Blog Archives
Various Artists – Too Blue Comix #1
Too Blue Comix #1
Granted, I don’t usually list contact information for everybody in an anthology, but figured I could make an exception for an eight page comic. This is a series of comics with adult stories, and in this case that means boobs and penises (peni?) and such. Which has proved to be impervious to critical analysis in the past, but hey, it’s Friday, I’ll give it a shot. The bulk of this comic is Simon Mackie’s story about a man taking his son out to get laid. He brings him upstairs to a prostitute and leaves them together, at which point the young man is alarmed by the woman with very little clothes on and flees. But he does manage to get “laid.” Sort of. That’s where the comedy comes in, you see. Dexter has two single page stories next, one dealing with all the depravities listed in an adult comic (and where the line is of going too far) and one that combines making a deal for a good grade with the brief, sad life of sperm as it hits the air. Images by Brad W. Foster and Macedonio bookend this comic nicely. Dexter covers all the really graphic stuff this time around, so if that offends you you could always skip those bits (even if they are the most consistently funny bits in the comic) and read the rest of it. Then again, why would you have purchased an adult comic if comic characters having various forms of sex offended you? The point is that you get some funny mixed in with some sexy here. If that’s your thing, $1 isn’t much to ask for this, is it?
Macedonio – Sigh Fi Tales
Sigh Fi Tales
My ridiculous scanner situation has kept me from getting to these Macedonio comics as quickly as I’d hoped but, as with all comics that are sent my way, I will get to them eventually. I mention this mostly because this the third comic I’ve read from the man and each one of them is a completely original book and concept. Maybe three doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but if he’ll be in damned good shape if he keeps up this level of inventiveness for all of his comics that I have around the apartment. Anyway, according to his introduction this comic deals with “something that could happen and probably has, to someone or something at one point or another. Stories with no actual end.” So if you’re looking for resolutions, look elsewhere. Stories in this one include the general wide range of strangeness that exists (with a final panel that perfectly sums up “strange” in my book), birds eating fried chicken scraps, the extremely dangerous sleeping patterns of a dreaming mouse, a parting gift from a tom cat, and several pages based on different versions of time. See? That’s a varied pile of stories right there. In case you haven’t read the other reviews about the man’s work, he’s been around (with a VERY long break in the middle) doing comics since the Weirdo days and you whippersnappers could learn a thing or two from the man. No price listed, but $2 is probably in the neighborhood.
Macedonio – Space Trucking
Space Trucking
We don’t get to hear enough origin stories about comics. Oh, I don’t mean the crap about how Superman came to Earth or Peter Parker got bitten by a spider, that kind of thing is part of American mythology at this point. I’m talking about where small press stories come from, as much as that question can ever hope to be answered. For example, Macedonio answered a Craigslist ad for somebody who was looking for an illustrator to make a “space panda”, she liked his drawing but didn’t think it was right for the project, he got inspired and drew 80 pages with his own space panda and a friend, she threatened a lawsuit because that’s just what people do these days even if they never pay for an original idea to begin with, and Macedonio ends up with a comic series. This is the first 26 pages of that story, and it follows a pretty clear path, although it gets a little whacked out on occasion. I mean that in a good way, of course. Panda & Monium (no, I can’t tell what Monium is supposed to be either, if anything real at all) come from “an obliterated planet of miscreants and social refure”. Instantly intriguing, and it’s clear that they’re basically wandering around space aimlessly. They are discovered in hostile territory, make their way to the planet more or less as prisoners, leave some, uh, droppings behind, and manage to escape. Still, droppings to you are treasure for certain aliens, so they’re asked back and start a minor revolution of the culture. It’s funny and wildly inventive and Macedonio, if you read the last review of his I posted, is a guy who has more than paid his dues over the years and deserves all kinds of riches. I won’t spoil the ending more than I already may have, but this definitely worth a look, and I will say one thing: three boobs. $2 (or so)
Macedonio – 27
27
I occasionally get actual letters with review comics, things that people have clearly put a lot of time and thought into. I rarely respond to these letters, partially out of some vague desire to keep the reviewer/reviewee separate (as if there’s a line in this business) and partially because they often say such nice things that I’m too embarrassed to answer. This time around Macedonio (that’s the name he gave me so that’s the name I’m using) took the time to relay a good chunk of his life’s story, how he was in prison from the late 70’s to early 80’s, and how he made comics while inside and got 5 pages published in Weirdo #5 (kids, if you don’t know what Weirdo was, you have no sense of comics history at all). He more or less stopped drawing when he got out and worked at a job that he loved for 25 years… until he got sick. You’d think a lengthy stay in prison would be the crappiest thing that happened to somebody in their life, but his illness took a toll on him. In the “silver lining” department, at least it got him back to drawing, and now he’s trying to get his name out there a bit again. This comic (and he sent a few more that I look forward to getting to in the coming weeks) deals with what he remembers of his time in prison 27 years ago. It opens up with a letter from the parole board back in the day, and it looks like he actually had his parole denied several times because he was making comics dealing at least partly with his life in prison. That’s some harsh, nonsensical shit right there. Anyway, his memories include a horse gnawing on him (with a guard on its back) as he was working outside, how stealing in prison is OK as long as you’re up front about it (it’s a dominance thing), the pitcher/catcher debate, and how time itself becomes irrelevant in jail. There’s more, but I think anybody reading this should think about supporting him by buying a few of his books. That linked website above is a collection of 84 pages (!) of pretty much all of his comics and well as some paintings, as it’s the easiest thing in the world to go there and kill 15 minutes looking at some really fantastic stuff. Seriously, go take a look, or bookmark the page for when you have some free time at work. No price listed, but I’m guessing this is a couple of bucks.
