Side B
Reviewed by R. Krauss
Side B
Reviewed by R. Krauss
Editor: Rachel Dukes
Assistant Editor: Mike Lopez
Graphic Design: Rachel Dukes and Mike Lopez
Cover: Lucy Knisley
Publisher: Poseur Ink
MSRP: $22.99
6 5/8" x 10 3/8", Perfect bound
B&W interior pages, Full color wraparound cover
Website: http://www.poseurink.com
There's nothing like music to take you back to a particular time or place in your life. Side B, the massive 232 page comic anthology, features over fifty cartoonists and writers who recall the music of their lives in
one to eight page stories. Contributors include Colleen Frakes, Ed Choy Moorman, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Mahfood, Joe Decie, Joshua Kemble, Liz Baillie, Lucy Knisley, Noah Van Sciver, Seal Azzopardi, and literally dozens of others. Check the website for the full list. You're nearly guaranteed to see several of your favorite indie cartoonists among them.
Side B is an impressive work. Besides the thump factor and its prodigious list of contributors, it's a beautifully designed and produced anthology. Lucy Knisley's delightful wraparound cover features heaps of musical instruments piled in a vast wasteland. A solitary figure approaches one, ready to discover, explore, or rekindle their magic.
Although it's certainly possible to read the whole book in a single session, it isn't likely. I read it in about four sessions of roughly sixty pages each. There's so much here, it's more fun to break it up a bit and search out some of the great music featured in its tales.
The concepts behind the stories in Side B are as diverse as the writing and artwork inside. Some approach its music theme from a specific song or period in their lives. Some try to identify why music conjures up such strong feelings and emotions. Some compare it with other art forms. Many cartoonists are musicians themselves and their affinity leads them to recall an adventure about a band.
The stories explore a range of genres as well-comedy, tragedy, romance, mystery, and tributes. I could identify over a dozen stories that were my favorites for their writing, or artwork, or both. But yours would likely be different. There's so much here that anyone will find plenty to be entertained by and to think about afterward. Side B is music for your eyes and will linger in your memory long after you close the covers.
Take A Look Inside
Reviewer Bio
R. Krauss reviews small press and mini comics on Midnight Fiction, Poopsheet Foundation and Comic Related.
Name: Richard Krauss
email: arkay@midnightfiction.com
Been reading comics: since I started reading Marvel comics in Junior High School.
Review Bio: After several years I discovered titles like Zap and Bijou at a headshop and was seduced by the freedom and variety they offered. When the new-wave comix era sprouted from the seeds of the undergrounds, I quickly joined the ranks of other struggling cartoonists with phenomenally low print runs. After almost a decade of small press comix, I retired and made a solemn vow never to return. Several years later the Internet happened and over time many of my favorite new-wave cartoonists got online. The bug bit again and I started exploring the new crop of small press cartoonists. Today's explosion of small press comics is more exciting than any time I've ever seen.
Favorites: Papercutter, Not My Small Diary, Slam Bang, Comic Eye, stuff from Main Enterprises and Weird Muse, to name a few.
Website: MidnightFiction.com
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