Inbound #2

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Inbound
Issue: 2
Date: 2008
Publisher: Boston Comics Roundtable
Writer: Matthew Reidsma, Jason W. Salzarulo, Charles Schneeflock Snow, Kevin Kilgore, Rachel Maguire, Ron LeBrasseur, Jay Kennedy, Cathy Leamy, Justin Clibun
Artist: Matthew Reidsma, Shelli Paroline, Eric Haines, Kevin Kilgore, Rachel Maguire, Ron LeBrasseur, Jay Kennedy, Cathy Leamy
Editor: Dave Kender, Dan Mazur, Ron LeBrasseur, Shelli Paroline
Cover: Braden Lamb

Anthology from the Boston Comic Roundtable. Very nice collection with a good variety of stories, including a comic adaptation of Justin Clibun's true account of US soldiers in Iraq. There is a humorous science fiction story by Charles Schneeflock Snow and Eric Haines, as well as a silly tale of mad science called Too Many Robots by Ron LeBrasseur. Jay Kennedy and Matthew Reidsma each provide a different and unique examination of the superhero genre. There is also a very creepy dark fairy tale by Jason W. Salzarulo and Shelli Paroline, and one of Cathy Leamy's wonderfully quirky slice-of-life story, this one dealing with her sister living an alter-ego life. A wordless and surreal tale by Rachel Maguire rounds things out, along with a humorous fictional history of comics creators in Boston.

All of this was good, and I enjoyed the variety of styles represented here.

Rating: 8/10

Total L.A. Tot: A Palindramas Collection

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Total L.A. Tot: A Palindramas Collection
Publisher: Dan Mazur
Writer: Dan Mazur
Artist: Dan Mazur

This is a minicomic collection reprinting cartoons from Dan Mazur's Palindramas webcomic, which originally appeared on Webcomics Nation. No date given, but I believe this is from around 2005-2007 or so.

The premise is pretty straightforward: Mazur illustrates Palindromes. The results are quite amusing for anyone who enjoys a bit of good wordplay, and there are some fun sight gags incorporated into the illustrations.

I also enjoyed the couple of cameos by classic Universal Studios monster characters.

Rating: 7/10

The Million Year Picnic's Jam Comics From Free Comic Book Day 2011

Title: The Million Year Picnic's Jam Comics From Free Comic Book Day 2011
Date: 2011
Publisher: Million Year Picnic
Editor: Aya Rothwell
Contributors: EJ Barnes, Alex Firer, Jay Kennedy, Nathan Kitler, Laurel Leake, Dan Mazur, Aya Rothwell, Kristen Toohill, Andy Wong

This half-sized color minicomic is a collection of jam comics done at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA on Free Comic Book Day 2011. The comic are done in color markers, and are standard jams with each artist taking a panel as the page is passed around. Coherence is not necessarily an objective.

The group presents a lot of bizarre and surreal material while touching on themes that include fancy ballerinas, caterpillars in space, Superman renouncing his US citizenship, rogue teeth, berries, and a conqueror named Nern.

High-quality paper and production values make this a nicer package than the typical jam minicomic.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Way It Crumbles

Title: The Way It Crumbles
Publisher: Boston Comics Roundtable
Writer: Dan Mazur
Art: Dan Mazur

Half-sized minicomic that tells the sad tale of a down-and-out elf who once lived in a hollow tree and made cookies. Once the satirical elements are revealed it's easy to see where the story is going, but writer/artist Dan Mazur still manages to tug on the heart strings getting you there. The art is beautiful, especially in the final scene. This is a good bit of urban fantasy and a nice play on the traditional faerie tale structure.

Rating: 8/10