Tiernen Trevallion

What happens when AD2000 decides to release a supernatural thriller in vein of Hellboy and BPRD with some elements of Constantine mixed in? You get beautiful book about old (to be precise ancient :)) detective Harry Absalom and his team of UK police tasked with .... wait .... policing the old contract between Hell and UK throne by which Hell can send demons to merge with the fancy aristocrats as long as they do not try creating actual Hell on Earth.

We follow Harry and his team as they solve cases in the criminal fantasy/horror milieu. Being ancient and dying from incurable disease Harry is tasked by a mysterious Star Chamber to solve sensitive cases involving demons, ghosts and clock-work like robot contraptions involved with gruesome murders. Needless to say Harry says what is on his mind, no matter the consequences. And he is full of so many references about 50's and 60's that will sure bring out a chuckle or two from older readers.

Art is beautiful - just by looking at Harry you can take days figuring all the wrinkles and his huge alcohol-nose :) Wiry and tough man he is not above bloodying his squad from time and time. So when he gets a new recruit it wont be long until she will find herself flabbergasted by parade of weird creatures team regularly comes across.

I also liked monochromatic bluish approach to the drawings. They look just smashing.

Recommended to fans of paranormal and X-files (spiced with that good ol' British humor).… (meer)

Well this was quite an ending for our stubborn Harry and his team. Having fallen from grace of powers to be, Harry decides enough is enough and in quite a spectacular finger-showing he decides to bring everything down because for him there is nothing to lose and lot to gain.

And what a showdown.... I wont go into details here but there were so many twists and turns that I honestly was not sure how it would end.

Art as always is great. Entire menagerie from Hell is drawn so uniquely that I couldn't find same creature repeated twice. But again, this is quality I always expect from 2000AD comics :)

For all fans of fantasy, horror and paranormal highly recommended.… (meer)

Second volume starts with a true horror - demon killing children in old beach tourist resort. Starting from this story onward tone of this volume is much darker than the first book (story about merging demons with orphaned books could easily be made into W40K short story). Larger sub-story in this volume is about special army raised by Church to fight the demons (to Harry's chagrin because this disturbs the pact and endangers the innocents). But harry would not be Harry if he could not advance his cause and gain an ally or two in process.
Calling a favor from an [unholy] forces that are Harry finally finds location of his grandchildren but when he finds out where they are held he is shocked. To get them out he will need help from his old boss but is it worth to release such a monster into the world?

And again what can be trusted when unholy demons are involved?

Art as in first book is excellent, pure joy for eyes. When you look at panels showing the cities and masses of people you can see how each and every thing is drawn with the utmost care and love. You just gotta love this approach to comic drawings.

Recommended to all fans of supernatural and X-files.… (meer)

I picked up 2000AD Prog 2059 on a whim along with Judge Dredd Megazine #390, curious to see how they're shaping up nowadays. These two are virtually the only serious British comics left standing, which is potty when you think how much American product is out there. Anyway, here's my report.
The cover is beautiful with a picture from Absalom, the last strip in this issue. The inside cover has a few words from Tharg and a list of contents along with resumes of what went before. Unlike American comics, the British breed are anthologies featuring several strips - five here - and the story is told in multiple parts, hence the summary for new readers.

'Black Snow: part 5' is a Judge Dredd story by Michael Carroll with art by P.J. Holden. Dredd has come to the aid of an under siege Siberian mining facility but East Meg forces have intervened. East Meg is the Russian equivalent of Mega-City One. Dredd is unkind to a dog in this one but it was trying to kill him. Routine Dredd story really.

Simon Davis does the stylish art on 'Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles: Book Four: Archon: Part Ten.' As the long title indicates this is a small segment of a big story so hard to make much of it. There is a big bad God who tells Slaine he will rule the future and men will slave to build mighty cathedrals for him while he makes their lives miserable with his rules.

'Sinister Dexter: Billi No Mates' seems to be a prelude to an upcoming story. A skilled hacker is trying to track down the eponymous hitmen. The art is pleasing and the script was interesting but I could find no credits for either. A tag at the end says that Sinister Dexter return in 2018 so a few weeks to go yet.

'Thargs 3Rillers Presents The House of Gilded Peak: Part two' had a psychic stealing the location of hidden treasure from a rich lady's mind and a woman heavily pregnant woman by a strange lover. There are secret passages and something odd in the basement. Gothic horror, then. 'Thargs 3Rillers' are individual stories told in just three parts. The script is by Eddie Robson and art by Steven Austin who presumably adds the last 'n' so people won't think he's bionic. You have to be quite old to get that reference.

The last strip is 'Absalom: Terminal Diagnosis: Book One: Part Seven.' Absalom is a crusty old policeman and head of a special squad that enforces The Accord, a diplomatic treaty made in the 16th century between the throne of England and the powers of Hell. I always knew they were in cahoots. Absalom is preparing to enter a demon stronghold to rescue his grandchildren and needs some help. Nice script by Gordon Rennie but the art! The art was absolutely gorgeous! It's done in a black and white photorealism/Paul Gulacy style by someone called Tiernen Trevallion whose work I will look out for. It made me wonder if all 2000AD artists get the same page rates. I hope not. As a matter of fact, the art in this issue was all pretty good but sometimes strips in 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine look like they were drawn in crayon by a drunken six-year-old.

I was surprised by the £2.75 price on this (27 pages of art means it's about 10p a page) but not shocked. Paper, ink, production, discounting for retailers to get shelf space - it all costs money. The e-book version is cheaper but I prefer comics on paper. All in all, a reasonably good issue and almost worth buying just for the art on Absalom. Patriotic Englishmen should also bear in mind that it's British. Buy it now and support new U.K. talent so that Marvel and DC can steal them away in a few years.… (meer)