Comics - Papercuts and Inkstains 3 a/b
Steve Taylor-Bryant gets a belated fix of the Madius madness as he catches up with Papercuts and Inkstains vols 3a and b...
I've really enjoyed the majority of stuff coming out of Madius in the last few months. Their insane brand of madness just seems to speak to me in the way Tank-Girl does. It doesn't have to make sense it just has to entertain, be well drawn and on time and I'm pretty much sold. The first Papercuts was a breath of fresh air and, along with some of the stuff from Titan, helped reinvigorate my love of comics. The second was flawless. So excitedly, albeit a bit late due to real life, I now enter the two part third instalment as excited as a three year old being taken to a toy shop!
3a starts with a brilliant lonely image on the credits page as a nod to the ongoing Profits of Doom and the tingle within starts there. Angela Sprecher, Mike Sambrook and Robin Jones are up first with the incredibly funny 'A Roll of the Dice' which sees some reprobates in a saloon planning to rob the casino that has taken all the saloon owner's customers. This story evoked some child like memories in me both in language, where lots of Rootin' Tootin' happens, and in artistic style, as the whole story has the feel of the cartoon funny pages you used to get in your grandad's Sunday paper 30 years ago, ya know, just with added bloodshed. Marvellous! Jones and Sambrook team up with Paul Moore for Vampire Wonderland next and the art is a magnificent use of black and white to give a feel of Blade meets Tank-Girl in a twisted take on blood sucking storytelling. If more vampire tales were done like this, the genre might not feel as stagnant as it does. Slaycation is third up and is from the deranged minds of Sambrook and Rosie Packwood. This is twisted. You start off with this cute family travelling away to their holiday and, all of sudden, you're in Cabin in the Woods or Saw territory! I had to read it twice just so what happens actually sank in as, at first, my head wouldn't believe it. Now that's how you tell a story! Well played guys. By the way, at the end of 3a there is an absolutely glorious pin up of the Profits of Doom by Darren Smith. Glorious I tells thee...
Onto 3b then and we start with Jones and Vanguard Comics' Dan Butcher with F.P.S. We are in hunting mode with this one and it's all drawn from a first person gaming style point of view, as soldiers for Intel try and take some savages for interrogation. A great little story with a nice twist in the final panel that is enhanced with its visual style. Cracking start that leads into the second story and a refreshing take on the law during a bank heist by Nick Gonzo and Brian Burke, with some spiritual nonsense added in for good measure. The art is very pleasing and very different to most styles you'll find in comics and it seems to suit the story well. The third instalment of 3b sees Jones, Sambrook and Mike Smith continue the story of the Profits of Doom, starting with a quick reminder of the story so far because, apparently, some of you aren't familiar with PoD for some inexplicable reason! Honestly? I'm so very much in love with PoD and I don't even know what's going on half of the time. I'm sure there is a plan somewhere in the story, I'm sure there is an important meaning to it all, but I'm missing all that and just laughing my arse off at the most inept group of world enders ever committed to a page. Oh, and by the way, the PoD pin up at the end of 3b by Brad Holman? Also glorious I tells thee...
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