Hitting us on an annual schedule Jonathan Baylis’s So Buttons anthology series sees Baylis collaborating with numerous artists to bring largely autobiographical snapshots to life. One of its greatest selling points, beyond the sheer humanity of Baylis’s stories, is the careful curation of indie artists chosen as good fits for the themes, tempo or atmosphere of each tale. Issues are themed with the latest, #14, having the rather profound subtitle of ‘Life and Death’, in no small part symbolising the passing of Baylis’s mother and also his comic book dealer of four decades. It’s obviously weighty subject matter but, at the same time, there’s the usual So Buttons playfulness on show as well.
Behind a pensive MariNaomi cover, So Buttons #14 is a collection of contrasts. It begins with ‘So… BabaBooey’ (below), one of Baylis’s anecdotes about celebrity-style meet-ups (this time with Howard Stern radio show producer Gary Dell’Abate), which comes to us by way of 9/11 memories and Pamela Anderson trading cards. Illustrated by Brian “Box” Brown, whose stripped back visuals always have a very human quality about them, it’s typical of the “Baylis as endearingly rambling raconteur” storytelling style that makes the series so appealing.
From a more comics-related perspective we have two more name-dropping moments in ‘So… Yummy’ (below) with art by T.J. Kirsch and ‘So… Ballistic’, in collaboration with Sophia Glock. These two tales chronicle Baylis’s very different experiences with two alt/indie comics greats. Firstly an extremely rewarding one with Chester Brown where Kirsch’s witty cartooning is a perfect complement. The second a distinctly awkward encounter with Jaime Hernandez, with Glock’s visual characterisation exploiting the comedic elements to the full.
The quiet thrust of this issue, though is about loss and ‘So… Life is Comix’ (below) is a beautiful tribute to the comic shop (well more booth in this case) manager who enriched Baylis’s life as a child and eventually became something of a father figure to him. Steven Arnold’s art here is wistful without ever being maudlin and Baylis provides a piece of sentimentality that is delicately observed without being cloying.
This, and ‘Take a Penny… Leave a Penny’ the account of Baylis’s mother’s passing, are the standouts of #14. The latter (below) is all the more affecting for Baylis letting events speak for themselves without much extra commentary and trusting artist Karl Christian Krumpholz to capture the emotional core without needing additional exposition.
As ever, each issue of So Buttons needs no foreknowledge to enjoy as a discrete entity in itself. It may only appear once every twelve months but it’s always a highlight of the small press indie calendar.
Jonathan Baylis (W) Brian “Box” Brown, T.J. Kirsch, Sophia Glock, CM Campbell, Nathaniel Breen, Summer Pierre, Steven Arnold, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg. Ayoko Nito (A), MariNaomi (CA) • Alchemy Comix, $10.00
Review by Andy Oliver
