Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman


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 after the show).

1. Distance Mover by Patrick Kyle (tumblr: patrickkyleillustration) – Kyle’s work is challenging and beautiful. Distance Mover follows Mr. Earth and his protege Mendel as they travel around the world in the Distance Mover machine. Published by Koyama Press.

2. Dear Amanda by Cathy G. Johnson (tumblr: cathyboy) – Cathy is one of the five candidates for the Ignatz 2014 Promising New Talent award, and one look at her portfolio will give you a good idea why. Dear Amanda is about a writer named Belén and her romantic relationship with a co-worker. Self-published.

3. (In a Sense) Lost & Found by Roman Muradov (tumblr: bluebed) – I’ve only recently been introduced to Roman’s comics work via his Kickstarter for Yellow Zine #5, but I’ve seen his illustration work around for a few years. In this book from Nobrow Press (nobrowpress), Muradov explores the idea of innocence as a tangible object.

4. Rift: A Keepsakes Story by Carey Pietsch (tumblr: careydraws) – I absolutely loved Pietch’s Keepsakes, a mini I picked up at TCAF 2014. Rift seems to be a new episode in the same universe. I haven’t seen much in the way of an official announcement yet, but I’m sure that’s coming soon. Self-published.

5. Cat Dad, King of the Goblins by Britt Wilson (tumblr: brittwilson) – Britt’s work has an exuberance and energy that is infectious. Britt and John Marz are starting off Koyama Press’ kids line with two separate books, and this looks like a fun comic no matter what your age. Published by Koyama Press.

6. RAV 1st Collection by Mickey Zachilli – My first experience with Zachilli’s work is the Cool Dog sticker campaign from Kickstarter. Unfortunately I haven’t read any of RAV, but I’ve seen her* frenetic Comics Workbook work and comic comics reviews, which are great.  Published by Youth In Decline (tumblr: youthindecline).

*(thanks Simon for the info/correction, and sorry for being super rude)

7. Rough Age by Max de Radigues – de Radigues’ first longform work to be published in English. It appears to be a slice-of-life story about a group of teenagers. I absolutely loved his mini-comic Bastard which is currently being published in English by Oily Comics (tumblr: snakeoily). Published by One Percent Press (tumblr: onepercentpress).

8. The Hospital Suite by John Porcellino (tumblr: johnporcellino) – I met John briefly at SPACE 2014 and got to see first hand some of his famous King Cat comics and his work with Spit and a Half, his zine and comic distro. John’s memoir of a period of illness and his interactions with the medical community seem timely for me personally as I continue my career in the medical field. Published by Drawn and Quarterly (tumblr: drawnandquarterly).

As always, tell me what I missed! 🙂 What other books are debuting at SPX that you want to pick up?


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