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ONLY THE LONELYby various
($3.00 from Josh Frankel,
hungryforbrains.com)
Reviewed by Rick BradfordSo, so you like those sentimental, happy boy/sad boy comics? It's assumed that the purpose of
Only the Lonely is to extend a hearty poke in the ribs to those sorts of comics, only a couple of the contributors do their bits so well that they could very well be bonafide sad-boy cartoonists. Probably the best example of this is Andy Terhune's four-page romantic fantasy set in a bowling alley. It's pretty over-the-top shmaltzy but probably not for a sad-boy comic. The polar opposite of that strip (and another of the standouts) is Fredo's "My Favorite Things", in which the author essentially romanticizes anal sex. These two stories, respectively, are the first and last entries in this collection (and perfect choices for those positions) and inbetween you'll find more lonely comics (not to mention a Kochalka reference or two) by Thien Pham, Joe Sayers, Josh Frankel, Alixopulos, Tom Neely and Jesse Reklaw, who contributes my favorite piece in the straight satire category. This is a nice collection of work and a fine read, no matter what your opinion of sad-boy comics may be.
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