The Forbidden Planet International Blog

Gin Palace Volume 2

by Rob Jackson, Andrew Cheverton, John Robbins, Dave Hughes, Francesca cassavetti, Jarod Rosello, Pete Batchelor, Barry Cook, Paul Rainey, Sin-Cat, Brad Foster.

Curated and published by Rob Jackson

The second volume of Rob Jackson’s Gin Palace anthology title – review of Volume 1 here. Gorgeous cover, don’t you think?

Last time round I discovered (such a haughty word that – implying some svengali like approach. Not a bit of it – I mean discovered as in saw for the first time)  Simon M and Jared Rosello amongst a book of familiar names.

This time round there’s not really anyone in here that makes me go wow like I did then. Which is always a shame when I’m reading anthologies – I always want them to give me someone new, someone wow.

However, Gin Palace issue 2 is a good read, full of good strips from the likes of Cassavetti, Rainey, the afore-mentioned Rosello and Rob Jackson himself. I have to say I do enjoy Jackson’s stuff – all rough and raw, but never less than interesting and usually with a hearty jolt of ridiculousness thrown in. And so it is here with his story of space travel and pea obsessions:

(Rob Jackson’s Peas To Andromeda – a very surreal sort of sci-fi. From Gin Palace Volume 2.)

The old faces are doing nice things. Cassavetti’s story of a child’s late night adventure in a bar with dad does the thing that Cassavetti always manages – makes a personal story ring true. A great skill. Paul Rainey’s four pager is just a little too slight, although it does show some of his lovely art, with a lovely greyscale effect that works very well. Dave Hughes turns up with a simple tale of allotment rivalries that get out of hand. Again, nice but slight.

Of the new stuff (or new to me at least) there’s Pete batchelor’s Grandfather Paradox which, although it’s a fun time travel story, is also a bloody obvious time travel story that needs to work a little harder with art and script to make it truly interesting.

The best of the bunch this time round has to be Sean MacRoibin and John Robbins’ Dog-Eared; one man’s obssessive thoughts surrounding the book he wrote and the woman who featured in one of it’s chapters. A tale of dark ideas, deliberately abrasive dialogue and a distinct hint f tongue in cheek. I liked it and I’d like to see more from both writer and artist:

(The start of Dog-Eared by MacRoibin and Robbins. It gets darker and nastier and a little sillier from here on in. From Gin Palace Volume 2.)

All in all, Gin Palace Volume 2 is good, but still not great. There’s a sense of too many of the strips just treading a little water, too much filler, not enough wow.

Gin Palace is available from Rob Jackson, priced £3 at his website.