TRS2 is a review sheet distributed by post by Jez Higgins and
numerous individuals. The reviews are first housed here, by Andrew Luke and John Robbins
with Richard Barr. All the reviews since February 2000 are archived here along with
various articles and resources from the sheets. A fuller explaination of what TRS2 is
and how to use it is below
Prolific cartoonist Philip Barrett escapes through A Crack In The Shell to produce this new title, Matter; and in doing so, breaks from the confines of his usual newspaper-style strip and finds breathing space in the featured twenty-six pager, A Stagnant Pool.
A mundane tale this, about going through the motions in a kind of detached shock; that sense one gets of merely observing the life-on-automatic dealt you, little realising that increased emotional involvement (with the aid of Prozac) is the yearned-for panacea. Owing much to the influence of Eddie Campbell and Adrian Tomine, A Stagnant Pool takes us through one night/morning in the life of a protagonist struggling to shake that 'left behind' feeling provided by a best friend now 'moved on'. Told with intimacy in first-person narrative and crafted with an informed judgement throughout, we are treated to a thoroughly engrossing, irresistible read that succeeds with deceptively casual ease in utilising those mechanisms of the strip-form required for affected response.
Expertly paced, modestly ambitious, and drawn-almost-as-an-after-thought with such uncluttered confidence as to make me wince, Matter is nothing you've not seen before (wha?), but never-the-less is another flawlessly realised patch in the funny/sad, understated and poignant patchwork of resonant material with which we forlorn folk like to wipe the red stuff from our opened wrists. Card covered A5, 32 pages; email aunty_matter@hotmail.com (We all know it's you, Barrett!) for ordering details.
Toenail Clippings contributor Bob Byrne goes solo with this impressively produced effort, mixing Renee French with 'Ed The Happy Clown', Al Columbia with early 'Jimmy Corrigan', but choosing to infuse the work with a kind of MTV madcap rather than any insightful, meditative element. As a result, MBLEH! lacks substance and composure, but provides lively read.
Two strips account for much of the content of this first issue: Clam Land, an energetic, fluid and frantic tale told with firm grasp of sequentialism, but with some silly, laboured dialogue; and Adictos, an earnestly dull affair with power fantasy undertones that, punctuated with tiresome pockets of exposition which disrupt narrative flow, is lamentably confused and fails dramatically on the story-telling front. In fairness, the latter is probably an early development effort, and on the positive side serves to highlight the strengths of the strips that surround it. Speaking of which...these shorter efforts provide the more affecting moments in the form of the agreeably disturbing Fugue 1, the dippy Hot Coffee, and the just plain funny Ace That Interview, Airport Court and Freaky Facts. Most hilarious moment however comes with the first panel of the opening strip - Grated Cheese - in which a man in a supermarket examines a packet he has just plucked from a shelf. Incredulity verges on indignation as he exclaims 'Wuh? You can buy grated cheese?!' Priceless!
Gratuitously unpleasant at times (the rape-droid of Fugue 2 in particular), MBLEH! often strikes a hollow note and flatlines due to an absence of charm, but succeeds in providing a diverting entertainment hued with defective personality. The computer-enhanced artwork offers some neat, ambitious tricks reminiscent of Columbia and Ware, but more importantly provides energy to an otherwise stiff cartooning style. All-in-all then, a sound first issue that hopefully will be proceeded by a second. US comics format, colour cover, 36 pages; see clamnuts.com for ordering details.
(Pink Square) because there are 106 different titles for this book. Not a dream, Not a hoax, not an imaginary story! It's got personification, incoherencies and distraction, integrity, lack of integration, prejudice, spotlight on demand, measurement (of movement), comparison between people and things.
Worth picking this book up, if only to draw your own conclusions from it. As far as i can asertain, it's a story of lonliness based around a selection of very nervous characters. The book has an air of quashed dreams and a real sense of helplessness. It's definately a great comic if only to have as a conversation piece. The artwork as always is tidy and at some points conveys a real sense of isolation. An enjoyable read.
Frustrating, compelling, One of the most exciting cartoonists in Britain today.
£1 & SAE from Andrew Lewis, 39 Priory court, Brynoch, Neath, West Glamorgan, SA10 7RZ.
National Comics Award winner Andrew Lewis hammers out some witty dialogue and some fly plot twirls in this three-piece united by a theme of love. "Roboman" is illustrated by Matt Brown, whose tone can be too timid at times, rewarding were there is an unrestrained use of black. However, this is Lewis classic, embodying the fine qualities of any future-shock, racy, and some great light chuckles and use of irony. "Your Yin To My Yang" is an experimental piece of non-pictorial word placement successful due to Lewis' ability to create compelling tales for varying levels of immersion. The package concludes with a most offbeat adaption of John Keats 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', new dimensions available to warp into perhaps not a neo-classic, but something that stays in the memory for quite some time after.
Buy yourself a ticket into the unique world of Andrew Lewis, the new thrillmaster!
On first viewing, this appears to be a tract on the morality of laboratory experiments and mutilation of animals, also the whole area of selective breeding. However, much of the story focusses on the central character (a female plumber), a giant rat, and interspecies mating. Much of the enjoyment of this comics is watching those metaphors, symbols and messages run up and down the streets, rapping on doors at 7am.
Utilising the widescreen format, 'Harold Penis' releases his rather quirky, slackewre style onto the pages; a most competent minimalism. Penis is Canadian and the 200 or so words in the comic are in German. The visual language does most of the explaining. Take this trip.
Kelmpner 214, "A Komicks for the adultes - not the stupid little kinder" is 40 pages, 'send about $4, or some sort of comics in trade, to this here address: Zoe/H.P., Suite 101, 76 North Nanaimo Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V5L 3G2'. Harold can be emailed at feebletude@hotmail.com. I recommend you follow this one up.
GOOD MORNING, MR. RAMSBOTTOM
In English, a one picture per (24) page A7 pocketbook about two dignified gents accosted by the town boob who attempts to embarass and humiliate them. A fun four minuter written by Ryan Matthews and illustrated by Harold Penis. a welcoming read, for more info, email Harold by feebletude@hotmail.com
This is the first offering from Insomniac Machine, a group of creators based in the US, Mexico and Canada, Europe and Indonesia. The story centres around the samauri of Zeni Okoku and their conflict with the Shurajou Guntal and other external forces, supposedly from a far more sinister region. Ooh, ooh. Me so scared. Writer Tim Edstrom does a competent toil on the first of this multi-volume piece however the gallery glory really belongs to artists Jacqui More and Victor Aviles. using black, white, red, CGImitating grey watered brush and perhaps some motion blurring, the effect is, particularly at first, nothing short of brilliant. The recreated distinctly Japanese architecture and costumes explode for the face some v.worked detailing.
The complaint? This is too good to be confined to the format suffocates the artist some. Kouseki could do with more investment in page layout, a tinkering with the current thin-line panel borders. the quality paper suits, is not misused, is deserved. I don't know my samauri comics, but I hope these folks stick with their schedule; a promising first issue.
Kouseki is 20 pages, A5 with a colour cover. It's available from Insomniac Machine, 5500 Laurent Drive 515D, Cleveland, OH 44129, Attn: Jacqui More Although postage is American $1.60, I don't have a price for this. Contact contactim@insomniacmachine.com, also check out listings over at Ian Shires' Small Press Association/Dimestore Productions
Insomniac Machine also have a website, which really isn't a very good reflection of this comic, at all.
I've mentioned this briefly before and I think it's worth mentioning again. This is an artist whose work I really look forward to seeing more of.
Released six months ago, Toby Gerard Parson's picturebook examines the events of September 11th and the many aspects proceeding and following it also. bellief, communication, distance and travel, fear and anger. This collection of images is stimulating and induce return viewing compulsion. Also fascinating, another clue that the sequential art of comics really can achieve so much.
Unless this has gone beyond first print, it's unlikely there are any copies left. All the same, send £2 to Toby Gerard Parson, No.1 St. Mary's Road, B. Hill, W. Sussex, RH15 8NU. There perhaps be something available to you in the next number of months.
Twelve issues of Square Eyed Stories and three issues of Killer Bunny Comics. Companion, descendent title Pulp Kitchen takes a leave of absence after this issue. For those unfamiliar with PK, its format is as one of those Buster (Burster?) holiday specials. Chunk-full effort layers. It's probable that few will like everything in this mag, it certainly can't be faulted for its variety.Sixty pages, Fifteen different creators, eighteen pieces.
Not all of these stories, showcases are worthwhile, yet even the crapp presents a sensation of the positive, a real 'scene' in Liverpool. Each issue of PK portrays this and it's my guess that it in quiet, unassuming way has somehow worked as an infector for the current enthusiasm in British comics. Is this the last? I won't miss PK, as it still is. UP HERE. What a time it's been! And then, I have all the issues, you lowlifes!
Pulp Kitchen #5 has a colour cover, is A4 size and costs £2.50 & 50p P&P. Available from Pulp kitchen, Hall Studios, 4 Wellington fields, wavertree, Liverpool, England, L15 OEL. Editors: Jim McGee and David B. Goodman can be contacted at pulp_kitchen@hotmail.com Back issues are also available, check out the website at www.pulpkitchen.50megs.com
The longest running Irish magazine of speculative fiction, Albedo One is in its tenth year of publication, but only on its twenty-fifth issue. Not exactly prolific then, but while other publishers strain to adhere to self-imposed deadlines, Albedo One embraces a publishing schedule dictated by its gradual accumulation of quality material - material that mixes first time writers with established professionals, and that demands an audience. Three European Science Fiction Society Awards suggest a winning approach.
This current issue, though slightly uneven, continues the Albedo One standard of well crafted, oddly cosy science fiction and horror short stories. Opening proceedings is Elvis Is Dead, a likeable piece of sci-fi tinged with hard-boiled detective work and throw-away humour. Elvis clones are dropping like flies and underworld kingpin Elvis Stradivarius turns to investigator Lamar for assistance; his only lead: the popular recreational drug Tetra Isopropyl Ketamine, aka 'the kid'. Not economically written, the fact that the story seems to lack a defining draft adds to its charm. A delusional and dissociative closing paragraph - which focuses theme - suggests a damn fine tale has been told, but in truth this one is no more than agreeably diverting. One Last Look At A Half-Moon offers a thoroughly sound grasp of story-telling and entertaining read, and succeeded in engaging this reader. In the virtual office, gridlock meets broadband, and multi-tasking as applied to a single brain driving a subs-bench of virtual bodies is already in operation and resulting in improved financial performance for one particular company. The Tax Department smell a virtual rat... The Olivia Reunion Party continues the multiplicity thread, but from a more profoundly emotional source. However, only in retrospect is it an affecting tale - with one's perceptions upended due to twist ending, only then does the story actually read other than one of bickering sisters, albeit with cryptic undertones. Still, a fine idea (which I won't reveal), though resembling less a genre short story than an under-developed stage play. Finally, The Barber is a flawless piece of horror prose, well crafted and technically impressive, which tells of a young man's descent into madness via the old tools-of-the-trade route. A sound piece of writing, but pretty routine, sterile stuff, really.
Also on offer this issue: a lively interview with sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson, a comic strip, and eleven pages of in-depth book reviews. And the whole shebang comes neatly designed, pristinely printed in black and white A4 format, and comprises 48 type-packed pages. An accumulation well worth burying your head in, methinks! Albedo One #25: 3 UK quid, from 2 Post Road, Lusk, Co Dublin, Ireland.
Past Reviews June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 How to use TRS2To order
First off check how old the review is. If it's quite old it might be worth checking first before
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To get a review in TRS2
Send a sample copy of your comic to Jez Higgins, 26 Sandon Road,
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To get a free copy of TRS2 on paper
Send an SAE to the address above.
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Who's responsible? Andy Luke worded many of the reviews on TRS2 and published
the paper edition for awhile. John Robbins, Gary Northfield and
Richard Barrhelp out with reviews and day to day works.
Jez Higgins distributes the paper version.
