Tales From The Flat is a fun comic, created by Laurence Powell and Oliver Lambden. It documents their alter-ego's, along with two other room mates, in a mix between Clerks, Curb Your Enthusiasm and any story which involves an issue of non-stop fighting giant creatures.

The writing is great, though can sometimes be let-down in places, as some of the dialogue can feel a little forced in some of the non-comedy areas. However, in those comedy areas, Laurence has a noticeable style that works pretty much every time he sends out a joke. It's very definitely inspired by the likes of Clerks, and the similarity between the uses of dialogue here is very noticeable. A few one liners, such as "When she was about thirteen she developed superpowers, along with a fine set of boobs...". Laurence writes the job interview scene in the first issue brilliantly, and that (along with the comic shop scene in the same issue) is one of the big highlights of the collection.

Oliver's art has a nice style about it, and perfectly compliments Laurence's style of writing. In some panels, with a lack of detail many characters look similar, just with a change of hair between them. In some situations it takes a moment to recognise who a character is, and the only thing to distinguish between is the hair. Although, Oliver has a definite style that in the rest of the story is very clear and distinguished. It doesn't take itself seriously, but Oliver is obviously very comfortable with the style, and it shows through his art.

One of the best things about collections, especially from the beginning of someone's work, is watching the progression through issues as the team develops. It's brilliant watching Laurence and Oliver settle more into it, and as the story continues it really feels at home with itself and begins to find itself.

The print quality is a good standard for an indie book, though some pages do have the old "slightly fuzzy lines" syndrome, but nothing to detract from the artwork too much, mostly affecting the thin lettering a little. The paper quality is nice, and the cover is a cool group shot, using the simple colouring style they adopted for the single covers. It's a nice package, and it's definitely worth checking out. At £4.50 for the original three issues, it's a cheap price for what you get. Don't forget to pick up the other issues, too!