Geek Culture Reviews

“What’s that coming over the hill, it’s Falcon #2!” The brainchild of Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle is back for its second issue. That’s right, Falcon , the A3 tabloid-style comic anthology has had a successful funding campaign on Kickstarter which means Holloway and Doyle have yet another successful project on their respective chalkboards.   For those who don’t know, Falcon is inspired by comics such as The Eagle where each story takes place over 1/2 pages. Featuring a smorgasbord of digestible stories created by a vast array of writers and artists, the content of Falcon is just as unique as its page format. Normally when it comes to reviewing an anthology I’d dive into each strip and give a brief overview of its plot, art, and writing. Much like my review for Falcon #1 , I’m going to deliberately ignore this format. With Falcon #2 being a collection of single-page spreads this means that any in-depth review will probably end up spoiling the experience - which is something no on...

From the pages of The77 and Pandora comes PENNY PENTAGRAM ISSUE 1 - a 32 page US format comic in full colour! Fresh from the pages of The77 and Pandora anthologies, the mythological ass kicking teen, Penny Pentagram stars in her own comic. Written by David Thomas with art by Andrew Richmond , Penny has come a long way since their first appearance back in The77 Issue #1 . Since then Penny has had strips featured across The77’s sister publication Pandora , and appeared in both the publishers anthologies. The younger Penny has also seen their adventures within the publishers new all-ages anthology, LOLZ .  Heading to Kickstarter the folks over at 77 Publishing  are seeking crowdfunding to make this standalone Penny Pentagram  story a reality. And with a very achievable target of £1,977, the team are already at £1,052 with 27 days to go (correct figures at time of writing). “Penny's feeling the pinch and working in a chicken shop to make ends meet until they one day take a...

Freaktown Comics heads to crowdfunding for Hairy Tales and Bald Truths…  Following on from last year’s successful campaign for Hairy Tales , Russell Hillman (script) and Sergio Calvet (everything else) have reunited for a sequel which launched on Kickstarter on 12th March.  In case you missed it, Hairy Tales is an autobiographical comic that tells stories from Russell Hillman’s teenage years, illustrated by Sergio Calvet. The campaign made enough of a splash to suggest to the creative team that a follow-up may be in order. This sequel, Hairy Tales and Bald Truths: 22 Short Stories About Russell Hillman goes through Russell’s life, answering 22 common questions –from What’s Your Earliest Memory? to What’s The Strangest Place You’ve Ever Had Sex ?, and beyond. Designed to be a user’s guide to Russell Hillman, should you ever find yourself in need of one, Hairy Tales and Bald Truths aims to be a fun and funny look at the life of a fairly average person.  Don’t worry ...

You all remember the Eagle right? When Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle initially announced they were planning Falcon I was a bit sceptical. While the A3 tabloid style comic book was a hit back in the mediums golden era, would it be a design that holds up in 2024? While the likes of Sentinel and The77 reign supreme in capturing the very essence of what made up the youth reading of their respective communities, can Falcon recreate the excitement that came with reading The Eagle back in day? And more importantly, was my initial scepticism proved to be wrong? While I’m far too young to remember the initial outings of The Eagle, working in a charity shop I’ve experienced gawping through the publications first three annuals (no they didn’t come home with me). Even with some of the writing being a little stuffy in places I could easily see why the publication was quite a hit back in the day. It even surprised me that my Dad used to read The Eagle too! (Apparently he was a big Dan Dare fan! Wh...

ComicScene set to publish ‘Tara Togs - The Silence of Unicorns’ graphic novel… Our friends over at ComicScene.org have teamed up with former Oor Wullie artist Stephen White to bring the 68-page graphic novel, Tara Togs - The Silence of Unicorns to life. Partly funded by Creative Scotland, White who goes under the pen name of Stef has been inspired by the likes of TinTin, Indiana Jones, and Lara Croft in creating his Edinburgh based tale.  Stref said today “ The project took three years to complete, mostly as a covid lockdown project, in between my current ongoing work for Viz Comic.   Tara dreams of becoming a professional photographer and her knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time lands her smack-bang in the middle of a gang of ruthless criminals and their plot to steal a valuable piece of art.    Armed only with her quick wits and unfailing bravery, she sets out to bring the gang to justice.  She manages to make a few friends on her adven...

A tribute to a comic great… For those who knew him, Dave Evans was the go-to guy when it came to the British Small Press scene. The overseer to 2000 AD fanzines Zarzaz and Dogbreath, Evans  worked with many talented artists, and writers who contributed to the projects he helmed. When he wasn’t attending comic conventions, or tutoring those he took under his wing, Evans  was busy lending his lettering skills to other independent works. Sadly in 2021, Evans succumbed to his inner demons which resulted in him taking his own life. Move forward to 2022 and Sentinel founders Alan Holloway and Ed Doyle were busy at work creating something that would act as a lasting tribute to the legacy that Dave Evans created. As such Bolt-01: A Tribute to Dave Evans was born. Utilising the powers of social media, Holloway and Doyle sent a shout out to those who worked with Evans, or brought one of his many FutureQuake Press productions to get in touch. To say that the response was less than incred...

Back in 2020 ComicScene released the first batch of their incredibly ambitious History of Comics series. The project is made up of a series of books that will chart comic history from 1930 to the present day. The project plans to end in 2030 and with it the completion of the most definitive edition of comic history that's ever been made. Fast forward to 2021, ComicScene are back with the next four issues in the series; 1971 , 1976 , 1991 and 2000.  As I write this article the crowdfunding campaign currently stands at £5,529 which has been pledged by 87 backers. With 13 days left to go the project needs to reach £9,000 to be funded. So what's the History of Comics all about? (The following is taken from the official Kickstarter page)  " Launched in 2020 the History of Comics is a 100 issue partwork covering comics from 1930 to the present day. The project is scheduled to end in 2030 with the definitive collection of comic history ever made. The fifth book, T...