Anthologies, by their very nature, can be a mixed bag. This collection of comics, independently published, features a quality level that surpasses its small-press expectations, offering a wonderful slice of creative skill from some very interesting emerging British talent.
The breadth of styles and story types is generous but most come from a science fiction, fantasy or horror angle. The quality seems to be loaded towards the front of the book, with a superb start in Dan White’s post-apocalyptic Last Summer, Dave Thomson’s razor-sharp critique of the media in Feeding Spiders, and a wonderful commentry on racism and the police wrapped in a story of superstition in David Robertson and Frank Lamour’s Under the Rainbow: Mercy.
Some of the later pieces feel a bit more like page fillers but the overall quality remains mostly high. Well worth a look if you fancy a quick taste of up-and-coming British comics talent or a series of short, sharp stories.