Reviews

Reactionary Tales #1, reviewed by Steve Keeter, originally posted on the Happy Face Productions website.

MICHAEL NENO’S REACTIONARY TALES is a collection of strips, packaged in an independent format, written and drawn by, you guessed it, the very talented Michael Neno. The artwork throughout is excellent, notably the bold and gritty inks, and an adeptness with different drawing styles is showcased. What struck me the most , however, is Michael’s sense of humor. It’s dark, even brutal at times, but there are moments in these strips that are downright hilarious. The most notable examples of this are in a story called “Larvae Boy, Emperor of the Insect World.” Larvae Boy is this tiny guy who wears a king’s robe and crown, and whose best friends are insects. There’s a lot of Saturday Night Live’s Mr. Bill in this one, as the incredibly naive little emperor is constantly abused and mistreated by his cruel pals, who take great glee in biting and shocking him, and get a chuckle melting a plastic toy soldier with a magnifying glass. All the while, Larvae Boy bemoans the fact that he’ll never be a real boy. Why is this funny? You got me, there’s just something in Neno’s style... sort of a deadpan Buster Keaton approach to comic storytelling. He tells it straight, but it’s funny nonetheless.

Even weirder and darker is the 3-part story, “Fight Not Mr. Canine”, featuring an anthropomorphic dog in a trenchcoat who immediately dispatches with the hero of the strip by throwing acid in his face. Regretting his impulsive action, he flees to a bar where he meets with a neighbor of his, a young woman. The two seem to hit it off, and the strip ends on a slightly less dark note. There are other odd tales in this issue (Mr.Spud, a guy who spends all his time and money eating potatoes-- and “The Ballad of Michael Neno”... the only strip not drawn by Michael Neno-- featuring guest artist Paul Pope), and a clever “Interlude” at issue’s end ties them all together.

REACTIONARY TALES is an interesting work, and features a very cool Marvelesque frontcover straight out of the Silver Age. Although it is, as indicated, darkly humorous, there is also something curiously uplifting about it all... and one is left with an appreciation for the artistic and storytelling skills of a craftsman who really knows how to use the comics medium. Quite a good comic.

Michael Neno's Dream, reviewed by Daniel Holloway, reprinted from the

Michael Neno's Dream is one of those appealing little art objects that is so attractive, but ultimately limited by its art-object nature. Talking about the size of a book is so 1997, but Neno's Dream fits nicely into one's palm, and with the heavy cardstock paper and Neno's lush illustrations, one feels the urge to slip it into his or her back pocket, certain that it may come in handy some day when talking to other nerds about dream comics.

The dream Neno describes is chaotic, slightly funny, and even a little poignant. Neno rides on top of a taxi with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda Fitzgerald is always funny. After Scott prattles on about poetry, the grandeur of the city and such, Zelda whines about Kurt Cobain -- "It doesn't seem right," Zelda added, "That Kurt took the cowardly way out when Scott has worked so hard." And my chest heaved for Kurt despite her words.

A chest heaving for Kurt Cobain is always funny.

Neno then begins to slip from his dream, and as he does images and events become more random. The pace increases over the last few pages, moving towards a final image that ties things together sweetly, a peaceful view of a two story family home, musical notes pouring out from the upstairs window accompanied by the caption: "Muffled guitar chords escaping from a teenager's bedroom on a summer day, and it was 1922, '77, '92 all over again."

The strip is a celebration of artistic heroes, the kind one has in his or her youth, when an artist can still be a personal hero and not someone whose work is admired but also scrutinized. It makes the reader long for the time when a song, a book or a movie could shake one's world down to its silly, adolescent foundations. Because of the form of the book -- its size and length making it a quick read -- this feeling is gone almost as soon as it comes on, much like waking up from a dream.

Neno has a flair for stringing words together for romantic effect, and he draws a damn pretty picture. But Neno's Dream clocks in at 12 pages, and at one picture and caption per page, it is only a teaser. When he takes on a more ambitious project, he will be someone to watch out for.

Michael Neno's Dream, reviewed by W.E. Elliott, originally posted on the

Wow, what fantastic art! Michael Neno's Dream consists of riding atop a taxi down 5th Avenue with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. F. Scott imparts some prophetic words and the dream shifts to more random scenes. For only 12 pages there is a lot of story in this little comic. I always find the people we dream about to be very interesting. But poor F. Scott, he can't even escape Zelda in somebody else's dream! Anyway, as mentioned a few lines up, the illustrations in this comic are really something to marvel at. M.R. Neno is certainly an accomplished artist. The writing is also nothing to scoff at. Dreams can be hard to translate, but M.R. Neno manages to relate his dream in an easy to follow and entertaining manner. Get a copy of Michael Neno's Dream for your nightstand!

Michael Neno's Dream, reviewed by Bruce Chrislip, originally posted on

Michael Neno's Dream is a Big Little Book for post-modernists. Every page contains an illustration enclosed in a square panel and a minimum of text underneath. Printed on cardstock, the stylish, noirish artwork and dreamy story combine to make this a substantial 16-pager.