Secret Wars, Series One 29/10/06

Saturday the 28th of October saw the third night in the Secret Wars tournament calendar and with only two days till Halloween, Juno bar was jammed to the rafters with a reported 100people being refused entry by the bouncers due to over crowding. Can the night get any bigger? Most definitely!


This time the talents on display were literally shoved into the spotlight with the new innovative film company Evo Films documenting the whole battle throughout the night. As each event passes the next only creates more and more hype with an ever-growing number of photographers and cameramen making their way down to this busy bar in Shoreditch for a glimpse of the action.

The pressure to win was certainly intense this time around. There was word out that some of the artists had been digging for clues as to what the other artists would be drawing on the night. There was especially some rivalry between artists Alfa Male and Ink Fetish, who though usually friends were posting images of dragon’s being slain on each other’s Mypace.



Sickboy the acclaimed Graff artist from Bristol was first up against Brighton born, Wen. A quiet but cocky character, Sickboy had this to say of his piece, “there was no theme and almost never is. I feel it better to judge the situation as it is at the time. If I turn up with a sketch pre-prepared, the results are usually quite stale.” Seeing himself in the final, with no one in the tournament as particular competition, Sickboy actually remained seated for an extra 10minutes when the battle commenced, leaving Wen to sketch out in the limelight on his own. I don’t think mind games have played a big part in the tournament as of yet, but the crowd certainly caught on to this ploy to intimidate the opponent Wen and they loved it.

Wen, who viewed this battle as an “Mc battle where you want to diss your opponent as much as you can” created a piece in direct attack of Sickboy, “ On one hand it is a play on his name, but also it has subtle references to him personally such as a recent brush with the train authorities.” Described as having a comparable style to Rich T, Wen drew a fine detail piece of a sick boy being injected medicine by two giant men in black coats, with the quote “Cured at Last…” emblazoned above.
Sickboy on the other hand who’s style is seen as psychedelic, cartoon like and fun, drew a mishmash of different shapes and characters, which used the space well, and having not drawn directly from a sketch had to be praised for it’s originality.

Sickboy won the vote two to three and was received with boo’s from the boisterous crowd who thought Wen’s piece was artistically better. Shouts of “crowd vote” went up around the bar, as Sickboy who looked rather bemused took the title as first champion for the night.


Next up were Alfa Male and Ink Fetish for the big battle of the night. Close friends it was ironic that one of them would be knocked out after the hour and 30minutes that followed. Even more ironic was that both pieces they produced blended well next to one another on the wall. It seems that after trying so hard to outwit each other on the night, the pair came up with the same approach.

Alfa, whose inspirations change from day to day, was very secretive about the theme of his work, “there is a theme, but I’m not going to say. I want to do something nice and simple. Everyone has been telling me to cut into the other piece, but I’m not going to. I’m gonna focus of the whole battle thing.” His piece consisted of a ghostlike character acting as a puppet master for a Pinocchio character entitled Ink Fetish. For those that don’t know his style, Ink Fetish is known for his obsession with puppets and the character Pinocchio. This was a harsh, but cleverly drawn piece by Alfamale.


Ink Fetish, who has always been a fan of clean black and white comic inspired illustration because of its ability to strip artwork bare, said he had a vague game plan to get him through the tournament, “I have worked out images specifically designed to challenge the artists by trying to use their own style against them.” Seeing Alfa as the ultimate winner of the tournament, Ink Fetish described his theme for the night as “Halloween”. He didn’t disappoint. Creating a piece consisting of a pumpkin headed character like something out of a Tim Burton Film, he also drew a voodoo doll with Pins in its torso, named Alfa.

Both pieces had a good use of space and with the help of Evo Films spotlight all eyes were on the artwork as the judges made their final vote of the night.


Alfamale was voted the winner and joins Gustav Balderdash, Okkle, Mr Shrew, Teck 1 and Sickboy in the quarterfinals. He probably has the biggest challenge yet to come when he steps up against Sickboy in January.
















The party went on until the early hours of Sunday morning, and with the clocks going back it gave the chance for the crowd to let their hair down. Even some B-boys found an opportunity to show off their skills.

Next month’s battle will see a night filled with stars from the graffiti world, when Polio battles 5683 and big guns RichT and Inkie get there chance to prove who is best. Don’t forget to check www.secretwars.co.uk for more info on the November battles.