Darwin’s Diaries volume 1-3: The Eye of the Celts, Death of a Beast & Dual Nature


By Eduardo Ocaña & Sylvain Runberg, coloured by Tariq Bellaoui, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-095-5 (v1 Album PB/Digital edition), 978-1-84918-110-5 (v2 Album PB/Digital), 978-1-84918-144-0 (v3 Album PB/Digital)

In the eternal quest to be entertained, humans have always searched far and wide. The capacity and desire to scare ourselves thus employs a vast landscape of genres and locales as well of all time and space. It also tempts us into mixing and mashing history, imagination and fanciful speculation…

Here’s a fabulously fitting idea for fantastic Scientific Romance in the grand manner of Professor Challenger, courtesy of French writer Sylvain Runberg (Conquests; Watchdogs Legion; On Mars; Orbital) and Spanish illustrator Eduardo Ocaña (Messiah Complex, Full Tilt Boogie, Les Bâtisseurs): an enthralling triptych begun in 2010 which – despite slipping off everyone’s radar – has stood the test of time.

In England, Victoria is Queen, and her mighty nation will soon be an empire. It is, however, not at peace, and former explorer and controversial naturalist Charles Darwin is asked by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston to undertake a delicate mission in the North. It is not for his current field of expertise, but rather his early – and now – classified endeavours into the field of crypto-zoology. Not long ago, Darwin had quietly looked into the existence of mythical things: Almases, Sasquatch, Werewolves and other “clawed ones”…

The region he is despatched to is the site of railway construction, but recently the navvies, their horses and even a company of soldiers have been butchered by some beast. Darwin must go there and pacify the populace whilst ruling out any possibility that the culprit is of unknown origins…

The first minister also hints that as well as the lure of fresh knowledge, the savant should also consider that local entrepreneurial grandee Sir Howard Dickinson would be grateful enough to fund any future travels Darwin might be considering…

The scientist readily accepts – but not for the reasons expected – and is soon in York, met by forthright suffragist Suzanne Dickinson and Indian manservant Rajiv. Once ensconced in the Blue Moors hotel (her father’s latest acquisition), Darwin opens his investigation, with the suspiciously curious and hands-on Miss Dickinson always in attendance.

He finds her a superb companion. Highly educated and competent, she has been schooled in medicine and business is and acquainted with prestigious thinkers like John Stuart Mill and emancipators such as Emily Davies and Barbara Leigh Smith

Upon examining the remains of the victims, Darwin stakes his reputation on the premise that a great tiger is loose in the wooded region. Neither his sponsors nor the striking navvies give that theory much credence, and that night, a shepherd and his dog are added to the death register. Locals begin voicing opinions that the culprits must be the weird Welsh cult led by self-professed holy man Cadell Afferson. He says he’s a druid in touch with ancient forces…

Meanwhile, Darwin’s gentlemanly facade seems to slip. When returned to the Blue Moor, he sinks into depravity, getting drunk, fighting with local bullies and availing himself of local harlot Louise Stuart. As he becomes a beast, the one he’s hunting attacks again, butchering soldiers, sabotaging the work site and apparently perishing in a massive explosion.

Suzanne is unable to refrain from commenting on the scientist’s condition when she fetches him next morning, but Darwin doesn’t care after hearing that military martinet Captain Sanders has recovered the creature’s corpse…

Originally published in 2010 as Les carnets de Darwin 1 – L’oeil des celtes, this period drama ripples with suppressed tension as it sets up a classic confrontation between man and monster to delight every thriller fan.

 

The suspense spectacularly escalates in second volume Death of a Beast (La mort d’une bête) as the press gets wind of the news that Mr. Darwin has discovered a creature previously unknown to science. Panic grips York, but rail construction recommences, thanks to the foreman’s unique methods of negotiation. As esteemed researcher and weary soldiers seek more evidence, Druid Cadell stirs the pot, warning that ancient gods will judge their actions…

Darwin believes his job nearly done, but as he dines with the Dickinsons, fresh tragedy sparks more bloodshed. When a little girl is found eviscerated, furious, terrified townsfolk turn on the druids and a brutal riot is only quashed by ruthless military intervention…

Far from that madding crowd, the scientist is amazed at his host’s familiarity with legends of shapeshifting creatures, and even more so by Suzanne’s other passion. She runs educational workshops for townswomen, teaching them to read and count and even honest trades. Her greatest joy is anticipating  the festival she and dowager Virginia Wilson have organised: Yorkshire’s first Feminist Convention…

Eventually Darwin and the soldiers are able to convince the citizens the child’s death is not due to a new beast or the Celts in the forest, but arrogant, affronted Afferson swears to take vengeance. He does possess some secret knowledge, but when he summons what really prowls the moors and forests, his mistaken belief that he is in control costs everyone dearly…

Meanwhile, in York, Darwin again gives in to his own beast and nearly dies due to it, but a horror has been roused to vicious action and whatever he truly is cannot hope to stand against it…

Blending socio-political intrigue with an immensely devious mystery where nothing is as it seems, this episode offers hints of far more at play and at stake than anyone previously suggested. Stay tuned for a big, big finish…

 

Closing chapter Dual Nature – formerly Les carnets de Darwin 3 – Double nature – moves from chilling canter to full galloping charge as fear and frenzy grip town and country, and mutilated bodies pile up. Captain Sanders informs Darwin that the investigation is done, and that Palmerston has decided the terror is the work of enemy agents set on destabilising the nation, and has sent further military personnel to mop up. Prudent and cautious, the PM has also despatched a renowned professional hunter, in case these sinister plotters instigators have indeed unleashed trained animals as part of their plan…

Sadly, effete dandy and aristocratic butcher Sir Rillons – and his entourage of privileged hangers-on – are merely the first to discover that what is actually loose is a pack of monstrous killers faster and stronger than any ever recorded before – and easily as smart as human beings…

In the aftermath of a bloody debacle, the drama reaches a messy crescendo as Darwin is abducted by the beasts and his own secret fully exposed. However, the ultra-macho monsters – distracted by and determined to crush the unnatural women demanding equal rights at their ridiculous convention – have not reckoned on uncanny hidden allies even the biologist himself is unaware that he has and ultimately, fang, claw and unnatural selection determines the outcome…

Murderous madcap mayhem and far from historically robust, this yarn is a crazily delicious feast of gory fun to charm every horror fan: a pure treat to gorge on and digest at your leisure.
© Editions du Lombard (Dargaud-Lombard SA) 2010 by Sylvain Runberg & Eduardo Ocaña. All rights reserved. English translation © 2011, 2012, 2013 Cinebook Ltd.

Semiautomagic volume 1


By Alex De Campi & Jerry Ordway, coloured by Marissa Louise (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN: 978-1-50670-001-4 (TPB) eISBN: 978-1-63008-668-8

In an industry/art form that has become over-reliant on vast interlocking storylines, requiring an encyclopaedic knowledge of a million other yarns and the tacit consent to sign up for another million episodes before reaching any kind of narrative payoff, the occasional short, sharp, intensely stand-alone tale is as welcome and vital as a reliable torch in a haunted house.

Just such a salutary singleton (thus far: there’s plenty of scope for more adventures!) was this solid action-horror outing that first appeared in 2014 in Dark Horse Presents volume 3 #4-9 and #13-17.

A no-nonsense, straightforward battle of earthly mage against ancient uncanny abomination, the series was devised (and lettered) by novelist, film director, columnist and comics creator Alex De Campi (Smoke, Kat & Mouse, Agent Boo, Archie vs Predator, Bad Girls, No Mercy, MADI, Bad Karma) and illustrated by certified comics giant Jerry Ordway (All-Star Squadron, Fantastic Four, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Adventures of Superman, The Power of Shazam!, WildStar, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, The Avengers) and introduces enigmatic-woman-with-a-past Alice Creed.

An untenured professor at New Haven, her classes attract all the cool kids, but she has a bad reputation and appalling attendance record. Her students never know when she will turn up to teach, because she consults on police cases. Not ordinary ones, though: Professor Creed gets a call whenever science and reason go out the window…

Her best friend is teaching assistant Archie Rollins: a constant helpmeet and dutiful substitute for her classes. He’s also her housekeeper and is not local – by at least a dozen dimensions…

This morning, as Archie pacifies another disappointed bunch of teens who wanted to experience the mystic “rock star” sharing the unseen secrets of existence, Creed is far away in Bridgeport, attending another uncategorizable case stumping the cops…

Having established that magic always comes at a cruelly high cost, ‘Semiautomagic: The Bomb That Will Bring Us Together’ follows her as the Prof uncovers a case of possession resembling an old case. This time, a kid’s soul has been sucked into the void, via his computer, and a little blood magic determines he’s only one of thousands to have fallen victim to a demonic computer game…

After a ghostly visitation and a touch of divination, Alice heads for Las Cruces, New Mexico tooled up and wearing her other hat: that of merciless monster killer…

Her flight is far from peaceful or uneventful, but overcoming all eldritch resistance, she’s soon bargaining with the local supernal forces for permission to work in their territory, discovering her current quarry has been poaching on their turf with no care regarding the rules and laws governing the magical world.

Creed is cautious and polite, but determined. She knows her place and mission in the ancient hierarchy and considers the huge number of people she couldn’t save as her greatest burden. Here, that attitude leads her an abandoned atomic test town and army of reanimated plastic dummies where she discovers all the magically-abducted games-playing kids just as the vile entity seeking access to Earth orchestrates one last nuclear detonation…

Surviving thermonuclear destruction thanks to her arcane gifts, Creed is then betrayed by one she trusted and forced to confront the extra-dimensional Traveller manipulating the awful events. The invader is exultantly triumphant… until Creed forcefully and fatally reminds it of the Hierarchy already established on this world and the next…

Her mass exorcism also sends most of the abducted souls back to their bodies at a terrible cost, but in the excitement and stress of the ritual, Alice misses something…

A year later – or ten days in-continuity – ‘Semiautomagic: Throne of Blood’ takes up the tale as the drained monster hunter returns to academia, blithely unaware that her oversight has come looking for her and is now attending her classes…

By the time she notices, the sweet and sexy “transfer student” Mark Van Scuyer has charmed his way into the lives of Creed’s class, but her own rules and spectral “Board of Advisors” won’t let her kill him. She has to writhe and burn in frustration until he does something to contravene the laws. She doesn’t have long to wait…

When the beast begins his predations by arcanely assaulting favourite student Chloe and feeding on her pain, the act unleashes a wave of staggering horror and rapacious evil as Mark gathers strength from attacks on the populace. When he targets the misery of the local hospital, Creed knows what she must do and will not be stopped…

Old-fashioned duels between Good and Evil featuring a kick-ass protagonist with almost as much emotional baggage as arcane weaponry, this is a superb done-in-one magical monstery tour to delight old time horror buffs seeking something a little bit new in the grand old manner. The saga is supplemented by ‘Semiautomagic: Behind the Scenes’ sharing Ordway’s roughs, pencil art, cover sketches and more, before tantalising glimpses of De Campi’s Grindhouse comics close the curtain on this fear fest.

Semiautomagic is a perfect B-Movie horror comic: stark, inventive, rollercoaster-paced and rendered with exhilarating bravura. This thundering, down-and-dirty fable grips like a vice and hits like a hammer, and in Professor Alice Creed comics have another weird warrior to join the ranks of Doctors Fate, Strange, Voodoo, Doom, Drew, Mirage and all the rest.
© 2014, 2015, 2016 Alex de Campi and Jerry Ordway. All rights reserved.

Showcase Presents The Witching Hour


By Alex Toth, Bob Haney, George Kashdan, Ed Herron, Jack Miller, Carl Wessler, Dennis O’Neil, Steve Skeates, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Jack Oleck, Mike Friedrich, Alan Riefe, Dave Kaler, Phil Seuling, Jack Phillips, Murray Boltinoff, Sergio Aragonés, Nick Cardy, Carmine Infantino, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska, Wally Wood, Dick Giordano, Joe Orlando, Bob Brown, Gray Morrow, Murphy Anderson, Pat Boyette, Bill Draut, Howard Sherman, Howard Post, Jerry Grandenetti, John Celardo, Art Saaf, Jack Sparling, Michael Wm. Kaluta, José Delbo, Lee Elias, Sid Greene, Jeff Jones, Tony DeZuñiga, Bernie Wrightson, Jim Aparo, John Calnan & many & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3022-7 (TPB)

American comic books struggled until the creation of superheroes unleashed a torrent of creative imitation and invented a new genre. Implacably vested in World War II, the Overman swept all before him (and the far too occasional her) until the troops came home and more traditional genres supplanted the Fights ‘n’ Tights crowd.

Although kids (of all ages) kept buying, much of the previous generation also retained a four-colour habit, but increasingly sought more mature themes in the reading matter. The war years altered the psychology of the world, and as a more world-weary, cynical public came to see that all the fighting and dying hadn’t really changed anything, their chosen forms of entertainment (film and prose as well as comics) reflected this.

As well as Western, War and Crime comics, escapist comedy and anthropomorphic animal features were immediately resurgent, but gradually another periodic revival of spiritualism and interest in the supernatural led to a wave of increasingly impressive, evocative and even shocking horror comics.

There had been a sector of supernatural stars before; even a pantheon of ghosts, monsters and wizards draped in mystery-man garb and trappings: The Spectre, Dr. Fate, The Heap, The Heap, Mr. Justice, Sgt. Spook, Frankenstein and dozens of others). However, these had been individualistic victims of circumstance, with the vague force of “The Unknown” acting as a power source for super-heroics. Now the focus shifted to ordinary mortals thrown into a world beyond human ken or control with the intention of unsettling, not vicariously empowering the reader.

Almost every publisher jumped on an increasingly popular bandwagon, with B & I (which became the magical one-man-band Richard E. Hughes’ American Comics Group) launching the first regularly published horror comic in the Autumn of 1948 – although Adventures Into the Unknown was technically pipped by Avon, who had released an impressive single issue entitled Eerie in January 1947 before launching a regular series in 1951.

By this time Classics Illustrated had already long-milked the literary end of the medium with adaptations of The Headless Horseman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (both 1943), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1944) and Frankenstein (1945) among others.

If we’re keeping score this was also the period in which Joe Simon & Jack Kirby identified another “mature market” gap and invented the Romance comic (via Young Romance #1, cover-dated September 1947). They too saw the sales potential of spooky stories, resulting in the seminal Black Magic (1950) and boldly obscure psychological drama anthology Strange World of Your Dreams (1952).

National Periodicals/DC Comics also bowed to the inevitable, and in 1951 launched a comparatively straight-laced anthology that nevertheless became one of their longest-running and most influential titles – The House of Mystery. When the hysterical censorship scandal which led to witch-hunting hearings was curtailed by the industry adopting a castrating straitjacket of self-regulatory rules, HoM and sister title House of Secrets were dialled back into rationalistic, fantasy adventure vehicles, which nevertheless dominated the market. This was the status quo until the 1960s when superheroes (which had started to creep back after Julius Schwartz began the Silver Age of comics by reintroducing The Flash in Showcase #4, 1956) finally overtook them.

Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom and an avalanche of other costumed characters became a gaudy global bubble of masked madness which forced even dedicated anthology suspense titles to transform into super-character split-books.

However, nothing combats censorship better than falling profits and Silver Age superhero boom stalled and crashed as the 1960s ended, leading to surviving comics publishers agreeing to loosen their self-imposed restraints against crime and horror comics. Nobody much cared about gangster titles at that time, but since the liberalisation coincided with another bump in global interest in the supernatural, a resurrection of scary stories was a foregone conclusion…

Even ultra-wholesome Archie Comics re-entered the field with their rather tasty line of Red Circle Thrillers

With Tales of the Unexpected #105 and House of Mystery #174, National/DC switched back to anthology horror material, before creating an all-new title to further exploit our morbid fascination with all thingies fearsome and spooky (even resurrecting the cancelled House of Secrets in late 1969) for those heady days when it was okay – and profitable – to scare the heck out of little kids by making them laugh.

Edited until #14 by Dick Giordano, The Witching Hour first struck with a February/March 1969 cover-date (actually on-sale from December 19th 1968) and from the outset was an extremely experimental and intriguing beast. This amazingly economical Showcase Presents collection reprints the first 19 issues, covering the first three years as a fear fad grew to become the backbone of DC’s sales. It is perhaps the most talent-stuffed title of that entire period…

In this graphic grimoire, the cool and creepy horror-hosts who traditionally introduce the entertainment are three witches. Based as much on Macbeth as the ancient concept of Maiden, Mother & Crone, this torrid trio constantly strove to outdo and out-gross each other in the telling of terror tales. Moreover, Cynthia, Mildred and Mordred – as well as shy monster man-servant Egor – were designed by and initially delineated by master illustrator Alex Toth, making framing sequences between yarns as good as and sometimes better than the stories they brazenly bracketed.

One minor quibble: records from the period are not complete and occasionally a creator is unknown, but this volume also sadly misattributes the artist too. I’ve attempted to correct the mistakes when I’m certain, but please be warned and beware – I’m not always right either…

Following a stunning Nick Cardy cover, Toth started the ball rolling by introducing the sinister sisters and their ongoing contest before Dennis O’Neil & Pat Boyette relate the story of a time-travelling tap-dancer in ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’.

Toth wrote and limned a compelling period piece of peril in ‘Eternal Hour!’ and Jack Sparling related the eerie fate of wave-obsessed Stanley’s search for ‘The Perfect Surf’.

Toth’s scary sisters closed out the premier issue (with, I suspect, additional inks from Neal Adams), but still found room for ‘Silk Gauze’, an informational page by persons unknown which first appeared in Tales of the Unexpected.

Although attributed to Toth, #2’s introductory episode is by his old Standard Comics stable-mate Mike Sekowsky (inked by Giordano), leading into Sparling/s dream-chiller ‘Scream!’, after which José Delbo delineates a shocking period tale of slavery and vengeance ‘The Trip of Fools!’ before Sid Greene’s ghost story ‘The Beat Goes On!’ and Sparling’s ‘Once Upon a Surprise Ending!’ end an issue regrettably short on writer credits.

Following another Sekowsky/Giordano intro, Toth & Vince Colletta illustrate Don Arneson’s medieval mood masterpiece ‘The Turn of the Wheel!’ whilst Alan Riefe & Sparling tell a decidedly different ghost-story in ‘The Death Watch’, after which Steve Skeates & Bernie Wrightson debut a decidedly alterative fantasy hero in ‘…And in a Far-Off Land!’, followed by the first of a series of short prose vignettes: anonymous fright-comedy ‘Potion of Love’.

Toth illustrates the sisters’ ‘Witching Hour Welcome Wagon’ (a useful identifying rule of thumb for the uninitiated is that the master usually signed his work – and was allowed to…) after which new kid Gerard Conway scripted spectral saga ‘A Matter of Conscience’ for art veterans Sparling & George Roussos. Anonymous prose piece ‘If You Have Ghosts’ precedes smashing yarn entitled ‘Disaster in a Jar’ (Riefe & Boyette) before Conway scripts period witchfinder thriller ‘A Fistful of Fire’ for Delbo – a vastly underrated artist who was on the best form of his career at this time.

Toth’s Weird Sisters close out that issue and eerily, hilariously open #5 before Wrightson lavishly embellishes a nifty but uncredited (as is every script in this one) nautical nightmare ‘The Sole Survivor!’, followed by text-teaser ‘The Non-Believer! and Boyette’s stunning, clownish creep-feature ‘A Guy Can Die Laughing!’

Stanley Pitt & Giordano’s dating dilemma ‘The Computer Game’ was one of the first to explore that now-hoary plot and, after Toth signs off the witches, there’s an added single-page black-comedy bonus from Sid Greene in ‘My! How You’ve Grown!’

Sekowsky & Giordano limned Dave Kaler’s take on the sisters’ intro for The Witching Hour #6, after which a far darker horror debuts as ‘A Face in the Crowd!’ (Conway, Mike Roy & Mike Peppe), wherein Nazi war-criminal and concentration camp survivor meet in an American street; Marv Wolfman & Delbo described a tale of neighbourly intolerance in ‘The Doll Man!’ and ‘Treasure Hunt’ by Skeates, John Celardo & Giordano show why greed isn’t always good. Also included were Conway’s prose tale ‘Train to Doom’, ‘Mad Menace’ – a half-page gag strip by John Costanza, and ‘Distortion!’; another Greene-limned one-pager.

Toth & Mike Friedrich were on spectacular form for #7’s intro and bridging sequences, whilst Bill Draut was compulsively effective in prison manhunt saga ‘The Big Break!’, with scripter Skeates also writing modern-art murder-mystery ‘The Captive!’ for Roussos. Friedrich & Jack Abel then advise a most individual baby to ‘Look Homeward, Angelo!’, Whilst text piece ‘Who Believes Ouija?’ and Jack Miller & Michael Wm. Kaluta’s Gothically delicious ‘Trick or Treat’ round out the sinister sights in this issue.

Sergio Aragonés & Neal Adams provide the witch-bits for #8, bracketing their satanically sardonic ‘Above and Beyond the Call of Duty!’, as well as ‘Three Day Free Home Trial!’ (Aragonés & Cardy) and staggeringly inventive ‘ComputERR’ by that man again and Toth.

‘The Career Man’ is a witty but anonymous prose piece and the issue closes with a Twice Told Tale by Ron Whyte & Sparling, as an urban myth is exposed at ‘The Sign of the Hook!’

Toth & Draut began #9, after which Bob Brown & Murphy Anderson illustrate ghostly tale ‘The Long Road Home!’ and, after text story ‘The Dark Well’ peripatetic, post-apocalyptic, ironic occasional series ‘The Day after Doomsday’ (Len Wein & Sparling) makes a welcome appearance.

Delbo delightfully delineated a terrifying tale of Old China in ‘The Last Straw’ and, after George Tuska takes over the Weird Sisters link-segments, a doomsday debacle closes the dramas with a ‘Trumpet Perilous!’ as drawn by Sparling & Abel.

The witches opening issue #10 are once more by Toth & Draut, promptly followed by a magnificent illustration job by Gray Morrow on regrettably uncredited ‘A Warp in Time …Loses Everything!’ after which the all-word ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’ precedes Conway & Toth’s superb forbidden romance ‘Hold Softly, Hand of Death!’. Tuska handles the Sisters before Sparling’s faux-fact page ‘Realm of the Mystics’ ends this excursion into outer darkness.

Toth drew the intro and Jack Oleck’s The Mark of the Witch’ (inked by Draut) in #11, whilst – following text-tale ‘Retired Undefeated!’ – Tuska inspirationally illustrates creepy chronal conundrum ‘The Sands of Time, the Snows of Death!’

TWH #12 was similarly blessed as, after a sinisterly sexy Skeates/Toth intro, the devilish duo then describe an horrific ‘Double Edge’ battle between witch-queens and valiant mortals, followed by a Machiavellian actor’s ‘Double Take’ (Skeates & Tuska) and a demonic duel and ‘Double Cross!’ by Skeates & Gil Kane. The ever-anonymous prose piece is mordantly merry ‘The Dead Can’t Talk But…’

Giordano’s last issue as editor was #13, opening in grand style as fellow comic book hosts Cain, Abel and the Mad Mod Witch (from Houses of Mystery and Secrets and The Unexpected, dis-respectively) attend ‘New Year’s Eve at the Witching Hour’ (illustrated by Adams), followed by a marvellously experimental psycho-thriller by Alan Gold & Gray Morrow entitled ‘The Maze’; a far more traditional but no less scary story ‘The Accursed Clay!’ (Miller, Sparling & Frank Giacoia) and just plain strange tale of ‘The Rush-Hour Ride of Abner Pringle!’ by Wein & Delbo.

As an added treat the text token is ‘The Witching Hour Mistree’ by that shy but not retiring rogue Egor and what looks like Sal Amendola…

When veteran editor Murray Boltinoff assumed the reins with #14 (April-May 1971), an element of experimentalism was surrendered but more conventional material was no less welcomed by the horror-hungry readership: more proof, if any were needed, that artistic endeavour and envelope-pushing aren’t to everybody’s taste. Tuska replaced Toth as regular illustrator of introductory and bridging sections, but otherwise most fright-seeking kids could hardly tell the difference.

The all-science fiction issue opens with a beautiful yet oddly-stilted yarn from Conway & Jeff/Catherine Jones exploring the solitary burdens of ‘Fourteen Months’ in deep space, and ‘Which Witch is Which?’ (Kaler and Stanley & Reg Pitt) depicts the comeuppance of an intergalactic Lothario.

As “Al Case”, editor Boltinoff provides text feature ‘Dead Letter Office’ before the issue ends on a classic visual high with ‘The Haunted House in Space!’ illustrated by dream team Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.

After the usual grisly graphic girl-talk, #15 starts with a murder masterpiece from George Kashdan & Wally Wood, revealing ‘Freddy is Another Name For Fear!’, after which Al Case scripts ‘End of a World’ before Phil Seuling & Gray Morrow steal the show with fearsome fable ‘Bayou Witch’ and Case & Art Saaf ring down the curtain with ‘I Married a Witch!’

Issue #16 saw TWH expand from 32 to 52 pages – as did all DC titles for the next few years – opening doors to a superb period of new material and the best of DCs prodigious archives to an appreciative, impressionable audience. The magic began after Tuska’s punchy prelude with cautionary ‘Never Kill a Witch!’ by Carl Wessler, John Calnan & Bernie Case, after which Boltinoff (as Bill Dennehy) provides a slick, edgy reinterpretation of a classic fairy tale for Morrow to lavishly limn in ‘The Spell of Sinner Ella!’, before switching back to his Case persona for the Tony DeZuñiga illustrated duelling drama ‘You Can’t Hide From Death’.

Classic reprints began with ‘The Wondrous Witch’s Cauldron’ (drawn by Lee Elias from House of Secrets #58), followed by Joe Orlando illustrated, Charles King scripted text piece ‘Last Meal’ and Howie Post & Draut’s ghoulish period parable ‘The Curse of the Cat’: both originally seen in House of Mystery #177.

Kashdan & Heck opened #17 with a modern magic myth ‘This Little Witch Went to College’, after which a classic 1950’s fear-feature from Sensation Mystery Comics #109 saw Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella devastatingly depict the ‘Fingers of Fear!’ whilst – from House of Secrets #46 – Howard Sherman delineated ‘The Second Life of Simon Steele’. Dennehy, Calnan & Colletta provided new yarn with an old moral ‘The Corpse Who Carried Cash!’ before Wessler & mood-master Jerry Grandenetti fantastically finished the fear-fest with ‘The Man in the Cellar’.

The same team opened #18 with ‘The Worm that Turned to Terror’, a schizophrenic slice of domestic hell followed by ‘The Diggers!’: a nasty, vengeful yarn from Bobs Haney & Brown with Giacoia inks, encompassing half a century of French war and regret.

Tales of the Unexpected #13 was the original source of both the Ed Herron/Jack Kirby conundrum ‘The Face Behind the Mask’ and the Herron/Cardy creepy-crime caper ‘I Was a Prisoner of the Supernatural’, after which modernity resumes with Jim Aparo’s ‘Hypnotic Eye’ and Kashdan, Calnan & Colletta’s cautionary tale ‘When Satan Comes Calling!’

The final issue in this superbly spooky compendium is The Witching Hour #19 which – after the customary Tuska drawn kaffeeklatsch with Mordred, Mildred and Cynthia – commences in a stylish, sparkling Jack Phillips & Grandenetti chiller ‘Tomb for the Winning!’, followed by ‘The Four Threads of Doom’ (by anonymous & Cardy, from Tales of the Unexpected #12) after which another anonymous & Tuska provide fresh new thriller ‘Stop Beating, Heart! You’re Killing Me!’.

One final Cardy reprint – ‘The Lamp That Changed People!’ (House of Mystery #20) – follows before this glorious volume of witchy wonderment concludes with Kashdan/Elias shocker ‘What Evil Haunts This House?’

These terror-tales captivated reading public and critics alike when they first appeared, and it’s indisputable that the supernatural sector saved DC during one of the toughest downturns in comics publishing history. Now their blend of garish mordant mirth, classic horror scenarios and suspense set-pieces are most familiarly seen in shows like Goosebumps, Stranger Things and many, many others.

This volume – like so many others – is unavailable digitally, and hard to find in print, but with a growing taste for horror stories manifesting in comics again, perhaps it won’t be long before we can shiver and giggle to classic chillers once more. If you crave beautifully realised, tastefully gore-free sagas of tension and imagination, not to mention a huge supply of bad-taste, kid-friendly cartoon comedy chaos, stay up past The Witching Hour as long and as often as you possibly can…
© 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2011 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Monsters! and Other Stories


By Gustavo Duarte (Dark Horse)
ISBN: 978-1-61655-309-8 (PB) eISBN: 978-1-62115-886-8

In comics, Less Is More.

You start with pictures. They should be clearly understood. Deathless prose so often just gets in the way…

This stunning breakthrough compilation from Brazilian graphic raconteur Gustavo (Bizarro; Guardians of the Galaxy; Dear Justice League) Duarte’s earliest works is a sublime masterclass in cartoon comedy: a trio of engrossing mini-epics each hallmarked by breakneck pace, captivating atmosphere and escalating conceptual insanity, all delivered via inspired sight-gags and superb drawing.

Following an effusive Introduction extolling the virtues of pantomimic comics and the sheer wonder of silent comedy from indisputable arch-maestro Sergio Aragonés, a twisted triptych of hilarious terror tales opens with ‘Có!’ (2009).

Here is a sardonically sinister saga of alien abductions, pig husbandry and commercial chicken-rearing practises, tinged with bizarre transformations, existential confrontations and the unmitigated horror of incomprehensible extraterrestrial agendas…

Anthropomorphically unfolding next, ‘Birds’ (2011) pecks at the cutthroat business world. One ordinary day a sinister murder mystery ensues, with two avian office workers having the worst day of their lives. A tense situation swiftly degenerates into a surreal bloodbath where only Death holds true dominion…

Concluding this soundless extravaganza is bombastic battle bout ‘Monsters!’ from 2012. This is a manic celebration of Kaiju (that’s city-stomping, rampaging giant beasties to old folk like you and me) as a jaded recreational angler reels in a big catch before becoming one as a colossal lizard wades ashore to tear up the town and literally sample the night life. As the creature inevitably attracts gargantuan rivals ashore for a showdown and the human populace panic, an elderly gentleman patiently gathers ingredients for a very ancient and special potion. He’s seen this all before and has the perfect solution…

This manic, mostly monochrome tome is the acme of artistic thrills and chills, perfectly capturing the addictive wonderment of monster stories and crafted by a master of fun and thrills.

Less is More. Silence is Golden. Get this Book.
© 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 Gustavo Duarte Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Lighthouse


By Paco Roca, translated by Jeff Whitman (NBM)
ISBN: 978-1-68112-056-0 (HB/Digital edition)

Francisco Martínez Roca was born in Valencia in 1969: a time when Franco’s fascist regime still controlled every aspect of Spanish life. Roca was part of an artistic explosion that benefited from the dictator’s death and a return to liberalising democracy, with his earliest efforts appearing in La Cupula in 1994.

As Paco Roca, he contributed (with Rafa Fonteriz) erotic strips featuring Peter Pan and Aladdin to Kiss Comics and – with Juan Miguel Aguilera – devised experimental 3D series ‘Road Cartoons’ for El Vibora.

Roca’s earliest serious works dealt with aspects of Spanish culture and history: El Juego Lúgubre in 2001 (his fictional yarn about Salvador Dali) and 2004’s Spanish Civil War tale El Faro. These were followed by internationally acclaimed works Hijos de la Alhambra and 2007’s multi-award winning Wrinkles – adapted into equally celebrated and critically-rewarded animated movie Arrugas.

More wonderful stuff you’ll want to see includes Las Callas de Arena (Streets of Sand) and semi-autobiographical Sunday newspaper strip Memorias de un hombre en pyjama from Las Provincias and El invierno del dibujante, about comic creators working for the Bruguera magazine Tio Vivo in the 1950s.

When not astonishing folk with his mastery of graphic narrative and grasp of human nature, Roca makes animated films and hosts his own radio show in Valencia.

After the success of Wrinkles it was only a matter of time before his other works started being translated into English, so bravo to NBM for picking up this sublime, elegiacally esoteric little gem…

The Lighthouse is a digest-sized (234 x 157 mm) duotone hardback – or eBook if you’re digitally inclined – celebrating the solace of imagination, which recaptures the hope of liberation in a beguiling black, blue and white wave of perfectly sculpted images.

Spain: as the Civil War staggers to its end, wounded Francisco flees for his life. The victorious fascistas are gathering up the defeated foe and this wounded youngster has no intention of being interned… or worse. After a bloody and eventful flight, he makes it to the coast and, after passing out, finds himself bandaged and rested in someone’s bed. He is in a lighthouse, crammed with fascinating remnants and artefacts…

After some cautious poking about, Francisco finally finds a garrulous old lighthouse keeper on the beach, joyously hauling ashore flotsam, jetsam and assorted treasures torn from unfortunate vessels during the last storm.

Telmo is a jolly giant, constantly quoting from his favourite books about the sea, although Francisco – a soldier since he was sixteen – barely understands what the old man is talking about…

The elder’s good humour is infectious and gradually infects even battle-scarred Francisco. Soon the boy-soldier is helping the incessantly cheerful senior maintain the great lamp and sharing his only anxiety, about when – if ever – the light will shine again. The government have been promising a new bulb for years and Telmo is convinced now peace reigns again, that moment will be any day now…

To pass the days, the old man combs the beaches for useful finds and tends to his special project: building a fabulous boat to carry him across the waters to the impossibly wonderful island of Laputa

Gradually, sullen Francisco – perpetually bombarded by the lighthouse keeper’s wondrous stories – loosens up and starts sharing Telmo’s self-appointed tasks and dreams, but that all ends when the boy finds a letter and accidentally uncovers a web of lies…

However, just when the idyllic relationship seems destined to founder on the rocks of tawdry truth, the tirelessly-searching soldiers arrive and a tragic sacrifice in service of those endangered once-shared dreams is required…

A potently powerful tale delivered with deceptive gentleness and beguiling grace, The Lighthouse is both poignantly moving and rapturously uplifting and is supplemented here by a lengthy prose postscript.

Roca’s ‘The Eternal Rewrite’ – packed with illustrations, model sheets, production art and sketches – reveals how the author is afflicted with Post-Release Meddling Syndrome, constantly editing, amending and reworking bits of his many publications, each time a new or fresh foreign edition is announced.

This short, sweet story about stories and imagination is a true delight and a perfect introduction for anyone still resistant to the idea of comics narrative as meaningful art form… or just read it yourself for the sheer wonder of it.
© 2004, 2009 Paco Roca. © 2014 Astiberri for the present edition. © 2017 NBM for the English translation.

SAM volume 1: After Man


By Richard Marazano & Shang Xiao, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-218-8 (Album PB)

Wow. People really love stories about robots. Well then, here’s another you might want to peruse…

Robots are a beloved theme of fiction, and many stories seem to work on the dichotomy of their innately innocent yet potentially deadly double nature. With elements of Terminator and A Boy and His Dog, here’s one that’s a cut above from French polymath (artist, critic, historian, astrophysicist, politician, and comics author) Richard Marazano (The Chimpanzee Complex; Cuervos; Zarathustra and much more) and Chinese artist, illustrator and animator Shang Xiao (Midsummer Park).

Told in four volumes, Après l’Homme details a heady tale of trust and survival between apparent natural enemies…

It’s just been the End of the World as We Know It, and in the scattered, shattered rubble of our technological advancements gangs of desperate kids forage for food, vitamins and ordnance to help them fend off the robots that have all but eradicated biological life.

Terse flashbacks reveal the armed rebellion of the mechanised realm and how the mostly subterranean youngsters scavenge and scrounge, with roaming mechs hunting them day and night. Tensions are high and emotions fraught, so if someone is a little bit different, negligent or disobedient – like dreamer Ian – it’s a problem for everybody…

Ella looks out for him as much as possible but Ian is destined for doom unless he shapes up…

Sadly, he instead takes a step in the other direction after one dusk raid to the surface sees him instants from annihilation when cornered by a towering killer robot.

Thankfully Russ disables it with his bazooka, but just for a moment there, Ian was sure he had experienced an emotional connection with the droid. It was like it chose not to kill him…

Increasingly obsessed, Ian cannot let the notion go and eventually breaks security to sneak out and examine the remains. They will be easy to find, with the letters SAM boldly painted on the carapace…

When he comes back, it’s all Ella can do to stop the others killing him. Ultimately, though, tempers subside, but Ian has not learned his lesson. After sharing his earliest memories of his father, fleeing and the lucky escape that saved him, the troubled boy seems to buckle down to the basics of survival, but he’s still gripped by crazy notions, like abandoning their tunnels and heading out to the fabled suburbs…

With defiance growing and rebellion brewing, the kids head out on another daylight hunt, but again Ian goes looking for “his” robot. When Ella catches him and starts yelling, they are both targeted by a roving mech, but inexplicably saved by another killer machine: “SAM”!

The victorious monster is badly damaged and as Ella watches in horror, Ian starts repairing it…

When the others find them, more arguing results in Ian getting a deadline: if he can’t make SAM fully operable in two days, he must let them destroy it. The frantic boy stives for the entire time and succeeds, only to pass out at the end. When he wakes and races to the site, the robot has vanished. Bereft and furious, Ian allows Ella to drag him away, but both are unaware that coldly-calculating optic systems are watching them from hiding…

Beguiling and powerfully engaging, this vivid take on an old plot is surprisingly compelling and promises a big payoff in volumes to come.
© Dargaud Paris 2011 by Marazano & Shang. All rights reserved. English translation © 2014 Cinebook Ltd.

Kevin Keller: Drive Me Crazy


By Dan Parent, Bill Galvan, Rich Koslowski & various (Archie Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-936975-58-7 (TPB)

Following the debut of Superman, MLJ were merely one of many publishers to jump on the mystery-man bandwagon, generating their own small but inspired pantheon of gaudily-clad crusaders.

In November 1939 they launched Blue Ribbon Comics, and swiftly followed up with Top-Notch and Pep Comics. The content was the era’s standard mix of masked champions, clean-cut, two-fisted adventurers, genre prose pieces and gags.

Not long after, Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater (hence MLJ) spotted a gap in the blossoming yet crowded market. In December 1941 the Fights ‘n’ Tights, heaving he-man crowd were gently nudged aside by a far less imposing hero; an ordinary teenager having everyday adventures just like the readership, laden with companionable laughs, good times and budding romance.

Goldwater developed the youthful everyman protagonist concept, tasking writer Vic Bloom & artist Bob Montana with making it all work. Inspired by and referencing the successful Andy Hardy movies (starring Mickey Rooney), their new notion premiered in Pep Comics #22. The unlikely star was a gap-toothed, freckle-faced, red-headed kid desperate to impress the pretty blonde girl next door.

A 6-page untitled tale introduced hapless boob Archie Andrews and wholesomely fetching Betty Cooper. The boy’s wry, unconventional best friend and confidante Jughead Jones also debuted in that vignette, as did idyllic small-town utopia Riverdale. The piece was a huge hit with readers and by the winter of 1942 the kid had won his own series and latterly a solo-starring title.

Archie Comics #1 was MLJ’s first non-anthology magazine and with it began an inexorable transformation of the company. With the debut of ultra-rich, raven-haired Veronica Lodge, all the pieces were in play for the industry’s second Genuine Phenomenon…

By 1946, the kids were in charge and MLJ officially reinvented itself as Archie Comics, retiring the majority of its costumed characters years before the end of the Golden Age to become, to all intents and purposes, a publisher of family-friendly comedies.

The hometown settings and perpetually fruitful premise of an Eternal Romantic Triangle – with girl-hating Jughead to assist or deter and scurrilous love-rat rival Reggie Mantle to test, duel and vex our boy in their own unique ways – the scenario was one that not only resonated with fans, but was somehow infinitely fresh and engaging…

Like Superman, Archie’s success forced a change in content at every other US publisher (except Gilberton’s dryly po-faced Classics Illustrated), creating a culture-shifting multi-media brand encompassing TV, movies, newspaper strips, toys and merchandise, a chain of restaurants and – in the swinging sixties – a pop music sensation when Sugar, Sugar (taken from the animated TV cartoon) became a global summer smash hit. Clean and decent garage band “The Archies” has been a fixture of the comics ever since just waiting for the comeback hit…

The perennial eternal triangle has generated thousands of charming, raucous, gentle, thrilling, chiding and even heart-rending humorous dramas expressing everything from surreal wit to frantic, frenetic slapstick, with the kids and a constantly expanding cast of friends (boy genius Dilton Doily; genial giant jock Big Moose and occasional guest Sabrina the Teenage Witch amongst so many others): growing into a national institution and part of America’s cultural landscape.

The feature thrives by constantly refreshing its core archetypes; boldly, seamlessly adapting to a changing world outside its bright and cheerful pages, shamelessly co-opting youth, pop culture, fashion trends and even topical events into its infallible mix of comedy and young romance. Each and every social revolution has been painlessly assimilated into the mix and over the decades the company has confronted most social issues affecting youngsters in a manner both even-handed and tasteful.

Constant addition of new characters such as African-American Chuck Clayton and his girlfriend Nancy Woods, fashion-diva Ginger Lopez, Hispanic couple Frankie Valdez and Maria Rodriguez, student film-maker Raj Patel and spoiled home-wrecker-in-waiting Cheryl Blossom all contributed to a wide, refreshingly diverse and broad-minded scenario.

In 2010 Archie jumped the final hurdle – for decades a seemingly insurmountable one for kids comicbooks – when openly gay student Kevin Keller joined the gang: becoming an admirable advocate capably tackling and dismantling the last major taboo in mainstream comics.

Created by writer/artist Dan Parent and inker Rich Koslowski, Kevin Keller debuted in Veronica #202 (September 2010), a charming, good-looking and exceedingly-together young man who utterly bowled over the rich go-getter. Ronnie was totally smitten with him, but Kevin was far more interested in food, sports and hanging out with Jughead…

When he finally explained to Veronica why she was wasting her time, she became Keller’s best buddy as they had so much in common – stylish clothes, shopping and cute guys…

Immensely popular from the outset (Veronica #202 was the first comic book in the company’s long history to go into a second printing), Kevin struck a chord with the readership. Soon, frequent guest shots evolved into a miniseries before the new kid on the block inevitably won his own ongoing title.

Trade paperback & digital compilation Kevin Keller: Drive Me Crazy collects issues #5-8 of his groundbreaking solo title and opens with an effusive Introduction from actor, author and rights activist George Takei, in anticipation of his walk-on part in the opening chapter here.

Sacrificing chronological order for star attraction, ‘By George!’ comes from Kevin Keller #6 (January 2013) wherein a class project about inspirational heroes leads to the kids invading a local comic convention headlined by the Star Trek star, after which Mr. Takei surprises all concerned by returning the favour at Riverdale High. If only Kevin wasn’t so distracted by the return of old flame Brian and the promise of new romance…

Eponymous tale ‘Drive Me Crazy!’ (Kevin Keller #5 December 2012) then targets the next milestone in a young man’s life as the affable pedestrian finally gains independence with the arrival of his first car. It is, in fact, an old jeep belonging to his dad (a retired army colonel) and the fun really hits high gear after Moose and Dilton offer to spruce it up and make it roadworthy in their own inimitable manner… just in time to play havoc with Kevin’s date with old pal Todd.

Back on track for #7 (March, 2013), ‘Decisions, decisions!’ finds Kevin dating aggressive bad boy Devon: a student determined to keep his status as a macho hetero male. Patience, love and understanding only go so far though, and when Kevin convinces Devon to finally come out, the misunderstood lout faces repercussions from his family and friends that Kevin never anticipated…

Piling on the pressure, an old secret admirer who remained anonymous chooses this moment to identify himself to the ever-popular Mr. Keller…

Everything boils over in concluding episode ‘Play by the Rules!’ (Kevin Keller #8, June 2013) when Veronica cons Kevin into starring in her self-penned stage drama Teenagers: The Musical! His proximity to former secret admirer Pauldrives Devon to jealousy and stalking, but thankfully in the unavoidable denouement, the only real casualty is Ronnie’s atrocity of a show…

Following the compelling comics is an ‘Official Kevin Keller Bonus Features’ section offering ‘Kevin, Betty and Veronica Fashions’, to supplement a cover gallery that includes modern cartoon masterpieces, remastered classic Archie images retrofitted to suit our 21st century all-star and variant covers spoofing Star Trek and Superman.

Drive Me Crazy is superbly diverse, hilariously welcoming and magically inclusive collection for you, your kids and grandparents to enjoy over and over again…
© 2013 Archie Comics Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

August Moon


By Diana Thung (Top Shelf)
ISBN: 978-1-60309-069-8 (PB)

Here’s a mysterious thing. For a while, a few years back, Diana Thung was a glittering name and shining prospect in graphic storytelling, but after two brilliant all-ages fantasy triumphs she dropped out of sight. I don’t know why – or to be honest have any right to. But it is a shame as her work was superb. I hope she’s well and happy, but I’m not going to stop recommending her delightful creations…

Thung was born in Jakarta, and grew up in Singapore before eventually settling in Australia. She is a natural storyteller, cartoonist and comics creator of sublime wit and imagination with a direct hotline to infinite thoughtscapes of childhood. Every single thing populating her astonishingly unique worlds is honed to razor sharpness and pinpoint logical clarity, no matter how weird or whimsical it might initially seem.

The sentiment is pure and unrefined; scenarios are perfectly constructed and effectively, authentically realised …and when things get tense and scary they are excessively tense and really, really scary…

After SLG published debut series Captain Long Ears in 2010, Thung catapulted to (relative) fame two years later following the release of her first graphic novel. August Moon is a magnificent blending of eastern and western comics influences that remixed many standard elements of fantasy into a superbly fresh conjunction for young and old alike.

Rendered in stunning, organically enticing black and white, the scene opens in the Asian township of Callico: an isolated little metropolis in the midst of lush jungle verdure, and a place with a few strange secrets…

Accessible only by one solitary bridge, generally cut off from the wider world by dense surrounding forests and innate unchanging dullness, the town moves at its own pace. Life is slow, existence is bucolic and the biggest deal for the people is the perennial debate over whether the strange dancing lights seen in the trees at night are actually Soul Fire dead ancestors watching over the town – or just some unexplained scientific phenomenon…

Answers start coming for a select few after ugly, business-suited strangers begin buying up empty shops for a company named Mon & Key. Some older street vendors are understandably anxious, but only Grandma and her peculiar little associate Jaden know the appalling threat these interlopers pose…

Events start spiralling out of control when the newcomers murder a hitherto unknown “animal” and news of the bizarre beast’s corpse leaks out into the wider world. The amazing discovery brings college biologist Dr. Gan back to the town his dead wife grew up in for the first time in years, dragging unhappy teenaged daughter Fiona with him.

Reluctant to be there, Fi keeps to herself; spending time snapping photos with her instamatic camera. The dull old backwater suddenly becomes far more intriguing after she captures a candid shot of a boy leaping like a grasshopper over the rooftops…

When she finally meets the incomprehensibly enigmatic Jaden, Fi is quickly drawn into his bizarre struggle against the ape-like invaders. After meeting the clandestine forest creatures who are the true source of Soul Fire, she makes their struggle her own…

The cruel and cunning interlopers of Mon & Key worship commerce and progress. Their agenda involves destroying forests to build factories. Ruthless and multi-resourced, they retaliate by killing all objectors, whilst attempting to dissuade and eventually assassinate Fi’s father.

However, with the aid of Callico’s street children – and a few clued-in, sympathetic adults like her Uncle Simon – Fi and super-powered, magic moon-boy Jaden spearhead a spirited secret war to destroy the rapacious deforestation machines of Mon & Key.

As the holiday season nears its end, the town prepares for its annual Soul Fire Festival and parade. As Mon & Key’s forces assemble for one final deforesting assault, they have totally underestimated Jaden’s resolve, Fi’s ingenuity and Callico’s communal desire to remain unchanged and unchanging…

A funny, scary, magical and thrilling modern fable, August Moon seamlessly stitches together ecological themes with beguiling myth to create a captivating tale of youthful empowerment and rebellious wonder. This is a fabulously enticing young reader’s epic every lover of comics and storytelling should take to their hearts.
© 2011 Diana Thung.

The Hidden


By Richard Sala (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-385-6 (HB)

One of the cruellest side-effects of the current pandemic is its power to cut you down emotionally and fill you with guilt over things you have no power to control. Prime offender for me is finding out people I like admire or just simply know have gone, and I’m probably the last to know. Just like this guy…

Richard Sala was a lauded and brilliantly gifted exponent and creator of comics who deftly blended beloved pop culture artefacts and conventions – particularly cheesy comics and old horror films – with a hypnotically effective ability to tell a graphic tale.

A child who endured sustained paternal abuse, Sala grew up in Chicago and Arizona. Retreating into childish bastions of entertainment he eventually escaped family traumas and as an adult earned a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. He became an illustrator after rediscovering the youthful love of comic books and schlock films that had brightened his youth.

His metafictional, self-published Night Drive in 1984 led to appearances in legendary 1980s anthologies Raw, Blab! and Prime Cuts and animated adaptations of the series were produced for Liquid Television.

His work remains welcomingly atmospheric, dryly ironic, wittily quirky and mordantly funny; indulgently celebrating childhood terrors, gangsters, bizarre events, monsters and manic mysteries, with girl sleuth Judy Drood and the glorious trenchant storybook investigator Peculia the most well-known characters in his gratifyingly large back catalogue.

Sala’s art is a joltingly jolly – if macabre – joy to behold and has also shone on many out-industry projects such as his work with Lemony Snickett, The Residents and even Jack Kerouac; illustrating the author’s outrageous Doctor Sax and The Great World Snake.

One of my personal favourites is The Hidden which revels in the seamy, scary underbelly of un-life: an enigmatic quest tale following a few “lucky” survivors who wake up one morning to discover civilisation has succumbed to an inexplicable global Armageddon. The world is now a place of primitive terror, with no power, practically no people and ravening monsters roaming everywhere.

Trapped on in the fog on a mountain, Colleen and Tom emerge into the world of death and destruction before promptly fleeing back to the wilderness. As they run, they encounter an amnesiac bum, who uncomprehendingly leads them to other young survivors – each with their own tale of terror – and together they seek a place of sanctuary in the desert and the shocking true secret of the disaster…

Clever, compelling and staggeringly engaging, this fabulous full-colour hardback (also available in digital formats) is a perfect introduction to Sala’s world: a sublimely nostalgic escape hatch back to those days when unruly children scared themselves silly under the bedcovers at night. It is an ideal gift for the big kid in your life – whether he/she/they are just you, imaginary or even relatively real…
© 2011 Richard Sala. All rights reserved.

No Country


By Patrice Aggs & Joe Brady (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-183-3 (PB)

This is the scariest book I’ve read in decades.

That’s an odd thing to say about a collection of strips from a wholesome children’s comic like The Phoenix, but true nonetheless, so I’ll qualify that statement by adding that it’s beautifully illustrated by Patrice Aggs with a complete absence of gore, supernatural terror or zombies of any kind, casting its chilling pall thanks to a subtle, understated script by Joe Brady, who convincingly speculates on the current global and national political situation…

Just imagine a Britain where the Prime Minister ignores the law, suspends Parliament and rules by ministerial fiat. Consider curfews and lockdowns, shortages in the shops and direct monitoring and control of what teachers can say and do. Further ponder on what happens when strident, impassioned protestors organise into militant groups and start systematically and violently resisting daily interventions and oppressions doled out by an ever more heavy-handed police force and too-readily deployed army…

No Country is set in Britain and follows middle schooler Bea, her little brother Dom and frequently bossy older sister Hannah as they daily adapt to a draconian new reality. Their dad used to work as a local councillor, but now looks after the kids and spends his downtime in quiet secret meetings with other adults with worried faces…

Mum has been gone for a while now, but still talks to them via the internet whenever there’s enough electricity. She’s in another country somewhere, trying to get exit visas and paperwork so the family can be reunited… somewhere safe.

Daily tensions ratchet up when the long-declared Martial Law edict is shockingly enforced by new army divisions who occupy the town and “requisition” everything not nailed down. Hannah just got her first boyfriend and is acting really weird, especially after he reveals he’s part of the patriotic rebel front called the Free Kingdom – the other side in a rapidly escalating, ideologically fanatical civil war, ripping sedate stuffy Britain apart.

As hunger grows, home raids and “searches” intensify and friends and teachers start disappearing, Mum finally contacts them that the documents are ready and the family must act immediately. Tragically, not everyone is there to get the message but there’s no time to wait. This is the moment to run…

To Be Continued…

A superb and gripping exploration of the refugee crisis with the comfy, cosy UK all-too-convincingly substituting for Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar (please feel free to look up why I chose those countries). This is a brilliant introduction to real world problems any kid can grasp and be moved by, in exactly the same way books like Animal Farm, A Kestrel for a Knave, Ring of Bright Water or Lord of the Flies ushered in a new, transformational understanding for generations of youngsters.
Illustrations © Patrice Aggs 2021. Text © Joe Brady. rights reserved.