Pox #5

Posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2002
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Pox #5 Creator(s): Susan Butcher and Carol Wood
Publishers: Unsafe Products
From: Australia
Price: $3:50 (AU)

The Pox team say goodbye to the future with their usual blend of humour and retro style. It's straight into it with the first story The World of Tomorrow, where the high ideals of predictions made in the past for the world of the late 20th century as documented by the script are contrasted with the hilarious pictures showing how Carol and Susan see thing having turned out.

Penny a Burger is a grim tale of a little girl whose wish to have cancer so she can stay at the "Batter Fried Burger" childrens' hospice comes true with hideous results. We are also given a hilarious account of Susan and Carol's 3400 km cross country drive to a new home in Perth. The Australian countryside gives them a hard time, but Orwell their pet and they manage to survive, just.

All this plus a hilarious parody of childrens' science books and another episode in the well executed Sci-Fi serial Stupefying Tales, as well as some brilliant rip offs of print ads makes this a laugh-fest' from start to finish that rewards multiple readings. For the most part the Mad Magazine style artwork is well executed, and even the rough bits are still clear and easy to follow. Topped off with a colour cover and a smart US comic format, this book has to be on your must buy list.

In a Word: Amusement.



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