Samurai Bowlingby Laura BisseyReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk.
Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 In art school, I had a teacher who was terribly frightening and intimidating, and who once told us — while staring at a classmate's canvas — that every day after our class, he would enter each room of his New York apartment, close the door, and then let out a primal scream to rid his mind of the images that had been imprinted upon his brain that day. While I could never find it in my heart to be so cruel, I will admit to being frightened every time I receive a self-published comic in the mail to review. It's a crap shoot, and I'm not often the one who wins, you know, but I am the one who has to live with these images in my head! Ahem.So, after handling Samurai Bowling like a loaded gun, I have to admit that my faith in the vitality of the self-published comic has more or less been restored. Samurai Bowling is the funny, cute and short story of Arwen Flagellum, bowling alley shoe disinfector and samurai girl who must protect Mr. Wufei's Bowladrome from the onslaught of deadly ninjas. The art is angular and spiky and stylized, and I liked it quite a bit. In a lot of black and white comics, it seems like everything has the same value, making it terribly difficult for my eye to register foreground or background; that's not the case here — it's really very easily visually read. My one tiny little criticism has to do with the hands here — even the female characters have crazy, huge, lined hands. However, this is such a small point — so small as to hardly be noticed, in fact — so it's very, very easy to overlook. But this is a comics review, for mercy's sake — I had to find something, yeah? The humor is pretty sly, and I especially liked the shadowy figures who advise Master Seamus, head of the Ninja Bowl Clan, and who — appropriately enough — are called "Shadowy Figures". According to the creator, Jeff Crowther, he normally publishes his work on the web, so you can check out his website to see his style — but if you're looking for a short, kind of campy and very cute read, Samurai Bowling would be the comic for you. And wouldn't it make you feel good to support independent, self-published comics? Of course it would! So go! Buy! Written: May 16, 2002
|
||
|
Home |
Features |
Columns |
Culture Vultures |
Report Card
Indicia | Contact | Archives © Sequential Tart, 1998 – 2021 |
||
