David Leach, cartoonist writer, editor, kindly sent us a copy of his new autobiographical comic, David Leach Conquers the Universe #4, for review, But then we discovered Philip Boyce of the indispensable Oink! blog had already written one – and has kindly let us repost it here…
As for my thoughts, this finale to the David Leach Conquers the Universe is a self effacing, hilarious gem of an indie comic, full of the creator’s acerbic humour, as you’d expect from the creator of ‘Psycho Gran’. Track down back issues, enjoy this finale – it’s great!
Now, over to Philip…
How many times in your life have you heard someone start a sentence with, “They say…”? For example, “They say the best way to beat a cold is…”, or “They say it’s better to have loved and lost…” etc. How many times have youused that phrase? Countless, I’m sure. But have you ever wondered who “They” are? This has been the silly premise of David (Psycho Gran) Leach’s hilarious David Leach Conquers the Universe self-published comic series, which reaches its conclusion with the long-awaited #4.
Starting out as deranged conspiratorial ramblings in the first issue, we soon came to realise David’s life is supposedly being controlled by a bunch of strangers playing a Dungeons & Dragons-type game. Now it’s time for the inevitable confrontation. But how on Earth did our hero possibly survive the end of the previous issue? (If you don’t know what I mean, go and buy it!) David’s solution takes a few pages to explain.
By this stage we all know this version of David loves to talk. Incessantly. Inspired by the cliffhanger serials of his youth and how they foiled their own seemingly impossible cliffhangers, he’s basically cheated. But the long-winded explanation is not only worth the price of entry on its own, it also speaks to something that seems to have niggled at David’s (real life) brain for decades. It’s a great start!
David Leach Conquers the Universe #4 is chock full of ludicrous storytelling and so many quick fire gags you may need to catch your breath every few pages. For example, in a flashback scene David arrives at a hospital to be greeted by a man who asks, “Mr. Leech?” To which David replies, “It’s ‘Leach’”. Obviously, this spelling correction only works on the written page of a comic, seeing it as part of a verbal conversation is really funny.
There’s a surprise return of a former foe, too, housed in a corridor of cells reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs. In fact, David walks straight past Hannibal on the way to his much scarier enemy. Apart from this diversion, the whole issue takes place in the games room of ‘They’, which sounds small in scale compared to the previous issues but have faith in David; what transpires here is bigger, sillier and funnier than everything that came before.
I set out right from the first issue to make an autobiographical comic that was a complete pack of lies
David chatting to me about the series
It all boils down to a one-on-one with the main baddie and, as seems tradition with this series, it’s dialogue-heavy, with David often talking the ear off the villain and driving them crazy in the process. Below are two excellent examples taken from just such a scene including another staple of the comics: David’s pot shots and wry digs at himself, his personality, or his career. (It’s all very meta, but in a good, non-social media way).
Now and again, an item will pop up which will seem completely random and out of place. Anybody familiar with the dramatic principle of Chekov’s gun should know these things aren’t random at all and will pay off at a later stage, especially in the hands of such a talented writer. With David Leach Conquers the Universe, you soon start trying to anticipate the groan-worthy pun to come, which is ultimately the real reason behind the introduction of these seemingly random things.
Throw in a surprisingly touching moment involving David’s family and a funny epilogue to conclude it all and you’ve got a well-rounded ending to this years-long mini-series. Any OiNK fan, or simply any fan of genuinely funny comics, will find loads to enjoy throughout these four issues and I can’t state emphatically enough how much you’ll love laughing along with them. This final issue is a great pay off for the end of the series too.
While the above advert doesn’t include the third issue of Psycho Gran Comic Capers Cavalcade, you can check out highlights from it on the OiNK blog already, but we’re here to talk about David Leach Conquers the Universe. If you’ve already read the first three instalments you can purchase the 36-page finale for just £5 (plus £2 postage) from the Dead Universe comic shop in Aylesbury by popping in, phoning (07852 836307) or emailing them (info@deaduniversecomics.com).
Alternatively, you can simply order direct from the horse’s very talkative mouth and get yours from David himself. Just use his email (davidleach2000@yahoo.com) on PayPal.
Wait, what if you haven’t read any of the series? Then get caught up for just £20 for all four issues (plus £5 postage) and David will happily send you them all in one great big bundle of joy! I highly recommend that you do.
Philip Boyce
More Mind-Melting David Leach Goodness!
• Lew Stringer: David Leach Conquers the Universe So You Don’t have To
Reviews of previous issues David Leach Conquers the Universe…
• Read Tony Esmond’s review of David Leach Conquers the Universe #1 here on downthetubes
• Read Tony Esmond’s review of David Leach Conquers the Universe #2 here on downthetubes
• Read Peter Duncan’s review of David Leach Conquers the Universe #3 here on downthetubes
• Read Philip Boyce’s review of David Leach Conquers the Universe #3 on the OiNK blog
Meet David Leach… (not literally)
Currently employed as Senior Creative Editor at Titan Comics, David Leach‘s career as a cartoonist, writer and editor spans over 35 years. He started out working as British animator Bob Godfrey’s ‘ghost artist’ drawing “Henry’s Cat” comic strips, aged 23. He created his most popular character, Psycho Gran, in 1987 for the much-loved kids’ comic, Oink. He also worked for Whizzer & Chips, Gas, Brain Damage, UT, Casper, Action Man, and LEGO Adventures.
David’s work in the cult British 1990 comic, Toxic! (where he co-created “The Driver”, and created “The Dinner Ladies From Hell”) led to him writing and drawing The Toxic Crusaders (issue #8) for Marvel US.
During his career he has written and edited newspaper comic strips of Ren & Stimpy, Spider-Man and Wallace and Gromit for a variety of newspapers including The Sun, The News of the World, The Sunday Times, The Saturday Telegraph, and he’s also written for Private Eye.
At Titan, his editor credits include the publisher’s Blade Runner series, Conan the Barbarian, Dan Dare, the Phantom of the Opera graphic novel, Rivers of London: Monday, V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic, ExtraOrdinary and Lavie Tidhar’s Adler.
In addition to David Leach Conquers the Universe, recent creator owned projects include MONOLITH, a collection of some of the movies that the Monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey auditioned for – but didn’t get!
Outside of comics, in 2014, David won Channel Four’s Come Dine With Me.
• Follow David on Twitter @davidleach2000
• David Leach’s Psycho Gran is also available through AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
One of many guest posts for downthetubes.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, downthetubes News, Features, Reviews
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