Review the Fourth

I think this is the final day for preemptive reviews.  I have about 15 more sitting around, but they mostly say something along the lines of, “Wow!  Nice job!” or “I don’t git it.”  So, instead of saying, “Thank you” or “Suck it,” I figured I would just have a few that actually have something to say.

Like this one from Steve (I believe; he didn’t leave his name) from Clifton Comics in Cincinatti, OH:

I don’t know that the stick figure will be very appealing.  I mean, I still remember Stick Figure Theater on Liquid Television, which was great.  With Tiny Life, it feels like a Radiohead music video, but I can’t see people really throwing down money it.  It might be helpful if you produce a less than $1 preview, pointing out why it’s important to get on board, what makes the stick figure idea work.  But honestly, as it is now, I can’t say that I’m interested.

Clifton Comics and Games

  3234 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, Ohio 45220

  (513) 861-5071

  www.cliftoncomics.com

  cliftoncomics@yahoo.com

Honestly, this is the one judgment I fear.  I dread the idea of people simply looking at Tiny Life, saying to themselves, “A stick figure?  What a load,” and putting it back down (to tell the truth, that’s one of the main reasons why I try so hard to make the backgrounds look so toned and crosshatched.  I don’t want it to look like a “stick figure comic.”  I want it to look like a comic with a stick figure in it). 

To explain “why a stick figure” would take quite a bit of time; it involves talking about the inception of the character, the progression of humorous stories to serious ones, and how I came to the conclusion of having Jed be the only stick figure in the book.  I’ll shorten it and say that I could’ve made the main character anything out of the ordinary; it’s a variation on the “funny animal” motif of Howard the Duck, Bone, and Cerebus.  So, I guess, instead of a stick figure, I could’ve made him a platypus; those are funny-lookin.’  However, I didn’t think anyone had ever done a sincere comic about a stick-figure before. 

And I honestly don’t think that there are more people who would put back a stick figure book than people who would put back a funny animal book.