No Temptation Required
By Tim Hartnett
First off: Some bloke I know is selling these. Go here if
you want one.
Don't even bother reading my article. Go here and order Temptation now. Still not convinced!?
If you haven't picked up a member of the Active Images Gold line yet, you are in deep, deep, trouble. You are missing out on the best sleeper examples of the sequential artform medium. Ever. Not the least of which is Temptation. In fact, Temptation may be the finest series of short strips ever produced.
Glenn Dakin's strip first appeared on the indie UK scene about 1982. While there have been many high-profile fans of the series, from Stan Lee to From Hell's Eddie Campbell, buzz continues to be fairly quiet. Luckily, Richard Starkings and Active Images have collected the entire run for your extreme enjoyment, for a practically give-away price of $8.95.
The comic book industry seems to be on the search for a strip for everyone of all ages, and Temptation is quite possibly the best candidate I've seen. Each page is a complete skit centering around the devil, and a human whose soul he is trying to win. While the sequence usually follows these characters, it is not always soul bargaining as the subject matter. Most are intricate analyses of the nature of human beings, told in a format which is both funny and simplistic without the wispiness of say, Garfield or Cathy.
And that's what makes Temptation so great. Dakin is a master of making things so pure on the surface, yet so complicated underneath. Take this one for example:
Devil: Well?
Human: Well, what?
Devil: Haven't you noticed?
Human: "Haven't you noticed" what?
Devil: You're invisible!
Human: Oh come on!
Devil: Yer invizzible and I won't make you visible until you sign away your soul!
Human: How come I can see myself?
Devil: Of course you can see yourself---you're not stupid are you?
Human: No, I suppose not.
Devil (acts like he can't see him): Where have you gone?
Human: I'm still here.
Devil: Just imagine---how awful to spend your whole life invisible---unseen---a mere movement of air, a "what is it?" "a nothing." Awful. Awful.
Human: Alright---you've convinced me---I'll sign. Put that pen in my hand.
Devil: There y'go pal!
Thus the wisdom is only half of it; it's the humor and humanity which is the sheer draw of this one. You could literally give a three year old, a middle-aged businessman, and a comic book fanatic and they all would love it the same. Each strip can be tirelessly analyzed, or placed on your wall. This is not one you want to let pass; make sure you tell your friends. And then tell me how you liked it.
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