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Spina, Sam – Tarn #5: Bich Bird
Tarn #5: Bich Bird
Warning! Don’t flip this comic over unless you want to have the ending spoiled for you. Such as it is, and it’s not like knowing this one detail would ruin your enjoyment of the rest of the series, but I thought I’d better throw that out there. Anyway, the secret of Tarn is revealed here, at least a little bit. Either that or it was never really a mystery, it was just a reading comprehension problem on my end. Things start off with the aftermath of the crash of Titanic 2, and all of our heroes have managed to survive the flight. Just barely in some cases, but they all made it. The Bich Bird comes down to make fun of the guy who planned Titanic 2, Sans finally gets somebody to understand him, Pigboss finds love, and Mr. Futts (after coming back from the dead) runs off in search of as many butts as he can find. Frankly, I see a spin-off comic for Mr. Futts, as we don’t see him again until the end of the comic, and his entire rampage is left to the imagination of the reader. Sam did a nice job of bringing this odd crew together and somehow managing to end all of their stories in a satisfying fashion. I’m still waiting for him to make a crappy comic, but so far the man has been a damned comics master, and you should be buying his new books as they come out to keep giving him reasons to make these funny books. Because sooner or later he’ll take his talents to a field where he is financially compensated in a manner appropriate to his talents, so let’s delay that day as long as possible! $1 (I think $5 for the set, that makes sense anyway)
Spina, Sam – Tarn #4: Titanic 2
Tarn #4: Titanic 2
Oh, so that’s where all this was heading. Still no clue about the title, but there’s still one more issue to figure that out. This time around we meet Mr. Harland, the shirtless person (?) from the front cover. He has commissioned the Titanic 2, which is the largest airplane ever built. When asked about the negative connotations of that name, he merely points out the box office totals from the film with the name “Titanic” to prove his point that it’s a good idea. From there we learn that the entire cast of characters has ended up on this flight by one way or another, and we get the first hilarious interaction between the three characters from the earlier issues. The comic ends with the airplane very shakily taking off, and with a name like that I can’t imagine that the flight is going to end well. But that’s all to be discovered in the next issue and, once again, there’s no reason in the world for you not to be reading this. Find $5 in the couch cushions or something, send it to Sam, and enjoy. But maybe make it paper money first, as otherwise the postage would get ridiculous… $1
Spina, Sam – Tarn #3: Sans San
Tarn #3: Sans San
Well, we’re at the halfway point in the Tarn saga (I’m aware that it doesn’t make any sense to call five issues of a mini comic a saga, but I’m sticking with it anyway). And characters are starting to interact with each other a bit more, so it’s clearly all leading to a dramatic conclusion with them all pointing guns at each other. I haven’t read the last two issues yet, obviously, but I am so very hoping that that is true. Anyway, this time around we meet Sans San, and his thing is that he’s always late. And he speaks Japanese, or possibly gibberish (according to another character), but I’d need a translator to know for sure. He has a job interview, plenty of time to get there and he is determined not to be late for once. But! As he throws up his arms in celebration, his keys go flying off straight into the bag of the guy who eats butts from the first issue. Which might not have been that bad, but said guy was riding on a scooter at the time, so he’s out of earshot before Sans is even able to register what happened. The rest of the issue is a desperate chase involving a language barrier, the constraints of honor and an unexpected team-up. OK, maybe it’s expected because they’re both in this issue, but the way in which they teamed up was still unexpected. Another solid issue, one more reason for you to check out this series. $1
Spina, Sam – Tarn #2: Pigboss
Tarn #2: Pigboss
Oh, so THAT’S what Tarn is. Not that I have any idea of the larger significance of it, or how it ties in to all of these comics, but at least this issue mentions Tarn. Oh hi, did you not read the first issue and/or the review for the first issue? Well, in that case this might be a little confusing to you, even if this issue features an entirely different cast of characters from the first issue. This time around it’s Pigboss, who is filming the final scenes for some kind of action movie. He’s more than a little bit of an asshole, and he says his catchphrase whether or not the cameras are rolling. Still, things are going pretty well for him, except the occasional minor annoyance like not having the right food at the craft services, until he gets a letter from the head of the movie studio. This letter does not go over well at all with Pigboss, and it’s clear that a confrontation of some kind is in the cards. I’m still thoroughly enjoying this series, which is not a shock, as I’ve loved everything else Sam has done. It’s probably a bit early for me to tell you to go ahead and buy this whole series when I’ve only read the first two issues, but eh, what the hell, buy the whole series. It’s only $5, and unless Sam’s brain fell out along the way I feel confident in saying that it’ll be worth it in the end. $1 ($5 for the set)
Spina, Sam – Tarn #1: Mr. Futtts
OK, new policy: I’ll be reviewing the remaining four issues of this series every Thursday until it’s done. Hell, I may convince myself to review them all today before I finish writing this review. Can Sam Spina do no wrong? It certainly seems that way. This is the story of Mr. Futtts. What’s his deal? He eats butts. So simple, yet so beautiful. Things start off a little rough, as Mr. Futtts is trying to psyche himself up to some unknown task. We soon learn that he’s a substitute teacher for the day, and his only duty is to get the kids to read. We also quickly learn that he has a criminal record for previously eating butts, so this job looks like a last chance for him. He takes over the class, panicked, trying to reason with himself, but things quickly fall apart from there. And then he sees an old lady, butt in the air, tending to her garden… and that’s where I have to stop talking about the story, as this is a wee little comic, after all. What does Tarn mean? Why do the other issues seem to have brand new characters in them? How does all of this come together into a series, or does it? These are all questions to be answered later, starting next week. In the meantime, if this was the only comic of this series, or indeed the only comic that Sam had ever made (luckily for us that is not the case), I’d still tell you to read it an enjoy. So do it! $5 (for the whole set of five books)
