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More Box Office Poison
Alex Robinson began his career in comics in 1994 with the self-published “The Bohemian Girl”. Antarctic Press began publishing his popular series “Box Office Poison” in 1996. Top Shelf Comix has a 600 page collection of all of his “Box Office Poison” available and recently published “More Box Office Poison”, a collection of previously unpublished short stories.
The Story
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the series, “Box Office Poison” tells the everyday stories of love and life of a group of friends. Sherman Davies, a college graduate that still works a minimum wage job at a bookstore, is a frustrated writer. His friend, Ed Velasquez is an aspiring comic book writer that is working at his family’s hardware store. Jane and Stephen are also friends with Sherman. They rent a spare room at Sherman’s home. Sherman carries a hidden crush on Jane’s friend Dorothy.
“More Box Office Poison” is a collection of unpublished stories of Sherman and the gang. For the “Box Office Poison” fan, this is a real treasure. In this collection of stories, the reader gets to see what a future reunion between Sherman and his ex-girlfriend Sally would be like. We also get to see Stephen’s ex girlfriend Darlene. Darlene contacts Stephen and would like to “catch up” on old times. This situation is the cause of some stress on his relationship with Jane. Also included is a look into Caprice’s and Jane’s high school years.
Alex Robinson participate in the “24 hour” comic competition and the result of that competition is included in “More Box Office Poison”. The “24 hour” comic competition is a competition that takes place across the United States at different comic book stores. Professional and amateur comic artist attempt to write and illustrate a 24-page comic within 24 hours. Robinson’s “24 Hour”comic tells the story of Caprice and her boyfriend Kevin.
The appeal of “Box Office Poison” is the well-developed characters and simple and humorous stories and adventures that happen to Sherman and his group of friends. The stories and dialogue are always genuine and heartwarming. Fans of Craig Thompson, Daniel Clowes and Harvey Pekar will particularly appreciate “Box Office Poison”.
By picking up the collected anthology “Box Office Poison” and “More Box Office Poison”, you feel as if are friends with Sherman, Ed and the gang and are experiencing life right along with them.
8/10
The Artwork
Alex Robinson is a gifted artist. Although his style is uncomplicated, his illustrations are remarkably expressive and energetic. The artwork is heavily contrasted black and white. The facial expressions of characters communicate their emotions perfectly. The text is clear and easily read. It is great to see an illustrator and storyteller not fall prey to over complicated artistic style in both drawings and text styles.
8/10
Overall 8/10
-Suzie Lackey |
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More Box Office PoisonWritten and Illustrated by Alex Robinson
Review: The Artwork 8/10 The Story 8/10 Overall 8/10
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