Return to Sender. Issue 1. David Summey, Roger L. Boyes, Mark Freeman (Writers), David Summey, Vincent Atkins (Art), Andrew Pate (Colours), Jerome Gagnon (Letters). RMD Comics (2020)

 

Very enjoyable and entertaining supernatural western. An unnamed Post Officer delivers the mail on the frontier in the United States, he also pursues the problems that lie behind mail marked Return to Sender. There are many supernatural forces and creatures that are preying on the settlers as the move into the depths of the country and the Post Officer has the work of finding and dealing with them. Return to Sender post from the town of Cedarwood leads the Post officer there and he finds and empty saloon and blood. There are marks on the wall written on blood and then trouble arrives in full force. The reveals are very well set up, the action is up close and fierce and the conclusion a hook to bring the reader to the next issue

The writers have arrived at a great balance of supernatural and western, the boundaries of each genre are respected, and the cross overs are vivid and never throw off the story. The supernatural arises naturally from the western context, the way it is fought supports the requirements of the genre. A lone rider coming into town to tackle trouble is a classic western set up and it is delivered with force and energy.

The art by Vincent Atkins is engaging and frames and moves the story with care and skill. The page layouts give the action the wise spaces it needs, and the up-close focus bring the tension to the suitable point. The cast are expressive and full of energy. The Post Officer is a lone hero in a great tradition, he is not a cowboy which is a nice shift given the mountainous context. The lone civilians do their duty with energy, and credible motivation.

The colouring by Andrew Pate is lovely, it brings out the details if the art and the story very nicely, it gives the cast a depth and solid physical presence hat adds greatly to the story.

Jerome Gangon’s lettering is really nicely framed in the narration boxes, picking up on the post theme without beating the reader on the head, the dialogue flows naturally in the art and never distracts.

Fetch Travis Gibb (Writer), David Summey (Art), Jason Finestone (Colours), is a short back up story that shows that the Post Officer’s experienced eye is vital. A theft has been committed and the Post Officer acts to recover what has been stolen. The story is a very nice additional light on the story universe, it expands it neatly and economically.

A very enjoyable comic and a very inviting introduction to a series.

Dungeons & Dimwits. I Rolled a 1. James Mascia (Writer), Kodaris (Art). Dren Productions (2020)

 

A charming, funny series of cartoons that o experience with playing RPG games is required to greatly enjoy.

James Mascia strokes a very smart balance between having fun with possible situations that arise in game play and the all too human responses of the players themselves. The running gag of the title where a throw of the dice brings disaster is delivered with a great variety of situations that are nicely plausible and happily absurd. A favourite shows a masked burglar picking the lock of a burning building, they rolled a 1 and are stuck with completing the task.

The rest of the cartoons vary between having fun with gameplay and the players responses, the cover illustration of a dragon using a castle tower in a most unexpected way is a shining example. James Mascia clearly really enjoys playing RPG games and relishes the possibilities for absurdity as much as adventure. He nicely captures the responses of the players themselves, the spot-on response to the remark about hiding in the shadows.

Kodaris deliver lovely, friendly art that just bursts with energy, humour, and detail. The cast are vividly expressive, the monsters are both funny and threatening. The varieties of adventurers are given the chance to be clearly committed and deeply capable of misunderstanding each other and the possibilities of the game.

Dungeons & Dimwits. I Rolled a 1. Is clearly made by enthusiastic fans of the genre, they are knowledgeable and experienced enough to provide game dungeons and artifacts at the end of the book. The jokes are very affectionate and never cutting or bitter. They gently celebrate the fun of the activity, remind everyone that it is possible to be too serious and that disaster is just a roll of the dice away for everyone.  A great fun read.

The Hated, Issue 1. David Walker (Writer), Sean Damien Hill (Art), MX Struble (Colour), Becca Carey (Letters & Design), Solid Comix (2020)

 A brilliant alternative history western that makes sharp and serious points as part of a superbly told story.

The United States Civil War has ended in a truce that left the Union States of America and the Confederate States as two mutually hostile entities.  Southern Raider cross over to the Union states to kidnap free black as slaves, Northern Liberators venture into the Confederate states to liberate slaves. A small scale, continuing conflict that is steadily moving deeper and deeper into the territory of each. Araminta Free is a liberator arrives in the town of Harmony, Kansas with the body of a raider and some bad news, the presence of the raider so far inside Union territory. At the same time a Confederate group, Morrison’s Raiders are attacking an isolated farm. The stage has been set and the story does not shy away from following it.

With a bold move David F. Walker has taken the western and used it is an unexpected way that still wholly honours the conventions of the genre. Having a tough as nails female as the lead is a good start, it is the context that give the story its power and passion. The conflict is genuinely existential one for both sides, there is now peace in a truce, there must be a complete victory to settle the causes of the conflict. Sean Damien Hill’s art is exceptional, it captures the nuances of the western with care and detail, the faces, clothes and the landscape are everything they should be, For a western fan this is just the work to make them relax utterly into the story confident that they are deeply, talent hands. There is a single panel that demonstrates without shouting the brutal lifelong assault that slavery is and gives the story the force and passion that burns through it.

The colours by MX. Struble are washed out, the colours capture the details of the art and the nuances of the story with subtle skill and bring them out for the reader without ever pushing forward and upsetting the balance in the comic.

Becca Carey’s lettering is quiet, never drawing attention to itself and flowing naturally with the art.

The Hated is a great western and a great comic, what a pleasure to read.

The Many Harold Holts of Space and Time. Ryan K. Lindsay (Writer), Louie Joyce (Art), Nic J. Shaw (Letters). (2014)

 

A very engaging short comic that has a great idea and executes it smartly in a great example of compressed storytelling.

Harold Holts, Australian Prime Minister goes missing at sea after going swimming, eighty years later he returns in the most wonderfully unexpected way.  Ryan K. Lindsay uses a great science fiction idea in a different way to create a very short, funny, and thoroughly entertaining story. It packs enough ideas and unexpected twists in a few pages to have easily expanded a considerable length without stretching the fabric of the story to breaking point. What Ryan K. Lindsay has done is significantly more difficult, he has compressed the story and not lost any of the coherence or necessary information.  Carefully picking the relevant highlights and allowing them to carry the weight of the story the whole epic is delivered in the minimum space needed.

Louie Joyce rises to the challenge with the pulp style art that captures the story dynamics with detail and flair, Harold Holts is give every ich of his due as his strange fate plays out. The cast are vivid and expressive, their body language is clear and gives the force needed to the action. The colours highlight the details of the art and give the cast a strong physical solidity.

Nic j. Shaw’s letters are clear and easy to read, they flow naturally with the art and help the story.

A short treat of a comic.

Tart Vol. 1 Adrift. Kevin Joseph (Writer), Ludovic Salle (Pencils, Inks, Colours, Letters) Kechal Comics (2013)

 

A hugely engaging and enjoyable story about a supernatural agency that fights demons across time and space. A young woman come awake in an alley in New York wondering when and where she is, seeing a headline about a missing boy she realises why. She gets going on the job and it does not quite go the way she or the reader might have anticipated. She is then abruptly sent to a new location where the problem is significantly bigger, and the hints of the larger context and story are revealed.

Kevin Joseph is a wonderfully confident writer; he starts the story without any scene setting and proceeds to set up the story without any delay. The story is intriguing enough to pull in the reader, the reveals are vey well staged and the wide sweep of the story is a pleasure to engage with.

Ludovic Salle’s art is just astonishing, it is both beautiful to look at and a pleasure to read it also creates a superb tension with the story, overturning readers expectations in the best way. 

The lead character, Tart Acid, the demon hunter is a young woman with costumes are vividly appropriate to a fashion-conscious young woman. Tart Acid looks like a young woman who has little on her mind. A classic stereotype, that Kevin Joseph neatly undermines.

Kevin Joseph avoids the superhero hack of a secret identity, Tart Acid is who she is, and she dresses the way she likes, she is forceful and capable in a party dress or a snow suit. This confident subverting continues across the four episode of the volume 1 as Tart proves to be vulnerable, resourceful, capable, and empathic. This appealing mix draws in the reader to the story and the unfolding context is a subtle and understated way, the art just captures and exploits this mix with wonderful detail.

The superpowers are constantly delivered in a most un-superheroic way, the action is delivered with stylish panache that amplified the elements of the story. The colours are powerfully expressive, they are soft and expressive, they deliver the emotional tones of the story without ever shouting.

The short story at the end of the volume is destined to be a Christmas classic, it is just a little slice of seasonal perfection.

The volume ends with an indication that there is a significant context to be revealed in future issues, not a typical cliff-hanger just an open invitation to follow and get further into this most appealing universe. Tart is a superb comic.

Tales of Humidity. A transcribed interview with Derrick Tanner (17.12.2019), T.N.M.G. (Art), Zach West (Editor, Printer). ALLOUT, Narwhal Comics, Primer Publishing.

 

A hilarious story of a time of an evening that went very wrong. Sixteen year old Derrick Tanner is at his girlfriend’s house, her annoying younger brother has been put to bed and the two start to make out when a noise alerts the girl that her parents have returned way before they were expected.  A brilliantly told farce follows.

No one is injured or hurt, there is a strong awareness that the events of the evening could easily have taken a much more dangerous turn. The danger is just enough to be hilarious in the retelling and felt strongly at the time.

The art by T.N.M.G. takes the story and delivers it with wonderful care and attention, the little extras are just perfect. The lines of the art are so expressive they give life and energy to the cast, they take the words and infuse them with an extra layer of comedy that is a pleasure to read.

This is a very short little comic, a simple story told with such flair and accuracy that it just resonates. It will remind any reader of uncomfortable episode in their own lives that has managed to become distant enough to be funny.

 

One-Eyed Jack. Volume 1. Anthony E. Zuiker (Creator), Felipe Cagno (Script & Editing), Brao (Art), Deyvision Manes (Lettering). Timberwolf Entertainment (2020)

 

A very engaging attempt to comprehend and remember the mass shooting carried out by Stephen C. Paddock in Las Vegas on October 1 2017 where 58 people were killed.

Anthony E. Zuiker and Felipe Cagno have developed a singular and thoughtful way to confront the inescapable problem that lies at the heart of the event. There is no way to communicate why Stephen C. Paddock would shoot some many people from his hotel balcony, firing down into a crowd assembled for a music concert. I do not believe that Stephen C. Paddock himself could do this, all that would be provided are some words which would never be able to convey the unimaginable mental process that supported his actions. The regular choice is a straight reconstruction with some class of commentary to allow the reader to feel that it was explained and contained.

The creators have taken a significant creative risk with this story, one that in less talented hands have been reduced to a tacky parable and failed to be respectful to the lives of those who had been lost. In this version the Devil is a hitchhiker picked up by Stephen C. Paddock on his journey to Las Vegas. Significantly it is not the Devil who is inspiring the actions, Stephen C. Paddock had already loaded his car with his guns and ammunition.

The Devil is an opportunity to that deadly intent was already in motion, to engage a little with the killer and to provide the reader with a entry into the narrative. The scope of the damage that is planned is flagged by the fat that the Devil wants to hitch a ride with this man, his interest and curiosity are the signal that something beyond the normal range of human action is on its way.

At Las Vegas Lady Luck is manifested and has conversations with the killer as he gambles and rides his luck up to an inevitable fall. Lady Luck warns us that this is already on the cards, it will happen, there will be success that will directly lead to failure. There is no sense that the failure was the reason for the shooting, it was more likely the way the killer chose to enrage himself enough to act, to get the energy to jump over the barriers he may have had to starting his kicking spree.

The art by Brao is superb, it is never natural or cartoony, it is angular and deeply expressive. It creates the context where the Devil and Lady Luck are naturally part of the action without disruption the mote mundane details of the story or the location. The colours are vivid and sharp, they bring the emotional tones of the story to the fore without ever shouting them.

Deyvision Manes has delivered lettering that stylistically fits in exactly with the art and the intent of the comic without ever loosing any legibility or drawing undue attention to itself.

One-Eyed Jack is a tremendous comic, setting up the time prior to the shooting with skill, detail and avoiding any attempt to claim to understand more than it does.

Glow 1-4 Ray Chou, Vincenzo Ferrero (Writers), Anny Maulina, Dia Ja (Art), Bryan Valenza (Colours), Nic Shaw (Letters). Mythopeia (#1-3, 2019, #4 2020)

 

A very engaging and enjoyable fantasy. Caszy and her younger bother Koken live in the settlement of Shoddai with Kelbourne the leader of the settlement. Shoddai is on the edge of the Wasteland where ruins of previous civilisations lie among the sands.  Caszy and Koken scavange the wasteland for artifacts with runes on them, runes that have the blue glow that contain and control power. A find in the wasteland and a visit by a stranger cause tension between Caszy and Kilbourne and an explosion leads to trouble. The story unfolds as trouble in a much bigger form arrives at the gates of Shoddai.

Ray Chou and Vincenzo Ferrero are wonderfully confident writers, the story starts right in with no background, the context is simply presented as it is, the focus is the cast. There is clearly a great deal of history that everyone in the story knows and the reader does not, everyone is too busy trying to live their lives to be thinking too much about it. The cast are really engaging, they have clear individual voices and strongly expressed fears and desires. They run up sharply against each other as the circumstances of the story squeeze them harder and harder.

Caszy is a great leading character, she is holding on the security of her brother and Shoddai with an angry ferocity, the memory of being exposed and vulnerable in the wasteland has marked her deeply. Koken has a greater confidence and internal security that makes him frustrated at the restrictions he feels are being placed on him. They give the story a strong emotional core that makes the impact of the action all the greater.

The end notes in each issue, notes made by Koken are great, they are a smart way of adding to the story and sense of the world that it is taking place in.

Anny Maulina and Dia Ja’s art is a lush pleasure, the setting is delivered with skill and detail, the physical context has a strong physical presence and the cast are completely at home in it. The move naturally and are highly expressive, the action is flowing and effective, the quiet moments are full of interest as the body language and the attitudes of the cast are vivid and clear.

Bryan Valenza’s colours are so natural as to almost not be noticed; they are just so right that it takes a second to realise just how much work they are doing. The bring out the details of the story, the context, and the cast and invite the reader into the story. The blue of the glow is subtly different, it is clearly something other, but it never draws attention from the rest of the scenes.

Nic Shaw’s letters, with one glaring exception, are models of clarity and ease of reading, they flow naturally with the art and never distract the reader. The lettering on the creator information page is appalling, it is a triumph of style over legibility. I wrestled with it to understand the content and was frustrated by the cunning way the script and page colour combined defied my attempts. I finally had to consult a different Mythopeia comic to be able to establish some basic information.

Glow is a luscious comic, the confident start to an engaging story delivered by a wonderfully talented crew.

Second Fastest Gun in The West Ric McClune Issue 1. Hayden Spurrell (Writer), Ben Sullivan (Art), Jeff Edis (Colours), Darren Close (Letters) Reverie Publications (2018)

 

A very enjoyable and engaging western with a wonderful title that shows from the outset that the creators are going to embrace the genre conventions and avoid cliches. In a super opening sequence Ric M^cClune gets a letter and a gunfight and heads off to find the man who sent the letter. Ray, the letter writer wants Ric to find his wife and daughter who have been abducted by a religious group. Ric takes the work and sets off and finds a lot more than he expected.

Hayden Suurell includes all the elements a western should have, a saloon scene, a crusty old man, a pursuit of a bounty and a great gunfight. All are delivered with a fresh eye that is simply a delight to read. The most important signal that the reader is in the hands of confident creators who know what they are doing is that Ric is not wearing a Stetson hat, he wears a bowler. It is a small and important detail; it goes a long way to establish Ric as an individual the writing does the rest. Ric is a great character, tough and ready with his gun, he is a bounty hunter, so he needs to be. There is more to Ric and that is nicely revealed as the story unfolds. The rest of the cast, including some very important walk on parts are all given the spark of life, they are never just targets for Ric to shoot.

Ben Sullivan’s art is a pleasure to read and linger over. The page compositions are smart and varied, they move the story at the right pace and frame the action with thoughtful care. The cast are expressive, individual and absolutely at ease in their context.

The colours of a western are critical, if the comic is not black and white it has to come to terms with the colours from the cinema and deal with them in some way. Jeff Edis’ colours are spot on; they are western colours and they give the story and art the depth they deserve. The story is nicely dark, and the clear colours allow it to breathe without pushing the reader.

Darren Close’s lettering is subtle and natural to read, it allows the story to flow, is easily readable and never distracts the reader.

I am a long tern fan of westerns and finding a really good one is a cause for celebration. Second Fastest Gun in The West Ric M^cClune is definitely a cause for celebration.