Blog Archives
Meyer, Christoph – Mean Zine Submarine
Mean Zine Submarine
Yep, once again you’re reading that cover right: by Herbie Meyer. Herbie, in case you didn’t read the review above this one, is the son of Christoph and, at 5 years old, got bitten by the zine bug but good. The actually preceeds the popsicle book, and has Herbie talking about all sorts of things. It’s also critic-proof, because who on earth is going to have anything bad to say about a five year old doing his first zine? Luckily it’s completely adorable, so no conflict there. And this is coming from a guy who’s becoming more and more of a curmudgeon every year, with “harumph” likely becoming a regular part of my vocabulary very soon. Christoph typed up most of the text in here (as Herbie is 5 years old and, oddly, only has handwriting slightly less legible than mine), but other than that this is all the work of Herbie. In here he writes about pirates, fish, an airplace, The Fruit and Liquid Store, crazy hat day, the barn and the silo, an abandoned house, the first day of school, and the dentist. Herbie also sent a letter to Andy Runyon of Owly fame and got back a nice sketch, which is reprinted here. Absolutely adorable and one of those rare books that can be read by people of any age.
Meyer, Christoph – Molly the Popsicle (written by Herbie Meyer)
Molly the Popsicle (written by Herbie Meyer)
Yes, this really is as adorable as it looks. Herbie, just in case you can’t read that scan, is the 5 year old son of Christoph, and they join together to tell the story of the life and death of a popsicle. Molly is loving life in the freezer until she is taken out and left on the kitchen counter… and completely forgotten. What follows is a slow melting of Molly, with the finale of a picture actually drawn by Herbie. Or Christoph has significantly less artistic ability than I had given him credit for, but I don’t think that’s the case. Christoph finally gave in and got a website (but still no e-mail), so at least now you can check out his stuff more thoroughly online. Granted, this may not be a literary acheivement of any staggering significance, but it is a cute and funny story, especially if you have kids around who still like to read comics. $1.50
Meyer, Christoph – A Safety Lesson With Natural Gas Joe
A Safety Lesson With Natural Gas Joe
At first glance, this is a pretty simple little educational book about the dangers of natural gas. Actually, that’s what it is on second glance too. What makes this so wonderful is the most simple thing in the world: scratch and sniff. Christoph received a pamplet with this stinky icon and immediately asked for hundreds more so he could make comics out of them. The bottom line is that this is cute, funny, and quite literally stinks. I wish the guy would get a website or e-mail address but I also applaud his restraint in sticking to the mailbox. $1.50
Meyer, Christoph – The Heart Star
The Heart Star
What a wonderfully crafted little book. I get the impression that Christoph might have trouble drawing a real person, but who cares? This book is about a woman who commits suicide after the man she loves leaving her. Her head is buried and her body is burned because of an old tradition that says that the spirit could only rest in peace if the heart was buried apart from the head. Her heart wanders around, trying to find peace, and that’s all you’ll get out of me. I say this is wonderfully crafted because of the sheer effort he takes with this. Where the heart should be in the ground, there’s a little heart-shaped hole cut out of the pages. The heart in the spirit was colored red, although he missed it on a few pages, but geez, there were 324 copies of this made. That’s some serious effort, and that’s some serious dedication to your craft. Add that to the fact that the story is haunting and incredibly well done and you have a great comic. It’s $1.50, no website but you can send him money at: P.O. Box 106 Danville, OH 43014.
Meyer, Christoph – What God Has Revealed To Man
What God Has Revealed To Man
On to my rambles in a second, but first, a brief history of the origins of this comic. I know, actual useful information in a review. Who woulda thunk? Christoph got a pamphlet in the mail with the title of the strip. On the inside all the pages were blank, as it was sent out by an atheist group. He couldn’t stand all those blank pages, so he filled it in and liked the results, and so a comic was born! Neat, huh? Well, I thought so anyway. This book is about a stick figure man who confronts God and asks what it all means. No, I’m not going to tell you what the answer is, that would give it away. It’s a tiny thing but I liked it and, like with The Heart Star, Christoph took the time to color some stuff in and put a little smiley face for the face of God. Contact info is down there, I think all there is is that PO Box, and I’m guessing this is, oh, let’s say $1.
Meyer, Christoph – An Unfortunate Mouse in Our House
P. O. Box 106
Danville, OH 43014
An Unfortunate Mouse in Our House
Anybody who has ever lived with a “hunter cat” has a story like this. Waking up in the wee hours of the morning, hearing loud noises, only to find (if you’re lucky) your cat playing with a still-wriggling creature. If you’re not lucky, you find parts of said creature. This is all about Christoph getting up early to get some quality writing done before the day starts only to find a mouse being toyed with by two of his cats. It’s not a pretty story, granted, but it’s funny because it’s true. This is part of a larger projected book, but this stands alone just fine, so don’t worry about this being a “snippet”. Even though he apologizes for his art (he says that he’s really a writer who draws things every now and then) I think it looks better here than I’ve seen it yet. A neat little story overall, I’d say it’s a couple of bucks…
