By 'eck, this'll take you back! The good chaps at Comicscene have gone all out for this, a 116 page hardback full colour annual that even goes so far as to homage a classic 2000AD annual (1982, fact fans) with the delicious cover art by Charlie Gillespie on the hardover version.
There's 22 different stories included, plucked from the brains of some of the brightest indie talent in the UK. From Steve Tanner and Roland Bird's always impressive Dick Turpin to the always welcome daftness of Captain Wonder, a humour strip from James Farrelly that ALWAYS makes me laugh and looks great. To be fair, everything looks great here, with the thick, shiny pages bringing the colours to life throughout. Most of the material within is reasonably or totally self contained, whilst a few seem out of place, plucked from a larger comic and struggling to connect (with me, anyway). That said, it's a very successful undertaking, with much of it exclusive to the annual.
Rather than go into all 22 strips, I'll just focus on some of my favourites. Comicscene regular Captain Cosmic by Andy Clift makes a deliberately pulpy appearence, and seems right at home in a traditional annual, whilst Sam Johnson and Carlos Granda bring us 'Geek Girl Vs Mean Girl', taken from their Geek Girl comic line. Whilst I'm not a big fan of busty sexy superheroes the art is really good and it's a good starting place for anyone interested in the series (and family friendly). 'Father's Day' is a rather dark one off in sketchy but effective black and white from Michael Powell and Phil Elliott, followed by Matt Warner and Mark Adams 'Mandy The Monster', which is a lighter sort of horror based story that sets up teh character nicely for more adventures. Colin Maxwell delivers the two tone Commando Comics spoof 'Captain Commando' which made me giggle, as did Rich Carrington and Brian Dawson's one off 'Poker Night', about a group of supervillains and their troubles.
The highlight for me is the five part Harker story 'The Warehouse Incident' from Roger Gibson and Vincent Danks. Harker is a detective, aided by DI Critchley, and although it's just another detective story amongst thousands, it's elevated by great writing and characterisation, not to mention Danks' lovely art depicting London. There's a couple of fun kids strips from Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle, with 'Going Viral' being an adapation of a short story by 9 year old Corbin Webb. We're also introduced to the one page adventures of 'Neil Lithic & Tim', about a caveman and his pet sabre toothed tiger.
The annual closes with two cool stories, starting with a Shaman Kane story 'Trouble On Sigma 958' from small press star David Broughton. It's an action packed romp that won't challenge too much, and if you enjoy it he's got several full issues featuring the popular character. 'Westernoir' closes the interior content, and is another ongoing series elsewhere. Mixing westerns and monsters it's a good read that left me wanting more, and Dave West and Gary Critchley must be proud of it.
Rachael Smith gets the back cover with a fun humour strip about the lockdown, and I mention her because I follow her regular strips about daily life and reccommend that you do as well. She rounds off a very enjoyable reading experience with a multitude of different styles and subjects that will have something for anyone, kids and adults alike.Treat yourself, then treat a friend as well.
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