As always with gigantic anthology collections like this, I like to make it easy on the reader. See that list of contributors in the tags? How many of your favorites do you see in there? Probably quite a few, huh? Then what’s left to think about? For the rest of you, or if you’re just trying to kill time at work, now I’ll say some stuff, then we can both go about our days. Hm, that seems like a grim way to sum up reviewing. Anyway! This is a collection of stories from people who are at their lowest points in life, so if you’re going into this expecting a barrel of laughs, you’ll be disappointed. There are some laughs, sure, as laughter can be the only way to get through some truly horrific times, but mostly it’s just sad. My biggest fear going into this, honestly, was seeing the worst parts of the lives of some of my favorite artists, but outside of a few of them, the artists were drawing the tales of people who submitted their stories anonymously. No, I’m not going to reveal which artists told their own stories; if you’re that curious about them get your own copy. There are also websites in the back so that anybody going through a similar issue in their own lives can get some help, so if you’re seeing too much of yourself in any of these stories, please do so. Not that you need to hear it from me, but I thought I’d throw it out there, because who knows when it’ll start seeming like good advice. There are roughly 40 stories in here, so I’m not going to go through them one by one, but I’ll give you some “highlights.” Subjects deal with reaching out for the last time and having it work out, the first time taking crack, getting beat up by cops (this one pops up more than a few times, which sadly isn’t shocking), using whiskey in a bong, getting addicted to voyeurism, a series of bottoms (a recurring theme was that there was rarely just one lowest point), having an imaginary dog, and very, very many slow descents to the bottom. It’s grim stuff, but it can also show you that there’s hope in even the worst times, as all of these people are still here to tell their stories. Get help if you need it, and give this comic a shot to see that however bad your situation is, there are people out there who have gone through something similar. $15
Are you terrified of rats? Would you like to be terrified of rats? Then I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Granted, the circumstances of this rat infestation are not likely to match your current living situation, but if they do, good luck ever sleeping again. Anyway, this is the story of a brief period of Alan’s life when he was a kid. His father was working on buying a house, but some problem with the finances was tying things up, so his only choice was to rent a house next to his grandmother. Reports are varied on who lived there before him, but their time living there was a lovely learning experience for Alan about rats. It’s hard to say if the reality of the rats (their tearing through cereal boxes and anything in the cabinets, leaving turds all over the place) was more terrifying than the idea of them (eating children that slept in cribs), but let’s just agree that they’re both pretty awful. Things eventually build to a killing spree, as you probably figured, and no details are spared of the carnage. I should point out that there are no word balloons, as the text is a story from Alan and the art is illustrations from Jamie, which only serves to create the tiniest bit of distance between the two needed to make the whole thing genuinely terrifying. Oh, and the capper (pun very much intended) is also guaranteed to make you think. And, quite possibly, feel a little bit bad for the rats. And all this for a measly $2!
Posted by Kevin 
