Friday Review - Back to School

Winning Catalog Review is from Nolen for B. Krigstein Comics:

B. Krigstein has been an overlooked master of the comics medium and Fantagraphics really does him justice in this hefty volume. This is one of the best comic reprints I've seen, because the stories have been (for the most part) reproduced with the original colors and not redone digitally, so the pages look how they did originally. At a quick glance, his art seems typical, but upon a closer reading, individual panels, or sets of panels, could easily stand as a masterpieces on their own for the composition, rendering, and emotional impact. Well worth the price."

Eric read Blindness and Seeing:

I've been reading at a madman's pace this year, and my most shattering discovery has got to be Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago -- particularly his mid-'90s masterpiece Blindness. Blindness immediately thrusts us into the action: an unnamed European metropolis falls prey to a mysterious plague of blindness, beginning with rush-hour gridlock as the very first victim becomes afflicted while driving downtown. From there, the novel follows the grim aftermath for the first few sufferers (all unnamed, as in most of Saramago's work) as well as the even grimmer governmental response to the plague. In the process, Saramago evokes modern catastrophes such as AIDS and the Holocaust without ever being anything less than compulsively readable; his dense but addictive style and diabolical sense of humor (in which humanism and sadism violently collide) are more than enough to renew your faith in modern literature, and remind me of the thrills I experienced when I first discovered authors such as Dostoyevsky, Bukowski, and Thomas Bernhard.

For those who have already read and loved Blindness, you'll be happy to discover that Saramago's latest novel, Seeing, about an electoral revolt against a right-wing regime, gradually reveals itself as a sequel of sorts to Blindness (with a setting and several characters in common) and compliments the first book perfectly. Both are extreme page-turners -- not to mention art of the highest order!"

Benn read Fart Party:

I'd like to thank Julia Wertz for the extra joke of naming her comics "Fart Party". Not only is Fart Party my favorite comic of the year, but every time I try to recommend it or tell someone about it, I get the second joke - the one that's on me - for telling someone, "You have to check out Fart Party, it's awesome." They always give me that "you've got to be kidding me" look. People seem reluctant to believe that something called "Fart Party" can be good, but it is. And I imagine that Julia's response to people like that would be, "fuck 'em." Unabashedly autobiographical, with art that brings to mind a darker Ariel Schrag, Julia's sudden bursts of inappropriate hostility and frustration only serve to make the comic version of herself more endearing. Plus, she picks her nose. And her letter pages alone are worth the cover price. So, there it is. Fart Party. Take a whiff."

Rachel loves Kid Robot/My Paper Crane's Doughnut Keychains:

Just released today, they're a perfect keychain replica of Heidi Kenney's plush creations. They're flocked and a nice fit in the hand, somewhat bigger and more adorable than you'd expect. How does something so simple and tiny give so much joy?

Comments

The Fart Party said…
you're right, my response is usually "fuck 'em" but every once inawhile I consider changing the name to something more convervative, like "Modern Cubicle"

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