Alternative Visions
Alternative Visions |
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Page 10 of 29  Britain's answer to Raw was Escape, another groundbreaking anthology. (All Escape Books and Graphics.) In Britain, the most important Raw-imitator was Escape, which was also part of a larger publishing house (Escape Books and Graphics) which published one-shot comics. Escape was started by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury in 1983, and although certain aspects were very similar to Raw, there were important differences. The designer aesthetic was still a feature, though Escape was far less gimmicky (for one thing, it did not have Raw's budget); it too mixed old underground creators with new home-grown talent, and with European work - though with more emphasis on the latter than Raw was prepared to give. Finally, there was a 'fanzine' aspect to Escape that was absent in Raw. reviews and interviews were a feature from the start. Thus, the self-styled 'Comics Magazine of Style and Vision' made no apologies for publishing many of the same names as Raw (Mark Beyer, Gary Panter, Charles Burns, Lynda Barry, Ben Katchor, Javier Mariscal, Jacques Tardi and Joost Swarte), but the real interest was in the material that was unique. The main star from the former underground was Hunt Emerson, whose 'Calculus Cat' strips were as wild as anything he had produced before; Brian Bolland was another creator who had started his career in that period, and here returned to his roots with the Crumbesque 'Mr Mamoulian', about an ageing introvert and his troubles with women (about as different from 'Judge Dredd', with whom Bolland was then associated, as could be imagined). The new British names kept pace quite admirably, and included: Ed Pinsent, responsible for the mesmerizing 'Primitif, about a tribal warrior and his battles with nature and the gods, drawn in an 'avant-primitive' style with narrative captions; Tim Budden, who produced claustrophobic tales about a group of weary badgers, and their problems with humankind (including, ultimately, their fate during a nuclear war); Carol Swain, whose charcoal-rendered slice-of-life stories were as vivid as they were affecting; and Savage Pencil, whose jagged, spontaneous style perfectly captured the punk spirit. Other names included the Pleece Brothers, Phil Elliott, Chris Reynolds, John Bagnall, Bob Lynch and Julie Hollings.  Panels from 'Big Ideas' (1985). Art/script: Lynda Barry.  Pages from 'Calculus Cat' (1984). Art/script: Hunt Emerson.  Pages from 'Calculus Cat' (1984). Art/script: Hunt Emerson. |