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Reviews on this page:
Everyone Laughs at the Crocodile Man #1
Slam Bang #3
Super Crazy Cat Dance
Tales of Inertia #1
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Ack! #1 edited by Sam Gafford
Publisher Jim Main and Editor Sam Gafford bring us a new humor comic in the tradition of Not Brand Echh. It's also reminiscent of Mad and Cracked, except the content is entirely comics. The first issue's theme is monsters and Gafford and crew proceed to entertain us with a series of nonstop wacky send-ups and slapstick humor.
Go With That written by Gafford and drawn by John Lambert features knockoffs of old Marvel monster comics like Fin Fu Fong who find themselves in group therapy learning to live with their defeats at the hands of Dr. Ralph Reynolds (a Reed Richards lookalike).
Rick Limacher ventures into unexplored territory in The Monster and Me. The world is a hostile environment for monsters, but what happens to a non-traditional monster like a vegan vampire, when even his own hell-spawned family rejects him?
Creature Capers by Jack Bertram provides a page of gags reminiscent of the old Universal Monsters trading cards, Spook Stories.
Monster Reality Shows teams Gafford with the Limacher Brothers in a series of full page gags that transplant famous movie monsters into popular TV shows.
The issue wraps with a 8-page comic by Gafford and Mike Hall. This one is absolutely chuck-full of monsterific gags and all-out B-movie storylines. Hall's excellent artwork makes it my favorite from the book.
Other contributors include cover artist Scott McClung and spot illustrator Dan W. Taylor. Ack! #1 is 28 b&w pages, plus color covers, comic book-size, and available for $3.95 (postage paid) from Main Enterprises.
Dumpster by Max Clotfelter
Dumpster is a new micro-mini comic in the spirit of newave comix from back in the day. Each page of this gritty, over-the-top fairy tale presents a single panel of Clotfelter's richly crosshatched cartoon goodness. Dumpster is all about the last chapter of the jagged relationship between two hobos on a permanent camping trip. He's happy drinking cheap beer, scrounging for food, and playing guitar in the woods all day. She's had it and wants regular showers, a walkman, and a real bed. Her next stop: splitsville. Yeah, let's see how that turns out . . .
For $1 plus postage, you get a 3.25" x 3.5", b&w, 64-page comic filled with Clotfelter's artfully scratchy cartoons and a raw, urban fable that's more fun than dumpster diving. What are you waiting for? Jump in! This book was nominated for Stumptown Trophy Awards in both Outstanding DIY and Debut categories. It's available from the Scubotch Shop. For online samples of Clotfelter's comeeks click this.
Jack in the Box #1
by Martin Buxton & Tony Wicks
The first part of this intriguing new series introduces us to an eerie alien laboratory and a hidden underworld inhabited by what appears to be kind-hearted demons. The two factions are somehow entwined and seem to represent good and evil. Each has their own changeling-like human child. One is infused with poisons and pain, while the other is raised with kindness and love. Now that they're grown, their surrogate families are introducing them to human society.
Part one is a 19-page, non-stop thrill ride that ably sets the stage for the series and leaves you anxious for more. Wicks, who conceived and illustrated the story provides outstanding visuals. The evil aliens are deliciously twisted and the dark tale unfolds in gritty, shadowy tableaus.
Buxton's narration and dialog are also top notch. He's taken an ambitious concept and delivered a compelling story that seamlessly integrates the flashbacks required to begin to understand the characters and set the stage for what's to come.
I should also mention there's a couple of interesting visual twists going on in this small press comic. The demon faction is always colored in shades of purple and the aliens seem to like to represent the world in graphical icons. The icons could be the alien's written language, or may it's the way in which they see the world . . .
Jack in the Box #1 is A5-size, 20 pages, plus a heavy-weight cover, b&w with spot color throughout. It's published by Comics to Die For and available through their website's Buy Stuff page. For preview pages of the next issue clickthrough.
Comic Fan #3
edited by Jim Main
Fare Warning: I contributed a spot illustration and some of the reviews to this issue.
Comic Fan is a small press zine in the tradition of comic fanzines of old. It covers a nice mix of past and present, and embraces a wide spectrum of illustrated fiction and its associated media. Editor Main devotes about half the issue to articles and features, and half to reviews. Every issue spotlights a particular character or series, but there's plenty of other content as well. This issue, Main features Dr. Strange.
After Main's introduction, Associate Editor, Sam Gafford offers a tribute to the late Steve Gerber. Gafford never met Gerber, so his tribute highlights his appreciation of Gerber's many works and his contributions to the field. He concludes with a reminder of just how fleeting even a lifetime of work can be. A letter of support to a favorite writer or artist telling them how much you appreciate their work, would be music to their ears.
The same can be said for small press publishers, and Main's readers came through for him this issue and wrote enough comments to fill two pages. It's always fun to read the letters page. I love to see the different perspectives readers have and what features they liked best. Keep 'em coming!
Sam Gafford's cover feature on The Early Years of Dr. Strange is next. I was a big fan of Lee and Ditko's mystic hero during his early days, but I haven't read the comics in years. Gafford's commentary and background as he traced the character's development and the creative team's changes over the years was fascinating and nostalgic.
Doc Boucher returns with the conclusion of his profile/interview with the late Jerry Bails. It's a great feature loaded with background information and artwork on Bails' many characters from the earliest days of comic fandom.
Allen Freeman wrote a diary-style report on this year's Mid-Ohio Con with over a dozen photographs of famous big time and small press comikers.
The Spinner Rack is the review section of the magazine. I like the diversity of titles and voice from ten different reviewers. There's something here for every taste including mainstream, alternative, small press, minis, teen, manga, graphic novels—even an audiobook and a few DVDs. This issue provides over 60 reviews in total by Mark Allen, Wade Busby, Allen Freeman, Sam Gafford, Dennis Kininger, Matt Levin, Mark Nickles, Richard Sullivan, Michael Vance, and I.
Next, Sam Gafford rants about the editorial dominance driving content at Marvel and DC these days in his Sez Me! editorial.
This issue's Comic Character Collectibles photo feature reveals the mysterious world of Dr. Strange action figures, drink cups, and spellbinding gewgaws cast into plastic for all eternity.
The issue concludes with Larry Tisch's Comic Memories. Think of it as a graphic article. It's a collection of tributes to some of Tishch's favorite characters ably captured in action poses. In fact, Main has recruited an impressive list of contributing artists for his zine, and production manager Richard Sullivan uses their custom-made artwork generously throughout the book. Contributing artists include Jerry Bails, Larry Blake, Dave Ernst, Dave Farley (front cover), Michael T. Gilbert, Michael Grassia, Noor Hafizah (back cover), John Lambert, Carl Taylor, and Dan W. Taylor.
Comic Fan #3 is 56 b&w pages, plus full color cover. It's available for $7.25 (including postage) from Main Enterprises. Next issue's spotlight shines on the Thunder Agents.
Crowman #1
by Martin Buxton & Tony Wicks
Crowman is a nicely put together indie comic book. The writing, artwork, and production are very well done. The Buxton/Wicks team begins the first of a multi-part story with this debut issue. Briefly: A young journalist's reporting catches the unwanted attention of her town's corrupt Mayor, and he wants her stopped. But she has a surprising ally in the guise of the mysterious Crowman.
Writer Buxton gets the main story moving quickly but still finds room to add some teasers to pique your interest even more for the next chapter. And I have to mention, his talent with dialog helps suspend disbelief very nicely when the costumed hero makes his first appearance.
Wicks' artwork is also quite good. His layouts, linework, and shading are excellent. His drawing ability is readily apparent, but I also was struck by his unique style and the personality he brings out in his work.
The production values on this small press comic match the quality of its content. In fact, I like the richness of the pages in black-and-white more than I think I would in color.
Crowman #1 is A5-size, 20 pages, plus a heavy-weight cover, b&w throughout. It's published by Comics to Die For and available through their website's Buy Stuff page. For more preview pages see the site's Gallery.
The Red Menace by Andrew Farago
This time out Farago handles both script and art in the latest adventure of super capitalist Max O'Millions. The Red Menace zine debuted at the recent Stumptown Comics Fest.
Max and his Adventure Society owe a wink and a nod to the spirit of gangs like the Little Rascals and the Newsboy Legion. Although in this adventure, said Society is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Max teams up with a US Senator who has a real talent for subterfuge.
Farago has an obvious reverence for history and popular culture. I enjoyed the nostalgic asides peppered throughout the story like Howdy Doody, Aunt Fanny, and classic Coke bottles, to name a few.
Like Steven Colbert, Max is a righteous, conservative capitalist on the outside, with a hidden liberal agenda lying just below the surface. It's all good tongue-in-cheek fun and Farago weaves his tale around actual events, conveniently connecting the dots when history serves his purpose.
The Red Menace is 24 b&w pages, plus cover. To get your copy send Farago an email (listed on his profile page). The zine cost $3 at Stumptown. You can follow his Chronicles of William Bazillion on Webcomicsnation every Wednesday.
Slam Bang #3
edited by Allen Freeman
Editor Freeman asked for stories based on real life events for the third edition of his over 200-page comics anthology. Some of the contributors played it straight, some told half-truths, and some—well, apparently some didn't get the memo at all. The result is an anthology that's best described as "partially true adventures".
The perfect-bound volume features an impressive list of small press cartoonists. Many are longtime veterans of self-publishing who got their start in the 70s and 80s during the newave comix era or creating limited edition fanzines. Today, much of their work rivals the quality of mainstream comics, but their stories remain more personal, experimental, and unique.
With somewhere around 50 artists and writers, you can bet you'll find plenty of stories to enjoy in this issue. You can see the full list of contributors on Freeman's Fan-Atic website.
The volume is stronger and funnier thanks to the variety of material, but my personal favorites really were the comics that related true stories. Those by: Brad W. Foster, Michael Monlux, Chistopher Moshier & Giancarlo Lima & George Hartman, Jim Siergey, Max Ink, Patrick Hickey, Rodolfo Buscaglia, S.W. Conser & Roberta Gregory, Steve Keeter & Larry Blake, Simon Mackie, John Lustig & Allen Freeman, and Tommy Reeves.
The book also includes interviews with cartoonist Mark Martin, publisher/actor Mark Innes, and writer/publisher Chris Mosher.
Slam Bang #3 is 202 b&w pages, plus full color covers. The book is perfect bound and printed on high-quality paper. It's available for $9.95 plus shipping directly from Freeman's imprint Fan-Atic Press. Next issue's theme is Music.
Everyone Laughs
at the Crocodile Man
by Steve Steiner
This full color mini comic collects the first 25 episodes of the wacky adventures of the Crocodile Man. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was serendipitous—perhaps not—but it appears a perfect synergy of corporate policies and quotas have combined to bring us the first reptilian office worker ever to work at Winston & Weasal. Any HR department worth its salt would be proud.
Each page of Steiner's latest zine presents a Sunday-style comic strip. Some are hilarious, others are funny, and all are humorous. I love Steiner's loose, cartoony style and the engaging premise of this out-of-place office worker. The Crocodile Man's favorite haunts include his cubicle, where his coworkers often stop by to chat; his apartment, which he shares with a deadbeat roommate; and the local bar, where the barkeep mixes up a special brew just for him. He's also frequently seen at the copy machine and trolling for food in the breakroom.
Steiner is offering Everyone Laughs at the Crocodile Man (28 pages in full color) for the incredible price of an email request. So act now, because an offer this good can't last forever. He'll even throw in some stickers of the C-Man and MacTagart. For online laughs check out his sketch Blog and his comic strip Colonel MacTagart on Zuda.com
The Super Crazy Cat Dance
by Aron Nels Steinke
The cover captions describe this small press mini comic as "a super fun crazy comic for kids and grownups alike". I'd have to agree, that's an apt description of this book. Steinke's full page drawings are engaging from the moment you crack the cover. The ensuing visual cat dance is a silly, free-flowing rhyme that cart-wheels through the neighborhood, the city, and the planet only to arrive safe and sound back home at the conclusion of a wonderful day.
Part of what make the overall package so appealing is that the production values are beautifully matched to the content. The heavy paper pages and cover stock give the book a substantial, quality feel. But the print quality is the real star. The artwork's crisp edges and deep, saturated black reproduction is gorgeous. Steinke's artwork makes heavy use of black and the printing captures it with near india ink-quality.
I suspect kids will immediately fall in love with this charming adventure, artwork, and package. And if the outer grownup in you can set aside your action items and appointments, you too may be reminded of just how sweet a few moments of cat dancing can be.
The Super Crazy Cat Dance is 32 pages, plus cover in gorgeous b&w. It's available from Buy Olympia, Poopsheet Shop, and Reading Frenzyfor $5 plus shipping. Steinke's website is well worth a looksee too.
Tales of Inertia #1 by Tom Lechner
The artwork in the two stories featured in the debut issue of Tales of Inertia are too detailed and carefully crafted to be stream-of-consciousness. Yet the storylines appear to be exactly that.
The first, Seaside Retreat, begins as an ordinary trip to the coast with a stop for some pancakes along the route. Things quickly take a turn for the hearse as an amalgamation of flesh and body parts bursts into the diner to swap heads with the wait staff. And then things start to get really weird. The action is as amorphous as the artwork, shifting and turing in unexpected directions as it unfolds across the pages and ends with an equally surreal conclusion. The lead characters add an element of humor to their dark journey. In spite of the crisis they face they still find time to argue about who's right. Maybe it's the only anchor in reality they can still hold on to . . .
The second story was my favorite. Weak Daze, is a visual treat told entirely with pictures. It's also an amorphous journey, but more fanciful than Seaside Retreat. The borderless panels bend and blend into each other beautifully, just like the action. After Lechner turns the world inside out for his hero, he reveals that things are just getting started and will continue next issue.
If you're a fan of quality pen and ink linework, experimental storytelling, and/or surreal small press comics, this book is made to order. Tales of Inertia #1 is 28 b&w pages, plus a heavy weight color cover. It's available for $4 (along with lots of Lechner's other zines) directly from the artist's website. (Click on the Consumption link—what else?)
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