Sliced Timber #1. By Nicholas Diak. Killer Pterri Comics. 2024. 32 pp. $9.99.
Nick Diak is a whirlwind of cartoonist energy! It’s page after page of fun stuff, coming at you in all directions, a kaleidoscopic journey paying tribute to MAD Magazine, various kid magazines like Nickelodeon and Highlights, Cartoon Network fare and a tip of the hat to such greats as Daniel Clowes and even Moebius.
If you are looking for a grab bag of loopy and goopy comics, this is an impressive effort from a rising talent. I can see the passion and determination on display here and it gets my attention. I think that’s the number one thing about new comics on the scene: they need to make you take notice. That’s because so much has already been done by so many other creators at such a higher level than a newcomer could ever hope to overtake. It depends upon what the cartoonist is trying to achieve. Is it just a hobby, something to do with a bunch of pals or is it a calling? Because, if you’re taking this seriously, the comics need to have some X factor, something truly genuine at its core, whether it’s weird, personal, hilarious, whatever the case may be.
It’s total mayhem!
For example, Nick does a great job with, “KXW,” a 5-page comic about a clown and other colorful characters in a wrestling match scene. The clown eggs on these two ogres and then suddenly a human-velociraptor hybrid is unleashed. It is full-on goofy, so be sure to tap into your inner 12-year-old. And that’s the beauty of it. I’m not sure exactly what is going on but, then again, whoever is when it comes to pro-wrestling. Nick states in the back page notes that this story honors hours of playing the Nintendo 64 game, WWF War Zone, and hours of viewing the now legendary YouTube podcast, Cartoonist Kayfabe.
The point I’m making is that new comics need to have something to offer, an X factor, and this comic book delivers with its uninhibited exuberance. Even the little extra surreal bits give added impact, like a pterodactyl off to a corner on the comic book cover demanding, “Eat more comics!” Funny. Goofy. Done with passion and determination, Sliced Timber by Nick Diak, is a comic book just waiting to be eaten!
