Lost Kisses is the fifth zine I've made.  It's the most emotionally accurate thing I've ever done & this seems to have given it some universal appeal.  It is a pain to construct both physically & emotionally, so while you're thinking "this is only as big as a pack of matches," it's still as big as my entire life.  Something like that. order all six for $4 order individual issues for $1 Lost Kisses Issue  #1#2#3#4#5#6 Lost Kisses Issue (international) #1#2#3#4#5#6 Here's some links to "cartoons" though I feel they don't translate too well as videos instead of comics (if you are running the updated internet explorer, it will ask you to click "okay" to run Quicktime).  a link to #1 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (scars & life) a link to #2 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (death of a best friend) a link to #3 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (halloween craptacular) a link to #4 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (tv news & cancer) a link to #5 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (check out my asperger's) a link to #6 or watch on YouTube or on IFC's Medialab (pros & cons of a relationship) Watch the little Lost Kisses documentary on YouTube If you like comics online, you should check out OnlineComics.net sometime. Brian did an interview about LK at Jazma Online hrt Brian John Mitchell

The important narrative going on in Lost Kisses is not necessarily relegated to the pages of this mini comic. Rather, it exists in the ongoing story of writer / artist Brian John Mitchell’s life and the tragedy of his existence (though he does attempt to tell readers that his tragic portrayal is unintentional).
I’m not saying Mitchell’s life is ACTUALLY tragic. It’s just that the storytelling structure and tone used in Lost Kisses #5 drips with melancholy.
I know that sounds confusing. But read more than one issue of Lost Kisses and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Mitchell’s self-deprecating form of communication is more than just “Dear Diary” sequential storytelling – it’s his trademark, his brand.
The persuasive power of this mini comic is not spent trying to convince readers to suspend disbelief or partake in a drama of fantasy. Instead Mitchell expends all his energy trying to sell himself as a hapless loser. That’s the real narrative we partake in by becoming absorbed in this issue’s story – we become an observer of Mitchell’s personal struggles.
If I have any critique of his work, it’s that he is occasionally redundant. The beauty of comics is that the combination of words and pictures tell the story together. Sometimes Mitchell obstructs this beauty by having his images, word balloons, and typed text all say the same thing on the same page.
With that said, this issue is all-around better than Lost Kisses #4. While this installment begins on shaky ground, it eventually finds its footing. The words and pictures slowly achieve a confluence of meaning. By the end of Lost Kisses #5, the visuals and text tell the story by working together instead of repeating each other.
I’m left with only one question: is the tragedy of the author’s life in this story fact or fiction? Either way, I applaud Brian John Mitchell’s efforts to tell his story through this confessional mini comic. If he’s fishing for fans by using the pretense of his “life story,” then I’ve been caught hook, line, and sinker.
~ Nick Marino, Nasty Musings

XO #3, First Time with talk about Lost Kisses #5 Am I Freaking Cerebus?
Two miniaturized comics that you can place in your top shirt pocket. How does Melissa draw so well in XO #3, with hardly any room to draw? XO#3 is a very dramatic story on how a young man catches his girlfriend in bed with another man and how a heated crime of passion turned to accidental murder!
With Lost Kisses, Brian uses stick figures to tell a sad, but comical story.
For more information, email them at: silberspy@silbermedia.com Check out their website at: www.silbermedia.com/lostkisses or www.silbermedia.com/xo
My comments on these comics: "Miniaturized comics with a gigantic entertainment wallop!"
~ Paul Dale Roberts, www.jazmaonline.com

I can't believe this! These comics are about the size of my thumb!! Also, they are easy to read, the characters are stick figures and there is some good comedy and some intense human drama in these mini-comics. The writer may be doing a semi-biographical satire about his life in one of the comic books, like the Halloween Craptacular, in which the character was dressed up as R2-D2, a pumpkin, a hobo and the events that surrounded his dressing up in these various costumes. Our main character gets in trouble with the police for doing a toilet paper event at the elementary school, via an idea his sister came up with.  The premiere issue deals with scars of the past, a tattoo of a girl's name that he wants to remove, so he doesn't have to think about her anymore and this premiere issue has stick figures. In Lost Kisses #2, there is talk of a friend who died, their relationship together, sneaking into movies, substance abuse, sharing the love of Star Wars together and now this friend is dead. Human drama told in a tiny format! Tiny fun reads that has human drama, human horror, human fragilities, human humor. This is something totally different, check out their website!
~ Paul Dale Roberts, jazmaonline

Lost Kisses is a series of autobiographical stick figure illustrations delving into the emotional life of Mr. Mitchell. There is some humor, though appropriately short and dry, as he guides us through what had to be a heart wrenching tale about a former girlfriend, who had since married, dying of cancer.
First thing’s first though, yes, the art is all stick figures. So Mitchell is not a practiced artist, but he doesn’t need to be in this particular instance. His message comes across simplistic, yet vividly clear. The simple art is easily forgiven as it accurately portrays what he is feeling as he draws each piece.
The writing plays with itself, jumping back and forth from narrative to dialogue, both telling the same story, one factually, one breaking down those facts with revelation, and sometimes a little levity.
The best thing I could possibly say about this mini comic is that the message came across and I felt the writer’s intentions, and that is a compliment I myself wouldn’t mind receiving.
~Brant W. Fowler, Silver Bullet Comics

I've always been a big fan of mini-comics. Spending time in the early 90s in Boston meant that every record shop, comic shop, penthouse and outhouse in a 5 mile radius carried tons of them, usually for a price so low you wouldn't blink to pay it, and get tons of reading value out of them. More to the point, with these comics you really could "see the brushstrokes" and get some real kicks out of seeing the work in progress, and know that someone out there had your own brand of odd humor. However, I never imagined that I'd see mini-comics as small as this output from Silber media.
Looking to be about the size of a large business card, and fitting exactly one panel to a page, these 22-page beauties fit just about anywhere, and are a blast to read. All three were written by Brian John Mitchell, with Mitchell, doing the art on Lost Kisses, Gardner the work on XO and Traub on Worms. That's the cover to Worms #1 on the top left.
The books cover different genres, even in only 22-26 panels. Worms is a horror/thriller, about a girl whose home is invaded by people she really doesn't expect, XO is about a guy who can't stop killing people, and an opportunity gets served up to him, and Lost Kisses is a sad kind of love story. Lost kisses alone is worth the price of the package, as it's this alternately bitter, sometimes biting, sometimes regretful look at a guy who has a lost love die at an early age. They've both moved on, and years have passed, but he hasn't figured out who to blame/hate for her death. He goes through lots of stages in a pretty short time.
~ Bart Gerardi, Paperback Reader

XO has strong human interactions and incredible drama.  Lost Kisses #4 is a lot of philosophical insight of the world around us.  Worms #1 contains a lot of mystery.  It entices you to keep flipping the pages to see what is actually going on with the story.  These cute little books are enjoyable to carry around in your back pocket and when boredom sits in, pull one out and ENJOY!
~ Paul Dale Roberts, Jazma Online

A young man struggles with the vagaries of life in Lost Kisses, a sociopathic assassin tries to change his life in XO, and a young woman experiences a dream world in Worms.
Independent writer Brian John Mitchell crafts three very off-beat mini-comics – each one only about the size of a book of matches. The results are surprisingly deep and fascinating stories told in a minimum amount of prose and space.
In Lost Kisses a 20-something, directionless young man learns that a former girlfriend died of cancer two years ago. The story follows his reactions as he deals with guilt, the randomness of life, his own self-centeredness, and the future. XO moves in a totally opposite direction as a sociopathic hitman tries to retire from his life of death and develop a heart and conscience. In this outing he does so by agreeing to stay with his elderly grandmother while his parents go on vacation. An unexpected event, however, could set his plans for redemption back. Finally, in the last mini-comic, Worms, a young woman finds herself wrapped up in a nightmare involving strange things, shadowy conspiracies, and a fight for her life.
Mitchell proves to be an able and capable writer, perfectly capturing voices and spirits with just a few words. His protagonist in Lost Kisses is someone readers have either known or been ourselves – a young person trying to make sense of an insane world that seems to ask much of us and ask nothing of us by turns. The ruminations are silly, funny, sad and serious – just like life itself. With Worms, Mitchell’s writing style changes drastically and here he perfectly captures the voice and logic of the dream world. Things happen, things that make no logical sense but, as with any dream or nightmare, the sleeping mind simply accepts it. The reader travels along with the unnamed protagonist, wrapped up in a story that, while the details are different, feels like a place many sleepers have been in their own dreams. The third of these mini-comics is also in many ways the weakest of the three. While XO strives for black humor and dark satire it still feels a bit hollow. The unnamed protagonist remains distant throughout the story and so takes some of the bite out of both the irony and satire.
The art is as diverse as the titles themselves. Lost Kisses is penciled and inked by Mitchell himself and consists of a series of stick figures. Despite the limitation one might think this would impose, Mitchell manages to make the simple figures quite expressive and subversively fun. XO features the work of Melissa Spence Gardner and is, perhaps, more what most readers are used to. Her work has a cartoonish quality with a bit of an amateurish gloss still to it but it works for the feel of these home-grown comics. Besides that, Gardner manages to create effective figures that move well within the story. The final artist is Kimberlee Traub for Worms. Kimberlee’s style is very abstract – some pages put one in mind of a Picasso print. While, to a certain extent, this is perfect for the nightmare world of the comic, the panels do, occasionally, get a little too abstract, making it difficult to understand what is supposed to be going on in the panel.
For a flavor of something a little different, any of these three comics would be worth the purchase price. Be forewarned, the little books can easily slip out of your hands but on the other hand they are immensely portable and can go anywhere with you.
~ Tonya Crawford, Broken Fontier

While we’re on the subject of people who were nice enough to send me comics, I really ought to mention Brian John Mitchell, who contacted me a while back about sending me a few of his mini-comics.
I’m not really what you’d consider a mini-comics guy–unless of course said mini-comics involve the One-Man Army Corps–but I’m always interested in seeing new stuff, so I asked for a few and he sent them over.
And the first thing I noticed, of course, was how tiny they are.
About 2 postage stamps, I'd say.
I imagine that’s the first thing everyone notices when they see them, since Mitchell’s putting the mini back in mini-comics with his work, and it’s a novel format that I found utterly charming when I sat down to read them. Each of the three he sent me (one issue each of XO, Worms, and Lost Kisses), is around 44 pages, with each page as a single panel, and while they’re not really my thing, they’re pretty enjoyable.
Pictured above is Lost Kisses, which, coincidenally enough, probably best fits my stereotypical definition of “mini-comic,” seeing as it’s an autobiographical tale done in the fine art of stick figures, where Mitchell deals with finding out an ex-girlfriend of his recently died of cancer. And it’s the best by far, mostly because of jokes like this:
"Stick with me & you won't get cancer!" "I think I'd prefer the cancer."
[If I had a nickel for every time this happened to me...]
In another novel concept, all of Mitchell’s comics can all be viewed as videos or purchased as physical copies on the website, so if you’re curious, check it out.
~ Chris Sims, Invincible Super Blog

Writer / artist Brian John Mitchell plays out a bizarre narcissistic hate-fest in this story dealing with the death of an ex-girlfriend. There’s an extreme contrast between the overbearing self-importance he expresses in losing a woman who he hasn’t dated for years, and the blame that he assumes for a death that was certainly not his fault. The more uncomfortable moments deal with his treatment of cancer-related issues. He seems to dislike his ex-girlfriend’s widowed husband simply for running in a Race for the Cure marathon. In another awkward display, he ponders if keeping his ex away from the microwave may have saved her life, as if cancer was so easily prevented as the common cold.
It’s these strange thoughts that create an endearing yet revolting feeling while reading the tale. More often than not, the hand scrawled words of the character contrast greatly with the text printed below, developing new meaning as the two forms of communication merge. The art in this issue is more about the word balloon than the characters or their actions.
I can’t help but want to watch more as the Mitchell examines his own uncomfortable thoughts and feelings with brutal honesty. It’s not that this story is about the eye-opening journey of losing someone close to you. Rather, the tale is about the nagging thoughts in the back of your subconscious that may not play out politically correct, but they come from the same place that causes people to crack jokes at a funeral and mock someone from beyond the grave. These are healthy emotions, albeit undeveloped, which will hopefully only become healthier through expression. I praise the creator for being brutally honest even at the expense of his own creative security.
~ Nick Marino, Nasty Musings

With digital editions of his comics available for free on his website, writer (and sometimes artist) Brian John Mitchell is obviously more intent on telling his stories than making a profit. A few of them arrived in the mail a couple days ago, and they’re presented in an unexpected medium; black-and-white, laser-printed, two-inch square pamphlets with a two-staple binding. It makes an impression.
LOST KISSES #4 is my favorite of the bunch. Drawn by Brian himself, it depicts an inner monologue from a man who relates his inability to cope with the guilt from dealing with the recent cancer death of an ex-girlfriend. It’s an extremely poignant piece, even if it is told from the perspective of a very poorly drawn stick figure. As someone who has physically dealt with cancer, I can agree with Brian’s argument that running for the cure is the most ridiculous thing ever. XO #2 is the continuing story (and I don’t really mean continuing; you don’t actually have to have read the first one) of an extremely troubled and seemingly gentle man who deals with a dangerous confrontation in an ultra-violent manner. I was both entertained and disturbed at this vicious story, the artistry of which kept making me feel like I was sneaking a peek into the notebook of a demented high school kid. WORMS #1 was not for me. Or maybe I’m not for WORMS, which is a psychedelic telling of a government project, worms, a girl and her parents, guns, agents and a storm. I just couldn’t follow it or get into it at all, but at least I did give it a shot.
The stories are available at the related websites, and are at least worth a couple minutes to take a peek. I definitely recommend checking out LOST KISSES, and if you like it a lot, you can support his work by ordering a copy.
~ Squashua, Ain't It Cool News

Het begon met Pol, Pel en Pingo en Jommeke. Later begon ik vooral Baard & Kale, De Rode Ridder en Kiekeboe te lezen, om dan de sprong te maken naar het werk van Jacques Tardi, Chris Ware, Benoit Sokal of Manu Larcenet. Voor het lezen van strips weet ik nog steeds de nodige tijd vrij te maken. Voor de small-press beweging - tekenaars die boekjes uitbrengen in micro-oplagen - heb ik nog steeds een zwak. Dit werk van Brian John Mitchell is zo'n pareltje. Zijn tekenstijl is niet bepaald schitterend, maar dat compenseren de scenario's ruimschoots. In dit deel vertelt hij hoe hij te weten komt dat zijn ex overleden is. Hij vraagt zich af hoe haar en zijn leven er zouden hebben uitgezien als ze samen waren gebleven. Weinigen slagen er in om zoveel tristesse te vermommen als humor.
Mitchell maakt ook muziek als Remora, en die muziek had een perfecte soundtrack kunnen vormen voor dit geluidloze filmpje.
~ Wim Lecluyse, De Standaardgasten

Biography:
Brian John Mitchell wanted to be a writer as a child, but it didn't work out because he lost interest when he found out it wouldn't come easily for him.  He had short stories & poetry  published a few times when he was 17.   At  19 he started a music zine called QRD which still continues online.  At 21 he self-produced a hand stitched book of short stories called Subhorrea which was followed by the never printed 4 Hours Old.  At 22 he started the now defunct business-card-sized zine Random Kisses, a poetry zine with an edge towards swearing & violence.  At 23 he started Zombie Kisses, a zine about life after a zombie plague & personal responsibilities.  In 2004 at age 29 he comes back to zining with his smallest zine, Lost Kisses which is 50% Lad-Lit & 50% Charlie Brown.  He is best known as the head of Silber Records & for his musical works under the names Remora & Small Life Form.  He has a couple other mini-comics called xo (about a recovering murderer with art by Melissa Gardner) &  Worms (a surrealist adventure with art by Kimberlee Traub).