12 hours... 8 pages... one story. What was COMICS JAM WAR 2006? Head over to the main site to find out!
/Mason
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Whoops.
Updated the main site yesterday, but forgot to update the feed. Gah!
Yesterday saw a review of THE LEFT BANK GANG, Jason's alt-history take on Hemingway and Fitzgerald as cartoonists who decide to become felons. Today, a look at the end of the manga series GACHA GACHA. What more can you ask for?
Go!
/Mason
Updated the main site yesterday, but forgot to update the feed. Gah!
Yesterday saw a review of THE LEFT BANK GANG, Jason's alt-history take on Hemingway and Fitzgerald as cartoonists who decide to become felons. Today, a look at the end of the manga series GACHA GACHA. What more can you ask for?
Go!
/Mason
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Back to the grind! Start your post-holiday weekend with reviews of TALENT, HERO SQUARED, and X ISLE! Only at the main site...
/Mason
/Mason
Sunday, September 03, 2006
CWR HOLIDAY WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA
Summer has come and gone, but the new Comics Waiting Room is still running strong. Now it’s time to put away your white shoes and read some comics. This weekend, a selection from Dork Storm Press!
DR. BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #3, written by John Kovalic and drawn by Christopher Jones, continues a string of excellent issues for this title. The premise stays true to its simple self: Dr Blink makes room on his couch for pastiches of famous characters (such as this issue’s “Spank”, a take on Spawn) and delves into the neuroses that make them tick. The best effort this time out deals with Blink listening to a Spidey-take who’s duplicate life is so crazy that it sends Blink himself into the office of his own therapist. The only problem this time out is the lack of Blink’s supporting cast, which grounds the book and gives it a human anchor. Still, funny stuff, terrific art. Worth your money every time.
Kovalic’s main work, DORK TOWER, reaches its 34th issue, and this is the first one I can honestly say that I wasn’t into. Kovalic takes an issue to step away from his storyline and characters to start an illustrated history of gaming itself (using the TOWER characters as his “guides”). What’s here is somewhat interesting, but as a non-gamer, I struggled to stay with it or maintain interest. Were I a gamer, I suspect I’d have dug it. Kovalic mentions in a text piece that he hopes to continue the series here and there, and I suspect he’ll be able to make a high-selling trade paperback out of it. I’m just not the audience for it.
SNAPDRAGONS VOL.1 sees Kovalic’s other series get its first trade, and I highly recommend it. Along with artist Liz Rathke, he presents a younger take on TOWER, following a precocious group of young kids who are finding their love of games and exercising their imagination. Just about anyone who picks up the book will see a little of themselves in the children, and the book is packed full of whimsical and joyous odes to better days gone by. Rathke nails the look of the book, from the fantasies of the kids to the mundane real world, and the appearances by the DORK TOWER cast only serve to enhance the bits and provide a glimpse into who they might have been when they were twenty years younger as well. Charming stuff.
Rounding out the set is KOBOLDS ATE MY BABY!, a role-playing game written by Chris O’Neill and Dan Landis, with illustrations by Kovalic. It’s a bit hard to review this, as I haven’t played the game, but what I can tell you is that the set-up is clearly detailed, the game seems nearly stupidly simple to play, and it comes across as pretty amusing. You create a Kobold; your group of Kobolds gets sent off to steal a baby to bring back for your superior to eat. Gruesomely silly, the game is described as “The Beer and Pretzels Roleplaying Game” on the cover, because its more fun to play while drinking and getting silly. Hard to find fault with that. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll create a Kobold and try my luck?
No new update on Labor Day, but I’ll be back Tuesday with new stuff at the main site and back here next weekend with a new CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
Summer has come and gone, but the new Comics Waiting Room is still running strong. Now it’s time to put away your white shoes and read some comics. This weekend, a selection from Dork Storm Press!
DR. BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #3, written by John Kovalic and drawn by Christopher Jones, continues a string of excellent issues for this title. The premise stays true to its simple self: Dr Blink makes room on his couch for pastiches of famous characters (such as this issue’s “Spank”, a take on Spawn) and delves into the neuroses that make them tick. The best effort this time out deals with Blink listening to a Spidey-take who’s duplicate life is so crazy that it sends Blink himself into the office of his own therapist. The only problem this time out is the lack of Blink’s supporting cast, which grounds the book and gives it a human anchor. Still, funny stuff, terrific art. Worth your money every time.
Kovalic’s main work, DORK TOWER, reaches its 34th issue, and this is the first one I can honestly say that I wasn’t into. Kovalic takes an issue to step away from his storyline and characters to start an illustrated history of gaming itself (using the TOWER characters as his “guides”). What’s here is somewhat interesting, but as a non-gamer, I struggled to stay with it or maintain interest. Were I a gamer, I suspect I’d have dug it. Kovalic mentions in a text piece that he hopes to continue the series here and there, and I suspect he’ll be able to make a high-selling trade paperback out of it. I’m just not the audience for it.
SNAPDRAGONS VOL.1 sees Kovalic’s other series get its first trade, and I highly recommend it. Along with artist Liz Rathke, he presents a younger take on TOWER, following a precocious group of young kids who are finding their love of games and exercising their imagination. Just about anyone who picks up the book will see a little of themselves in the children, and the book is packed full of whimsical and joyous odes to better days gone by. Rathke nails the look of the book, from the fantasies of the kids to the mundane real world, and the appearances by the DORK TOWER cast only serve to enhance the bits and provide a glimpse into who they might have been when they were twenty years younger as well. Charming stuff.
Rounding out the set is KOBOLDS ATE MY BABY!, a role-playing game written by Chris O’Neill and Dan Landis, with illustrations by Kovalic. It’s a bit hard to review this, as I haven’t played the game, but what I can tell you is that the set-up is clearly detailed, the game seems nearly stupidly simple to play, and it comes across as pretty amusing. You create a Kobold; your group of Kobolds gets sent off to steal a baby to bring back for your superior to eat. Gruesomely silly, the game is described as “The Beer and Pretzels Roleplaying Game” on the cover, because its more fun to play while drinking and getting silly. Hard to find fault with that. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll create a Kobold and try my luck?
No new update on Labor Day, but I’ll be back Tuesday with new stuff at the main site and back here next weekend with a new CWR WEEKEND BLOG EXTRA!
/Mason
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