There's sometimes a concern with independent comics that they might not survive beyond the first couple of issues, either due to lack of sales or creative disinterest. Fortunately for us, that's clearly not the case with Reverend Cross, which has recently reached its 7th issue and is still going strong.
Dubbed "the first ever female vicar action hero", Reverend Cross is fast-paced escapist entertainment. As with the previous issue, No.7 contains four short, self-contained stories. All are written by John A. Short, with artwork by Aaron Murphy, Andrew Richmond, Gabrielle Noble, and Richard Pester. The excellent cover art is by David Hitchcock.
This is an "Origin Special", giving us some details on Abigail Cross' backstory as well as stories set in the present. Publisher/writer John A. Short has chosen a good selection of artists for this issue, giving us a variety of styles. It goes to prove that the character is strong enough to still be distinctive even when illustrated by various hands, thanks not just to the artists but also to John's confident and professional scripts.
With a cover price of just £2.99 (plus postage), Reverend Cross No.7 is well worth your time. You can order it, and back issues, directly from the publisher Kult Creations at their web shop here:
http://reverendcross.blogspot.com
Reverend Cross is an enjoyable independent comic published by British company Kult Creations, founded by John A. Short. You've probably read my reviews of earlier issues such as here and here so you know I vouch for it as a fun strip.
The next issue, No.7, is currently on Kickstarter where you can pledge to fund it and support the comic. It'll bring us the origin of the world's first female vicar action hero with art by various creatives and a great cover by David Hitchcock!
As with most Kickstarter projects, the more you pledge, the more you gain, starting from just £3 for the PDF version, £4 for the print version, up to £85 for all seven issues, all alternative cover versions of No.7, and a signed page of original artwork!
Check it out here, where you can see a great little animated video of Reverend Cross strips past and present and also samples of art from the upcoming issue:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1336023535/reverend-cross-issue-007/posts
Funding for Reverend Cross No.7 ends on Monday 22nd April, so don't miss out!
I'd like to begin this review with an apology to John Short for taking so long to review comics that he sent me months ago. I've fallen behind with reviews but I'm aiming to correct that this week.
I was so far behind that I have two issues of Reverend Cross to review. Which means double the fun in this case, because John Short's comics are always good escapist entertainment. Issue No.5 has a full length story written by John A. Short and drawn by Gabriele Noble in which our vicar / special agent takes on two classic monsters in a frozen climate. (I won't spoil it!) Short's writing is sharp and well paced, and he tells a story clearly, better than some 2000AD writers whose work I've read. (John has been a professional writer on mags such as Toxic so he knows his stuff.) The artwork is a good match, complimenting the script with its no-nonsense approach and sequential clarity. I think this issue is my favourite of the run so far.
With issue 6, there's a change of pace as we get four short stories featuring Reverend Cross instead on one full length adventure. Nevertheless, John Short is experienced and skilled enough to carry it off with ease. There are some nice comedy moments amongst the perils too.
The big difference with issue 6 is that it features guest artists on three of the stories. I'd have preferred Gabrielle Noble's art throughout, but it's very interesting to see others portraying the character. Andrew Richmond, Richard Starzecki, and Richard Pester all contribute, and the differing styles provide a lot of variety. We also get two pages of character profiles, which is handy.
Reverend Cross is a good independent comic, and it's pleasing to see that it's reached six issues already. As it's published infrequently, John wisely makes each issue self-contained, which is always a big bonus! Another bonus is the very reasonable price of these comics. Some indie publishers charge far too much for their comics, and with digital printing being so affordable these days there's no need for it. If you're trying to attract an audience, £10 for a slim mini comic is not the way to do it. Reverend Cross costs £2.99 an issue (plus postage) for 24 pages, which sounds like a good deal to me.
Interested? Head over to the Kult Creations Reverend Cross blog to order your copies today!
http://reverendcross.blogspot.com
Issue 4 of Reverend Cross is out now, published by UK indie outfit Kult Creations. This time we get four short stories featuring the supernatural heroine, all written by series creator John A. Short, and illustrated by Anna Susanne (who also did the cover), Richard Pester, and Gabrielle Noble.
Each strip is snappy and well constructed, proving that the art of short-storytelling in comics is still alive and well. It's nice to see Reverend Cross handled by different artists, each giving their own take on the character. All in all, another good issue!
John A. Short appears at various comic cons around the country where you can buy the comics directly from him, or you can order a copy from his website here:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk
I'm behind with my reviews but I didn't want to wait until after Christmas when some of you might be spent out so I've condensed several plugs for various comics into one posting. I hope that helps to draw your attention to these worthy titles and to encourage you to support them.
First up are two comics from independent UK publisher Zebra. Midwinter No.1 is based on the classic video game created by the late Mike Singleton about a future coping with the aftermath of an asteroid striking the Earth. The story by Dan Whitehead and art by 2000AD's P.J. Holden is a cracking opening issue and I'm eagerly looking forward to future issues. It has a great cover by Steve Pugh too, so this is an essential buy!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/midwinter/store/products/midwinter-1/
The other title from Zebra Comics is Hex Loader, with a script by Dan Whitehead and art by Conor Boyle. An intriguing mystery with fantasy elements and an unpredictable cliffhanger. Again, one to definitely follow!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hexloader/
An indie publisher who has been around for a while now is Kult Creations, and their latest new comic is Reverend Cross, "first ever female vicar action hero" assigned by the church to take down supernatural threats! Issue 1 is a reprint of an earlier solo edition but this time it has a colour cover. With story by professional comics creator John Short and art by Jason Dennis it's a fast paced blast of fun and fear.
Reverend Cross No.2 tweaks the creative team by having Gabrielle Noble as the artist but her version of Cross is as cool as ever.
Issue No.3 of Reverend Cross has just been published and there's a creative shake up again as this time the comic contains four short stories instead of one full-length story, and each one has a different artist. It's good to see each creator's version of the character, and with John A. Short writing all the strips they still maintain the right character and tone.
The Reverend Cross comics are fast, fun and self-contained, and can be ordered from the Kult Creations website where you'll find more info:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk
Not exactly a comic (although it does contain some strips) is It's Ghastly, an excellent 72 page publication from Hibernia Comics recounting the history of the short-lived but well-remembered Scream! weekly. It's the definitive story of the comic, containing interviews, features, unused art, and 16 pages of The Nightcomers, a series that was never published due to Scream's sudden cancelation. A must-buy for anyone interested in comics history!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hibernia/store/products/its-ghastly-the-untimely-demise-of-scream/
It wouldn't be Christmas without a ghost story, and a new book by Self Made Hero has several. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a collection of short stories by M.R. James (1862 to 1936) adapted into comics form by Leah Moore and John Reppion. Artists are Aneke, Kit Buss, Fouad Mezher, and Alisdair Wood. It's a fantastic book at a reasonable price and belongs on the bookshelves of every comics reader.
http://www.selfmadehero.com/news/2016/10/leah-moore-and-john-reppion-ghost-stories-of-an-antiquary-vol-1/
I couldn't let this set of reviews pass in December without another shout out to Joe Matthews and Dave McCluskey for their superb comics adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A slick 80 page production in full colour, and a perfect stocking filler for children of all ages. Only £10.00 too!
ISBN 978-0-9934490-2-4
...and last but not least, while I'm here, I'd like to give another plug to Jessica Martin's graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace, the fictional story of Elsie Harris who starts out as a waitress before circumstances and her talent lead her to greater things. It's the sort of story that would make a perfect movie to be shown on TV over the festive period so it's an ideal read for this time of year. Order your copy directly from Jessica at her website:
http://www.artymisspublishing.com/new-products/
I hope there's at least one title there that will take your fancy to treat yourselves or someone for Christmas. I'll be plugging more new comics next year.
I'm a sucker for books on the history of comics, particularly those that cover an area of comics unfamiliar to me. British indie publisher Kult Creations have recently published Octobriana: The Underground History, wherin author John A. Short tells us the story of a mysterious character that has been around for years but has never really been covered in such depth before.
Octobriana, we are told, is "the Russian Devil-Woman. A free-thinking Communist superhero with a red star tattooed on her forehead". Apparently in the public domain, the savage Octobriana has appeared in numerous comics and various pop culture over the years. A version of her even cropped up in the Nikolai Dante series in 2000AD.
In his 120 page book, John A. Short delves into the rich history of the character, starting with the 1971 book that introduced her, Octobriana and the Russian Underground. It's quite a journey, and full of twists and turns including one major twist that I won't spoil here.
John has clearly spent an amazing amount of time and research in producing this book. It's extremely thorough and must be the definitive tome on the character. Not only that, but he adds to the history himself by including an all-new 34 page full colour Octobriana strip illustrated by Gabrielle Noble. There are also guest art illustrations from Vincent Danks, Neil Edwards, Hunt Emerson, and myself.
Octobriana: The Underground History is a fascinating, well illustrated, thoroughly researched book that is a fine addition to the history of comics. An absolute bargain at just £9.99. You can find out more, and order your copy, from the Kult Creations site here:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk/
Kult Creations are an independent comics publisher who have been around a few years now, with titles such as Savage: Jungle Princess, The Sixpenny Murder, and The Clock Strikes. Their latest offering is a preview special of The New Amazons, an all-female superhero team.
Written by John Short and illustrated by Gabrielle Noble, The New Amazons is a 20 page full colour comic featuring an adventure of the super team versus Russian assassins in jet packs. As with Savage:Jungle Princess, it features wisecracking women in skimpy outfits, and is all a bit of light-hearted fun. One thing that struck me about the art though is that all the women have pretty much the same body shape and similar facial features. Octobriana (a classic character in the public domain) has a slightly different face, in keeping with her established look, but it would have been nice to have seen a bit more variety amongst the characters.
That said, The New Amazons is good fun, and if you enjoyed Kult Creation's other comics you'll certainly enjoy this one. It serves as a prelude to the graphic novel that Short and Noble are currently working on, - The New Amazons: Costume Drama, and the story in this preview won't appear in the book.
You can order a copy of the comic (and the company's other titles) from the Kult Creations blog here: http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk/
When, in my previous post, I announced that I was ending this blog it took a few people by surprise. Reaction from readers has been very heartening and much appreciated. Although I still don't have the time or inclination to continue with Blimey I've been sufficiently encouraged to return for one last round-up of items that have been published recently, some of which I'd promised to promote a while ago. There's a lot to cover here so relax, have a cuppa, and here we go...
Above is the cover to a brand new comics magazine, Scraps, published by Blasé Books. Edited and designed by my old mentor Mike Higgs (I know, "Not so much of the old", - sorry Mike) who also contributes two strips Kevin and his Comics and The Yesterfiles. The 16 page A4 full colour mag also features two very informative articles by Peter Hansen on British comics and annuals, a Comic ODDments feature, and promotions for books by Blasé and Ugly Duckling Press.
A copy of Scraps No.1 will appear as a free insert in Multiverse magazine soon, or can be picked up in its single magazine format at various comic marts around the country (especially the Birmingham and London ones). However, if you'd like a copy posted to you, you can send a pound coin to cover postage to Blasé Books, Hazelwood, Birchfield Road, Reddich B97 6PU. Alternatively you can pay £1 via PayPal, to blasebooks@aol.com
Another recent debut is Hairy Steve, an all-new 32 page comic book by Jamie Smart and Steve Bright. If you thought you knew what they could accomplish from their contributions to children's comics over the years think again. With Hairy Steve the creators give us a darkly funny adult comic that pulls no punches. A lupine hero! A mad scientist! Zombies! Violence! And more.
Both creators are highly talented writer/artists in their own right but with Jamie Smart on script and Steve Bright on artwork it's a winning combination that's a must-buy. Hairy Steve was made possible via Indiegogo crowdfunding so those of us who funded it have already received our copies. However if you weren't part of that and you'd still like a copy, a few are still available at a reasonable price. E-mail Jamie at jamiesmart78@gmail.com and he'll sort out a signed copy for you.
Fans of classic British comics will be pleased to hear that Steve Holland has revised and expanded his index for Lion comic into an impressive 262 page A4 softback book. Lion, King of Picture Story Papers is published by Bear Alley Books for £25.99 plus £4 postage. Well worth it for fans of the fondly-remembered weekly, as the book features a 100 page history of the comic, profusely illustrated with sharp, clear samples of strips, behind the scenes photographs of the editorial staff, and the index section itself runs to around 160 pages with details of all the strips in the weekly, annuals, and specials.
Even if Lion was before your time this is still an absorbing book for anyone with a genuine interest in the history of British comics. It's a great showcase of the outstanding artistic talent that was working in comics back then, with many full page examples of artwork from Joe Colquhoun, Reg Bunn, Leo Baxendale, Don Lawrence and many more. (Many pages are also reproduced smaller than published size, but the reproduction is still clear and legible.) Available here from Bear Alley Books website:
http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/lion-king-of-picture-story-papers_3.html
Speaking of classic British comic talent, Terry Bave has published his autobiography as a chunky 298 page volume. Cartoons and Comic Strips takes us on a journey from Terry's early days right up to the present, with many examples of his artwork from over the decades.
Terry's work has always had a gentle fun aspect that has appealed to children over the years. He understands the essentials of comic storytelling, with strips that are always clear to follow, and characters that are engaging. Credit must also go to Shiela Bave of course, Terry's wife, who has worked with Terry on the scripts for practically his entire career.
Copies of Cartoons and Comic Strips can be ordered from Terry's new blog at http://terrybave.blogspot.co.uk or directly from the Lulu website here:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-bave/cartoons-and-comic-strips/paperback/product-20625272.html
An excellent graphic novel from a mainstream British publisher is The Complete Rainbow Orchid by Gavin Ewing, published by Egmont. This previously appeared as three separate comic albums but now they're collected into this sumptuous 136 page book.
The Rainbow Orchid is a real epic. An old-school quest type of adventure with the heroes traversing the globe. Garen Ewing's artwork is incredibly detailed. He draws in the fine line style inspired by Hergé and Edgar P. Jacobs but brings his own approach to it. The standard is phenomenal.
There are also bonus features at the back of the book (character designs and suchlike) and nicely designed endpapers showing specially created ephemera that perfectly mimics the early 20th Century era of the story. Let's hear no more complaints about Britain no longer doing all-ages adventure strips. This is one. Right here. And the quality is as high as anything that preceded it. The Complete Rainbow Orchid is a real treat, and a bargain at only £14.99. (ISBN: 978 14052 6385 6)
The third issue of indie comic Savage! Jungle Princess was published by Kult Creations recently. It's another full colour adventure by John Short and Gabrielle Noble featuring dinosaurs, Nazis, and 'saucy' fun.
You can order the latest issue of Savage, plus back issues and other good stuff from the Kult Creations blog here: http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk/
There's a new event for fans of British comics in the shape of Comic Empire coming to the Royal National Hotel on March 3rd, June 2nd, and October 5th. This replaces the dormant ABC Shows at that venue but will feature items to appeal to collectors of British comics, pulps, magazines and ephemera. See the flyer below for more details and keep an eye on the website http://www.londoncomicmart.co.uk/
Jim Alexander has been a professional comics writer for quite a few years now, and he's recently produced his own comics such as Scout One, Gabriel, Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Amongst the Stars. (The latter with artwork by Mike Perkins in issue 1.) Check out Jim's blog for details on how to order your copies:
http://jimalwriter.blogspot.co.uk/
Comic Heroes, the bi-monthly magazine about comics is on its 17th issue now (and some said it wouldn't last). Available from WH Smith, Tesco and other retailers this current edition features a load of excellent features. The history of Iron Man in comics, interviews with Mark Waid, Ramona Fradon, Roy Thomas, Liam Sharp, Andy Diggle, plus Paul Gravett writing about the work of François Schuiten, with reviews and much more. A very solid issue. £7.99.
PS Publishing have released a new batch of books recently in their line of pre-code American comics reprints. There's Phantom Lady, The Heap, Witches Tales Vol.2, and Chamber of Chills Volume 4 (which concludes that particular title, having now reprinted every issue). It's great to see these classic horror comics back in print for those of us who weren't around when they were originally published.
The nice thing about these 'Harvey Horrors' is that PS reprint the entire comic, adverts and all, which adds to the experience of capturing the times. Five to seven comics appear in each volume, and there's bonus pages of features and scans of original artwork. You can order the books directly from the publisher here:
http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/ps-art-books-24-c.asp
Fans of horror comics may also be interested in The Best of From the Tomb, a softback book from Twomorrows Publishing reprinting articles from the UK From the Tomb fanzine, which also includes unseen pages that were scheduled for the unpublished 29th issue. A fascinating look back at the era of pre-code horror and crime comics, plus interviews with Joe Sinnott, Shane Oakley and others.
There's a new issue of CLiNT in newsagents and comic shops right now, with another 100 page helping of over the top action and breakneck entertainment. This issue (No.6 in the second series) features the latest chapters of Hit Girl, The Secret Service, Death Sentence and more.
Look out for another British adventure comic hitting the shelves of newsagents on March 28th! That's the day when Strip Magazine is scheduled for a relaunch with its second series (numbered 1.2). The line-up of stories looks fantastic, and the big news for fans of classic British comics is that it features the return of 1970s Hotspur superhero King Cobra, revamped for the modern age. More info here: http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.co.uk/
So, plenty happening print-wise in the UK but if you want to support a digital British comic as well, hop over to Aces Weekly which is now in its third volume. A mere £6.99 ($9.99) gets you access to each seven-issue volume. Yes, only a pound an issue, cheaper than any print comic. I created an all-new Combat Colin strip for issue 1, and will be doing another one soon, exclusive to Aces Weekly. Find out more about the comic and its creators here and subscribe!:
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk
And finally... news about my new blog! Yes, Blimey! is still ending (for the reasons I gave in my previous post) but I'm launching a new blog lewstringercomics. As the name suggests, this one will only focus on my own material. (Which won't take me so long to research for one thing.) It won't be updated as often as this blog was, and the commentary will be shorter, concentrating on showing you samples of my artwork from the past, present and, hopefully, future. I hope you'll all give it a visit and bookmark it. You'll find it here:
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks again for visiting Blimey! over the last six years and for your kind comments after my previous post. See you over on my new blog!
