Mutual Slump
Mutual Slump Comics
Mutual Slump is a comic/zine started by two friends James Cornell and Craig Phillips. The pair meet in Preston, North West England, through their girlfriends. When James moved back to the North East of England the friends continued to talk to each other via a postal book swap. Sending each other comics and books with reviews attached grew into the idea of staring a zine and the name 'Mutual Slump' was taken as it represented the pairs need to do something creative.
The first drawings were started by James in 2008 on the long train journeys from Newcastle to Hexham while traveling to work. These where collected and posted to Craig as and when they were done. Craig took over the editorial position which meant he cut things out and stuck things together. The first issue was really about finding their feet and the process of doing a comic with no prior experience and maintaining a long distance friendship.
Once work was completed the final draft was posted to James who took it into his local comic store who sold it in their small press section. The repsonse to the first issue was positive and the work for issue two started straight after.
Review for 'Mutual Slump' issue one
'duese observational / auto-bio comic put together by long distance friends and told in short fragmented narritivesthat straddle both comic and prose caups. Very human very relatable and a perfect slice of life book for fans of Jeffrey Brown, Seth or Adrian Tomine. Pick it up! - Jack
The second issue of 'Mutual Slump' took a long time to complete although shorter then the first by ten or so pages the style has grown a slight more confident while maintaining its original stlye. Editorial responsibilities where taken over by James and the comic was finished in August 2010. Again it was stocked by the same comic store in the city of Newcastle.
The main theme of this story was that of moving forward though in two very diiferent ways. Where James was doing more work into other comics and enjoying promoting the first comic Craig was having a different journey. He split from his long term girlfriend and conveyed those feelings in very short and insightful bursts. The story ends with Craig leaving for Europe to tour with his band 'The Cavaclade' and leaving James unsure on how to proceed with issue three.
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Mutual Slump Comics have their own facebook group where you can view artwork, photos and find updates and links to other projects. If you would like a copy of either issue please contact James Cornell through facebook or his email adress which can be found on facebook.
