Accent UK is a small press collective I have a lot of time for. Producers of the excellent Black Harvest Moon, their books are always interesting. Phobia is an anthology, and like all anthologies, It's a mixed bag.
Going with the same minimalist cover style as Black Harvest Moon and their previous anthology Remembrance Days is a good idea, as it defines a house style.
Inside, each story is named after the particular phobia it depicts, which is a little confining to the writers, however:
We start with the best piece, with Dave Hitchcock's tale of an ageing & despairing vampire. Dave's pencil artwork is stunning, slightly reminiscent of Rick Veitch, and his sense of design is second to none; an excellent opener.
Chris Doherty's story of a creeepy children's entertainer, (what other kind is there?) is also well done, tho' his drawing style needs tightening up slightly, the pacing is spot on.
Dave West's Dissecting My Fear is next. It's ok. His 'web' design works well, tho' his figure work isn't that great; interesting ending.
Leon Hewitt's Socio-Phobic's Guide To Job Hunting follows, and it's a fun story, with an unpredictable ending, but the art really needs work. Leon has an appealing style, but here it's obvious he's just coasting.
The same could also be said for Leonie O'Moore's Fear Of Birds where perfect facial expressions jostle uneasily with rushed spotting. A shame, as, like the previous strip, this artist has the basics, she just needs to tighten up.
Uh oh, The Super Powered Coward is up next, not another superhero spoof! Actually, this one's helped immeasurably by Jeff Borneman's manga-esque art, and the premise isn't that bad.
Another interesting premise (a Christie-lite murder mystery) for Fear Flies The Coop is ruined by a ridiculous ending that's utterly at odds with what's gone before, and, although the artwork is technically brilliant, It suffers from a real sense of 'life' and dull camera angles.
The reverse is true in Bad Blood which comes with great design, an interesting story, and, I'm sorry to say, ugly, flat art.
Monophobia ends the book with the best story, with potentially great art, unfortunately ruined by the same insensitive inking that marred Black Harvest Moon.
In all, this is an anthology that starts well, but tails off toward the middle. The problem is, I think, good writers unwilling to give their scripts to better artists. If most of the tales here had been illustrated by artists of the calibre of Hitchock or Borneman... the whole thing would've worked much better.
Pete Doreé