New Comics Day

Yes, I finally made it back to my local comics shop, after a few weeks where I jsut didn't feel sufficiently inspired to go and pick up new comics. And you know what? I ended up with three books. And only one of them was new. And the one book that I was really excited about, Or Else #3? Nowhere to be found. Fucking hell! Sometimes I wonder why I bother. I could probably just sign up for one of those mail-order comics services and be done with it, but I do love browsing, and stumbling upon odds and ends I never would've thought to order. What is a boy to do?

Anyways, here's what I got...

Little Star #4 (of 6) (Oni Press, $2.99)

Ah yes, Andi Watson. Always reliable for a good read. This is the newest installment of his latest mini-series, the introspective and down-to-earth Little Star, a tale of subtle relationship tension, parenthood, and minor job-related woes. What it lacks in melodrama it certainly makes up for in quiet intimacy. A rather sudden change of pace, coming after his oddball series Love Fights, which featured superheroes and superhero comic artists co-existing with each other, in between saving the world and becoming fodder for gossip magazines. But this issue, like the three previous, passes with nary a scene of histrionics (except from two-year old Cassie!), physical jeopardy, or overt conflict. It's a rare talent that can pull off a story that draws you in like this, without relying on soap-opera emoting. Even his previous stories of domestic turbulence raised the crisis-meter several notches above what we have here. And while we're two issues away from the series' end, we could almost end it here comfortably. Almost! The ending here is a minor twist that's going to do something a little paradoxical; change the story's status quo by keeping it's characters' stuck in theirs.

Dang! Comics and Stories (Top Shelf, $3.50)

I recognize Martin Cendreda's work from an anthology or two, and this has been sitting in my local comics shop's "Art-comix" ghetto shelf (near the floor, behind you as you face the new releases, almost as well hidden as the pitiful manga section), and I figured I'd try it out. While enjoyable and clever, it feels a little slight at $3.50 for an undersized book. I think this story, and the handful of back-up features, would've felt more at home in a larger collection of material, just due to the fact that it's a breezy read that relies on simple drawings and minimal text. Very good work, but probably not presented in the ideal format.

Drawn & Quarterly Showcase, Book Two (Drawn & Quarterly, $14.95)

Since it was a slow week, I figured I'd use the opportunity to complete my set of D&Q Showcase books. I like each book in this series a lot, as it usually contains at least one artist I'm familiar with (in this case, Jeffrey Brown) and at least one I've never seen or heard of before. It's a great way to introduce an artists work; package an "established" author with one whose had little owrk availabel in the US. And the production is always top notch on these books, with well-executed spot color printing. Jeffrey Brown works a little out of his usual element here, with a story that could almost be a True Crime story, if it weren't so offhand and open ended. Pentti Otsamo has a story that connects the inhabitants of an apartment bulding in a circle of small coinidences, and Erik de Graaf ends the volume with a short loss-of-innocence tale drawn in a crisp, graphic style that betrays his training as a designer before becoming a comic artist. It's a shame this book is an annual, as I'd love to see something of this quality coming out quarterly. But I guess that's what Mome is here for...

Cerebus blogging resumes soon. The C&S 2 entry is a bit more complicated than I'd anticipated. I'm done reading the entire first half of the series, but I'm going to have to take a small break so I don't get too far ahead of my posting. Stay tuned...