by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey

Its nice to write a review combining commentator with critic, response with reaction.

Daniel Merlin-Goodbrey crafts a fourth-wall breaking message to reader through a guy with a planet for a head. He illustrates it gracefully, memorably with a skill that surely reserves him a place in the end-of-decade notables of excellent Uk cartoonists.

The syle allows a direct intimate public address, suggestive by befriending in a real poet way. You may want to put the name Daniel Merlin-Goodbrey on your 'wants' list, ask if he has a mailing list, buy from his website or just try for a copy at the UK Web & Mini-Comix Thing or email

Tales From The Flat #2

Picked this one up on the London to Brighton MegaBus Comics Festival last November when I met the creators, who were good enough to answer any questions I had about it. As you can see from the photo, this comic : a fun ride.

A part serial introduces four friends spliffing slacking their way through horrific nightmares unleashed from the local greasy meaterie. TFTF Writer Laurence Powell has a good ear for the natural wanderings of dialogue, semi-soliloquy conversation fuelled by pop culture freetime. The story too is directly enjoyable, weightlessness aside, in a building that is surprising and not unlike something Simon Pegg or Flying Monkey might produce. These have in common a formula, also approach of no shameless copying.

"I keep it in the bathroom so guests can read it when they take a shit at my house" -Roger Moore

Artist Oliver Lambden applies equal effort, creating figures crosshatched by dimension expressing nonchalance, exaggeration, futility and fear : at a sporty leisurespeed. By way of backdrops, there is expansion enough in the minimalism of line to label his worlds packaging and signs as a sugared up graffiti artists scrawl. This comic left me wanting more, eager.

Thankfully i got another.

TALES FROM THE FLAT #1

Artist has again detail in the speed and at best similarities with Neill Cameron.

From written, evidenced balance teamwork and more solid detail in background which because of the poor greyscale scan levels dirtiness in this issue looks more solid before. Theres more soul in this one too, fashioned shapes and a tight design sense. Again Simon Pegg's influence appears and there is sends some priceless laugh aloud one-liners.

For a best description of this comic, an excerpt from "Beyond the pages", a round afterword,

email modernmonstrosity@ hotmail.com

Send a check to Laurence Powell
21a Altenburg Gardens
London
SW11 1JH

£2.50 per issue inc postage and packing
and remember to include name and address.

According to the introduction, "this comic strip is based on real events in 2001 in Pueble, Central Mexico" and is devoted to a narrative journey of exploited Nike sweatshop workers securing liberation in the forming of a union, a canteen and decent wages. (In cartoonist Andy Vine's narrative, the company is known as Nice, and the locale is metamorphosised to place in a British inner city). The attitude is by its own admission, propaganda, and more than a little dull mainly owing to its evangelical nature and somewhat dispersonalised workers, buyers and buyer-bosses. This does allow for occassional twists of idea forms that become clear with facts divulged.

The booklet is printed on glossy paper withh a colour cover. Stylistically, I'm not sure who to compare it to, or at the time i wrote this review, how to describe it. So heres some clips,

"No Sweat" is twee false left-right paradigm - which should be okay given its matter, but I know good comics, and this is worth only a brief information more than it gives its sequartvengelical intro. Theres nod entertainment, which Vine's style tries so hard to create. I can see the influence of Pat Mills in this though, it reminds me far more of Jack Chick. Andrew Luke no like bad comics. The hearts in the right place but helping the cause will be better achieved leaping this comic and getting straight to points, with companies like Ethical Threads and Ethical Wares

The cartoonists website is www.avine.co.uk, the No Sweat website contains details of were you can buy the comic and other gear or later additionm its available here free in pdf form
Or you might could try and do a better job yourself.