A review by Richard Barr,
VIOLENT
A4 90p,
24 PAGES
VIOLENT COMICS, 9 GREENACRE ROAD, WHITCHURCH, BRISTOL BS14 OHL
EMAIL mike@wurzzz.demon.co.uk
This is my second foray into the Violent comics empire, and although the first one was a standard affair, this one (issue 3) has a batch of kick ass stories and some great visuals. The first called Live Bait is Deep Blue Sea meets a psychopathic Whale Shark. The art is standard enough, in that it has no sense of place. There are too many close-ups, and the reader is left using his imagination (not always a good thing) so he can muster a sense of place. Maybe if Paul J Holden were to employ his techniques from The Flatworm in Live Bait, then Violent comics would have a greater masterpiece on its hands.
By contrast Rabid is visually darker with a great use of shadows coupled with a dry, sardonic script. By far my favourite part of the strip was the scene in which Lord Tebbit that old Right Wing motherfucker was smoked. Although I haven’t seen the previous instalments of Rabid, I can tell that it is by far one of the more superior strips in this book.
Finally Mitch Molotov is something that caught my eye, simply because of its archaic comedy. This episode concentrates on the exploding minefield sheep, a continuation from last issues exploits. The script has a piss taking quality to it, and the montages we see in a number of the panels make this a high quality enjoyable read.
'Violent' is of course a direct tribute to one of the most infamous Britcomics of all: Action. Read more about Action here and here.