Plain Toast Morning

I am pretty heavily backlogged right now, with comics still to review from four recent shows, and Free Comic Book Day and the South Coast Toy and Comic Show only a couple of days away. I'm going to continue to pull comics pretty much at random from these recent finds for a while. This is a minicomic I picked up at the Spring Zine Thing.

Title: Plain Toast Morning
Date: 2012
Publisher: Hilliard
Writer: John Hilliard
Artist: John Hilliard

John Hilliard's Tumblr webcomic is done primarily in the form of one-panel gag strips, and this minicomic features a nice variety of the cartoons. Hilliard covers a range of geeky topics. There are Sesame Street, Inspector Gadget, Batman, and Star Trek jokes here. A couple of the comics have a bit of a Gary Larson feel to them.

But his relationship-based cartoons are the ones that really stand out here. Hilliard takes a humble and lighthearted approach to the triumphs, frustrations, and little embarrassments of dating. These little scenes are heartfelt even when cringe-worthy, and they are where Plain Toast Morning really finds its voice.

Rating: 7.5/10

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