Column
Last week I decided to give the writing a break and redesign shelfabuse.com from scratch. The idea was to design the site around a pile of notebooks and sketchpads strewn across a tabletop; this new look would stand out from the crowd, and emphasise the more personal direction I planned to take the site in.
One week later and things haven’t turned out quite how I’d planned. Somewhere long the way, you see, I realised that I currently spend a… read more
I’m going to begin this with two apologies. Firstly, I’d like to say sorry to all those who’ve sent me books in the past few weeks and have yet to see a review materialise. Secondly, I’d like to apologise for breaking the one rule I’ve adhered to since creating this blog/site: that I’d keep my own life in the background and concentrate entirely on the funny books and other forms of fiction.
But hey, we make ’em to break ’em.… read more
We’ve all opted for the obvious option at some point in time, and stuck with what we’ve known. Most of us do it every day, in the smallest of ways. We’ve all ordered steak and chips from the menu when we know we really should have sampled something more exotic. We’ve all sat in a multiplex full of slack-jawed yokels, watching a derivative horror movie, deploring ourselves for passing on that quaint indie movie.
Ask any comic book or graphic… read more
Comic book and graphic novel criticism is rarely found outside of niche publications such as Wizard, or the many fan-driven sites that litter the web. Occasionally a mainstream newspaper will publish an article on the medium as a whole, or offer a retrospective on an under-appreciated author, usually Alan Moore; but for the most part it is rare to come across comic reviews in any shape or form. I used to believe that this was simply down to media prejudice… read more
Okay, so that’s a stupid question. Or at least it may initially sound like one. In terms of publication and distribution, and their dependency on advertisements, comics are clearly magazines by definition. Which would then make graphic novels compiled magazines… which they are clearly (I hope) not.
But the fact is that “comic book” is a dirty term in the art world. And though the work of people such as Daniel Clowes, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and too many other… read more
I came prepared.
The nineteen year wait was over. The forth Indiana Jones movie was here. I knew it featured in some level of depth Kingdoms and Crystal Skulls, both of which I had already extensively researched in frantic preparation. I’d donned my finest fedora, packed my favourite whip and hammered my youthful features with a large rock. Just to get that weathered 65 year old look, y’know?
Again, I was prepared.
At least that’s the way it would have… read more
I have seen the future, and it’s dark…
It’s 2018. Little Timmy Carbuncle and Jeremiah Hangnail exit the cinema, fleshly bedazzled by the lurid colours of Spider-man 7, in which our favourite webslinger battles a symbiote-possessed Aunt May.
“That was proper rad,” says little Timmy Carbuncle. “I can’t believe we have to wait three more years until the eighth movie. If only there were some way we could inject more Spider-man into our tiny, unfulfilled lives.”
“Well, Spider-man is apparently… read more
Holycr4p.com has pranced free from its chrysalis as Shelf Abuse, a ragtag collection of comic book, graphic novel and movie reviews written by someone who cares. Ugh...
If you'd like shelfabuse.com to feature your graphic novel, comic book, webcomic or magical talking pet feel free to contact Carl here (see submission guidelines).
