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Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #6

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Tear-Stained Makeup #6 Now Available! $2

My saying nice things about everything on this page might be getting old for people, and I apologize if that’s the case. But what’s the alternative? I can lie and say that this one sucked, even though Marcos managed to include everybody in the larger plot (which is saying a lot) and flesh out all of them in this mini, even if only a little bit. I could point to the lack of a recap at the start of the book, but he’s fixed that, putting a concise and informative recap right up front. Or I could bitch about the crappy artwork, which in fact started off fine and has been getting stronger with each passing issue (even if the occasional background do vanish). Sorry folks, this is just a really great comic series, and Marcos (so far at least) can do no wrong. In this issue Stella finally gets her act together to go and see Laura, Tildy gets a makeover, Robert gets a guitar, and just about every little character you’ve seen in previous issues pops in for a panel or two. Oh, and Marcos goes into detail in the end about various panels and pages where he had issues, so it’s even useful as an instruction manual on how to make mini comics, for those of you who think this all looks so easy. $2

Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #5

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Tear-Stained Makeup #5 Now Available! $2.00

Hey, more flashbacks! A necessary step, as far as I’m concerned, into figuring out what these people are all about. This one deals with the “origin story”, more or less, of Tildy, as well as a bit more of the history of Dee. Marcos has also decided to go with this smaller format (16 pages) in the hopes of getting these out on a more regular basis, which sounds great to me. The cover is also a shimmery silverish sort of thing, impossible for the scanner to pick up but pretty neat when it’s in your hands, if you go for that sort of thing. One minor complaint: for those of us with lousy memories (i.e. me),a handy “previously on” is never a bad idea to sum things up. I love this series and some of the minor details were still lost on me. All in all, it’s another solid contribution to the ongoing storyline, with the promise for more to come on a regular basis, so what’s bad about that? $2

Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #3

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Tear-Stained Makeup #3 Now Available! $2

What ever happened to that woman who tried to kill herself in the first issue anyway? Or how about the doctor who is trying so hard to save her, what’s his story? Don’t worry your pretty little heads about these things a moment longer, as they’re answereed here! Well, mostly. Sort of. OK, he at least starts to talk about them. Also, you get to see what a scumbag that singer from the last issue is, but now I fear I may have said too much. Another great issue, all around, with more questions than answers, but still more than a few answers, which is why you keep coming back in a regular series, right? Something about the art wasn’t as crisp in this one either. I don’t know if it was rushed, bad equipment or what, but it looked like it. Which isn’t to say it was awful, as the man has a serious talent with the whole drawing end of things, just that I’ve seen his stuff look better. A blip on the radar once the big collected book comes out with the first ten issues or so, whenever that happens, and it better happen, becauise I find myself already invested in these characters.

Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #2

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Tear-Stained Makeup #2 Now Available! $2

OK, now I’m completely won over. Objectivity has left the building until he does a really crappy comic and loses me. Just a little warning in case you heart negative reviews or something. This one is all about Tildy, the librarian from the short story in the last issue, and the person who’s easily the most intriguing story so far, even if the other character did throw herself in front of a taxi. This is mostly a “day in the life” story, following her trip on the subway to what was meant to be a quiet night at home (after she hears the news about Laura Dee and the taxi). Of course, if that’s all there was it wouldn’t be much of a comic, but why ruin more than that? So far these are great, and most of the fun of reading great comics is that you get to discover things for yourself. So there!

Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #1

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Tear-Stained Makeup #1 Now Available! $2

You know, if you’re that capable of being (to use a cliche) laugh out loud funny when making the comics, there should be some sort of law saying that you’re not allowed to be able to create an insightful series that isn’t meant to be funny. Just too much pressure on the rest of the folks who are perfectly capable of doing one or the other but not both. OK, maybe it’s too early to say that, as this is just one issue, but it’s one great issue. It looks like this is going to be a continuing group of characters and, as Marcos says that it still has a long way to go, these could be considered background info for the rest of the series. This one deals with a young woman who tries to kill herself when her bandmate (couldn’t tell if he was a current boyfriend) leaves town, another young woman who reads to local kids and has a tough time dealing with an ex-roomate, and a doctor who goes to help the girl who attempts suicide. Great dialogue, really solid and expressive art, once again I have to say that there’s not much for me to complain about here. Well worth a look…

Perez, Marcos – Tear-Stained Makeup #4

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Tear-Stained Makeup #4 Now Available! $5

This may be as big as the last three issues put together. So if you’ve been reading these and wondering why certain characters were getting less attention than you may have liked, everybody gets dealt with here. And if you haven’t been wondering because you haven’t been reading this, might I ask what exactly you have against comics? How many really great character driven fictional comics are there out there to choose from at the moment anyway? The story in this one deals with Tildy and her afterglow, Dr. Wilson and his unhealthy obsession, Laura Dee and finding a reason to live, Eddie and his crush on Tildy, Aurora (Tildy’s friend) and her nudity, and more side characters than you can shake that proverbial stick at that you keep around to shake at things. Marcos had a great idea to put out this giant issue, as all sorts of the background people are actual characters now and not just walk-on lines. There was even an incredibly odd bit from 1903, although I have no earthly idea how that fits into the big picture. If you like this series you probably already have this issue, but if you’ve been waiting until there’s more available to dig in, well, you got your wish. Great stuff again.