Moses & Bean #4

Title: Moses & Bean
Issue: #4
Date: December, 2010
Publisher: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan
Writer: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan
Artist: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan

This is the "Animal Issue", and it prefaces each of its three stories with some helpful facts about the animal in question

First up is "Mole", about Bean's activities taking in and caring for wild animals. Well, more taking in, and less caring for. Bean might or might not learn a valuable lesson from this.

The second story involves the parents and rented goats.

Finally, there's a slightly creepy wordless (aside from the intro) story about termites.

Very effective art and good layouts in this minicomic. I like the characters , and the different kinds of interactions with the animals were fascinating. I learned a little bit from reading this too.

Rating: 7.5/10

Moses & Bean #2

Title: Moses & Bean
Issue: #2
Date: August, 2009
Publisher: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan
Writer: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan
Artist: Matt Bryan, Jeanie Bryan

Schoolyard drama and bullying experiences sometimes tend to blur because there is so much shared experience out there. It's the strength and weakness of these types of stories. They resonate with so many of us, but they can sometimes all begin to sound the same.

Matt and Jeanie Bryan's minicomic succeeds because there is some really original, quirky material to be found here. It's good to see, since there is a need to keep telling these stories. This issue centers on Moses, the first day of school, and the battle for acceptance (or just survival). It's well-told, and the art style does a nice job of conveying the isolation and alienation that so many kids feel in school.

Rating: 8/10