It's great to have Terry Wiley back on the small press scene, after far too long away. On my recent trip to Caption, I was lucky enough to catch up with the first two episodes of his new comic Verity Fair, and to meet Terry in the flesh for the first time.
Verity Fair follows the hilarious and slightly creepy adventures of out-of-work actress Verity Bourneville, a woman of a certain age with no off-switch and dark secrets haunting her subconscious. It's all illustrated in Terry's famously quirky style - he really is one of the best cartoonists on the scene - and available in two formats, cheap black and white or luscious full colour. Sad to say I could only afford the cheap version (though it's still pretty spectacular) but the colour work is a feast for the eyes... as can be seen in the strip's regular serialisation over at The Girly Comic Online.
Verity Fair issues #1 and 2 are available to buy from Terry's website... issue #3 is on its way soon.
One comic I didn't pick up in Oxford, though I understood it made its debut at the recent Birmingham Comic Con, was the second chapter of Ryan Taylor's wonderfully atmospheric EC tribute The Grinning Mask. That pesky mask has been stolen from High Town church and now all manner of eerie, spooky and downright horrific occurrences are plaguing the cottages, coppices and churchyards of this otherwise quaint English village. Ryan ratchets up the tension and has loads of fun with his witty, monsterrific tales, while his art becomes more confident and striking with each page. Looking forward to issue #3!
Go hunting for The Grinning Mask over at Ryan's blog.
Finally, I must mention my old pal Paul Rainey, whose new strip Thunder Brother: Soap Division began its weekly serialisation on Monday. Having been fortunate enough to have read the first few chapters of this excellent comic, I can highly recommend you get on board now... because the story of young soap opera addict Sally Timmins is heading off in some incredible, unpredictable and downright hilarious directions. Even if you don't read comics, if you've ever found yourself overly obsessed with the fictional world of a soap, this strip is a must-read. Add Thunder Brother: Soap Division to your blog-list or RSS-feed now and don't miss an episode.
