Well, it's been a week!! Since last Monday, I must confess that my life has felt non-stop with all that I've had. This is because beyond my standard 9-5 working days as well as trying to help control two under 5's, I've (somehow) scraped the time to read a comic before reviewing it and then sending over to Alex to post up on Pipedream Comics (which only got finished by Friday night), wrote what became an immensely long-winded post on the Black Panther: Man without Fear series and submitted mine and Ayoade Adobarin's short comic, the Hipster Beard, to the Platform Comics short comic competition (oh yeah, and done my half of the Christmas shopping(which, admittedly, isn't much).
So, by the end of it all, it didn't leave much time to get through my next planned read, Dan Butcher's Vanguard, by the time I needed to write this post. However, I instead decided to push it back a few more days (because what's a few more days after nearly eight months) and just clear through a bunch of one shots and single issues.
Fortunately, I happen to have a bunch of those courtesy of Kickstarter. This is because, although it has been a while since I last pledged to a campaign on Kickstarter, I haven't yet managed to make the time to read some of the rewards which came from those successful ones. Therefore, what better time to do that than over a (presently) comic free weekend. And so, with that in mind, I burned through four comics from two campaigns: Samuel George London's Milford Green from that campaign and Ryan K Lindsey's Fatherhood, Little Man in the Big Housr and Tree from his Skyscraper campaign.
First up was Milford Green by Samuel George London and Mikael Hankonen, which sees the titular Victorian village become the target of an alien invasion when a fleeing intergalactic agent crashes there and entrusts a local with the safekeeping of a mysteriously powerful relic. Now, I've probably downplayed the complexity of the comic by breaking it down to its essence, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this was a fun and enjoyable read. I'm not going to lie, the story was a little confusing in places but I found this to be a minor inconvenience as the direction and pacing were solid and so I got the general idea of what was going on, even if I missed on the minutiae (which in fairness, may have been due to me being tired when I read it). It also helped that the characters (maybe with the exception of George) were just so likable, which really helped keep me invested I think.
The art was exceptional as well, with Mikael Hankonen's art fitting the tone and atmosphere of both the story and the location in my mind with a look that reminded me very much of Sarah Millman's work in A Heart of Time (which makes sense as they are both predominantly based in the Victorian era). By the end, I realized that I had a lot of questions about this series such as;
- With all the LOTR references, is Alfie destined to become Tolkien or something (given LOTR doesn't get published for another 50ish years)?
- What does Mary see in George? She turns on him right at the end, but that seems a little odd given all he's done up to that point.
- Also, why did Mary's dad offer George up so willingly? Did he know what was going to happen/how it played out?
- Finally, funny how they were so quick to believe Fandalg's story.
The next read was Fatherhood Ryan K Lindsay, Daniel Schneider, Paulina Ganucheau and Brandon Destefano which told the story of one man's mission to make his daughter happy, and the damage it causes to any who get in his way. Now, this comic absolutely blew me away by the time that I was finished reading it. I had expected a noir story based on it's gorgeous cover (and I'm not sure I could reiterate that enough) but while I was partly right (as the second half really comes across that way to me), this story about the love of you child and what you would do for them was so incredibly (and brutally) captivating. The thing is, I think I found it so captivating was down to how I connected to the main character. This because while the protagonist is a real nasty piece of work, I completely understood why he did the things he was doing. As RKL alludes to in his notes at the back, a parent will do anything for their children (as I myself have often stated to people) and so this character is just a manifestation of that promise.
Meanwhile, the artwork in this comic was just as perfect to me as the story it accompanied. The style is fantastic, with Mr Schneider and Ms Ganucheau's respective pencils and colours marrying to give the story such an awesome, vibrant look. In fact, the scene and the page where the protagonist nearly runs down a woman in the street still stick in my head it was so gorgeous. This only continues when the protagonist dons the noir trademark hat and coat, as the art takes yet more gorgeousness in some great monochrome colours, and letterer Brandon Destefano makes me giddy with joy as I read the narration on a very fitting 'written on line paper' look that is just inch perfect for this noir vibe. I have to admit, by the end I feel heartbroken that this is only a one shot, but in truth it's perfect as just that (although I am curious why the guy is being arrested). All I can do is hope that RKL brings this team back for something equally awesome in future (which, given his pedigree, I doubt would be too long a wait).
In the meantime though, I move onto Little Man in the Big House, the next free comic from Ryan K Lindsay's Skyscraper kickstarter by Lindsay himself, Paul Tucker and Ryan Ferrier and told the story of a former size changing superhero called Little Man who is called in when the occupants of a Super-Villain prison undertake a hostage situation. Now, this was another fun little comic, with a really cool concept that feels perfect for a character of this ... stature (no pun intended .. well, maybe a little), in the same vein the Ant-Man movie was a heist movie. I really love the ideas that are thrown in here, and thought the use of Little Man's powers are used in fun and unique ways.
That said, the art was good but it wasn't really my thing. Mr Tucker's style had this slightly rough, 80's, almost Valerian and Laureline look to it that I did find a small bit confusing as I read along. That said though, maybe that's something I would get use to if the comic was longer than nine pages because, I would certainly enjoy seeing more of this.
Finally, I read Tree, the third of Ryan K Lindsay's works that I went over the week, with this one created with Mitch Collins and Thomas Mauer as it told the story of a quirky, Deadpool meets Veronica Mars bounty hunter as she attempts to track down the man she's been hired to find. This was a short comic, totally only 14 pages, but its length was the only downside to it as I really loved this comic. I thought the script was so quirky with it's unusual narration and made me think of some fourth wall breaking series like Deadpool and ... well, that's it really. Nevertheless, I thought that idea was fantastically unique, like reading the comic equivalent of Enola Holmes crossed with Human Target (or better yet, Burn Notice). The art meanwhile, was equally gorgeous, with Mitch Collins style making me think of Matthew Dow Smith (whose work I certainly adore after that recent Star Trek one-shot). By the end, I don't know if more of this story was made, but if it was then I've gotta get it.
And so that's all for my comic reading in the last week and, I just confess, I wish I'd gotten around to them all sooner. It was a fun selection of reads which confirmed that the pledges I had made at the time were worthy investments.
Oh, and before I forget ...
This past week I got the chance to read the full graphic novel of Future, the sci-fi, time travel story by Tom Woodman and Rupert Smissen, for Pipedream Comics. Now, I recall that I had enjoyed the first issue when I reviewed and felt the comic had potential but, after reading full story, I really felt like it exceeded all expectations.
The review (as usual) is more depth but I felt the story was so engrossing, watching these two people never giving up on each other. Woodman really found their voices and made I think it was that and their dynamic with each other which made Future so captivating.
As for the art, this was equally gorgeous and so reminded me of Alex + Ada but with a much more stylish, cgi-esque look. This isn't a downside to me but a plus as this style really makes Future look unbelievably beautiful.
I'm gonna have to start thinking about my favourite comics for the Pipedream top 50 of this year, but after this read I think Future is going to be one of them, because it was one hell of a read.
So, that was my week (and then some). Hopefully, I can now get started on Vanguard (as I've been planning to do for some time).
Although, I'm sure something else will come up first. It usually does.
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