The Best Ever British Graphic Novels? Return of the Gods and The Green Skies

    "I read the original quote from that German blogger and thought it was a lot of hot air. When Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes arrived I thought "thick book" and knew you'd taken it from 96 pages to 360+...it looked impressive. I read through it in two days and -robots, aliens, "gods", super heroes, sorcerers, alien invasions and more and world-wide. And you tell me this was done without a script?! It's the only one I can think of so, yeah, the greatest British super hero graphic novel fits as a description." Pete Clark

"You say this is your final big story? The Green Skies was fantastic and everything laid out into chapters was a great touch!"

David Stephens, Comic Reviews

" 'Holy ******* ****!' was all I could say. I even tried counting the number of characters and how the **** you produced all of this without a script beats me. Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies could only have been better if George Perez had drawn it!"

Dan's Comics

"I have no idea why you are not pushing this even harder. The books Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies I would love to see in German or at least get German fans to read since it has a good number of German heroes in it. Next big comic event over here send me copies and I'll sell them on my table!"

Gerd Hammer, German comics historian and trader

Selected comic readers were also chosen to review copies and, obviously, two of these were people from Hong Kong who I corresponded with on Manhua over the years.

"I just wish someone like Tong Li would publish this in Chinese -I mean there are Chinese heroes in this so why not?"

Wang Xiuying

"There HAS to have been a script and more than one person working on this! Brilliant!"

Mike Wayne, Australian comic dealer

Generally, these comments were all similar and I only quote these as any more would be very egotistical. The books should speak for themselves.

Paperback

A4

Black & White

331 Pages

Price: Reduced to £21.89 

Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-return-of-the-godstwilight-of-the-super-heroes/paperback/product-22076337.html

It begins slowly.  It always does. It's a deception that everything in the world is as it should be and that never changes.

Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time. 

Pretty mundane. 

But psychics around the world have been sensing something.  A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.

There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.

And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead?  An attack by an old foe or foes -?

Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide. 

Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth! 

A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed! 

Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day! 

No one suspects the driving force behind the events.  One single evil guiding events.  Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.

Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end? 

The Cross-Earths Caper: Part II of the Invasion Earth Trilogy

Paperback, 

A4

Black & White

107 Pages

Price: £12.00

Prints in 3-5 business days

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-cross-earths-caper/paperback/product-22076318.html

Following the events on Neo Olympus and the Boarman invasion of Earth, many heroes and crime-fighters have withdrawn from activity. Some are trying to recover from injuries while others are fighting the mental scars left by the events.

But things have to go on.  As heroes from other parallels who helped during the recent events return home, members of the Special Globe Guard are shocked at the sudden appearance of Zom of the Zodiac. Never a sign of good things a-coming!

Very soon, a group of heroes mount a rescue mission and find that a quick rescue mission can turn sour equally quickly. As they overcome one challenge the the heroes become lost between parallel Earths and face new threats.

 Sometimes one Earth just is not enough. The complete story published in issues 7-10 of Black Tower Adventure now in...one handy dandy book!

A4

B&W

124pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-1/paperback/product-5j4y7e.html?page=1&pageSize=4

It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods. 

Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted. 

The Many Eyed One is finally coming. 

The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help. 

The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders

A4

B&W

126pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-ii/paperback/product-nj7wqr.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One. 

The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him. 

Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters. 

In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy. 

On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet. 

With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim

 A4

B&W

208pp

£16.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-iii/paperback/product-kj6r7r.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System. 

Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win. 

Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?

JUNK: Record of the Last Hero by Kia Asamiya

 

Have you heard of or read Junk: Record of the Last Hero?  It was a Manga series written and drawn by Kia Asamiya and originally published in Japan in 2004 by the Akita Shoten's magazine Champion Red. In 2006 It was brought to the United States in 2006 by Dr Master Publishing Inc. (more about them further on).

 JUNK is a story which focuses on high school pupil Hiro Yuuki, a who has become a shut in after being bullied at school and barely leaving his room. Hiro's only connections to the outside world are his parents, his love interest Ryoko, oh...and the Internet!

While online, Hiro stumbles across JUNK and, although there is no explanation as to just what JUNK is exactly, Hiro signs up anyway. Yeah, it's that kind of thing that land you taking on secret missions into space -but I'm not allowed to talk about that).  

Anyway, JUNK turns out to be a project that attempts to increase human potential and Junk stands for Juriatic Union of Neo-Kinetics. JUNK users become empowered by a suit that appears on them when activated -almost a bit like "Guyver" the japanese Manga series by Yoshiki Takaya. The JUNK series takes a lot of inspiration from Superhero Tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai (Power Rangers), Ultraman, and Kamen Rider (or Masked Rider) but Kia Asamiya puts a rather darker twist on it. 

If you think of what Frank Miller did to Batman in The Dark Knight Returns, so Asamiya did with this series but to the stereotypical Japanese Superhero Tokusatsu genre. In case you are wondering what this is exactly I can tell you (lucky there's the internet!):

"Tokusatsu is a Japanese term referring to "special photography" or "special effects," encompassing a genre of filmmaking that combines live-action with special effects, often featuring epic battles, giant monsters, and memorable characters. It's a technique used in various types of media like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and war, but is also sometimes considered a genre itself. "

There, now you know so we are even on that!

What Asamiya asked in this series was if a person with these powers existed in our world, how would the world react?  Yeah, okay, not exactly an original concept but it is how it is written and drawn and presented -the 1980s Squadron Supreme 12 issue series from Marvel looked at this and, decades later, DC borrowed the idea with the Justice Lords in the Justice League animated series and later introduction into their comics). Also, the Watchmen series. See? You get a lot of info on CBO and whoever just whispered "most of it is trash" -I see you!  But up until JUNK it was never used, as far as I can find out (Manhua is my main field) with Japanese super heroes, yes, there are a few!  

The amount of damage to buildings, etc. is incredible but this is typical of the Japanese TV shows. I was watching an Ultra Man episode the other day and rather than grab his opponent and move away from a built up city area the character was just blasting and crushing away -one of the onlookers did chastise him later by pointing out the amount of damage his battle had caused.

 JUNK can be described as "dark".  If you read a series such as Mamoru Uchiyama (Script, Drawing, Inker), and Toshifumi Yoshida (Script) Ultraman Classic Battle of the Ultra Brothers the story is basically villains who are supposed to be dead kill Ultra Men and there are fights but it is basic good, clean super hero stuff -and I am not complaining as I quite enjoyed it. But in JUNK there is sex, violence and drugs and this was very obvious when I got some of the books while I was heavily promoting Dr Master Publications inc. (no, they never paid me and went out of business in 2009).

There was also, although I never originally realised it (I can be a little dim at times),  some over -arching political satire but that does not mean it is boring. There is sarcasm and some whacky-ness and my first reaction when I got the books was "Oh, crap more Japanese Manga", however, the two volumes I got were excellent and had me hooked and so, with tears rolling down my eyes, I purchased the other volumes to read the full story and for me to go to the effort it took and cost it had to be good.

The plot (summarised)  is about the JUNK, a system which acts as a super-suit, and the people to whom the junk suits are assigned and at first there were only two units (one white unit and one darker, black unit ) in the world and, you guessed it,  both were in Japan!  It was revealed, however,  that a third JUNK type (red) also existed . Black, White and Red JUNKs were all prototypes used by JUNK Systems to further develop the Blue JUNK which would be the production model. 

According to Asamiya the eye style, "Is a mono-eye style.... but there's actually two eyes." The suits require an eight-hour charge up period and that gives only one hour of performance and although the suits are given free of charge users must complete a report and send it to the manufacturer, which had not yet been named.  I mean -what could go wrong?  What?

Hiro gets the Black unit. The other unit goes to an unknown female user, it is later revealed that the White JUNK actually goes to Manami's Stand in/bodyguard, Lisa. the story follows Hiro's gradual maturing and changes in his life through the adventures he has and how he copes with the responsibilities and burdens it brings. 

I do not want to give any spoilers in case anyone does go out and look for the series but there is a final battle with a squad of Blue JUNKs and naturally there are twists and turns.  I know what you are thinking (except you in the red T-shirt: that is disgusting!) -"How does he activate the JUNK suit when he needs it?"

I am sooooo glad you asked. No shouting "SHAZAM!"  no  "By The Power of Grey Skull!"   Rather like the character Sean Barker in the Guyver movie who shouts "Guyver! , Hiro's transformation password is.....

"TRANSFORM!"

Uh, okay. Not very imaginative but it is to the point so I'll let that one go.  In the end Hiro is the only one of the JUNK wielders to still retain his JUNK suit.

I think I have made it clear that this is a series well worth seeking out and from thinking this was going to be a rather lame Japanese Iron Man rip off I soon changed my mind and still browse through it over a decade later.

Junk is definitely not comic junk.

Cinebook Ltd -Harry Dickson 2 - The Court of Terror

 

 

Authors: Luana Vergari and Doug Headline, from a story by Jean Ray; illustrated by Onofrio Catacchio

Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
Publication: February 2025

£11.99 incl VAT

 ISBN: 9781800441569

Frederic Hamilton, an aging millionaire and philanthropist, calls upon Harry Dickson to investigate most curious facts. For some time, he has been having strange dreams in which he appears before a mysterious court – eleven masked judges who accuse him of despoiling Humanity. 

Now, his latest dreams have included physical torture … and the pain is still present when he wakes up! Dickson and Superintendent Goodfield travel to Hamilton’s residence, but their mission quickly turns into a nightmare …

Harry Dickson is quite an old character and I came across some of his adventures in German in the 1990s when I was looking at old German pulps and other magazines from the early 1900s.  In this volume there is an illustrated text section -Disgorged From Hell -Harry Dickson's Foes which is an interesting read.

The art by Onofrio Catacchio is very enjoyable to look at while Hiroyuki Ooshima's colour work enhances the mood of the various scenes. Headline and Vergari have written a nice and moody story based on an original Jean Ray (the character's creator).  This series looks like it could be another winner for Cinebook.

Mysterion. The fate of this character left me with mixed feelings about what Dickson did rather like Ben Dilworth with the 1930s The Clock stories questioned whether using a gun to bring justice is wrong -the conclusion was that it was ...a paradox.

Square jawed and pipe smoking Dickson is certainly a character that entertains.

Worth the price of admission! 

Cinebook Ltd -Buck Danny 15 - Air Force One

 

Authors: Frédéric Zumbiehl; illustrated by Gil Formosa
Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages:  48 colour pages
Publication: February 2025

£8.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441552

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/buck-danny-force-p-4569.html?osCsid=417ldlu9dfpaia3le6mm612je6

Project Skyborg, the Air Force’s prototype AI pilot, has turned into a complete disaster. While the system works, it has unfortunately been hijacked by agents of the Circle, a shadowy criminal organisation whose nefarious plans Buck has already thwarted several times. 

The terrorists are now in possession of an AI-controlled F-16 with which they intend to strike an important target and start a deadly war. They have also called upon Sato, who’s kidnapped Sonny and plans to use him to lure his sworn enemy Buck into a trap … The conclusion of a two-part story started in volume 14.

ooh. AI being a "bit of a thing" at the moment this was timed well.  The art and story flow well with plenty of -well, almost an overload- of action.  Sonny has his very own side story and gets the gal in the end to boot.  Some of the dialogue seemed a bit odd such as "Heavens!" as an exclamation and "you piece of garbage!" It may seem odd due to my age and watching Wesley Snipes movies again -after all the books have a rating. Shouting "You **** Goddam ***** of a *****!" might be a bit out of place.

I'm old.

I never realised how tough a military pilots life is: flying high tech aircraft and James Bond style action.  Maybe they need a pay rise?  This would make a great action movie and when a comic album is good enough that you think that then it must be good. Right? Well, it got to volume 15!

Cinebook Ltd -The Bluecoats 18 - Duel in the Channel

 

Authors: Lambil & Cauvin
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: January 2025

£8.99 incl VAT

 ISBN: 9781800441521

1864. The USS Kearsarge, a Union warship, puts in at the port of Amsterdam. Its mission in Europe: to stop the predations of the Alabama, a confederate privateer that’s been preying on the transatlantic trade. Aboard are Blutch and Chesterfield, threatened with a firing squad by an irascible general, and sent to lie low in the Navy by their own superiors. Soon, the Alabama is spotted, and the Union ship rushes to intercept it. The confrontation will take place in the English Channel!

Well, what can I say?  After (a lot of) years telling people that the Confederate and Union navies had a battle in the English /French Channel Cinebook vindicates me! That our heroes end up in the Union Navy should be no big surprise since they have been in the cavalry and involved in ballooning.

There are some liberties taken in the story for comedic effect and so that our Blue Duo can get involved  There is the naval battle and the general carnage of war and the sad aftermath but our two numb-heads keep on going and one of them even tries his hand at surgery while the other...uh...tries his hand at going green and casting out "green comets" -you have to guess which or, perhaps, buy the book and find out?

This series is always fun as well as a tad educational (we'll ignore that last part so as to not put off anyone with an education allergy).

Always fun and always recommended.

Oh, in case you are interested you can learn about The Battle of Cherbourg here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cherbourg_(1864)

Cinebook Ltd -Buck Danny Classics 8 - The Eagle's Nest

 

Authors: Frédéric Zumbiehl and Frédéric Marniquet; illustrated by André Le Bras
Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages:  48 colour pages
Publication: October 2024  

£8.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441460

The operation to rescue Tumb from the Nazis hiding in Argentina has derailed dramatically, and now Sonny, too, is a prisoner. That leaves Buck and Mossad agent Beata to continue the search, both for their friends and for the secret Nazi base. A mission that is becoming more urgent by the hour, as this remnant of the Third Reich managed to escape with some of their secret weapons at the end of the war, and are preparing for a major operation …. 

Well, sod it. I lost the bet with myself. The shadowy figure at the end of Sea Dart was not Adolf Hitler but....Martin Bormann. If you ask "Who he?" go back to school. I now owe myself £10 I do not have.  Or as Buck explains when meeting the Nazi: "The padre?...wait...that face...you're actually...Martin Bormann!  Hitler's former right-hand man!"

And, yes, even the highly trained Mossad agent hadn't realised.  Wearing a disguise when dressed as the padre might have justified the shock of the revelation but...these two don't turn out to be the finest brains out there.

Apart from that it turns out that Bormann was not just Hitler's right hand man (gasp!) he was also in charge of secret projects such as an anti-gravity one.   So some old German jets equipped with anti-gravity systems are part of the master plan to bomb any part of the world and bring about the (are you ready for this?)..Fourth Reich.  Damn I never saw that one coming. Well......

Anyway, in true Bond style the Nazi underground complex is infiltrated and thanks to the good ole United States of America (and Mossad) the plot is thwarted and so the most wanted Nazi on Earth meets his doom....oh...he doesn't. But HOW could he escape?!

He dressed up as a padre and drove away.

So, if I get this correct just changing your clothes makes you impervious to detection?  If so then Frau Klangenwursthung over in the next village really could have been Hitler?!  It would explain the moustache.

This is good old hokum fun and enjoyable and I suspect there was some tongue-in-cheek writing going on here. Its action packed and its a fun read and it is something we need these days!

Hexagon Comics -Strangers 12: In the Era of King Kabur

 

Jean-MarcLofficier; art by Eduardo Garcia, Manuel Martin Peniche, Christophe Ouvrard; cover by Manuel Martin Peniche.

7x10 square bound trade paperback, 

94 pp 

b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-313-2 

US$12.95

Contents:
- Foreword by J.-M. Lofficier
- In the Era of King Kabur by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Manuel Martin Peniche
- Behold Baltazar! by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Manuel Martin Peniche & Christophe Ouvrard
- Morgane Hunted by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Eduardo Garcia 
- Mr. 17 Unmasked by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Christophe Ouvrard

HOMICRON is a NASA scientist whose body is inhabited by a mysterious alien from planet Alpha.
STARLOCK is the former servant of supremely powerful cosmic entities.
FUTURA is a mysterious woman from a parallel dimension.
JAYDEE is a teenage alien metamorph who may well be the deadliest killing machine in the universe...
These characters, all “strangers” to Earth, are brought together by TANKA, a former jungle lord who has been recruited by entities from our planet’s farthest future to be their agent and is now empowered to protect our world from extra-terrestrial menaces.

In this twelfth volume of Strangers, Tanka, Homicron and Starlock have traveled back in time to the era of King Kabur to try to learn how the legendary hero once defeated the alien Wan Lords. Meanwhile, in the present, the C.L.A.S.H. has its hands full with Mr. 17, whose secret identity is at last revealed, while Futura comes across a new threat...
 
Special guest-stars: King Kabur! Morgane!

Stating that Tanks's masters are "sexist" because the outfit left for Dr Towers made her look like Princess Leia's slave girl .... yeah, there are a few of the Strangers characters she needs to lecture on that one (I am not mentioning Futura by name).  But in the Age of Barbarians you dress to blend in -first rule of time travel. Slightly depowered our heroes still get to meet Kabur. (The Avengers never met Conan!).

There is also a point in the story in which Kabur meets his son. It does not go well. 

On my first looking at this story I did not think that Peniche's style of artwork would be the wisest choice.  However, on sitting down and looking at it I can say that his style does work. It sort of looks like a mix of an Indie style you might have gotten in the old Harrier Comics and a UK weekly adventure comic. So, yeah it works fine.

I was not as keen on Ouvrard's style. Backgrounds, etc all looked fine but his characters tended to look rather cartoony/anime like which threw things off for me. Garcia's artwork with its clear black and white style worked.  

With Mr 17 Unmasked we were back with Ouvrard and the style really showed through and I suspect that Ouvrard is a budding Mangaka -it is evident in the characters, backgrounds and so much more. I have nothing against Manga (as I think everyone knows) but for me the style clashed with the more Western styles used in the rest of the book. That is just me and I know how popular Manga is but my eyes are old!

Overall, I would say that this was a great cross-over and adventure/action book and "Manga style" probably adds a few bonus points to it.  Good solid stories and dialogue and at the price well worth getting a copy to add to your comic collection.

Hexagon Comics -Kabur #9: The House of the Green Priest: Celebrating 50 Years!

 

 Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roy Thomas; 

art by Roberto Castro, Nestor Vargas, Manuel Martin

Peniche; cover by Roberto Castro

7x10 squarebound comic, 

100 pages 

b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-373-6 - 

$14.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-9-the-house-of-the-green-priest.html

28. THE HOUSE OF THE GREEN PRIEST  by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Nestor Vargas.
29. THE HEART OF THE ELEPHANT story by Roy Thomas, dialogue by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro.
30. THE CURSE story by Roy Thomas, based on Rudyard Kipling, dialogue by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Manuel Martin Peniche
31. THE RING OF JHINJAEL by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Manuel Martin Peniche

Continuing on his journey south, KABUR arrives in the merchant city of Mwizaruku where he join forces with his old allies, NEVLAK and SEBHO, to thwart a former foe thirsting for revenge... 

This soon leads the trio into a fierce battle against various hostile factions, all eager to acquire the otherworldly Heart of the Elephant...

Kabur then crosses paths with a man who is the victim of a terrifying curse... 

Having resumed his journey, the Prince of Thule is then taken prisoner by the fearsome queen Jhinjael and finds himself fated to die in the deadly arena of the enchanted city of Komong...
 
Four spectacular Kabur stories, including two by legendary Conan writer Roy Thomas, wonderfully illustrated by Roberto Castro, Manuel Martin Peniche and Nestor Vargas.

Oh, this is the one you've waited for!  You were waiting for this one, right? Well, a hundred pager for under $15 dollars in 2025 is pretty rare and what a treat -notice Roy Thomas's name there?

First thing: NO, that is NOT Dr Doom on the cover (he's already on 121 Marvel covers this week).

Campo's art on The House of the Green Priest is wonderfully detailed with an almost fine pencilling quality and his fight scenes are rendered superbly. Looking at the work I would say that if it were coloured it would lose a lot of its edge and this story is a good example of how black and white can sometimes out do colour comics. Castro's art in The Heart of the Elephant is nice and clean and just as admirable as Campo's. Bao is also an interesting character but so are Nevlak and Sebho so maybe future appearances?

Then we come to what I personally see as the best Story The Curse in which Peniche's artwork quite literally drips with old style horror comic art. Dark and broody to accompany a story that, despite being based on one by Kipling, has so many unique touches and I loved it. A barbarian horror story.  In case you are wondering which Kipling story this is based on it is Rudyard Kipling's "The Mark of the Beast" from, I believe, 1890? The story tells of Fleete, and Englishman who desecrates an Hindu temple and is cursed by a leper priest (who else?) and is transformed into a wolf-like creature.The battle with the cultists as well as Kabur's fight to save Wonjin (standing in for Fleete) and the eventual inevitable fight between man and beast... spot on.

The Ring of Jhinjael also has a horror angle with vampires and Kabur has a new ally in Osk -a huge talking lion. Peniche again delivers great art that suits the story to a "T" although "V" might be more appropriate considering the vampire angle!

The stories and dialogue are spot on throughout and if you wanted to get just one Kabur issue to see if it met your tastes I would say buy this one and l;earn a lesson: never get drunk and desecrate a temple. It ain't good for you.

Highly recommended.

Cinebook Ltd -Amazonia 3 - Episode 3

 

Authors: LEO & Rodolphe; illustrated by Bertrand Marchal
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£7.99 incl VAT

ISBN: 9781800441538
Publication: January 2025
 https://www.cinebook.co.uk/amazonia-episode-p-4566.html

Two separate expeditions into the heart of the Amazon rainforest have trespassed upon Yanomami territory. On one side, Reinhard and his Nazis are looking for a sunken submarine and the gold it transported. On the other, Kathy Austin and Captain Delio of the Brazilian Navy are tracking a potentially extraterrestrial being. Threatened by both the hostile natives and the dangerous jungle itself, all will soon come to realise that the two quests may, in fact, be one and the same …

Oh it is definitely me.  I noticed how I've put in reviews how long it has taken for the next volume in a series to appear. In this case I saw Amazonia 3 and just said "And how long ago was number 2 out?!"  Last October to be precise as both part 1 and 2 were reviewed in one post!

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2024/10/cinebook-ltd-amazonia-1-episode-1-and-2.html

it is pure age m'dears! As you get older you start screaming and running away when a publisher says "Here is volume 1 of a 24 volume series that will appear over the next 5 years" -am I going to live that long???

Anyway, old age concerns out of the way...The artwork is, as always, superb. Sebastien Bouet's colour work adds so much more depth to what Marchal has drawn.  We get more twists as well as more action -mainly in the jungle as Kathy actually gets to encounter the tall and very mysterious stranger and gets to see a sample of what he can do with his powers.

There are a few levels to this story with side plots and sub-plots and each one then has me wanting to know what happens.  It is good to have a female protagonist in the form of Kathy Austin as she moves on from Kenya to Namibia (do a quick CBO search and you'll find the reviews) and now Amazonia.  Is there anywhere else she can go on an investigation to? Antarctica?

The end leaves everything on a cliff hanger and while that builds up the excitement for some I want to know what happens. Now.

Cinebook Ltd - Lucky Luke 83 - Trouble Brewing

Authors: Jul; illustrated by Achdé
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
Publication: December 2024 

£8.99 inc VAT

ISBN: 9781800441514

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/lucky-luke-trouble-brewing-p-4565.html

Travelling to the northern state of Wisconsin, Lucky Luke finds a population deeply depressed by a beer shortage that has caused all saloons in the area to close. Desperate, the inhabitants of New München beg Luke to talk to the brewers of Milwaukee. But the cause of the shortage is a strike, and the cowboy is more used to chasing outlaws in the Great Plains than to forcing negotiations between unions and bosses in a city where the first skyscrapers are already sprouting …

The Daltons in lederhosen?  No. Just no. And Jorg...I mean Joe...wow does he have anger management issues...but he looks pretty hot in lederhosen.

Its funny. It has gags. It has everything you expect from a Lucky Luke book and the artwork is enhanced by some super colour work and tones. So, uh, well done Mel Acryl'ink😂

Come on a brewery using prisoners to carry out the work is bad enough but when those prisoners are the Daltons and Lucky Luke is within shooting range....but, hang on -they'll never get hold of a gun, right?  Why 'of course not'!

The last six panels on the final page had me smiling.

And this is album number 83. 83! Just scrolling down the Cinebook LL page is enough to make you smile and poke your tongue out at the people who said "It'll never get beyond 5 or 6!"  Oddly, I never saw 1-4 but it is a terrific and fun series to get the kids (or older kids) hooked on!

Hexagon Comics -Kabur #7: The Jewels of Cing-Kor

 

Jean-Marc Lofficier

 art by Roberto Castro, Mario Guevara; cover by Mario Guevara.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

108 pages 

b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-306-4. 

US$14.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-7-the-jewels-of-cing-kor.html

26. THE SEAL OF THE SHAIKORTIN story Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro
27. THE JEWELS OF CING-KOR story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Mario Guevara;
Portfolio Manuel Martin Peniche; Mario Guevara

After avoiding the many traps of the city of Foralume, KABUR, now alone since Arianrod’s departure, must cross the Purple Sea to reach the Southern Continent of Gondaxa, which he must also cross in order to rescue the beautiful LAGRID, kidnapped by SELINOR PSAH, the powerful sorcerer-sultan of the distant city of Arkhanal.

But Psah creates a magic storm which causes Kabur to run aground near the citadel of Yaros, currently besieged by the formidable SHAIKORTIN pirates who seek to retake it from the TOADMEN OF NUNIA, who have seized it. In the midst of this savage battle, Kabur meets a traveler from the Future, TANKA, and finally unravels the mystery of his older brother’s disappearance...

After the siege of Yaros, KABUR finally arrives in Gondaxa in the port of Cing-Kor. But, without resources to continue his journey, he is forced to join forces with FERRANE. a young thief who plans to steal the treasure of the sinister magician NODON. But the wizard is not defenseless, and the enterprise quickly proves more perilous than expected, especially since Ferrane has not told Kabur the whole truth...

Roberto Castro's clean black and white work looks superb and the story is full of surprises including the fact that Tanka gets involved and that may hint at some future tie-ins. Lady Falconer is some villainess...or must we call her a "villain" now?  Whatever, it is a good read.

The Peniche portfolio has some lovely solid black and white artwork which catches the eye.

Guavara's portfolio of pencil work is enough to make anyone drool -all of the fine detail that will be inked over but...

When those pages appear in The Jewels of Cing-Kor Sandoval uses not just solid blacks but relies heavily on grey-toning which can be a big mistake.  In this case he has obviously mastered the use and to great effect. 

The stories are, obviously, well written and thought out and action paced carefully. Kabur has developed from a less filled out character in the old stories (some may argue) to a much more complex one.  I think most people who have never read Sword and Sorcery stories just assume its all evil wizard and "Ugh! Smash bad man!" barbarians (that does seem to be a belief).  If you want good art, good stories and to see a well characterised "barbarian" and his adventures then Kabur is a series for you!

Cinebook Ltd - Buck Danny Classics 7 - Sea Dart

 

Authors: Frédéric Zumbiehl and Frédéric Marniquet; illustrated by André Le Bras

Age: 10 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages:  48 colour pages
Publication: September 2024  

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/buck-danny-classics-dart-p-4563.html

Total: £8.99 inc. VAT

1953. Buck, Sonny and Tumb have been sent to the Patuxent River Flight Test Centre to help design and test the Sea Dart, a seaplane jet. Meanwhile, a former SS general previously in command of Nazi special projects, Hans Kammler, has been spotted in Argentina by an American agent – who is then promptly murdered along with every member of the local CIA network. 

The task of locating a potential secret Nazi base then falls to Buck, his friends … and the Sea Dart. 

Wow. You'd think that being an air force pilot in the 1950s would have been about preparing for a war with the Soviet Union.  But, no, we mere civvies have been getting it wrong all along. There were double agents, saboteurs and others to deal with. A Nazis. Yes, Nazis the enemy that just keeps on giving.

Sonny gets into some messes -as one might expect but there has to be some humour, right? But when you are flying a biplane looking for your buddy (Tumbs) getting shot at by some cattleman the attitude changes to annoyance...especially the second time around.  To then be shot down by banditos using what appears to be a Gatling gun......

Sonny captured soon finds himself reunited with Tumbs as they are led into the heart of the Nazi HQ and....we have to wait until volume 8 for the reveal of who the head badddie is (I have my own bet on so we'll see).

There are certain things that stick in the head while reading this and I forgot that Buck Danny Classics are new stories but drawn in the old style.  And the old style works and Ketty Formaggio's colour work adds to the feel and as Buck Danny and Dan Cooper were the two series I read in German there is a certain amount of nostalgia. Always a fun read.