In Review: Khaki Shorts Issue 19

By John Freeman on 9 June 2009

I was sent this issue of Khaki Shorts, probably Glasgow’s longest running small-press comic, a while back but somehow it got buried between a copy of the local Chamber of Commerce business magazine and a review copy of Erotic Comics Volume 2.

I can only apologize to the creators for the oversight: for just one pound, this is a title jammed with the kind of madcap stuff that wouldn’t look out of place in Wasted or a more experimental edition of Viz (yeah, like Viz will ever experiment these days…)

Contributors include Neil Bratchpiece (Apocalypse Now & Then), a satirical stab at a well known SFTV franchise, Star Trudge by Rob Miller, which starts well with some acerbic comment on the franchise that inspired it, but seems to meander by page 2; Men Out Of Time by Martin J. Smith and Adam J. Smith, probably the best-paced scatological strip in the issue; Super Scott: A Comedic Filler In 9 Panels (again by Rob Miller – there are two of these bonkers ‘fillers’), evocative of some of Dave Jones’ early work for Scan; the fart-filled Boy Mindless by A.J. Smith; and the stunning caricature-filled strip, Elexender Browne, again by Rob.

There’s an energy and enthusiasm to this long-runing title that seems to have disappeared from the indie press I’ve seen of late: Khaki Shorts makes use of the usual trappings you’d expect from Viz (farting, vomit and sexual obsession) then shakes them up into a bizarre, often surreal package. For just a pound, it’s worth supporting the work of the artists involved: the standard is high, if offbeat and any indie press title that reaches 19 issues — even if it has taken 10 years to do it – deserves all the support it can get.

More info and ordering: www.myspace.com/khakishorts

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.