This mini is a two-fer, “Food” a creepy/funny tale of extraterrestrial dinner swiping, and “Fall” a pretty reimagining of the seasonal gods who walk among us, and what might happen if they were to decide to change their minds about things. Very strange layouts that just…might…work at play here, as well. Worthy of study.
Keith Knight’s K Chronicles are consistently funny and worth checking out. This two-pager, comparing parenting to cartooning and available online via MDHP’s semi-annoying flash viewer, is a standout.
I love the double meaning of the title: Rabbi Kahn dies, and it turns out he’s not a rabbi at all; he’s not even Jewish. His life was a big con. This causes obvious problems for his very Jewish family, especially his oldest son, also a rabbi, who now must question everything, and proceeds to do so.
Victor Kerlow is one of the most prolific and talented young artists we’ve encountered in a long time. Seems like every time I turn around, I run across another of his slightly creepy, off-kilter tales. These two are the strongest of the BAC 2010 lot (meaning of course Sept 1, 2008-Aug 31, 2009).
I Kill Giants is the tale of a very angry 5th-grade girl living in her fantasies (of being a giant-killer) and thus holding the world, and especially any attempts to get emotionally close to her, at bay. It’s told very inventively and convincingly, and Barbara, the main character, is very appealing despite, and because of, her aggression.
Jin & Jam is about two disaffected teens creating somewhat-surreal chaos to make their suburban (OK, San Jose) life less ordinary. The details are funny (conjoined twins, fights over french fries) but it’s the elegant drawing that really sets this one apart.
A strange little story about an apparently-medieval peasant woman with a unique problem. It takes a few minutes to orient yourself and figure out what’s going on, but then it’s really quite touching.
Paul Hoppe’s nearly-people-free story “The Horror” examines what your brain can invent out of ordinary reality to scare the pants off you. I love the implication of something just around every corner, and I completely recognize that feeling of dread you can get out of nowhere, that you then can’t quite shake or talk yourself out of.
Jarod Rosello, who wrote a great guest post for us (read it! it’s amazing!) partly on how he uses this story in his freshman comp classroom, describes it as “it’s the true story of improvements made to Riverside Park in New York City and the inadvertent creation of an underground graffiti movement and colony in the abandoned railroad tracks under the park.” Interesting, well-told, and intriguing. It really makes me want to go and see the graffiti art in real life.
