Described as “the world’s goofiest comics magazine!”, editor Marc Jackson’s GOOF is a fun collection of short humour comic strips by an extremely impressive line-up of creators from across the comics spectrum. The first thing to note here is that is an anthology that focusses entirely on comedy hijinks, putting the emphasis on sheer escapism. Unashamed silliness and belly laughs are at its heart, then, with Jackson’s careful curation of cartoonists with an ability to build up to and land a gag also doubling as a statement of intent.
And what a creative crew it is. Welcome to Oddleigh creator Tor Freeman’s ‘Tarzan the Teenager’, for example, projects universal experiences of stroppy teendom onto classic pulp fiction to great effect while James Kochalka (American Elf) gives us the slapstick antics of cowboy send-up ‘The Cowbird Kid’. Just mentioning those two artists underlines where the great appeal of GOOF comes from. The work on offer here is provided by a broad range of artists with such diverse styles and approaches to their craft.
That’s not simply a geographical or presentational thing, though. Legendary kids comics names like Lew Stringer with his constant volley of gags in ‘School of the Future’ (including a wonderfully retro bangers and mash visual joke) sit side by side with some of the finest cartoonists to emerge from a UK small press scene background, like Rachael Smith whose canine ‘The Poet’ strip is perfectly timed in its shift from serious exposition to unabashed scatological humour.
Interspersed throughout are a number of activity -style pages that do not take themselves too seriously, adding to the tongue-in-cheek quality of GOOF. Other standout strips include Mister Hope’s ‘Splash, Splash, Chomp’ that adds a (literal) extra dimension to the game of jumping in puddles and David Leach’s ‘Earth’s Bestest Hero’ which dissects the cliché of the hero of destiny with a loving relish. There’s even a look at the daily routines of a zombie written by Jackson with art by Charlie Adlard (himself obviously no stranger to the shambling undead) that takes a Mad Magazine approach to its subject matter.
GOOF is simply pure, unadulterated fun for kids, full of outrageous jokes and occasionally slightly naughty wit (Alex, Christopher and David Degrand’s ‘Fart’s Day Out’ for example, the title of which probably explains itself). Here’s hoping for a second volume in 2025.
Marc Jackson, Tor Freeman, James Kochalka, Mika Song, Lew Stringer, David Leach, Rachael Smith, Asimina Hollingworth, Jim Smith, Johnny Sampson, Mister Hope, Alex DeGrand, Christopher DeGrand, David DeGrand, Mat Greaves, Charlie Adlard, Jim Medway • Weirdo Comics, £6.50
Review by Andy Oliver
