Taylor, Dan – Weird Muse #3

April 26, 2010

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Weird Muse #3 Now Available! $1

More tiny fun from Dan Taylor, this one a wee tale of the history of Muses and their troubles with Sirens way, way back in the day. It’s hard to do dig too deeply into these tiny things, and it’s a fun little light story, if you want to leave it at that. So naturally, I’m going to start picking. Typos always bug me, and even more so in little books like this (where there’s so much less to proof than, say, a graphic novel). In this case it’s even an italicized word (“Godess”), so it’s hard to see how it could be missed, but still a minor thing that most people probably just gloss over. Also, while the second half of the story looks gorgeous, bits of the first half (like the eyes on the Muse on page 3) look rushed and a bit sloppy. Just my two cents, as always. It may be a bit sloppy at times, but it’s still fun, so there are certainly worse things in the world. $1


Taylor, Dan – Weird Muse #2

April 26, 2010

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Weird Muse #2 Now Available! $1

This mini (or at least half of it) is about a subject near and dear to my heart: where the hell does all the time go? A perpetually naked older lady asks this question, noting that Sonic Youth is pushing 50 (!), but also getting some joy out of the fact that the hot starlets of today will eventually be broken down old crones like everybody else. Well, I guess old men are called “fogies” more than “crones”, or at least they are in the 1920’s bubble I live in. Also in this issue is an interesting story about wishful thinking in an abuse victim, and a really, really awful pun in the story on the last page. Seriously, just let your eyes skip over that page if you don’t want to groan loudly. Other than that it’s a pretty solid issue though, and I was thinking that I had already gotten around to reviewing #1 of this series, so that should be up (seriously) in a few weeks or so…


Taylor, Dan – Weird Muse #1

April 26, 2010

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Weird Muse #1 Now Available! $1

I think it was SPACE 2008 (or, sadly, maybe even 2007) when Dan asked me if I was ever going to get around to reviewing the first issue of this series, the one that “brought him back” to mini comics.  Seeing as how SPACE 2009 is coming up in a few days, that served as a helpful reminder that I STILL hadn’t gotten around to it.  And the verdict is: this is one solid comic, and I see why it (in part) convinced him to get back to making comics on a regular basis.  Hell, a more than regular basis, if you look around this page and then check around to see how many other creators have this many books on their page.  It starts off a little rough, with a really awful pun about fishing (at least to somebody who mostly doesn’t like puns, so what do I know), then gets great in a hurry.  Dan quotes from a series of newspaper articles involving odd stories like a nine year old suspended for sexual harassment, an angry pack of chihuahuas attacking a cop, a man dying right after bowling a perfect game, terrorists kidnapping an action figure and an odd story about airport screening.  With each of these stories is a funny comic panel, as these stories are crying out for some feedback.  Next there’s an obituary for Clay Geerdes,  (a small press pioneer), some tips and recipes and a collage covering the center spread.  Finally there’s the big, um comic in this comic.  It’s a conversation with two people, one of whom is convinced that he has all kinds of freedom, and one of whom manages to convince him rather easily that that’s not the case.  Three cheers for Dan being pissed off about the absurdity of mandatory seat belt laws too; I’ve been thinking I was in the minority in being annoyed about that.  If I don’t mind flying through my windshield if I ever get in a wreck, why should police?  This is well worth a look, clearly, and probably a good starting point for anybody who wants to check the man out and is a bit overwhelmed with all the variety on his page. $1