Brandon’s Little Problem (Imaginary Tales Comics – Smith / Wood)
In years to come, I don’t think Brandon’s Little Problem will be remembered as “that cute comic where the kid stuckan invading alien up his nose”, I think it will be remembered as more of the training ground for Kevin J. Smith (story) and Kurt Wood (art).
The book in and of itself, isn’t that charming. At the beginning of the series, Brandon’s issue is that he is a follower and really likes to stick things up his nose. Well, one thing leads to another and he has a very angry yet diminutive alien in his nasal passage. Within a the four part series, in between wisecracks and repeated schtick, we see a full invasion fleet and a secret battle that impacts the fate of the Earth. FInding an audience for this one is tough, it wasn’t meaty enough for college age or older to really get into and was perhaps a little on the “Bart Simpson” side of things for moms to be real excited about buying this for their elementary or middle school kids.
On the good side, one of the positive things I can say about this series is the growth you see in both creators from issue one to four. In issue one, the art was very spartan with almost no background details at all, as the series continued so did Kurt Wood’s style and ability to flesh out a setting. The “wit” of the writing also progressively advanced with issue one just seeming out there and issue four having some laugh out loud moments. It’s not that Brandon’s Little Problem was horrible, it’s just obviously not the potential of these two talented creators. There enough here though to peak my interest at what the creator-based independent Imaginary Tales Comics has coming next!
Series Grade: C
