Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Month: August 2014

  • Pointers #1

    Everyone could use a little more “go and see” in their comics lives. We spend a lot of time wrapped up in what we’re interested in, so sometimes we miss new projects or comics. I thought I’d take a few seconds to point out some things you should have a gander at – new projects,…

  • Manga is a tricky type of comic. There’s a higher barrier to entry due to the flipped pages, cultural cues that may not be easily understood or explained, and there’s a lot of chaff available on the market. It’s hard to know where to start. Sequential State features manga I think are worth the effort…

  • It’s hard to believe that SPX is only three weeks away! There are a lot of interesting books that are going to be debuting this Fall, and although I’m not going to be able to go to spx this year, here’s what I think you should look for (and what I’ll be looking to grab…

  • Review: New Physics by Box Brown I jumped into a lot of comics subscriptions this Spring. I wanted to get an idea of the current small press landscape, I wanted to push my own boundaries as a reader, and I wanted to read work from people I hadn’t seen before. One of those subscriptions is Yeah Dude…

  • Review: It Never Happened Again by Sam Alden Earlier this year I did a review/thoughts piece on Sam’s Wicked Chicken Queen from Retrofit. I was thoroughly impressed with Alden’s mastery of graphite and the thoughtfulness of the book. Uncivilized Press has recently released a book with two collected stories, “Hawaii 1997” and “Anime,” the first…

  • Quick Picks #2

    Quick Picks #2

    Quick Picks is an occasionally published feature of a set of three microreviews of stuff I’ve read the past two weeks. I’m still working through my stack of minis, which includes some micropublisher work, a few subscriptions, and even a Kickstarter project or two. Bastard #1, by Max de Radiguès Max de Radiguès is kicking…

  • Review: Dinner Ditz by Alexis Cooke It isn’t often that two of my comics interest seem so perfectly aligned in one project. My interest in manga is what drove me to comics in general, and my experiences at conventions have pushed me towards smaller works and small press. So when a mini from Chromatic Press…

  • Linkblogging #3

    Another month, another Linkblogging post. Please note that there is plenty of great stuff on the internet, and this is only stuff I know about. If your stuff isn’t on this page of stuff, let me know. Have you followed sequential-alt yet? Because you should! Also follow this account, sequentialstate, because you get one more…

  • Review: QCHQ by Jordan Speer

    Review: QCHQ by Jordan Speer

    Jordan Speer’s QCHQ from Space Face Books looks relatively strange and uninviting – its fluorescent coloring, relative lack of structure, and unique illustration style would have likely caught my eye at a convention but I doubt I would have purchased a copy. However, being part of a subscription means getting every book a publisher puts out, which…

  • There’s been a great conversation regarding the work of Mike Dawson this week, somewhat self-inflicted. Dawson posted some honest to god numbers about the number of books he has sold and talked really frankly about his work and his audience. I honestly didn’t know anything about Mike’s work until earlier this year, when I bought…

  • Review: How To Be Happy by Eleanor Davis I’ve been eagerly anticipating the first collection of Eleanor Davis’ work since I stumbled upon her illustration work for Google and the New York Times. Still being fairly new to the indie comics scene, I hadn’t realized how much of her work was available online or in…