SIZE MATTERS: The Mini-Comics Blog

2010-10-27T07:32:00.004-04:00

Film Photography: Mat Brinkman Art at The Hole Gallery in Soho

Thought SIZE MATTERS readers might dig these pics from the recently ended Mat Brinkman show at The Hole gallery here in NYC. More pictures here.

2010-09-15T16:09:00.003-04:00

Film Photography: Yoshitomo Nara's White Ghost on Park Avenue in NYC

I know a lot of comics fans enjoy Nara's work, so here's a post of his awesome White Ghost statue on Park Avenue. There are actually two of these, one on 71st and one on 67th. Pretty cool.

Yoshitomo Nara's White Ghost at Shawn Hoke Photography

PS, hope everyone had fun at SPX.

2010-01-09T21:27:00.002-05:00

Am loving this Poladroid software as I can't afford real Polaroid film.

Fernet Branca Cocktail

Sunday Morning

Brooklyn Bridge

Sign

Chloe Dog

2009-11-06T15:50:00.006-05:00

Well it seems I've missed blogging a bit, since I started a website of film photography, primarily of places and things here in NYC. I guess it's in my blood... Anyway, really been digging the cool comic shops here in New York.

Desert Island in Brooklyn just knocks my socks off and I love the front of it. This is a shot from Fantagraphics Flickr Page.

And of course Rocketship Comics, right down the street from my new favorite whiskey bar is always a fine store to visit.

Have to admit that I've been most impressed with Bergen Street Comics, which is just a 15 minute walk from Rocketship. I love these guys. Their store is not what you normally expect from a comic shop. Inside it's all gorgeous wood and aesthetically pleasing. When Kate and I walked in the first time, she was like, "Wow, this doesn't even feel like a comic shop." She's right. It feels more like a well stocked independent book store that just happens to specialize in comics. And EVERY time I've been there, someone gets up from behind the counter, walks over to me, and politely asks, "Do you need any help finding something?" That's it. Pretty damn simple. I tell them no thanks, and they disappear like a ghost. Back to browsing... That's really nice.

Over here in Manhattan, I haven't found as many new places. The new to me Forbidden Planet in Union Square is jam packed with good stuff and TONS of mini comics. That was a nice surprise. Plus it's really close to The Strand, which means I get loaded down with comic books and book books all on one subway trip.

So, who knows. Maybe I'll get back to cranking this rusty old thing up. It's certainly been nice to get email and questions from people still about mini-comics.

In the meantime, if you are intereseted in photos of the city, check me out over at Still Life.

Hope everyone is enjoying their fall.
Shawn

2009-09-01T22:46:00.002-04:00

Contest Winner!

Hey folks, thank you SO much for all the nice comments and emails. Your kind words really mean a lot to me. I've met a lot of great people through this blog and am lucky to have my life enriched by knowing many of you.

Twenty-six people emailed to enter the contest for the box of comics and Kate picked the winning number. And the winner is... Sarah Morean. Congrats, Sarah!

It's kind of cool, because Sarah review minis too over at The Daily Crosshatch. The box of mini-comics will be on it's way shortly.

So long!

2009-08-18T18:32:00.012-04:00

Hiatus and Contest
I'm sure this will come as no surprise as I haven't updated here since late June, but I'm going to take extended time away from posting reviews on SIZE MATTERS.

Between work, exploring the city, and spending quality time with Kate, my life is embarrassingly full right now. Last year was one of those years, and I've been seriously re-evaluating things and what's important to me. I'm working on my own comic and spending a lot of time reading books and writing.

I will keep SIZE MATTERS up as a resource. Maybe I'll revisit reviewing when winter hits and I'm not out running the streets. In the meantime, I'll probably post pages of my own stuff here when I feel like sharing.

For all of you who are waiting on reviews, I'm sorry if I haven't got to your work. Luckily, there's a bunch of other reviewers who are much more dedicated to showing your stuff to the world. I started SIZE MATTERS on July 20th, 2005 when I noticed there wasn't sufficient coverage of minis. I'm so happy that has changed.

For now, it's time to move on. I've got too many other things rattling around in my head to concentrate. I'll see most of you around. I'll keep abreast of what people are doing on Facebook and I'll still check out local shows and events.

I'd like to thank everyone who has read the blog over the years. Thank you, thank you. I'm really glad I was able to share some of these amazing mini-comics with you. And thank you to everyone who sent in minis for review. I've always been impressed with the creativity and energy that I've discovered in your work. You guys and gals are awesome.

Before I turn out the lights, here's a very quick look at some interesting stuff that I was hoping to review before I shut down. Please visit the links provided to find out more.

City Under Sand and Casual Sex by David Beyer Nine Gallons by Susie Cagle Big Un Visits the City by Brian Leonard Nurse Nurse 3 and 4 by Katie Skelley Candy or Medicine Volume Six by Josh Blair, et al Here's Blobby by Patrick Morgan Sunward by Jason Viola The Moth or the Flame by Joshua Ray Stephens This is a gorgeous hardcover book. Sam and Dan by Jeff Lok Exploding Head Man by Jason Overby Look at this beautiful envelope from Jason. I'm gonna miss that kind of shit. And one last thing - I have a huge box of mini-comics sitting in a sub 500 square foot apartment. I need to get rid of these beautiful little things. So, if you want a big box full of mini-comics (probably about 100 minis I would guess), drop me an email titled "I want that box of mini-comics!"

I'll have Kate pick a random number between 1 and the number of emails received between now and August 31st. The corresponding email response that matches the random number will win the comics and I'll ship them out to you.

I'll see you around.
Shawn

2009-06-25T17:22:00.006-04:00

Up a Blind Alley and Paunch by Scott Smith Scott Smith's Up A Blind Alley, subtitled "When did I get to be so boring," entertains with its deadpan humor and laconic pace. Scott's art is rather stiff, but it works well in this mini-comic. For instance, there's a panel to panel transition that has Scott talking to a girl at a boring party. It's one of those situations where he doesn't know anyone and feels awkward. In the first panel as the girl faces him, he starts to say something about teaching. Rather abruptly in the next panel, the girl's head is turned away from him. His thought bubble says, "Fair enough." The stiffness of Scott's art adds to the feeling that one might get at such an event.

The stories in the 36-page Up A Blind Alley meander into each other kind of like life unfolds. Before you know it, Scott slips off to a local pub and runs into this: I enjoyed Scott's work here. It's slice of life, autobiographical stuff that most of us can easily relate to. He records awkward moments that revolve around the unpredictability of our fellow travelers.

The pages of Blind Alley are cream colored and Scott uses some nice shading to give his art some depth. This one has a nice, deep black cover with a hand colored figure of the artist walking in a blind alley, scratching his head. It's a good juxtaposition with the content inside.

In Scott's fourth and latest issue of Paunch he steps out from the autobiographical and into more straightforward storytelling. Three of the four stories ("Cat in a Bag," "Forbes Thorpe in... Speed Date," and "Charlie Cymric: Part Four") are character pieces about a creepy old guy, a creepy younger guy, and a guy recently out of prison. In the fourth piece, Scott gets back to Scott's observations on things that bug him - some game show hosts, sunglasses worn inside, bed head, drinking tea just to be cool.

You can check out more of Scott's stuff at his blog. I'm sorry I don't see a price for these, but if you email Scott, I'm sure he can give ou the scoop. One last thing, I liked this little "Thank You" page:

2009-06-23T22:22:00.001-04:00

Yearbooks by Nicholas Breutzman, Shaun Feltz, and Raighne Hogan Flipping the mailing envelope of an ordinary SIZE MATTERS package revealed this: Inside Yearbooks, these very panels show up in a dream sequence, as main character Ryan dreams that a teacher, pushed by the emotions of the children's intense art, goes batshit insane on the kids in a classroom. Yearbooks is written by Nicholas Breutzman and Shaun Feltz, Nicholas handles the art, and Raighne Hogan adds the colors. It's a joint effort for sure, but it flows in a natural manner from start to finish. The story, from creepy dream sequence to almost apocalyptic ending, perfectly captures the creepiness and angst of high school, and Nicholas' art only adds to the effect. He does a fantastic job of capturing emotion in the character's faces, especially the creepy, blank stare of the bespectacled art teacher. When you look at this whole package, what really makes this project crackle with energy is the vibrancy of Raighne Hogan's colors. The red of Ryan's hair, the mostly green background, and the bright pink skin tones give the pages an extra pop. The subtly shifting panel layouts keep things lively as well.
The voyage that Ryan takes as he gets to know more about his art teacher resonates with that slightly off kilter vibe that marks our high school years. Everything seems a little more charged and mysterious. This is very captivating cartooning in a sleek and seductive package. It's only 40 pages for $13, but the over-sized (11"x8") landscape orientation packs in a lot of material.

Get your own copy at the 2D Cloud website.

2009-06-21T21:24:00.008-04:00

Jim8Ball's Carnival of Comics This could be the best deal in mini-comics: 25 black and white minis with color covers packed into a circus-inspired box for $20. Feast your eyes on this: I sat down and opened this box of minis from Jim Coon over the weekend, expecting to find a handful of good minis and a pile of stinkers. No such luck. I smirked and laughed my way through almost all of them, except for a three issue series called Super Soap that just didn't do it for me.

Jim's art is professional and deadly consistent. He's been making his own comics since the Reagan administration, so the consistency is understandable. But it's still nice to see that each of these minis are so solid. Most of them are quarter page format, with a few eighth of a page size ones thrown in. I started with the smaller format and a couple of them were my favorites - It Came From the Sea and Robot vs. Alien. Both of these 16-pagers are heavily indebted to the monster movies that Jim and I probably both grew up watching and both feature single panel per page layouts with captions telling the story.
I also really enjoyed the five-issue series Tail of the Tomcat Samurai. This felt a bit like Stan Sakai's awesome Usagi Yojimbo series, but Jim's tongue is a little firmer in cheek than Stan's. Each issue has a "to be continued" drop that makes you wonder what's about to happen next. Issue two has a particularly heinous surprise for Meowki San aka the TomCat Samurai. These eight-page minis are packed with shifting panel structures and an abnormal amount of action.

Lola and the Spaceman is probably the simplest of these minis, but it's also one of the best. A spaceman lands on Lola's planet and the two of them fall in love. Unfortunately spaceman's oxygen tank is limited. Poor Lola just wants to help her new love, but sometimes love hurts... This one is wordless, but Jim does a great job of showing the two character's emotions as the story unfolds.
Get more information at Jim's blog. He has multiple deals on this page, including a slightly risque mature audience pack. I would suggest the Robot and Monster Pack for $4 for starters. You can buy individual comics or any combination at his Etsy store.

2009-06-18T16:27:00.003-04:00

Lost Kisses and Worms by Brian John Mitchell These minuscule mini-comics are adorably sized. The cute factor ends there, however. Inside it’s sci-fi dread and hard-core issues of hate, guilt, and anger.

I love that each mini is barely larger than a postage stamp. And it’s also nice that they come in snug, clear plastic sleeves. Brian gets an A for packaging. Inside things don’t go so well. The two issues of Lost Kisses deal with a stick figure character’s feelings about an ex-girlfriend. Over two disturbing issues, the guy finds that he may or may not have indirectly led to his ex’s house being broken into, which leads to her being beaten into a coma.

Over 40-single panel pages, the main character talks to the reader in word balloons; underneath Brian types captions that usually telegraph the action above, but sometimes lead you in a different direction. It’s a bit disconcerting at times. For instance, at some point in issue 8 the ex goes from being in a coma to actually being dead. After rereading, I couldn’t figure out where it happened, where she went from coma to dead, but it did happen. I think. Brian’s art in Lost Kisses is stick figure drawings with minimal props and no background. It’s serviceable to the story, but unfortunately as flat and lifeless as the computer font in the captions.

Worms, with artwork by Kimberlee Traub, is physically similar to Lost Kisses. The panels are one per page and the mini-comic is tiny. The art is livelier, but still very basic. Her line is thicker and her drawings are more varied. Worms is the third part of a tense story where a girl wakes up in an ICU with an IV bag full of worms. The captions totally mimic the action drawn above, which gets tedious, but the story does grab you and move along quite nicely. You can check out more on Brian's minis at his SilberMedia website. Issues one through four are just $1 each, not sure about these two issues, but give Brian a shout on his website and he can give you the scoop.

2009-06-15T20:58:00.004-04:00

Urgent Telex by Hurk Hurk's, er Lord Hurk's 44-page mini-comic Urgent Telex is a handsomely outfitted comic with screen printed covers and cool graph paper endpapers. Inside you'll find three stories and a few one page pinups. The best story is the creepy and colorful, "Glass Chops." A redneck type fellow sends his teeth off to hunt some pigs in the forest, but the teeth, who have morphed into little sentient creatures, find out that the pigs might be one step ahead. The longest story, "Bozak the Space Dictator," is less engaging (maybe after the technicolor glory of "Glass Chops" it couldn't be helped) but gets points for effectively lampooning our chimp of a an ex-president George Bush . Hurk's art is expressive and fun. Often it brings to mind some of the better work in the now defunct Nickelodeon Magazine. I especially enjoy the use of the benday dots in his backgrounds.

Hopefully, copies will be still be available a Hurk sent this in for review ages ago. Check his blog, website, and he's even got an Etsy shop. Definitely check out these posts on his blog of his latest work, The Odd Hour Presents.

2009-06-11T19:13:00.018-04:00

MoCCA Continued
My apologies to everyone at MoCCA who I didn't get around to visiting. I've heard from several people who saw me pass by their table - pass by being the operative word - and I feel kind of bad about that. For some reason I didn't pick up a map of tables and it took me a few laps to orient myself. I did stop and talk to several people, but despite my best intentions I didn't make it back for my final round after the Panter/Santoro panel. For instance I really wanted to talk to Katie Skelly some more about Nurse, Nurse but never made it back to her table. I saw Marek Bennet talking to someone and made a mental note to go back, and then never made it back.

MoCCA wasn't a total loss though, I got to talk to several people and pick up some great books. For starters, I ran into Marcos Perez and Justin Fox, two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I have a handful of their comics for upcoming reviews and it's been awhile since I've checked out their stuff. Also got sucked into the Partyka table. John Meijas had this amazing book with huge, painted wood covers. Inside was just too good to be true. When I asked him the price, he sheepishly said it was $100. I didn't get a copy there, but John says they are available at Desert Island, which I REALLY need to visit, and St. Mark's Books, which I did pop into on the way to Angel's Share cocktail bar on Sunday night.

Talked to John and Shawn Cheng for a bit and bought a couple comics that I hadn't had a chance to see. I really loved the self explanatory Matt Wiegle's Monsters & Condiments and Shawn's Whiskey Jack & Kid Coyote Meet the King of Stink. I haven't cracked open the copy of Paping yet, but it's on the nightstand. Here's a shot of the Paping books: Also talked got to meet Tom Gauld and picked up the third volume of Three Very Small Comics. Tom's packaging as always is first rate.
I talked to the super sweet Meghan Hogan of Good Minnesotan for a bit and was bummed that I missed her husband Raighne. Right next door I found Cathy Leamy and got to chat with her for a little bit. I'll have reviews of her stuff coming up. Then abruptly I was face to face with the wild-bearded Raighne Hogan. His beard was truly a site to behold and we held court on vegan and vegetarian food for a bit.

I also got to meet Kevin Church for the first time, which is kind of weird since I already feel like I know him from his many online ventures. Kevin, I hope you made it to The Spotted Pig after the show.

And that's pretty much it for my MoCCA visit. As the Panter/Santoro panel was winding down - it was at that point that I hate, where the audience members were asking questions (or also know as let me show everyone how smart I am) - I got texted away on a beauty emergency. So, everyone that I didn't get to talk to or return to, I'll see you next year or maybe at SPX.

Pictures of the PictureBox table:
Buenaventura Table:

2009-06-07T21:25:00.004-04:00

MoCCA Haul

Didn't spend near enough time at MoCCA, but talked to a few people and picked up some cool looking books. The new site wasn't in as good a location as the Puck building, but the layout was much more open. Not much cooler though! I grabbed a copy of Multiforce and completed my Cold Heat collection. Also geeked out and cornered poor Frank Santoro to introduce myself while he was trying to check his email or text.

I'll type up a more complete report in the next couple of days. Hope everyone had fun at the show and sold a lot of books.

2009-06-04T19:50:00.003-04:00

On the Beach and Prologue by Kenan Rubenstein Both On the Beach and Prologue are made of one single sheet of paper folded in half four times. You read the panels exactly as they unfold and it's never unclear where your eyes should go next. Both minis are a departure from the normal fold, cut, and staple jobs.

What works very well in On the Beach is that each time you unfold the comic, the storytelling space gets larger. Usually the panels themselves double in size until the last fold takes you from two adjacent quarter sized panels to a mondo full page final image. I've seen this used before, but not as well as Kenan does here. On the Beach chronicles an experience through the ages on a local nude beach.
While Prologue is less successful at taking advantage of the unfolding format (the panels don't escape from the eighth of a page size until the very end), it's understandable because Kenan has more of a story to tell. He needs more panels to convince the reader just how dire things are romantically for the main character. The art is much more dense in Prologue than On the Beach, as the setting is a dark party and city streets at night. No matter the setting, he really manages to pack a lot of visual and narrative detail into this story. In both minis, the quality of the art is superb. The level of detail and the grace of the line is very convincing for the reader.
You can find out more about Kenan's work at his website. No prices that I can find, but I'm sure a quick email to kenan@boyblueproductions.com will sort things out.

2009-06-04T09:40:00.007-04:00

MoCCA 2009 is This Weekend!
Tom Spurgeon, who I only know and love online, has a list of 25 Things I'd Do at MoCCA.

It's a shame that he won't be at the show, but I really enjoyed his list this morning, particularly this one:

5. I'd walk to the show one morning
You have to be careful with this one because you'll be on your feet a lot at the show, but there's nothing better than taking a long walk through one of the great cities of the world knowing comics is your final destination.

I couldn't agree more, Tom. One thing for me about New York, is that it makes you slow down a bit and want to walk. If it's a beautiful day, I couldn't imagine taking the bus or the subway if you are just going a few miles. Hell, Kate and I have walked from our place all the way up to 23rd Street. Of course that was with the promise of a Shake Shack Shroom Burger (Crisp-fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and Shack sauce) and fries at the end of our destination.

I'm excited about MoCCA this year, mostly because I haven't been for a few years. But I'm also looking forward to meeting a lot of the folks that I've reviewed and emailed with over the past few years. I'll be at the show on Saturday, but probably not Sunday unless I stop by for the Gary Panter/Frank Santoro discussion Sunday afternoon.

I'm not that familiar with the area up there yet, but I enjoyed local expert Heidi's guide to eats close to the show. Maybe this will give me the chance to try Baoguette.

2009-06-03T16:52:00.010-04:00

Jin & Jam and Reich from Sparkplug Comic Books

Hopefully, you are familiar with Sparkplug Comic Books. They are a quality publisher of mini-comics, comics, and books, as well as a must visit table at finer comic conventions.

Months ago, I received a fat package of comics and books including a few comics that fit in well here at SIZE MATTERS. Dylan and the gang publish these in Portland, but they retain that oh so appealing mini-comic factor. At the same time, the materials and design feel kind of luxe and consistent giving off a "publishing house" vibe. The first issue of Jin & Jam by Hellen Jo is a barely contained riot over 36 black and white pages. Sure, Hellen tells a linear story, but her art has a manga-like (think Matsumoto’s Black & White or Blue Spring rather than something cuter like Sgt. Frog) energy that’s impossible to ignore. Movement is hyper and exaggerated at times and the volume of the text expands, threatening to burst out of the straining word balloons. Hellen is having a ton of fun and so is the reader.

The characters are over the top stock characters – the good girl who might not be so good, the bad girl, the sidekick – but Hellen also tosses in the rough and tumble conjoined twins, Ting & Terng to test the story’s protagonists. Roughly a third of the book is an extended fight scene, but even the fight has some lovely interludes. I’ve posted a few images from Jin & Jam to illustrate some quiet moments. Notice the carp floating in the black backgrounds in this first image. I love this page showing the Jin and Jam floating up into sky littered with SAT flash cards after Jin says, “I wanna get out of here! For more information, check out Hellen’s website or Sparkplug Comics. Jin & Jam is $5 plus shipping.

Issues four and five of Reich by Elijah Brubaker continue the story of the young psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich in 1920’s Vienna. Reich reminds me a bit of Chester Brown’s extensively footnoted Louis Riel. Elijah takes his subject seriously, but also isn’t afraid to bend history for a good yarn. Where he does depart from history, he makes sure to let the reader know how and why he diverges.

Reich is visually austere, which serves the storyline and subject very well. Walls are a stark black and the faces rarely smile. However issue four is a little lighter in appearance. Here you see the emotion and changing points of view that mark a reunion of Reich and a friend. Elijah softens the austerity with the shape of his characters; the heads are large and rounded and the noses are exaggerated. Children are more cartoonish and less well developed. On the page below, the young daughter almost looks like a cartoon character in an otherwise reality-based comic. This is a neat touch. Each 24-page issue of Reich is $4 plus shipping and handling. You can get yours through the Sparkplug Comic Books webstore. For more information on Elijah's work, check out his website.

Side note part one: On a visit to Powell's Books in Portland, Kate picked me up a mini-comic and it was a Sparkplug Comic Books mini called Super Crazy Cat Dance by Aron Nels Steinke. It's adorable and fun!

Side note part two: Sparkplug Comic Books will be at MoCCA this weekend. Here's a posting from their website on new books and events.

2009-06-01T16:39:00.005-04:00

Folk Issue #2 by Tyler Stafford The second issue of Tyler Stafford's Folk is visually engaging and whimsical. Over 20 pages, Tyler tells two stories on pages of alternating colors. For some reason, the transitions from yellow to green colored pages are the most jarring. Of course it doesn't help that the thread of the story is something that reminds you a bit of a hallucinogenic trip. "The Hunt" is a hunter becomes the hunted story that channels some of Jim Woodring's Frank. Tyler packs these densely landscaped pages with imaginative and otherworldly flora and fauna. The setting in "The Crystal Ship" switches from woodsy and dense to lunar and angular. Tyler doesn't drop as many details in this story, but you still get something like this: Check out the little guy in the mid-to-upper right of the page that has the vacuum tube thingy. Have no idea what's going on there, but I like it.

Folk issue two is on sale at Tyler's Etsy shop for $2.50. You can also see some additional page scans. Also check Tyler's website for more information.

2009-05-28T20:54:00.009-04:00

Hot Town and Getting There by Robyn Jordan In Hot Town and Getting There, Robyn Jordan displays two different art styles. Hot Town, subtitled "One More Summer in Sticky NYC," is looser and more quickly rendered than Getting There. Robyn's lines are thicker and darker; she uses very little shading or texturing and spends less time worrying about backgrounds. The stories are little vignettes of live in NYC - showing realtives around, puttering in her community garden, checking out nude beaches.
The 20-page Hot Town is wrapped in a saddle stitched, bright orange cover with the title screen-printed over an overheated, bikini-clad girl, clutching a yard glass full of something tropical.

Getting There features longer stories (two stories sandwiching a one-pager) and a much tighter style of art. Here, Robyn meticulously graces the panels with detailed shading and crosshatching. The backgrounds are more significant, lending depth to the pages. Story one details the characters you see commuing on the subway and story two depicts Robyn's jury duty experience.
Here's a bonus greeting card that Robyn sent in: The inside says, "Hey, thanks for everything."

Find more details at her website, including this page with many images. Looks like you can find Robyn's comics at Desert Island. Contact her at robyn@robynjordan.com.

2009-05-26T16:16:00.004-04:00

The Would-Be Bridegrooms by Shawn Cheng Shawn Cheng, of Partyka, has combined the grace and simplicity of a fable with the energy and silliness of a shape-shifting duel. Two would-be bridegrooms approach a girl's house, slowly realizing that they both intend to ask for the hand of their beloved. Once they realize this, the battle is on - the two shape-shifters take turns trying to outmaneuver and overpower the other. Near the end, the two suitors find themselves in a very compromising position. Shawn's comic timing is impeccable during this sequence. The Would-Be Bridegrooms is a 48-page black and white mini-comic wrapped in a threaded spine cover. Get your own copy for $5 at the Partyka online store.

2009-05-22T15:09:00.006-04:00

Mini-comics by Gwenaelle
Gwenaelle creates gorgeous penciled minis that both teach and delight. Gwenaelle’s Little Book of Recipes Illustrated Volumes I and II cover “Chicken Marinated in Beer” and “Mavis K. BBQ Steak Houston Style” respectively. Each 16-page issue features ingredient lists and step-by-step instructions accompanied by pencil drawings. “Chicken Marinated in Beer” adds two pages each for setting the table and beverage selections. These would be great for Gourmet or Food and Wine readers. Inventez Des Nouvelles Positions Sexuelles (Invent New Sexual Positions) is a 16-page exercise in capturing ideas about sex and ignoring "your inner cop or censure" when you consider the sexual act. This mini, like the others, is lovingly crafted inside and out. The inside cover folds out and looks like this:
Gwenaelle's mini-comic page has more pictures, like a lot more pictures, to give you an idea of how interesting these little books are. Just click on a title and away you go! She doesn't have any prices listed, but I'm sure if you email her at contact@gounie.com, you can get the scoop on prices. She does have an Etsy shop where you can purchase minis. If you re in the Los Angeles area, you can purchase the minis at Skylight Books, The Secret Headquarters, or Meltdown Comics.

2009-05-21T15:02:00.004-04:00

SIZE MATTERS Update and Address Change

Folks, I apologize. I’ve neglected SIZE MATTERS over the last month and a half. The review copies are piling up and I’m feeling very guilty for not posting. Honestly, this has been a pattern for the last year or two – sporadic updates followed by a month or two of nothing. I know that has to be annoying to the few readers who still check in.

I know you just come here for mini-comics, so I won’t bore you with the details of what’s been happening to keep me away from blogging. Life is just like that sometimes.

Kate and I have finally moved to Manhattan and I have to say it’s fantastic to be back on the East Coast. The address for reviews has obviously changed (email me for the new address). Now that I feel like things have calmed down, I’d like to try something a little different to help me get through this box full of mini-comics that deserve your attention.

I will do more frequent reviews, but make the reviews more basic and informational. This will give potential readers what they need to make a decision. I will keep the cover and interior shots up, because I know those help me decide on buying minis, but I’ll talk less about what I like and how the mini works for me.

Posts will follow this format:

Title
Author
Materials and page number
Price
Quick overall thoughts
Where to buy
Pictures!

If I stick to this for most of the minis, I can get more posts on here and put more minis front and center where they belong. Trust me, this review pile is embarrassing…

2009-03-08T18:29:00.002-04:00

Magic Everywhere by Eliza Frye Magic Everywhere, by Eliza Frye, is an eight page mini that deftly and silently mixes fantasy with reality. A young girl visiting a tar pits museum chases a snowflake and stumbles upon the skeleton of a mythical creature. Most of the eight pages feature two stacked panels, though page five, which serves as the "chase scene," is a full page panel.

Eliza's art is simple and unadorned. She uses a nice balance of white space and black ink, and only draws what's necessary for the reader to get a sense of what is happening on the page. The cover, however, is a nicely detailed silk screened affair, done in blue and dotted with snowflakes. You can check out more of Eliza's work at her website. You can grab your own copy of Magic Everywhere at Eliza's online shop for $3 including shipping.

2009-02-26T21:39:00.002-05:00

Phlegm by Dan Issue eight of Phlegm by Phlegm, or aka Dan no last name, is a dark, densely shaded attack on modern advertising similar to, but much more disturbing than, the subversive and colorful Wacky Packages. To begin with, Dan’s subject matter is more grown up and his characters more purely disquieting.

As I’m flipping through this issue, I stop on the last page featuring “Unicorn Porn.” Apparently, but I haven’t actually checked, at http://www.uniporn.com you can find unicorn porn and other specialist pornography. In the fake advert, a unicornish creature cries, “Hold on to my pink sequin fur and ride my horn to magic land.” Yeah, you never found stuff like that in a package of Wacky Packages. The faces of Dan’s characters are simplistic and eerie. The rounded heads, slitted and tilted eyes, missing nose, and often-misplaced mouth make the characters seem barely human. He strips the ads and the scenes down to the bare, disgusting untruths of advertising. If at times the slogans seem hackish or trite, they reflect the obviousness of the adverts he lampoons.

Dan’s art is very well suited for this messy and dismal subject. He uses heavy swaths of ink and shifting fonts to frame his humanoid characters. The fonts swell, loop, and stretch in each panel as they slink towards the bad pun or hateful finish.
Dan sums up this issue of Phlegm on his website:

“The comic contains my pen and ink illustrations, cartoons, and street art. The work is intense, often surreal and thought provoking, but most of the time it looks like a mad person has been locked in a room for years with no company but a bottle of Indian ink and a scratchy nib….because that's precisely what it is.”

Issue eight of Phlegm is 36 pages with a handsome screen printed (on both sides) cover. You can grab a copy at Dan’s online shop. For more information on his work and some damn nice artwork, check out the Phlegm Blog.

2009-01-20T19:54:00.003-05:00

This is What Concerns Me by Susie Cagle In This is What Concerns Me and This is What Concerns Me Presents Remainders, Susie Cagle catalogues the things that bug, perplex, or annoy her. Shopping for vegan safe food, used condoms on the sidewalk, security cameras on the rooftops of her neighborhoods - everything is fair game under Susie’s pen. Over 13 black and white pages, she uses whatever space is necessary to get it out, even devoting 6 pages to the two-part “Security.”

The cover to This is What Concerns Me is my favorite part of this issue. Her body language suggests a real weight, which is also shown by the letters that form the word “me,” and the backpack Susie clutches. Her head is down as well, lending her the picture a seriousness of purpose. Inside, however, it’s fun and games. She pokes fun at herself as much as she pokes fun at others. Susie’s art is light, expressive and perfectly nuanced with shadow and crosshatch. She hits a nice balance of white space and shading in these pages. The 16-page This is What Concerns Me Presents Remainders is a bit more polished. Her line seems more assured and the wide horizontal page gives the words and pictures more breathing room. Three episodes of “Smashing in the Kitchen” give recipes that range from oiled and baked veggies with Susie to killing, gutting, and skinning a moose with Sarah Palin. Her page layout is at its most inventive over these pages.

Also included in this issue is some quick and easy ways to spot an FBI agent at a potluck, drawings of actual foods from a school kitchen in Harrodsburg, VA, and a nice two page spread on how pervasive corn is in our diet (read The Omnivore’s Dilemma to really get freaked out!). Both of these minis are available from Susie’s website for $2 each plus shipping.

2009-01-02T06:55:00.002-05:00

Trio of Comics from Secret School Press The horizontally oriented mini One Time, by Adam Beeby, tells a cute story of Adam making a birdhouse, installing it in his backyard, and then quickly deciding to modify his original design. One Time is drawn simply with very little embellishment. Adam draws himself as a gingerbread-like figure with rounded limbs and three holes for his eyes and mouth. This mini is a good example of the quick gag format used so effectively by a lot of artists. Adam doesn’t try to hard. He picks a short memory or story and gives it a simple, but effective design. He uses the last page for the gag and delivers a solid $1 mini-comic.

The Confession of a Most Intimate Memory by W. Roger Stroud is an eight page meditation on a terminally broken relationship. The narrator shares a secret of how he cruelly tested a woman he may or may not have loved. He deliberately lied to the woman to test her honesty. He was looking for the moment when she called “Bullshit,” but instead found nothing but destruction. Over drawings of landscapes or empty rooms, the prose of The Confession floats neatly in carefully lined text boxes. A separate set of single words, strung together to form the central theme of the comic, nests within each of the first several pages. The lines of the images are photo-realistic and stiff, creating an inflexible air to the words that pile up to create this gloomy memory.

Rule of One-Way, also by W. Roger Stroud, is an eight page mini-comic, slightly larger in format than The Confession. In Confession, neatly lined backgrounds filled the pages; in Rule of One-Way the carefully constructed backgrounds are replaced instead by figures of people in a train station. The characters are drawn almost as rigidly as the backgrounds; they seem frozen in time rather than fluid. The story itself is quick, brutal, and marked by tragedy. There isn’t much room for things to develop, but it works very well in an eight page format.

Contact Adam, the founding member of Secret School Press, to see about purchasing SSP minis. One Time and The Confession of a Most Intimate Memory are each $1 and Rule of One-Way is $2.

2008-12-30T22:11:00.004-05:00

My Life in Records by Grant Thomas

I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Grant’s My Life in Records. Using a full color palette, he takes snapshots and memories from his childhood and brings them to life for the reader. Grant and his two brothers are usually dressed in footie pajamas and wearing those cheap animal masks made from the highly combustible molded plastic and secured with a rubber band around the head. Both the pajamas and masks give the brothers an air of innocence. Grant and Paul are obsessed with Star Wars, Sesame Street, and playing records on their Fisher Price turntable. I had the same plastic turntable and mine was used to play the same Sesame Street record featuring Bert and Ernie, but more frequently the awesome Snoopy and the Red Baron Christmas album (even in July).

Grant does a fantastic job with layouts in this issue of My Life in Records. He’ll use traditional comics panels, but then dispense with them totally by switching to floating images and words. Music is a frequent theme in Grant’s comics and this one is no exception, the panel below shows a nice use of music and a more flexible use of the page. My Life in Records is $4 And you can grab a copy from Grant’s website.

As a side note, Grant’s work will be in an upcoming Fantagraphics anthology, Abstract Comics: The Anthology edited by Andrei Molotui.

Hey, this is it for 2008 probably. I might squeeze another review in tomorrow if things are slow. But good riddance to a troublesome year! Bring on 2009. Have fun tomorrow night, whatever you do. Kate and I will be safely ensconced in our low key local pub. No driving for us. Peace!

2008-12-21T10:32:00.016-05:00

Top Ten Mini-Comics of 2008
Man, what a year. Personally, this was an eventful year that both good and bad made me grow as a person. I’m not sure I want to repeat this kind of year again, but I have to admit that I’m better for it. I’m hopeful. Globally and nationally, I’d say the same thing applies - good and bad events of epic proportions - yet we’re still standing and dare I say it, hopeful. Here’s to growth and moving on to 2009.

But before we move on, there are the mini-comics of 2008. I didn’t read as many mini-comics this year as in years past. I didn’t go to MoCCA, SPX, or APE. For the first three quarters of the year, I only reviewed minis sporadically. Still, a ton of mini-comics found their way to the SIZE MATTERS office. I’ve read a stack that I haven’t reviewed yet and there are still several minis in the review pile that I haven’t opened. But when I think back over the year, there are several minis that stand out. Here, in no particular order, are the ten minis that I enjoyed the most in 2008.

Jessica by Jason Overby I hadn’t heard of Jason before this year, but I really, really dig his style and fresh way of communicating with the reader. I don’t think you can get any copies of Jessica, but SOLIPSIST'S DOODLES should still be available from Jason’s blog.

Wigger Haircut by Zach Hazard Vaupen Same thing with Zach. Who the hell is this guy? I enjoyed Wigger Haircut and The Diary of Lisa Frank, but the former gets the nod here because of Zach’s use of color.

Shitbeams on the Loose by Various Artists through Tender Loving Empire was a standout anthology in 2008. House Party by Lane Milburn Everything looks good from ClosedCaption Comics, but I really loved Lane’s House Party.

Nurse Nurse 2 by Katie Skelly I love Nurse Nurse! What a great character. Katie’s playful and sexy style perfectly suits this interplanetary story of a nurse/hero/adventurer. The Legend of Countess Saddenbrau is nothing to sneeze at either.

Selected Comics by James McShane

Over the last few years I’ve always made sure to grab James McShane’s tiny books masquerading as mini-comics. His cramped one panel pages are glued into an impossibly thick binding and they make irresistible objects. Now, James has published a larger format mini that collects selected minis from the period 2003 to 2008. Here are a few images from James’ blog that show the format.
Are You Man Enough by Phil McAndrew A felt mustache on the cover and a 5-page drum solo within? Yeah, that’s a 10 Best Mini.

Rabbit Shadows by Jason Viola

I haven’t reviewed this yet, but it’s a beautiful little mini-comic. Each page features one panel of gorgeously shaded and crosshatched art. Rabbit Shadows is the story of a rabbit mired in the day to day routine of work and TV. Suddenly, while walking, he discovers his shadow and begins to interact with and manipulate it. Jason’s mini clocks in at 44 pages for only $3 and it has a striking brown cover with a Rabbit Shadows sticker pasted in the upper center.

Tegne Issue Two by Various Artists I discovered Tegne through David Birchall (Extricate)

There’s too much going on inside this densely packed collaboration to mention here, but look for a full review in a few weeks.

My Life in Records by Grant Thomas This is still in the review stack, but I’ve enjoyed reading it and can’t wait to share some images with you next week. Stand by for a review of this during Christmas week.

That’s it, the ten mini-comics that stood out for me in 2008. Please give these folks some love and consider purchasing their work. If you are reading this and you read SIZE MATTERS regularly, thank you for sticking around. I’m so grateful that there are people out there who love making mini-comics and I’m grateful that you love to read them.

Have a wonderful holiday, travel safe, and take care of each other. Kate, Chloe, and I are off to Michigan for Christmas this year. I’ll probably squeeze a review of My Life in Records in next week, but other than that the SIZE MATTERS offices will be shut down for the holidays.

Peace, Cheers, and Best Wishes!

2008-12-17T16:02:00.005-05:00

Pockmarked Apocalypse by Jeff Lok Here is a large-sized mini that makes good use of the extended real estate on each page. In issue one of Pockmarked Apocalypse, Jeff immediately sets up a sparse and isolated backdrop for the main character. We see him wake up alone, walk through a barely furnished house, and confront an empty refrigerator. It definitely feels post-apocalyptic and we haven’t even seen outside the house yet. Then Jeff opens the vantage point considerably with a full page panel showing the view outside the man’s window. An Exxon station sits halfway down a pockmarked highway. The first issue of Pockmarked Apocalypse is well crafted to create a sense of foreboding and the unknown. Jeff drops some plot points (a love interest and a man wandering on the cracked highway) into the mix as he goes, but he’s cagey enough to leave the reader wondering who the main character is and what's led to this point.

Jeff's art relies heavily on repeated, slanted lines as shading. As a result, the pages are lighter in tone and feel than one might expect for the setting of the story. Although, midway through this issue, he mixes things up by using black panels dotted with the headlights of semi-trucks. The pencils are a bit shaky at times, especially in close shots of fingers or hands, but the shakiness isn't necessarily distractingfor the reader.

Pockmarked Apocalypse is 24 pages and this issue is the first of eight planned issues. Contact Jeff for details. You can get your very own copy for $5 at the I Know Joe Kimple online store.

Here's another nice review by Sarah Morean over at The Daily Crosshatch.

2008-12-13T07:02:00.002-05:00

Shannon Smith's Best Mini-Comics of 2008

I love these lists and here's comrade Shannon Smith's.

2008-12-11T18:12:00.005-05:00

The Good Minnesotan Issue Three by Various Artists I’ll let my earlier post this week provide the background and details of The Good Minnesotan and spend more time on this third issue of TGM. Raighne and Meghan Hogan have brought more people into the fold, welcoming Noah Harmon, Toby Jones, Madeline Queripel, Abby Mullen, Anna Bongiovanni, Reynold Kissling, and Danno Klonowski to their stable of contributing artists.

Twelve stories are featured over 104 black and white pages. Many of the stories are short two to three page affairs, while the longest story, “Fuckleberry Hinn,” by John and Luke Holden clocks in at 23 pages. The third issue of TGM seems less daring and more in line with traditional panel comics. Overall it’s less interesting visually, but probably more solid story wise.

For the purposes of this review, I’ll hit the highlights. In “It’s Much Worse,” Toby Jones tells his tale of battling a mouse and what happens when he finally prevails. Toby’s comic is honest and engaging. The art is a bit cartoonish, but it matches his story well. Madeline Queripel, who draws the twitching mouse in Toby’s story, has one page in TGM 3. It’s a great page though. Her art is tight, expressive, and very appealing.

Ed Moorman’s “Polaroids” shows off his solid cartooning chops. He tells an engaging story paced by his appealing style and smart use of shading and black space. Anna Bongiovanni’s “To Take Back” is a startling two-page, wordless piece that either features a mother’s brutality or overwhelming love. Nicholas Breutzman, who appeared in issue two of TGM, provides the best story in this book. “My Town” shows us what happens to the meth addicts of his town, men who have taken to the surrounding pine forests for safe haven. Nicholas does a masterful job of setting the visual stage for his monologue; teenagers who venture to o close to the forest are depicted running away screaming and the meth heads peer from the darkness of the trees at houses flooded by the light of day. He floats the text of his monologue above, below, and inside his panels. Sentences are broken up almost randomly and words and spaces are stretched to meet his space needs. The third issue of The Good Minnesotan is $12 and available at the 2D CLOUD website. Also check out the Good Minnesotan blog.

2008-12-11T14:37:00.004-05:00

After School Comic Program Needs Support

Mini-comic creator and all around good guy, Grant Thomas shared some info with me about his very cool after school program. “After School Independent Comic Book Creators” lets fifth graders make their own mini-comics. Grant says they will learn about the “screen printing process to produce full color covers for their books. They will need a screen printing kit, ink and colored paper to produce their book.” Here are a few early scans of some of the work.

Barbie vs. Jason Dude The Duck Hunt Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? If you love this idea, the program could really use your support. From the DonorsChoose website:

“Our club needs quality drawing materials, such as bristol board, blue pencils and inking markers, to learn how professional comic book artists make their images… They will need a screen printing kit, ink and colored paper to produce their book.”

Here’s where you can donate. They need $528 dollars for supplies and only need $110 to reach their goal.

BTW, I haven't forgot about issue 3 of Good Minnesotan. Crazy week, but a review of issue three is coming later tonight! Sorry for the delay.

2008-12-08T18:11:00.012-05:00

Good Minnesotan Issues 1 and 2 by Various Artists through 2D CLOUD Publishing Good Minnesotan is an impressive collection of art and comics compiled and edited by Raighne and Meghan Hogan. This description, from the first issue, is concise and accurate: “Good Minnesotan is a comic/sequential art compendium. The focus of the collections will be experiments in story-telling through the printed form with an obvious keen look at comics all over the board. We give a hard push on the local crowd and those just cutting their teeth on the medium.

The first issue, largely featuring work by Raighne, with supporting roles by Meghan and Justin Skarhus, is dark and menacing. This issue appears heavily influenced by David Mack, Dave McKean, and strangely enough in the first story, Jim Mahfood. Nothing in here is content to simply rest on the page. You encounter abrupt, sometimes confusing, shifts in narrative, as well as artistic jumps in perspective and structure. Raighne uses pencils, inks, watercolors and charcoal to construct a changing palette of textures and depth.
While the first issue of Good Minnesotan is solid, it’s the second issue where I feel like it hits an artistic stride. Raighne and Meghan have now brought more artists into the fold, including Ed Moorman, Gail Kern, Joseph Nixon, Alex Witts, Luke Holden, John Holden, and Nicholas Breutzman.

“Back Pages,” by Ed Moorman and “The Ripoff,” by Nicholas Breutzman and John Holden, are the most traditional “comics” pieces in this 86-page issue. They both feature your standard comics panel structure. Ed Moorman’s “Back Pages” features a reporter hounding a 1966 Bob Dylan as Dylan continually escapes the reporter’s queries. Ed uses a nice balance of black ink and traditional shading to create balanced and visually pleasing panels. For instance, most scenes feature a black-clad Dylan sharing the scene with a lighter, crosshatched suit-wearing reporter.

In Nicholas Breutzman and John Holden’s “The Ripoff” a guy is keen on showing a girl his pierced penis. I won’t give away the story here totally, but the events of the story are accurately represented by the title. Ouch! Anyway, the art here, and I’m only guessing that Nicholas is the artist by the bios provided, is very polished and would seem right at home in an anthology like Fantagraphics’ Mome.

The rest of this issue is more experimental. Meghan Hogan has a couple of pieces that are more prose or poem than comic. “Too Much Time on Land” is a swimmer’s meditation on limits accompanied by moody charcoal and painted images. “Yard Work” is a woman’s internal conversation pasted over bold, sketchy drawings of a brooding character named John. Page 31 is particularly moving and convincing. This is good honest work. Over three side by side panels, Meghan moves from manic, looping pencils that crash and converge on each other, to a middle panel of thick lines and relative clarity. The last panel is a close up of John’s face – one unblinking eye confronting the reader. Joseph Nixon’s untitled piece is less artistically dark. His pages are open and use floating drawings anchored in plenty of white space. Joseph mixes large graffiti-influenced words with sketched buildings and figures. Alex Witt and Raighne Hogan have an extended piece titled “Cloak of the Moon.” A revolutionary coup d'état leader is haunted by visions of a “pale skinned whore“ intent on ending his new rule and life. Raignhe’s art perfectly matches the tone of Alex's tale. The pages of Luke Holden’s untitled work feature 28 tiny, silent panels on each page. Luke’s work here could be called micro-stories – successive drawings that show barely perceptible gaps of time elapsing from panel to panel. Your eyes flow over uninterrupted scenes that represent short bursts of action. His drawings are deceptively simple, but ultimately charming. Luke's work reminds me a bit of Brian Chippendale's art, but less chaotic and without the snaking reading pattern. Tune in tomorrow for a review of Good Minnesotan issue 3.

Buy issue 1 for $5 and issue 2 for $12 at the 2D CLOUD's online store. To keep up on the latest regarding TGM, check out the Good Minnesotan blog.

2008-12-03T17:22:00.002-05:00

Comics on Fire by Paul Hack Paul Hack’s first mini-comic, Comics on Fire is a 24-page collection of unrelated one and two page gag strips. Paul’s art is basic and rather flat, but he’s not afraid to experiment with shapes and styles. “Landscape with Robot,” the first strip in the book, is his most ambitious. You can tell that he took the time to add texture to the planet’s surface and the close up shots of the robot reveal some minor shading that adds to the overall appearance of the panel. The rest of the strips are less textured and full, but not without charm. Quick highlights of Comics on Fire include “Asteroids,” which takes you briefly inside the minds of the asteroids from the old Atari game, and ”Understand Body Language,’ which serves as a handy way to sort out the body language of unicorns, insects, tentacled creatures, and spike tailed reptiles. Who knew that a unicorn’s glowing horn indicates deceptiveness on the part of the unicorn. This is real world stuff that could come in handy one day. Towards then end of Comics on Fire, what at first appears to be a throwaway page featuring a robot zombie, strangely turns out to be the strongest piece in this mini. An excellently crafted three-legged robot zombie delivers a monologue lamenting his inability to eat either brains or gears in the face of his overpowering need to consume them.

Comics on Fire issue one is $3 at Paul’s blog.

2008-12-02T18:19:00.004-05:00

Liz Baillie’s Mini-Comic of the Month Club Another neat idea, this one courtesy of Liz Baillie - a mini-comic of the month club! From Liz’s website:

“Every month in 2009 I will release a new minicomic, not previously released, all-new material. These comics will be available exclusively to those lucky voyeurs who choose to subscribe and receive these comics in their mailbox once a month. They will not be available for individual sale, you have to be a member of the Club to get them. The Club comics will NOT include any comics that are part of an existing series (no issues of MBH, no issues of Freewheel, no new series). Each comic will be its own thing.

The comics will most likely include bizarro random ideas I came up with but couldn't fit anywhere else. Some of them will be weird formal experiments that are unlike my other work. Some of them will probably make you shake your head and go "Buh?" And some of them might be awesome! Maybe I'll do a 24 hour comic! Maybe I'll experiment with some weird packaging!

BONUS: All members of the Minicomic of the Month Club get a MEMBERSHIP CARD! WTF, right? How cool is that? You know you want to be in the club!”

It looks like you can do six months for $20 or a full year for $40, with shipping included in the price.

More information is available from Liz here and here.

2008-12-01T13:13:00.005-05:00

This Looks Cool- Uncle Envelope Kristin Lindner has created Uncle Envelope, a subscription mailing service for kids that are too old for Highlights and too smart and cool for tween magazines. The idea is that your favorite non-creepy uncle, Uncle Envelope, travels the world looking for cool and interesting things to send you. Uncle Envelope will inlcude comics, games, papercraft projects by talented artists from all over, including Corinne Mucha, Alec Longstreth, Joshua Ray Stephens (of the astonishing "Moth or the Flame"), and Sarah Becan. A year's worth of Uncle Envelope mailings is only $36, which makes it a pretty affordable and unique gift for your favorite smart and cool kids.

Artists that are interested in participating can submit their work here.

More info about Uncle Envelope.

Hope everyone is having a good holiday season. I came home from DC to many mini-comics in the mailbox. Time to get back to work!

2008-11-24T18:08:00.004-05:00

So…Buttons by Jonathan Baylis So…Buttons is seven stories over twenty-four pages. Jonathan Baylis enlists artists T.J. Kirsch, Mr. Alan, and David Beyer Jr. to illustrate his slice of life vignettes.

Jonathan’s work in these stories has an easy conversational rhythm. The first piece, “So…My Dad Got Drafted,” works well and feels intimate, but suffers from an impersonal font that even includes Jonathan’s words as slanted italics. Mr. Alan’s exaggerated and chunky line is appealing though.

David Beyer Jr. pencils a few stories, including the two lengthiest, “So… Racist” and “So… Only Nixon Could’ve Gone to China.’ David’s art stands out by its use of grey shaded tones to craft the backgrounds of each panel. He does a fantastic job showing Jonathan as a child and highlighting his Jewishness in contrast to those around him.
T.J. Kirsch works in color in So… Buttons. Each of his three sections is in a glossy color similar to the cover. His work is probably the most immediately appealing, especially in “So… I’m Dating a Comic.” Here his angular and attractive art dances against a changing color palette. Jonathan’s stories feel comfortable and immediate. There’s nothing here that will amaze or challenge the reader, but you’ll feel like you know him and his characters. You recognize yourself and your friends in these tales, which makes it easy to recommend So… Buttons.

This 24-page mini is wrapped under a thick, glossy, color cover that reminds you of an old crime comic. T.J. Kirsch’s art ably lends it that seedy, desperate look.

Visit Jonathan’s website for more information about his work. His ordering page gives you several options for getting your hands on the three dollar So… Buttons.

2008-11-20T19:27:00.002-05:00

Todd’s Favorite Adult Actors and Their Favorite Flowers by Matt Kessler and Zach Huelsing More zine than mini, Todd’s Favorite Adult Actors and Their Favorite Flowers is a series of eight baseball card-like cards sheathed in plastic and attached to the spine of the book like regular pages.

I’ll let “Todd” describe his work: “These are my favorite adult actors and their favorite flowers. I investigated the subject extensively in personal conversations I had with these men on dates and during romantic interludes... These descriptions are factual and highly intimate; the reader is warned. ”

Todd selects eight adult film stars. On the front of each card, artist Zach Huelsing draws a bare-chested star from the pecs up. Escaping from each man’s mouth is a single word balloon with the name of their favorite flower written in lower case letters. In the background, Zach provides delicate drawings of the star’s chosen flower. On the back of each card, writer Matt Kessler records the vital statistics of the men, including DOB, height, weight, hometown, and top or bottom status. Underneath the stats, Matt relates, in flowery prose, Todd’s encounters with his film fixations. From Todd’s encounter with Tom Chase, after Tom pricks his finger on the thorns of a bougainvillea:

“I took the slit finger to my lips and licked each bead of blood with my tongue, lapping at his finger like an unshorn Alpaca. Each drop was nutty and thick, and tasted like wood-aged port.”

From Todd’s encounter with Roman Ragazzi and the sabra cactus flower:

“I was dancing in a chic Bhangra club hidden in the deep alluvial plains of Punjab… I was dressed in a beautiful Phulkari shawl. It was red and tailored to accentuate the finer parts of my physique.”

Todd’s cards are a delight. His stories are exotic and intoxicating, and Zach’s colorful inked lines help set the mood for Todd’s erotic liaisons. The eight protected cards are safely wrapped in a thick cover with the back cover folding over the cards and securing with a hidden Velcro disc. And since Todd’s longing is universal and beautifully captured by Matt’s prose, Todd’s Favorite Adult Actors and Their Favorite Flowers is the type of art object that you’ll want to share with all your friends.

Check out Quimby’s or the Eye Rocket Books website beginning December 12th. Todd’s Favorite Adult Actors and Their Favorite Flowers is a limited edition of 500 and available for $10.
Below, I’ve scanned Todd’s thoughtful missive to a lonely reviewer ensconced in his drafty office:

2008-11-16T15:39:00.004-05:00

Jessica by Jason Overby Jessica is one of the most visually arresting minis I’ve seen this year. Jason Overby’s art flits from suggestions of figures, out of focus faces, morphed arms, and seemingly haphazard shapes floating in the background, to panels featuring almost nothing but randomly placed text balloons and squiggly lines. The overall feeling created by Jessica is of an artist playing fast and loose with his pencils and inks, yet you become captivated by the cumulative effect of all those lines and an appearance of sleight of hand. Jason uses a few styles of drawing that switch at random. At first it looks like the styles switch between an old comic or memory to the present, but the two bleed into each other’s territory and you’re left with randomness. This isn’t distracting. In fact, it adds to the overall charm of this book. Jessica is about the artist’s experience trying to date Jessica. They go on a date, but ultimately end up as just friends. In the present, he’s still distracted by the one that got away. For the cover, Jason uses a thick, virtually unadorned recycled brown card stock that looks like something used as the backing for a pad of legal paper. No information other than the title scrambled inside four lines of randomly stamped letters and Jason’s name on the back cover.

You can check out nice page scans of Jason’s comics at Discrete Funk. Unfortunately, Jessica is sold out on his blog. You might be able to grab a copy from Rick Bradford’s Poopsheet Shop though if you hurry. For more of Jason, read Austin English’s 20 Questions with Cartoonists Interview.

2008-11-13T20:37:00.006-05:00

Mini-Comics by Robert Ullman I have a soft spot in my heart for Robert Ullman's artwork. When I lived in DC, he did illustrations for the "Savage Love" column in the alt weekly, The City Paper. His figures for that gig were vivacious and charming, managing to be both sexy and cute. It looks like, as I’ve been to DC several times and grabbed a copy of The City Paper since then, that he isn’t working for them anymore. Without his art, it's a much less enjoyable read. Luckily, Robert continues working in other venues, including mini-comics.

Issues three and four of Teeny Bikini continue where issue two left off – well done pin-ups of semi-clothed or nude girls. Each 20-page issue features finished drawings and sketches of girls next door types, coeds, and even costumed ladies like Supergirl and a few lesser known DC heroines. Each issue of Teeny Bikini is $2. That’s Just Super is a wordless 48-page mini that tells the tale of a female office worker/super hero who, while battling a giant monster, runs into a less than honorable male super hero. Even though she dispatches the Godzilla-sized beast, the male cape steals the credit. That’s Just Super has a full color cover, which looks similar to other nicely produced minis from Wide Awake Press. Inside, each page, except for a few splash pages, feature two panels of storytelling. At all times, Ullman does a great job of telegraphing the action through visual cues. That’s Just Super is $3.

Crustacean Frustration is also from Wide Awake Press. It sports a subtle tri-color cover wrapped around 28 black and white pages. The last lobster escapes from a restaurant tank as an important food critic sits waiting for his lobster dinner. This event derails the life of the chef in the story. The lobster and the chef meet again later with an silly and warm all ages ending. The pages are divided into a strict four-panel structure, except when a firearm appears on a one-panel page.

Crustacean Frustration, like That’s Just Super, is wordless. Again, Robert has a nice command of communicating without speech. The art in this mini is much simpler. The characters are more representations of characters, rather than fully fleshed out. It’s a much looser type of cartooning than any of his other work, but it’s an effective way to communicate this story. Crustacean Frustration is $.

Check out Robert’s website for more information on his minis. You can buy them here. Also go to Wide Awake Press for other interesting minis from J. Chris Campbell's shop.

2008-11-11T06:33:00.004-05:00

Austin English asks Sarah Glidden 20 Questions She answers the 20 questions here.

2008-11-07T07:46:00.003-05:00

Mini-Comics by Phil McAndrew The mustachioed Are You Man Enough by Phil McAndrew clocks in at twenty pages. Seven pages are devoted to a drum solo. That’s a solid ratio in my book. When a young artist asks his girlfriend’s father for her hand in marriage, the father balks at handing his daughter off to a “good for nothing” artist. The father is the ultra manly type with the mustache of a German Kaiser. He forces the artist to, and this is where the title comes in of course, prove he is man enough. The burly father rips off his shirt revealing his hairy barrel chest and cries, “You must perform a really cool drum solo!” In this mini, Phil’s characters are wildly expressive. The father is an exaggerated figure with bushy eyebrows and smoking pipe stationed under a sprawling standalone. The artist is thin, frightened, and visibly shaken by the brute of a father. Phil draws the girlfriend impossibly wide-eyed, tiny hearts float above her head. He uses startle lines, flying sweat beads, and onemonepia liberally throughout these pages, giving the reader a vigorous reading experience.

Each copy of Are You Man Enough features an actual felt mustache on the cover. Looks like the mini is sold out in Phil’s shop, but you can read it online here..

Phil’s This and That issue three is a 32-page mini containing several stories and one page gags. The second story, “The Kids Are Dancing,” was in the first issue of the You Ain’t No Dancer anthology. “The Kids Are Dancing” is a standout piece in a very solid mini-comic. The art veers from sketchy and minimal pages to lovely shaded and textured panels with generous black ink. Phil frequently uses exaggerated figures to fill his stories with uneven relationships of power – kids cowering under towering adult authority figures or the trembling artist in Are You Man Enough. This and That issue three is $4 at Phil’s shop.

The 48-page The Secret Thoughts of Harold Lawrence Windcrampe shows Harold’s internal struggle with his difficulty in scoring a girlfriend. Each page, except a few at the end, shows Harold as he appears on the lime green cover – on the left of the page, looking forlorn, hands in pockets. If you flip through the pages, you almost get the effect of a flipbook as Harold walks or exhibits slightly changing facial expressions. Phil pastes Harold’s internal monologue hovering in the top middle of each page. Phil’s mini-comics possess great energy and very solid cartooning. Check out his website, blog, and shop for more information on his work.

2008-11-04T09:46:00.004-05:00

Congrats to Jonas Madden-Conner
Jonas won the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. Jonas' blog and the Isotope Award page.

2008-11-02T10:50:00.003-05:00

Calamity Coach by Aaron Costain Calamity Coach or alternatively titled Thirteen Reasons Not to Travel: A Non-Narrative Pictorial Sequence of Imaginary Events Designed to Discourage Even the Bravest Souls from Vehicular Travel is 16 pages of, as Aaron describes, “Uhm, Rupert Bear meets the Gashley-Crumb Tinies.” That’s a pretty accurate description. Aaron begins with a bus sinking in a river – “The chassis gave a final shiver. As it was swallowed by the river.” Each page shows a new disaster for the bus and its passengers - fire, satellites, sea monsters, trains, airplanes, a herd of caribou -nothing is too absurd or grand of a fate for the Calamity Coach. Across the bottom of each page, the cadence of a children’s book rhyme appears as a caption.

All the pages of Calamity Coach are full color. Aaron uses slick paper stock and computer generated color for every panel. Check out Aaron’s website for details. Calamity Coach is $7 for 16 full-color pages. At his site, you can check out previews of all of Aaron’s comics. To purchase his comics, contact him at acostain@gmail.com. Several fine retail establishments also stock Aaron’s comics, including Chicago Comics, Quimby’s Comics, The Beguiling, Legends Comics and Books, and Strange Adventures.

2008-10-28T22:14:00.006-04:00

Extricate #8 by David Birchall Extricate is a 64-page mini-comic with a visual seizure inducing two color cover. Inside, David has three stories – “The Song of the Birds,” “The Greeks are Coming,” and “The Return of Harry the Cat.”

“The Song of the Birds” is a loosely structured tale haunted by an iconic bird figure. David uses thick brushstrokes and meandering words, stylized similar to Sixties psychedelic rock posters to create a chaotic setting for his bird figure. He uses startling pages of single images – a knife cutting up a heart, cubed pieces of a heart in a skillet, close up shots of a mouth chewing. “The Greeks Are Coming” is a bit of a departure art wise. David switches to thinner lines and sketchy, swirling bits of background to give a much more airy texture to the story. The story though matches the darkness of the first piece. Surgery, blood, sharp utensils, and a patient with a mysterious abnormality, “His mother said that he had been consuming a lot of words lately,” populate these pages. A surgeon removes a strange Greek book from the patient's incision. “Harry the Cat” is a straightforward tale featuring page after page of a cat drinking and smoking at a bar, drawn from the waist up. Harry tells a gentleman's tale of drinking and meeting a strange Irishman.

Contact David Birchall at blackandwhitecatpress@org. You can check out his website for Extricate and others minis - there are sample pages of his latest project, Exhaust. You can still probably grab a copy for 4 pounds.

2008-10-24T19:02:00.004-04:00

Izzy Challenge by J.B. Winter and 50 Others Izzy Challenge is the brainchild of J.B. Winter, who has enlisted comic artists from 50 states to fill in backgrounds and captions for 50 panels of his character Izzy’s trek across the United States. J.B. drew his character Izzy the mouse in 51 panels over 14 pages. The first panel features Izzy leaving his house with two suitcases and a backpack. The other 50 panels featured J.B.’s drawing of Izzy, but the artists from each of the states provide backgrounds and captions. I like that J.B. makes each page look like an actual photo album – complete with the little picture stays. At the bottom of each page, an icon of the state has a corresponding text box with that state’s artist name, email, and website, if available. Almost all of the panels reflect some state or local theme. For example, Indiana’s panel refers to the “brain drain” that all the politicians occasionally wring their hands over. In Arkansas, Izzy rides on the back of the White River Monster from Jacksonport, Arkansas. In Rhode Island, Izzy hangs out on the Rhode Island School of Design green. While this is a great idea, it must have been a logistical nightmare to coordinate. Izzy Challenge is $1 and available online at J.B.’s website.

2008-10-22T22:22:00.006-04:00

SIZE MATTERS updates, pruning, etc.
Hey Folks, just wanted to point out some updates here at SIZE MATTERS. First of all, and probably most shocking, is that there have been actual reviews and new content more than once this month.

The lack of updates has certainly not been due to a lack of material, just a lack of time and energy. In the last couple of weeks, I have finally carved out some dedicated time each week to devote to reading and reviewing mini-comics. I also picked up up a new Macbook Pro that makes hopping on the laptop a lot more fun.

As I started spending some more time on here this week, I realized that the blogroll over there on the right was woefully outdated. After checking every link, I got rid of the broken links, added dozens of new ones, and updated the ones that needed updating. If you notice something that I’ve missed, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Specifically, I added several new shops to the Where to Buy Mini-Comics section. I’m always looking for more places, so let me know if I’ve missed something. What used to be Comics Blogs is now Blogs and Stuff I Enjoy. I also added dozens of new comic creator links under Mini-Comic Creators and pruned a few links that had died – all the Fort Thunder links, for example.

Most importantly, I added labels to all the posts. You can find this feature right after Blogs and Stuff I Enjoy. I chose to go by artist name in almost all cases, rather than title, and I added shows, online stores, and other labels where appropriate. I think this feature makes the blog much more reader friendly and I hope you enjoy.

That’s about it, except for the robin’s egg blue background, changing the font to Trebuchet, and updating the template to the new Blogger style. Doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot of work!

2008-10-21T20:26:00.005-04:00

A Gosling by Stuart Kolakovic Stuart Kolakovic’s A Gosling is a gorgeous mini-comic, smartly dressed in a three-color wraparound cover. Inside the outside cover wrapper, the saddle-stitched mini has a more subdued cover that mirrors the colorful wrapper cover.

The mini is full color throughout with a three-tone centerfold tale nested within the larger story. Everything about this mini-comic reeks of slickness and quality. The pages are cut from thick paperstock and the color palette is reserved in a way that reminds you of an old children’s picturebook. The art uses iconic shapes as trees or stalks of corn. Stuart also uses an odd layering technique that gives many of his panels a sense of depth.
A Gosling features a young boy who finds, you guessed it, a gosling. His father finds out and chastises him, “Don’t be so stupid! You can’t keep a wild animal!” The boy’s grandfather is kinder, but delivers the same message. Stuart takes the grandfather’s words and nestles them in the center of the mini as a fable, showing the boy that a wild animal is better off in the wild. A Gosling is a bittersweet mini with top notch production values. Check out Stuart’s website, blog, or Etsy shopfor more information on his work.

A tiny saddle-stitched full color mini-comic was hidden inside of my copy of A Gosling. Ja ljubar te is based on an old Serbian folk song of love discovered, love lost, and love reminded after the fact. The mini is wordless except for the occasional tumbling text – “Ja ljubar te.”

It must be Stuart's night. Head on over to Tiny Showcase to see the regular Tuesday night print by none other than Stuart Kolakovic.

2008-10-19T21:07:00.003-04:00

Wigger Haircut and The Diary of Lisa Frank by Zach Hazard Vaupen Wigger Haircut #1 is subtitled “The House that Ska Built.” Joe and Jim discover an obscenely large mansion and Jim tells Joe the house is owned by some guy who got paid tons of money after being discovered skanking at shows. They go to a show at the mansion and Jim instantly takes a dislike to the owner. He tags the mansion and then wakes up the next morning to find his own house tagged by the owner of the mansion. Meanwhile Joe tries to decide whether or not to dump his long distance girlfriend.

This sounds pretty pedestrian, but it’s standard mini-comic fare that obviously means something to the artist. What interests me in Zach’s work is the art. He has an instantly likable style, for me anyway, that lands somewhere in the middle of Frank Santoro’s Cold Heat work and C.F. ‘s style of figure drawing, just a little more thickly lined in this mini. In Wigger Haircut, Zach uses a bright fuschia color that gives the pages a manic, overwhelming atmosphere. Backgrounds are either absent or simple representations. Word balloons are haphazardly placed, but never confusing. The overall effect is one that matches the tone of the story – rushed at times, perplexing, and vital – just like life feels sometimes. You can check out Zach’s work at his blog or Flickr pages. The Diary of Lisa Frank is a 12-page large format mini-comic with eye catching silkscreen covers. Twelve-year old Lisa Frank, who at one point goes to the attic to channel her Grandma Anne, keeps running into a strange guy who works for Mad Magazine and admires her drawings of ponies. After poking through Lisa’s diary and discovering references to a “strange man,” her mother thinks that Lisa has been molested and sends her to a psychiatrist.

Throughout Diary, Zach sprinkles snippets of Lisa’s diary pages on the page: “Dear Diary, PONYS ARE FUCKING AWESOME! i hope Mom doesn’t READ this.” The art in this mini is much lighter than Wigger Haircut.” Zach doesn’t use huge swaths of color, just thinly sketched figures against minimal backgrounds. Occasionally, a character will turn their heads quickly or move unexpectedly and Zach will superimpose the character’s face in a slightly different position overlapping the first face and the third face. It’s a nice touch that lends a sense of movement and uncertainty. Grab your copy of The Diary of Lisa Frank at Zach’s blog. It will set you back $5.

2008-10-07T19:37:00.010-04:00

Moulger Bag Digest and Shitbeams on the Loose Brent Harada and Rusty Jordan's Moulger Bag Digest sports a beautiful, raucous offset cover printed on yellow paper. This 16-page mini-comic certainly screams, “Pick me up and read me!” Inside however, there’s not much to read. Moulger Bag Digest is all eye candy. Brent and Rusty take turns trying to outdo each other by drawing odd beasts and misshapen humans. I generally enjoy this type of thing and this one is no different than others that aim for this type of presentation. There’s the required nonsensical text at an odd angle that kind of relates to the drawing. This may seem like a lukewarm endorsement, but it’s not. The fun these two are having is evident as you flip through the pages. As I said, I enjoy this type of work and it you’re into watching people having fun drawing, you will too.

Not sure how much this one will set you back, but you can try to reach Rusty or Brent to find out where to buy and how much.

Shitbeams on the Loose also features Brent and Rusty, but includes a nice stable of artists like Mike Bertino, Ron Rege Jr, Matt Furie, Drew Beckmeyer, Luke Ramsey, Dave Nuss, Hector Serna, Thomas Crawford, Grant Reynolds, and Robyn Jordan.
Mike Bertino’s “Below Us” starts out the book in a blistering fashion. Two pages in, the reader is assaulted with painful visions of melting father figures and flaming skulls emanating from his character’s pounding head. Drew Beckmeyer’s piece, “The Birth of a Nation,” looks to be sketched with colored pencils and crayons. I loved the way his unique story is laid out like a fable or an Indian legend. Drew’s piece is uplifting with the perfect tone and length for a various artist book.
Luke Ramsey, who also does the gorgeous title page above, spends a few pages on intricately patterned drawings that mix absurdity and slight perversion. Good stuff! Dave Nuss’ one pager features Jesus on the cross refereeing a volleyball game, before Ron Rege’s one pager and Hector Serna’s sinister and spooky several pages of nasty looking heads. Thomas Crawford has a few pages of drawings and then Matt Furie tells the story of a rose dying on a gravestone. Shitbeems ends with some Grant Reynolds sketchebook stuff, which is always welcome, and a short piece by Robyn Jordan about the people you see regularly using the subway.

Everything here is pretty good and the pieces by Mike Bertino and Drew Beckmeyer are strong. Go to the Tender Loving Empire shop for your copy. Shitbeams is $12 for a sixty page square bound book.

While I was at Tender Loving Empire I listened to a couple bands - Jared Mees and the Grown Children and Finn Riggins. Turns out they are touring the Midwest right now and on October 16th they will be just down the street at Radio Radio for the ridiculously low price of $5. How can ou pass up a show with this flyer:

2008-09-11T12:24:00.001-04:00

Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this Weekend!

2008-08-26T20:24:00.005-04:00

Wormdye by Eamon Espey Here's another Secret Acres book collecting mini-comics. This arrived with a little rubber rat bound up across the cover with yarn. Unfortunately, Chloe the Dog took quite a liking to the rat and I'm sad to say that the rat did not survive. The book made it out okay though...

Eamon is a dark bastard. I was a little bummed when it started with two brats putting a cat in a microwave, but the resulting twist that lands their sister in trouble was enough to make me realize that nothing is sacred in Eamon's world. The Pope has quite an appearance later in the story.
You find a constant theme of struggle and an almost exhausting feeling of surviving an adventure. There's really no one to root for; the kids Marco and Tommy are complete bastards and the other characters just manage to muddle through events. Midway through the book, he unleashes some full page drawings of bizarre creatures locked in some form of struggle.
Eamon's art is intricate and at times entrancing. You get the feeling that he's really getting into a groove working on these pages. You can tell that he enjoys the use of patterns and how the repeated imagery lends to the overall effect of the page. You can pick up a copy of Wormdye at the Secret Acres store. It's $13 for 128 densely packed pages of mayhem and oddities. If you happen to live in the Chicago area, I think you can still find copies of the mini-comics at Chicago Comics. I had picked up a couple issues there in the past and recall still seeing issues in the mini-comic racks.

2008-08-11T18:11:00.006-04:00

The Comics of Samuel Gaskin
When you pull something like this out of an ordinary manila envelope, you know you are in for a treat. After freeing Spider-man from his yarn prison, I unpacked the 96-page gag comic book Fatal Faux-Pas and a tabloid comic titled Pizza Wizard. Also included in the package is a slick advert for Secret Acres, the publisher of Samuel's Fatal Faux-Pas, Eamon Espy's WormDye (up next in the review pile), and a collection of Theo Ellsworth's Capacity collection.

In a separate and much smaller manila envelope, Samuel included a three page reviewer's dream - an info sheet on the artist, an info sheet on his new book, and an info sheet on Secret Acres. Everything you need to fill out the details of a review, right there at your fingertip.

Fatal Faux-Pas is a meaty mix of short gag stories riffing on pop culture. It's all in here, from Harry Potter to Saved By the Bell, to one of my all time favorites - Hanna Barbara's Speed Buggy. Samuel's art ranges from the thin line simple look of John Porcellino (in fact he even has a King Cat homage story in here) to more fully fleshed out and richly shadowed panels like the one below where Harry tries to cast a Black Sabbath spell on Professor Snape. Snape responds with the Crimson Ghost skeleton from the Misfits.
Fatal Faux-Pas is $10 from the Secret Acres store.

Pizza Wizard, a tabloid newspaper style comic, follows the adventures of Pizza Wizard and his friend the Stuff Troll. In the first chapter, they meet and the Pizza Wizard convinces the Stuff Troll to accompany him on a journey for – wait for it – a magic pizza. Yeah, it’s as silly as it sounds, but the adventure feels like a way for Samuel to fit as much weird shit into his story as he can.

They run into talking trees, huge plastic turtles, the dreaded Ghost dragon, a band of those freaky trolls from the 80s with the crazy hair. This story doesn’t necessarily go anywhere, but Samuel uses some interesting panel designs and page structures to play around with while he meanders from chapter to chapter. Pizza Wizard is $3 for a good sized 24-page comic on newsprint.

The above page is one of the more interesting pages artistically; it seems a little reminiscent of Dave Sim’s Cerebus work, but without the woman hating stuff.

Go check out Secret Acres. Next week, I’ll have a review of Eamon Espy’s Wormdye.

2008-08-05T20:58:00.010-04:00

Mini-Comics from Lane Milburn and Ryan Cecil Smith

Weird Shmeird is a flip-book mini-comic. Lane and Ryan each start from opposite covers of the book, then each 28 page story bumps into the other in the middle of the book with the line, “Weird Shmeird.”
Ryan’s story is told as a multi-level video game and his art has a bit of a similarity to Kevin Huizenga’s mini-comic work. The penultimate chapter, titled “The Valley of Shifting Stones” is the neatest visual piece in his story. The repetitive pattern of the stones, cross hatched with shadow, gives this section a unique background.
Lane’s story, “House Party,” is dark as hell – visually and story wise. His heavily shadowed backgrounds and heavily laid line make this tale crackle with atmosphere. Maybe I’ve been to too many house parties like this in the sticks, but the barely contained violence simmering underneath each page was palpable until the very last panel.

Ryan’s Picnic at Tough Beach is a mostly silent exercise in intense physical effort and movement. As a group of gods cycle through calisthenics and heavy lifting on the beach, Ryan does a fantastic job at capturing the movement and concentration in their lifting. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the gorgeous silk screened cover spotted with clouds. The cloud theme continues in the opening pages, as Ryan lays down thick brushstrokes that hint at the fullness of an illustrated cloud – nothing white and fluffy here. Those same thick strokes highlight the movement and startle lines that radiate from the heads and muscles of the gods at Tough Beach. When the silence gives way to words in the last several pages of the story, it’s an abrupt shift in timbre and feeling; the gods become more approachable, somehow more human as they marvel at Achilles’ feat of lifting Hanging Rock.
Lane’s Olde Tales: Volume II continues his creep on from Weird Shmeird. In “A Fireside Tale,” an old, topless witch, complete with drooping tits to her navel, regales a group of youngsters with her tale of an epic contest in which she bests a lizard beast. I don’t want to give away the contest, but Lance uses some phallic props to illustrate the old witch’s oral skills. The clueless kids look upon her in admiration as she delivers the ultimate final line echoing a ZZ Top song. That’s all I’m saying.

In “Wasteland,” three American tourists are touring ancient ruins and begin to lament the lack of women around to entertain them. They get MUCH more than they bargain for when a pissed off minotaur pays them a visit.

I really enjoyed Lane and Ryan’s work. They both hail from Baltimore, MD and you can find out more about their work at the ClosedCaption Comics blog. I’ve included a scan of their attention grabbing envelope as well. I can’t tell you how many cool envelopes arrive in the mail here at the Size Matters offices; I’ve always meant to do a post featuring nothing more than envelopes from the likes of Gary Panter, Souther Salazar, Allison Cole, Dan Zettwoch, and many others. Look for that soon as well as a more frequent posting schedule. I’m getting a new laptop and have carved out some time at the neighborhood pub to sit down and do reviews. I hope people are still interested. Trust me, there’s some good stuff in the review pile…

2008-07-06T19:24:00.004-04:00

Comicosmos by Beth Haidle Beth labels Comicosmos as a "non-fiction zine reviewing ideas, topics, & books." The two issues she sent me deal with Willliam Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and "Shaker Philosophy... in the kitchen! Cooking for the heart, mind, & soul." Both issues are a nice blend of art and text. The Shaker issue even includes recipes, one of which I'll have to get Kate to try - Chilled Bluberry-Lavendar Buttermilk Soup.

Both issues, with 12 pages counting the covers, are packed with information. You'll finish each with a familiarity of topic not expected by the time you set these slim comics down. What wins you over is the art; it's beyond charming. Witness below the cast of characters featuring the Goddess of Garnish and the Seasoning Nymphs from the Shaker issue.
The charming quickly switches to sinister in the Blake issue. The bat creature flits from page to page accompanied by fire and serpents illustrating Blake's words and Bible quotes.
the back cover if each issue features bibliography, related works, and further studies, in case the reader needs more information. These issues are quick, informative, engaging, and quick to point you to more information should you be interested.

Beth's website has some sublime illustration work and her site dedicated to these zines has some fantastic images from the third issue, Book of Beasts. Please make sure you check out these websites, as I discovered so much great stuff that I was distracted from finishing this review. Prices for Comicosmos are $3.50 each from her online shop.

2008-05-17T15:10:00.003-04:00

Zirp #3 by Till ThomasIssue three is a 28 page mini that switches gears from the last issue. In this installment, Rezzo, a cross between a dog and a teddy bear, and human Elizabeth endure a broken relationship that unfolds in a trailer. According to Till, this is the first part of an ongoing story.
The story is in German, but he provides English translation numbered by panel at the bottom of each page. This makes it a bit difficult for an English reader to follow as your eyes travel up and down the page, but it’s a nice touch that it’s written in German and then footnoted in English. I ended up reading through the footnotes to get the gist of the story, and then followed the story panel by panel with the German. Most of the plot takes place through the art anyway.

Till’s art is interesting. I like that his figures have a slightly tilted appearance on the page that reminds you of an old school scrolling video game. It’s a distinct style that lends to the type of story that he usually tells.

Zirp number three is seven euros from Till’s website, but I also noticed copies at Rick Bradford’s Poopsheet Shop for seven dollars.

Check out Till’s website for more info on his work. He’s doing freelance illustration work now and has a story in the latest Sturgeon White Moss.

2008-03-04T17:57:00.009-05:00

Three Books from Julia Stein
Swell:Open Faced Sandwich is so huge that I couldn't fit it into my scanner. Swell is the story of Emmeline and Lucy - both of whom are at a point of change in life. Emmeline goes away to university and Lucy... well, Lucy just goes.

Despite the oversized pages, Julia still struggles with holding her thoughts and visions to these pages. Each page and panel is a kaleidoscope of shapes, patterns, and angles. Borders surround the panels and inside the borders images shift and undulate as Emmeline's emotions swell. Over 22 pages, nothing is stable, but you also aren't able to take your eyes off of Julia's art. Swell debuted at SPX 2007 as the first part of a longer story. Here's another image from Swell scanned properly from a website. Julia's current website, Juliacks is still under construction, but you can get some good info on her work here.

Antelope Eater is a 20 page mini-comic based on a performance.
Julia captures the tale of Andy Yak who can't accept that his mother is dying. Andy escapes and becomes the Antelope Eater. This mini is much more cotrolled than Swell or Old Lady Merrell. Page borders are wider and the story seems more contained, despite the constant presence of geometric shapes, swirling patterns, and dying cells.

The Tale of Old Lady Merrell is an engaging and visually exciting book. Julia mixes different types of art (watercolor, pen and ink, lithography) over the course of this tale and begins with these jagged words scratched into a black page: "The decaying house was contaminated. Each room was filled with mounds of what some call junk and others call antique." Old Lady Merrell's house may be disgusting to outsiders, but it's her home. To fill her empty life, she has created dolls that mean something dear to her, while outsiders find the dolls frightening. When her house is marked for destruction by the county, all she can think about is saving her dolls.

This is a very moving story and it fits that this book was born out of a performance. Julia packs these pages with little details that make the story more lifelike. An uptight county inspector becomes a rooster in mid-sentence. A pair of girls are frightened by Old Lady Merrell's upstairs doll room and you can see the tension around the eyes of one of the girls as she tentatively grasps the hands of her companion. When the unfortunate old woman decides on the course she must take, the pace of the narrative speeds up noticeably. At the same time, the selective use of color gives the story punch and emotion.

The Tale of Old Lady Merrell is a 68 page book with about a third of the pages in full color. You can get your copy at Lulu.com for $15.98 or download it for a ridiculously cheap $1.25. I would suggest getting the book to capture the intensity and feeling of the story.

You can also grab Julia's work, at least Swell, from Pittsburgh-based Copacetic Comics. Go get your $2 copy of the 11" X 11" Swell for the best buy in mini-comics I've seen in quite some time.

2008-03-02T16:55:00.004-05:00

Two Mini-Comics from Katie SkellyThe Legend of Countess Saddenbrau, perhaps the most aptly named mini of last year, and Nurse Nurse from Katie Skelly are fun mini-comics. Countess Saddenbrau pokes fun at the gothier than goth sect in a gentle manner. Countess Saddenbrau and Duke Crestfallen, both very happy wallowing in their own solitude, stumble upon each other and find that they must act upon their feelings for each other. But would they be happy together when both so enjoy their time alone? Hmmm, probably not.

Katie's art for the The Legend of Countess Saddenbrau perfectly matches the setting and action of her tale. She uses crayon reproduced on a xerox machine to lend it that darker than thou look.

Nurse Nurse has a lighter feel and a more expansive topic. In the year 3030, three cosmic nurses travel to Venus, home of the hippest intergalactic band, the Quality Confections. Nurse Gemma, the star of the mini, is tricked by her two friends and ends up arriving late on Venus. Then Gemma is assigned to the case of a butterfly farmer where things end up on the sinister side as the mini closes. This is one of those endings where you immediately want to know what happens next. Nurse Nurse feels kind of manga influenced, though not in art so much as in content.
Both minis are $3 from Katie's Etsy shop. I'm not sure when Nurse Nurse #2 is coming out, but she needs to get on that. In the meantime, you can check out some of Katie's comics online at her website.

2008-02-11T17:39:00.001-05:00

Ink Engine Issue 1The first issue of Ink Engine was out in December. Ink Engine is a 24-page mini-comic of drawings created by the five person collaborative of the same name. Alea Adou, along with partners Dajana, Daniel, Lindsay, and Matt, all recent graduates of the University of Wisconsin graphic arts program, take turns crafting 3-4 pages of art along a common theme.
Their styles are different enough to add variety to the project, while also preserving a common feel. My issue came with a ziploc bag of goodies to accompany the mini-comic, inlcuding a fold out camera named the Cutie Cam: Twin Reflex Camera and a tiny envelope with the legend, ""What can you do with this junk?" Inside the envelope was an orange button, a tiny piece cut from a magazine illustration, a few small illustrations from the mini, and backing paper from a sticker - sans sticker.
Isue one of Ink Engine is $4. Visit their MySpace page or or blog for details.

2008-01-28T09:57:00.002-05:00

Warren Craghead’s New Site
From Warren:
“I've updated and moved around my website - it's now at www.craghead.com. The old wcraghead.com will still host my blog and will point to the new site. I've added a couple new things: links, bio, press, plus more sample pages of books and a new blog of my postcard drawings postcards AHOY.

One brand new thing is a new book Lisboa, Lisbon which is based on my trip to Portugal last fall. Lisboa, Lisbon is available for reading on the new site or as a free PDF download that you can fold up, staple and play with. I'm releasing it with a Creative Commons license which means you can copy it to your friends, send it to anyone and even remix it as long as I get some credit and you don't sell it.”

Warren is a great guy and I really love his work. Peaceful, contemplative lines converge on the page in a way that immediately relaxes you. Be sure to check out his postcard blog as well.

2008-01-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

Entropy Issues Three and Four by Aaron Costain
Both issues three and four of Aaron Costain's Entropy are cat-centric. Issue three is a silent cat story that begins with a cat waking from a nap in the forest and ends with the same cat curling up on a comfy living room couch. In between, the cat stalks birds, stretches its legs over short graceful sprints, and stumbles upon another cat.

Aaron's art is very precise. The lines forming shapes and figures are very bold and deliberate. Although he uses organic shapes like leaves and bushes, he also generously uses non-organic patterns to fill in backgrounds. In one three page sequence, he moves simple black ink backdrops to tightly grouped vertical lines to four different types of foliage and then finally to tightly grouped horizontal lines. This lends the panels a feeling of movement. The reader's eyes quickly follow the cat's lithe body through these changing backgrounds.

Issue four of Entropy is less focused on art and backgrounds, but more focused on plot. Once again a cat takes center stage, but this time she interacts with an eagle and a wild boar. All three characters are mothers laden with growing broods.

Crafty as any cat can be, this cat gains the confidence of both the mother eagle and mother sow. The cat slyly plants nefarious thoughts into both eagle and sow's minds, playing on their maternal instincts.

This is a brutal story that leaves you cautiously eyeballing your own cats as they slink through your house. Both of these minis are a nice addition to the Entropy line of comics. Check out Aaron's website. You can find his comics at The Beguiling, Quimby's, Chicago Comics, and Strange Adventures in Halifax. You can also contact Aaron directly at acostain@gmail.com.

Entropy issue three is 8 pages for $3. Issue four is 24 pages for $4.

2007-12-19T06:05:00.001-05:00

The Rosie Stories by Diana Tamblyn
You know how mini-comics can be about anything the artist wants, right? Well, Diana Tamblyn's The Rosie Stories is about her love for her new baby, Rosie. This comic feels so personal and so right with the world, that you start to feel a kinship with Rosie, Diana, and her husband. That's part of the charm with mini-comics; while the big comic publishers push the same old crap on a captive audience, minis and small publishers are free to explore the important things in our lives. With Diana's new comic, you know exactly where her passion lies (not to pigeonhole her though, she also sent me a neat litle mini that mixes up some single panel pages, Poor Sailor style, devoted to some local musicians).
The Rosie Stories is split into four sections and an introduction over 16 pages. It begins with a prelude to Rosie's birth. Diana has the fears, uncertainty, and then the overwhelming joy as Rosie is born. A highlight of the mini to us outsiders are the crazy-cute "Lil Rosie" stories. In these two stories, Diana's Rosie reminds the reader of a younger Lucy from Peanuts. She's cute but headstrong.

Diana's art is a good mix of bold lines and strong black and white art. Occasionally you feel overwhlemed by her facial expressions and heavy line, but you always know where she stands in relation to ther art. She's never indecisive. I always appreciate her commitment to her work and she gives everything up to the reader in this very personal story.

Check out her website for samples of her work. Diana has a nice back catalog of minis available and she's a very consistent and honest artist. Tthe Rosie Stories is still available for $3 from her website.

2007-12-04T19:53:00.001-05:00

The Chunky Gnars by Chris Cornwell For those of you lamenting the early demise of Cold Heat in pamphlet form, you'll be happy to find Chris Cornwell's salute of sorts - The Chunky Gnars. The cover of Chris's mini takes the form of a flier for a Chocolate Gun tribute band called The Chunky Gnars. Inside you'll find a tight little story starring Castle and the ultra creepy Senator Wastmor. The Senator is still pissed off and hopes to use the lead singer of The Chunky Gnars for revenge.

Over 16 pages, Chris does his usual fantastic job of mixing up panel structure and patterns, moving effortlessly from four or six panels to 36 tiny panels of silent images. The story feels comforting and familiar to Cold Heat readers and Chris is talented enough to play with the characters in a way that doesn't feel cheap or inappropriate.

If you're infamiliar with Chris's work, check out his stuff on the Locals Rule page at Pittsburgh's Copacetic Comics or past reviews here at Size Matters.
Get your own copy of Chunky Gnars from the Picturebox website for only $3.

2007-11-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

Capacity #7 by Theo Ellsworth
If you’re not familiar with Theo’s work, he strikes the perfect balance between children’s storybooks and comics. He's wildly imaginative and just a little bit silly. Reading issues of Capacity, or anything else of his, is always a lot of fun. Often the level of detail and obsessiveness is a bit startling, but this tendency keeps you engaged as you read. See what I mean. This 32-page comic has two longer stories ("Witch Medicine" and "Wizards Tale") and several one page pinups and gags. "Wizards Tale" features a man who comes face to face with every dream he had ever dreamt. Here's a page from that story.
An example of one of the gag pages.
For more of Theo's work visit his website. His stuff can be found at Chicago Comics and Quimby's. If you aren't near Chicago Comics or Quimby's, you can buy Theo's comics online at the excellent Secret Acres online shop. Capacity issue 7 can be yours for $5. Grab issue 6 whie you are there for $3.50. You won't be sorry.

2007-11-20T20:38:00.001-05:00

The Treehouse and Other Stories by Davi Shy
Davi Shy turns in a quiet mini-comic with the saddest goldfish story you will ever read. Seriously. Treehouse is five short pieces over a dozen pages featuring her meditations on daily life.

What sets this mini apart from many others mining this same vein is the dash of color she uses throughout these stories. In "Welcome to the Treehouse II" she begins with different shades of safe and secure blue. In "Other Stories from Summer 2007," she expands the color palatte with the shock of light green leaves just outside a window. In "Everyday Dilemma" and the goldfish story, she introduces shades of pink and red.

You don't see many $2 mini-comics that use color and it's enough, along with the sad fish story, to set this one apart. Davi ably captures the small moments in life; the most accomplished panels feature still life drawings rather than movement or action.

Check out more from Davi at her blog. You can buy copies of Treehouse for $2 from Chicago Comics.

From 9am to noon this Friday, Chicago Comics is having a 30% off sale. Kate and I were already planning on going to Chicago for Thanksgiving, so it looks like I'll be saving myslf 30% on comics. Nice.

2007-11-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

Magic Hour Issues One and Two by Alex Holden
Alex Holden’s Magic Hour captures the curious mix of childhood reality and unreality. Ricky gets mixed up with Black Eye Eddie, who may or not be a zombie. The other kids are certainly sure that Eddie and his sister Carlotta are more than they seem. Ricky and his friends are focused on tagging trains and walls with lifted spray paint, but along the way they run into a few problems.

Issue one of Magic Hour is two stories in one package. The second story, “Stay Out of the Gorgon Yard,” is actually a separate 24-page mini-comic stapled into the main mini-comic. The art in “The Gorgon Yard” is light blue against a pitch black paper. This color scheme gives the story a nice creepy effect.

Alex’s art matures a bit with the second issue. His lines, more assured and confident, are thickly drawn and his backgrounds are sketched out just enough to suggest a convincing backdrop for his tales.

The second issue is part one of a story titled “Field Trip.” Ricky and Black Eye Eddie hook up with the older teen, Moose, to tag some trains. Most of the issue details the quest for spray paint, but Alex drops a tantalizing surprise on the last page of this 18-page mini.

Reading these two comics leaves you with the weird sense that anything can happen in Magic Hour. The possibilities are endless, just like that feeling you had when you were a kid running on the streets –that weird old lady’s house is most assuredly haunted, and the big old dude in the wife beater that lives down the street certainly eats children. These types of little details pop up matter of factly in Magic Hour with regularity and Alex does such a good job of telling his story that you don’t question where the story goes.

You can check out Alex's blog and pick up copies of Magic Hour for $2 at USS Catastrophe.

2007-11-14T17:39:00.001-05:00

Road of Knives by Zak Smith and Shawn Cheng
Road of Knives is a print version of Zak Smith, Shawn Cheng,and Nicholas Di Genova’s excellent battle blog, Road of Knives. In the foreground of the first panel, Zak drops in a nightmarish beast hunched over with an absurdly large axe. Underneath in the next panel, Shawn draws a pair of ominous-looking, ferociously armed serpentine warriors – and a much less ominous little guy. This little dude looks totally out of place. He’s definitely outclassed by the other menacing figures on the page.

On the next page the battle begins; coiled figures unload on each other as swords slice through flesh. On page 5 the little dude is almost crushed by a severed head. He disappears after that as the battle heats up. Later on page 11, you see him hauling ass away from the battle site. At this point, both artists’ canvases expand. The monsters grow to terrible heights, filling the page with their swollen and grotesque bodies.

Both artists excel at this type of subject matter. And this format allows unfettered imagination and a ridiculous game of one-upmanship.

Road of Knives features 16 pages of beastly carnage underneath a gorgeous silver screen printed cover. Get your copy for $2 from the Partyka online store.

2007-10-09T14:31:00.001-04:00

Souther Salazar this weekend at GR2

All you folks on the West coast might like to attend Souther's show at GR2. I know I'd go if I was anywhere near LA.

Make It Real at GR2, October 13 - October 31
Reception: Saturday, October 13, 6:30 -10:00

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 445-9276

2007-10-03T18:10:00.001-04:00

Super by Kevin Breslawski
The SPX Expo is coming up and Kevin Breslawski's Super is one of those minis that I love finding at SPX. Super isn't just a comic it's a little surprise pack of art and fun. His first two issues (issue three should be out by SPX weekend) come packed in a tiny manila envelope stuffed with stickers and buttons. You can tell that he's spent a great deal of time making his comic package special to the reader.

Each issue of Super is a 2" X 4" eight-page mini. Inside each mini you'll find short stories and cool drawings. Kevin packs a lot of detail into each colorful issue.

To order Super from Kevin, visit his blog order page. Issues of Super are $3 with $1 shipping.

I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I've been buried in work and any free time is spent hanging out with Chloe the Diggity Dog.

2007-09-30T19:38:00.001-04:00

San Francisco Zine Fest From François Vigneault, SFZF 2007 organizing committee:

"The San Francisco Zine Fest is returning October 5th and 6th. The Bay Area’s most beloved conference for zines, comics, and crafts, the Zine Fest is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a move to a beautiful new location, the Women’s Building. As always, the Zine Fest is free and open to the public! Over 50 small-press and DIY creators will be selling, trading, and otherwise sharing their work with over a thousand attendees. The exhibitors, from elder statesmen of the DIY movement such as RE/Search Publications to first time self-publishers, showcase the diversity, vitality, and ongoing exuberance of the small press movement. While the majority of the exhibitors hail from the Bay Area, creators from across the West Coast and country will be present.

Special guests this year are John Marr, writer of the seminal zine Murder Can Be Fun, a cavalcade of bizarre and often very funny tales of untimely death; and Joe Sayers, the cartoonist behind the weekly strip Thingpart and the recently released Teen Power!, a collection of hilarious comics all drawn in five minutes or less. Q&A sessions will be held with both special guests on Saturday. Several panel discussions and hands-on workshops will be held throughout the day on Saturday, including a class on the basics of silk screening taught by John Isaacson, whose book Do It Yourself Screenprinting was recently released by Microcosm Publishing. Other events include ongoing raffle drawings throughout the Fest and a special awards ceremony.

The San Francisco Zine Fest was begun in 2001 by Jenn Starfiend, and is currently run by a hard-working group of volunteers, including members of Family Style, Just Visiting and 327 Market, along with many others.

The San Francisco Zine Fest will be held from 2:00pm-8:00pm on Friday, October 5th, and from 11:00am-7:00pm on Saturday, October 6th. Admission is free on both days.

The Women’s Building is located at 3543 18th St. #8 San Francisco, CA 94110 (between Valencia and Guerrero in the Mission).

For more information, including a full list of exhibitors and workshop schedule, visit the website."

2007-09-04T16:43:00.001-04:00

Trains are Mint #3 by Oliver East

Hey look, it's another issue of Trains Are Mint! If you don't already read Oliver East's wonderful mini-comic, then take a glance at these pages.
I prattled on about Trains Are Mint Issue 1 in this post. From last Neovembert:

Trains Are Mint is a great example of what mini-comics do so well. East takes something important or interesting to him, and puts it on the page for a small audience to discover. What I like about East’s effort is the extra touches. The watercolor art is gorgeous. He uses a neutral, stiff card stock for the cover with plenty of information for the reader inside the back cover.

This goes triple for issue three. Oliver is a little more adventurous in his panel layouts this time around. There's a very funny bit where he encounters a lady jogging; he throws you off a bit until your eyes hit the last panel at the bottom of the page.

Oliver's website is here. Click on any of the three issues (the man is leaning on them) for page samples and ordering information.

2007-08-20T17:27:00.001-04:00

This is Still America: Part Two by George
Last September, we took a look at This is Still America. I recall being very surprised by the line art. George has a very distinctive way of drawing his lines, especially in the background. Forms are not fully drawn; they're more like suggestions of a drawing.

That's been toned down a bit in the second issue, subtitled "Where the fuck is everybody?"
This issue is much more grounded in reality than the previous one. George concentrates on the dreary past with his overbearing and physically abusive father. There's less of the soaring dream sequences and more pain. The father is mentally and physically abusive to the son, showing you how easy it is for the child to seek an alternate reality.
Things do get very weird in the end when the father makes a bonfire with his son's toys. Any reality melts under the pressure of so much anger.

Like the first issue, this one is only $2. It's 32 pages of black and white art with a very cool blue edge to each page. The first issue featured red bleeding edges on all the pages. These little details really make George's minis stand out. You can get your copy at Bodega Distribution.

2007-08-06T17:36:00.001-04:00

Only Skin by Sean Ford

Only Skin: New Tales of the Slow Apocalypse is a pretty large mini-comic. It's oversized comic size, kind of like a Golden Age comic. It's designed well, from the Chester Brown inspired cover to the title page echoing Anders Nilsen's Big Questions. I also like the recycled off-white paper that reminds you a bit of newsprint.

Inside, Sean crafts a 36-page mystery involving grisly disappearances at a remote gas station.

Single mother Cassie and her son Clay tend to the gas station. Meanwhile, folks in the town are starting to organize and discuss the disappearances. Sean has a wonderful night scene where Clay is woken by a ghost. The ghost is of the "charming Peanuts ghost at Halloween" variety and makes a nice contrast of white against the black of the woods.

Only Skin is a great start to a well made comic series. It ends with a heck of a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to see issue #2. You can check out Sean's blog for more samples of the art. He's even got some cool color pages on display. You can get a copy of Only Skin at Quimbys or I Know Joe Kimpel for only $4. I think you'll probably be seeing a lot more of Sean Ford.

2007-08-01T17:20:00.001-04:00

Okay, I love this - Self Comics
Got an email from Luca Genovese, who wanted to point out his mini-comics website Self Comics.

We are translating, slowly but surely, all our catalouge but now there are just some. We produce 8 page stories that can be read, downloaded and printed for free. The PDF files of each story are ready to be printed out, folded and stapled, so you can physically have our minicomics, if you want to.

This a fantastic idea and they have several gorgeous minis that you can read online or print and savor. They are also in the process of translating more stories. So, bookmark them and check back often.

Here's a few pages to give you an idea.
Gloria by Luca Vanzella and Luca Genovese. Translated by Elisabetta Favalessa.

Persistance And Elegance by Paolo Parisi and translated by Alberto Corradi.

Tonight I’m Gonna Dream You Have Always Loved Me by Luca Vanzella and Lucia Biagi. Translated by Alexandra Uzunova.

2007-07-31T18:07:00.001-04:00

Pursuit by Corey Bechelli
Pursuit is a silent 12-page black and white mini-comic. Corey manages to create a menacing mood without text. Instead of words, he uses heavy doses of black ink, sometimes inverting the black and white colors.

The art is photo realistic and very slick. His perspective shots are dizzying as you trace the lone bird soaring through the tall city buildings. Each face, whether human or animal, shoots an acusatory look at the reader. It feels somewhat claustrophobic until the last two pages. These pages eschew the direct gazes from the previous pages, reaching towards the open sky instead.

There's no price on this one, but you can visit Corey's website for information and lots of other comics. Look around while you're there. He's got some fantastic illustrations, inlcuding Muddy Waters, Angela Davis, and Marlon Brando. The Angela Davis one looks ready for a t-shirt.

2007-07-30T15:12:00.001-04:00

Pitbull by Paolo Parisi
Paolo Parisi has created a fabulous mini-comic that seems ready to be snapped up by any of several small publishers. His book is fleshed out nicely, telling a complete story of interest to almost anyone. The art has a nice balance of detail and ambiguity, creating a pleasing page at an instant. The prose is as choppy and brutal as the subject matter - a tough street kid makes good pulverizing people in the ring. The Pitbull piles up wins, but the wear and tear on his body catches up. He uses drugs to numb the pain. His relationships outside the ring crumble and he's left facing an improbable comeback against a younger, quicker, and bigger fighter. Sounds a bit like the corny Rocky franchise, but Paolo doesn't take the easy way out with the Pitbull.

This is a high quality mini-comic from cover to cover. The thick, glossy cover is folded over a normal false cover and the interior art has a pleasing mix of black and white art with gray washed tones to lend depth to the backgrounds.

Pitbull is 56 pages and I think you can get your hands on it for 4 euros. Paolo's email is paolo.parisi1980@libero.it or paoloparisi80@gmail.com. Here's a review in Italian from one of my favorite websites, Canicola.

2007-07-19T19:24:00.002-04:00

Smith Loves Wesson by Ratigher

Smith Loves Wesson is a wordless 24-page mini-comic printed on yellow paper. Ratigher’s art is tight and unadorned. Smith gets up, showers, and combs his hair a few times to get it just right and then… some other stuff happens.

I love this page with the t-shirts on the bed. Which one to choose?

Ratigher is in Italy, but I’m sure he would be happy to send some comics to wherever you may be. Smith Loves Wesson is only one euro, so that’s like a buck thirty the last time I looked.

Check out the DonnaBavosa website for this mini and several others.

Ratigher also sent a longer mini by Paolo Parisi. I'll look at that for tomorrow. Think Rocky Balboa but much seedier.

2007-07-11T17:19:00.001-04:00

Two More by Chris Cornwell

First, Black Wings. This silent mini is done with what looks like a Sharpie. It even smelled kind of inky when I opened up the envelope.

Black Wings works best when Chris does a bit of background to clash with the character. The figure on the ground with the rock looks fantastic. The figure in the air is less convincing without the background.
The thing I like about this is it's mostly done with very short fat lines. Chris uses the occasional longer curved line to delineate the shape of the figure, but it's the short strokes that make up the bulk of the art.

It's unexpected and effective. Not sure how much Black Wings will cost you, but if you contact Chris at thefunkmunk@yahoo.com, he could probably help you out.

Quester

Quester is another silent mini that spans 40 sometimes awe-inspiring pages. There's much more of a visual kick to this one.

It's more like I Wanna Destroy You, but the art is more organic. Where Destroy had cut out art pasted together, Quester has thick inky lines making up the figures. The title of this mini is certainly apt; the main character goes on a mind boggling quest that transcends mind and body.

You can get a copy of Quester for $2.00 from Bill at the always fantastic Copacetic Comics website.

2007-07-02T19:35:00.001-04:00

I Wanna Destroy You by Chris Cornwell On the first page of I Wanna Destroy You a Mat Brinkman like Oaf meanders through a Charles Burns tapestry. It's a peaceful introduction to a very conflicted story. Inside, a battle rages within the artist's head. Your typical whitebread superhero and your slacker monster engage in a sad battle. Although it's more apt to say that the superhero kind of freaks out and wants to hurt something to justify his existence. This is kind of a sad story, but it's always clear that the battle unfolds only in the artist's head.

Here are two fun pages that I couldn't stand to break up.

When you take a close look at Chris' art, you'll notice that there is more going on than you think. For starters, the characters are cut and pasted onto the simple background. This lends a weird depth to the art that takes a bit of time to sink in. As you take a closer look, you can't help but appreciate the time spent cutting and pasting figures onto the page.

Chris Cornwell is a talented and engaging artist. Flipping through his minis, I'm reminded of just why mini-comics are so fantastic. I Wanna Destroy You is 28 pages for the ridiculously low price of $2.50. You can get a copy at the fantastic Copacetic Comics. Copacetic is fast becoming one of my favorite comic stores and I've never even visited them. From the looks of things, this Pittsburgh shop is a hotbed of comics activity. The above link features Pittsburgh artists and writers. Please do youself a favor. Check them out. Now.

I'll feature two more of Chris Cornwell's comics this week, Quester and Black Wings.

2007-06-25T17:59:00.001-04:00

Back in July

Between Chloe the Super-Pup and the normal summer crush of grants and projects at work, I haven't even thought of the site. Sorry bout that.

The mini-comics do keep arriving and plenty are waiting to be reviewed next week.

Hope everyone had fun at MoCCA!

I'll be back in July.

2007-06-04T20:18:00.002-04:00

Seven More Days of not Getting Eaten by Matt Wiegle Matt Wiegle has a knack for turning folk tales and legends into disarmingly funny and thoughtful mini-comics. Seven More Days of Not Getting Eaten is no exception. Over seven days, a talking fish manages to manipulate some not too bright anglers out of cooking him for dinner.
Over seven stories, the fish proves much smarter than the assorted fishermen who cast their line into his stream. The fish convinces one fisher to let him go so he can change into a better suit, "I was lamenting the shame of being caught without my best suit on." He convinces another fiherman to attempt to build a fire underwater, "Get those twigs! Yes! Yes! Put them underwater! Rub them together! Go! Go!" This sequence had me laughing out loud both times I read this mini.

To be honest with you, I'd recommend anything that Matt produces. His mini-comics have not missed yet. Each of them transcend the mere form of mini-comic and possess that quality that makes them something you want to treasure. Seven More Days is 76 pages for the ridiculously low price of $3.

From the Partyka website catalog: Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime," goes the old axiom. Well, fine, Mr. Axiom, but while you're busy encouraging every oaf in the kingdom to trudge down to the river with a crudely made pole, the fish will be busy teaching themselves whatever trickery will help them survive. In this book, fishkind bamboozles mankind for seven days. Also: punching; dampness; screams of terror.

Go buy it. Go buy everything on the Partyka website. It's all fabulous.

If you don't believe me, here's today's Daily Drawing by Sara Edward Corbett - "Rat of the Sky."

2007-05-22T18:54:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-05-22T18:02:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-05-20T19:29:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-05-13T20:52:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-04-30T20:12:00.001-04:00

Entropy issues 1 and 2 by Aaron Costain
In issue one of Entropy, the protagonist, oddly overdressed for a mild walk along a wooded road, contemplates creation myths and converses with the woodland creatures. Costain lends a level of anxiety to his tale even before the pesky ravens assail his lone traveler. This fellow is anxious about the ravens but also concerned about creation. He tries his hand at deity to no avail (at first). Then, to mess with his peaceful day, the ravens arrive.

The art in the first issue of Entropy reminded me a bit of the art in Jiro Taniguchi’s excellent The Walking Man (Fanfare/Ponent Mon). The lines of the trees and leaves are ultra detailed, giving the setting a degree of hyper-reality. The level of detail isn’t quite as defined as Taniguchi's, but the comparison is still useful as a point of reference.
Issue two of Entropy is a bit of a departure from issue one. The cover is gorgeous enough to consider for a print; I’d hang a print of that on my office wall in a second. The departure comes from the subject matter and ultimately the reduced size of this mini.

It’s broken up into two stories; the longer, “the SHAME that made a MAN out of MAC,” and the brief “automatism 1.” In “the SHAME,” Mac keeps getting flat tires (3 of them!) on his bicycle. The first two times, he rolls his bike to The Bike Clinic for a flat tire repair. You get the sense that Mac thinks the gods are mocking him with the repeated flats. By the time flat tire number three arrives, Mac decides to take matters into his own hands, and thus he becomes – a MAN.

The art in issue two is less detailed than issue number one, especially in the second story, “automatism 1.” The art here is much looser, a function of the tiny panels (eight of them) crowded onto each page. This doesn’t ruin the art, but it forces Aaron to use less detail and rely on simple lines. It works pretty well.

I forgot to mention that Aaron get s extra points for including a Murakami reference in response to the foxes comments shown above, “You haven’t read too much Murakami, have you!”

You can get more information on Entropy and look at more of Aaron’s comics at his website.

2007-04-26T18:45:00.001-04:00

Mimi’s Doughnuts Zine by Marek Bennett
The front cover of Mimi’s Doughnut Zine reads “Politics, Global Warming Stuff, A Visit with a Pet Psychologist, and Snow.” That’s exactly what you get in this 36-page mini.

After a short story about a manipulating local politician, and a well drafted science lesson on global warming, you get the real heart of this book – a 20-page tale of an emotionally imbalanced dog regaining it’s mental health.

As in most cases of dog problems, this problem lies in the behavior of the humans surrounding the dog. Kody is a pretty good dog, but he has major separation anxiety. It’s so bad that he destroys furniture and threatens his own well being. So they go take Kody to a pet shrink, who tells them that they are the problem. All ends well, but Marek cruelly hints at darker times to come in one menacing panel.

Mimi’s Doughnuts Zine is a solid mini-comic that’s on its tenth issue. Two pages of notes and reader letters wind up this issue and Marek’s heart is definitely in the right place with this work. I’ll leave you with this prelude page:
Mimi’s Doughnuts Zine is $3 and you can get your copy by visiting Marek’s website. Also check out archived strips of Mimi's Doughnuts.

2007-04-23T17:30:00.001-04:00

I Walk With My Wife In the Evening by Christopher Davis
Over 18 pages and an early evening walk, Christopher Davis fantasizes about an ominous cloud in the sky. He and his wife take a routine walk, but his thoughts are of the fantastic – dirty bombs, nuclear war, gas masks, body bags, and death of a massive scale.
Christopher’s art is well suited for a grand scale. Almost every panel, regardless of the size, stretches to the ominous sky. Dark shading lurks then creeps from the panel borders. Christopher’s inking is very subtle, allowing the moodiness of the penciled art underneath to shine.
As foreboding as the story is, it begins and ends in lightness (and reality). The inside of both covers are very simple, no background or shaded sky. It really brings you back to present tense after the escape of the story.

Christopher also sent in a few other minis, including ”No Buses. Chickens. I have to share this image.
I featured a couple of Christopher’s minis back in March of last year. Good to see he’s still going strong. No prices on either of these, but give him a shout at squawkalong@yahoo.com for details.

2007-04-17T19:26:00.001-04:00

Back from St. Thomas and S.P.A.C.E. Reminder Kate and I have been in St. Thomas for a wedding, so I haven't been posting mini-comic stuff or answering emails. Having so much fun is kind of exhasuting, but I'll get back to business tomorrow.

Please don't forget that S.P.A.C.E. is this coming weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Good pal Matt Dembicki and S.P.A.C.E. organizors will be holding raffles to support Mike Roden, so look out for that.

2007-04-09T19:26:00.001-04:00

The Monkey & the Crab by Shawn Cheng and Sara Edward-Corbett
Brooklyn-based Partyka artists Shawn Cheng and Sara Edward-Corbett deliver this well-crafted and ultra charming mini based on a Japanese folktale.

The Monkey & the Crab is wrapped in a silver silk screened cover punched and tied together with purple yarn. Inside is the usual high quality Partyka mini-comic. The monkey finds a persimmon seed; at the same time the crab finds a dumpling. The conniving monkey jealously eyes the crab’s dumpling. The crab eloquently shows the monkey that a persimmon seed, once planted and tended, provides a lifetime of sustenance, while the dumpling only gives a moment’s satisfaction. The monkey, a vagabond without a family, then forces a trade with the crab who has a family to support. After reluctantly agreeing to the exchange, the crab carefully tends and nurtures his persimmon seed. The seed grows to a beautiful and fecund tree, capable of feeding the crab’s family and friends.

Then the jealous and hungry monkey comes back.
This is a fantastic mini-comic – compact, moving, and eloquent. It’s a fairy tale and a moral lesson neatly packaged in a striking cover. Purchase the 64-page The Monkey & the Crab at the Partyka webstore for $7. Check out sample art from their other minis while you’re there. The Partyka gang puts out some of the best mini-comics you’ll ever find.

Stay tuned for a review of Matt Wiegle’s fish tale Seven More Days of Not Getting Eaten.

2007-04-05T21:11:00.001-04:00

Channeling Tom Spurgeon Again

If I was in Brooklyn, I'd go to this. From the wonderfully talented Matthew Thurber:

"Hi, a great night of music, art, + animation by some crazy multitaskers is coming up, presented by PictureBox. April 18th at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn: Gary Panter/Devin Flynn musical performance. An Ambergris (Matthew Thurber, Hiroshi Kimura, Rebecca Bird, scroll, light show by Roi Bannow????) Amy Lockhart film screening

Come rock and roll with us! In a round room!

8 P.M.
400 Carroll Street
Between Bond and Nevins
Rrooklyn, NY 11231
718-330-0313

Here is a more elaborate description:

Wednesday, April 18
A PictureBox night at Issue Project Room

PictureBox is a Grammy-Award winning publisher and visual culture studio based in Brooklyn, New York. Led by art director and editor Dan Nadel, PictureBox specializes in bringing artists' visions to print in startling and unexpected ways. Nadel art directs and oversees all PictureBox projects, from CDs to posters to books.

Amy Lockhart is a Vancouver-based filmmaker, animator and painter. She'll be screening some of her short films collected under the moniker Walk For Walk.

Matthew Thurber is a Brooklyn-based cartoonist and musician who creates 19th century versions of multi-media performances with masks, scrolls, and a small guitar.

Gary Panter is the legendary artist behind Jimbo and the designer of Pee Wee's Playhouse. His paintings, comics, and graphics have influenced generations of artists. He will be performing vocal and guitar songs for the first time in over three decades. Appearing with Panter will be Devin Flynn.

Devin Flynn is part of the bands Plate Tectonics and Gangstahs Wit Gats and has a cartoon show on Adult Swim's website."

2007-04-02T20:16:00.001-04:00

Banal Pig Comic #3 by Steven Tillotson
The third issue of Banal Pig Comic is 26 pages of cruelty and nastiness. A boy and his dog, pissed off after being eliminated from a local dog show, burn down the show tent. Afterwards, with wide smiles, they hold the charred and partially melted trophy - “HOORAY! We are the champions!”

An irate robot (in Irate Robot!) grows tired of standing in line with a bunch of mouthbreather humans. This robot has a circular saw blade for a hand and… well things don’t end so well for the annoying human standing behind him.
God enlists a physically broken angel to battle a terrible demon on earth. The angel defeats the demon and God grants him any wish as a reward. The angel gets his reward, but doesn’t watch where he is standing when he teleports to earth. Things get nasty.

That last sentence describes how every Banal Pig story ends. “Things get nasty.” Every story is brutally mean, but they're often just as funny. Every tale here makes you smirk and feel a bit bad about yourself for smiling. Steven's art is always solid as he switches back and forth from sharks, pigs, humans, robots, cats, and angels.

Check out Banal Pig for yourself at Steven’s website, MySpacePage, or blog.

Banal Pig #3 is 26 pages and 4 pounds (roughly $8, damn weak dollar).

2007-03-30T11:25:00.001-04:00

Elfworld Almost Upon Us
Hey folks, got a message from François Vigneault and Family Style headquarters that Elfword ships next month. It will premier at the
Alternative Press Expo April 21st & 22nd and also as a part of the
"We're Rollin', They're Hatin" art show in Chicago, opening that same weekend.

Details:

The long-awaited indie-comics fantasy anthology is here! Compiled by
Jeffrey Brown, edited by François Vigneault, designed by Jonas Madden-
Connor.

Begun years ago by the venerable Jeffrey Brown, Elfworld brings
together an amazing mix of alternative comics stars and up-and-coming
creators to tackle the fantasy comic. At turns hilarious, mysterious,
surprising, and action-packed, these 16 stories breathe new artistic
life into one of comics' most popular genres.

Elfworld Volume One features 128 pages of work from Jeffrey Brown
(Unlikely), Martin Cendreda (MOME), Liz Prince (Will You Still Love
Me if I Wet the Bed?), Kazimir Strzepek (Mourning Star), and many
more. Full-color, wrap-around painted cover by Jesse Reklaw
(Slowwave, 2006 Best American Comics).

Contributors:
Jeffrey Brown
Martin Cendera
K. Thor Jensen
Dave McKenna
Erik Nebel & Jesse Reklaw
Jason Overby
Liz Prince
Ansis Purins
Ron Regè, Jr. & Souther Salazar
Grant Reynolds
Dalton Sharp
Kazimir Strzepek
Jason Turner & Jody Turner
François Vigneault
Matt Wiegle & Sean Collins

Available now for pre-order.

For mature readers.
Trade paperback. 6" x 9", 128pp, b&w. $12.95
ISBN 978-0-9794178-0-1

2007-03-29T20:40:00.001-04:00

Chicago Comics, Now Online

This is pretty fucking exciting. Chicago Comics, one of my favorite comic shops, now has an online shop. When I want to shop for comics, I go to Chicago Comics (and Quimby's). It's a three hour drive, but it's always worth it. Visit their mini-comics page for the finest mini-comics. You won't reget it. They also have a great selection of comics and graphic novels if you don't have a real comic shop near you. These guys always have the best stuff. I've relied on them for years.

2007-03-27T20:08:00.001-04:00

Habitual Entertainment #3 Will Dinski is no stranger around the SIZE MATTERS offices. Back in December of 2005 we showed you issues one and two of Habitual Entertainment.

Issue 3 is almost a total break from the style and feel of those minis. It’s a larger format and he uses a stiffer paper stock for the covers. Inside, all of the pages are a reddish-pink color with black ink as the only other tone.
Will’s story covers almost 150 years in 24 pages. He begins with a farmer, his newborn child, and his wife who dies during childbirth. Without the wife, the farmer and the kid grow apart, clash, and attempt to come together again as the father ages.

I’ve forgotten the most important part, I guess. The father doesn’t use traditional tractors and combines. He uses these huge spherical robots that, standing next to each other, look like Power Girl’s breasts. That explains how you get this classic line from son to father: “That giant tit of yours tried to kill me!”
Check out Will’s website and blog for information on his comics. He’s published three issues of Habitual Entertainment and several other minis. Issue 3 of Habitual Entertainment is $3 and worth every penny.

2007-03-26T18:44:00.001-04:00

The Lost Mini-Comics... Starting with Barrelhouse #2
Over the weekend I found a huge envelope stuffed with mini-comics. These minis have been patiently waiting for some kind soul to review them. And the creators who made the mini-comics? Waiting for some kind soul to review their comics. If you were/are one of those creators, I'm sorry. I'm spending the next two or three weeks reviewing this envelope full of minis.

It starts tonight with Barrelhouse: Pus Drunk #2 written by R. Lee and illustrated by Dug Belan. Barrelhouse tells the story of a seventeen year old landscape laborer who is a little messed up in the head. He's got the misplaced anger and aggression so common for a fellow of that age. He’s also got a funky, irritating diarrhea of the mouth that annoys everyone who meets him.
As his tale unwinds, we watch him stumble through his workdays enraging his co-workers. After the coworkers have had enough they beat him senseless; this is where things get weird.
Barrelhouse feels a bit like an old EC horror comic. The story is mostly advanced through narrative; very little actual conversation happens between characters. Instead, Lee’s tale is punctuated by Belan’s illustrations. It’s like a kids book gone horribly wrong.

Lee doesn’t list a website on the comic, but I found it for sale at Atomic Books. $2 will secure a copy of this 24-page black and white comic. You can also write R. Lee at

R. Lee
PO Box 1421
Oshkosh, WI 54903

Oh and the title, Pus Drunk? You’ll just have to find out for yourself.

2007-03-21T20:41:00.001-04:00

Not Mini-Comics

I'm a little perturbed at the Tiny Showcase folks. Not for anything they've done wrong, mind you, but for everything they've done right.

Every Tuesday, early evening they sent out an email alerting Tiny Showcasers about that night's print. Said print hits the net at about 7:30pm. About six months to a year ago, you could slack off and forget about the print until about 8:30 or 9:00pm. The limited edition print would still be there waiting for you...

Well, no more. The secret is out. If you snooze, you lose. Prints disappear in a flash, unless they're really off the wall. They've even upped their print runs to no avail. The word is out. I've seen the Tiny folks lauded in a few national magazines lately, so the good old days are fading. I've been lucky enough to get an Allison Cole print, a Ron Rege, Jr. print, and a few others, but I've just missed a few amazing ones lately, including this one.
And this one. Anyway, the reason I'm sharing is because even though they might not be so tiny anymore, the Tiny Showcase folks still think small. A portion of proceeds from prints sold still go to causes of the artist's choice.

If you haven't discovered Tiny Showcase, check them out. Their home page is a great resource for print fans. And if you want to get in on the action every Tuesday night, act quickly.