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The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010
Rich's SPX Reviews
SPX reviews
This year’s Small Press Expo was good. The new location had the entire show in a single room, which was probably a lot better for the exhibitors. There was also an outdoor terrace across the hall from the exhibition floor where people could go to relax, which was really nice. Not as great a selection of restaurants near the hotel, but I didn't get a chance to go exploring – I had dinner with friends in a Japanese/Chinese place (which was the choice of a lot of other con-goers, too, I think). The enthusiasm for the show was at its usual high level, but the overall atmosphere didn't have the same level of star-power buzz as in past years. I stressed myself out a bit trying to get some good interviews, but I got some noteworthy material – check the Newsarama Blog in the coming days for my interviews (the first of which, with Scott McCloud, is already up). I lost a bag half full of comics, though, which sucks because I had a couple of graphic novels in them that I really wanted to read. Oh well…
The Book of Boy Trouble
by various
Green Candy Press, $15
A collection of greatest hits and new material from the 90’s queer series Boy Trouble, mostly featuring stories about young gay men in and out of relationships and various sexual escapades. Reading these stories all at once, it’s easy to perceive this era of the independent comics movement as a vibrant and active one. There’s a tendency to think of 80’s-90’s gay comics as only Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel, so it’s really cool to see so much activity from the same period by a variety of cartoonists. Common themes: the mysteries between lovers and potential lovers, waiting to be explored; conceptions and misconceptions of what the perfect lover should be – and rarely ever is; words and the lack of same and how they sometimes fail. B
Polly and the Pirates
by Ted Naifeh
Oni, $11.95
Prim and proper boarding school girl gets used as a pawn by rival pirate crews searching for a legendary pirate’s booty, believing her to be the fabled buccaneer’s progeny. Yet another winner from the creator of the Courtney Crumrin series of books. Like Courtney, Polly is a distinctive personality who has her share of negative traits as well as positive ones, and Ted Naifeh is not afraid to show them. A large cast keeps the story lively, and almost everyone gets their moment. Polly’s transition from dull schoolgirl to bold swashbuckler is a bit sudden, but it’s something that is at least noticed by other characters in the story. Naifeh’s beautiful linework continues to impress – the pirate ships look gorgeous, as does the city of St. Helvetia. A-
The Pirates of Coney Island #1
by Rick Spears & Vasilis Lolos
Image, $2.99
Amidst the boardwalk and the mean streets of Coney Island, runaways, girl gangs, bookies and assassins cross paths, with the mysterious title characters waiting in the wings. This first issue of this new mini-series from Teenagers From Mars’ Rick Spears is all set-up and atmosphere. The Pirates don’t actually appear in it – or at least if they do, they’re not clearly identified as such – and as a result they almost seem like an afterthought in their own book. If the Pirates are such important characters, their presence should’ve been felt more. Except for one page where we get to see Astroland (including the world-famous Cyclone), the art looked as if this could’ve been set in any coastal city. It didn’t really feel like New York, much less Brooklyn. I’m sure there’s a good story waiting to unfold here, but at this stage it’s still a bit too early to tell for certain. B-
Something So Familiar
by Alex Cahill
New Radio Comics, $4
Ordinary Joe who suffers a tragedy gives in to his despair, only to make an unusual discovery. Xeric Grant winner Alex Cahill takes the silent treatment with this story; the only words are part of newspaper headlines and billboards and things like that. The art is quite direct and easy to follow. I especially liked the sequence where John is surrounded by nothing but “happy talk,” as symbolized by the word balloons with the almost sinister-looking smiley face. The opening sequence is nice as well; the moments leading up to the death of John’s family is juxtaposed with a slow zoom in on a certain bedroom in a certain apartment. The only nitpick is that laying them across side by side the way Cahill does, there’s a tendency on the reader’s part to want to read the sequence from top to bottom (A-A-A-B-B-B) instead of left to right (A-B-A-B-A-B). The ambiguous ending adds the perfect touch, leaving at exactly the right moment. B+
The 3 Geeks: Jim’s Jerky
by Rich Koslowski
3 Finger Press, $2
Circus Peanut
by Fredo with Vanessa Vandenburg and Phil Legris
Post Apocalyptic Funhouse, no price listed
Jerky: New one-shot featuring Rich Koslowski’s long-running 3 Geeks characters in which Jim concocts a new brand of beef jerky. Peanut: An anthology of stories, mostly autobiographical. The common denominator for these two mini-comics is a rather unusual promotional tie-in: both comics come with food! If you can call it such, anyway: the former comes with a small piece of the titular jerky, the latter with a “Circus Peanut” candy.
I’ve never been a big fan of Koslowski’s 3 Geeks comics and strips (I greatly prefer his graphic novels). I liked the book at first, but the joke of these three stereotypes quickly wore thin on me. So I was pleased to see that he’s moved them away from their four-color superhero world, however slightly, and added some much-needed dimension to their characters, as well as a bigger supporting cast. I liked the idea of Jim using comics to barter for the ingredients he needs. Still, none of it comes across as all that funny. I hate, hate, HATE the way Koslowski takes established brand names of products and misspells them slightly so that they become “original” yet still recognizable. If he’d make up truly original names this world of his would feel a little more believable. Still, Jerky gets some points for decent art and good coloring and production. And you’ve got to love the idea of selling this with an actual piece of jerky – which I found quite tasty and spicy.
The autobiographical stories in Peanut left a bigger impression on me than the fictional ones, though all the material in this comic is pretty good. Artwork has elements of Dave Cooper and Bob Fingerman to it – very bold ink line. As for the candy, well, given what it’s compared to in the story “Circus Peanut,” I was considerably reluctant to actually eat it, but I took a bite – and they’re as unappealing to me now as they were when I was a kid. I’m sure it’s pure sugar and assorted chemical byproducts anyway. Yuck.
Jerky the comic: C; the actual beef jerky: A; Peanut the comic: B, the actual Circus Peanut: D
Power of 6 #1
by Jon Lewis
Alternative, $4.95
Doom Patrol-like superhero team recruits their newest member, who inadvertently makes a mess of things on his first day. Doesn’t suck, but it kinda felt like it was weird for the sake of being weird. It doesn’t have the complexity of David Yurkovich’s Less Than Heroes or the light humor of Andi Watson’s Love Fights. The art is the saving grace. Nice clean line that conjures up some clever images, though there were too many empty backgrounds. Maybe the second half will be more interesting. B-
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Rich Watson, well-traveled comics columnist, looks at a wide variety of comics and comics news.
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Friday, February 8, 2008
• The End.
So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehen. Good night.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
• Closing time
You don't have to go home...
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
• Oni resurrects letters columns
Resurrection series features letter-writing contest
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
• And... we're back
With Red 5 info
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
• Happy Thanksgiving!
From aka Comics and Comic World News
• Happy Birthday, COMICRAFT!
Lettering powerhouse and CWN sponsor turns 15
Monday, November 19, 2007
• Surrogates movie ready to start production
Bruce Willis to star
More >>
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February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain