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Havasy, Joe – Misanthropic Cavalcade #6

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Misanthropic Cavalcade #6

It’s been way too long since I’ve seen one of these comics. It looks like Joe is focusing more on his painting these days and is trying to do a larger and more complex work, so sadly this might be the last issue of this for awhile. Ah, isn’t that always the way, with these talented and funny comics people starting off with the funny stuff and then moving on to more relevant and important work. Phooey! Artistic growth schmartistic schmowth. And if you like that level of maturity (but depicted by somebody who can be pretty effortlessly funny on a regular basis), then you’ll love these comics! Seriously, the past issues have been out there awhile, you probably should have already seen his stuff at some point. If you never have or are very new to the small press comics world, Joe is a guy in Athens, Georgia who does (or did, if he’s changing his ways) mostly one page strips for a local newspaper and then puts them together into a comic when he has enough. And we get to see all the stuff that a newspaper is too cowardly to run on their pages, so hey, more cursing and violence! These strips actually seem a little less manic than his past work, and I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing, but it is still a hilarious thing, which is all that really matters. Strips in this one include the drawbacks of getting texting removed from a monthly bill, a fantastic analogy for attempted drunken sex, trying to do a good deed to a bee, bird romance (and bird break-ups), a drunken elephant and the current trend of tights as pants with the ladies. And that’s just the first half of the book! I’ve loved these books every step of the way (as you could probably guess from that cover message from Joe) and this one is no exception. Maybe if you buy enough of these books it’ll stop Joe’s artistic development in its tracks and he’ll stick to making funny strips forever instead of trying to grow as a person. We can only hope… $3

Havasy, Joe – Misanthropic Cavalcade #5

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misanthropic51

Misanthropic Cavalcade #5

Joe seems to be moving away from the humans more and more, as this issue is 100% “A Scientific Fact” stories.  Not that that’s a bad thing at all, as who doesn’t like mostly silent tales of various animals in emotional and/or physical distress?  All that really matters is, once again, how it took me ages to pick out the proper sample, as almost anything in here could have been used due to sheer awesomeness.  Stories in here include the revolving door of breaking up and drunkenly calling back, the cow with gills, getting bored already after a random girl agrees to go out with you, the taste of Mountain Dew, how lovesickness is cured, misidentifying a slug, a flying buffalo, being cured of a desire to kill yourself by a pretty girl, an unsatisfactory gift, the futile suicide attempt of a T-Rex, bug courtship, the anatomical impossibilities of the birds and the bees doing it, abandonment issues, a frightened sheep, commitment issues and what an actual tiger would do with Frosted Flakes.  There’s also one story about a young woman who finds an old picture in her desk and how it unleashes a flood of memories, one of the rare thoughtful pieces in the book.  For a book of humorous one-pagers, I don’t mean this as a bad thing.  As always, it’s well worth checking out, and if the carefully chosen samples on this page can’t convince you of that fact, the pile of free strips on Joes’ website should do that nicely.  $3

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Havasy, Joe – Misanthropic Cavalcade #4

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misanthropic41

Misanthropic Cavalcade #4

Another pile of comic strips from Joe, and this one almost has a coherent theme going, as Joe takes various preconceptions (and made up stuff) about various animals and calls the strips “A Scientific Fact”.  Subjects include the woodpecker in nature, bat relationships, penguin intimidation, the usefulness of an ostrich sticking its head in the ground, the similarity between grenades and coconuts, raising a baby lizard, dinosaur fights, drunk dialing, a lack of calcium, using a Kroger bag as birth control, dating a mermaid, a cloud falling in love with a sheep, and a stork falling down on the job, among many others. There’s all that and a whole pile of other comics that aren’t related to that theme at all, but it’s probably best if I leave something for you to discover upon buying the book.  Or possibly upon reading all these strips for free, as his website still has a pile of free stuff.  I think you should read a few for free and then send him some money for the books, but that’s just me, and that’s just assuming that you like things that are funny.  I wish any of our local papers carried anything half as funny as this, that’s for sure.  $5

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Havasy, Joe – Misanthropic Cavalcade #1

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Misanthropic Cavalcade #1

What a great title for a collection of mostly one page strips. These were all apparently in a local (to Athens GA, that is) paper called Flagpole, but I don’t live in Athens, so they’re mostly new to me. In here you have the dangers of leaving a baby unattended outdoors, starving, paleo-boxing, Santa vs. an airplane, rabbit hunting, a bad break-up, fascinating facts about Joe, and a discussion about thresher sharks. Good stuff all around, as “good stuff” for page long strips mostly means to me that I laughed out loud a few times during the reading of the comic, so this definitely passes that test. Also it was tough to pick just one sample, which is another good sign. Its’ $2, here’s his website, which has more comics of his for you to read, if you need more convincing, or maybe just want to spend some time at work laughing.

Havasy, Joe – Misanthropic Cavalcade #3

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misanthropic31

Misanthropic Cavalcade #3

There must be something in the water down there in Athens, Georgia.  Way too many of those people are way too good at this comics business.  This is another collection of weekly strips from a local paper, and if these are the greatest hits it makes me wonder about the “crappy” ones, as these are 100% pure awesome.  In here we get stories about closure after the end of a relationship, snail murder (probably not the way you think), a walk in the park, how girls are dumb, a conversation between ducks and a platypus, a young boy trying to train birds to clean his teeth, a cautionary tale of the sea, putting on the moves, insomnia, freezing up in front of the women folk, a new hat for a little girl, a romantic practical joke, and aliens.  I could go on and on about how many times I laughed while reading this, but why bother when you could figure all this out for yourself?  I went over to Joe’s website and he has (I counted) 161 strips up there for free, mostly in color, and mostly not the ones included in this collection.  People who come to this site to find good places to kill time at work, take note.  Also, I couldn’t decide on just one sample strip this time around, so I’m using two.  Joe, if you would like to sue me, please note that I have no money to speak of.  I’m offering as a settlement every comic I have with either Quasar or Namor in it.  $3

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