Geek Culture Reviews

The77 Publications have given us a taster of what’s in store within The77 Annual No. 2… Currently seeking crowdfunding via Kickstarter, Steve Bull (Editor of The77) has teased potential readers on what to expect when The77 Annual No. 2 heads to comic book shelves later this year.  Featuring the talents of; Ade Hughes, Dave Heeley, Ian Stopforth, Paul Goodenough, Noel K. Hannan, Marc Jackson, Azza, Ken Janssens, Jeremy Dunn, Gary Burley, Andrew Richmond, David Thomas, Anna Everts, Darren Stephens, and many more, The77 Annual No. 2 promises to be an epic read over the festive season. And with included strips coming from across The77-Verse (The77, Pandora, Blazer!, and This Comic is Haunted), well, there’s already a lot to like!  The Kickstarter campaign for The77 Annual No. 2 is currently live and you can pledge towards it right here!  Why not check out my review of The77 Annual No. 1!  For more from The77 Publications you can check out their online store here....

The Grey Phantom returns to peddle his frightful wares… Not content with letting sleeping ghouls lie, Dave Heeley has once again treaded into the depths of his cellar to bring us 40-pages of fiendish chills, pin-ups, and history lessons . With the return of some old haunts, and some fresh meat, does This Comic is Haunted #2 hit the same goosebumps as its opening horror-filled salvo?  Well dear reader, come with me as we enter the crypt to find out! As Heeley’s alter ego mentions on the opening page “ the first issue was so successful that I fear some readers may never recover!” and he’s absolutely correct. The launch issue not only filled a gap in the market for horror-based comics, it also set its own bar incredibly high. That being said, with the opening issue out of the way - and it’s readers hooked into returning - the team can really start to open the horror up, and experiment with the formula.  The Lodger - Part 2 (Jo Heeley, Ian Stoppforth, Andrew Richmond) Created by ...

Everything old, is new again... Back in 2020 and a new retro anthology leaped onto the British indie comic scene. From the musings of a few members of the 1977-2000AD Facebook group, The77 came into existence. Consisting of 68-pages The77 Issue #1 was a love letter to those comic books all of us read growing up. Taking the style of a simple anthology, the first issue featured a multitude of serialised strips across plenty of attractive genres. Now heading towards its 9th issue, the anthology had grown in both popularity and size. Spawning offshoots such as Blazer! , Pandora , and This Comic Is Haunted , what started as a simple fanzine has evolved into a full-fledged brand.  Regardless of where The77 Publications sees its future, its not forgot its past. While The77 Issue #1 is now long out of physical print, it's original contents have been remixed, reloaded, and more importantly - streamlined. So, with The77 Reissue No. 1 now in the wild, what a perfect time to get reacquai...

Rob reviews This Comic Is Haunted... This Comic Is Haunted is the ghoulish new anthology from the folks over at The77 Publications . Welding the executioner's axe for this horror-filled anthology of the dead is Dave Heeley , who along with art director Andrew Richmond have become slaves to the mysterious 'Grey Phantom'.  With the Phantom offering their freedom in exchange for gathering a fiendish menagerie of writers and artists, Heeley and Richmond got to work.  Now with the finished article in our hands, it's time we gazed into the Grey Phantom's lair... The Lodger (Jo Heeley, Ian Stoppforth) Kicking things off is a superb suspenseful horror bought to us by writer Jo Heeley and artist Ian Stoppforth . The Lodger tells the tale of a simple council welfare check that soon turns strange. Across this opening episode, we follow Council Housing Officer, Jan as she's called to the Helleston Estate - a seemingly normal block of flats. With a distraught...

Rob speaks to Dave Heeley about his upcoming comic; This Comic Is Haunted... Back in July, The77 Publications headed onto Kickstarter for another round of crowdfunding. This time, the publisher was seeking crowd support for an entirely new addition to their ever-expanding catalogue.  The title for this new anthology is the spine-chilling; ' This Comic Is Haunted '. Headed up by the mysterious Grey Phantom, This Comic Is Haunted offers a shock to the heart for those long abandoned horror periodicals that have recently fallen into the dark superhero-saturated quagmire.  Thankfully, a few comic book readers thought the same. As its Kickstarter campaign closed, This Comic Is Haunted managed to raise £5,820 from 262 soon-to-be terrified backers.  As someone who's managed to have an early look at the finished comic - let's just say you're in for a fright!  Anyway, thanks to the Grey Phantom, This Comic Is Haunted 's human editor (and writer) Dave Heeley ...

Rob reviews Pandora... It's looking like 2022 is going to be a busy year for the team over at The77 Publications . Not only have we (so far) seen two issues of The77 anthology head to crowdfunding, but the team have also announced ' This Comic Is Haunted ' - headed up by Dave Heeley - is also in the works. However, right now and The77's fan base has been treated to yet another new anthology from the team - ' Pandora '. At the helm is the very talented Jo Heeley who's brought with her a few familiar names to contribute to the strips showcased within this new anthology. With everything taking on a more supernatural, sci-fi, horror feeling - Pandora is a far cry from its sibling publications  The77 & Blazer! The comic itself comes in two forms. The Newsstand edition features a wonderful Penny Pentagram cover that's been designed by Andrew Richmond (see above). Meanwhile, the variant edition sees Anna Morozova  bring the characters from A...