Blog Archives
Kiersh, Dave & Johnson, Cole – Exes
Just so it’s clear, Dave wrote these stories and Cole drew them. In case anybody thought they went back and forth, as they’re both amazing artists. I went into this with the assumption that it’d be stories of their actual exes, as both have done some autobio comics in the past. Nope! This mini has three stories, and none of them feature an actual ex. Um, spoilers, I guess. First up is a piece about a grunge kid in the 90’s who’s debating whether or not he should dress up for his father’s wedding. His best friend Donny wears a suit every day, after all, and our hero has quite the crush on Donny, even though he knows it’s hopeless. Next up is the story of a woman who’s stopped on a bike path by a guy who says she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Neither of them have a pen so they can’t exchange numbers, but at least in this story the woman has a boyfriend waiting at home. Finally there’s the story of a lost dude who has recently broken up with his girlfriend and whose friends are all married. He’s reached an age where he doesn’t want to hang out with relative kids any more, but he’s at a loss as to what to do with himself. And when a group of underage kids approach him, he has his own theories as to why that might be happening. This comic is steeped in wisftulness, so if you’re feeling nostalgic about any missed chances in your life, this would be a perfect comic to read. If not, there are still three great stories in here. Also this is currently (May 2020) listed as out of stock on the Spit and a Half website, so I might have bought the last copy in existence? If so, sorry, but it also might mean that you have to search a little harder to find it. The internet is your oyster! $2
Various Alternative Comics anthologies – Hi-Horse Omnibus
I might have a different criteria for a good anthology than most people. When I get an anthology, I get it to check out work from a lot of different people at once. Therefore, as long as the vast majority of them aren’t actively bad, I usually feel like it was a good anthology. Well, there wasn’t a single bad story in this, so mission accomplished. Lots of familiar names in this (Cole Johnson, Zack Soto, Dan Zettwoch, Jesse Reklaw, Thien Pham, HOB, Damien Jay, Gabrielle Bell) and some unfamiliar names (Howard John Arey, Ellen Lindner, Andrice Arp), which is always a good thing. More than a few of those people are getting e-mails from me to see if they want to be in the distro, in case you were wondering. There’s no theme here, which is also a good thing, and stories include a young girl reluctantly spending time with her father, a man trying to find a working bathroom, a cute pug, getting sucked into the television, dating literal monsters, a stranded pirate rhymer, giant babies taking over the world, and how horrible it is to quit smoking. Great stuff in here all around and it’s only $11.95, well worth a look. Here’s the Alternative Comics website, or just click on the title if you’re feeling spendy…
Kiersh, Dave – Last Cry For Help #4
Last Cry For Help #4
At least I think it’s #4 (unless I missed one somewhere, there’s no number in here). More goodness from Dave, Souther, Craig Bostick, Beppu, Ron Rege, Dan Moynihan, Cole Johnson, and one person that I should know but can’t figure out and it’s bugging the hell out of me so let’s just leave it, OK? This is a tall issue with glossy pages, so I have to assume that Dave has made a lot of money recently, so more power to him! What’s there for a reviewer to say about this book anyway? If you like tales of love and loss, then there’s not much better than Dave Kiersh, and this is a collection of stories of that theme from a bunch of the greats, so where could you go wrong? My favorite issue of the series so far, I’m going to guess that it’s $4 because of the fancitude, contact info is all around you!
Johnson, Cole – Thank Your Lucky Stars #1
Thank Your Lucky Stars #1
Here’s another comic with a bunch of little stories. Actually, it’s more like little scenes than stories, but it was still a good little book. In here you have a woman waiting for weeks to see a man again at a diner, a young man looking in the window of a girl he likes, a plain white tee shirt and a guy who sleeps the day away. Check it out, it’s one of the books that’s now available on my site and I don’t hear anywhere near enough people talking about this guy for my liking…
Johnson, Cole – Sugar Free Days #3: Run Away With Me
Sugar Free Days #3: Run Away With Me Now Available! $3
This things get real easy to write when the whole comic is available online (OK, not anymore, apparently). If you want to know what it’s about, or what it’s like, go read it. Simple, eh? OK, I’ll earn my keep a little bit. It’s the story of a young man who has recently died. Everything is kept very simple: dialogue, art, and mood. The afterlife seems like as pointless a place as the living world and William tries to make some sense of things. It’s apparently the start of a larger story and shows some serious promise. Now read all of his comics and see what you think! Go on, I know you have some free time at work or something…
Johnson, Cole – Sugar Free Days #1
Sugar Free Days #1
Is everything at the USS Catastrophe page great? Well, yes, at least as far as I’ve been able to tell so far. This is another random buy. which I made secure in the knowledge that I hadn’t seen anything really bad on that page yet, and it was a very well spent $2. Some minis are large but take only a minute to read, or you have the tiny ones where you’re done right away, with no clear idea of what you just read. Not the case here. This is a solid book, all kinds of layers to uncover here and a lot just sitting on the surface. It’s a look back at Cole’s (I’m guessing here, he could be making all this up) childhood and his group of friends. Girls aren’t really a factor yet, making this a true childhood book, if that makes any sense. They’re not distracted by chasing girls yet, anyway. The dialogue feels real, everything in the early parts rings of youth. The last story is a more recent one, from a binge and the next day or so, with an interesting moral puzzle thrown in. I’ll be ordering anything else he has on that website as soon as I get a few bucks and I’d recommend that you do the same. Send him an e-mail directly or you can reach him at: P.O. Box 2547 Austin, TX 78768-2547.
