We continue to rundown some of the best small press comics debuting at this year’s Thought Bubble Comic Festival and this time we have three that will definitely make you laugh: caffeinated journo Chip McFitz is back for a new adventure from Mat Greaves; Josh Hicks’ gang from Glorious Wrestling are facing Apocalypse; and Todd Oliver’s latest collection of quirky strips in Not Your Cuppa Tea.

Chip McFitz: Wanted Dead or Alive

From the opening scene, which sees our caffeine addled reporter race to a crime scene while brewing coffee in his own mouth in order to get the best hit possible, then you are in for a ride which is every bit as bonkers as it is brilliant. Mat Greaves’ hyper-kinetic world of old school newspaper men and corrupt property developers is one part classic noir (in the mould of Chinatown or Dashiell Hammet) and another part Adult Swim Animation. This is no surprise given Greaves’ background in animation and it has a similar feel to the work of Hamish Steele (Pantheon, Deadendia) as every panel is packed full of bright and colourful characters who are instilled with a constantly moving sense of energy and movement. The character designs are excellent, from McFitz himself, to the diamond headed property tycoon to the detective with the rectangular body. However our favourite of the bunch has to be Detective Fogheart, a PI who smokes so much he turns the entire panel grey, and can smoke out criminals, literally. If this is your first trip into the world of Chips McFitz be sure to pick up his first adventure, A Dame In The Starlights, and don’t forget to fire up the coffee pot before you start reading them!

Purchase Chip McFitz: Wanted Dead Or Alive from Mat’s Gumroad Store

Glorious Wrestling Apocalypse

Josh Hicks’ risograph grapplers return for another match in the latest issue of one of the most entertaining wrestling comics out there. This time the promotion is struggling and owner Bobby Lovett Jr is looking for the next big thing in order to reverse his fortunes – unfortunately he is so absorbed in his own woes he manages to miss his potential main event moment when Hypermask reveals who they are! Meanwhile his main event superstar Carpman is still undergoing an existential crisis, Death Machine is writing more poetry and Gravy Boat is revelling is new found role as a bad guy. Although this latest volume lacks some of the real sparkle and uniqueness we saw in the first two volumes, that’s more a reflection of how fresh and unique those first two volumes were, rather than a major negative for this one. Hick’s book is still a fantastically entertaining read and packed full of quirky humour, really inventive panel designs and superbly original page layouts. Whether you are a dedicated wrestling fan or not, GWA is a comic that simply can’t be counted out.

Purchase Glorious Wrestling Apocalypse from joshhicks.bigcartel.com

Not Your Cuppa Tea

After working his way through the long form weirdness of his recent book Smedley, Todd Oliver has returned to his shorter form roots to collect together this selection of strips which he has been posting on social media and are now brought together in one fantastic package. This shorter format is definitely one that better suits Oliver’s style as it allows him to explore more weird and wonderful ideas in a couple of panels, without having to worry about fitting them into a larger narrative, as he did with Smedley. It also allows him to make jokes about nose picking, dog poo or having a face in your eye and if you love that kind of strange and childish humour then this is just the book for you. As the title suggests, it’s not for everyone as it is very odd and quite puerile and just downright creepy in a few places. However if your humour is on the slightly darker and weirder side, then this is definitely your cuppa tea and will have you in stitches as it is an absolutely essential read!

Purchase Noy Your Cuppa Tea from toddoliver.bigcartel.com