tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54396275885109245472024-03-14T03:20:17.840-07:00Alexander's Cartoon Blogalexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-76851187204610465812019-05-03T03:48:00.004-07:002019-05-03T03:53:50.087-07:00The Cor!! Buster Humour Special reviewed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I loved these British comics when I was a kid. I used to buy them all - Buster, Whoopee and Wow, Whizzer and Chips, Cor!!, Cheeky, The Beano, Dandy, Nutty and Hoot. These are what made me want to be a cartoonist initially, and then Oink! came along with genuinely funny writing and it was sealed. So, as these sort of articles go, it was with some excitement etc etc. You know how it goes.<br />
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To cut to the chase, this comic is not very good. There is some cracking artwork, and some clever call-backs and updates to characters, but it's just not very well written in parts. Now I think about it, the original comics were not exactly the funniest things to read, but they had energy and charm, and whilst this special does have that same energy, kids comic writing has moved on. Oink! led that charge with genuinely funny strips, and there are wonderful writers working today - Tor Freeman of Oddleigh, who won the Observer Graphic Short Story comp, Nigel Auchterlounie in the Beano, Jamie Smart, Laura Ellen Anderson, Joe List and James Turner in the Phoenix, to name a few. None of these guys were asked it seems. One Phoenix author I have spotted is Robin Etherington - writer of brilliant stuff like Monkey Nuts and Long Gone Don - his version of Hit Kid is good, if something of a misfire (There's a receipt/REDceipt pun that doesn't really work for example), but that strip along with Kid Kong and the wonderful Sweeney Toddler triple pager written and drawn by living legend Tom Paterson are the few highlights.<br />
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The ever consistent Lew Stringer is here too, but I would have loved to see some more of those Oink! creators like Banx or Ed McHenry involved. They may have saved this comic because there are some real stinkers here. X-Ray Spex and Gums particularly suffer from indifferent writing with incongrous jokes and odd swerves to the stories. </div>
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One last thing, there's a beautiful looking strip called "Swines of Anarchy", written by 'The Feek' and drawn by Pye Parr which pops up towards the end. Why is it here? It's not an old Cor!! or Buster strip; it's a parody in the Oink! style and it really feels like it was intended for a relaunch of Oink!, but ended up being crowbarred in to fill space. </div>
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I suspect I will get some flack for writing this, for not blindly supporting new children's comics, but this is really not good enough. Unfortunately, this is a massive missed opportunity.</div>
<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-79274678299154701802017-11-13T07:02:00.000-08:002017-11-13T09:33:03.810-08:00Asterix and the Chariot Race Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Has it really been two years since I blogged? That's what having a real job and a toddler will do to you, you lose sight of the important things. Like Asterix. Yeah, they've been at it again and have added the 37th volume 'Asterix and the Chariot Race' to the canon.<br />
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The previous book was hailed as the best in 30 years and it was pretty good (if flawed) and part of that was because it was ambitious in its attempt to parody a big issue of the day. This one is certainly not so ambitious as its focus is on making gentle fun of Italy and its regions and local customs in much the same way as Asterix and the Banquet did for France all those years ago. It also introduces chariot teams from all over the Asterix world, including the Goths, Lusitanians, some Russians and all sorts of others. It's trying to press the right buttons, basically. The plot hangs together well and it reads very smoothly with none of the slight incongruities and non-sequiturs in the translation that snuck into Asterix and the Picts. I should say that the eminent Anthea Bell (who along with the now passed on Derek Hockridge translated all the previous volumes) appears to have handed over the reins (yeah, good joke) to Adriana Hunter, who has done a fine job.<br />
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So the story doesn't waste any time in getting going. On the second page a senator comes up with the plot on the fly and it's off we go.<br />
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Next we get Obelix deciding to buy a chariot for no good reason and wow they suddenly stumble across the 'Transitalic' race and enter on behalf of Gaul. Bit clumsy, but forgivable. There have been equally tenuous ways of getting Asterix and Obelix involved in a plot over the years. We are also introduced to the Roman charioteer, Coronavirus who is mysteriously masked. Obviously this mask plays a major part in the plot later and all the other scenes just buy time until this part of the story is revealed. </div>
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Ok, so now to the bit I find really frustrating about this book. Jean-Yves Ferri has decided to make one of the chariot teams female - Nefersaynefer and Kweenlatifer of Kush, a small Egyptian kingdom. All good you might think. Since Secret Weapon in 1991 Asterix has increasingly featured strong female characters along for the adventure instead of just remaining in the village and bookending the story, which helps to keep the series relevant and to vary the plots, so more of it is welcome. Do they have any funny lines you might want to know? Well, no. They talk in heiroglyphics because they're Egyptian, but they barely get to even use them. One of them adores Dogmatix and Obelix mistakes that for fancying him, and that's it. They crash and fight a bit, but essentially that's all they do. Meanwhile the male Lusitanians, Russians, Goths and Brits all get good lines. In fact, the Kushites get 9 speech bubbles between them in the entire book, and all of these are simply expressing a basic thought. In 2017 that's frankly not good enough.<br />
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Putting that aside it's a pretty solid book and it all rockets along in a fun way. One other strange thing, which I've noted in other books (see my post with reviews of all the books) is that Asterix himself doesn't really do much. He is once again a pretty boring stick-in-the-mud who keeps the plot on course. I hope one day we will get our mischievous, singularly intelligent Gaul back, but sadly not in this book.<br />
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Lastly the art is magnificent once again, and as a cartoonist I do not envy the task given to Didier Conrad. So what I am thinking is there's going to be 50 pages of chariot races featuring at least four horses in every panel. You what, monsieur?<br />
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This one gets 6/10alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-65946116466695640872015-10-24T06:32:00.000-07:002015-10-25T12:09:49.556-07:00Asterix and the Missing Scroll Review<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I like reviewing Asterix books, so let's do it again with a brand new one. Here's my review of Asterix and the Missing Scroll, book 36 overall and the second book by new authors Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad. The first thing to note is that I hate the title, it invites ridicule by seeming so trivial. Who cares about a missing scroll? The title in French translates as 'Caesar's Papyrus' which cetainly lends it more gravitas. Still, a minor quibble. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Onto the contents. This is a much more ambitious book that their first one, Asterix and the Picts, and it has a brand new subject: Julian Assange, press freedom and new communications technology. It's a good choice of subject and continues the tradition of taking modern phenomena and parodying them in ancient Gaul. This album also builds on previous Asterix books with earlier adventures referenced in Caesar's writings and the character of Asterix himself being more in tune with the experienced version than the earlier more exuberant, mischievous version.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">It's at this point I should cry a hearty SPOILER ALERT! I'm going to tell you about some good bits and some bad bits that might, just might, give away tiny details such as the ending, so if you haven't read it yourself, do so first. The most important question first: is </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">the book funny? Yes, for the most part. There's an extended bit about horoscopes and believing what you read-Obelix's horoscope affects him throughout the book giving him a fresh problem and some humour to work with. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">The special unit of Romans that follow the Gauls across the country is quite funny-the appearance of the bear is one of the best jokes, as is</span><span style="font-size: 12px;"> when the Roman lets his pigeon go and forgets the attachment- it resonates because we've all done it, and it's funny when applied to ancient communications. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">Impedimenta has a great cameo-after reading her horoscope she is even more of a dragon than usual, shouting over poor pompous Vitalstatitix, "Blah blah blah!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Speaking of characters, Confoundtheirpolitix the Assange simulacrum, is rather underdeveloped. He's enthusiastic and driven but so want? Ferri maybe could have made him extremely paranoid-Assange lives in a paranoid world-to give him a bit more comedy. There's one moment when he starts thinking in headlines which feels like a half-finished joke. It calls to mind the tax inspector who speaks in tick-box forms from Asterix and the Cauldron, but that joke is carried right through the scene. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">Similarly the main enemy, Blockbustus is underdeveloped-that he hates hardship seems to be his only defining trait. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">I do love his butler Pridanprejudis. He's stoical and Jeeves-like although it has to be said he doesn't really do much. A bit of a wasted </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">opportunity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Lastl</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">y (of the good bits), Archaeopterix the old Druid is a nice conceit-he's a sort of senile super-computer, and the ending with the stories getting passed down to Goscinny and Uderzo is a lovely tribute. </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Now we come to a few of the problems, the first of which is an odd scene with the pirates. </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">They aren't even sunk! Even in Asterix's most land based books the Pirates are scuttled in some way, and what do they hang on to the carrier pigeon for? They never appear again so we'll never know! It's just a confusing incongruity in the story-simply a way for the pigeon to never make its destination.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">But that pales into comparison to the completely stupid solution to the story-the 'emergency measure' for when the village is really in trouble, Cacofonix's moomoophone. Cacofonix blows it when everything is going wrong, and the emergency warning travels all the way, person by person, to Getafix, Asterix and Obelix who then have to drink a special magic potion to run all the way back in record time to save the village! There's never been an emergency measure mentioned before, nor do the villagers actually need it as there's magic potion under Vitalstatistix's chair. Couldn't Cacofonix have had a secret network of bards to call Getafix-that might have been more logical. Did Ferri write himself into a corner by having Asterix and Obelix so far away from the main action? It just seems badly thought out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">So what is this book missing? Asterix! He hardly has a role to play at all, and when he does come up with a plan to cross the river, for no dramatic or plot-advancing reason it's immediately abandoned. Seriously, he isn't needed at all apart from to beat up the special unit, which Obelix could have done had he not been avoiding conflict because of his horoscope. Obelix himself is really only here as comic relief. Getafix needs accompaniment on his journey of course, but in this book that's the only role our heroes perform-bodyguards. Ferri must use Asterix and Obelix better than this in future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">So to sum up, the adventure is packed with ideas, but is actually a little dull, with very little </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">drama or peril until right at the end. Th</span><span style="font-size: 12px;">ere are good jokes and ones that fall flat and some incongruities and odd decisions. I'm going to give it 7/10 which puts it with the best of the second teir books, but a long way short of the true greats like Asterix the Legionary. That said, it is an improvement on Picts and certainly adds something new to the series. I'm enjoying Ferri and Conrad's take, and am happy to accompany them on their journey and see where it takes us. I think they have the potential to pull off something really good somewhere along the line. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-57721688046502016922015-10-13T09:26:00.002-07:002016-01-02T10:43:12.932-08:00All the Asterix Books. Reviewed. Briefly.<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
To celebrate the release of the latest Asterix book, the underwhelmingly titled ‘Asterix and the Missing Scroll’ I have prepared this epic post. I’ve read and reviewed (briefly) each of the preceding 35 volumes of Asterix and rated them out of 10. Think of it as THE definitive guide to which Asterix books to buy, if you are mad. Think of it as A guide by someone who likes and makes comics if you’re not. If you think I’ve got something desperately wrong, or even just bit wrong, feel free to comment or tweet me.</div>
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There are few elements of Asterix that I have taken into consideration in my reviews. Firstly I think that the magic potion device should not create incongruities in the story. In a few books the potion must be pretty much forgotten about for long passages in order to generate some dramatic tension. When you have essentially invincible characters you have to be clever to work around that problem, and on occasion that doesn’t happen. Even though these are humourous stories the series has its own internal logic, and it rings false when that is forgotten. Secondly, I think in the very best stories Asterix uses his cunning to confuse and confound his enemies-the best books have lots of this stuff. Thirdly, the parodies of people and places should feel fleshed out. Finally, I like to see great peripheral characters and antagonists.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Before the reviews, here’s my chart of the books in order of rating.</span></div>
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1. 10/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Big Fight, Britain, Legionary</div>
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2. 9/10 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Goths, Gladiator, Cleopatra, Chieftain’s Shield, Spain, Roman Agent, Mansions of the Gods, Obelix and Co</div>
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3. 8/10 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Gaul, Normans, Olympic Games, Corsica, Great Crossing, And Son</div>
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4. 7/10 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Golden Sickle, Banquet, Cauldron, Switzerland, Soothsayer, Caesar’s Gift, Black Gold, Secret Weapon</div>
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5. 6/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Laurel Wreath, Belgium, Great Divide, Picts</div>
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6. 5/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Magic Carpet, All At Sea, Actress</div>
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7. 4/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Class Act</div>
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8. 3/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Falling Sky</div>
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9. 2/10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Golden Book</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">You’ll notice that it’s mostly the Goscinny volumes at the top. That’s because he really was a genius. Uderzo did a pretty good job at emulating his great friend in his solo books, but really, you don’t need to read any books after Belgium. Notes on the changes to the creative team are also below. I’ve also marked milestones such as first appearances of characters.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> La</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">stly, m</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">y reviews are far more focussed on the writing than the art and that’s because the art is so consistently brilliant that endless praising would end up rather repetitive.</span></div>
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1. Asterix the Gaul 8/10</div>
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A cracking story which establishes some of the best tropes of the series, such as the way Asterix frustrates the Romans. The designs and personalities of the characters are pretty embryonic and there are some elements which were quickly changed-such as the Gauls taking a regular dose of potion rather than when they specifically need it. Asterix displays his playful cunning when he confuses first the ox dealer, then all the Romans in the camp. Some of the best comedy comes from Asterix deliberately confusing people, but it's a characteristic he sadly lacks in many later books. The lack of Gaulish women is slightly peculiar-the men do a dance (with Cacofonix tunefully accompanying them!) after taking the potion-this is chiefly to facilitate the unmasking of the Roman spy of course, so feels rather contrived. The tickling torture scene is just silly. Later in the series such an incongruous scene would have been avoided. The climax with the hair growing potion is just brilliant, especially the page where the centurion progressively picks up smaller stones, convincing himself he's a superman. You can see why Asterix was instantly popular-it's such a terrific scenario. </div>
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2. Asterix and the Golden Sickle 7/10</div>
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The designs of the characters have already evolved and we now begin the first 'away' book-this one takes the form of a detective story. (Asterix almost always has a home story-set in or around the village-then an away story where they travel to distant places). Obelix plays a greater part as he accompanies Asterix to Lutetia, and their relationship is already blossoming-Obelix's appetite frustrating Asterix. The journey begins with a short journey across the country and then sets up the mystery when they arrive in Lutetia. It all ends with a fun second half of frustrated Romans and a good use of repetition in the jokes. The parodies of Paris are pretty good, if underplayed, and there's some great wordplay. The other Gauls are not fleshed out yet, which is a weakness, but all the ingredients are pretty much here, it's just that the story never gets into top gear. Obelix says, "Shall we get them? Shall we get them?" for the first time. </div>
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3. Asterix and the Goths 9/10</div>
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This book follows on from plot points from the previous book-something that was never repeated. It continues the established form of the series, has Getafix and the potion playing a central role, and this time the adventure becomes more brilliantly labyrinthine. The idiocy of the Romans and Goths as they demonstrate abject confusion chasing Asterix and Obelix around the forest is just wonderful. I particularly like how the two Gauls are described as a 'horde'. The poor swine of an interpreter is a great character, and Goscinny uses the repeated destruction of cell doors brilliantly-that idea is a step up from the same sort of thing in the previous book. Once again Getafix and Asterix have a lot of fun with their enemies-setting the Goths up against each other-which ramps up beautifully to become the Asterixian Wars. One of the strongest books in the series, just once again lacking a few more Gauls.</div>
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4. Asterix the Gladiator 9/10</div>
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Some genuinely laugh out loud moments in this one such as stuffing parsley in your ears to avoid Cacofonix's music, the baths, Obelix and Asterix confounding the Gladiator trainer and Asterix totally ruining the games. This one also features the first appearance of the Pirates and of Obelix collecting helmets. The manic irritation caused by our two heroes really gets going here, but it reaches even greater heights in Legionary. The one liners are also superb and we are treated to a wonderful depiction of Rome.</div>
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5. Asterix and the Banquet 7/10</div>
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This book hangs on the flimsiest of pretexts for a trip around Gaul-the Romans build a stockade to isolate the Gauls, then Asterix plans to sneak out to collect items for a banquet to prove the stockade is useless. He and Obelix sneak out by smashing through the fence! Why don't the Gauls just smash the whole thing? It's not like the Romans can stop them. And as the adventure progresses the problem with the magic potion concept rears its head-they run from Romans and then defeat them about two pages later. However, despite this, on the journey itself there are a lot of funny moments such as the chain sequence and it features the first appearance of Dogmatix. </div>
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6. Asterix and Cleopatra 9/10</div>
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Dramatic and spectacular story with Egypt wonderfully realised. Some brilliant comic moments and Dogmatix gets to play a lead role in rescuing our heroes. Like in Gladiator, the problem of making slavery amusing is overcome with a great play on worker's rights and exploitation, but in this book it is used to drive the story forward. It's always bugged me that Edifis, the best architect in Egypt, is quite as useless as he is, but it makes for good comedy. The book is structured as series of problems in the construction of the palace, but each of them are strong ideas so it works, although it's a little odd how the story with Artifis peters out with 10 pages left before Caesar takes over as the baddie. There are some nice visual jokes too such as the Egyptian children crossing the road like hieroglyphs and 'Ptarzan' and 'Pnuts' on the back of Artifis' newspaper.</div>
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7. Asterix and the Big Fight 10/10</div>
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This book has some truly hilarious scenes and running jokes such as Obelix tapping people on the head with Menhirs, crazy manic Druids mixing potions and the wonderful scene early on with the camouflaged roman patrol. "Try to look as botanical as possible." "Do we form a square?" "No! Form a spinney!" Later the legionary disguised as a tree is just as good-the owl is a brilliant touch. Obelix gets some fantastic lines such as when he flattens Getafix with a Menhir in order to cure him: “My careful nursing”, and the banquet punchline is one of the best. The climactic scene with the fair put up around the fight is wonderfully conceived, as is the fight itself and the Roman double-cross (incidentally you have to wonder why they bothered with the brilliantly named Cassius Ceramix when they could have just captured Getafix in the first place and then attacked the village-but I suppose then it wouldn’t be much fun). </div>
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8. Asterix in Britain 10/10</div>
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Goscinny has reached his peak with this book and the last one (and finds it again two books later). All the elements come together perfectly-wonderful parody of the British, a well plotted dramatic story with a great double climax, hilarious one-liners and great puns. (The translators have done a wonderful job). Uderzo seems to have raised his game slightly too, the characters are a little more expressive and the designs even more elegant. The scene in the Tower of London and the Romans getting drunk searching for magic potion are particular highlights, as is the Rugby match. This is quite a unique sequence in the series-it remains classic Asterix, yet is markedly different from any other set piece, and it adds another element to make this book a real standout volume. </div>
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9. Asterix and the Normans 8/10</div>
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The meaning of fear conceit doesn't quite work-the Normans seem to understand the word but also think it will make them fly? It's a peculiar device that may work better in French, but it hangs the plot together adequately. Obelix's quest for Cacofonix is over too quickly-tension could have been built up further. Again there are issues with invincible Gauls-Asterix and Obelix could have just waded in and freed the young Lutetian Gaul, Justforkix. Incidentally, Justforkix is a great character that makes Asterix and Obelix seem like peculiar middle aged heroes. Goscinny's satire on modern youth culture and Parisian life takes centre stage and ties in throughout with an excellent use of Cacofonix. His jokes and word play are particularly strong. Uderzo's Normans are a joy-beautifully designed. In this book Dogmatix howls at trees being uprooted for the first time and we finally see a fully realised Fulliautomatix. </div>
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10. Asterix the Legionary 10/10</div>
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The lead into the story is wonderfully paced, full of humour and intelligently set up to feel natural, but when we get to Condatum the story suddenly becomes a sustained exercise in comic genius. It's the culmination of an idea that has been developed before (frustrating the Romans to the point of madness basically), but by throwing Asterix and Obelix into the army where they are subordinate to the Romans, that idea really sings. What is so brilliant about Asterix is that it's not just about bashing Romans with superhuman strength (although that never stops being satisfying), it's about when they're NOT doing that and using their wits and good natured humour as weapons instead. Just about the best running joke is here, the repeated asides about crying because you're in love. Plus..."We Romans are crazy!"</div>
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11. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield 9/10</div>
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This one is plotted like a detective story fitting around the larger concerns of Gaulish history and with some classic moments-like Vitalstatistix's liver pain. The structure gives the story more urgency and drama than many other books. The charcoal is a lovely repeat joke-I'm sure it works even better in French as it's got to be an in-joke, but even better is the gloriously lazy, sometimes drunken legionary, Pusillanimus, who sweeps flagstones one half at a time. He and Crapulus, another drunk, get their just (sort of) rewards when Caesar promotes them far above their station. (I would have liked to see how that panned out…). One sour note: when you couple Uderzo's big lipped black characters (he was never one to shy from an outright racist caricature-but that was the times I suppose) with a story idea of little natives scuttling about delivering messages like little more than machines, you've got yourself a definitively racist joke. These little guys are dressed in grass skirts and look identical! In many ways it's a reflection, through parody of modern offices, of attitudes of the past, but Asterix should be turning those on its head to make its points in my opinion. </div>
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12. Asterix at the Olympic Games 8/10</div>
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The magic potion is used perfectly in this book and makes sense throughout. It's a great twist to have the Romans take the potion and still lose. The first half contains lots of comedic vignettes which also serve the plot. The repeated jokes (the broom, pots) are not quite as good as in previous books, but the page about mushroom soup is fantastic. The biggest problem is that the actual games do not play a bigger part-they come right at the end and there is little drama. One panel for a race? Also there is only one really well-drawn athlete character (Gluteus Maximus) A (slightly) missed opportunity. Geriatrix gets his first small role.</div>
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13. Asterix and the Cauldron 7/10</div>
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This one begins in a darker tone and despite a few jokes, it feels markedly different to the previous book. Dramatically this book really works and it's well plotted, but it does seem to be at the expense of a degree of the humour-in fact the humorous scenes (selling boars, fighting gladiators) are a little bit sad. This use of pathos marks the start of Goscinny's more mature take on Asterix. With the acting sequence (Orgies, orgies!) Goscinny's satire becomes more biting. It's a more rounded, better written book than previous ones in many ways, but just not as exuberantly funny. This is also the book where Uderzo's characters are noticeably taller and more realistically proportioned. There’s also a little role for Chanticleerix the rooster.</div>
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14. Asterix in Spain 9/10</div>
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This is a great book. The character of the Spanish is wonderful, and once Pepe is given to Obelix to look after the humour ramps up superbly. The plot is slick and the drawing beautiful. As previously noted, over the last three books the characters are being drawn a little taller and less extreme in their caricature; Asterix is reaching full maturity. It's a lesson in pacing for the later writer Ferri- for any comic writer! - our heroes don't even leave the village till half way through, once the story has turned naturally to returning Pepe. </div>
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15. Asterix and the Roman Agent 9/10</div>
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This book marks the first time Caesar attempts to sew discontent in the Gaulish village. It's a very funny book (although there are funnier earlier books.) Vitalstatistix is getting regularly dropped by his shield bearers, and Impedimenta (the best name of all the characters by my reckoning) is haranguing him, Unhygienix smells of fish-classic elements coming together. The supporting characters such as Magnumopus work very well and it's not as dark as Asterix and the Cauldron, which helps. Missus Geriatrix gets a role, and the rest of the women are fleshed out much more, as is the relationship between Fulliautomatix and Unhygienix. Goscinny has really hit his stride with the more mature Asterix by this point. </div>
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16. Asterix in Switzerland 7/10</div>
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This book has some of the creepiest and darkest scenes and characters of all the books, with its frequent references to orgies (which appear to be sexless parties where the Romans gorge themselves and indulge in a friendly bit of torture) and its plot involving the poisoning of a Roman Quaestor. There's also Obelix's drunkenness which is not that funny, but is used very well during the denouement. The book settles down into a good chase romp and is very enjoyable, but once again the magic potion must be all but forgotten for long passages to facilitate the chase. A curiosity is that I've never seen this book in a clear print. The line is always rather murky, and even in the most recent reprints the pages have not been cleaned up and recoloured. Seems the fastidious Swiss lost out to the filthy Romans.</div>
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17. The Mansions of the Gods 9/10</div>
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A revisiting of the same structure as Roman Agent, with Caesar using his brain to try to trick the Gauls rather than the might of his armies. It has the classic frustration of the Roman commanders thing that Goscinny does so well, but whereas Roman Agent was slightly dark, this is pitched perfectly. Classic Asterix. The story is slightly shorter than normal with lots of big panels and an unnecessary tablet double spread.</div>
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18. Asterix and the Laurel Wreath 6/10</div>
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Goscinny employs a non-linear structure at the beginning of this book for the only time in any of the Asterix books. It might be to cover up that this book is not particularly exciting. It ticks a lot of boxes but fails to really take flight. Once again, to suit the plot, Asterix and Obelix abandon the potion. </div>
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19. Asterix and the Soothsayer 7/10</div>
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A solid if unspectacular book. It contains all the classic elements but fails to really soar. One saving grace is the character of the Optione who's sometimes like a London Bobby and sometimes like a Sergeant Major. He's beautifully realised in long-necked, puff chested glory by Uderzo. It's a pity that the centurion is rather generic (although still drawn wonderfully) and the Soothsayer is the sort of character we've seen before. </div>
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20. Asterix in Corsica 8/10</div>
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With this book we find Uderzo's art take on a slightly loser and more expressive feel- more exaggerated poses, with a little less smoothness to the line. For my money it's better in many ways although that is maybe just a matter of taste. There's some really painful wordplay at the beginning and Asterix and Obelix go to Corsica on the thinnest of pretexts, but the depiction of the island and the Corsicans is really superb. It's nice to see old faces return at the beginning. It makes the world a bit more rounded- characters are not entirely forgotten about from book to book. </div>
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21. Asterix and Caesar's Gift 7/10</div>
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Finally Vitalstatistix gets his permanent shield bearers who remain with him in every subsequent book. It's curious it took this long to establish them, but their part has been growing every time they drop the chief. This book is a curiosity because the Gauls come as close to destruction as they ever have as a result of Caesar playing a trick on a drunk old soldier- it's not directly a plot against them. The resultant effect on the village is completely unintentional, it's caused simply by their own stupidity and fighting spirit, so it's a sort of an original way of using an old idea. Asterix gets a nice action sequence with a bit of jeopardy, but Obelix has the best lines.</div>
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22. Asterix and the Great Crossing 8/10</div>
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The second book in a row where the adventure begins accidentally. You sense Goscinny was pushing Asterix in different directions, but keeping to his firmly established rules-something that Uderzo plainly fails to do in his later solo books. There's not a Roman in sight and it feels fresh because of it. Not the funniest book, but pretty strong. For me Uderzo reaches his artistic peak here. The way Obelix weighs down one end of the boat resting on beautifully realised water is fantastic, as is their nighttime escape. </div>
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23. Obelix and Co 9/10</div>
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This story is a culmination of the ideas begun in Roman Agent and The Mansions of the Gods- to weaken the Gauls by means other than force-and it's brilliant. It's a satire on capitalism centred around creating a market for the totally useless menhir. Goscinny simply uses an established feature of Asterix as the centre of his story which makes it all the better. It doesn't feel forced and the 'heap big' talk becomes funnier and funnier as the story develops. </div>
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24. Asterix in Belgium 6/10</div>
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Goscinny's last book is fittingly a tribute the country that's given so much to French language comic books. It's rather self-indulgent, featuring a breaking of the fourth wall, numerous classical allusions and an extended parody of the battle of Waterloo, complete with altered lines (in the English translation) of Byron's 'The Eve of Waterloo'. It's got some good moments, but it's rather thin plot wise and relies heavily on trivial references to Belgium (manikin pis, Thomson and Thompson, mussels and frites etc). Also notable is that Uderzo draws it raining two thirds of the way through to mark the moment when Goscinny died, and also I suspect, his mood. In truth, he was taken to court by the publishers and forced to draw this book from Goscinny's unfinished script-Something he would never forgive them for. This was the last book published by Dargaud in France. Artistically it's even more expressively drawn than the previous few books and there is a greater absence of backgrounds, but then Belgium doesn't have a lot of geographical features. Perhaps Uderzo didn't want to dwell on this book for understandable reasons. Despite its exuberance it always makes me feel slightly melancholy. With Goscinny's death the series would never reach the same heights again. </div>
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25. Asterix and the Great Divide 6/10</div>
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Uderzo's first book is one of his best. It's a different sort of story and breathes a bit of new life into the series. His more magical imagination makes itself apparent with the strange effects the potions have on the Romans and he breaks the fourth wall briefly just as Goscinny did in the previous volume. There are a few illogical moments that require some explanation by the characters- something Goscinny would probably not have needed to do. The divide itself is milked for humour and is pretty funny, although Histrionix is an odd character. He's rather bland and homoerotic with his big moustache and short tunic, and he often seems to be drawn in a different style to everyone else. </div>
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26. Asterix and the Black Gold 7/10</div>
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A travel and spy story which works well, even if it lacks a bit of sparkle. One of Uderzo's strongest solo books, featuring a great scene where our heroes encounter lots of Semitic tribes at war with each other in the desert. The character of Dubbelosix is great to begin with, with his fold up chariot and James Bond attitude, but this isn't really carried through- in the end he's sort of pathetic which doesn't really ring true. The fly messenger in love with him is an odd comedic device, but it sort of works. What this book really lacks is some classic frustration- I'd like to see Dubbelosix crying by the end! Jerusalem is rendered beautifully and Saul Ben Ephishul not only has a great name, he's a caricature of the late great Rene Goscinny himself.. Ekonomikrisis from Gladiator returns. </div>
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27. Asterix and Son 8/10</div>
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Uderzo outdoes himself with a really well plotted and funny book. The baby taking the magic potion and causing havoc is great, Asterix for once suffering the most. Brutus, who had hitherto been a bit of a background joke makes an excellent villain and the payoff with the baby being Caesar and Cleopatra's son is very satisfying. One of my favourite lines: Asterix: What would I do without you, Obelix? Obelix: All sorts of silly things. </div>
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28. Asterix and the Magic Carpet 5/10</div>
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After the previous solo books, Uderzo rather lets himself down here. The book takes the form of a straightforward race against time, the baddies just smugly waiting for the time to run out- and it all hinges on a wholly unconvincing plot device- Cacofonix making it rain (which becomes a continuing characteristic of his). Apparently the Fakir has heard that the bard can make it rain even though he's never done it before. Perhaps a better idea would have been that the Fakir was looking for Getafix, but he's indisposed and Cacofonix saves the day by suddenly making it rain. Some jokes fall very flat ("The answer is a lemon"), the repetition is actually annoying and the story over-relies on Obelix's appetite to generate some incident and humour. The highlight is a beautiful few pages where Uderzo lets loose his talent depicting some Indian wildlife. </div>
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29. Asterix and the Secret Weapon 7/10</div>
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This book is all about women's lib and is better plotted than some of Uderzo's solo books, in fact this is the most recent book that is really worth reading. An interesting new subject, and you can feel the author's confusion and frustration coming through. The ridiculously inappropriate ending is very amusing, but sort of undermines the message. Another book when Asterix becomes the most frustrated character, so much so that he hits Bravura. It's very out of character, but he is quickly forgiven. Was it really necessary? </div>
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30. Asterix and Obelix All At Sea 5/10</div>
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This book has a peculiar uneven plot that feels a little desperate. The bit in Atlantis before the ending is hardly explored and actually pretty pointless. They don't get a cure for Obelix and why the slaves want to be kids I've no idea. The idea of Obelix being a kid is on the surface a good one, but taking the regular version away weakens the formula- it's just not as funny without Obelix, as shown with the spectacular scene of him destroying the Roman camp with a ship when back to normal. I also think Spartakis could have inspired a much better story. </div>
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31. Asterix and the Actress 5/10</div>
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The plot of this one is a little all over the place and the fate of the actress is rather unsatisfying. In addition the sequence with Asterix bouncing out to sea and being rescued by a dolphin is just downright odd. It's fun to see Asterix and Obelix hounded by their mothers, but focusing on that might have made better book. There's also a bit about Romans looking for Roman traitors which feels like a wasted opportunity. A few old characters return which unfortunately serves to make sequences in this book feel like they've been done better before </div>
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32. Asterix and the Class Act 4/10</div>
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A collection of shorts and curiosities from various publications along with some new pages. Unfortunately none of it is particularly funny or essential for Asterix lovers. One story introduces Asterix and Obelix's parents and establishes that they were born at the same time, which contradicts the events at the beginning of Obelix and Co. There's a story featuring Goscinny and Uderzo themselves, there's an oddity with a personification of spring that hints at Uderzo's more fantastic stories to come and some intriguing images of Asterix drawn in different styles. along with various other vignettes. There's a good one from Elle magazine featuring Mrs Geriatrix where the narrative stands ironically from the action, but the best is a one pager, superbly written by Goscinny about the use of Latin in modern language. Short, sharp, clever and with an excellent punchline, it makes me wish they'd done a few more single pagers. </div>
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33. Asterix and the Falling Sky 3/10</div>
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Pretty poor- the weakest regular book in the series. An unsophisticated alien plot with truly dreadful allusions to Disney and Manga. There's some strange bits in the plot, such as when the alien enemies come to an agreement out of the blue, and Toon growing large and then black is neither funny nor serves much purpose. The shading on the characters under the spaceship light is one redeeming feature, they look especially beautiful during this sequence. You feel that Uderzo has lost interest in the characters and has stopped having fun. How long since Asterix has been his mischievous self? Here he's again rather anxious and put-upon. Also there's an abundance of large panels. Perhaps it's now only the drawing he is inspired by, or perhaps he just wanted to get the book done quickly, but you have to forgive him, he was 78 by this point. </div>
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34. Asterix and Obelix's Birthday, The Golden Book 2/10</div>
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Clunky title for a clunky book. This is designed as a celebration of Asterix's 50th anniversary (surely Asterix and Obelix's Golden Anniversary would be a better title). It's like one of those terrible TV specials they used to have or an episode of This Is Your Life. There are famous painting pastiches and a guidebook and tons of characters reappear to pay their unique tributes, but if that sounds like fun, it isn't. The biggest problem with this book is that it's so boring! It's such a chore to read I couldn't wait till it was over. The best bit by far is seeing the villagers aged by 50 years at the beginning and possibly when the centurions get the runs. Otherwise, don't bother. </div>
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35. Asterix and the Picts 6/10</div>
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So a new creative team for Asterix. By now the series carries a lot of baggage, mostly from the recent Uderzo solo books but also Goscinny's later 'dark' period. Asterix and Obelix just don't feel as young and as carefree as once they did, so a return to basics here seems somewhat incongruous. It might have been a very interesting development if Ferri had been given a free hand to reinvent the series- get rid of Caesar, say, and introduce a young Emperor Augustus, but I guess they were commissioned to not mess with the formula. So then, this book is a good effort but much of the comedy falls flat and there are some peculiar decisions (Dogmatix interacting with Nessie could have worked well. Why leave him in the village for no reason?) It often feels like it's all been done before, but better. Some non sequiturs have snuck in with the translation-perhaps due to the death of co-translator Derek Hockridge. A word for Conrad, who does a spectacular job of aping Uderzo. Where do they find such brilliant cartoonists in France? <a href="http://alexandercartoons.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/asterix-and-misfiring-book.html">See my full review on this blog for more. </a></div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-57276925811785337332015-09-28T07:16:00.000-07:002015-09-28T07:16:10.232-07:00Could anyone inform me as to where, what, and why I am? More Burp! These are the last strips from the pages of the regular Oink! When it went weekly Banx reverted to single pagers (with one exception and a two-parter). With that change the stories became less epic, and more like the straight humour strips (does that work 'straight humour'?) they used to be. There are still some great moments like the return of poor Alvin the animate teddy bear and I love it when Burp attempts sculpture.<br />
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Still to come, the stories from the specials and annuals!<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-66230163016790408962015-07-04T05:55:00.000-07:002015-07-04T05:59:23.006-07:00You gotta speculateI'd love to have a regular strip in Private Eye, but it's not easy to get one. They've got a lot of regulars in there taking up that vital space. They're a mixed bag-some are still spot on, some seem to have outstayed their welcome by years.<br />
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Here was my most recent attempt from last year when floods, independent Scotland and Prince George were in the news. It's about a time travelling Buck Rogers type which I thought gave it a good angle for commentary on modern life. It's available for commission magazine editors!<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-69565571354427067282015-07-04T05:41:00.001-07:002015-07-04T06:00:01.809-07:00Some more BurpWhoops, I forgot to blog this year and it's already July. Here are some more of Banx' mighty Burp strip.<br />
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First up, a beautiful strip featuring the Ramjet Angel. Has anyone ever played with the themes of the cruelty of capitalism and loss like this in a kids comic strip?<br />
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Next a short one-pager before the final two page Burp strip. This might have made the greatest Tharg's Future Shock ever. Seriously, the writing is that good. If you've read the latest 2000AD sci-fi special like I have you might have been disappointed in the Future Shocks story where the punchline was screamingly obvious from the first panel. Try guessing what happens at the end of this!<br />
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Then, sadly, Oink! went weekly and Banx reverted to one-page strips, which I shall be posting next. The strips still burnt bright, but had reached their pinnacle with the Sand Planet, the Ramjet Angel and others...<br />
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...But there was time for one last hurrah before Oink! went monthly and Banx no longer graced its pages. Stay tuned for the stories from the specials and the annuals and the eight page spectacular which reveals how Burp became a man.<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-52393753597413422362014-11-19T04:53:00.001-08:002014-11-19T11:05:07.060-08:00Character evolutionOne of the main concerns that make drawing comics a rather different skill to gag cartooning or illustration is having to draw the same character over and over again. Lots of different poses and expressions are required, so an ability to render your central character convincingly over a series of strips really adds concincing depth. The strange thing about doing multiple stories is the way characters evolve. As a writer of strips, I can tell you that the personalities of characters definitely alter as time goes on. Different scenarios require different responses that might have not been built into the character at the time of conception, and as this process of organic world building continues, then characters definitely deepen and become more rounded, if not real.<br />
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However, this post is more concerned with a strange process that goes along with that-that of the evolution of the design of characters. Often this is a combination of conscious changes and subconscious or unconscious changes, and when you look back at the pages it can genuinely be a surprise at how much a design has evolved. Take a look at the evolution of my silent space gladiator, Pow.<br />
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I can tell you that the changes with his chin were part conscious and part unconscious. It was firstly a matter of necessity to alter the shape of it because as the strip developed from a half page to a multiple page story he needed to be capable of a far greater range of expression (mostly happy ones-he was a bit nasty when he started). The final changes where the jaw became more squared off just sort of happened. You'll notice in the final image that the shape of his feet have changed-I decided to do this a few strips ago as a general move towards softening him into a friendlier character. The strangest change is that in the first strips he is very heavy set and it surprised me greatly when I looked back and saw the transition to a more streamlined and slender design. I rather like his brutal appearance at the beginning, but his current incarnation is much more versatile to work with and actually helps him cope better with the situations I throw him into. He no longer punches his way to success, but has become more of a lateral thinker. </div>
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When designing a character I use three simple rules: </div>
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1. Make them instantly recognisable. There's a lot of characters out there, so a unique appearance is important. Matt Groening designed each of the Simpsons with a strikingly different silhouette. A well designed character should be recognised by their outline.</div>
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2. Plasticity. Cartoon characters need to stretch so they have to be designed in such a way that you can mush them up and they retain their recognisability. I use blue skin, pink hair and a robot arm as reference points that mean my character can be transformed into almost anything and as long as he keeps those three characteristics the reader can follow-very important in a silent strip where there is no speech or narration to help.</div>
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3. Make them easy to draw. If you bog your character down with loads and loads of detail and have to draw them 100 times a week you are going to get extremely annoyed with work you should be enjoying. This doesn't seem to apply to the more figurative end of cartooning-the sort of thing you find in 2000AD and Marvel. The more attachments to a character's outfit the better apparently. I've no idea how they do it, but for the kind of humour cartooning I do less is definitely the way to go.</div>
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Here's a great example from the other strip I produce for The Phoenix, Useleus. The artist Wilbur Dawbarn recently noted how huge Minotaur had become, and it was a surprise to him to compare old episodes with what he is doing now. Because Minotaur is really well conceived as a design, the evolution probably went completely unnoticed by the reader. Again, there have been conscious and unconscious alterations. His nose and jawline has changed to allow Wilbur greater freedom to give him expression. Take a look.</div>
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One of the most obvious and noted changes to occur to a character (probably because the books are so widely read and popular) is that of Obelix. I always liked the earlier Obelix, from roughly the 4th book to the 12th. After that, responding perhaps to Goscinny writing stories which dealt more with parody of modern existence and darker themes, Uderzo began to stretch out his characters. They became more realistically proportioned and less squat, although 'realistic' is pushing it with Obelix with his tiny legs and massive belly, but you get the idea. You can see from these images how Uderzo has modified Obelix over the 50 years he drew him. </div>
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I'd say that this sort of change is universal with comic characters. Intriguingly, the biggest changes often seem to be from the first strip to the second. Perhaps because the designs are stretched to their limits over that story and found inadequate, and so have to be altered for the next.alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-69336353005551081542014-10-26T04:01:00.004-07:002014-10-26T04:02:55.560-07:00Observer Prize entry-The InsiderCongratulations to Alexis Deacon who won the prize this year-a really fabulous artist. Here is my entry:<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-17273350346867591492014-10-10T05:13:00.002-07:002014-10-10T05:50:23.470-07:00Children's Comics as Art <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First some more wonderful episodes of Burp, as Jeremy Banx continues to utilise the extra page given to him to good affect. (Check out that sun with Burp's ship silhouetted against it). Thanks to <a href="http://www.laurahowell.co.uk/">Laura Howell</a> for sending me a scan of an episode I haven't got any more-the tragic tale of Quentin De'Augg, who doesn't have that special gland we all possess that secretes a chemical that prevents us from becoming canine beasts of the night. An absolute genius set up. </div>
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By the way, due to some bad printing the health warning at the bottom of the first episode below was cut off from my copy. If anyone knows what it says, please tell me! </div>
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And now Banx's own favourite episode, and mine too, the wonderful 'Sand Planet'. </div>
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It begins like Frank Herbert's Dune, but instead of parody Banx resorts to a sort of sci-fi poetry. I'm thinking at this point he was just revelling in the opportunity to explore language in a kid's comic about a stinky alien, and seeing what he could get away with. The result is brilliant. He tosses out this paragraph: "Silica..the sand planet...where there is only the relentless dusty horizon...save for the gravitational anomaly waves that lovingly sculpt the sands into ever writhing cusps of gold..."</div>
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Now that's ambituious children's comics writing. Why should kids be talked down to in comics when they can get the meaning from the visual context if they don't quite have the vocabulary? Talking as an ex-teacher I was always told to pitch things at a higher level to stretch the students-a logical thing to do. This is something I think comics are doing very wrong now-more on that in a post to come. </div>
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Anway, how rarely is the medium utilised as well as this? Banx effortlessly employs this gorgeous prose to serve a brilliant punchline. Anyway, read it. You'll love it. And there's more just as good to come! </div>
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-17681362787164413512014-06-13T01:44:00.002-07:002014-06-13T01:58:11.955-07:00You're cutting off my arterial flow, you nit!My first blog post of the year and it's only June. If only every blogger was as efficient as me we could bring down the North Korean government, oil money swollen Fifa and lovable evil buffoon Boris Johnson in one swell foop. But that's another post for another day, right now I am concerned only with bringing to you, my wonderful imaginary reader, more episodes of Jeremy Banx' classic Burp! strip. Here we will see Burp hurtling toward it's artistic zenith with gathering speed.<br />
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The extra space afforded to the strip allows Banx to explore the surrealism of his world and the interplay of the characters as they say one ridiculous thing after another. This particular strip is still firmly in the humour mold of the previous thirty-odd pages, but the premise of this strip-getting Cary Grant tattoeed on your tongue is a leap forward in thematically insane theming, and the final image! Where did that come from? Why is the Lone Ranger a dog? </div>
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Over the next few strips, the surreal madcap humour gives way to a more controlled weirdness. Next, Burp breaks his liver out of Sing-Sing. Three high points for me: The tractor beam, the inexplicable old-fashioned cannon and the line, 'I want him to biliously process it for me, as only he can!'. </div>
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I haven't spoken much about the artwork, but in this one you can see Banx' preternatural ability to draw strange, doom-laden military style buildings and machinery. It's the sort of thing he'd showcase later in his marvellous book <a href="http://banxcartoons.co.uk/books/the-many-deaths-of-norman-spittal/">'The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal' </a></div>
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Speaking of superb artwork, very soon my own work will be appearing in an exhibition organised by the self-same ubermensch, Mr Jeremy Banx. It's called Pastiche, Parody and Piracy and it's on at the Cob Gallery in London's fashionable NW1 from the 20th of June to the 5th of July. <a href="http://www.cobgallery.com/?exhibition=pastiche-parody-piracy">Click here for details and stuff.</a></div>
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Next post (and it won't be as long this time) a slight misstep followed by pure capitalised ART.</div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-43005844811772291222013-12-17T14:45:00.000-08:002013-12-18T04:09:27.161-08:00Double acts and Greek mythsThis post is partly about how Useleus, the strip Wilbur Dawbarn and I created for <a href="http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/useleus-1/">the Phoenix</a> came about and what led to making the central decisions that shaped its dynamic. We'd talked about making a strip together to pitch to the Phoenix, but it wasn't a serious thought until a lot of bits and pieces fell into place around an idea I had scrawled into a sketchbook. The idea began as little more than a name: 'Useleus'.<br />
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One of the things I wanted to do was to build a strip around a double act relationship. This was a reaction against Nuke Noodle, my strip for The Dandy, which was a one-man show. With a double act you can get humour in every page if you set up the right dynamic. You don't need an antagonist or people falling over to create humour, you can find it in every exchange. And of course, when you throw an antagonist in there, you've got two characters to react against. Here's a sequence from one of the Useleus strips. I've selected it not only because it highlights what I'm talking about, but because of the beautiful first panel-Wilbur's got a knack for melding goofy characters and evocative locations wonderfully.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJY0c8sJSXfCzFqIJEP2-SIZuMjqDJ5WKnZIgW5OBVCnYOladBtUKYw6Ln0b4oKhgXzVSzk3gc9NEVOOZi70dvOCKYiQDb-ctgvl5htDmAwiIhrY07dPB8eQkMVUJs1MYXx7H5h_Kv3M/s1600/useleus08.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJY0c8sJSXfCzFqIJEP2-SIZuMjqDJ5WKnZIgW5OBVCnYOladBtUKYw6Ln0b4oKhgXzVSzk3gc9NEVOOZi70dvOCKYiQDb-ctgvl5htDmAwiIhrY07dPB8eQkMVUJs1MYXx7H5h_Kv3M/s640/useleus08.1.jpg" width="451" /></a></div>
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The Minotaur is such a wonderful creation-an iconic creature, I had to nab him for this strip. The only problem with the Minotaur is that he's a berserk killer monster who lives in a labyrinth-not much to work with. Here's how it went... I had Useleus' name and so his character had to follow from that- although I didn't have his age-and what I felt was needed as a foil was a sensible stick-in-the-mud type. Whilst researching Greek myths I stumbled upon the story of Chiron, a centaur who was Achilles' teacher and then everything fell into place. I made Useleus into Achilles' younger brother, a constant disappointment to his father but from a line of heroes and thus having hero pretentions of his own, and I made the Minotaur into his teacher. Reversing the character of the Minotaur leant him more humour, and gave him a mysterious backstory that I could play with. </div>
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Incidentally, it wasn't until I'd seen how Wilbur worked with the characters in the first one or two episodes that I felt I saw the characters completely clearly, and could nail them in subsequent scripts. That's what happens with comic strips, they develop and mature and characters evolve. </div>
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In Useleus I found I could have a grand scheme-what becomes of Useleus and how does the Minotaur get his fearsome reputation? To hint at that, I decided to make the introductory narration come from a much older Minotaur, retelling the tales to add to the strip the feel of a legend.</div>
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And lastly we went from <i>the</i> Minotaur to plain 'Minotaur'. In the mythology his name is Asterion, but Wilbur felt it sounded too much like Asterix, so we went with just Minotaur-which rather nicely simplified things as it happens.</div>
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Speaking of Asterix, here's my top 5 comic double acts. Feel free to write 'What about Calvin and Hobbes!' in the comments section. </div>
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1. Asterix and Obelix.</div>
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Can't beat 'em; the perfect combination, physically, intellectually, everythingly. The genius of Asterix is manyfold but one of the greatest things about it is how <i>authentic </i>the relationship feels. Witness the way they get screaming angry at each other, sulk and then embrace in tears. In Asterix and the Banquet, only the fifth book in the series, Obelix can confidentally say:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TjNXlid3G39LK4TliWXHYViflsfAH5q2OMFSS5JkowReZQ0xQXZIBszhxBh0zHzR_UnsvtjvhrVlR7FozlUd0zgGqWeFce44O6fXYWU3tkHhAulLx5ZiETehXI27AuLWUhduQjimTzI/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TjNXlid3G39LK4TliWXHYViflsfAH5q2OMFSS5JkowReZQ0xQXZIBszhxBh0zHzR_UnsvtjvhrVlR7FozlUd0zgGqWeFce44O6fXYWU3tkHhAulLx5ZiETehXI27AuLWUhduQjimTzI/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And we believe him 100%.</div>
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2. Loady McGee and Sinus O'Gynus (adults only, kids-don't think of googling them)</div>
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The world's most disgusting loser and his nerd pal. Loady frequently betrays and often kills Sinus in the most horrible way possible. Johnny Ryan's creations are mesmerisingly hideous, but somehow also feel like a saturday morning cartoon. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS89Xgg44tE-vYQapUJJ27icOaGyuw423fuTkwRtH-nBlur_NKI3uneqOyGLdZr8B7X-BAGLDKDOg0ZORyPht7kj5-VXl-JQF-DphCaiZJ5gVTJLtQ1AQWS1UOwBsDFk81v5_v-w4sIk/s1600/B2F00812-E05A-4F6A-9EF5F405937A19C2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS89Xgg44tE-vYQapUJJ27icOaGyuw423fuTkwRtH-nBlur_NKI3uneqOyGLdZr8B7X-BAGLDKDOg0ZORyPht7kj5-VXl-JQF-DphCaiZJ5gVTJLtQ1AQWS1UOwBsDFk81v5_v-w4sIk/s320/B2F00812-E05A-4F6A-9EF5F405937A19C2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3. Thompson and Thomson.</div>
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Another genius creation and totally breaks the mould of double acts by having two identikit characters. Would it have worked if Hergé had had only one Thompson? Nah. One person falling down the stairs is not that funny, but when two people who look exactly the same do it either in unison or one after the other, it's <i>always </i>funny. </div>
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4. Twain & Einstein</div>
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Micheal Kupperman's bizarre pulp story-style teaming of these two because they look vaguely alike is one of the funniest things on earth. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtQEWCimhZ-XBf6ieN2ttfPb2ibzeC8rZrqgivBBI6z7Kg9h1fjGsivLpN9_3n6B8Crbb04dwLrhNocKQSW75X4ib-41rG6ZoVRg0eM7wDhfH6e2CVeRJY2GPldkHqdcK38GAOUG0gAQ/s1600/Thrizzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtQEWCimhZ-XBf6ieN2ttfPb2ibzeC8rZrqgivBBI6z7Kg9h1fjGsivLpN9_3n6B8Crbb04dwLrhNocKQSW75X4ib-41rG6ZoVRg0eM7wDhfH6e2CVeRJY2GPldkHqdcK38GAOUG0gAQ/s400/Thrizzle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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5. Zubrick and Pogeybait (also adults only)</div>
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A personal favourite of mine. Check out early issues of Daniel Clowes' Eightball for these two ugly, moronic losers. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUZ1eq3ZH62qWSyB2cUX0k7Yq5Sf8NpQKxtzuTc9QvC2G08zPureFMEi0ROQW598HxnZOgrhhubCydQ4lY2yDS1IDtb15LIY_eApyD_24cvu6euKYg_7C2WrIvdhBEcKKCg6ixr721r4/s1600/pogeybait.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUZ1eq3ZH62qWSyB2cUX0k7Yq5Sf8NpQKxtzuTc9QvC2G08zPureFMEi0ROQW598HxnZOgrhhubCydQ4lY2yDS1IDtb15LIY_eApyD_24cvu6euKYg_7C2WrIvdhBEcKKCg6ixr721r4/s400/pogeybait.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-85835270072206161092013-12-05T03:24:00.004-08:002013-12-06T05:27:54.160-08:00Poetry Corner<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
I wrote a silly children's poem a few years ago called 'Iʼve got an egg-shaped planet in my Grandadʼs hat.' It's a bit rough around the edges, but I present it to you now for your edification. </div>
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Outside the school stood a Ron and a Ruth,</div>
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As an Eric revealed a terrible truth,</div>
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“I haven<b>ʼ</b>t created my project for Science!”</div>
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“I suppose I could bring a kitchen appliance.”</div>
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Ruth, who was clever and good and annoying,</div>
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Claimed, (in a way that was soul destroying),</div>
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“I have built a volcano from tissues and glue!”</div>
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“It rumbles and bubbles and spews out shampoo!”</div>
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“It<b>ʼ</b>s so realistic, you<b>ʼ</b>ll scamper away,”</div>
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“Your pants will fall down, you<b>ʼ</b>ll move to Bombay!”</div>
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“Big deal,” said Ron, “I can beat that.”</div>
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“I<b>ʼ</b>ve got an egg-shaped planet in my Grandad<b>ʼ</b>s hat.”</div>
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“It<b>ʼ</b>s got sixteen moons of different sizes.”</div>
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“It will definitely win all of the prizes.”</div>
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“When I show my project to Mr. McThing,”</div>
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“He<b>ʼ</b>ll bow down on his knees and proclaim me the King.”</div>
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“On my planet are mountains and rivers,”</div>
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“As a classroom project, it really delivers.”</div>
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“The mountains are orange and purple and green,”</div>
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“One of them<b>ʼ</b>s hairy and it<b>ʼ</b>s name is Francine.”</div>
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“The rivers have faces and hands and moustaches,”</div>
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“The clouds are so clever they have to wear glasses.”</div>
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“There are many species of animals there,”</div>
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“There<b>ʼ</b>s a kind of giraffe with the head of a bear.”</div>
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“There are monsters with teeth coming out of their heads,”</div>
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“And a big fat bird with upside-down legs.”</div>
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“There are people too, but they<b>ʼ</b>re not like us,”</div>
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“Their houses can walk and they sleep on the bus.”</div>
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“Their faces are bigger than the rest of their body,”</div>
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“In the winter they hum a relaxing melody.”</div>
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“The tune makes the trees, which are yellows and reds,”</div>
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“Chop themselves down and convert into beds.”</div>
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“The rainbows are lazy and lie on the ground,”</div>
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“They snore with a high-pitched, wobbly sound.”</div>
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“I once saw a lion with six legs and no face,”</div>
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“Get caught by a hamster after a chase.”</div>
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“The hamsters are vicious on this particular land,”</div>
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“They<b>ʼ</b>re massive and smelly and ought to be banned.”</div>
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“Down at the bottom of one special valley,”</div>
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“Lives the King who will form my great big finale.”</div>
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“This boss of the people, whoʼs name is Dunbar,”</div>
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“Rides around with a swan on top of a car.”</div>
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“The swan (who goes by the name of Dagnabbit),”</div>
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“Thinks like a swan, but looks like a rabbit!”</div>
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“All this I have spied through my big telescope,”</div>
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“I look in the thick end and out through some soap.”</div>
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Ruth looked at Eric, Eric at Ruth,</div>
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They didnʼt believe that this was the truth.</div>
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Ron noted their unenthusiastic reaction,</div>
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And came up with a plan of positive action.</div>
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“Iʼll bring it tomorrow and then you will see.”</div>
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“If Iʼm lying use me as a comfy settee.”</div>
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“But if in fact Iʼm telling the truth,”</div>
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“Then Iʼll sit on you, Eric, and then on you, Ruth.”</div>
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The three friends agreed that this was quite fair,</div>
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And they all hoped they wouldnʼt have to act like a chair.</div>
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The very next morning, inside the school gates,</div>
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Three children arrived who were very good mates.</div>
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One with a volcano, one with a freezer,</div>
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And one with no nothing, an unhappy geezer.</div>
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Once in the classroom, Mr. McWhoʼs-He,</div>
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Said, “Out with your projects. I must have a look-see.”</div>
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“Ron,” Said the teacher, with tears in his eyes,</div>
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“You have no creation? Iʼm very surprised.”</div>
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“I did make a planet, with rivers and moons,”</div>
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“With dancing leopards and purple baboons.”</div>
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“I kept it inside my Grandfatherʼs hat,”</div>
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“I thought it was safe to leave it like that.”</div>
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“The problem you see, is a hound I call Janet,”</div>
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“Mister, that dog has eaten my planet!”</div>
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“Detention, detention!” Cried the teacher quite loud,</div>
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“I wonʼt hear this nonsense in front of a crowd.”</div>
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At lunchtime, relaxing, were Eric and Ruth,</div>
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And under them lay a miserable youth.</div>
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“I really did make that wonderful land,”</div>
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“It was egg-shaped and could fit in the palm of my hand.”</div>
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“There were forests that flew, with trees like kebabs,”</div>
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“Marble-cake lobsters and battenburg crabs.”</div>
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“But Janet ensured that the planet is over,”</div>
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“And now Iʼm condemned to act as your sofa.”<br />
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“Quiet down you! Sofas canʼt talk.”</div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-68130273573131688832013-12-04T05:21:00.002-08:002013-12-04T05:33:06.973-08:00Black IdeasI was sitting in a pub one day and got talking to a French chap about comics and how much they mean to me. The subject of Asterix came up and he hit me with an opinion that totally floored me: Uderzo was a hack who copied his style! Apparently there was another Belgian artist, André Franquin, who was the originator of that style. He wasn't someone I'd ever heard of so I did some research and found that the truth was a little different to that accusation, but I'm thankful anyway to that guy for turning me onto this amazing artist. Franquin, of whom Hergé said, 'Compared to him, I'm a poor draftsman' was an incredibly influential artist and creator of two of the most recognised characters in French comics: Marsupilami, a Marsupial/monkey thing and Gaston Lagaffe, the scruffy inventor kid.<br />
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As Franquin's style developed, more and more movement lines appeared and he imbued each frame with an incredible kind of fluidity that you can see above. One of Franquin's contemporaries was Morris (Maurice de Bevere, creator of Lucky Luke), and both were tutored by Jijé (Joseph Gillian). Along with another artist known as Will (Willy Maltaite), these four went on to dominate French comics. They are known as 'The Gang of Four' and the style they developed is called the Marcinelle School. Among these four, Franquin was most influential, which led to a large number of artists heavily influenced by his style. Of the second generation of the Marcinelle School were Peyo (Pierre Culliford, creator of the Smurfs) and a certain artist called Albert Uderzo. </div>
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How is it possible that ALL these geniuses were Belgian? It's quite amazing. </div>
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Franquin suffered from depression and in 1977 his work shifted towards a much bleaker series which he called 'Idees Noires'. Although still clearly humourous, these short black and white strips came from a darker place. They feature encounters with death and nightmarish creatures, the horrors of modern society; rampant capitalism and militarism for example, and the end of humanity. I find these cartoons fascinating. They are of course beautifully drawn, and unfortunately a lot of them are not particularly funny, but the place they come from is so stark and so singular a vision; it's quite unique and yet firmly in the tradition of humour strips in french comics. It's also worth noting that this stuff appeared in a kids comics! </div>
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I've translated three strips as best I can. The first is a simple joke about suicide, highlighting Franquin's incredible draftsmanship. The second is a comment on the consequences of being one of those doing the policing in society. The third is a sci-fi story, about a criminal and his punishment. (sorry about the blurred final panel). Hope you like them as much as me. </div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-9564178465425055512013-11-21T13:05:00.001-08:002013-11-21T22:52:10.038-08:00Asterix and the misfiring book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's a huge issue taking up most of the airtime, column inches and bandwidth of every media outlet in the world right now, as I'm sure you know. The issue is this: Why is the new Asterix book not that good? Well I've decided to add my own 'thoughts' to the mix, although they can only loosely be categorised as that.<br />
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The book certainly feels authentic, as the new writer has chosen as his topic a new tribe, ripe with silly customs to lampoon and silly names to play with. Yet unlike the Spanish, who Goscinny brilliantly wrote as a group of haughty, arrogant matadors, the Picts don't have much discernible personality at all. Instead, John-Yves Ferri dwells on tartan and body paint with endless jokes about different colours. It sort of works, but not very well, but what really doesn't is lead Pict Macaroon's tendency to speak every now and again in Scottish verse, written in a celtic font. I've no idea what this device adds to the story. It certainly isn't funny. Maybe it is in French.<br />
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The first half of the book I quite enjoyed, and it sets up the story rather well. There's some good jokes about 'pictograms', tossing the caber, freezing people in ice and the usual array of amusing names (my favourite being the Pictish druid Macrobiotix). There's the women of the Gaulish village fawning over the frozen Pict, the Roman census guy (Although why the village which isn't part of the Roman Empire would let him count them I don't know) and there's Nessie, but none of these elements really come together later to create a good second half.<br />
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The big fight at the end with the Picts and Romans falls rather flat, and is just not as good as the earlier fight with the pirates. The census guy doesn't really get a big finish and as for Nessie...she's just not utilised as well as she could be. There was a bad decision made along the way in Asterix and the Picts and that was to leave Dogmatix at home. Imagine Dogmatix and Nessie getting on each other's nerves or fancying each other. Massive comedic potential missed and for no reason at all! It's just another weird thing about this book. </div>
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There's also a bit where Asterix and Obelix shout at each other and then it's immediately forgotten. Why? Is it just a tip of the hat to those sequences in other books? The thing is, Goscinny used those moments to move the story along and deepen Obelix and Asterix's relationship. Even more baffling is this frame below where the drunken roman suddenly calls Maccabaeus the Pict chief by another name. Does he drunkenly mistake him for someone else? Is it a joke? Why does he say 'our priest'? Did they just want to slip in a joke that plays on the name McVicar? This frame is going to keep me awake at nights.</div>
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But the artwork, by Belanos! It is pitch perfect. Dider Conrad has done quite a remarkable impression of Uderzo. There are images that are perhaps slightly cuter or more Disneyfied, but overall it's a hell of an achievement.<br />
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So, in summary, this book doesn't really add anything of significance to the Asterix canon. It's a good attempt and I'm looking forward to Ferri upping his game for the next one. Perhaps it's a question of momentum-the more your write the better you become at it. Of course the elephant in the room with Asterix will always be René Goscinny. The guy was a genius and I doubt anyone can do Asterix better than he. Uderzo certainly couldn't-but at least with his solo books he was pushing Asterix in new directions. This feels like familar territory that Goscinny had already mined for every juicy laugh he could.<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-68558590960965040532013-10-18T07:23:00.001-07:002013-10-24T03:40:21.061-07:00More BurpSince I last posted episodes of Burp from the pages of Oink, I've had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy Banks, the creative mastermind behind the strip and what a nice chap he is. He told me a little about working for Oink, his creative process and an interesting thing about round furry things.. I'm thinking of sending him a few questions about the strip, so look out for that (if he says yes, of course).<br />
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Here we see the strip's themes continuing to mature: First up we have Burp posing as President Reagan's brain repairman. 'Is the brain there please?' asks Burp, 'I can neither deny nor confirm the brain's presence' says the brain's spokesman. Next we have a dark, dark tale: the first appearance of Keith the animate teddy bear. This one has to be read to be believed. Also Burp in colour and Burp with some food spilled on the page (sorry about that, although it's somehow appropriate).<br />
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And as an extra treat, the Burp episodes from the first Oink annual and summer special. You'll notice that the contrast in the sophistication of the stories with the teddy bear episode etc and these stories is quite stark.</div>
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In my next post Burp moves to two pages, and by gosh it gets good. </div>
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-55370466215746890342013-08-19T04:43:00.002-07:002013-08-19T04:43:21.372-07:00Change of paceHere's a panel from a secret project hopefully coming soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7dxHjQFVv7WQ8xO-RGNtextDya6t9jwGTkBUGHXgwOpMGGsBHSA1AtTXxDSfKR3G6mSQtlc_S133AYyZCRXVjZd9hW_Yl-SGeVoZWpqLn8PeVpIrN_vXVI3h2kNeI6GoZTDQclL_ZOI/s1600/page1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7dxHjQFVv7WQ8xO-RGNtextDya6t9jwGTkBUGHXgwOpMGGsBHSA1AtTXxDSfKR3G6mSQtlc_S133AYyZCRXVjZd9hW_Yl-SGeVoZWpqLn8PeVpIrN_vXVI3h2kNeI6GoZTDQclL_ZOI/s640/page1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-11324705907332734672013-08-12T03:40:00.004-07:002013-08-12T07:03:40.499-07:00The longest running character no-one's heard of.Ask someone which Beano characters they know and I reckon they'll say Dennis the Menace and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx and The Bash Street Kids. Ask for a few more and you'll probably get Billy Whizz, and Roger the Dodger. All these strips have been appearing continuously since at least the 60's. There's one other character who has appeared continuously since 1975, can you name him?<br />
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Yeah, 'course you can. It's Ball Boy. Created by Billy Whizz artist Malcolm Judge, he's been drawn and written by a handful of people over the last (almost) 40 years. Yikes. He's actually 20 days older than me, and I try not to dwell on my impending 40th birthday. The thing that always struck me about Ball Boy from the time I was young was that despite reading countless strips, I had no real idea about Ball Boy's character other than that he's obsessed with footie. Is he good at football, or is he bad at football? Is he selfish and scheming, or is he gregarious and helpful? Is he naughty or a do-gooder? Clearly something has been lost since he was created. Even his curious haircut has morphed into something a bit more acceptable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULCzTnnRprHRQCi17_5K6pZWZcjJcbDVhBWQ4AMHuuyzyNRqgPk2X3wo6YrtC302b_Lq79lRjLIpMy_39hBt52oSIztVJaHcoyBwMT86eDxsl3q0C28YwGP7FICKBWXFWhGfEdAlUKCg/s1600/retro_characters_ballboy_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULCzTnnRprHRQCi17_5K6pZWZcjJcbDVhBWQ4AMHuuyzyNRqgPk2X3wo6YrtC302b_Lq79lRjLIpMy_39hBt52oSIztVJaHcoyBwMT86eDxsl3q0C28YwGP7FICKBWXFWhGfEdAlUKCg/s320/retro_characters_ballboy_005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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John Dallas' Ball Boy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFodeJv9BS3rIzVG4-Pna3T4giI0mqCxkH5z6m6gH_3gvkTn1vKSaplEsHWeIdyABnAz4E5y7kBBngL6H9vr98e3bkjaMU8mfUSrNHd2wJCmlNBRN3a4ZO2CC8gsikP9vT-vVNllZhHVE/s1600/charportrait_ballboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFodeJv9BS3rIzVG4-Pna3T4giI0mqCxkH5z6m6gH_3gvkTn1vKSaplEsHWeIdyABnAz4E5y7kBBngL6H9vr98e3bkjaMU8mfUSrNHd2wJCmlNBRN3a4ZO2CC8gsikP9vT-vVNllZhHVE/s320/charportrait_ballboy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dave Eastbury's version.</div>
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I first started thinking of a different version of Ball Boy a year or so ago, and produced a sketch in a sort of Leo Baxendale/Tom Paterson style. I was just practicing my Beano artist styles at the time (which is helpful in getting work) so I hadn't fleshed out any idea for a new direction for the strip, but I sent it to the editor anyway. Well, it transpired that a new approach for the character must have been in mind for the revamped 75th anniversary Beano, because not so long ago the editor asked me to have a crack at him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJVWWpVnua-ilTCpxuuNo9NH8pqLCZDG9cJ6S4hKexBSS-RyzshyphenhyphenHaKsIjhM7fKVYWcWktBT7ZQjBZiSryx0jezotdzLLyUUlRZJczRTZiMEN74jKtemXjLDQXc70J6t1MJNAjPETIkY/s1600/baxendale+style.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJVWWpVnua-ilTCpxuuNo9NH8pqLCZDG9cJ6S4hKexBSS-RyzshyphenhyphenHaKsIjhM7fKVYWcWktBT7ZQjBZiSryx0jezotdzLLyUUlRZJczRTZiMEN74jKtemXjLDQXc70J6t1MJNAjPETIkY/s320/baxendale+style.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can see how my sketch was very close to Dave Eastbury's version.</div>
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So, when I was given the go-ahead there were a few things that needed working on. The look of the character was one, but more important was to give him a personality. I also decided to expand the cast of characters. One of the problems with writing my last Beano strip 'Big Time Charlie' was that he was just sort of talking to himself; He has no foil to inspire jokes. I decided to make Ball Boy an arrogant idiot, a parody of the perception of footballers, who are in actual fact well read, intellectual characters with the souls of poets and vocabularies to match. Ball Boy now believes himself to be as important as a premiership footballer, often confusing reality with this fantasy. To help him along his best friend Benji has been transformed into his put-upon agent, there's a kid reporter out to get a soundbite called Jeff, there's two sofa-bound pundits called Alan and Alan, there's his Dad, and soon you will see the first appearance of Ball Boy's brand-new arch nemesis. Stay tuned for that one. </div>
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So to his appearance. I decided very early on to junk a retro-style design for two reasons. First, I thought that would be a bit incongruous with my new approach-he needed to have more of a modern footballer's look. Hence the earring, the pink boots, the ludicrous mullet. (Mullets are always worn by archly ironic berks or fashion-incompetent eastern europeans so they are always amusing). Second, if you draw in a style that's more natural, rather than ghosting a style, the drawing can be more fluid because you're creating the model as you go along. In other words, it's quicker. </div>
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A couple of early sketches: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuS4SYcEZHvf9Ng1OEx7b-Rh1pCdMS0wfvdQeAnC2vAZwE444e2vEKvVpjGiAa7Rf4Zm9j2bcKpS_7GCCXXKqgW4Cn7UUoWNSfL77k-lmCIcKOVCpC2yBIu60IPd1jQJpm6h8gw6t_rc/s1600/ballboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuS4SYcEZHvf9Ng1OEx7b-Rh1pCdMS0wfvdQeAnC2vAZwE444e2vEKvVpjGiAa7Rf4Zm9j2bcKpS_7GCCXXKqgW4Cn7UUoWNSfL77k-lmCIcKOVCpC2yBIu60IPd1jQJpm6h8gw6t_rc/s320/ballboy.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVxuMZ5yg4kgGeFuKW_Z4_8H_JQc5wHMNVl5fEmHbdMWA47lTQM7pDwqt0CdwvyQ7pTRN3nMD8ThxwT79jxSCLNFmb-W_D8wstDqEXl3hxsxMB5A0ybU08iPgg_0xY4anv7QzOLvE8Zg/s1600/ballboyv2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVxuMZ5yg4kgGeFuKW_Z4_8H_JQc5wHMNVl5fEmHbdMWA47lTQM7pDwqt0CdwvyQ7pTRN3nMD8ThxwT79jxSCLNFmb-W_D8wstDqEXl3hxsxMB5A0ybU08iPgg_0xY4anv7QzOLvE8Zg/s320/ballboyv2.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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In the first one you can see he looks way too old. I though the character would work more logically as an arrogant teenager, but it becomes more surreal (and therefore funnier) when he's of the traditional indeterminate Beano age. </div>
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I decided that these ones were a little too knowing and mischievous. What I needed was to make him more absurd and daft and to that end I gave him less of a square jaw and a much longer nose. That way he also gets a good silhouette, markedly different from the other regular Beano characters. This is the final design: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCb2eoRJc_ECYynqRyBLWEHxi9i2LESVXXhpv5GJ9ukBktkTF6z3wlB5huEt2oo-yNzTKLPv6rpfNSt19s9KsT7q-T5LpXcZxQHKA5pQqjQxWyw1O83zjl63-XmClEI7w6k9hyphenhyphenugeziU/s1600/ballboydesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCb2eoRJc_ECYynqRyBLWEHxi9i2LESVXXhpv5GJ9ukBktkTF6z3wlB5huEt2oo-yNzTKLPv6rpfNSt19s9KsT7q-T5LpXcZxQHKA5pQqjQxWyw1O83zjl63-XmClEI7w6k9hyphenhyphenugeziU/s320/ballboydesign.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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So there you have it. So far the strip seems to be popular, and I think that's because my love of football and the absurdities that go along with it come through. The new look is perhaps not so popular with people because they like the Beano characters to remain as they are, but as Ball Boy was never a much-loved character I think I was right to take such liberties with him. </div>
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Oh, and just so you know, he's GOOD at football. </div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-72028835436007220922013-08-01T03:04:00.002-07:002013-08-01T03:35:35.134-07:00VAT on tatWhen I go to a big newsagent or to my local supermarket I exhibit symptoms of a strange disease common to cartoonists, where we search for the magazines that feature our work even though we have no intention of buying them. As usual, I was greeted with a catastrophe. Can you spot the Beano in this display?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCzn8GAhAKL9eCCGVQKh2OdOYRiiHr1hMRyAuGO9aq90PLMhAtXPr6_CylYDhyphenhyphencAubU5APcwfYeuNbxUOaE2mh7P9KdlaZ6zhB14XOF3A_2PDCmmkY5g3WIWq6jjazQvLI_OVKvxCtUI/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCzn8GAhAKL9eCCGVQKh2OdOYRiiHr1hMRyAuGO9aq90PLMhAtXPr6_CylYDhyphenhyphencAubU5APcwfYeuNbxUOaE2mh7P9KdlaZ6zhB14XOF3A_2PDCmmkY5g3WIWq6jjazQvLI_OVKvxCtUI/s400/photo.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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It is there, I assure you. Look for the screaming man. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz6B4lr5UqBDaZRkyQv__wb7aB4duuBxa4OaC2wX5P-Cw9ECib_TEXCCMziZSgh-Oav3x-BA6_FtroVGgIedGtEJg_bC42-b_TeWKpeDvE48rUr73591cUW0S3V8yEbkZN1CBRehTEbc/s1600/photo+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz6B4lr5UqBDaZRkyQv__wb7aB4duuBxa4OaC2wX5P-Cw9ECib_TEXCCMziZSgh-Oav3x-BA6_FtroVGgIedGtEJg_bC42-b_TeWKpeDvE48rUr73591cUW0S3V8yEbkZN1CBRehTEbc/s320/photo+copy.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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See it now? This is the 75th anniversary issue of the Beano by the way, and this was actually a good day, but what's to blame for this mess? It's fairly obvious: bags stuffed with plastic toys and thin, flimsy magazines which lack the required tensile strength to prevent flopping about and tumbling onto lower shelves. (And the busy hands and devil-may-care attitude of kiddies). </div>
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Now, if you are not a regular peruser of kids comics like me, you'd probably think that comics for kids are in rude health, but the reality is as different as this shelf is to a helicopter gunship. There are strictly only two comics in this display: The Beano, (incidentally the cheapest publication here at £2.50, 50p higher than it's regular price) and The Simpsons (£2.99 and I have no idea if it features new stories by British artists-I am guessing not). Many of the others feature a page or even three of comics, but most are wall-to-wall features, puzzles, screen shots of TV animations and the like. All good stuff I'm sure, which people work hard on to produce, but how much enjoyment do children actually get from these things? Some of these mags are literally five minutes of entertainment and at £3.99 in some cases that represents enormously bad value. There's a reason these magazines do not print many comics and that is that comics are more expensive to produce. These magazines are purely about profit making, but the profit making is based on attacking buyers by having the jazziest cover and the snazziest free gift. Is it any wonder that these magazines are bagged so that kids and parents cannot examine the contents? </div>
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Now, I am not being an idealist here, companies should be attempting to make the biggest profit possible, but to do so they should be competing on CONTENT, not free gifts and that's why I think there needs to be a change, and wouldn't you know, I think that I may have the answer.</div>
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The <a href="http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000102#P233_24165">VAT</a> rules state: </div>
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<i>6.7 Promotional items in magazines</i></div>
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<i>If you link a cover-mounted item such as a sachet of perfume or a CD to a magazine, you can treat it as zero-rated if the following conditions are met:</i></div>
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<span class="apple-tab-span"><i> </i></span><i>• you do not make a separate charge for it, and</i></div>
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<span class="apple-tab-span"><i> </i></span><i>• the cost to you of the cover mounted item or items included in any individual issue does not exceed:<br />- 20% of the total cost to you of the combined supply (excluding VAT), and<br />- £1 (excluding VAT).</i></div>
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So the plastic toys attached to the magazine which are generally made in the far east, must cost less than £1 to avoid VAT (I suspect that they cost significantly less than that), and they also keep the cover price artificially high: issues without toys must be priced the same as those with. If VAT were charged, this would add a certain amount to the costs of the cover mounted toys. Whether magazines would raise cover prices or look to absorb the costs or simply stop cover mounting is a question I can't answer. It would vary according to the business plans of individual magazines I'd imagine. A 20% charge on the plastic toys is not going to raise costs significantly however; we are talking a maximum of 20 pence, so perhaps we should think a little more deeply about what these magazines really are.<br />
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If you've ever seen children looking through the shelves, you will notice that they make immediate visual appraisal at the point of sale. They generally don’t stop to consider the content, and bagging means that often children can’t flick through the mag anyway. Here's an anecdotal case that demonstrates just that:<br />
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My girlfriend's 7 year-old niece came to visit us recently and I decided to test out some of my thoughts about these publications. A note of caution: She is quite a reader, so perhaps that skews this experiment somewhat. First of all I gave her the Beano, which she'd never read before and she sat down and read the whole thing, picking out some of her favourite bits. She asked for more comics, so I gave her the 32 page Nuke Noodle comic, free with Dennis and Gnasher magazine this month (plug, plug).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpykkXOxSr8FXw6CXgvXB_iaLi2u6f8jPJpoJXQNUe5t-rnwPZCrkl1_x0x2QFUxHXcfLbLVQhcEnc38se2IteQwgbymgR_-5MehWTBetXIYmYWmjfi-8ijbF3s3diZDJWfwyOM2jMcw/s1600/photo+copy+2.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpykkXOxSr8FXw6CXgvXB_iaLi2u6f8jPJpoJXQNUe5t-rnwPZCrkl1_x0x2QFUxHXcfLbLVQhcEnc38se2IteQwgbymgR_-5MehWTBetXIYmYWmjfi-8ijbF3s3diZDJWfwyOM2jMcw/s320/photo+copy+2.JPG" /></a></div>
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She absorbed most of that, so I gave her Gary Northfield's collection of Derek the Sheep and she liked that even better. All in all, she was occupied for quite a while. Later we went to the newsagent where I let her pick out a magazine. After examining the covers, feeling the bags and checking the free gifts, she settled on a copy of Girl Talk for £3.99, with Moshi Monsters stickers and Love Heart Jewellery (which I spent the afternoon mending and re-mending as the plastic chains repeatedly broke!) The actual magazine is 34 pages of glossy celebrity-based features and fashion stuff. She's had a look, and perhaps she'll return to it, but I doubt it. Either the magazine is too old for her, or she's just not that interested.<br />
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It's my contention that these are no longer magazines with toys attached, but toys with a magazine attached. What other product do we buy not for the product itself but for something else? For the thing it comes with, not the thing itself? Perhaps a copy of a newspaper to get a cheaper bottle of water at WHSmiths, but that's the only thing I can think of (and that's a scam to increase circulation figures). On top of that, if we saw the same sorts of toys in a pound shop, we'd probably turn our noses up at them, viewing (correctly) that they were cheap and nasty, yet we spend £4 on them if they are bagged up nicely with a few glossy A4 pages? Madness. Damn you, pester power!<br />
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I believe the whole thing should have VAT charged on it: 20% on the whole £4. It's a toy, or a bundle of toys and should be taxed as such. No toys, no VAT-journals and periodicals are zero rated.<br />
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Some calculations put together by a finance whizz:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVq6VfqvYNz0fTEcojqSGiIEZSzXcauPPKlCai3OkBg1VPPDXG9RMTSlIjTB63Adioiyo_Qxwnac3tMNsRwmpZp8tJv1n33eRPSu5Y7HT-SVyMsu6RTu3eA99pZyiHq9oj-I9dKbi_Io/s1600/VAT+on+TAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVq6VfqvYNz0fTEcojqSGiIEZSzXcauPPKlCai3OkBg1VPPDXG9RMTSlIjTB63Adioiyo_Qxwnac3tMNsRwmpZp8tJv1n33eRPSu5Y7HT-SVyMsu6RTu3eA99pZyiHq9oj-I9dKbi_Io/s640/VAT+on+TAT.jpg" width="533" /></a></div>
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Although these figures are based on a little guesswork, it can be clearly seen that to maintain profits, the cover price would have to be raised.</div>
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So what would happen if VAT was charged on this toy/magazine hybrid? Retail culture at point of sale is so ingrained that it’s impossible to say what a massive change like this would mean. The aim is for companies to junk the bag and the toys and force them to treat their products like magazines and comics once more. What I want is for content to be king.<br />
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I am considering starting a campaign to ask the Government to change these rules and I really can't see a downside for them. They have been actively looking for new things to stick VAT on, and to improve the situation for families (granted this is a tiny thing, but if your two kids are demanding a 3 or 4 quid mag each during the weekly shop, you'd hope they'd be getting some quality merchandise for that price, wouldn't you?). Ignoring the fact that this is an obvious pipe-dream, I'd say it's also a gamble, because publishers could simply crank up the cover price and preserve the status quo, but I think that these magazines are already at the limit of affordability.<br />
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What I'd like from readers of this blog post is their comments, suggestions, thoughts and corrections. I really believe this could work and ultimately we could end up seeing more proper comics for kids on the shelves. More comics is better for you because you probably love them like me, it's better for the british comic industry as young comic readers graduate to older comics and it's certainly better for me, because I write and draw them for a living. <br />
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To twitter! #vatontat<br />
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-55458131818150779262013-07-01T08:26:00.001-07:002013-10-24T03:34:57.912-07:00Let's have some more BurpHere's the next few episodes of Burp. At this point, Burp was fully formed and was already astonishing in terms of ideas, odd story ideas, plot twists and of course disgusting humour. We meet Kid Kidney and Dr Devious, Burp's superhero and evil genius internal organs, Burp sings the disembodied organ blues, grows his arm a bit too long and moves the earth... This stuff is classic kids comic material, but soon Burp would become so much more...<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-72892942737542057532013-05-15T13:07:00.000-07:002013-05-15T13:07:03.537-07:00The weakly stripI picked up a copy of the Beano last week which is not something I always do, but it had four things by me in it and I thought it would be worth keeping for posterity. Although my Lord Snooty feature works pretty well, my new strip Big Time Charlie reads terribly. It's a pretty thin story about school food and the ending doesn't work. I quickly threw the Beano down, disgusted with myself. I've written lots of weak stuff before of course, but this one really feels like it was phoned in. It made me think of my favourite writers and how they managed to maintain the consistent quality of jokes and ideas in a strip despite the extreme limitations of the form: Set the story up, making sure conflict is involved. Let the characters respond to the situation as their personalities dictate, cram as many jokes in there, have as satisfying an ending as possible, preferably a funny one, avoiding a terrible pun. All in a maximum of about 12 or 13 frames.<br />
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So it strikes me that at the moment Charlie's personality is not fully formed and I am finding that limiting a character to a suburban setting is not my natural <i>milieu. </i>Nuke Noodle, the time travelling wrestler was a joy to write because he was the exact opposite of those things. Strong personality (stupid, arrogant, violent) and I had all of time and space to set it in. Think of a character from history, do a little research, introduce Nuke, sprinkle in some horrific beatings and my secret ingredients: a complete curve ball somewhere in the plot, and ridiculous turns of phrase ("It exploded like a bad shoe.") Done.<br />
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Charlie, hopefully, will improve as he goes. In the next few episodes I have explored a few different approaches to telling Charlie's adventures, and I have found a very surreal form of clumsiness is emerging again and again. In time we shall see whether these strips lead to Charlie having an extended stay in the Beano, or being another character that couldn't hold his own amongst their classic pantheon. I'm being pretentious now, so I know it's time to stop writing.<br />
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Oh, and there might be some news for Nuke fans soon....<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-30097077659803452012013-04-23T06:51:00.001-07:002013-04-23T11:18:30.661-07:00Shrewsbury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Had a lovely weekend drawing my Big Board at the <a href="http://www.shrewsburycartoonfestival.com/">Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival</a>. Here's a photo of me drawing it with a pen by Geoff Ward. </div>
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I attacked the board with acrylic paint and gave myself a bad back. The other guys seem to have gone at it in a more sensible way, but as this was my first time I wanted to make a bit of a splash. Next year (if I'm asked) I think I'll do something with a bit more movement. Not really dynamic enough this one. Come next April and meet me and bring some copies of The Beano and The Phoenix to sign. It's a great laugh and there's lots of cartoon related goodness to nourish you. </div>
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The caption says, "I have travelled here from the terrifying post-apocalyptic future where we fight an unceasing war against nightmarish insectoid aliens....Can I have a hug?"</div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-79708396085067834502013-03-27T04:35:00.002-07:002013-03-27T04:35:49.286-07:00New character coming soonI've been devising a new story that'll be published in a comic fairly soon, but I thought I'd post some character designs. The first image is my original design, drawn in my regular style. He's based on a gladiator, but the armoured right arm is actually bionic, hence the buttons. <div>
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After working up a few strips I quickly realised that there was more potential in the look of the strip, and I wanted to make it closer to the style of modernist cartoons that I so admire-the sort of influences that Samurai Jack wears on it's sleeve. The second sketch is the first in the new direction. The shapes of the character have become more exaggerated and he's become more simplified, although the buttons on his arm have become more stylised. The final character in the strip is not quite as scruffily drawn as this guy, but he's close. More soon. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgOxTDtEUkdXwX0AWPyJMgt68eDqNPYBj_8ZoEZ97ojy491U57JEJS9eUYMWnTNpbIBNJtzHES3ynHiUP778PD8t2a2Qj1IpxGpZc_UEcPH8LwS7Oqvlh0lnaYFLxvQ5kxVpj0gOUI4s/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgOxTDtEUkdXwX0AWPyJMgt68eDqNPYBj_8ZoEZ97ojy491U57JEJS9eUYMWnTNpbIBNJtzHES3ynHiUP778PD8t2a2Qj1IpxGpZc_UEcPH8LwS7Oqvlh0lnaYFLxvQ5kxVpj0gOUI4s/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-48398571940530352012013-03-27T04:26:00.001-07:002013-03-27T04:26:17.694-07:00Oi! Can't a lump of earwax get some sleep around here?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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5 more episodes of Burp, including the first singalonga special....<br />
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<br />alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439627588510924547.post-73626898008064025372013-02-27T09:17:00.001-08:002013-02-27T09:17:52.357-08:00I married a teenage smear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Enjoy!</div>
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alexander matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590509878204936979noreply@blogger.com0