David Robertson has been one of the most prolific creators on the UK self-publishing scene for many years, with his short story comics anthologies seeing him collaborate with a huge array of fellow small pressers. His latest book has thr title of You Get What You Get (which is also less subtitled and more overtitled as You Do What You Do You Get What You Get), and once again goes the route of giving (around 25) other artists the opportunity of interpreting his stories. It’s very much a bite-sized affair with each entry consisting of 1-2 pages each. But that also gives Robertson a chance to introduce a far higher number of said creators to new audiences.
What has always marked out Robertson’s comics to me in the past has been his ability to make small, existential moments seem very human and very relatable. Unsurprisingly, the length of each strip in You Get What You Get makes overt commentary difficult without making the exercise of actually reading the comic redundant but let’s try and point out some highlights.
Nodding your head to the universality of some of the experiences depicted here is one of the anthology’s great appeals so ‘Modern History’ (art by Joan Edam) with its slice-of-life comparison of school days and education between generations brings a wry smile to the face. ‘Tell Iz Aboot It’ (art by Rebecca Horner) will be familiar to anyone whose vocabulary was greatly expanded by their exposure to international pop culture. While ‘Rocket’ is a fun reflection with a similar emphasis on how we interacted with pop cultural phenomena as kids, in this case Robertson recalling the technicalities of a Star Wars Bobba Fett action figure (above). Sam Stovold provides vibrant art here that transports the reader back to a childhood sense of wonder.
Not everything is a slice-of-life vignette. Sometimes strips take sudden flights of witty fancy like ‘Cat Box’ (above) as it ruminates on why our feline pals are so taken with a common cardboard box (Claire Brown’s cartooning ably capturing the spirit here) or ‘Tyson on The Black Hole’ which takes a sudden surreal diversion in its assessment of the Disney sci-fi movie. Andy Hanks manages to combine photorealism and a sudden sidestep into the ultra weird with style here.
Of course with a project like this the varying degrees of visual storytelling confidence will always be comparatively obvious. The art varies from the raw and enthusiastic through to strips from accomplished and established indie creators like Rozi Hathaway on the tale of the last witch to be executed in Scotland or Alex Potts doing his trademark nihilistic thing in ‘Dark Mornings’ (above). That’s par for the course for a group publication like this though and it’s to Robertson’s credit that, at a time when so few anthology small press projects are around in the UK, he keeps plugging away doing his own thing with comics like You Get What You Get.
David Robertson, Emre Altındağ, Claire Brown, Clio Ding, Zu Dominiak, Joan Edam, Helena Edwardson, Fraser Geesin, Andy Hanks, Rozi Hathaway, Olivia Hicks, Rebecca Horner, Iain Cranford Hunter, Tim Kelly, Marc KZ, Francesca Mancuso, Nando, Paterson, Iestyn Pettigrew, Alex Potts, Ludi Price, Neil Scott, Mike Sedakat, Tom Stewart, Sam Stovold, Andy Strachan, Cherish York Fred Egg Comics, £5.00
Review by Andy Oliver
