Page 45 Review by Stephen
Seventeen stories of disillusion and disappointment.
If disappointment is something you crave, you’re in for a famine or feast, depending on how you look at it.
Prime Minister Salisbury stands proudly on his pedestal.
“Ah... to be commemorated in stone is truly to live for eternity!”
He may be dead, but he has centuries of veneration ahead of him. Or is that pigeon droppings? The final panel is perfect.
Two more sculptures – more abstract in aspect – anticipate their own grand urban unveilings.
“Where I’m going I’ll be affecting real change in people’s lives.”
“Mmm...”
“Really! Helping to inspire and lift people out of poverty.”
Alas, not all poverty is pecuniary.
Matthew Dooley is even disappointed in himself. I don’t know why: there are plaques commemorating Matthew’s accomplishments all over the country.
Birth:
“Noted dawdler finally emerged here 24th May
“1984”
School:
“Wimpy know it all annoyed many here
“1988-1995”
Sixth Form:
“Obdurate muso made little impact here
“2000-2002.”
University:
“Argumentative pseudo coasted here
“2002-2005.”
It’s at this point in typing my free-form, off-the-cuff review (heavily edited and reorganised over the weekend) that I realise that commemoration is another key theme. That, and the passage of time. There are five more English Heritage memorials as Dooley attempts to climb the ladder of heady accomplishment only to find all the rungs missing.
The problem is that, on page after page, Matthew Dooley totally fails to disappoint.
I love his fine line and neat, unargumentative lettering.
The colours are soft and sweet in sage, cold blues and pink with a rusty red reserved for Dooley’s own beard and bonce. The eyes are very Chris Ware, don’t you think? As are the moribund musings.
In summary, if you’re someone who’s looking forward to the end of the world – as the occupants of the first entry within – then this is the comic for you. Fortunately, even in that you’ll be disappointed.
The cover could not be more bereft.
