Lil Red Stitch #1 (of 5)
$2.50 and 40 pgs
From Summertime Comics
Story: Leslie Nichols
Pencils: Courtney Huddleston
Sold in comics shops and at rwoodward@mac.com.

Lil Red Stitch is a children's book.

Don't stop reading, buckwheat. A child's book can be a delight for adults if well written and drawn.

Lil Red Stitch is a children's comic book without the nice, hard covers one finds in libraries. It is the story of a pre-teenaged girl in Randall County, Texas, who discovers a marvelous gift she has inherited from a relative. She can stitch life into dolls. That sounds like a premise that will fascinate young readers. The original Lil Red Stitch was kidnapped by and grew up with Indians.

That's another exciting idea for young readers. Are you beginning to warm to this new title, buckwheat?

To add to the excitement, the exotic, near-desert setting, and concise and clear story can do nothing but captivate its intended bubble-gum chewing audience. Add to this a wonderful, minimal-istic art greatly enchanced by color, and Lil Red Stitch becomes a sure winner for kiddos.

But the mission of Suspended Animation is to find titles that adults will enjoy. What about big kids?!

With regret, this title is not written on two levels as are classics like Pogo, Bone and Alice In Wonderland. Adults will probably not be interested in this title.

But, isn't there a second feature in this flip-book?

The Sparkle King is a glimpse on the flip-side of Lil Red Stitch of an upcoming title. Smacking of fantasy and beautifully drawn and colored, it may also be a must read for children. But there isn't enough revealed here to know if adults will enjoy it.

This new title is nevertheless highly recommended for young readers or children who love to listen and can't read.

Michael Vance

MINIVIEW: CaptainGravity/Para [flip-book; $1] Nice un-inked art and no story in this preview (read: advertisement) for two upcoming titles from Penny Farthing Press.

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