Waikiki Luau #3

Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Waikiki Luau #3 Creator(s): Simon Mackie and Ben Rowdon
Publishers: Rowmac (Self Published)
From: UK
Price: £3.50 + 50p p&p(UK and Europe) - £2 Outside Europe. US$9. incl. p&p

60's America is examined, prodded, dissected, and made fun of in this two person anthology. Elvis musicals, westerns, south pacific nuclear testing and musicals all get a does of the satire. Things are played for laughs, but a few serious issues sneak in as well.

A fun mix of ironic characters populate these stories - Pinky the young boy who is bullied by a macho father and protected by a saucer full of aliens - Linda and here friend borrow a convertible and take off to the beach house. On the way they pick up the surfer boys who somehow cause destruction on a massive scale. Lucky the girls are too cool to care.

Later in the book Pink has followed his fathers advice and singed on for a tour of duty in 'Nam. Soon his love of stamps get him into trouble, but it also offers a way out.

Simon and Ben have contrasting styles that give the book an adventurous look. Simon's characters tend to have angular features and made up of lots of straight lines. His use of zip-a-tone and interesting silhouettes give some of the panels a pop-art look.

Ben's work is far more organic, with fluid ink work his Pinky gets Napalm story has a very hallucinatory look to it with buildings that bulge and heave with cartoon energy and characters with faces made up of a variety of construction techniques.

Nothing here is laugh out loud hilarious, but there are smiles all through the book and both creators produce appealing artworks. Great for a lazy afternoon read on the beach, where the two bonus postcards will come in handy.

In a Word: Rad.



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