From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Dec 2 22:32:56 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 22:32:56 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Adult Issues Message-ID: Adult Issues by Debra Boyask Review by Andrew Luke "what wasn't really talked about at all.... inane workplace conversation, medical insurance, mortgage rates and clearing leaves out of the guttering" Eleven different strips, diary excerpts including recollections in much the same community form as her previous works. Theres some stuff I didn't know about, like the cost of waxing, and some strong puns that brought me to manifesting my laughter more. One of the things I enjoy about the annual Caption festival is the chance to find great comic booklets like this. I sit at home, seat couch, by table: It seems Debra is about to tell me a previously untold tale or come at me unexpected. Personal thanks. Everyone - enjoy! For more details see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005180.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Dec 2 22:37:51 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 22:37:51 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Message-ID: Space Monkeys #2 Reviewed by Andrew Luke Know. It's got Tim doing some of his funniest work, and=20 some top stuff by Cousin Rich, Matt Trimby and=20 Rik Hoskins. No. I'm not reviewing detail of this comic. Know As to why, because it's great. It only costs 50p,=20 and an A5 stamped addressed envelope. No. 50p could buy you putrid coffee, a lot of=20 chocolate which you'd regret. You may waste it on=20 cigarettes. Know about this comic? Leave your comments on=20 Tim's genius with the link window below*. We'll=20 shift these. (Two to Beam Up#3 also available. =A32. Review may follow) *Link Window on the TRS Blog =46or more info see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005181.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 3 15:12:22 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 09:12:22 -0600 Subject: [review] [Poopsheet] AS THE MILLER TOLD HIS TALE: The Art of John Miller References: <20031203062550.31334.13038.Mailman@list.zetnet.co.uk> Message-ID: <009301c3b9af$dbb9ad20$2516fea9@pavilion> AS THE MILLER TOLD HIS TALE: The Art of John Miller Review posted by Ricko I've been reading John Miller's work for years now, mostly in the 'White Buffalo Gazette' and 'Out of the Blue'. I really like some of John's drawings and design work, but I'm not his biggest fan. This is mostly due, however, to the fact that his strips are hit-and-miss for me as far as subject matter goes. I'm happy to say, however, that this collection has the good stuff insofar as my tastes are concerned. Lots of cool '60s references/inspiration (music, comics, tv), some nice pin-ups, campy fun and a bit of autobio. My favorite strips are two pulpy actioners which both, coincidentally, star cats as the protagonists. John has an unusual new wave sort of style that seems to belong in 1980s UK (John's Scottish). I don't think that's a bad thing, but it is oddly retro. It's also one of the things that makes his work unique. For art sample & further details, please see: http://poopsheet.blogspot.com/ 2003_11_23_poopsheet_archive.html#106986084814959578 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri Dec 5 22:32:31 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 22:32:31 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Dream Time #1 - #2 Message-ID: Dream Time #1 - #2 Posted by Mardou Dream Time By Colin J. Dinnie and Iain Buchanan I'm being borne down in a torrent of slickness and pseudo-babble. Dream Time #1 introduces us to the 'Dream=20 Warden'. He began as a 'figment of our collective=20 imagination, he's the caretaker of the=20 unconscious'. He looks a little bit like an=20 elongated Orco from 'Masters of the Universe'. I=20 think I need a cup of coffee, sleep is not an=20 option=8A. Dream Time is pretty dire. A bland blonde and a=20 craggy Morgan Freeman type (a Vietnam vet just in=20 case you were wondering how lazy the=20 characterization was going to get) are brought=20 together - in dream time- to, wait for it "help=20 people in their dreams?" Carl Jung (poor chap) is dragged in to give the=20 'Dream Time' concept a bit of undeserved=20 intellectual credibility. In reality the Jungian=20 pretensions are just a lame plot device on which=20 to hang lots of weary, shop-worn stories. Dream=20 Time #2 has the medieval knight story, next up=20 promises to be a Quantum=8Asorry, Dream leap into a=20 Hollywood noir type story. It's not the=20 unoriginality of the stories or the pretending to=20 be clever that bugs me so much, it's that the=20 writer has absolutely nothing to say. There's no=20 charm in the script, no attempt to create=20 memorable characters. There's nothing much here=20 except a burning ambition to be much better than=20 they are. The result? A story flimsier than the tracing paper it was probably drawn on= =2E Still, it's very nicely stapled, so if you're a fan of staples give this a g= o. =46or more info see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005187.html www.underfirecomics.com From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sat Dec 6 22:02:18 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2003 22:02:18 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Six and Two Threes Message-ID: Six and Two Threes By Chris Doherty Review by Mardou Six and Two Threes is an issue zero Preview. It's easy to follow. Evan, a bittersweet fat kid is going to get wrongly arrested for murder. And here's how it all began..... It's hard to know what to say about Six and Two Threes. For what it is (Grange Hill promising to be the Green Mile), it's fine. Chris Doherty renders the kids in a chunky, kinda-manga style, and for a first comic the standard's above par. There's a harmonious mix of narration and diaologue and Doherty knows how to visually tell a story. Whilst displaying an ease of style and graphic confidence, my only reservation is that it's all a little bland. Evan's best friend, we're told 'rocks.Rocks hard'. But there's very little punk spirit in evidence. C'mon kids, shock me! Or at least try... Still, I don't want to be unfair on Six and Two Threes as it's okay. And the world of small press (hell, even the big press!) needs more okay comics. And who knows, by the next issue Chris Doherty may have started hanging 'round the local Spar asking elders to buy him that bottle of Mad Dog 20/20. Six and Two Threes could just get interesting. For more info see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005191.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Dec 9 14:14:21 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 14:14:21 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Nice #1, 2 & 3 Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.0.20031209140822.02c62e90@mail.zetnet.co.uk> Nice #1, 2, & 3 review by mooncat Anthologies! Ah - they are such a lovely things, as on one hand they can introduce you=20 to new & wonderful artists. In this case we have 'K draw' - whose cartooning has a loose light touch=20 tinged with a good appreciation of daftness & absurdity - is fun! His main= =20 story featured over these 3 issues is 'Earl, the Snapshot King'. The story= =20 rattles along at a fair pace & is over all too soon. I could happily digest= =20 many more of these pages. Consumption of more pages by 'Hercules' would not go amiss either. He does= =20 tight, precise cartooning realising really neatly a whole world delineated= =20 in his pin sharp style. Again, he's an absurdist who he has a happily=20 unhealthy interest in guns, oddments of mechanical construction & cartoon=20 violence. His approach to comics is imbued with a mature, hip design sense= =20 is jolly good fun. Oh yes - this is tasty work! Excuse my while I go & read the bits by these 2 artists again! =85But now=20 I've gone & spoiled the writing of this review... they were my highlights &= =20 now my enthusiasm drains...It's not that the rest are so terribly bad as=20 such... I just could never listen to my mother & leave the best bits until= =20 last. Nevertheless, on we go: 'Dr Assassin' by Anthony Hope-Smith: I suppose in a 'Fast Show' sort of way= =20 the repetition of the joke could be funny, but I couldn't eke a smile from= =20 my jaded soul. The line work of the comic improves from one issue to the=20 next & by number 3 has steadied with more lively line work.... but then, if= =20 you were to pick up #3 only & were presented with meeting the strip for the= =20 1st time, then I suspect you would just wonder what the point was; this Dr= =20 assassin stood there disguised in the plain site of illuminated torches=20 held by the unseeing 'special agents'... What chance are you given of=20 seeing the gag? Hope is raised in the last installment in issue 3, which=20 departs from the usual one page format - perhaps the spreading of wings? 'Dr Assassin' compares unfavorably with another ongoing '1 pager' (although= =20 it can't rally be called a strip - as it's a one page splash more of a gag= =20 cartoon, I guess...): 'Ha Ha Ha Said the Clown' by Dug Fuller is a nice=20 humorous juxtaposition - depressing doom with a funny face. Nothing much to= =20 them, but eloquently done, using an eye pleasing style which reminds me of= =20 Roger Langridge. Other work by Dug does not hold together so well. The cover to 'Nice #2'=20 being the prime exhibit for the prosecution: compositionally it's basically= =20 devoid of an anchor. The choice of thick marker (if the artwork is reduced)= =20 or calligraphy pen is also odd, as the line work looks uncomfortably=20 clunky; the more fluid lies of the 'Win Your Ex Back' strips show a much=20 more pleasing flow that makes the example of the line making that cover=20 seem more anomalous. Nigel Metcalfe has a curious style; a curious linear approach, but the line= =20 that he uses has little accent =96 it seems so uniform =96 there seems= little=20 life. Unfortunately there also seems little thought to the page layout &=20 composition =96 mostly seems either too cluttered or too spare; it seems=20 missing something, somehow some strips seem quite lost on the page while=20 others seem to be covered in the comics equivalent of a metromomic buzz.=20 There is ability in the cartooning but it relies too heavily of formulaic=20 shorthand, rather than the interpretation drawing into a realised cartoon=20 (i.e. That is the formula I use to draw a cartoon arm, rather than that is= =20 how to draw an arm & that is how it translates into a cartoon). In a way=20 his work his reminds me of Nigel Lowrey's art - of there are similarities=20 in styling, but Nigel is a jump slicker. All in all it does not work well=20 in this format with that inking. Maybe on a larger canvas with more=20 enlivened strokes? One oddment in the hollering, strutting pack is Will Shyne's 'Maybe=20 Tomorrow' in #1 This story does not have knowing irony or absurdist bravado= =20 - but is a simple little unrequited love story. It's drawn scruffily, but=20 with sincerity & feeling... so rather seems out of place here. I like it=20 for this aspect, but whether it could stand on it's own in a more conducive= =20 environment is debatable; it's the contrast with the rest of the book that= =20 makes it so pleasing. As a whole, this anthology seems to have formed around a group of people=20 who are thrown together by a common love of comics. As with any group=20 dynamic there are the high flyers & there are those that skulk in the=20 shadows Interesting developments are the inclusion of Toko in #3 - which=20 indicates that there may be a spreading of wings - a flowering that may=20 mean that as this anthology reaches a more critical mass the quality=20 threshold will increase to new levels. I look forward to hopefully watching= =20 for such developments. In the meantime - the strips that gleam make me tip the balance of my=20 favour to the positive side... yes - it has its faults (all anthologies=20 have their faults =96 it is their nature to be broken) - but I rather like= =20 this anthology For more info see: http://zumcomics.info/n/nice.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Dec 9 17:16:40 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 17:16:40 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Nice #1, 2 & 3 erratum In-Reply-To: <6.0.0.22.0.20031209140822.02c62e90@mail.zetnet.co.uk> Message-ID: <7462131F-2A6B-11D8-8615-000A277D970E@yahoo.co.uk> > For more info see: http://zumcomics.info/n/nice.html forgot the 'www' - should be: http://www.zumcomics.info/n/nice.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 10 14:01:01 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 14:01:01 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Biomecha 3.5 Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.0.20031210140053.02ccfb30@mail.zetnet.co.uk> Biomecha 3.5 Review by Mardou It says "Party Special" on the cover and it certainly feels as if I have a hangover having read this through again, and still having no idea as to what's just happened! Okay, officially, Biomecha is about a strapping young sex lad, Toshio, who awakes from unconsciousness to find biomechanical arms on his torso, instead of his real ones. By issue # 3 (where I join these crazy kids) Toshio seems not to mind too much that he has these wacky mechanical limbs. A compensating factor may be that he's enrolled in a Cyber-Technik highschool, full of cheap alcohol and even cheaper dates! And there's Dr Harvey, a bit of an also-ran, character-wise, whose meant to help Toshio come to grips (natch) with his super-limbs. Okay, so there it is in a nutshell. Coming from the land that gave us 'Godzilla' and 'Shonen Knife', I wouldn't normally raise an eyebrow quite so high if Biomecha were indeed Japanese. However, as a homegrown slice of manga I'm utterly baffled. It's not the artwork's fault so much. It's pretty consistently good. Laura Watton has a confident manga style and apart from some occasional clunkiness, it's all very charming and full of promise. However, there's some poor layouts and script planning in evidence. And let's face it; it's a pretty terrible script. The writing is some of the most confused, garbled nonsense I've ever read and Laura really needs to make some executive decisions about her story. Like Tashio's arms for instance: they seem completely incidental to this episode. He only gets to flex his fuse-wired biceps towards the end of the story, and even then, it's only to get the beers in! Instead Watton seems more interested in delivering a slice of Manga 'Hollyoaks' replete with English undergraduate expressions ('Swish or what?' 'Chuggin' it down' 'Mine's a Metz!'). The vernacular being more Townie than Tokyo only adds to a confused package. Likewise the characters are just too similar. Watton skates over any opportunity to create any interesting exchange between her characters. Biomecha flicks from scene to scene in an over-excited and gushy fashion. Well, until Toshio learns to control his cyber-wrists properly (here's a genuine Japanese expression for you, 'Polishing the Mushroom!') I fear there's more of this hyperactive manga to come. Biomecha basically needs some time to develop. Even this most bizarre story can work if the basics of writing, structure and art applied. Watton has bags of the latter, the rest is sadly wanting. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/b/biomecha.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 10 17:19:38 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:19:38 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] King Cat #52 Message-ID: King Cat #52 Review by Mardou "This afternoon I read a King-Cat comic by John Porcellino . I liked the cover. I thought the first story 'Like a Dream' was pretty nice. Kind of poetic, like a little haiku with pictures or something*." *actual thoughts. And then I read the next story. It was called 'Haircutting Time' or something. It's like a true story of when John's eighteen or whatever. All his friends were called John too, which was pretty funny. Though sometimes it would be a bummer too, I guess. There's some kind of anecdotal memories and stuff. Like when they go to this gig and Chuck Berry plays on stage, but he's like, totally wasted. It was amusing in a depressing kind of way*. *actual words. At first I thought, like, this is really simple and pretty nice. Even though nothing really happens anyway. But it's kind of poignant in a confused kind of way. I guess. And it's been this way for, like, ever and ever and stuff. Or 52 comics I guess*." *actual inertia. Well it seems that everyone likes King-Cat comics, which is fair enough. It's pretty good! John Porcellino is better at this comics business than he'd like to admit. There's some good 'cinematography' going on in his panels, but because it's drawn in his ridiculously dumbed-down style, I'm afraid it doesn't hit the mark for me at all. The problem is I just don't care enough about King-Cat Comics. There's no alchemy in at work; John P may be hitting his mid-thirties, but he's still peddling these naively drawn 'coming of age' stories. After 50 comics or so, maybe it's time to move on. The best thing about this issue, is the aforementioned 'Haiku' style comics. Still simple but John P's trying harder here and showing what a damn fine cartoonist he really is. It's got that genuine magic that the rest of the comic hints at but stifles in the long-winded, retarded seeming yawn that Porcellino, sadly, settles for. For more information see: http://www.zumcomics.info/k/kingcat.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 10 22:00:51 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:00:51 +0000 Subject: [review] [CI#165] Message-ID: Review by Leonie O'Moore Hen's Teeth by Nush; send SAE to 143 Baldwin Avenue, Glasgow, G13 2JX A small collection of mini-strips. Three very different stories with lovely distinctive artwork, which serve as a good taster of this creator's work, hinting at a dark quirkiness which will hopefully develop more in future issues. Short but memorable. LO 6/10 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within the format of the magazine & are thus designed to fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 10 22:04:10 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:04:10 +0000 Subject: [review] [CI#165] Mbleh! #3 Message-ID: Review by Andy Smith Mbleh! #3 by Bryne; 3 Euros from 43 Killcare Gardens, Jobstown, Tallaght D24, Ireland. More vile and unspeakable goodness by Bob Byrne. Featuring favourites such as 'Clamnuts' and a new strip 'Mr Amperduke' which was previewed in CI's 'Panel Beaters'. It's a guilty pleasure reading Mbleh! Bryne's writing style is sharp and funny and his artistic prowess goes from strength to strength. 8/10 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within the format of the magazine & are thus designed to fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Dec 10 22:06:35 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:06:35 +0000 Subject: [review] [CI#165] Pilot #1 Message-ID: Review by Andy Smith Pilot #1 by Mitz; 75p from http://www.syntaxerror.org.uk One of the nicest of a new wave of small press manga titles out there. A visual style that's clean and stylish combined with a familiar 'Flight of the Navigator' style plot that should seem contrived but simply feels comfortably familiar make this a charming and impressive debut. With an obscenely low cover price this is well worth picking up. 8/10 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within the format of the magazine & are thus designed to fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Dec 11 14:32:24 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 08:32:24 -0600 Subject: [review] [Poopsheet] TEPID Summer 2003 References: <20031204062550.8300.54742.Mailman@list.zetnet.co.uk> Message-ID: <008601c3bff3$9a0b5d20$2516fea9@pavilion> TEPID Summer 2003 - Review by Mike Hunter Impressively presented in an 8 1/2" x 11" size, with heavy paper stock - the title received a publication grant from the Xeric foundation - John Hankiewicz's 'Tepid' is likely one of the most difficult comics you'll ever encounter. Several issues have been produced over the years, apparently similar in challenging structure and surreality (this is the first 'Tepid' I've seen). The story in this issue is titled "The Element of Surprise," and symbols that recur within are ice, eyes, ice cream, broken windows, baseball, and, um, athletic cups. (I kid you not!) The tale - more of an unsettling, multilayered mood piece, a meditation, really - begins with a baseball crashing through the window of a ship anchored amid an Arctic expanse of ice. Attired in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap, Eleanor, a dark-haired girl (who significantly looks just the same as in flashback scenes, set many years before) strolls on the ice, encountering a dessicated carcass and briefly placing a baseball in its empty left eye socket. A narrator speculates if she thinks of him, if her memories of him "yield...a person fully resembling the old me, or else a fully new version of me..." Intertwining stories of two "versions" of baseball players, one an innocent-looking, twelve-year-old lad who's never shown speaking, another a sullen, acne-specked young man, play out. Both are considering quitting the little league, both fascinated with Eleanor. The older one, in a car ride to and from the ball field, is revealed to have gone beyond the younger one's more distant infatuation: "I kissed her hair...she promised to buy me a tie," he notes, and has talked about inhabiting a "dream house" with her, and that Eleanor has drawn "...a picture of the baby she wanted to have. Then a picture of the boy the baby would become. Then a picture of me." The older woman (apparently his mother) driving, whose features are a combination of the characteristics of both males, adds a less halcyon detail to the romance: "...you destroyed her dresser with an aluminum bat." Yet the youth is the only one shown interacting with Eleanor: he slides the sports section from beneath her sleeping form, she playfully takes his baseball cap, places it atop a vase of flowers, then punches it, knocking the whole thing over. In a later scene, after throwing a baseball through a window, she'll straighten the vase, place the cap on top, and punch it again. Later, the two baseball players toss a ball back and forth. The ball finally heads towards the left eye of the younger one, who is then shown supine in a public restroom, blood on his baseball glove. When he joins the mother and other ball player in the car, it is revealed that eye has vanished: only smooth skin is in its place. His presence is ignored by the others. The older ball player tells how Eleanor, who told him "I come from ice," would touch his forehead with an ice cube. (Earlier, he was shown eating a "helmet sundae," then putting the miniature plastic ball cap the confection came in over his head, runnels of the melted treat going down his face.) The mother continues her reminiscences about the beauty salon she worked at, the Eleanor-obsessed old men whose hair she'd cut, whose emotional distress was soothed by the cold scissors being laid against their heads, one of whom said Eleanor symbolized "...the Element of Surprise." Towards the end, back in his bedroom, the boy covers his remaining eye with an athletic cup. Eleanor, shown earlier in that same place pensively holding the device, now is seen in the same panel doing that, as two different times overlap yet again in the book. He apparently finds an ice cube melting in a hallway, which Eleanor had thrown there earlier, before going into his bedroom, and which vanishes a few panels later. (In the car, the mother was shown dropping another ice cube out the window.) The narrator recalls, "On the day Eleanor left us, I prayed, 'Dear God, when I am older, grant me indifference'..." After looking at the sports section Eleanor had read, the boy sits at the table where, in alternating panels, the vase with flowers she had knocked over is shown upset, its water spilled, then restored as before, then tipped over again, and finally absent altogether. John Hankiewicz's depictions of people remind of Jim Blanchard's in their fluid, rubbery quality. As opposed to the protagonists, backgrounds and their textures are meticulously covered in fine ink hatchings, which separate shapes without seeming overly busy. As for the story, there are many more elements not touched upon here: the strange, overheard coach's speech ("...You can preserve civilization in the amber of your talents..."), prayer, bits of graffiti, the symbolism of the the art in the covers, recurring motifs of windows, vision, and those "windows of the soul," eyes. Those expecting a more conventional narrative, with a satisfying conclusion, will be disappointed. But this issue of 'Tepid' is nonetheless a remarkably daring, intellectually challenging, and ambitious work, which will reward repeated readings, and highly recommended to those with a taste for the outer frontiers of the art form. For art sample & further details, please see: http://poopsheet.blogspot.com/ From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri Dec 19 15:29:48 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 09:29:48 -0600 Subject: [review] [Poopsheet] ABSTRACT FANTASY: SINNERS Message-ID: <011c01c3c644$f1bbd340$2516fea9@pavilion> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0119_01C3C612.A597B600 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable ABSTRACT FANTASY: SINNERS Review by Rick Bradford This issue of Nate Pollard's Abstract Fantasy series focuses on the = Seven Deadly Sins. Each Sin gets its own strip(s) featuring a bizarre = cast of characters including a couple of humans, a hot-dog kind of = creature and two or three others that fall under the category of = who-the-hell-knows. I'm not even sure whether they're all "real" or just = figments of the main character's imagination (he's been under a lot of = stress, you see). I don't know that all of the strips necessarily = illustrate the Sin they're attached to but it probably won't matter much = to fans of this sort of thing - that "sort of thing" being humor = (newspaper-comicky in some ways, psychotic in others) that revolves = around deranged characters, reckless abandon and much violence. Really, = it's something like a certain type of popular goth comics but without = the superficial gothic elements. Judging from the author's introduction, = this is all backlash from having been brought up in a religious = household, so maybe you can see where he's coming from (I can). Nate = also sent along the first issue (Abstract Fantasy: Mania, $4.00), which = is even thicker and contains lots of twisted comix featuring the same = cast.=20 For art sample & further details, please see: http://poopsheet.blogspot.com/ ------=_NextPart_000_0119_01C3C612.A597B600 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
ABSTRACT FANTASY: SINNERS
Review by Rick Bradford
 
This issue of Nate Pollard's Abstract = Fantasy=20 series focuses on the Seven Deadly Sins. Each Sin gets its own strip(s)=20 featuring a bizarre cast of characters including a couple of humans, a = hot-dog=20 kind of creature and two or three others that fall under the category of = who-the-hell-knows. I'm not even sure whether they're all "real" or just = figments of the main character's imagination (he's been under a lot of = stress,=20 you see). I don't know that all of the strips necessarily illustrate the = Sin=20 they're attached to but it probably won't matter much to fans of this = sort of=20 thing =96 that "sort of thing" being humor (newspaper-comicky in some = ways,=20 psychotic in others) that revolves around deranged characters, reckless = abandon=20 and much violence. Really, it's something like a certain type of popular = goth=20 comics but without the superficial gothic elements. Judging from the = author's=20 introduction, this is all backlash from having been brought up in a = religious=20 household, so maybe you can see where he's coming from (I can). Nate = also sent=20 along the first issue (Abstract Fantasy: Mania, $4.00), = which=20 is even thicker and contains lots of twisted comix featuring the same = cast.=20
For art sample & further details, please see:
http://poopsheet.blogspot.com/
------=_NextPart_000_0119_01C3C612.A597B600-- From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Dec 21 23:41:36 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 23:41:36 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Gone Message-ID: Gone Review by Pete Dore=E9 'GONE' is a real treat. A beautifully produced 84=20 page book with excellent design and story. The=20 front & back covers are superb, giving the whole=20 thing a real look of class. It's about a girl who catches her boyfriend in=20 bed with his ex, and through a time travelling=20 wristwatch, goes back through his life=20 (repeatedly) trying to change events in his past,=20 so that he'll turn out to be a better boyfriend=20 in the future. Temporal paradoxes abound, and=20 Nigel takes the opportunity to exploit every=20 possible outcome such meddling would result in=20 (and then some!) until the only possible ending=20 clears things up once and for all (possibly...) It's funny, warm hearted, fast moving, and very=20 clever. The ultimate 'girl who wants to change=20 her man' story, and almost a small press answer=20 to 'Donnie Darko' , of which Nigel's obviously a=20 fan. It's also nice to see a male artist writing=20 about a strong female character. The bigfoot style art is sometimes at odds with=20 the story, but, on reflection, a more realistic=20 style may not have worked as well. Visually, the=20 characters are appealing, with their almost=20 manga-like faces, and overall design and page=20 layout is excellent, but the overall finish is=20 not what it could be, and some pages feel rushed. There is a back up strip: '9 pages about Time=20 Travel' (which in keeping with the theme is=20 actually ten pages), which is also very good, but=20 it isn't actually needed, as 'Gone' itself is=20 good enough to stand alone, and doesn't need a=20 back up. I have to say the cover price is a bit excessive,=20 and may put people off, but as 'Gone' is so good,=20 I still recommend it wholeheartedly. Excellent. =46or more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/g/gone.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Dec 21 23:44:53 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 23:44:53 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Smokey Bush Meat Message-ID: Smokey Bush Meat Review by David Birchall The content of this was really spot on, I thought. Anything that doesn't take politicians seriously gets a thumbs up from me. If that involves pointing out the possibility that these people are power crazed, stupid beyond belief, ignorant of issues wider than what'll get them and their mates rich, and into bestiality, then all the better. I'm writing this only a few days after they found Saddam Hussein (or someone who looks suspiciously like him) down a hole; so there's something they can try and justify that war with...? Anyway there's still no weapons of mass destruction however, that's all been quietly forgotten about; I guess the real reasons they went to war is obvious to most us now - control of resources etc... Maybe I should start talking about the comic now rather than politics, although I suppose the comic is political so... Anyway, there are some very funny bits in here, Colin Powell as balloon, Bush's constant amorous encounters with canines, Osama Bin Laden hiding out as a member of the Washington Redskins American Football team... Stylistically the drawing didn't particularly excite me, but then it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story, which artwork I don't like really has a tendency to do. While it's well rendered with slightly demented looking figures and distant landscapes reminiscent of ...someone whose name I can't quite recall at the moment. Essentially, it's great that people are prepared to deal with political stuff in there comics, especially if they treat the fools that have some kind of power over us in such an irreverent and humorous manner- in that way we don't take them seriously and they start to loose some of their power? for more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/s/smokeybushmeat.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Dec 21 23:47:33 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 23:47:33 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Manhole Message-ID: Manhole review by David Birchall I have a feeling that I've read this somewhere=20 else before=8A have a vague memory of seeing a=20 copy at Ladyfest Manchester and poaching it to=20 read in a corner from the zine stall before=20 returning it later on... This comic has that kind of realistic, almost=20 illustrated style to it, where people actually=20 look something like people and so on and so=20 forth, but there's also really good use of=20 simple shading and lines. I like the effect very=20 muchly. Basically a lot of the stories are your kind of=20 girl meets boy, boy disappears or else weird guy=20 who lives on his own and is going a bit crazy, or=20 mother/daughter relationship type things. If I=20 were reading this kind of stuff in a short story/=20 novel type format I would no doubt find it=20 excruciatingly bad and painful to the point of=20 throwing it across the room. However, what I find=20 really weird and exciting about comics is that,=20 in this form, it's somehow a completely=20 compelling read. I can't figure out why this is;=20 but I'm quite happy with that so... Hmmm, maybe a lot of the stuff here is easy to=20 relate to on a really human, personal level; the=20 start and drift of a relationship to its end; how=20 people deal with life and all that=20 malarkey...good stuff, well drawn, characters=20 with real depth. There's also a cartoonist star=20 sign thing on the back cover which made me=20 chuckle. =46or more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/m/manhole.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Mon Dec 22 16:11:33 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 16:11:33 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Second Message-ID: Second Review by Pete Dore=E9 'Second' is a lot like reading someone's dairy.=20 It's also a lot like those Russian cartoons where=20 people are chased by buildings, for no apparent=20 reason. Some pages are barely more than=20 sketchbook drawings, while others are fully=20 realised strips. It's almost like a jam session=20 between two artists. There's no credit for who did what, but I suspect=20 the whimsical, lighter (in design) pages are=20 Simone's, while the darker, brooding strips are=20 Tom's; and they bounce well off each other. Most of Simone's work is fun, and deeper than it=20 first appears. I particularly like 'Monkey Nut &=20 Harrowed Marrow' and the one about 'The Daddy &=20 The Bunny' . Her style is loose (maybe too loose=20 in places), a bit like 'Purple Ronnie' , and in=20 fact would fit well on cards or T-shirts. Tom's best piece here is 'Outside' , tho' 'End Of=20 Season Finale' about two wrestlers killing time=20 before the big match, has it's moments. His style=20 is dense and detailed and bounces well off of=20 Simone's work. Both artists seem interested with small moments,=20 and with feeling more than plot or characters. I may be the wrong person to review this, as I=20 prefer character over everything. As=20 self-expression it's fine, and it's very well=20 produced, but I don't actually feel that=20 connected to it. =46or more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/s/second.html