D-Tales by Tom Davidson
In 32 pages, Davidson uses the characters of Thomas and Martin to explore life, friendship, making a leap, and exploring the great unknown. Thomas is a housefly who doesn’t fly anymore for fear of two giant hands snatching him out of the air. Martin is a caterpillar who longs for a life outside of the potted plants that rest on the windowsill of a woman’s house.
Martin is the adventurous one of the pair. He keeps goading Thomas to take a chance, but Thomas remains fearful. The huge hands haunt him, so he stays where he is – walking around the rim of a potted plant. After Martin, inching his way to the top of a doorframe, escapes in the hair of the house owner, Thomas is forced to look at himself and his situation in a new way.
Davidson does a nice job of setting up this story. The art is pleasant, but Thomas looks a little bit like a super hero version of a housefly. He uses thick lines and lots of black ink in his work. I couldn’t help but think of Andy Runton’s excellent Owly books as I read this.

D-Tales is a rewarding story, but Davidson had to add an epilogue. That cruel bastard. Get your own copy at Watch Tom Draw for $2.50.

The Only Child by Warren Craghead, story by Erin Pringle

Warren Craghead’s illustration of Erin Pringle’s “The Only Child,” appearing in Barrelhouse, is nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Warren sent the SIZE MATTERS office a copy of the 20-page story, so lucky readers get to see something cool instead of that damn picture of Kate and I gearing up for the Super Bowl.

Warren Craghead created the lovely and amazing mini-comics Jefferson Forest, Thickets, and Jefferson Estates. (Each link, has a couple sample pages courtesy of USS Catastrophe.) I’ve always enjoyed Warren’s work for its restraint. He consistently blindsides you with the quiet nature of his faltering, often disappearing, line.

The work here is different. It’s more substantial, less fleeting. The lines are more solid, the structure of things doesn’t fritter away like it does in much of Warren’s mini-comics work. But “The Only Child” still has that unmistakable charm of the minis.
The children in “The Only Child” accompany their father to his office, only his office is anything but typical. It has drawers and filing cabinets, but they’re not filled with paper.

Grab your own copy of Barrelhouse to get the full story. It’s definitely worth any cover price to see 20 pages of Warren’s work. You can also check out his blog, Drawer for more of his work.

I’ll leave you with this little doodle from the back of the accompanying note: This perfectly captures what I like about Warren's work.

Go COLTS!!

Picture Box at Rocketship

This is one of those times that I hate living in the Midwest. Or as Tom would say: "If I Were In NYC, I'd Go To This."

If you're on the East Coast, don't miss this event. On February the 24th, the Picture Box gang will be at Rocketship (208 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York 1-718-797-1348).

Paper Rad will have a new book. Matthew Thurber, one of the nicest and most talented new dudes in comics, will have a new book. And issue #3 of Cold Heat will be available.

Mmmmm, page 1 of Cold Heat #1.


Anyway thanks to pal Ed Cunard for pointing this out. I urge you to go to this if you're close. Picture Box puts out some amazing stuff. Their Chippendale Ninja book has mesmerized countless guests over the past month at the SIZE MATTERS offices.

mouse cheese cat by Grant Thomas

This is one versatile mini-comic. mouse cheese cat is a tiny (2.75" x 2.5") hand folded and hand cut comic containing many stories. Grant Thomas takes a sheet of paper, folds it, precisely cuts it, then folds it up accordian style. At some point in this process, Thomas draws a very simple story. Well, actually it's two separate stories - one across the top of each page, and one across the bottom. When you unfold the comic, it's almost difficult to keep following the story: other stories in other directions beckon with each new page. I've unfolded it and scanned a portion to give you a rough idea.

Each mini has a nice paper band that slips over it. On the band Thomas has scrawled his signature, the date and the the number of the comic. Mine is number 15 out of 450.

Visit Thomas' website store for your own copy. It's only $3 and Thomas accepts PayPal.

Night and Day by Sarah Becan
Night and Day, from Sarah Becan and Chicago-based Shortpants Press, is another perfect example of what mini-comics can do so well. In just over 50 pages, Becan creates a tight, engrossing story of love and insecurity. This mini is the third of the loosely connected Shuteye series. I haven’t read one or two, but the third one stands alone as one of the finest story-based minis I’ve read in some time.

The screen-printed cover is an eye-catching sparkle tinged charcoal. The two main characters, Ari and Theo, sit on the steps of an abandoned house watching fireflies light the night sky. On the back cover, a short synopsis of the story grabs your attention.

”While walking through the wilderness of the northern Midwest, a couple stumbles upon a mysterious abandoned house and suddenly find themselves off the map.”

I liked this touch; reminds you of picking up a novel and checking out the back cover for a description. “Off the map,” is also a perfect description of this tale. That subtle phrase captures the essence of this tale of a newly engaged couple. Theo is a grad student in a family of intellectuals and atheists. Ari never went to college and her dad is a teamster. Despite her distaste for roughing it in the wilderness, Ari finds herself happy to have Theo all to her own. She’s never felt good enough around Theo’s family or roommates. In the Wisconsin wilderness, she feels more comfortable in her own skin.

While wandering through the woods, Ari catches just a single glimpse of a mysterious house above the tree line. It disappears only to return when they take an unexpected detour. The abandoned house becomes the main character suddenly, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to spoil Becan’s wonderful tale here.

The visual details in Night and Day are served by simple shapes and generous grey-based shading. Becan’s art exists in some kind of comic art middle-ground. It’s more realistic than cartoonish, but she’s confident enough in her line to just give her figures a basic shape and her faces simple expressions. Eyes and mouths are often just tiny circles. Yet, you’re never guessing at the emotions of her characters.

Night and Day will only set you back $4. It's available from the Shortpants Press website. While you're there, check out this lovely review of Oliver East's Trains Are Mint. You know we love our Trains Are Mint here at the SIZE MATTERS offices.

Site to keep an eye on...

Craig Atkinson's Cafe Royal looks like it will be delivering the visual goods from the UK.

I LOVE this image from Craig's own comic, Happy Birthday. For a couple of months, I've had this idea of a mini-comic full of various artist submissions around the theme of vintage stereos and boom boxes. Stand by...

An Odd Pair from Awkward Books

Emma Rendel of Awkward Books makes some damn gorgeous books.

The above covers are from Deathgirls’ Diary and Deathgirls’ Birthday.
Immediately, you notice that Rendel’s books are exquisitely crafted. Both Deathgirl books feature color covers and several full color pages inside. Her art has much less in common with comics and feels more like a combination of Marcel Dzama, Amy Cutler, and Richard Scarry. That probably sounds odd, but that’s the first thing that popped in my head after reading these two books. Her characters are either absurdly elongated or oddly compact. They possess this otherwordly, kind of fable-ish quality that strikes you at times about Dzama or Cutler.

Pretty neat stuff.

Deathgirls’ Diary shows a confused Deathgirl. She has a crush on Carebear, and his sudden birthday invitation sends her over the top. His family is not amused with her present.
Rendel uses the left hand page for the colorful art. On the right side, Deathgirl’s diary entries are scrawled in a young girl’s hand. It’s interesting how the size, thickness and color of the handwriting pulsates and shifts with the girl’s mood, giving you a window into her conflicted emotions. All but one page features a wide swath of bright red matching the girl’s dress on the front cover. This common thread holds the story together visually.

After the following page spread, Deathgirl’s Birthday abandons the pattern of art on the left and story on the right.
The text is mostly framed by the effect of that special lines paper kids use when they are just learning to print. This time it’s Deathgirl’s birthday party, but Carebear appears in this story as well. She shyly hands him an invite.

The swirling red background hints at the distance between the two youngsters. The heart on her invite matches the one on Carebear’s shirt. He looks indifferent or disgusted. The next page shows some other kids slipping their invites in the trash. Carebear rips his in two. This is a cruel story, but Deathgirl does eventually get her “number one wish” on her list.

Rendel apologizes for her books being so “bloody expensive,” but you shouldn’t let the 5 pounds British (including shipping) stop you from buying her work. Go to Awkward Books and check it out. She sent another book withthese, so keep an eye out for that review soon. It’s a full size flipbook with the same awesome art.

Finally!
My beloved Colts are in the Super Bowl.

And it's against the Bears.

Priceless.

Panel: Travel by Various Artists
Travel is the eighth volume of the Panel anthology from the Columbus, Ohio Ferret Press. Each volume develops from a central theme, i.e. luck, myth, or music. This time out it’s the concept of travel.

Inside, the artists and writers take turns creating short tales with the central theme. Sean McGurr and Tim McClurg’s “Good Humor” involves a very unappetizing ice cream cart in Central America. Tony Goins runs into a crusty hitchhiker with a strange request, and Craig Bogart’s character in “Fat Man Walking” decides to walk across the country.

Matt Kish depicts travel on a higher plane – reincarnation by indecision.
In “Bystander,” Dara Naraghi and Andy Bennett craft an intriguing collection of snapshots that tell the story of why a young woman really travels.
Tom Williams ends the book with “VEGASS,” a funny series of postcards arranged to record a weekend in Las Vegas. An overweight, shirtless loser runs into trouble with the law after overdoing it, “I really crossed a line pissing on that nun. I know that now.” Over just a few pages, he’s stumbled from wide-eyed excitement to growing shame. Williams possesses a confident line and a nice disregard for traditional page structure.

In between the opening pages and Williams’ finale, Travel, like most anthologies, is a mixed bag of good and bad. In “A Day in West Virginia,” Dan Barlow’s art is bold and sketchy. He looks to be influenced by Becky Cloonan. The only problem here is that the text and word balloons do not mesh with the rougher art. The rectangles and word balloons are too perfectly formed by computer, and the lettering is computer font as well. The art and the text are at odds with each other, rather than working seamlessly together.

This same thing happens in “Transcendence” by Steve Black and Sean McGurr. Black’s art is perfectly suited for the subject matter – a praying monk with a yearning for travel – but the too perfect text boxes and computer font clash with the images of a monk mentally rising from his static existence.

Now I feel like I’m harping on the PANEL gang here, but I mean it in the most constructive way... A third story, “Uprooted,” by Matt Kish and Steve Black, combines a delicate, photo-realistic rendition (almost like Jiro Taniguchi’s The Walking Man) of a woman wistfully gazing at past homes and apartments, with sterile computer font and angular text boxes. It's less jarring here, but the font fails to do justice to the art.

To end this review on a high note, I’d like to point out the excellent construction of Panel: Travel. The central theme of travel is perfectly captured. Travel looks exactly like a passport. If you see it on the table from across the room, it’s a passport. Keeping the theme in a clever way, the index looks like an online map of highlighted locations.
Panel: Travel contains 9 stories in 52 pages. Check out Ferret Press for more details. Also check out the always entertaining blog for random goodness.