Boot Legs
Wow, this page is so old that I didn't even have a spellcheck option. Huzzah for clearing out ancient typos! This is the first book I've seen from Pat in ages (and there were plenty more in the package), and he mentions in the letter that I've been reading his comics since he was 14 (he's 23 now). Yes, I am indeed getting old. This comic is just what it looks like from that cover: a parody book of Marvel and DC heroes. There are a few stories in here, all of which have at least something to recommend them. First up is Spider-Man hanging out with Lizard, eventually getting MJ in on the action. Next you have the X-Men (Gambit, Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm in this case) drinking, going to band practice and accidentally blasting a hole in the wall of the girls bathroom. The story with Daredevil and Punisher ends up about where you'd expect it to if you've ever read the comics, as those two are so clearly in love with each other. Next is my personal favorite: Ghost Rider versus Aquaman. Ghost Rider has gone green, switching to a bicycle, and is almost run off the road by an inexplicably driving Aquaman. A hilariously brief fight ensues. Finally there's a Batman story in which he tries to convince Superman to drink and smoke pot, gets Catwoman drunk and has sex with her on a pile of money. It's great to hear from Pat again, even better to get some good old-fashioned parody stories of Marvel and DC big shots. No price on this but I'd guess a buck or two…
Revolution with a Catchy Phrase #1
I'm almost positive that I already have something from this guy up on the site, but I can't find it. How sad is that? Anyway, this zine is ridiculous, and I mean that in the best possible way. The only comic story is about zombies who come to life while some people decide that they want to try and steal Tom Selleck's soul. Jesus comes down to help and mayhem and hilarity ensue. It looks like crap, mostly, but there's a sense of fun here that hard to completely ignore. Worth a look if you like old horror movies and Jesus. Then there are a couple of essays by Simon Kugel (and I know he's around here somewhere) that tell about why a revolution isn't going to happen and stuff about Capitalism. Throw in one final essay by Alan Ferich about why Adam Sandler and David Spade are stupid and you have a zine! It's OK, overall. Not going to set the world on fire or anything, but fun. Oh, and there's an interview with the band This Radiant Boy, another indie band I've never heard or. You damned kids! Here's a website, this is $1.
Revolution with a Catchy Phrase #2
OK, this one isn't as good. The comics are hilarious, don't get me wrong. They're growing on me in a big way. This one is about an old man, a clown, a ninja, Scott Baio, some monsters, and LeVar Burton. I'm not even going to try and describe it, but I'd like four pounds of whatever he's on, unless it's just plain old human kindness, in which case none for me, thanks. There are also a couple of short comics by Simon Kugel, one of which is funny, and one of which mostly isn't. Still, enough to spend a dollar on, as long as you don't bother with the essays. There's one by a newcomer, Justin Klugh, which might have been good (it was about video games), but the copy was screwed up and it cuts off the first few letters of every line. I tried, but it was just too annoying to deal with. Alan Ferich talks about his life and Simon Kugel talks about shoes. Neither one of those is as dull as I'm making them out to be, but they're sure not as exciting as you might think. Still, the comics make this completely worthwhile, and I liked the other essays from these guys, so they could definitely put something good together for #3. $1!
Revolution With a Catchy Phrase #5 Now Available! $1.50
Remember how my only real complaint with the first two issues of this series was the essays and things done by people other than Pat? Well, I'm not sure when it happened (missed a couple of issues in there), but it's all Pat now, meaning that it's all comics, also meaning that it's all completely bizarre. Oh, and the art looks better too. Still not fantastic, but getting to be pretty good. Do I have to try to decipher this for a review? Oh man… OK, I'll try. There are these three…um, beings. One is a knight trying to find a quest, one is an old man who happens to torture and kill things, one is a satyr who also kills things, and one is what appears to be mostly a regular guy, at least so far. They all meet in a bar, have some adventures… aw, forget it. You have to read this to get anything at all out of it. What I just briefly described was the bulk of the comic. Other than that you have a relentless quest for eggs, a searing hot french fry, serious bloodshed, Boca, a man with a gun in his back, recycled grandma and a faulty human mask. Any serious quibbles I had with this comic are gone now, and you could do a whole lot worse than to check this out. Unless you're looking for a coherent story with a happily ever after or the wonders of page after page of angst, then there are other places you could probably go. Contact info is up there, this one is also in the online store, if you'd rather buy it there…
Revolution With A Catchy Phrase Collected Edition Now Available! $2
Who's been saying all along that the comics are the best part of this zine? I think it was me, unless I kept those comments to myself, but I've been thinking it all along, I swear I have. Anyway, this isn't a complete collection by any means, as those samples from the first two issues don't seem to be in here, but all the good stuff from #5 and some other stuff that I've never seen is in here. There's no way in hell that I can make this all make some kind of logical sense in a review, but it's a blast and funny, so you could do a whole lot worse. Oh, OK, here goes: in here you have eggs, a recycled grandma, Boca, orange juice, and all the things I talked about in my review for #5. If that makes it sound like it's not so complicated after all, that's only because I'm not telling it right. Look, it's a bit sloppy, granted, but this isn't a story that you've ever seen before or will ever see again, which is always a plus in my book.
Revolution With A Catchy Phrase #6
Who likes things growing out of places where they shouldn't? Or a prostitute service where you get to eat the hooker when you're done? Or Bananoid? This is collection of random short stories mixed in with a lot of sketchbook pages (or something that looks suspiciously like sketchbook pages), which is the kind of thing that usually annoys me as obvious filler, but in this case it lends to the overall creepy feeling you get when reading these stories, so it all works out in the end. Probably only half of this is "story", but you won't feel cheated on those sketches, I can tell you that. Sickened, perhaps, but if you're looking for fluffy bunnies these comics aren't probably the first place you would look. Although there are bunny slippers in this, and Pat manages to make even that look slightly deranged. Regardless, this is another good one, if you don't mind a little bit of nastiness.
Revolution With A Catchy Phrase #7
Pat seems to be getting tired of telling anything remotely resembling a traditional story. Of course, traditional storytelling is overrated anyway, so it doesn't make that big of a difference. Even in his one "main" story here, involving people watching advanced aliens of all kinds have sex (until they eventually start having sex with them too, and then bad things are bound to happen), he breaks up the four page tale with a couple of asides. Then most of the rest of the book is simply images of various horrific creatures as well as a few one page stories about puking and a persuasive giraffe. Another OK issue but I prefer it with a bit more story. Purely personal preference, as it's hard to look at that cover and not love this issue more than just a little bit…
Badassitude (flip comic with Craig Coleman) Now Available! $1
Look out, it's a flip book! OK, possibly nothing to get alarmed about after all. I wish more people would do comics this way; it's a great way to see people that you've possibly never heard of. Pat has a couple of selections for his half. First there's a silent tale with a rocking band, vomited from the very heavens to rock. Then there's a shortie that you might have already seen if you'd ordered his stuff from the online store, as I was passing it out as a freebie, about a couple of, um, "guys" talking about a new hot chick at work while going about their business. Craig's side of things is relatively simple: a whore gets shorted on her pay and takes it out on everybody near her, samurai style. Granted, the ending was something you could see coming, but it was nicely done. All in all, a pretty decent mix of stories for a buck.
Were you one of those people who, while reading past issues of Revolution With A Catchy Phrase, thought "Gee, these stories are fine, but what I really want to see are those grotesque creatures conversing with other grotesque creatures in full page spreads, with all the horrific details clearly visible?" If that's the case, you're in luck! All manner of horrors are in here, with the added benefit of being funny too. He does "ruin" it in the end by throwing in a three page coherent story, but I think that can be excused just this once. This is not for the squeamish or for the kiddies, but there's some funny stuff in here, providing that you're not easily offended.
Pat seems to be all over the place with his issue titles, which is fine by me (and the title here is wonderful once you read the definition on the cover), as he doesn't seem to be going for a long narrative at the moment anyway. This one is another collection of odds and ends. There's the one coherent story from Creatures Saying Foul Things, a wonderfully disgusting story following a mosquitoish creature that infects an ape, a fat rocker eating dinner, some violence to an adorable creature, and, of course, a trip through monster forest. Tucked in with all of this are many pages of sketches and other shorties from guest artists, and it all rounds out to a pretty solid issue. As always, kudos to Pat for keeping these things cheap and I for one don't mind a bit watching him figure out new and interesting ways to creep me out every few months or so…
Quotidian
Because I make such a mess of trying to explain these things coherently, here's the intro from the author: "Meet Quotidian, a joyful gent who's fond of an adventure or two. Join him in his everyday life of exploring the world, fighting off wild beasts, getting loaded, and rocking out with his band". It's a silent tale of Quotidian, a "gent" that looks sort of like the blob in a gorilla suit. He does the things mentioned above and even falls in love, or at least lust. Pat's work has vaguely reminded me of Jim Woodring's Frank stuff for a while, but this is the closest it has come to that work in quality. I wouldn't say he's there yet, but give him another 20 years or so at this (like Mr. Woodring) and he's got a shot at it. I love how almost nothing in his books comes from the real world. It's a joy to see something that comes this purely from imagination, even if the mind behind it is a bit warped. Hell, especially if the mind behind it is a bit warped. Oh, and Quotidian also shoots what looks like a laser beam out of his groin. And have I mentioned yet that the whole comic is a story, no sketchbook pages or shorties in there to mess up the flow? Excellent stuff, and the perfect book to introduce people to Pat, as I'm pretty sure there's nothing to particularly offend in this one…
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