Rain Child
Le Squat by Jude Cowan Montague Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone. What better way than to move away from the world of inky print to the digital realm of webcomics. Now I have always had a problem with webcomics. I must admit, I see fantastic art, go to check out the webcomic and get lost. A lot of series seem … Continue reading Rain Child
Waiting for the Floods
The Flood That Did Come By Patrick Wray. Published by Avery Hill We live in a golden age of technology. Smart phones, smart houses. Automated systems that can order us a cab or warn us of a meteor strike. We also live in an age of disasters. Disastrous climate change which sets entire continents on fire and sets the Arctic Circle soaring into record temperatures. … Continue reading Waiting for the Floods
Comics for Pride Month
June is Pride month. There has been a blooming of LGBTQ+ comics and graphic novels in recent years. There are many works I could mention but here is a quick look at some of my recent favourites. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me – written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell. A tender tale of growing up with all the associated mistakes … Continue reading Comics for Pride Month
Fear and Tenderness
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell – Don’t Go Without Me I had the great pleasure of reading Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me recently. This much celebrated work is wonderfully written by Mariko Tamaki who manages to convey real emotion through fully realised characters, but with a delicate touch. What makes the book really special is the marriage of words and art – with the perfectly balanced … Continue reading Fear and Tenderness
Man and Superman
Whatever Happened to the Archetype? Story by Stu Perrins art by Ron Gravelle An alien refugee from a distant planet finds himself imbued with amazing powers on Earth. Donning a colourful costume and a magnificent cape he uses his powers to fight evil. When not on crime fighting duties he hides behind a mild mannered secret identity. A familiar story and a character type that … Continue reading Man and Superman
Mosh Pits of Hell
The Black Rubric Art – Katie Fleming, Script – Christopher Mole, Lettering – Hassan Otsmane-Elbaou, Cover – Benjamin AE Filby, Logo Design – Joe Stone, Pinups – Katie Sawatsky I appreciate a comic that comes with its own Spotify playlist. I must confess (do Satanists confess?) that I needed it. As a C86 vintage indie kid, Black Metal is terra incognito for me. The closest … Continue reading Mosh Pits of Hell
Bled Dry
Camp VA07 issue 1. Writer – James McCulloch, Art – Jonathan Scott, Letters – Rob Jones Comics face a crisis, hell society faces a crisis, so why should comics be left out? No comics have been printed by the ‘big two’ since we entered the coronaverse. Local comics shops have been shut. Free Comics Day became No Comics Day. At a time like this the … Continue reading Bled Dry
Luck be a Lady – A brief history of Shamrock
Reading comics and collecting comics aren’t always synonymous. Some will spend years, decades, a lifetime hunting down runs of comics that they will never read. Why? They are completists, they like the thrill of the chase, the whiff of ancient newsprint and four color nostalgia. The long-sought comic in the back-issue bins, the box of bronze-age heaven that appears one day in a charity shop. … Continue reading Luck be a Lady – A brief history of Shamrock
Down and Out in Surrey and Chelsea
Cassandra Darke by Posy Simmonds And there I was, late in life, nursing plans for death and had barely lived, it seemed. Cassandra This week the Comedy Women in Print award for 2020 announced its longlist of nominees with a graphic novel category appearing for the first time. The list could easily double as a shopping list and I may be skipping over to Page … Continue reading Down and Out in Surrey and Chelsea
Social Duncing
Dunce by Jens K Styve At times like these we need to be transported. Somewhere far away maybe, somewhere exotic. I have to say that the Norwegian city of Tromsø in the Arctic Circle might not be the first place to spring to mind. But with the Northern Lights dancing in the sky around the snow engulfed mountains it seems like a perfect place to … Continue reading Social Duncing
