It Came! #1 Review

ITCAME_Cover1 Dan Boultwood, the writer/artist/creator of It Came!, looked at a comics marketplace teeming with superheroes and superhero-related stories and decided there weren€™t enough comics in the style of 1950s sci-fi b-movies. And having read It Came! #1 I can only agree that this is a grossly overlooked sub-genre because this comic is brilliant. Our heroes are Dr Boy Brett (from Space Lab!) and his lady friend Doris (from Tottenham), who€™re enjoying a relaxing - and chaste - day in the country. That is until they realise everyone in the countryside is missing and the reason why is looming over them in the form of a giant robot from outer space! The race is on as Boy alerts the British Army of a threat to the country - but are they too late? Boultwood presents the comic like a movie but with a self-aware, ironic and comedic tone that works really well. From the wonderfully garish cover in the style of classic movie posters announcing the title €œIt Came!€ with the tagline €œSomething is coming round for afternoon tea... and it isn€™t the vicar!€ to the brilliant dialogue between Boy and Doris, to the bunting that€™ll play a big part in the story, Boultwood€™s found the perfect mix of classic Englishness to make this comic a fun read. Like a €˜50s movie, the comic is minimally coloured with only blacks and whites but also uses blues to simulate the appearance of old-timeyness while the panels are always in wide-shot as if we€™re seeing a movie. And like a 50s movie, our heroes talk and act like stereotypes from this era, which is my favourite part of the comic. Boy looks every inch the professorial type wearing a blazer/vest/tie combo and smoking a pipe, condescending to Doris at every opportunity, socking her playfully on the chin while saying things like €œfor a girl you€™re a good egg€. Doris meanwhile is a younger woman in thrall to the older man€™s worldliness, accepting her subjugated role, primly saying things like €œa girl always needs to look her best, Dr Brett€ as she busies herself with her makeup. Boultwood€™s obviously playing with our perceptions of the era and having a great time with the characters. Brett€™s dialogue is especially fun, like when the pub landlord isn€™t behind the bar, he remarks €œI think this chap is pebble-dashing the cistern chapel€, and adds odd nouns to the adjective €œold€, calling various characters €œold duck/cake/thing/girl/spit€. Sticking to the movie presentation angle, Boultwood adds an intermission in the middle of the comic, throwing in made-up ads for cigarettes (€œI like my men like I like my bacon: smokey - Smoke & Choke €˜Um Cigarettes€) and other movies by Pinetree Studios (€œMy Reptilian Bride - The Only Bouquet Is Death!€ - which is actually a comic I€™d like to read). He even includes IMDB-esque pages for the characters€™ actors Fanny Flaunders who plays Doris and Dick Claymore who plays Boy. ItCame07lettered.jpg.size-400 It Came! is a really fun comic that€™s both well drawn and well written. It€™s got a fantastic premise that delivers on the humour and story in a big way, while throwing in a few surprises too. Out of all of the new, creator-owned titles Titan Comics has launched this summer, the one I strongly urge you not to miss is It Came! by Dan Boultwood. Bally good comics, old cake! It Came! #1 by Dan Boultwood is out on Wednesday
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I reads and watches thems picture stories. Wordy words follow. My blog is http://samquixote.blogspot.co.uk , and if you want to see all the various places I contribute to, or want to send me a message, you can find links to everything here: http://about.me/noelthorne/#