Crap Your Pants Anthology, the

Posted: Tuesday, October 24, 2006
By: Steve Saville

Cover of Crap Your Pants Anthology, the Creator(s): Dan Lester
Publishers: Self Published
From: UK
Price: £3(UK)

The accompanying blurb summed up this anthology far better than I ever could, “a collection of stories about people crapping their pants from some of today’s best small press creators.”

Says it all really, if the concept of a comic full of [19] stories about people crapping themselves is of interest to you then rush out and view the excrement within at your leisure. For me though a comic just has to offer a little more. I guess I am one of those individuals who actually does not find that much amusing about people pooing their pants. In fact I think it is quite of sad, but hey I could be a minority here.

The disappointing thing about this volume is that all too many of the stories are just about someone pooing themselves, nothing else seems to happen. Agreed they do poo themselves in a wide variety of locations from restaurants, to escalators to, outer space [twice] and on stage [3 times and possibly more]. The whole point of several of these stories is that someone has just had an accident and that it smells and is embarrassing. That alone does not make it funny. But we certainly have a variety of crap stories on show as a veritable plethora of individuals lose control of their bowels, Astronauts, super heroes, old people tramps, aliens, robots, joggers and game show contestants, they all are at it.

So yes there is a common theme but it is a disappointing collection and for most of the creators here a little bit of a waste of their considerable talent.

The worst of the bunch would have to be David and Duprey Sing Songs from the Shows. Two stage entertainers sing a filthy song and then one of them poos himself. The next offering is just as bad as Trashly a young woman poops and urinates herself through five pages, oh and a school teacher gets his head stuck inside her and then his head gets ripped off and so on.

On the other hand I did enjoy Delhi Belly as it actually had a point and 20 Minute Miracle Diet because it was actually quite funny [and very well drawn]. Both of these stories capture the perils of International travel and jogging with wit and/ or perception.

The cover should serve as a warning, featuring as it does a person who is walking away from the reader having just pooped themselves. The sub title, ‘18 tales of self-defecating wit’ is one of the more amusing moments presented in this volume it all kind of goes downhill from there.

A disappointing volume from a comic that knows better and I say this because previous editions have revealed so much more. The introduction says the idea was born out of a discussion at the pub. Well I guess like so many pub conversations it ‘seemed like a good idea at the time.’ It was probably fun putting it all together but for me the effort would have been better applied to a Monkeys Might Puke anthology that captured the wit, energy and humour that all the contributors are capable of.

In a Word: Faecal.



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