Review: The 77 Issue #2 The Summer Special

When it comes to my reading habits, my wife will often say that I have a monkey mind as I'll often have half a dozen different books or comics on the go at any one time.  In fairness,  she's right I do crave lots of new and different stimulation when it comes to my reading. 

With a healthy dose of faux psychoanalysis, I put it down to my comic reading as a kid in the 70s and 80s. One day I'd be reading Warlord, the next The Beano, then 2000AD would hit the doormat. A mixed bag of genres and each an anthology, variety and a different thrill every few pages.  Thankfully, in 2020, we are being treated to the rise of the anthology comic once again.

Earlier this year saw the release of the excellent The 77 issue one and last week Uncle Pat Mills Spacewarp anthology also had it's highly anticipated digital release (see my last review). My monkey mind was in heaven! 

Needless to say I committed to the Kickstarter for The 77 Issue #2: The Summer Special with the added bonus of a T-shirt too.  The good folks at The 77 Towers were kind enough to give me a sneak preview of the summer special for me to review here.  Those who pledged to the Kickstarter will, hopefully, start to receive their copies from next week, so I'll aim for this review to be spoiler free.  

The summer special has a striking cover from rising star Neil Sims, we are treated to his electric vision of Benksy the mysterious editor of The 77.  Unfettered by clutter on the cover, Neils portrait is given room to breathe and entice us in.  Turning the page, any 2000AD reader will feel right at home with a welcome from Benksy and praise laden readers letters.  After a jukebox style contents page we are off and running.  With 68 pages packed with 16 different strips I'll just pick out a selection of stories that stood out for me.  

The superb black and white art of Ade Hughes who just had a starring role in Spacewarp, drawing SF1, brings violent life to Steve Bulls "V" which builds nicely from issue 1. More black and white art from 2000AD alum PJ Holden illustrates Jerico 5, a new addition to The 77s lineup, by Dan Whitehead.  Set in 1977 New York, this story is intriguing and certainly has a lot of potential. 

Brendon Wrights Martian Law is anything but black and white, his colourful take on a Mars terraformed in 1950s style matches his very alliterative script. Not necessarily to my taste but it stands out from the crowd. The legend that is Steve Macmanus gives us a great four page tale called The Collector, it has a definite Future Shock feel about it with lovely work by Charlie Gillespie on art.

Fan favourite from issue one, Division 77, goes from strength to strength.  It starts with an all action Starship Troopers vibe and takes an interesting turn. Dave Heeley on the words Sinclair Elliott on pictures.  Another 2000AD artist, Paul Williams makes his 77 debut with his clean lined and detailed black and white style for Gut Crawlers a tale about the search for the fuel of the future and….space whales.

Andrew Sawyers, a name you may know from 2000AD Facebook groups has his debut strip in Bambos Georgios The Cell.  You can see the Jock influence in his work, but equally he brings his own style to the storytelling.  Rounding off the special is Ghastly United, a story evocative of those balmy summer holidays playing football every spare moment but, with a horrific twist.  Neil Sims on art duties here, for Barry Tomlinsons story, using his skills to bring favourite horror characters to life. Some great black and white art with sparing splashes of red that serve to bring the characters and their dark intentions to life. 

As with any anthology not every story hit the mark for me, Undertow left me underwhelmed, Penny Pentagram still doesn't do it for me.  Dave Bedford and Andrew Richmonds Trompe la Mort was a lovely, atmospheric piece but I found the speech bubbles and lettering jarring.  However those are minor blemishes on this gem of a comic and only the humble opinion of this reviewer.  

If you have backed the Kickstarter you are in for a treat very soon but,  if you missed out, there is plenty of opportunity to buy a copy before summer ends.  In my opinion issue #2 has come out stronger than ever and trumped issue # 1.  Again the love and passion for the comic from its creators and editorial team shines out from every page.  Get a copy of this summer special and relive those long hot comic reading summer days of your youth.

If you want a copy: https://getmycomics.com/the77