Monthly Archives: February 2015
Update for 2/27/15
New (short) review today for The Escape Plan by Willard Herman. Part of my weekend plan is to dig through the old comic piles to see what I missed reviewing initially, so if you sent me something six months ago and wondered if it would ever see the light of day here, you may be in luck very soon! Either that or it never got to me…
Herman, Willard – The Escape Plan
The Escape Plan
Well, it’s official: I don’t have anything to add to this one. Granted, I have blustered my way through a few reviews in my day with nothing to really say about a comic, but I thought I’d try to be up front about that fact this time around. This comic is about… hm. See, there’s this guy… nope, for all I know it’s possible that it’s a lady. OK, there’s this character who starts off with two giant pupils in their eyeballs. After a shake of the head and a heavy blink, this character only has one giant pupil. This pupil moves from side to side as the character shakes their head and/or blinks heavily. And then… well, that’s the gist of the comic right there. I hate to do this because this is undoubtedly going to come across like me not liking the comic, which could not be further from the truth. I was absolutely riveted for the minute or so that it took me to read this (it’s wordless), and what else could you ask for out of a comic? If you’re looking for an utterly unique experience, this one certainly fits the bill. $1
Update for 2/25/15
Been dealing with a cold this week, which explains the lack of updates (this time). New review today for Killjoy #1 by Robert Brown. And, because there are so few continuing series out there, I’m going to do weekly reviews of this series until I catch up. Which means #2 and #3 in the next two weeks, but hey, that does too count as a continuing series.
Brown, Robert – Killjoy #1
Killjoy #1
Who out there went to camp when they were a kid? If so, you may get some a serious blast of nostalgia from reading this. I went to a couple, but nothing that was an much fun as this one looks, and that’s even with the awkward social interactions. I’m mostly basing that on the abseiling (basically repelling yourself on a rope from a tall structure, although I think I’m thinking of a word other than “repelling.” Whatever the word is for “bounce down a wall like Batman did in the old tv show while holding a rope, which is also being held by an adult to prevent injuries”) and the construction of shelters. Anyway, that wasn’t the theme of the comic, that was just a taste of the nostalgic blast I got from it. This is about a young boy (of around 8 maybe?) being dropped off at camp and not really knowing anybody. There’s an embarrassing moment when he doesn’t know the slang being used for going to the bathroom, a moment of pure panic before he starts abseiling, being falsely accused of wrecking the structure of some other kids, and coming across the instructions for condoms in the woods. But lest you think that this was all about camp drama, I should point out that Robert was much more interested in showing the camp experience itself, and he does a fantastic job of laying that out, all the way down to the look on his face as he gets in the car to go home. His introduction was also damned entertaining, as he detailed the very few reasons why somebody would get their hands on a copy of his book, and I’m just going to flat out copy and paste his explanation for why he hasn’t been too productive with making more comics over the last five years: “…intent is frequently nullified by a toxic compound of doubt and indolence.” Yep, that nailed procrastination for sure. There are two more issues of this to review so I’m curious to see where it goes from here, but this issue was thoroughly entertaining.
Update for 2/18/15
New review today for When We Were Kids by Andy Warner. Also, should humans be allowed to hibernate through January and February? If not, why not?
Warner, Andy – When We Were Kids
When We Were Kids
I wonder sometimes how many stories from artists I really like are scattered around in anthologies that are long out of print, never again to see the light of day. Granted, I’m wondering this because the three stories in this book are from the Irene series, which are all (as of now) still in print. And sure, lots of people eventually put these “lost” stories into a collection of some kind. But when I think about the mid 90’s, back when I was getting started on good comics instead of Marvel crap, all kinds of those mini comics artists would put stories into anthologies for friends, often with print run in the dozens. Anyway, tying this back into the comic, this walk down memory lane was inspired by the theme of this book. Which, as you may have guessed from that title, deals with stories (real or imagined) from childhood. Andy picks three big moments here, and they’re moments that might not seem like that big of deal while they were happening. The first story is about a young man and woman who take acid and hike up a dune. The guy has never done it before while the lady has, and the story is delightfully thin on the stereotypically “trippy” visuals that often mar stories like this. No, more often than not these kinds of experiences are all about the conversations, and the revelations that come out of them. The second story deals with two young brothers who are trying to adapt to a new stepfather, and the moment we see here is set before a snowmobile race, after all kinds of beers are drank all around. The final story is between two girls who are on different paths after graduating high school, with one of them leaving and the other sticking around. This isn’t written as an ending for the two of them, but you can see the hints of it in the pauses and quiet moments. It’s a damn fine comic book, and I’m glad that all of these stories are gathered together here, even if what I’ve seen of Irene has been pretty great too. $5
Update for 2/17/15
You know what? My late New Year’s resolution is to stop guessing how many times I’ll be able to post new reviews in a week. It never ends well. It’ll always be at least 2, maybe as many as 7 (but probably not). There! Simple. New review today for Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud by Richy Chandler, Francesca Dare, Inko, Chie Kutsuwada, Zarina Liew and Jade Sarson.
Chandler, Richy; Dare, Francesca; Inko; Kutsuwada, Chie; Liew, Zarina; Sarson, Jade – Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud
Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud
Can I be cranky curmudgeon reviewer guy for a minute? Why am I asking, I can’t hear anything that you’re saying. I just wanted to establish the fact that I have a complaint that isn’t entirely fair or relevant, but it bugs me nonetheless: if you’re going to have a continuing series, please either number all of them or give them all a distinct title. Preferably the numbering, as it feels like I missed an issue before this one, but either way works. Granted, at least part of this is because of the labeling system that I use here, which is not a problem that many other humans have. Now that I have that ridiculous digression out of the way, how about that comic? This time around Rosie decides to tell Jacinda her true nature, the true identity of a teacher at school is revealed, and there’s a nice swerve involving _____ at the end that I did not see coming. Oh, and there’s a demon on the loose, and he’s hunting for someone. All this and the usual high school drama, where the leader of the cool girls clique finds somebody “worthy” to be with her, and where Rosie’s story is overheard, which leads to all sorts of issues for her at school. This time around the art chores have been divided among a few new people, and it’s a testament of the skills of the whole bunch of them that nothing jarred me out of the story. Richy is building a world bit by bit and I’m intrigued to see where he goes from here. He certainly set it up so that it can go in a number of ways, and this issue went a long way to fleshing out the characters of just about everybody. Well, except for maybe the potential love interest of Jacinda, who got short shrift this time around, but he wasn’t a relevant part of the story for this issue. The next issue might be an entirely different story. It’s a really solid issue and well worth checking out, unless you hate all stories involving high schools. Even if that’s the case there’s something to love in here for damned near everyone. Once again I’m going to guess on the price and, inflation being what it is, this time I’m guessing $8 (it is quite a large comic).
Update for 2/10/15
New review today for Scumbag by Desmond Reed. See? A regular week of reviews, he said far too early in the week for it to be true yet.
Reed, Desmond – Scumbag
Scumbag
Now that was one viscerally creepy comic. It takes a lot to get my skin to crawl after being desensitized over the years by horror movies and video games. but this thing grossed me out. I mean that in the best possible sense, of course. So! This one is all about a Scumbag who was born to two other Scumbags, but they didn’t want him so they left him in a dumpster. You can’t see the entire glorious picture from that cover, but this creature was also born wearing tighty whitey underwear. Anyway, he was taken in by “a pack of wild uncles,” and we’re treated to one of said uncles nursing the Scumbag. They all lived a happy life together until one day our hero felt a sharp pain in his stomach and was astonished to see a tiny Scumbag pop out of his stomach, fully formed. This then started happening every day, and the rest of the comic deals with his attempts to keep his offspring alive against a variety of enemies/nature. And then there’s the babysitter that will haunt your soul. It’s a thoroughly entertaining story, and a good peek into where Scumbags might come from. It does make a certain kind of sense that they would enter this world fully formed, that’s for sure…
Update for 2/9/15
New review today for Ask A Cat by Charles Brubaker. Last week was actually really busy at work (petition reviewing), which is why there was only the one update. This week looks a lot slower, so maybe a regular schedule of reviewing this week? Let’s go with that.
Brubaker, Charles – Ask A Cat
Ask A Cat
This is one of those cases where your tolerance level for the subject matter is going to be key to your enjoyment. I have a cat and she means the world to me, so I’m much more tolerant of most forms of cat humor than people who don’t have cats (probably). So the idea of a fictional cat answering fictional (?) letters had me intrigued from the start, and Charles also nailed it with the execution. This is a collection of single page answers to these questions, and subjects include whether or not humans landed on the moon, what should they do with a drunken sailor, what are their favorite places to puke around the house (I loved how they had an intricate process in place to determine the best places to puke to maximize the chances of their human stepping/sitting in it before seeing it), how to properly pet a cat, what they see when they appear to be staring off into space, why they’re so obsessed with that little red dot from laser pointers, what is the deal with those strange seasonal trees that are brought into the house, and where do cats go when they die. A solid chunk of these made me laugh out loud, which is always the goal for funny books like this, and a few of them might have even incidentally made me understand cats a bit better. So yeah, I’d say that this book is worth checking out. Unless you’re hopelessly cynical, and even if that’s the case this might make you thaw out a little and see a little bit of joy in the world. $2
Update for 2/3/15
New review for Zombre #3 by Ansis Purins, which is actually more of a graphic novel in the guise of a numbered comic book.
Purins, Ansis – Zombre #3
Zombre #3
It’s always a good sign when my main complaint about an artist is that their comics are too short/come out too infrequently, as it’s clear that I just want to see more of their stuff. That problem is taken care of in this masterpiece, as it’s gigantic. And yeah, I did just call it a masterpiece. This comic is damned near perfect while still telling an epic story, often without using words. Shall I try to sum this up? It’s a hopeless task, but I’ll at least mention some highlights. If you’ve never heard of Zombre, you might want to at least look through some old reviews (or, better yet, read previous issues in this series, although it’s not required to enjoy this one). Basically Zombre is one of the more harmless representations of a zombie that I’ve seen, as he is basically a friend to small woodland creatures and doesn’t seem interested in hurting anybody. This time around, as Ansis has room to wander, we start off with a small hungry dog who’s having a tough time of it. This dog has been separated from his human, but he detects a scent and sets off in pursuit. As his human is a forest ranger (not that the dog knows this yet), this leads the dog through some dangerous woodland territory, until he is eventually saved by Zombre in one of the more cute and heroic acts that I’ve seen. From there we check in with the ranger, learn how he became a ranger, see his co-workers, and meet a horrific actual zombie from the forest. This zombie is also wrapped up with some creepy bugs that have a disturbing tendency to form into one giant bug or dog, and things get intense from there. But! Some comics like this just veer into weirdness and stay there, content to leave things as ambiguous as possible. This issue of Zombre, on the other hand, wraps everything up fairly neatly, while also still leaving some mystery and plenty of other questions to be explored. It’s my favorite issue of the series, and I was delighted to see (in the note that Ansis sent along with the comic) that he’s drawing for 3-4 hours a day. The man deserves to be rich and famous, and I absolutely believe that if I’m reviewing #6 a year from now, he’ll be well on his way. Not that the act of my reviewing his comics has anything to do with it; I’m talking about the places he can go if he sticks to the comics and keeps up a consistent schedule. The only possible complaint I could see anybody having is that this issue is $20 but, like I said, it’s gigantic, and it’s that rare occasion where a $20 comic is worth every penny. Buy it and enjoy, you will absolutely not be disappointed. $20
