Whatcha Readin'? 5/22/05
May. 22nd, 2005 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrier
Catching up on a couple months' worth of stuff here, plus my haul from SPACE, so excuse the quickie comments:
ADAM STRANGE #7-8: A very neat little space opera yarn. A few too many gratuitous guest-stars, and the last-minute "cliffhanger" that ties into the big crossover whatsis is completely unnecessary, but overall it hangs together really well.
"It's time to show these death-loving fascists what the men of Rann are made of!"
ART OF TONY: One-panel gags by Tony Brandl. Lots of polical/social humor. Great stuff.
"My God can beat up your God."
ASTONISHING X-MEN #10: A clever set-up, but feels a bit padded. Loved it when Colossus used Emma for the "fastball special".
"Systems 74% functional. Options: Ow."
ATTIC WIT: A thick anthology with a clever conceit: Each contributor did both a "Heaven"-themed story and a "Hell" one. There's a couple of clunkers, but mostly its solid stuff.
"D'ah welcum ye... bleshid chirrun... we're havvin' sum t'nickle difficulteesh."
BATMAN - DARK DETECTIVE: Wow, Batman who's halfway admirable and likeable? And gets laid? Doesn't Englehart know that superheroes are supposed to be unending dysfunction and misery? What's he trying to do, be entertaining or something? It'll never catch on.
"By the way, you're covered in ketchup."
CHRISTIANMAN: I can't even tell if Aaron Trudgeon means this to be serious or not... it's like some cross between a '70s superhero comic, a Jack Chick tract, and an old episode of "Kung Fu". It's pretty darned interesting, at any rate, and nicely drawn by Larry Blake.
"This panel is closed. For what has been said, will be sealed until the very time of the end!"
http://www.nofunfilms.com
CONCRETE - THE HUMAN DILEMMA: Holy shit. Things get bad. Then they get worse. Then, um, worser. Then they achieve some state even worse than "worstest". I have no idea where Chadwick is going with all this, but I can't wait to find out.
"Well, you certainly got off-message that time."
CORNELIA CARTOONZ: Kel Crum's vicious and hilarious social commentary.
"The sexual acts highlighted in gold I'm willing to perform to get Cornelia's job back, the acts in orange I'll do for a health plan and the items in red are for dental."
DOPE FIENDS OF THE ZOMBIE CAFE: A loving tribute to grade-Z horror and "youth gone wild" movies. Totally over the top and great fun.
"Ha ha. Science is gross, yes."
http://www.hulacatcomics.com
FLAME BROILED: The art's pretty crap, but there's some funny bits here about reality tv, relgion, etc. By Matt H. and Nik M.
"Conan - all I can say is that it was a night of bliss for both of us (and the parakeet)."
FLAMING CARROT #2: Bob Burden is strangely predictable in his unpredictability -- this is the kind of absurdist, non-sequitur humor that you either love or hate. I dig it, and it's great to see the Carrot back in classic form.
"But... I like bubble wrap."
http://www.flamingcarrot.com
FREEDOM FORCE #4-5: Some of these story threads could use a little more space to breathe, but it is kind of refreshing to see a superhero comic that errs on the side of over-compression. I dunno if anyone who hasn't played the game could make any sense of it, though.
"Diablo, less cryin', more flyin'."
FREE PULP: Bizarre and stylishly-drawn strips by Kyle Strahm. "March of 10,000 Undead Gabors" is just brilliant.
"Fook!"
http://www.voidpulp.com
FROM THE DESK OF BUSINESS CHIMP: Typical office humor by Sean Bieri, made better by the inclusion of chimpanzees. Chimps make everything funnier.
"Business Chimp is out of personal days."
THE GOON #12: The Goon and Frankie kick much ass. Of course, that description fits just about every issue, but this time it's an especially good ass-kicking. Plus, a cliffhanger!
"Send me another. That one was a tulip!"
HAPPY TOWN: There's some interesting stuff going on here, sort of a "magical realism" approach, but I had a lot of trouble following the story. The highly stylized way the characters are drawn make it hard to tell them apart. Worth a look. By Justin Madson.
"This boy's wound is infected with pure evil."
H.O.P.E.: Robert Upton's take on a Marvel-style superhero team, heavy on the soap opera angst. It's almost painfully earnest in spots, and the art is a bit rough, but it has a strange sort of charm to it.
"Evil Cloak, you insufferable snot rag, I am the Mistress of Mind Games!"
KLARION #1: Gorgeous and creepy and just all-around awesome. I'm really loving these 7 Soldiers books.
"It's the sort of work I'm sure I'd find very rewarding."
LITTLE FRANK: The usually-raunchy and cynical Jim Coon switches things up with this heartwarming little fairy tale. Love the crayon-colored front cover.
"I could have sworn I had sewn a smile on this doll's face."
http://www.ebg.bizhosting.com
LUNCH HOUR COMIX: Short autobio strips by Robert Ullman. Slickly drawn and very funny.
"Was it altruism, or just the fear of looking like a shit?"
http://www.lurid.com
MAGNET MAN SPACE EXCLUSIVE COMIC '05: Brien Powell's wannabe-superheroes end up at the wrong "space" convention. Hilarity ensues.
"That's not flying! You just jumped!"
http://www.ed4time.com/magnetman
MANHATTAN GUARDIAN #2: A wild ride, though the Guardian himself is kind of overshadowed by the battle between All-Beard and No-Beard. I could read a whole series about the Subway Pirates, they're cool.
"We ain't animals, Mister Super-Police. We's all people just like you."
MIRACLE FORCE PREVIEW: Jerry Smith's brilliant, surreal superhero strip, now with super-slick artwork by Terry Flippo. Definitely one to look forward to.
"If there's anything I hate worse than being force-fed, it's indecent behavior!"
http://skybot99.tripod.com/jerrysmithssmallpresscomics/
OZONE JONES: A cute pint-sized superhero by Michaelangelo Cicerone. Really outstanding artwork.
"Being a cartoon character, I always carry a baseball bat with me!"
http://www.ozonejones.com
PINK SKETCHBOOK - CHEESE: Girlie pin-ups by Robert Ullman and Jay Geldhof. Kinda steep at ten bucks, but it's a slick package (with several color pages), and the cartooning is top-notch.
http://www.adhousebooks.com
PLANET PEEZO: A cute gag about aliens in a bar by Suzanne Baumann.
"Just keep th' drinks comin' 'kay, babe?"
http://www.fridge-mag.net
FAMILY HERO: Adventures of a superhero couple and their teenaged son. Lots of fun, refreshingly angst-free.
"Oh snap!"
http://nightowl_studios.tripod.com
PLASTIC MAN #16: Pure cartoony goodness. Inspired lunacy. "Joe Chill III". Heh.
"That's societal pressure giving you a poor self-image."
PROJECT TELSTAR and PROJECT SUPERIOR: Outstanding anthologies, with various indy cartoonists working around a central theme (robots and superheroes, respectively). Some beautiful work here, too many highlights to mention.
"She'd always dress up in lingerie and make me act out scenes from 'Forbidden Planet'!"
"You've ground yourself down to a polished stone and worn out all your friends."
http://www.adhousebooks.com
POP ART: Beautiful pen-and-ink drawings of various celebrities by Wendi Strang-Frost.
http://www.sfpro.com
PSYCHOZORT: Larry Blake's one-man anthology. Fantasy, sci-fi, humor, and superheroes, all with a distinctive psychedelic flair.
"All our fears take shape in tears -- for the years that are yet to come."
THE QUESTION #5-6: A solid wrap-up to a very neat little series. This version of Vic Sage is a bit ruthless for my tastes, but the way he takes down the Subterraneans is cleverly done, and I love the treatment of Superman here. More, please.
"'Unblinded justice?!' Unnngh. That's worse than I remember!"
RANDOM ORDER COMICS: James West delivers clever fantasy strips in a Vaughn Bode-inspired style. Gorgeous stuff.
"We take care of our own here."
http://www.randomordercreations.com
RED SONJA #0: Not bad. It's one of those "hero seen through a bystander's eyes" stories, so we don't get much sense of Sonja's personality beyond her being a bad-ass. Fingers crossed that they'll be able to do something interesting with the character. Glad to see the classic chainmail bikini back.
"Second sight? Or just the normal kind?"
ROSETTA2: A solid anthology with a wide variety of styles. Matt Madden's cleverly-structured "U.S. Post Modern Office Homes Inc." is a particular highlight.
"Now Yahweh is lonely!"
THE SHADOW OF DRACULA #2: It's Dracula vs. The Mummy, what else do you need to know? Chuck Robinson's script plays things very straight, in the tradition of the old Universal monster movies, but Johnny Gonzales' cartoony art gives it a bit of a satirical feel. Great Saturday matinee fun.
"One must make do with what is available!"
http://groups.msn.com/HappyFaceProductions
SHINING KNIGHT #2: Lots of setting-up and character-introducing this issue, but it's interesting stuff, and damn is that artwork nice.
"Aw, holy %@$. Now I seen everything..."
SPX 2004: The "war is bad, mkay?" issue. There's some good contributions, but a lot of it is just whiny and trite. Love the Steve Lieber cover, with famous cartoon characters being ground under the treads of a tank.
"Come on... I buy you bad Romanian headache beer so you not bomb so straight!"
http://www.cbldf.com
STREET ANGEL: Jesse Sanchez is the greatest superhero ever, cuz she beats up ninjas with her skateboard. Nuff said.
"Thanks for the dime, Jesus."
http://www.streetangelcomics.com
STRANGEHAVEN #17: The mystical jazz and the more mundane soap-opera stuff both get cranked up a notch. Nice to see that asshole Charles finally get his, but you know it's not going to end well. Alex is totally being set-up by those witches.
"Jesus wept. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."
http://www.millidge.com
TEENAGERS FROM MARS: Rick Spears' and Rob G's story is all over the map - is it slice of life? Comedy? Horror? Macho action flick? You never know which way the story will twist, but it's fast-paced, gloriously messy, and brimming with life.
"Can I be in the Comic Book Army?"
http://www.giganticgraphicnovels.com
TWO BLOBS WAITING FOR THE BUS: Pretty much what it says. Takes a while getting to the punchline, but it's a pretty good payoff. Nice presentation with the colored paper. By Barry Rodges.
"Hey - check this out. Spinning plates."
(Still got some more minicomics to get through, plus PERSEPOLIS, MOTHER COME HOME, and OWLY. I'll try and post comments on those later.)
ADAM STRANGE #7-8: A very neat little space opera yarn. A few too many gratuitous guest-stars, and the last-minute "cliffhanger" that ties into the big crossover whatsis is completely unnecessary, but overall it hangs together really well.
"It's time to show these death-loving fascists what the men of Rann are made of!"
ART OF TONY: One-panel gags by Tony Brandl. Lots of polical/social humor. Great stuff.
"My God can beat up your God."
ASTONISHING X-MEN #10: A clever set-up, but feels a bit padded. Loved it when Colossus used Emma for the "fastball special".
"Systems 74% functional. Options: Ow."
ATTIC WIT: A thick anthology with a clever conceit: Each contributor did both a "Heaven"-themed story and a "Hell" one. There's a couple of clunkers, but mostly its solid stuff.
"D'ah welcum ye... bleshid chirrun... we're havvin' sum t'nickle difficulteesh."
BATMAN - DARK DETECTIVE: Wow, Batman who's halfway admirable and likeable? And gets laid? Doesn't Englehart know that superheroes are supposed to be unending dysfunction and misery? What's he trying to do, be entertaining or something? It'll never catch on.
"By the way, you're covered in ketchup."
CHRISTIANMAN: I can't even tell if Aaron Trudgeon means this to be serious or not... it's like some cross between a '70s superhero comic, a Jack Chick tract, and an old episode of "Kung Fu". It's pretty darned interesting, at any rate, and nicely drawn by Larry Blake.
"This panel is closed. For what has been said, will be sealed until the very time of the end!"
http://www.nofunfilms.com
CONCRETE - THE HUMAN DILEMMA: Holy shit. Things get bad. Then they get worse. Then, um, worser. Then they achieve some state even worse than "worstest". I have no idea where Chadwick is going with all this, but I can't wait to find out.
"Well, you certainly got off-message that time."
CORNELIA CARTOONZ: Kel Crum's vicious and hilarious social commentary.
"The sexual acts highlighted in gold I'm willing to perform to get Cornelia's job back, the acts in orange I'll do for a health plan and the items in red are for dental."
DOPE FIENDS OF THE ZOMBIE CAFE: A loving tribute to grade-Z horror and "youth gone wild" movies. Totally over the top and great fun.
"Ha ha. Science is gross, yes."
http://www.hulacatcomics.com
FLAME BROILED: The art's pretty crap, but there's some funny bits here about reality tv, relgion, etc. By Matt H. and Nik M.
"Conan - all I can say is that it was a night of bliss for both of us (and the parakeet)."
FLAMING CARROT #2: Bob Burden is strangely predictable in his unpredictability -- this is the kind of absurdist, non-sequitur humor that you either love or hate. I dig it, and it's great to see the Carrot back in classic form.
"But... I like bubble wrap."
http://www.flamingcarrot.com
FREEDOM FORCE #4-5: Some of these story threads could use a little more space to breathe, but it is kind of refreshing to see a superhero comic that errs on the side of over-compression. I dunno if anyone who hasn't played the game could make any sense of it, though.
"Diablo, less cryin', more flyin'."
FREE PULP: Bizarre and stylishly-drawn strips by Kyle Strahm. "March of 10,000 Undead Gabors" is just brilliant.
"Fook!"
http://www.voidpulp.com
FROM THE DESK OF BUSINESS CHIMP: Typical office humor by Sean Bieri, made better by the inclusion of chimpanzees. Chimps make everything funnier.
"Business Chimp is out of personal days."
THE GOON #12: The Goon and Frankie kick much ass. Of course, that description fits just about every issue, but this time it's an especially good ass-kicking. Plus, a cliffhanger!
"Send me another. That one was a tulip!"
HAPPY TOWN: There's some interesting stuff going on here, sort of a "magical realism" approach, but I had a lot of trouble following the story. The highly stylized way the characters are drawn make it hard to tell them apart. Worth a look. By Justin Madson.
"This boy's wound is infected with pure evil."
H.O.P.E.: Robert Upton's take on a Marvel-style superhero team, heavy on the soap opera angst. It's almost painfully earnest in spots, and the art is a bit rough, but it has a strange sort of charm to it.
"Evil Cloak, you insufferable snot rag, I am the Mistress of Mind Games!"
KLARION #1: Gorgeous and creepy and just all-around awesome. I'm really loving these 7 Soldiers books.
"It's the sort of work I'm sure I'd find very rewarding."
LITTLE FRANK: The usually-raunchy and cynical Jim Coon switches things up with this heartwarming little fairy tale. Love the crayon-colored front cover.
"I could have sworn I had sewn a smile on this doll's face."
http://www.ebg.bizhosting.com
LUNCH HOUR COMIX: Short autobio strips by Robert Ullman. Slickly drawn and very funny.
"Was it altruism, or just the fear of looking like a shit?"
http://www.lurid.com
MAGNET MAN SPACE EXCLUSIVE COMIC '05: Brien Powell's wannabe-superheroes end up at the wrong "space" convention. Hilarity ensues.
"That's not flying! You just jumped!"
http://www.ed4time.com/magnetman
MANHATTAN GUARDIAN #2: A wild ride, though the Guardian himself is kind of overshadowed by the battle between All-Beard and No-Beard. I could read a whole series about the Subway Pirates, they're cool.
"We ain't animals, Mister Super-Police. We's all people just like you."
MIRACLE FORCE PREVIEW: Jerry Smith's brilliant, surreal superhero strip, now with super-slick artwork by Terry Flippo. Definitely one to look forward to.
"If there's anything I hate worse than being force-fed, it's indecent behavior!"
http://skybot99.tripod.com/jerrysmithssmallpresscomics/
OZONE JONES: A cute pint-sized superhero by Michaelangelo Cicerone. Really outstanding artwork.
"Being a cartoon character, I always carry a baseball bat with me!"
http://www.ozonejones.com
PINK SKETCHBOOK - CHEESE: Girlie pin-ups by Robert Ullman and Jay Geldhof. Kinda steep at ten bucks, but it's a slick package (with several color pages), and the cartooning is top-notch.
http://www.adhousebooks.com
PLANET PEEZO: A cute gag about aliens in a bar by Suzanne Baumann.
"Just keep th' drinks comin' 'kay, babe?"
http://www.fridge-mag.net
FAMILY HERO: Adventures of a superhero couple and their teenaged son. Lots of fun, refreshingly angst-free.
"Oh snap!"
http://nightowl_studios.tripod.com
PLASTIC MAN #16: Pure cartoony goodness. Inspired lunacy. "Joe Chill III". Heh.
"That's societal pressure giving you a poor self-image."
PROJECT TELSTAR and PROJECT SUPERIOR: Outstanding anthologies, with various indy cartoonists working around a central theme (robots and superheroes, respectively). Some beautiful work here, too many highlights to mention.
"She'd always dress up in lingerie and make me act out scenes from 'Forbidden Planet'!"
"You've ground yourself down to a polished stone and worn out all your friends."
http://www.adhousebooks.com
POP ART: Beautiful pen-and-ink drawings of various celebrities by Wendi Strang-Frost.
http://www.sfpro.com
PSYCHOZORT: Larry Blake's one-man anthology. Fantasy, sci-fi, humor, and superheroes, all with a distinctive psychedelic flair.
"All our fears take shape in tears -- for the years that are yet to come."
THE QUESTION #5-6: A solid wrap-up to a very neat little series. This version of Vic Sage is a bit ruthless for my tastes, but the way he takes down the Subterraneans is cleverly done, and I love the treatment of Superman here. More, please.
"'Unblinded justice?!' Unnngh. That's worse than I remember!"
RANDOM ORDER COMICS: James West delivers clever fantasy strips in a Vaughn Bode-inspired style. Gorgeous stuff.
"We take care of our own here."
http://www.randomordercreations.com
RED SONJA #0: Not bad. It's one of those "hero seen through a bystander's eyes" stories, so we don't get much sense of Sonja's personality beyond her being a bad-ass. Fingers crossed that they'll be able to do something interesting with the character. Glad to see the classic chainmail bikini back.
"Second sight? Or just the normal kind?"
ROSETTA2: A solid anthology with a wide variety of styles. Matt Madden's cleverly-structured "U.S. Post Modern Office Homes Inc." is a particular highlight.
"Now Yahweh is lonely!"
THE SHADOW OF DRACULA #2: It's Dracula vs. The Mummy, what else do you need to know? Chuck Robinson's script plays things very straight, in the tradition of the old Universal monster movies, but Johnny Gonzales' cartoony art gives it a bit of a satirical feel. Great Saturday matinee fun.
"One must make do with what is available!"
http://groups.msn.com/HappyFaceProductions
SHINING KNIGHT #2: Lots of setting-up and character-introducing this issue, but it's interesting stuff, and damn is that artwork nice.
"Aw, holy %@$. Now I seen everything..."
SPX 2004: The "war is bad, mkay?" issue. There's some good contributions, but a lot of it is just whiny and trite. Love the Steve Lieber cover, with famous cartoon characters being ground under the treads of a tank.
"Come on... I buy you bad Romanian headache beer so you not bomb so straight!"
http://www.cbldf.com
STREET ANGEL: Jesse Sanchez is the greatest superhero ever, cuz she beats up ninjas with her skateboard. Nuff said.
"Thanks for the dime, Jesus."
http://www.streetangelcomics.com
STRANGEHAVEN #17: The mystical jazz and the more mundane soap-opera stuff both get cranked up a notch. Nice to see that asshole Charles finally get his, but you know it's not going to end well. Alex is totally being set-up by those witches.
"Jesus wept. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."
http://www.millidge.com
TEENAGERS FROM MARS: Rick Spears' and Rob G's story is all over the map - is it slice of life? Comedy? Horror? Macho action flick? You never know which way the story will twist, but it's fast-paced, gloriously messy, and brimming with life.
"Can I be in the Comic Book Army?"
http://www.giganticgraphicnovels.com
TWO BLOBS WAITING FOR THE BUS: Pretty much what it says. Takes a while getting to the punchline, but it's a pretty good payoff. Nice presentation with the colored paper. By Barry Rodges.
"Hey - check this out. Spinning plates."
(Still got some more minicomics to get through, plus PERSEPOLIS, MOTHER COME HOME, and OWLY. I'll try and post comments on those later.)
