At long last there is a new British comic available in good newsagents around the country. Frankly given the pandemic this is a very brave attempt at getting a much needed addition to the depleted world of British comics.
This comes from the publishers of the British comics magazine Comic Scene which sadly has now had to go on hiatus as it failed to get itself a solid financial foundation before the present crisis. The publishers say they are not entirely done with Comic Scene yet and there may be "specials in the future". In the meantime Shift is the breakout comic book we need.
Shift is a professionally produced comic on glossy paper with the majority of its strips produced in colour and black & white does suit the stories that use it. With the exception of Foot Soldiers this is all new material.
First up is science fiction strip To The Death a violent war which is taking place 4.7 Million light years from eart and with all due respect to the creators (Simon Furman & Geoff Senior)did remind me of Starship Trooper but was much more serious that that film. This actually looks very promising.
Next up is Foot Soldiers by Jim Kreuger (w) & Steve Yeowell (a) which is being published in a fold out continuous one panel format. Although this was originally published by Image Comics (I have the three collected trades) this is the first time the story is in colour. Very much about an "oddball" bunch of grave robbing superheroes this was/is a great read.
Part one of the silent Kora sees a woman stranded on a strange island/planet facing some pretty weird threats page after page from savage men to cute monsters with lots of teeth and then some tiny furballs that are like something out of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Can't wait to see how this goes and whether there will ever be any dialogue!
Fantasy adventure Soulwind takes a boy across the universe to retrieve a sword. Billed as a mix of genres this was the one strip that for me the jury is still out on as they say.
Tiny Acts of Violence is a "brooding horror story" according to the editorial in Shift. Unlike Kora this is dialogue intensive and set in Communist dominated East Berlin. Younger readers will not be familiar with the Cold War that my generation grew up in so kids just remember the hammer & sickle is just as evil as the swastika from the thirties!
Shifter is a very strange yet entertaining story that like a couple of others in this comic will require a second reading not something I usually do but I think it's worth it especially when unfamiliar concepts and stories only come out monthly.
Last up and by no means the least is the done in one complete story Hungerville. Oh I really liked this so no spoilers from me. Just read.
There are some features including an interview with Jim kreuger over his Foot Soldiers reboot and several more text pieces at the end including news about Comic Scene's Annual (which I've pre-ordered via Kickstarter), Brian Haberin, Pat Mills (on his new comic which I has just arrived and will be reviewed in due course) and more.
Verdict: Highly recommended and deserves to be a success.
Rating: 5 Stars!
Please support this comic:
Get a copy from your local newsagent or buy a copy or subscribe via: theshift.store
Next issue out 10th December!
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