Tales From the Pimp

    (Digital Pimp, 2003)
™ and © Digital Pimp Comics

On the final page of #0, Chan’s editorial makes it clear that this series is not about pimps, prostitutes, and cheap hotels. Which isn’t necessary, since the book’s content already makes that clear. What isn’t clear is just this issue is inspired by E.C.’s Tales from the Crypt, which Chan cites as the comic book that this title pays homage to. Aside from the fact that the issue is an anthology, there really isn’t much inside that’s deserving of comparison.

“At the Movies” is a labored attempt at humor featuring the college gang from Chan and Dunn’s online Matriculated strip. An autobiographical tale from Chan’s early college days is a bit funnier, but just when the reader is ready to peg this as a humor comic, Chan and Dunn serve up a misplaced stab at drama, a prison-buddy story that fails to deliver any kind of emotion or tension.

The pimp who told these three tales should be busted.

Issue #1, however, is a much-improved effort that holds truer to Chan’s claim of what he intends the series to be. The first two tales, “Decisions” and “The Artifact,” are excellent yarns that bring forth that kind of Serling-esque irony that’s often imitated but not truly re-created by many writers. And “The 5th Man” is another humor story from Chan’s college years, when he and his three friends faced a deeply disturbing dilemma: what to do with the underwear left on the floor by the group’s newest roommate. Horrors.

One can only hope that this newer issue will be the template for future ones. If so, it’s unfortunate that Chan and Dunn chose to kick off the series with such an atypical effort. Issue #0 should be given the big pass, but those who haven’t experienced Chan’s frequent wit and Dunn’s diverse art styles are cheating themselves if they don’t seek out #1.

— Jim Johnson
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist