Malcolm Magic #7

Having reached issue 7 of Malcolm Magic, we look back and realise we have covered a lot of ground, something the creators acknowledge by handily providing a plot synopsis at the beginning of this issue.

Malcolm has seemingly gone from happy go lucky alcoholic aimless bunny to rabbit on a mission with a purpose (but no plan). The basic plot is that in pursuit of Bright Eyes (evil rabbit doppelganger from hell) Malcolm has crossed over into a new world and must survive its strange inhabitants, creatures and customs in order to bring Bright Eyes to heel.

The writing is as good as it has ever been. It takes you a while to get over the hundred words a minute style that Robin uses to write this in, because you are kind of unused to reading this much text in a comic, but once you get over that you realise that the writing is full of humour, wit and style. Quite unlike the common approach of the major comics labels where they assume that most comics readers have a short attention span and can’t be doing with having to read too many of these word thingys and every statement must be sensational or melodramatic or both. Here the text is actually worth reading and is complimented seamlessly by the artwork.

Artistically, they are pushing the boundaries. They use colour in a way I’ve never really seen before. Throughout the comic they had been introducing splashes of colour here and there which brought a dazzling look to Lorenzo’s pristinely detailed artwork, now, they burst colour onto the pages like an explosion of beauty. They have obviously gone to a lot of effort to enhance the whole look and feel of the comic.

Colour is used to differentiate dimensions. The world Malcolm now finds himself in is in full colour, whereas, Hippy Happy Dale, where his comrades have ended up is still in black and white. This creates an interesting contrast between the two worlds and seems to give the different worlds vastly different atmospheres and feels.

Lorenzo realises this and draws the different worlds in seemingly different ways. Hippy Happy Dale is treated to his painstakingly detailed backgrounds and vistas of buildings and habitation, wheras Nod-Suf has a much more organic and scenic feel, even when Malcolm does finally reach some sort of city it is all blended beautifully into the trees and landscape.

The Blink Twice fellas are doing something quite inspirational in the independent comics scene…they are trailblazing. They are showing other indy comics how it should be done, if only indy creators would get off their arses and work hard for it.

Recommended. Recommended. Recommended.

- Glenn Carter