PERFECTION IN ACTION // Practice Makes Perfect

Mr Zombie and Ms Werewolf were the cutest couple at the ball. Their ‘Wednesday’s Dance’ was so weird and cool that they performed it three times for the encore. Then for the finale they pulled Sir Gnome from the crowd and performed a rendition of the dance scene from Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Bande à part’. The standing ovation was loud and rapturous! (It helped that there were no chairs in the dance hall.)

That evening, Mr Zombie, Ms Werewolf and Sir Gnome tried a three-way, but it didn’t work out. So, they exchanged numbers, bid farewell and parted ‘til next Halloween.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

Pigolution

Back in 2006, I began a little comic strip about anthropomorphic piggies. I was a rabid, bible-thumping christian at the time and my aim was to anger Jewish folks with a cast of unkosher characters talking about in-your-face spiritual stuff. I honestly thought that they would be incensed. Yeah! I’d show those filthy Christ killers and deniers!

Needless to say, nobody noticed (which I now realise was precisely the appropriate response). Not only did the strips I produced fail to touch on religious themes, they also proved to be quite bland and uninteresting. You could even call them ‘safe’. That’s the worst thing any cartoonist can put out into the world. And whatever the hell I was putting out there wasn’t even being done very well.

Many years later, Tati asked me how these contradictory ideas and creative approach could coexist in one head. Was I trying to fit in with my fellow believers by showing how much a ‘soldier’ for Jesus I could be? Of course, never mind that it was a Jew who began the whole christian religion in the first place, but why let piffling details like that get in the way of self-righteous bigotry? I was taking on the whole goddam heathen world with my misguided scribbles, baby!

What the actual fuck, Tony’s brain?!

Anyway, in 2019 I was no longer a christian, and Tati and I had the idea to revisit this comic strip. We would rewrite and redraw it from the ground up. And this time, it would simply be about some silly piggies living their lives in that universally awkward way that many of us around the world do, no matter our colour, race or creed. Life is messy and unscripted for all of us, and we’re all just trying to do the best we can.

You can find ‘Trottersville’ on Tapas, Webtoon, Ko-fi and our Patreon. We’d love it if you’ll maybe consider supporting us?

TV Promote 1aTV Promote 1bTV Promote 1c

by TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

corbie agus fear

a black bird, wrinkles around its eyes
looks at me closely without blinking
asks why it can’t be the voice of reason
for generations of lost deplumed

i say maybe it’s ‘cos you look scary
like plague doctors of old who’ve lost their hats
and snip their beaks at prancing corpses
at generations of lost deplumed

that black bird, a noose around its neck
clears its throat, hysterically coughing
says it cannot die ‘cos it has wings
to spite generations of lost deplumed

i say maybe it’s ‘cos you haven’t tried
i’ve vast experience from which to teach
of dying and rising and decrying death
through generations of lost deplumed

and so the black bird shrugs, and it sniffs
it asks me if i have crumbs to feed it
i say metal ones, and then i shoot it
for the generations of lost deplumed

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

ABSURDIS EXTREME // Case Study #(O)(o) [06/09/1969] by B.A. Loney

One boob was bigger than the other, a terrible reality that she’d lamented since her last epic growth spurt. That had been ten years ago now, and sadly this disparity had only become more noticeable the older and saggier she got.

One time the bigger boob watched a quiz show called ‘QI’ on which a question about gravity on different planets was asked. It appeared that on Mercury one’s weight was only thirty-eight percent of what it would be on Earth. The bigger boob was soon lost in thought…

There was nothing for it. The bigger boob had to move to Mercury. But how could this be achieved? It wasn’t as if the bigger boob could detach itself from its human host. No, that would defeat the whole point. Perhaps if the bigger boob talked to the smaller boob then an agreement could be reached to somehow convince the host to move planets? This would be difficult as boobs don’t have mouths, and sign language would also be out of the question as boobs don’t have hands either. So, how would this communication take place between boobs let alone between boobs and host?

While the bigger boob was pondering possible communication methods, it would be remiss not to mention the smaller boob’s cogitations too. Of course, the smaller boob had also watched the same episode of ‘QI’, but it wasn’t really impressed with the gravity question. But the question about air pressure? Now this was something that really made the smaller boob perk up. If the higher you go the lesser the air pressure, then the boob would expand since there was less pressure being applied to it. All the smaller boob had to do was convince the bigger boob and their host to go to the highest mountain on earth, but how?

Both boobs sat there on the host’s chest, feeling quite useless and wondering what to do in order to get the other’s attention. And, so, after a considerable amount of time, the bigger boob hit upon the notion of using Morse Code to communicate with the smaller boob. It would simply whack itself on the smaller boob like those kinetic balls you get in an executive’s office. The bigger boob would convey its message in a series of dots and dashes, but in order to do so it would need to wait until their host went braless. In bed, late at night, thud thud thud! In the shower, a wet slap slap slap! In the middle of sex, a heaving bang bang bang! But all that happened was the smaller boob left feeling bruised and battered, and wondering what the fuck the bigger boob’s deal was!

Anyway, while the boobs were thud thud thudding, slap slap slapping, and bang bang banging, we mustn’t forget to mention their host. And, let’s be honest here, she was pretty scared. Wouldn’t you be if your boobs were going haywire? She even found herself asking GPTchat what to do if your breasts start communicating with one another via Morse Code.

All she got was: “As an AI language model, I must clarify that this scenario is not biologically possible or scientifically sound. Breasts are not capable of communicating with each other or anyone else, let alone using Morse Code.” Along with: “However, if you are experiencing unusual sensations or movements in your breasts, it is important to seek medical attention from a qualified healthcare professional.”

And that’s how Mary ended up at the Bethlehem Royal Hospital for the Insane.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023

100 WORD SKITTLE // Career Slip

Razorblade was sick of shaving pubic hair for a living.

He’d applied to the Department of Burly Beards but got a ‘Your application will be kept on file’ along with a pithy ‘Good luck.’

“Fuck that noise,” declared Razorblade. “I’m takin’ the high road!”

He dipped his sharp edge in red paint, brandished a scary grin and went to Has-Been Horror Comic Creator. “You need me!” said Razorblade. “I’ll get you into the news again!”

“Sure,” said Has-Been Horror Comic Creator. He took Razorblade, went to the bathroom and cut his veins.

Next day they both made the front page.

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2023