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Perez, Marcos – A Carl Short: So Long My Sole Soul So Long
Website (probably?)
Website (if the other one doesn’t work)
A Carl Short: So Long My Sole Soul So Long
Boy howdy, have I ever reviewed a lot of Marcos’s comics. Go ahead, click on his tag, you’ll see. 6 issues of Tear Stained Makeup (still available in my store if you can get it to work!), several variations of Carl is the Awesome stories, a few other mini comics… it’s safe to say that I’m a fan. I missed him at CXC this year (2017), because of course I did, but I did meet Neil Brideau, who was nice enough to give me the free mini Marcos was giving away at the convention. If you’re not familiar with the lore of Carl, I’m not sure if I could do it justice here. Maybe check out the sample images and come back to this. The short version is that Carl IS the awesome, in just about every way. He’s also some kind of a dinosaur, but that’s irrelevant. In this story Carl decides that he wants to become the president of New Jersey, and he has no interest in facts like “there’s no such thing as the president of New Jersey” getting in his way. He manages to detach his soul by flailing his arms about wildly, which makes him the perfect politician. The rest of the comic involves Carl’s friends trying to find a way to restore his soul while this thoughtless version of Carl wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. The solution to the problem is just so perfectly Carl that I’m a little in awe of it, but I’ll leave that mystery for you. Carl stories are always welcome around here, and this one is no exception. Check in with Marcos, maybe he’ll have a few of these left over after the various conventions are done. And if you don’t have the other Carl stories, you’re not living your best life, so fix that problem ASAP…
Perez, Marcos – Carl is the Awesome Volume 1
Carl Is The Awesome Volume 1
Where do I even start… well, first off, if you have anything remotely resembling a sense of humor left in you after living in this miserable world, you are going to love this. Carl, you see, is a little… well, dinosaur, maybe. Born of a King and a female dinosaur, Carl is, indeed, the awesome. He has all the confidence in the world, and for good reason, as he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. This is called “Volume 1” (this automatically implies more volumes, which is sure to elate anyone who actually reads this) because there are four tiny minis in this handy little slipcase. Usually an eight page mini with one panel on each page (at least for the couple of issues) is the kind of thing that bugs me, but it’s the perfect format for Carl. #1 is sort of an intro to Carl and what he’s all about, #2 is more about his awesome band, #3 is a primer on how to get with the ladies, and #4 is Carl entering the world of politics. It was almost impossible to pick just one sample from this, but they’re so tiny that I didn’t want to give too much away for free. If you find it remotely amusing, it’s even funnier in the context of the issue. Seriously, it’s only $2 and I can’t recommend it enough.
Perez, Marcos – Carl is the Awesome Volume 2
Carl is the Awesome Volume 2
Oh what a happy day it is when I get another volume of Carl is the Awesome in the mail! Just in case there was some suspense on how I was going to review this for some reason, that should end that. This is another set of 4 minis (#5-8 this time), and these have a bit more substance to them, with more dialogue and occasionally more panels. First you have Carl and his band recording an album with his awesome band.Then a “challenge of the sexuals” between Carl and Carl from the French universe, to determine who was awesome enough to remain. #7 tells the story of Carl’s start in show business as a sex worker, followed by him wanting to be taken seriously as an actor and resorting to avant-garde shows. Finally with #8 there’s the obligatory issue on how to deal with small press conventions, with the notable exception that this one is actually useful and has some really essential tips. The bottom line here is that you’re missing out if you don’t check these out somewhere, either through the website or picking them up at cons. Or through the online store, unless they sell out in four seconds because they’re so awesome. Sure, I may be sick of this shtick by the time Volume 50 rolls around, but for now I can’t wait to see more and to wait for the inevitable live action “Carl is the Awesome” movie…
