Jack Sprat Press
Edited by Emily White
The Fanzine becomes E-zine
That’s about it really with the use of modern technology the fanzine has come a long way from mimeographed sheets stapled together. Boomed with the easy access to he photocopiers and then the desktop printer. Now we seem to have moved onto to the next phase.Handmade and designed ‘zines for your Kindle.
Jack Sprat calls for the dark and whimsical through Flash Fiction and short four page comics. Speculative fiction and shorts in the vain of 2000AD - Tharg’s Future Shocks.
The first issue is a mix bag with some hits and a few misses. The rather tentative theme of this issue is music with each story and artwork being inspired by a song title. Obviously I don’t listen to the dark corners where these songs are played because I didn’t recognise any of the titles. But that is neither here nor there as the first story Bring Me To Life is lovely little spin on the Pinocchio fairy story. While A Tea Party gives us an amusing look at zombie good taste in more ways than one and looks at the Walking Dead from their perspective, one we can never really understand. The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden a quick dark humour ditty that reveals some people have no luck whatsoever.
Where the stories hit the comics miss. Choosing story over art only one of the three stories worked for me. Silent Falling the telling of how an Astronaut chooses to go out in glory and is the closet to a Tharg based story, whereas Started From The Bottom is a punchline looking for a story, the non-dialogue The Burning Bride just lost me.
All up Jack Sprat is finding its identity and for a first attempt it’s admirable. The concept works. This is the perfect package for a bus stop or waiting room pause.
Danny Nolan
