Nice Comics & Quickdraw #3
John Weeks
Reviewed by Darren Hick

John Weeks is, I have to say, a better editor than cartoonist.

Quickdraw #3, a sketchy, ostensibly autobiographical mini-comic, prominently displays Weeks' own work, and is, unfortunately, the poorer for it. His efforts at gag humor (as in the single-page "Slugdog" and "Aboriginal Jokes") come across as telegraphed and predictable, or else just unfunny, while his autobiographical work is choppy and sophomoric. This seems a shame, because one sees a hint of talent waiting to break out through Weeks' pen. Although having obvious potential, Weeks admittedly rushes his work (hence the title, Quickdraw), and the result is bizarre cross-breeding of the styles of Scott Adams, Greg Hyland and Ariel Shrag. A woeful combination. With continued practice, his storytelling (if not his art) should prove to smooth out, a quality so far lacking in his work.

The two single-page entries in Quickdraw not drawn by Weeks begin to display his more admirable taste in others' work: "John Weeks Drinks Like a Fag" (by Aaron O'Donnell), though still more potential than actual, is amusing if only for the Ariel Bordeaux line. Likewise, its counterpart, "Tim Danko Thinks Like a Fag: Government Health Warning" (by, apparently, Tim Danko) is almost frightening in its sublimity. It is in Nice Comics, though, that Weeks begins to hit his stride as an editor.

A pocket-sized mini, Nice Comics contains a variety of stories by a host of Xerox cowboys. Some aren't terrific: Gregory MacKay's "Nice," the worst of the bunch, is a sad, transparent attempt at high-brow oblequity. Clint Cure's "Nice" (no, they're not all called "Nice" -- just a few of them), meanwhile, manages utter hilarity in only three crudely-drawn panels. And Kirrily Schell's "Tossas Unite," heavily influenced, it seems, by Al Columbia, indicates a cartoonist of great potential. Every anthology has its ups and its downs, and Nice Comics manages better than most.

Neither of these works is great by any stretch, but Nice Comics is good. I dread to see what else John Weeks draws up, but I do look forward to his future forays into mini-editing. If he continues to stick it out, he's bound to showcase for us a full array of talent.

Both Quickdraw #3 and Nice Comics are available for 2 bucks a pop direct from John Weeks, P.O. Box 13172, Torrance, CA, 90503.