Gary Reed (1) (1956–2016)

Punks are cool. Mysteries are cool. Sherlock Holmes is cool. These three things alone suggest that Honor Among Punks should be awesome, and as it turns out, it is.

Set in London sometime in the early 90's of a world that never experienced WWII, The Baker Street stories revolve around Sue, an American medical student, and her punk roommates. One of these roommates, Shanon, also happens to be a former police detective and one of the finest deductive minds in the Western world. Luckily, the punk show more scene of alternate London provides no shortage of crimes and cases to be cracked by this rag-tag team of amateur detectives.

This thick, heavy volume contains two long stories and a few brief vignettes that originally ran monthly around the turn of the 1990's by Caliber Comics. As behooves a good independent title, the writing is full and rich. Davis and Reed have a real understanding of character and conflict, with a dramatis personæ who learn and evolve even through the scant ten issues that were published. The cases Shanon and company undertake are layered and complex, existing in a fascinating sub-culture that may or may not have ever really existed, but which comes at us fully formed with cliques, politics, and territory the story only just penetrates. By the end, I was terribly frustrated that I was not going to learn anything more about this fascinating new world.

At first the black and white art may seem very... hmmmm perhaps 'independent' is the best word for it. The lines are rough, but give it a moment and one quickly sees that Guy Davis' art is full of detail and energy: we're dealing with real people here in a real world, even if they are only about two inches high and glossy. On a side note, it is also quite fun to see Davis' art change every so slightly through the course of the work as he learns more about his characters and refines their style. He is also sure to keep everything within the Neo-Victorian aesthetic of his alternate world, from clothes and architecture right down to the font of the sound effects, a touch that really brings it all together.

My only real complaint is that the book is put together a bit too cheaply. Sure, it's on glossy paper, but the layout is a bit off with some margins going off the page, and sub-standard printing means that occasionally, there simply isn't any ink where there should be. That, and the lettering is often a little too erratic to read easily, though I suppose that fits in with the punk setting.

Technical flaws notwithstanding, Honor Among Punks is a fantastic tribute to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes created by two men with a deep love of both the source material and the modern subculture in which they transplant it. It is a real shame that we may never see more work out of Baker Street from these artists, as there is a vast world there waiting to be revealed. show less

Years ago I found a comic book shop I loved, and one of the series I awaited eagerly was Raven Chronicles, from Caliber. It’s fabulous narratives of investigation into the paranormal and the strange were dense, well crafted stories that just blew everything else out of the water. And they weren’t always easy to get, which gave them more allure, an element of cool.

Each one had lots of story — far more text and story than most comics — which gave them a different vibe than more popular show more comics with wonderful color illustrations but less wonderful stories to accompany the beautiful and sometimes sexy graphic art. While the better ones of the latter — like Danger Girl and Fathom — were fun too read, Raven Chronicles was something on another level.

The pen and ink illustrations in black and white were well done, and just another way in which Raven Chronicles separated itself from the pack. Much like that first season of the X-Files on television, Raven Chronicles was fresh, and it very much had that X-Files season one kind of vibe. Raven Chronicles wasn’t afraid of an ensemble cast either, so there were many characters we got to know who had distinct personalities.

Edgar Allen Raven was the founder of the organization who investigated the paranormal. He was a mysterious figure and little was known about him. He had a pet crow named Odin.

Those who worked for Raven were a diverse bunch with their own skill sets:

Emmanuel “Manny” Chancu — Freelance writer
Adam Basura — Ex-FBI agent
Dr. Lonnie Talbot — She is a doctor with degrees in medicine and chemistry
Amy Berg — She’s the older teenage ward of Dr. Talbot, but she lives at Raven Headquarters
Miles Eddington — Raven’s assistant and the frontman for Raven Inc.
Dale Hackworth — Not a field agent, but a researcher adept with many things he despises, like computers.
Curt Davis — Raven’s shadowy “fixer”
Mr. Smith — Raven’s government contact, who provide the gang with the official and unofficial story at times
Elvis — Raven’s driver and bodyguard, a former wrestler
Michael Branden — A Philadelphia cop who often recommends Raven because they get results. Has a murky connection to Dr. Talbot, possibly romantic
Kent Conners — A mechanical engineer with a belief in UFOs
Michelle Conners — Kent’s wife, a computer hack

My issues disappeared over the years somehow, but I received the compilations as a Christmas gift from a friend last year and have been enjoying going through them again after so many years.

Involved in writing the various stories in this compilation of the first four issues is:

Gary Reed, Eric Jackson, Nathan Massengill (Jackson is listed as the creator, in fact, with Chet Jacques credited with developing the comic. Gary Reed, who wrote a lot of stories appears to have the copyright, with Craig Brasfield credited with the original character design.

Illustrators:

Craig Brasfield, Nathan Massengill, Jerry Foley, Gene Gonzales, Bill Nichols, Wayne Vansant, R.G. Taylor

The four stories in this first compilation are all great reads:

THE BLOODFIRE

THE LANDING ZONE

THE RAIN PEOPLE

HEARTSTOPPER

Heartstopper, written by Massengill and illustrated by B.G. Taylor, is one of my favorites, not just of the first four, but over the course of the comic. These are all still cool to read and enjoy, with various member of the Raven crew involved in the cases.

If you’re looking for something a little different, and maybe a little retro, and like the unexplained, you really can’t go wrong with Raven Chronicles. I’ve gone through all four compilations now and will be working up a review for the second one soon, which has another favorite story of mine in it — The Man With No Face.

The cover art on Volume One is by Ken Meyer Jr. Raven Chronicles is just as much fun as I remember it being, and you can’t say that for many things nowadays. In this case at least, you can go back in time, and go home again… show less

The Raven Chronicles, from Caliber, was something special in comics — known as graphic art in our day — from the moment it came out. The dense and involving narratives of investigations into the paranormal just blew everything else out of the water. They weren’t always easy to get even back in the day, which only gave them more allure, and an element of cool.

Each story contained far more text and story than most comics, giving them an entirely different vibe than other comics. Raven show more Chronicles was something different from superheroes and the like; Raven Chronicles was graphic tales on another level.

The pen and ink illustrations in black and white were just one more way in which Raven Chronicles separated itself from the pack. Much like that first season of the X-Files on television, Raven Chronicles was fresh, and it very much had that X-Files season one kind of vibe. Raven Chronicles had an ensemble cast, so there were many characters we got to know who had distinct personalities.

Edgar Allen Raven was the founder of the organization who investigated the paranormal. He was a mysterious figure and little was known about him. He had a pet crow named Odin.

Those who worked for Raven were a diverse bunch with their own skill sets:

Emmanuel “Manny” Chancu — Freelance writer
Adam Basura — Ex-FBI agent
Dr. Lonnie Talbot — She is a doctor with degrees in medicine and chemistry
Amy Berg — She’s the older teenage ward of Dr. Talbot, but she lives at Raven Headquarters
Miles Eddington — Raven’s assistant and the frontman for Raven Inc.
Dale Hackworth — Not a field agent, but a researcher adept with many things he despises, like computers.
Curt Davis — Raven’s shadowy “fixer”
Mr. Smith — Raven’s government contact, who provide the gang with the official and unofficial story at times
Elvis — Raven’s driver and bodyguard, a former wrestler
Michael Branden — A Philadelphia cop who often recommends Raven because they get results. Has a murky connection to Dr. Talbot, possibly romantic
Kent Conners — A mechanical engineer with a belief in UFOs
Michelle Conners — Kent’s wife, a computer hack

I received the compilations as a Christmas gift from a friend last year, having lost my issues over the decades, and I’ve been enjoying reading them again after so many years.

Eric Jackson created Raven Chronicles, and Chet Jacques is credited with developing the comic. Gary Reed wrote many of the Raven Chronicle stories — the copyright is attributed to him in my compilations — with Craig Brasfield credited with the original character design.

The four stories in this second compilation are all great reads:

TRIAD — (Writer: Gary Reed, Illustrators: Craig Bradfield, Avido Khahaifa, Frank Turner, Bill Nichols)

THE HEALER — (Writer: Gary Reed, Illustrators: Seppo Making, Roy Snyder)

GHOST IN THE MACHINE — (Writer: Jim Alexander, Illustrator: David Hill)

THE MAN WITH NO FACE — (Writer: Jeff Lang, Illustrator: David Boller — he also did the cover)

The Man With No Face has a terrific story by Jeff Lang! It’s very noirish, from the opening to the end, and features several members of Raven Inc. David Boller’s wonderful pen/ink illustrations augment The Man With No Face to perfection, making this story a big favorite of mine, and the best story in issues 4-8 in my opinion; like season one X-Files episodes, however, everyone will have their own favorite. Interestingly, though I might not have pegged him as my favorite among the Raven operatives, Adam Basura features in both of my favorite two stories in the series: Heartstopper (from Volume 1) and The Man With No Face, here in Volume 2.

If you’re a fan of these type of investigations into the unexplained and such, and are looking for something a little different, give Raven Chronicles a try if you can track them down. Highly recommended. show less

Rereading this & its companion volume due to the recent unfortunate passing of Gary Reed, its cocreator. Exemplary Sherlock pastiche with more punk than steampunk influence in its alt-history & highly recommended for mystery fans, LGBTQ readers, or those who just love great world building in cracking good stories.