From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri May 14 22:25:58 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 22:25:58 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Spinster Nemesis Message-ID: Spinster Nemesis Review by Mardou Yurt's 'Spinster Nemesis' is one of my favourite discoveries of the year so far. Post Riot Grrl Yurt tale, (who though male must surely figure as an honorary Riot Grrl) Spinster Nemesis tells of one Jennifer Snappy Snatch, who shunned by her post-feminist girlfriends (led by the infamous Crabbity Annie Nora) goes off on a solitary mission to rediscover herself, rest up and think up some ideas for her next 'Zine. She makes it as far as Prince Edward Island, Canada, where she's taken under the reluctant wing of feminist icon, Harriet Keller, "the lady who once taught Crabbity to sing and swing". Things don't go two smoothly between the two anti-machos in this very funny and sharp yarn of tongue in cheek gurl love. The story is rich with in-jokes and dialogue snappier than Jennifer's proverbial snatch. It's matched with slimy and amphibious artwork (read it and see what I mean) which gets better and freakier as the comic reaches it's clambake climax. The only thing that lets Spinster Nemesis down for me, is the lettering and panel layouts. Whilst perfectly functional, they're messy looking and rambling. It didn't put me off and I was rewarded with an excellent read, but I think it would put some readers off at surface level, which I think is a shame. All should read. Especially Dave Sim. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/s/spinemesis.html Discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=223 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Fri May 14 22:28:18 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 22:28:18 +0100 Subject: [review] [TRS] Remembrance Days Message-ID: Remembrance Days Posted by Mardou Published by the Accent UK collective , Remembrance Days is an anthology of war stories by British small press talent. With a distinctive two tone cover, the red on white becoming a signature of this comics collective, the comic has a quality feel. The artwork within doesn't always hit the mark but on the whole I was impressed by the standard of the writing. Highlights include Baz Renshaw's 'By So Many', a near wordless comic using iconography of war and memorabilia so familiar that we often don't consider what's signified. A series of stills form the comic - bullets hitting home, a Belsen-emaciated face, a POW cell, a burning church; the images follow through to the inevitable conclusion- a single cenotaph, countless graves. It's well drawn, unsentimental and the whole effect is more powerful than two minutes silence. The next story is John Gallagher's 'Desperate Glory'. At first, the juxtaposition of this with 'By So Many' seems a little in bad taste. 'Desperate Glory' is at first glance a Superhero yarn that, by now, you're not in the mood for. However the story takes an unexpected twist, Captain Glory's sidekick is killed in action. Breaking generic convention, the Boy Wonder is all too human. Blown to pieces on the battlefield, Captain Glory can't save him, only retrieve the boys' dismembered body. Other stories here include 'The Day Everything Stopped' by Dave West. The story is told through a child's perspective, which translates the events of war into fantasy. It's an interesting idea but doesn't work hard enough towards a satisfying conclusion. Craig Fenton's artwork on the story is striking and bold, but again, seems to blur and make the setting vague leaving you unsure as to whether this is past or future. 'Occupied Territory' by Leon is the story of a wartime cat escaping the fate of it's young mistress. A soldier later finds the cat, mewing over a broken picture of its lost owner, leading the Nazi to ponder what became of the rest of the family. It's a simple idea but doesn't work hard enough in terms of writing or artwork to earn its place alongside the other stories here. The comic closes with 'Smokes' by Colin Mathieson. A modern day setting, a young man, of the hanging around street corners kind, demonstrates to his fellow scallies how he connives cigarette money off an old codger. 'It's me Charlie, Danny, I need your help to get some smokes'. In Charlie's dim mind, events from half a century ago are replayed as on the field he watches Danny crawl across a minefield to take cigarettes from a dead soldier's pocket. As the young scally in modern day trigger's this memory, we watch the face of the old veteran fall mournful. The trick pays off and the old man hands over cigarette money. It's well written and it's drawn with simple clarity. The artwork isn't wholly consistent, but sometimes Mathieson captures the events and poignancy perfectly. The story however is strong enough and fluently told for this not to matter. It forms a fitting climax to the comic, bringing you historically to the present day, the here and now. A mixed package then, but well presented, at times excellent but always thought provoking. for more info see: http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/005321.html From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Tue May 18 22:43:53 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 22:43:53 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Kartoon Cuts Message-ID: Kartoon Cuts Review by Mardou Darkly humorous and very British satire, Kartoon Cuts is an accomplished debut from Richard Cowdry. At times reminiscent of early Peter Bagge, there's a lot of Neat Stuff style mini-stories and strips that together form a consistent whole. The themes are familiar enough - student life, kidult culture and nostalgia fads, the post-student bedsit experience and accompanying alienation and poverty. If it all sounds too depressing for words, it actually isn't. Whilst Cowdry makes fun of a lot of stuff, it's backed up with a generosity of spirit and a genuine empathy, which as a reader, you can't help but warm to. And also it's funny, which helps a lot! The short strips and pieces that make up the bulk of the comic are cut with a few longer stories (How to Live in a Bedsit and No Way Out) provide room for reflection and even instruction. Altogether Kartoon Cuts is smart, stylish and very re-readable. Art work influences seem to be very old school, Robert Crumb, George Herriman, Raw. Whilst there are lots of different styles in evidence, there's a pleasing fluidity to most of the comics here. Managing to bypass the stiffness usually prevalent in debut comics, Cowdry seems comfortable using the style that best suits the tone of the tale or joke he's telling. Though it's hard to say which of these styles, if any, Cowdry will really make his own, its always fun and engaging. You get a sense that the artist has really enjoyed putting this work together (even if under damp bedsit conditions). Dig? Dug. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/k/kartooncuts.html Discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=227 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Sat May 29 17:44:20 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 17:44:20 +0100 Subject: [review] Space Opera (#11: Fall) & (#12: Festival of Lights) Message-ID: <6.1.1.1.0.20040529174153.021f9640@mail.zetnet.co.uk> Space Opera #11: Fall Space Opera #12: Festival of Lights review by Maurice Wakeman I have before me two volumes of what is apparently a twelve volume epic=20 called Space Opera. I have only read these two sections, parts eleven and=20 twelve. Fortunately included in the package is an A4 sheet outlining the=20 story as it has unfolded in the previous ten issues. The story tells the=20 legend of forgotten superheroes, the Cosmic Crusaders as told by Mike=20 Weller from writings and drawings left him by their creator, Edward Mogil.= =20 I don't intend to make any attempt to summarise the summary. Suffice it to= =20 say by the time volume 11 commences God is arguing with Lucifer before=20 casting him out to the City of Dis. Satan then creates various characters=20 who "have powers to stupefy, dummify and invisibilize". At this stage Cap=20 Stelling, aka Mike Weller, draws a sixties recreation of the Cosmic=20 Crusaders, called the Teenbeat Marvelettes. The story then continues in the= =20 form of a film treatment entitled Abyss of Darkness. In a postscript the=20 creations of Satan confront Cliff Richard and we move on to volume 12,=20 where, if anything it all becomes less clear. This is not just a comic. It includes text and comics and full page=20 illustrations. It actually does make a certain sort of sense when you read= =20 it and no doubt anyone who has invested =A324 in the whole magnum opus will= =20 be prepared to study it carefully to get something coherent out of it. It's= =20 apparently partly autobiographical, with Mike Weller not only the creator=20 but several characters within the story (I think). The artistic style is=20 much like the Weller we know and love from The Firm and Cozmic Comics in=20 the seventies and is a sort of cross between Dennis the Menace, Salvador=20 Dali and Alan Aldridge (well this bit is set in the sixties). I'm not sure= =20 if it is possible to read meanings into the text - does the devil represent= =20 popular capitalism and the City of Dis the modern urban landscape? Maybe=20 not. These volumes were produced in the 1990's and some of the references=20 date them, which just goes to show how difficult it is to create stories=20 out of their time. "Click. Shut down". For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info= /s/spaceopera.html#11_12=20 Discussion: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=3D232=20 From reviews@lists.zumcomics.info Mon May 31 22:53:02 2004 From: reviews@lists.zumcomics.info (reviews@lists.zumcomics.info) Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 22:53:02 +0100 Subject: [review] [ZUM!] Extricate #2 Message-ID: Extricate #2 review my Maurice Wakeman The introduction to this comic, issue 2, tells us that the creator, let's call him Dave, has tried to learn to draw since he produced issue 1. Well he's still got a way to go but a variety of approaches are on display and the enthusiasm, or is it anger?, with which this apparently semi-autobiographical zine was produced seems to shine through. There are six or seven separate stories though it's sometimes hard to tell where one starts and the next ends. We have skiving, Leeds, emotional break-ups, reality TV, and more. Some bits are funny, some are thoughtful and we learn a little about the author and his state of mind when it was produced, or at least maybe I think we do. It's A5 and the author says he's produced another zine called War is death and oppression , about which we are told nothing. For more info see: http://www.zumcomics.info/e/extricate.html#2 Discuss: http://forums.pauljholden.com/viewtopic.php?t=215