ICYMI -- Small Press Comics Criticism and Whatnot for 4/6/18 to 4/13/18

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

* Carta Monir reviews THE PERVERT by Michelle Perez and Remy Boydell, which "is that big, difficult, trans, queer-as-shit, pull-no-punches sad fucking comic that [she's] been waiting for."

* Alex Hoffman also reviews THE PERVERT, calling it "a complicated human story where identity isn't easy, but human connection makes it livable."

* Jazmine Joyner on Michael Sweater's THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: A PLEASE KEEP WARM COLLECTION, "a series of funny and sweet stories that are entertaining, approachable, and fun to read."

* John Seven looks at two books by WHIT TAYLOR, Ghost Stories and Fizzle #1, in which Taylor "uses her strong talent for intimacy in cartooning to present situations -- some personal, some fictional -- that engulf the reader in such a way that the emotional content isn't just being shared in the work, but experienced."

* Tom Murphy on CRUSHING by Sophie Burrows, wherein "one of the beauties of the comic is the recognizable London it depicts -- a city of standing behind the yellow line, intrusive pigeons and nipping to the kebab shop in your 'jammies. A maddening, exhausting and creaking city that, through it all, retains the capacity for magic."

* Scott Cederlund reviews FROM LONE MOUNTAIN by John Porcellino which "uncovers these small, reflective moments of life that many of us just take for granted and gloss over."

* Oliver Ristau on Roman Muradov's RESIDENT LOVER, "an extrapolation of human relationships in the wake of dating simulations situated under the influence of extremely contrarian scenarios..."

* Sam Ombiri reviews MISSY NO. 1  by Deryl Seitchik, which "feels like watching something with the sound turned all the way down."

WHATNOT

* Alex Dueben talks to HAZEL NEWLEVANT about Sugartown, working at Lion Forge, and more.

* Vice has printed some COMICS by Tara Booth. If you've never seen Booth's art before, this is a good place to start. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy you did.

* Kim O'Connor has some DISGRUNTLED COMICS LINKS about the controversy surrounding Brandon Graham, her birthday, revisiting Cathy comics, NYT comics critics, and COPRA.

* Douglas Messerli on the "complex and passionate poems" of JOSEPH CERAVOLO.

* Finally, those of you who know me know the myriad of reasons I have for not liking Crisis on Infinite Earths, but I will still recommend that you read Tegan O'Neil's CRISIS IN TIME over on TCJ, because I'm STILL trying to wrap my head around what point O'Neil was trying to make by stringing together so many words about so many disparate things under one title.  It's kind of a fun read, if you don't mind having a furrowed brow.