Book Report: Side A by various

Poseur Ink's Side A: The Music Lover's Graphic Novel admirably attempts to be just that. Compiling 33 short comic stories by dozens of underground writers and artists, the B&W collection is, by nature,  hit-and-miss, but overall does a solid job of turning musical passions into entertaining graphic storytelling.

Most of the stories are first-person diaries about how music affected the life of the author (some are annoyingly subjective), although a handful break the mold and tackle broader subjects. The stories are also clearly from the same '90s generation, and the influence of bands like Nirvana pop up again and again. It'd be cool to hear some stories from the '60s or '70s.

Highlights:

• Sam Merwin's "A Love Supreme", in which the protagonist dumps his hot date after finding out she's never heard of John Coltrane.

• Neal von Flue's sweet one-page ode to Hank Williams, "Something Like the Red Cross."

• "A Symphony Like the World," by J.C. Lozos, takes an artful approach to the influence of Gustav Mahler.

• Julia Wertz's one-page dance party, set to Paper Lace's unstoppable '70s hit "The Night Chicago Died."

• Best of all, for music collectors, is Ben Snakepit's "Mystery Tape", a familiar tale of mistaken musical identity and eventual sonic reconciliation. 

Best of all, it's only ten bucks. That's cheaper than a new CD.