MISTY Vintage spookiness
released 8 sepTeMber Publisher rebellion
Writers pat Mills, Malcolm shaw Artists John armstrong, brian delaney, shirley bellwood
Part of the same mid-’70s British comic boom that gave us 2000 AD, Misty was a girls’ anthology title with its sights set firmly on the spooky and the strange, delivering dark tales of ordinary teens encountering strange phenomena and evil forces. It ran from 1978-80 before being merged with other titles (and ultimately being phased out in 1984), but now Rebellion have packaged together two of the best-known Misty sagas.
“Moonchild”, written by 2000 AD co-creator Pat Mills, is a shameless, slightly creaky take on Stephen King’s Carrie, in which shy Rosemary Black is bullied by her classmates and her harsh mother, until she discovers she possesses telekinetic powers. “The Four Faces Of Eve” is more satisfying, giving us an engaging mystery as amnesiac Eve tries to work out the meaning of her disturbing visions.
The visuals from artists John Armstrong and Brian Delaney are occasionally stiff but also feature strong, impactful moments (especially in “The Four Faces Of Eve”), and while the stories are now more quaintly charming than genuinely spooky, there’s still pleasures to be found here for any nostalgia-inclined comics fans. Saxon Bullock
According to Pat Mills, the title of Misty was inspired by the 1971 Clint Eastwood thriller Play Misty For Me.