Resonance Magazine Reviews Graphic Novels

Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Posted By: Shawn Patty

The current issue of Resonance magazine [issue #42 featuring comedian David Cross on the cover] includes reviews of recent graphic novels and comics collections, including Sam Henderson’s Magic Whistle #9 (Alternative Comics, ISBN 1-891867-68-7; Diamond Code DEC032045), Allison Cole’s Never Ending Summer (Alternative Comics; ISBN 1-891867-66-0; Diamond Code DEC032044), Steve Brodner’s Freedom Fries (Fantagraphics; ISBN 1560975938), and Romance Without Tears (Fantagraphics; ISBN 156097558X) edited by John Benson.

Magic Whistle #9: Bigger, Larger, and Bigger!
Sam Henderson
(Alternative Comics) What can one say about Sam Henderson’s venerable potty humor that hasn’t already been said? His blocky, crudely drawn (and crudely spoken) figures exist in an universe populated by stars of canceled sitcoms and thinly-veiled representations of Henderson’s friends. He does have a formula and, by and large, he’s stuck with it for years. The new issue’s length provides the only shock here—Henderson decided to release an annual 98 page ‘book’ where before he released three 32 page ‘pamphlets.’ Size aside, Magic Whistle #9 features all the things longtime readers have come to expect: Dirty Danny still gets dirty (“…you’ve replaced my Venus fly-trap… with a Penis fly-trap!”), half-formed ideas still provoke laughs (“Cartoons I’m Too Lazy to Send to The New Yorker”), and Henderson’s parodies still seem strangely true to the spirit of their inspiration (a “Steinfeld” [sic] character asks, “Elaine, which one of us is better at feeling tits?”). Yes, after all these years, the Magic Whistle still blows. Thank God.
James Barnes, Resonance

Never Ending Summer
Allison Cole
(Alternative Comics) Within the sparse line-drawings of Cole’s Never Ending Summer, a not-so-sparse story plays out. It’s not necessarily a tale that twenty-somethings everywhere haven’t already seen mirrored in their own lives, but that may be what makes it something worthy of picking up. An autobiographical tale about friends, boyfriends, excessive drinking and monetary woes—this thin tome covers the four food groups. Cole’s characters are like Gumby’s long lost hip cousins, with nondescript bodies save for the occasional variation in hairstyle. Simple in shape though they may be, it’s difficult to avoid identifying with several characters, and wanting to tell them—one can’t be so sad all the time!
Sarah Burton, Resonance

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