Subterranean #-4

Written and Illustrated by Sean Knickerbocker, Alexander Bullett, and Andrew Greenstone
Self-Published

I tried really hard but could not find an image for this mini-comic anthology, compiled as part of a run-up to a larger anthology.

As a first-effort, it's not bad. While not making the best use of the space available to them on a half-page mini-comic (I am not sure why they did this rather than blowing up the artwork to a page-fitting size), there is still a good feel for narrative on the part of Bullet and Greenstone.

Sean Knickerbocker's contributions are two gag strips that open and close the comic, and they're okay. I wish he'd done more with the Satan on a Plane idea.

"Golem" is definitely the strongest of the four stories, featuring moody artwork as the Golem completes its intended task, mutely and without opposition. The artwork is blocky and fits the mood very well.

I am not sure why Cranes is shown here in such a small size. Greenstone's story is interesting enough--a young woman uses incantations to make oragami come to life for her own purposes--but the large amount of white space surrounding it was distracting to me. I did like the idea of the panels working down the page rather than left to right--I just wish the strips were a bit larger and easier to see.

Overall, the first of the mini-comic anthologies was interesting to see the whole process begin, but probably isn't something you have to have if you liked the larger books.

I can't find a good website for the Subterranean folks, but their blog is here. It hasn't been updated in quite a while, though.