Paul Grist

Having just finished One Hundred Years Of Solitude, it proved difficult to just go off and pick up another book, but Jack Staff proved to be an ideal palate cleanser. From the sublime to the sublimely ridiculous, Echoes Of Tomorrow is another delightful British superhero action adventure, twisting time and reality in a tangled narrative that jumps back to the second world war, then back tot he present day and into the land of dreams, with side-trips to a murder mystery and a jewelry shop show more robbery. Paul Grist's assured storytelling makes sure the reader is never lost, but is always guessing and more often that not taken by surprise. I love Grist's work with a passion, and never get tired of it. Brilliant. show less

And the fourth and, so far, final volume of Jack Staff (pleaselettherebeafifthpleaselettherebeafifth), and it all kicks off with the usual falling apart of time and space and reality itself and even the very page layouts. Mixed up realities, imaginary friends from the realm of dreams, John Smith robbing shops, new heroes and villains, all told with the customary dash, humour and brilliance one comes to expect from a Paul Grist comic. Barring the arrival of volume five, I'll be off now to show more order Mud Man and hope against hope that it finds an audience to keep it going. show less

The big thing against Jack Staff the comic when it first came out was that it wasn't Kane, which was Paul Grist's previous comic, a brilliant hard-boiled, hilarious crime saga that was one of the best comics ever, and then he stopped doing it and started this, of all things, superhero comic. It didn't take long for Jack Staff to become the new best comic ever, but it was, and it is. Everything Used To Be Black And White is a big chunky book collecting all of the black and white issues show more published before Jack Staff moved to Image and glorious colour.

Twenty years ago, Jack Staff was Britain's greatest hero, but then he vanished and everyone forgot about him until today, Castletown, a north of England town where bodies have been turning up drained of blood. Becky Burdock, intrepid reporter, is one the case, and she's not the only one. Jack Staff is back, turning up whenever builder John Smith happens to be around. Department Q, who investigate question mark crimes are sniffing around, and so is Sergeant States, American hero,, on a goodwill tour of Europe. He and Jack had a weird and awful experience in Castletown Caverns back during the war, and it looks like the evil they encountered all those years ago is back.

The beauty of Jack Staff is that it's not just about Jack Staff: there's a large and engagingly quirky supporting cast, many of whom are recognisable homages to characters from old British ty shows and comics. Not knowing who they are won't spoil it for you, but it will add an extra layer of enjoyment to a comic already bursting at the seams with things to enjoy. Tom-Tom the Robot Man, Helen Morgan of Q, Inspector Maveryk the old fashioned copper, and the great Becky Burdock, one of the best female characters in all of modern comics.

Then again there's Grist himself, is humour, his style, his ability to make a page sit over and play dead. Jack Staff is comics at its cleverest, its funnest and its most creative. Utterly enjoyable. show less

Soldiers collects the first six issues of Jack Staff published through Image. It jumps straight into action, switching between the present day and twenty years ago with Grist's trade-mark expert playfulness. In the past, a military weapon called the Hurricane is accidentally unleashed on Castletown, and the only person standing in his way is Jack Staff. Today, violent attacks of uncontrollable rage are on the increase, and it won't be long before the whole town explodes.

Everyone's here: show more Jack, Becky, Tom-Tom, Maveryk, Morgan and the guys from Q, all running around ferociously fighting and exploding and making barbed comments at each other. The colours by Phil Elliot are a joy and the whole thing is so skillfully done and full of sheer unrestrained energy it leaves the reader giddy with happiness. Never mind Watchmen. I just wish more comics were like this. show less