Blog Archives
McDonnell, Lisa – Winter Break 2010
Winter Break 2010
I’m starting to detect a pattern with Lisa’s comics, something to do with school terms. Ah, it must be a coincidence. This one deals with a trip to Mexico to observe odd bugs and their migrations involving the pair of Leo and Vega. This is probably based on a real trip, unless that picture on the back is just a stock photo from somewhere, but I don’t know if Leo and Vega are based on real people or completely made up. What difference does it make? Not much, I’ll grant you that. Anyway, butterflies are discussed (as well as the disappointment over the “Butterfly Theory” movie), a traumatic incident involving butterfly pinning is recalled from childhood, fun is attempted and squelched at the full body scanner at the airport, and much fun is had wandering around the city eating the food and seeing the sites. Except for Leo, who spent much of the comic in bed. It’s an interesting travelogue, unless it’s all fiction, in which case it was expertly done lies. Lisa is always good for packing her panels full of information and this comic is no exception. “Bang for your buck,” I think that’s what they call it. Check it out and no, you are not required to get the first issue in this series to understand this one. It’s a good comic too though, so you really might as well. $2 (?)
McDonnell, Lisa – A Really True Story
A Really True Story
If it says so right in the title, who am I to suggest that isn’t a really true story? Lisa says in her intro that “all the identifying facts have been changed to protect me”. Which is odd, considering that there is no female character in a leading role here, but I’ll let it slide. This is the theoretically the story of two cops and how circumstances helped them catch a potential car thief. I say “theoretically” because it’s really all just an excuse to get to the punch line, but it’s not kosher to give such things away in reviews, so I’ll stick to telling you about the rest of it. Bob and Jake (the two cops) finish up a day of work and head home. Bob realizes that he forgot to tell Jake that they need to come in early the next day but, as is required by the laws of the universe, he only remembers this when he is almost home. He pulls in the driveway, makes a pledge not to leave the car until he talks to Jake, and suddenly hears someone approaching his car. He ducks down, ready for whatever is coming, and he hears the kid talking trash about the other car in the driveway before getting to him. Bob kicks the door open, shocking the kid, who runs into a nearby house. The rest of the comic is a (shorter than you’d think) chase and the previously mentioned punchline, which was set up wonderfully earlier in the comic but it flew right by me. Lisa seems to have this 6 page comic thing down pat, as she managed to pack funny, tense and humiliating all in one pamphlet. It’s worth a look if you have an extra buck or two lying around.
McDonnell, Lisa – Tick Tick Boom
Tick Tick Boom
I should probably put a little disclaimer here: if you have ever had any serious issues with ticks being attached to any part of your body and you’d care to forget all about it, it might be best to avoid this comic. That’s OK, there are two good ones right below this to choose from. As someone who has had to deal with a tick before, seeing the bloated creature in this comic was more effective than any horror movie. This is the (if there is any justice in this world fictional) story of a gigantic tick, how it is discovered and how it meets its maker. There is a man who had a traumatic experience with a tick as a young boy, and he nurtures that hatred until he is able to get a job as a tick inspector. Upon arriving in the park he sees a queen tick (again, I can only hope there is no such thing in real life), and it has sucked the life right out of a small, hairless dog. This tick inspector manages to capture it and puts it in a box to the Guinness record committee, but he uses some unfortunate word choices on the box, and well, that title is an appropriate description for more than just ticks. This also has a handy chart of the tick life cycle, and some subtle (if pointed) commentary on tv news anchors. Like I said, as long as you’re not scarred for life from some childhood tick trauma, this is a pretty great story and you should probably check it out.
McDonnell, Lisa – Spring Break 2009: The Adventures of Vega and Leo
Spring Break 2009: The Adventures of Vega and Leo
I do always love the random submission. Lisa sent along three comics, so expect to be seeing more from her here in the near future. She also sent along a nice little fold-out with material from her comics and some other art, a sort of primer on her work, which would be a great idea for more people to put together who are looking for a concise (and free) way to get themselves out there. One thing was immediately apparent with this comic: she has a great gift to pack a lot of material into a small comic. The actual story here is only 6 pages long, but she manages to tell the story of how these two got a free vacation on spring break, what exactly they did on said break, what gifts they came home with and how they got right with the world upon arriving. On a website full of oversimplified synopses of comic stories, that has to be one of the most oversimplified, but it’s either that or ruin this. OK fine, I’ll throw a little more out there. Highlights include Leo’s bug obsession, the giant blinking eye, the crystal skull exhibit (closed until 2010) and, of course, Lake Titicaca. School children everywhere, rejoice: it is a real place. The price tag is a mystery (going by heft alone I’d say $1), but it’s already apparent that she has a distinct voice and I look forward to seeing what else I learn from her other two comics.
