Published by: The 77 Publications
Review By: Alski
Popular UK anthology “The 77” has
been a great success, and has also been a great outlet for creators
to show what they can do. Each issue so far has been funded through
Kickstarter with no difficulty, and there's no reason to see the
momentum slowing down as they unleash issue three in the next two
weeks. Ade Hughes cover from his very popular “V” strip seems a
bit muddy to me, like 90s 2000AD, but there's alternative covers for
those who like a choice.
Speaking of “V”, it kicks off the
64 page A4 issue in glorious black and white, which to be honest
suits the story, written by Steve Bull. We're still not too sure
what's going on, although this part leans more towards exposition
than violence and leaves the reader a bit more up to speed. Hughes'
art is very good, as usual, and it's certainly a stand out strip that
leaves you wanting more.
Ace artist Neil Sims makes his third
appearance in another one off called “Grid” by Dave Heeley. This
one looked like it could be a cool, ultra violent series from the
preview but is unfortunately just a two page joke that makes me hope
they find Sims a decent, serious piece of bloody horror that he can
be put to good use on, as this is pretty, but vacant.
“The Screaming Hand” continues, and
as ever Conor Boyle's black and white art impresses whilst Kek-W's
script confuses. It's fun to read and great to look at , but I wish I
knew what was going on.
Bambos Georgiou's “The Cell” is
next, following up it's debut in issue two. Much like “The
Screaming Hand” it's a good read that really doesn't give us much
insight into what it's about, with no world building but a still
compelling narrative backed up by first class colour art from Andrw
Sawyrs (and yes, that's how he spells it).
New thrill “The Trackless Depths”
follows it, at least I hope that's what it's called, as the title
font is a bit too swirly for my old eyes. It stands out from the pack
with great pencil (or light pen, maybe) art from Mac, and concerns an
old sailing ship and some sort of supernatural goings on. Though
pretty to look at, not much happens over six pages. Hopefully the
next part will have more energy to it.
“Matilda Atkins And the Amulet Of
Destiny” is a new strip by Mike Powell that features brilliant
modern and quite cartoony art from Sarah Millman that works like a
charm. Set in a school lesson, the titular heroine gets a magic
amulet, but I won't spoil it by saying more. It's light, fun and
well written, and although it says “The End” at, well, the end, I
want to see more of Matilda. This wouldn't be out of place in one of
the 2000AD Re-Gened issues, and would be a highlight there, too.
Another part three next, as “Division
77” continues its tale of humans forced to fight for an alien race.
The titular division isn't happy about it, though, and a revolution
seems to be the order of the day. Dave Heeley's script rattles along
at a nice pace, with Sinclair Elliott once again providing excellent
art that's coloured just right as well. Along with “V”, this one
holds the issue together well.
Comics legend Lew Stringer's “Sgt
Shouty” gets his usual page for some silly, shouty shenanigans, and
as usual it's the perfect antidote to all the seriousness, this issue
setting up a longer story which should be interesting.
“Forgotten Reality” is a one off
from Anna Everts that after it's four pages left me with the feeling
of “Oh... is that it?”. Phil Elliott's art is nice, with his own
style, but the story just didn't do much for me. Ah well, there's
always one in an anthology, and usually different for each reader,
too.
“Undertow” gives us a part two
next, continuing the story of a for-hire scavenger in a waterlogged
world. Much like the first episode it's intriguing but quite slow,
with Jeremy Dunn's art doing the heavy lifting for Joe Dunn's script.
Another one that may benefit from a read through when it's got going
a bit more.
Back again after last issue's part one
is “Gut Crawlers” by Dan Whitehead. The injured Paul Williams has
been replaced by Filippo Roncone for the follow up, and he does a
fine job in his own style. The premise of getting fuel from the guts
of massive space whales is cool, but I get the feeling that the two
episodes could have told the same story in one, as all it is is just
a set up for future adventures with very little peril. Still, one to
watch as the idea certainly has legs, and they could do worse than
have Filippo carry on the art duties.
Writer and artist Brendon T Wright's
daft strip “Martian Law” gets another outing,and as before I
found it confusing in places as there's a lot of info to digest, but
ultimately a fun read and I really do like that art. Unsurprisingly
set on Mars and concerning a lawman (see what they did!) it's a nice
retro inspired humour tale that's not too whacky and always worth
reading slowly to take it all in.
Another one page humour strip next, as
Skate Worm” skates out (Naturally) for his encore in the comic.
It's very light and although well drawn by Morgan Gleave the lines
seem a bit thick for the reproduction and it's hard to follow what is
happening. I get the feeling that this could be a funnier strip,
rather than just a “worm with attitude” thing.
“Penny Pentagram” returns in an
episode that fleshes her out a bit, with art from J Roydon that seems
like it's been taken from animation stills, which is very effective.
There's a werewolf on the loose, and Penny is tasked with sorting it
out, which sees her meeting a handsome stranger to team up with, like
you do. It's a nice strip that flows well with David Thomas' script
laying things out more clearly than in previous outings. Hopefully
the start of a good story for Penny.
Overall this a solid issue, but if
you're a newcomer I'd advise getting the first two issues as well,
because you can't have too many Indie comics, right?
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