Ray asleep at desk

ABOUT

RAY ZELL – AUTISTIC ARTISTIC ASTHMATIC

Had two ambitions.

Wanted my own printed comic-strip and wanted to appear on at least one record album.

Ambition numero uno came to fruition, when I fronted the rock ’n’ roll abomination called Marionette and we ultimately released the ’Blonde Secrets & Dark Bombshells’ album in ’85. Got surprisingly amazin’ reviews but only sold nine copies.

Goal number two was realised, when, in ’84, Kerrang! accepted my concept for a comic-strip – ‘Pandora Peroxide’, a blonde bombshell landin’ smack dab in the middle of a male-dominated Metal battleground. Come times Grunge and Nu-Metal, her niece, ‘Pandora’, stepped up to the plate, with Pandora Peroxide makin’ occasional  guest appearances as… ‘Auntie P’.

I even became a journalist for K!, with a scattergun style influenced by may fave writers – Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee and Sounds/Kerrang! Editor, Geoff Barton. Although, curiously, people assumed my convulsions of the imagination were inspired by Hunter S. Thompson. Never read the bloke.

Unfortunately, over the years, with changes of Editors and policies, I was expected to…calm down. Readers’d come up to me an’ say, ‘You used to be my favourite journalist, but, you don’t write the same anymore’. My well-worn comeback would be, ‘I still write the same – I just get edited different’.

A few years back, after many years of psychotherapy, I was finally diagnosed as Aspergic. Which is, on the ‘autistic spectrum’. Amusingly, when I informed people of this startlin’ revelation, nobody was surprised…! Tsk. Neurotypicals.

And. Yeah.  That’s me.  Even though it’s not about me – my existence has become overshadowed by a pair of feisty femmes from the Cartoon Dimension who mercilessly tap into my creativity to bring their exploits to life. I feel used. And a little dirty.