Outstanding Stickman 1 / Cool Yule
Clifton Carroll
Single page zine (8 pages fold)
www.theduckwebcomics.com/outstanding_stickman
I am definitely not looking to make a habit of reviewing more than one zine in one post, but both of these did come from the same person, and a lot of what I like is shared by both zines. Thus the exception.
Okay! I received Outstanding Stickman 1 as a trade with Clifton. It is a free zine, but I suggested that a trade would be better considering the postage fees involved between the US and Australia. Cool Yule came as a lovely surprise closer to Christmas.
The first thing that I immediately noticed (and loved) about these zines was the slightly different fold. It’s still one page folded into an 8-page zine, but it’s done in a way that leaves a little edges on the back page for notes, Clifton’s details, etc. It’s such a simple thing, but it made me smile. The next cool thing? Hand-coloured with… crayons, if I’m correct. I’m pretty sure it’s the crayon wax sheen that I’m seeing when I hold them at an angle. I have no idea how many zines are in a print run for Clifton, but I can appreciate anything done by hand, after the copying process.
The drawing, while fun, isn’t going to wow you, but I think that suits the overall comic. They’re free mini-comics, so I don’t go in expecting Da Vinci. The stories were amusing but not much more than that. Again, I go back to what the zines are as a whole. I did like Cool Yule a touch more, as it took a cheeky jab at how the real origins of Christmas aren’t what a lot of kids are taught.
There’s a very relaxed quality to both these zines. As someone who takes herself way too seriously most of the time. I appreciate zines that remind me that not everything is so serious.