Review: Sentinel Issue #4: Misty Moore

I was recently lucky enough to get a preview of the upcoming issue of Sentinel Issue 4 "Misty Moore".  I'd heard Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle interviewed on Damian Edwardsons "Omen to That" podcast (always worth a listen) and they were talking about issue 4. I was intrigued to learn that it was going to be a horror story, another tangent for The Sentinel.

Misty Moore is the story of a teenage girl whose family up sticks and move to the South West of Englan in the early 80s. They move into a large, grand building that houses a few families and, it turns out, has a dark history of its own.  Misty suffers the trials that any teen moving area and schools might, halfway through a term.  Through no fault of her own, she certainly makes more enemies than friends.  It's at this time the dark past of the house is truly revealed, but how will this affect Misty and those that are bullying her?

When I was a kid growing up in the 70s, God help you if you were caught reading a girls comic by your mates, so I never read anything like Tammy, Jinty or Misty at the time.  But now I realise that I've perhaps missed out on some well crafted stories from the likes of Pat Mills and John Wagner and some lovely art from such artists as Shirley Bellwood and Jesus Redondo. 

I'm sure that Misty Moore would fit easily into the pages of Misty or Scream, Alan Has given us a story that moves along at a good pace and holds the readers interest right to the end, with one or two horrific twists. He has called upon his own family history, which adds to the authentic feel of the comic, setting the story in a village and house that he lived in as a youngster even catching the bus to school from the local precinct, just as Misty does. 

Ian Beedle has described himself as a "self taught artist, with still a lot to learn" well his teacher is doing a great job.  His fine line black and white work here suits the story perfectly and he has captured the feel of the 80s spot on, the clothes, hairstyles and even the bitchy fourth year girls.  Yes, some aspects of his art need a little honing but that can be overlooked for the great storytelling he brings with his work. As a side note, look out for cameos from Alan and Ed in the comic.

You may think this all sounds a little bit tame but, trust me, things turn very dark and very violent. There are some splash pages that certainty aren't for the squeamish, at times more suited for The Walking Dead than Misty or Scream. An enjoyable horror tale that echoes the stories of old, but with a modern twist.

At the time of writing there are 11 days of the Kickstarter still to go, check out the rewards on offer or alternative cover from rising star of The77, Neil Sims.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sentinelcomic/sentinel-issue-4-misty-moore?ref=android_project_share

Review: Rejected

I remember the first time I met Baden James Mellonie, it was at the NICE Bedford comicon in 2018. He was sharing a table with Steven Austin and David Millgate and I remember him a) being a fellow fan of the most underrated rock band, Therapy? And b) him showing me some artwork for a book that he was working on Called Rejected. Right away the title and cover by Stephen Sampson hit me, such a stunning multifaceted image and that colour scheme, just gorgeous. 

Baden wanted to address the concept of rejection, in this case by putting together a collection of his scripts that,  for whatever reason, have been turned down in the past.  So was it worth waiting for, should these scripts have stayed rejected? I got a copy and settled down to read.

Right away I was on familiar ground with Steven Austin on the art duties for the first story, Angel, about a father and daughter (the titular Angel) trying to survive after a tsunami. All I'll say is this is a story that deserves a second read, to see it through eyes that know the ending. 

Next comes a script rejected by Tharg as one of his Future shocks, it has all the elements that you would want from a future shock, including art by Karl Richardson. Obviously this includes the final shock or twist, that I won't reveal here, I've read a lot worse in the prog that's for sure.   Perhaps The Mighty One was having an off day when he turned this one down.

Tusk, with art by 2000AD art droid David Millgate, follows just one page of pencils for a story about a trucker being chased down and shot at by armed men. I was left wanting more from both art and story - what or who is Tusk?  How has Jake, the trucker, pissed off a gang of armed men?

Another Future Shock script, The Girl of their Dreams, gives us the tale of a city shares dealing yuppie type, who meets a girl in a bar, but is she who she seems to be? This was the only story that I didn't like as the ending left me a bit cold and not very shocked. But as any 2000AD regular reader knows that is the way of an anthology - not everything will hit the mark.

However Mayne, created with artist David Hitchcock, is one that certaintly the mark.  I'm a fan of David's artwork so was very happy to see him on the pencils for this one.  If you like horror you should grab a copy of his book The Signalman.  This action filled steampunk adventure, centering on the character Mayne as he leaves jail, suits his style perfectly.  Again I was left wanting more.

The Family Man sees a team up once more with David Millgate on this Zombie tale and if you know Badens work on Edge of Extinction you'll know that he gives great Zombie.  The final piece is a co-creation with Steven Austin who, as you might guess, does the art too.   This was my favourite story, one of missing persons and horrors that lie in wait. Steven's art really takes centre stage here, as there is no speech, complementing Badens script perfectly.

The collection rounds off with a lot of extra material such as character sketches, scripts and a great piece from the writer himself giving an insight as to how Rejected came about. He candidly discusses personal issues that affected him and the feelings brought about by the rejection of something that has been a labour of love.  But most tellingly Baden explains how he was able to reframe his thoughts about rejection and turn the negatives into a positive. That positive is the collection of great stories and some awesome black and white artwork sat in front of me now.  

If you want to decide for yourself if these scripts should have been rejected in the first place, then you can get your own copy from: www.eighthcontinentpublishing.com

GGA Galaxy Grappling Alliance: Solarslam XX

My first memories of wrestling were watching greats like Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki and Mick McManus (funny how you always remember the bad guys.) This was Saturday teatime at the tail end of World of Sport, great fun especially when the camera would cut to some old granny shouting at the bad guy.  

The American wrestling scene kind of passed me by, but when my son was about 5 he got into it.  Like the British stuff the guys were incredible athletes but it was always more about the show and spectacle.   Everything from the presenters to the bosses of the sport were all about the show.  I even took my lad to some of the live WWE when it came over here, possibly more enticed by the thought of the female wrestlers.

Why this trip down memory lane? You may wonder what this has to do with comics.  Well I recently got my hands on Damian Edwardsons second comic of his Galaxy Grappling Alliance (GGA) series titled Solarslam. 

The premise is that in the distant Future any galaxy wide disputes are settled in the wrestling ring, organised by the GGA.  Wrestlers are the champions who represent the parties involved in a dispute.  In this case the survival of thousands from the Runnels system, injured and in need of medical supplies following a natural disaster, relies on the skills of 'Sensational Jade' to beat 'The Fabulous Mauler' Limus Flavus.  Not only fighting for the supplies but also to retain her title as champion.  Problem is Flavus and her corner man are not adverse to using some very dirty tactics to win.

I'm not going to go any further into the plot, to avoid spoilers, but let me tell you you'll be left wanting more. Somehow Damian has managed to capture the feel and atmosphere of a drama filled wrestling match, experienced both in the flesh and through the TV, via his comic.  Of course great storytelling and artwork are his tools here but both are aided by the superb lettering of Aaron Rackley who manages to juggle the speech of Wrestlers, corner men, and commentators so that we never lose track of what's going on in the fast paced story.

A great fun read that brings back happy memories and vividly captures the sport, atmospere and showmanship that is wrestling.  If you want to grab a copy of issue 1 and very soon issue 2 here's a link: 

https://www.artninetwo.com/artninetwoshop/galaxy-grappling-alliance