Reviews & Previews - Illustrated Fiction 35

2011, Self-published. 20 pages, including the self-cover. B&W interior, color covers. 4.25" x 5.5" with saddle stitch binding, no trim. $2.00 from Microcosm.

The inside story on indie cartooning with no punches pulled. After twenty years in publishing, Reklaw declares N.Y.D.I. aka No, You Do It.

Reklaw's had more success than many struggling cartoonists. He has a popular webcomic called Slow Wave, that I understand is syndicated in a number of indie weeklies. He's published at least two hardbound collections of his comic strips, is a successful cartoon instructor and regularly sells his beautiful watercolors online. But he still struggles to clear a profit on publishing.

N.Y.D.I. focuses on the business aspect of his personal journey and it's not very cheerful. In fact, the tone is so discouraging, if this mini comix wasn't numbered (#1), I'd be pretty easy to convince this was his last DYI publishing project. However, it does end on a bit more positive note: reflecting on where he's been has helped him figure out where he wants to go. I'm anxious to see and read about that in a second issue.

Despite it's sobering math, N.Y.D.I. is an honest and almost singular record of the financials of obscuro comix. And that's why it's a Midnight Fiction Favorite.

For a somewhat more humorous take on the struggling cartoonist, circa 1976, try See You in the Funny Pages?

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King for a Day by Rob Kirby

October 2011, self-published, 28 pages, with self-cover. B&W interior with color covers. 7" x 8.5", saddle stitch binding. Read more about it on Rob Kirby Comics.

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The Greatest by Kelly Froh

2011, Self-Published. Design by Manfred Naescher. 20 pages, plus cover, all in full color. 5.5" x 8.5" with saddle stitch binding and machine trim. $4.00 (plus postage) from Kelly Froh.

This comic/zine hybrid begins with a clever title. The Greatest is the theme for the content inside, but with the slick publication design (by Naescher) and production, it's also a contender for the greatest work from Froh, to date.

As Froh explains in the book's intro, she's worked at a variety of retirement facilities and met a lot of seniors. The Greatest features fifteen of them, highlighting their greatest distinctive trait or accouterment in a full page, full color cartoon illustration. The coloring is wonderful and adds new depth to Froh's simple linework; and the book's top-notch repro make the artwork sing.

Each senior's greatness is engaging, but it's almost like a teaser. You can't help wanting to read more about each person. In Froh's earlier, The Former Room-Mates of Gary Jones, Jones supplied the story behind each of his former roomies. The stories enriched the drawings and created a natural reading rhythm that takes you through that book at a leisurely, properly appreciative pace. My only quibble with The Greatest, is that I wish there were more story to go along with the great artwork. Get yours before they're gone.

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Dear Creature by Jonathan Case

2011, Tor Books, 192 b&w pages, plus color cover, perfect bound trade paperback. Available in a signed limited edition for $20 or a regular edition for $15 from Jonathan Case and other retailers.

Deep beneath the waves, a creature named Grue broods. He no longer wants to eat lusty beachgoers, no matter how their hormones call to him. A chorus of crabs urges him to reconsider. After all, people are delicious! But this monster has changed. Grue found Shakespeare’s plays in cola bottles and, through them, a new heart. Now he yearns to join the world above.

When his first attempt ends… poorly, Grue searches for the person who cast the plays into the sea. What he finds is love in the arms of Giulietta—a woman trapped in her own world. When she and Grue meet, Giulietta believes her prayers are answered. But people have gone missing and Giulietta’s nephew is the prime suspect. With his past catching up to him, Grue must decide if becoming a new man means ignoring the monster he was.

Rising from a brine of drive-in pulp and gentle poetry, Dear Creature is the love story you never imagined!

Jonathan Case, comics artist and author (Dark Horse, Tor Books, Image), who's art appeared in the new Green River Killer graphic novel from Dark Horse, recently announced that Tor Books (part of Macmillan) has released his debut original graphic novel, Dear Creature. Here's what the critics are saying:

“Exuberantly weird…Startlingly assured for a debut effort.”
—Publishers Weekly

“With expressive art and clever writing in Dear Creature, Jonathan Case creates a unique and entertaining story of a man from the deep who just wanted to find a companion in life.”
—Previews Magazine, staff pick!

“…A beautiful anomaly…Marvelously entertaining and a weird side-door entry into both Shakespeare and graphic literature…A funny, bizarre, unexpected pleasure that gives a creature from the depths heart and soul.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"…A fabulous read that gives all of the human monsters out there (myself included) hope that even in a world obsessed with superficiality, anyone can find true love, even if you’re a radioactive sea mutant…"
—Paul Goat Allen, B&N Book Club

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Jay's Brain by Jason Viola

2011, Manatee Power. 24 b&w pages, plus cover. 5.5" x 4.25" with saddle stitch binding, no trim. $3.00 from Manata Power Emporium.

Here's another fun mini comix from the creator of the Herman the Manatee webcomic, Jason Viola. Like several other one-shot projects Viola has tackled (Sunward and Who is Amy Amoeba?), this one is built on a strong concept. The main character, Jay, is dealing with his inner struggles. Viola literally extracts Jay's brain and turns it into a separate, anthropomorphic character; a clever idea that sets the stage for success.

This comix are delivered in one page episodes, formatted exactly like his long-running webcomic, Herman the Manatee. But these are more personal. Jay seems to more or less be a comix version of Viola himself. The comic strips explore common auto-bio topics like social anxiety, artistic motivation and overcoming the magnetic pull of your bed when the alarm rings. Some of the gags are laugh-out-loud funny, while others are simply amusing.

I love the simple but clever design of Viola's mini comix. He really gets a big bang out of modest production values. Viola continues to grow as a cartoonist and his work always makes an enjoyable read. Check out his collection of mini comix at the Manatee Power Emporium, every one of them is worth supporting.

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*PPFSZT! #32 edited by Jim Main

Summer 2011, Main Enterprises
Production Manager: Marc Haines
Publisher's Assistant: Barry Southworth
Inside front cover: Christopher Durant
Contents page art: Brad W. Foster
Editorial page art: Dave Farley
52 b&w pages, plus cover
6.5" x 10.25" POD by ComiXpress
$7.00 (postage paid) from Main Enterprises

Small press publisher Jim Main seems to be on a tear with another issue of his eclectic anthology with the unlikely title of *PPFSZT!. Cover artist, George Leon starts things off a wraparound cover featuring many of editor Main's favorite toys from his youth, including The Great Garloo, Robot Commando, Odd Ogg, King Zor and Hamilton's Invaders.

After Main's introduction to the issue, *PPFSZT! #32 opens with Magnet Man & Phil in Mystery Solved (2 pages) by Brien Wayne Powell, another deadpan serving of Powell's dry wit.

The League of Annoying Heroes are Surprised By the 100 Foot Man (5 pages) by Dan Burke. It's a biting satire that takes the senseless in-fighting of superhero teams to lengths the Avengers never dreamed of.

Steve Shipley revives Ultrapowerfulman, a character Jim Main and Pete Fitzgerald originally created for Spotlight Comics in the 80s, in a one-page gag. Shipley was a part of the character's creative team since the beginning, inking Fitzgerald's pencils for the first issue of UPM's solo comics zine.

On The Inside (10 pages) by Louise Cochran-Mason (story), Barry Southworth (pencils) , Steve Shipley (tones and lettering) and Linda Southworth (assists), is a science fiction yarn set in a futuristic world.

A very nice piece of prose writing, Blood and Snow (2 pages) by Troy Boyle, includes three full-page illustrations by Troy Boyle and Jeff Austin. A three-page letters column follows, with illustrations by Jack Bertram.

The Origin of RIP (2 pages) by Michael Anthony Carroll is a origin story send-up packed with gags.

Mr. Brunelle Explains It All (2 pages) by Robert J. Brunelle, features four comic strips from the popular webcomic.

Billy the Unipig (2 pages) by Dakota White (story) and George Leon (art), features a wacky showdown between the Unipig and a trio of demonic devils.

Jim Main conferred with Steve Keeter to produce an article that's part tribute, part small press comics history about Rod Snyder, who contributed to Main's fanzines during the 70s and produced his own title Unreal as well. The article features several illos by Snyder and a couple of Unreal covers. It's followed by a comic story by Snyder, called The Amazing Fan-Man! (4 pages), one of Main's favorites that only survived in a roughly printed copy. Kevin Duncan created new originals for the adventure, capturing as much of Snyder's original as possible.

Bill The Cockroach (2 pages) by Henry Gustavson, reprints nine episodes of the webcomic. Gustavson's comic strip is nicely rendered and I love his approach of an overall storyline supported by "daily" gags.

Sniper (10 pages) by Ken Anthony and Tony Lorenz is an origin story about a former gang member and Vietnam veteran.

This issue of *PPFSZT! provides a nice collection of comics and stories, with Main's tribute to Rod Snyder, Dan Burke's Annoying Heroes, and Troy Boyle's contributions among the highlights. Main Enterprises.

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Zig Zag #2 by J. Chris Campbell

Sept. 2011, AdHouse Books
48 1C pages, plus color cover
6.5" x 9.25", with saddle stitch binding
$4.95 from AdHouse Books

Here's a great collection of off-kilter comix by talented cartoonist J. Chris Campbell. AdHouse Books wraps his wacky world in a beautifully produced package that's nice to hold and read. My only complaint is that the contrast of the sepia-toned interior pages could've been cranked up a little on a few of the strips.

The stories in Zig Zag #2 don't always begin with a splash page and boldly lettered titles. The narrative just transitions from one adventure to another. The issue begins with a tense encounter between an up-ended turtle and a frickin' polar bear.

Attic Bugs is the book's longest story, and the cover depicts one of the dangers the two quarrelsome bug buddies encounter: the mysterious Santee Keep woods.

Next a fireman, a clown and a moth discuss tattoos, collections and costumes. It's a deadpan sequence that serves up some choice quips of wry humor and creates a calm beat between the ealier bug action and what's coming.

What's coming is Lewis. Lewis has time or space issues. Or maybe both. Anyway, he's messed up big time and his problems only get worse with every panel.

Meanwhile, down at the office where the real business gets done, we're privy to a session of executive thinking. These dudes are corporate crackerjacks!

Which leads to some robotic gags, another glimpse into big biz, and then Campbell wraps things up with a couple of guys discussing air quality. Hopefully the excerpts here give you the flavor of Campbell's humor and art, but if not, there's a PDF preview available from AdHouse Books. All said, it's a wonderful comix, well worth the read.

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Front cover and inside back cover from The Attic #1

The Attic #1 edited by Jim Main

Fall 2011, Main Enterprises
Marc Haines, Production Manager
Scott McClung, cover artist (shown above)
Rick Limacher, inside front cover
John Lambert, inside back cover (shown above)
28 b&w pages, plus color cover
6.5" x 10.25" with saddle stitch binding, printed by ComiXpress
$3.99 postpaid in the US, from Main Enterprises

Taking its cue from a long line of horror anthologies, The Attic tops off the ancient manor of curious collector Sir Gregory Thorndyke. Our host, Allistair Grimsby recounts the tales behind the many strange and dubious collectables packed into the upstairs vault. The title's premise is nicely introduced in the debut issue's opening three pages by Jim Main and Jack Bertram with a few assists by Larry Johnson and Pete Fitzgerald.

The Axe of Modoo (6 pages) by Alan Limacher is an amalgamation of sword and sorcery, horror, and dinosaurs. The story is big on action and horrific danger.

Regret (8 pages) by Robert Sodaro (story) and Jack Bertram (art) is a sort of fable set in ancient Norway. The creative team packs a lot of story and detail into this nicely textured norse legend.

Cowbell (9 pages) by Rick Limacher is the book's most grisly entry. Town newcomer's Tim and his mom find way more than they bargained for in Fraser Creek. Truly creepy.

Incomplete (1 page) by Sam Gafford is a charming prose piece built on a dreamy premise. It's a nice closer for a pleasing debut of this new title from ME. Let's hope there are many more issues.

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Light Riot: Departure by Rio Aubry Taylor

Sept. 2011, published at the Center for Cartoon Studies
24 b&w pages, plus color cover
7.5" x 10" with saddle stitch binding
$4.50 postpaid in the US from Light Riot Store

Rio Aubry Taylor is a student and teacher's assistant at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. His debut, self-published comic is Light Riot: Departure, an imaginary auto-biographical account of one man's spiritual quest as he tries to deal with his earthly problems by escaping to the moon.

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Hitsville UK by John Riordan and Dan Cox

2011, Hitsville UK Comics
36 color pages, including the cover
6.5" x 10.25" with saddle-stitch binding, printed on glossy white stock
£3.50 (plus postage) from Hitsville UK Big Cartel

Welcome to the punk music scene, its record producers (Hitsville UK), bands and bars. Writer Cox ably introduces us to a large cast of nihilists and their gritty milieu. Torn between the outright rejection of the established music machine and their need for survival, Hitsville UK strikes a deal with the devil to sign three bands. Subplots abound as various hard luck cases try to deal with addiction, rejection, acceptance, and God-awful personal baggage.

Riordan's drawings contain this chaotic, uncontrollable world in tightly rendered panels that never escape their borders. Like windows that allow the reader a look inside without the danger of anything seeping out. I've always appreciated pages filled with content, and Cox and Riordan generously give their readers lots. Pages with 10 or 12 panels are common.

Riordan's coloring is as good as his drawings. Instead of going dark, he goes gaudy. The book is filled with rich, saturated color. Just like a comic book should, only on glossy paper, which makes the color even better.

The first outing of Hitsville UK is a promising setup, an introduction to its raucous world. Now that the series is well prepped for takeoff, let's see where it takes us.

You can read much of the comic online at Hitsville UK Comic and John Riordan Comics. For news see Riordan's Johnny Fighters blog.