Wunderground exhibit in Providence, RI

If you live anywhere near Providence, RI you would be crazy not to attend the ”Wunderground” show at the Rhode Island School of Design. I stumbled across this over at the Comics Comics blog. The show features posters, as well as some larger pieces of art and sculpture, from 1995 to the present. The artists should be familiar to mini-comics fans: Mat Brinkman, Brian Chippendale, Jim Drain, and Leif Goldberg.

Go check out Dan Nadel’s short report with pictures.

I mean come on, Mat Brinkman’s 20-foot tall ogre (“Maximum Ogredrive”) made from paper mache…

This is Still America by George

This is Still America: “It’s the same Every Time” has one of the most interesting covers I’ve seen lately. George (no last name given) takes thin graph paper and draws a boy’s huge head front and center. Down the left spine the title of the mini really draws your attention with effective use of color and shape. It’s quite striking. The more subdued back cover is almost as arresting. He uses red lines that remind you of something you would get from an Etch a Sketch to create a background for the main image. I hope this comes through in the scan that I’ve made.
Inside, George does something very odd with his line work. Figures are fully outlined, but delineating features fade in and out, or don’t exist at all. Background lines are half formed. It’s as if he’s made the full drawing and then went back and erased bits and pieces. It makes the reader fill in the blanks, but really requires very minimal effort. In fact it lends a dreamy quality to the whole story. You’re not sure if you’re in the past or present without the story cues.
The story fades in and out from recollections, dreams, and memories. The protagonist dreams of events from his childhood, but the weird dream details bleed through. That’s when you get this image of a giant teddy bear grasping a jumbo jet. The kid is a passenger in the jet.
This is a nice package for a mini-comic. I like the red bleeding edges to the pages and the overall look and feel. Even Kate commented that it looked cool. This is Still America is 22-pages for $2. Email the artist at george@secretacres.com to request a copy.

National Waste #6 by Leif Goldberg
Leif Goldberg’s awkward and angular images may be a turn off for some readers, but there’s something underneath that works. When you look at his art you'll notice similarities to Christopher Forgues (CF from the Kramers Ergot books). Goldberg's National Waste drawings remind me a bit of a friend’s elaborate study hall drawings in high school. This connection isn't a suggestion that his work is amateurish; instead it’s full of passion and unconcerned with traditional drawing rules and regulations.

Goldberg ignores laws of physics or behavior and the result is engrossing. The flat lines of an ink pen come alive as a strange bird crashes through a ceiling.

Later a bevy of vicious looking rat-like creatures devour a corrupt diplomat from the inside out – they start with his eyes.

Goldberg’s work is politically charged, but not preachy. The destruction of the environment is a familiar subject in his comics, which feature technicolor animals traipsing through damaged forests.

The sixth issue of National Waste is 3 separate stories interspersed with vivid color pages. The last story is especially well crafted as a wandering pilgrim steps from the familiar into uncharted territory. It’s a nice way to end the book, as it reflects how Goldberg’s comics sometimes make you feel. You know exactly where you are when you pick the comic up, but afterwards you’re somewhere else entirely.

Grab your copy of National Waste # 6 from the Bodega online shop or Quimby’s.

Zombre vs. Slappy: Megathunder Showdown and Duppy by Ansis Purins Occasionally, I’ll open up a mini-comic and it immediately clicks. Either it’s the format, the materials, the art, or the total package, but something just gets you. Ansis Purins’ minis are like that. Take Zombre vs. Slappy: Megathunder Showdown, for instance; Purins doesn’t use any words beyond “HAR,” “HAA,” and one “HOLY SHIT,” but through gestures, movement, and grimaces, he effectively telegraphs his story.

Zombre vs. Slappy is 12 pages of zombie slapstick printed on green paper stock. The cover is gorgeous as Zombre, or maybe Slappy, gives the reader a grin and a huge thumbs up against a throbbing background. Inside, Purins entertains you with exaggerated movements and a thick-lined style. His art is perfect for this offbeat comedy. Everything on the page stands out, especially the little details like puddles or blades of grass. It’s like he’s chosen to take what works in cartooning, but added a much thicker line. Occasionaly, the scenes feel somewhat crowded or claustrophobic, I think mostly due to the shading and raindrops.

Zombre vs. Slappy: Megathunder Showdown is available on Purins’ website store for $2. If you read only one Zombie comic this month, burn all the others and read something cool like this instead.

Or read Duppy, but quit reading all that awful derivative crap and enjoy something unique. Duppy is a more substantial mini than Zombre vs. Slappy. While the later was more visual and intense, Duppy opens up a bit, allowing the art to breathe on the page.

Duppy is a larger format and page count (36 pages), and Purins adds more variety this time out. I like the brave housewife vs. zombie and the startled housewife vs. love struck robot. He also, just for kicks, throws in a zombie vs. bobcat battle for good measure. Purins has a nice handle on visual storytelling in this one; the first story alone is almost worth the $3 price tag.

Duppy is available on Purins’ website too, but you can also grab his books at the following online venues: youreinsanehoney.com, Midtown Comic.com, GLOBAL HOBO, Poopsheet Shop, and Arcade Distro.

His next comic, out soon, is called GNOME GATHERING. Purins says it's "A 10 page story about 3 cosmic hippie underlings (ie:dwarf,elf,hobbit) that do waaay to many drugs. They talk about classic rock albums and smoke tons of weed. Their life is pretty good until the Wizard assigns them to do work for the national park that they all live in. Kinda weird I know. Zombre,SLAPPY, and the Park ranger from the ZOMBRE mini are in it."

The core story of Gnome Gathering will be in ELF WORLD #1 from the lovely folks at Family Style.

Finally, I leave you with the inside back cover of Duppy. Enjoy.

A Km of Dummy Torpedoes by Rob Jackson and Brian Morris

Rob Jackson and Brian Morris’ art book is a loosely connected one of a kind series of drawings assembled in a different order for each book. In this way, each book is an original. Not all drawings appear in each book, meaning mine might be totally different from yours. Some of the pages are very clever, while others funny. A few drawings are simply there, but when viewed together they make a neat statement.

Roughly a third of the drawings are in color, colored with what looks like magic markers. The other drawings are simple black and white. The book consists of black construction paper with the drawings themselves cut out and pasted onto each page. This makes the book a very hefty 28 pages.

You can find samples at Jackson’s website. Get your own copy by emailing Rob at the website.

Return to Regularly Scheduled Program

Sorry for the huge delay in posting. Adjusting to a new job and then moving really put a dent in my comics related activities. The good news is that the new job is fantastic, and I've figured out how to better manage my time. Other good news is that Kate and I are officially moved in to our new condo downtown. Between cleaning the old place, packing, painting the new place, moving, and then assembling IKEA furniture every night until 1am, we had no time left for anything else.

It's worth it though and kind of weird, because Kate and I both feel like we're now officially married. This is our first home purchase after renting for too many years, and it just feels so right. Our place is in the Mass. Ave Art District, so we're surrounded by art galleries and cool restaurants and bars. We finally feel like we fit in our neighborhood. I still hate all of you that can afford to live on the coast, but this amazing new space makes up for it a little bit.
I've assembled a stack of mini-comics that are waiting to be reviewed. If you're out there waiting for a review, I double dog swear I will get to it soon. My address for reviews has obviously changed. A few people already have the new address, but if you don't and you need to send something, email me at shawnhoke@gmail.com.

Super Paws by Missy Kulik
Cats have a rich comics legacy. Sure you’ll find a lot of dogs in comics, but cats are king. You can do so much with the character of a cat. They’re mysterious, malleable, a little neurotic, and damn cute.

With Super Paws, Missy Kulik adds to that tradition in a John Porcellino style. Her Nilla is drawn a lot like Porcellino’s Masie, while Kulik’s art feels a lot like King Cat. Her prose is breezier – more cheerful. In this 16-page Super Paws mini-comic, she introduces us to Nilla, who she found at the local shelter.

Kulik bounces from little slice of life observations centered around Nilla, to the story of finding her at the shelter, and finally to the fantastic, as Nilla assumes her “Super Paws” identity. This is one example of what I like about mini-comics. It’s personal. It means something to the artist and connects me the reader with her through the art and the subject. The last page has a picture of Nilla enjoying her “birthday cake” celebrating her adoption from the shelter. That’s pretty cool, considering the alternative to adoption that shelter animals face.

Three cheers for Super Paws!

Teeny Bikini #1 by Rob Ullman

Subtitled "A Scandalous Selection of Sketchbook Scrawlings," Ullman's tiny little sketchbook is a joy. I've liked Ullman's work since he did the "Savage Love" illustrations in the Washington City Paper. Teeny Bikini is short and sweet. It's 16 pages of sketches, punctuated by finished drawings and sandwiched between vellum endpapers. I love vellum, and Ullman uses it to great effect in this example.
Ullman's figures are compact and curvaceous. Thankfully, they rarely resemble the impossible freaks you find on the cover of something like The Gift or god forbid, Ant. Ullman draws girls, girls next door, gilrfriends, wives, check out girls, and waitresses. He draws women, not beasts.
If you're not familiar with his work, go check out his online store and his blog. Lots of great drawings at the blog. Teeny Bikini #1 is $2. Issue number two came out this month as well, and it's $3.

Sucker Punch #1 by Mark Jason Robards Mark Jason Robards’ first issue of Sucker Punch is essentially a three part story titled, “Today is the Day I Wish They Would Hold a Parade in My Name.” In between these three installments, Robards inserts shorter strips starring supporting characters. For his art, Robards uses a clean, effortless looking line mixed with very energetic poses; this gives his comic a real boost.

The characters in Sucker Punch look like what you might find in an Archie Comics/Eightball crossover. On the one hand, the characters are slacker types, but on the other hand, their actions are exaggerated a great degree like a “bigfoot” style throwback comic. Robards deftly uses devices like floating hearts and stars, as well as obvious physical humor like pratfalls and wildly hanging tongues. Clarence Bathwater is an aspiring writer who actually writes very little. His friend and ex-girlfriend Freida Beans serves as Clarence’s sounding board and reality check. Sucker Punch is Clarence whining about bums and not having enough time to write; he’s not a very sympathetic character. Instead, he’s just pathetic. Frieda is the character in the story you like. She calls Clarence on his bullshit. Two other characters, Harry Jiggs and Penny, serve as the stars of the shorter strips. Remember the annoying guy in the annoying movies Clerks and Mallrats, that’s Harry Jiggs. His role is thankfully small.

Sucker Punch is a 32-page mini-comic with a color wrap-around cover for $3. You can purchase a copy online at the Short Pants Press store. Short Pants Press is a group based in Chicago and St. Louis, and they have a damn fine postcard. There’s a duck on it, therefore I like them very much.

Not dead, just lazy.

In the SIZE MATTERS offices, a healthy stack of mini-comics waits patiently. The mini-comics, and their creators, wait for me to get off of my ass and review them. I appreciate their patience, even though I know it’s wearing thin.

Truthfully, the warm weather makes it difficult to stay inside and look at comics. And yet the comics keep stacking up. I see them creeping into the edge of my consciousness, even as I decide to take Kate out for drinks instead of scanning in pages and writing short reviews.

Damn summer.

And tonight it’s half-price martini night at Scholar’s Inn…

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of stuff to review; I know this. If you’re waiting for a review, I promise I’ll get to your mini-comic. I’ve glanced at most of the mini-comics before putting them into the stack; there are good comics in that stack. Stand by.

In the meantime, have you seen Dan Zettwoch's blog?