Awakening Comics #1

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Awakening Comics
Issue: 1
Date: Summer, 1997
Publisher: Awakening Comics
Writer: Steve Peters
Artist: Steve Peters, Doug Sheaff, Dave Sim, Paul Pope, Mark Oakley, Matt Feazell, Scott Roberts, Steve Remen, Greg Hyland, Joe Chiappetta, Rick Veitch, James Kochalka, Sam Henderson, Oscar Stern, Rob Walton, Jimmy Gownley, David Nowell

This is an anthology comic that is mostly Steve Peters' solo work, but also includes a jam scection featuring a big cast of guest artists.

The stories cover a range of mystical and surreal topics, including a dreamer visiting an island and joining a battle against invading lobsters, a Hindu afterlife tale that takes a turn in the Norse direction, and a discussion of a long-abandoned roleplaying game campaign.

There is also an alternate dimension of super-powered kids, and a man trapped in a Circus of Heaven.

These were all prtetty interesting, and I especially enjoyed the discussion of what happens to the gaming worlds we invent after we stop playing.

The jam segment in Circus of Heaven was a bit choppy, but that is the nature of jams, and it featured a pretty stellar list of contributors.

Rating: 8.5/10

Runner's Paradox

I was doing really well with having my daily comic review be well, nearly daily since January, but I've now gone about two weeks without a review as real life got somewhat in the way. Getting myself back on track here.

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Runner's Paradox
Date: December, 2007
Publisher: Awakening Comics
Writer: Steve Peters
Artist: Steve Peters, Ray Millers, Bryan Wilkinson, Scott Elyard, Michael Jaecks, Will Jones

This comic is a companion piece to Steve Peters' musical album, Paradox, with each chapter of the comic corresponding to one of the songs, and the song lyrics appearing between the panels of the story. All of the contributors to this issue are members of Micropolis Embassy, a Micronauts toy collecting group, and there is some Micronauts-themed influence in some of the extra artwork that appears throughout the book.

Runner, a fox, is tasked with defending a lonely stretch of desert road from ghosts that menace passing truckers. A small sailback dinosaur named Caesar is his faithful companion, and he has occasional visits from a flirtatious fairy, an angelic muse, and the robot beings who assigned him to his lonely version of purgatory.

Much of his musing are spent on his unrequited love for Mel, one of the truck drivers who travels the nearby road.

He also meets the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and Marilyn Monroe, and is (briefly) beamed aboard a passing starship.

This story had a lot going on, and some of the bits felt like they could have been expanded on. All in all, though, it was full of surreal surprises, and a lot of introspection. Runner is an interesting character who genuinely tries to do good, deals with a  really difficult situation, and sometimes has to deal with the consequences of his own bad decisions.

The use of lyrics worked well, and symbolic elements have good interplay with the plot of the story.

Rating: 8/10

An Invitation to the World of Luisa Felix, Cartoonist

A book I picked up at last year's MECAF convention in Portland ME.

Title: An Invitation to the World of Luisa Felix, Cartoonist
Date: 2013
Publisher: Drowned Town Press
Editor: E.J. Barnes, Paul Curtis
Artist: Louisa Felix, E.J. Barnes, Natalie Ewert, Larry Blake, Steve Peters, Keith O'Brien, Michele Witchipoo, Frank Humphris, Eric Jensen, Paul Curtis

Hoboken NJ cartoonist Louisa Felix was active in the small press and comics APA scene more than four decades, writing and drawing comics and comic strips in a range of genres from funny animals and gag strips to film noir and horror stories.

This tribute collection shows of the range of her work, and includes concept sketches and roughs, along with finished comics, and tributes by other small-press comic artists working with characters that Ms. Felix created.

I loved the classic old-Hollywood feel of her work, with an art style that evokes Betty Boop and classic Popeye cartoons. The stories are fun, and her technique of inventing a cast of actors in a Hollywood meta-story and then "casting" them into her cartoons was a very clever way of creating a coherent comic book universe involving such a wide range of stories.

This is very obviously a heartfelt tribute, and is was delightful to discover Louisa Felix's work through this collection.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Comicverse: Free Comic Book Day

Title: The Comicverse: Free Comic Book Day
Date: 2011
Publisher: Awakening Comics
By: Bianca Alu-Marr, Steve Peters

Minicomic freebie promoting the Comicverse webcomic.

The setting is a comic book store located aboard a space station with convenient access to three wormholes. Shopkeeper Rei runs the place along with a dragon named Ying and a surly AI that operated their comic-replicating machine. The machine can access produce the perfect comic to suit the needs of any customer as long as it can get over its own bad attitude.

Fortunately, space pilot Aki knows how to sweet-talk the machine into getting an issue of Tank Girl. She's new to comics, but Rei and Ying are both hoping she'll stick around.

Good start to this humorous geeky romance. The setting (particularly the shop's ability to access any comic ever published) allows the writers to mix space opera with humor based on current geeky topics fairly smoothly. The characters are all likable, especially Aki, who steals the show as the non-fan who's willing to give comics a try.

Backup story covers Free Comic Book Day aboard the station and name-drops a bunch of the FCBD 2011 offerings.

This was an effective promotional piece for the webcomic and was entertaining on its own.

Rating: 7.5/10