The fine people behind Quantum recently sent me issues One and Two of their new anthology comic to review. It must be said that reviewing comics like this can be difficult. Much like the history of UK comics like Starlord or even 2000AD it is tricky to please all of the people all of the time.
Having said that why not start at the basics? Time Bomb Comics have produced two very well made comics here. Both issues offer a neat and clean spine, the paper quality should be applauded as should the cover art of these first two issues be celebrated. David Morris and Ben Lopez have created two images that are eye catching and engaging.
It is hard to find fault with any of the stories within either issues of Quantum.
Every page of art is worthy of the American BIG TWO publishers. This is a bold and brave endeavour indeed.
It would be hard to give credit to every writer and artist and creative mind behind these issues. Instead It feels right to highlight the stories that personally caught my eye.
"Whatever Happened To The Worlds Fastest Man" by Dave West and Marleen Starkfield Lowe is a huge highlight of both issues. As a fan of black and white art it is refreshing to see such creativity here. Visually it is a pure treat and a lesson in how to approach a script from a storytelling point of view. A great deal of the success of the story lies with whichever of the creators lettered the pages so expertly. It is an interesting story. With luck it will be collected into a single volume.
"Memphis" by writer and artist David Morris is another revelation. It is a story that has touches of The Indiana Jones movies mixed with the 90's Mummy films. I suspect there is some long form storyline begging to be published here. I feel there is is some world building in the first two chapters but I am intrigued to see where it will take us all. I have a hunch there is a LOT more to come from this strip.
"Westenoir" written by by Dave and Jemma West is quite a treat. With Joseph Parangue's art we have a dark and creepy Western tale. The shadows in the first chapter alone add to an element of obvious terror. The sense of foreboding is tangible indeed. This is a western certainly with a clear element of foreboding and dread the (spoiler alert) begins to pay off in the second issue.
On the contents page are The Further Adventure of Schodinger's Cat. It is a perfect addition to an almost perfect publication. I want more of these please.
"Major Rakhana" would appear to be the headline strip of Quantum. Writer Steve Tanner and artist Pete Woods have started to build a collection of characters. In the nicest possible way it makes me want to read my old Dan Dare books again with some Gerry Anderson DVDs close by my side. It is a refreshingly new inclusive take on the best parts of the classic pulp science fiction genre.
Steve Tanner and his team of creators have created a wonderful comic. It is adventurous, varied and great fun. If I had a request it would be that I hope all the various stories are collected into lovely books when they are concluded.
In fact if issues one and two were available in hardback I would proudly have them stand upon my bookshelf. Quantum issues ! and 2 are excellent comics. I will score them both nine out of ten, simply because I wish they were hardback.