Briar
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Chris Wildgoose
Colourist: Jordan Boyd
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781473308503
RRP: USD $14.99 / CAD $18.99 / GBP £8.99
Trapped behind an impassable wall of enchanted briar, Layka has been cursed by the shadow-sorcerer, Celik. Her one hope lies with Kaye, The Knight of Thorns, who searches for a way to break the curse and set her free.
Set within a time of myth and fairy tale, BRIAR follows the story of Princess Layka, who seeks an end to the curse that keeps her shut off from the world. Trapped for years behind the enchanted barrier of the briar, she awaits her one true knight, Kaye, who has been tasked with the quest to break the curse and set her free.
Suggested for Young Adults and Above
Available to buy or order from all good comic shops.
Available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Google Play Books, and Payhip (PDF).
"As with their previous collaboration, Porcelain: A Gothic Fairytale, Read and Wildgoose have created an understated masterpiece with Briar that if it were published by a larger publisher like Image or Vertigo would rocket to the top of many of Best Of lists."
"My educated guess is that as soon as you've finished your first read through you'll want to begin again to see if the illusion cast by the clever script holds. It does."
Butterfly Gate
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Chris Wildgoose
Colourist: Jordan Boyd
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781473308503
RRP: USD $14.99 / CAD $18.99 / GBP £8.99
Trapped behind an impassable wall of enchanted briar, Layka has been cursed by the shadow-sorcerer, Celik. Her one hope lies with Kaye, The Knight of Thorns, who searches for a way to break the curse and set her free.
Set within a time of myth and fairy tale, BRIAR follows the story of Princess Layka, who seeks an end to the curse that keeps her shut off from the world. Trapped for years behind the enchanted barrier of the briar, she awaits her one true knight, Kaye, who has been tasked with the quest to break the curse and set her free.
Suggested for Young Adults and Above
Available to buy or order from all good comic shops.
Available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks, and Payhip (PDF).
"Butterfly Gate is told entirely in art: there are no captions, no word balloons. Read and Wildgoose manage all sorts of complexity and subtlety using just the art."
— Charles de Lint
"It's a story entirely without words. But the progress of the narrative is delightfully clear. It's absolutely worth your time. It's a comic you should make a point of seeking out and experiencing."
— Patrick Rothfuss
Knight & Dragon
Writer: Matt Gibbs
Illustrator: Bevis Musson
Colourist: Nathan Ashworth
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Luke Foster
ISBN: 9781473308510
RRP: USD $14.99 / CAD $ 15.99 / GBP £8.99
KNIGHT & DRAGON playfully subverts the story of a heroic Knight defeating a ferocious Dragon to rescue the fair Maiden, by offering variant paths and multiple outcomes to the classic fairy tale adventure.
Each narrative begins the same, with a beleaguered Knight riding his Horse into a seemingly deserted village, where the majority of the Villagers mistake him for a heroic warrior. Distracted by the beauty of the Maiden, the Knight agrees to fight a Dragon and, much to the Maiden’s evident dismay, the Village Chief offers the Knight her hand in marriage should he succeed. Learning too late from the Villagers that the Dragon is both huge and ferocious, the despondent Knight heads out to meet his fate, and at this point the stories begin to diverge…
From here, the Knight, Dragon and Maiden, along with the Horse, Farmhand and Village Chief, provide different paths through the unfolding narratives before reaching different endings.
Suitable for Children of All Ages.
Available to buy or order from all good comic shops.
"The innovation of Knight & Dragon took me completely by surprise... It's a brilliant piece of work, and one that I heartily recommend."
"While it seems aimed at a younger audience, it will still keep everyone that picks it up entertained, with a story that’s both funny and intriguing."
MULP:
Sceptre of the Sun
Writer: Matt Gibbs
Illustrator: Sara Dunkerton
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Luke Foster
ISBN
Issue 1: 9781473326958
Issue 2: 9781473326965
Issue 3: 9781473326972
Issue 4: 9781473326989
Issue 5: 978
RRP: USD $6.99 / CAN $8.99 / GBP £4.99
MULP is an anthropomorphic comic book, a Pulp adventure set in a world of mice.
The Sceptre of the Sun follows the exploits of Jack Redpath and Vicky Jones as they attempt to unravel a mystery surrounding an ancient stone tablet unearthed during an archaeological excavation in Egypt. This tablet is the first marker on an adventure that sees them racing around the world in search of a legendary treasure. Joined by their friends Cornelius Field, Prof. Walter Harvest-Scott, and Elisabeth Harvest-Scott, together they must prevent a powerful artefact falling into unscrupulous paws.
Recommended for middle grade / 9-12yo readers and above
Available to buy or order from all good comic shops.
Issue #1 available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks, and Payhip (PDF).
Issue #2 available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks, and Payhip (PDF).
"This has all the elements of a classic kids’ adventure like TINTIN itself: secrets and experts and exotic locations; infiltration, reputation and ducking for cover."
— Stephen L. Holland, Page 45 / UK Comics Laureate 2020-2023
"It’s an extremely clever, well rounded story they’ve built here, one that isn’t beholden to its influences but also isn’t embarrassed by them."
Night Post
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Laura Trinder
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781473320284
RRP: USD $20.99 / CAD $26.99 / GBP £12.99
‘At Midnight, when all good folk should be abed, the Night Post rides forth to serve the dead.’
- Victorian Children’s Verse
Night Post is the story of the other mail service; the one you haven’t heard of, the one that starts work at midnight and delivers to all the creatures of the night. Whether ghost or ghoul, witch or werewolf, or just downright odd things with tentacles, they all have post and someone has to deliver it, no matter how terrifying it might be to do so.
Offering a fascinating glimpse into a midnight world, Night Post is recommended for children of all ages.
Available to buy or order from all good comic shops.
Available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Google Play Books, and Payhip (PDF).
"Night Post is a pure joy from start to finish. Even without words, writer Benjamin Read shows a sly wit and a storytelling flair while artist Laura Trinder matches his whimsy and good humor in each panel she paints and draws."
“An absolute delight. Dreamlike, beautiful, imaginative and enchanting.”
Porcelain:
A Gothic Fairy Tale
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Chris Wildgoose
Colourist: André May
Flatter: Alexa Rosa
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781447461319
RRP: USD $20.99 / CAD $26.99 / GBP £12.99
Set within a world that's a magical echo of our own, PORCELAIN: A Gothic Fairy Tale is the story of Child, an urchin, who leaves behind the cold streets of a snowy city when she climbs the high wall into the Porcelain Maker's garden.
The Porcelain Maker discovers Child trespassing but, amused by her audacity, he offers her the chance to stay. He’s a lonely man, kept company only by his alchemically-powered automata, and he and Child form an unlikely friendship.
Shut off from the world beyond the wall, Child wants or needs for nothing as the Porcelain Maker heaps affection and luxury upon her, indulging her like a daughter. In return, she can do as she pleases, except for one command, one rule that must never be broken, she must not look behind the workshop door.
Suggested for Young Adults and Above.
Available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, Google Play Books, and Payhip (PDF).
Porcelaine 01. Gamine is available in French, with thanks to Delcourt.
Porcelana: Dziewczynka is available in Polish, with thanks to Sonia Draga.
“Porcelain is a gorgeous, gothic fever dream, beautiful and terrifying and funny and sad all at once. It is also that precious rarity, a perfect comic.”
“I loved the feel of it, like an old-school faerie tale. Tight and well-written. A little mystery, a little humor, a little horror. It made me smile in places and get a little weepy in others. Everything I want in a story.”
Porcelain:
Bone China
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Chris Wildgoose
Colourist: André May
Flatter: Alexa Rosa
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781473320277
RRP: USD $22.99 / CAN $29.99 / GBP £14.99
More than a decade has passed since the events of PORCELAIN: A Gothic Fairy Tale, and Child has become Lady. Inheritor of all of Uncle's secrets and wealth, she has continued his work, becoming equally as isolated in her quest to refine the Porcelain and put right past mistakes.
With the Porcelain more sought after than ever, Lady comes to the attention of a ruthlessly ambitious General who desires inhuman soldiers for the war effort and won’t take no for an answer. Other, more human, problems rear their head when a handsome young Captain discovers a secret part of Lady’s life.
Faced with impossible choices, Lady must forge her own path through the complexities of love and war.
Suggested for Young Adults and Above.
Available digitally via: Amazon Kindle, iBooks and Payhip (PDF).
Porcelaine 02. Femme is available in French, thanks to Delcourt.
Porcelana, tom 2: Kostna biel is available in Polish, thanks to Sonia Draga.
"It was refreshing to read Bone China and see a woman that was so sure of herself and her capabilities. Lady goes through a whole range of emotions throughout the story. She feels joy, fear, love, rage. But that knowledge, that certainty remains."
"This book will also 100 per cent ruin you for any (yes any) comic that you read after it, in my view. It is so richly paced, drawn and coloured that I challenge you not to read it in one sitting."
Porcelain:
Ivory Tower
More than a decade has passed, and Lady has become a Mother. Hidden behind the high walls of her tower, cut-off from the world, she has sacrificed everything to keep her Children safe.
Set within a world that’s a magical echo of our own, Ivory Tower is the story of Mother, a revolutionary, who must overcome ruthless enemies and the dark secrets of her past to carve a new future for all her Children.
Suggested for Young Adults and Above.
Writer: Benjamin Read
Illustrator: Chris Wildgoose
Colourist: André May
Flatter: Alexa Rosa
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Editor: Matt Gibbs
ISBN: 9781447440161
RRP: USD $22.99 / CAN $29.99 / GBP £14.99
Porcelaine 03: Mere is available in French, thanks to Delcourt.
Porcelana, tom 3: Wieża z kości słoniowej is available in Polish, thanks to Sonia Draga.
