Reviewer: Will Cooling
Written by: various
Editor: Barry Renshaw
Publisher: Accent UK
Comics journalism has its fair share of flaws yet if I was to pick out the most obvious and serious it would be the segregation between “fanboys” and “elitists”. What through comics journalism from Wizard to Comics Journal there are very defined boundaries between what journalists will deign to cover with there being as much chance of Love and Rockets getting a Wizard cover as Astonishing X-Men has of being featured in the Comics Journal. I would say this “begs the question why” but we already know, the two audiences are so different that it’d be very difficult to maintain a commercially viable magazine by appealing to both of them…or so the theory goes!
British comics have the same problem; there is the same division between “mainstreamers” and “indie kids” this time between fans of 2000AD and the Small Press. What’s more similar to American Superhero fans its arguable that the majority of 2000AD fans are more fans of that particular comic(s) than they are of (British) comics in general. Confronted with this quandary would a Small Press publisher putting together a British comic magazine limit itself to just one section of the British comic audience?
If you read my review of the last issue you know the answer to that!!!
Red Eye manages to pitch itself at the level that whether you buy 10 Small Press titles a month or you’re a hardcore 2000AD fan who knows nothing of life beyond the High Street shelf the comic will engage with you in a big way. Firstly there’s the superb selection of articles with hot new series like Pest Control and Stiro being given copy alongside 2000AD greats such as Alan Grant and Brian Bolland. All are written superbly with the all the interviewers being models of tact and discretion as they allow the interviewee to take centre stage. What’s especially impressive is the way writers such as Gary Simpson are able to structure their interviews to the extent that even if you went in knowing nothing about the interviewee you leave desperate for to try their wares.
However, Red Eye is more than just brilliant and informative creator interviews as it also boasts the most comprehensive news section of any comic specialist magazine (within its chosen field) with news and previews about the latest titles coming soon to your postman’s bag. In addition, it offers an extraordinary wide array of reviews of Small Press titles with such leading lights as Tozzer 2, BAM and Future Quake being reviewed in pithy yet informative reviews. Just to add to your reading pleasure, Red Eye excels at the historical just as much as does the contemporary with its articles on the 2000AD career of Brian Bolland and the strange twilight existence of Dan Dare post Eagle. Both articles are just mouth wateringly good with a comprehensive and authoritative tone.
The same can be said for the rest of the magazine. Red Eye is not home to shrill rants nor is it home to wide-eyed eulogies. Instead it offers a calm and reasoned quarterly look at the British comic scene with both creators and readers treated with respected. There is however a missionary zeal that burns with every word, this is a magazine geared to enlightening you on what the writers see as the big unmissed comic story-the rich history and future of British comics. Many writers write for magazines (or even e-zines) with a nihilistic determination to tell the world what they hate, well the guys and gals at Red Eye would rather tell you what rocks their world. I don’t think I need to tell you who makes for a more interesting read!!!
The Final Word: A wonderful magazine with lots of news, articles and interviews jammed packed into a magazine that whilst slightly low-fi in places in anything and everything BUT low quality. Highest Recommendation!
Thank you to Barry Renshaw and Engine Comics for supplying materials for this review. To learn more about Engine Comics, Red Eye and the wider Accent UK collective check out their website
