Gunky from Podunky
Blech. I just didn’t like this at all, and it seems like I’ve seen other things from this guy in anthologies that I thought weren’t half bad. Look, there are a lot of comic artists that are a little cutesy in their work. James Kochalka, Larry Marder, Steven Weissman… it’s a long list. But with all those people there’s a little bit of substance there backing all that cuteness up. With this guy, at least with the stuff in this book, it’s just too cute to bear and there’s nothing evident behind it all. Don’t get me wrong, he’s talented. I like his blocky drawing style quite a bit. I just don’t like the direction of this book at all, and I’m not going to be buying anything else from this guy that has the same feel as this issue. Still, one man’s garbage is another man’s gold…
UPDATE 4/30/10: OK, there is no way in the world that I gave this guy a fair shot with this review. I’ve seen a few other things from him over the years that I’ve liked a lot, but clearly didn’t like this one when I read it 8 years ago or so. Mea culpa!