Oh wordless mini kus books, we do have some fun together. Well, it’s not entirely wordless, but I’ll leave the one thing that’s actually said in the book as a surprise for the reader. As always, I’ll most likely get some things wrong in my theories of what’s happening, but hey, isn’t that half the fun? This is the story of a young girl who’s being put to bed for the night. I used the first page for the sample image, something I rarely do, because just look at the sheer level of detail in it, and how much is casually set up for the story ahead. There’s a frog perched on the girl’s head, there’s a goat sleeping at the foot of her bed, there’s what may or may not be a witch (wearing oven mitts to tuck the girl in), there’s the bedposts (and claws on the feet of each bedpost), along with several other tiny details. From there the light is switched off, the frog also falls asleep… and once it’s pitch black, the young girl decides to go exploring, guided by a strange odor. Well, I’m guessing “strange” here, maybe the right word would be “enticing.” They travel through a barren landscape before eventually winding up at a large structure that looks like a natural part of the environment. Inside of this structure is a giant snake (and you should also linger on the small details of this gigantic room), where the nature of her quest is finally revealed, and we get to see which of the members is a coward. That’s all you’re getting from me, but this is a gorgeous, haunting book, and a damned solid fourth issue if you’re doing the “buy four mini kus comics for basically the price of three of them” deal. $7 (or $22 for the deal)
This was one of those rare comics where I flipped it over and read it again immediately after finishing it. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m OK leaving that up to the reader to decide, but on my end it was mostly because I read it thinking one thing and then realizing at the end that I had it wrong. Or did I? Eh, enough hypotheticals already. This is a straightforward enough story, if you’re worried that this was another of those abstract mini kus books that I just flatly didn’t get. Not so! This was entirely two women walking and talking, outside of the notable fact that one of the women might not have been there at all. I’m torn on whether the ghostly woman was meant to be the blond woman’s missing mother or grandmother (strongly leaning towards grandmother, but it’s open to interpretation). They’re looking for their old house, without much information or clues to go on, and the ghostly woman is regretting her life’s choices, specifically her choice not the speak up more when an old friend was deported. The fact that she would have been deported too, and possibly killed, is of cold comfort to her, especially as she takes stock of her own life and faded ambitions. She had stories to tell about her past and her own kids weren’t interested, but life has come back around to resemble the old horrors and now the young blond woman is very interested indeed. It’s all pretty ethereal, and difficult not to link it all back to real life horrors happening now. The only reason I’m not sure that’s what’s being referenced is that I’m not sure how long Ula was working on this comic, but it seems likely she’s obliquely referencing current events. There’s a lot to get out of this story no matter how you look at it, so as always you can get a copy for $7 or get a four issue bundle for $22. I usually recommend the bundle, even more so now that I’ve reviewed three of the four comics in that bundle…
Three cheers for the mini kus folks always posting links to the artists on their comics page, because an internet search for “Mao comics” was getting me exactly nowhere. This one is based on an intriguing concept: the androids in Blade Runner were designed so that they couldn’t evolve and they all had set expiration points. Well, what if all of that was disregarded, and no moral constraints at all were placed on genetic engineering? This one specifically deals with octopuses (which I’d always thought was octopi, but it’s mentioned enough here that I’m starting to doubt it). Specifically, since they usually only breed once before dying, what if that constraint was removed, along with tinkering with the results? This is going to be another one of those cases where I don’t want to say a whole lot about the evolving plot, but come on, when has checking out a mini kus comic ever been a bad idea? Maybe a literal few times in the (as of this one) 136 issue run? It’s a story well told, with the scientists being very human (worried about bad press and bad pictures in the stories about their work), the octopuses breaking containment at just about the first opportunity, and what happens when they inevitably run into other humans. As always, it’s $7 for just this one or $22 for a set of four different comics, and you know which option I always recommend. Hint: it’s the “you mean I basically get a free comic?” version.
Over the almost 25 years that I’ve been talking about comics (yes, I really did start this nonsense back in 2001), I’ve seen a WHOLE lot of comics that are mostly about how the artist didn’t have any ideas for making a comic. I mean, it could almost be its own genre at this point. That being said, I’ve rarely if ever seen one as inventive and as thoroughly entertaining as this one. It starts off like an illustrated movie script, with stage directions and descriptions of the action, which is basically five full pages of setup. And right around the time you’re probably thinking, as the reader, “is this going to pick up the pace any time soon?”, Heather jumps in to point out her own doubts about the direction and pace of the story. We get a couple of pages of her describing her fears, wondering if this whole idea was a mistake, and then we’re treated to the most glorious two pages of procrastination in comics history. I almost used that double page spread as the sample image, but I couldn’t bring myself to give that splendor away for free. From there she spends a few pages going through the various stages of grief (and other things), before a pep talk from her dog finally get her back on track! We see the boy, the worm, their awkward friendship… and then we’re back to Heather’s self doubt. Will she pull it together to finish the comic, or are the next half dozen pages or so totally blank? Um, you can probably guess the answer to that one, but you’re getting no spoilers from me. This was a thoroughly entertaining comic, and good luck finding another comic that packs this much story into a 24 page comic about not really having a story. $8 (or $22 for a set of four different issues)
I briefly thought that there was a printing problem with this issue, as the title and author is on the back cover, before I figured out that it’s more like a manga. A tip for you, gentle reader, so you maybe don’t fumble around as much as I did. Or at least part of the story is, while the rest starts from the usual (in America) front of the book. Although you can kind of read that part right after the initial story on the side with the title and author and it’ll still work in that order. OK fine I’ll fess up! This one didn’t completely click for me. Blame it on the manga aspects (I still haven’t read enough of that for it to feel natural to read a story in the “wrong” order), I’ll absolutely accept the blame for that. There’s still a lot to like here, even if I feel like I’m missing the big picture. The haunting cadence of a whole lot of the dialogue, the absolutely otherworldly sandy area where they’re all trapped, the inhuman masks on the walls (and how they may or may not tie in to the rest of the mystery), all that kind of stuff. And Yokoyama has put out all kinds of books, so it’s not like he’s some new artist which, once again, proves that I’m the dummy here. These things happen! On the other hand, what a great opportunity for you to just get the bundle of four comics instead of just one. You may find this one a headscratcher too, but even if you do, you’ll have the three other latest mini kus books to keep you entertained. $8 for this, or $22 for the bundle.
Just so you know, l’il reader, I used the Google translate option to link Giovanna’s website in English. If it doesn’t actually work that way you can do the same thing, or if you know Italian (or want to learn) there’s always the original version. The clues for this story are visible on the very first page, which makes it yet another one of those comics that’s tricky to talk about without giving too much away. Should I give up on my “no spoiler” stance? Maybe assume that 90% of the people who come to this website just click on the link for the artist and don’t bother reading any of this nonsense? Eh, I kind of have to assume that people do read this, so you all once again get to witness me dancing around a comic without saying too much about it. It went in directions that I didn’t expect, including an ending that smacks the reader right between the eyes, is what I can say without giving anything away. Things start off with <spoiler>, then we shift to a rapturously happy couple in bed. There’s a sudden strangeness in the air that they both notice, then one of them leaves, as that person obviously knows exactly what that strangeness signified. A plea is made and heard for more time together, and that’s right around the part where their partner also decided to leave the bedroom and find out what was going on. I thought that the little boxes all over the pages really added to the sense of claustrophobia of the whole thing, but it looks like Giovanna uses it in a lot of her work, proving once again that “what the heck does he know anyway?” is always a valid response to my reviews. Anyway, yes it’s worth a look, and as always the better deal is getting four of these mini kus books at once for $22 rather than just one for $8. But I’m not the boss of you!
So there are a couple of ways to interpret the fact that it took me roughly half of this comic to fully understand that it’s entirely fictional. One is that Janne is such an excellent storyteller that the same thing would likely happen to most people who read this comic. Another is that I’m a gullible rube. Luckily, both things can be true! This is the story of a young woman who’s trying to save up to leave her home town to go to college. She’s working a fairly brutal factory job at a candy factory and saving even more money by living with her grandmother, and we learn a couple of facts about candy factories that are more than a little gross and alarming (unless they’re entirely made up too; I can no longer trust my own judgment). One day her boss makes an offer to her: he needs a truckload of gummy worms disappear so he can get the tax write-off, and he needs somebody to do the dirty deed. Since her main goal in life is to get as much money as quickly as she can, she has no real choice but to agree to the scheme. She dumps them in the woods, but unfortunately a massive rainstorm washes them away and right back through town, where they’ve mixed with some other chemicals in the river and have puffed up to massive sizes. The story becomes a global phenomenon, she’s mortified and avoids work for a few days before finally deciding to face the music… and finds her life completely changed, but not in the way she was expecting. The rest of the comic showcases her new skill set and the whole story is told as a confessional that gets to the bottom of what really happened. See? Plausible that I could have bought into it! Check it out, it’s a hell of a story, and you can figure out if you would have fallen for it too without some advance warning. Be honest! $8 (or $22 for a set of four comics)
If you’re wondering which of the 8 comics that mini kus sent along this time had my favorite cover, well, you’re looking at it. Come on, that should win all of the prizes. Also I’m not going to do the thing I sometimes do where I post the synopsis on the back of the comic here verbatim, but it might be the most misleading one so far, in a hilarious way (the people who read that in the hopes of reading this comic to get better arguments in favor of being a carnivore had to go away disappointed). So what’s the comic about? Well, a doofus (depicted below being told that he should use his hat as toilet paper, based on his previous arguments) finds out that he can’t get anything with meat in it at a party. Furious, he leaves to find meat. Biting a dog doesn’t end well, so after his encounter below he chases a runner, because she must eat meat! Nope, she’s vegan too, and lists lots of famous people who are also vegan (with the important disclaimer that they’re all also rich). But he does finally make his way to the slaughterhouse, and there is where the fun really starts. Is it really fun? Good god no. It also passes up several opportunities to turn preachy, instead relying on the most terrible thing of all: facts. What the lives (and deaths) of the cows are like, the tortures that pigs go through (and how they’re forced to live before and during those tortures), and let’s not even get into the grim reality of chickens (what did you think their lives were like now that breasts and thighs are so much bigger)? The amazing thing about the comic is that it somehow manages to be hilarious at several points. It shouldn’t be! But Emilie gets there. Still, if you’re already vegan, you should pass these out to your friends who are still resisting. If you’re like me and still hanging on the meat eating lifestyle, this will thoroughly expose the fact that only argument you’re left with is “but it tastes good!” $8 (or $22 for a pack of four mini kus books)
I feel like if I say that this book had a slow burn that I’ll be cast out of polite society, but I’m saying it anyway. Of course, if you read the synopsis on the back of the book (or the website) the whole story is right there, but I’ll still try my usual shtick of avoiding spoilers. This one starts off with our hero asleep in bed, with both hands immersed in buckets of water. For the first few pages we see her going about her day, always careful to keep her hands covered, before running into a child who’s becoming encased in ice. She takes her hands out of the buckets and they immediately burst into flames, which turns out to be a lifelong condition for her. She also runs into a thirsty dog (and has to give a warning about the hot water) and an assault, which is a pretty easy thing to break up if your hands burst into flame. Finally things take a turn for the worse, with life or death stakes for our hero. Can she get herself out of a mess? It’s another delightful tale from the mini kus folks, and it even stays that way if you stop reading before the ending. Oops, that was damned near a spoiler. Anyway, it’s worth checking out, and as always you can either buy it for $8 or buy four issues for $22. The savvy shopper, of course, always buys in bulk. $8
Did I assume one thing from that title and end up getting something else? Reader, you know I did. I took it literally, expecting a silent comic of, you know, observations. Not so! This is a more of a guide for how to unplug, take in your surroundings and respect them, even if you might have to invent some of those surroundings. It starts small, with a few surprise observations, before those carry her fully into a new way of thinking. She also details something that has always fascinated me, and that’s finding unique things on your walks. She uses sea shells mostly as an example, but these can be unique rocks, twigs, unknown detritus, etc.; just anything that strikes your fancy as being unique enough to be noticed. I speak from experience when I say that these are not necessarily going to be appreciated as gifts, so don’t even try it; these are more for your own personal fulfillment. She stresses that collecting is not the goal and that these found items are best placed back in the wild (after whatever length of time seems right to you), which is a fantastic message for this miserable modern world. There’s a genuine life lesson to be learned in this comic, which is rare, and there’s some fairly stunning imagery to go with it. What’s not to love? ($8, or $22 for a bundle of four comics)
I did not expect this comic to be quite as grotesque as it was, but boy howdy was it ever disgusting. Maybe not if you’re one of those (almost certainly fictional) people who like mosquitoes, but if you’re as disgusted and annoyed by those creatures as I am, this one is just a step or two past completely plausible. The premise is simple enough: nature dude goes camping, settles in for a good night’s sleep, and is absolutely assaulted by mosquitoes. He gets through a thoroughly miserable night and wakes up to find himself… changed. No, he doesn’t become a super powered mosquito man. He’s just, as the title might imply, more than a little bit swelled up. He also can’t really communicate verbally any more, which makes his search for help a bit complicated. That search also raises far more questions than answers, as “I’ll have to return to the man who formed me” has sure stuck in my brain. Can our hero be saved? If so, how, and would it be a good idea? This is a series of full page images, so you can really take in every bit of the swelled up imagery on display. It’s also all kinds of disturbing, and if you think that means I’m recommending it unreservedly, you would be correct. $8 (or $22 for a bundle of four comics)
Every time I try to start this review I think of another layer of meaning to the whole thing and up doubting myself. Screw it, it’s not like anything on the internet is a historical document, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Just for as long as I keep paying the hosting fees, basically. Anyway! On the surface this is a simple tale about Lauri Kennta, the overlord of Mars, as he returns home after being away for eight years. We see almost nothing of Mars, except for his sad (and apparently constant) attempts to ask a young woman to marry him, as he’s politely misdirected by her parents. In terms of a palace, royal court or anything befitting and “overlord,”we’re left to wonder if the man is delusional or if they’re just details that aren’t relevant to this particular story. This particular story, again on the surface, shows him returning home, getting a hero’s welcome (so maybe I shouldn’t overthink things as to whether or not he was really an overlord), and finally getting some sleep. His dream, such as it is, shows the hopeless desperation he feels towards ever marrying that girl, and it also reminds him of the murder of a friend of his. For a “bonus” story, we also see a brief interlude from the perspective of the murderer, and it’s not a cheerful perspective to anybody involved. Have I broken my usual rule about saying too much about the contents of the comic? Kinda, yeah! But there’s a lot bubbling beneath the surface here, starting just with the cover image. It screams “get outta my yard!”, not the raw power of an overlord, and who knows what’s under the porch? And what’s the significance of his sleeping quarters changing to “fit the whole of space” in his dream? Plenty of stuff like is what I’m leaving for you to discover, so enjoy. $7.95 (or $22 for the latest set of four mini kus comics, which is what I always recommend)
Well, it’s inevitable with the mini kus books. I always run into one where I either don’t fully understand what the creator was going for or just don’t comprehend it. Sometimes both! As always, assume the fault is mine, but to help out, I’m going to do that thing where I quote the entirety of the synopsis on the back of the comic. It’s at least more coherent than I’ll be! “Toni ventures into the thicket, intending to perform a magical ritual to connect with his springtime spirit. As he delves deeper into the wilderness, he is forced to confront his innermost fears.” This is a wordless comic, meaning almost fully open to interpretation. It’s also gorgeous; Mark conveys quite a range of emotions from a character who is only showing his eyes for the entire comic. The fears that he confronts in the thicket grow increasingly terrifying, and they’re almost entirely in the second half of the comic, which is the part I rarely review anyway because hey, shut up reviewer! Don’t give the whole thing away. Is what I say when I’m reading a review, so I do my best to follow my own advice. Toni is clearly working through some PTSD and one gets the impression that he’s seen some terrible things, but this does seem to be a journey of renewal. Does it help him? Read it to find out! Like I said, it’s a gorgeous book, so don’t take my lack of understanding as a negative. If you’ve read more than a few mini kus books in your life, you know it’s pretty safe to trust these folks. And hey, if you’re worried, just buy the bundle of 4! I always recommend it for their comics anyway. $7.95 (or $22 for the sequence of 4)
Gosh, what a wholesome and innocent cover! I sure hope that I don’t open this up and find out that oh dear. Well, with a title like that you should already know to keep the kids away, if not it will be fine if they learn all about “a cast of polyamorous characters who live in someone’s rectum (from the synopsis on the back cover).” And really, that’s only a fraction of the story. Things start off with a beautifully colorful page of various animals, dinosaurs and sea creatures frolicking with each other. If you take a minute to really examine the image you’ll see that some of them are doing more than frolicking, but never mind that. Then we meet our hero from the sample image, but we only follow him for about half of the comic. And oh, what a half! He dresses up for the convention named in the title, where we meet a spectacular array of characters talking about doing a spectacular array of things. It’s all mostly implied up until this point, but then somebody at the con makes the mistake of laughing about violence, which completely enrages Mr. Octopus, who murders several convention goers, and then the scene switches to someone who is, um, thoroughly enjoying the snuff film of the event, until he’s interrupted by somebody with his own agenda. I’d better stop there, as there’s plenty more for you to discover; and really, even me describing a few things doesn’t lessen the effect of you seeing it depicted here. It’s a cornucopia of sexual mayhem, and you’ll learn a lot reading it. One way or the other, but if you’re a prude, come on, live a little! $7.95 (or buy the bundle of four different comics for $22)
Oh, mini kus. It’s always a delight to get a new stack of comics from these fine folks, and I’m always excited to see just what selection of four or more artists and stories I’m going to be reading this time around. Then I grab the first one out of the stack, and it’s a devastatingly emotional tale of trauma and loss and how impossible it can be to pick up the pieces, and suddenly my mood is changed completely. It’s an amazing comic, don’t get me wrong, but here’s a trigger warning for anybody who’s gone through physical trauma like this and maybe don’t want to be reminded of it. It’s a story told in a word or two per page, sometimes less, and you can almost feel the pain on the page with the many black smudges from Sara’s fingerprints. It feels like a story that had to come out, that hurt to come out, and the reader is left with the uncomfortable question of whether or not it’s any better for her now that it has. Never assume autobiography, is a lesson I’ve learned (and forgotten) many times while writing these reviews, so I can only hope that this is fiction. I doubt it, but this much pain on the page still has me hoping that that’s the case. $7.95 (or here’s a link to this and the next three issues of mini kus)
This is a collection of short stories, almost entirely about situations that are just bizarre and otherworldly enough to make you feel uneasy, like they couldn’t really happen but still might one day. Dreams, in other words, which I guess is right there in the title. Stories include showing off a revolutionary way to make comics (but having it fail when the pressure is really on), an attempt to salt the earth to help plants grow and the effect it has on everybody involved, a conference where our hero is forced to try and sleep in the lobby before getting rid of his pants and attempting to find a bathroom (in that order), and being young enough not to care about a serial killer on the loose, not that that’s guaranteed to keep anybody safe. The heart of the book, to me, was Prison Laps. Our hero, as part of a mysterious prison sentence, was forced to run laps around his old hometown. Which was fine, until the route changed to force them to go near the scary hotel. It was nerve-racking but manageable, but then the route was changed again to force them to go THROUGH the hotel. Our hero speaks out against this, which doesn’t go well for him. Finally he reaches the roof and the sample page below happens. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that it’s one of the times that this book got an audible laugh out of me. The reason may surprise you! It’s a damned solid collection of stories, and after looking at his website I’m really curious about that Cobra parody as well. Give it a chance, why don’t you? $15 (ish)
DJ school! We’ve all thought about it. OK, some of us have, at least, and maybe even in the olden times when it involved switching out actual records. Why, in my day… man, sorry about that. Narrowly avoided a serious old man rant. Anyway! In this issue our hero is bored at his day job and dreams of being a DJ. That terrible boss is wrong; a kitchen is absolutely a perfect place to pretend to be a DJ. He gets fired, more or less, and tells us his origin story, which involves hearing “Firestarter” by Prodigy at the age of 3 and having it change his life. How many DJs did that song create, do you reckon? It has to be hundreds at a minimum. He looks online and finds a course about becoming a DJ, although he finds it boring and a bit obvious, at least until he discovers… the secret trick. As we move on to his first gig, our hero is nervous, so a well-meaning (?) liason offers him what solves all problems at a rave: hard drugs. Our hero thinks he’s maybe bitten off more than he can chew, as he can no longer tell where his hands are, but in case of emergency he can always rely on… the secret trick! It’s a fun story with a happy ending (spoilers I guess), which is very much not a guarantee with the mini kus books. It’s also $7.95 by itself or $22 if you buy it with three other comics and, as always, you know which of those two options I recommend.
What a gorgeous, precise little comic this is. Not that most comics are sloppy or anything, but this one was clearly made with intention in each image/line. Think of this as a meditation session but with you being represented as a video game image and you’ll come close to the feel of it, although this is definitely one of those comics you need to experience for yourself to have a chance to fully understand it. As such, does this mean that mini kus has done it to me again, as this comic is basically unreviewable? They surely did! Let’s see what I can say about it. Things start off with a login for the session, followed by subtle changes to the character, followed by changes of the scenery. The character (or you, if you’re meditating along with the comic) merge with the scenery, get invaded by all sorts of images and ideas, but maintain serenity throughout. This could be a harrowing experience if you weren’t meditating already, so it’s probably best to calm yourself and enjoy the ride. Could this comic alone drive you to madness otherwise? I mean, probably not, unless letting the fluidity flow through or blending into the background would be problems for you. It’s somehow a riveting and relaxing story all at once, so yeah, I’d definitely say it’s worth checking out. $8 for the comic or $22 for this one with three others, and you know by now which deal I recommend…
Again and forever, I wish I could just reprint the synopsis from the back of this comic in the place of a review and call it a day. It says everything and somehow manages to convey terror and deep eroticism at the same time. But no, I’ve given that synopsis away for free too many times, so you’ll have to buy a copy to read it yourself. Or go to the link where you can buy a copy, as the whole thing is there as well. This one is ridiculously open to interpretation, as you could go with the idea of somebody ogling their neighbor through the peephole and imagining a sexual encounter (or several), or you could go with this being a faithful retelling of some sexy times. The images are a jumble of chaotic and/or angry lines, with various sexy bits coming to the surface and being submerged again, with dialogue that shows the sexual fluidity (and sheer, rampaging horniness) of both participants. It’s mesmerizing, even with the ending that takes a serious turn into ______ (what, you thought I was going to spoil the ending? For shame). Read it and be dazzled, unless you’re one of those prudish churchy types, in which case you only clicked on a review with this title because you were titillated by it. Admit it, at least to yourself! $7.95 for the issue but, as always, I’d recommend getting the bundle of four for $22 with this one in it.
The idea behind this one is specific, and while it seems like it probably hasn’t affected that many people, this one will hit hard for certain folks. Have you ever been enjoying some quiet time, either alone or with others, when suddenly a large heavy object comes flying through the air and strikes you, seemingly for no reason? Like I said, that just lost a good chunk of you, but for those of you who are nodding your heads right now, you’re in luck! This one starts off with our hero the bunny trying to enjoy a cup of tea when they’re suddenly struck by a phone book. It turns out that the roommate (the frog) was just trying to throw the phone book away, but they’d misjudged both how hard they threw the book and the distance to the garbage. After a sudden clobbering like that, it’s hard not to feel a little targeted, and this might bring up memories of previous conversations with your roommate about their family members throwing things in anger. This might also bring up a defensive reaction on their part, as they see it as an unfortunate if innocent mistake. From here there are two main possibilities: either the offending party sees that what they did was at best thoughtless and apologizes, or they dig in and use the opportunity to bring up all kinds of irrelevant grudges, both real and perceived. And if the aggressor takes that second tack, well, things are probably going to get ugly. This book is an exploration of that conversation, and how “heroes” and “villains” in this situation don’t necessarily mean a thing in regards to who “wins” the argument. It’s a fascinating and more than slightly uncomfortable book, so yes, we can add another mini kus book to the “yeah buy that why don’t you?” pile. $7.95 (for this comic, it’s $22 for this and the next three in the series. I know which one sounds like a better deal to me!)
Posted by Kevin 
