Stratu’s Diary Comix March-April (self-published, 2017) ***¼

[Review by Dann Lennard - originally appeared 4 June 2017 at his blog Kirby Your Enthusiasm]

I love Stu and this is a fascinating exercise of self-discipline, but the cupboard is bare when it comes to intellectual or entertaining reading material. Friending and blocking people on Instagram, internet shopping, TV shows or films he’s watched, vaping...there’s just not a lot of depth in what’s purportedly a “diary”. And I understand that dilemma – when I briefly did my own diary comic last year, I gave up because I was unwilling to share my most intimate thoughts to strangers. So what I was left with was the mediocre, mundane (and occasionally interesting) minutae of day-to-day living. The few times Stu explores more personal territory – like hanging out with his aunt or talking about how a certain person has let him down or helped him or whatever, then the zine gets more interesting. But those moments are a few and far between. That said, I did appreciate Stu’s mention of Seoul Station (the anime prequel to the excellent South Korean zombie flick Train To Busun. It encouraged me to buy it). I appreciate Stu’s work ethic and artwork (the personalised cover on the March issue was lovely). I note that he’s changed the format for April, turning it into an A6 digest (maybe for monetary reasons?). Either way, this zine is fine if you’re a friend of Stu’s and want to know how he keeps himself busy every day, but I wish it was so much more.

Zenyaku Part 3 [July 2017]

  

Shaun Craike [art] and Susan Torre [story], www.facebook.com/Zenyaku Trades? No idea. Maybe. If you make a manga-style comic. Just ask; Size: 8.25" x 5.75" Page count: 36

It's hard for me to believe that it has been just over TWO YEARS since I received a copy of Zenyaku Part 2, but there it is right there - my review from May 2015.

So it's just as well that this issue begins with a one-page recap, "The Story So Far..." Basically this guy Drake gets sacked from his job, then kidnapped by The Black Clan [a kind of samurai gang] who tell him that he is the son of one of their former [read: dead] members, so he will be forced to take his father's place. Meanwhile Drake's mother is also kidnapped by this gang, and we learn that she used to be with the King of the Black Clan until she ran off with one of the pawns [low-ranked member]. Guess who? Yes, Drake's father. Part 2 ended with Drake undergoing some intense sword training, and ultimately being presented with a sword - his father's sword!

Pretty cool story so far, right? Right. So like HELL am I going to spoil anything for you. All you need to know is the art is up to Shaun's usual high standard, in fact even higher, and the story is well-paced and captivating, with all the intrigue and mystery of these opposing, chess-like Black and White Clans. Some of the dialogue does seem to be inadvertently comical ["NOW DISAPPEAR, SICKBAG."], but the only real criticism I have is the usual one - the appalling typos. An example - TWO misspelled words in this one speech balloon: "NO, NO, NO, I WOULD NEVER JEPODISE MY BUINESS, LET ALONE MY LIFE." [Also, I noted in my review of Zenyaku Part 2 that even the subtitle was misspelled - all three words! Well, with Part 3 only one word in the subtitle is misspelled. Improvement!]

Anyway... Typo, schmypo. I'm looking forward to Zenyaku Part 4! Mid-2019!

It's All Downhill From Fear by Gerard Ashworth [September 2016]

 

20 pages, $3.00, by Gerard Ashworth [Contact [???] Gerard is hard to contact, being as he is out of the loop, technologically. If you want a copy, contact sstratu [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll make sure he gets your message.]

It took a while to get around to reading this [could be my quote of 2016] - Gerard gave this to me when we shared a table at the Manly Zine Fair back in September. Historically, I go into a new Ashworth production with a sick sense of dread. They can be so dense and inscrutable! Really hard to understand! And to add insult to psychological trauma/injury, he makes fun of the reader constantly for his or her limited intelligence! *Blub!* But this one is easy to read! ...Or maybe I've gotten smarter? No, impossible! In short, I could say not only do I not remember the last time I enjoyed an Ashworth comic so much, but I do not remember the last time I enjoyed an Ashworth comic. ... Amongst the really great autobiographical stuff where he exposes his 'quirks and idiosyncrasies', there are also terrific comic stripped versions of a Godley & Creme song, 'I Pity Inanimate Objects'; and Gerard's 'girlfriend' Sabrina reciting "the greatest Beat poem of them all", 'Tomorrow Is A Drag', from the 1958 movie 'High School Confidential'.