Blog Archives
Piskor, Ed (editor) – Marvel Gang-Bang
Marvel Gang-Bang (with various creators)
If you pick this one up thinking it’s nothing but hot Marvel on Marvel action (sex, that is), you’re going to be sorely disappointed. How you could be disappointed after seeing that cover is a mystery to me, but I’m sure it’s possible. What you have here is an anthology of loose tributes to various Marvel characters and artists. There’s Pat Lewis doing a Spiderman story involving J. Jonah Jameson and Magneto, Anne Moffa showing the day to day life of a few heroes, Ed Piskor depicting Ant-Man as a deranged Bill Nye the Science Guy, Tom Scioli doing possibly the best Kirby tribute ever (and I know that’s saying a lot, but the panels where the action is lost in the eyes of Ikarus are just too much), Mark Zingarelli doing one panel bursts about various characters (sampled below) and Paulette Poullet showing the dangers of Hulk hands vs. Thing hands. As is always the case with anthologies like this, unless you know the subject material a whole lot of this will be lost on you, but if you do know the material (and come on, if you’re reading this you probably know at least some of it) this is a thing of beauty. No real weak piece in the bunch, which is always the bane of the anthology. Oh, and it’s free, so if you can find any of these people at a con or send Ed an e-mail, there’s a decent chance that you could get this fairly easily.
Lewis, Pat – Broads and Monsters
Broads and Monsters Now Available! $3
Yes, this is a sketchbook. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything, Pat mentions the fact right there on the cover. Generally speaking sketchbooks don’t do much for me one way or the other, and they’re damn near impossible to review, what with not having a real story and all. This is a collection of, oddly enough, broads and monsters, with the occasional broad/monster hybrid mixed in. Most of the sketches are fully formed images with a few naked women thrown in, and it’s not like you weren’t wondering about that, you pervert you. There is one story in here, Pat’s version of the Bloody Mary myth that adolescent girls always seemed to try out. You know, the one where you say Bloody Mary X number of times into a mirror and a monster her face ripped off jumped out of the mirror and ripped your face off too. So, it’s up to you. Is a cute story, a chunk of sketches and your general love for the rest of Pat’s work enough to pick up a sketchbook? He is quite good with the rest of his books, you know, and the man sure can draw. Oh, and he also uses this as a chance to plug his hardcover graphic novel called The Claws Come Out, so I suppose you could always go straight for that.
Lewis, Pat – One Horse Town
One Horse Town Now Available! $2
Huzzah for Western comics! Or at least huzzah for Western comics with this many frying pans to the head. Works every time. This is the story about a remarkably incompetent sheriff and an unfortunate boast by the town mayor when he says to the sheriff “even your horse would be a better sheriff than you”. The town is momentarily thrilled about this idea, or at least they are before they have time to really think it over. It gets a bit more complicated from there as the bad guys make their move and a new sheriff hits town, but don’t worry, there is also a showdown at high noon. Funny stuff all around, and you sure can’t beat that cover…
Lewis, Pat – Prowl
Prowl Now Available! $1
Mankind has long wondered: what would happen if aliens kidnapped a young woman and turned her into a werewolf? Well, that question has finally been answered with this mini. It’s a wordless story of a young woman walking home from a date who is suddenly taken onto an alien spacecraft, where they have apparently perfected the process necessary to bring about a werewolf. Much havoc and chaos ensues, and you have a fun little way to spend a few minutes of your day. This one is only a buck, contact info is up there and this is also in the online store…
Lewis, Pat – Hideous
Just in case you don’t get it from the cover, this is a parody of Clumsy by Jeffrey Brown. This details the beginning, middle and end of a relationship between a very promiscuous girl and, well, a monster. They meet over the internet, she sleeps with the monster’s roomate, they date for a while (and she learns fascinating things about monster anatomy), then things end in tears. The book is done in 1 page strips, just like Clumsy, and even has a lightly bearded character who looks a bit like Jeffrey, except for the hair and the body. OK, fine, just the beard makes it look like him. All of you can ask for out of a parody is that it’s funny and at least slightly true to the source material, and this one fits the bill for both of those.Great stuff, contact info is up there, this is $2 and you can also find it in the handy-dandy online store…
Lewis, Pat – Giant-Size Office Funnies
Giant-Size Office Funnies
What better time to draw comics then when you’re getting paid for being at work? That’s the theory that helped make this comic, a collection of funnies (although it’s one story) about talking a man down from a ledge, looking at porn at work, using the company copy machine to put together a comic, sticking it to the man, and exploding. Not necessarily in that order. It’s drawn stick figure style, and the rest of his stuff looks much better, but there’s a certain charm to minimalism like this. It’s a short, funny book, so it’s hard to complain too much about that. If you’re looking for a modern comic classic, you’ll probably want to go elsewhere. If you’re just looking for a decent comic for a buck, you’ve found it! Contact info is up there, and his other comics are available here, but not this one…
Lewis, Pat – AAAA Action Team #1
AAAA Action Team #1 Now Available! $2
I’ll say one thing for Pat: I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at a SPACE without at least one new book available. The fact that they’re all pretty much excellent books doesn’t hurt a thing. This is the story of two aliens who make a bet, as one thinks that our planet will last longer than ten years before destroying itself, the other thinks it won’t be that long. The “defender” of the Earth, in an attempt to win his bet, assembles a team of heroes based on alphabetical order, and their abilities consist of being able to function on 4 hours’ sleep, an affinity for burning things, a former forensics expert and a dog given an alien chip to allow it to speak. As you can see, only one of those things is all that useful, which makes for one awkward superhero team. In their first test a giant robot is set loose on their town and they have to figure out how to stop it. It’s assumed that the robot is set loose by the alien who wants the planet to end before the ten years are up, but that’s never confirmed in this issue. I love the fact that there’s no grand plan here. The aliens either want the planet to live or die based on the equivalent of $3.96 but have no malicious or benevolent intent, and the humans (and dog) pick up the hero gig mostly because none of them have anything better to do. Funny stuff, and well worth a look. $2
Lewis, Pat – The Titusville Geek
The Titusville Geek Now Available! $3
I suppose context is important in reviews. If I were judging this book just from the perspective of any old mini comic, I’d say that it was an enjoyable enough little story. Judging it from the perspective of so many of his other minis, which are so often an absolute blast, I’d have to say I was a little let down. This is a campfire story told to a bunch of little kids about the old geeks in the circus. If you’re not aware of what they are, they were usually drunks who were willing to do anything for their booze, and they spent their time in a dingy cage, surrounded by their own filth, biting the heads off chickens and generally behaving like an animal. Pat seems to think these people were mostly stupid or actually retarded, which isn’t something I’ve heard to explain the geeks, but it’s not like I’m an expert on the subject (insert “Yeah, but you’re geeky enough to run a comics website!” joke here). It has its moments, to be sure, like when the geek sets off the town to destroy the circus by biting the head off a small child, but overall it just isn’t as good as some of his other books. Not the harshest criticism in the world, I know, but it’s the best I can do. My advice is to check out many of his other fine works displayed on this page and then circle back to this if that makes you love his work, which I would think it would have to if you have a sense of humor at all.
Lewis, Pat – Obsessive Crush
Obsessive Crush
Jealous killer robots! Mysterious potions! Open mic night! All these horrors and more… ahem, sorry, I got carried away. This is a cute story about a man who’s trying to be cooler with the ladies and ends up drinking a potion. When he does, he changes into a slimy lounge lizard uncontrollably, often at awkward times. Meanwhile, he meets a girl who sings at a coffee shop and decides that he likes her, but he also has to contend with his jealous robot, who is in love with him. Got all that? The only problem I have with this book is that at times it seems like it came out in four panel installments. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, but the last panel often seems like a pun. Still, the whole thing holds up well as a story, and it’s, as I said cute. And funny at times, but in a pun-y sort of way. Here’s a website if you’re looking for more samples…
