Matt Garvey – The Ether
I’m back, with yet another title you *need* to add to your comics catalogue. The latest creation from the mind of Matt Garvey – The Ether.
I reviewed Matt’s last title, Transfer, a little while ago and have been waiting for The Ether to be published since then. So far Matt has created comics featuring punk-rock toilet humour (Chunks), a steampunk-esque female private detective (Cordelia Swift) and a high-tech gangster story (Transfer). The Ether is unlike ANY of those.
I can only give a brief summary of the plot. Anything more in depth is going to ruin the twist. And I don’t want to do that to you cos it had me gawping when I got to it. So here goes. There’s a child killer on the loose in London. The Ether is a masked vigilante on the case. Think Rorschach from Watchmen but with a map on London for a face rather that the shifting inkblot. This is definitely for Mature readers only due to its much darker thematic content.
Matt has employed Dizevez on art duties and I have to say it’s a winning combination. Diz created both the standard and Forbidden Planet exclusive covers for Transfer #1 and the Cordelia Swift hardcover trade. Diz has well and truly brought her A-game to their first full book collaboration. The art is sumptuous. I can’t think of a better word.
It brings to mind the rotoscope technique used in the movie A Scanner Darkly (and The Lord of the Rings cartoon but that’s less relevant). The art gives a similarly tripped out feel to that movie, which only adds to THAT reveal in my opinion!
So Clare, where can we get this fabulous new comic from? I hear you ask. Sadly the original cover has sold out but fear not. From now until Small Press Day (July 8th) there is a special Retro variant cover available on Matt’s website. It costs £4 (plus postage) and £1 of that (plus all extra profits) goes to the Hero Initiative. What is that? Well, I’ll let them explain.
The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit more than 50 creators and their families with over $950,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.
There is also a Local Comic Book shop variant available, check out Matt’s twitter to see if your LCBS has it. If you don’t want a physical copy, you can get the PDF for the absolute bargain price of £0.69.
This certainly seems like a story with a lot of potential. Hopefully we won’t have too long to wait for issue 2 of The Ether. In the mean time, we’ll be looking out for #2 of Transfer.
