Comic Reviews: Points West / The Whale House

My old pal Andrew Cheverton is spoiling us this month with the release of not one but two outstanding new comics.

First up, Jerusalem West returns in his latest adventure, Points West - another atmospheric shot of mystery and bloodshed in the old west, this one fleshing out a small moment from a previous adventure, adding more to our understanding of the title character, yet working as a stand-alone story too. As usual, it's packed with grim humour, sudden/shock violence and pitch perfect dialogue... and it looks a million dollars, thanks to regular artist Tim Keable, a man born to draw westerns. Once again, I can't recommend it enough.

Next, we have this...



The Whale House is a new book written by Chev and drawn by Chris Doherty of Video Nasties fame (which I'll be reviewing here soon). It's an entirely different ballgame to West, but no less gripping. A mystery begins to unravel when a young man sets out on a voyage of discovery to find the parents he's never met... but winds up taking lodging with the Whales, a creepy family who believe he's someone else entirely. I happen to know that one of Chev's favourite books is Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived In The Castle, and there's shades of that here, although the characters are ploughing their own furrow and there's absolutely no way of knowing where this story is going. I'm looking forward to finding out, particularly as Chev has once again found the perfect collaborator, another artist so good you wonder why he's not working for the big boys. (Then again, I ask myself that question about many artists in the small press... just as I ask how some of the artists who are drawing for Marvel and DC ever got their jobs in the first place. But that's a discussion for another day.)

Points West and The Whale House #1 are both available to buy from the Angry Candy website in both paper and digital versions. So get on with it...

Comic Review: West - Confederate Dead

I've been looking forward to this latest Jerusalem West adventure ever since the book began. Seeing how well Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable mixed Deadwood-style Western with Romero-esque horror in the book's first few issues, and knowing what a fan of zombie films Chev is, a West / zombies face-off has always been inevitable. And here it is, every bit as juicy and dramatic and bloody and beautiful as I'd hoped... in many ways the most accomplished single issue West story yet.

Plotwise, it's probably also the most straightforward. A young West and his bounty hunter pal Wilton Frohickie (I'm not sure if Chev stole that name from my own favourite Frohickie, but it's a great name nevertheless) are chasing down a ruthless gang of outlaws. Their pursuit leads them to Black Salt Island on a dark and stormy night, and then...

So not only is this the West adventure I've been dying to see Chev write - it's also the most amazing piece of comic art I've yet seen Tim deliver. From the gorgeous wraparound cover to the stylish and dramatic interiors, this is a comic you just can't take your eyes off. A truly gorgeous piece of work. If you like westerns, if you like zombies, if you like comics... if you like breathing: buy this book.

Stray Bullets & Spandex

I reckon the above would make a pretty good title for a comic (perhaps not as good as Too Much Sex & Violence - but hey, that one's taken). As it happens though, this isn't the title of one great comic... it's the title of two. From two of my favourite small press creators...

Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable's tragic Western hero Jerusalem West returns in Stray Bullets, an anthology of short strips that take place at various points throughout the character's history... from his early life as a lovestruck teenager through to the grizzled old gunfighting legend he later becomes... and even beyond. There is action, horror, comedy and romance - it's the most diverse West book yet, showcasing the full potential of the character Chev and Tim have created. Guest art is supplied by a who's who of small press talent, including our old mucker Paul Rainey who gives very good sea monster. West remains the best Western comic I've ever read.

Stray Bullets: A West Anthology is available to buy here for a hugely reasonable £3.50. Fill your hands, you sons of a bitch.

Every time I review a new edition of Martin Eden's multi-coloured gay superheroes romp Spandex, I say "this is the best issue yet". Well, damn it if he hasn't gone and done it again! I've been reading Martin's comics for many a year now and one thing that's always impressed me is his ability to mix balls-to-the-wall superhero action with shamelessly soapy character drama. Spandex #4 is a masterclass in doing just this - and frankly, there's a hell of a lot of pro-comics creators who should read this book as a 'How To' manual. It's funny, it's sexy, it's exciting, it's scary - it's full of unexpected twists and nicely observed character moments. Seriously, what else do you want from your comics... blood? Well, guess what, you get that too.

Spandex #4 - the gloves are off... along with pretty much all the rest of the clothes. "Suggested for mature readers" it says on the cover. "Essential for discerning readers," I'd add. Find out more about Spandex here.

Synchrony Four

The long awaited fourth issue of Andrew Cheverton's small press anthology Synchrony has recently slithered out into the world and it's an enticing bag of genre-leaping shorts, beginning with Auto-Lolita, the story of a pleasure-droid with an attitude that goes beyond sexy. Then Chev teams up with West colleague Tim Keable for a flower picking, rooftop swinging, zombie-avoiding adventure called The Scent Of Coriander. Chev loves him some zombies, but he's about far more than the head-shooting action, as this touching tale shows. There's more heart to be found in the breakdown fable Cracks, and Moon, a self-illustrated 1-pager that manages to say so much with so little. Finally Chev teams up with artist Dan Lester and takes aim for your funny bone with Rod Hull & Emo, of which Lee & Herring fans would surely approve.

I admire Chev's ability to tell such tales in so few pages - I struggle so much to keep my own PJANG page counts to single figures to satisfy those busy, busy small press artists who don't have all day to be drawing other people's scripts... Chev makes it look easy in this excellent, diverse and enthralling collection. Check out Synchrony #4 and some of Chev's other still-in-print books here. They're well worth your time and your pennies.

West - Justice

Fans of westerns, comics, and western comics will be on cloud nine over Boot Hill at high noon over the release of Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable's first hardback collection. Bringing together the first five adventures of mysterious cowboy Jerusalem West in an enviable package, this is one further example of small press comics made good.

I could spend hours constructing a critical review of why you should buy this book, or I could just let Chev do the hard work for me...

A name heard in stories, breathed in whispers.

In some tales, he's a lawman who stands for what's right and fair.

In others, he's a killer - bent on revenge.

Yet more tell of a man wronged by evil and denied his true love, or a brave Union soldier and a true friend.

Some say he fought ancient spirits and killed dead men, shot down the righteous and stood alongside the underdog. Some claim to have killed him, or lost loved ones to his gun.

His name, though, all men can agree on. Told around campfires in the cold prairie night, in the candlelit backrooms of low-rent saloons.

His name was Jerusalem West and these are his stories.

West - Book One: Justice is available now from The Angry Candy Store. While you're there, why not treat yourself to a copy of the first issue of the new West mini-series, Distance, while you're at it? They can't shoot you for it.