SIZE MATTERS: The Mini-Comics Blog

Propeller Beanie Comics and Nut Issue One
Larned Justin from House Springs, Missouri sent in three mini-comics for review over a month ago. I’ll review two of them here and save the other one for later. The first, Propeller Beanie Comics is an old fashioned eight-page Xeroxed mini-comic and Larned smartly prices it at fifty cents. Propeller promises to examine great theories and the first issue begins with a big one – evolution. This is a gag comic told from the perspective of worms, monkeys, fish, and single cell amoebas. He begins with a groaner about worms and arms. A worm asks another worm what they mean by the term “arm,” the answer - Adjustable Rate Mortgage. No, Larned! It gets better though. A single cell is casting about for a mate, but has terrible opening lines and a fish and a jellyfish debate trying this new “land” thing. Again, it’s fifty cents and here’s a page from the fish tale.
The first issue of Nut is twenty-four pages of hit and miss comics for $2.00. These comics remind me of the ones in the MAD look alike magazine Crazy. It’s a mix of one pagers and multiple page stories and the stories are heavy on the pop culture angle. There’s “Flush Gordon,” Once Upon A Time In Mexico with Looney Toons characters (my favorite), and some riffs on the annoying “Can you hear me now?” guy. There’s also a running gag of Noah on the ark having animal problems – the moles are a real problem, but I think beavers would have worked better in that strip. In one of the Noah strips, there’s a nice touch of having a note on a wall on the background. It says, “Remember! We need TWO Abominable Snowmen.” That wasn’t the point of the strip, but it’s a nice little gag that made me giggle.
There’s also an uninked strip that grooves on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; it shows that Larned has decent drawing chops. The least accomplished story in Nuts is the “Flush Gordon,” but unfortunately it’s also the longest one. Still, Nuts issue One is only $2.00 for 24 pages. Give Larned’s website a look. As I was typing this I discovered his blog. He talks about some minis that I love like Mr. Big by Matt Dembicki, Reporter by Dylan Williams, and Christina and Charles by Austin English. Nice blog, Larned.