Although it takes a few pages to really get into its stride, "His And Her's Smuggling Vacation" soon settles into farce mode - so much so, that at one point you being to expect a vicar to turn up, or someone to don a nun's costume (especially when attempting to smuggle the stash of drugs back into the UK). Rest assured that all trousers firmly stay on, and although there's a lot of rushing around and close encounters, there's very little frenetic dashing from one hotel room to another with characters missing each other by seconds.
Hmm, well, there is a little...
Knockabout and Hunt Emerson are clear influences on the style of the art, the story and even the lettering, which is all to the good as the story rockets around, barely giving the reader time to breathe. It's a lengthy read too - A4 size, 74 pages of strip - but at this size, with this number of panels per page, you might as well double that to get an accurate comparison to your "standard" comic. That Jason Wilson keeps the pace up right to the end with neither art nor story flagging, is a testament to his skills as a comics creator.
The plot then: Stan and Kaye, a young British couple, are on holiday in Spain; a misunderstanding sees Stan spend the night on a beach, causing all sorts of problems for the local cannabis smuggling operation....and ultimately causing even more problems when he decides pinching the latest consignment would lead to easy fame and fortune. The story follows their attempts to get the drugs back to Britain, the drug gang's attempt to follow them and get their property back, and the C&E's attempts to intercept the drugs and arrest everyone concerns.
Cue muchos close encounters, "comedy" incompetent gang members and a cameo Deus Ex Machina appearance of a certain famous-in-Britain-TV family to save the day. This last bit rankles slightly, it feels like Jason pulled them out of the hat at the last minute for want of a better resolution - if they'd been involved in the plot from the start (even if in a minor role), then it would've satisified far more as a finale, rather than be shoehorned in late in the day,
This is all the more annoying given the superb coda of the book, which was seeded earlier on, so Jason could've done the same with the other bit...gggrrrrrrrrrrr. At least the book ends on a fine note, and throughout it's a hectic, amusing ride - contrived in places, sure, but then again, what farce isn't. One can easily imagine this as an episode of a TV series, it would convert well and that's a fine tribute to Jason's creation.
A hugely professional book, nicely put together and incredibly cheap at the price - plus a good wodge of it is available online at the www.smugglingvacation.com website...what's not to like?
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