Titan Comics 2018
Created by Ben Aaronovitch
Written by Andrew Cartmel
Illustrated by Brian Williamson
Coloured by Stefani Renne
Lettered by Rob Steen
In charge of this building (known as The Folly) is Thomas Nightingale, the ranking officer of the SOU and one of the most powerful magicians in Europe, whose work for the Met dates back as far as the British Colonial Empire. A private man, his wizarding-trainee, Detective Constable Peter Grant, has long prodded him for stories from his career. Now, Peter is about to uncover some of his mentor’s elusive past…
This is one of those series that once you start you can’t stop reading. The world Ben created with his novels are perfectly suited for being translated to comics, television too for that matter (think of Dirk Gently). I like that each arc is it’s own entity and while it all ties together you can one up and find it new reader friendly. The quality of the writing here is incredible and the way that we get to see the ebb & flow of the story shows off Andrew’s ability to structure a story. By the way I keep meaning to get the novels as I believe they are something my father and I would both enjoy but I keep forgetting darn it.
I know I have been waiting for a story like this for a while now. Learning about Thomas Nightingale from himself is like waiting to have your teeth pulled by a gynaecologist. So that he gives Peter the go ahead and a file to start at regarding himself and an old friend whose funeral he just happens to be attending well yeah this is so nice to see. The way the story is structured and how Andrew is able to create this ebb & flow with the story as information is released and the past and present kind of merge into one cohesive story is incredibly well done and shows some serious skill and talent.
I think the characterisation here is stellar and for whatever reason Molly creeps me the hell out and she doesn’t say a word, not even a thought bubble. From the looks of her she’s like some kind of evil witch that is under some sort of house arrest by Thomas. The dynamic is weird and interesting and creepy so of course we like it and want to know more. I really am impressed with the way Andrew shows us Peter looking at the files and then switching to Thomas and his remembrance of the events first hand it’s all just so well done.
I am a huge fan of the interiors here and a lot of it has to do with both the varying weights in the linework and the attention to detail especially in the backgrounds. The manipulation of the linework is beautiful to see as they create such nice finite detail so the faces and the clothes not to mention the blurred yet detailed backgrounds. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows an excellent eye for storytelling. The colours here to are so effective here too and again I am going to harp on the backgrounds because of how they look and make the reader feel also adding to the size and scope of the story.
If you haven’t read any of the novels or the previous arc in the comic book series you really ought to pick this up. Ask your local shop to get it for you this is the best single issue I can imagine staring the franchise with. It has some of the most amazing writing and interior artwork that will guarantee you will be a fan for life.