THE COMICS ARTIST & HIS ASSISTANTS #1 -- Special Review

Spring is upon us! Join us as we view new pilots this season, and see where they fit on the highly-scientific Rock-or-Suck Scale… FAIRY TAIL SEASON 2 -- BLACK BULLET

This pilot’s only half-length, and I couldn’t stand it enough to even
get to the end. Check-out was probably around the 7:30 mark. It’s not that it’s
horrifically awful. I’ve seen worse shows, certainly. And the
production value is actually surprisingly slick. The free exchange
of cartooning techniques (with colorful half-tones popping in periodically)
being the most interesting to look at, for sure.

My patience, however, has totally eroded for that oh-so-particular
breed of anime humor where a self-admitted perv goes into cackling, histrionic
fits about the mere thought of copping a feel, getting an eyeful or sniffing panties. He’s
not fantasizing about chasing girls or having actual sex, mind you. He’s so
desperate that he’s fantasizing about being a voyeur.

== TEASER ==

Sure, that could be a funny character in some ensemble sitcom. I’ve
seen too much of this shit, though. I know where the point-of-identification is
supposed to be, and I want to wash my hands, now. This was like being forced to tag along with some sadsack who’ll go to absurd,
fetishistic lengths to sniff a candy bar wrapper, but is far too timid to ever
actually try biting one. When you watch it, you hear the precious seconds of
your life, ticking away at a thunderous volume, and you feel this dire, escalating urgency to get out and do something, anything, else.

Pulling up this pilot, I expected it to be another sitcom that preposterously
presents manga making as a colorful party - - despite everybody in the crew
knowing it’s a drudge. Ironically, it hits closer to reality than you’d
hope. I was probably in even less of a
mood for this shit because there’s been an ongoing dialog over the past couple
years online about sexual harassment in the comics industry. As such, the scenario of a
comics artist sexually harassing his assistants seems less like the sort of harmless misunderstanding this show is hyperventilating about with such excitement.

Watch "Perfecting
Breasts" and decide for yourself.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk