ICYMI -- Small Press Comics Criticism and Whatnot for 11/17/18 to 11/23/18

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

* Laura Stump on NO BETTER WORDS by Carolyn Nowak, in which "Nowak embraces sexuality without sacrificing her character’s humanity.

* Alex Hoffman writes this mixed review of ROLY POLY: PHANTA'S STORY by Daniel Semanas which "moves and breathes more like animation than a comic, and its pacing is such that getting through the book is quick, almost breezy. Juxtaposed against the book’s lush backgrounds and detailed illustration, the storytelling is minimal, at best a vehicle for Semanas to keep the action coming and not stop to take a breath."

* Hoffman also reviews I HATE YOU, YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET by Nadine Redlich which "captures the moment that you figure out that your romantic partner is irreconcilable with you; that person is a mess, or you’re a mess, and no matter what happens, it’s just not going to work. "

* John Seven pens these short reviews of both TERRIBLE MEANS by B. Mure, "a fairy tale of resistance," and A CITY INSIDE by Tillie Walden, "Essentially an illustrated meditative poem."

* Ryan Carey looks at JOURNAL OF SMACK by Andrea Lukic.

WHATNOT

* Uncivilized Books has just announced its SPRING 2019 BOX featuring work by Kelsey Wroten, Peter Wartman, Kristin Tipping, Mardou, and Gabrielle Bell.

* Philippe LeBlanc interviews CARTA MONIR "about her comics career, her comic Secure Connect, her video game comics and her newly founded micro-publisher Diskette Press."

* Robin McConnell interviews JOHN HARRIS DUNNING about "his latest book, Tumult, created with artist Michael Kennedy."

* Leslie Stein has a comic on The New Yorker site called A BRIEF HISTORY OF APPLE-CIDER VINEGAR, NATURE'S CURE-ALL.

* Tara Booth has a new comic on Vice called COLD.

* Billie Muraben writes about photographer BUCK ELLISON whose "staged photographs capture the private lives of California WASPs."

* Joseph Nechvatal writes about THE MILK BOWL OF FEATHERS from New Directions Press which "shows how women’s contributions to the Surrealist literary canon captivatingly crack the wall of Surrealist phallocracy."