Fantastic review of Thomas Wogan over on the Paradox Comics blog
17/02/10 20:07
Hiya,
Just been sent this great review of Thomas Wogan is dead, courtesy of the guys at Paradox Comics.
“Thomas Wogan is one of those archetypal British losers that are instantly recognisable due to their prevalence in homegrown popular culture over the years. He's the kind of unassuming guy that would go unnoticed in a crowd, but shine a spotlight on him and he becomes a unique and curious character to observe. Locked into a never-ending daily routine, his habits and hobbies are as bewildering as they are hilarious, and they're never anything less than fascinating.
The title might drop a bit of a hint about the plotline, but it's not quite as clear cut at that . Deciding - for reasons only known to him - to break his monotonous routine, Wogan inexplicably finds himself naked in a nondescript waiting room. Seated in the other chairs are a cuckoo, a sea urchin, a toad, a bat , a fish and an egg. What follows is a series of vignettes where the occupants relay to each other exactly what they were doing before mysteriously appearing in the waiting room. Unsurprisingly, a common theme begins to emerge.
Potentially depressing subject matter is enlivened by a large dollop of black humour as the general mundanity of the characters' lives becomes clearer, with the reasons they find themselves in the waiting room ranging from the bizarre to the ridiculous. Wogan himself is an endearing creation (despite himself), his obsession with the minutiae of Delia Smith's life being a particularly successful running gag.
Hughes’ witty script is packed with wry observations and his art is mixes it up to great effect: there's an air of realism to many of the animal cast as well as the backgrounds, while the human characters - particularly Wogan himself - have a far more cartoonish look about them, adding a layer of pleasing incongruity to the proceedings.
Thomas Wogan Is Dead is wonderfully witty little read that tackles one of the major, universal, unanswered questions. It theorises that, for all the human race's protestations of being the superior species, we are destined to end up in the same place as every other living thing once the lights go out for good. 8/10”
Click here to visit the site.
Kev.
Just been sent this great review of Thomas Wogan is dead, courtesy of the guys at Paradox Comics.
“Thomas Wogan is one of those archetypal British losers that are instantly recognisable due to their prevalence in homegrown popular culture over the years. He's the kind of unassuming guy that would go unnoticed in a crowd, but shine a spotlight on him and he becomes a unique and curious character to observe. Locked into a never-ending daily routine, his habits and hobbies are as bewildering as they are hilarious, and they're never anything less than fascinating.
The title might drop a bit of a hint about the plotline, but it's not quite as clear cut at that . Deciding - for reasons only known to him - to break his monotonous routine, Wogan inexplicably finds himself naked in a nondescript waiting room. Seated in the other chairs are a cuckoo, a sea urchin, a toad, a bat , a fish and an egg. What follows is a series of vignettes where the occupants relay to each other exactly what they were doing before mysteriously appearing in the waiting room. Unsurprisingly, a common theme begins to emerge.
Potentially depressing subject matter is enlivened by a large dollop of black humour as the general mundanity of the characters' lives becomes clearer, with the reasons they find themselves in the waiting room ranging from the bizarre to the ridiculous. Wogan himself is an endearing creation (despite himself), his obsession with the minutiae of Delia Smith's life being a particularly successful running gag.
Hughes’ witty script is packed with wry observations and his art is mixes it up to great effect: there's an air of realism to many of the animal cast as well as the backgrounds, while the human characters - particularly Wogan himself - have a far more cartoonish look about them, adding a layer of pleasing incongruity to the proceedings.
Thomas Wogan Is Dead is wonderfully witty little read that tackles one of the major, universal, unanswered questions. It theorises that, for all the human race's protestations of being the superior species, we are destined to end up in the same place as every other living thing once the lights go out for good. 8/10”
Click here to visit the site.
Kev.
Great piece about Øivind Hovland on the Comics Bureau
12/02/10 19:01
Hi,
Thanks to Dan Berry over at the Comics Bureau for a great piece on Øivind’s books:
“Much of Hovland’s work is sparsely narrated but lavishly illustrated. In format, both books are similar to children’s books. Don’t let this analogy fool you though, the storytelling shows a deftness and subtlety of visual narrative that bears up to repeat readings. You don’t so much ‘read’ Hovland’s work as take in each element of the type, image, composition and narrative. Great stuff. Go and buy it all immediately.”
Read the full piece here.
Cheers,
Kev.
Thanks to Dan Berry over at the Comics Bureau for a great piece on Øivind’s books:
“Much of Hovland’s work is sparsely narrated but lavishly illustrated. In format, both books are similar to children’s books. Don’t let this analogy fool you though, the storytelling shows a deftness and subtlety of visual narrative that bears up to repeat readings. You don’t so much ‘read’ Hovland’s work as take in each element of the type, image, composition and narrative. Great stuff. Go and buy it all immediately.”
Read the full piece here.
Cheers,
Kev.
Hiyama – dark, dark vigilante family saga…
29/01/10 11:19
Thanks to Richard at Forbidden Planet
for a very comprehensive review of Hiyama volumes 1 and 2 ...
“... Putting my dislike of the genre aside, the comic functions pretty well – it’s a manga style thing, both in artwork and pacing and the story certainly had me turning the pages, wondering where it was all going. The artwork, all greys and charcoals at first drops into darker hues when the real violence starts – possibly too dark at times, there are moments where these old eyes were straining to make out the details.
The art develops throughout and by volume 2 there’s a much better sense of control and composition which results in not only a better read but a couple of genuinely impressive images along the way ...”
Nor really Richard’s thing, but as he says ... “there was enough in there for me to finish it and for those of you reading this who like this sort of thing, I imagine you’ll enjoy this a lot more than I did.”
Read the full review here: http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2010/hiyama-dark-dark-vigilante-family-saga/
Cheers,
Kev.
“... Putting my dislike of the genre aside, the comic functions pretty well – it’s a manga style thing, both in artwork and pacing and the story certainly had me turning the pages, wondering where it was all going. The artwork, all greys and charcoals at first drops into darker hues when the real violence starts – possibly too dark at times, there are moments where these old eyes were straining to make out the details.
The art develops throughout and by volume 2 there’s a much better sense of control and composition which results in not only a better read but a couple of genuinely impressive images along the way ...”
Nor really Richard’s thing, but as he says ... “there was enough in there for me to finish it and for those of you reading this who like this sort of thing, I imagine you’ll enjoy this a lot more than I did.”
Read the full review here: http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2010/hiyama-dark-dark-vigilante-family-saga/
Cheers,
Kev.