Understanding the Horrible Truth About Reinventing Mini Comics
(The Bastard Format)
Noe-Fie Mono-Media
Reviewed by Mike Solko
As this mini comic anthology states in its opening text piece, this
is not a work intended for those new to the independent press
scene. The book is a parody (although somewhat of a twisted
homage as well) to Scott McClouds innovative work
Understanding Comics and it's sequel, Reinventing Comics.
While prior knowledge of these books is not essential for
enjoyment of this book, it definitely enhances a lot of the jokes.
This anthology, published by Noe-Fie Mono-Media, features
work from Kurt Wolfgang, Sam Henderson, Tony Sonsiglio,
Dave Kiersh, Johnny Ryan and one of my personal favorites, Jef
Czekaj. The individual stories cover different topics like what is
a mini comic, what goes into creating a mini comic, and parodies
of many prominent creators styles. In addition to McCloud,
both James Kochalka and Frank Cho are frequently targeted
creators throughout the various stories.
One of the highlights of the comic is Kurt Wolfgangs "What the
Fuck is a Minicomic?" which parodies McClouds work and
also struggles to answer exactly what constitutes a minicomic as
opposed to a small press or independent comic. Jef Czekaj
presents "Donkey Boy Wipes His Ass" which parodies the
work of James Kochalka and his penchant for including
monkeys in his work.
This mini comic comes highly recommended to anyone who is a
fan of either mini comics or small press but for the general
public, I would recommend it much more hesitantly. You can
find more information on the creators at
as well as ordering information for several titles. In particular Im really
interested in seeing more of Dave Kiershs work as well as getting more
work by Jef Czekaj.