Reasonably Priced Comics #6 Review

Five very different stories make up this issue of Reasonably Priced Comics!  Take a look to see what we thought…

Reasonably Priced Comics #6

The newest issue of Reasonably Priced Comics contains five stories that each have a very different feel and subject matter.  Let’s dive right in and see what this issue has in store for us!

“Scribble” by Jay Townsend

“Scribble” is about a graffiti artist whose frustration over an alleged copy cat turns out to be something much different and much less nefarious than he originally thought.  It’s a sweet little story that is angsty and cartoony.  It was a nice start to the book even if it was a little predictable how it would end.  In some ways, the story reminded me a little of the style in which another indie gem was done in – Lackluster World.  This story isn’t quite as deep as that, nor is it as seemingly angry as Lackluster World was under the surface, but I found myself immediately drawn to it.  Not only that, but it has a certain romance comics quality to it that is enjoyable.  It’s not all wine and roses and romancing and la-dee-da type stuff, but it’s definitely fits more into the present day, 21st Century “Love American Style” type of feel.

“He Wrestles with God” by Ted Woods

Without a doubt, this story by Woods stands out as the most polished story in terms of subject matter and art.  Woods uses a literal translation of Jacob’s battle with God about his faith from the Bible.  Instead of the struggle one has with himself and his faith as he thinks about things going on in his life or sees what is happening around himself, Woods decides to actually turn this into an actual fist fight between Jacob and God.  Being a fan of playing around with religion and how it’s depicted, this one really works for me.

That being said, I couldn’t exactly tell you how close the captions or the dialog is to the Bible.  Even though I like this type of play on religious text or learning about other religions in general, I’m not a religious person.  However, when I read the description of this story, not being religious didn’t turn me off from this story.  I thought to myself, “That sounds pretty interesting.”  When I got to the story, I found myself really enjoying the mesh of the original story and the comic booky action type of scene.  The art is pretty darn nice in the story as well.  Overall, it’s a religious story told in a different way that gets the point across without it being an overly preachy tale.  It’s a man who is wrestling his faith in the most literal terms possible.

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (at Nightmare Island)” by Alex De-Gruchy and M.P. Mann

Meet Professor Nightmare, evil genius extraordinaire, and Jeremy, the Professor’s talking monkey assistant.  On Nightmare Island, the Professor builds his weapons to someday rule the world.  However, his greatest enemies are soon arriving to put him in his place…  His parents!

While “He Wrestles with God” is the most polished of all the stories, this story is by far the most entertaining of the bunch.  It’s a slice of life type of story proving that even the most dastardly of villains have parents who still look to judge the success of their children.  The story and the use of characters in this reminds me a lot of something like The Venture Bros.  The situation is less about what these characters are but who they are.  Mann’s art is interesting, but it works so well with De-Gruchy’s story.  Overall, the story is original, funny, and memorable.  I’d love to see more Professor Nightmare and his mundane life!

“Terse Terrors – The Score” and “Happenstance – Japanese” by Brandon Barrows with art from Steve Rupp (The Score) and Rowel Roque (Japanese)

To round out this issue, editor Brandon Barrows offers up two one page stories.  The first, “The Score”, is a story about a mugging that goes badly…  for the mugger!  ”Japanese” is the second straight short from Barrows’ Happenstance series.

“The Score” is a little horror tale with a nice Tales from the Darkside/Twilight Zone type of twist.  It’s just one page, but you get a complete story.  It’s a brief moment in the grand scheme of things, but it gives you all you need.  Steve Rupp’s art is spectacular for the horror genre.  I’d love to see more from him working with more monsters.  ”Japanese” continues what Barrows started last issue with a one page personal story about the little funny things in life that he’s experienced.  This time, it’s not an old man talking about rain.  This time it’s something that I have found myself growing to really hate in public.  Overly loud people on the phone in public and acting like you’re the rude one for interrupting their call.  While I miss Barrows’ “Voyaga”, I have really enjoyed his shorts too.  These two are no exception.

To learn more about Reasonably Priced Comics, visit their website by clicking here. To find out how you can get a copy of this particular comic, go here.

Tags: Anthology Comics Independent Comics Reasonably Priced Comics