lame dog
he has three legs
& a smoker’s cough
but he don’t sweat it
lame dog
chases cockeyed pigeons
& sneezes at the sun
gnarly butt-wagged tail
lame dog
he don’t lick the hand
that give the medicine
‘cos he got self-respect
but lame dog
always shakes paw
even if it makes him
plop on his butt
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023
Dear Reader,
Guess what? We’ve spent the last two years writing a script that clocks in at a whopping 268 pages! What is this script for, you may be wondering? It’s for a graphic novel!
Of course, a lot has happened during those 24 months. But, for a pretty obvious reason, our work was almost stalled before we even began in February 2022. The future seemed pretty uncertain and we questioned the sanity of setting out to make comics while the world was on fire.
Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead. And we persisted. It’s a good thing we did. The war, after all, is still raging and it turns out that keeping yourself busy will help you to cope with such an unimaginable reality.
By the way, we should be clear that we haven’t written the next ‘Maus‘ or anything—although we haven’t entirely avoided the war topic either. Despite everything, we’ve tried to craft a light, humorous and hopefully hopeful story. In short, we’ve tried to stay human.
So, there will be a lot of emotions, a little sex, drugs and heavy metal. Oh, and Jesus in a bikini. (Oops! Was that a spoiler?) Anyway, we have a feeling you’ll be intrigued already!
The drawing phase of our grand project begins in earnest next month. How long will that take? Well, not as long as the scripting phase! Fingers crossed, maybe?
We also have a very ambitious plan to release this story in two languages: English and Ukrainian. We’ll even create our own original font so we won’t have to worry about the copyright lawyers breathing down our necks.
Wish us luck won’t you? Or just watch this space. More to come!
Slava Ukraini & Terra Australis,
Your Tati & Tony!
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024
i won me a lollipop at the fair
a golden horsey with a wee eyesore
well, a grain of sugar what hadn’t melt
this blemishment gave me ma a scare
“lick it not, wee lassie!” she did implore
“’tis an evil eye what from hell-ter skelt!”
while me ma looked prayful at the sky
fumbled an’ mumbled, fair crossin’ herself
i stole me a wee tentative lick
well, ain’t nothin’ happened by the by
no lurgy, no hauntin’ nor broken shelf
no double whammy or triple kick
ma an’ me did ‘tinue ’round the grounds
buyed us eggs (three pennies a dozen)
hid our nyloned legs up on the ferris wheel
i licked an’ i sucked, slurpin’ wee rounds
sugar rushin’ gave me head a wee buzzin’
ma’s “let us hie home!” took on fresh appeal
by the time ma an’ me met pa at the stoop
naught but a stick were gummed to me palm
an’ me tummy were turgin’ somethin’ fierce
then there, the bridle, like an empty loop
fell from pa’s hand to mountin’ alarm
an’ news of ol’ clyde to sadden the ears
i cried at dinner and all through the night
at thought of our nag’s life all melt away
while i tongued in the sun, too much to bear
i were scold by me ma though real contrite
no lollipops for me the rest of me days
and animal crackers i’d ought beware
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023
a sound with the force of cotton on skin
the sigh of a newborn sprout leaving its seed
fish tail swishing beneath the crescent waters
hush, careless hunter
you’re the thorny crown of evolution
creeping between the boughs in tuonela
shod with the intemperance of steel
girded by the rapacity of gold
leaden with the dullness of expectation
hush, warless hunter
your former life lays in smithereens
far from the sun in the lap of louhi
and you’re doomed to ghost in the shadows
until the end of days or ebb’s white never
ears leery to the thrum of nature’s quiet demise
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023
i looked on high at a dark sky
with some lonely clouds thin & wan
like strands of grey hair combed over
to hide a barber’s disappointment
the lunar crescent arched on itself
it bristled like a wild white ferret
as undecided as god’s weather
to snug with lume or pounce the hand
youth once held such gilded hope
but everything tends towards decay
the pleaides winked down on me
‘tween those wispy bars of thraldom
as i staggered o’er the aging earth
yearning there to feel more grounded
the head feels all that the heart cannot
guidance through the lack of direction
in high pastures and greener heavens
lies the mathematics of destiny
youth once held such gilded hope
but everything tends towards decay
by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2024
unbolt me 