SGR: Scary Go Round Re-read

(Link to all Scary Go Round Posts)

I'm going to be re-reading the webcomic Scary Go Round and posting my thoughts and responses here. My plan is to go through one chapter a week and put posts up on Tuesday mornings. If you feel like joining in, my post on the first chapter, The Gas, should appear here on Tuesday 1st February where the comments will be open. For more information on Scary Go Round, keep reading here.

Scary Go Round was a webcomic by John Allison that ran from 2002 to 2009. Like it's predecessor, Bobbins, and it's Successor, Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round is set in the fictional Yorkshire town/city of Tackleford. Bobbins mostly involved the staff of the Tackleford magazine City Limits*. Scary Go Round originally featured new characters and background characters from Bobbins, but several cast members from Bobbins thrust themselves forward as it progressed. The SF/Horror/Thriller elements that appeared towards the end of Bobbins are the driving force of the Scary Go Round plots. With the jokes and cartoony style, it sometimes seems like an episode of Scooby Doo, until you realise that there's quite a body count. Tackleford is quite a dark and, well, scary place behind all the laughter.

Allison has quite an eye for clothes and hair and I really like his dialogue. His art is usually pretty clear, and when it isn't it often turns out to be deliberately confusing.

So my plan is to re-read, post it all up and at the end see if I have any conclusions. To maintain discipline in this, I'm posting it up for all to see. Join me as we ride the Scary Go Round!

That sounded rubbish, didn't it.



* It was a 3-4 panel strip like a newspaper comic, and began very joke oriented, became a bit more character centred as the regular cast came into focus and then became wackier as various genre elements entered the story. Allison changed drawing styles several times throughout it's run. I'm not re-reading Bobbins as, and I say this in the most complimentary way possible, it's journeyman work. Allison is finding his style and voice. It's interesting and it's good, but it's uneven. In Scary Go Round Allison has chosen his work and themes and gets on with it.

Comments

Popular Posts