2025 Eisner Award Nominee – So Buttons #14 – “Life and Death”

Jonathan Baylis writes autobiographical comics in the tradition of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, releasing them under the title So Buttons. Jonathan Baylis’s fourteenth issue, was recently earned an Eisner nomination for best anthology . Baylis takes us on a journey of life, death, and other places with all the laughs and tears associated.

Life

Baylis tells stories about crossing paths with figured like James Earl Jones and writer Chester Brown. However, they don’t come off as braggy in any way. He humorously recounts his meeting Love and Rockets creator Jaime Hernandez and a misunderstanding at a convention. My favorite of these stories was So… Bababooey.

LIST OF 2025 EISNER NOMINEES

Jonathan’s story about bringing Barb Wire Topps trading cards to KROCK studios when Pamela Anderson was being interviewed. A couple of one-page stories, So… Rallying, about trying to change the outcome of a movie, and an origin story for the series title drawn by Ayok Nito, are nothing short of great.

Death

While there are many laughs in the stories mentioned above, this issue takes a serious tone. Death is discussed at length as Baylis recounts his passing the passing of his mother in Leave a Penny, Take a Penny. He cleverly shows panels of memories that link to other stories in the anthology; specifically about the secret to making brisket and their tradition of listening to The Beatles on Sunday mornings. These stories are subsequently shown in the next couple of stories. It’s a great way to pay off these panels.

The Art

Here’s your passage rewritten in active voice:

Anthologies shine because of their art, whether crafted by a single writer or multiple contributors. Baylis presents his stories in a range of styles each complementing the narratives beautifully. Brian Box Brown’s artwork for So… Baba Booey delivers a memorable touch, especially with the Jonathan Baylis puppet. Sophia Glock’s pen work on So… Ballistic reminds us that this medium is what we make of it. While these pieces stand out, theres not a bad drawing in this book.

Overall Rating 9/10

In the book’s afterword, Jonathan Baylis jokes that he almost called this the starf*cker issue, but there is much more to this collection. I would give So Buttons #14 a nine (noine) out of ten. Its thirty-six pages of fantastic and emotional storytelling are paired with some amazing art. The spectrum of emotion on display is a balancing act that should be recognized.

Baylis and his collaborators pour their heart put into the writing of these stories and artwork. If this much care is put into each issue, it’s a shame it took this long to get Jonathan Baylis an Eisner nomination. Its available for purchase here.