Small Press Comic Review: The Abortion (Reviewed by Mo Ali)
Today’s guest review is from my good friend, Mo Ali. Mo is a British artist, poet, and Pushcart Prize-nominated author - whose work you may have seen recently on Accent UK’s Western anthology (see here), amongst many other things. Mo has also written non-fiction articles and reviews for publications such as Fractal Matter magazine. To find out more, head to http://www.moali.co.uk/
The Abortion is a 24-page, black & white, one-shot comic, written by Jamie McMorrow, with artwork by Garry McLaughlin. The comic is independently published, and is available to purchase as a print-on-demand title from Lulu.com for $1.87, or as a free download.
First things first, don’t let the title put you off.
For the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice readers amongst you who may at this very moment be fainting in shock or exhaling your cups of tea in disgust, you can rest a little easier as the story of The Abortion is not some angst-ridden ethical drama philosophising on the issues of newborn life, or indeed a heated debate on the pro’s and con’s of abortion itself, but is instead a dark little comedic horror tale full of blood, slime and B-Movie deaths.
Told without any captions or dialogue throughout, The Abortion begins with an unnamed young couple who leave a clinic after having had the procedure, returning home to their young son and idyllic home life.
Things don’t end there though as the titular character – an evil-eyed and tentacle sporting creature, decides it doesn’t want to be left behind and so slithers its way back home, seeking revenge on Mom and Dad for abandoning it.
As an independent title and one-off the story works well, though a continuing series featuring the creature could certainly be feasible.
The black and white artwork is both clear and engaging; with nice use of shadows and darkness to create an ominous atmosphere, and the visual direction and narrative is well thought-out - which is a good thing given the challenge of a lack of dialogue - with the look of the creature large-eyed and suitably impish, especially as it sniffs its way to the family home like a bizarre bloodhound bent on gruesome retribution.
The cover states the story to be ‘Adults Only’ but the horror that unfolds is more of extreme Family Guy than Friday the 13th in nature, and therein lies the only real negative to be found; the manner in which the deaths occur seem somewhat anti-climactic after the build up, and considering the intended adult audience in mind, the horror could’ve been a little more inventive and bloody.
All things considered however this is minor gripe, as The Abortion is an entertaining and fun read and one that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Review by Mo Ali
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