[review] [ZUM!] Phobias

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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