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SCORN, issues 1 & 2

Written by Kevin Moyers, Art by Philipp Neundorf

Published by Septagon Studios

Full colour 

What was I thinking? 

 I made a serious error of judgement. I rather stupidly agreed to do the occasional comic book review for Terry. Subsequently, Tel hands me the first two issues of a new ongoing (I presume) comic from a new Canadian publisher called Septagon Studios, entitled SCORN. “Review This For Me,ASAP”, he snorted, before leaving to throw someone somewhere off a bridge someplace. Knowing it’d be me if I didn’t comply, I sat down to read SCORN.  

Oh Dear. What was I thinking ? 

Scorn has a dictionary definition as a subtitle which appears predominantly on it’s covers – “an emotion involving both anger and disgust”.  I’m not sure if that’s there in order to help us understand the gravitas of the enfolding drama within it’s pages, or if it’s to tell us how we should respond to the quality of the contents!  Because, unfortunately, on the strength of issues one and two, I was very close to feeling an emotion involving both anger and disgust.  Okay, that’s a cheap shot guys, but unfortunately, I think, it’s all too apt.

 

 

Scorn is a tale of  a young man’s obsession for revenge on the ganglord that kills his best friend.  A pretty straightforward plot really, the kind of thing we’ve all seen done countless times on TV, in movies, and probably if you play them, computer games.  Not to mention comics. That’s the first problem. It’s been done to death, and if you’re going to do it, then you’d better come up with some pretty interesting way to avoid it being utterly pointless. Sadly, I can find nothing so far in Kevin Moyers story to make me think I’m in for a really rewarding reading experience. The characters are pretty much your usual cardboard cliches:vigilante with a score to settle, nasty gang boss thug , generic cops, token female prostitute. Throw in alcoholic dad, dead mother, you’ve pretty much ticked every box by way of cast. There was nothing at all in the characterisation that made me really care about what happened to anyone on these pages. If anything, perhaps part of the problem is that Moyers attempts to tell us the reasons for our protagonist Michael’s rage too quickly, in a manner that doesn’t build or create any real tension or motivation.  It may have helped to have taken more time and space to expand on his relationships with his father, and in paticular his best(only)friend, so that we have a reason to really empathise.Because despite the cliched nature of the story, there’s still scope in what Moyers attempts to set up and play out, to create something interesting or valid.

 

 

By the end of issue one though, I was unfortunately thinking to myself, “Do I have  to read issue 2 ?” It was that unconvincing.

 

  

My real problem with this however, isn’t the bland, uninspired story, it’s the “art”.

 

 

One of my problems with comic book art is in it’s obsession with the need for an artist to have or create a “style”, that certain way of drawing that sets him or her apart from every other artist out there, or fits with a certain way of drawing that’s fashionable(e.g. Manga, or the tedious glut of Mignola imitators) Often the search for a “style” means that some artists will develop certain traits that have more to do with trying to develop a “look”, than attempting to draw well, and in a manner that is about telling a story, which is first and foremost what you’re trying to do !

 

 

If this seems like a digression, it’s not.Philip Neundorf’s artwork is guilty of trying to create a look, before he has learned to draw and tell a story well.

 

 

I’m sorry Philip, but no amount of intense, scribbly lines here there and virtually everywhere are going to be able to disguise very, very bad draughtmanship, and poorly proportioned and foreshortened figures. To be fair to you, as much as I can,you’re not the only artist out there guilty of this, and at least you’re trying to draw, and you are trying to tell Moyers story by creating some drama and tension through the drawing(some facial  expressions almost work, but are let down simply by the drawing not being technically good enough).At least you’re not simply lightboxing photo references like some people out there.Please, please get away from the scribbles, and simply go do more life drawing, ideally before issue 3 hits the shelves.

 

 

I’m afraid I can’t recommend Scorn on the contents of it’s first two issues.I’m hoping(and guessing) that it’s creators are two young men who are maybe just beginning their comic book careers, and if so, well good luck guys, but if you’re really serious about doing this, you need to brush up on your basic storytelling and  drawing skills  quickly. Hopefully, you can only improve, and I can’t fault the lovely production values of your product, but I’m afraid it’s too easy to fault the artistic content, and that’s a shame. 

Paul Brown

 

 

 

Editor’s notes.

 

And Mr Brown is the “nice” CBO reviewer!

 

The thing is that I was hoping that we were at last going to see a new Canadian publishing house emerge and make an impact.  Paul refers,albeit briefly,to the production values on Scorn and I’d like to mention this.

 

The cover and printing is top quality and the paper stock is also of the highest quality. On production values,which seem to be getting better amongst Independent publishers,you would have to be obliged to give a 10 out of 10 mark.  Just cannot be faulted and I hope Septagon wasn’t hit with too high a bill for this.

 

But when I saw the covers I immediately thought “arty”,thinking it was meant to be that –it was my first glimpse of that awful scribble on art!  I actually read through the comics four (4) times but the story to me was…bland.  The artwork –and remember I like many,many styles- was just…bad.  The anatomy and perspective were just not there.  Having said that,I have seen artists far worse get big followings.  I just cannot see why that awful scribbling was there unless it was to hide bad artwork –in the 1980s British artist Duncan Fegredo [and others] use speckling on colour and black and white art.  Bad.

 

 

I’m hoping Philip will take a step back and listen to Paul’s advice.  I’m quite willing to discuss this with Philip.

 

 

But if you really want to make an impact as a new publisher to attract readers and sales,Septagon made the wrong move with this one and needs to really hit back with a new project. 

And Scorn is a four issue limited series.  Please,check it out.  See what YOU think and let me know.

 

Terry