PORCELAIN: A Gothic Fairy Tale

The very fact that you’re here tells me that this book has caught your eye already and rightly so. Chris Wildgoose puts lines on pages in a way that create and represent some of the most beautiful characters and landscapes I’ve seen in comics or even under the broader umbrella of ‘art’ in a very long time. Wildgoose’s style is perfectly suited to this real-yet-fantasy genre featuring explicit detail and a sensitive softness in perfect measure. There’s something extremely playful yet intensely accurate and human about the myriad expressions depicted on this folks faces as they emote through this story. Follow him on the Tweets.

After reading the preview of the book that we all managed to snag at Thought Bubble 2012, what followed were twists that even I didn’t see coming. I’m the annoying one in the cinema who tells you what’s going to happen next, even though I’ve not seen the film yet, and if I get it wrong, I’m not far wrong – although perhaps that says more about  film and cinema these days than my story-predicting-ability!

The preview featured the beginnings of a loosely paternal relationship between a middle-aged or elderly man and a young girl. I found this to be a very brave and bold move, given the state of current affairs and scandal surrounding some men of a similar age and pre-teens. However, this relationship is handled in the same way that it flourishes, delicately and sensitively. This is one example of where I thought I’d rumbled the baddy – and I couldn’t have been more wrong.  This rather embarrassingly revealed the cynic in me and thus took a firmer grip of my interest and I felt a direct emotional response from the content.

What follows is a tale so beautifully told, it feels like an old familiar fairy tale, passed down layers of generations to the present, excited audience. The bizarre and intricate subject matter is unveiled to the reader in such a way that it seems to grow completely organically from its roots in the preview.  I can’t remember ever reading a fantasy story that seemed to flow so effortlessly and didn't require a bit of hard work and sacrifice from the reader to make it to the next page – until PORCELAIN.

I can see Read's Grimm inspiration, for sure but this story takes on a whole new depth and relevance, not least due to that delicate relationship between a male adult – Uncle and a young girl – Child. The book explores themes of loneliness, fragility, pain, love, heartbreak, hope, fear and I could go on. The paranormal and even superhuman threads that knit and interlock the events in this story are so real, so tangible and so human.

Uncle’s form of gentle giant dwarfs the Child’s teeny, yet spritely frame and physique in both in perfect contrast to the sombre, almost skulking ‘creatures’ we meet as the story unfolds. Uncle’s threads are fur, silks and wools and Child’s are (later) laces and frills, in perfect contrast to the high-shine, clinical textures of the Porcelain.

I found it incredibly interesting (that’s the Psychologist in me) that I felt such empathy for protagonists with no actual names; simply ‘Uncle’ and ‘Child’. So well written and beautifully executed are the facets and complexities of the story; we don’t need their names.

This book dragged me through every human emotion that I know to exist, and perhaps created a few new ones of its own.  Upon reaching the bottom of the last page, I felt like I’d run and won a marathon. I felt so emotionally exerted, with a sense of great achievement and reward in equal measure.

It is absolutely stunning. Even in in the dark, horror-tinted depth of my imagination, I didn’t guess what was around each turn before I got there, and yet the story fell wonderfully into sequence like a centuries-old fable.

Read and Wildgoose bring beautiful human emotion to a cold, inanimate substance; both a metaphor for how this industry can sometimes be, but also a literal description of the graphic novel.

I hope I’ve managed to do this gem justice without giving too much away. I want you to get excited about this book and love it, not fill you with spoilers.

“Child’s journey over the wall changes her life forever when she meets the Porcelain Maker.”


Have a look at the other treats on offer from Improper Books.

Thought Bubble 2012

We can't believe it's over already! We're are still reeling from all the super-excitement of the weekend, but we'll sit still long enough to tell you of our adventures! A double dose of Thought Bubble delights this year and stayed in Leeds for the whole weekend. We dawdled, grinning through what seemed like miles of comics, art, creative folks and fun. I dedicated Saturday to emptying my wallet, which as I suspected, was not a difficult or taxing chore at all. Here's a little look at my loot!

Where do I start? At the beginning is as good a place as any... Saga has been on my list for longer than I can remember. Recently, at my local comic shop in Hull - it's owner and my friend Paul, with backing vocals from my friend Downsy loudly sang the praises of this book and all but accused me of lunacy for not reading it already. The same was said about my boyfriend Tom, so this is his copy in the snap above.

Tom and I stumbled upon this brilliant Deadpool print and simultaneously giggled with glee. Not least because he was actually cosplaying as Deadpool, but because the print features noms from ' Los Pallos Hermanos', AKA the Mexican food joint / drugs Op cover-up in Breaking Bad. We're totally obsessed with this show and this with Tom's favourite character in one print was a 'don't-even-need-to-think-about-it' purchase. Signed by the artist; Gibson Quarter and inker; Guillermo (will) Ortego. We love this print and proudly added it to our art collection ready for display when we move house in't new year. Next is a gorgeous little Becky Cloonan print from The Mire. It was great to get a chance to chat to Becky about her new stuff.

I don't know why I love this simple scuba-pus print so much, it was just one of those things that caught my eye. When we got our ThoBubbs booty back to the hotel, I discovered that this is actually printed on the back of an album sleeve - for none other than the classic musical South Pacific. Don't tell my Mum! This would be like blasphemy to her!  The blue octopus, scribbly viking and top hat dude are all hand printed and painted by Dan Charnley, a thoroughly lovely chap who actually threw in one of these prints free despite us trying to pay him for all three. 'Illustrator and imagineer' and fellow Northern monkey and a  with a love of blogging, Dan has an  Ebay shop where he has prints for sale from 99p. Not bad at all, eh? 'The Indian Fighter' was another little treat that provoked an 'ooooh' and convinced us pretty easily to dig out four English pounds and purchase a copy. Gareth Sleightholme created this, his first comic from my neck o' the woods; Hull. You'll find regular updates on their blog where there passion for creating what they love is almost tangible. We're yet to sit down with The Indian Fighter, but if Sleightholme's excitement for this venture is matched even by half in the book itself - then we're in for yet another treat. Expect to see more on this gang.

The super-sweet icing on our nerd-cake booty from this weekend comes from Improper Books -  'a collective of comic creators formed in 2009 by Benjamin Read (Writer), Laura Trinder(Artist) and Chris Wildgoose (Artist). While collaborating together on the set of UK independent feature WARHOUSE, the trio discovered a mutual love for comics, illustrated books, and the darker side of fairy tales and set about making their own. '

Porcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale was laid out across a whole table and refused to be ignored. I'm always scavenging for something new and unique and I honed in on this specimen immediately. My interest tickled, we ambled through the crowds, closer to the table upon which laid even more delights than we first thought. We were welcomed and then invited to take a copy of Porcelain by Benjamin Read, who explained to us what they hoped to achieve by creating, what they loved about, and what they have delivered in their work. Defined on Twitter as 'a comic and graphic novel imprint focusing on stories that have a touch of the fairy tale, the Gothic or the macabre'  the samples we were lucky enough to get our mitts on have earned that juicy description, for sure.

Deliciously dark and deep, the eerie art is coloured to perfection by Andre May to create panoramas and close-ups of equal detail and emotion. Page by page, this preview gripped me more tightly and it's final page left me feeling like I'd been riding a bus and suddenly everyone vanished right in front of me. Shocked, confused then intrigued  If it weren't for some little pre-treats from Benjamin Read on what's coming next, I'd have felt absolutely stranded; precisely the way you should feel after a 'gothic fairy tale'. Needless to mention, I can't wait for the rest of this!

From the very same comic-collective; Butterfly Gate, which actually appears before Porcelain on that snap up there, but formed the second part of my Improper Books discovery - and hey, these are HoB rules for writing so I've done a tad of jumbling. After chatting to the wonderfully excited and passionate Benjamin about Porcelain, he gave us a little run-down on Butterfly Gate, or at least it's little black and white preview that was also sprawled out on their table.

Nurtured to fruition by the same creative team who worked on Porcelain, Butterfly Gate  features 'A Brother and Sister leave our world and its rules behind, journeying into legend through the Butterfly Gate, where every step they take will come at a price.'  This is truly another snippet of something brilliant form a team who know exactly what they're doing. A story told through art and panels alone, totally empty of text and yet utterly full of some of the best story telling I've read in a long time. Both stories run with child protagonists and yet don't feel childlike in the delivery of their tales, their imagery or their themes. Butterfly Gate, especially is a deep and exploratory introduction to what I feel will hold strong in it's intention to form the foundations of an epic story. I only got to see the black and white preview of this new treat but the full thing will be released in full colour.

Keep your pupils pointed this way for further chat on these favourites. Hungry as always for exciting new creations, this is a mere taste-test of these new and vast segments of the world that've got us thumping the table with our knives and forks. My boyfriend Tom and I absolutely loved discovering this gems together and haven't stopped talked about Thought Bubble 2012 since we got back a week ago. Of course, it could also have something to do with the fact that he did this: My boyfriend Tom proposed on stage during the Cosplay Competition!  I got fiancéed at Thought Bubble 2012! Bleeding Cool put this online just moments after we did - which is pretty mega!

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your kind comments and congratulations. This was the best convention I've ever been to, the quickest I've ever made a costume (1 week) and the happiest day of my life so far. Nerdiest proposal ever? Just wait for the wedding!

The Panopticon - Jenni Fagan.

Knowing that I used to work within adult mental health services, and that I enjoy honest, insightful and almost tangible fiction, a friend suggested that I 'would love this'. He (Russ Litten ) was completely wrong. I fell for this book.  Hard.

Immediately, I knew this novel would be worth a few hours because Russ is a very talented writer himself, and seems to have an uncanny grasp on what readers like/need to hear.  Secondly, the title played snap with some Wiki pages I'd been reading on the fruition then failure of the concept of  'Panopticon's as the format all institutional building's would follow.  This idea was based on plans made by Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher and social theorist in the late 1780's.

So, with that as my background information and a gap in my reading list, I swiftly ordered my copy and quite simply it was the best 10 minutes use that my PC at work has ever had.

The story of a 15 year old tiny, but amazing, lost yet completely determined wee lassie couldn't have been told in a more brutal and delicate, yet brilliantly evocative fashion.

Jenni Fagan taps into that bold honesty that so many of us wish we have the conviction to employ.  She has created a character whose struggles are so real, I felt like I was either reliving my past when reading, or hearing my fictional little sister recount her ordeal for me.  I found parallel's in her nonsensical ideas and ideals that matched my own when I was at that immensely changeable and baffling age.

Anais, our little protagonist has more firmly routed morals, more solid emotional foundations than most adults I encounter both in and out of work.  We follow her through her journey into the worst events of her entire life, and that's a bold claim when we take into account her upbringing 'in-care', her Class-A drug-taking, her very active and experimental sex life and her lack of a family or true friend.

To say that I couldn't put this fantastic gem down is a cliche and absolutely true. Each and every character was so uniquely crafted, yet  eerily similar to kids I met, growing up that they added depth to this brazen and raw reality like I have never read before. Rarely am I so deeply immersed in another's life and pain and love that I care desperately about their success and happiness. This novel gave me all of that.

Jenni Fagan's brutal, perfectly written honesty sets her apart from what seems to be gobbled up by audiences, these days. Her style is jagged, not flowery. If you're looking for an apologetic love-story starring a naive belle and her beau, then saunter on down the shelves to something with a sticker on it telling you to buy it. If you're looking for a story that will alter your perspective on your won childhood, remind you what it is to really hurt, and truly love and make you smile in-between - get yourself onto an internet book shop and get this bad girl in your shopping cart.

The Boys Vol. 1. The Name of the Game.

The Boys Vol. 1. The Name of the Game.

Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.



What, exactly, would you expect from a comic about five lethal rejects whose battle is to combat the world's biggest problem; superheroes? Well, I can tell you immediately that you are wrong.  Five anti-superhero's with nothing in common other than their quest to bring down 'the most dangerous force on Earth', grow into a strangely tender family sewn together by violence, revenge and ...just because. Oh, and don't forget the horny fuck-anything-that-walks pit bull, Terror.



I'm a Garth Ennis fan through and through, from the moment I discovered PREACHER and fell utterly in love with it. I think it's fair to say that among the things I look for in a comic, a lack of convention features pretty close to the top of the list. Lucky for me, there's nothing about The Boys that's conventional, or predictable or...for some comfortable.

If the prospect of five characters with moderately racist/ generally offensive names and traits trying to rid the world of spandex-wearing, mindless 'fucks' isn't to your liking, then I'd steer well clear of this beauty. Billy Butcher is a cockney geezer through and through, laced with a generous tot of 'I don't give a fuck' and a sprinkling of nutjob. His almost paternal (if your Dad's a merciless killer) 'Off you go, into the big, awful world' approach to initiating new boy Wee Hughie into the fold is where we join the  gang in this first volume. Thrown into the pit with very little in the way of formal introductions to his colleagues, Wee Hughie's got to work out what the hell is going on with these guys, who they are and what role he could possibly be expected to play in all of this. The circumstances under which Hughie was offered his new 'position' weren't exactly pleasant, which is where the bar was set for his journey into the thoroughly<em> unpleasant</em>.

Frenchie, our ever insightful, almost melancholic frog with a beautiful eloquence to his short temper provides the reason behind much of the debate. Though honestly, there's never much of a debate about anything The Boys do. There seems to be an unwritten rule and an unspoken flow to the horrors they commit. Unspoken particularly, is The Female. A seemingly ageless mute who's capacity to reign terror on all and any who'd be fool enough to cross her. Ironically, of them all, I'd say undoubtedly that it's The Female of The Boys who puts the willies up me the most. A total lack of explanation or emotion linking or driving her actions means she's' a total enigma. A question mark above a series of random clues. Quite the opposite then, to  our giant, Mother's Milk. Our black giant who's calculated, calm and very cool planning and execution of his...executions make him the final member of the team. Aside from Wee Hughie, this huge leather-clad beat of a man is the unlikely conscience of the group. The only one who questions their Boss' motives. It's his back story that I'm itching for, for that reason alone. What lets a man be a part of something so vicious while his Jimmeny Cricket is still whittering away in his ear?

Let's not forget about The Supes. Unconventional? All over again, Mr. Ennis. Never before have spandex suit and cape wearing crime fighters been ridiculed, chewed swallowed and shat out as much as in this book. The squeaky clean lifestyle of a gym-perfect torso saving a dame from a falling tower block? Sure. But you'll also get the flip side, that the so-called superhero is probably into gang rape, class -A's and bestiality...and that's just on his lunch break.

Despite the extremes that we encounter in this book, the characters, what they represent and how we perceive their actions brings up a few jolts of unexpected empathy. Whether is be the megalomanic dick-bag Supe who thinks every female on the planet's their for his cock-sucking pleasure, or the young an  naive, impressionable and confused new Supe who's fallen victim to the former's tricks...the fundamental issues that they present to us are real and ever-present in the world, our society, our lives.

You can rely on Garth Ennis to be brutal inhis truths which are delivered without apology by excellent writing and brought to life by the morbidly detailed and brilliant penning of Darick Robertson. I take great pleasure in being able to tell you that many a times, his panels have evoked "Urrrggghh shiiiiiit!" followed by a giggle of sincere delight.

You're not looking for happy endings or '*Insert butter-wouldn't-melt name here* saves the day!' type story lines are you? Of course not or you wouldn't have made it this far. Take my word for it and plunge yourself into this brilliant awfulness and too bad to be true(ness)

Come on, Terror!

Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft.

LOCKE AND KEY Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft.

Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.

<em>An absolute masterpiece of gorgeously layered characters, stories and events.  A family is devastated by a freak event that shapes and dictates their futures in ways that even the darkest imagination couldn't conjure. Until Joe Hill, that is. Rarely is a story so gripping from the outset and rarely is fiction so relatable, so shocking and so real.


“Oh, god that sounds thoroughly delicious”. And then somehow…Locke and Key disappeared from my interest utterly by accident. It’s less than unusual for me to have anything fewer than 5 reads on the go at any given period, so it’s likely I just got lost in something else. Shamefully, it’s taken all of this time – the best part of 4 whole English years for me to pull my finger out, and into the pages of this delight.

Firstly, I must draw reader’s attention to the paperback cover of this particular volume which features the ‘key’ centrally in spot UV. Fans of graphic design and general aesthetic beauty will appreciate this immediately, as once you’ve seen it, you will too.

As soon as I turned to page the first the undeniable lushness of the art inside set my drool jets off. Do not pass GO. Do not collect £200. Just sit there in awe for a little while.  The last time I felt utterly disarmed by facking bad ass art was, I think Glenn Fabry’s Arseface in  Garth Ennis’ PREACHER. Well done and thank you, Gabriel Rodriguez. Thank you.

What you really want from stories in comics is something to care about; an emotional investment to carry and pique your interest. You also need a twist, the ol’ faithful trick of ‘keeping you guessing’. Then we need someone to die. Usually someone who’s been painted (or drawn) as a morally just and warm human being…so we miss ‘em when they’re gone. Welcome to Lovecraft covered alla those bases in the first twenty-five pages. By page 35 or so, we’re given details on the already shocking, straight outta left field ball we just got thrown…before we even knew which field we were ON.

One of the first characters we encounter makes me feel like I’ve been utterly knocked off my comfy chair and onto a rug made of 2 inch nails. Naked. Every character from there and before is so accurately representative of human emotion, that in itself would be sufficient in singing the praises of this amazing work, but that’s only one of its myriad brilliant layers. Jo Hill's masterful manner brings out the best and worst in society and every single one of us.

Ticking all the boxes in the first 60 pages for an undisputed work of art, does not in any way soften the punches that it packs throughout its entirety. The gift that keeps on giving? The series that absolutely never fails to give you exactly what you never even knew you needed…and this is only volume one.

Reminiscent of those episodes of Goosebumps that scared you the most. A little like Eerie Indiana if it was on at 10pm.The things that scared you as a kid that are the source of morbid fear as adults. Interdimentional play like the multiverses and timelines on Fringe with a generous helping of nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Locke and Key Welcome to Lovecraft grabbed me with both fists as soon as I walked through the door and is still leaving me with bruises as I walk through the next. So affecting, it’s infectious.