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Walking Man Comics #71

I don’t care if the guy does make comics based around different stamps he’s managed to find, getting to #71 in the small press comics world is still a big deal.  This one is a bit more defined than some of his past issues that I’ve seen, as there’s a distinct story happening and more than a few stamps that he’s working with.  It’s all about, as you can see from that cover, a super hero frog.  He mostly flies around, being all super hero like, and we get to see his origin story: playing with chemicals while being struck by lightning.  Kids, that is a sure-fire way to get super powers.  I’m also not entirely sure why a frog would need a fiery steed, but it sounds good to me.  It almost seems like there’s a page missing between 6 and 7, as I’m not entirely sure what the little guy was upset about.  Other than that it’s an entertaining story, if a bit sloppy here and there (or maybe his super power on page 5 involved his having a tinier pair of legs dangling behind his regular legs), but a fun read.  I think you should dig up any old stampers you have laying around and e-mail the guy to see if he could use them, as I’m all for increasing the variety of his stamper collection. $1

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Walking Man Comics #34

Matt Levin has been doing  comics for a very long time, or at least he has in “internet years”. I reviewed one of his books age ago (oddly, it was #38), but he just sent me a few books, so it’s clear that he is still cranking them out.  My confusion last time is the same as this time: are they all done with rubber stamps?  It’s an interesting idea, but I just don’t see how it holds together for at least 59 books.  Well, that’s not my concern, right?  Let’s talk about this one.  This is a story about the belief in magic or, rather, why people believe in magic at all.  He makes a few good points about it (this is basically a poem, so it meanders a bit) then circles back around to believing that there is at least one thing in humanity that is magical, but what kind of reviewer would I be if I spoiled that for you?  It’s interesting how he lists the source for all his stamps at the end of the book, so if you wanted to produce one of these comics, it’s easy enough to do.  Well, you do also need a bit of talent, as a simple story of hope, longing and peace isn’t that easy to pull off.  He has plenty of these books available but no sort of coherent website to check them out, which is a shame.  Still, samples can be found at that website I linked (which looks a bit outdated but it still works), and if this sounds like the sort of thing that would intrigue you, it’s worth a look.  The last I heard these were available at 3 for $4, so that should be a wide sampling range if you are so inclined.