COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

STEVE TOASE PRESENTS HIS LATEST PICKS FROM THE WORLD OF SEQUENTIAL ART

Ghoster

Thom Burgess, Toby Meakins, Joe Becci Download free from ghosterworld.com

This graphic novella is a lovely little thing, with a well-developed mythology of its own and a perfect hook for forteans in the use of 50 Berkeley Square (one of London’s most famous ‘haunted houses’) as the story’s main location. Ghoster is about a group of five families who work to protect England from Malevolents (evil ghosts with particular appetites). The story focuses on two young members of the five families as they embark on their Gallowing, a rite of passage to become Ghosters. The artwork is beautiful and the story has enough twists and turns to keep it fresh. The mix of technology and folklore in the storytelling is well realised, and with the introduction of the idea of Blackhanders it captures something of the darker side of the British islander psyche, which feels very relevant in the current climate. I’d highly recommend visiting the website to get a copy – and I hope the next volume isn’t long in coming.

The Complete Future Shocks, Vol 2

Various writers and artists Rebellion, 2019

Pb, 272pp, £19.99, ISBN 9781781086834 ‘Tharg’s Future Shocks’, 2000AD’s series of one-off comic strips were an incubator, test bench and mad scientist laboratory all rolled into one.

This was where some of the bestknown names in modern comics got their start and, more importantly, were able to experiment. The strips collected here mostly have a sci-fi angle, often heavy with humour and satire, and like much of the best sci-fi they hold up a mirror to contemporary society, something 2000AD has always excelled at. Many of the writers (or ‘script robots’ in 2000AD speak) here will be familiar, including the late Steve Moore, Alan Moore, Gary Rice, Alan Grant and John Wagner. There are others, possibly less well known to the general reader, such as Alan Hebden, who now writes comic scripts for Commando. On the visual side, the collection includes strips drawn by over 25 artists, including Bryan Talbot, John Higgins and Dave Gibbons. Most of them are black and white, part of that British tradition of monochrome comics that capture personality and character so brilliantly. We should also remember the letterers, usually passed over in reviews; after all, comics are for reading, and a good letterer can add a lot to the experience. Here you’ll see work by John Aldrich, Peter Knight, and Steve Potter among many others. The book also contains a reprint of an excellent short essay by Alan Moore about starting in comics, which discusses some of the ‘Future Shocks’ stories he penned and puts them in context. While some of the references in the stories are very much of their time, what endures is the emphasis on personality and how people behave in different situations.

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 9: ‘Okay’ Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie Image Comics, 2019 Pb, 168pp, £15.99 ISBN 9781534312494

Every 90 years, 12 gods return as young people. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are all dead. That simple premise encompasses the whole of The Wicked + The Divine (WicDiv).

What Gillen, McKelvie, and their various collaborators have accomplished has been stunning, building a very distinctive mythology that draws on very old themes and updates them for a contemporary world. Gillen understands modern pop culture, and effectively draws parallels between it and older modes of worship. It might seem strange to review the final collection of a nine-volume story: if you’ve been following the series, you know what you’re in for, and if you haven’t, then the final arc might not be the best jumping-on point. Yet, if you’re going to devote time to a nine-volume story, then it’s useful to know that the ending will be satisfying – I’m here to tell you that it is. There are genuine heartbreaking moments, redemptions, and conclusions that make sense of what’s come before. The precision and clarity of McKelvie’s art is enhanced by the stunning work of colourist Matthew Wilson: this is a beautiful comic. If you’ve never read WicDiv before, start at the beginning knowing that you have a treat waiting for you. If you’re already reading WicDiv, you don’t need me to persuade you to buy this final part of the story.

One: Just One Breath Sylvain Cordurié, Zivorad Radivojevic Le Lombard (Belgium) via Europe Comics 46pp, £3.99, available via www.europecomics.com/ album/1-just-one-breath/

Before we get to the comic, a word of explanation about Europe Comics, a 13-partner, pan-European alliance with the mission of bringing the rich European comic tradition to the English-speaking world, where it’s often overlooked. (I would highly recommend checking out their potted histories of comic traditions in different countries.) One: Just One Breath was first published in 2009 in French, and is the first of three volumes. The story follows Julian Leathercore, a ‘bloodcog’ whose near-telepathic abilities allow him to read molecules carried by bodily fluids. The comic starts with an explosion and a murder, before pulling the focus out to start looking at all the strands of the story. In some ways this is a political comic, with conspiracies and special interests in play, but there’s enough action to carry the story forward. As might be expected with the first in a three volume series, it lays a lot of groundwork, and not all of the reader’s questions are answered by the end. If you’re looking for an entry point into European comics, this is a good place to start.

Misty Presents The Jordi Badia Romero Collection Jordi Badia Romero, various writers Rebellion, 2019

Pb, 128pp, £19.99, ISBN 9781781086896

Misty ran from 1978 to 1980. Aimed at the girl’s comic market, it differed from its peers in focusing on horror stories, mostly with a gothic bent. This collection brings together strips drawn by the Catalan artist Jordie Badia Romero, who got his start illustrating Spanish romance and adventure comics alongside his brother. By the 1970s he was working on British comics such as Battle and Dr Who, before drawing for the short-lived Spellbound and moving on to Misty. Here you’ll find demons, vampires, flesh-eating birds, intelligent snails and arsonists – even Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos shows a tentacle in a story or two. What’s refreshing to see is that the women in the strips have agency: they ride motorbikes, fight back, ignore angry uncles, and make decisions that create their own stories. The artwork is lush – as the introduction says, Romero had a talent for drawing women – with echoes of the Gothic book covers which are now coveted for their pulp artwork. The writers remain uncredited, although they included Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw and (maybe) Barry Clements. Misty is an important part of British comic book history, and this makes an excellent introduction.