Zombre #2 – The Magic Forest: Ansis A. Purins
A friendly but awkward zombie awakens in a campground overseen by a hippie park ranger. After causing some accidental mayhem, he befriends Acorn, a lonely girl with an overprotective father. Entirely cute and fun, this is probably the sweetest, friendliest comic featuring a zombie you’ll ever read. Even the scary part turns out to be OK (the lesson is obviously that zombies are misunderstood and just trying to be nice). The sight gags and general slapstick tone, as well as Ansis A. Purins’ art, reminded me of old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This was a delight.

Conniption: Erin Gallagher
A beautiful and elegantly designed comic, the story — about a little girl (presumably Erin Gallagher herself) throwing a fit and refusing to do what she’s told — is almost secondary to the format. With bold, screen-printed pages and vellum inserts, this is artistic and moving.

Team Girl Comic Vol. 2: Various artists
The collective Team Girl Comic are back with their second volume. Longer and more diverse than the first, this has some familiar creators from the first volume, including Gill Hatcher and Emma McLuckie, as well as introducing some new ones, such as Karena Moore and Mhairi Hislop. The result is once again an exciting collection of young female creators having fun. I’m glad they’re continuing with this project and I know I’ll be happy to keep reading.

Papercutter #10: Damien Jay, Jesse Reklaw, Minty Lewis
Who does not love Tugboat Press’ anthology series Papercutter? Admittedly, I am not a regular reader of the series, but I’ve loved everyone I’ve picked up.

I know Damien Jay mostly from “Frankie Pug Dog” (although, sadly, that’s not all of it) but his story here, “Willy,” is much more somber. A young woman is the only one who can see her dead brother, who keeps coming to her every night. It’s a moody, inconclusive story that Jay’s loose art done in washes of ink compliments perfectly.

Jesse Reklaw’s contribution is much more fun — a two page-spread called “Perils of the Sea.” It’s full of throw-away jokes and funny images.

Minty Lewis offers another of her office dramas featuring anthropomorphic fruit with “Hello Neighbor.” The content is depressing — mostly about urban (and suburban) loneliness and the disconnect of being coworkers with people without really knowing them. But since it’s fruit, it’s also hilarious. Lewis has a wicked talent in capturing awkward work situations unflinchingly and her spacious, clean drawings are always wonderful.

I’m not going to write a full review of Prison for Bitches: A Lady Gaga Fanzine, but it is pretty awesome and I’m happy to own it. It has a selection of ridiculously good contributors and I think if you’re even the most casual of Lady Gaga fans, you’d probably like this (although, understandably, at $10, it’s probably a bit more than you’d want to pay).

Review copies provided by Ansis A. Purins and Gill Hatcher.