Review

"I have descended into the deepest canyons of the devil planet Nibiru to probe for the forgotten writings of ancient civilisations ... " - Mr Unpronounceable

Drop your linen and start your grinning kids, Yuck version seven has landed and life may never be quite the same again. Got to say our little comic has grown up, don't be suprised if people start using it as a weapon when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. We're talking a whopping 194 pages jammed packed with mayhem, anti social statements, and gosh do I detect the faint aroma of satire? So we may have the family sized meal here but for sure the quality and rebelliousness of the comic hasn't been watered down any.

Okay so the magazine probably won't appear anytime soon in Tony Abbott's toilet reading selection but for the rest of us business as usual in the best possible fashion. Besides regular contributors to the comic series we get some work from the cream of Aussie talent and gosh even some miscreants from across the ditch. Now how cool is that, you can catch up with old friends and meet some new folk as well, Yuck! is all about bring people together folks, and then trying to make them physically ill. Got to love that in a book, Yuck! Number Seven just keeps on giving.

So much to cover, and yeah I'm going to give it a top mark, so time to procrastinate. I'm currently at home on a Friday night rather than out drinking lager with the lads in order to get this review wrapped up for publication tomorrow, all things being equal, no zombie outbreaks etc. But don't feel bad for me; I rocked on to the book so am happy enough to sit typing away as the overload of mullet rock blasts out of the stereo. Dean Winchester would be envious of the music I got happening the evening. I'm sinking a few Black Ice brews to help with the creative juices as well and just knocked off a pretty good feed of pork and beans. So what does this tirade of personal information have to do with the review you may ask, well I'm in a happy place and a major part of being in that place is due to having a great week reading and then re-reading Yuck! Number Seven. First point to be made, hell yeah Yuck! isn't simply pretty pictures, there's words as well. To bring this to a head, the book is going to require you to read and maybe think about what you are devouring, it's not simply out to shock the odd innocent that stumbles into it.

For veterans of the comic scene Downunder get ready to rock out to the folk who have contributed to issue seven, we're talking a who's who of Downunder talent that should make purchasing the book a no brainer really. Hold onto your knickers folk, included in the book are James Andre, Scarlette Baccini, Tom Bonin, Frank Candiloro, Lark, S.C.A.R, J. Marc Schmidt, and Trevor Wood. Am I missing anyone out? Betcha arse I am, this review doesn't have the length to list every notable comic book creator Yuck 7 features in between the covers. If you ever wanted a sampler of Downunder comic firepower than say hello to this book, it's such a crazy notion I've got a feeling only Milk Bottle had the reputation on the streets to pull of the epic scale of this collection. Go on whip yourself into a frenzy, and while doing so grab me another ale from the fridge. Did I mention there's the odd Johnny Foreigner in the mix as well?

I'm not going to highlight previously mentioned creators in this review, check out our comics section for word on that stratosphere of talent, but I would like to time out to mention a few people that were new to me who impressed. Once again this isn't a definitive list kids, we'd need a bigger review, just a few grabs to indicate the diverse content of Yuck! Number Seven.

Baking Bad sees the combine deviant talents of Messers J-Stew and G-man deliver a comic strip that combines the zany violence of a Tarantino flick with the aftermath of a particularly pissed off Gordon Ramsay discovering a filthy bakery in Nightmare Kitchen. You just got to love an off the wall comic that doesn't even pretend to travel in traditional Cathy territory. Tim Molloy who seems to spend his time making bloody hard to interpret comic stripes and enjoying himself while doing so has a number of stories included in Number Seven, including a couple of entries in the outstandingly good Mr Unpronounceable series. Yes I know we should be across the Molloy body of work, but hello dark genre site. I've pencilled Molloy's name in as one comic creator that I've got to spend some time researching. And finally, before I run out of space here, I just wanted to send a nod to Michael Aushenker who delivers one hell of an excellent classic horror spin in ... If it Weren't For You Meddling Kids, consider my childhood rape, pillaged, and sacked from one end of the lounge to the other, excellent!

The crew at Milk Shadow Books have put together a collection of diverse talent that bodes well for the future of the comic book form as a subversive art form. It's one hell of an achievement that should be on the bookshelf of every fan of guerrilla warfare literature, and just by the way should also sneak into the odd mainstream collection. If your experience in comic-dom has solely been super heroes, classic horror, or indeed whimsical non threatening shite then you really do need to score this book and broaden those horizons folks. While I'm not going to say this collection has something for everyone, if you dig sparkling vampires go drown yourself in a bucket of urine instead, it might just be the wakeup call that forces you kicking and screaming into other facets of the art form. Now that's a good thing in anyone's book of counted sorrows.

I'm always up for a read of Yuck! so was happier than a demonic pig moving into that Amityville house when version seven arrived as a honking big graphic novel of a collection. It's taken me a wee while to read the book, I try not to rush these things and like to go back and forward re-reading bits checking the art etc, but every single moment spent in the process has been a solid slice of rolled gold. Besides old favourites, from previous editions and other publications, I've run across a whole slew of new creators to go check out. Number Seven is rich in content, but you get the feeling the Editors carefully sifted through submissions to only include the best of breed, I didn't find one weak entry in the whole damn collection. As such, and with the proviso that a lot of the moral majority and Fundos are going to scream "smut", I have zero problems in totally recommending this collection to Readers. Hell, pick up the previous six releases as well, Yuck! just keeps on giving. The question to consider kids is whether or not this collection is a landmark release for the new millennium?

Once again a few too many contributors to allow for publication of every single website, though just about everyone deserves a mention. So I'm going to stick with pointing you in the direction of Milk Shadow Books, where you can add this book as well as a number of others to your shopping cart, and of course the old faithful Amazon. For locals, your neighbourhood comic emporium should be stocking Milk Shadow releases, if they aren't either burn down the store in a fit of outrage or possibly enquiry about them getting the books in, your choice there.

[Editor's note: due to an unforseen glitch, we sent the book OS to get this review done we don't have a second image to haunt you with. One is coming but may take a few days to arrive]