OFF LIFE

The Art Project I wish I could draw as well as my mind can see! Thought For The Day That was it. You missed it? My Current Obsession Starting this bloody silly magazine idea up.  You know the WBK thing.  anyway -I'll get to that later.  THIS is far more important. It's a review.

I know this review is late, but that's because I didn't get hold of it until the other day. BUT, I have to tell you, it was worth the wait. (Please don't use that as an excuse to make me wait so long again. if you could see the sweat I was in......panicing that I wouldn't get a copy.)

Anyway. What sort of a review is it, if you don't know what I'm talking about? I'll tell you.

The new magazine is OFF LIFE, and it's a totally new concept.  It's not being made for money - to line some already bloated suit with our hard earned cash. No - because it's FREE. you find it when you are out and about, and you pick it up and take it way to enjoy at your leisure - or you pick it up while you are out, read it and enjoy it, then leave it behind for somebody else to enjoy.  How good is that eh?  How often does somebody say "Here, take this good thing and enjoy it, you don't have to pay for it."....and there not be a catch. I can hear your reply now. "What's the catch?" - Well, there isn't one!

So the next argument made by the cynical old goats amongst you will be "Well - If it's free, it must be rubbish."  Wrong again! Its' full of really good thought provoking comics by well established artists. It's on a very nice quality matt paper, and the print quality is crisp, clean, and generally quite lovely.

There is a slight problem, and that is it is only availale in Bristol and London at the moment, although I believe the intention is to gradually roll it out to other cities as they can. You can however enjoy it online here http://www.offlife.co.uk/, if you cannot get a paper copy - (Although I would urge you to try to find a proper one if you can, I'll explain why in a bit.)

Sorry, I still haven't said much about the actual magazine have I?  OK, it's to bring comics back to the mainstream reader, so that they aren't just seen as something for little kids or nerdy older kids in special shops. Comic strips can be funny, they can be aimed at children, they can be aimed at superhero fans - but they don't have to be. They can be enjoyed by everybody, they can have a meaningful message, which will often stay in our minds more with their visual aspect, than just a written article would, and can be read repeatedly and still enjoyed.

My personal favourites were the collaboration of Daniel Humphries and Will Elliot on Loud Neighbours with it's drk twist on the Pinocchio story, Rob Davis' surreal vision in How I Built My Father (and where I went wrong), and Liz Lunney's The Lemon Parade, which was one of the funniest in this issue, although I found it hard to read on the digital copy as the text is so small. (Just my old eyes, I sure)  I think that strip might have benefitted from being enlarged a little and spread over 2 pages, as even the print edition has small text.

Possibly the most moving story is Slow To Heal by Silent Paige. I won't spoil it for you. Just read it OK?

So, there you have it. A free comic to people in Bristol and London - Get out there and find one, it won't cost you anything, and you may just find that comics aren't just kidstuff. I look forward to seeing issue 2,and hope that it continues. Well done to all involved.