether or not you want this image/message on your body for the rest of your life. Getting a tattoo with the name of a loved one on it? If it’s a sibling or somebody directly related to you, probably not the worst idea. If it’s whoever you’re dating/married to at the time, chances are that you’ll come to regret it eventually. She also has a helpful body chart, front and back, that shows the most and least painful areas to get tattoos. Some of them were obvious, others not so much. Kate also mentions that she heard from a number of artists that they spend roughly half their time covering up tattoos from other, crappier artists, so it’s clear that a large number of people go into this without doing much of anything in the way of research. She mentions tipping, what to bring the day of the tattooing, how to care for it after the fact… basically everything you would need to know if you’re looking into this at all. Overall this is a damned comprehensive guide for anybody who’s thinking about getting a tattoo, so I’d highly recommend this before you take the plunge, or as a gift for anybody you know who is thinking of doing so. The one thing I’d want to repeat is something that won’t get heeded by the people who need it most, because they are convinced they know it all: if you’re a teenager, maybe don’t get the lyrics for some Justin Bieber song tattooed on your arm? Chances are that you’ll regret that very quickly. $4
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/4/15
June 4, 2015New review today for Thanger Dangers by J.T. Yost.
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Posted by Kevin
Yost, J.T. – Thanger Danger
June 4, 2015
Just so you know, the title makes a little more sense when you actually read the comic. Not much, but a little. This is a collection of short pieces that J.T. has done for various anthologies for the last few years, so if you track down every single one of his stories, you may have already seen them. Well, except for the first story, as that is unpublished (at least as of the publication date of this comic). For everybody else, this is a nice mix of stories. First up is the story of his odd habit of curling up his tongue when confronted with something too cute, to help prevent himself from hugging or grabbing said cute creature too tightly. I’ve never heard of this, but am equally confused by the reaction of people confronted with overwhelming cuteness who proclaim their desire to murder said cute creature in various horrible ways. Next up is the mysterious case of the lead masks, which I read in another anthology, making this the only story in here that I’d seen before. For everybody else, it gets into two men who died mysteriously with no signs of foul play, mysterious journal entries leading up to it and all kinds of weird theories as to what may have happened. From there we get a short history of the mohawk, followed by the angst of a female preying mantis as she tells her partner what is going to happen to him when they have sex. Next is the “you should take some drugs while reading this” story of the batch, as Little Orphan Annie morphs into the Popeye comic strip, but not in the way you might expect and not completely. Eh, this one you’ll just have to see for yourself. Finally there’s Jon having an honest conversation with Garfield, and Garfield gives him the advice we’ve all been wanting to give him for many years now. There are also a few shorter joke pieces, but I’ll leave those a surprise. I laughed for some of them and didn’t laugh for others, which is how these things usually go, but humor is subjective, so your opinion may vary in either direction. It’s a solid collection of stories, and it’s pretty cheap at $3. You should probably buy it and see what you think of it. $3
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Posted by Kevin
Update for 6/2/15
June 2, 2015New review today for Dark Pants #2 by Matt MacFarland. It’s about mysterious pants. What more do you need to know?
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Posted by Kevin
MacFarland, Matt – Dark Pants #2
June 2, 2015
Dark Pants #2
A little note for future people who send me comics to review: if you include the phrase “a mysterious pair of trousers,” you have increased the chances of me liking your book exponentially. Of course, then you have to work up a plausible reason as to why there would be a mysterious pair of trousers in your comic, which is why it helps Matt that that’s already the subject of his comic (as the title may have implied). This is the second issue, but Matt assured me in the letter he sent with his comic that each issue follows a different person in different neighborhoods of Los Angeles as they each discover these trousers and experience some sort of life change associated with them. In this issue we start off with Milena, a young college girl who happens to be a virgin. Which wouldn’t be notable, but she’s also writing a sex advice column. Anyway, she’s still living with her family and is increasingly unsatisfied with the situation, and one night she finds the previously mentioned mysterious pair of trousers on her porch. They don’t belong to anybody in the house and nobody has any idea how they got there (although I’m guessing the previous issue might clear that up), but they increasingly weigh on Milena’s mind, until eventually she wears them and decides to go out on the town. The pants are a rousing success, or at least they are in regards to her finally hooking up with some random guy at a bar. From there we see her finally getting the nerve to ask out the creep on the bus that she has a crush on and what happens because of it. And far be it from me to give away the ending, but it looks like the pants will be moving on in the next issue to another person. Where do they come from? What do they do? Are they just pants? Maybe all these issues will get resolved, or maybe the pants are just a good excuse to tell a bunch of different stories. Either way, it was a thoroughly entertaining and engaging comic. That $10 price tag is a little steep, but there is a lot of comic here, and we do get some color before it’s over. Check it out, jump onto the journey of what exactly the deal is with those pants! $10
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Posted by Kevin
