The Crimson Deathbringer. Sean Robins. Creativia (2019)

Hugely enjoyable and engaging space opera. Alien invasion of Earth with a twist sounds like a lot of other stories, the execution makes all the difference. Sean Robbins has the confidence to have big ideas and a huge cast as well as the craft to balance them. The narrative shifts across aliens and humans and to give each the space to engage the reader, everyone has a motive and a context and when they clash the action has weight and consequence. The plot mechanics are ruthlessly efficient, Sean Robbins pushes the story at a considerable pace and no one gets to escape unscathed. Victory for anyone is hard won and harder to maintain, everyone learns from their mistakes and has to make new ones to keep alive and in the struggle. The action is intense and beautifully staged, the reveals are cunningly timed and move the story forward with force and increasing momentum. The cast are hugely engaging, the leading characters are determined and individual, they drive the plot and are driven by the plot in a wholly satisfactory way. The walk on cast give depth and flavour to the story, Sean has a gift for very quickly introducing a character who is fully fledged in a short space, there is nothing impersonal about this conflict. Aliens and humans are given scope and motive so that the struggle between them has depth and engagement. 

Sean Robins' control of the narrative is impressive, there are a huge number of shifting viewpoints, including a first person narrative, none it is is confusing. The structure gives the room for a widespread look at the conflict and moves from the global to the specific with ease and impact. It opens the scope of the story very nicely, placing Earth in the middle of a galactic struggle naturally and effectively. You do need a high tolerance for pop culture references and jokes, they never get in the way of the story, they do not quite come off cumulatively as Sean Robbins might have intended. They hide the character who indulges in them the most a little more than they reveal him.

I do have a concern with the attrition rate in the cast. Not the fact that it is high, rather that it does not bend the story the way it should. The reader is encouraged to have an investment in some of the cast, they take up enough story space to become significant and their demise does not have the following impact that I would have expected. 

I bought this book to support a colleague, I read it because I love science fiction, I greatly enjoyed it because Sean Robbins has delivered a great story that pulls the reader into the action with tremendous skill and confidence. I strongly recommend it because the benefits of reading excellent science fiction are clinically proven to improve your joy in living. Do yourself a favour, get the benefits of first rate space opera that The Crimson Deathbringer so happily delivers.

Scapula. Doubly Dark and Deadly! Aidan Casserly (Writer & Artist). www.scapulacomic.com (2019)

A wonderful collection of comics that are very funny, unexpected and thoroughly engaging featuring Scapula-The World's Worst Villain.
Rawkum Nawkum Punks. Nazz the Nazi, leading member of Scapula's gang decides to skip work in favour of a Battle of the Bands. There is an unexpected problem, if the crowd does not approve the band are killed. Nazz has to move fast to survive.
Aidan Casserly takes a smart idea, a literal battle of the bands and executes it with increasing absurdity and urgency as the competition gets more and more dangerous for Nazz. The story moves in unexpected ways before coming to an entirely satisfactory conclusion.The art is a deep pleasure to read, he cast are given vivid life and the emotional tones of the story and the atmosphere are brought forward with care and subtle craft. The story wildly overblown and never looses its balance, the big events sit with the smaller tense moments and combine perfectly to pull in the reader.
Jemini's Copycat Counterattack. Jemini is a two headed gang leader and sworn event of Scapula. With the assistance of Dr Mira Mira who has developed cloning techniques she has risen to being a fearsome criminal. Dr Mira has conducted an experiment on Dio, a teenage relative sent to stay with her. The experiment results with Dio duplicating when they are killed, Jemini quickly sees the possibilities. Jenini overwhelms her enemies with her army of Dios until she encounters a serious problem, her own clones, none of who would be willing to share or surrender. Her solution is severely complicated by the arrival of Scapula and it unravels superbly.
Aidan Casserly has an extraordinary level of control over the story that is bursting with ideas that demand the readers time and attention and never distract or derail the momentum of the story. From the opening sequence when Dio is ruthlessly sacrificed by Dr Mira and Jemini to the final astonishing confrontation Aidan Casserly's invention never flags. The possibilities inherent in the story set up are explored with great enthusiasm, variety and humour. The story work so well because of the discipline that is carefully exercised, the ideas are all strong enough to take over the story in their own right, they all serve it and make it better. The art is friendly and inviting, the cast are individual, forceful and wholly themselves. Dio is the closest to a stereotype, a slightly dim teenager who delivers a stream of verbal non-sequiturs, increased by duplication. Dio is neither malicious nor unpleasant which means that they are ultimately likeable.
The art takes everything offered by the story and gives it wonderful form, full of life and energy, the cast are full of life and determination. The body language is as eloquent as the great jokes and set pieces are staged with great confidence and superb detail. The colouring brings out all of the detailed, tomes, nuances of the story and the art.
Dominion shows the breath and depth of Aidan Casserly's talent. A short story that could very easily have been a horrible mess manages the extremely difficult task of being funny, heartfelt, and a little touching. The art and the colouring gives the close focus of the story the required intensity to bring out the uncomfortable aspects, the humour gives the reader some welcome distance and the conclusion sidesteps nothing. What a great story.
Aidan Casserly letters his own work with subtle skill, they are clear and easy to read, enhance the story and art without ever drawing attention to themselves.
Scapula is the work of a joyously talented creator who has developed a individual creative voice that is just a pleasure to read and enjoy.