Comic Reviews - Verity Fair, The Grinning Mask & Thunder Brother: Soap Division

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.

There's No Time Like The Present - The End!

I've been wittering on about the majesty of Paul Rainey's There's No Time Like The Present for months now. Well, it's been a long but extremely satisfying journey, and now it's over. #13 is certainly an unlucky number for fans of quality comics - but you'll be pleased to know that writer/artist Paul goes out on a thought-provoking and emotionally satisfying high.

Where most writers would use the final episode of a series to wrap up what's gone before, Paul keeps throwing new ideas at us too. One of the underlying themes of TNTLTP is of time speeding up as you grow older - so while the early episodes started slow with lots of slice of life character work, as the series progressed Paul has introduced more and more fascinating concepts. As a writer, he understands that the most affecting sci-fi is grounded in the world outside our windows, and takes off from there. Under a less-skilled creator, this final episode might seem like an info-dump of exposition, but Paul keeps it human and enthralling even when introducing the most mind-bending of concepts... then leaves us with a surprisingly tender conclusion that packs an emotional punch I really hadn't expected. Come the inevitable TNTLTP graphic novel collection, this story really deserves to reach a much wider audience.

In the meantime, you can read the first 39 pages of Paul's masterpiece by clicking here. Pick up back issues and that awe inspiring final episode by popping over to his shop here.