Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis seems to be quite a divisive writer among comic fans, I have enjoyed pretty much everything that I've read by him, on my return to comics. However, a knowledgeable comics fan friend of mine, once described some of his strips as puerile and childish.  To be honest I have to agree that there can be an element of that to his work but equally I think that is sometimes what attracts me.

The full on, in your face, behaviour of the cast of say The Boys, is so politically incorrect you just have to laugh at the brazenness of the characters and the writer. It appeals to that 70s child in me that grew up in a time when you weren't looked on as a maniac for not wearing a helmet when you rode your Grifter.  We were brought up on bawdy Carry On films and shows like the Sweeney and The Professionals, where men were men and birds were crumpet. 

But where Ennis really hits his stride is with war stories, like his Battlefields collection, the attention to detail and research for this work is always evident. He has an obvious passion for these stories but they don't always garner the audience recognition of titles like The Boys or Preacher.  Perhaps he works like Gary Oldman, who famously takes on the big Hollywood commercial roles so that he can afford to work on his own smaller passion projects. 

For me the best of both worlds has been reading Ennis' run on The Punisher Max for Marvel.  My introduction to this was buying Volume one of the Complete Punisher Max Collection which brings together Born #1-4, Punisher (2004) #1-12.  Born sees Ennis team up with his art collaborator from The Boys, Darick Robertson - always a favorite of mine.

Born gives a great insight into Frank Castles time spent fighting in the Vietnam war and how that shaped him into becoming the Punisher (as ever I’ll try to avoid spoilers).  The story ‘In the Beginning’ sees the narrative taken into New York, after Franks return from Vietnam and introduces the event which befalls his family, that you may be familiar with if you’ve watched the Netflix/Marvel series starring John Beranthal.  The art duties here falling to Lewis LaRosa who gives us a hulking grizzled image of Frank.   

Much of Ennis’ work is a love letter to New York, a place that he admits he fell in love with from the moment he set foot there. However, there isn't much love to be found in the final story in this collection 'Kitchen Irish' when Frank becomes caught up in a turf war between gangs in Hells Kitchen.  This strip featuring the pencilling of Leandro Fernandez who, like the previous artists, gives us some great images of a hench, battle scarred Punisher.

Much to my chagrin, my first exposure to The Punisher was via the TV series and that whet my appetite to read some Punisher comics.  When I found out that Ennis had done a run, then my mind was made up. I get the feeling that this run was a big influence on the TV series and Beranthals portrayal.  Both are very brutal and very bloody, not for the squeamish reader or viewer. Needless to say, I've loved it and I'm hoping to get the fourth and final book in the collected series soon.

So, if you only know Garth Ennis from his time writing for 2000AD or from the TV adaptations of his work I would definitely recommend jumping on with this Punisher Max run.  Then, the Ennisverse is your oyster and there is a lot out there to choose from, I'll no doubt look at more in the future. 

As a postscript, Garth returns to British comics on Wednesday 25th March when the Action 2020 special is released by Rebellion and the Treasury of British Comics.  More details here:

https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/RCS2062

John Wagner

John Wagner

I thought I'd kick off with the guvnor, the man behind the iconic 2000AD tentpole character of Judge Dredd, John Wagner.  

I knew John had a long history of writing comic stories and even editing comics, before he began writing Dredd. Famously, in the early days he was hammering out stories for girls and boys adventure comics, along with mainstays like Cor and Whizzer and Chips, in a garden shed with Pat Mills.  He was a mainstay of 2000AD often writing under pseudonyms such as T.B Grover and John Howard, to name just a couple, crafting some great characters along the way. In partnership with Alan Grant, he created both Robo-Hunter and fan favourite Johnny Alpha the Strontium Dog. Of course we can't neglect to mention old stoney face himself, Judge Dredd with iconic art by the maestro Carlos Esquerra.

But, I want to concentrate on a graphic novel that I had no idea John was the writer of, 1997s A History of Violence. I'd seen the 2005, David Cronenberg, film adaptation starring Vigo Mortenson and Ed Harris, but never realised that the original story was by John Wagner. I discovered this fact when listening to Eamonn Clarkes Mega City Book Club and his guest was discussing the book*.  Needless to say my next stop was Ebay to get hold of a copy to read for myself.

On receipt, my first surprise was the size, I was expecting your average sized graphic novel but, the copy I got was more like a small paperback book. I even thought I'd got a prose version. Happily, on opening, I realised that this was not just a prose book but just a smaller format graphic novel. 

My next surprise was the artwork, none of the smooth, polished, sometimes in colour, style of art I'd been used to accompanying JWs work in 2000AD. The art from Vince Locke was a scratchy black and white artwork. After I got over my initial surprise of these two facts, a few days later I settled down to give it a read.

A History of Violence, fulfilled all those dust cover cliches that you read like, "I couldn't put it down" and " a real page turner".  Once I started reading I was drawn into its world, I really cared for the characters and what was going to happen to them next. Lockes style of artwork, really gives the book an edgy reality. 

Wagner's script here, as with much of his work, seems so effortless, hitting the perfect notes of acerbic wit and unsentimental storytelling.  I'm not going to give any spoilers here but, for me, at its heart the book is a tense story of change and of retribution for past deeds. Oh and violence, lots of violence, give it a read you won't regret it.

At a recent con I was able to meet John and go all fanboy, getting many items signed amongst which is my copy of A History of Violence. 

Bringing things right up to date, along with some excellent recent Dredd stories for the prog, John has been working on Rok of The Reds and the upcoming Rok The God. Teamed up again with Alan Grant on writing duties and art from the amazing Dan Cornwell. If you've not read Rok of The Reds you need to get it in your life. Here's a description from the blurb that sums it up…

'Dangerous intergalactic outlaws and an arrogant footballer collide, on the run after his home world is destroyed, Rok of Arkadi needs a hiding place. And that hiding place happens to be troubled football star Kyle Dixon. A black comedy about revenge, redemption and the 'beautiful game'.

*Note: I highly recommend listening to the excellent MCBC podcast but, be ready to deplete your bank account as you won't be able to stop yourself buying the books they talk about.

My Comics Origin story and a Blog Begins

My Comics Origin story and a Blog Begins

Stands up and clears throat…”My name is Garry and I’m a lapsed comic reader.”

Mine was the old story of reading comics from a young age, then leaving comics behind after finding the lure of booze and women too strong.  But, after nearly 30 years in the comic wilderness I returned to the fold when my wife got me the 1977 Christmas issue of 2000AD as a Christmas gift.  Returning to 2000AD was my gateway drug, I started picking up all the classics I’d missed, like Watchmen for instance.

Thanks to the Awesome Comics podcast guys, I started getting into the indie and small press titles too, mainlining on the Comichaus app and backing small kickstarters.  Thanks to them I now have a Comixology and Amazon wish list that would bankrupt a small country.

I love the breadth of the art and stories that are out there from the modern classics to the small personal, even abstract pieces that can be a more challenging read.  I’ve been lucky enough to get to some cons and meet creators and fans alike, more recently organising the 2000AD Eastern Contingent meet-ups. I've been interested to find out that there are a lot of 2000AD fans who read nothing else but the prog, meg and the collected works from the past. 

So in an effort to perhaps persuade those 2000AD stalwarts to try something else I've created this blog where I'll write about and, hopefully introduce, some new comics into your life. It won't be in-depth critiques (I'll leave that to those much better qualified than I) but just my take on what I've read and enjoyed, or not enjoyed. I'll start with some works by 2000AD alumni like Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and then look at work by other creators.