Japaofail!

One of the things I like about the UK comics scene is that there's a lot of cross platform things going on, basically you can buy a print comic and discover it's originally a webcomic or vice versa. I've been following Japanofail online for a few years now and it is hilarious! I wasn't going to turn down the chance of buying it in dead tree format, thus supporting the artist, I now own both issue 1 (bought at last years MCM Expo) issue 2 (just bought this year) and a comic titled D.R.U.N.K. (which I am about to start reading) by the same artist. Now some of you might react badly to the art but it works, the loose, crazy style basically makes the puns, jokes and funnies better! It compliments them. It was originally conceived as something that could be drawn in the shortest amount of time possible, I think for a while MS Paint was involved.

I think we can all honestly say that we've been here:

Just me? Fine.

Anyway, if you have a like for Japanese culture of any kind and don't mind laughing at yourself or close friends and relatives then this is a comic for you! 

The Adventures of Ninja Bunny by Philip Spence

The Adventures of Ninja Bunny take place generally in a world without words because as we know ninjas do not talk, real ninjas are silent, besides bunnies are too. Ninja Bunny is an incredibly efficient ninja who travels the land in search of adventure. Online it updates one panel at a time, these panels work well on their own or sometimes join together into a story such as the one I purchased from Philip at the MCM Expo, entitled Attack of the Clone.

Ninja bunny is a very enjoyable read, I love the small format of the printed comics and encourage all to sample the wonder that is up on the website.

The Octopus Just Wanted To Snuggle

Prick by Tpcat

Prick is all about life, the bad side of love, religion, things that happen and I suppose human nature. Told through the medium of cute animals you could easily be tricked into thinking this is a book for children, don't be fooled. For such a deep, dark subject as human nature this book is so pleasant to look at, every first impression says you should be finding it in the kids section of a book store. Last year I picked up a little comic by the same Tpcat, Rabbit Love Story 1, I am glad to say the same strangeness is found in Prick. If you don't have a strong stomach for slightly twisted, slightly wrong but oddly cute work then go elsewhere, if you love that kind of stuff then please, by all means pick up a copy.

Last year Tpcat also had a unique comic on her table, drawn entirely on toilet paper. It was long, I looked at it, it was entertaining but I had no clue if I should buy it or not, said strange item is now available in the more familiar book form. Slightly less daunting to pick up and attempt to read. 

The things one can achieve with just a single sheet of paper.

I've just read a couple of very mini-comics that were placed in my hand during the merriment following the MCM Expo on Saturday night. A very good night. The man behind them is a Mr. Dan Fish. The most interesting of the two is Deja-Vu (not that Foot-Balls of Fury isn't interesting mind you, I just found Deja-Vu more so) which is essentially a comic in a circle. Playing on the idea of deja-vu it starts where it finishes, there is an online version of the comic in question but it loses a lot of impact when it's not printed on a sheet of A4 folded twice. You lose the ability to twist the page around as perception is altered and indeed end up back at the beginning.

An invention that can alter perception is a very dangerous invention indeed.

If you can get your hands on this, do! It's fun!

AstroFunk by Ross Burt

This is a gorgeous comic, one of those ones that you think, wow, they've really gone to town here. Professional looking, very nice finish and well... that's enough about first impressions, I could go on all day but lets get to the content.
It's great to see a strong female character with a bad attitude running around space, sticking her name all over things and generally enjoying the colour pink but in a totally bad-ass way,. It makes a change from the nicey nice peaceful alien chick or the "love interest". The heroes of this story are clearly out on a mission a mission to tag anything that doesn't move, and a few things that do for that matter.

I don't think I'll ever see rabbits in the same way again.
Aah and a rendition of Bright Eyes.

I'm trying to ignore the deliberate use of U instead of you on occasion but my brain can't do it, it instinctively tells me it's wrong. I know it fits with the graffiti scene and that I'm probably uncool for commenting on it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it didn't swap between both.
The use of colours is fantastic though, I love the monotone look of the comic with added flashes of green and pink, it really makes certain elements stand out and adds to the crazy, really enhances the atmosphere of the comic, makes it all sorts of fun. Seeing the process behind making the comic was a nice touch, I always enjoy things like that, seeing the artwork develop from rough sketches into the final piece is great.

Ooh and the bonus comic at the end is just good fun, Captain Fuzzball and the Rumble of Doom! All that hard work, will that little guy ever get his reward?

You can find more on AstroFunk at the website, including previews for issue to and info on how to grab issue one!

In short AstroFunk is a crazy mixture of gaming, graffiti and comic culture that pops off the page and grabs you, then gets busy tagging you with green and pink markers and paint.

Doctor Bandaid's Hot Guide to Romance - by Philippa Rice

Philippa is responsible for the carbon low genius that is My Cardboard Life, recycling really does work!
Doctor Bandaid is a hopeless romantic, always after the affections of Pauline, though in his own mind he is a true ladies man, this little book shows the tragic but hilarious results of his attempts to woo. Doctor Bandaid gives such useful help as ice breakers, gift ideas and even an inspirational poem, devoted to Pauline. The mixture of crafty paper and sticking with drawings and paints makes this a winner.

Doctor Bandaid's mini-comic is available from the My Cardboard Life Shop, I also highly recommend the webcomic, it's fun for all. If you don't believe me go and try it, you soon will.

Oh and it also helped a bit that at the Expo Philippa was dressed up as The Doctor (Doctor Who, not Doctor Bandaid, though the comparison would be fun). 

Cowboy Love is Pure 1 - By Tom McNally

I've just read another comic from my adventures at the MCM Expo.
Cowboy Love is Pure is a great little read, the bright yellow paper it was printed on drew me over, I started to flick through and found myself learning that some cowboys seek advice on love from a giant centipede. It's a very short read but the first in a small set, the smallness makes it easy to just pick up and try, which I recommend you do by the way.
Cowboy Love is Pure is also available here, in website form, including a rather entertaining rave image.

Go on and read, you know you want to. 

Review: Something Brewing - By Amanda Elanor Tribble

Something Brewing is one of the books I snatched from the Comic Village at the MCM Expo in May. The cover attracted me, people say don't judge a book by its cover but lets be honest a comic book cover is a different matter, it's part of the whole presentation and overall this is a lovely thing to see. The comic itself is about two people, Lou a struggling writer and Dan who works in the cafe that she frequents and their everyday life. Despite it being a short (but sweet) comic it's still very clear to see this friendship between them has been developing for a while and is possibly changing into more. The simplicity of the backgrounds gives each page a spacious, open feel, it invites you to read more, sometimes it's tempting to pour detail after detail into the background but less is more in this case, it really helps to highlight the feelings between the characters and their situations. A great short read, perfect for hiding inside your text books during school (not that I would encourage such behaviour, specially if you get caught).
So in summary a lovely book by a lovely person, she was kind enough to sign the first page of my copy, you can tell how genuinely nice she is by the lengthy thanks she gives on the back page.
Very much worth the read.

Random thing about the comic: The cover is printed in such a way that all the blacks are slightly raised off the page, I get easily amused when that happens and like to run my fingers over the synopsis and pretend like it's Braille. Not quite that far, I just like the feel of it.

This comic is: Shiny!
To see more of Amanda's work you can visit Painted Lunacy.



This is what I love about small press and self published comics, it's so easy to get into it that we get to see so many talented people develop their styles right there infront of us. Age, experience, contacts, none of that matters, you just need the will and drive to do it and all those other small press, self published types are always there to help. I hope to see much more from Amanda in the future.

Who else has bought this comic? Feel free to share your views in the comments.