Blastosaurus Halloween Special review

BLASTOSAURUS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (SQUARE PLANET 09)
Written by RICHARD FAIRGRAY & TERRY JONES
Art and Covers by Fairgray

With creator Richard Fairgray signing on with Jeff Katz's American Original Press, Blastosaurus has fully left obscurity and is breaking into mainstream press at last. As a sort of parting gift to all the fans who read Blasto when he was self-published, Fairgray and Jones made the Halloween Special, available only at the Auckland Armageddon Expo. Here's the scoop:

SYNOPSIS: Freak Out City, the day after Halloween. A mum walks into a bookshop, looking for something to quiet her babbling son Patterson. The cashier, a weird man called Lloyd who speaks with random inflections, begins his tale...

There was once an insane man who lured kids into a forest and killed them in horrific ways. He was eventually caught but escaped from the asylum!

Meanwhile, Blasto's kid friends -- Alana, Sam, Emma and leader Richard -- come to the insane "wizard's" house. He convinces the kids to accompany him to the forest. Elsewhere. Blasto is relaxing in his flat when his colleague Naomi Fenton walks in dressed as a zombie. She tries to get him to come to the police Halloween party, but fails. Then they receive word that the wizard has escaped. So, while Fenton goes partying, Blasto goes to the asylum and is told that the wizard is obsessed with a book called the Grey Tales. The wizard wanted to kill monsters by taking their blood -- and thought the dressed-up kids were the monsters. Blasto is called by Richard's mum Paula, who can't find him. By sheer coincidence, he disappeared off a street where the wizard "used" to live.

Meanwhile in the forest, the kids have been hung in the trees, surrounded by the skeletons of past kid victims. They try to escape when the wizard cuts Richard's hand and takes his blood.

Blasto enters the wizard's house and discovers bloody corpses hanging from the ceiling and passages from the Grey Tales written in blood on the wall.

Back in the forest, the kids finally get down and run for it. The wizard follows them just as Blasto arrives on the scene and arrests the wizard, who hallucinates Blasto as a distorted evil ogre.

Lloyd finishes his story and is told that this happened last night. The story has no effect on Patterson, who continues babbling about the wizard. His mum remarks that maybe he should go live with his father.

At the police station, Blasto tells Fenton that the wizard's book was blank and had nothing written in it. Just then, they walk into the wizard's cell to find it empty with the same passage in his house on the glass wall, scrawled in blood.

THE ART: I really like what Fairgray has done with the art style for this one shot. He enhances his typical with distorted, abstract panels, heavy use of lines and patterns -- which makes it look like a nouveau noir comic, which is so cool -- and distorted views of the wizard that make him look like something out of a hallucination. Fairgray has also improved his art quality, with the characters looking more real and more diverse use of angles. This adds a lot to the issue as a whole and makes it look just exquisite. The issue is printed on special paper with a hand-stamped title to add to its exclusive status. But the art is not without fault: Fairgray obviously needs to darken up the black lineart in Photoshop because it's blatantly clear where he's used a different pen. There are slight differences in the blackness which annoy me slightly. And lastly, I really like the speech bubbles Richard uses with the wizard but the hand lettering looks amateurish. The right computer font could really complete this series.  But I am really very satisfied with the beautiful job Fairgray has done.

THE STORY: In typical Blastosaurus fare, the Halloween Special mixes puns and humor with gore and horror. Fairgray is good at puns and makes it funny, and is disturbingly good at creating horrific scenes (dead kids covered in blood hanging from ceilings? *Shudder*) that would make any horror nut chuck his popcorn up. The story flows well and reads like a good quality TV episode.  The dialogue has real class and makes you laugh -- especially Paula not even knowing what a mummy is -- and Fenton's pun remarks  jerk Commissioner Harris dressed as a bee is just classic. But there are a few flaws. Firstly, I don't believe Richard and co. would be SO stupid as to follow a weird adult into a dark forest. I know they're pretty confident, but they're fraggin' 12! Surely they'd be smart enough to not do so? But I'm not looking too far into this as I love the story and was gripped. Also, I'm a bit confused as to how the wizard kills kids who he thinks are monsters when we're told he wants to kill the other characters in the Grey Tales. I'm sure there's an explanation but I'm still kinda confused. The story overall is well-written and has good flow and realism to it.

ERRORS: On page 5, Lloyd describes Fenton and Blasto telling the doctor about the wizard when it should be him telling them about him. That is all, but see above for some more slip-ups.

FAVE QUOTE: Sam: "I got heaps of sour death balls."
Richard: "Trade you for the apple your mum gave me?"
Sam: "Do I look crazy to you?" [Says the kid dressed as a mental patient with a cage on his head.]

VERDICT: a thouroughly well-done send-off for the self-published Blastosaurus. Some minor plot slip-ups, but I really loved this one. Hope it gets reprinted by AOP. Rated 8.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 9:52 pm, MONDAY 7 December 2009

Fanbot's Armageddon haul!

Went to the Armageddon Expo on Sunday. Loved it. Helped Richard Fairgray out with his Blastosaurus stall, and there were loads of cool stuff there. Loads of cosplayers! And two Masterpiece Grimlocks sighted - unfortunately out of my price range, dammit! But anyway, here's the stuff I bought on that day:

TRANSFORMERS Spotlight: Kup cvr A (Nick Roche)

TRANSFORMERS: Stormbringer #1 (Simon Furman/Don Figueroa)

TRANSFORMERS: Stormbringer #2 (Simon Furman/Don Figueroa)

TRANSFORMERS: Stormbringer #3 (Simon Furman/Don Figueroa)

TRANSFORMERS: Stormbringer #4 (Simon Furman/Don Figueroa)

HELLBOY: Ghost & Hellboy #1

HELLBOY: Ghost & Hellboy #2

HELLBOY: The Wolves of St August TPB (Mike Mignola)

HELLBOY: Wake the Devil #3 (Mike Mignola)

HELLBOY: Wake the Devil #5 (Mike Mignola)

HELLBOY: Darkness Calls #6

BLASTOSAURUS Halloween Special (Richard Fairgray/Terry Jones)

BLASTOSAURUS #0 3RD Printing (Richard Fairgray/Terry Jones)

A comissioned sketch of Blastosaurus by Tuku Wiki-Pasene

That's all folks! See you next year!

Posted by Fanbot at 4:36 pm, TUESDAY 27 October

I Fight Crime available at Armageddon Expo

The following covers are for the chequebook-shaped collections of Richard Fairgray and Mary-Ann Cotton's webcomic I FIGHT CRIME, viewable here at the Blastosaurus website. They will be available at the NZ Armageddon Expo in a couple of days. These strips are actually quite clever so make sure you get one  or two if you go to Armageddon (October 24-26). See you there!

Posted by Fanbot at 4:34 pm, WEDNESDAY 21 October

Blastosaurus Halloween Special cover

Just got updated on the Blastosaurus front! Legally blind NZ comic artist Richard Fairgray has released his cover for the "Halloween Special" of indie comic Blastosaurus (pictured above). This comic is a little gem, see my June 2009 archives for more on this or click on the "blastosaurus" label. Anyway, Richard has kicked his artwork up a notch for this one, developed his style a lot. It looks pretty awesome, don't you agree? I don't really know when this is coming out so stay tuned for more info as it happens. Here's what the man himself says on the cover:

"I can't give away much about it except that it has, funny costumes, a serial killer, bleeding children and Commissioner Harris dressed as a bumblebee. The final version will actually look cooler than this one, it'll be on fancy paper and the title will be stamped on so it looks all creepy and a bit like it's written in blood."

Posted by Fanbot at 4:35 pm, MONDAY 12 October

Blastosaurus: Slugs (Part 3) review

And so it ends ... well, at least until American Original have finished releasing the first 13 issues of Blastosaurus. This issue is the last published independently by Richard Fairgray's Square Planet comics company (of Square Planet Films). This one'll be the last for a while, but as soon as the first issues start comig out I'll have reviews up here for all youse to peruse (lol ryhming).

The Good: I think this is the greatest issue of Blasto so far. The art seems to have stepped up yet another notch, and the story grips you and makes you want for more. There's quite few plot points that I just did not see coming - this is a good thing as comics should keep you guessing. And Fairgray's cover is pain awesome - references to GI Joe, Transformers, tacky A Team ripoffs and a blue Blasto beign held by Richard that looks uncannily like the blue guy ("Smurf") from Alan Moore's Watchmen. This is something I would expect from Richard though; Blastosaurus is a tribute to the indie culture of the nineties, and this cover just seems to fit the bill (even though I know bugger-all about indie stuff).

The Bad: Honestly, there is nothing worth mentioning that I think is wrong with this issue. I just love it soo much, I can't think of any downsides (now if only life could be like this...). Woohoo!

The Ugly: This issue is perhaps the most mistake-riddled of all 13 issues, though that ain't saying much in the context. Page 1, panel one - "people" is misspelled "peopl". Page 3, panel one - "guys" is misspelled "guy". And finallty; page 7, top - the labels for the page are showing (Blastosaurus 13 07 RF). See? All the mistakes for this issue are insignificant typos and errors. Woohoo for Fairgray!

Overall, Blastosaurus #13 comes in at 9/10. This issue is abso-fricking-lutley awsome. I'm a tad pissed off that I'm gonna have to wait 13 months for the next new arc (called HARDCORE) to come out. Bummer. But never mind. And look out for Blastosaurus #1, coming to a comic store near you in the near future. I don't know exactly when. Check out http://www.blastosaurus.com/ for more info.

Posted by Fantom at 7:28 pm, SATURDAY 1 August

BLASTOSAURUS: Slugs (part 2) review

Finally, I present to you the second part of Richard Fairgray's Blastosaurus: Slugs comic! This arc is the last that Fairgray published under his own comic company "Square Planet" before moving to American Original Press. Here goes...

The Good: As I said before, Richard really steps up his art and story at this point (by the way, reviews of the previous issues being re-released under AOP will be appearing on blog very soon). His basic, black-and-white art just seems to fit the story perfectly. The story is intriguing and makes you want to read on, without being to full on - lots of jokes and humor in this one folks. Richard and Terry's characters are cool - Washed up noir filmstar Mickey Finn takes the mickey out of those corny noir TV shows from the 70's, and it's really funny.

The Bad: In this issue Blastosaurus seems to be always grumpy and impatient - though he was hassled all the way by Commissioner Harris and by low-IQ comic geeks at the convention. But why can't he just be a bit happier about this stuff - he's a great user of puns, those could cheer him up. But it does get better next issue.

The Ugly: No uglies have been identified in this comic. Good on you Richard! (Though to be fair, Richard has never made any noticeable errors for the whole course of the series.)

Overall, I'm rating Blastosaurus: Slugs (Part 2) at 9/10. Great job on this one. Part 3 will be reviewed within the week, so watch this space for it. Oh, and great news; Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan) has been named as the cover artist for the AOP editions of Blastosaurus! Mega cool! And check out the new Fan Fiction section  (Emry Kereru) on www.blastosaurus.com.

Posted by Fantom at 12:41 pm, WEDNESDAY 29 July

Richard Fairgray hits the big time!

For all of those out there who like the NZ comic Blastosaurus, I have some great news. I already told you about how Blastosaurus was being picked up by Jeff Katz (Top Cow). Well, now the comics are actually gonna be released under the American Original Press company name. They will distributed worldwide (USA included), so now all you Americans can enjoy Blastosaurus without having to order online. The next arc to be released will be called Hardcore. Richard and co-writer Terry Jones are still scripting, Richard is still drawing the title, but apparently others will be providing covers for the issues (Richard himself said that it was annoying and time-consuming doing a good-quality cover). So keep a lookout for Blastoaurus - coming to a comic shop near you in the near future. Personally, I can't wait. Go figure.

Posted by Fantom at 4:21 pm, WEDNESDAY 1 July

Blastosaurus: Slugs (Part 1) review

As I mentioned in earlier posts, this comic is done by the blind comic artist from New Zealand, Richard Fairgray. This first issue of a 3-part story arc (out this month) represents a new direction and style for Fairgray. He said that the first several issues were not his best work, and slightly rushed. After Richard got about 4 months ahead of schedule, it was then that he really started to deepen his writing. This is demonstrated all throughout this issue.

Here's how blastosaurus.com describes the arc: "A washed up TV detective who has trouble separating from his cancelled show, a celebrity sex tape in the wrong hands and four kids lost in a comic convention. Blastosaurus is trying to avoid going (to the comic convention) but all these things seem to be forcing him into it."

The art for Slugs is less shadowy than that of the previous two arcs, and is a lot easier to look at. It is well set out and looks great. Fantasies are clearly shown with grey marker colored panels. It's really cool. As for plot, I'm a little disappointed with it. Though the story was great and I liked it, it seemed quite light-hearted compared to previous material. It seems to focus more on the kids than on Blastosaurus, which is a change. But it's better to just watch the story unfold, so I won't say anymore yet. And I have to admit, it's hilarious watching the horrendously geeky antics of both the four kids and the other attendees of the comic convention (Hero-con) that this issue is set in. Having never been to a comic convention myself (Curses! Curses!) I'm hoping that it's actually like this. The sheer small-timeness of the comic sellers, the dodgy movie stars and the morally ambiguous security guards all culminate into an overall pretty good issue.

Overall, Blastosaurus: Slugs #1 is rated by me at 8/1o. Bit of a disappointment in some ways, but mostly I think it's a great one. If you want to buy it, go to blastosaurus.com and click on the CONTACT US link.

Posted by Fantom at 6:52 pm, FRIDAY 26 June

BLASTOSAURUS: Retardation review

Here is where Richard Fairgray, the legally blind comic artist from New Zealand, really starts to up the ante with his comics. While the first two story arcs were good, Retardations is when Richard really starts to deepen his writing. Retardation (the term) refers to a narrative device commonly used in film, whereby certain characters or the audience are given information which for one reason or another is withheld from another character. This issue is a one-shot, and follows a hillbilly janitor working the night shift at the shadowy company Factory Corp. His pet frog escapes into the off-limits underground rooms of the building, and he wanders around many rooms, oblivious to the horrendous experiments going on around him. This issue is quite intriguing because it sets up little subplots for further exploration in later issues  while the janitor just cleans everything. And you kind of have to laugh at the janitor (Keith) who has absolutely no idea what is going on around him. He cleans a dirty window and cannot see a man being tortured on the other side. When the man inside is killed, and a pool of blood seeps out, Keith simply thinks it is red paint and mops it up. 

The art, if Richard's previous artwork in the comic is anything to go by, is great. Detailed backgrounds intrigue and tantalize, and all is clear and well-set out. And a cool thing to watch out for is when Keith is in an enormous room, filled with preserved failed experiments in big 

canisters. Among the freaks inside these are a little ghost from the Pacman game, Elmo, some characters from the Aaargh! Real Monsters cartoon, a Furby, a dwarf, and what seems to be Dr Neo Cortex from the Crash Bandicoot video game.

Overall, I'm rating Retardation 8.5/10. I'm left interested and satisfied at the end, but until the teasers of what's to come are elaborated on more, I can't help but see some pointlessness in it.

Richard Fairgray is a bloody genius with comics, and he's really onto something here. Go to blastosaurus.com for more cool stuff. And now Blasto comics are gonna be available here in the US of A - Richard has signed on with Jeff Katz from Top Cow comics, and these + other Blastosaurus comics will be released under the imprint of American Original Press soon. Woohoo!

Posted by Fantom at 2:23 pm, WEDNESDAY 24 June