Nothing Nice to Say by Mitch Clem

Easiest review ever.

Nothing Nice To Say

Well, maybe that's a little too harsh. The art eventually moves towards solidity after starting rough. The jokes come just often enough to motivate continued reading, and the characters are clearly, if thinly, defined. The main thing that I can offer in the way of buying advice is this: If you recognize the reference on the cover (pictured here), and the names Avail, Maximum Rock N Roll, Kid Dynamite, Joe and Monkey, and Questionable Content mean anything to you, you will probably enjoy this book (or more likely already own it). This collection of comics originated on the web, and works best while filling its niche.

Jay Kennedy, Rest In Peace

I have been to San Diego Comic Con every year for the past 18 years, and I sold comic books for most of those. In a business like comic book retailing, at an event like San Diego, you meet people that you tend to run into year after year, and if you share a common interest, you tend to continue the same conversation year after year. There are many such people that I see in San Diego, but there are few that I enjoyed speaking with as much as Jay Kennedy.

I first spoke to him about seven or eight years ago, and while I ran into him at a few other comic shows, he and I spoke at every San Diego in recent memory. Our conversation started because of a common interest, independent and underground comic books, and when I realized that I had read and referred to his book regularly, and each year we picked up where we left off until it the conversation continued down other avenues, both personal and professional.

The people that you see, many of them come and go, and you rarely know why the leave or where they go. Many of them you never learn about, and many of them you don't even remember. Jay happened to be famous enough that I heard about his death the day after it happened (on The Beat), and he had made enough of an impression on me that I was struck with sadness. People don't bother writing reminiscences like this if they don't have anything nice to say, and here I have nothing but nice things to say.

Jay was one of the very nicest people that I met thanks to San Diego, and talking with him about comics (books or strips) was always a conversation I looked forward to, and this summer won't be the same without the chance to see him.

(If you would like to read more about Jay, I recommed this or this, care of Tom Spurgeon)