Rob checks out White Heat Comics #1...
White Heat Comics is a brand-new, 66-page comic that's been inspired by the medium's 'Golden Age'. Created by animation industry veteran; Stephen Reid, White Heat Comics aims to capture the balance of quirkiness and action that made comics of the golden era a hit.
With a talented bunch of writers and artists by his side, Reid has ventured out into the realm of crowdfunding to see his mini-digest dream become a reality. At the time of writing this review, the Kickstarter campaign is heading into its final 10-days. Not only has the project smashed its modest goal of £408 (current funding: £3,445), there are still plenty of great backer rewards on offer!
Split between three different narratives, White Heat Comics is an eclectic mix of sci-fi, action-adventure, and "Jungle Girl" styles, all tied together with some great artwork. Just reading the Kickstarter campaign page shows how much passion has gone into making White Heat Comics a reality, and it's about time we dived into its pages...
Kicking proceedings off is 'Kyla, The Goddess Who Walks The Earth' that's been written by Steven Ross, with art by Stephen Reid. What follows is a homage to the "Jungle Girl" comics of old Reid and Ross giving us a simple story of the ass-kicking Kyla. While the majority of 'Kyla, The Goddess Who Walks The Earth' takes place within a somewhat fantasy setting, it does have a sci-fi element that ties it all together.
Without going into spoilers, the voluptuous Kyla is a genetically modified human, who was "created" to take back the planet after a less than ideal first contact. Deciding to shun her long-dead creator's way of life, Kyla takes on a more natural lifestyle and lives in the overgrown remains of the once-proud cities that adorned the planet. When armed strangers start to abduct the peaceful alien jungle-dwellers, Kyla decides to rise and takes the fight to these aggressors.
There's a lot of storytelling and atmosphere brought across during this opening tale. Even with the bulk of exposition, the story moves at quite a pace. Kyla is a well-designed character, and while she seems 'over-sexualised' we're soon shown that she's this world's apex predator. She's a bad-ass in a bikini who's not afraid to get stab-y when necessary.
Next up is Pete Stewart's debut strip; Jungle John, King of the Amazon. Often posting his artwork on his social media page, Stewart has finally brought his unique-rough style to the pages of a comic. Here the artist flies solo as we get a nice two-page interlude about Jungle John and his online shopping escapades. While it's a criminally short story, I'm hoping we get to see Stewart's refreshing style grace more pages in the future.
The final story in this debut issue is the sci-fi action-adventure Deb Bonair. Written once again by Stephen Reid, Deb Bonair charts the adventures of swashbuckling space pirate 'Deb Bonair' and her all-female pirate gang. After winning the cargo of the space freighter 'Terran' during a card game, Deb Bonair and her crew have come to collect. Trouble is that this specific cargo belongs to galactic crime lord - Murd The Oppressor.
Unlike Kyla, The Godness Who Walks The Earth, Deb Bonair doesn't fill its pages with backstory or much world-building. What we do get is a great introduction to the character, with small hints of future plot points developing in the background. Pacing is spot-on as we follow the group as they plunder the space freighter. I would have liked a few more pages to this strip. While it's fine as is, having a few more pages could have opened the brief combat scenes to show off the group's talents.
Rory Hensley's art is superb, with the artist doing a great job in bringing Reid's script to life. Characters are also well designed with plenty of different aliens and robots in the frame. Deb Bonair is also well designed, and much like Kyla, Reid and Hensley show that this gunslinger doesn't need any man's help in squashing those who stand in her way.
Overall White Heat Comics #1 is a fun read. Coming in at 66-pages there's a lot here to like. Both main strips feature a likeable cast thrown into situations that could easily translate to plenty more stories within the future of the publication. Aside from the narratives, the artwork is also of a high quality that jumps straight from the page.
And of course, a big shout-out has to go to Pete Stewart whose appearance here is certainly going to be a springboard into some much larger projects!
There's still time to back White Heat Comics #1, which you can do so by clicking here.
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Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev
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