From paul@zumcomics.info Tue Nov 4 06:30:35 2003 From: paul@zumcomics.info (paul schroeder) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 06:30:35 +0000 Subject: [review] Draw or Die Message-ID: <65BF879B-0E90-11D8-9A4B-000A277D970E@zumcomics.info> Review by Pete Dore=E9: Behind a fun but hastily inked cover, lies an intro page promising =20 "More Tales of Broads & Bars". What we actually get is two strips of =20 weirdo creatures wandering around. In "Then The Good Comes" we are introduced to "Ripper The Fuckin'=20 Elephant" whose friend Particle Man gives him a machine that creates=20 perfect comic book's by sucking the images out of your brain. This=20 potentially interesting story is marred, not only by fairly feeble=20 artwork, but by the fact the reader is given no information on who or=20= what these characters are. I kept having to check the cover to make=20 sure I was reading issue 1. I think Ripper is supposed to be artist/ =20 writer Jon Chandler, but who knows. This is surrealism for its own sake, and tho' the occasional panel has=20= potential, mostly it's weak and pointless. The second strip "Devil Watch" is better; altho' it's really only two=20= devils telling each other a joke, and taking four pages to do it, It=20 does at least show some semblance of drawing skill. Actually I noticed=20= reference to a comic called 'Devil Watch' in the first story, so maybe=20= these are characters and in-jokes Jon has been working on for some=20 time, and knows all about. But we don't, nor are we given any reason=20 to be interested. I don't know why anyone other than the artist's =20 friends would want this. All in all, much too self-indulgent for its=20 own good. See the review with sample of artwork at: http://www.zumcomics.info/d/drawordie.html From zumcomics@yahoo.co.uk Tue Nov 4 16:27:03 2003 From: zumcomics@yahoo.co.uk (zumcomics@yahoo.co.uk) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:27:03 +0000 Subject: [review] Tales to Demolish Message-ID: Tales To Demolish #1 by Eric Haven reviewd by Pete Dore=E9 Tales To Demolish is a curious comic from Canada that basically=20 resembles an extended Tharg's 'Future Shock' Altho' It's called "Tales To Demolish" (why Is everyone using sub "EC" =20= titles these days?), there's only one story: The Glacier, about a=20 glaciologist exploring a frozen waste. During an earthquake, a giant=20 creature is released from the ice...and that's about it. The revelation as to what the creature is, isn't actually as=20 mind-blowing as writer/artist Eric Haven seems to think, and he takes=20= a lot of pages to get to it. Really this is a story that shouldn't take more than 4 or 5 pages. Eric's a competent artist (tho' I suspect he has trouble with faces, as=20= he takes every opportunity not to draw them), with a dark, detailed=20 cross-hatching style, and a good use of space, but as a writer, this=20 feels like a first attempt. This comic is nicely produced, and looks good, but, really, the story=20 is so ordinary, it doesn't engage your interest. If Eric's plan is a comic-length tale each issue, he's gonna have to=20 do better than this, and I'd suggest splitting the next book into 2 or =20= even 3 stories. Average. See http://www.zumcomics.info/t/talesdemolish.html for full review &=20 sample image From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Nov 4 16:51:44 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 16:51:44 +0000 Subject: [review] Pig's Missing Pooh Message-ID: <2BFE5480-0EE7-11D8-9A4B-000A277D970E@yahoo.co.uk> Pig's Missing Pooh by Robert Goodin reviewed by Pete Dore=E9 Behind a smiling cover lies a far too brief peek into the surreal,=20 childlike mind of Robert Goodin . These are seemingly gossamer thin=20 fables that hide deeper truths. That's Life is a superb one page gag that reminds me of the work of=20 'Mirko Illic' (Anyone older than God will remember his 'History of=20 Human Absurdity' and know what to expect here). "Seeds of Grass" is a love story disguised as a botany lesson that's =20 paced perfectly, and reeks of lazy, summer days. "The Monkey & The Crocodile" is a Kiplingesque forest fable that charms=20= and saddens at the same time and is the best thing in the mag, which=20= is no easy feat. Robert finishes with "The Lovely Evening Urbanus met Mr. Thadeus=20 Cornloaf" which, unfortunately, is a bit of a let down after the=20 previous strip. (Apart from the great title) As far as the art goes, well, it's uniformly excellent. Really. This=20 guy draws trees and foliage that makes me spit with envy, and he's a=20 master at that much overlooked skill; atmosphere. You are in that jungle with the monkey. You are in on that hill with=20 the rickety fence. You're even on that mountain with the talking=20 bodiless head. And he can write. These aren't just a bunch of lame gags strung=20 together by technical drawing skill. These are actual stories. How=20 rare is that? Honestly, I can't praise this highly enough. The only thing wrong with=20= it is that there isn't enough of it. I'd buy a book of this stuff in a=20= second. So go buy it. *Now*. Further details & sample of artwork can be found at: http://www.zumcomics.info/pq/pigspooh.html= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue Nov 4 17:52:39 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 17:52:39 +0000 Subject: [review] The Girly Comic #3/Kiss Kiss Bang Bang #1 flip book Message-ID: The Girly Comic #3/Kiss Kiss Bang Bang #1 flip book Ed: Selina Lock Contrib: [Jay Eales, mpMann], [Amanda Kear, Keds], [Adrian Kermode,=20 Peter Frain], [Barry Williams, Toby Ford], [Sean MacRoibin, John=20 Robbins], Lee Kennedy, [Alistair Pulling, Bevis Musson], Carol Keaton,=20= Des Taylor reviewed by Pete Dore=E9 Superb. Buy it. Oh, you want more? Okay. This has excellent production design, gorgeous=20= artwork, proper grown up writing, a professional outlook, a colour=20 insert, and I'm running out ofsuperlatives... It's actually split between two anthology titles, technically one for=20 'The Lads' and one for 'The Chicks', but actually it all hangs=20 together perfectly as one comic. But let's start with the Ladeez side of the book: "Simple Simon" is a good kick in the make up bag to all those girls =20 who take their (male) best friend for granted and has fun, Photoshop=20 aided art that makes good use of greytones. "I Don't Want My Sister To Contact My Ex-Boyfriend" is a=20 self-explanatory, nicely written one pager, with ( I'm sorry to say )=20= visibly rushed artwork. The great Lee Kennedy weighs in with "My Dead & Me" A very moving,=20 beautifully drawntale of lost friends. Who else could bring a lump to=20 your throat in six pages? More unexpected tears in" Oddcases: The Phantom Kittens" which,=20 although a bit stilted in it's composition, has a truly=20 heart-wrenching ending. The two best pieces here, I think. "Housekeeping Tips" , I'm afraid, is the worst. A one idea joke,=20 spread out over three pages, with barely adequate artwork. The colour section is given over to "Da Hood" with 'Oh My God Why Isn't=20= This Guy Working Professionally?' art from Dez Taylor . Unfortunately, =20= he also wrote it. It's not that the story is bad, It's just that I wanted to=20 be as blown away by it as I was by the art. Maybe his other stuff is=20 better. And so on to the Boyz section of the comic: Behind a rip roaring cover (In counterpoint to the beautiful, reverse=20 Girly side of the book) lies more good stuff. "An Open Book" is an interesting prologue to a (presumably) larger tale=20= of a female copper who can tell everything about you, just by touching=20= an object you've touched. Both art and script are excellent, and I'd =20 like to read more. "The Cull" has good, manga influenced art, and a fairly interesting =20 story about werewolves, that makes a good change of pace. Finally, "Doctor LoveMonkey and the Misery Machine" is a fairly=20 standard 'Doc Savage' spoof saved by some nice art (tho' there's too=20 much black used). I do have reservations about some of the pieces here, but the whole=20 thing is put together so well, It works brilliantly. Put it this way: I=20= want to be in the next one. I'm off to get the back issues now. I suggest you do the same. Further details & sample of artwork can be found at: http://www.zumcomics.info/g/girlycomic.html ZUM!= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Nov 16 22:08:36 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:08:36 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Bahala Na!" and "Don't say yes, say know!" Message-ID: <6CA8BB64-1881-11D8-A66E-000A277D970E@zumcomics.info> Bahala Na!" and "Don't say yes, say know!" Posted by Andrew Luke The Goodman Brothers have been impressive circling on five years least,=20= actively involved in Liverpool anthologies and the Ian Hering Community=20= Workshop, Influences range from Stan Sakai, Seth and Bill WAtterson, or=20= similarities do. This isn't watered down ice cream, it's the real=20 dreamily. Arthur's "Don't say yes, say know" really has my hetero=20 heart, with characters' alienated, leftover and plain misunderstanding=20= presented in a visually confident style. The micromic "Chatroom Rendevous" at relaxed stroll pace using animals=20= to make a human point about security and attitude. Dave Goodman,=20 produces "Zappy the Magic Science Robot". This 16pg A7 tells of time=20 travelling, perhaps aimed at a younger age group with a smack of=20 barbarism, and reminds me somewhat of Alan Moore's Timmy Turbo tales. Also keen on commandeering this Chickwagon, one of the brothers has=20 produced a Google search results comic made from a selection of images=20= and relevant findings. "Bahala Na!" by David, also employs the use of anthromorphics, and a=20= greater honest guv, it's research for my work, fantasy gaming and smock=20= comics folklore. Some of it's funny, there's good detail, his Egyptain=20= tale represent heiroglyphs and costume, with my personal fave, a=20 re-interpreted excerpt from Blake's 'Tyger Tyger'. Thoughful. For further details write Dave at obakeneko@usagimail.com or Arthur,=20 bear@favouritecrayon.co.uk Alternatively, 34 Banner Street, Wavertree, Liverpool L15 0HQ. A pound per comic or International Reply Coupon to that value should be=20= okay, and they have a good back store available I reckon. Other titles to request include Zip Gun anthologies, Favourite Crayon=20 Stories, Square Eyed Stories and for =A33.50/5 U.S $ the four Pulp=20 Kitchen collections featuring many Liverpool cartoonists. http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005145.html= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Nov 16 22:12:30 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:12:30 +0000 Subject: [review] [TRS] Stink Like Dog #1-#3 Message-ID: Stink Like Dog #1-#3 Review by Mardou The first issue of Stink Like Dog is a series of black and white=20 flyers collected together. There=92s no discernable plot, but there is a=20= definite theme connecting the images. Etienne Le Comte=92s wears his=20 influences on his sleeve- unashamedly- the Ghost in the Machine/Matrix,=20= Japanese sci-fi, Oddworld. Style wise there=92s traces of HR Giger and=20= Big Daddy Roth in there too. Stink Like Dog #2 and #3 continue in this vein, but the strands of his=20= fascinations are brought together more cohesively =96 urban dystopias,=20= psychedelic pipework, test tubes, lab animals. Stink Like Dog#2 is more=20= text heavy with design blueprints, =91Kid in a Can=92 labels, adverts = and=20 flyers recommending voluntary lobotomy, and it=92s not without humour,=20= we=92re told televisual enjoyment will not be impaired! The booklets are beautifully constructed, each issue having a fold out=20= centre, and the attention to detail is astonishing. Although Le=20 Comte=92s influences are zeitgeisty (hell, even Charlie=92s Angels is=20 influenced by the Matrix!), few artists would even begin to try and=20 construct the highly detailed and exactly imagined world on paper=20 depicted here. Whilst being particularly successful when it gets sequential, there=20 are a few weak spots; Le Comte doesn=92t seem comfortable putting humans=20= into his machine, the mix of overly cartoony people in this tightly=20 drawn industrial landscape isn=92t quite there yet. That aside, I hope Le Comte keeps to the sequential. His mastery of=20 brown-acid psychedelia has me poring over the details. Priced =A31.50 ppd from Etienne le Comte, The Globe, Trelavour, St Dennis, Cornwall, PL26 8AR, UK Contact: e_le_comte@hotmail.com http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005154.html= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Nov 19 22:34:08 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:34:08 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM] The Rainbow Orchid Part One Message-ID: <7D7A6042-1AE0-11D8-911D-000A277D970E@yahoo.co.uk> The Rainbow Orchid Part One Review by Robert Rees At the first sight of the beautiful full-colour cover of The Rainbow=20 Orchid you would be forgiven for thinking that Herg=E9 himself had leapt=20= from the grave, pencil in hand to pen a new story of the diminutive boy=20= reporter, Tintin. You would also be forgiven for thinking that you had=20= the measure of this new comic at a cursory glance; all the elements of=20= a Tintin pastiche are present. There's the enthusiastic, slightly camp=20= boy adventurer who lives with an older bearded gentlemen in=20 circumstances that are never quite explained. There is a drunken=20 bumbler who kicks of the unthreateningly occult storyline, ugly=20 villains, ham-fisted goons. All it is missing is a white dog and set of=20= policeman twins! This straightforward imitation is pretty good, after all you have to be=20= pretty soul-dead to not love this kind of brilliantly drawn and=20 electric ripping yarn. It starts off with a flower competition, drags=20 in the Crusades and by the time we have an air acrobat providing an=20 escape from the villains you know that this is high adventure done=20 properly. What really lifts the book though is that it is not just pastiche. Huge=20= elements of it are drawn straight from Tintin but the whole story ends=20= up being distinctly different. Firstly the Tintin character is split=20 into two different characters, the boy man Julius Chancer who is an=20 assistant to antiquarian Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey and the cynical=20 wisecracking reporter William Pickle. This split immediately creates a difference, as Pickle is more like a=20 Hammett style fast-talking detective than Tintin and it is he that=20 drives most of the narrative forward. Chancer (for all his top billing)=20= is essentially there to drive fast cars, pop thugs on the jaw and=20 generally have a whale of a time while Pickle actually explains what is=20= going on. The two completely different narrative threads have the same=20= effect as blending The 39 Steps with Biggles. Pickle's story has a=20 genuine sense of menace and mystery while Chancer's is far more=20 straight-forward and exciting. The interplay of the two stories immediately make this comic far=20 superior to most you can read at the moment. It is not just ambitious=20 but it works and with =E9lan. The different levels of the story and = their=20 attendant styles lend a tremendous feeling of depth to the whole book.=20= It doesn't just pull you through the panels at speed, although it does=20= that, it also brings you back to re-read and reconsider the story once=20= the excitement has passed. In achieving all this - the artwork definitely does no harm. It has a=20 beautiful clean line style that shows that the artist has clearly being=20= studying continental styles. It is also very dynamic capturing the same=20= fluidity that Tintin has. The only problem with it is that it screams=20 out for a full-colour on every page. This comic should be in colour and=20= I hope one day someone stumps up the cash for the full colour hardback=20= treatment. Even without the colour though we have a vivid story that is possible=20 the most exciting comic of the year. In fact it=92s so good that I've=20 decided to buy it for my father as a Christmas present, he too loves a=20= ripping yarn. How high a recommendation can you get? For more details see: http://www.zumcomics.info/r/rainboworchid.html= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Nov 19 22:42:42 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:42:42 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Rapid Fire: Terrible Sunrise #2 Message-ID: Rapid Fire: Terrible Sunrise #2 Review by Robert Rees I was a child at a funny time in comics; when I was young I was old=20 enough to have a copy of Battle, Tiger or The Eagle included with the=20 family newspapers and magazines. You might still get a copy of Beano or=20= The Dandy in the paper round now but even they would be a rarity. Along=20= with the "boys' comic" every week my parents used to buy me an issue or=20= two of the Commando booklet comics for the holidays. Rapid Fire #2 managed to bring back all my memories of these comics in=20= the first few pages as resembles nothing less that the long running=20 strip "Charlie's War" about a British soldier who fought in the First=20 World War (and then in the Russian Civil War and the Second World War=20 as the strip continued to be more popular than history would allow).=20 The artwork is incredibly similar, though less dense and textured in=20 Rapid Fire. The story is also very similar as it focuses on a group of=20= British Expeditionary Force soldiers (although with no obvious=20 "leading" character) deployed to France at the start of WWI. Although=20 this is issue 2 a judicious slip of paper bound into the cover=20 summarises the content of the first issue, a wise move that I would=20 encourage others to adopt. It certainly makes reviewing easier although=20= the plot here is not exactly hard to guess. Much of the first section=20 of the issue is given over to the chatter between the soldiers and=20 their interactions with the French they are billeted with. The second=20 part details the first clash between the British and German soldiers. The similarity with Charlie's War is an important one for I suspect=20 that I would have thought that Rapid Fire was really quite good if I=20 hadn't been familiar with its "ancestors". Drawing comparisons though I=20= noticed how little we discover about the soldiers in this issue, we=20 have no idea who they are, where they have been and what they want to=20 do. Charlie was (if memory serves) a labourer from Liverpool whose view=20= of the war is initially quite idealistic. Presumably most of the men we=20= meet in this issue are regular army soldiers but apart from a nice line=20= about the Marksman Badge being a good investment because it confers=20 extra pay there is very little detail. Issues of class and region that=20= often seem important in the testaments of the real soldiers seem to be=20= absent here. It is all well executed but it doesn't seem to capture the=20= times or the people involved. In fact sometimes the characterisation=20 becomes so weak we see clich=E9s like the scavenger soldier appearing. The artwork is quite nice and expressively, certainly I had no trouble=20= believing that this story was taking place in France 1914. However when=20= the shooting starts the problems also begin. The art is quite stiff,=20 which didn't matter when people were relaxing, and the figures slowly=20 start to resemble waxworks when they should be getting looser and more=20= dynamic. Then there is the issue of distance; one of the real problems=20= in illustrating battles is conveying the distance between the two=20 sides. The artists who drew Commando created a huge variety of visual=20 shorthand to deal with the issue of having to have very =91deep=92=20 compositions in small panels. Chester Brown also brilliantly solved=20 this problem in his recent Louis Riel series. In Rapid Fire though we=20 are left with no visual indication as to how far apart the two sides=20 are: 20 metres or 2000? There is also the problem of making a gun=20 battle interesting, this is always difficult but there is an attempt to=20= answer this problem by emphasising German self-control as they advance=20= in waves to be slaughtered. The historical synopsis of the battle has the British dug-in in the=20 fashion of the Boers, their fire was so fast and accurate that the=20 Germans thought they were facing a line of machine gun nests. The=20 advance faltered but ultimately numbers counted and the British had to=20= retreat. I'm not sure you would get that story from this comic but I can see=20 that that is the story it is trying to convey. Rapid Fire comes very=20 close to being an excellent comic. It deals with big themes and big=20 issues that are of real current interest. It sets out a large cast and=20= uses it effectively, something that is actually quite rare in comics.=20 The art is solid and certainly I cannot fault its top-notch=20 portraiture. However at the moment it has a few big flaws that are=20 holding it back. Given maybe three or four issues it can definitely=20 sort them out and start delivering its full potential. It does not=20 exist in a vacuum though and the comic really does not need that many=20 issues to sort things out if it takes a few lessons from its=20 predecessors. Rapid Fire deserves to go on and complete its story arc and I would=20 like to see it tackle larger sections of the war as well. It is the=20 kind of comic that makes you glad to be a reviewer. For all its=20 problems I would rather read one issue of Rapid Fire that one hundred,=20= "got out of bed, cashed my dole" style comics. A comic with this much=20 heart and ambition deserves to succeed and should serve to encourage=20 other comic writers to set their sights a little higher. For more Information see: http://www.zumcomics.info/r/rapidfire.html= From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Nov 26 18:53:52 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:53:52 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Space Car Junkie Message-ID: Space Car Junkie Review by Lee Kennedy/mooncat These amiable little minis chronicle the day-to-day 'adventures' of US student 'Space Care Junkie' and his pals 'Aussie Fax' and 'the Jesus'. They go sledging, play computer games, and laser tag, play pranks on each other, work, watch telly and have nightmares. The artwork is drawn 'straight to ink' - no pencilling or planning - so there are moments where it is as crude as it comes & times where there are some real successful energetic drawing. Perhaps this immediacy helps to convey a certain cheerful charm that keeps you turning the pages and chuckling indulgently (ah, youth). Space Car Junkie isn't memorable stuff, but a jolly way to pass a few minutes. For more information & sample of artwork, please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/s/spacecar.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Nov 27 21:32:09 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:32:09 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Bits n Pieces #3 Message-ID: Bits n Pieces #3 Review by Robert Rees Well as the cover says this is the scraping of the barrel. A collection of illustrations, mottos, anecdotes, fantasies and jokes by Neale Blanden. Although the various cartoons and strips are all dated roughly from 2002 they seem to have been produced for a variety of different zines and comics with very little consistency in theme or topic. It's hard to do a sensible review of such a collection, there are naturally some bits that are good and some bits that are not very good. The impression of barrel scraping comes from the lack of consistency between any of the strips. It creates a, perhaps unfair, impression of just throwing stuff out almost randomly. Even the artwork seems inconsistent with the more extended strips looking ropey and the one pagers and more heavily stylised cartoons looking far better. Blanden can certainly do a mean line in grotesques. Selecting highlights is obviously a very subjective thing but I felt the worst pieces were the autobiographical or self-referential. What really shone for me were the cartoons that mixed Ambrose Bierce's words with Neal's art. The difference was very noticeable with the art seeming far more focused and the caricatures adding an whole new level of expression to the vignettes. Personal favourites out of the original material then: 'A Hasty Settlement' on the Bierce illustrations and the 'Grunt' parody of Mickey Mouse. Last words go to the cover, which was handmade and therefore always worthy of comment. The basic cover is blue paper with a Spanish Superman strip pasted onto it. Pasted on top of that on the front cover is a small black and white logo and illustration that has been hand-coloured with pencils. Overall very nice indeed but the glue has puckered the front cover a bit which is a shame after the effort invested. For more information & sample page from the comic please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/b/bitsnpieces.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sat Nov 29 13:05:39 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:05:39 +0000 Subject: [review] [CI#164] Comics Advertiser 1 Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.0.20031129125410.02b2fac8@mail.zetnet.co.uk> Review by Tom McSween Comics Advertiser 1 by COAF Comics; free from COAF Comics, 10 Cleaveland Avenue, High Ercall, Telford, TF6 6AH And so it goes full circle. The original 1960s comics adzine called itself Fantasy Advertiser, wanting to sound upmarket. Almost 40 years later, the rejected title makes an appearance in a bold move, being A4 with full colour throughout. Not a meaty start unfortunately, 12 p[ages with only one (dull, irrelevant, self-congratulatory) article. Editor/publisher Shane Chebsey follows this very magazine's route by launching as a giveaway to build circulation, but he may need more worthwhile editorial to encourage paid advertisers to take it seriously. Comic & Toy Marketplace launched as a slick giveaway from the guys at Chaos City a few years back with 68 pages... but it never made it to a second issue. 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 Sat Nov 29 13:35:02 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:35:02 +0000 Subject: [review] [CI#164] BAM 25 Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.0.20031129132707.02949d28@wheresmymailserver.com> Review by Chris E Bunting BAM 25 by CCobley + Mitzi & Ewing + various; =A32.50 + 50p (p&p) from J. Cobley, 94 Elm Rd, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13= 2TB Under a cool colour cover by Mitzi are all the usual favorites: Bulldog,=20 The Rainbow Orchid, and Mer-Tropolis. Along with the action and adventure= =20 are some sharp comical touches, particularly when Winston Bulldog meets his= =20 evil twin. A small press comic that packs more punch than many mainstream= =20 titles. http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within the format of the magazine= =20 & are thus designed to fit the constraint of being within 50 words.=20 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sat Nov 29 23:00:55 2003 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 23:00:55 +0000 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Bad Attitude Boy #1 Message-ID: Bad Attitude Boy #1 Review by Lee Kennedy Well, I'm old and jaded, of course, but I've seen a lot of comix like this one: Much punkish insult rudery, negativity taken to ludicrous extremes, faux-naive artwork, pointless cruelty and violence for the sake of cheap laughs... All that, of course, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. 'Bad Attitude boy' himself, (who occasionally looks a bit like a demonic 'Calvin') somewhat lacks substance, but I quite liked his horribly cheerful, optimistic sidekick 'Bar-Fly', and some of the peripheral characters like Wally Werewolf, The Winged Ox and Vyctore the drippy Goth poet. I haven't seen Jim McGee's work before, but he has a nice loose, variable line, and gives very good action'/violence. I think he'll probably produce fine work in the future, if he hasn't already. BAD ATTITUDE BOY is immature, a little bit lazy, a little bit derivative, but it's damned entertaining, and left me wanting to see more of McGee's stuff, and how it develops. For more details please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/b/badatttitudeboy.html