Are you somebody who likes to laugh while reading comics? One of those old fashioned types who’s here for the “funny book†aspect of it all? This is, and somebody please correct me if I’m wrong, the funniest book you’re likely to find. I could really cut and paste the reviews for all issues of Hickee, with a few minor changes for actual stories, and leave it at that. Putting out a book that makes me laugh out loud more than a few times is an impressive enough achievement, putting out multiple books that do that is  at this point. OK, fine, so it’s funny. What’s in this particular issue that’ll get you to check it out? There are a number of short piece by Nathan Stapley, including Depressed Pitcher, Football Players, Good Game, and Pee Wee’s. There’s Joop Joop by Razmig Mavlian, in which we get to see what happens when all the wishes of a small female child come true. Or maybe you’d prefer Getting Creamed by Joe White, an epic adventure of a farmer trying to milk his cow. Perhaps Gladiating by Scott Campbell, because somebody has to root for the guy with a net as his weapon. Not convinced yet? How about The Anna Nicole Smith Board Game by Vamberto Maduro (what, too soon?), a wonderful guide of her path to fame, fortune and early death. And, as always, Graham Annable raises the bar for funny with his piece, Frank’s Big Hand, in which a losing poker player finally has enough. It’s cheap at $2.95, that cover could fold out into a board game if you wanted to buy two copies and wreck the other one, and I did mention the part about all the laughing, right?
Various Alternative Comics anthologies – Hickee
May 2, 2010Here it is, the funniest anthology comic ever. It’s not? Fine, show me something funnier, I dare you. I’d love to see it if it exists, but I doubt it. If I had any doubts that the series would lose some steam or something after the first issue, I was happily proven wrong with the release of this collected edition. This is silly humor at its finest. I wouldn’t feel compelled to point that out if it wasn’t for the introduction of Sam Henderson, as he complains about being lumped into the same category as Graham Annable. There are many different types of humor comics out there among the very few alternative humor comics, and it’s important to try and keep them straight. If you like laughing, you’ll love this book. Few things have made me laugh out loud as much as sitting down and reading this volume. It’s $12.95 and it’s such a no-brainer that I’m not even going to try and hype it up any more.
Various Alternative Comics anthologies – Hickee #1
May 2, 2010Hickee #1
Anybody out there looking for the funniest anthology ever? EVER? OK, maybe some people would contest that, and I’m sure there are a few things that I’m forgetting, but this is the total package. I bought it because I mistakenly thought it was a new Graham Annable comic, but boy am I glad I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong, he does have the funniest story in here, out of four or five that are tied for funniest. There’s one story that’s retelling a song (even that had funny art), one with a guy farting and one that might have had a moral. Those were the ones that were below perfect. Everything else… ah, why rave about it? I’ll put the single funniest page in comics up as a sample (note from 8/6/07: turn out the computer ate those funny pages. Sorry). If you disagree, well, don’t buy it. If you agree at all, it’s all going to be funny to you. That story actually continues and gets even funnier, if you can believe that. Watch out because Alternative Comics is putting out a collected edition of this in a few months and you’d better believe that it’ll be up here as soon as I see it online. Here’s a list of contributors, and don’t let the fact that you might not have heard of these people scare you: Joe White, Marc Overney, Nathan Stapley, Razmig Mavlian, Scott Campbell, and Graham Annable. Anybody know if they have any solo efforts? E-mail the crew for ordering info or just wait for the big book…