Week of 7/29/2024
This week, Bob kicks ass, I give my rundown of PoFest, and talk about PeePee PooPoo Number 1!
The Shapes
Close Endeavors of the Bob Kind 19-20 (CW: gore, gore, goooorrree…)
To all my confused new readers flooding in here, the storyline starts here.
News
PoFest 2024 Overview
Those of you who read my previous update already know about the story of my chaotic French stopover. However, if you thought after that trip, I would revert to tepid monotony, then you are sorely mistaken, for I always make room for unpredictability, one of the few constants in my life. So, of course, when opportunity knocks on the door, I readily answer which was the case when I found out best friend and fellow cartoonist Chaia Startz was tabling the New York Poetry Festival all weekend in Governors Island (BTW read her comics!!). February was the last time I had tabled at a show, and I was desperate.
Starting at 11 AM and going until 5 PM, we both began our Saturdays fashionably late by two hours and a half which was an absolute fluke considering that there was heavy rain during the morning. By the time we arrived, the inclement weather had receded, and the rest of the day was as sunny as my prospects. Taking place in the verdant Nolan Park, the outdoor event attracted a diverse array of creatives across all races, ethnicities, sexualities, etc. selling their work and/or reading poetry live, making for quite the animated spectacle.
Sales-wise, Chaia and I both did surprisingly well though it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise given the lukewarm reception I’ve experienced at open mic events. If Saturday was great, then Sunday was transcendent. While there was the looming chance of rain (which made Chaia leave early), there was no more than a brief drizzle before the day resumed swimmingly. In between, I would walk around looking at the other vendors’ stuff and the art residency studios. For the cherry on top, I celebrated my successful day with an afterparty at the historic Fraunces Tavern.
In terms of pure numbers, this is my best show this year so far and second after Tampa Zine Fest in terms of quantity and time investment. If I ever have the chance to do the New York Poetry Festival again, I certainly would! Perhaps this is a sign to search for more literary festivals.
As always, thank you to everyone who came out!
Sammy the Critic
PeePee PooPoo #1 Review
With Caroline Cash’s recent win at the Eisner Awards last week, I figured now is a better time than ever to review her forthcoming PeePee PooPoo issue (which I brought during San Diego Comic-Con) which goes all the way back to do number 1 (if you catch my drift) after #80085. After all, there’s only so high one can reach (no pun intended).
Some Things to Know About Caroline Cash — We start with a pretty self-explanatory one-pager where Cash just lists a bunch of random facts about herself which, knowing her general personality from her previous comics and in-person, comes mostly as no shock (though, as far as surprises go, I could have done without knowing about the nose-picking part). As with every other comic in this one-person anthology, her design approach is what makes this one pop. Superimposed over a purple background, this is one of the few ones to employ a full-range color scheme that’s vivid enough to be visually engaging yet not overwhelming due to the muted hues.
Ah, Philly! “the city that sleeps in” — Cash talks about her recent move from Chicago to Philadelphia in this two-page grayscale comic (us East Coast folk can claim her as ours now), a recurring theme throughout this issue. To her surprise, a lot of people from an Uber driver to a barista recognize her. I can only dream of the day that’ll be a relatable situation, but for now, I can always laugh at it.
A Tale of Who Will Hit on Ya’ at Tattooed Mom — Drawn fittingly with a red color scheme, this is another one of those single-page comics where Cash lists things, this time the archetypes she encounters at the titular bar she frequents. I can’t say I’ve ever seen these types personally, but if I’m ever in Philly, I might just go to that bar to see for myself.
Stoned Again — With a title like that, you know green will be the presiding hue in this trip of a tale of Cash being lost and, obviously, stoned in the middle of the night. To really hone in on that lost and tripped-out feeling, the pacing meanders as we follow her jumping from one predicament to another, to the story’s benefit. My favorite part is when she enters a Dunkin Donuts to charge her phone and says cool for three panels, each time with an elongated cadence that’s represented graphically through the speech bubbles and art style.
Femme and Butch — A lot of profound themes are packed into one page as Caroline Cash explores questions appertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity. I like that she doesn’t try answering them instead leaving them for the reader to contemplate. Too many comics covering similar subject matter feel the need to validate themselves by having a clean resolution (I understand why, but I wish there were more ambiguous and messy narratives).
Vegan Doughnut Shop — Two people debate whether poop is vegan at a vegan doughnut shop. It’s a silly premise that’s funny because it reads like the kind of random conversation I would casually have with a friend in the best way possible
.Tattoo — A person complains about how every fellow queer person in town has the same tattoo despite having that tattoo themselves. It’s one of those specific subculture things where, if you get it, you get it. I don’t, but I also realize I’m not the target audience.
First Date — What better way to close the issue than with a first date anecdote in 2020? Despite the sounds of it, this isn’t an embarrassing date story and has a wholesome twist, which I would consider one of PeePee PooPoo’s strengths. While Cash’s writing contains a Daniel Clowes-edge that suffuses with sardonic humor, there’s still room for the occasional endearing, pleasant moment that you can smile at.
The Q&A portion of the book is just as witty and playful as one would hope being presented as a fully-drawn comic in itself. In fact, it’s similar to the sort of Q&A I’m working on (to my anxious readers, I’m almost done with that, I swear!). In addition, if you own a print copy, you get some dope stickers (not unlike Silver Sprocket’s other comic book series Everything Sucks).
My final rankings are as follows from favorite to least favorite:
Stoned Again
Vegan Doughnut Shop
First Date
Femme and Butch
Ah, Philly! “the city that sleeps in”
A Tale of Who Will Hit on Ya’ at Tattooed Mom
Some Things to Know About Caroline Cash
Tattoo
Overall, PeePee PooPoo #1 was another doozy that’ll have you peeing your pants (I’ll see myself out now). Now, we need #2 to come down eventually (constipation isn’t good for you after all). You can preorder the comic book on Silver Sprocket’s site before it releases on August 14.