The
Small
Press and Alternative Comics Exposition approaches later this month. SPACE is a wonderful convention that
showcases comics and creations that are not by the mainstream creators and
mainstream creations. Rather, it’s a
bunch of people putting forth their best efforts to express themselves and
entertain a bit. OH, Comics is an annual
anthology (mostly..it skipped a few years) I have contributed to since its 10
th
issue. It is available at the convention
and can be ordered online from publisher Bob Corby directly. (Or you can buy a
copy from me if you see me at a different show.) The latest issue of OH, Comics was officially
released earlier this year at the Extra SPACE con, but I haven’t gotten around
to talking about it until now. So here’s
my review:
Bianca
Alu-Marr and Steve Peters start out this year’s “Music” theme with a sci-fi
tale called “The Song Remains the Same”. The story involves a little musical
mystery on a space station that perplexes a human and a dragon. I like the slick presentation and the clear art
and lettering. It’s a solid beginning to
the anthology and a nice intro to The Comicverse characters and setting.
Next Craig Bogart takes us on the road with Bon Jovi as he
confronts the devil. Craig’s story has a
neat twist and makes some commentary about rock and roll music and how it has
changed over the years. A very solid
self-contained tale here that I’m sure many will find humorous.
Pam Bliss presents
us with “Always Do Your Best”- the theme song for the hero Foursquare. Though it’s hard (for me) to sing the lyrics
instead of just read them, the song is quite well written, and campy as a
hero’s theme should be. Foursquare’s
reaction at the end is well done also.
Of Song Sung & Unsung is a sad poem by Matt Levin with
rubber stamp art accompanying it. The
poem is well written and I’m enough of a musician to understand the feelings
expressed, though I’m no composer.
We’re in Treble by Kate E. Lore is a nice one-page strip
using music notes as characters. Very
cute!
Mr. Rifft by
Bob Corby is a
musical ghost story with a nice surprise ending and very nice art that is of a
unique look among the entries this year.
It really stands out visually and the storytelling is great as usual for
Bob.
Robot Rap Battle by Jared Wenzel & Eric McAlister tells
of two robots rapping. The raps are well
written and the art may be rough, but it fits the content of the story
well. The reaction shots of the other
robots (and a microwave) are very good!
This is a fun strip.
Out of Tune by Me is a sequel of sorts to the story I did in
the first Music-themed anthology many years ago (which I still have a copy of
for sale!). It involves the same
villain, Force of Mind, and one of the heroes, Lizard Man. I like using the First Lady so I figured out
a way to fit her into the story.
Hopefully the ending makes sense to everyone.
In M.A.G.I.C. by Michael Anthony Carroll Michael puts
together another team of stick-figure super heroes. He seems to be able to
create at will teams of heroes with just about any theme and really clever
names. I don’t want to say more here,
because it’s better to read it yourself!
Kel Crum does a
one-page gag called Everything Sucks which has a much happier ending than you’d
suppose. And it’s a good example of how
he comes up with punchlines that are extremely unexpected.
Troppo by Ben
Small is a science fiction tale of a fighter pilot who listens to music while
fighting.
The intricate art is a little difficult to see in the anthology but
the story is easy to follow.
And finally we
have Troy Verasis, Tanmoy Das & Nick Schley tell the story of Santa’s
Band.
Which is about just what it sounds
like—Santa Claus starting a band. With a
clever name, too!
You can click the
links above to find out more about the individual creators. If you see your name
without a link, please
send me one and I’ll add it.
That’s it for my
review of OH, Comics. Hope to see lots
of people at SPACE this year!
