Biff (Ace Comics)
Brett Warnock (Top Shelf Productions)
Nick Jones (Editor, Titan Books)
SFX Magazine (#113)
Jez Higgins (TRS2)
Colin Dinnie (Editor, Underfire Comics)
Review by Biff (Ace Comics)
“You have just decided to try some of the UK small press comics, but you haven't a clue as to what is worth a look or what the story content could be like. This used to be a stumbling block preventing many a person venturing into the eclectic world of the small press. Fret no more, a most excellent magazine is now available that within its 56 A4 black and white pages contains artwork, reviews and synopses of all the current small press output PLUS interviews with Warren Ellis, Ian Gibson and Terry Moore and more. I cannot recommend this magazine too highly.”
Review by Brett Warnock (Publisher, Top Shelf Productions)
“…I f---ing love this magazine. You guys have a really tight ship running here, and i hope you can keep it up… you guys have written one of the finest comics publications I've read in quite a while. I'd MUCH rather read this than say, the very tired and non-important Comics Journal. The mix of interviews, both with big names and small, are impressive. The convention reports and retrospectives are also wonderfully written (for the most part).”
Review by Nick Jones (Editor, Titan Books)
“As an overview of where the UK small press is at these days, Red Eye couldn't have been more thorough. Hopefully it'll now act as a galvanising force, in much the same way that Fast Fiction/Escape provided a focal point for the scene in its heyday.”
Review by SFX Magazine (#113, p 30)
“Describing itself as a 'wake-up call for UK comics', this is an excellent new quarterly written by and for the UK indie comics industry. Includes a bumper news section, reports from comic festivals across Europe, interviews with both small press creators and bigger names like Warren Ellis, retrospective features and lots of in-depth reviews.
[Also WINNER FANZINE OF MONTH (TIED WITH SOLAR WIND)]”
Review by Jez Higgins (TRS2)
“Everything old is new again. Or something like that anyway.
Barry "Engine Comics" Renshaw seems to have enough energy and enthusiasm for ten normal people. In addition to writing, drawing, editing and publishing more comics than almost anyone on the planet, he's launched Red Eye, a magazine about comics. Presumably it's so named because the only time he has to put the thing together is when he would otherwise be sleeping.
To an old duffer like me, Red Eye is at once new and familiar. There are shades of Arkensword in the UK comics news coverage, a touch of Battleground in the articles on 2000AD, Strangers in Paradise and Don Lawrence, and a bit of Vicious in the discussion of what makes a good comic shop. But so what if I can see these echoes, conscious or not? They don't stop Red Eye being a good, interesting read.
Chris Weston's Don Lawrence article I found especially interesting. Rather than simply bemoaning Lawrence's status as an unappreciated genius, Weston describes his time as Lawrence's apprentice to draw a warm portrait of the man.
While Weston's article is the standout piece, the rest of the magazine is also strong. Stu Young does especially well to draw some sense from Warren Ellis. There's a long interview with Martin "The O-Men" Eden, which while occasionally lapsing into fawning, has a go at tackling the "why * do * you do it" question. It's to Renshaw's credit than nothing here is bad.
Physically, this is up to Engine Comics usual high standard. The layout is clear, the reproduction good and the paper feels nice and chunky. A few of the illustrations are slightly pixellated, but it's a minor quibble. Disclaimer: Red Eye reprints reviews from TRS2.”
Review by Colin Dinnie (Underfire Comics)
“Redeye is staggeringly good in a multitude of ways. For a start it looks great - and by that I mean it looks expensive , you are happy to part with three quid for something that looks and feels like a quality product (or even a Quality product!).
Also it has depth, the festival reports give a real sense of what goes on there - rather than just a bunch of clichés thrown together under a punning headline. And the interviews actually deal with their subjects in detail, going beyond just marketing hype to ask real questions about the choices these creators have made and the technical processes of the craft, be it writing or artwork. More than anything though, once you have read Redeye you feel the need for it to be there. This mag tells me about comics and creators that I simply can't get info on anywhere else, without painstakingly trawling the web, and it gives something of a solidification to the usually gaseous 'small press scene'. My only hope is that enough fans, publishers and creators get on board to see this title into the glorious future that beckons.”
