POSITIVE REVIEWS

Review: "Bush Vs. Everyone"

Like the cover of this mini-comic states: George W. Bush dies on every page. Winston Rowntree has some fun filling up page after page of killing the current American President in strange and humorous ways. Bush dies at the hands of Indiana Jones, Muhammad Ali, specially designed Bush-killing robots, and even the French get their licks in. But it doesn’t stop there, as Rowntree gets a bit bizarre and has debeaked corporate chickens, cannibals, senior citizens, and a gondola full of rabid beavers have their way with the leader of the free world. Rowntree is a born and bred Canadian so I found this particular mini-comic interesting. Why did he decide to create a mini-comic decapitating, vivisecting, and outright ripping apart a neighbouring country’s head guy when our own politicians are in need of some severity of their own? It’s true; Canada has problems with the current administration (“Mad Cow” disease, softwood lumber, etc.), heck we even called Bush a “moron” for all to see and hear, but I think this cartoonist sees more in Bush than disputed trade policies. Rowntree gets his point across in “Bush Vs. Hitler” when the two of them wrestle like girls arguing about who is more evil. And in “Bush Vs. The Devil!” when Rowntree has Bush beating up himself.
This mini-comic is a real hoot whether you’re political or not. It doesn’t get into specifics why Rowntree thinks Bush is evil, but it doesn’t have to. George W.’s record stands by itself.
3.5 out of 5
--Dana Tillusz, comicreaders.com

Review: "Antisocial Comics Megamix"

Considering this is the debut issue of a freebasin’ comic collection, Winston Rowntree and his Antisocial Comics Megamix sure are doing their darndest to establish a strong pedigree early on. Winston packs page upon page of clean-livin’ comic goodness, and he does so with the kind of slack-jawed optimism that you don’t often encounter (at least if you tend to stay clear of dock workers and other insects). His frames vary from superhero satire to cheeky slams of white trash, Lara Croft and smut peddlers. Oh indeed, Winston takes no prisoners but he does so with just the right amount of wit and resolve that it’s tough for the reader to do anything but crack a grin. And there’s a pretty decent set of takeaways too—illustrated guides to “Life’s Only Certanties” and “Five Lesser-Mentioned yet Equally Valid Reasons To Hate George Bush”. From the suffix and back through the guts, Winston appears to be the atypical starving artist, with talent oozing from ever leshions but not a dime to show for his drippings. Whatever the case, Antisocial Comics Megamix is a good first step towards a meal ticket.

--Cameron Gordon, for Broken Pencil Magazine


Review: "Captain Estar Goes to Heaven (part one)"

    It’s sometimes hard reviewing a self-published comic book. You want to be honest in your criticism... however it takes a lot of courage, money and patience for an artist to self-publish, so you want to be encouraging, too. Consequently, a reviewer may find themselves looking the other way on transgressions because, well, it wasn’t them, nor Marvel Comics standing for five hours photocopying and stapling the book. However, the Kinkos Handicap is risky because there’s a fine line between support and ignorance and it’s easy for a review to get tripped up.
    Thankfully no fudging of the score is needed for  Captain Estar goes to Heaven: Part One. While proudly self-published in the truest sense- raw black and white art, photocopied and hand stapled -- it’s also a solid effort by an emerging artist in crafting an ongoing Sci-Fi title.
    Captain Shirley Estar is a 22nd century bounty hunter who takes two contracts on a remote space station. After a shaky landing on the station, Estar quickly fingers her first contract and almost has the kill, but things soon go terribly wrong.
    There’s a lot to like about this book. Rowntree’s art and design is cartoon-flavoured but also grimy and well suited for the story. Also, Rowntree understands storytelling so the book is a nimble read -- but the dense panels will reward the careful reader. A lot of thought and effort has been put into Captain Estar and it shows.
    However, I do have a few quibbles. First off, Captain Estar goes to Heaven is a terrible title. Secondly, the front cover looks half-done. In fact, when I first picked up this book, I wasn’t entirely sure of its tone: was it a Sci-Fi parody ....or just plain lazy? It’s none of these but it would’ve been nice to have a front cover and title that was competent and fitting for what is contained within.
    But those minor considerations aside, Captain Estar goes to Heaven: Part One is a promising start to an interesting story and if I ever find more issues, I’ll gladly read them. 3 out of 5.”

--Ian Roberton, comicreaders.com


Review: "Things They Don't Tell You (But Should)"

They should give this zine to every kid in Career and Life Management classes. Winston Rowntree's (not his real name, but you kind of wish it were) comic zine dishes out useful little tidbits and quips about what you should know when it comes to life. His lessons are paired alongside hilarious drawings of animals acting as humans like beavers talking trash or mice yelling at their kids at the dinner table. Rowntree's style is simple yet effective. His top-secret guide is cheeky and to-the-point and will give you the edge in life. I wish I had this as a reference during times when the universe seemed to kick my ass. At least I'd get a couple chuckles out of it even if my face was in the mud.

--Michelle Kay, Broken Pencil Magazine
Award: "February 2007 zine of the month"

Review: "Captain Estar Goes To Heaven"

Winston RowntreeSome of Captain Estar didn’t click for me until I poked around the VirusComix site–the little that the author makes known about himself, and some of his very funny Web strip “Subnormality” (like this) reveal a sense of cleverness and whimsy (if, perhaps informed by Lovecraft). That sensibility bubbles beneath the surface of Captain Estar, but doesn’t quite make itself completely known.

The art’s also a bit inconsistent—a little awkward in places and some perspectives toward the beginning, though, to its credit, it finishes much, much tighter. One also has to wade through a lot to get to the meath of the story, which really gets good a little later in the game than it could. One final complaint: the hand-lettering is a bit tough to slog through in some cases. It’s perfect for Rowntree’s short-form, weekly strips, but in long-form sequential enterprises like Captain Estar, it’s a touch distracting.

Rowntree’s work concerns Shirley Estar, a bounty hunter/assassin whose character skirts cliché with some interesting wrinkles—she’s ugly, she’s poor,
she’s beyond a fuck-up. Some of the other initial scenes find the author perhaps trying a touch to hard to be fresh, bordering on melodrama
when Estar meets a figure from her past, while the conversation with a post-op transsexual woman with demonesque grafts could have been handled with defter touch.

Once again, reader patience pays off: Estar finds some proof that Heaven exists, taken from one of her marks. That bible-as-fantasy element, juxtaposed with the futuristic, science-based world is quirky and compelling. And when it went all Tarantino and, subsequently invoked some of the Lovecraft again, stories don’t come much more compelling.

In an interview on the subject, Rowntree calls Captain Estar, “more of a ‘practice’ graphic novel.” Still, I’m on board to read every last thing this man produces from this point on. The book dials back the adrenaline and is finished off with a very cleverly executed take on time travel/alternate reality element—and Estar’s actions and characterization in light of that situation ring true to the rest of the book very satisfactorily.

Captain Estar could have benefited from some more consistency, resources, and maybe a little more third-party feedback—but it’s brimming with ideas and I’m looking forward to Rowntree’s next long form project.

–Jeremy Nisen, thedailycrosshatch.com