Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3254: Today's post is another blog on a publication that I found at the recent SGV Comic Book Festival that took place on Sunday, September 19th! If the name 'Cartoon Flophouse' sounds familar to you...I did blog about another 'Cartoon Flophouse' publication recently, Crying Macho Man #4 from Cartoon Flophouse. So this is similar to another well known company using their company name as 'presenting' or 'presents' a new title. Also, here is what Michael Aushenker has on the company web site: "CARTOON FLOPHOUSE (based in Los Angeles, California) is the only comic book company dedicated exclusively to humor comics. We are committed to bringing you the rapier wit and absurdist, quasi-surreal hilarity of cartoonists Michael Aushenker and Jose Cabrera (both of whom should be committed!). If you're not laughing, then we've failed. Which in itself is pretty funny. So we win!" Okay...enough for the intros. What is this publication about, and what is 'My Take' on it? First the front cover: Although I have already reviewed a different publication from this company, I didn't know the characters portrayed on the front cover of this publication. (Heck, I even missed Richard Carradine's bum from the Lower Class at the bottom right corner. Richard is shown near the bottom right of this post holding his new book 'The Park After Dark'.) This looked like a fun front cover, so I turned the page.. Inside Front Cover: Good 'House Ad' with the credits. I could see that this publication was going to be varied in presentation. How varied? Splash Page: This showed me I would be reading comix! (Think underground comix!) Interior Pages - The first two pages were a 'Welcome To Cartoon Flophouse' - which was good, because it set the stage as to what was going to be presented in this issue. The first section of this comix magazine centers on Greenblatt The Great! - Which is in Michael's own words..."I've always wanted to write the Great American Bellhop Gag Strip". Michael graduated Cornell University in 1991 and moved to Paris, France. There he became exposed to PSIKOPAT. And Cowboy Henk, and Tin Tin. Michael calls the first section his "quasi-surreal, Euro gag strip. Enclosed are all 30 chapters". The Boom Years: 1992-1994 - In January of 1992 Michael returned to Los Angeles. He created comics for Caliber Press. He goes on to tell about his experiences there... Then Came 1995... El Gato, Crime Mangler starts. Michael quites cartooning for others and self-publishes, and never looked back. Los Angeles, 2001 - Enter Xeth Feinberg and "Papu". Plus other characters. Why does Michael, (and then I in this blog), mention the above? That's because this publication basically reprints the periods mentioned above. So I'll start with the first section which is about Greenblatt the Great, all 30 Chapters. Each Chapter is a one or two page comix strip. Remember this is 1992. The Black & White Boom was in full bloom. The character is introduced. The art is 'comix' style, and the lettering is also 'comix' style. The black and white presentation covers a lot of ground and introduces several other characters, which would be natural as a bellhop does meet a lot of people! Earl the Talking Ear is shown next, (from 1991). Then 'Bloody the Bloodhound', (also 1991). Then other strips are shown, including 'Me, My Elf, and I', 'Satan Takes A Holly-Day', 'Nix + Pix'. Then 'Papu' is shown, in 'Papu in Switzerland'. It's a 14 page feature by Xeth Feinberg. That is followed up by a few one page strips of 'Riding On Empty' from 1992. The publication ends with 'Clucky & Brett'- 'Those Unstoppable Rogues In...The Model Party'. I gotta tell you...As I've mentioned in this Blog before. Reading AND reviewing an anthology publication has to be one of the toughest jobs going! That's because when a reader finds a story or storyline or character that he or she likes...that story ends and another one starts. Which the reader may or many not like as well! I enjoyed the intro on the inside cover, the splash page, and the two page history of how Michael Aushenker started in cartooning and publishing comix. However, as stated on the Splash Page itself? "Zero Attenion Span? You've come to the right place..." It was fun to see where Michael started back in 1991-92 by reading the first 30 chapters of Greenblatt the Great from that time period. The episodes / chapters still hold up almost 20 years later because the format is 'comix'. Plus they are printed in black & white, which hold up over time in this style of presentation. The additional features presented show what Michael was also doing during his early years in cartooning. Some I liked more than others, but heck...this is an anthology. There's always that aspect of reading an anthology. I didn't understand why 'Papu' was in the publication after the first reading, as it wasn't by Michael. After re-reading the 2 page history of Michael's early cartooning life, it made more sense to me. 'Riding On Empty' was a little strange...but I wish it had been continued. It was cute the way it ended with a road sign stating: T.B.C. The last feature in this publication, of Clucky + Brett, ended the presentation on a high note. As I stated early on in this review blog...Reviewing an anthology publication is one of the hardest thing to read / review. No matter how much, (or little), is presented, a reader is likely to find something they didn't like, something that was okay, and something that they really liked and wished more of that was in the publication. Very few anthologies that come in for review have multiple stories / presentations that I like everything in it. It's just the way it is folks! My comic book grade for this 'Cartoon Flophouse Volume 1' comix magazine publication in total is a VERY FINE / VERY FINE PLUS, (VF/VF+) 8.25 on a 10.0 grading scale. That is pretty darn good for an anthology publication. Okay...I promised to let you know where YOU can buy this mini-series I just reviewed above! Here is the link to where you can buy this comix magazine. Plus other comics and magazines from Cartoon Flophouse! Plus, YOU can also meet Michael Aushenker at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco if you are attending that this year! --------------------------- Thanks again, Michael, for sharing your time with me at the recent San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival! PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,250 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app! We currently have over 1,970 'Followers'! Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! And for those of YOU that haven't yet...I would appreciate it if YOU would!!! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
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Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
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Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
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Here is what the mini-series, (#1 is pictured above at top left of this blog post, #2 is to the left), is about: 
Issue #3 wraps up the storyline, and sets the stage with a new developement...Sonambulo is believed to have died...Which could have been a 'spoiler alert' except that this mini-series was produced in 2004, and there have been other subsequent stories since then.
Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
WEB PAGE NOTE: This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!
Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
WEB PAGE NOTE: This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!
I was a Sci-Fi Convention Virgin...Until This Weekend! 
We spent a slow morning checking out the vendors, some intriguing books and fantasy jewelry, and perusing the art show, (as seen to the left). 
I confess: I led the revolt at the LOST panel. 
Robert J. Sawyer, author of Flash Forward, the inspiration for last season's cancelled show, gave a well-prepared presentation on his involvement with the show. Not having read the book, I'm now itching to check it out. 
The Heroes panel was way more fun than Season 3, thanks to Tadao Tomomatsu, (pictured at the left in the photo), who had a bunch of silly stories about appearing on the show. 
Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
WEB PAGE NOTE: This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!