In the latest of our features designed to showcase the work of up-and-coming self published and small press comic creators, we’re going to take a look at a comic entitled ‘Harvey Spig in the Dead of Night’ by Stu Perrins and Nick Gonzo.

While not the full comic itself, I was able to take a look at a three-page preview designed to help give a bit of a ‘flavour’ of what’s to come from the pair. With a full chapter of the Harvey Spig saga hopefully being released within the next twelve months, this short tale serves as an (admittedly abridged) introduction to the titular character.

The tale definitely has a very tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre, with “super spy supreme” Spig being introduced to us roaring down the street on a motorbike while puffing away on a cigarette holder. We also later see him recanting the night’s events in a dressing gown with pink bunny slippers, so ‘gritty realism’ is clearly not the order of the day here.

The story, while disappointingly brief, does hint at a more interesting larger story, but sadly raises many more questions than it answers. The writing seems to be of a fairly high standard, with some solid narration mixed with slightly ‘over-the-top’ dialogue (which definitely fits the style that the pair seem to be going for) and a pleasing ‘twist’ of sorts at the end of the third page.

The artwork is fairly rough in places, but benefits greatly from some bright, eye-caching colour work. My main issue with the title however, aside from its length (which can’t really be helped due to its ‘teaser’ nature), is the quality of the lettering, which sadly lets the book down in a major way. I’ve commented in previous reviews about how high-quality lettering work can really add a professional aura to a comic, and sadly, that’s one of the main things that’s lacking here.

Overall though, while this is a fairly rough and fleeting introduction to the character, it does hint strongly at an interesting story just waiting to be told, and I’ll definitely be interested to read the first full chapter of the Harvey Spig saga once it’s finished.

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You can pick the teaser up from DriveThru Comics, and you can follow writer Stu Perrins on Twitter.

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson aka (Ceej)
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