COMICS COMMENTS COMETS COMMITMENT
Sagari by Mickey Zacchilli, Age 28
Sagari is a short reinterpretation of a Japanese folktale that bills itself as a “psychedelic horror fairytale comic” and certainly it touches on all of those points. But, like other Zacchilli comics I’ve read, Sagari’s most striking feature is its frenzied playfulness. The comic eschews the suspense and mystery of the typical horror story in favor of an intense forward momentum and Zacchilli’s signature “fuck erasers” philosophy of drawing. This isn’t to say Sagari isn’t weird or mysterious (it is), only that whether we know why something is happening (or even what is happening) is never the point. What’s fun about this comic is its ability to sweep you up, as if it were a tiny tornado of virtuosic linework, spin you around and then leave you excitedly scratching your head
Basketball Comic #1 & Xmas Comic #1 by Mickey Zacchilli, Patrick Kyle & Michael Deforge
These two short zines (full of comics and doodles riffing on the pop culture theme designated in the title) are so great I can’t even pretend to be evenhanded about it. Although it’s safe to say they all lean closer to mockery than celebration, each artist still brings a unique style and perspective to the chosen topic. The trio’s work here is inventive, disturbing and funny and there should be an encyclopedia where every entry has been filtered through them. Apparently there was a Cop Comic #1 too, but I can’t find it online and I am super bummed about it! So buy these while you can, because they’re most everything a zine should be: smart, immediately entertaining and not fifteen goddamn dollars each.
