Red Bird Comics #1

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics by way of the SPACE convention.

Title: Red Bird Comics
Issue: 1
Publisher: Dimestore Productions
Date: April 2009
Writer: Madison Shires, Ally N., Kaitlyn R., Hanna M., Ben B.
Artist: Madison Shires, Ally N., Kaitlyn R., Hanna M., Ben B.
Editor: Ian Shires

This is a minicomic anthology that grew out of a comic workshop run by Ian Shires for his daughter's elementary class. The short stories by young creators include football rivalries, a family of lost birds, and time travel (complete with a T-Rex!).

Cute, fun, and heartwarming to see kids encouraged to make comics!

Rating: 8/10

The Belles of Ball Point

From the random stack of unread comics. I'm pretty sure I picked this one up in Columbus at SPACE, but I'm not sure what year.

Title: The Belles of Ball Point
Publisher: Fridge-Mag
Writer: Suzanne Baumann
Artist: Suzanne Baumann

What's the biggest thing I've reviewed on this blog? It's Jeff Smith's Complete Bone, reviewed here.

But now let's talk about the smallest thing I've reviewed. That prize goes to this micro-minicomic, along with its companion piece The Birds of Ball Point (reviewed here).

This tiny collection of portraits presents six notable ladies of Ball Point (plus the cover illustrations), in a whimsical art style with a hint of political satire (Pat Riotact!).

Suzanne Baumann's work is always a lot of fun, and this was a very cute item presentation of a nice collection of sketches.

Rating: 7/10

Slice With Dice Part The First

The reviewing marathon continues. Looking through the random stack of unread comics, I discovered one duplicate, IDW's Beowulf Comicon Promo, which I have previously reviewed here. So with that one moved to the finished stack, I'll have ten to go after this review. This one comes to me by way of the SPACE (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo.

Title: Slice With Dice
Issue: Part the First
Publisher: Killjoy Comics
Date: 2008
Writer: DOC
Artist: DOC

Twelve-page photocopied minicomic featuring a group of adventurers attempting to ambush a party of gnolls. The starts well for the good guys, but things soon go awry.

The action is all very D&D-based, even more so when the break-the-fourth-wall final page is considered.

The art is hurt somewhat by the printing process, but it's still a good fight scene with enough hints in the interactions between the characters to suggest more character development in future stories.

Rating: 6/10

Lackluster World #5

Another item from the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Lackluster World
Issue: 5
Publisher: Generation Eric Publishing
Date: February 2008
Writer: Eric Adams
Artist: Eric Adams

My wife and I have been following Eric Adams' work since we met him at our first time attending  SPACE., the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo, in Columbus OH. We got this issue at SPACE 2008.

This is the fifth issue in Eric Adams' saga about a young man named Fahrenheit (his siblings are names Celsius and Kelvin). This issue is almost entirely a flashback to Fahrenheit's childhood, dealing with abuse from his older brother and a bullying environment at school. It's heartbreaking, and there are some unexpected details and moments, as well as some insights into the characters that are central to the story as we get to see them as children.

This was powerful storytelling, and the artwork did an effective job of bringing out the emotional impact of the story.

Trigger warning for animal abuse (a necessary part of the story, and certainly not glorified, but still disturbing).

Rating: 8/10

The Adventures of Marky #2

Today I read the 2008 Free Comic Book Day offering from, Virgin Comics, Dan Dare / The Stranded / Ramayan 3392AD Reloaded, only to realize I had previously read and reviewed it. One less comic to review in the stack! You can read that review which I wrote in 2011 here.  So back to the random stack of unread comics for this minicomic. I picked this up at SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) 2008 in Columbus OH.

Title: The Adventures of Marky
Issue: 2
Publisher: Dimestore Productions
Date: March 2008
Writer: Madison Shires, Ian Shires
Artist: Madison Shires, Ian Shires
Back Cover Art: Dan Taylor

Cute minicomic by a young artist (Madison Shires did this book at age 7).

It's Valentines Day, so Marky is dressed to impress (with a slight resemblance to Mr. Potato Head). He's determined to explain Valentines Day to his friends, Fred and Mary, and he's also got a special plan involving a secret message in a bottle.

Cute stuff.

Rating: 7/10

 

The Death of Antisocialman Chapter 12 Preview Pages

A minicomic promo item from Matt Feazell, which I probably got at one of the SPACE conventions in Columbus OH.

Title: The Death of Antisocialman Chapter 12 Preview Pages
Date: 2007
Publisher: Not Available Comics
Writer: Matt Feazell, Walt Lockley
Artist: Matt Feazell, Walt Lockley

This is a four-page half-sized promotional minicomic previewing the long-awaited chapter 12 of The Death of Antisocialman by Matt Feazell and Walt Lockley.

Most of the panels presented here center on a frantic chase to get to the Obnoxico Corporation's company picnic. There is lots of bad driving, a truck floating down a river, and a map of Qatar, which is decidedly unhelpful.

Some of the individual panels are pretty amusing. I didn't get much sense of the characters from this preview, and only a pretty minimal idea of the plot. Since I'm familiar with Feazell's work, I know the kind of humor to expect, and this left me interested in checking out the full story. I feel like it might be a less effective promotional book for people who have yet to be introduced to the Cynicalman universe.

Rating: 5.5/10

The Amazing Cynicalman #20

From the random pile of unread comics. Probably acquired at the SPACE convention in Columbus OH.

Title: The Amazing Cynicalman
Issue: #20
Date: February, 2008
Publisher: Not Available Comics
Writer: Matt Feazell
Artist: Matt Feazell

I loved the inside cover artwork on this minicomic, depicting the World Headquarters of Not Available Comics in Hamtramck MI.

For those not familiar, Matt Feazell does stick-figure minicomics, usually quarter-sized (as this issue is) featuring a whole cast of characters including Cynicalman, Cute Girl, and in this issue, Robot Lincoln.

Robot Lincoln attempts to boost his reputation by taking up modern art. Cynicalman deals with a home warranty phone scammer. President Bush hand-delivers an economic stimulus package. And my favorite bit in this issue: a want-ad for a cartoon character.

Some of the jokes were a bit obvious, but this is part of the fun with Cynicalman. The artwork is entertaining, with a very wide range of actions and characters, despite the limitations of working with stick figures.

This was good for a few laughs.

Rating: 6/10

Truth Or Consequences #0

Another find from the 2013 SPACE convention.

Title: Truth or Consequences
Issue: #0
Publisher: Torc Press
Date: 2013
Writer: Joseph Morris
Artist: Joseph Morris

Three rather surreal superhero stories make up this standard-comic-format volume. Up first is "Mango-Habanero", in which Dr. Dream gives Octopus Jones some much needed assistance in defeating a toxic sludge monster. There is also another monster whose only dialogue is to repeat the word "Goat!" throughout the story. Which is actually pretty awesome.

Goat!

See what I mean?

The second story is a Jack Kirby style epic cosmic battle featuring Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy the Penguin in their cosmic incarnations taking on a Nullaphon.

And finally, an introductory sequence set at an intergalactic burger joint introduces an impressive-looking and mysterious new cosmic being.

The artwork had a few moments where it was difficult to figure out exactly what was happening in the action, but I liked the wacky surreal feel to these cosmic adventures. The pacing was good and the characters were intriguing.

Goat!

Rating: 7/10

Identity Issues

Here's an autobiographical 24-hour minicomic that we picked up at the SPACE convention in Columbus OH.

Title: Identity Issues
Publisher: Canada Keck
Date: 2011
Writer: Canada Keck
Artist: Canada Keck

Minicomic created for 24-Hour Comic Day 2011.

When a new piece of software shows up at work promising "Identity Management", the narrator takes us on a trip back through her own identity issues.

Using Erik Erikson's theories as a framework, the author explores the different identities she created for herself in high school, college, and as a mother. The simple pen and ink art style and one-panel-per-page format work well to convey the story, and there were some cute touches of humor.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Birds of Ball Point

And now for a small something that we picked up at SPACE 2013 in Columbus OH.

Title: The Birds of Ball Point
Date: 2012
Publisher: Fridge-Mag
Writer: Suzanne Baumann
Artist: Suzanne Baumann

When I say that a minicomic is quarter-sized, what I typically mean is that it is the size of 1/4 of an 8x11 sheet of paper.

In the case of this micro-mini, we have a comic that is approximately the size of a quarter.

This "doodlecraft" features a selection of fanciful bird sketches for imaginary species like the Sullen Mudfoot and the Golden Wetwee. The art style a cute cartoony look that is reminiscent of the Angry Birds game.

I always love how Suzanne Baumann stretches the definition of what a comic is, and this is just one "small" (and adorable!) example of the type of work that she does.

Rating: 7.5/10

Even the Deformed Stub Their Toe

Unfortunately, during the hiatus the to-be-read pile has gotten pretty disorganized. I believe that this is one that my wife brought home from the SPACE convention in Columbus OH.

Title: Even the Deformed Stub Their Toe
Publisher: Pedophobic Records
Date: 2013
Writer: Mike B.
Artist: Mike B.

Quarter-sized minicomic credited to Mike B. The illustrations are one-per-page with accompanying text.

This is essentially an illustrated poem, accompanied by a set of drawings of bizarre and stylized body parts and organs. The artwork is an effective accompaniment to the words, and the whole thing does a nice job of being creepy and disturbing.

Rating: 7/10