At this point it would be easy to mistake Sean Azzopardi as a journeyman cartoonist, so ubiquitous has he been on the UK small press scene over the last twenty years, but a mistake it would be. Sean has been evolving his craft, incorporating new print techniques, a myriad of aesthetic flourishes and fresh narrative challenges into his honed cartooning practice. Sean’s latest release, Father’s Daze is a testimony to his ongoing growth as an artist. Recently Sean has been repackaging his autobiographical comics under the banner Lifes a Party, stand alone stories from his life that can be slotted together like a mosaic to form a bigger picture, to tell a bigger story. The latest chapter, Father’s Daze, demonstrates a casual mastery of the form as Sean adopts the authorial voice of his own abusive father and threads the needle from Grandfather to Father to Grandson (Sean himself) in what is an impressive flex of smart cartooning. A real step up and a satisfying, if disturbing, story that has a real emotional punch.
Father’s Daze can be purchased from the Phatcomics shop, Gosh! Comics and OK Comics.
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