10 Excellent Indie Comics From The Sequential Summer Sale
Monday, July 27, 2015
In one of the least-difficult challenges we've ever been issued, the One Comic team were tasked with recommending ten titles from Sequential's summer sale.
Our selections from the app's wide range of indie comics are all below, but there are more to choose from... The only hard part was narrowing it down to ten.
The Bojeffries Saga (Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse) is Moore tells the story of an extended family living in a council house in his native Nottingham. And I'm not sure what more you need to know*. Originally published in Warrior magazine, but then later cropping up all over the place, this collection includes a new story bringing the Saga up to date.
* Well, except that they include a vampire, a werewolf and a small child that generates nuclear energy. And one story is presented as a Gilbert and Sullivan light opera. And so much more. (Jon)
Boo! (edited by Andrew Waugh and Paul Harrison-Davies) is another anthology comic packed with British talent. I read it when it was first released - despite being (ostensibly) a 'horror comic for children', it is a lot of fun for readers of all ages. The stories range in the type of terror they inspire. Jonathan Edward's "School Dinners" is a charmingly goofy urban legend. Gary Northfield's "The Devil and Billy Beetle" is Gorey-esque in its surreal vision. Warwick Cadwell's "Night Piper" is folklorish and Andrew Waugh's "The Visitor" is just, well... flat out scary. A lot of fun. (Jared)
Concrete Park (Erika Alexander and Tony Puryear), because I'm a sucker for prison planet SF, and this one is both wonderfully pulpy and immensely engaging. Trouble-makers - political, criminal and otherwise - are sent to a far off world, which has, unsurprisingly, become a sprawling mess of violence and corruption. Earth-style street gangs run 'Scare City' and wheel and deal for power. Although world-building for its own sake has never been my thing, the appendix is a blast to read, and Puryear's deliciously OTT artwork is a great match for Alexander's thoroughly badass characters. (Jared)
The End of Summer (Tillie Walden) is a beautiful and haunting Gothic narrative about Lars, his twin sister Maja, and their extended family, trapped inside a mansion. With its complex interweaving of personal and political secrets, as well as its playful and surreal setting, The End of Summer is not unlike a modern Gormenghast. A dreamy debut novel that takes at least two reads to figure out, and that's no bad thing. (Jared)
Grandville: Bête Noire (Bryan Talbot) is one of many works by Talbot in the sale, and I could have nominated quite a few, but this is a lesser known work, so I wanted to give it a plug. Not the first of Talbot's Grandville stories, it's probably the strongest. Set in an alternate history in which France invaded Great Britain after the Napoleonic Wars, the series' aesthetic is a steampunkish 'now' with a cast primarily comprised of anthropomorphic animals, including lead character Detective Inspector LeBrock (you can probably guess). It's every bit as odd as it sounds, but that's definitely a selling point in my book. (Jon)
MIND MGMT Vo1 1 (Matt Kindt) is the start of a series (and volume 2, also in the sale, should also be on your list through which Kindt has attracted a lot of deserved attention. The underlying premise; that a secret intelligence operation populated by psychics was founded in World War I; feels oddly familiar - there are variations on similar themes all over genre fiction - but this iteration feels fresh and interesting from its introductory scenario involving a planeload of people who all lose their memories. There's a film coming, so this is your chance to look all knowledgeable when it opens. (Jon)
Nelson (edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix) is a collaborative graphic novel, with over 50 contributors all teaming up to tell the story of one precocious young woman. As well as being a veritable buffet of the UK's comics talent, Nelson is also a cracking, heart-warming story - and, frankly, a work of editorial brilliance. The mish-mash of styles and tones all come together and paint a picture of an out-going, slightly-troubled and utterly heroic young woman and her search for happiness, as well as the shifting landscape of the Britain around her. One of my favourite contemporary comics, both as a concept and in execution. (Jared)
The Shadow Out of Time (INJ Culbard) is eldritch. Squamous! Etc. Culbard now has a long tradition of creating beautiful adaptations of classic genre works that, as well as being impressive works in their own right, also gracefully shore up the weaknesses of the originals. He managed to give a coherent plot to The King in Yellow, add interesting action to At the Mountains of Madness, and put empathetic characters into The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Still, Shadow may be his finest adaptation, as the source material was weak on all of those fronts - but Culbard manages to gracefully imbue one of Lovecraft's most rambling works with plot, character and action. It is impressively done. (And, worth noting, there are lots of gorgeous SelfMadeHero books in the summer sale, including both Lovecraft Anthologies and the incredible/weird/hilarious Ricky Rouse Has a Gun). (Jared)
A Study In Scarlet (INJ Culbard and Ian Edgington) is more Culbard. The first Sherlock Holmes story actually works slightly better in this adaptation than in the original. Doyle's somewhat wordy style is replaced by sharp visuals that tell the story clearly and minimally, building the mystery and launching the Holmes/Watson relationship in a convincing manner. Those familiar with Scarlet's plot will know there's a substantial flashback at its heart, and the change of location and period is handled well in both words and pictures. Those unfamiliar with the source material could do worse than use this version as a starting point. (Jon)
Sunday in the Park with Boys (Jane Mai) is - slightly harrowing - autobiographical comic about trying to fit in. Despite the charming name and deceptively rough style, Sunday is actually quite chilling. Jane wrestles with a sort of crippling loneliness that's only barely masked as self-sufficiency. Episodes - metaphoric? - where she sees ugly, insectile visions begin occurring with regularity, and Jane, alone, has no one to help her keep her grip on reality. There's a slightly uplifting ending, as she embraces her struggle, rather than succumb to it, but this is still a hard-hitting book. (Jared)
The sale features over 350 titles. So if none of the above float your boat, there are a few others to choose from...