Geek Syndicate
COMIC REVIEW - Reads Volume 2
The House, Claire Stewart’s beautiful and mysterious Cloudriders and Paul Rainey’s devastating Wednesdays. felt it was a nice touch to have Metroland as the first story, and it proved to be a strong opener that felt like it carried straight on from the last anthology. Wednesdays by P.B. Rainey is a quirky finish to the book. It feels different in a good way just like the rest of this anthology. Yet it doesn’t seem to have the same bang that Metroland had. The inventiveness continues in the stories. Metroland uses clever panel structures help the story to move to a nice pace. Yet hats off must go to the ingenious structure by Michael Gosden and David White in Bad Times Ahead. The first page will blow you away with its quirky style. This continues through the entire story. These techniques and devices make the book stand out from the crowd. It is what made me so excited to read this latest issue. Reads is an indie comic at its best: a crop of highly talented creators showing what they can do. Many stories finish with a “To Be Continued” and I can happily say that I cannot wait to find out what will happen in them. Metroland has grown from its first stellar outing. Miller’s art once again stands out, with its Lowry feel - the scratchy pencil lines adding depth to the story. His use of cultural references adds an extra element to the story. Bad Times Ahead was unique and intriguing: I left feeling upset that when I turned the page there was not more of the story. Tim Bird’s style is similar
The Review:
When I reviewed Avery hill Publishing’s Reads last year I was astonished by the quality offered in this anthology. Now the hard bit has arrived: trying to recapture the magic from volume 1 with volume 2. Once again, the cover art is striking; a homage to The Beatles, this cover will capture the reader’s interest straight away. One of the things that I liked so much about the first anthology was its uniqueness. Having released a tried and tested product, the Reads team managed to make volume two feel innovative. Hilary Harper, a character from the first anthology introducing the book, which works on three fronts: it is a cool way to introduce the character, a clever way to market the first anthology and is an innovative device to show the contents of this second volume. I loved how the character broke the fourth wall complaining that there was not enough room for his strip this time around. It is always important to have a strong opener and ending story to an anthology. Last time, Ricky Miller decided to finish Reads with his own work, Metroland. It was a good choice. Metroland was one of the strongest stories in a book that had quality running all the way through it. This time it’s the first story in the book. I
Contributors: Tim Bird, Laura Coxeter, Sam Ely, Emma Hammond, Steven Horry, Paul Rainey, Claire J. C. Stewart, Rebecca Strickson, Sujo Tanaka, Edward Ward and Lawrence Williams Publisher: Avery Hill Publishing
The Blurb:
The wait is finally over – Issue 2 of Reads is here! 44 pages of comics anthology goodness, worth the price of admission for the fantastic cover by Liz Jordan alone This time round we kick off with the next instalment of Metroland, Ricky Miller’s labyrinthine tale of multidimensional rock n roll. The legendary Tim Bird gives us another slice of London life in The Knowledge and the plot thickens in Dave and Goz’s Bad Times Ahead. Plus a trio of talent make their Reads debuts: Marjory Wallace with her charming childhood story
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