Review: The Black Hand digital collection.

Written by: Erica J Heflin

Art: Fares Maese

Letters: Wes Locher, Erica J Heflin, Weston Design Studio

Logo: Jim MaQuarrie

Editor: James O'Callaghan

Publisher: Alterna Comics

Release date: December 30th 2015 

It's New Year's Eve and I spent a good part of the day, in between tending to my five month old child's needs, reading The Black Hand, and I loved it. 

The Black Hand is an exciting, action filled romp that tells the story of Victoria Addair, who is left with a black hand that has the power to vanquish the undead, after a childhood brush with death. She is taken in by the order of the black hand. Brash, headstrong and with a vicious sword arm, Victoria is sent to investigate the grey boy, a ghost who is terrorising a mountain community. Victoria soon discovers that everything is not as it seems and the secret of the grey boy could have dire consequences for the whole land.

Sounds gripping right? Well it is. I read this in good time, not just speed reading, but soaking up each panel and page like a delicacy. Heflin's script it tight and the book is plotted well, sitting each page with intrigue enough to keep you turning the pages. 

There is a continuous thread of suspense woven into the script that builds toward a spectacular finale. 

There is the occasional line of stereotyped dialogue but unless you're activity looking for it, it's difficult to find. 

The artwork is sublime and Maese gives us a beautiful paradigm of storytelling through sequential art, each panel is vivid, organic and alive. Now each of the four chapters is drawn and coloured in a different style. I have to admit I was worried that this could make the whole book feel a little disjointed, or a little clunky, but it doesn't. It actually helps the pace and rhythm of the story, and feels like each chapter is seen through a fresh pair of eyes. 

The great thing about the book is that you can feel the partnership between Heflin and Maese throughout, the pages almost drip of the synergy of a great partnership. This is a prime example of a writer and artist working together brilliantly. 

This will be the last comic I read before 2016 and I'm so glad I chose The Black Hand. It's fantastic little fantasy and adventure comic that mixes it's elements of horror and mystery into its pages well. Sure they are deeper meanings that resonated with me, I mean the lead character is a strong, independent woman so the message of equality is apparent. But you can take from comics what you will, this is a brilliant comic with a deeper message, and it's also one hell of a fun read. 

Happy new year everyone. Wishing you all prosperity and joy. 

Review: Spring Heeled Jack digital collection

Writer: Tony Deans

Art: Martha Laverick and Seth Kumpf

Letterer: Joshua Cozine

Publisher: Alterna Comics

Released: December 23rd 2015

So this is likely to be my last review before Christmas as its Eve is upon us and I've been looking at Spring-Heeled (referred to henceforth as SHJ) from Alterna Comics. Now you're likely to of heard of the myth of Spring Heeled Jack, the demon of London at some point in your life and this is a good twist on the character.

SHJ tells the tale of a series of brutal murders in Victorian London. A baffled police force turn to Arthur Conan Doyle for answers, and when he's equally stumped he requests the assistance of his mentor Joseph Bell, to uncover the truth. 

This is a detective, horror and mystery comic packed into 95 digital pages and it's a fun read. I did a receives of the final issue a while back so if you're interest in that head to http://retrogradereview.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/review-spring-heeled-jack-4.html?m=1

Otherwise stay with us for a brief look at the collection. This is a good comic, but sometimes the script spoils itself by giving away too much of the mystery, you feel that if it held a little back, it may captivate your attention a little more. Don't misinterpret that though, there's still plenty to keep you hooked for one sitting, but you just feel a little let down that much more could have been achieved. The artwork is solid and had its own esoteric charm, with it being largely consistent through the panels. Ordinarily I'm not a fan of when artist change mid series but here it's nice to see a different take on the characters.

As you may of guessed from the synopsis this book takes historical characters and subverts them for its own purpose, to give you an interesting version of each. The interplay between this characters is good and Deans shows a good understanding of dialogue. 

So, in summary, this is a good little book that is reasonably priced and hits the right targets that make comics enjoyable. Sure he script is a little trite in places, but on the whole that isn't distracting from the books quality overall. 

Review: The Actual Roger #4

Story and art: Hank Tucker

Publisher: Alterna Comics

Release date: 16th December 2015 (Digital) 

This week saw Alterna's digital release of The Actual Roger #4, which sees the 9 year old super sidekick on the run and heading towards confrontation with the diabolical mastermind behind everything so far. This is a fun and irreverent series that doesn't take itself too seriously and pays dividends in not doing so. 

Now The Actual Roger is a fun read. The script is irreverent and humourous, Roger himself is a fun character and the cast is a tapestry of well thought out characters with well defined personalities and traits. So this all adds to a comic that bucks superhero trends and is all the better for it.

However I found it difficult to be entirely absorbed and lose myself in the panels while I was reading. Hank Tucker does a good job of fleshing out his ideas and turning his story into sequential art, though I think maybe he had too many ideas, that he is trying to convey too much all at once. This leads to some rather cluttered panels and pages that are difficult to follow and stunt the pace of the book awkwardly. 

I just feel that if Tucker had took a deep breath and prioritised some of the information and narrative a little smoother it would of flowed much better.

That being said, when you get your head around what's happening this is a fun comic that does bring a smile to your face with some quirky humour and action. 

This isn't just something you can dip into though, so if you're interested a in a fun superhero story that steps away from convention, you'll probably want to start with #1 and catch up. 

Overall the story does suffer a little from the overstuffed panels and clunky pacing as mentioned, but it's still a fun and interesting read and adds to Alterna's solid line up of independent comics. 

At £1.49 on comixology, it won't sting your wallet either, so it's well worth a look.

Review: DeaDBeat AnniverSERIES edition.

Story and art: Jeremy Massie

Publisher: Alterna Comics

Release date (digital): 9th December 2015

Another quality release in the AnniverSERIES imprint from Alterna as they celebrate their ten year anniversary. This edition is essentially the first two chapters of the original, which was released back in 2009, serving as a means to introduce and entice you to the book; I have to say it works perfectly. As soon as I'd finished this I was hungry for more and tracked down the original to finish the story.

The DeaDBeat follows a down and out, stuck in a rut ex-superhero who's life is turned upside down when his daughter suddenly walks back into his life. It's a tender little tale and Massie pulls it off well.

Massie creates the story like he he is in tune with what he wants to convey, blending the words and art nicely. The story moves along at a good pace after the initial inciting incident and the tete a tete between the hero and his daughter is compelling and written with sensitivity.

In fact it's this sensitivity that makes the tale, it's refreshing to read a superhero story that doesn't focus on the hero punching something until it's defeated, or building something that effectively punches said thing until it's defeated. Weaving a certain frailty into his character builds empathy well and you can't help but root for the downtrodden soul.

Now as always, it does seem like the AnniverSERIES are like a little taster, a bite size chunk that tantalises you and just befor your excitement peaks, it's over. So a part of you almost feels that you should just buy the real deal. But at 99 cents, or roughly 69 pence, this is a great way to introduce yourself to the book. Especially if you're unsure of what you're getting into.

DeaDBeat has took root firmly in the list of my favourite reads and I'd recommend this book to anyone, so you really haven't got anything to lose considering it's price. Join in with Alterna's celebration and head over to comixology and get yourself a copy, you won't be disappointed.