Dirty Rotten Comics issue 7
Edited by Gary Clap and Kirk Campbell

Featuring – Matthew Dooley, Alex Potts, Jey Levang, Darren Cullen & Mark Tolson, Kathryn Briggs, Peony Gent, Andrez Bergeb & Chris Wahl, Douglas Noble, Stanley Miller, Bethan Mure, Benjamin A. E. Filby, Kevin Loftus, Andrew Warwick, Lucie Ebrey, Henry Miller, Henry St. Leger & Sam St. Leger, Kirk Campbell, Mhairi Braden, Julian Hanshaw, Ioan Morris, Tom Mortimer, Scott Wrigg and Tom Alexander

Designed by Gary Clap
Printed by Comic Printing UK

“…We would like to officially announce our status as the first UK-based comics-focused publication to have applied for recognition from the World Esperanto Association…”
– Gary and Kirk – Editors, Dirty Rotten Comics

Do these people ever actually sleep?

Proving straight out of the gate that Dirty Rotten Comics is one of the best comics anthologies out there, this is the seventh volume of the team’s brand of crazy goodness. Proudly announcing themselves with another striking cover from new addition to the team Matt Bailey, this is my favourite in the run so far. It is launching on the 1st April 2016 and I thought I would pick out some of my favourites.

‘A Canoeist’ by Alex Potts

Telling a story about a grumpy drunk and over friendly canoeist is kind of what Alex Potts does best. He has a great eye for the more annoying aspects of banal UK based day to day life. You come out at the other end realising that you shouldn’t always make eye contact with people who look too eager?

You can find Alex at the grand sounding www.alexanderpotts.com or on Twitter @avpotts

‘Sleep Fairies’ by Jey Levang

After being really impressed by Jey’s work in the last volume of DRC, it was great to see this story about hair based horror. Since I am also the owner of hair like a golden waterfall it explained a lot. With gorgeous use of ink and some excellent layout techniques, I have to say I would read anything by this creator. Kirk and Gary need to hold onto Jey – superb stuff.

Find more gorgeous art by this creator at www.jeylevang.com or on Twitter @jeylevang

‘Loser, Nobody’ – written by Andrez Bergen and art by Chris Wahl

This boasts quite possibly some of my favourite art that I have seen in a small press book for a long time. Clean lines and a character driven story make this short by far my stand-out in this volume. It tells a brief but impactful story of depression with genuinely outstanding style. A real wow factor on this one. Got to be seen to be believed.

Find Andrez Bergen at www.andrezbergen.wordpress.com and on Twitter @andreziffy

You can also find Chris Wahl at www.chriswahlart.blogspot.com

‘Golem’ by Lucie Ebrey

Love and murder can be quite emotional… Especially when combined. This is love between a Golem and a statue. Never easy when two cultures clash is it. Sometimes a couple need to find that middle ground and settle into the marriage? Noooooooooot in this story. Fun with a domestically brutal edge, all done in an expertly crafted cartoony style by Lucie.

Find Lucie at www.muggyebes.tumblr.com or on Twitter @lucieebrey

‘Untitled’ by Henry St. Leger and Sam St. Leger

A story about a fisherman that takes an artistically breathtaking turn halfway through its short page count. This tale goes from a quiet and solemn slice of life into an in-your-face monster blockbuster. Full of deftly handled pace and surprises, this was easily a stand-out story in this already excellent volume.

Find Henry at www.henrystleger.com and on Twitter @henrystleger

Sam can likewise be found at www.samstleger.com and also on Twitter @samsonleisure

‘Be Home From 1pm – 6pm’ by Scott Wrigg

Scott just has a style and a sense of humour that never fail to pull a laugh out of me. He treats everyday moments with a touching yet funny approach that is always perfectly translated onto the page. His stories are often brief and, dare I say, pretty uneventful but for that reason they are always great to read.

(By the way, he does not animate those ‘Red Bull Gives You Wings’ adverts – I know this because I stupidly asked him!).

Pull up a chair and have a look at more of Scott’s work at www.scottwriggcomix.com and find him on Twitter @scottwrigg

‘Underpass’ by Tom Mortimer

Tom uses heavy inks and a realistic montage of images to convey those grim days where all we had to do is hang about in an underpass and lark about. The story is tinged with the threatening nature of a walk through an urban landscape and works really well in translating modern (and slightly scary) life into comic form.

You can find more out about Tom at www.toiyi.tumblr.com or on Twitter @ToiyiTomMort

Easily the best volume to date, Dirty Rotten Comics is gaining in quality and reputation. I had a hard time actually picking stories to preview as they are all crackers.

• You can grab a copy of this and all the other volumes at all good comic stores or at www.dirtyrottencomics.co.uk or follow them on Twitter @dirtyrottencomix

• Find out more about their new publishing venture Throwaway Press here or at www.throwawaypress.com

• If you liked the cover you can find more out about Matt Bailey at www.baileyillustration.com or follow him on Twitter @baileydraws

Many thanks for reading.

Antony Esmond

Antony Esmond is a comic reviewer and writer – his hips don’t lie.

Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News

Tags: Alex Potts, Andrew Warwick, Andrez Bergeb & Chris Wahl, Benjamin A. E. Filby, Bethan Mure, Darren Cullen & Mark Tolson, Dirty Rotten Comics, Douglas Noble, downthetubes News, Gary Clap, Henry Miller, Henry St. Leger & Sam St. Leger, Ioan Morris, Jey Levang, Julian Hanshaw, Kathryn Briggs, Kevin Loftus, Kirk Campbell, Lucie Ebrey, Matthew Dooley, Mhairi Braden, Peony Gent, Scott Wrigg, Stanley Miller, Tom Alexander, Tom Mortimer