The Sixpenny Murder - John A. Short Interviewed at Down The Tubes

Over the past year or so here at Escape from Tomorrow we've published a number of features about independent publisher Kult Creations and in particular their titles Cross, Armageddon Patrol and The Sixpenny Murder.

Down The Tubes - the website for everything to do with British Comics - recently caught up with Kult Creations founder John A. Short to discuss how The Sixpenny Murder book came about, John's background in the comics industry and his plans for the future.

Click here to visit Down The Tubes and here to visit the Kult Creations website.

'The Clock Strikes' at Kult Creations

At the Bristol International Comic and Small Press Expo a couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of enjoying a long conversation with comics creator and publisher John A. Short, during which we talked about a number of his Kult Creations titles - particularly Armageddon Patrol, The Sixpenny Murder and my own favourite Cross.

During our chat John mentioned a new project he was working on ... "the first ever masked hero in comic books" he said. Now, courtesy of the Kult Creations website more details have been announced and this major new project is entitled The Clock Strikes and sees John joined by artist of the fantastic Harker series Vince Danks.

The character of The Clock was created by George Brenner and first appeared in November 1936 in either 'Funny Pages' or 'Funny Picture Stories', pre-dating Superman and Batman by two years apparently. True to the characters roots John has confirmed that the Kult Creations incarnation of The Clock will be set in the 1930s.

Head over to the Kult Creations website where John has posted a number of character sketches from Vince Danks along with a completed page of interior artwork.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to following the progress of The Clock Strikes over coming weeks and months.

Links:
Kult Creations
The Clock at Wikipedia
Kult Creations at Escape from Tomorrow
Ariel Press, publisher of Harker
Harker and Critchley
My comments about Harker #7

Kult Creations Titles feature in May 2011 Previews

Over recent months here at Escape from Tomorrow we've enjoyed shining the spotlight on a number of fantastic titles from Kult Creations and publisher John A. Short.

Over this time we've reviewed a number of Kult Creation's publications including The Sixpenny Murder and Armageddon Patrol and I'm pleased to say that readers can now pre-order these titles from the May issue of Diamond Previews (UK Section) as well as through the Kult Creations website.

If, like me, you're heading to the Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo this weekend be sure to stop by the Kult Creations table which will be located at the Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel.

Armageddon Patrol Book One from Kult Creations

Back in November of last year we posted a 3-part Publisher Spotlight focusing on Kult Creations and publisher John A. Short - as well as a few words from John himself we reviewed two of Kult Creations titles: Cross and The Sixpenny Murder.

Continuing our focus on Kult Creations we turn our attention this time to a collected edition of another of their popular titles - Armageddon Patrol, reviewed by our friend and regular contributor to Escape from Tomorrow Simon Breeze.

Armageddon Patrol - Book One

Being not quite old enough to have followed the Vietnam war in the news and current events of the time but old enough to be part of the 'Vietnam film' generation that followed it a few years later I was quite excited to pick up a copy of Armageddon Patrol – Book One published by Kult Creations.

I think it must come from being part of the generation that, having spent countless hours of my school holidays watching classic films such as Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Hamburger Hill, not to mention the Rambo series of films, fostered an obsessive interest in such a horrific conflict that has stuck with me until this day: Hollywood glamorised it!

The second thing that peeked my interest with Armageddon Patrol was the inclusion of 'superheroes' in the Vietnam war. Again, as with the war, superheroes are something that have been with me throughout my life with my love of comic books. To me, it sounded like a match made in heaven, and a quick look at the awesome Vincent Danks cover put the cherry on the creamy cover cake. So I guess the question is, can you have your cake and eat it? In the case of Armageddon Patrol – Yes you can!

A mistake not to make with Armageddon Patrol is to confuse it with something like Watchmen and the way that the story about them tackled superheroes being involved in the Vietnam war. John A. Short takes a different - unique - approach, the best way I can think to describe it is 'Platoon meets the X-Men'. Armageddon Patrol is ultimately about people, it takes on the Vietnam war at a 'grunt' level, where as Watchmen is very much at a 'super man' level.

The four stories included with the collected edition (issues #1 to #4 of the comic) follow 'from creation of' to 'seeing action': a team of super-powered misfits under the leadership of the comics main cigar-chomping character Maiden America. For the most part each of the character's powers comes from a mutation (apart from one who is a huge robot) and so it doesn't necessary mean that they wanted the powers, or for that matter want to fight in the war. This makes for some great dynamics amongst the characters and really drives the story along at an enjoyable pace during and between the action.

Action, yes there is plenty and it pulls no punches either, and I would say this is also reflective of the language used throughout the story-telling too. However, I will add this, it is a story about a very bloody and demoralising conflict that saw horrific casualties on both sides and John A. Short's writing and Alwyn Talbot and Alex Paterson art reflect this very well.

John A. Short's writing is, as always, superb. Having read (and re-read) several comic titles that he has penned now I can say that his style of story telling and use of dialogue is always of a high standard and is always adaptive to the titles needs. I guess what I am trying to say is that John A. Short is an excellent all-round writer and I have come to expect this from his work and with Armageddon Patrol, he does not fail to live up to my expectation.

The page artwork is produced by two artists, Alwyn Talbot taking three of the four stories (#1, #2 & #4) and Alex Paterson (#3). Although the artists have varied styles they are not too dissimilar, and due to the way the stories are written, there is no 'jarring' from one artist to the next, which can happen from time to time when there is more than one artist working on a title.

There are several things I particularly enjoyed, very much liked and appreciated about the artwork, one of the main things being the use of black and white illustration which works really well with the story telling. It took me back to being a kid and reading old comics around the era this one is set in. The detail is eye-watering in some panels too, I hate to think how many hours would have been spent illustrating some of these pages. It looks like it will have been a real labour of love from the artists that has really paid off.

The art sets the mood fantastically, there are some pages where you can feel the prickly heat of the jungle on you back, hear the wop-wop-wop of the rotor blades, smell the fuel burning and hear a ghostly voice and guitar rifting of Jimmy Hendrix performing 'All Along the Watchtower' as you follow the team in their helicopter over the jungles. In the action scenes you can sense the bullets whizzing through the jungle, clipping leaves and narrowly missing. And when they don't, boy, it is just like watching those old Vietnam films as a kid, dismembered bodies, bloody explosions, screaming and shouting and general chaos.

I really enjoyed Armageddon Patrol, it checks a lot of boxes for me as a comic read and I could easily see it sitting alongside the other titles on my pull list as a monthly read (not that it is at this time a monthly publication, but you get my point). As I have mentioned, overall the comic has a Platoon meets the X-Men feel to it, and if that doesn't sell it to you, I don't know what will.

I give Armageddon Patrol a cigar chomping five out of five, a fantastic example of brilliant comic-book storytelling.

Armageddon Patrol - Book One
Written by John A. Short, art by Alwyn Talbot and Alex Paterson, cover by Vincent Danks and Craig John
Published by: Kult Creations

Many thanks to Simon Breeze for another fantastic and enjoyable review - I think it's fair to say he enjoyed it every bit as much as I did.

You can check-out Kult Creations range of titles over at their website - where you'll also be able to view bonus material such as concept sketches and promotional artwork. If you are heading to the Cardiff International Comic Expo this weekend, or the Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo in May, then make sure you stop by the Kult Creations booth where, I know from my own enjoyable experience, John will be glad to talk with you about comics.

Publisher Spotlight - Cross from Kult Creations

In this second spotlight on independent publisher Kult Creations we take a look at another of their fantastic titles ...

Cross #1

If you've never met the Reverend Abigail Cross before, get ready for one Hell of a sermon, cuz she isn't your average vicar

Boasting a eye-catching cover, two hugely enjoyable done-in-one stories, fantastic dialogue and some very nice interior artwork Cross just about has it all.

So, who is the Reverend Abigail Cross? First, and arguably foremost, she's a vicar in the sleepy Dorset village of Sunnybrook.

Employed by the Church of England and under direct orders from the Archbishop of Canterbury - naturally - Reverend Cross's duties include opening the village fete, caring for her parishioners welfare and ... oh yes, she's 'licensed to kick demon ass' of course!

This first collection of Cross features, as I said previously, two stories. The main feature, told across twenty pages, is called 'You Only Die Twice' and sees Reverend Cross travel to the Bavarian Alps in Austria intent of arresting the notorious Wilhelm von Klaus of the late Nazis Secret Supernatural Warfare Department. Having arrived at von Klaus's sumptuous home and politely - she is English after all! - asking him to give himself up Reverend Cross meets with a little resistance as her prey summons his very own zombie army.

One by one the zombies are eliminated until the Reverend eventually comes face to face with her target - Wilhelm von Klaus. Before she can apprehend him von Klaus reveals that he has no intention of allowing himself to be captured ... and the story concludes as the best stories often do: with a clever - and unexpected - twist!

The back-up feature, entitled 'If Looks Could Kill' is a fun six page short story that sees our heroine Reverend Cross confront the villainous Count London in search of the anti-Christ codex.

Confirming that the Reverend isn't carrying a fire-arm the Count orders her killed - and at that point Abigail demonstrates just how resourceful she can be. Leaping free of the Counts bodyguards and coming under heavy fire she fashions a make-shift weapon - you really do need to read the book to find out exactly how! - and lets fire taking down several of the 'heavies'. Just as it appears that a crisis has been averted the Reverend finds herself once again at gunpoint ... until she uses her shoes as both an imaginative weapon and an original means of escape.

As I indicated at the top of my review, I really did enjoy my first encounter with the Reverend Abigail Cross and her gallery of rogues. Each story was a real page-turner, I enjoyed the supernatural elements and they certainly made me smile.

I think we get a somewhat different interpretation of Reverend Cross over the two stories. In the first I read her as a woman in her late 30's, super confident in her abilities and, with her vast array of weapons and fighting skills, very-nearly unbeatable. In the second story I saw a younger, maybe early twenties, less confident and more vulnerable woman still learning her 'trade'.

The dialogue had a very 'tongue in cheek' feel about it throughout - fun, funny without ever being silly. There were numerous throwaway one-liners and quips that gave me a feel of the classic The Avengers television series.

The art was very much to my taste - clean, clear, plenty of detail - particularly with some of the facial expressions - with a lot of depth to the panels. I appreciated the imaginative page layouts as well as the inside-front-cover introduction to the world of Cross.

In summary, this first full issue of Cross was a wonderful read - but don't take my word for it pick up a copy and find out for yourself.

Cross #001
Written by John A. Short, illustrated and lettered by Jason Dennis
Published by Kult Creations, black & white illustration, 2010

There we have it: Cross and The Sixpenny Murder - just a couple of the great titles available from Kult Creations which can be purchased through their website or in person at one of the many comic expos they'll be attending in the months ahead.

The Sixpenny Murder from Kult Creations - Guest Review by Simon Breeze

I picked this comic up at the Exeter Comic Expo back in September this year, and read the comic within a few days of that event, and I have done several more times since. Why do I feel the need to mention this? I think just to stress, off-the-bat, what a great example of an independently published comic The Sixpenny Murder is.

The story is based on the true events of the Tithebarn Street Outrage that took place in Liverpool in the 1800's and follows, as closely as possible, the real accounts of the event. For those not familiar with the event (and you're not alone there, I was too until I picked up this comic) the 'outrage' took place on the August Bank Holiday in 1874, where Richard and Alice Morgan were suddenly attacked by street thugs: an attack that sadly ended in Richard's death.

Doing a bit of research I found out that this was something of a 'first', an unusual and very unique incident for the time: strangers attacked in daylight, on a major city street by people they didn't know - a random, unprovoked and very violent incident indeed, and the comic reflects this very well within its pages.

There are several very appealing things about this comic. The first is the art, mostly as a comic it is one of the first things you see of course. David Hitchcok's art is fantastic and works brilliantly with John A. Short's writing. The style fits the age it is set in with great panel pacing and angling of the readers view, for black and white art it comes across as almost cinematic at times.

The next thing is John A. Short's writing - again brilliant. His story telling for this tale is bang on. As he states himself '... The important element in telling this story was that we should stick as closely as possible to the details of the case. I'm sure that some of the most lurid parts of the story probably come over as just sensational story-telling devices, but I want to assure the reader that everything of importance is based on reported events ...'. This is great writing, dialogue and pacing. Something else John A. Short also manages to bring to his story telling is the clever way he approaches the attack itself, starting after the event in the prison cell with John 'Holy fly' McCrave after he wakes from a nightmare to confess his sins to Father Bonte before he is hung, and then his telling of his version of the events becomes the story within the comic.

One big thing about this comic that is talked about in the final pages is how the comic came about. The idea of the comic is to tell a story in an engaging and interesting way to young people, the focus of this one being gang and weapon related violence, and try to use it as an example of personal responsibility. There are many parallels with the events of the 1800's that mirror many of todays youth and gang crimes and attitudes within the media towards youths themselves. One example that is sited within the comic is one of the newspaper headings of the day 'City of Savages'. That was used to describe Liverpool after the event, the young people on street corners were demonised by the Tithebarn Outrage as something to be feared and avoided, echoing many of todays news reports.

This is a fantastic comic and well worth the cover price of £1.99. I think every teenager should read it, I'm keeping my copy safe until my little boy is old enough to appreciate it, because I genuinely believe there is an important message within this book he will need to learn.

For everyone who is not a teenager? Well, you need to read it too, simply because it is a great comic, a solid 5 out of 5 for this one.

The Sixpenny Murder
Written by John A. Short, illustrated by David Hitchcock, lettered by JAS, edited by Emily Alison
Published by Kult Creations

You can find out more about The Sixpenny Murder and other Kult Creations publications at their website.

My thanks once again to Simon for his review - you can find more of Simon's work over on his blog. Later in the week, continuing our focus on Kult Creations, we'll be taking a look at another of their titles: Cross.

Publisher Spotlight - Kult Creations

Over the course of the next week or so we're going to turn the 'publisher spotlight' on Kult Creations and publisher John A. Short.

Escape from Tomorrow had the pleasure of briefly chatting with John at the recent Exeter Comic Expo, finding out a little about his background and some of his goals for Kult Creations.

John has been creating and writing comics for more than 15 years and his comics have been published in countries as far and wide as the United States, France, Italy, Holland, Spain and, of course, his native Britain. Perhaps best known as the writer of the award-winning mini-series Octobriana from Revolution Comics he's also created Brit Starr, Cross, Armageddon Patrol, The Sixpenny Murder and Loxley to name just a few.

To quote the Kult Creations 'mission statement':

Kult is here to market and promote our own creations. We may not have the resources to get them into every shop on the planet ourselves (not yet anyway) but we plan to build the support for a strong group of creator owned characters and then find the bigger outlets we need to bring them to a wider audience. That might just mean larger comics companies (with access to bigger distributors) or it might mean book publishers, or film and TV producers ... Who knows? Watch this space!

[Kult Creations website]

There we have it: great writing, fantastic artwork, plenty of ambition and a love of comics. Over the coming week we'll be looking at a couple of Kult Creations titles - the aforementioned Cross and The Sixpenny Murder - in more detail.