|
Home
¦ Reviews ¦ Skizz
Skizz
by Alan
Moore and Jim Baikie
Buy
this book from Amazon.co.uk
What to Expect:
A truly alien alien, a truly vile villain, and a small helping of social commentary.
Review by Alex
Frith
7th January 06
This strip originally
ran in 2000 A.D. for 4 months back in 1983, a good few years before I started
reading the weekly. I've only ever read this story in one go, and I can only imagine
how gripping it must have been the first time out, and how unbearable the wait
must have been between certain episodes. It's a perfectly crafted tale that manages
to feel completely unlike any other comic book yarn - despite a classic premise
that has produced classic tales ranging from Superman to E.T. to War of the Worlds.
One of the things
that always grabs me about Skizz is the attention paid to the detail of the time
and place the story is set in. Much more detail, in fact, than is given to the
question of what it's like to be an alien abroad. The supporting cast are given
as much, if not more time than Skizz himself, and an engaging cast they are, too.
For a comic aimed at young teens (I think there was a time when that really was
the main audience for 2000 AD), it's strange that the comic hasn't featured more
young teen characters, but Roxy is one of the greats. We get to share her agonies
at school and at home, and best of all, she's well-adjusted, has friends, a life,
and is generally as unlike every other teen hero as you could desire.
Not that she lives
in happy times as such. Speaking as a middle-class Londoner who did most of his
growing up in the boom years of the late 80s, I was blissfully unaware of the
trials of working class Birmingham in the era of mass redundancies. I suppose
it might be a somewhat stereotypical or even patronising portrait, but I'm sold.
Alan Moore has always been a champion of stories in which the mundane and downright
mediocre are the heroes, and every now and then, that's the kind of story I want
to read. Aliens are exciting in themselves, but why settle for that when you can
add kitchen-sink drama into the mix? It certainly drives home what kind of a world
Skizz has found himself on, which is a world far from Government conspiracies.
Jim Baikie deserves
no small praise for his glorious art. Superb storytelling throughout, and fantastic
characterisation. He coaxes the full gamut of emotions from his characters. Every
face in every panel is perfectly considered, and adds to the atmosphere of hope
filtered through hopelessness. This latest collection of the story has reduced
the art to fit the pages, but this hasn't diminished the impact, although there
is some curiously weak print quality on a handful of episodes. It's also a shame
that the collection doesn't include Alan Moore's discussion of Skizz from the
1983 Annual, which was a real hoot.
OK, that's enough
gushing. Is there nothing wrong with this story? Well, loathe as I am to knock
Alan Moore, his pretension does show through continually in Skizz. Most episodes
use a beginning and ending framing device to draw out an over-riding theme for
the story. It's all very clever and well-handled, but the device gets wearing
after a while. You can see how each episode was put together as if following step-by-step
instructions. Admittedly, these instructions have been followed through very well,
but it's a shame it's so transparent. (If only I could write that well).
Finally, and I'm
aware that this might be missing the point, but I feel that much of the central
plot of this story is simply unbelievable. Van Owen is just ludicrously villainous
and single-minded. The heist-style ending is utterly absurd. One could even argue
that Skizz himself is a) too nice, and b) rather lacking in resourcefulness for
a hyper-intelligent being. On the other hand, you don't really notice these things
when you're reading the story. It just sucks you in so well. And dammit if villainous
villains and absurd triumphs don't make for a hell of a feel-good ending.
Now there's a thought
- when was the last time 2000 AD featured a genuine verge-of-tears feel-good moment?
Buy
this book from Amazon.co.uk
Buy
more 2000AD collections from the 2000AD Review shop |
