Toothville Issue 2. Kim Roberts (Writer), Denis Pacher (Art), Chris Allen (Colours & Letters ) Swampline Comic (2017)

Action paced second installment pushes the story forward with energy and momentum. Tilda Hilfairy, the worst tooth fairy in history , hopes to be the savoir of Toothville with her invention, Tooth Rot. Unfortunately Dr Dippelurger  has created Decayless toothpaste which may mean the extinction of tooth fairies. Tilda investigates Dr Dippelurger and this leads her to Birchard Pharmaceuticals  where Tilda finds out the real purpose of Decayless and realises that the problem is much, much bigger than she had thought.

Kim Roberts packs a lot of story into the issue, this is wonderful, economical, compressed comic storytelling. The reveals are neatly staged, the action is loud, fast and great fun.The story has moved from being a very smart idea into a very engaging narrative that has the strength and depth to keep a reader engaged, satisfied and happily anticipating more.

Denis Pacher's art is striking and wonderful, he uses the whole page in a playful way that catches both the fairy tale roots of the story and its very contemporary delivery. The pages are designed as much as drawn, the gutters and panels are used imaginatively to contribute to the overall impact, they have a tremendous energy and expressiveness. The cast are as cartoony as they should be, Dr Dippelurger has the smirking villainy that he should have. Tilda Hilfairy is shinning rebuke to the anatomically impossible females that litter comics, she is glowing confident, uncertain, snarky and confused and always just wholly herself. 

Chris Allen's colours are loud and expressive, they pop off the page and give the art the the lift it deserves to capture the subtly and the details that should be relished. The way that all the bright colours work with each other instead of being confusing or chaotic is a significant indicator of the skill and discipline that Chris Allen has brought to bear on the work. His lettering is quiet, unobtrusive and natural,. except where the sounds effects need to be loud, eye catching and dominant.A great fun comic that wears the enormous work and care that it took to make it very lightly.