From “Psychedelic Decadence” author Martin Jones, gonzo rock poster artist Rik Rawling, and a host of like-minded pervs, comes “Careful”, a comix series for the black of heart and caustic of wit. It’s hard to describe exactly what’s going on here, and whether it’s the work of pranksters or mental patients, but the results are the same- a twisted compendium of hallucinatory madness in broad strokes of black and white. The format itself is curious, as both of the series founders have the connections and the where-with-all in the publishing field to produce something glossy- or perfect bound, even- but have instead chosen to print “Careful” on Xerox stock, making the books look like black market bootlegs. The subject matter seems largely based on varying degrees of bad moods, and the artwork ranges from Rawling’s accomplished low-brow hipster iconography to the primitive pencil scratchings of Oliver Tomlinson- which later transform into a surreal Gorey-esque Victorian nightmare in issue #3- and even to classic ‘zine styled cut and paste collage. All of which adds up to a confounding and alluring package that invites you to fall into Careful’s rabbit hole and root around for the odd moment of sanity amidst all the stylistic chaos.

#2 features a suitably rock and roll cover from Rik Rawling. It’s Marilyn Burns’ “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” revenge fantasy, as the hysterical heroine finally gets her comeuppance on Leatherface’s gangly brother Choptop, cradling his severed head between her thighs as she stares, accusingly, from the page. Inside, fractured thoughts of deviant sex are played out in scratchy, single line drawings in “Goodbye to the Cancer Ward”. Rawling cooks up a couple Lovecraftian nightmares, one of which ass-fucks a seemingly oblivious hotty, and later on, he cuts and pastes a suitably nightmarish reaction to a Neurosis album. Louize Graber offers up “BlackLite Angelz”, a homo-erotic goth kids strip, made even stranger thank to her cartoony, neo-manga drawing style. You get the idea, right? It’s a mindbender of art and text that brings to mind the 90’s horror comic compilation “Taboo”, only the horrors here are entirely more abstract. Probably the most openly alarming piece in Careful #2 is the inclusion of a series of emails sent between two guys who plan on stalking Christina Ricci. “I like the plaster, chloroform, and black van idea”, one of them writes. “I could get the chloroform.” Yikes.

#3 Features a nicely rendered portrait of a big eyed, big breasted woman by Andy Reid, and all along the border, it reads, in a curiously proper tone, “A comic so sinister one would normally shun it”. Inside, there’s a great Jones/Rawling collaboration called “The Vomit”, about blowjob and puking, several bitchin’ chapters from a shock rock novel(?) by Carrie Donovan called “Absynthia Empty”, two very different takes on gothic themes from Tomlinson and Graber, and more. I don’t know if you have to be British to understand a punch line like “An off license? A cutler’s, perhaps?” but guys with big giant heads and exploding eyes and bearded worm-men are pretty universal, I think.

The beauty of “Careful” is that you have absolutely no idea what awaits you on the next page, which probably explains the series’ title. Be Careful when approaching this one, indeed. It’s easy to get lost in here, and there are monsters everywhere.
-Sleazegrinder

(Single issues of careful are available from Omnium for 2 Pounds. Pounds of what? good question. Ask ‘em. )