The Toronto Comic Jam Compilation
zine, vol. 19 issue #7, Dave Howard (ed), torcomjam.com, $3
For those who are unfamiliar with the Comic Jam, it’s a gathering of comics artists that takes place in Toronto (as well as a few other cities) on the last Tuesday of every month (except for in December). One artist begins the comic with one panel, and then each respective artist draws a new panel until the “jam” comic is complete. This zine compiles one of several examples of this exercise. Some of the artists adhere to a surrealist (and occasionally silly) style, which occasionally derails the narrative. One such page features Bingo and another dog that wonders if it really is his “name-o” and ends in a disco party that eventually leads to Bingo’s demise (keep in mind that this story is a mere seven panels long). The Comic Jam is perhaps more alluring to those who work in the scene and understand on a deeper level how difficult and interesting it might be to work with so many different artists, but it still steals a few giggles and is a neat enough idea to keep readers hooked in. (Richelle Charkot)