by R Crumb (Zwirner Books)
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presented by Clizia Gussoni and Craig Yoe (Yoe Books/IDW)Every time I assume that Craig and Clizia have run through all the bizarre vintage romance comics produced between the 40s and the 70s, they release a new volume with even more far-out shit in it. If you buy these books and leave them on your coffee table, girls who come over will inevitably Instagram their favorite panels.These comics, aimed at little girls when initially published, have sensational and ridiculous title pages showing characters exploring corrupt worlds before being pulled back into morality by fear, guilt, love, and shame.
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by Kengo Hanazawa (Dark Horse)This is a strange and interesting new manga. The main character, Hideo, is an anal retentive and hallucinating manga artist who carries on involved conversations with himself but can hardly communicate with others. Hideo mentions feeling like he's a background character in the story of his girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend, despite proclaiming "I am a hero!" early on in the book. He'll issue lengthy theses about why manga is Japan's greatest cultural export to nobody, but when confronting his girlfriend about suspicions that she's seeing someone he envies creatively, he asks, "D-do you still put… Na-na-Nakata's cock in you…?" She seems to pause but is able to understand his true meaning and reassures him without seeming repulsed. Later, she and many others succumb to zombiism. There's a series of double-page spreads in which she rushes at the reader's point of view that makes for one of the most cinematically frightening moments I've ever seen achieved in the comics form. Somehow Hideo is a member of a firearms club and has a shotgun, which is pretty rare in Japan. He is in his own little world as his co-workers and town all turn into zombies around him.
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by Jen Stark (Logitech)This is a bluetooth speaker that's about the size of a personal pizza, and it's designed by the very great and famous Jen Stark. In addition to being a small and pretty object that allows you to play music off of your phone, it is waterproof and comes with an inner tube, so you can use it in the bathtub, pool, or ocean. Here is my cat checking it out. It's like a modern version of the Victrola dog recognizing the sound of its master's voice.
by Jason Shiga (First Second)I wrote a pretty scathing review of the last Jason Shiga book I read, but it didn't make him quit or kill himself. The concept of this book is that the main character tries to kill himself but seems to keep failing. It turns out that every time he kills himself, his consciousness teleports into the body of the person closest to him. He believes this is because he has actually been a demon all along. Soon the comic becomes a game of wits, and the demon guy is trying to stay one step ahead of a detective set on capturing him.It's a fun concept, and it's executed well enough, but it could be better. It could also be the plot for a TV show.Buy Demon.That's it for this week. Follow me on Instagram if you want more of me in your life.