Hello from London

August/11, 2008
My explorations of London’s comics scene have been very rewarding. While in truth it must be said that the world of “British comics” is mostly American, it also must be acknowledged that the majority of good “American comics” are in fact the work of British creators. But however much it might be increasingly appropriate to speak of “Anglo-American Comics” today as a unified field the way we describe “Franco-Belgian Comics,” there are still unique aspects to the history and culture of British comics that are worth preserving (and which would be well worth importing across the pond). Chief among these, in my opinion, is the long tradition of the anthology weekly, and as I describe in my review of The DFC this is a tradition that has been given a much-needed breath of life this summer. And however much 2000AD might appear stuck in a timewarp from which it cannot escape, it is a good place to be. If the future of American and British comics are to be forever linked, perhaps American comics publishers might think about developing books in this format to see what emerges. If it is even half as good as The DFC or the current stories running in 2000AD, it would be a good thing for the world of comics.

The rest of our new issue is devoted to the usual broad range of comics today, from brilliant self-published work tackling impossibly large problems to the gang in capes saving the world and the world of comics. It has been a good summer for comics, and as a result a good summer for us all. Thanks for reading and let us know how well you love us after you have finished reading our current issue!
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