What I Did on my Holiday....Part One

Published by Silver Fox Comics, Sydney.

Here I am sitting in front of my computer on my last day of my holiday from work, reminiscing about the three weeks that seems to have flown by...   I must say I have achieved quite a lot during this break....   Thanks to the generosity of Pozible Pledgers the NED KELLY book is now ready for the printer (bar the Back Cover and some details I want to include on the Dedication Page), I have spent time with three of my daughters and three granddaughters (and my wife and dogs), and - in between the large amount of unusual rain we have had this year - I have even managed to get some gardening in these three weeks.   As you may have read, I also came down with the so-called "Man-Flu"!

I successfully passed this on to one of my daughters (sadly, the one who is pregnant) and - briefly - my wife.   Although, for reasons I cannot fathom (and probably never will), it is not called "Man-Flu" if a female catches it...!   I shall not dwell on this, but simply move on...

One of the benefits of getting "infected", is that one has to "rest and take it easy" for a day.   During this time I was able to read a few books and comics (in between sleeping) which tended to make me feel far less miserable.   One of the Comics I read was Zombie Cities: Violence Vs Compassion (that's the cover on the right)....    

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A sample of the detailed artwork on offer in ZOMBIE CITIES

The book was "created, directed and written" by Sydney-based Sorab Del Rio, who has been mentioned on this Web-Blog previously (Zorro review, April 2011).   Sorab has given me permission to review his comic and use some of the illustrations, under the proviso that I have positive things to say about the book...

And there are many good things to say.   It is professionally presented, with 104 pages in full colour on wonderfully high quality paper stock.   (Sorab's website says the interior is 150gsm gloss stock and the cover "300gsm gloss card with cello glaze", and I have no reason to doubt that.)   It looks lovely!    It is regulation comic book size

The artwork is by a whole bunch of artists, I must confess, I know nothing about: Abstruse, Martin Szabo, Netho Diaz, Mano Araujo, Rene Micheletti, Assis Leite, and Chuch Obach.    They have all done a wonderful job in bringing Sorab's vision to life and should be congratulated!   Are all of these artists sitting around in Sydney with their comic works unpublished?   I hope we can see a lot more comics artwork from them: perhaps even illustrating their own comic stories and visions  in the future.   Australian letterer Don Ticchio rounds out the creative team, and he does his usual wonderful professional job: the lettering is clean and legible, and ensures the story flows fluently.

On the negative side....   Oh, now here I must be a Man of My Word...!   Sorab has said I was able to review Zombie Cities: Violence Vs Compassion if I liked it, but "if [you] don't like the book please don't review...." and I agreed to this.   What do I do, however, if there are certain aspects of the comic that I need to (constructively) criticise or don't particularly like?   In order to be a Man of My Word, therefore, I have decided to speak simply about what I do like.

And because I feel mostly positive about this volume, I am going to suggest that you do head to Silver Fox Comics now (here's the link: Click Here) and hand over your $30 for your own personal copy (price includes postage within Australia).   The earlier volume by Sorab, Zombie Cities, is also available at the web-site (also $30), as well as a whole range of prints.   If you are not sure (and I trust this review has not added doubt about if you should purchase or not), there is also an opportunity on the Silver Fox Comics web-site to download a free 20 page preview of the books.   I think this is a neat innovation and will allow you, dear Reader, to make up your own mind....without me being negative in any way in this Review....

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