Births:
John Glashan (1927); Martin Baxendale (1952); Mark Millar (1969)
Character Births:
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (2039)
Deaths:
Charles Hamilton (1961); Harold Mack (1975); Jordi Buxadé Tonijuan (1997); Vic Neill (1999); Gino D'Antonio (2006); Ken Langstaff (2008)
Notable Events:
Father Christmas broadcast on Channel 4 in 1991.
Famous Fred broadcast on Channel 4 in 1996.
Ivor the Invisible animated short released in the UK in 2001.
The Snowman and the Snowdog broadcast on Channel 4 in 2012.
Mistress of Line, a documentary on Lorna Miller, uploaded in 2015.
Showing posts with label Mark Millar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Millar. Show all posts
Monday, December 24, 2018
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Saviour #2
Feb 1990. Cover price £1.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics.
Edited by Martin Skidmore.
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
Another fine cover, with a wonderfully apocalyptic tone to the artwork. The title's logo is, sadly, stretched and difficult to read clearly against the red background, sitting ill at ease in the overall design. On the bright side, it is a joy to find a letters column in this issue, even if it is awkwardly positioned in the inside cover, necessitating flipping past the pages to continue reading. Any interaction with a title's audience is to be commended, so minor quibbles about formatting can be put aside.
The question hanging over this issue is whether Saviour can bear losing Vallely as artist.
Annoyingly, despite giving over room for letters, there is no explanation of the artistic switch. These types of alterations to creative personnel are important in an ongoing title with only one feature - it speaks to creative intent and continuity of ideas. Are we to accept, however ridiculous the notion, that the appearance and layout would largely have remained the same had Vallely remained? Regardless of occurrences behind the scenes, the continuing narrative of Saviour and the assorted cast are handled magnificently, if not as precisely.
Jesus' hands itch, though he notes that they are not due to bleed until the next day. Attending a church, he hijacks the sermon to call people to his cause, although the priest is quick to summon the authorities to have him removed. His mood is further darkened when see sees a news report that Saviour has been awarded the United Nations' Peace Prize. Saviour, meanwhile, is determined to get his hands on the Apostle of Azrael
The change to Kitching is noticeable, though not an unpleasant change - different rather than inferior. While it would have been more beneficial for the title to retain a single artist throughout at least one complete story arc, the switch is as smooth a transition as is possible.
Millar peppers his script with religious references, which tend towards slightly heavy-handedness, and this issue is the first to present plotting oddities - there's a distinct break with the first issue, focusing almost entirely on Jesus' odd, and later drunken, behaviour. He isn't a particularly likable character, and it is puzzling to see so much space expended on him. I'm guessing that this series will make more sense to the strongly religious.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics.
Edited by Martin Skidmore.
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
2 Britain's Bounciest Letters readers' mail; illustration by Nigel Kitching. / Credits / Indicia
3 Saviour Shakespeare's Sister w: Mark Millar; a: Nigel Kitching.
27 Britain's Bounciest Letters cont..
Another fine cover, with a wonderfully apocalyptic tone to the artwork. The title's logo is, sadly, stretched and difficult to read clearly against the red background, sitting ill at ease in the overall design. On the bright side, it is a joy to find a letters column in this issue, even if it is awkwardly positioned in the inside cover, necessitating flipping past the pages to continue reading. Any interaction with a title's audience is to be commended, so minor quibbles about formatting can be put aside.
The question hanging over this issue is whether Saviour can bear losing Vallely as artist.
Annoyingly, despite giving over room for letters, there is no explanation of the artistic switch. These types of alterations to creative personnel are important in an ongoing title with only one feature - it speaks to creative intent and continuity of ideas. Are we to accept, however ridiculous the notion, that the appearance and layout would largely have remained the same had Vallely remained? Regardless of occurrences behind the scenes, the continuing narrative of Saviour and the assorted cast are handled magnificently, if not as precisely.
Jesus' hands itch, though he notes that they are not due to bleed until the next day. Attending a church, he hijacks the sermon to call people to his cause, although the priest is quick to summon the authorities to have him removed. His mood is further darkened when see sees a news report that Saviour has been awarded the United Nations' Peace Prize. Saviour, meanwhile, is determined to get his hands on the Apostle of Azrael
The change to Kitching is noticeable, though not an unpleasant change - different rather than inferior. While it would have been more beneficial for the title to retain a single artist throughout at least one complete story arc, the switch is as smooth a transition as is possible.
Millar peppers his script with religious references, which tend towards slightly heavy-handedness, and this issue is the first to present plotting oddities - there's a distinct break with the first issue, focusing almost entirely on Jesus' odd, and later drunken, behaviour. He isn't a particularly likable character, and it is puzzling to see so much space expended on him. I'm guessing that this series will make more sense to the strongly religious.
#01
Saviour
#03
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Friday, November 23, 2018
On This Day: 23 Nov
First Appearances:
Dagger Man in Warlord (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #166 (26 Nov 1977).
Births:
Neville Main (1913); Charles Grigg (1916); Harley Lawrence Schwadron (1942); Sandra Marrs (1973)
Deaths:
Graham Laidler (Pont; 1940); Dorothy Craigie (1971); Dennis Mallet (1988); Lilli Ursula Barbara Victoria Davidson (Victoria; 1999)
Notable Events:
Eve newspaper strip began in The Daily Sketch in 1953.
Juvenile Publications were moved from 161–166 Fleet Street to the old Daily Herald building at 96 Longacre in 1963.
Alan McKenzie, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Sean Philips, John Smith and Steve Yeowell attended a joint 2000 A.D. / Judge Dredd The Megazine signing at Mike Conroy's The Edge of Forever, 82B Broadway, Bexley Heath, Kent, in 1991. Judge Dredd was also in attendance.
Alan Moore's Outbreaks of Violets, a set of 24 cards with art by a variety of European artists, was given away at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Thought Bubble Comic Con, the Leeds Sequential Art Festival, began at Clarence Dock, Leeds, in 2013.
Peter Firmin received a special lifetime honour at the BAFTA Children's Awards in 2014.
Dan Dare: A Brief History video uploaded to YouTube in 2016 to celebrate the launch of the B7 Media / Big Finish audio adventures.
Dagger Man in Warlord (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #166 (26 Nov 1977).
Births:
Neville Main (1913); Charles Grigg (1916); Harley Lawrence Schwadron (1942); Sandra Marrs (1973)
Deaths:
Graham Laidler (Pont; 1940); Dorothy Craigie (1971); Dennis Mallet (1988); Lilli Ursula Barbara Victoria Davidson (Victoria; 1999)
Notable Events:
Eve newspaper strip began in The Daily Sketch in 1953.
Juvenile Publications were moved from 161–166 Fleet Street to the old Daily Herald building at 96 Longacre in 1963.
Alan McKenzie, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Sean Philips, John Smith and Steve Yeowell attended a joint 2000 A.D. / Judge Dredd The Megazine signing at Mike Conroy's The Edge of Forever, 82B Broadway, Bexley Heath, Kent, in 1991. Judge Dredd was also in attendance.
Alan Moore's Outbreaks of Violets, a set of 24 cards with art by a variety of European artists, was given away at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Thought Bubble Comic Con, the Leeds Sequential Art Festival, began at Clarence Dock, Leeds, in 2013.
Peter Firmin received a special lifetime honour at the BAFTA Children's Awards in 2014.
Dan Dare: A Brief History video uploaded to YouTube in 2016 to celebrate the launch of the B7 Media / Big Finish audio adventures.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Saviour #1
[Dec 1989]. Cover price £1.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics.
Edited by Martin Skidmore.
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
A dramatic and muted cover, extremely stylish in design - quite befitting the opening installment of Trident's twist on the superhero genre courtesy of Mark Millar. The credits page, with a panel from the fourth page of the strip blown up (and slightly modified), isn't the most encouraging first glimpse at the title, and the complete lack of any personal touches is worrisome. The lack of publisher information is also notable, as if the title had been assembled in a rush, the usual elements of a comic being an afterthought.
The Saviour, title character and protagonist (or antagonist, if you want to be accurate) of the series appears first as an interviewee on a talk show. Some of the references (Mizz, the Fat Boys, Dallas) are dated, but the tone and presentation of the type of discussion should be familiar to anyone who has braved the evening schedules of BBC1 or ITV - topics which are as flimsy as possibly, stretched out with cringe-worthy 'humour' - and which Millar captures perfectly.
The interview is interspersed with footage of Saviour's heroics, and adverts which... Actually, I would be up for purchasing a wallet made from the dissected skin of a dead television personality, would some forward-thinking company be up for marketing such a product. It is, of course, a spin on the fake adverts in RoboCop, or the television segments in The Dark Knight Returns, but with enough originality in the telling.
There are clear hints, so early in the story, that Saviour isn't the man he has professed to be. A young man serves as a counterpoint to the shallow excess of the main character (modelled after Jonathan Ross, at the time headlining The Last Resort), and it is this figure who presents the most sympathetic character in the narrative.
With echoes of Steve Yeowell's art in places, Vallely brings a wonderful energy to the story. Momentary respite from the panel-to-panel storytelling (presumably Sue Morris' contribution) comes with a page of newspaper headlines. Visual exuberance is also present in surprising ways, with a final-panel shot of Saviour flying through the air enhanced with a photograph of dark clouds.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics.
Edited by Martin Skidmore.
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
2 UNTITLED credits; illustration by Daniel Vallely.
3 Saviour Suffer Little Children w: Mark Millar; a: Daniel Vallely, additional design by Sue Morris.
27 This Was the Original Cover... illustration by Daniel Vallely.
A dramatic and muted cover, extremely stylish in design - quite befitting the opening installment of Trident's twist on the superhero genre courtesy of Mark Millar. The credits page, with a panel from the fourth page of the strip blown up (and slightly modified), isn't the most encouraging first glimpse at the title, and the complete lack of any personal touches is worrisome. The lack of publisher information is also notable, as if the title had been assembled in a rush, the usual elements of a comic being an afterthought.
The Saviour, title character and protagonist (or antagonist, if you want to be accurate) of the series appears first as an interviewee on a talk show. Some of the references (Mizz, the Fat Boys, Dallas) are dated, but the tone and presentation of the type of discussion should be familiar to anyone who has braved the evening schedules of BBC1 or ITV - topics which are as flimsy as possibly, stretched out with cringe-worthy 'humour' - and which Millar captures perfectly.
The interview is interspersed with footage of Saviour's heroics, and adverts which... Actually, I would be up for purchasing a wallet made from the dissected skin of a dead television personality, would some forward-thinking company be up for marketing such a product. It is, of course, a spin on the fake adverts in RoboCop, or the television segments in The Dark Knight Returns, but with enough originality in the telling.
There are clear hints, so early in the story, that Saviour isn't the man he has professed to be. A young man serves as a counterpoint to the shallow excess of the main character (modelled after Jonathan Ross, at the time headlining The Last Resort), and it is this figure who presents the most sympathetic character in the narrative.
Two thousand years ago I tried to warn them of the direction their lives were taking.A sub-plot surrounding child-killings - in order to slaughter The Beast - feels like a lift from a bad Omen knock-off, and the murder of a priest is too briefly presented, though is handled in a manner which side-steps any accusations of gratuitous sensationalism. A remarkably assured and well-paced debut, with several lines of dialogue which shine, ably brought to life with Daniel Vallely's artwork, which is incredibly detailed in places.
The dark, tortuous path that led only to despair and chaos.
They tortured me then, and hung me upon a cross to die in the blistering sun.
And I still love them. I still came back.
To save them from themselves.
He's really got them fooled this time. They fight over his every dropping.
With echoes of Steve Yeowell's art in places, Vallely brings a wonderful energy to the story. Momentary respite from the panel-to-panel storytelling (presumably Sue Morris' contribution) comes with a page of newspaper headlines. Visual exuberance is also present in surprising ways, with a final-panel shot of Saviour flying through the air enhanced with a photograph of dark clouds.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
The Shadowmen #2
Sep 1990. Cover price £1.00.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
Once again the cover references well-known visuals, though this time the subjects are taken from music rather than television - footprints dance across the cover from ska records, the main image recalls photographs in Smash Hits, and the slanted blocks of colours recalls late-80s pop (though I'm almost certain that there's an explicitly referenced album, the title isn't coming to me at the moment). It raises the intriguing prospect that further issues would pay homage to further genres and media, though with only the two published issues to work from such observations are mere speculation.
Once more we are presented with a disconnected scene from the life of a character unconnected to what has come before, with two men discussing politics, before a Man in Black approaches one of them. Bannen is informed that, due to his attempt to write an expose about the vice-president's 'unusual' sex-life, his wife and children have suffered horrible deaths.
The homeless woman is confronted by police, who intend to arrest her, though she refuses to raise her hands. She talks to the officers, convincing them to inflict injuries on themselves and each other...
Karen checks the locks on her doors and windows, terrified that the men will return, hoping that the two days until her husband's return pass quickly and without incident. Fed up with the real world, she begins constructing a fantasy in which she in the envy of every woman in the world - a reality in which an old-fashioned brass band plays 'Here Comes the Bride,' and a chorus of applause fills the streets. A reality in which she is to be wed to Rudolph Valentine. A reality which the mysterious men cannot permit to continue.
While, on the surface, proceedings continue to tumble along, plot threads which might have enlivened the series are abruptly and carelessly brought to a close. By the end of the issue Agnes Metcalf (the homeless woman) is dead, while Karen is facing imminent death. Try as I might, the first two issues don't conform to any storytelling structure which allows insight into the surrounding world, the characters' lives, nor any organisation which the Men in Black might be aligned with. The abysmal storytelling heightens awareness of the shortcomings in Dilworth's art, making everything more confusing than necessary.
Without a solid thread to follow through so many unrelated sequences, nor a solid and unfolding sense of inevitability to draw us further into the lives of the characters, there is little to appreciate. Shortcuts in Millar's storytelling badly affect whatever empathy we have with Karen's plight, and we aren't provided enough reason for the continued violence and (seemingly) petty behaviour.
This is one of the most frustrating comics to attempt to summarise. It's impossible to discern a manner in which so much incident can be resolved withing this alleged six-part mini-series, and with only these two issues seeing print, no means of properly foreshadowing the resolution in a way which could feel natural.
Men in Black, using the same shadowy figures of modern folklore, did this better. Even riffing on It's a Good Life from The Twilight Zone, with a crazy homeless lady in the role Anthony Fremont played in the episode, and using striped backgrounds to the art which recalls early-eighties magazine layouts, feels forced and tired. The rise in random supernatural events is unexplored here, with every strange event being the result of willful acts rather than surprising characters.
At no point, for example, do we witness anything close to the visual splendour of the masked dancers.
Added to problems carrying over from the first issue, this is a rather undignified manner with which to abandon the narrative, though it is impossible to imagine this being collected and completed without significant overhaul of plot, art, and lettering.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
2 Credits / Indicia
3 The Shadowmen, part two, Killing Time w: Mark Millar; p: Andrew Hope (pages 1,4,5) & Ben Dilworth (pages 2,3, 6-24), i: Ben Dilworth.
27 The Ultimate Confrontation - Saviour in-house advertisement for trade paperback collection.
Once again the cover references well-known visuals, though this time the subjects are taken from music rather than television - footprints dance across the cover from ska records, the main image recalls photographs in Smash Hits, and the slanted blocks of colours recalls late-80s pop (though I'm almost certain that there's an explicitly referenced album, the title isn't coming to me at the moment). It raises the intriguing prospect that further issues would pay homage to further genres and media, though with only the two published issues to work from such observations are mere speculation.
Once more we are presented with a disconnected scene from the life of a character unconnected to what has come before, with two men discussing politics, before a Man in Black approaches one of them. Bannen is informed that, due to his attempt to write an expose about the vice-president's 'unusual' sex-life, his wife and children have suffered horrible deaths.
The homeless woman is confronted by police, who intend to arrest her, though she refuses to raise her hands. She talks to the officers, convincing them to inflict injuries on themselves and each other...
Karen checks the locks on her doors and windows, terrified that the men will return, hoping that the two days until her husband's return pass quickly and without incident. Fed up with the real world, she begins constructing a fantasy in which she in the envy of every woman in the world - a reality in which an old-fashioned brass band plays 'Here Comes the Bride,' and a chorus of applause fills the streets. A reality in which she is to be wed to Rudolph Valentine. A reality which the mysterious men cannot permit to continue.
While, on the surface, proceedings continue to tumble along, plot threads which might have enlivened the series are abruptly and carelessly brought to a close. By the end of the issue Agnes Metcalf (the homeless woman) is dead, while Karen is facing imminent death. Try as I might, the first two issues don't conform to any storytelling structure which allows insight into the surrounding world, the characters' lives, nor any organisation which the Men in Black might be aligned with. The abysmal storytelling heightens awareness of the shortcomings in Dilworth's art, making everything more confusing than necessary.
Without a solid thread to follow through so many unrelated sequences, nor a solid and unfolding sense of inevitability to draw us further into the lives of the characters, there is little to appreciate. Shortcuts in Millar's storytelling badly affect whatever empathy we have with Karen's plight, and we aren't provided enough reason for the continued violence and (seemingly) petty behaviour.
This is one of the most frustrating comics to attempt to summarise. It's impossible to discern a manner in which so much incident can be resolved withing this alleged six-part mini-series, and with only these two issues seeing print, no means of properly foreshadowing the resolution in a way which could feel natural.
Men in Black, using the same shadowy figures of modern folklore, did this better. Even riffing on It's a Good Life from The Twilight Zone, with a crazy homeless lady in the role Anthony Fremont played in the episode, and using striped backgrounds to the art which recalls early-eighties magazine layouts, feels forced and tired. The rise in random supernatural events is unexplored here, with every strange event being the result of willful acts rather than surprising characters.
At no point, for example, do we witness anything close to the visual splendour of the masked dancers.
Added to problems carrying over from the first issue, this is a rather undignified manner with which to abandon the narrative, though it is impossible to imagine this being collected and completed without significant overhaul of plot, art, and lettering.
#01
#03
Sunday, November 11, 2018
The Shadowmen #1
May 1990. Cover price £1.00.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
The cover is a throwback to sixties television, which might entice people into purchasing the comic for nostalgic reasons. Which is a very risky proposition, given that the issue's contents are not entirely in line with storytelling techniques which are so beloved from such entertainment. It is possible to pick out The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits in its overall design, and the figure recalls Lost in Space's opening credits, with the spiral hinting at The Time Tunnel. Don't be fooled, as this is something entirely different.
Your hint is at the bottom of the cover, in stark white, reading "Suggested for Mature Readers."
Ignore this warning at your peril. The Shadowmen isn't a title which sits easily alongside... anything, really. Willfully obtuse, the story takes much more work to decipher than it really deserves, and should an unwary reader approach it with hopes of encountering a layered, intelligent, and compelling narrative, full of revealing insights, they will be extremely disappointed.
Opening with a man shaving his head in what appears to be a public convenience, replete with graffitti, there's no sense of where this story takes place. The next page shifts location, where Karen (whose home it is) and Joannie are watching an adult video. Karen excuses herself to use the toilet, and on walking through the door finds herself confronted with a group of people who look as if they belong in the seventeenth century, who are dancing while blindfolded. Once more the action shifts, and we get to see a television evangelist deliver a speech on casting out demons.
In the space of seven pages we are introduced to three distinct settings, each raising their own questions as well as encouraging debate on how they are interconnected. There's no indication that answers are going to be forthcoming in the immediate future, so we are free to ponder the meaning of these disparate elements - the most resonant influence seems to be what has come to be known as the Moberly-Jourdain incident, or the Versailles time-skip. It isn't a one-to-one recreation, imbued with a dream-like sensibility thanks to the blindfolds which the dancers wear, but it speaks to the overall story.
We are deep in territory which Fortean Times, Alien Encounters, and other titles (many from the nineties) would cover, mostly in the wake of The X-Files. As such, this is slightly ahead of a pop-cultural phenomena movement. Only not as well written as most exponents of Forteana.
Black-suited gentlemen, wearing hats and dark sunglasses, arrive at Karen's home to warn her about telling the story of her supernatural encounter again, as it is causing a scare. To mae sure that she follows their instructions, she is left with broken bones and teeth. When Joannie arrives unexpectedly, hearing the commotion inside the house, a suited man is forced to shoot her.
An early work, with a number of storytelling problems and artistic missteps, this nevertheless contains a couple of interesting ideas, though so swamped under hesitant scripting and uncertain artwork as to diminish the power of its concepts. The lettering here is poor, making dialogue and text boxes throughout a chore to read, though this is hardly the most pressing concern. Unsubtle is hardly an adequate description, with homophobic and misogynistic elements clear from the start, making the text more problematic than entertaining - entirely unnecessary for dramatic purposes, as is the level of violence.
Suggesting something awful is more powerful than explicitly delineating events.
At the conclusion of the first part we are no closer to identifying the protagonist of the story, nor identifying the primary antagonist. There are three main threats shown, though the underlying danger - an increase in supernatural activity - is given as a root cause of events in the title.
It is difficult to care about these events when they are so casually revealed, one by one, without establishing any real humanity. We don't spend enough time with the people in the story to see them as anything more than chess pieces being moved across the board, playing out their roles in a game which we aren't given the rules to understand. Worse, we are actively discouraged to draw conclusions from prior depictions of similar-looking individuals - the suited men aren't the Men in Black of popular lore, as their violent natures sit at odds with accounts in both fiction and documented events.
28 pages. B&W contents.
Trident Comics
Cover by Daniel Vallely.
Contents:
2 Credits / Indicia
3 The Shadowmen, part one, w: Mark Millar; p: Andrew Hope, i: Ben Dilworth.
27 Saviour in-house advertisement.
The cover is a throwback to sixties television, which might entice people into purchasing the comic for nostalgic reasons. Which is a very risky proposition, given that the issue's contents are not entirely in line with storytelling techniques which are so beloved from such entertainment. It is possible to pick out The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits in its overall design, and the figure recalls Lost in Space's opening credits, with the spiral hinting at The Time Tunnel. Don't be fooled, as this is something entirely different.
Your hint is at the bottom of the cover, in stark white, reading "Suggested for Mature Readers."
Ignore this warning at your peril. The Shadowmen isn't a title which sits easily alongside... anything, really. Willfully obtuse, the story takes much more work to decipher than it really deserves, and should an unwary reader approach it with hopes of encountering a layered, intelligent, and compelling narrative, full of revealing insights, they will be extremely disappointed.
Opening with a man shaving his head in what appears to be a public convenience, replete with graffitti, there's no sense of where this story takes place. The next page shifts location, where Karen (whose home it is) and Joannie are watching an adult video. Karen excuses herself to use the toilet, and on walking through the door finds herself confronted with a group of people who look as if they belong in the seventeenth century, who are dancing while blindfolded. Once more the action shifts, and we get to see a television evangelist deliver a speech on casting out demons.
In the space of seven pages we are introduced to three distinct settings, each raising their own questions as well as encouraging debate on how they are interconnected. There's no indication that answers are going to be forthcoming in the immediate future, so we are free to ponder the meaning of these disparate elements - the most resonant influence seems to be what has come to be known as the Moberly-Jourdain incident, or the Versailles time-skip. It isn't a one-to-one recreation, imbued with a dream-like sensibility thanks to the blindfolds which the dancers wear, but it speaks to the overall story.
We are deep in territory which Fortean Times, Alien Encounters, and other titles (many from the nineties) would cover, mostly in the wake of The X-Files. As such, this is slightly ahead of a pop-cultural phenomena movement. Only not as well written as most exponents of Forteana.
Black-suited gentlemen, wearing hats and dark sunglasses, arrive at Karen's home to warn her about telling the story of her supernatural encounter again, as it is causing a scare. To mae sure that she follows their instructions, she is left with broken bones and teeth. When Joannie arrives unexpectedly, hearing the commotion inside the house, a suited man is forced to shoot her.
It never snowed when I was a girl.A homeless woman, pushing her shopping cart along the street, is accosted by a youth - whom she uses undefined powers upon in order to make his eyeball explode. She then goes to purchase gin, and decides that it is time people listened to her...
It never rained either.
Wasn't even cloudy. The sun used to shine every day, and you could get into movies for a cent.
Standards have dropped.
An early work, with a number of storytelling problems and artistic missteps, this nevertheless contains a couple of interesting ideas, though so swamped under hesitant scripting and uncertain artwork as to diminish the power of its concepts. The lettering here is poor, making dialogue and text boxes throughout a chore to read, though this is hardly the most pressing concern. Unsubtle is hardly an adequate description, with homophobic and misogynistic elements clear from the start, making the text more problematic than entertaining - entirely unnecessary for dramatic purposes, as is the level of violence.
Suggesting something awful is more powerful than explicitly delineating events.
At the conclusion of the first part we are no closer to identifying the protagonist of the story, nor identifying the primary antagonist. There are three main threats shown, though the underlying danger - an increase in supernatural activity - is given as a root cause of events in the title.
It is difficult to care about these events when they are so casually revealed, one by one, without establishing any real humanity. We don't spend enough time with the people in the story to see them as anything more than chess pieces being moved across the board, playing out their roles in a game which we aren't given the rules to understand. Worse, we are actively discouraged to draw conclusions from prior depictions of similar-looking individuals - the suited men aren't the Men in Black of popular lore, as their violent natures sit at odds with accounts in both fiction and documented events.
The Shadowmen
#02
Thursday, November 1, 2018
On This Day: 01 Nov
Doctor Who: It's Bigger on the Inside (Marvel Comics Ltd.; 1988).
The Best of the Oldie Cartoons edited by Alexander Chancellor. (Oldie Publications Ltd.; 2015) ISBN-13: 978-1901170245
The International Book of Comics by Denis Gifford. (Hamlyn; 1984).
Marshal Law: Fear Asylum by Pat Mills & Kevin O'Neill. (Titan Books; 2003).
Judge Dredd: Kingdom of the Blind by David Bishop. (Black Flame; Nov 2004) ISBN-10: 1844161331.
Judge Dredd - War Planet by Dave Stone. (Big Finish Productions; 2003).
Judge Dredd - Pre-Emptive Revenge by Jonathan Clements. (Big Finish Productions; 2004).
Judge Dredd - Grud is Dead by James Swallow. (Big Finish Productions; 2004).
Send for a Superhero! by Michael Rosen. (Walker Books Ltd.; 2014) ISBN-13: 9781406327090.
Births:
J.F. (James Francis) Horrabin (1884); Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (1870); Terence Tenison Cuneo (1907); Graham Coton (1926); Alberto Salinas (1932); Michael Fleisher (1942)
Character Births:
Wilson, the Wonder Athlete (1795)
Notable Events:
Leo Baxendale left IPC – and comics – on discovering his work was being reprinted (without payment) on this day in 1975.
The Revolver Hallowe'en Tour descended on Forbidden Planet, 36 Dawson Street, Dublin, in 1990. Garth Ennis, John McCrea and Will Simpson joined the other creators.
Michael Bennett, editor of the Frontier line of comics, officially left Marvel Comics in 1993.
Mark Millar and John McCrea visited Blue Peter in 2011, where they revealed the first page of a Blue Peter-themed comic strip.
The Daily Mirror included a free promotional copy of The Beano, containing original material, in 2014.
The Leeds Comic Art Festival began in 2016, running until 06 Nov.
The Grandville: Force Majeure exhibition (of Bryan Talbot art) began at Orbital Comics, London, in 2017.
The Best of the Oldie Cartoons edited by Alexander Chancellor. (Oldie Publications Ltd.; 2015) ISBN-13: 978-1901170245
The International Book of Comics by Denis Gifford. (Hamlyn; 1984).
Marshal Law: Fear Asylum by Pat Mills & Kevin O'Neill. (Titan Books; 2003).
Judge Dredd: Kingdom of the Blind by David Bishop. (Black Flame; Nov 2004) ISBN-10: 1844161331.
Judge Dredd - War Planet by Dave Stone. (Big Finish Productions; 2003).
Judge Dredd - Pre-Emptive Revenge by Jonathan Clements. (Big Finish Productions; 2004).
Judge Dredd - Grud is Dead by James Swallow. (Big Finish Productions; 2004).
Send for a Superhero! by Michael Rosen. (Walker Books Ltd.; 2014) ISBN-13: 9781406327090.
Births:
J.F. (James Francis) Horrabin (1884); Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (1870); Terence Tenison Cuneo (1907); Graham Coton (1926); Alberto Salinas (1932); Michael Fleisher (1942)
Character Births:
Wilson, the Wonder Athlete (1795)
Notable Events:
Leo Baxendale left IPC – and comics – on discovering his work was being reprinted (without payment) on this day in 1975.
The Revolver Hallowe'en Tour descended on Forbidden Planet, 36 Dawson Street, Dublin, in 1990. Garth Ennis, John McCrea and Will Simpson joined the other creators.
Michael Bennett, editor of the Frontier line of comics, officially left Marvel Comics in 1993.
Mark Millar and John McCrea visited Blue Peter in 2011, where they revealed the first page of a Blue Peter-themed comic strip.
The Daily Mirror included a free promotional copy of The Beano, containing original material, in 2014.
The Leeds Comic Art Festival began in 2016, running until 06 Nov.
The Grandville: Force Majeure exhibition (of Bryan Talbot art) began at Orbital Comics, London, in 2017.
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