THE BLAME
The Blame. by Jon Aye. mini-comic. 2021. 22pp. $11.11
This British mini-comic is a low-key rather urbane bit of fun, an excellent showcase for the wry humor of Jon Aye. If you like local color, there is plenty of it in this collection of short works. There’s even one piece that features Matt Hancock, an inept politician on his way to a comeback byway of a role as a UN flunky attempting to scare up business opportunities in Africa, despite the UK’s dismal record in getting vaccines into developing countries. So, in Aye’s Hancock satire, he has the miserable sod sadly lurking about until he perks up by trying out tiresome American slogans on for size.
This collection offers up some good satire on consumer culture on different tracks, some more surreal and some more absurdist. It all seems to fit well together in a generally offbeat and irreverent approach. The cartooning style fluctuates a bit from more broad and simple to more tightly stylized. Overall, you get a fine new addition to the tradition of an honest cartoonist’s reaction to a less than kind world.
The Blame: Issue 1, is a new collection of experimental comics, featuring Steve the Screenwriter, the family in the ruined landscape and the continuing adventures of the Young Tony and Benn. It debuted at the Hackney Comic and Zine Fair 2021. You can find it now thru Jon Aye’s website.
