Wanted to let everyone know about some non-Bamboo Forest projects I’ve really enjoyed recently!
First up is Styrofoam Throne, by David Bone, which is, as of this writing, free on Kindle! This is a coming of age type of book about a young, kinda awkward guy who lands a coveted job at Castle Dunes, a haunted house on a California boardwalk. He ends up drinking excessively, doing a lot of drugs, meeting a hot girl, getting into fights, and other such shenanigans. It’s definitely R-Rated! Reminded me a bit of Adventureland, but funnier and less angsty. It also helps that David is an excellent writer, and the book is well-edited and professionally laid-out. Highly recommended read!
http://www.amazon.com/Styrofoam-Throne-David-Bone-ebook/dp/B00FW0UT0E
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Next up is Communicore Weekly: The Musical. I guess this is sorta connected to Bamboo Forest since Jeff co-wrote the songs, but honestly, if it sucked, I would have made fun of him mercilessly until he cried like a little girl. But, fortunately, it doesn’t suck. At all. In fact, it’s pretty amazing. The musical numbers alternate with spoken-word/story tracks, and while the story tracks were interesting the first few listens, I eventually ended up removing them from the playlist because I just wanted to listen to the incredibly catchy songs! The melodies, production, and musicianship are top-notch, and the lyrics are fun and clever. For example, “I grew up wearing mouse ears. They helped me through some hard years. My head keeps getting bigger, but the same pair always fits.” Love it. Lots of DisNerd jokes and a bunch of riffing on Eisner are also included, as are some killer guitar solos. The whole thing reminds me a lot of something Flight of the Conchords or Tenacious D would do if someone asked them to write a musical about how Jeff and George saved the world from Evil Eisner.
Only $2.99 on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Communicore-Weekly-Musical/dp/B00HXYNISC
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And last but not least is Ward Dizzley’s 100% True Life Action Adventure Comics Digest, Issue #1, by Dave Ensign, aka Hoot from MesaVerdeTimes.blogspot.com. Full disclosure: I’m excited to say that Bamboo Forest will be publishing Issue #2 of this comic! However, we had nothing to do with Issue #1 – it was all Dave’s doing.
I always knew Dave was a talented artist, but I didn’t realize that he might be an actual genius-level artist! This comic absolutely blew me away. It’s funny, it deals with a whole bunch of DSoD-esque material, and it is presented and drawn to look exactly like the old Walt Disney Comics Digests from the 60s and 70s, all the way down to the age spots and yellowed paper. But you don’t have to be a comic book geek to appreciate the hilarious stories told here, or the pro-level artwork. I can easily say that any fan of DSoD or Mesa Verde Times will get a real kick out of the decidedly adult adventures that Hoot and Co get into in this comic.
Print edition is $8 + shipping from http://www.warddizzley.com/ and eBook is $6 at http://www.amazon.com/Dizzleys-Action-Adventure-Comics-Digest-ebook/dp/B00H07NV98