Or Else #5

Or Else #5

by Kevin Huizenga

Kevin Huizenga, acclaimed author of Curses and Ganges, is back with his fifth installment of Or Else. Stories in this pocket-sized issue include an adaptation of a Giorgio Manganelli tale about a desolate world that is stricken with religious fanaticism and violence, a "special report" on household insects, a profile of a loquacious conversationalist, and an exploration of such important questions as "How are we spending our Tuesday?" Touted as one of the best new talents of his generation, Huizenga is renowned for his bursting creativity and incisive investigations of both the quotidian and the surreal.

Genres: Comics

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Kevin Huizenga was born in 1977 in Harvey, IL and spent most of his childhood in South Holland, IL, near Chicago. He attended college in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and moved to St. Louis in 2000 where he lives and works.

He began drawing comics in high school, xeroxing his first issue (with friends) at the neighborhood Jewel Osco in 1993. Since that time he's made approximately 30 more. In 2001 the Comics Journal named him "Minimalism Cartoonist of the Year" and called #14 of his "Supermonster" mini-comic series "one of the best comics of any kind released in 2001."

In 2001 he also started the Catastrophe Shop http://www.usscatastrophe.com, an online shop for self-published mini-comics (now run by Dan Zettwoch http://www.usscatastrophe.com/zettwoch/).

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't care much for this one. Maybe in larger chunks it would read better, but it seems like your basic small-press, indie/self-published, self-involved twaddle.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this at a comic shop. It's hard for me to make myself buy small publications, not because I actually think bigger is better, but because I'm a cheapskate. However, the teaser headlines on this cover and my previous knowledge of Huizenga's work allowed me to override my cheapskate instincts. Yay! There's a wonderful one page comic about finding a turtle. I should be less of a cheapskate more often.