Graham, Alex – The Devil’s Grin #1
What an absolute fucking journey this comic is. Oh hi, do you have no idea what you’re in for here? This is the first issue (out of four, at least as of early 2024) of this series, and the early issues are getting pretty rare, so if you’d like to get in on this ride, Domino Books still has copies available as of this writing. I went into this totally blind, and I think the only comic I’ve seen from Alex before this was Dog Biscuits (from Fantagraphics, it was incredible). This one starts in 1948 with a woman dining alone at an outdoor cafe. We see bits of her history and interests throughout this meal, along with an overheard conversation on top of her experiences. She heads home, has an embarrassing (to her) encounter with a bum on the street, and arrives home to a letter from her fiance breaking up with her. We also meet a couple of her neighbors and learn about her interest in becoming a great artist, so at this point I was pretty sure I had a sense of where the story was heading with a whole cast of characters coming together. I was completely wrong, because after a frenzied all night painting session, she ends up on the toilet with an early Chester Brown-esque page full of struggling. Readers of Ed the Happy Clown, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, she ends up giving birth to a tiny… baby? It’s talking right away, but let’s go with baby. She doesn’t want the shame of having to explain it and figures it would ruin her life, so she flushes it away. At this point the real story starts up, probably, unless it shifts back to the lady in the next issue. But the rest of this one is the adventure of that baby and yes, you can go ahead an assume it survives. There are the flying creatures of the sewers, a lactating rat, a cage, a desperate rescue attempt, and an accidental murder, but I’ve said too much. This book is gorgeous (it took a supreme act of will to not also include that amazing back cover as a sample image), the story is compelling and all kinds of weird, and I have absolutely no idea where he’s going with all this. So yes, I’m glad that I got the first two issues at the same time, and I’ll be getting the next two as soon as I can. $12
Update for 1/24/24
New review today for The Chosen One by Charles Brubaker, and it looks like I’ll actually have time for three reviews this week. Is it too late to use “Happy New Year” to celebrate this? Yeah, probably…
Brubaker, Charles – The Chosen One
It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a comic from Charles, so I thought I should put a little disclaimer here before I started rambling: the man puts out mini comics constantly, and graphic novels on a fairly regular basis. It would be pretty much a full time job for me to review all of his books, so I pick and choose. That also means that if you like his stuff, you have a whole lot to choose from, so you should do that. It is odd that his online store is so sparsely populated, but I’m assuming that he could help you out with any books that aren’t listed (like this one) if you ask him about it. Anyway! Our heroes (Dewey and Lauren) go to an egg festival, which honestly sounds pretty great to me. There are a bunch of jokes on the various signs for the observant readers, and Dewey is there under one restriction: no ostrich eggs. Is this a reference to an older joke that I’m forgetting? Maybe! Dewey finds a loophole, sort of, and ends up with an emu egg, which has a rather dramatic reaction to hatching. After a brief conversation Dewey learns that he is destined to defeat a major villain, although the origin of the claim is a little sketchy. The rest of the book deals with their “epic” confrontation, with the conclusion being the kind you’d expect after learning more about the exact type of villain Dewey was meant to challenge. Overall, it’s an OK comic. A few laughs, some meandering, and a solid conclusion. That’s been my general opinion of the last few comics of his that I’ve read, which is why I rarely review them these days. Always and forever, I’m just one unpaid dude with one opinion and, like I said, if you’re a bigger fan of his work in general than I am, you have plenty of options; he puts out more mini comics than just about anybody this side of Brian Canini. Not sure on the price here because it’s not listed, but somewhere between $3-5 sounds about right.
Update for 1/22/24
New review for definitely the biggest book I got at CXC last year, it’s the return of a crowd favorite, Carbon by Justin Madson!
Madson, Justin – Carbon
Technical note: I use a flat scanner, meaning that when I try to scan images from a 600+ page behemoth of a book, the edges end up looking a little smeared. My apologies. Still, plenty of images are available at Justin’s website, if you’re interested…
I’m always delighted when I run into somebody at a convention who’s work I reviewed in the early days of the website but haven’t seen in awhile, and that’s when they have a new mini or two out. Imagine the thrill when I saw that Justin had this brick of a book available! He’s been working on it for a decade, roughly, and he originally released it in 6 different graphic novels (that I completely missed somehow). But hey, that just means that this is all new to me. How to describe this sucker without taking away all the fun bits for the new readers? I’m going to skirt around the edges, that’s how! This is a sprawling epic of a tale, with a huge cast of characters. Justin was smart enough put a dozen of the characters and some brief bios in the front of the book (and yes, I did reference it frequently), and even with that he probably could have done a few more pages with character bios. There’s a lot happening in here, is what I’m saying. This book deals with a society in which psychics (real ones, not the nonsense you see advertised on tv) have been around for decades, so they’ve already dealt with their discovery, the public reaction good and bad, being used, being abused, using their powers for evil, etc., and Justin does a fantastic job of using flashbacks sparingly but effectively. There’s a big, completely thought out world here, and it’s clear that he could go back into any of the material he’s written and answer whatever questions anybody might have. This book starts maybe 20 years into all of this (if he listed an exact time frame I missed it), where the anti-psychic (called Seers) sentiment is running very high, with proposed laws on the way promising all kinds of terrible things. We’re shown this world through the eyes of a Seer and her non-Seer brother (the former wrote a tell-all book about her childhood, which led to all kinds of problems with the latter), their father (a former cop and Seer whose mind has been ravaged by the years of using his powers), a mysterious woman who’s questioning her life choices and hiding a whole bunch of secrets (that play out throughout the book; her brother also pops up a lot), the anti-Seer contingent and the pro-Seer contingent (and how both sides are trying to deal with the other), and a kidnapped little girl and how just about everybody ends up coming together to try to help her. I’ve been writing for a while now and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Taking the time to really establish these characters as people really makes this book something special, so hey, young cartoonists, maybe spend a decade on your books too? OK, maybe that’s not realistic, but the more real your characters seem, the better off your narrative is going to be. There were constant surprises and escalations, a satisfying conclusion, and the general sense that Justin could put out another book about this world of this size or maybe even bigger and still have a lot left to tell about this world. That’s a complete success as a graphic novel as far as I’m concerned. If you’re a long time reader of this website and have also been wondering what he’s been up to, you won’t be disappointed if you check this out. If you’ve never heard of him until now, I was going to suggest maybe starting with some of his older minis for financial purposes, but it looks like all of those are all out of print. You’ll have to try your luck with a graphic novel, and you could do a whole lot worse than making it this one. $40
Update for 1/18/24
New review today for Grapefruit by Ana Margarida Matos, as the mini kus reviews continue.
Matos, Ana Margarida – Grapefruit
And lo, there comes a time in every review pile of mini kus comics where it ends up being so abstract/hard to put into words that I end up fumbling even more than usual, often ending up saying nothing at all. If you enjoy these awkward moments, stick along for the ride! The sampled page was the only one that wasn’t a two page spread, so do me a favor and read it. Gets your attention, am I right? The reader is instantly curious about the lack of existence previously, and the idea of 1000 randomly selected people all putting their comics together to make the whole is inspired. What follows is a complicated journey dealing with the images telling the story, making your own reality, instructions on how to make your own comic, defining yourself down to a single thought, a goddamn beautiful sentiment about the benefits of non-existence, seeing how the world goes on without you and the importance of narration. It’s also about none of those things and is instead a poetry collection with a trapped narrator. Or I’m wrong on all counts? Look, these types of minis are up to you to interpret. Get thee to The Comic’s Journal if you want smarter people than me to analyze this thing to death and squeeze every bit of your own discovery out of it. As for me, it’s a mini kus book. Haven’t they earned the benefit of the doubt by now? $7.95 (or the bundle of four comics is always available)
Update for 1/16/24
New review today for World on Fire by Cooklin, and yes, I’m still trying to get through my CXC pile in the new year. As always, eccentric millionaires, I’m always accepting donations to hire more reviewers/get me out of the workaday rat race. I don’t care how shady you are!
Cooklin – World on Fire
Note: as has been the case for all of Cooklin’s books that I reviewed from CXC this year, they’re not technically listed under available comics at their website. But since I bought the comics a few months ago, and since Cooklin didn’t seem to be running all that low, I’m thinking that if you check in with them then you can probably get your own copies.
Hey everybody, it’s the review after the disclaimer! Ugh, this is why I so rarely use paragraphs here and prefer to just ramble. Trying to make blog posts “formally correct” is a job for a fool. In case this is the first comic of Cooklin’s that you’re reading about here, a quick explainer: they conducted many interviews with people who have clinical depression and/or other forms of mental illness and then released these comics to raise awareness. The interviews were anonymous, so don’t worry about spotting anybody you know. Honestly, I saved this one for last because of that title, as it’s something I’ve always wondered about: how do you treat/deal with your depression when the world is, objectively, terrible? The story here is familiar, in that they had a relatively uneventful upbringing, right up until the point (in high school) that they started being more aware of the events of the outside world, which naturally led to more depression. They tried talking to their parents or just hoping for a better world, but people didn’t take their concerns all that seriously. As has been the case for all of these minis that I’ve read, there’s not much here about tips to help deal with this kind of depression, but that’s probably tricky in its own right. Treatment is complicated, and it’s possible that offering a few quick bits of advice in a mini comic is maybe as problematic as offering bad advice. I’m still hoping for a collected edition or maybe a regular old book with all of their interviews and the conclusions Cooklin drew from them, but who knows. I’ll find out at CXC next year maybe? This one is somewhere between $5-8, so check with the creator for details…
Update for 1/11/24
New review today for Piggy Fire by Darin Shuler, and you know that it’s also a mini kus book. Am I doing weekly reviews of their stuff again until I run out? Eh, maybe. We’ll see!
Shuler, Darin – Piggy Fire
Long time readers of this here website will know that I’ll often dance around in a review of a comic when something is so wonderfully shocking that I don’t want to spoil even a hint of it, and that is rarely more true than it is this time around. I’ll just say that that title? It means a whole lot, and almost certainly not in the way that you might be thinking, no matter what way that is. So, what can I say about the comic? Things start off with our hero in bed with his wife, who’s being attacked by their two children. Well, they just want to snuggle, but our hero sure makes it seem like an attack. We see a few pages of their (rather stifling, to my childless eyes) domestic life, and our hero heads out for a planned trip with a friend. We see them enjoying some loud music on the road (I recognized Smashing Pumpkins, but not the other song), and on a whim they decide to get something at a gas station that’s meant to liven up their campfire, i.e. give the flames some color. They set up their campfire, tell a few stories, and finally decide to use the “Funny Fire” on the campfire. This is where we get our first glimpse of full color, and it’s also where things start to get really weird, and it’s ALSO also the part where I have to stop talking about the comic. Will the payoff here be as perfect for you as it was for me? I can’t guarantee a thing, and maybe if you’re in your early 20’s or so it won’t hit as hard. But anything past that (and possibly any age), you’re going to agree with me that the last page of this comic is the most solid ending of a mini kus book in awhile, and they often nail their endings. Look, I’ve been rambling about comics for almost 23 years now. Trust me on this one, OK? $7.95 (or cheaper if you get a bundle of four different comics, which you should always do)
Update for 1/9/24
New review today for Insomnia Funnies by James Collier, which may of may not be available, depending on when you’re reading this. But come on, I’m sure you can at least see big chunks of it online if you look around. Right?
Collier, James – Insomnia Funnies
(Note: I got this book through Domino a few weeks ago, but it looks like it’s currently sold out. Future people, between this link and the link to James’ website, maybe it’ll get reprinted soon?)
Insomnia! It sounds funny until you’re the one going through it, at which point it shifts to being the most horrific thing in the world. You want to sleep, your body needs sleep, your brain is barely functioning… and there you are, laying in bed, either staring at the ceiling or stubbornly keeping your eyes closed as if that will solve the problem. This comic right here is one of the more faithful depictions I’ve seen of that miserable state, as things start off (after a few surreal images of a city landscape) with our hero in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking of heartbreak. He gets out of bed, because why not, and goes through a series of tasks to distract himself from his plight. After these attempts fail he decides to go for a walk, which can already be a surreal experience at the right time in a big city, but much more so when you haven’t slept for three days. After these adventures and images of things observed, he decides to head back home and give sleep another try. Can he do it, or is he trapped in a terrible loop? Read for yourself to find out! Parts of this comic felt like they were giving me second hand insomnia, which I didn’t think was possible. There’s a certain kind of fatalistic futility present in insomnia that’s bizarrely combined with the hope that things will turn around soon, on top of knowing that your body HAS to sleep sooner or later, and James handles all of that wonderfully here. Unless you’re one of those people who gets insomnia through the power of suggestion, this one is well worth a look. $5
Update for 1/3/24
New review today for So Buttons #13 by Jonathan Baylis and his gaggle of artist friends. Start taking your bets now on the first time I forget the year for these updates! If I can get through January I’m usually golden…
Baylis, Jonathan (with Various Artists) – So Buttons #13
What’s this? Am I attempting to sneak in another Karl Christian Krumpholz book under a different name? No, you silly things, he just did the cover and a story for Jonathan’s comic. This time around the theme is (more or less) Hollywood, his time in it, and Harvey Pekar (and his time interacting with Harvey). Mostly, anyway, as he always has room for random stories. Topics in this one deal with him discovering Alan Moore as a young comics kid and how it shaped him (it also mentions that Alan drew a strip for Harvey Pekar in 1990, which I now have to locate) (art by Tony Wolf), his time working for the Sundance Channel and how it eventually ended up with him sitting directly behind Harvey Pekar for the premiere of Harvey’s movie (art by Joe Zabel), a solid choice for a midnight movie experience (art by Bernie Mireault), his time going to school with Eli Roth and his joy at watching him shoot Hitler in Inglorious Bastards (art by Gary Dumm), an entirely too detailed depiction of his having to get his Lasik eye surgery adjusted (art by Maria and Peter Hoey), his love of a good Ennio Morricone soundtrack (art by Rick Parker), a well-earned love letter to Tallulah Bankhead (art by Michael T. Gilbert), Nolan Ryan’s disgusting trick to toughen up his fingers to pitch a baseball (art by T. J. Kirsch), and of course the story with Karl Christian Krumpholz with the odd bit of synchronicity of them talking about The Friends of Eddie Coyle when I just watched that movie a few weeks ago. Coincidence? I mean, obviously. Still, it’s an obscure enough movie that I’m tickled by it being mentioned. Obviously there are few more stories I’m leaving as a total surprise for the reader (I mean, I didn’t even mention Whit Taylor’s piece), but even compared to his already solid body of work, this issue is a shining example of what Jonathan can do with a solid cast of artists and when everybody is firing on all cylinders. What does that mean exactly? Probably a car thing. Anyway, heck yeah you should check this one out. $10
Update for 1/1/24
I’m ringing in the new year with some mini kus! New review today for Gym Gains by Gareth Brookes.
Brookes, Gareth – Gym Gains
It’s Gareth Brookes! Sorry, I sometimes get way too excited when an artist I’ve been reviewing for a lot of years ends up with a mini kus book. If you’re curious about his older work, click on his name and you will see a whole lot of me rambling about him. Anyway! This particular comic deals with a love triangle, sort of, between three people who are obsessed with working out and workout apps. There’s a brief affair between two of them, a new lady enters the picture, and the dude ends up with her. It all plays out through online messages, and the comic has the appearance of a hastily crumpled up note that quite possibly also gets tossed into a lake and then retrieved. Roughly half of the messages are distorted mirror images of existing messages, really bringing home the panicked but still somehow distant and opaque nature of the dispute. There’s no contact between the original couple past a certain point, or at least it’s not depicted on the page. Instead it’s an online cheering session and, as it always ends up, an opportunity to trash the happiness of the newer couple. It’s a dreamlike (or nightmarish, depending on your perspective) tale of betrayal and jealousy that’s inextricably mixed with an obsession of (hey look at that it’s the title) the gym goals of the main character. If you’ve ever buried the pain of heartbreak with a compulsive need to work out, this comic is for you! It’s also for you if you wonder if those types of people are capable of honest self-assessment after the fact. It’s worth a look for just about anybody, is what I’m saying ($7.95 for the issue but, as always, I’d recommend getting a bundle of four comics instead of just one)
Update for 12/21/23
New review today for Girls Named Meghan: A Teenage Memoir by Beth Heinly. I reviewed a few of her comics in anthologies in the before times (meaning the big update in 2010 that deleted all of the old review dates), but this is her first graphic novel that I’ve seen. Oh, and as for updates during the Xmas times, maybe? Maybe not next week, but probably the week after that. Or maybe both weeks. Who knows? It’ll be an Xmas miracle either way!
Heinly, Beth – Girls Named Meghan: A Teenage Memoir
Girls Named Meghan: A Teenage Memoir
Ah, teenage friendships. Often a mess, but they can still leave lasting impressions for the rest of your life, especially the ones that were (in hindsight) a terrible idea. This is the story of Beth’s teenage years and how they intersected with a girl named Meghan in her school. To start things off we see two girls named Meghan, best friends with each other, and they’ve seemingly bonded over Bon Jovi (the story starts in 1996). One Meghan vanishes for a few months, and when she comics back the Meghans have split up. Beth’s Meghan (just referred to as “Meghan” from now on, OK?) tried to kill herself, which kind of but not really explains their split, but Beth was looking for a best friend, Meghan was newly friendless, so it seemed to make sense to pursue her. And it worked, sort of, as Meghan quickly because Beth’s best friend. Still, her obvious trauma made things tricky, to put it mildly. They joined up with a couple of other friends to make up a coven (it was a thing at the time, believe you me), which went well enough until Meghan freaked out and tried to kill herself in front of them all. Then Meghan came back, in full goth phase, and the warning signs really started piling up at this point. Not to get into too much more, as there’s lots to discover here for yourself, but their eventual breakup was messy, confused, violent, and very real. Beth also says up front that the story is based on memories, so obviously she could be getting a few things wrong. But the best thing I can say about it is that it really calls back to the days of teenage friendships, and you’d better believe that a few names/faces I haven’t thought of in decades popped into me head while reading this. If you’re looking for a nostalgia joyride/cringefest, you’d have a hard time finding a better way to do it than reading this book. $15
Update for 12/19/23
New review today for Fun Time Fall 2022 by Mike Dawson. I got both books I’m reviewing this week from Domino Books, which is an online shop that Austin English is running. Get your comics there, they have all kinds of great stuff.
