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I’m honored to say that Shawn Hoke over at Size Matters has a new review of Habitual Entertainment #3.

Shawn’s site has proven to be a consistently informative place to go if you’re looking to pick up new mini-comics.

At ten by fifteen inches, Six Hundred and Seventy-Six Apparitions of Killoffer will get your attention simply from it’s large format. Further examination reveals the $25.95 cover price— also an attention getter. It’s not a cheap book. Yet, flipping through the pages reveals some shockingly engaging line work, compositions and subject matter.

The story starts with the main character, Killoffer, alone but soon escalates to where there are as many as 26 “apparitions” of him on a single page. You see, Killoffer isn’t a stranger to self-loathing and debauchery. Over the course of the story he drinks with himself, shits upon himself, cuts himself, has sex with himself, has sex with other people, watches himself having sex with other people and throws-up upon himself. I think he urinates on himself too.

There is a quote from Ivan Brunetti on the back of the book. Brunetti, with his own twelve by fifteen inch comic released last year, is very much a cartoonist in tune with Killoffer. That is, he’s the type of artist who also honestly and openly degrades himself. 667 Apparitions, like Brunetti’s work, is both beautiful in it’s honesty and impressive in its execution.

Also like much of Brunetti’s work, 667 Apparitions is autobiographical. Yet, one doesn’t see auto-bio like this in American autobiographical comics very often. Killoffer isn’t chronicling his daily routine. His honesty doesn’t have anything to do with how accurately he depicts the “major” events in his life. This grotesque tale is very one sided towards Killoffer’s interpretation. However, this side of the story is the only accurate depiction of what it is like to live as the author.

To wake up as Killoffer would be a confusing mixture of equal parts desire and self-loathing. And just enough narcissism needed to draw yourself Six Hundred and Seventy-Six times.

Sam Hiti’s all-out brawl has begun!

So far my fighter, Gary, has been getting his ass handed to him. A pummeling!

Poor Gary. He’s a lover, not a fighter.