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!
Finding time to catch up with the indie comics I want to review is taking a while but I'm pleased to get around to giving a plug to Captain Wylde No.1, a new title from Kult Creations. It's been out for a few weeks now but I've only just read it, and it was great fun.
Created by John A. Short and Gabrielle Noble, Captain Wylde is a "clock-punk pirate" story, with 21 pages (plus covers) in full colour. Wylde sets out to find the cause of a supernatural symbol that has appeared on the palm of her hand, and soon finds herself in a fast moving adventure.
I particularly liked the design of the "clockwork automation". It were all clockwork robots when I were a lad you know.
I think this is one of Kult Creations' best comics yet, and it made a nice change for it to be more family friendly than some of the company's other comics. I hope we see a second issue soon.
You can buy a copy of Captain Wylde (and John Short's other comics) from the Kult Creations website here:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk
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/
It's always good to see a comic from an independent publisher continue beyond its first issue as it shows sales of No.1 must have been decent. Therefore I was pleased to receive Savage! Jungle Princess No.2 the other day from Kult Creations.
Created by John Short and Gabrielle Noble, the second issue is, like the first, another fun adventure of jungle girls, Nazis and dinosaurs in a 22 page full-colour adventure story. There's also a letters page this issue, which always adds the personal touch to a comic I think.
Let's not beat around the (jungle) bush though. The main draw of the comic is pure cheesecake. Savage and her companion Friday Robinson grow closer this issue and their outfits are even skimpier than before, but certain parts of the body are still covered and the story manages not to cross the line into pornography. (Although there is some innuendo and a scene where the two women try to escape their bonds amusingly leaves it up to the reader to determine what's actually happening.) As I said in my review of issue one, this is closer in tone to the jungle comics of the 1950s, with a wink to the reader to read into it what they will.
As with issue one, Savage! No.2 was good fun. The script moves along at a good pace and the artwork is clear. Proper comics, in other words. Roll on issue three!
Kult Creations have produced some good stuff so far and they're definitely a company to watch. You can meet publisher/writer John Short and check out his comics when Kult Creations have a table at the London Comic Mart on 30th September and at the Thought Bubble event on 17th/18th November.
You can also check out the Kult Creations blog here where you can order copies of Savage! Jungle Princess and other titles that aren't available in the shops.
The latest publication from British independent publisher Kult Creations is Savage! Jungle Princess, a 24 page full colour comic book for £3.75 ($5.50 in the USA).
Written by John A. Short and illustrated by Gabrielle Noble, Savage! Jungle Princess is a fun cheesecake romp that includes Nazis, dinosaurs, and scantily dressed women. Whilst certainly not suitable for a young Beano reader it still retains a coyness to the amount of flesh on show and is actually less revealing than the old Jane newspaper strip.
Short and Noble also collaborate on Ms. Fortune for Mayfair magazine but don't expect any soft core (or even hardcore) shenanigans in Savage! This is closer in spirit to the pre-code 1950s jungle comics of Sheena and suchlike, albeit with skimpier costumes for more modern tastes.
The story in issue one, Death Island, is self contained, so no worries about long cliffhangers until issue 2 arrives. John Short is an experienced professional writer and the story moves along at a good pace, with dialogue and captions containing the right amount of information to carry the story clearly. Gabrielle Noble's artwork also proves her worth as a storyteller, complimenting the script well.
No doubt some will find this type of comic exploitative of women, although it does actually feature strong, independent women (albeit nearly naked). However, I'm sure that most readers will see it for the lightweight escapist fun it's intended to be, rather than a wish-dream of how women should look.
To find out more about Savage! Jungle Princess and to purchase a copy visit the Kult Creations blog here:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk/
There's one solution to the lack of modern British adventure comics, and that is: if you have the talent, produce your own. That's what Kult Creations have done with the Armageddon Patrol graphic novel, collecting four issues of an indie comic from a few years ago.
The 100 page black and white trade paperback is scripted by John A. Short, a professional writer who has contributed comic strips to various publications from Toxic to Mayfair. In Armageddon Patrol he deals with the scenario of what might have happened if superheroes had fought in Viet Nam. The book features four stand-alone stories (although it's best if they're read in order) with artwork by Alwyn Talbot on chapters 1, 2, and 4, and Alex Paterson on chapter 3.
Armageddon Patrol begins with Lieutenant Wynonna Stone, codename Maiden America, deployed in Viet Nam where her experiences soon harden her. The following chapter introduces other super-powered individuals who will make up the unit. It should be pointed out that Armageddon Patrol is not a children's comic. The violence is brutal and the language strong and realistic.
Alwyn Talbot's artwork shows a remarkable attention to detail and he's certainly an artist to watch. It's good to see Alex Paterson here too, showing a different side to his talents than the humour work he did on Rex for Toxic. John Short's writing skill is on top form with natural sounding dialogue and a smooth storytelling style that makes the book a real page turner.
My only criticism is that we don't see the Patrol act as a team that much. They don't come together until halfway through the book and are only seen as a fighting unit in the final chapter. However don't let that put you off. The main character is Wynonna Stone, and the story is mostly about her and how the war affects those around her. All in all it's a good, absorbing read.
To read more about Kult Creations and to buy a copy of the book visit the website here:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.com/
