I’ve been thinking about a project where I plan to take clear glass jars and fill them with baby doll parts, or little doll faces, or something (I am not quite sure what). This is just something that has been bouncing around at the back of my mind for some time. Yes, I do spend time thinking things like, “Wouldn’t babies in jars look cool with weird liquids and such surrounding them?” I wouldn’t go so far as to call this art, but I think a creepy little series of these items would be cool and great conversation pieces. So obviously, when I saw the cover to Joe Havasy’s little chapbook called “Misanthropic Cavalcade,” I knew I had to order one.

I also have to admit, I don’t read very carefully, so my first thought when I saw “A Massive Compendium containing 11 stories…” was how in the hell can someone get 11 stories into a chapbook? Well, the answer to that is obvious. These are cartoons, not text. I would have been upset with this, since I was really thinking I’d get text stories, but I have three reasons why I’m not:

1. I only have myself to blame for being illiteraated.
2. The comics are damn cool!
3. I forget what the third reason was.

These comics, for the most part, accurately reflect my own sense of humor (or lack of). I have a soft spot for any Donnie Darko references. Or Cartoon Network references, or hell, even a simple zombie nod makes me smile. I also dig any work that is self-referential, but that’s just my kick.

From his etsy.com description: “16 cartoons printed in DIY black and white, perfect for your local coffee table.” By which he means photocopied, but this worked for me. Part of the charm. I found it cool he individualized mine, but writing a short message and autograph on the cover, thereby completely destroying the resale value unless he commits some high profile crime, in which case I’ll make a mint. Yes, I am considering this an investment, since by judging from these comics, it’s only a matter of time!

See: http://www.joehavasyillustration.com/
See: etsy.com

Keywords:  books and zines, mayhem, robots, crabs, funny, death, cute, cartoon, zine, comic
Materials:  xerox, staples, paper