Wednesday, August 23, 2023

My Comics Reading List #11 UK Playlist

 

I'm So Bored With the U.S.A. by The Clash

Here's all my UK reading from the past couple months, including some kickstarters going back to early last year! 


96. 2000 A.D. PROG #2316


The conclusion to the Judge Dredd serial by Ken Niemand/Nicolo Assirelli is very unusual, with Dredd getting the perp but not necessarily winning in the end. Comic relief from artist Clint Langley who ends up finishing the Joe Pineapples serial:



97. 2000 A.D. PROG #2317


I'm a fan of Paul Marshall art and he gets to go all out on a good old-fashioned Judge Dredd story by Rob Williams & Arthur Wyatt.


98. 2000 A.D. PROG #2318



Proteus Vex continues to be an excellent source of space opera. Love a page of spaceships!


99. 2000 A.D. PROG #2319

The John Burns art is a little different on the new "The Order" serial, but he comes up with some amazing images. A real underrated talent, I think.


100. 2000 A.D. PROG #2320

Dan Abnett tells an intense story in "The Out" with incredible art by Mark Harrison.


101. 2000 A.D. PROG #2321

Nice cover by Jock to start things off. Another well done page by John Burns, in service of a batshit crazy alternative history written by Kek-W.


102. 2000 A.D. PROG #2322

More Jake Lynch spaceships! I love all of Dan Abnett's various series, it seems he's got at least two going constantly, but Proteus Vex is the most fun imho.


103. 2000 A.D. PROG #2323



Speaking of Dan Abnett here's his quieter side with artist Mark Harrison depicting the other-dimensional dialogue between mother and daughter.



104. 2000 A.D. PROG #2324
Mark Harrison is so fucking good here's another spectacular page from The Out.


105. 2000 A.D. PROG #2325


Gary Welsh is not a familiar name to me but I love his art and hope to find more in the future, here's some more information on this relatively new artist.



106. and 107. GATEWAY CITY VOLUME I and GATEWAY CITY VOLUME II by Russell Mark Olson



This is probably the most difficult series for me to describe because there's so much to love about the art and story and characters. The art, imho, is the biggest draw here, being equal parts cartoony and noir. The shorthand comparison in the U.S. would be Darwyn Cooke, but Olson's beautiful shadow and color-drenched art has more in common with bande desinee artists. These two pages give a good idea of what you are getting yourself into...


108. and 109. THE BERG and MONSTER MATES (Cabal Comics)



I was so excited for the newest Fraser Campbell comic, THE BERG. It's co-written with Sarah Peploe, and great gruesome art by Gavin Mitchell. The story is hallucinatory, gross, and unusually told through the characters personal lives. MONSTER MATES is a catch up, since I missed the original kickstarter campaign. The characters are all based on classic monsters, but are put through an ARCHIE-type story with more emotional content and the three main characters being slackers. Fraser Campbell delivers another thought-provoking story, with perfectly matched Steve Gregson cartooning. 

110. !GAG! #1 

I've backed every Phil Elliott kickstarter since 2020, but this is the only one I bought a physical copy of along with a sketch (which turned out to be a full-color multi-figure Gimbley affair. Incredible.) by Elliott. The book itself contains unpublished Eddie Campbell, and rare strips by Elliott and Glenn Dakin! Anything by those three UK legends is worth checking out, a second volume is imminent!
111. SKRAWL #1 edited by Russell Mark Olson
This UK anthology is ostensibly science fiction themed with an anything goes attitude towards story content. Two of my favorites, Lucy Sullivan and Phil Elliott, make guest appearances...


However, it's the Skrawllordz that make this a classic: editor Olson, Gustaffo Vargas, Nick Prolix, Martin Simpson, Pete Taylor, and Mark Hughes!

112. SKRAWL #2 edited by Russell Mark Olson
More of the same only better and wilder in conception, particularly the comic strip by Nick Prolix and Martin Simpson's batshit crazy art.







No comments:

Post a Comment