Anyone who's read Panel Patter for years know that I've been a fan of Joey Weiser since my very first SPX show, back in 2008. (Ironically, I actually bought "The Ride Home" from his table without him being there, something rarely do today.) He's a very versatile creator, working in the all-ages realm, with characters ranging from kiddie versions of classic monsters to cavemen transported in time to his ongoing mini-comic Mermin, which features a powerful aquatic creature come to land under mysterious circumstances. Joey even does periodic work for the ongoing SpongeBob Squarepants comic. You can see all of my posts relating to Joey Weiser here, which cover quite a bit of his career.
One of the things that Joey and I have in common is a love of bad movies (we're both big MST3K fans) and Japanese monster movies in particular. Joey has me seriously outclassed in this regard, in both knowledge and dedication, and I love when I get to talk with him about them. Weiser likes them so much, he even created a webcomic about several giant creatures living together and acting like normal people--sort of, called Monster Isle.
Joey's fondness for Godzilla and Co. led to him doing a mini-project over the winter and spring, as part of a larger collective idea, creation of a Monster alphabet. Instead of working on random creatures, Weiser stuck to those from the Toho (and other company) films, and SPX marks the debut of a mini-comic collecting the illustrations together. Weiser's signature style takes these terrors and gives them just a bit of a kid-friendly touch, reminding me of what might happen if someone tried to market plush dolls of the man-in-a-plastic-suit creations. They're awesome and a must-grab for anyone who is a fan of these films, either yourself or someone you know.
In addition to the mini-comic, Weiser may have some original sketches for sale along with copies of his past work, such as a mini best-of for Monster Isle, copies of his books like Cavemen in Space, and his newest Mermin comic. Anyone who likes monsters and all-ages comics needs to check Joey out at SPX. You won't be disappointed!
