What's it about? French Toast Comix is an autobiographical webcomic by a lady who works as a cruise ship musician.  She's Jewish, gay and draws pretty much anything that happens in her life.  Strips might appear about a coffee shop, her mum, cruise ship culture, new places that she's visited, her art class, anything (also - stealing giant porcelain cows)! It's not as linear as a lot of web comics, in that it mostly reads more like stand alone events.  However, you can buy more structured print mini comics if you like (see the more information section at the end of the review). Many of the entries have a text blog accompanying them, giving more information about the events being depicted. What's good about it? This web comic is what we used to call 'a giggle'.  Ms Hawkins has a dry wit about her and can pull out the important elements that make a situation funny, then reproduce them concisely.  It's a style that makes you warm to her and all her friends, even if  [Continue reading...]

Reality TV--that bizarre, animated, audiomated, semi-scripted, overproduced amalgam of schadenfreude and wish fulfillment--inarguably sends echoes throughout this geocentric Petri dish we call popular culture: Jersey Shore Christmas ornaments, five figure Kardashian tweets, and even the name of this very column are just some of the nouns which originate from Reality TV. These nouns must surely be mere side effects of Reality TV. What, then, is the purpose of modern Reality TV? In its original form, Reality TV was meant to inspire, to challenge, and to stimulate the viewership. And the echoes of olde, ruther than merely inspiring the name of a weekly comic column, actually inspired a regular comics feature. "Roy Raymond: TV Detective" ran as a backup series in DC's Detective Comics. The titular character presided over his own show, Impossible...But True! which was an ersatz version of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, itself an early sample of Reality TV.   [Continue reading...]

Octobriana is one of those comics which make you think “Why isn’t this more famous?”. Because it has everything: an unusual setting, a beautiful and hands-on heroine who’d give Wonder Woman a run for her money, a dangerous opponent—and it’s queer-inclusive. This should have been published as a Vertigo comic, just like Enigma or Chiaroscuro. 
This 88-page, black and white comic, which you can buy here, is written by Steve Orlando, a writer I didn’t know, and drawn by Chaz Truog, who was one of the Chiaroscuro co-creators. I hadn’t seen his work in a while, so it was a pleasure to find him in fine form. Orlando has done something quite clever by using a character from a fake 1960s Russian book created in the 70s by a Czech artist (more about the incredible history of the Octobriana character here or here), and turning her into a very modern kind of heroine. In this version of her adventures, Octobriana is a Russian goddess-in-training, who finds  [Continue reading...]

Perfection doesn’t come around often in comics. Ever since the medium started to be taken seriously over two decades ago, there have been only a handful of works that can be seen as truly perfect. Most of them are pretty obvious and very popular, but others are not-as-well-known, tucked away in the corners of comic book-dom. One of these underrated corner dwellers is Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer. Granted, it probably isn’t as overlooked as some, yet it’s not one that immediately pops into mind when thinking of the cream of the comics crop. For one thing, the characters have had a very limited appearance since they were introduced in the early 1980s. They made their debut in backup features in books published by Pacific Comics, with the conclusion of those stories presented by Eclipse in a standalone issue. A couple years later, Stevens crafted new Rocketeer adventures in an extremely short-lived Comico series. The second issue of that series ended on a  [Continue reading...]

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King Jr I didn’t think it was possible for the storytellers behind the Kevin Keller miniseries to top the first two issues of the four part miniseries (namely issue #2), and yet, somehow, they did so with the power and fury of a 1000 suns. This is definitely one of those times where I don’t mind standing corrected. Issue #3 is pretty light-hearted and enjoyable in a typical Archie fashion. Keller is recruited by the gang to represent Riverdale High at the annual televised Witmasters competition. Only one problem: we learn that Keller has terrible stage-fright. In a series of flashbacks we learn that Keller’s phobia was contributed by the continual torment of an old bully and rival, Jerry. Nonetheless, Keller participates in Witmasters. So of course, Murphy’s Law kicks in and Keller’s past comes back to haunt him in more ways than one. With the support of his  [Continue reading...]

Continuing our look at the New 52 we have Shade #1, Master of Darkness! It is the first issue of a twelve part series which so far is just what we've come to expect from a story set in the world of Opal City. Now, as usual, we are a little behind in things. By now there are about three issues of the series out so for those who are up to date, no spoilers please! What? We want to be surprised! Besides, we are here today to talk about #1. So… without further ado, let's begin! Upon opening the cover is an awesome first page. You see a pretty sky, interesting buildings, the home of Mr. Richard Swift, some flowers in the lower right-hand corner with petals blowing in the wind, and Mr. Swift himself sitting on his balcony having tea with Mikaal Tomas. This alone made the whole issue for us as we weren't sure if we'd ever see the former Starman in the New 52. For the next handful of pages the two share an interesting, if not a bit somber, bit of dialogue that sets the pace for the rest  [Continue reading...]

The first CrisisThe promos did sayIs so incredibly wonderful You will be blown away! Say goodbye to Earth-2Tell the Flash adiosAnd what's left of poor KaraIs burnt up and gross. Oh Hell, Oh HellOh Hell, Oh HellThere's a new universeWhere I knew one so well. The second CrisisSuperboy-Prime punched awayTo try and explain away errorsThat made us say "What the hey?" They killed off SupermanBut not the one that we all knowIt was the one from the 40's(That way it cost them no dough) Oh Hell, Oh HellOh Hell, Oh HellWhat happened in this mini?I wish I could tell. The final CrisisHad the New Gods..I thinkBy this time fans were screamingThat this comic did stink Batman died, but he did notHe just travelled in timeI can't remember what else happenedSo I'll just use this rhyme. Oh Hell, Oh HellOh Hell, Oh HellI'll just read my old comicsAnd what I don't like, I'll sell. Merry Christmas on whatever Earth you live  [Continue reading...]

Big Two got you down? Is it pricing? Page count? Are you still mad about buying that Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1 issue? (I am) Are you looking to spend your money on small press independent comics? And since we're voting with our dollars, shouldn't we be supporting gay and gay-friendly creators of indie books? Wouldn't it be great if there was an anthology with an anti-bully "It Gets Better" theme? Then, may I recommend you get your hands on a copy of the CBLDF 2011 Annual? Here are some highlights: -Page one is an introduction featuring editor Bob Schreck (illustrated by Casanova's Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba) letting us know that he did indeed embrace Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" theme for the comic. -Matt Wagner gives us a four-page Grendel story in black, white, and grey tones with sparse bits of red. The first panel begins at the aftermath of some teenage gay bashing (the red we see on the page is the blood streaming from they gay kid's nose). The next three pages are a  [Continue reading...]