ICYMI -- Small Press Comics Criticism and Whatnot for 2/19/18 to 2/25/18

Highlighting some great small press comics criticism being published, as well as other random things that have caught my eye over the past week.

COMICS CRITICISM 

* Tracy Boehm on Blutch's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, which "feels like a very personal story about a creative man having a midlife crisis..."

* Rachel Davies reviews Annelli Furmark's RED WINTER, wherein "love is something that doesn't merely exist in a vacuum shared by two people, but subtly adjusts the course of everyone even on the outskirts of the emotion."

* Robin Enrico on BY MONDAY I'LL BE FLOATING IN THE HUDSON WITH THE OTHER GARBAGE by Laura Lannes, "a revealing portrait of a young woman trying to navigate modern romance that showcases Lannes' distinct voice and unique stylization."

* Megan N. Liberty looks at Nicole Claveloux' THE GREEN HAND AND OTHER STORIES where "the emphasis is on the voyage through the lush visuals and not on the specific plot points. In an aimless dream-like state we wander through her wonderfully twisted worlds, after which who knows what we will become."

* Alex Hoffman reviews A THOUSAND COLORED CASTLES by Gareth Brookes and writes, "Brookes has created a story of disability and personal strength that is amplified by his formal experimentation."

* Tegan O'Neil on SAIGON CALLING by Marcelino Truong, writing "Every memoir elides as much as it reveals. It's a form where any imposition of narrative really is just that: an imposition."

* Rob Clough has mixed feelings about Joseph Remnant's CARTOON CLOUDS, calling it "a story that feels all-too-familiar: young, white twentysomethings moping around, trying to find meaning."

* Philippe LeBlanc on Maya Lemaitre's FOUND wherein "Lemaitre understands something about memory and how we live traumatizing experiences, and then we move on."

* Andy Oliver reviews MANTRA by Andy Barron and writes, "What Barron has created here is a world that embraces its contradictions. It has characters that initially appear enchanting and whimsical and yet are capable of the most terrifying brutality and cruelty; on that is wordless and yet needs no exposition to speak volumes."

* Ryan C. does a sort of round-up review of all the latest offers in the MINI KUS! line.

* Austin English continues his WHERE I'M COMING FROM column over on TCJ specifically talking about some amazing zines and their influence.

WHATNOT 

* Simon Moreton's MINOR LEAGUES #5 is out now! "It's about spring, ghosts, the family that lived in our house in 1901, getting stoned near a power station, life and death; a walk in the woods, thinking about bodies, thermos flasks and childhood tumbles; readers' letters, weird adverts; comics, drawing, writing and photographs."

* MariNaomi draws COMICS ARE FOR WHITE MEN, an illustrated backstory for her pet projects: the Cartoonists of Color and Queer Cartoonists databases. After you check it out, make sure to join her Patreon.

* Glen Downey has posted THE TOP 10 COMICS FOR TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Prezi on the Comics In Education site.

* Kate Hollowood's HOW EMBRACING VULNERABILITY CAN POWER INNOVATION, CREATIVITY, AND CHANGE.

* Jeremy Sigler's THE KABBALAH OF ROTHKO

* And, finally, you probably want to get your hands on THIS.