Monster World #1-6
Reviewed by R. Krauss
By Sam Gafford
Gafford Productions, 2008
8 b/w pages, including self-cover
Standard mini comic size (1/4 of Letter-size sheet)
$1 each or $10 for a 12 issue subscription
Gafford is a frequent contributor and editor for Jim Main's Main Enterprises small press comics and zines. For a change of pace, he challenged himself to produce a new issue of his 8-page mini comic every week. So far, he's into the project over two months and remains right on track.
Monster World is an epic story about a government agency, S.T.A.K.E., and their battle against a horde of vampire families and werewolf clans that threaten the world. The story is fast-paced and Gafford puts the space each issue offers to good use.
The format he's worked out is a cover, a story recap on page 2, and a 6-page episode that ends with a cliffhanger. It's a little like an old time movie serial-only on paper. Each new episode leaves you anxious to read the next one.
I love the concept of a weekly mini comic and admire Gafford's discipline to pull it off. It'll be fun to look back over this series as the weeks roll by and watch his progress.
Rating the Issue
Story: Overall 8 |
Storytelling: 7 |
Take a Look Inside the Mini Comics
Reviewer Bio
R. Krauss reviews small press and mini comics on Midnight Fiction, Comic Related, and Poopsheet Foundation.
Name: Richard Krauss
email: arkay@midnightfiction.com
Been reading comics: since I started reading Marvel comics in Junior High School.
Review Bio: After several years I discovered titles like Zap and Bijou at a headshop and was seduced by the freedom and variety they offered. When the new-wave comix era sprouted from the seeds of the undergrounds, I quickly joined the ranks of other struggling cartoonists with phenomenally low print runs. After almost a decade of small press comix, I retired and made a solemn vow never to return. Several years later the Internet happened and over time many of my favorite new-wave cartoonists got online. The bug bit again and I started exploring the new crop of small press cartoonists. Today's explosion of small press comics is more exciting than any time I've ever seen.
Favorites: Papercutter, Not My Small Diary, Slam Bang, Comic Eye, stuff from Main Enterprises and Weird Muse, to name a few.
Website: MidnightFiction.com
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