Why hello, nice to see you again.  Now that reviewdle has moved, I’ve been omninously quiet on this board.  Turns out I have less to say about comics and zombies than anticipated.  But now?  Strike up the marching band, because I finally have something to contribute.

I’ve been writing a lot lately (as well as Sawbones I’m writing two projects for artist genius Jase Harper which are both super exciting and have started poking at the edges of a project for the absurdly talented Doug Holgate, see above re: super exciting) and when I write, I read comics.  Comics like these:

Copper – Kazu Kibuishi

It’s hard to get your hands on comics for kids these days, but there this was in Minatour (probably wedged in between Sin City and 30 Days of Night), a gorgeous, full color comic for kids. Copper and his dog Fred have whimsical adventures in their minds, dreams and real life (all pretty much with the same design aesthetic).  Usually one page strips, these comics rely heavily on the art (which is beautiful) and the setting (which is fantastically fantastical) to engage, but engage they do.  Just so pretty.  A bunch are online: check them out

Daisy Kutter – Kazu Kibuishi

Entirely by coincidence,  I grabbed another Kazu when Brendan Hallyday was pruning his comic collection at a recent Melbourne Creator’s Meet.  Very glad I did too.  Daisy Kutter is a Clint Eastwood-style bandit and the best train robber in a steam-punk Wild West.  She has a long standing love/hate relationship with the local sheriff and is about to embark on One Last Job.  Although (as with Copper) the story and dialogue are the weakest points, the art and design are outstanding and well worth the price of admission.

Blankets – Craig Thompson

This won two major Eisners and 3 major Harveys in 2004?  Really?  Generally, the black and white art is very good, but uneven.  I don’t need the art to be more polished (there is a lovely loose feeling about this), I’d just prefer more consistency in quality.  And the story?  The very definition of self indulgence.  This is an intensely personal story of Thompson’s first love and how he lost his faith, things that a lot of people should be able to engage with but his treatment is so… teenaged, so angsty and “you might have been in love once, but it was different for me, our love was special” that I just couldn’t sympathise.

Perfect Example – John Porcellino

Deceptively little happening here, both narratively and artistically, but I was drawn in nonetheless.  Porcellino’s simple line drawing is easy to comprehend and his words are quick to read, so I was half way through before I realized there was not much of a story to be had.  Again, this is intensely personal territory – Porcellino’s account of that weird lost time between school and whatever comes next, a severe bout of depression and figuring out love – but so much easier to stomach than Blankets.

Little Nothings – Lewis Trondhiem

Jackpot.   After two shades of not very impressive memoir, Trondheim reminds me (as Christopher Downes often does) that personal stories can, in fact, be done very very well.  Little Nothings is a collection of page-a-day journal comics that run the gamut of extraordinary events to the everyday.  His eye is wonderful, his pacing extraordinary, his stories pithy and his art terrific.  If you haven’t already, I highly recommend getting your hands on this one.

– Jen

This arc is drawn by the talented Andrew Fulton who is currently travelling with Jen across the grand old United States (actually about now he’ll be in Toronto for TCAF). Andrew’s comic Mumblier is sometimes NSFW, sometimes strange but always beautiful and delightful. Jen and I are huge fans of both his comic and his resplendant beard. Sadly he’s not such a great mario cart player but we still love him.

Today is free comic book day. It’s a day when you can pop into your local comic shop and get more than 40 books designed especially for the day FREE! But it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity to discover comics, find your local store. Engage with comics. For the industry it’s about getting new readers. Comic buying is steadily decreasing even though there has never been a better time for comics as far as the quality of the writing and art. So please give titles you’d not usually read a look, if you see a comic a friend’s kid might like pick it up for them, get them reading!

For my part I’ll be supporting FCBD by doing sketches at All Star Comics in Melbourne between 2-3pm along with 17 other great comic creators. Here is the full list. Hope to see you there.

Sawbones began 5 years ago as Sawyer and Bones appeared as background players of a bunnified version of Poe’s the Raven.

Recently I realised that that story wasn’t on the site and went looking for it. Turns out i don’t actually have a copy on any of my computers. Technology moves so fast i’ve been through 4 of them in that time. So I used my moderate google-fu skills and found it online. Apparently nothing dies on the interwebs.

Anyway reading through the story I was struck by two things.

1. Jen’s storytelling was just as delightful 5 years ago. Reading the story with so much water under the bridge was like reading it for the first time and I loved the turns of phrase and way she balanced the horror tone with the comedic twist.

2. There was no way I could bear putting that art up online now. I don’t know a single artist who doesn’t cringe at old work and i’m no different. So over the last few weeks I’ve redrawn the comic. Tightening it up a little and adding a little more mood. I’m sure in another 5 years I’ll hate this too but it’s a start.

I do however want to aknowledge how this started so as this story progesses there’ll be a link at the bottom of the comic where you can look at the original version.

I hope you enjoy this.