What It Is: Not to be confused with the Egmont WH Smiths special released recently, this is an entirely new fan-produced title published by the official Misty web site, comprising all-new strips by a wide range of creators including 2000AD artist SMS, who provides the cover, Dave Roach, Mike Nicoll, Terry Wiley and many others.
The Review by Paul Harrison-Davies: It's immediately obvious that this
Misty Special is a labour of love: it's such a well put together comic with colour interiors and a fantastic cover.
The trouble with small press/independent anthologies is that they are often a mixed bag when it comes to ability, and that's the case with
Misty. Yet it hardly seems fair to judge some creators harshly against others, and I found that
Misty had enough heart and soul to gloss over any of the hiccups of creators with less experience than others. In fact, without naming names, I found that although the writing of one author seemed the least professional it was more than made up for by the emotion of the script, and actually felt like the most 'Misty' of all the stories.
Great work from the always excellent
Terry Wiley, a change of pace from the shiny colour work of
Ex Astris from
Mike Nicoll and some lovely artwork from
J.P. Sewell were the stand outs for me, with downthetubes very own John Freeman and someone simply called '
Amelia' providing scripts for a couple for my favourite strips: 'Time School', 'Dreamcatching' and 'A Waltz Out of Time'.
All told, there was only a few strips that just didn't grab me, and that's not bad for a comic that feature sixteen tales and a great interview with original
Misty artist
John Armstrong, who also provides a 'Bella' poster for buyers of the Special.
Unfortunately, the
Misty Special is not cheap. I can understand why it's priced highly, but I think that it may put many possible readers off. Also, it just didn't feel like a 1970s/80s comic, possibly due to the glossy paper and use of colour. I'd have rather seen something that more directly tried to emulate the look and design of a comic of that time, maybe even down to artificially yellowing the pages. Still that's a personal preference, and obviously not one shared by the creators and publisher.
Chances are if you were a fan of
Misty, you'll be buying this, and I doubt you'll be disappointed.
• Buy the Misty Special online here on the official Misty comic web site
Creator Check List
Cover / Super
Misty Poster
Art: SMS
Welcome Page Portrait
Art: David Roach (from an unpublished painting by Shirley Bellwood)
Mint Condition
Story / Art: SMS
DreamcatchingStory: Alison Jones / Art: Mike Nicoll
A Waltz Out Of TimeStory: Alison Jones / Art: J P Sewell
The Eyes
Story: Colin Noble / Art: Terry Wiley
Misty’s MysteriesConcept / Art: Douglas Noble
Come To StayStory: Briony Coote / Art: Carl Lavin
Lost LoverPoem: Anne-Marie Marquess / Art: James Battersby
Good Ol’ Santa!Story: Briony Coote / Art: Mike Nicoll
Camper Van HelsingStory / Art: Vallely
Bullied To DeathStory: Briony Coote / Art: Carl Lavin
Vampire KingPoem: Anne-Marie Marquess / Art: Noel Baxter
Time School - Teacher’s Pet!Story: John Freeman / Art: Mike Nicoll
Once Too OftenStory: Briony Coote / Art: Vicky Stonebridge /
Letters: Bolt-01
John Armstrong InterviewInterview: Chris Lillyman / Art: John Armstrong
The PoustiniaStory: Martin Jones / Art: J P Sewell
The Cult Of The CatStory: Charles Ellis / Art: Johnny McMonagle
Free Gift Poster: John Armstrong
Along with more strips there are also poems and stories from a host of other creators including artists J P Sewell, Terry Wiley, Douglas Noble, Carl Lavin, Johnny McMonagle and James Battersby and writers Briony Coote and Charles Ellis.
