Quick reviews of things I’ve been neglecting

One of the most awesome thing about keeping a blog like this is that people send me e-mails, asking me to check out their comics. And I love that because it’s always something I wouldn’t have otherwise come across. So it’s really not fair to these people that I tend to do a really bad job at getting around to mentioning their comics here in any sort of timely manner. I apologize. (But keep sending me e-mails of your stuff! I do look and I get to writing about it eventually.)

Here are three that the creators sent in within the past couple of months.

Emily Steinberg’s Graphic Therapy consists of confessional stories about the mundane surrealness of every-day lif — a Jewish girl dating a someone she says “was a perfect walking rendition of a Hilter Youth poster.” She “borrows” her brother’s dog rather than just getting her own. The chapters here ramble a bit, stream-of-consciousness style, but it’s all so entertaining and funny that I tended to forget about that. She’s just offering slices of her life.

Her pen-and-ink drawings are done with such witty self-awareness it’s never uncomfortable. Her experiences are particular to her, sure, but it’s easy to relate to being too self-reflective and constantly analyzing life.

Joamette Gil‘s Blackbirds is about a world that’s basically like ours, except people have wings. But some people only have one wing, like our main character Dante. Dante is coping with finding his own independence while coping with poverty and discrimination. But he does discover that not all of life is difficult as he makes a connection with a fellow one-winged girl named Jezebel.

This shows a lot of promise. Gil’s artwork is sparse and airy with simple, strong lines. This is, as of right now, just a one-shot comic, but I like the premise quite a bit and I hope it’s something she revisits.

Ethan Young’s Tails follows a vegan animal-rights activist who starts a cat rescue in his parents’ home and the misadventures that ensue. Young’s art is loose in a playful way. While I’m biased toward the subject matter, this is a lot of fun and I’m enjoying Ethan’s adventures.

Young originally self-published this work and has now put it online and while he still needs to iron out some navigation issues, those are small complaints. I’m glad he’s sharing this work with us.

I am always amazed at the diversity of comics that are out there right now and I think this batch proves that nicely. Thank you to Emily, Joamette and Ethan for bringing their works to my attention.

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