Ben Bertin's story "Run, Smoke, Run" tauts neat, minimalist character designs in an effective, limited palette. He conveys much with just-enough, and the airy pages lend well to his dreamy tale.BOOP!
Robert Calzone is a man of mystery. "The Unusual Adventure" takes place in a frenetic universe, peopled by gamer culture iconography and back-of-the-math-homework-like characters, seemingly sprouted from our modern day collective fears, fantasies and conspiracy theories.
William Cleveland makes beautifully hand painted comics in vibrant colors that look ready to jump off the page, it must be from his background in ANIMATION! His story in Chromazoid is bizarre in a way that will make your stomach quiver. BOOP!
Lisa Cline uses intricate patterns and graceful, inky line-work to express mythologies of personal discoveruy and spiritual identity. The pet snake in your living room might be cousin to the python of yore. BEEP!
Lyra Hill makes comics that are free of restriction, totally un-self-conscious and totally out there! It might be gross, or sexy, or trippy or all that and a bag of chips. It's thanks to Lyra Hill's wicked cool horror-trip comic "Go Down" that we couldn't print Chromazoid in Ohio. Luckily the folks in Hong Kong do it better!BEEP!
Nick Jackson is a dog man. He loves them, he makes comics about them, he might be one. "The Fur" is a heartfelt and artfully designed comic from a dog's perspective and Jackson's abstracted forms and unconventional layouts make each page a joy to look at, and to read.BEEP!
Ian McDuffie's stylized panels are clear and cinematically poised. The camera pans, the lens zooms. The story is a horrifying moment from a longer epic and though few would recognize it, a dramaticized version of an event from David Bowie's early years.BOOP!
Jeremy Tinder's clean-lined, big-headed, cartoony characters speak and act with real-life candor, making them personable, hilarious and immediately familiar. In "Bloody Gary" a group of friends get together for a night of beers and incantations to a local urban legend.BEEP!
Lale Westvind uses loosey goosey smudges and saturated color in the dark, pseudo science-fiction story, "Potent Impact." A wack on the head from a late night rumble causes unworldly transformation and self-doubt.boop.
