SIZE MATTERS: The Mini-Comics Blog

A word of advice: if you have a nagging, bone rattling cough for more than six weeks, it’s probably not a good sign. And if you try to battle said cough with massive amounts of Nyquil and whisky instead of reluctantly submitting to a round of antibiotics, you may have signed up for a nice case of bronchitis that leads to pneumonia. The Nyquil and whisky will certainly knock out the cough and help you sleep, but you’ve got to wake up and function in the real world at some point. Caffeine is a big help unless you’re piling a venti Starbucks and two Diet Cokes on top of the Nyquil. Hello heart arrhythmia.

Six weeks of dry coughing, an echo stress test, and a heart event monitor later, I feel pretty damn good. But that was a bad six weeks. Unfortunately, you devoted mini-comic crafters have continued cranking out fun stuff while I’ve been out of commission.

Some great things have been arriving in the mailbox. The Partyka gang sent some new stuff. Oliver East has another episode of Trains Are Mint, and Craig Atkinson sent in a few awesome books. In a moment of lucidity I snuck a review of Sarah Morean’s Bad Time for a Polar Bear in, but she also sent a couple of other minis, including the following mini-comic novel.

Human by Sarah Morean At 120 pages, Sarah Morean’s Human encompasses ten years of her romantic life. Sarah doesn’t shy away from honesty in her subject or art. One of the most charming aspects of her story is that she just draws. She doesn’t bother trying to perfect her line, she just draws. As a reader you’ll watch her style morph and change from chapter to chapter. She subtly alters ways of rendering her hair and glasses and other details to suit her mood and the story. It’s a very refreshing way to tell a long form tale.

About a third of the way through the story, things turn serious. Sarah shows a great deal of maturity and humor when her life changes. A things grow serious around her, she adapts, even making mini-comics for her latest beau. Now I want to see a copy of “Monkey Explosion.” “It is how all monkeys are born BOOM!”

Here’s a few samples of Human that show how Sarah’s art changes through the 120 pages. Get your own copy of Human from Sarah’s website. Human is a steep $9, but it’s much larger than your typical mini-comic.