Wallace and Gromit; the Complete Newspaper Strips – Volume 2
Review by Paul Fiander
|
Edited: Rona Simpson
Colours: John Burns Inks: Bambos Artists: Jimmy Hansen & Mychailo Kazybird Writers: Richy Chandler, Robert Etherington, Ned Hartley, Rik Hoskin, David Leach, J.P. Rutter, Rona Simpson Published; Titan Comics |
We have previously reviewed Volume 1 which you can read here.
|
Wallace and Gromit are a British institution; the haphazard inventor and his devilishly aware Dog have shown a level of humour to the world that has seen them become a sensation. Aardman Animation have shown that great comedy is a combination of writing and timing but having characters you are able to love is just as important.
The second volume is created in the same format as the first; each double page is made up of six 3 panel strips which create a whole story. The strips originally appear in the British newspaper the Sun and are created in a way that each one is satisfying but reading it’s the whole short that gives the most satisfaction after you finish reading it. For obvious reasons the Paper enjoy the collective storytelling as it helps to drive people to come back but the beauty of this volume is they are collected together. There is a foreword by David Sproxton one of the co-founders of Aardman and apart from his thoughts its wall to wall strips except the occasional double page spread. Which are lovingly created and would look great as posters. For the strips themselves you get the usual high jinks you expect from our stop motion duo, the beauty is though the way you are able to will in the missing images between panels. Something as simple as Gromit diving to catch a bucket can be made to flow as we fill in the blanks. This is possible due to the great artwork but also because of familiarity with the characters and concepts. There are of course gags that easier to read as well as Wallace’s infamous gadgets to catch the eye and everything feels like it has been created to make you smile. The art team have shown again that they understand the attraction of Wallace and Gromit and convey this excellently on to the page. All in all this is a great collection and a worthy follow up to the first volume. For the Wallace and Gromit lover or casual admirer it feels like the perfect read. Although I will say that some familiarity with the characters does help to make this book stronger so if you have no experience with our dynamic duo it may be better to watch one of their great films first. |
Images courtesy of Titan Books
Book - Provided by Titan Books
Book - Provided by Titan Books
