Something Special for the 200th Post

Sorry, it's not mini-comics related, but it's still mini.

It's Frau Chloe Nyland-Hoke, the mini-dachshund. And she's got her own blog, authored by Kate. So, it will be updated more than once a week...

Anyway, this is our first dog. She's awesome and wiggly. She likes to sleep on laps and run like hell. We got her on Saturday, and I'm already head over heels in love with her.

The True Adventures of Jep Comix by Jeff Clayton
In three issues of Jep Comix, Jeff Clayton divides his efforts between two stories – “Little Dead Kid” and “The Valley of the Shadow of Death.” “The Little Dead Kid” is a charming storyline about a child that dies and finds himself barred from both heaven and hell. So, he becomes a super hero on Earth. On Earth, he spars with rats, befriends cats, and tries to do good.
“The Valley of the Shadow of Death” is a continuing saga of a human, his robot, their old pal, Duke, and a mysterious group called the Jitkes. You don’t find out about the Jitkes until the third issue, and even then the tale ends in mystery.

Jeff’s figure art is stripped down to the very basics then superimposed over computer generated backgrounds. The art is one or two steps removed from stick figure art, but the simplicity doesn’t distract Jeff’s comics from being entertaining.
The Dead Kid stories are more organic than the Valley stories, and they meander among topics to fit Jeff’s mood at the time. Here Jeff has fun and flexes his sense of humor. Dead Kid stops a “rumble” between a gang of rats and flies. Dead Kid chastises people for using guns, when swords are much more precise.
Check out Jeff’s Jep Comix at his website. He's currently offering a triple pack collecting the first three issues of Jep Comix for an unheard of 35 cents. That's just crazy.

Two from Sarah Glidden
Sarah Glidden’s Small Noises #2 is a journal comic stuffed with stories and dreams. She rents The Wicker Man and predictably gets creeped out. The next day she sees the freaky animal masks from the movie on random people in the street. She drinks so much one night that she wakes up exclaiming, “I think I drank so much last night that I skipped my hangover!” “You’re probably just still drunk,” answers a friend.

Sarah plays fast and loose with the art. It’s a journal comic, so she simply draws to suit her mood. Some of the pages are sketched and devoid of background, while other others are more carefully lined and shaded.

Small Noises is 40 pages.

Sarah’s The Reader is a twelve page fantasy. She begins by waking in a boat, no clue where she is and how she got there. She manages to row to the shore of a seaside shipping town. As she wanders the streets, she recognizes signs and names of buildings. She’s in a fictional town from a recently read book. Soon she stumbles into characters from the book.
The art is a little tighter here, but still loose. It kind of reminds you of Gabrielle Bell’s mini-comics.

Contact Sarah at sarahglidden@gmail.com for prices and availability. I also found a blog of Sarah's that features a lot of her art and comic pages.

ZOD Issues 7 and 8 by Jacob Steingroot
Jacob Steingroot does pretty much everything right in ZOD. The covers are distinctive and fun. The first page of each issue features a cast of characters. Issue 8, which picks up where issue 7 leaves off, has a story so far, and his minis are priced perfectly. It's been some time since I've stumbled upon a full color mini for $2.00. Both of these are priced at $2, weighing in at 12 (issue 7) and 18 (issue 8) pages.
ZOD is fun as well - Underdog fun if you remember that cartoon. Intergalactic adventure, family strife, and romance propel the story along at a quick pace. All of the characters are animals and aliens, humans are only featured as characters in movies watched by Odysseus and Lloyd.
Pick up these issues and others at Jacob's website. ZOD issues 7 and 8 will only set you back $2 each.