Smash! Special 2020

Smash! Special 2020

Rebellion/2000 AD 2020

Written by Rob Williams, Helen O’Hara, Anita Break, Charlie Higson

Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Maura McHugh & Simon Furman

Illustrated by John McCrea, Valentina Pinti, Tom Raney, Charlie Adlard

Adand Radharkrishnan, Andres Butzbach & Chris Weston

Coloured by Mike Spicer, Jim Boswell & Cary Caldwell

Lettered by Simon Bowland, Ozvaldo Sanchez, SG, A.Cult & Annie Parkhouse

Brand new adventures featuring some of the most popular British superheroes are featured in this 64 page giant.

This is everything I want to see and then some! These were public domain characters if I am not mistaken So it is wonderful to see that they’ve not been forgotten and are being brought back into the spotlight. This is long overdue i have to say I must own every single story that have these characters in them now because this is the holy grail of old school heroes and how to bring them back to life and prominence without cheap ploys and tactics. These characters alongside some of Britain’s other top franchises, for me those are XIII and Buck Danny, showcase why I love European comics.

Each one of these stories is being told brilliantly. I see this as they are being reintroduced with the potential of new ongoing series or the limited series format, one arc at a time. So the Spider makes me incredibly happy, my bias for Rob’s writing aside, because it takes the original character and puts him in a setting that feels natural, right and all kinds of intensely interesting. Plus the interiors here are stunningly gorgeous. The various techniques in the linework and how they all are utilised to create such stellar attention to detail is utterly phenomenal.

With this classic character who was sometimes a hero and sometimes a villain and who is written by one today’s top writers and illustrated by some of the best in the business well this is why I love comics.

Thunderbolt Avenger is a new one for me. While I like how this one goes and how we see a torch being passed, though I wonder why it was necessary to do so, makes me want to see more. More of his adventures and now her ongoing adventures and if she can do what he did in the same position. I would also like to learn about that wristwatch as well. So now I am thoroughly intrigued and the desire to see and know more has been planted.

The interiors here are well done. We see some delightful use of modern linework to create some great detail here. The composition within the panels is impressive and it’s nice to see such work being done here. Colours too mind you they are pretty brilliantly laid down in their own right.

Johnny Future is another newbie for me. Oh boy oh boy do we need more of this! Aside from a brilliant script and alien invasions with a hero who’s pretty powerful and whose power makes him unstable is someone i want to read more of. For a hot minute I thought the past was going to show us boyfriends till the present proved otherwise though the twists and turns here come at us aplenty and I gotta say that I wouldn’t want it any other way. Great mix of characters and superb premise make this one to watch for.

Oh my buddy Tom’s work on the interiors is really gorgeous! I love his work, how he lays down the linework with it’s varying weights and techniques to showoff the detail work we see. Plus those animals and the reptilian man sigh the creativity and imagination is off the charts. The colours are beautifully rendered and this is why I am an admirer and fan of the work they do.

I love me a good Black & White story! The interiors are utterly phenomenal and it’s the hardest medium since all mistakes show but there’s none here. The story of a spy and his that which he relies on way to much off to save the world from criminal organisations galore. Yeah it’s the whole Bond and SHIELD kind of stuff put together and just shows bravery, wit and more than a little knowhow.

Mytek is the biggest surprise for me here and the interiors blew me the hell away the moment I saw them. The mixed media feel is stupendous, pencil, pen and charcoal or chalk. All of it is simply stunning and how it all manages to work with the story at hand is beyond what I could have hoped for. Yes this is the next big thing in comics right here so long as this creative team is going to be behind bringing it to life.

Oh the supernatural thriller in this one has an interesting take to it. I wish it didn’t look quite so Hellboy in nature but hey if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I do like the characters we meet, the scenario of the story itself and how all of it plays out. It definitely is non-traditional in nature and I think that’s it’s biggest appeal. You aren’t going to find anything like this out there and I feel as if the world needs this kind of storytelling to balance out the harsher and darker books we see.

The House of Dolmann isn’t what I was expecting it to be and I am so utterly thankful for that! This might be my new favourite story ever and if this doesn’t continue on it’s own then there is no god or gods left in this world. This is beyond beautifully genius with this utterly brilliant writing and mindbogglingly great interiors it is a surefire stand out and if I keep talking about it i’m going to give too much away.

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This wets the appetite for more that’s for damn sure. I want each of these in a solo type series as well as the complete backlog of their adventures. Welcome to the world of comics as you’ve never seen it before and how it was always meant to be.