The Case of the Big Pink Lighthouse
Funtime Comics: The Case of the Big Pink Lighthouse
| Publisher: | Funtime Comics |
| Creator: | Darren Schroeder, Isaac Freeman, Jared Lane, Jason Lennie, Matt Powell, Ruth Boyask, Tony Scanlan |
Funtime Comics is a New Zealand comics-writing co-operative. They get together every now and again to release an edition of Funtime Comics, currently up to #20. However, this little comic is a one-shot tale written over Queen's Birthday weekend 2003. A bunch of guys got together in a house near Akaroa and created a 16-page B&W comic book.
Each of seven writers created two pages of plot, and then various teams penciled and inked their bit, others bits, helping out left right and centre until nobody is entirely clear who drew what. Does it matter? What does matter is the final result.
The story is a daft tale involving the theft of the Akaroa light-house. The lighthouse is not pink, but that matters little. This is a black and white comic, so that hardly enters into it. What does matter is that "Inspector Champignon, Le Reynard Rouge" is on the case. He tracks the villains through Russia, across Italy, and eventually to the desert-island hideaway of Joe Stalin, the mastermind behind the theft.
Stalin's plans involve an orbiting satellite, a giant goldfish named twinkle, and of course, the lighthouse - the final key in his goal of world-destruction. Can the inspector stop him, and save the day? Well - far be it from me to spoil the ending.
Any story written tag-team like this is bound to end up silly, and this is no exception. It's a daft tale, hastily scripted and drawn, created by people with bizarre senses of humour. I really enjoyed it.
The sheer zany infectious nature of the environment spills over into the comic book. You can so easily imagine the half-dozen creative idiots drinking far too much tea and writing late into the night. The last page shows the menu and duties roster for the group. It's kind of like a school camp, but with a comic at the end of it all.
I admit it, I'm just plain jealous. These guys had a funtastic time creating this comic book, and I wish I could have been part of it. The comic book is clumbsy, disjointed, and silly bordering on inane. I'd give it four webs if this was a proper review. But since it's just a "Better Read", I'll give it three giggles and a chortle.