Pete Abrams (1) (1970–)

In this volume, Mr. Abrams takes the unprecedented step of splitting up Riff and Torg. Riff has been transported to another dimension where he is trapped in 4U City, a futuristic metropolis where everyone is happy. Said happiness is mandated by law and achieved by a combination of pharmaceuticals and weeding out of the sad. Riff, of course, begins to make his plans for escape. Meanwhile, back home, Torg gathers with Sasha, Bun-bun, Kiki, Sam, and Zombie Head on a Stick to work for the Minion show more Master. Together they work to eliminate the competing, super scientific, criminal organizations.

While I wasn't fond of the character split when the strips first came out, I do think it gave a kick in quality to the strip. The humor in the Minion Master strips evoke the spirit of the earlier strips in the series. And the unraveling plot in both storylines is enticing. I'll have to splurge on the next collection the next time I get an influx of cash. show less

The 15th collection of Sluggy Freelance strips is almost entirely the "Oceans Unmoving" storyline, a tale of Bun-Bun in the realm known as Timeless Space. I remember reading the original run online. It was quite a departure from the series--a story without the rest of the main characters. It wasn't exactly what I started reading the series for, but the concept of timeless space was intriguing and, hey, Pete Abrams is an amusing guy regardless of the tale he tells. In this collection, show more however, he tells the story straight through while moving the few filler and holiday strips to the end of the book. (And as I started laughing out loud again at the Christmas Ninjas, I realized that "Oceans Unmoving" was a departure from the series in a couple of ways.)
--J. show less

The second Sluggy Freelance collection is slightly less brilliant than the first, but it made me giggle just the same. In this book Torg first encounters the Dimension of Pain, Bun Bun takes off with Riff's robot and the gang encounter the Lysinda circle of vampires.
--J.

The second Sluggy Freelance book sees its first serious storyline in the "Vampires" arc, and as a result it is stronger than its predecessor in the narrative department. It is also here that the comic starts seriously laying the groundwork for major future stories like "Holiday Wars" and "That Which Redeems".

With this volume, the ride has truly begun.