Tusk Special #1

Fans of MALCOLM MAGIC, the sublime funny book from the Etherington brothers, are in for a treat with this quirky spin off. TUSK is essentially a situation comedy in comic form, and the situation in this comedy is a universally successful one, the pub. Like Cheers, Early Doors, Time gentlemen please and Phoenix nights, it uses this well understood backdrop to introduce us to a bizarre assortment of characters whose main similarity is their choice of watering hole. The setting is inspired, as it leaves the creative door wide open to be able to experiment with various self contained ideas without affecting any ongoing continuity.

The TUSK of the title is a loveable Westcountry rhino landlord, and the book features 5 stand alone stories set in his pub, The Last Mammal Standing. The formula that has made MALCOLM MAGIC so successful has been recreated here. Once again there is a titular male lead is surrounded by a ragtag bunch, each of whom has their own particular neurosis. It is quite a bold move for the Etherington brothers to attempt to put together yet another ensemble cast, but they have been able once again to create a distinctive and interesting cast of characters.

The first story Wot? No Beer centres on the mysterious appearance of an elephant in the pub. Not only is the elephant taking up a lot of room, it has also managed to drink the cellar dry leaving the career drinking regulars pining for some beer. This quirky tale is the perfect way to introduce each of the main characters and it is pretty funny too. It even manages some product placement with references to award winning Old Thumper beer.

Killing them Softly, the second story, is about the Last Mammal Standing's open mic night. The musical backdrop gives writer Robin the chance to have some fun with the characters, with some clever humour, and playful dialogue. The art is really expressive and the writing gives you an even better understanding of the relationship between the characters. The story works well and they set it up perfectly for the punch line climax.

Proof of Age is quite a slight tale really, and because of this it doesn't work as well as the first two do. Roddy the turtle takes centre stage this time, and Tusk himself does not feature in what is essentially a one-joke strip about under age drinkers.

One page strip Shaggy Dog Story is the weakest tale for me. There is a lot of dialogue and the art is basically talking heads, with Ed the mortician telling the fabled ghost story of local loony Cartoof. It isn't as funny as the other strips and does nothing to develop the characters; leaving you feeling it is nothing more than a filler.

Double Down marks a return to the character driven, ensemble feel and sense of humour that worked so well in the first two stories. This time it is the turn of Falcoon, the pub's resident cool cat, to take top billing. He is an interesting character, and you get a solid understanding of who he is. Like The Fonz in TV's Happy Days, he walks a very fine line between being very cool indeed and not very cool at all. Here Falcoon decides to set up a casino in the bar, which proves rather unsurprisingly to be a big mistake. This tale isn't quite as funny as the first two, but it has its moments and is probably the best example of Lawrence's artwork in the book. Overall the confined pub setting restricts the book artistically, especially as we have grown used to the inspirational, expansive backgrounds that have brought this book's parent title to life so well.

As well as the five short stories, this special edition also features enough extras to keep even the most rabid Blink Twice fan happy. There is a behind the scenes tour of The Last Mammal Standing, a sneak preview of two playable environments from the forthcoming Malcolm Magic and the very cherry sherry computer game, along with 5 pages of the redrawn, rewritten, revamped MALCOLM MAGIC Issue 1 ready for the Worldwide release of the Redux edition. While most self publishers are running around frantically trying to get their books out between conventions, the Etheringtons manage to release book after book, market them extensively and add extras like these, I have to assume they have chosen to forgo all sleep.

TUSK is a really interesting companion piece to its father title, and is a thoroughly enjoyable book in its own right. The setting and characters lend themselves to an unlimited series of short adventures, and I don't think it will be long before the unassuming rhino and his drinking buddies return. The MALCOLM MAGIC pages are an interesting addition to the book, and they remind you why that book works so well. This is well worth a read, and the pub based sit com environment makes it very original, but it doesn't quite live up to the standard of the book that spawned it. In time though this book's very own magic should blossom.

- Peter Rogers