Musea Art Review #49: Not My Small diary #12 - 2 vol. set
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Title: Not My Small Diary #12
What is it? 2 volume indie comic anthology
featuring the work of 74 indie cartoonists, with
the theme of all entries being "after midnight -
late night diaries." Note each volume is a whopping
96 pages with192 pages total for both, all for
$5 + $1 shipping. A very good value.
It does contain some mature content.
Technical Quality: Above average. Good looking zine
begins with solid cover illustrations by DaveK. Cartoon
quality in the text, is mixed with most (but not all)
entries being artistically well done and professional
looking.
Innovative Quality: Above average. The covers have
pages that are bound with silver twist ties, writing in
glitter, and pasted on drawings - which adds up to a very nice
fresh looking set of zines. Also innovative quality
in the range of artists and styles featured in this anthology,
plus I like the idea of a theme, after midnight ,
for all entries.
Review:
Want to know what's happening in the world of indie
cartoons? This huge 2 vol. set is a way to see samples
of many of zines best, plus many new artists too.
The theme of the set is thoughts and experiences of the
cartoonists after midnight. They range in subject matter
from drinking and getting high and regretting the hangover,
(a lot of that ) to late night confessions of fears and worries,
to an occassional moment of real joy and contentment.
Thoughout is a refreshing honesty, something zines are
known for - I never for once thought that anyone was
making anything up or saying anything they didn't really
experience and believe.
At times the art was poor but the subject matter good, or
the art was good but the artist didn't have much to say,
or neither was very good (though that was seldom),
or both the art and subject matter was fine. It's these
last works that matched both good drawing skills and art talent,
with something solid to say; that I'd like to spotlight.
They included:
Suzanne Baumann's story "Written 12/22/1987 (drawn
2/2005)" about late night outings that can be scary
for young women in the big city. Hob's entry,"The Drip"
about the moral dilemma of a possible mistake of a night
shift nurse in an intensive care unit.
Ian Carney (writer) and Sugar Buzz's (artist) "Late Night"
a story about brothers recalling a night of fighting and
revenge (very innovative art work here - my favorite). Tim
Doyle's "The Attack of the Squirmies" about the politics of
getting and holding front row seats at a club concert. Matt
Fagan's "Late Nite Donkey Show", about late night painting
that turns to a moment of inner bliss. Andrew Goldfarb's
funny "One O'clock in the morning of A Goldfarb" in which a
night glimpse of a monster turns out to be an opossum.
Shawn Granton's "Is That Your Man Purse? An Exploration
of the Portable Lifestyle." Matt Holdaway (illus. by Bobby Tran
Dale) "Fiero GT!"about a dangerous car chase with the police.
Onsmith Jeremi"s "Witnessing a "Fall-down" about a drunk
falling onto the subway tracks. Hellen Jo's "Sometimes
When I Just Can't Sleep" and the things she does until
she can. Dave Kiersh's untitled look at his desire to be an artist
versus day to day work demands. Patty Leidy's untitled page that
discusses "... that time between the deepest dark and golden dawn..."
Carrie McNinch's "Camminare Dopo Mezzanotte" a night
in Rome. Dan Moynihan's "Things to do in the suburbs after
dark #1". Jeff Plotkin's "The Sun Never Sets Online" about
instant messaging with people all across the world. Dave Roman's
untitled look at "all nighters'. Jim Siergey's "The Night I Met
Mickey" about being knocked out at a Residents concert by
a doctored drink. Ben T. Steckler's "My Demons Torment
Me!" about his strange demons such as "I am all
the money you've wa$ted on the Lottery!". Raina
Telgemeier's , late night journey to a quiet spot. Scott
Thigpen's "After midnight I think about things and
map them out..." and Yul Tolbert's unconventional dreams.
As you can see there is a lot of gold in the collection with
many others that may prove to be other's favorites .
All in all a fun look at a lot of underground cartoonists
work in a myriad of styles for a very low price with very
little filler.
Contact Info:
Delaine Derry Green
1204 Cresthill road
Birmingham, AL 35213
Dela...@hotmail.com
mysmallwebpage.com
Overall Grade 5.5 out of 10.0
Editor's Choice mini Reviews:
Grading system: 9-10 Highest grade - Life's work of
a master (ex. Collected plays of Shakespeare, collected
symphonies of Beethoven) 8-9 Single best work of a
celebrated master's career. 7-8. Best work of an era or
genre or decade. 6-7 Best work of the year. 5-6 Very
good. 4-5 More good than bad. 3-4 Average amount
of good = amount of bad. 2-3 Mostly bad with some
redeeming parts. 1-2 Nothing redeemable. 0-1 So bad
it is offensively bad and outrages the reviewere for
taking up that time in his life - just awful.
Musea guarantees a review for all art work in any
conceivable field IF you follow the rules posted on
alt.zines or see our website or e-mail me.
Tom Hendricks tomhend...@cs.com
http://musea.digitalchainsaw.com