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Reed, M.K. – Pale Fire #1
Pale Fire #1
Hooray for a new comic from MK! Before I get started on this one, she’s put together the whole Catfight story (which I’ll ramble about one of these days) for $10 on her website. This is the first half of her Pale Fire story, which (so far) is about a young lady who wants to try and date a guy who everybody says is crazy. We hear stories about how he blew his younger brother’s hand off and torched a textbook, although it’s still hard to tell what’s true and what’s just urban legend, which I’m guessing is why there’s a second issue. Good stuff again, although if you have some sort of phobia about whippersnappers standing around and talking at a party you might want to avoid this, you weirdo…
Reed, M.K. – Catfight #2
Catfight#2
The saga of the fight continues, although it’s mostly a distraction compared to the other goings-on in the book. What’s Sam up to with the new boyfriend? What’s going to happen because of the fight? And how did that lasagna turn out, anyway? I loved scene about the aftermath of the fight, which showed completely how schools can’t do a damned thing to discipline people, although it was portrayed in a funnier way than that. Honestly, if you’re looking for believable high school dialogue that also smart (yes, those things can go together) then you could do a whole lot worse than this book. Contact info is up there, these are just review copies but they should be finalized and ready for when the distro starts!
Reed, M.K. – Cursed
Cursed
Before I say anything, if you’re ever in a car with this woman or on the road with her somewhere, watch out. This is a book of car accidents and odd things that have happened to her while in a car. Granted, a whole lot of these things weren’t her fault and a few could just be chalked up to bad luck, but this is a comic about 21 bad things that have happened to her while driving in the past 4 years. The art’s not great (had trouble telling exactly what a few things were) but it’s not terrible either. You don’t need much to tell these stories, so the minimalist approach worked fine. Her stories are engaging and you feel nothing but sympathy for the poor girl when it’s done. Good stuff, I’d like to see the next issue, but I’m not sure if she’d survive another 21 bad things happening to her. It’s a couple of bucks (probably), send her an e-mail.
Reed, M.K. – Pale Fire
Pale Fire
Hey look, I finally got around to getting the collected version of this story. Scrollers should note that I had the first issue years ago and, thanks to Poopsheet, eventually got around to getting the collected edition. And it’s, well, a great story. This is about a young woman named Alison who’s getting together at a party with a young man who has a reputation as a firebug and a bit of a crazy person (Darren). Alison, of course, can see none of this, although she seems level-headed about everything else. More details can be found in my review of the first issue, I’ll just pick up when they finally do get to the party. Neither of them likes parties so they end up outside, where another boy from the party confronts the firebug and starts a typical drunken fight (typical because no punches are thrown). They leave the party because Darren has something to show her, and any more information than that would be telling. Alison’s slow realization of just who she’s dealing with is a revelation, and M.K. manages to pull it off while keeping everybody in the story fully human. No cartoon villains, no ditzy girls falling for the dangerous guy, no shortcuts at all. She earns that ending, and at the end of the day it’s just a great comic. I don’t see this available at her website, but there’s that Poopsheet place I mentioned before, and she does have other things there if you’re curious. No price, but it’s hefty… $8?
Reed, M.K. – Catfight Part One
Catfight Part One
I swear I didn’t crumple that cover up, although you wouldn’t know by looking at it. It looks like MK has a varied array of comics available, which is always a good thing in my book. This one is about high school dynamics, basically, and about a female friend of the gang starting to date, which causes instant panic in the rest of the gang as they’re afraid of losing her. As that does happen most times that dating begins, it’s a legitimate fear. What you need in a book like this is an interesting, diverse cast of characters, and she pulls that off beautifully. I never had any trouble telling these people apart, and you’d be surprised how many titles have trouble with that. The backgrounds are a bit lazy (or nonexistent) in places, but the rest of the story was engaging enough that it was never a big deal. Personally, I can’t wait to see the next issue so I can find out how that lasagna turned out. This is, oh, let’s say $4, give or take a dollar either way. Check out her website! Update (3/2/04): remember the only real problem I had with the book, the lack of backgrounds? Well, MK has put out a revised edition with all kinds of backgrounds. I officially have no complaints!
