Comics: A preview of Horror Mountain by Iain Laurie

Please enjoy this two-page preview of Iain Laurie's Horror Mountain:

Buy Iain Laurie's Horror Mountain at the Graphic Eye Store.

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Comics: "Slugmix" by Iain Laurie and LAN Formatique

Now available in the Graphic Eye store:

Slugmix by Iain Laurie and LAN Formatique

A mini-multimedia collaboration between artist Iain Laurie and electronic musician LAN Formatique.

Slugmix contains an 8-page mini-comic, featuring two stories from Laurie; and a 3-track mini-CD from LAN Formatique.

Both explore the themes of violence, consumerism, addiction and the fickleness of our own minds.

Go on, take a taste of Slugmix...

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Review: Ritual #1 - Real Life by Malachi Ward

Ritual #1 - Malachi Ward (w/a)

Revival House Press, $6

Malachi Ward is a strange chameleon of a cartoonist.  Just when you think you have him pinned-down from his various science-fiction and fantasy works, like Expansion and Utu, then along comes a subtle, brooding work like “Real Life” that makes you completely rethink his abilities.  Rather than anything fantastical, this first installment in his Ritual anthology is grounded in quiet domesticity.

A young couple’s strained relationship begins to devolve in the surreal.  After a power-cut, the woman’s dreams seem to be manifesting themselves in her waking life — what could be a generator explosion may also be the work of a god-like hand, and her boyfriend might have beetles crawling under his skin.  There’s a strange blend of psychological horror and magical realism at work that drops the narrative into a strange limnal state.

There is a strong thread of Jungian psychology running through the tale.  In the darkness of the power cut, we see the woman’s insecurities about herself and her ignorance of any problems in her relationship turned back against her in the form of another woman.  And, as her conscious and unconscious lives begin to collide, the darkness of her shadow-shelf only increases, not only threatening her relationship, but her very life.  When she is forced into a struggle for survival, the forces of anima and animus in the couple become not only heightened, but nightmarish, breaking their skin out in oozing pustules.

There is never any definitive explanation given for what is happening, physically, to the couple.  That the plot is so sewn up with psychological phenomena, and follows a surrealistic path, even leaves it unclear as to whether the entire story is actually a dream.  The wavering panel borders of the opening sequence would seem to suggest that only the opening is, but the accompanying caption reads: “This… this feels more…” — a wonderfully pregnant ellipsis that is only completed at the end of the book, and raises more questions than it answers.

The obvious touchstone for “Real Life” is Charles Burns’s Black Hole.  Indeed, Ward’s intensely-detailed illustration of a beetle on the back cover uses the same feathered-inking that Burns has become so innately associated with, and a few panels of the story — particularly the view inside a carton of Chinese food — recall those wandering non-diegetic spreads from Black Hole, with various household items caught in a swirl of wispy tendrils.  It’s likely that “Real Life” is intended as an homage to Burns, but bringing the teenage-angst-as-disease metaphor into early adulthood.

This is a powerful start to the Ritual series, and one that delivers an emotion gut-punch like nothing else Ward has done.  He shows himself here to be a profoundly thoughtful and thought-provoking creator, and one who treats the short-form story with respect, exploiting it to its fullest.  While other cartoonists focus on the “graphic novel” , Ward show us that there are still unexplored depths to the periodical.

-- Gavin Lees

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Feature: Taste-testing the Apocalypse, part 5

Elysian Ruin


To celebrate the impending apocalypse (Game of Thrones is over, so there's no real reason to stick around anyway) Fantagraphics have made a strange alliance with fellow Seattleites, Elysian Brewery, to release a series of 12 speciality beers with label art by Charles Burns. The beers are being released at a rate of one per month, with this month's brew being “Ruin” (as in "Mother's") which is an IPA made with rosemary and agave.


After a few disappointments with this brewing experiment (it seems to be following the pattern of the Star Trek movies, with every other release being a success) Ruin was a pleasing return to the style and quality we've come to expect from Elysian.


As its poured, the beer has the appearance of orange soda -- bright orange colouring and a pleasingly frothy, creamy head. With the sun finally re-emerging in the Northwest, this feels like a real summer brew -- bright, cheerful and full of optimism...about as far from its apocalyptic origins as you'd expect.  Even the scent of the beer reflects the season; it's light, refreshing and herbal, like the aroma of a flourishing garden.  This does what many seasonal brews fail to do and actually capture the essence of its origin.

On the tongue, the taste is strange, but easy-going, which is a welcome relief in this series.  Too many have been over-powering with their flavour, leaving a muddled mess on the taste buds.  Ruin is subtle, and allowed to express itself.  It has the lightness of a lager, and not the overly-hoppy bitterness that American IPAs over suffer from, and for what seems like the first time in this series, actually tastes like an Elysian brew.  That flavourful, aromatic quality that's such a hallmark of their Jasmine and Avatar, and even their pumpkin ales, is in full-effect here.  Like an old friend, the familiar qualities allow you to relax and soak in what they have to offer.


The blend of agave and rosemary works well, and the twist of citrus in the mix gives the flavour an added tang that makes it so refreshing.  As a partner to barbecued meats or Mexican food, this is perfect and lets you soak up these long, summer nights, when the impending end of the world doesn't seem quite so close.

-- Gavin Lees

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Weekly Reviews: Chew #26, Mind MGMT #1

Chew # 26 - John Layman (w) Rob Guillory (a)

Image Comics $2.99

One of the best things about Chew has been its surprise success.  Writer John Layman famously shopped it around for a good while before deciding to finance it himself and publish it through Image Comics. The surprise is that this book might have been considered too strange for mainstream readers, but it’s had incredible success. Its proof that if you have a good story you can sell virtually any strange idea you can come up with.

Chew, for those who have somehow missed the boat thus far, revolves around a detective named Tony Chu.

Tony, who lives in a world where the consumption of bird meat is illegal, is a cibopath. This means that he can take a bite from anything (literally anything, at times it gets a bit disgusting in hilarious ways) and get a psychic impression from that object. This power often helps in his investigation. Chew slowly reveals a conspiracy surrounding Tony Chu and the world he lives in.

In issue # 26 Tony is in a coma. This is almost a relief as Tony is a bit of a dick. That’s another interesting thing about this book. Tony is a person who you would want nothing to do with in real life. However, Layman writes him in such a compelling manner that you almost miss him when he isn’t on stage

Anyhow, Tony is in a coma so this issue focuses on his sister, Toni, who works for NASA. Toni is great, she’s a sweetheart, and a character you actually want to root for. In this issue her food power (like Tony, most characters in this book have food related powers) is revealed in a hilarious scene which reveals yet another reason why this character is so much fun. There’s a strong case to be made for a book that can put its main cast on the sidelines, and still be as great as it has ever been.

As good as a writer as John Layman is, it wouldn’t be the same book without artist Rob Guillory. It’s almost impossible to write about Guillory art without using the word “cartoon” (the book even has sound effects like “bam” written out) but that’s not knocking the book. When doors slam, they tell you they’ve slammed, as if the art doesn’t make it clear enough. Guillory’s lines are jagged and soft, and typically fun to look at. This book needs his sort of pop art edge. Without it the book would be too dark, the humor wouldn’t quite get through. With it, Chew is one of the best books on the stands, a book that should never be missed.

Mind Mgmt # 1 - Matt Kindt (w, a)

Dark Horse $3.99

Mind Mgmt # 1 from writer and artist Matt Kindt  (Super Spy, Revolver) is the perfect example of why single issue paper comics may never die. From the color of the paper to the text that wraps around the edges, this is a book that is best enjoyed as a single physical object. A trend in comic has been to add material to single issues that won’t be collected in the eventual collection. This usually feels like a gimmick, but that isn’t the case here. Anyhow, the book is so good you won’t want to be miss an issue in any case. This is the kind of book so rarely seen that it’s hard not to get really excited about.

Loosely, Mind Mgmt revolves around the mystery of “The Amnesia Flight”. Two years before the book opens, every person on a flight lost their memory. The book sucks you in by throwing questions at you. The main character is a woman who wants to write a book about that flight. In this issue she is researching the book, which we’re told she’ll never be able to write. It’s intriguing and fun. Kindt is a man full of ideas, hopefully in this book (an ongoing) he’ll get to see all of them through. That was the only problem with Kindt’s last graphic novel, Revolver. It seemed too short for him to be able to get everything he wanted to say across.

Kindt’s light watercolors splash against crooked shapes. Many of his characters seem almost incomplete, but in a waty that just gives them more definition. Mind Mgmt is a lot of fun, and it’s only going to get better.

-- Jeffrey Whitelaw

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