Blog Archives
Paszkiewicz, Douglas – Laughter of the Damned #3
Laughter of the Damned #3 (with Mark Crnolatas & Randy Crider)
So here it is, a year or so later than my last review for this guy, and I still can’t figure out what I think about him. This one left me pretty cold the first time through, but I found myself chuckling at more than a few things when I was flipping through the book to get a good sample. Everybody who’s reading this site knows that I can be the most wishy-washy reviewer in the world, so no surprises here. I think Doug’s stuff has gotten a lot darker since the last time I saw it (gags in here include a dead fairy on the windshield, exchanging the bristles of a brush with needles, and a man eating himself to death). A lot of people wouldn’t like this stuff at all, and I’m afraid that the farther we get into the land of political correctness (or whatever it’s called this week), the less likely people are to allow themselves to laugh at this book. That being said, there were still a few gags in here that weren’t funny precisely because they were obvious gross-outs. Are you looking for a coherent opinion here? Hope not. The bottom line is that there’s not a ton of funny stuff in here, but the funny stuff that you do find is hilarious in ways that you rarely see. In other words, a mixed bag, but still worth a look. $2.75, here’s hoping that the contact info up there is still good because I don’t see it in this comic…
Paszkiewicz, Douglas – Arsenic Lullaby: Sympathy for the Devil
Arsenic Lullaby: Apathy for the Devil
There are a number of things that you can do to improve a comic when you put it out in TPB form. Fix spelling errors, draw that head that you forgot the first time around, jazz things up a little bit. If you don’t do any of these things with such glaring errors, why bother to put out a book? Granted, Douglas says that things in the book might be misspelled because it is done phonetically to “add an extra dimension”. That’s ridiculous enough, but it’s OK when you at least stay in that logic. Instead all kinds of things are just missing a letter or two when that alters the meaning, and that’s just obnoxious. OK, rant about a lack of editor over. What about the book? Well, it takes a certain type to read this. I go between thinking that it’s too tacky and thinking that certain things are just hilarious. Any time the main character (if there is a main character) is a man cursed to help people get revenge who employs little zombie fetuses, well, you’re already off to a pretty odd start. I like the transitions between stories in the issues, as they just flow back and forth between stories, returning eventually. It gives it a nice sense of all being in the same place, which I’m assuming he was going for here. All in all, once you get past the stupid, stupid problems that could have been fixed with a chimp correcting this stuff, not a bad book. He probably has a step or two he has to take before he makes it to “consistently funny”, but I think he’s on his way. Take a look at these. You should be able to decide pretty quickly if this is your cup of tea or not… Past that, head on over to his website, there are even more samples there.
Paszkiewicz, Douglas – Misery A Go Go #1 (preview)
Misery A Go Go #1 (preview)
Here’s the preview edition of another book from Douglas, Mark Crnolatas and Randy Crider. Randy did the art, Douglas and Mark did the writing, in case you were wondering. There are a couple of short pieces in here about a pedophile merman, a hilarious POW escape attempt and free trade (hard to believe, but it’s funny too). And then there’s the bulk of the book, which is dedicated to a story called Human Interest, about a man with no arms and his inspirational story. The problem is that he’s a bitter, miserable human being, and there’s nothing remotely heartwarming about they guy. Look, there’s nothing cute or fluffy about the humor here, it’s actually fairly brutal, but that’s the point. The important thing is that it’s funny all the way through. Granted, it’s only a preview and there might be some dull spaces in the actual book, but the preview edition is packed with funnies. Contact info is up there, the preview edition was free but I’m guessing the actual comic was $2.50 or so, judging from his other books…
