Although I am not a judge this year, I look forward to hearing about the great submissions and eventual winner of this year’s Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics! Submissions are now open, from now until October 1. The winner will be announced at the Alternate Press Expo, and you must be present to win.

Previous years have turned up a great crop of minicomics — I hope to see this year’s judges talking about outstanding submissions as well as the one that wins, so I can find more titles to check out.

Moe by Daniel Salcido — Cute fable about a boy who dreams of being a destructive giant until he’s redeemed by his girl friend. The art’s a little *too* simplistic, although I liked the detail of the milk-carton village they built.

Fitcher’s Bride by L. Skinner — A 24-hour comic retelling of a Bluebeard-like tale. Fascinating topic, great character design, I like the knitting motif, but the art’s much too rough because of its origins, and the captions are hard to read. Too ambitious for the time period, I fear; I would like to see it finished and polished.

The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies by Algarmi and D.Y. — The concept will tickle many people’s fancy. The girls of Facts of Life are U.S. assassins, only they’re not very good at it. Also appearing are Charles (in Charge) and Buddy. The art is attractively cartoony, but they’re not great likenesses. I wouldn’t have recognized the characters without the names and combination of appearances. It’s more entertaining to hear about than actually read, because the actual story is tedious.

Epic Tales of the Mundane #5: Please Don’t Show My Parents (or the Government) These Comics! by Brandon Huigens and Brad Dwyer — A story that not many will be familiar with, but a lackluster presentation. The writer went into the Army out of high school and then fakes his way out of it. He was a pathetic, angry kid, and a loser adult, concerned only with minimizing harm to his own skin. He doesn’t appear to have learned anything from these experiences, and he skates over what happened with little insight. The art is serviceable but lacks the emotional impact that would provide this story some necessary grounding and structure.

Florride by Amy Martin — A lovely, strongly female-identified anthology that includes sketches, short strips, and comic stories. The lead is a real gut-punch, about a woman facing the loss of the child that she and her now ex-boyfriend might have had by arguing with a bureaucratic angel secretary. It’s funny, imaginative, and heart-breaking. The one-pager taking a modern, passive-aggressive approach to the Little Red Hen is also memorable. This one is the best of this bunch, but it didn’t make my top listing because the second long story veered from sledgehammer to unfocused. (It reminded me of wannabe Molly Kiely, seeking escape in the desert.) Which is the risk with a collection like this, that some of the material will strike the bullseye and other will go far afield in the reader’s eye. Worth checking out, anyway, to see if you react differently.

There was also one I can’t identify. It was an odd, wordless piece about cavemen and dinosaurs done in deep, murky colors. It’s untitled, but by Joseph Lambert. His website doesn’t seem to mention it. Which is my cue to remind me to put basic identifying information on your comic, like the title, and to make sure your website is updated to cover your latest publications.

The Process

How do you judge, from 88 minicomic submissions, just one to be recognized for excellence?

I had no idea how to begin, with only two days to make a decision, so I dove in. On first reading, I made a simple decision: was this a potential, or should it be discarded immediately? Rather like interviewing job applicants, I was looking for reasons to rule out something instead of a reason to keep it, just to help myself out.

That got me down to 15. They came in all shapes and sizes, from something the size of a sheet of copy paper, stapled, to quarter-pages held together with a rubber band to beautiful mini art objects or near-postage-stamp-sized. Most had color covers over black-and-white interiors. A couple were 24-hour comics, which I find interesting more as exercises than art pieces.

There were superhero origin stories, obscenity done with funny animals, and the usual slice-of-life and wannabe genre work (often with influences obvious as neon). One was nothing but a fart joke. Some I can’t describe because as soon as I opened them I knew they weren’t up to the level I was looking for. Competition is tough, and expectations are high. I didn’t have time for ugly art.

Some looked like they were drawn by children. Some were drawn well but had a pedestrian or lacking story. Some had an intriguing idea but looked like crap. Some lacked creator or price information. Some were overpriced. ($5 or 8? For photocopied with no color? In my mind, anything over $3 for a minicomic that doesn’t have some kind of special printing or features is too much.)

So what was top of the heap? In addition to the winner, I picked

My Top Five

Brazilianoir by Emily Stackhouse and Nicholas Shahan. You may have already heard something about this noir blend of Germans and gypsies. After the War, a woman is given a baby and a camera, which leads her to Rio, strange warnings, and a place in history. An odd story that’s more accomplished than the sometimes stiff art and very hard to forget. Shame that it ends before the pages run out.

Solzhenitsyn by Tom Daly. An art object. Under bronze-striped brown hard covers, this hand-sized book doesn’t have a spine. Instead, it unfolds like an accordion, one image per fold. It introduces key facts of the life of the Russian writer and activist. The reverse has his quotes in stark type. It’s thought-provoking, due to its comparison of Solzhenitsyn’s time in the gulag to Muslim prisoners abused by U.S. soldiers, if a little ham-handed in its message.

Arachnofiles by Christine Shea. Even though this was a 24-hour comic, I found it interesting enough to recommend. The art was such that, if I hadn’t been told it was 24H, I wouldn’t have guessed. The subject was well-chosen: profiles of spiders and what it’s like to have a tarantula as a pet. With a good proportion of text explaining the subject, the content is balanced, with a chance to be completed within the restricted time period. The artist’s passion about the subject is evident, and I learned things. Non-fiction comics have an uphill battle when it comes to awards, though. They seem easier to do, although keeping the reader involved takes skill.

Howl Before Sunset by Mariya Pantyukhina. I may have a slight bias here, since her work is part of the Team 8 Press Creator Showcase, curated by friend Patrick Godfrey here in the Richmond area. But I found her art evocative, the text poetic, and the assembly, in its collage appearance, unusual. It had something to say about human interaction and observation, and the comforting nature of drinking, and it could only have been done this way, as a comic.

Dog-Eared Mind by Eric Wilder and Tim Hall. (I can’t find any online links for this comic or the creators.) This appealed to me for similar reasons as the above. Well-drawn, and with dream-like imagery of anxiety as a haunting black dog chasing a cubicle worker.

Ochre Ellipse by Jonas Madden-Conner (technically, Ochre Ellipse #2) has won the 2008 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics.

Jonas discusses the work at his blog, along with showing samples.

Here’s a review at the Daily Cross Hatch, and a shorter one by Laura Hudson.

One recurring strip is titled “Confessions”, about things that distub Nichols about herself, whether paranoia or regret over a childhood choice to lose her accent or feeling like she’s let her parents down. Others deal with never-ending repetitive work as a recurring wheel of the same tasks or feeling like you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a downer book. Her insights share the uncertainty and confusion we all feel at times, and knowing someone else empathizes with similar issues is ultimately uplifting, even funny.

I really like the way the stand-in for the author is a rag doll with button eyes sown on with Xs. It’s a subtle allusion to the cartoon sign of death, but it also acknowledges herself feeling constructed, put together out of the experiences she draws about. I also enjoyed her quick reference to how the changing seasons affect mood, with a strip about the different ways of waking up in winter and spring. Even with doll eyes, you can see the visible difference in attitude in how she draws the figure.

The background wash grey tones are attractive. It’s a shame that the cover is so minimalist, because I don’t think it represents the skilled work within. I don’t recall seeing these books at all at SPX, for example, although she was there and I would have liked to have gotten more.

Find out more at dirtbetweenmytoes.com. (The flickr link has sample pages.) Alan David Doane has also recommended this comic.

Creeping Terror Tales 2

The first Creeping Terror Tales was nicely spooky. This one, “Unfair”, is drawn by the same artist, Sandy Jarrell, but written by D. Vance Sumner. It’s the story of a strange rural custody battle, with an unusual mood created, very different from the first. I found myself reading it multiple times, both to take in the detail and be sure I picked up on the implications. The art is impressively accomplished. Talking scarecrows are always creepy. I also liked the way the possum and her babies worked as a kind of Greek chorus. You can read it online in color. Check out the flying baby panel!

American Terrorist

The folks behind Adrenaline are preparing another title with an eye-catching name. I picked up a preview sketchbook at some convention this year, which has several story pages written by Tyler & Wendy Chin-Tanner and drawn by Andy MacDonald. The best description of the story comes from the back cover, which says it’s about four citizens who protest the government and get labeled as terrorists. They go on the run and fight to redefine how the public understands democracy. That’s not visible yet in the early glimpse I got, but there are plenty of pages to come, I assume.

The reporter part of the story is too similar, in my opinion, to DMZ, but I loved the realism and personality of the schoolteacher. She’s encouraging her kids to think about what the American Revolution really meant and what it would have been like to live through, so I can see how that gets her labeled a troublemaker. I would say you could find out more at awaveblueworld.com, but all that’s there right now is an out-of-date ad banner. (It says Summer 2008, which has passed.) I don’t know what the plans are for the title, but I hope it still does appear. I’d love to see it as a big thick graphic novel.

Blink Strips

Blink is my favorite new minicomic, because I love the characters, and the mood behind it is so entertaining and yet calming. It’s like a refreshing adult beverage — relaxing, comfortable, and yet eye-opening in noticing the world from a new perspective. This collection contains short pieces that originally ran in a local free monthly. They’re really good.

Like the characters, surrounded by cell phones, I also miss phone booths. And even though I’m not from the area, I liked the page at the back that gives notes on local Columbus, Ohio, locations referenced in the comics. It’s neat to see a cartoonist actively working to be part of the community. Find out more at onwardstudio.com, or buy the comic. Or email Max Ink, and he’ll send you a free sample. Who does that any more?

There’s also a new Blink story in Oh Comics! #17, an anthology that in this issue focuses on water. That longer story not only shares Blink’s real name; it’s also a meditation on loss. And the rain is well-drawn.

Outreach

Raina Telgemeier’s newest minicomic features short bits she’s heard from kids while trying to teach them about comics. It reminded me of Stuart Immonen’s 50 Reasons to Stop Sketching at Conventions, only gentler. I especially liked the bits about kids’ reading habits. Probably because I already knew that kids don’t think manga is the same thing as comics.

I would love to see much more of these — wisdom from the mouths of babes, and all that. And they’re so cute, even when being obnoxious, when drawn in Raina’s lovely style. (I did want to dub that kid who, when told he couldn’t use profanity, proclaimed, “then I don’t have any ideas!” Baby Bendis.) Find out more at goraina.com.

Mimi’s Doughnuts Zine

Marek Bennett puts out a down-homey comic strip collection every three months or so reprinting weekly comics from a local New Hampshire paper. The title comes from the setting, Mom’s doughnut shop, but in the issue I sampled (#13), that location didn’t feature much. Instead, some kids went looking for stray kittens, experiencing the mysteries of life and death. Then the talking cats started doing political cartoons. There were a couple of school jokes, too.

The second half is an over-rendered sketchbook from a trip through Eastern Europe in which everything’s dark and hard to make out, followed by a handful of diary comics. Issue #14 is mostly these diary comics, lots of which are about the weather (plenty of snow) or lying in bed or working with kids. I found it sometimes hard to tell what I was supposed to be looking at — the smaller diary comics don’t have all the space needed for the text required to explain what I was seeing. The more dialogue-based Mimi strips thus better camouflage Bennett’s weaknesses. The characters are lumpy and simplified in modern newspaper strip style. The whole thing is well-meaning — Marek seems like a nice guy — but rather boring. It would probably be more entertaining for free than at $4 a zine. But since he’s won a Xeric Grant to do a best-of paperback collection, what do I know?

Find out more at marekbennett.com/mimisdoughnuts/.

Panel

I’m pleasantly surprised that this anthology is still going strong. Then I notice how much attention they put into their themes, including different formatting to suit each issue, and I realize why they’re still around. Their latest, #11, is about Work, and to match, minicomics in various shapes and sizes come packaged in an inter-office mail envelope with a memo (written in bureaucratic doublespeak — actualized, synergistic, strategist) for a contents list.

Unfortunately, the package is the most satisfying part of the assemblage. I can appreciate the imagination that goes into the various comic attempts, but as intellectually interesting as some of them are, none of the stories or art will stay with me. They don’t have the impact I hope for. For example, Brent Bowan contributes a one-sheet set in an apartment building. Following the characters through the windows reminded me of Will Eisner (or that Alan Moore homage), but his work doesn’t have their depth or attraction.

A wordless knights-and-dragons piece by Dara Naraghi (editor of the anthology) and Matt Kish looks like it was drawn by an eight-year-old and fit the theme only in the loosest sense. Steven Russell Black and Tim McClurg do another wordless thing about fish. M.A.D. wasted more paper than was needed on a loosely cartooned interview joke, but at least it’s in keeping with the subject. The most creative match of format and content was a triangular-shaped comic about a pyramid scheme by Sean McGurr and Brent Bowan, but the story provides nothing much beyond a history lesson on who Ponzi was. (I will say Bowan’s art is well-suited to the 50s feel of the two businessmen in a bar.) Craig Bogart does a twist on zombies with the moodily illustrated story of a gravedigger’s passing; surprisingly, this was my favorite of the group.

Find out more at www.ferretpress.com/weblog/.

Untitled

I don’t recall how I got a copy of Blaise Larmee’s latest zine, and I don’t understand the story or the use of what look to me like unfinished panels, so I don’t recommend paying $7 for it, but I do adore this drawing of an elephant in a box.

Find out more at slashart.com.

According to their website, last year’s zine fest featured 45 vendors, with over 250 people attending. This year, one of the workshops is “All About Mini-Comics”, presented by Rob Ullman and Dylan Williams. It’s described as

A primer on the ins and outs of producing and publishing mini-comics, the red-headed stepchild of the ‘zine world! Rob Ullman and Dylan Williams will discuss the history of the artform, avenues and methods of distribution, and offer advice about how to produce your own mini-comics.

“There is honestly nothing that makes me happier each year than to get the opportunity to help spotlight a creator who is toiling in the underground making something wonderful,” said James Sime, proprietor of Isotope, the comic book lounge in San Francisco. “And I know that many of you out there are hand-crafting some mini-comics brilliance, let us help share that work with the world!”

In addition to Sime and me, judges include Josh Cotter, 2004 winner of the Isotope Award for his minicomic Skyscrapers of the Midwest, since republished by AdHouse Books; Jason McNamara, Xeric Award-winning author of several books, including The Martian Confederacy; and Kirsten Baldock, librarian and Isotope Special Projects Director.

To enter, send five copies of your minicomic to Isotope at 326 Fell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, before October 24 at midnight.

The award will be given out in conjunction with the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. Because of the nature of this award, the winner will be contacted in advance and must be present at the Isotope at 9 PM on Saturday, November 1, for the award presentation ceremony.

This may not mean much to the current generation of comic readers, but back in the early 90s, Hepcats was one of the most beloved independent comics online. It’s a powerful slice-of-life book where the characters happen to resemble animals. And the art is gorgeous (which obviously takes time, which may be why there’s been so little of it produced over the years, combined with the artist’s penchant for getting distracted by other things).

The minicomic is a prelude to Wagner finishing the series story (a goal first mentioned in February 2006 — Hepcats fans need patience). I hope it all works out the way he plans, because I would love to read more about these characters. He’s still got it when it comes to the art.

Update: On his mailing list, Wagner posted these two offerings:

PACKAGE 1: $25
* 2 signed hardcopies of the mini (one to give to a pal, or use as a loaner)
* A sketch-to-order of your favorite character. (These will be like the Erica “warm-up” sketches in the files section, and slightly nicer than the freebies I used to offer to people who signed up here, many of which I failed to get done…)

PACKAGE 2: $45
* All of the above except you get 3 minis, and…
* An original daily strip

I’m hoping he’ll make available just the comic at a more reasonable price point, but I’ll wait and see. I want the comic finished before I send in money for it.

I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend. I’m told there will be “lotsa good minicomics”, including a printed version of the webcomic Girl Ninja.

Blink is a young woman who talks about life with friends in realistic-sounding interludes. The series reminds me of Kris Dresen’s Max & Lily in its interesting conversation. Whether solving crossword puzzles or pondering lost childhood, the linework’s great, capturing the expressions that make the interaction live. True conversation is more than just words, but also the pauses and gestures that go on between the participants.

The second issue, “Experiencing Creative Difficulties”, is a bit too self-referential, in that it turns out Blink’s an artist who can’t think of something to write about, so a friend proposes writing about being blocked. (Multi-level much? But then again, Robinson’s Box Office Poison co-starred a wannabe comic artist.) “Space to Breathe” is quieter, more reflective, with the friends sharing a starry sky and favorite quotations.

But my favorite is the last, “Let It Be As It Is”, a reflection of John Lennon’s demise and what music can mean. I’d advise buying all of them, but none of the store links worked for me. Shame. I’d like to be able to reread them whenever I want.

Amy Unbounded

Spin-off series Return of the Mad Bun is published as a webcomic, although I can’t tell when it was last updated. Author Rachel Hartman is mommy-blogging. From that site, I gather that she’s working on a novel. Collection, published 2002, still available through used book dealers.

Galaxion

Also now a webcomic that actively updates. Author Tara Tallan has a blog. Collection available used as well.

Xeno’s Arrow

Online as a webcomic, only at a different site. There’s also an interview with the creators talking about their plans. If you want to talk to them, they have a forum.

Johnny Public

There was an additional issue, #9, since those I recommended. The publisher’s website was last updated in summer 2005. A tenth issue shows up at a different online shop run by the artist as of last August, and she has a blog. I imagine life got in the way. Shame. It was intriguing, but needs to be read in large lumps.

You know, I follow very few webcomics, and I’m not good at reading page-at-a-time online, so I haven’t been keeping up with the first three, much as I enjoyed them in print. Yet the one that’s still in print, I’m not bothering with either. I’m not a very good customer.

Zero Hour

No, not that one. Patty Leidy did a strip of that name from 1995-1997, collected as minicomics. I enjoyed her humor, but haven’t seen anything from her in a decade, only to find her blog. Yay! Right now she’s having some pain issues that take up her posting, but if you scroll down, there are new comics. What a cool discovery!

(Why are all the minicomic-specific awards on the west coast? The same is true of the Isotope Award, which I was a judge for earlier this year.)

The Kukoc Award comes with a cash prize, $350, which is a very nice gesture. (Next year, they hope it will be $400.)

Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with many of this year’s nominees. I’ll have to do some research before voting. (It would have been nice if the award site had included some links.) I’m not sure I should vote, actually, without being able to see the particular issues nominated. Without them, I’m relying on other people’s opinions. One of the nominees, Andy Hartzell, has the advantage of having his book picked up by Top Shelf, which provides him much more name recognition than the others, always a problem with ballots of this sort.

If you read “hand-made, self-published comics” and you’d like to participate, you can find information on requesting your own ballot at that link.

We are an all-female group of comic creators with the common interest of writing character driven stories of drama and romance. We have a growing selection of free online comics as well as print comics on the site.

They’d previously put out an anthology, Fractured Kisses, which ended with issue #4.

That issue contained four short stories. The first, by Robin A. Soblewski (now Edwards), was intended to start a new series, “Cardboard Angel”. It’s since moved to the web, where you can read the first chapter (although the second chapter has apparently been in progress since 2004).

That example demonstrates so many of the decisions facing young comic creators today: it’s easier to publish on the web than in print, and you’ll get a potentially larger audience without nearly as much expense, but without publication deadlines, it’s easy to let a project languish. (Edwards has progressed further on another series, Ganbare! Shimura-san!.)

As for the story, after the demise of her favorite pop star, a girl finds his cardboard cutout talking to her. He wants her help in making things right with those he’s wronged before he can move on to his final reward. It’s all premise setup, which makes it unsatisfying since there’s no continuation. Plus, Edwards is doing some complicated shading effects for black-and-white work, which can lead to murky panels. On the web, of course, it’s in color, which looks much better.

Next is Gina Biggs’ “Never Again”. It’s a stand-alone mood piece in which a boyfriend remembers the history of his current relationship. Unfortunately, given the short space, it winds up being a list of clichés. She’s not good enough for his friends, he works late a lot, she wants a kid, he doesn’t…. I didn’t see anything I hadn’t seen before elsewhere, and the characters never became three-dimensional to me.

The artist’s choice to create pages with large central images and few numbers of panels (many are 3 or under) doesn’t make the most effective use of the short space, and while she’s clearly good at pinups/solo images, she doesn’t have much storytelling flow through the panels and pages. The message is trite, requiring a stronger presentation to overcome its familiarity.

Amy Stoddard’s “Forgiveness” is a six-page debut based on song lyrics. The images were attractive (if sometimes out of proportion) and by letting the reader bring more of themselves to the page, it was slightly more effective for me than the previous story.

The last is “One Sweet Thing” by Ann Fujita, who’s obviously read a LOT of shojo. Her piece is about a girl wanting to get the guy she’s crushing on to notice her by baking him cookies. He’s a jerk, and the boy she should be looking at is her best friend.

The story feels comfortable in the way it evokes other, more polished manga. It’s a kind of fanfiction based on premise and tone instead of characters. Each of the stories has its own splash page/cover-style image and ending author’s note, which makes the anthology resemble several publications in a bargain grouping. I don’t mind — it’s nice seeing how each author would package their work.

Overall, I was more impressed by Gina Biggs’ solo work as seen in the minicomic Love of Sausage. It’s eight pages about adopting a miniature dachshund, and it’s more accomplished than the story mentioned above. It’s denser, for one thing, with more panels per page and the splash-style pages saved for emotional impact.

It also tells more, with each page serving as its own little story of one of the incidents that make up becoming dog owners. The character designs are consistent from page to page (a tricky lesson for many artists), and the dog is cute but still dog-like. I’m a sucker for cute animal stories, but this was a fun read. She hints at more to come; I hope so.

Both of these comics can be bought online.

Illustrated by her husband Steve Lieber (Whiteout), it’s a story about a character from her young adult novel Empress of the World. Katrina wants to be in the school play to avoid friction at home, but she’s instead selected to make costumes. Her resulting studies of famous Hollywood designer Edith Head open up her unexpected talent in the area.

For a 16-page minicomic, it’s surprisingly meaty, with a full character arc and thoughtful details worked in around the edges. The subject, costuming, may sound flighty, but Katrina’s mentor makes some excellent points about the importance of how we choose to present ourselves to others through dress (or how that choice is made for us).

Lieber’s art is very well-suited to it, since his style tends to be down-to-earth with realistic character expressions. His work with detail is needed to support all the different costume looks and background setting. Read it online. The script is included in Panel Two along with comments from both writer and artist.

Ryan and Lieber followed that up with the first issue of a minicomic series called Flytrap. Maddy’s trying to balance work, love, family … thus the subtitle, “Juggling Act”. This issue is about how she starts doing marketing for a small independent circus called Flytrap.

It’s a situation ripe for good lines and great art, and this has both. I love the way the ringmaster talks like one all the time, flowery words and old-fashioned phrasing. Maddy’s also impressive in the way she keeps it together after a really bad day.

The second issue, “Deep, Too”, has a new artist, Ron Chan. Maddie’s trying to get some good publicity photos, but the two clowns she’s shooting are playing “can you top this?” with each other. They combine classic circus feats — wire work, trapeze, stilts — with more out-there stunts, like juggling broken beer bottles. Chan’s style seems to me smoother than Lieber’s, with fewer rough edges. It’s a little prettier, which isn’t bad, just different.

He continues as the illustrator on Flytrap 3, “Over the Wall”, in which a tattooed performer thinks back on the reasons behind his first ink. It’s a classic story — kid doesn’t know what to do with himself, picks up some odd skills, gets in trouble, runs away and joins the circus — told sideways, with allusion and inference. Ryan relies on Chan in several spots to carry the story with silent art, and he comes through.

I suspect I won’t be able to shake it from my head for a while, even though I miss learning more about Maddie. She made such an impression on me in the first issue that I feel the loss of the spotlight on her. More Flytrap is promised for later this year, and I’m eager to see it.

She has also written Click (link to review by Greg McElhatton), with art by Dylan Meconis.

When I reviewed it back in the summer of 2004, I said this:

She uses a cute manga-influenced style that is well-suited to her chatty approach to teen life and interests, including Halloween, shopping, goth fashion, and craft tips. Her early work is clearly just that, but her art improves as it goes on. The layouts gain a better sense of flow instead of just putting the elements on the page, and she has a good sense of humor about herself and her cat Tuna (the main characters). The lengthy piece called “Atrophy” tackles the typical topic of depression, but it does so in a fresh, honest way. I also very much liked the last piece, about what went into making 18 Revolutions.

Her next work was a 24-hour comic, A Brief History of Grifonton. This historical fantasy about a town asking a griffin for help can be read online. It’s rough, which is typical of that type of artistic exercise, and the word balloons are sometimes arranged as to make their order of reading confusing, but there’s a surprising message underneath this fable that I found thought-provoking. It’s a tale of everyone using their strengths to build an inter-operative community.

Then came another graphic novel, Crow Princess. It’s her attempt at a modern fairytale. It seems aimed at a goth audience, what with its love of the big black birds and its story about a smart, creative, misunderstood loner picked on at school and by her family.

This book is typical comic size, and Rachel’s spare art style looks somewhat blank on the larger pages. I found it interesting mostly for its aspirations, what it wanted to be instead of what it was. The magical ending doesn’t speak to me, but I don’t have those particular fears and motivations. Others, who dream of finding their true tribe and being discovered to be a princess, may enjoy it more. Greg McElhatton did (although for other reasons).

Rachel has a comic running weekly at gurl.com. Her two most recent publications are collections of those strips under the Subculture of One title. The first collects three stories having to deal with physical image.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the first entry, dealing with attitudes about female body hair. It’s not a subject frequently tackled in comics (unless one goes all the way back to John Byrne reportedly quitting the She-Hulk series when another writer revealed she shaved her legs, if I’ve gotten that legend right), but it’s one every woman has struggled with. The next tackles the question of whether a tall woman should wear boots, given men’s insecurity with height issues while dating, while the last is about the classic problem of finding a guy who shares your interests and is willing to look beyond the surface attraction.

The second issue opens with the lead planning to attend a comic convention. As part of her packing, she decides to be prepared for any eventuality, which means buying condoms. Tuna plays the part of an unusual Jiminy Cricket, questioning how that applies to her belief in chastity. It’s a good question that leads to some important points. There are also stories about bus travel, how Tuna got his name, and two holiday pieces.

I think these semi-autobiographical style monologues in comic form play to Rachel’s strengths in both writing and art — her style keeps the word-driven scenes moving — and I’m glad to see her continuing with them. They’re funny and insightful, and my favorite of her work. She’s grown up doing comics, and it’s refreshing to see how far she’s come and how far she’s still reaching.

Congratulations to Rachel for winning the 2007 Friends of Lulu Kim Yale Award for Best New Female Talent.

This time around, I’m focusing on several works by a particular creator. First up: Brandon Hanvey. I don’t remember how or where we met online, but I liked his clean, simplified character design (makes sense, since he’s a graphic designer in his day job), so he sent me some print books to try. His figures are reduced to the basics but still expressive with personality, even when they’re standing still. (See, for example, the introduction character who titles this strip.)

I first tried his diary strips, The Little Things. I have two print collections, one from 2003 and one from 2004 (half the size and price of the previous, since he did fewer strips that year). This is a popular genre, because it seems so easy to do, but it’s tricky capturing just the right incident in the right amount of space without boring your audience. The reader needs a reason to care.

I like Hanvey’s approach. He’s optimistic and cheerful about things, and we have some of the same likes and interests. Comics, of course — almost half the strips are about attending conventions or meeting famous creators — but also exotic food and Alton Brown and the simple interaction of two people who care for each other. The strips feel like a comfortable conversation catching up with a friend (even though we’ve never met).

I even liked his strip, which everyone does at some point, about why he hasn’t been doing strips, because he looks a little beyond himself to categorize his reactions.

These minicomics are no longer available in print, but they’re online as webcomics, a medium better suited to the ephemeral daily content. Here are the beginnings of the 2003 book and the 2004 book. There’s a bunch from 2002, too, although those are in an earlier, less accomplished style. They’re too short, too reminiscent of Kochalka, and too dependent on color to make up for a lack of confidence in the linework. The strips really come into their own when he moved to black-and-white (starting here). Based on the URL, he also took a six-month break before returning with the new look, which likely helped.

The Little Things stopped when he started working on The Stereos, about high schoolers who put together a band. There were two comics. The first, Battle of the Bands, falls into the gap between a minicomic (black-and-white, self-printed) and a small graphic novel. It’s square, the size of a single, and out of print (although the first six pages are online). You won’t miss it… instead, look for In the Garage, a more professional publication. Although created later, the story starts earlier, with the formation of the band.

This self-published graphic novel has more accomplished art, distinctive linework, and better writing than its predecessor. The four band members are diverse, allowing for natural conflict — a goth, a nerd (a girl nerd!), a slacker, and a punk are going to have different styles, but they all want to work together for the band as a whole.

The opening uses the same approach as the previous book. A row of four panels with a time caption shows how each different character simultaneously starts their day, setting up their personalities wordlessly. As we follow them hour-by-hour, we’re waiting for their threads to cross, which they do in study hall detention. The band is born!

The story isn’t anything new, but its familiarity works in its favor, and it’s executed with good feeling. The parents are suspicious of the kids’ activities, until they’re won over by wanting the best for their children.

The writing can be a little stiff at times; I wonder if Hanvey needs to read the dialogue aloud in order to double-check that it sounds plausible for high school students. He seems to avoid contractions, which doesn’t help. (And he has trouble with homophones: “effect” should be “affect”, “vice principle” should be “vice principal”.) He also needs to work on developing distinct voices for characters with different backgrounds and motivations. These are common areas of improvement for younger creators, so they shouldn’t be held against him.

I haven’t read Hanvey’s followup book, Entanglement, a romance across class boundaries in a longer format, but it looks even better. That’s great to see, an artist continuing to stretch and improve. His latest work is Realms and Reality, about online roleplayers. These books can be purchased online.

The Executioner Is a Lonely Man

Written by Sam Costello, art by Brian A. LaFramboise

This caught my eye not only because of its skill but because of its unusual subject matter: the relationship between two men on death row. It’s horror, but unlike the too commonly seen visceral, blood-soaked zombie comics currently popular, it’s all psychological. The expression-centered, heavy on faces, grey-toned art carries the thoughtful dialogue, creating a moody whole suitable for immediate re-reading. Read it online.

Sequential Life

by Mathew Digges

The small press collection of daily life strips is an overused concept, but Digges makes it work here. Perhaps it’s because his comics started as letters to his girlfriend, giving them more content than some. Perhaps it’s his oddly simplified figures, with their creepy blank eyes. Or maybe it’s just that I related to many of his concerns and fears.

His second strip, dealing with the creative process, hit a particular note, about trying to not think too much, and working out of desperation. I also appreciated his Valentine’s Day strip, where he and his sweetie appreciate each other for the small things. And his “lazy bones” strip wonderfully captures the feeling of a day off. There are cats included, which is a cliché for journal comics, but he captures their fluidity of movement well. Read strips online.

I walk with my wife in the evening

by Christopher Davis

This is the kind of odd way of looking at life that I read comics for, showing me another way of thinking about things, accompanied by lovely thin-line illustrations. Below its surface are meditations on class distinctions, the importance of money, the possibility of disaster, and the fear that permeates today’s daily life. It’s a disturbing indictment of how psychologically tortured we are, that we no longer have mental room for simple pleasures. View Davis’ art or read Shawn Hoke’s review.

Oil Can Drive

by Sean Tiffany

This last one doesn’t belong here, really. It’s a slipcovered full-color comic with CD marked 15 out of 20. Instead of a minicomic, it more resembles a limited-edition special collector’s item.

I remember reading Tiffany’s Exit 6, oh, 10-12 years ago now. I liked it, but as happens to so many small press efforts, it never concluded. The artist has great style and creative ideas, but it’s tough to sign on to the introductory chapter of a large adventure by anyone without knowing there’s major support (read: money) and commitment to conclude behind it.

Ok, enough digression. The story is about a rock band in a post-apocalyptic America. The CD is a natural tie-in, containing their music. It’s a familiar concept, taking the idea of punk rebellion one step further. Oni Press has a similar-sounding book coming out in July, Apocalipstix. With a gorilla and a young boy in the band, it also reminded me of Grease Monkey.

It’s an eye-catching package, but with so much to set up — new world, ongoing premise, set of characters — the comic itself is mostly introduction. The impression I came away with was that of surface flash over substance, which is probably unfair of me. Still, very nice limited edition. Read about it online. Sean also talks about his Isotope experience, which was a fascinating glimpse into the “other side” of the event.

Update: Two reactions to the announcement: Max Riffner and Wizard online covers the ceremony.