From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 1 22:37:22 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 22:37:22 +0100 Subject: [review] [CI #169] Manhole #1 Message-ID: Reviewed by John Edwards Manhole #1 by Mardou; =A32.50 from Smallzone 10 Cleveland Avenue, High Ercall Telford, Shropshire TF6 6AH A slice-of-life 28-page anthology in the vein of=20 Daniel Clowes' work. The reflective=20 mother-daughter conversation Esme's Door is=20 subtly touching. But it is the main strip, George=20 Best - the life and loves of an unfulfilled young=20 woman - that is the highlight here. While the=20 artwork is not quite as cleanly executed as it=20 could be, this is nevertheless a well-written,=20 sophisticated title of inherent wit. 8 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within=20 the format of the magazine & are thus designed to=20 fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 1 22:38:46 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 22:38:46 +0100 Subject: [review] [CI #169] Paradise Lost 2: My Father's Son Message-ID: Reviewed by John Edwards Paradise Lost 2: My Father's Son by Bonney & Stanford + McColm; =A31.50 from Smallzone 10 Cleveland Avenue, High Ercall Telford, Shropshire TF6 6AH It may feel a tad dated, but writer Jay Bonney's=20 ongoing superhero saga - recalling the late-=20 1980s post-Watchmen era - focuses on the moral=20 and political ramifications facing a=20 Superman-styled hero. Although chapter two's=20 artist Michael McColm lacks the finesse of=20 traditional main illustrator Colin Stanford, the=20 cracking script surprises, the story's resolution=20 is unexpected, and at 64 pages this A5 book=20 represents great value for money. 8 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within=20 the format of the magazine & are thus designed to=20 fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 1 22:39:56 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 22:39:56 +0100 Subject: [review] [CI #169] Pest Control 5 Message-ID: Reviewed by Kelvin Green Pest Control 5 by Grant Springford; Ominous Comics =A31 from G. Springford 2 Cawston Court, Highland Road Bromley BR1 4AF Another excellent cover, and another excellent=20 issue, as we are treated to the origin of Penny=20 Dreadful. The writing is full of great ideas=20 conveyed with considerable skill, and the art in=20 this issue is undoubtedly Grant Springford's best=20 yet. A serious rival to The 0 Men's dominance in=20 the small press superhero field. 8 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within=20 the format of the magazine & are thus designed to=20 fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 1 22:44:02 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 22:44:02 +0100 Subject: [review] [CI #169] Watching Days Become Years Message-ID: Reviewed by John Edwards Watching Days Become Years by LeVine; =A32.50 from Smallzone 10 Cleveland Avenue, High Ercall Telford,=20 Shropshire TF6 6AH in the UK or=20 http://www.sparkplugcomicbooks.com/ elswhere. Begging comparison with Harvey Pekar's seminal=20 American Splendor, this 40-page title acts as a=20 diary chronicling five years in the life of US=20 creator Jeff LeVine, capturing the perceived=20 mundanity of an ordinary Joe settling into a=20 dead-end job. LeVine's mostly minimalist artwork=20 matures as the book progresses, encompassing a=20 variety of assured styles from tight=20 illustrations to abstract loose brush and wash=20 tones. Stark, contemplative and understated, yet not without humour, the highlight is perhaps No Second Acts - a series of bold panels depicting=20 wonderfully detailed scenes of the author's route=20 from work to home. 9 http://www.comics-international.com/Reviews/small_press.html Comics International reviews first appear within=20 the format of the magazine & are thus designed to=20 fit the constraint of being within 50 words. From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Apr 7 22:31:33 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 22:31:33 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] King Cat #56 Message-ID: review by Dave Golding King Cat #56 This is an A5 mini-comic on white paper in black and white. The first thing that caught me about this title is the number of issues it seems to have had. This issue is number 56, which if you're a self published comic book collector or you do a title yourself, you will know is a pretty good accomplishment. I would like to have had a look at past issues as it may have made this title more coherent to read. The art is a little James Kochalka -esq, which is not a bad thing, but the lack of detail in the backgrounds makes it hard to see where the characters are and what they are doing.The story seems to follow a group of high school friends in some suburb of America and the things that happen to them over a couple of days. One couple listens to the 'Beatles White Album' and then they go on to a local fair. Then a couple gets dressed up for Halloween and two other people get into a fight. All these little events are broken up by spontaneous games of American Football in the street, but to be honest it was a little hard to tell which characters were which. To me the most important part of any comic book is the ability to tell a story: to move the characters from A to B to C. Yet with this issue the characters and situations just jump around way too much and it left me feeling more than a little confused. There are 22 pages of the main story then after that a letters column called 'Catcalls' . From reading the letters they seem to be more about what the writer of the letter did the other day, for example "I went for a walk" and "I listened to that album." Nothing really to do with past issues, or anything for that matter. Which leads me to think they were probably written by a friend of John Porcellino rather than by an actual fan of the comic. The real treat of this comic however is a one page strip on the inside back cover about a bee called Busy Bee which is also written by John Porcellino . I thought this was great, really sweet and really simple, and the art was a lot better than in the main story. It's a shame that the main story isn't has good as the simple little bee story in the back. King-Cat and Other Stories is worth checking out if only for the bee story. For more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/t/tommytoothhead.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri Apr 9 22:54:32 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 22:54:32 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] King Cat #60 Message-ID: review by Lucy King Cat #60 Issue sixty? Where have I been? How does Porcellino find the time to knock out sixty of these little treats? I think it's a front for a zine sweat shop scandal. Anyway, yeah; this is a collection of sweet little moments that make getting out of bed bearable. It has a rustic and rural charm, a Top 40 (I like lists) and a neat little story about finding a tree. Overall a fragmented collection of quietly significant and personal moments. It made me smile warmly for a good hour afterwards For more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/k/kingcat.html#60 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sun Apr 11 19:12:44 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 19:12:44 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Cha Cha Sketchbook #1 Message-ID: Cha Cha Sketchbook #1 review by Lucy Some fantastic doodles - a nice non-liniar window into a slightly eccentric mind. Wonderfully lacking in narrative; pictures for the sake of pictures, in the best possible way. Un petite homage de la Shultz thrown into the melting pot. It's like when you first wake up and try to piece together your dreams: there are loose connections but overall you are left with a malleable feeling rather than a definite article... if that makes sense? For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/c/chachasketchbook.html discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=194&sid=833ee5ccee58f2391f9060f3e2f9a485 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri Apr 16 23:09:50 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:09:50 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Compendium of Compendiums Message-ID: review by mooncat Compendium of Compendiums Around the middle of this comic you turn the page to be confronted by the author; not an uncommon comics trick: breaching the Third Wall. In 4 panels she explains the title of the book (or the individual titles from whence this was collated) 'A Compendium of thoughts' Comparing it to the old, "board game collections you could get: A Compendium of Games" that boasted six or seven different games, "And the box looks okay, but when you take it apart... ...you realise it's just Tidily Winks & Pick Up Sticks...." This 'Compendium' is obverse; it is more than the sum of its parts. It is scrappily rendered; that is the first hurdle to negotiate as a reader - it is neither slick nor flash. Lucy would not appear to be a product of extensive artistic training, but comic creation is not just about surface - it's creating a world & communicating. Annie Lawson's stick figures comics may have been crude & scrappy, but they made an impact on the UK cultural zeitgeist more than almost any small press comic. This comic is all the stronger for the 'world' it creates is well realsied: Lucy knows how to communicate well in her 'comics world'. She has an understanding of the subtleties of body language & uses this to good effect in her strips. It lends the pages an intimacy that many comic artists fail to infuse into their work. Each comic strip is only a few pages long & many of them are about heartache, unrequited love & loneliness. At times it feels like this might be the visual equivalent of the Emo music genre (or whatever the current equivalent may be): heartrending vignettes rendered in a punky fashion - hard & soft combined. There's an honesty that comes over in the work. It doesn't reference the approaches other artists might use in this subject matter. It seems isolated from any 'comics scene', maybe provincial, but not in a parochial way. There just seems to be a need to communicate & share. Some of the strips approach the subject directly or in reflection, some are intended to be fun & others are oblique - I especially liked the 2 page silent strip with layered panels that just seemed to evoke events in a street; moments of passing lives. Cynicism may look on this form of introspective comic as 'self help therapy' & it would be hard to deny that in the way that it meditates on moments of longing & loss there could well be a level of catharsis in its creation. This does not mean that the comic is one long irritating whine - far from it, it's a very personable comic. Beneath the pessimistic black on black covers & bleak longings there seems to be an inner warmth & strength - nay, even contentment. Annie Lawson: http://www.hostedshops.com/cnb/shop/the_womens_stand?listPos=&op=catalogue-products&prodCategoryID=6 For more info please see: http://www.zumcomics.info/c/compendiumof.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Apr 21 06:02:12 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 06:02:12 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Phobias Message-ID: Phobias Review by Pete Doreé Accent UK is a small press collective I have a lot of time for. Producers of the excellent 'Black Harvest Moon', their books are always interesting. Phobia is an anthology, and like all anthologies, It's a mixed bag. Going with the same minimalist cover style as Black Harvest Moon and their previous anthology 'Remembrance Days' is a good idea, as it defines a house style. Inside, each story is named after the particular phobia it depicts, which is a little confining to the writers, however: We start with the best piece, with Dave Hitchcock's tale of an ageing & despairing vampire. Dave's pencil artwork is stunning, slightly reminiscent of Rick Veitch, and his sense of design is second to none; an excellent opener. Chris Doherty's story of a creeepy children's entertainer, (what other kind is there?) is also well done, tho' his drawing style needs tightening up slightly, the pacing is spot on. Dave West's 'Dissecting My Fear' is next. It's ok. His 'web' design works well, tho' his figure work isn't that great; interesting ending. Leon Hewitt's 'Socio-Phobic's Guide To Job Hunting' follows, and it's a fun story, with an unpredictable ending, but the art really needs work. Leon has an appealing style, but here it's obvious he's just coasting. The same could also be said for Leonie O'Moore's 'Fear Of Birds' where perfect facial expressions jostle uneasily with rushed spotting. A shame, as, like the previous strip, this artist has the basics, she just needs to tighten up. Uh oh, 'The Super Powered Coward' is up next, not another superhero spoof! Actually, this one's helped immeasurably by Jeff Borneman's manga-esque art, and the premise isn't that bad. Another interesting premise (a Christie-lite murder mystery) for 'Fear Flies The Coop' is ruined by a ridiculous ending that's utterly at odds with what's gone before, and, although the artwork is technically brilliant, It suffers from a real sense of 'life' and dull camera angles. The reverse is true in 'Bad Blood' which comes with great design, an interesting story, and, I'm sorry to say, ugly, flat art. Monophobia ends the book with the best story, with potentially great art, unfortunately ruined by the same insensitive inking that marred Black Harvest Moon. In all, this is an anthology that starts well, but tails off toward the middle. The problem is, I think, good writers unwilling to give their scripts to better artists. If most of the tales here had been illustrated by artists of the calibre of Hitchock or Borneman... the whole thing would've worked much better. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/pq/phobias.html discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=208 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Wed Apr 21 21:29:42 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 21:29:42 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Warning; This is Propaganda #3 Message-ID: Warning; This is Propaganda #3 review by Lucy OK, so firstly this is not my usual cup of tea, I guess I find such political statements slightly crass (no pun intended). I agree with some of the political content, i enjoyed the variety of illustrative styles it has to offer and to it's credit it offers this, but, ...I dunno, narrative wise it seemed very much like a one trick pony; the title says it all. If this kind of homage de viz floats your boat then I guess this is a neat little ferry. For more details see: http://www.zumcomics.info/wx/warningtip.html#3 discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=209 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 22 05:51:05 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 05:51:05 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Hope For The Future #4 Message-ID: Hope For The Future #4 review by Pete Doreé A sort of 'shared world' anthology, this; reminiscent of the late, great Duckdale Express. Writer/artist Simon Perrins produces the 'framing story' of Hannah, Lee & Greg: three students out on the town telling each other Halloween stories. His drawing style is semi-realist, making his characters moderately likeable (well, they are students). The first proper strip is 'Rock Club of The Damned', and it's the weakest here, although John Lycett Smith's art is interesting and very like Simon Gane in places. I prefer his prologue that opens the book, as it seems more finished. In a similar stylistic vein is 'Greg's Psychedelic Breakfast', but Richard J Smith's art is even more rushed; particularly on the 2nd page, but he does juxtapose art & narration perfectly, making the story funnier. In both cases, these two artists have good, fun styles; there's just not enough finish. This is something you can't say about John Welding's 'Stones Holes & Dogs. Like a more detailed Denny Derbyshire this is an atmospheric tour de force, particularly as we follow Hannah into a mysterious cave. On the whole, this is a good comic. The only real drawback is that Simon seems to have a problem with endings. None of the featured stories finishes successfully, and the 'framing story's' end is far too obvious. He is however quite good at characterization and pacing and like his artists has an interesting, appealing style. It all just needs tightening up. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/h/hopeferfuture.html#4 discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=210 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 22 19:01:30 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 19:01:30 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Hercule Presente Wreckshow Message-ID: Hercule Presente Wreckshow Review by Pete Doreé To start with, Hercule is an extremely good cartoonist. He's developed his own reality, peopled by surreal, ugly but visually compelling characters that, thanks to his expert line work, just leap off the page. Unfortunately, he's nowhere near as good a writer. None of the strips here really work convincingly, and some aren't really strips at all, more stream of consciousness pages of unconnected panels. Worse; too much of this book is filler, with pages of spoof articles that just aren't funny enough to engage. But there are instances when Hercule's weird style works: The 50's style letters page, the 'official signals', the rappers telling us the revolution has already been televised (while you were watching Eastenders). This is all good stuff, but there just ain't enough of it. I wanted to like this, as I really do like the art, but unfortunately, it just doesn't have enough focus. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/wx/wreckshow.html discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=211 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Thu Apr 22 23:24:01 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 23:24:01 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Attempted Not Known #3&4 Message-ID: Attempted Not Known#3 review by Mardou Accomplished artwork and stories of all American lives; Attempted Not Known is an intriguing little comic by Peter S. Conrad. The drawing is particularly fine and the material consists of well pace short stories and little vignettes capturing workaday and mundane situations. Conrad executes these perfectly yet beneath the surface of the expertly inked pages you sense the bend sinister, the horrors we turn our minds away from, uncomfortable situations. You get the sense that Conrad's scratching away at America's underbelly with his disciplined nib. The third instalment of Attempted Not Known mainly consists of a short story in progress. Peter, a young man in a baseball cap (the young artist?) who's getting by doing office work, finds himself unexpectedly sacked. This leads him to him finding companionship in an unlikely acquaintance named Jim, an aged beaded stoner mechanic. They smoke a bowl, fix up a machine and the whole point of the scene comes at the height of nothing, Peter stoned and crying with laughter at his unemployed status. It's weirdly uncomfortable for the reader and pitch perfect- the silent inked laughter on the page excluding the reader forever, the characters frozen in time. It's creepy as hell and the sensation follows you through the comic. There's 'American Encounters', one page stories, overheard conversations, dealings with kooky shop assistants, that leave you feeling like a spy in suburbia, half entertained, half uncomfortable, and 'Weird Real Dreams' which again are self-explanatory. The interaction between reader and artist seems to be something that Conrad's particularly interested in, asking on the contacts page, "Do you have an interesting story to tell? Are you in prison?" The material here seems to confirm the suspicion that the first story maybe isn't biography at all, maybe it's something he's been told or sent. It's an interesting experiment considering the theme seems to be 'American-ness'. Using dreams and real life stories from the world at large, Conrad's chronicling both the waking life and the unconscious of his country and its inmates. At any rate, the artist seems to reduce himself to lurker status in this comic, and the result is a slice of life cut with a dubiously dirty cake slice. Enjoy! for more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/a/ANK.html#3 Attempted Not Known #4 review by Mardou For most of 'Attempted Not Known # 4' the story of Peter and his oddball friend is continued from the previous issue (although the story meanders well enough on it's own as a read alone piece). Not much happens once again, they smoke cigaraettes, drive to see Kenny, an ex-crack addict, sing hill-billy songs. The sequences flit between the people (America personified?) and the landscape from the car window 'real America'. Peter S Conrad is a particularly gifted inker and I think the rendering of the scenes using light and dark to create mood and suggest sub-surface tension, is particularly well done. He manages to never over-draw and uses enough hatching and tones to make each panel evocative. Although nothing much is happening in the story, you can read the faces in each panel to panel, and a subtext seems to emerge from their expression. Despair, bewilderment or anguish all seem to be suggested by each line or wrinkle, frozen stare or open mouth. Conrad has a remarkable talent for this. Other stories here include 'The Four Hundred Dollar Apartment' (story contributed by Ben Seaman) - a group of friends check out an empty apartment going cheap and discover it to be full of fascist memorabilia from the deceased previous occupier. The friendship winds down as one of the guys gets a real kick out of the Nazi stuff and takes it to further and further extremes. The story isn't delivered with much gusto but rather seems like an overheard story in a pub, though perhaps that's the idea. Artistically, this and the rest of the material her (more 'Weird Real Dreams') are delivered to the usual high standard. I don't want to unequivocally praise Attempted Not Known for as talented as Peter S Conrad is, he seems a little fixated with the dark side of life and there's no warmth or humour to provide relief. As much as admire Conrad's artistic talents, the writing and material are just too cold and negative to make me want to check out further issues. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/a/ANK.html#4 discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=213 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri Apr 23 23:19:50 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 23:19:50 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] A Life in Comics #2&3 Message-ID: A Life in Comics #2&3 review by Heather Middleton A Life in Comics (#2 and 3 reviewed here) are A6 mini-adventures featuring Dave and his friends, small but fierce South Park-like avatars that wobble but don't fall down. In issue #2, Dave's short day starts with a threesome with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Carmen Electra and ends in a cinema smelling of fish. #3 details the perils of trying to send letters when your local postmistress is Jabba the Hutt. Amusing autobiographical quickies from an accomplished artist with a keen sense of comic pacing. for more details see: http://www.zumcomics.info/a/alifeincomics.html Discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=214 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Mon Apr 26 17:14:44 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 17:14:44 +0100 Subject: [review] [TRS] Coffee is for Grown Ups Message-ID: Coffee is for Grown Ups Posted by Mardou Coffee is for Grown Ups comes to you courtesy of Lucy and her inner voice Ebil, as the artist (the ink on paper version) tries to collect her thoughts in sequential story form. The story begins as an allegory between a loveshy boy 'n' girl and the "monsters of weakness that plague us all". You know the monsters, apathy, indifference , no confidence and all their scaly friends. It's not exactly an original premise, and the comic itself, personified by Ebil, knows it and demands a better story from Lucy. This incident sets the tone for the comic and this emerging voice is what keeps me interested. The fine line between knowingness and modesty tapers through the pages and the result is an odd, strangely pleasing comic. It also seems a little familiar and I think the external influence of Craig Thompson and the TopShelf school of comix-making is as strong as the coffee spurring the artist on from within. Coffee is for Grown Ups, with it's cast of scrawly-eyed monsters, simply drawn yet expressive people, slobbering dogs, stray leaves and cola cans is very likeable and though as a read, there's not a great deal to keep me occupied, it's got me hankering for a refill. And you get a free cute badge on the cover. For more of info, please see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005314.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Mon Apr 26 19:07:37 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 19:07:37 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Extricate #4 Message-ID: Extricate #4 Review by Heather Middleton In his intro, creator Dave worries about the personal nature of issue 4, which he fears may be seen as self indulgent, before defending it because he's pleased with it aesthetically. I assume a couple of melancholic cartoons about a recent breakup are what's meant here, though by the standards of Mighty Joe Matt, there's no self-revelation that should raise a blush. Nor is there, at first glance, anything to shout about graphically. However what appears to be a rather roughly drawn, hasty zine, turns out on closer reading to be something more sophisticated, dreamy and poetic, with images and symbols running through different stories like a river. A prelude shows scenes of a diseased city, swollen with bureaucracy, where time passes without meaning. 'Thoughts Walking Home' follows, a meditation on reading 'Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem', her collection of essays about sixties counterculture, while Dave is feverish in a squat and, at one point, interrupted by a police visit. The story eventually whites out into a desert sun on a horizon - Didion's California, but also an icon repeated elsewhere through the zine including the cover. Turning the page, the sun becomes the uppermost bubble in a thought balloon of a tiny figure slouching home through a rainy cityscape. Panel transitions like this, from blazing desert heat to downpour, are why Dave should keep making comics. The desert sun appears again in 'The Adventures of Johnny and Doodlebug' where panel one informs us Doodlebug has abandoned his own strip in disgust at its pretension - leaving Johnny to mercilessly rip into the rest of his creator's efforts. Another strip starts with a panel of a setting sun then pulls back to show Dave drawing it, wondering about it for a few panels before abandoning the strip. Yet there's something mesmerising about a strip in which you the reader watch an artist watching what he's drawing. As well as the comics, there are some random bits and pieces including a very funny description of a self harming German performance artist, bread making tips, and some excellent 'Great Moments in History'. My final mental image of Dave is of a slightly damaged idealist wearing a Nietzsche T-shirt and a gentle smile. Extricate #4 is an atmospheric zine that rewards closer attention than its appearance might at first seem to merit. Discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=215