by Gary Spencer Millidge
Publisher: Abiogenesis Press
The creators' choice. It's the comicbook creator's comic, read by all and sundry from Alan Moore to Bryan Talbot. And they know a good comic when they see one.
Imagine this: you're out for a drive through the British countryside, passing through tranquil villages, meandering along beautiful, sun-drenched valleys, and following the serpentine roads as they climb over hillsides then duck again under the leafy canopies. Gorgeous. And you stop, perhaps for a bite of lunch, in a particular village which, for the sake of argument, we'll call Strangehaven. Very relaxed: thatched roofs, a bit of mock Tudor, its own rustic church, a surgery, a couple of shops and a pub. Everyone going about their daily business. But do you really know what's going on? What's behind all those friendly smiles? Who's having an affair? Do some of them meet at night in a secret society? Did you hear about the murder? And the stranger who had the car crash - what's he still doing here months later?
The first major strength of what Millidge has crafted here (and there are many, many strengths) is the complete normality of the community and their leisurely interactions (as Dave Gibbons writes in the introduction, "This is a very unhurried comic"), even though, beneath the surface downright weird shit's going down. I mean, seriously disturbing. The second strength is the accessibility. Visually, it's so easy on the eye with a precise line softened by gentle grey washes, but more importantly it's easy to read. I'm all for experimentation on this versatile art form, in the way Ware and Sim have constantly pushed what they do with panel structure etc.., but most of The Real Mainstream simply don't know how to read comics, and there are very few artists who put their mind to this. Bryan Talbot on THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT brought out a book of perfect accessibility, and Millidge does the same. It's a very British book - you really couldn't find something more in tune with The Real Mainstream's sensibilities over here - so if you haven't yet given it a shot, well, that's what these reviews are for, right? Although in all honestly I should perhaps warn you that if you do start reading this, you will - just like Alex Hunter, the guy who crashed his car - never, ever be able to leave Strangehaven again.
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