Toxic Shock Comics

(Toxic Shock, 2005)
™ and © 2005 Toxic Shock Entertainment

This digest anthology contains several stories, and the best was “Kind Budz,” a tale of two high-school stoners ditching class, getting detention, and missing a party. “The Sub-Cultural Syndicate” had a similar feel, but comic-book references, including a Hostess Pie parody ad, were distracting. Such gags have been done a million times and felt out of place in this non-super-hero comic book. If the creators concentrated on more real stories, like “Kind Budz,” they could develop something as solid as Corduroy High.

That said, the art was rough—but I think, at this level, readers are willing to give creators more leeway, if they deliver something different. Toxic Shock is about 50% there. A quick step in the right direction might be to have the creators switch to computer lettering for all the stories. It’s also easy to create a custom-made font. Still, font doesn’t matter unless you have something to say. These guys do, so it’s to be hoped they continue to grow.

— Tony DiGerolamo

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