Picked this up from the Golden Apple booth at the Wizard World LA con when I met with the owners there. It caught my eye and looked like something I needed to look at closer. It's the one and only Bunnywith... My Book of a Thousand Bunnies, second printing. A thick glossy stock comic filled with hundreds of illustrations of Bunny, or actually Bunny with... well just about everything. Each page is covered with several panels of Bunny with things you'd never imagine, starting with wearing Fred Durst's trademark ballcap, finishing with Bunnywith doorway to a dimension filled with overstuffed hamsters, and everything inbetween! It made for a hilarious read while I waited for my plane home, and during the flight. The book also includes some guest artist's turns at Bunnywith, including big names like Sam Kieth and Jhonen Vasquez.I can't recommend this book highly enough! A quick look at the website home of the creator shows that Bunnywith just scratches the surface of the madness the artist unleashes.

Now, to be honest, I don’t own this in the new recently released graphic novel format, I’d love to, because I think it would be great to read in one big book or dosage, but I do own the singles, the original comics that are collected in this new format, and I have to tell you, Teenagers From Mars, and it’s creative team, Rick Spears and Rob G., are perhaps some of, if not, the best of what’s happened in small press, or indeed comics in recent years. It’s a story that for me, was a great mystery in that I didn’t know what to expect coming in, or rather I was perhaps intrigued and/or misdirected by the title and some of the themes, to where it was truly rewarding to see where the story actually went, a true journey. Besides that, you have the simple, gritty, and amazing sequentials of artist Rob G., who employs a very unique version of manga influenced art, and greatly enhances the thoughtful script from Spears. It’s anit-establishment hijinx with great characters, words, and pictures. I love it! Also, some of Rob G’s visuals, the splash scenes, are still emblazoned in my mind, a couple years later, that has to be a remarkable testament in and of itself.

Dare Detectives is from Dark Horse books by Ben Caldwell, a pro artist who works in a tone similar to Darwyn Cooke, or Bruce Timm. I was impressed with Ben’s stuff at San Diego last year but somehow managed not to grab any swag, so when I came across book 1.1 at the Portland Con, I had to have it. Dare Detectives is all ages, but it’s such a stylish and colorful animation inspired romp that it can appeal to a much wider audience. It looks like Dark Horse has marketed this more towards the youth market with the books smaller size and format, which is grand, but they’re likely missing out on some comic shop sales in the process. Seek out a copy to check out yourself!

Unique. That one word captures both the experience of reading this impressive graphic novel, and the talent of it's creator, Brandon Graham. I'd stumbled onto his site some months ago and was impressed, eager to see something in print. Then he was recently featured favorably on thefourthrail.com, and I became even more anxious. So I was pleasantly surprised to see he had an artist alley space at the ECCC, where I picked up his book. Escalator is a collection of some of the creators recent works, a sampling, with no real underlying theme, other than most tales being set in some kind of science fiction backdrop. The great thing about the book though, is how you want to see more from the stories provided, or even just more tales from the artist, regardless of which, you know you'll enjoy it. Great stuff.

Edward Pun is local to the Seattle area, he's been at several Seattle shows in the last few years, and the last 2 years at the Emerald City Comic Con I've had the pleasure of picking up ash cans featuring his creation, Jade. This year I picked up an entire ash can featuring Jade, and it was as delightful as I remember the last story, or maybe better. Edward works in many styles, but I'm drawn to his manga-styled efforts. I can't see why Edward couldn't land a gig at Tokyopop with his efforts, these books are perfect for folks with those tastes, and would make a nice entry in their Rising Stars of Manga.

Picked up this book at the San Diego Comic Con 2004, from the small press area. Brandon Hanvey had a table across from mine, and at some point we made a trade for books. I read this shortly after winding down from the con, and had been meaning to add it to the mini/indy section of the site since (hadn't updated it in too long). Now, since I read it months ago at this writing, it's not the best recipe for review. However, the fact that I do remember liking the book enough to make the effort says a lot. Brandon tells a solid "real life" story, about a band that could or should self destruct, coming together to make a run at the battle of the bands. It's The School of Rock, but without the annoying kids, or, er, school for that matter. A solid read thats well constructed and worth your time and effort.

I saw a preview online for Video on it’s webpage after a news feature and link, and was intrigued. The concept is big, and the approach is fresh. Video is a story by Stephen R Buell, a new face in comics, and deals with, well the first line of the book really says it all, “So, Jesus came back.” From that line spoken by the primary character Keisha Bell, we pick up the events as they transpire, and see their impact on Keisha’s life and those around her. As you can imagine, things are a bit chaotic, but the book (polished from years of work) sets everything up cleanly, and most importantly effectively.

Buell, is admittedly learning and improving his artistic craft, and while his skills may be growing artistically, he’s very accomplished in terms of storytelling, and sequential flow. His style is also unique, and the tones the book is washed in help a lot.

Since this is a first issue, it’s hard to say whether the series can maintain the excellent start, but after reading it’s intriguing debut you’re inspired to see where the story leads you, and that’s what it’s all about.

NYC Mech is on it’s third issue, and things are starting to become a lot clearer, in terms of what the book is about and it’s general theme. It really is about NYC, and it’s inhabitants, which are in this case, robots. I kept asking myself, why the hook, why are the characters in this world robots, the creators clearly put them in everyday life and portray them as quite human? Well, this is a comic book, and why read about regular NYC inhabitants when you can make them so much more?

From the characters, to the writing, and every aspect of the art, this book is accomplished and fully realized. You really get to know it’s characters and their lives, and perhaps that’s why issue two was so successful, and this third issue a bit of a changeup. Without spoiling anything, the transition between these issues, and change of story arcs say a lot about what the creators are doing with the book, and it’s very interesting. Plus, there are likely bigger things working in the background.

NYC Mech is one of my new favorites, and I hope it finds enough audience to stay on at Image beyond the first 1 to 6 issues like so many of their other books. It’s hard to think of a book for comparison recommendation, it really is unique, and that’s just part of what’s so great about it.

I first picked up Phase7 from Alec at last year's San Diego Comic-Con, in an exchange of books, mine for his. Later that year when I set up at my first local Portland con I ended up being next to Alec, and as happens at cons you get time to talk. Any way Alec’s a great guy, but his book is really cool too. I picked up his latest book, #004, at the Emerald City Comic-con this last February and really enjoyed it. He describes the book as semi-autobiographical, and this issue focuses on graffiti, and his exposure to it. You get to be along-side his character "Eddie" as he discovers the world of graffiti while spending a summer work program in Seattle. You even get to sit on his porch all night waiting for a graffiti artist to add to his work on the wall across the street from his house. Okay, you're not really in the book, but you feel like it, Alec really builds his world for you and draws you into the story. And not just because his artwork exhibits strong storytelling skills, but the book itself is a nice big oversized magazine format with 40+ pages. The result is an escape to his world and maybe some experiences you haven't had yourself, that leaves you wanting more. Phase7 is perfect for fans of ONI PRESS and their line of books, or Top Shelf fare. Go on, check it out.

I had read about this book online before it came out and was anxious to get my hands on it, the concept sounded fun, crazy, and cool, and the book is exactly that. Street Angel isn't afraid to use crazy comic book conventions, but for all the right reasons, and for the benefit of book. There's zaniness around every turn of the page, and though you may know where the book is going you never expect how it gets you there. It's constantly throwing things you've never seen, or even considered into the next panel, making the read a sheer joy to behold. But hey, there's plenty of action too, with skateboarding sword fights and ninjas a’plenty! The artwork maintains the vibe of the story perfectly, while adding it's own flavors. Street Angel is the essence of comic books, unexpected fun and tons of creativity (who knew ninjas could be so versatile). Expect big things from this book.

This book came out a little while back but I was just able to pick up a copy (even though I was signed up for it at my store, they missed my copy). At any rate, I think this is the second Footman comic. I had picked up the first and was pleasantly surprised. Footman15 is the creation of Christopher Rich-McKelvey according to the credits, and he does it all (except the nice Frank Cho cover), writing and art, and I enjoy both. The concept, while dealing with familiar territory feels fresh and new, and the artwork reminds me of all the stuff that used to excite me about the early 80's small press comics (like Grendel, Shuriken, etc.), simple ink-heavy black & white art with an animation flair. I think this book is intended as a series of one-shots, and I look forward to the next. You should do yourself a favor and check this book out for yourself.