cover image Paper Rad, B.J. & da Dogs

Paper Rad, B.J. & da Dogs

, . . PictureBox, $29.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-9713670-4-3

The art collective known as Paper Rad is a spinoff of the '90s Fort Thunder movement, and now it has published its first book, although it's hard to say exactly what it is. Half the book showcases art installation photographs, collages of random Polaroids, unrelated sketches and a series of crude comic strips. The other half is a pair of graphic novellas: "Space Ballz" and "Alfe." "Space Ballz" follows a boy and his dog who live in a spaceship, where they make obscure references, drop non sequiturs and defecate small cubes to sell by mail order. "Alfe" follows a trio of strange-looking roommates as they buy the cubes from the Space Ballz, eat them, have odd conversations and embark on a road trip. The miscellaneous strips are of varying quality, but "Tuxedo Dog" grows on the reader. The humor, when it exists, is scatological, but with an innocent, childlike quality. The art has a charmingly low-tech, drawn-in-a-notebook feel. It aims for the surreal but hits the nonsensical far more often. The haphazard nature of this collection will appeal mainly to fans of art comics. (Nov.)