Cecil #1

Another minicomic that I bought over the summer at I bought last summer at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA during our visit home to the US.

Title: Cecil
Issue: 1
Date: 2015
Publisher: Jonathan Todd (Twitter @jonathanjtodd)
Writer: Jonathan Todd
Artist: Jonathan Todd

Set in a suburban Massachusetts middle school in 1987, this minicomic introduces Cecil Hall, a black 6th grader from Florida who is trying to find how he will fit in at his new, mostly-white school. First-up, the social hierarchy of the school cafeteria.

This was a brief introduction to the setting and characters, but Cecil's internal dialogue about race and social interactions in school was nuanced and thought-provoking. It does a good job of revealing the main character through small details and observations while introducing enough of the setting and supporting characters to make me want to see what happens next.

I will be on the lookout for more issues of this.

Rating: 7.5/10

All In The Family Part Two: Angel

I got this last summer at The Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA.

Content warning for child sexual abuse/rape.

Title: All In The Family
Issue: Part 2: Angel
Date: June, 2016
Publisher: LB Lee
Writer: LB Lee
Artist: LB Lee

LB Lee, a multiple system, tells a multilayered story of child sexual assault, repressed memories, family, and levels of consciousness in this powerful and disturbing minicomic.

This was my first introduction to LB Lee's work, so the introductory page with the profiles of their personalities was helpful, but it still took me a few pages in to really get my bearings.

The overall story focuses on the abuse they suffered, and on their struggles with family who are in denial. There is also a segment on their research into recovered memories, false memories, and some of the history and politics stemming from well-known cases.

Some of the memories brought to light here are horrific, interspersed with moments of comfort and hope.

The storytelling style uses a lot of recurring themes and imagery, with bits of theoretical musings about consciousness and the nature of reality, a layering of different realities that the comic itself replicates in places.

This story is definitely part of an ongoing journey, a painful one, but one powerfully told.

Rating: 9/10

Darth Vader and Son

This is what the Kiddo picked out on our recent visit to Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA.

Title: Darth Vader & Son
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Date: 2012
Writer: Jeffrey Brown
Artist: Jeffrey Brown

Star Wars: Episode Three-and-a-Half. This collection of charming cartoons imagines Lord Vader raising four-year-old Luke Skywalker. The kid has all of the expected quirks of a four-year-old, and he seems a bit hesitant about the whole dark-side thing.

Cartoons cover a bunch of classic parenting scenarios, but the real cleverness of this collection is the author's knack for slipping in bits of dialogue from the Star Wars films into those parenting situations. There are also guest appearances by characters and creatures from across the Star Wars galaxy.

By blatantly avoiding any attempt at canon or continuity, this book manages to use familiar characters and images in some really funny ways.

Both myself and the Kiddo were laughing all the way through.

Rating: 8.5

Alan Turing's Fairy Tales

We're officially back in the USA, with about a month before we're heading to China. As might be imagined, things have been busy. In the end, I managed to get the old unread comics stack down to five. Of course now, after a couple of weeks in the US, I've got a much bigger new unread comics stack. I've been to Newbury Comics in Hyannis MA a couple of times, and also had a chance to visit Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA. I've picked up a few items that I had ordered over the course of the school year and had shipped to my US address, and I've gotten a bunch of comics out of my storage unit.

This one comes from Million Year Picnic, an excellent indy/minicomic-friendly store in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge MA.

Title: Alan Turing's Fairy Tales
Publisher: Mehitabel Glenhaber
Writer: Mehitabel Glenhaber
Artist: Mehitabel Glenhaber

This minicomic envisions what bedtime fairy tales might have looked like through the eyes of Alan Turing. The concept is brilliant. How is Pinocchio going to proved that he is a real boy after all? Turing might just have a method for that!

Turing versions of several other classic fairy tales are also included.

My only problem with this book is that it rushed to cover multiple stories, where really I felt like there was enough good material to go at a slower pace. A whole series of these would be great!

Rating: 7/10

Adventures of Tintin Volume 1

I picked this up at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA, on my visit back to the US during the Summer. Vietnam seems to really love Tintin merchandise, which is sold extensively at souvenir shops in most major tourist areas.

Title: Adventures of Tintin
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Date: 1994
Writer: Herge
Artist: Herge

Vietnam, at least the touristy areas, has an odd fixation with Tintin merchandise, and I couldn't resist picking up a "Tintin in Vietnam" t-shirt on one of my first tourist ventures after relocating to Ho Chi Minh City for a job. I'm a lifelong comic reader, and knew of Herge's Tintin series, but had never actually read any of them. After a bit more research I found that there is not an actual Tintin in Vietnam story by Herge, so I decided to start reading with this volume, which is the first in the hardcover English-language reprint series.

It actually reprints the third, fourth, and fifth of the original Tintin stories. The original first two stories are controversial due to racist content and were not reprinted in this edition.

The physical quality of the book is great, and the color artwork is gorgeous, especially on Herge's depiction of locations, costume, and architecture. The small print size does make for a tradeoff with the convenient size of the hardcover edition.

The three stories in this volume are Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh, and The Blue Lotus. The first of these stands alone, and the others comprise a two-part story.

Tintin has been widely critiqued for it's racial stereotypes, and there is definitely validity to those critiques. The depiction of the Blackfoot tribe in Tintin in America managed to cram nearly every imaginable Native American stereotype into the space of a few pages. It was cringe-inducing. Depictions of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese characters, among others, also ply too stereotypes. Herge does include a pretty biting bit of satire about the US government's treatment of Native Americans, and he includes some clearly anti-racist ideas around a racist villain in The Blue Lotus, but even these moments still have a colonialist vibe about them.

The rest of Tintin in America basically involved Tintin, a "reporter" (he seldom seems to get around to actually writing any news stories) arriving in Chicago and being immediately targeted by Al Capone's mob, apparently because of his role in disrupting their overseas operations.

Herge's pacing is frenetic. Some writers would go for a life-or-death cliffhanger at the end of a page or a chapter. With Tintin, there is often a new cliffhanger every couple of panels. A lot of the action is played for laughs, with Tintin often escaping through strokes of ridiculous good luck. There is some funny humor along with some awkward slapstick. The adventures and settings have an undeniably fun flavor that fits in nicely with today's dieselpunk while keeping the innocent feel of Golden-Age commics.

Tintin himself is likable, though lacking in depth or background. His most prominent personality trait is his loyalty to his dog, Snowy. Snowy, meanwhile, breaks the fourth wall with his somewhat snarky commentary directed at the reader.

The supporting cast are mostly either bumbling comic relief or sinister villains. I did really like Chang, a Chinese boy whose friendship with Tintin was one of the best aspects of The Blue Lotus.

Rating: 6/10

My Senior Year

Here's a minicomic that I picked up, somewhat randomly, at Million Year Picnic Cambridge MA.

Title: My Senior Year
Publisher: Sarah Friedman
Date: 2013
Writer: Sarah Friedman
Artist: Sarah Friedman

Eighteen-page half-size minicomic with cardstock cover.

Series of moments and vignettes from the artist's senior year in college. Not much background is given, so this really could be set anywhere.

I liked the art style, which makes good use of space without ever seeming cramped in the minicomic format.

The stories were a bit of a mix, although I really enjoyed some of the quick glimpses into the artist's life as a student in one or two panels. Some of the more plot-oriented stories could have been expanded out a bit more.

Among the topics covered were roommates and neighbors, babysitting, and misadventures in adopting a cat.

Rating: 5.5/10

The Joys of Airports: A Short Travelogue

I am back in Vietnam with a huge new stack of comics I brought from the USA! Some of these were pulled from a box of unread comics in my storage unit. The rest were purchased at two conventions and a variety of comic book stores that I visited during our month-long visit home.

I'll post a pic of the full stack as soon as I get them all unpacked and consolidated in one place.

In the meantime, the awesome Million Year Picnic store in Cambridge MA is a great place to shop for minicomics and all sorts of other small press goodies. This is a minicomic that I picked up there.

Title: The Joys of Airports: A Short Travelogue
Publisher: Kristen Toohill
Date: 2011
Writer: Kristen Toohill
Artist: Kristen Toohill

This seemed like a good one to read while recovering from jet lag.

Eight-page half-size minicomic telling the tale of the artist's misadventures on a flight from Boston to Montana via Denver. This was the kind of fun autobiographical story that I enjoy (even if I had the initial reaction of "If she thought that was bad, she should try Newark to Brussels to Mumbai to Ho Chi Minh City!").

There were some fun details here. I loved her observations about bathroom tornado shelters in Denver! The art style is simple and charming, and the story has a cute epilogue, plus a back cover featuring bisoncopters!

Witty and fun from start to finish.

Rating: 7.5/10

 

The Million Year Picnic's Jam Comics From Free Comic Book Day 2011

Title: The Million Year Picnic's Jam Comics From Free Comic Book Day 2011
Date: 2011
Publisher: Million Year Picnic
Editor: Aya Rothwell
Contributors: EJ Barnes, Alex Firer, Jay Kennedy, Nathan Kitler, Laurel Leake, Dan Mazur, Aya Rothwell, Kristen Toohill, Andy Wong

This half-sized color minicomic is a collection of jam comics done at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA on Free Comic Book Day 2011. The comic are done in color markers, and are standard jams with each artist taking a panel as the page is passed around. Coherence is not necessarily an objective.

The group presents a lot of bizarre and surreal material while touching on themes that include fancy ballerinas, caterpillars in space, Superman renouncing his US citizenship, rogue teeth, berries, and a conqueror named Nern.

High-quality paper and production values make this a nicer package than the typical jam minicomic.

Rating: 6.5/10

Salvager Kain #1

Title: Salvager Kain
Issue: #1
Date: 2007
Publisher: Fool's Gold Press
Writer: Paul Sloboda
Artist: Paul Sloboda

Fantasy/comedy half-sized minicomic (which serves as backstory to the Salvager Kain Webcomic). A powerful empire is surrounded by a vast wall, and anyone convicted of serious offenses against the empire is banished to the wilderness and with their mind wiped clean of all memories.

One such offender, exiled with a traitor's brand, takes the name Kain. Unfortunately, his attempts to make friends beyond the wall seem to lead him into more and more incompetent company.

The comedy elements work here, and the setting is intriguing. Unfortunately, there aren't really any particularly likable characters. This may be part of the point, but I found that the emphasis on whining contributed to some loss of interest by the time I got through this first issue. There is definitely potential here, especially with the main character showing the beginnings of some growth, but a better supporting cast would be a big help.

Rating: 5.5/10

This is the fourth review of a small stack of indy comics I picked up on Saturday at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA. This review also marks two months of Comic A Day without a day missed!

Stories I Wish I Could Tell You #1

Title: Stories I Wish I Could Tell You
Issue: #1
Publisher: Rocketships With Paws
Writer: Tim Manley
Artist: Tim Manley

Half-sized autobiographical minicomic that bounces around from the writer's current life as a teacher in Brooklyn back to his teenage years on Long Island. There are plenty of nerdy references (You can't have a Pokemon as your spirit animal! Ha!) and some interesting interactions between the narrator and his friends.

The art style will go into elaborate doodles to represent music and thoughts, and it also makes really good use of white space in places. Manley has done a good job of capturing his feelings of uncertainty and his need for some deeper meaning in life.

Minicomics make a good format for this type of slice-of-life story, and I enjoyed where Manley is going with this series.

Rating: 7/10

This is the third review of a small stack of indy comics I picked up on Saturday at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA.

Kitty Hawk: The Sting of Defeat

Title: Kitty Hawk: The Sting of Defeat
Date: 2009
Publisher: www.kittyhawkcomic.com
Writer: Braden D. Lamb
Artist: Braden D. Lamb

Promotional half-sized minicomic for the Kitty Hawk webcomic. This is a good introduction. It's told in recap form as the title character is comatose as a result of stings from mutant bees (or wasps? or bee/wasps?) that she received when pursuing an airship pirate on her rocket boots.

Yes, rocket boots. This book is loaded with dieselpunk awesomeness, including a refreshingly tough heroine who swings a pipe-wrench as her weapon of choice when brawling with pirates. Much of the book simply hints at other adventures that the title character has gotten into, but all of the recap is delivered in a narrative that flows smoothly and ends with a satisfying twist.

Book ends with a nice collection of concept sketches. Considering the small page count that the writer/artist had to work with, this was a pretty impressive debut.

Rating: 8/10

This is the second review of a small stack of indy comics I picked up on Saturday at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA.

Casper The Friendly Ghost And Little Lulu Halloween Special 2009

Title: Casper The Friendly Ghost And Little Lulu Halloween Special 2009
Date: 2009
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Little Lulu By: John Stanley, Irving Tripp
Little Lulu Created By: Marge Buell
Casper The Friendly Ghost By: Harvey Comics

Sorry guys, you immediately lose points with me for failing to credit the writers and artists on the Casper stories and for barely managing a well-hidden reference to the names of the creative team on Little Lulu. I'm sorry, but I just find that inexcusable, even in an ashcan-format freebie, even when reprinting old material, even if that old material may not have been properly credited. Do your homework. Then give credit where it's due! That's just simple decency, Dark Horse!

There are four stories here, all reprints of classic material. The dates when they originally appeared are not provided. The two one-page gag strips are both amusing, if simple jokes.

The longer stories were both pretty good, especially the Casper one, which had Casper trying to blend in with the crowd so that he could make friends on Halloween. Halloween gives him certain advantages when it comes to trying to interact with people, but sometimes it just isn't enough. But there's one little girl who isn't afraid, even when Casper's true nature gets revealed in the midst of a Halloween party. The ending was surprising and sweet.

The Little Lulu story involved Lulu trying to keep Alvin awake with a story about Hazel the witch and her daughter Itch. Itch is out to create some mischief by levitating a little girl's bed, but the resourceful and scrappy girl (who is Lulu, of course) isn't about to be intimidated by a bit of witchcraft.

In spite of my annoyance with the crediting thing, Dark Horse did choose a couple of good stories with interesting twists to reprint here.

Rating: 6.5/10

This is the first in a short series of reviews of books I picked up today on a visit to Million Year Picnic in Cambridge MA. Million Year Picnic is a great indy-friendly comic book store that carries a ton of small press comics and minicomics. This was the only book in the series by a major publisher, as it was a kids' freebie that the store gave to my son (he enjoyed having the Casper story read to him, but lost interest in the Little Lulu stuff, in case you're wondering). Million Year Picnic was kind enough to purchase some copies of my comics today, so if you're in Cambridge, please consider stopping by and checking out their whole selection of small press comic books.

Visiting Million Year Picnic Today! Reviews To Follow!

I'm heading into Cambridge today to try to sell some of my comics at Million Year Picnic (who are normally really great about buying small press comics). I'm going to try to pick up a few indie comics or minicomics while I'm there and review them over the next few days.

I'll have the Kiddo with me, so my visit will probably have to be a quick one, but I'm hoping to comic home with some interesting comics.