Scout Comics 2018
Created by Walter Ostlie
Alright I thought the premise behind this sounded interesting and I wanted to give it a shot and now that I have I’m pretty glad I did. Personally I love when someone is able to do both the writing and illustration on their own story that kind of triple threat status is you will is something I find extremely impressive. Also earns them a lot of respect and admiration and allowances for certain things. For me it’s namely in the artwork which is quite stylised and not something I would naturally gravitate towards but because of the nature of the book it grows you on exponentially.
There is a really nice genre mash-up going on here and I am completely intrigued by it. Walter does a great job with the opening to draw us in and make us want to see more. On a Zeppelin is where the story begins as we see London below and the way the buildings look and the constant glow of green makes for a very creepy yet inviting scenario. Pickle is an Inspectre and he’s on board to deal with the emergence of a spook, which I am going to go out on a limb and say is some kind of malevolent ghost.
First impression is that he’s an early version of Constantine with his cheeky attitude and way he goes about his business. Also he looks very much like a candidate for being a Doctor even if his suspenders are not holding up his pants but are laying on his legs instead, which I will admit looks extremely cool. So as far the extended opening goes it really feels like Ghostbusters meets Kingsman which for me means I am completely and utterly in.
The introduction of Trish McTavish is nicely done and while she feels more Punk inspired she too has this cocky arrogant attitude that comes with the territory of what they do. Though without even knowing him she has already decided that she’s not going to work with him. So there’s animosity and I am pretty sure I can guess why but we’ll leave that for later. When you read this you’ll get the gist of why she’s so brusque with him. She takes him to meet Ethan who is an old friend and Trish’s mentor and boss. We start to learn something about all this but the time is cut short the issue ends.
The way that Walter has structured the book is pretty bloody brilliant if you ask me. The whole tone, mood and feel of what’s going on is that perfect blend of words and visuals that come from someone everything. Also there’s something about the shoes and their flatness that is shown often and makes me wonder. Still the use of angles and perspective in the panels we see throughout the page layouts shows a strong eye for storytelling. This style Walter has is unique and interesting and that he’s able to utilise backgrounds as he does is wonderful in expanding not only any given scene but the world they inhabit.
The characterisation is sublime as we get to know the characters here. Their attitudes and positions are made quite clear but like all things in life are going to be subject to change. So this world has cars, medical equipment like paddles to resuscitate and weapons made of science to combat the paranormal and yet there are Zeppelin’s and some very almost, I said almost, steampunk elements that make for some interesting subtext. I’ve never seen a book like this before and that something so original exists in this day and age makes me happy and a fan.