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A review of CO_okie







First Published: 2005
Format: A5, Staple bound.
Number of pages: 28
Age Rating: PG
Price: £2
Availability: Purchase at the Sweatdrop Studios website.





Introduction

This bizarre comic is the brainchild of Fahed Said, also known as Fred, with art by Shari Hes. This comic could be described as cute, crazy, gory, and funny all the same time, the clever use of the Japanese emoticon for confusion in the title is a dead give away. Just be prepared! o_O

The story is about some Zombie kid all on his own, home alone with his dead pet cat with a fork in its back. This kid is real creepy and just sits there on the sofa with a gormless look on his face dribbling everywhere, only ever getting out of his seat to send trick or treaters packing, or if someone breaks in.

Well let's just say I wouldn't want to break into this kid's house, because Zombie kid is a real nut job. One need only look at his pet cat. This is what he does to things he likes; I can only imagine how he treats his enemies...

Art & Design

Shari Hes is an excellent artist, and Fahed is also an excellent writer, and perfectly able to articulate his ideas to his collaborator in most cases. Cookie is no exception. Shari is capable of many artistic styles although for this comic they go for a cute and bizarre look that fits this comic very well indeed.

There have been no screentones used, the shading appears to have been painted, and I'm fairly certain that computers played no part in its creation other than maybe the pre press.

Dialogue-wise there is very little, and most of the story is told without words, and the layout of frames is simple and functional. The greatest thing about this comic is the way the creepy atmosphere is created.

Everything is black, the shading itself is very dark, and the frame borders are irregular rather than just straight lines. The black outer area of the pages also seems to leak into the fames, like darkness leaking into the light. There is also plenty of blood splats to keep most gore mongers happy, but its not so disgusting as to put off you're average reader.

Some of the art could be described by some people as scruffy and lazy in places, but I think the comic was purposely styled to look this way. There are no ruled lines anywhere, and everything in general has a sketchy feel to it. In my opinion though this just makes this particular story look better. I think that straight lines and a more orderly look would detract from the craziness, although the organisation of the frames is certainly orderly enough to move the story along.

Overall I think this comic was quite amusing, if not a little mad. One could also say the same thing about the artwork within too, amusing if not a little mad. Although if you're squeamish about kids with chainsaws and blood then you might want to give this little comic a miss.





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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF SWEATDROP STUDIOS, FAHED SAID & SHARI HES.

Review by Wayne Hallows

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