Zombie Romance's Live Drawing Mini Artzine #1

On the agenda: Comics purchased at MeCAF, comics from FCBD, and comics from the National Conference on Science Education. Plus the usual backlog. Trying to make a push to post every day to at least get through the books from these recent events.

With that in mind, here's a minicomic I got yesterday at MeCAF.

Title: Zombie Romance's Live Drawing Mini Artzine
Issue: 1
Publisher: Kristilyn Stevenson
Date: 2012
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Full-color folded quarter-sized collection of portraits of Boston-area musicians performing. The subjects include Courtney Swain, Gem Club, Gene Dante, Edrie Edrie, Mali Sastri, Vending Machetes, and Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band.

The portraits all represent performances that the artist attended in 2012, and the sketches were done live on-site.

This is a fun project, and an interesting slice of the Boston music scene. The vivid colors really bring the art to live.

Rating: 7/10

The Little Lake Monster Coloring Book

I crossed paths with Kristilyn Stevenson at a bunch of different events during the 2012 convention season. I believe I picked up this minicomic at the Maine Comic Arts Festival last spring up in Portland ME.

Title: The Little Lake Monster Coloring Book
Date: 2011
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Very cute quarter-sized minicomic featuring illustrations of Nessie and Champ with lots of hearts, stars, and bubbles.

No dialogue, but the artwork is adorable.

Rating: 7/10

Kristilyn's Burlesque Sketchbook Volume 1

Title: Kristilyn's Burlesque Sketchbook
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2012
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Twenty-page minicomic sketchbook based on Boston-area meetings of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art school. Dr. Sketchy is a recurring event where artists get together to sketch burlesque models.The sketches have are a nice juxtaposition of the burlesque style with Kristilyn's endearing and cute sketching technique.

Good artwork and a nice bit of local flavor as it features Boston-area performers.

Rating: 7/10

Southpaw Volume 3

I picked this one up at the Spring Zine Thing this past Sunday in Somerville MA. This was one of several zines and comics I traded for at that event.

Title: Southpaw
Issue: Volume 3
Date: September 2011
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Minicomic format sketchbook with short comics. Included in this volume is Bed Mermaid, which Kristilyn also released as a standalone minicomic.

The sketches give some nice insight into Kristilyn's art style, but the feature I really dug was a three page "personal history of zines" that detailed Kristilyn's involvement with zines from the beginning.

There is also a cute cat comic strip (of course!). And the zone ends with a handy annotated fashion sketch.

Rating: 7.5/10

Love Letters to Tokyo from Boston

Queen City Kamikaze was a fun show, and I have a couple of comics to feature from artists who were on hand.

Title: Love Letters to Tokyo from Boston
Date: August, 2008
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

This minicomic collects a series of poetic comics inspired by writer/artist Kristilyn's time living in a small Boston apartment in 2003-2004.

The writing is simple free-verse that suggests haiku, and is nicely loaded with meaning in every word. The first story is a brief scene that takes place at the end of three days of falling snow. The second story involves a sleepless night spent after watching Dawn of the Dead with only a cat for company. The third is a reflection on a freckle and a memory.

Kristilyn's illustration style compliments the simplicity and the emotion of her words. This was touching and fun.

Rating: 8/10

Bed Mermaid

I think I need a break from DC. Fortunately, I just found a bag of comics I picked up at the Maine Comic Arts Festival.

Title: Bed Mermaid
Date: 2010
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Two-page (plus covers) minicomic freebie from Kristilyn for Free Comic Book Day 2010

A girl and her cat undergo a strange transformation while they sleep. This is more of a vignette than a story, but Kristilyn does a nice job of presenting the metamorphosis in a series of tiny panels. Her character's facial expressions are adorable, and the cat is also very cute.

Nice dreamlike vibe to this one.

Rating: 7/10

Science Project Gone Wrong

Here's another minicomic I picked up from an artist I met at ConnectiCon.

Title: Science Project Gone Wrong
Date: 2011
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Fifteen year old scientist Maddy grows her cat, Dark Matter, to giant-size. What do you do with a giant cat? Lots of things, it turns out. I particularly liked racing the bus.

Then she sets out to breed a giant carnivorous plant. Things don't go quite as planned, and she ends up with a giant herbivorous plant.

This is a very cute minicomic with a whimsical art style and a fun lead character.

Rating: 7.5/10