Two firsts: the first issue of Dregs to appear in the larger 8 1/2×11 format, and the first issue to feature an emphasis on autobiographical content. Marshall makes good use of the wide open space, he tells stories that require plenty of text, and a concentration on an attention to facial expressions that is neither grossly exaggerated nor too much like real life. Marshall is less successful tackling the format of the autobiographical cartoonist. Since he is obviously versed in the lore of cartooning, and is familiar with all the cartoon greats, he approaches the task gingerly, with a three page introduction sighting his inspiration — American Splendor. Okay, we can forgive him this self indulgence. But after the intro (actually, there are two intros, one comic, and one text) we want to see the meat of this self-consciousness; we are prepared for Marshall to reveal himself in unexpected, unsettling ways. But Marshall doesn’t do that. He gives us a fairly lackluster bunch of comics, too many of which focus on being a comic artist. The climax of this is a story frighteningly titled The Con. This fourteen page reflection on the life of the comic artist is just not effective. All of Marshall’s concerns are weightless, they are reflections not on the load of creativity, the crushing agony of imagination, but on the mechanics of the comic world, and how he fits into the food-chain of the comic industry. If these are things Marshall is concerned with, he should write an article about the state of the comic industry and send it in. That the wispy clouds of self-pity might be obscuring talent is irrelevant. Make us care.
comic / #5 / publisher: Home Brew Comics / main creator: Scott Marshall / $3 / 173 Douglas Ave., Apt 1, Saint John, NB E2K 1E5 email: [email protected]