Skirocore #8
Skirocore #8. Unfortunately ZUM! does not have a sample image at present.
| Skirocore: Oljaca Mladen, Aleksandar Zograf, Dmijan Sovec, Nikola Vitkovic Marcel Ruijters, Gak, Matthias Lehmann, Blair Wilson, Jim Calabrese, Chris Crielaard, Jacob Klemencic, Tonia Walden, Ursula Furst, Stular, Wastock & Grabowski, Claudio Parantela, Igor Baranko. |
It might sound like something you'd make up but Slovenia, smallest country of the former Yugoslavia, has in recent years proved itself a hive of creativity. The better read should already be familiar with the excellent anthology Stripburger. Skirocore offers up the same ingredients of "underground music and comix", but is made to a different recipe.
Stripburger arose from the hardcore music and graffiti scene but soon concentrated on comics, while about half of Skirocore is music coverage. More deeply, StripburgerÕs aim seems to be to bring East European artists to a wider audience, keeping its 'international' artists to an insert. Skirocore is international in its creators and (bar the odd strip) is all in English.
Taking the comics artists first, it's a good showing. Top names from the former Yugo you may already be familiar with - including Alexsander (Sasha) Zograf, Wostok & Grabowski (of Daddy Is So Far Away) and the underrated Mladen Oljaca. International names include Marcel Ruijters (of Thank God It's Ugly), Matthias Lehmann, Blair Wilson and Ursula Furst.
There's a strong focus on the Dutch artist Chris Crielard, with an interview and a promise of "more of his crazy work" next issue. Personally, I wouldn't deny his strong style and excellent draughtmanship (check out the back cover!) but find his endlessly controversial subject matter obvious and more tedious than shocking. Such desperate attempts to be politically incorrect make for just as tight a trap as political correctness itself. Transcend don't oppose, boy! Best piece is his less blatant, almost Bosch-like collaborative drawing with Marcel Ruijters and Jakob Klemenic.
You'll probably already know whether you'll be interested in the music stuff or not. For me the endless interviews with different Swedish hardcore bands (even asking the same questions!) confirmed my suspicion that the sound of this "underground" is just as conformist as anything in the Top Twenty. Best laugh is the band who knowledgably explain that "Sloveija is half Tjechslovenija who splitted up", which the editors print without comment!
Not as essential a read as Stripburger, but the comic strips make it certainly worth a look.
Gavin Burrows.
| Skirocore 63 A4 pages (@36 of which are comics & Interview with Cris Crielaard, color glossy stock card cover | Recieved at ZUM! HQ: no info |
$6 +P+P | Skirocore, Brsljanova 1, 1330Kocevje, Slovenija |