Hello, Do YOU Work Here?
Compiled/Designed by Peter Simeti
Story by Various Submissions
Illustrations by Michael Oppenheimer, Kelly Williams, Michael nelson, John Shaver, John Bulmer, Tom Kelly, J. Rozen, Daniel Thollin, Brian Beardsley, John Bulmer, Jeff McComsey, Kelly Williams, Dave Arhar, Kevin Christensen, Bret M. Herholz, Chad Storhl, Steve Black, Michael S. Bracco, Oliver Kirby, Michael Czerniawski, Gary Goodrich, Dave Arhah, Jeremy Massie, Andi Papelitzky, Douglas Draper Jr.
Introduction by Alex Robinson
Alterna Comics
Cover Price: $7.99

I spent the summer of 2002 working alone at a local 24-hour convenient store doing the 4pm to midnight shift. On one particularly brutal night my manager got in to relieve me about 10 minutes early.

“Just give me a minute,” she informed me, as she took out her cellphone, “I’m going to check in on my daughter.”

Maggie, my manager’s daughter, was maybe 16, 17 years old and went by the name, I’m not kidding: Magical. This is the side of the conversation that I heard:

The Matchbook Comics of Silber Media
All Comics written by Brian John Mitchell
Art by Various
Silber Media

People don’t say this often enough, but mini comics are cool. Really cool.

Those tiny, cheap volumes printed on 12 generic pieces of printer paper, folded and half held together by a single staple down the middle? Love them. Those pretentious, autobiographical comics you only find in comic book stores in walking distance to some rinky-dink liberal arts college? Can’t get enough of them. Those ugly, xeroxed books with art that looks like it was done by some disgruntled high school kid and, in fact, probably was? Those are my favorites!

Enter Brian John Mitchell. He’s been doing his own style of minis since 2003. A musician out of North Carolina with a small record label, Silber Records, he sells his own matchbook-sized comics through his website and at shows. They’re small in size, but large in scope. Whether it’s a western or a domestic drama, an autobio-comedy or a straight sci-fi, the style stays essentially the same. One panel per page. Short, declarative sentences. Like a haiku, it’s a sparse but surprisingly rich approach to doing comics.

You’re on an airplane and you suddenly forget who you are. And it’s not just you; the stewardess, the guy next to you, the whole plane, including the pilots, have all forgotten who they are and what they’re doing there. This is the imagery that opens Dark Horse’s new ongoing series, Mind MGMT.

Written and drawn by Matt Kindt , a master of off-beat espionage storytelling, Mind MGMT tells the story of Meru, an investigative reporter and bestselling author who delves into a fact-finding mission to uncover what cause of the strange flight, a journey that will take her across the world and across the path of dangerous rogue mentalists.

Depending on who you ask, Kindt (3 Story, Super Spy) is either one of the most indie guys working in mainstream comics or one of the most kick-ass dudes working in indie comics. We chatted with him about his career, doing his first monthly title and hiding Easter Eggs on his pages.

Geeks of Doom: So much of the story is about memory, how did you approach exploring memory and the loss of it in the comic book medium?

Matt Kindt: I feel like I’m always tackling memory in every book I’ve done in some way or another. Usually it’s because that’s how I’m trying to think of how my own memory works. What do I remember? Why do I remember that? That kind of thing.

Forgetless
Written by Nick Spencer
Cover by W. Scott Forbes
Art by W. Scott Forbes, Marley Zarcone, Jorge Coelho
Colors by W. Scott Forbes, Eric Skillman, Marley Zarcone
Letters by Johnny Lowe
Image Comics
Release Date: May 09, 2012
Cover Price: $14.99

At first I was nervous to jump into Forgetless, the new trade paperback from Nick Spencer, of Morning Glories fame, about a New York City dance party that he has said in interviews is openly influenced by the films Go! and Igby Goes Down. On the one hand I’m a big fan of his work on Morning Glories, and on the other hand I really hated those movies. What I ended up with was an interesting comic about uncompelling New Yorkers which, if you stick with it, has a surprisingly rewarding ending.

Fanboys Vs. Zombies #2
Written by Sam Humphries
Art by Jerry Gaylord
Ink Assists by Penelope Gaylord
Colors by Nolan Woodard
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Covers by Humberto Ramos, Hary Randolph, AlE Garza, Zombie King Arthur Suydam
Cover Colors by Nei Ruffino, Blond
Created by Ben Silverman and Jimmy Fox
BOOM! Studios
Release Date: May 02, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

A few years ago, a circle of five friends attend Comic-Con International: San Diego, nickname themselves ‘The Wrecking Crew 4 Lyfe,’ and vow to return every year together. Flash forward to today, they’ve all come to the Con but jealousy and competitiveness have torn them into factions. All of a sudden, folks that thought they were suffering from Con-rot, that feeling of weariness and nausea most of us have when we’ve spent way to much time on the floor of a Con, have become flesh-eating zombies.

By the time we get to Fanboys vs. Zombies #2 the Wrecking Crew 4 Lyfe are among the few survivors left at Comic-Con. Now one of our heroes, Rob, is fixated solely on rescuing a celebrity crush. On top of that, the convention center has been rigged as a disaster relief center, built to withstand bombs and hurricanes, trapping them inside. And worst of all, they’re facing off against a horde of zombie D&D Cosplayers.