That there is life yet in the good ol' floppy, saddle-stitched comic book is amply testified to in the first two issues of Mike Bertino's Trigger (And, while we're at it, in the first two issues of Michael DeForge's Lose, as well [the first of which is already out of print – note to collectors: you snooze, you lose.].  So:  2 + 2 = ...something, we're just not sure what, yet.).  Bertino demonstrates solid control and surprising range in the three stories and two covers that comprise the first issue.  The first impression made by the front cover is a "let it all hang out" art-comic kind of vibe, but the first story, "Grown Ups, part one" quickly has the reader questioning their initial judgement as it is a finely nuanced slice of life tale.  The next, "Flannels Are Cool Again," is a spirited adolescent romp that could be taken to be a look at what was lost by the "grown ups" whose story preceded this.  And, then, there's "Below Us," a completely realized tale of the struggle for sanity that, while somewhat reminiscent of Sammy Harkham's work, packs quite a punch and is entirely successful on its own terms.  Get this before it's gone, we say.  Recommended!

The second issue of Trigger has a similar tripartate structure to that of the first, with the order slightly reversed.  This time out, the goofy romp, "Goo Pants," is the lead off with the second part of "Grown Ups" following.  The third tale is "The Biggest Banger," a science fiction fantasy tale of interstellar travel and alien civilizations, and is once again the brain twisting wild card of the bunch.

Here we have Volume 18 in The Carl Barks Library. Fantagraphics' 15-year project to collect the entirety of Barks's Disney duck work in a 30-volume matched set, is now just shy of the halfway mark, as, while this is indeed Volume 18, it is only the 14th volume Fantagraphics has published, as they have yet to publish the first four volumes in the series, saving these early classic volumes for when the time is right.  This volume is the second which is entirely taken up by classic 10-pagers.  The twist this time around is that one of them, the titular "Lost Peg Leg Mine" in not from an issue of Walt Disney Comics and Stories, but rather an issue of Donald Duck (#52).  Was it originally slated for WDC&S and then switched over to DD?  Who knows! (This possibility is not touched upon in the notes).  Regardless, we have 17 consecutive Barks mini-masterworks here, all from 1956 & 1957.  Hi-jinx, laughs and adventure await!

This is currently – and temporarily, we hope! – out of print.