It has been a few years since we last reviewed comics work by Wallis Eates at Broken Frontier though, as can be seen by the list of tagged posts here, her practice has been extensively covered on the site over the years. Given her DIY culture roots it seems very appropriate that her return to the digital pages of BF today should come via Colossive Press, those fine purveyors of all things zines and grassroots publishing. ‘Budgie Steps’ is the fifty-third entry in their Colossive Cartographies series of fold-out zines and a welcome comics re-emergence from Eates.
‘Budgie Steps’ is representative of the raw candour of her slice-of-life work and, for those familiar with some of the thematic aspects of her autobio comics, reflects on her life after the passing of her mother. In previous anthology comics Eates has often flitted anecdotally backwards and forwards through her own personal history but ‘Budgie Steps’ is set in a far more contemporary timeframe.
It documents how, after acting as a carer for her dying mother, she continued to work in that capacity and chronicles how that support role gives her a sense of purpose and a feeling of stability. These thoughts are visually paralleled and symbolised by the budgie of the title; both a reminder of her childhood and a welcome companion to one of her clients.
Eates plays with the Turkish Map Fold format of the Colossive Cartographies in a meta fashion, visually emphasising its folds and construction while using fleeting panel-to-panel imagery and distinctive colour choices to capture the essence of her experiences rather than the specifics. Immersive and cathartic, ‘Budgie Steps’ mirrors content and subject matter in presentation and structure. A solid reminder of the pivotal place Wallis Eates has held in UK autobiographical comics for the last decade-plus.
Wallis Eates (W/A) • Colossive Press, £2.00
Review by Andy Oliver
