A Look At O-P-P Comics
Omaha Perez was good enough to send me a sampling of the offerings from his company, O-P-P Comics, so I will be good enough to share my thoughts about the three books - Periphery #1, Holmes #1/Periphery #2 and Cenozoic #1.
Of the three books, Periphery #1, I would say, was the strongest comic. A 48-page anthology for $3.50, in and of itself, is a strong selling point of the book. However, the other selling point would be the diversity and general high level of quality for the stories.
Steve Niles and Brian Horton open the collection off with a strong little tale about two robbers who go back to their hometown and have an awkward reunion with their old coach - while they are robbing him.
This is Niles here, so there is a twist.
Horton's art was quite good.
Mark Fearing follows with "Jerry: Caveman Inventor." It is a fun tale about a caveman who invents shoes - and sees his fellow cavemen not really care.
Funny stuff.
The art is just the right brand of sketchiness (as it befits the caveman lifestyle).
Eli S. Stone and Omaha Perez handle the creepy "The Handsomest Man in the World."
Perez' art befits the strange story...and his depiction of the guy staring at people (as they realize how handsome he is and are willing to do anything for him) is super creepy.
Good story.
Closed Case is a short story written and drawn by Brian Horton that is built around a twist that, well, didn't really deserve two pages.
Steve Niles and Omaha Perez combine to tell the tale of "In Deep," probably my favorite story of the issue, which details what happens when two punks end up biting off more than they could chew when they steal a rocket car.
Funny stuff.
The Story of Ganesha, by Richard Releigh and Omaha Perez is my second favorite story of the collection, and it is by far Perez' best art of the anthology.
He really shined in this story.
The story is, well, about how Ganesha came to be. It is a really interesting story involving stuff like him taking on and beating up a god because he was just recently created, and did not realize how scared he should have been.
Interesting stuff.
My one real complaint about this story is with the art on the last page. Nice twist, but the thought balloons of the characters are almost totally indecipherable!!
The Holmes #1/Periphery #2 flipbook is not as strong as Periphery #1, but is still an enjoyable enough comic.
The main conceit is that Sherlock Holmes is a total drug addict and Watson keeps him supplied.
Imagine, if you were, what would happen if Inspector Gadget was on drugs, and there were no little niece or helpful dog to solve the case for real?
That's what Holmes #1 is like.
Perez' art is a bit inconsistent, which was a bit annoying. Early in the story, his art is spot on...very reminscient of when Bendis used to draw, perhaps even better. Then in the middle, his pencils seem looser and his inking not as strong. He basically recovers by the end of the story, though.
Overall, the art is good...but when you tease me with the hint of being REALLY good, I want that throughout!
The story is funny...just like any story that would be like Inspector Gadget on drugs would be like...hehe.
The Periphery part of the book is two stories. One written by Matthew Smith and Brian Horton that, while looking quite nice, really did nothing for me.
The second was another Mark Fearing caveman story. This one was about figuring out why the era that they are living in is called "The Stone Age." More funny stuff.
Cenozoic #1 is a full issue of Mark Fearing's cavemen characters (plus Cave Bear and Duck).
The first story, focusing on Jerry - Caveman Inventor, was fun. Not as strong as his previous Jerry stories (which is kinda disappointing, seeing this is the first issue DEVOTED to these characters!), but still fun.
However, I did not get into Cave Bear and Duck at ALL, so I was really disappointed to see a NINETEEN PAGE Cave Bear and Duck story.
The extended story pages did not do anything for Jerry, and the REALLY extended amount of pages did even LESS for Cave Bear and Duck, as less really is more with these characters (to wit, the one page Cave Bear and Duck story that closes out the comic is a good deal better, in EIGHTEEN LESS pages!!).
So I really enjoyed Periphery #1, I basically enjoyed Periphery #2/Holmes #1, and I really did not care for Cenozoic #1.
Of the three books, Periphery #1, I would say, was the strongest comic. A 48-page anthology for $3.50, in and of itself, is a strong selling point of the book. However, the other selling point would be the diversity and general high level of quality for the stories.
Steve Niles and Brian Horton open the collection off with a strong little tale about two robbers who go back to their hometown and have an awkward reunion with their old coach - while they are robbing him.
This is Niles here, so there is a twist.
Horton's art was quite good.
Mark Fearing follows with "Jerry: Caveman Inventor." It is a fun tale about a caveman who invents shoes - and sees his fellow cavemen not really care.
Funny stuff.
The art is just the right brand of sketchiness (as it befits the caveman lifestyle).
Eli S. Stone and Omaha Perez handle the creepy "The Handsomest Man in the World."
Perez' art befits the strange story...and his depiction of the guy staring at people (as they realize how handsome he is and are willing to do anything for him) is super creepy.
Good story.
Closed Case is a short story written and drawn by Brian Horton that is built around a twist that, well, didn't really deserve two pages.
Steve Niles and Omaha Perez combine to tell the tale of "In Deep," probably my favorite story of the issue, which details what happens when two punks end up biting off more than they could chew when they steal a rocket car.
Funny stuff.
The Story of Ganesha, by Richard Releigh and Omaha Perez is my second favorite story of the collection, and it is by far Perez' best art of the anthology.
He really shined in this story.
The story is, well, about how Ganesha came to be. It is a really interesting story involving stuff like him taking on and beating up a god because he was just recently created, and did not realize how scared he should have been.
Interesting stuff.
My one real complaint about this story is with the art on the last page. Nice twist, but the thought balloons of the characters are almost totally indecipherable!!
The Holmes #1/Periphery #2 flipbook is not as strong as Periphery #1, but is still an enjoyable enough comic.
The main conceit is that Sherlock Holmes is a total drug addict and Watson keeps him supplied.
Imagine, if you were, what would happen if Inspector Gadget was on drugs, and there were no little niece or helpful dog to solve the case for real?
That's what Holmes #1 is like.
Perez' art is a bit inconsistent, which was a bit annoying. Early in the story, his art is spot on...very reminscient of when Bendis used to draw, perhaps even better. Then in the middle, his pencils seem looser and his inking not as strong. He basically recovers by the end of the story, though.
Overall, the art is good...but when you tease me with the hint of being REALLY good, I want that throughout!
The story is funny...just like any story that would be like Inspector Gadget on drugs would be like...hehe.
The Periphery part of the book is two stories. One written by Matthew Smith and Brian Horton that, while looking quite nice, really did nothing for me.
The second was another Mark Fearing caveman story. This one was about figuring out why the era that they are living in is called "The Stone Age." More funny stuff.
Cenozoic #1 is a full issue of Mark Fearing's cavemen characters (plus Cave Bear and Duck).
The first story, focusing on Jerry - Caveman Inventor, was fun. Not as strong as his previous Jerry stories (which is kinda disappointing, seeing this is the first issue DEVOTED to these characters!), but still fun.
However, I did not get into Cave Bear and Duck at ALL, so I was really disappointed to see a NINETEEN PAGE Cave Bear and Duck story.
The extended story pages did not do anything for Jerry, and the REALLY extended amount of pages did even LESS for Cave Bear and Duck, as less really is more with these characters (to wit, the one page Cave Bear and Duck story that closes out the comic is a good deal better, in EIGHTEEN LESS pages!!).
So I really enjoyed Periphery #1, I basically enjoyed Periphery #2/Holmes #1, and I really did not care for Cenozoic #1.
posted by Brian Cronin at 7/06/2005 05:45:00 AM
6 Comments:
That's almost exactly what I would have said. See? You are the best reviewer out there. And a dictator.
Ohhh..."Omaha Perez..." Gotcha -- I thought O.P.P. was named after that Naughty By Nature song...!
Maybe it WAS, and Omaha changed his name to make it work!
He's a nice guy. I wrote him about my own "Periphery" from back in 1999 and he was fun to talk with.
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