So Buttons: Man of, Like, a Dozen Faces

by Jonathan Baylis

Collects the choicest slices of life from ten years of So Buttons, writer Jonathan Baylis's autobiographical comics series, as well as two new stories, "So . . . Hallow" with art by Rick Parker and Noah Van Sciver and "So. . . Bejeweled" with art by Rachel Dukes. Baylis utilizes an all-star cadre of indie artists to illustrate his true-life tales including Jim Steranko, Joseph Remnant, Fred Hembeck, Dean Haspiel, Jay Lynch, Ed Piskor, and Tom Scioli.

Jonathan Baylis started in comics as an intern at Marvel and Valiant. He was also an Associate Editor at Topps Comics.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonathan Baylis’ collection of slice-of-life comics, So Buttons: Man of, Like, a Dozen Faces, reminded me of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, wherein our man related autobiographical stories drawn by a variety of artists. They’re not as interesting as Pekar’s comics – Pekar was just a better writer – but there are some fun gems amidst some dross.

I enjoyed the anecdotes about Baylis interning at Marvel Comics in the early ‘90s where he got to see John Romita Sr draw Thor and met Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America. I loved that they were drawn by Fred Hembeck too, known for his parodies of Marvel’s comics.

Probably because I’m a sucker for dogs, my favourite story was about how he got his beloved Boston Terrier, Mocha, couched into a history of the pets he’s owned, which was very touching. The strip about his uncle relating a traumatic incident from years ago when he was in the Navy was interesting too and I’ve added the war movie The Big Red One to my film watch list after his talk-up. And it’s always good to see the art of Noah Van Sciver and Dean Haspiel.

A number of the stories though are unremarkable and instantly forgettable. He once met R. Crumb, he once saw one of his favourite directors, Jim Jarmusch, having a smoke, and he and his girlfriend once mistook a rotting seal fin to a human hand. Some are so banal I’m surprised they even made it into the book: his dad likes a specific make of socks, moms know best when it comes to cooking, he has a weird system for eating M&Ms, and he’s very specific about his coffee…!

It’s not an impressive book but So Buttons was a decent enough read. I expect it’d only appeal to fans of Harvey Pekar-style slice-of-life comics though.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like everyone else that seems to write slice of life comix, Baylis is a New Yorker. He's a lifelong comic and film nerd so I instantly found his little anecdote stories endearing. Baylis has a great sense of humor and thoughtfulness. Like most independent comics with rotating artists, the art is hit and miss. The great thing is if you don't like the current artist give it a couple of pages and you'll be presented with a completely different art style.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

These slice-of-life comics will appeal to fans of Harvey Pekar.