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Blood Orange #1
By Rick Altergott, Marc Bell,
Kevin Huizenga, Ron Rege Jr., et al
Edited by Chris Polkki
Published by Fantagraphics Books; $5.95 USD

A mini-comic sized anthology firmly in the Highwater/Top Shelf school of mostly inoffensive, slightly experimental doodles. Rick Altergott's Doofus makes a brief, early, one-page appearance that gives a falsely comforting sense of menace to the proceedings, but it's mostly Candyland from there.

These are all self-contained oddities with no unifying theme or really even a pleasing sense of rhythm. Some are just what you'd expect, like David Collier's piece on smoking, while others, like Gary Baseman's sketchbook excerpts, aren't really even comics (or in Baseman's case, anywhere as good as his finished, polished work).

Marc Bell's Big Pile comic strips amused me, and John Hankiewicz's Jazz/Asthma proved to contain hidden wonders upon deeper examination (i.e., the second time I read it). Tobias Tak's "Fanny and Benny Go To A Ball" has a Tony Millionaire-like sense of antiquity about it, while M. Kupperman's "Fingertalk" is an amusing trifle that at one page doesn't overstay its welcome. I wish more of the talents involved had so aspired to brevity.

There's a lotta stuff here, but it's not a very satisfying blend and at nearly six bucks seems overpriced by a good 66 percent. That said, there are a few gems to be found and if you know anything at all about alternative comics there's probably at least one cartoonist here that you like. Whether that justifies spending enough to buy a four-pack of wine coolers is up to you. Grade: 3.5/5

-- Alan David Doane


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