Al Harahap
May 25, 2004, 06:19 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/allflee.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ind/allflee.jpg" height=150 width=100 align=left alt="All Flee!"></a>Reviewer: Al Harahap, al_harahap@comixfan.cjb.net
Quick Rating: Good
Go behind the scenes to see what life is really like for giant movie monsters.
Check this out if you like: Campy B-monster-movies such as King Kong and the Japanese Godzilla series, the chaotic Rampage video game series.
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "A Finishing School for Monsters"
With Gavin Burrows scripting in a rubber suit...
...can even Simon Gane's artwork save us now?
CAST:
Lenny: A giant lizard monster who is passed his prime.
When a concept has been rehashed over and over throughout the years, it's always a pretty safe bet to satirise it. Such happens to be the case here with All Flee!, which adds a whole new dimension to our interest of giant monsters that run amok through skyscraping cityscapes as if Mother Nature exacting revenge at human society for its decimation of her home. This book, however, is far from such a depressing notion. Instead, scribe Gavin Burrows and artist Simon Gane give us an entertaining look into their everyday lives "behind the camera," so to speak. The monsters are of course anthropomorphised with human-like personalities and traits, which is the core of the book's humour.
For this first story, Burrows chronicles a "lab class" for improving students' skills in rampaging cities. The professor, named Lenny, is a bit of an old fogey, whose traditional methods are disrespected by his younger, hipper students. Burrows makes a nice analogy that's relatable to our own society here, which is that a generational gap between teachers and students has historically caused lack of development in educational systems. Here, the students have a tendency to put their own spin to their rampaging styles, resulting in some very funny scenes. For example, the pair of hip-hop gangsta wannabe lizard monsters who wear their caps backwards, some "bling bling," carry guns, and quote Pulp Fiction during their stomping. Burrows succeeds in making this scene reflective of today's youth, who have a strong urge to update old ideas and making it their own. But this is essentially Lenny's story of contemplation at becoming a figurative dinosaur who can't keep up with the times.
Gane's art is simply fun, and most importantly, superconsistent from page to page and scene to scene. His lines don't vary much, as to allow a more cartoony feel that assists in satirising the serious subject matters. And yet, for cartoony visuals, Gane has also made intricate details of both the monsters and other objects in every panel. Don't expect much depth or variety, though, as this is basically a comic strip that's extended for a few pages.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "All Flee!"
Run! As Dr. Gavin Burrows unleashes a labful of genetically altered puns...
Try to hide! As Simon Gane's art terrorizes comic-reading kind once more!
CAST:
Lenny: A giant lizard monster who is passed his prime.
Nanette: A younger and more modern lizard monster.
The main character of the second story is the same Lenny from the first. Only this time he's joined, and also upstaged, by the sexy young Nanette. The old codger falls hard in love with her, and the two quickly form a friendship that blossoms into a romance. Do realise that this all happens in the span of a mere few pages. So don't be expecting a realistic romance -- it's not meant to be one. It is, however, a funny dimension to add to the myth of giant monsters. Especially during the snapshots of the couple's travels throughout various locales around the world.
For this, Gane creates a running joke throughout the panels by having Lenny and Nanette pose to get their pictures taken, oblivious to the paths of destruction they create at each locale, while each picture is also humorously juxtaposed with running and screaming humans at the bottom. Furthermore, Gane uses more creative panelling than the previous story, especially with the couple's vacation polaroid shots.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "Cruisin' with the Dorks"
In the v-neck jumper: Gavin Burrows
Sporting those polyester flares: Simon Gane
CAST:
Dorks: Just a whole bunch of dorks. No, really...
This is apparently a reprint of this creative team's story that was previously published in Arnie Comix #2. In it, dorks and "dorkiness" become the latest fad to hit the streets. Everybody starts to sport a flat hairstyle, wear thick-rimmed glasses, and clothes that can't be described as anything other than screaming "dork." Burrows once more proves his adeptness at social commentary by showing that anything once considered ridiculous could become a hot, albeit temporary, trend for today's postmodernist youth. Image is everything, and must be constantly revised because validity and attention spans become shorter and shorter with every generation.
I hate to say it, but Gane's art was better in this reprint than the new monster material. The latter of which might be harder for artists more used to drawing human figures. Fortunately, this story is all about people and society. Gane makes each dork unique, yet still retaining all the same dork qualities that convey Burrows' intention of making them automatons. There's also much more variety of camera distance, composition of figures, and objects in general, when compared to the two previous monster stories.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg
<hr width=75%>
What's weird about All Flee! is that the filler reprint is a better read than the "main stories" of the book. I say weird because there's nothing "bad" about it, especially if you don't have the reprinted story anyway, in which case you get more than your money's worth. It's just that "Cruisin' with the Dorks" came out of left field and, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with the main subject matter of giant movie monsters. Unless, that is, you count mass hysteria as a shared theme. Regardless, All Flee! is simply just a fun read to break away from the monotony of serious, superhero, drama, or horror books. You'll laugh for sure with this one.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
Check out this book at Top Shelf Publications! (http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=400)
Quick Rating: Good
Go behind the scenes to see what life is really like for giant movie monsters.
Check this out if you like: Campy B-monster-movies such as King Kong and the Japanese Godzilla series, the chaotic Rampage video game series.
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "A Finishing School for Monsters"
With Gavin Burrows scripting in a rubber suit...
...can even Simon Gane's artwork save us now?
CAST:
Lenny: A giant lizard monster who is passed his prime.
When a concept has been rehashed over and over throughout the years, it's always a pretty safe bet to satirise it. Such happens to be the case here with All Flee!, which adds a whole new dimension to our interest of giant monsters that run amok through skyscraping cityscapes as if Mother Nature exacting revenge at human society for its decimation of her home. This book, however, is far from such a depressing notion. Instead, scribe Gavin Burrows and artist Simon Gane give us an entertaining look into their everyday lives "behind the camera," so to speak. The monsters are of course anthropomorphised with human-like personalities and traits, which is the core of the book's humour.
For this first story, Burrows chronicles a "lab class" for improving students' skills in rampaging cities. The professor, named Lenny, is a bit of an old fogey, whose traditional methods are disrespected by his younger, hipper students. Burrows makes a nice analogy that's relatable to our own society here, which is that a generational gap between teachers and students has historically caused lack of development in educational systems. Here, the students have a tendency to put their own spin to their rampaging styles, resulting in some very funny scenes. For example, the pair of hip-hop gangsta wannabe lizard monsters who wear their caps backwards, some "bling bling," carry guns, and quote Pulp Fiction during their stomping. Burrows succeeds in making this scene reflective of today's youth, who have a strong urge to update old ideas and making it their own. But this is essentially Lenny's story of contemplation at becoming a figurative dinosaur who can't keep up with the times.
Gane's art is simply fun, and most importantly, superconsistent from page to page and scene to scene. His lines don't vary much, as to allow a more cartoony feel that assists in satirising the serious subject matters. And yet, for cartoony visuals, Gane has also made intricate details of both the monsters and other objects in every panel. Don't expect much depth or variety, though, as this is basically a comic strip that's extended for a few pages.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "All Flee!"
Run! As Dr. Gavin Burrows unleashes a labful of genetically altered puns...
Try to hide! As Simon Gane's art terrorizes comic-reading kind once more!
CAST:
Lenny: A giant lizard monster who is passed his prime.
Nanette: A younger and more modern lizard monster.
The main character of the second story is the same Lenny from the first. Only this time he's joined, and also upstaged, by the sexy young Nanette. The old codger falls hard in love with her, and the two quickly form a friendship that blossoms into a romance. Do realise that this all happens in the span of a mere few pages. So don't be expecting a realistic romance -- it's not meant to be one. It is, however, a funny dimension to add to the myth of giant monsters. Especially during the snapshots of the couple's travels throughout various locales around the world.
For this, Gane creates a running joke throughout the panels by having Lenny and Nanette pose to get their pictures taken, oblivious to the paths of destruction they create at each locale, while each picture is also humorously juxtaposed with running and screaming humans at the bottom. Furthermore, Gane uses more creative panelling than the previous story, especially with the couple's vacation polaroid shots.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
<hr width=75%>
Story Title: "Cruisin' with the Dorks"
In the v-neck jumper: Gavin Burrows
Sporting those polyester flares: Simon Gane
CAST:
Dorks: Just a whole bunch of dorks. No, really...
This is apparently a reprint of this creative team's story that was previously published in Arnie Comix #2. In it, dorks and "dorkiness" become the latest fad to hit the streets. Everybody starts to sport a flat hairstyle, wear thick-rimmed glasses, and clothes that can't be described as anything other than screaming "dork." Burrows once more proves his adeptness at social commentary by showing that anything once considered ridiculous could become a hot, albeit temporary, trend for today's postmodernist youth. Image is everything, and must be constantly revised because validity and attention spans become shorter and shorter with every generation.
I hate to say it, but Gane's art was better in this reprint than the new monster material. The latter of which might be harder for artists more used to drawing human figures. Fortunately, this story is all about people and society. Gane makes each dork unique, yet still retaining all the same dork qualities that convey Burrows' intention of making them automatons. There's also much more variety of camera distance, composition of figures, and objects in general, when compared to the two previous monster stories.
ART:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
STORY:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tshalf.jpg
<hr width=75%>
What's weird about All Flee! is that the filler reprint is a better read than the "main stories" of the book. I say weird because there's nothing "bad" about it, especially if you don't have the reprinted story anyway, in which case you get more than your money's worth. It's just that "Cruisin' with the Dorks" came out of left field and, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with the main subject matter of giant movie monsters. Unless, that is, you count mass hysteria as a shared theme. Regardless, All Flee! is simply just a fun read to break away from the monotony of serious, superhero, drama, or horror books. You'll laugh for sure with this one.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tsnone.jpg
Check out this book at Top Shelf Publications! (http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=400)