2 Dumb Dinos - Graphic Novel Review

 

The newspaper-style comic strip has been around for a very long time, and it's a format that doesn't really seem to be going away even in an age where fewer and fewer people are actually engaging in print news; to the point where it looks like many publications may soon be as extinct as the pre-historic stars of this new graphic novel. Despite this, the format of silly, topical, and even bizarre comic strips continues in online spaces, often appearing on people's social media. And this is likely where most people will have met Scumbag and Dingus, the two titular dumb dinos.

Created by Nathan Hamill, son of the Star Wars mega star and talented creator in his own right, and Eric Filipkowski, who's worked on and off screen in a number of comedy shows including South Park and Drunk History, 2 Dumb Dinos collects together the first 36 strips into a small, hardcover volume. Partially inspired by the comic strips of old, the two creators make nods to current affairs, referencing elections and political figures, as well as having completely odd adventures that make little to no sense at times.

One of my biggest take aways from reading the book (a quick experience that took less than thirty minutes all told), was that I don't really know who this humour is for. Much of 2 Dumb Dinos is stuff happening for no real reason, and with no explanation, and it's perhaps more akin to the online comedy style of Gen Z. Now, this is where I'm going to sound old, and I kind of hate that, but because of this I just didn't really gel well with the book. There's a strip where Dingus convinces Scumbag to buy shoes for his hands, and Scumbag then can't get into a Pringles tube and assumes it's a plot by his friend to steal his new hand shoes. Another has one of the dinos dressing as different sub cultures each week, such as goth or as a Harry Potter fan, only for the last panel to reveal he'd been caught on To Catch a Predator, but don't worry, it's not a paedophile thing. If this is supposed to be comedy it didn't work for me as I failed to even crack a smile. 

Many of the strips are like this, with almost disconnected things happening, leading to a punchline that's either got nothing to do with the rest of the strip, or just kind of peters out into nothing. Yes, I know that this is essentially Gen Z humour, where things are either random and weird, or they're funny by not being funny, but I'm not Gen Z, I'm old and boring (I guess), and so there was very little about the writing of the book that I actually liked. One of the strips even succinctly summed up why I didn't really click with it, with one of the dinos saying 'I think the fans are happy just watching us talk in profile in this featureless room that could really just be anywhere…We’ll just stick with what works: jokes that don’t make any sense or even have a punchline.'

But, comics aren't just about writing, they're also art, and the art can be a hugely important part of the final product. So, what's the art on 2 Dumb Dinos like? Well, the front cover is about as colourful as it gets. The purple and green of Dingus and Scumbag on the cover of the book is the only time you're going to get the characters looking like that. The interior of the book is very, very brown. There are two colours, a light brown that's pretty much everything, and a darker brown that's used for shadows and highlights. As such, the book is very dull looking, and mixed with the flat comedy, it led to a reading experience that felt devoid of much enjoyment. If the book was coloured normally, with the lead characters being bright and colourful, and the items and costumes used for their gags having some character, then perhaps the book would have landed better for me; but as it is it's two dull looking characters in a dull brown void that was thoroughly visually unappealing. Hamill has colourist listed amongst his credits, but little of that seems to be on show here.

This seems like a pretty negative review, and I'm disappointed that it comes across that way because I wanted to like the book. I like this kind of format of short funny comics, but I think this boils down to me not being the target audience. There will absolutely be people out there who love this, who find it funny and will get the humour. I'm just not one of them. So I'm not going to say it's bad, I'm not going to say it's a book you shouldn't try out, because it could very well be a hit for you. If you like weird and random humour, if you're Gen Z and grew up on odd internet memes and shows like Spongebob Squarepants then you should definitely give 2 Dumb Dinos a look.

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Marginal by Tom Carlisle - Book Review

 

'When Rob receives a call in the middle of the night, he knows it must be bad news. But he isn't quite prepared for what he hears; his brother, Marcus, has died on the Systematics compound in Scotland, where the two of them grew up. The place Rob managed to escape with his sanity barely intact, the place that hollowed out his parents and his brother.

'Rob is determined to go up north to the compound to see Marcus laid to rest, but more importantly, to get to the bottom of what killed him. Because Rob has been waiting for the Systematics to make a mistake, for their charismatic leader Bjorn Thrissell to show his true colours so that Rob can make their crimes public and bring them down for good.

'But when Rob arrives at the compound with his producer Lucy in tow, they discover a group of people coming apart at the seams and paranoia seeping through the community. Mutiny is in the air and worse still… there is something lurking under the surface, something monstrous and murderous, something that has been biding its time in the margins…

'Trapped and isolated, Rob and Lucy are going to have to put their trust in the community they have come to ruin if any of them are going to have any hope of survival.'

Cults are a ripe ground for horror stories. They're a very real horror that exists within our world, one where we can see how far people can be abused and broken by corrupt leaders, as well as showcasing the extremes that people are willing to go to for their beliefs. Some of the most frightening things people have done throughout history have been because of religion, and modern day cults are usually reflective of this. As such, Marginal is able to tap into some very dark ideas and horror that feels very grounded with its story set around a remote cult in remote Scotland. However, it's not afraid to dive into the realm of the fantastical too.

The story follows Rob, a man who was raised as a member of the Systematics cult, but who managed to escape from it a number of years earlier; an experience that still has a number of psychological scars that he's living with. When Rob is awoken in the middle of the night with a phone call telling him that his brother, Marcus, who remained in Systematics, has died, Rob knows that he's going to have to face the terrible events of his past.

Rob is determined to be there for his brother's funeral, being held within the Systematics compound in Scotland, and wants to find out exactly how and why his brother died so suddenly. Lucy, a young podcaster who wants to get a story about Systematics, accompanies him north, hoping to get the big scoop that will make her career. The two of them arrive at the compound and meet with the leader of the cult, the charismatic Bjorn Thrissell, hoping that they'll be able to learn the truth. Unfortunately, neither of them could ever expect what they find.

In some ways Marginal feels like a book of two halves, with half the book being very grounded in reality, dealing with the Systematics cult, and their affect on Rob and his brother. It's got some dark moments, as all stories about cults tend to do, but it's geared more towards character drama and mystery as to how Marcus died than anything else. 

Rob is something of an unlikeable protagonist in some regards. He's clearly a man with a lot of demons and a lot of trauma in his past, and this is all being dragged up to the fore thanks to the loss of his brother and having to return to the Systematics compound. But, because of this there are times where he's somewhat overly aggressive, he snaps at people, he's surly and withdrawn. His journey throughout Marginal, and the way it affects Rob emotionally is one of the main aspects of the book, and it's interesting to see the journey he goes through, but there are also times where I kind of wanted to yell at Rob. This isn't a bad thing, and having an imperfect lead character can be a lot of fun, but I can see how this might be challenging for some readers, and why not everyone might gel well with him.

The supporting characters are kind of similar too, thanks in no small part to most of them being cult members. A lot of people in the book are self serving, or liars, or simply untrustworthy, and it leads to a situation where as a reader I was never sure if I could trust what people were saying or doing, or if I should want to see them come out the other side. It created this somewhat grey narrative, one where I found myself challenged in a lot of ways.

Marginal is a story about a cult, but it's also more than that, as there's a shift in the narrative part of the way through that turns this from a grounded, realistic cult horror story, into something much, much more frightening. I will not say much about it, as going in knowing as little as possible about the book is definitely the best approach, but this shift introduces some wild new elements to the book, and comes with some extreme violence, gore, and body horror that is sure to shock the reader. 

Overall, I had a pretty decent time with Marginal, it had some cool ideas and some flawed characters that I think will likely challenge some readers. But it was also at times a hard read thanks to its darker tone and more depressing story. Marginal will appeal to a lot of horror fans, but it might not be to everyone's tastes.

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Advent - Film Review

 

The Halloween season has just come to an end, and the Christmas season is just around the corner, so what should people be watching in the meantime? Well, why not bridge the gap with some Christmastime horror in the form of the new movie Advent?

Advent, told in a documentary/YouTube footage combination, tells the story of Hayley (Rasina Alexander), a young woman who's recently lost her mother to a tragic and gruesome suicide, and is trying her best to find some stability in life alongside her alcoholic father. Thanks to her love of urban legends and the paranormal, Hayley has been using her YouTube as an outlet, something where she can share her passions with other like-minded people. Unfortunately, she's somewhat obsessive, checking every comment instantly, tracking her views, and uploading more videos than she can likely manage.

As Christmas is approaching, Hayley tracks down something truly special via an internet seller, a Krampus Calendar. According to legend, this old wooden advent calendar is a way of access the world of the paranormal, and will allow the user to give their soul over to Krampus. Believing that this will help to make her internet famous, she buys the calendar and plans to use it; much to the dismay of her best friend, Charlie (Cian Lorcan). The calendar has some strict rules, each door must be opened at midnight, and the challenge within must be completed within twenty-four hours. Whilst some of the challenges seem simple and innocuous at first, such as circling your Christmas tree three times, or knocking on a window, they soon take on a darker tone, and it's clear that something is having a strange effect on Hayley.

Found footage movies are a common choice amongst low budget horror directors. You don't need much equipment, you don't need a big crew on set, if things look a little janky and unprofessional it adds to the amateur footage quality, and thanks to the advent of everyone having a camera on them it's incredibly believable that people would record strange events happening to them. Whilst there have been some truly great entries into the genre over the years there have been a lot that have left a lot to be desired thanks to how much easier they are to make, and people with little to no experience giving making a horror film a try. And whilst Advent will not be remembered amongst the ranks of films like The Blair Witch Project, Goniam Haunted Asylum, or Paranormal Activity, it manages to be entertaining enough that I never once felt truly bored; which is something I'd class as a big achievement in the found footage genre.

Writer and director Airell Anthony Hayles has managed to craft an interesting narrative in Advent, a film that blends together a sit down interview with Richard Hill (Nicholas Vince), someone who knew Hayley and has expertise on urban legends, and footage from Hayley's YouTube. The choice to blend together what's essentially the regular kind of found footage scenes with a more documentary style helps the movie quite a bit. It breaks up the scenes, allows a narrator to add context and background detail that would be hard to fit in naturally, such as the origin of the evil calendar and the fate of Hayley's mother, and it gives the movie an air of legitimacy. Many found footage films try set themselves up as evidence footage or lost tapes suddenly found, but Advent plays more like a low budget documentary show you might find on a small channel at 11pm, and it kind of really works that way.

Hayley's story, the main thrust of the film, is also very interesting as not a huge amount actually happens in terms of jump scares or frights. I had something of an expectation that as each door on the calendar opened we'd get mounting supernatural experiences, such as the ramping ghost activity in Paranormal Activity, but instead most of the film was a collection of videos where Hayley was showing each challenge and performing them with no apparent result. Instead, it's the overall event that generates the tension. Each challenge seems banal, even silly, but as they go on you start to see a physical and mental decline in Hayley that unnerves more than any shadow figures or loud bangs in the night would manage.

Hayley is a character that suffers, a lot. Her journey over the course of the film feels mostly normal at times, though there are enough weird things that happen that you question if there might be something supernatural at play. Because of this it feels eerily grounded, and the movie takes on this horrible voyeuristic feel where it's like we're watching someone have a terrible mental health crisis. You feel intrusive being there, that we shouldn't be seeing this, and the sense of realism that is brought to things gets under your skin.

Because of this, the film is a slow burn, and so may not be to everyone's tastes, but where most found footage films go for jumps and characters we're waiting to see killed off Advent feels like it's trying to be more of a character study, and so it offers something that will scratch a very different itch. That being said, there is a scene in the film that does a couple of supernatural switcheroo's that lead to a moment that I absolutely adored, and I feel was worth the price of admission alone.

Advent is an unusual film. It's sitting in a genre that has some very tried and true formulas but instead of going along with them is having a go at crafting something a little bit different. The performances from the cast are decent, with Rasina Alexander being of particular note thanks to how well she portrays her characters slow descent into horror. If you're not quite ready for the spooky season to be over and need something to get you ready for the incoming holiday season then Advent is definitely worth considering.

Advent is released on UK digital streaming platforms on 25th November.

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