Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Tag: comics

  • Review: I Hate You, You Just Don’t Know It Yet by Nadine Redlich

    Review: I Hate You, You Just Don’t Know It Yet by Nadine Redlich

    Nadine Redlich has a playful style that I’ve seen popping up everywhere over the last 5-6 months. I loved her recent Google Doodle celebrating the birthday of Erich Ohser (aka E.O. Plauen), a famous German cartoonist (I reviewed a collection of his Father & Son comics here). Her illustrations in the New York Times and…

  • Review: Roly Poly: Phanta’s Story by Daniel Semanas

    Review: Roly Poly: Phanta’s Story by Daniel Semanas

    There are some books published every year that have a visual impact, books that say, “pick me up and read me!” One look at Roly Poly: Phanta’s Story, and you can see why this is one of those books. The book has a strong visual sensibility, beautiful colors, and a style influenced by cyberpunk and…

  • Review: Giant Spider & Me, Vol. 1-2, by Kikori Morino

    Review: Giant Spider & Me, Vol. 1-2, by Kikori Morino

    I’m fascinated by Giant Spider & Me, a recent release from Seven Seas. It’s genuinely unfathomable to me how a book like this got greenlit, because it’s about as unfocused a premise as possible. Giant Spider & Me is a grab bag of concepts; it’s a post-apocalypse setting, a slice of life story, a cooking…

  • Review: Eternal Friendship by Anouck Durand

    Review: Eternal Friendship by Anouck Durand

    (This review of Anouck Durand’s Eternal Friendship was originally published by The Comics Journal on March 14th, 2018. You can find the original review here.) From the perspective of a reader of comics, the graphic novel is a mature aspect of the world of book publishing. But the larger literary world is hesitant to put unique and…

  • Review: Mother’s Walk by Lauren Weinstein

    Review: Mother’s Walk by Lauren Weinstein

    Lauren Weinstein’s Normel Person, which migrated to Popula after the closure of the Village Voice, has been a powerful reflection on the state of the world. I’ve been drawn to her work this year, and it was exciting to learn that she would be contributing to Youth in Decline’s Frontier series. Over the last few…

  • Review: Yellow Light #1 by Raziel Puma

    Review: Yellow Light #1 by Raziel Puma

    I’m glad that there’s a tradition of short story anthologies in comics. In comics you can accomplish a lot in a few simple pages; it’s a medium well suited to the format. The last few years have been great for short story collections, and this year also looks good – we’ve got Carolyn Nowak’s first…

  • Review: Dull Margaret, written by Jim Broadbent and illustrated by Dix

    Review: Dull Margaret, written by Jim Broadbent and illustrated by Dix

    When I heard that Fantagraphics was publishing a graphic novel loosely based on Dulle Griet, the 16th century oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, I was intrigued. Bruegel’s art has always been fascinating to me because of its scope and its sheer chaos. Every painting I’ve ever seen of his work seems packed to…

  • Review: Perfect Hair by Tommi Parrish

    Review: Perfect Hair by Tommi Parrish

    Today I have the pleasure of publishing a review of Tommi Parrish’s Perfect Hair by noted small-press critic and art collector Shawn Starr. Shawn originally brought my attention to Tommi Parrish’s work, so I’m happy to have host some of his writing here on Sequential State. If you are interested in having your writing published on…

  • Review: Runaway Hearts by Sean Christensen

    Review: Runaway Hearts by Sean Christensen

    I recently picked up a selection of work from Berlin-based publisher Colorama Press. One of the more curious pieces is a graphic novella by Sean Christensen titled Runaway Hearts. Christensen is a part of the performance and zine collective Gridlords, based in the Pacific northwest. Runaway Hearts was published in early 2017 in an edition…

  • Review: Mechaboys by James Kochalka

    Review: Mechaboys by James Kochalka

    James Kochalka is one of a handful of hyperproductive cartoonists working in small press comics. His recent output has rotated between Johnny Boo comics, which target a younger subset of readers, and comics like Superf*ckers Forever, which are more teen & adult oriented. Kochalka’s latest graphic novel Mechaboys is firmly in that later camp. Published in…

  • Review: The Weaver Festival Phenomenon by Ron Regé

    Review: The Weaver Festival Phenomenon by Ron Regé

    When I first started reading art comics, Ron Regé’s work was a cipher to me. I didn’t get what he was doing, and I didn’t really know what to do with it. But there was always something magnetic about his comics – despite not understanding why, I kept coming back to his work. That magnetism,…