Black Ghost Apple Factory
Written and Drawn by Jeremy Tinder
Top Shelf Productions
Cover price: $5.00; Available now

Be warned, if you love apples you may not want to be made aware of where they really come from…

Black Ghost Apple Factory consists of seven short comic stories all written and drawn by Jeremy Tinder. The handwriting guidelines on the cover of the book, which Tinder does not follow, belies the mature tone of the stories in Black Ghost Apple Factory, all of which are about love and relationships. Is Tinder exposing himself when he anthropomorphizes, and robotpomorphizes, his feelings or is he making excuses for them? I wish I could blame my sudden lack of feelings for a woman on a “patch” I “downloaded.”

Black Apple Ghost Factory leads off the pack and immediately introduces the relationship theme. Black Ghost seems very excited about his new relationship, but he still has to continue with his everyday responsibilities. And not everybody is as excited about his new relationship as he is.

“Robots Don’t Say ‘I Love You'” is the next quick shot. Men should find this particularly hilarious. Women, not so much.

“It’s Spring and Jeremy Tinder is Secretly in Love with You” is 13 one- and two-panel pages that show us the inside, and outside, of our author.

In “Grizzly,” the giant bear is definitely a metaphor for someone, but I don’t know if it’s a man or a woman. Maybe Tinder could have mentioned some of the titles of the CDs it stole.

“I’m So Tired” contains one unhappy bunny that will crack you up and make you feel sorry for him at the same time. Well, not that sorry. He gets more action than me. What? I’m married.

“Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life, and I’m So Happy” stars one very optimistic kitty, until he gets “fixed.” “But Doc, I’m not Broken, am I?” he asks. No, he’s not, until the end when he loses his sugar-baby to…oh no, it can’t be!…

“1, 2, 3, 4” is a story of love which permeates right off the pages. You feel the bond between the woman and the elephant even though their time together is limited. And I was truly surprised by the ending to that one.

Tinder’s drawing style is cartoony and sparse. His animals attain strong emotions with minimal lines. You really feel for the troubled elephant, the distraught kitty, and the depressed bunny even when he’s getting his cock sucked. Sometimes Tinder attains a woodcut feel with his inks, mostly in the backgrounds. In “This is The First Day of the Rest of My Life,” the backgrounds are created digitally including some blurred-out photos.

Black Ghost Apple Factory is 45 black-and-white 5 x 7.5-inch comic pages. There is between 1 and six large guttered panels on any page and even all the stories combined are a very quick read. It is very stimulating reading and worth the time. The $5.00 cover price might be a bit steep for the average comic reader, but maybe not for the comic aficionado.