Drake & Dog Armed Tales Review: Ed Pinsent's City Of Cruelty
Reading time: 4 minutes
How about an exercise in the exorcism of negative thoughts? A Metafiction-manifested collection of stories in Cubism-edged, free-form, absurdist, Expressionist art. All from the front-line flagbearer of idiosyncratic comic book creation. The one and only Ed Pinsent returns to Drake Ullingsworth. The book is Drake & Dog Armed Tales From The City Of Cruelty.
Ed Pinsent is a keystone of UK underground comics. With over four decades of comic book creation experience, Ed has curated an enviably prolific career. The previous editor of the seminal Fast Fiction has also had work appear in Escape Magazine and Knockabout Comics. Further credits include Fox Comics in Australia, Sortez La Chienne in France and Honk! in the USA. Ed is the creator of characters such as Windy Wilberforce, Primitif and Henrietta La Folle. Ramollo, Vladimir the Medico and Illegal Batman are his too, to name a few more. Intrinsically important innovator introduced it's time for a review.
So, let's start with the art. Ed Pinsent in Drake & Dog Armed Tales presents a style that resists accurate description. Try highbrow, and it might sound something like Cubism, absurdity-driven and housed in pure Expressionism. An equally accurate description could be unique and pretty ugly (emphasis on the pretty). Underground comics with an x, comix art full of passion. With these two vastly different descriptions, the undeniable truth is Ed's art is very much uniquely Ed's.
This theme of "Edism" curation extends through every artistic endeavour of the work on offer. There is abstract and distinctive beauty in this art for sure. That distinctive nature may not make it for everyone. Given the other artistic elements on offer and the artist themselves, that's part of the point. I feel like Ed Pinsent comics are for Ed first, all others be secondary. That is part of the allure and ultimately the perfect recipe for uniqueness. The art on offer, visuals and narrative both, feels like an exercise in self-exorcism. Call it a cathartic pouring from the well of creation. It may not be for everyone; it may not even be for many. But for some, myself included, it's another great example of diverse art in underground-styled UK indie comics. It comes from one of the scene's most important creators.
Before diverting into the story those aforementioned other elements need closer attention. The lettering, firstly, is really strong, and even more impressive are the colours. Presented, I have reliably researched/ read on Ed's Insta, using the hand-separated process by Ed. This use of colour adds beautifully to the overall experience with clever visual punctuation to the art. Depictions described, on to the story.
Ed Pinsent creates Metafiction manifest in Drake & Dog Armed Tales From The City Of Cruelty. Drake Ullingsworth and Dog return for new adventures. The anthology collects several stories penned by the titular characters themselves. Single-page pieces sit between them, covering wholesome subjects like violence, sex, mystery, death, negative thoughts and Edgar Allen Poe. The story titled "The Revenge Phantoms" stands out as a favourite for delivering on every artistic avenue. The darkness on offer is a rich and heady mix, delivering in every way.
The vehicle of character-driven tales provides carte blanche on an eclectic mix of storytelling framing devices. Free rein is given to thought experiments, fables and expression of feelings. All of it furthers the adventures, even fictitiously, of Detective Drake Ullingsworth and his loyal partner Dog. Much like the art, there are elements of the absurd, silly and poignant pulling you along each adventure.
The notes from Ed at the end of the book allude to the work being like "reassembling a broken vase". To stretch the idea, I would view Armed as a comic Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi. Ed and his art are the precious metal forming the journey. To further flog the analogy, this piece and its place in the wider lore would probably be Chataku. That is a functional piece of framing, perhaps not vital to the overall collection. It is not without merit. The look at the function of Drake & Dog's city home adds to the mythos wonderfully. The villain roster across all the tales is punched up too.
I'm sure the layers of storytelling metaphor are better handled by this book. It most likely contains commentary over my head. I don't feel this work punishes those that may struggle, and in fact it embraces them all the same. It also is an entertaining mix of wildly different stories, and that's the place to start.
For fans of Drake Ullingsworth and Dog, Ed Pinsent, underground comix, anthologies, esoteric and avant-garde storytelling with artistic expression that tackles the power of negative thoughts and other things, dogs in disguise, Roman influence, viral pornography, state-sponsored ammunition, fictitious writing, redundant detectives and transformation in hand-separated coloured art with a pure and singular style, it's no tall tale you want Drake & Dog Armed Tales From The City Of Cruelty.
To get your copy of Drake & Dog Armed Tales, the absolute best place would be Ed's website here. Have a good poke around there for all things Ed Pinsent.
Drake & Dog Armed Tales Review: 4.7/5
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