Today I gave a talk to the Rotary Club about the history of the Fluffernutter sandwich. I know that sounds like it would be a barrel of laughs, but I had to write up my notes, learn iPhoto, make a slideshow, and deal with the butterflies I always get before speaking in public. The talk was well received, I’m happy to say, but when I got home I was exhausted.
So imagine my delight when I opened up the mail and found a copy of The Best of Nickelodeon Magazine All-Comics Special. Bless you, Dave Roman! I fixed myself a latte and put my feet up for a good read.
I’m not a fan of Nickelodeon’s TV programming, but I love their magazine. This issue is a real treat, because it’s all comics. And they’re good comics. I almost lost my latte over Michael Kupperman’s goofy takeoffs on comic book villains. There’s a page of four strips by Craig Thompson that don’t make much sense until you realize the characters are crossing over from one to the other. Ellen Forney and Gahan Wilson contribute how-to comics about cartooning.
A lot of these cartoonists have non-Nick credentials. Justin Green, whose “The Gentle Art of Fly Trapping” made me laugh out loud, is better known for Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. Mark Martin, who filled two pages with tiny strips about a tiny hot dog, is working on his third comic for Fantagraphics.
I realize this is a retread of stuff from previous issues, but since I don’t regularly read Nick magazine, it was all new to me. The whole magazine is like a Whitman’s Sampler of cartooning, with a different style and sense of humor on each page. Yes, much of it is juvenile—it’s a kids’ magazine, after all—but if you could do a lot worse for five bucks. And you can always pass it along to your favorite kid when you’re done with it.