A Question To Readers

 Simple enough really: is what is posted here just fine as it is or would you prefer to see a few more general interest comic related posts?

Pleas let me know in comments.

Thank You

Kult Creations: The Sisters Three: Gravesmoor

 

 A 44 page, 

black and white, 

American comic-sized, square-bound graphic novel 

Order via the Kult Creations page https://kultcreations.blogspot.com/

writer John A. Short and artist David Hitchcock 

 Telling the folk horror tale of three witches in the seventeenth century. A strange and terrible ancient creature stalks the countryside outside the village of Gravesmoor in England... Can Becca Nox, Elsbeth Crowe and Isabella Goodacre discover a weakness in a monster that can't die - while avoiding the clutches of arch-witch-finder Abraham King? A tale not for the faint of heart. 

I think that I have already stated that Hitchkock's style is very suited for horror -his art on the Nosferatu series in Shockwave for one.  Well, this book arrived todayand I needed cheering up so... I read it (I CAN read I don't just look at pretty pictures. All the time).

Anyone visiting this blog regularly should know that I am a big horror fan and sci-fi-horror. One thing I love is the prelude of a dying or injured man and the "you...have to...stop it...millions will die!" and then the person dies. The TV series The New Avengers used that trope more than once. In this case we have a shocked Parliamentarian soldier (a "Roundhead" fighting against Royalists during the English Civil War) whose comrades have all been killed after being confronted by a mysterious force -even musket-shot did not stop it. His words say it all:

 "I tell y',there's more horrors an' spirits an' secrets out there in this world  than most folks would ever know..."

Oooh -gives yuh the shivers dunnit me dears?

From a witch's vengeance for the local squire not paying her for what she did for him to a young woman being hanged as a witch because she never drowned in the water -Yeah, real thing: if you were thrown in the water and drowned you were innocent -Yay! If you bobbed up and never drowned -boo! Hiss! Witch! And they killed you any way. Then the witch helping out at an "infestation" (old phrase for poltergeist activity). All three linked up by Mr Treacle a rather snazzy looking black cat.

Then we have my main man: The Man of the Forest, the Old Man of the Wood, Herne the Hnter or, here, Jack Greenherne.

The story goes on with gore and horror aplentyas well as some back story. All wonderfully drawn by Hitchcock.  

The  story and script is well written, it should be since it is John Short and he's been around a while.  It's interesting how he can write the humorous almost Carry On movies comic strips or add a good old fashioned British tongue-in-cheek quips and jokes and then shift over to pure horror.

Seriously, you need to get a copy of this if you are into horror comics. The biggest compliment I can give the book is that it gave me a big chunk of nostalgia and memories of old Hammer/Tenser movies.

This is a horror comic in the only format a horror comic should be in -black and white. Kult Creations is rather like Hexagon Comics in that both produce excellent entertainment but both seem to be slept on by the comic readers. 

10 out of 10

Hexagon comics:The End of the Partisans

 

 

7x10 squarebound trade paperback,

88 p.

b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-491-7; US$15.95

 

Story by  Jean-Marc Lofficier; art & cover by Mario Guevara

1945. World War II is over, but a new, even more terrible conflict is about to erupt.

From San Francisco to Borneo, via London, Paris, Senegal, the Caucasus, and Iraq, the Partisans are forced to return to service, risking their lives to thwart the designs of the mysterious Egyptian god Set...

Featuring Apollo, Baroud, Count Saint-Germain, Corsak, Dan Diamond, the Guardian of the Republic, the Senegalese Guard, Imhotep, the Black Lily, Red Feather, Sadko, Tanka, Wazilla, and Xiu Kappa!

Bonus: a 20-page portfolio gallery of all the Partisans by Mario Guevara.

Over the last 10 months I have not had a very good time and not lifted a pen to draw anything for months. I even put off wanting to review these books but I am glad I relented.

I love that cover. art and the text design works well with it. Guevara has a rather sketchy looking style combined with what looks like a wash of some kind. I may be wrong but who knows.  The one thing I will write is that I have always been a little 50-50 when it comes to Guevara's style but I think that with this book his work is the best I have seen to date. I loved it and it actually got me comic art interested again.

There is a little guide to Partisan members but then.... oh, then come the pin up pages. Gorgeous and I wish I had room on my walls as I'd definitely print these out as posters (maybe one day). The art actually reminds me, if you are old enough you will know what I mean, 1970s black and white comic magazines and I have fond memories of the ones from Atlas Seaboard!

As for the stories well, Lofficier does all the writing so it all flows well keeping characteristion good and the pacing of action well done. Having one person in overall charge of writing and planning out storylines helps -a bit like Roy Thomas used to do at Marvel. Lofficier seems to keep things fresh and he has a good selection of French Golden and Silver ages characters to select from.

That freshness in the story and the artwork is something a comic fan should be interested in and if I had to say "buy this one" to see what is going on at Hexagon this would be the one. It really is fun and action and we get to see the inception of an idea for something called C.L.A.S.H.

Check out the Hexagon site and if you want to buy a copy please consider buying from the company as it helps them.

Hexagon Comics: Ivan Karine, The Original Captain Ukraine

 

squarebound trade paperback, 

64 p. 

b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-462-7. US$12.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-ivan-karine-the-original-captain-ukraine.html

IVAN KARINE, THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN UKRAINE CLASSIC

 THE DEMONS OF AZOV

- YEGOR BORKINE

Art by Vincenzo Chiomenti

cover by Alfredo Macall

With this special issue, we commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the character of Ivan Karine, which first appeared in the pages of Rodeo No. 138 in February 1963, under the pen of the great Italian artist Vincenzo “Enzo” Chiomenti.

Those ignorant or gullible enough to believe the current Russian propaganda to the effect that Ukraine was merely an administrative division of Russia, and not a people in its own tight, with its own culture and tradition, should reflect upon the fact that 62 years ago, between drawing two western series, a great Italian artist felt sufficiently inspired by the great Ukrainian people to devote an entire series to the adventures of their heroes.

Ivan Karine takes place in 17th century Ukraine and Russia, two vast lands populated by Russians, Tartars, Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Turks, Romani and Cossacks, all ruled by the Tsars. It is in this exotic setting that its hero, Kochevoy (Captain) Ivan Karine, a Zaporozhian Cossack, seeks to uphold justice and protect the proverbial widows and orphans. Ivan also operates as a secret agent for Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725). Ably assisted by the gigantic Cossack Piotr Mironov, and the young and ingenious Pavlo Gavrile, he undertakes mission after mission, each one more dangerous than the last, in the service of good.

Now travel back in time to the turbulent 17th century and let’s enjoy the adventures of the first, the original Captain Ukraine

Someone told me they would not buy the Captain Ukraine comic because of the current "problems" in that region. I asked whether he had actually looked the book up online to see what it was about? He had not.  So I explained and even sent a couple of scanned pages to show him.

Folks, this a good old fashioned historical adventure comic and that should be enough. There's a nice cover and inside you can see  Macall's pencil illo it is based on -that is some fine pencil work.  Vincenzo Chiomenti's art is nicely done and is the kind of style you might find in British or some European comics of the silver age when black and white ruled supreme.

Chiomenti's stories are fun and full of action and some readers not familiar with European history might be surprised by the Tartars and Turks and their involvement in the region. Did I just make this sound like a dull history book??  It is not.  I love the big trap that opens up and sends the enemy into the moat. It's more a cross between the movie Taras Bulba and the TV serial The Flashing Blade (but without the groovy theme song).

Nice informative intro and a text feature on Chiomenti and, something I really like to see, a photo of the man himself.

Lovely fun read.

Please remember if you can order direct from Hexagon.

Cinebook: Yoko Tsuno 21 - The Celestial Boat

 

Author: Roger Leloup

Age: 12 years and up

Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm

Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£8.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441873

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/yoko-tsuno-celestial-boat-p-4603.html

Yoko and her adopted daughter Morning Dew are on their way to China when the man sitting next to them on the plane collapses. Right before, he tells them that ‘the Seventh Tooth of the Dragon hides a treasure’. 

After consulting a local historian, they learn that the Tooth is a mountain, and the ‘treasure’ is, in fact, the tomb of an emperor’s wife who died in the 11th century, at the age of six. A sad tale that will soon have Yoko and Dew travelling to the past once more!

When I got the first Yoko Tsuno book to review I wanted to get it out of the way. It was a"Kiddies book with a feamle character" and one that I thought not that worth bothering with. So quick review and move on.

I was wrong of course.

Space travel. Time travel -there is a whole universe of unique stories and characters. If you want to put it in simple terms Yoko gets up to the sort of thing Dr Who does!  Leloup's work is getting even better and the colours are so nice and easy on the eye.  Look at the cover. Not a single fault in the art that I can see and I really do think more people need to startknowing about Yoko Tsuno.

We have time travel; hang gliding -in the 11th century of course!-, ships colliding and the "fourth wife" not turning out to be quite who Yoko thought. If I write too muchit is going to give away the whole ending but I'll just say that this story is an example of a Consistency Paradox as we interested in Temporal Paradoxes call it. Buy the book. Read the story and you will see what I mean.

Just for kids? Well if I enjoyed it at my age then I'll just write "A comic book adventure for all ages" (that is not even a reference to time travel!).

Cinebook Ltd Lucky Luke Dakota 1880

 

Authors: Appollo and Brüno
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
£11.99 incl VAT  

 ISBN: 9781800441927

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/lucky-luke-dakota-1880-p-4601.html

In this homage to the legendary Lonesome Cowboy, Appollo and Brüno, through seven short stories linked together in a single narrative, give us a glimpse of Lucky Luke’s life before he became the righter of wrongs we all know. 

As a mere employee of a stagecoach company, he embarks on a dangerous journey from Dakota to California during which he’ll meet several remarkable characters, several of whom will make it into the history books – and alter his life forever. edes him, and when the townspeople ask him to investigate a hold-up in place of the sheriff – none other than James Bone – the tension ratchets up another notch …  

I have no idea what "nd alter his life forever. edes him, " in the Cinebook site means!  Might be "His reputation precedes him"? It would make sense.

Now, if you are a fan of Lucky Luke then this book may come as a bit of a shock to you -if you read Wanted: Lucky Luke you might be prepared! 

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/05/cinebook-wanted-lucky-luke.html

The art style is what can only be described as very European in style and that is not a bad thing. Lots of colour use to enhance scenes The art also relies a lot more on solid black than the more traditional Luke books do. 

When I opened the book first I thought "Oh bloody hell what have they done?" and put it back down. In fact, picking it up again two days later I quite enjoyed it. This is not the gag riddled Luke but a slightly more serious take on the character -at one point we see him having been "neck-tied" to a tree. The stories all build up a back story of Lukes life although I do wonder if old time fans will like this?  I suppose the easiest way of readsing this is to say the Luke in these stories are an alternative universe version.  For me I immediately switched off any connection with the more humorous Lucky Luke and read this as a grit-and-all Western.

The stories are all well written and paced and build up the character well. I kept seeing him as a young James Stewart!  Luke's interaction with indigenous people that looked like it was heading to  violence...you'll have to see. Nice twist.  The hanging, the teaching a young man to use a gun all works in well with traditional Western tropes and gave a fascinating read.

Talking of which: the text feature is an interview with Gustav Frankenbaum about the old dime novel Westerns and their connection to Lucky Luke.

All-in-all it was a good read and if you are a Luke fan give this a try as you may have heard the wrong things about this t6ake on the character.  Recommended and, PLEASE, order direct frokm Cinebook!

Cinebook: Billy and Buddy 10 -Walks on the Wild Side

 

Authors: By Christophe Cazenove, illustrated by Jean Bastide

Age: 8 years and up

Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm

Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£8.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441866

Cinebook order page https://www.cinebook.co.uk/billy-buddy-walks-wild-side-p-4600.html?osCsid=dludftu0igoqhq2vm3lln4ech5

 

Anyone who knows dogs knows this: walkies is a sacred moment. It’s communion with the master, exploration of the environment, exercise, socialising … There isn’t a pooch in the world who doesn’t go nuts at the sound of that leash being readied. But when the doggy in question is as cunning and mischievous as Buddy, the whole thing can turn into a complicated process for the master – if he’s even allowed to come along, that is!

April 2024 was the last Billy and Buddy I saw. Yep. vol. 9 and I have to admit over two years later it is hard to get enthusiastic. The art is nice and clean, colourful and at times can bring a smile to the face. Dog bath time...yep. Wash 'em down and watch as they find the nearest dirt patch to roll in. It's fun and the gags and story is noty over complicated but I know from past comments that this is a book "for children of all ages"!

And why not? We are in a (expletive word) grim world and if a comic or comic album can get you away from that for a few minutes then go for it. Adults didn't stop reading comics because they grew up but because they were told they were adults and comics were for children. 

I often think that I should have changed my art style and stayed in Europe.Oh, the lovely colour work is done by  Luc Perdriset and Jean Bastide. Buy it for the kids...or yourself!