COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 386
Ok, I don't have a lot of time this week so this'll be a short one. So I'll pick a mini-comic for my mini-column. I'll admit, the only reason I bought this comic was for the sales strategy. The first thing I saw when I walked into the Small Press Expo was George in a marching band hat carrying the little box of comics in front of him, like a small monkey selling cigarettes. I thought it was so cute that I had to take a picture, and in return I bought a comic. He didn't ask me to, I just thought it was the right thing to do. I always feel guilty whenever I pay attention to a comix creator at these things and then don't buy anything from them.
I wasn't disappointed by the comic, I found it charming. There are three pages of setup, in which our protagonist goes to the grocery store and has two very distinct thoughts, the ramifications of which are carried out in the remaining five pages. It could be predicable, I suppose, though I didn't find it so. I suppose it depends on what expectations you carry into the book.
The art was nice, with bold, clean lines that are striking and easy on the eyes but convey the varying emotional levels just right. He uses a strict six-panels-per-page format (broken only twice in the mini) which actually works since every panel is used effectively. The only issue I had was with Krunk himself - is he supposed to be blind? He carries the little guiding-stick-thing (I don't know what they call it, sorry) but nothing else in the story suggests he is. I suppose if I read the regular strip that appears in Punchline I would know, but here it just came off as odd.
All in all, it was a good purchase, cheap and amusing entertainment, loads better than many things I've read. And I still can't fault the salesmanship.