Stripping Down #7 - Small Press Spotlight

Guide Dog Detective 1
"In-furr-nal Affairs" by Jess Bradley

Fur noir with a hard-boiled crime drama coming across like Cats & Dogs on amphetamines. The eponymous hero, a down on his luck labrador, tries to crack a rabbit crime syndicate and absolve his guilt over his partner’s death. An assured and well realised homage, enlivened by the all-animal cast.
Available from Travelling Man, 8 Park Street, Bristol, BS1 5NF, UK.

Scar Tissue vol.2: Destroy Bristol Special (Scar Comics)

A bumper, landscape format collection of 13 pieces, with generally strong writing, surpassed by even more impressive art. Highlights include Ali Graham’s collection of Housd shorts, Bristol Destroyed by Terry Hooper, Andy Vine’s fun EC Comics pastiche Faced With Beauty and Karen Ellis’ cover and wonderfully succinct Planet Karen epilogue.
Available from tha Scar Comics website.

Sporadic (Mini Mag) 0.5

This anthology, edited by Andrew Stitt, is more hit than miss, and devoting two of the twenty pages to creator profiles suggests a paucity of good material. However, the £1.00 cover price and some promising contributions justify a casual purchase. Matt Blissett’s After The Adventure is an enjoyable homage to Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man and his political satire George, featuring Damian Street’s sharp cartoon art, is the highlight. Gareth Slieghtholme’s front and back cover illustrations also impress. Sporadic's first issue proper will hopefully capitalise on the potential of this edition.
Available from 15a St. Augustine's Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3BY, UK.

Trixie Biker And The Go Go Pixies (Watercooler Comix)
by Matthew Craig

A fun 12 page comic short featuring Trixie Biker, her semi-sentient motorbike and a pair of pixies as they thwart ‘ether huffing fruitbat’ Dr. Julius Kroporkin’s attempted bank robbery. The artwork is crude, with text placements that occasionally detract from or confuse the narrative, but Craig’s enthusiasm for the characters shines through.
Available from Matthew Craig's website.

My reviews were originally published in Comics International #198 and #200.