Tabatha (click for source) By Jacob H Baxter
Tabatha is a comic title by British company T Pub/Neil Gibson Comics. I really enjoyed this book on so many different levels. Works like this are becoming more and more rare these days. But, every once in a while, like a diamond needle in a haystack of coals, one like this turns up.
The story is a very deep and layered interwoven work. It almost brings about a feeling like one is reading the literary incarnation of Quentin Tarantino's cinema efforts. Yes, I said it. It's that good and well thought out. Great attention to detail was shown in this tale. It's loving craftsmanship at its best.
Tabatha is a comic title by British company T Pub/Neil Gibson Comics. I really enjoyed this book on so many different levels. Works like this are becoming more and more rare these days. But, every once in a while, like a diamond needle in a haystack of coals, one like this turns up.
The story is a very deep and layered interwoven work. It almost brings about a feeling like one is reading the literary incarnation of Quentin Tarantino's cinema efforts. Yes, I said it. It's that good and well thought out. Great attention to detail was shown in this tale. It's loving craftsmanship at its best.
Click for source Speaking of detail, it’s often said that the devil is in the detail. Well, I don't recall any devils. Maybe there was a demon or two, or some other apparition. But, the pop culture references really astounded me. True enough, an artist of any kind has free reign to create their own world. And, any artist can make anything possible in that world. But, making something that fits within the confines of this world, is another challenge unto itself. One may make a case for the creativity required in order to forge a working fictional world. But, adapting something to the confines of ours is much more tedious in my opinion. One of the characters in the story is a special effects artist. Set pieces that he had worked on were littered throughout his home. There were all sorts of costumes and props, including among others the aforementioned characters. Some of his work is showcased and is very recognizable. Certain parts were blatantly obvious as they were pointed out in the dialogue. However, I found my eyes constantly scanning in order to see what other little gems I could detect in the background. It was almost like watching a Mel Brooks movie without the straightforward in your face rip offs. But, I also enjoy them just the same.
The story is also chock full of humour. It’s not too often that you see such humour in a title. For the most part, only a perusing of the pages of Deadpool often renders as many laughs. A great deal were also pop culture references, which I really enjoyed, especially the Sailor Moon joke. We all know a few over obsessed fan boys that we can relate to when reading it. This, coming from a guy who once performed an intimate act while wearing an Optimus Prime helmet, mind you. She was just about as amused as the girl in the story was too. Still, we can all relate.
The story is also chock full of humour. It’s not too often that you see such humour in a title. For the most part, only a perusing of the pages of Deadpool often renders as many laughs. A great deal were also pop culture references, which I really enjoyed, especially the Sailor Moon joke. We all know a few over obsessed fan boys that we can relate to when reading it. This, coming from a guy who once performed an intimate act while wearing an Optimus Prime helmet, mind you. She was just about as amused as the girl in the story was too. Still, we can all relate.
Click for source Moving right along, speaking of relating, the characters are highly easy to relate to. They almost seem like people you would know. Not trying to trash artists here, but good art is just one piece of the equation when it comes to creating a great work. Caspar Wijngaard is simply amazing. However, without good writing, good art in a comic book relegates it to nothing more than a glorified pinup book. Neil Gibson is to be praised for the story he has spun. And let us not forget the other fine folks involved as well. Jim Campbell, Anja Poland, Naila Scargill and Eric Irving produced excellent work when performing all of those other duties such as colouring, layout, and editing that are indeed often omitted when giving credit for a quality piece of work. They really did a great job tying all of it together.
Sure, we've all seen things like pinups, cover art, concept drawings, and all other sorts of material tacked on after the last page of the story has turned. But, this team went to great lengths to tender up some fan service and make their product just a little more special. I don't eat curry. But, if I did, it would have been nice to know that they felt obliged to include a recipe from Tabatha for it in the book. There was also a section detailing how the title came about. I found this especially interesting. More times than not, the story about how a title came into being is even more interesting than the title itself. I've often wondered how other titles were conceptualized. This one tells us! Finally a thank you note to the fans was a most welcom way to end the book. Few times do companies do such to show thanks to their readers. This small showing of appreciation made the creative team seem that much more close to regular people, just like me. In a world where so many people at the top are out of touch, this is a sign that helps reaffirm my faith in humanity as a whole.
All in all, Tabatha is an excellent title that I would recommend to anyone. It will be worth your time, even if it is a comic of a more contemporary feel, rather than hyper powered super heroes we're used to. I promise you'll come away impressed and wanting more.
Sure, we've all seen things like pinups, cover art, concept drawings, and all other sorts of material tacked on after the last page of the story has turned. But, this team went to great lengths to tender up some fan service and make their product just a little more special. I don't eat curry. But, if I did, it would have been nice to know that they felt obliged to include a recipe from Tabatha for it in the book. There was also a section detailing how the title came about. I found this especially interesting. More times than not, the story about how a title came into being is even more interesting than the title itself. I've often wondered how other titles were conceptualized. This one tells us! Finally a thank you note to the fans was a most welcom way to end the book. Few times do companies do such to show thanks to their readers. This small showing of appreciation made the creative team seem that much more close to regular people, just like me. In a world where so many people at the top are out of touch, this is a sign that helps reaffirm my faith in humanity as a whole.
All in all, Tabatha is an excellent title that I would recommend to anyone. It will be worth your time, even if it is a comic of a more contemporary feel, rather than hyper powered super heroes we're used to. I promise you'll come away impressed and wanting more.
RSS Feed
