by Ken Reid (Introduction by Alan Moore) Publisher: Rebellion (November 30, 2017)
Hardcover, 122 pages
A
collection of humorous one panel cartoons from the 1970s which appeared in the
kid’s comic magazine Jet (later on known as Jet and Buster), whose protagonist
is the aforementioned Faceache. In the original he goes by a different name,
Ricky Rubberneck, but like many ideas in pilot episodes, it was soon discarded,
and afterwards everyone (even his own father) referred to him as Faceache.
The
main character gained his moniker (I assume it’s not his Christian name) by his
bizarre ability to reshape his face and parts of his skeletal structure to
create different bizarre shapes and slightly change his height. Think of a
bratty Mr. Fantastic and you have a decent idea (Fantastic Four meets The
Infancy Gospel of Thomas). Page after page he gets into ridiculous
situations, mostly moneymaking schemes, that require him to “scrunge” his face
up in a grotesque manner. Most of them come to bad end for our hero and he ends
up shot at, beat up, set on fire, chased by mobs, and so on. Only to start it
all over again next week.
This
is fun book, drawn and inked by a master craftsman. One who knows how to draw
an odd face, and keep the action flowing. Comic drawing and timing has almost
become an extinct talent in the art field. So few of this type are produced
anymore, and those who do it, don’t have the background (yet!) to draw physical
comedy on the level of Ken Reid. Therefore, I’m very glad this volume was put
out. As the target audience at the time was probably around the 13-year-old
mark, I appreciated it on a technical level, rather than the actual content.
Nostalgia would probably help here in appreciation of the material. I could
easily see someone, reliving part of their past gazing at the old cartoons.
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