Author Archives: Kevin

???? – Oxblood: The Untold Legend of Paul Bunyan

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Oxblood: The Untold Legend of Paul Bunyan

I debated putting this one back in the review pile and picking something else, but instead I’m going with using it as a cautionary tale. Y’know, a sort of guide on what not to do if you’re selling your book at a convention. See, I vaguely remember talking to the guy who made this comic, which is why I think it was made by a guy. I could be conflating this with somebody else, so even that could be wrong. But there’s no writer or artist name given, no link to a website or even Instagram, and the name of the publishing company (or just the name they’re using), Rani Comix, didn’t bring up anything in a search. Neither did the title, and since most of the characters are public domain, that didn’t lead anywhere either. But hey, at least now I know that Noah Van Sciver did a Paul Bunyan book too. I’m hoping somebody reads this review so I can fill in the blanks, but for right now it’s the perfect example of what not to do if you’re hoping to get the word out about your comic. Which is a shame, as there were intriguing bits in here. As it says on the cover, this is really more of a zine than a comic, as it’s full of character bios and bits of lore that they’re clearly planning to use for a comic series. I’m only assuming that they don’t have comics already, as otherwise I probably would have grabbed an issue of that rather than this zine. Anyway, we’re given a list of monsters with intriguing names before learning that dragons are rumored to be returning. From there we see how heroes are made, learn what happened to Paul in the past and his current quest, and meet two other characters that are presumably going to be important in the series. Overall a pretty nice teaser, which makes it a real shame that said series is not easier to find. So yeah, if you know who this was, please email me and I’ll fix this review. If not, hey, maybe your Google skills are better than mine. Best of luck!

Update for 10/12/23

New review today for Adversary by Blue Delliquanti, which is a l’il graphic novel I got from CXC. The behemoth graphic novels will be coming later.

Delliquanti, Blue – Adversary

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Adversary

There’s a whole lot going on here, to the point that I’m not sure where to start. “At the beginning,” you say? Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense. Things start off in pandemic times (future people, if we’ve had several pandemics since, I’m talking about roughly 2020-21) with a man drinking outside on the patio of a bar. As he’s getting ready to leave a stranger at the bar buys him a drink, they have a conversation and after the man (Curtis) can’t place where he’d previously met the stranger (Anton, but we don’t know that yet), Curtis is given a hint that clears a whole lot up. They met in a self-defense class where Curtis was the instructor 5 years ago, and Anton is looking for a refresher on some of those lessons. It’s an unconventional teaching style, as Anton often initiates conflict unexpectedly, with some pretty damned sexy results. Believe me, it’ll make sense when you read it. But Anton is incredibly guarded and protective of their privacy, which makes all the sense in the world when we learn what their life was like through the early part of the pandemic. It’s hard to deal with all of the consequences of the pandemic even now, and a lot of it is due to not being sure which people that you talk to have any connection to reality, and which can only see things through a purely partisan lens. Side note: we may need to come up with a word other than “partisan,” because “refuses to wear a mask or believe in covid because my cult leader didn’t like the way that masks smeared his bronzer” is too long (though entirely accurate). Anyway, the difficulty of dealing with this goes up considerably if you’ve suffered a loss from covid, as this book so devastatingly portrays. The character building throughout is detailed and layered, the social commentary is present but muted (if that sort of thing scares you off, you big baby) and this feels like one of those books that you could start over right after reading it and get even more out of it. If you haven’t already read any of Blue’s stuff, this is a pretty damned solid place to start. It’s also listed as $5 through the link, which can’t be right? This is a full color graphic novel. Still, check with Blue, I’m sure they can clear it up…

Update for 10/10/23

New review today for Airbag #2 by Brian Canini, and why yes, I am still reviewing Cartoon Crossroads books, why do you ask? Maybe for the next few weeks even, although I did get too many graphic novels to keep up this pace for long. Always keep em’ guessing on the review schedule, is definitely the secret to a successful website…

Canini, Brian – Airbag #2

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Airbag #2

All of the Caniniacs out there (fan name subject to change, but I like it) are probably wondering why Brian occasionally puts out big old books like this, full of different types of stories, if he already has a few different ongoing series with a variety of different subjects. Why not make a few more minis? Well, because it wouldn’t work nearly as well to have interconnected stories in a variety of minis where the similarities wouldn’t be nearly as clear, now would it? Now that that imaginary strawman has been handily defeated, I can go on with the review. This is a collection of several stories, with comedy, despair and heartbreak (seriously, the first long story was devastating) all wrapped up into one bundle that still somehow works beautifully. Things start off with the “invention” of comics back in 1925 and the all too predictable reaction of the hoity toity types of the time. This picks up again later, but next we get the story of a woman who’s tasked with clearing out her father’s home after he passes away. Their relationship wasn’t all that close, especially after the divorce, but she learns a lot about the guy by digging through what he thought was meaningful enough to keep, which all leads up to the moment that explains a whole lot of his attitude towards her wanting to become an artist. From there we get an explanation of how a forgotten comics artist gets rediscovered before moving on to a comics convention, and am I ever thrilled that “DeForgian” is a descriptor that’s being used out in the world. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, read some comics by Michael DeForge. Yes, any of them. Anyway, the artist at the convention gets sick of it, find a “magic” pen and gets dragged into a magical comics land. There’s all kinds of things going on in here, as the artist takes a real spiritual journey, but this is one that’s best left to the reader to discover completely unspoiled. Finally it all wraps in the Billy Ireland museum in Columbus, as the forgotten comics are finally collected. OR ARE THEY? Yup, a mystery. That back page comic is also a winner, and a nice little dig at the newspaper business. So yes, if you’re just curious about Brian’s work, it’s probably more economical to get a few minis. But if you’re looking for something that’s complete in one volume with some serious variety to boot, this would be an excellent place to get started on his comics. I’m talking to the newbies, as I’m assuming everybody who already reads his stuff either already has this or is now ordering it now that you know it exists… $10

Update for 10/6/23

New review today for Depression is Cool! by Cooklin. Yep, closing the week out on a happy note!

Cooklin – Depression is Cool!

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Substack

Depression is Cool!

I should really start linking to Substack pages for people as a matter of routine, as more and more artists are using it to finance projects. Let’s see if that mental note sticks! Cooklin had a gaggle of these types of comics available at CXC (I got three of them; I’m perpetually a sucker for “you get a discount if you get multiple issues” deals), although I’m not seeing this one listed in their store at the moment. Contact them, unless they sold out at CXC there are at least a few more of these out in the world. So this comic, and a number of others in this series, are based on interviews that Cooklin conducted with people suffering from various types of clinical depression. All anonymous, of course, and this one dealt with… hm. “An introduction into the lifestyle of depression” probably isn’t quite right, but in this case we learn of the origins of this person’s descent into depression. They basically used Tumblr to look up “depression content” (their term), got into the side of it that made it seem cool and mysterious, and it gradually overtook their life. Their more well-adjusted friends got tossed aside for another group of friends who were also suffering from some form of depression, causing a constant cycle of normalizing depression. If everybody else in their circle had it, and they seemed cool, it had to be OK, right? There were a number of things in this mini that I’d never considered about depression, specifically (as a guy who never uses social media) how easy it would be to keep yourself constantly engulfed in negative thoughts. My only quibble with this issue is that it kind of just ends; I was hoping for an indication of how they got out it out, or how their life is going now. But Cooklin did say that the plan was for all of these to make their way into a graphic novel, which I’m sure will deal with all of that. It’s a mesmerizing and deeply informative comic, and if you’re suffering from depression it’ll give you plenty to think about/relate to. If not, a deeper understanding of depression is always a good thing, right? If I remember right, these were $5 each (but don’t quote me on that).

Update for 10/4/23

New review today for The Prince’s Jester by Audrey Meeker, and yes, this is still all about comics that I got at CXC this year. Settle in, I got a bunch of them!

Meeker, Audrey – The Prince’s Jester

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The Prince’s Jester

Aw, I wish I knew that Audrey was based in Athens GA when I talked to her at CXC. I haven’t been to FLUKE (their own small press con) in over a decade and was curious how the scene there is doing. Ah well, a good reminder to try to make it there next year. This comic is a good old fashioned mini, meaning purely black and white and it looks like they were all copied and stapled by hand. The story deals with the title character and his pal who overhear an announcement that the prince is missing; it’s a general call to all heroes to help find the guy. Once they hear about the reward they realize that this can get them out of the debt they’re currently stuck in, so off they go on their quest! They don’t seem to have much of a plan, or any weapons to speak of, but they do have that promise of a pile of cash and freedom once they get it, so they do eventually manage to make it to the prince. But then what happens? Yup, that part, as always, is up the reader to discover. This comic is in more of the all-ages spirit than most of what I review, but it’s charming and has a few funny bits. One of those rare “you can get it for the kids and also enjoy it for yourself” type of comics. I’m not seeing a place on her website to buy this, but she does have contact information listed, along with a lot of comics, so ask her about it. I think it was $5. And yes, seeing all of those comics did leave me with a bit of regret, as I should have picked up more of her stuff. As always, as much as I wish it were not the case, I do have limited money, so sometimes just grabbing a random issue from a new creator person is the best I can do. As always, if there are any eccentric millionaires out there who want to sponsor me/the website, I’d be happy to buy all of the comics and talk about them forever. It’s just this pesky need for food and housing that’s holding me back… $5

Update for 10/2/23

It’s CXC week! Which will most likely turn into a few weeks. Next time I might just get a hotel room in Columbus, as drinking with those folks after the show seems like a thing I have to do one of these years. First up is the winner of the “oh, it looks like their table is busy, I’ll check back later” award, which inevitably ends with me remembering that plan after I’ve already been home for a few hours, Nick Forker and Eyeland #5!

Forker, Nick – Eyeland #5

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Eyeland #5

This is the issue that pretty much solidified it in my mind: it’s fine to read/review these issues in any order. This one even ends on a bit of a possible cliffhanger, so I checked #6 (Nick was nice enough to send along most of his comics for review), and it doesn’t mention it. So, let chaos reign! It’s impossible to review this without revealing the identity of the “mysterious stranger” from the cover, but before I do, give that silhouette a look. What do you see? Any guesses? The mysterious stranger is… Dickchicken! Granted, the sample image gives it away too, but maybe I’ll end up rambling enough in the review so that you can’t see it without scrolling down. Anyway! It’s exactly what it sounds like, I guess: a “normal” human body, but instead of the head there’s a cross between an uncooked chicken and a penis. So what’s in the pants? Maybe he’ll get to that later, but for now you can leave it to your imagination. Dickchicken has seemingly just arrived on our world, as he spends some time getting caught up on the news and our current technology. Seeing the calamitous state of our civilization, he decides that the only rational thing to do is make a mysterious machine that will… improve things? It’s never defined, really. But whatever it is, it’s enough to get the attention of some shady government watchdog types, as they send an army of drones to deal with him. After getting knocked out by the drones, our hero dreams of a meeting with an undefined cosmic figure with some reluctant words of wisdom. From there we get some real final battle type shit, but that’s enough of the spoiling. This is definitely the most chaotic of the Eyeland comics that I’ve read so far, and I mean that in a good way. Maybe this one would be the best starting point for new readers? As long as you’re not offended/horrified by Dickchicken, I guess. Still, a thoroughly entertaining issue, and from now on my reviewing plan for this series is “pick a number between 3 and 9,” so who knows where I’ll end up next. $5

“Update” for 9/27/23

Yeah, this week has gotten away from me, so no reviews until next week. But it’s almost time for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (technically there are already a few events going on here and there), so if you’re anywhere near Ohio this weekend, it’s very much worth a trip. No entry fee to get in! The Billy Ireland Museum, which is my biggest blind spot so far living in Ohio, is giving out guided tours for the next couple of days too. They boast having the largest collection of comic/cartoon memorabilia in the world, and I have no reason to doubt them. And, once again, if you’re at the convention and see a blond dude with glasses wearing either a King Cat or Tortilla Comix t-shirt, it’s a me! Come say hi.

Update for 9/21/23

It’s the last of the weekly Zoonbats updates for now, this time for Zoonbats Chapter 4 by Giles O’Dell. What will be the next weekly comic to be reviewed? Eh, I’m guessing nothing, at least for now. Back to random comic reviews!

O’Dell, Giles – Zoonbats Chapter 4

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Zoonbats Chapter 4

So here we are, in the final chapter of these Zoonbats comics I’ve been reading for the last month (one review a week, people of the future), so I feel like now’s a good time to look at the big picture. And it’s… hazy? 200+ pages into this story, I kind of feel like I should have a better sense of where things are headed. But hey, I’m getting ahead of myself, as I haven’t even talked about the comic yet. This time around we’re back with Toast and Bloom, and we get all kinds of details about her upbringing and story. When we last saw the two of them they’d melted their car battery because they were using it to put the robot giraffe into sleep mode, so their current plan is to walk to the nearest train depot and ride the rails to their robot that’s run amok. Which is a thing I never get a chance to type in all sincerity. Anyway! We also learn what the robot’s name means, and it got a legit chuckle out of me, so good work there. Roughly the first half of the book is the two of them walking and talking, along with the introduction of gigantic structures that were abandoned decades ago. Long story, but essentially there was a miracle chemical that allowed structures to greatly increase their size very quickly, this same chemical was used in terrorist attacks, and this led to all kinds of construction projects in various stages of completion getting abandoned. Finally they’re able to hitch a ride to the train station, and naturally they make friends with their driver, which lets us learn all about another aspect of this vast world and the people in it. The notes in the afterward really are invaluable here, going into far more detail than the comic allows, so I hope he keeps them in whatever collected edition eventually comes out of this book. We also get to see a jacket that seems to be at least mildly magical (or it’s highly advanced tech), which I’m guessing plays a part in things later. So yet another solid issue, with me still totally on board to see what happens next, with ridiculously detailed artwork that seems to get better each time and a rich universe that’s literally been thought about and constructed over decades. So why is it that I’m still not sure if the whole thing is coming together? No seriously, I’m asking, because I don’t get it. Possibly that’s because the story literally hasn’t come together yet; these two groups searching for the robot giraffe are clearly going to meet up eventually. Eh, who knows. It’ll become clearer to me as the story goes on, with the next issue projected for late 2023. Until then, each chapter is up for free on his website, or roughly $10 per issue if you’re like me and are determined to be buried alive under an unfortunate comics collapse in their apartment.

Update for 9/19/23

New review today for Santos Sisters #5 by Greg and Fake Petre. So did anybody else know that Beetlejuice was also a musical?

Petre, Greg & Fake – Santos Sisters #5

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Santos Sisters #5

These two have come up with a pretty solid metric for how well you should know the characters by the fifth issue of a comic, although that might not have been their intention. When I saw that sticker with free LSD on it after Ambar noticed it, sure, the better story idea would be to have her lick it and see what happens. But since they’ve spent the time to establish these characters, well OF COURSE Ambar would lick that dot, and that same personality carried through the rest of the stories in this comic. Job well done, you two! So she has a wonderful adventure in that story, with a perfect final panel to wrap things up. No details, because what kind of dummy tries to describe an acid trip depicted in a comic? From there we go the conclusion of the “Dude! Where Is My Car?!” story from last issue, in which the thugs corner Todd in his car as Ambar and Dirk spend their time not worrying about Todd at all, to put it mildly. Do we get a car chase after that? You’d better believe it, including an explosion on the highway. From there we get the classifieds, which I don’t usually mention because they’re not part of the comic, but it’s a really solid collection of people making comics and/or podcasts that you should check out, along with another reminder that I should really listen to at least a few comics podcasts. Anybody have any recommendations? There are just so damned many of them. The other story in here involving the Santos Sisters also includes a spell gone wrong in a mall Cinnabun, er, Cinnaloaf. When a revenge spell is cast the energy has to go somewhere, so why not into a delicious cinnamon roll? Todd even gets to do something heroic to help make up for his rough time in the previous story. Finally there’s a brief story about Boozy Beez being a creep at a baseball game. I’d swear that these comics are getting funnier, and they were funny to begin with. They also have a 48 page Halloween special coming out right around the corner, and the cover alone tells one heck of a story. So yeah, obviously I’m still recommending these comics, and at the pace they’re putting these books out you’re going to get left behind in a hurry if you don’t hop on this ride soon. $5

Update for 9/13/23

New review today for Zoonbats Chapter 3 by Giles O’Dell. One more of these left for the weekly reviews, unless he has a surprise chapter coming out soon…

O’Dell, Giles – Zoonbats Chapter 3

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Zoonbats Chapter 3

I’m starting to wonder if we’re ever going to catch up to that robot giraffe. And if you’re coming into this review blind, reading the previous comics and/or reviews for this series would help with that one. This time around we’re back with Wayne traveling along in Murray’s semi. We get a flashback again, this time a flashback within a flashback for some extra oomph. Wayne thinks back to a strange musician mystic type who he was never sure actually existed. He tried avoiding her after the weirdness got to be too much for him, but she finally cornered him and gave him a vision of a traumatic piece of business in his childhood. It involved cops, flamethrowers and the disappearance or death of his mentor (I’ve read too many comics to assume a death without a body, so forgive my skepticism of his death), and it’s something Wayne had managed to put out of his mind for a lot of years. From there we learn about how that led directly to Wayne leaving town and his quest to try to find meaning, which lead in a roundabout way to being asked to help track down the robot giraffe and his “chance” meeting of Murray. Yep, we finally get some clarity on that aspect of things too, as Murray fesses up about a few things. Oh, and we briefly even see Wayne and Toast in the same panel, even if it’s not exactly a pleasant interaction and it only happens in a flashback. There are the usual notes about specifics in the afterward section, which was especially helpful this time around in identifying exactly what the cops were doing. He also includes a few older comics from various zines at the time (1995ish), so we can see some very early iterations of some of these characters. I’m still hooked on the story, even if I am starting to doubt that we’ll ever catch up to that robot. But hey, now that a few mysteries have been solved, I might be completely wrong about that guess. Check in next week to find out, I suppose. Once again I’m not sure how much it costs to buy the physical copies, but the whole issue is available online at the link.

Update for 9/11/23

New review today for Perry Shitlife by S.R. Arnold. If you’re upset that you were promised Perry Nolife, just be patient, why don’t you?

Arnold, S.R. – Perry Shitlife

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Perry Shitlife

So you’ve had some time to digest the madcap insanity of S.R. Arnold’s Perry Midlife comic a year ago. Are you prepared to dig into some of the darkest and/or best days of his life, aka the early years? Well, really about a few days out of one of those early years, but it’s the kind of thing that most people who are worth a damn can relate to: booze, drugs, bad decisions, good times, dank basement punk shows, working up the courage to talk to the person at the bar you’re interested in (only to have the amount of booze needed to work up said courage end up causing a blackout so you’re not entirely sure what really happened), etc. Even if you were straight edge in your formative years you can still check a few of those things off your list, but if you’re like me and manage to hit them all, boy howdy is this comic for you! I say “comic” as if this 80 page behemoth isn’t basically a graphic novel, but in a field where there’s also a solid argument for calling this a “mini comic,” it’s best not to get bogged down in semantics. What’s this comic all about, anyway? In his intro S.R. mentions that he intended to make Perry Nolife next, but since that book would have dealt with his own mortality and it wasn’t a subject he felt ready to tackle yet, why not go back in time? Things start off with a hallucination of Perry’s conscience trying to talk to him, only to get smacked across the room and smashed. Rightfully so, I say. Then we really see the kind of mess Perry is in the morning, as he ends up monopolizing the bathroom, much to the annoyance of his roommates (although it does lead to a lovely full page spread of one of them peeing out of their third story window and the general state of their neighborhood). From there we roll through a day or so in the life, starting with band practice (which ends with a broken guitar string), moving on to dive bar pizza for lunch, and finally landing on a karaoke show. This last one is critical, as it’s where Perry saw a lady last week that he’s trying to work up the courage to approach, which leads to his spectacularly terrible choice for a song. There’s also a double page spread during this sequence that has all kinds of familiar comics folks in it. See which ones you can spot! I got about half a dozen them before I resorted to cheating in the back. His terrible song does end up succeeding in getting the interest of the lady he tried awkwardly to chat with, and they end up having a long conversation on the roof. But in the light of day afterwards, can he be sure of what really happened? There’s more, as I’m barely halfway through this beast of a book, but the rest of it is for you to discover. Absolutely positively check this one out, and if you’ve got the cash I’d also recommend getting this with a copy of Perry Midlife. This one kicked the dust off of some memorable times in my brain for sure… $15