Art on Meat the Minotaur by Angela Sprecher
Art on Eton Mess by Darren Stephens
Art on Where’d Wendigo by Ceri Hanvey
Art on Profits of Doom by Mike Smith
The prolific indie comic outfit known as Madius Comics are back, bigger, brasher, and better than ever. Hot on the heels of their debut kickstarter smash Griff Gristle they are back with their seminal book Papercuts & Inkstains #6.
Kicking off proceedings is: Meat the Minotaur
Meat the Minotaur is a hero story in the very best traditions, where an unlikely heroine tackles horrors and some deeply disturbing characters with aplomb, style, and bewilderment. All this while in an epic quest for COFFEE! As an opening number Meat the Minotaur brings some lovely touches of humor, delivered with a very satisfying culmination to the story.
Following the adventures in Meat the Minotaur Darren Stephens is on art duties for Eton Mess – a delightful tale set amid the quintessentially British preserve of the village fete – there’s a well meaning vicar, a rapidly deteriorating situation where the body count quickly outnumbers the homemade buns! At the heart of this story is the unflappable Petunia Morley, a former member of the Land Army. The story is awesome, gleefully rattling through a monster strewn gorefest all the while bringing the tale to a fittingly explosive ending.
Next up is Where’d Wendigo. Following the quality of the opening two stories you probably would forgive Robin and Michael if they took it easy on the next story, to take it easy and relax. Not so! Where’d Wendigo explodes in the middle of a poignant last gathering of friends before the horrors of college break them up. Ceri Hanvey brings the story to gory life, as the 4 friends battle tooth and nail against a murderous monstrosity with only their wits, their self defense badges, and a battered copy of ‘Wilderness Survival Guide’ to aid them in their fight for survival. The characterisation comes across very well, the girls and their respective natures mesh very well with the unfolding horror. Jones and Sambrook have really hit their stride in this book and that is evident in this, and every story contained herein. While Where’d Wendigo is a joyous effort, it isn’t the final act…
No, that honor goes to…. and if you are a follower of Papercuts & Inkstains, then you wouldn’t need to have the power of Prophesy to detect the hooded nimrods of the Profits of Doom! Yes, those wonderfully realised chaps are back, and they are continuing their epic adventure after first summoning Bulgeroth, who they are now trying to stop. They unleashed a chaos lord with the genius idea of bringing about the end of the world, and then they changed their minds. Brilliant! There’s a lot of love for the Profits of Doom, the humour is very British – which is to say if you don’t get the humor then it’s your fault!
This bumper edition of the Papercuts & Inkstains is a joy. Each story tells a compelling and entertaining tale, replete with well defined narratives and populated by satisfy characters. This series has always had plenty to offer but it’s really in this issue that you feel that Robin Jones and Michael Sambrook really know what they are doing: they’ve hit their stride and just keep getting better and better. Look out for more from this partnership, it’s going places!
