Warwick Frase-Coombe is a sick puppy. That has to be gotten out of the way first, as he doesn’t do comics for the faint hearted. What he DOES do are comics for people who like bloody good comics, so that’s okay, then.

Myself, I became aware of him through the “Revenger: The Shadow Constabulary” collection, which is a dark, violent and horribly fun read. There’s also his ongoing series “Skulf**ker” which has been on hiatus due to the pandemic, as he uses real world locations and hasn’t been able to get out like he would.

So what we have here is a nice forty page full colour stopgap, featuring a few very different stories. Of interest to fans is the continuation of “Revenger” with the first two parts of “Friendly Fire” contained here as the titular ultra violent perp avoids those that are after him, or just kills them if they get too close. As with the previous series it’s a dark, violent start with the usual gorgeous artwork and some vibrant colours. A joy to read, really, if you want a violent comic that doesn’t mind giving you an actual story as well.

Also in this issue is the two part sci-fi tale “Hungerville”, a creative piece that sees a robot that’s part accountant part bounty hunter chase a guy onto a planet that’s definitely not a place you’d want to visit (no spoilers). It’s two parts, and part one was in issue one of the impressive UK anthology Shift so it’s nice to get a resolution here.

Finally there’s the brilliant short story “The Ghost Exterminator”, in which a just married couple find their new house is haunted and hire a rather unorthodox chap to help out. It’s short and very sweet, and had me laughing at the sheer direct bluntness of it.

Overall, this is a first class comic, with great writing and superb artwork throughout. Warwick is a gifted producer of comics that really should be getting his own Vertigo series or something, but until then you can join the ever growing club of people who have sampled his wares. Issues of this are £5.00, the 140 page Revenger trades are £12 (seriously, give this a go it’s a silly price), and there’s literally a handful of Skullf**ker issues left for £3.99 each as well (all plus post)

To buy, please contact Warwick Fraser-Coombe at warfras@hotmail.com

Thank us later…