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Ben’s Facebook page

Snakepit #14

On a lark, I went back and rent my ramble for #2 of this series, from 3 or 4 years ago, to see how much it’s changed, maybe it’s just me, etc. Nope, it was pretty much exactly the same thing even then, although apparently I wasn’t as deeply cynical. This one is more of the same, with the notable difference being that Ben sees this rut for himself more and more, and even tries to give up his 4 major vices (alcohol, pot, meat and the internet) for a week. He fails in at least two of them and doesn’t mention the others, which is a bad sign considering that he was doing this to prove to himself that it was possible. At the end of the book he runs an older, slightly longer strip about him getting carjacked as a kid, to which I say: more like this please! I’d love to see him take some time with some ideas and/or relationships with girlfriends and other friends and expand, maybe making the diary strips a page long and only doing a couple a week. Maybe even changing the names of people would be a good idea, as it let him be more honest and open about everything. Hey, it’s a thought at least. It just seems at times that he’s doing the diary strip out of almost a sense of obligation, and that’s no good for anybody involved.$2

Ben’s Facebook page

Snake Pit #10

Ok, I’m officially off the Snake Pit bandwagon. If you think I wasn’t on it before, go ahead and read those older reviews. As for Ben personally, I wish him the all the best in the world (as he seems from his strips to be a genuinely good guy, more than willing to point out his faults) and I would love to see comics from him in another format. But this three panel daily diary strip thing has worn out its welcome with me. Look, here’s the strip: go to work, drink, party, practice for a band, play in a band, go on tour, hang out with friends, make out with a girl, have a girl break his heart. Mix and repeat. Maybe it’s just me getting older and more fogeyish, but the fact that I could tear the covers off of all my Snake Pit books, black out the dates and you wouldn’t have any idea that they weren’t all done in the same year just depresses me. With this three panel format, he doesn’t really have the time to go into much of anything, and it’s obvious that he edits his troubles with the ladies down to a line or two. Wise, I’m sure, as he doesn’t change names and these people are going to see these strips sooner or later, but I as a reader don’t get much new out of that. Look, this is why I hate doing negative reviews. If I won a million dollars I’d throw a thousand of it to Ben just for the hell of it, and I hope he finds all the happiness in the world. I just wish he would try something different with his comics. $2

Ben’s Facebook page

Snake Pit #9

My questions are answered! OK, it was mostly just one question: what has he been up to lately? This one covers 12/03 through 2/04 and deals with a trip to Japan, relationship woes (on a few fronts), other girl drama, drinking, going to parties and smoking a lot of pot. There are very few people doing comics that I actively root for more than Ben. I keep reading these, hoping that he’s going to find happiness or whatever it is he needs, and he never seems to quite get there. Which makes for more interesting strips, I guess, but I’m rooting for a happy ending. Maybe ending is the wrong word, because then he’d stop doing comics, but I think you get the idea. This is still $2, these are still a lot of fun, and contact info is still up there.

Ben’s Facebook page

Snake Pit #4

Whatever happened to this comic? Granted, I just got this one recently, but it only covers the period between 9/02 and 11/02. Which is great, but what’s he been up to lately? This comic is more of the same, which means that it’s still a fascinating comic, but it’s all about the mundane, everyday stuff. Ben drinks, works, smokes pot, goes to parties, rocks out at shows, occasionally kisses a girl, eats with friends, and watches Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The repetitiveness of his days can almost put you in a trance sometimes, but he mixes it up enough with random occurrences to keep you interested. Contact info is up there, it’s $2!