Silber Media sent me three little matchbook sized minis from Brian John Mitchell and friends. Each mini is about the size of a matchbook. I like mini-minicomics a lot. They are just cool to look at and hold and they fit in your shirt pocket. They are great to pass around to friends. Everyone should have more of them and cartoonists should make more of them. They are not the easiest minis to make though. When you work at that size it is really hard to cut the paper correctly. If you are off by just the least little bit then you have ruined at least one copy. Maybe more. They are also hard to write and draw for. You have to take into account the lettering size, page transitions and the composition. Mitchell seems to have all the logistics figured out. Each of these comics work at one panel per page which is perfect for the size and works really well with the pacing because each page turn is a story transition.
Lost Kisses is a collection of one page thoughts on the writer's relationship with women drawn with stick figures. The first half of the book is from a positive point of view and then you flip the book and start over and you get it from the negative point of view. It is both cute and disturbing.
worms is a dreamlike horror/thriller with art by Kimberlee Traub. The art is minimal but iconic and expressive for such small panels. The story moves a natural yet dreamlike pace assisted by the one panel per page format.
XO features more ambitious art by Melissa Spence Gardner. The writing is a lot deeper as well. The main character performs some very violent acts as if they were any other mundane tasks. It's American Splendor meets American Psycho.
Each of these three minis came in it's own neat little plastic pouch and simply put they are just freaking cool looking. Sliber Media is primarily a music label. You can check out there impressive catalog here.
Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith
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