So Buttons is an anthology of autobiographical anecdotes from writer Jonathan Baylis. They’re long form comic strips, ranging from one page to three usually, each strip with a different artist.

None of the stories are particularly exciting. The first is just Baylis recounting a conversation with his father. There’s some funny strips about dating, there’s some stuff about going to Germany (Baylis’s comic self is Jewish… probably wouldn’t be funny if he wasn’t, it’d be awkward), there’s a piece on his sexual disinterest in interracial encounters.

That last one is as close as Buttons gets to being controversial. Otherwise it’s all quite calm and relaxed. Exactly the kind of thing you might read in a free weekly.

The art’s iffy. T.J. Kirsch and Mr. Alan accomplish the most of what they attempt. David Beyer Jr. doesn’t do well with his realism attempts.

Buttons is bland; it lacks anything distinct.

CREDITS

So… My Dad Got Drafted?; artist, Mr. Alan. So… Racist?; artist, David Beyer Jr. So… the Sun Won’t Come Out Tomorrow; artist, T.J. Kirsch. So… I’m Dating a Comic; artist, Kirsch. So… She Moved In With Me Anyway; artist, Kirsch. So… Heaven Smells Like Bacon; artist, Beyer. So… Only Nixon Could’ve Gone to China; artist, Beyer. Writer, Jonathan Baylis; publisher, Alchemy Comix.