The Makers #1 Review
Writer: Dave Howlett
Artist: Dave Howlett
The Makers is an interesting comic. It is clearly a labour of love, filled with hundreds of Easter Eggs and knowing nods to comic veterans, it’s a homage to a major shift within the comics industry in the 90’s about how artists are viewed, it’s a retelling of Image Comics formation (although in this case it’s the fictional Attitude Comics), it’s also Galaxy Quest for comics. It’s dedicated to the seven founding artists of Image Comics, and the story pays homage to them. It’s both an accurate summary of an industry unfairly rewarding it’s workers, as well as being a love letter to that same industry. The whole comic is written, drawn, inked and coloured by Dave Howlett, and he deserves a lot of respect for not only creating the entire comic but for doing such an incredible job.
There is a lot going on with the debut issue of The Makers. On the surface it’s a retelling of the formation of Image comics back in the early 90’s, although here it’s the fictional publisher Attitude Comics. The story is told from a reunion panel of the five artists who formed the fictional publisher 25 years later, but through a combination of in-world comic strips and flashbacks we learn the truth about the companies formation. There is also a bit of a Galaxy Quest vibe going on as well, but the first issue doesn’t delve too deep into that part of the story. But that description doesn’t do the comic any justice. It’s clearly a labour of love, part love letter to Image Comics formation as well as a bit of a history lesson for newcomers to comics. But more than that, it’s filled with references and Easter Eggs for long time comic fans. Each page has some little detail that is sure to excite long time comic fans.
But again there is so much more going on. From the comic strips within the story, stories within stories, which give as much insight to the story as the rest of the tale does. On the surface we have a comic strip which is an unashamed homage to Spawn, it is also artist Josh Armstrong discussing his feelings towards Miracle Comics through the format of the story. It’s as integral to the overall story as any other part of the comic is. It’s also a harsh look at the darker past of comics, where artists weren’t getting the recognition they deserved. And while the fans may have been recognising their talent, the big publishers weren’t. There are so many things going on which are sure to delight fans of comics.
But this dual story telling, through the comic strips contained within the tale, doesn’t just end with the writing. The art also doubles with this dual storytelling, pages which are part of Armstrong’s comic strip end up being reflected with the same styling for the larger story. Every page of the story oozes clever storytelling techniques, fictional characters are clear imitations of real life prominent characters within the comics industry.
The issue is also dialogue heavy, but far from this being a negative it makes this issue last longer than most comics do and it feels like a comic twice the length. Some action heavy comics can be read in a couple of minutes and leave the reader feeling short changed, not so here.
Dave Howletts art is incredible. The fictional comic strips within the larger story have a different style than the main events in the reunion panel do. Flashbacks have a different style. Each time the art changes it’s a clear change within the storytelling, and could be done by different artists. It’s yet another clever storytelling technique within the larger story. This comic marks Dave Howlett as an artist and storyteller to be watched.
The comic is being published through Gumroad, and you can find the first two issues for sale here: https://gumroad.com/paskettiwestern for the ridiculously reasonable price of less than two Canadian dollars.
Having one creator being responsible for both writing and art means that all these different aspects of the comic come together to create one cohesive whole which is so dense with little details and touches, Easter Eggs and knowing references, as well as an entertaining story. This is an exceptional comic and deserves to be read, by both veteran readers who’ll enjoy the references, and newcomers to comics who will, in addition to reading a fantastic story, will get a bit of a history lesson. Read this comic, you won’t regret it.
Artist: Dave Howlett
The Makers is an interesting comic. It is clearly a labour of love, filled with hundreds of Easter Eggs and knowing nods to comic veterans, it’s a homage to a major shift within the comics industry in the 90’s about how artists are viewed, it’s a retelling of Image Comics formation (although in this case it’s the fictional Attitude Comics), it’s also Galaxy Quest for comics. It’s dedicated to the seven founding artists of Image Comics, and the story pays homage to them. It’s both an accurate summary of an industry unfairly rewarding it’s workers, as well as being a love letter to that same industry. The whole comic is written, drawn, inked and coloured by Dave Howlett, and he deserves a lot of respect for not only creating the entire comic but for doing such an incredible job.
There is a lot going on with the debut issue of The Makers. On the surface it’s a retelling of the formation of Image comics back in the early 90’s, although here it’s the fictional publisher Attitude Comics. The story is told from a reunion panel of the five artists who formed the fictional publisher 25 years later, but through a combination of in-world comic strips and flashbacks we learn the truth about the companies formation. There is also a bit of a Galaxy Quest vibe going on as well, but the first issue doesn’t delve too deep into that part of the story. But that description doesn’t do the comic any justice. It’s clearly a labour of love, part love letter to Image Comics formation as well as a bit of a history lesson for newcomers to comics. But more than that, it’s filled with references and Easter Eggs for long time comic fans. Each page has some little detail that is sure to excite long time comic fans.
But again there is so much more going on. From the comic strips within the story, stories within stories, which give as much insight to the story as the rest of the tale does. On the surface we have a comic strip which is an unashamed homage to Spawn, it is also artist Josh Armstrong discussing his feelings towards Miracle Comics through the format of the story. It’s as integral to the overall story as any other part of the comic is. It’s also a harsh look at the darker past of comics, where artists weren’t getting the recognition they deserved. And while the fans may have been recognising their talent, the big publishers weren’t. There are so many things going on which are sure to delight fans of comics.
But this dual story telling, through the comic strips contained within the tale, doesn’t just end with the writing. The art also doubles with this dual storytelling, pages which are part of Armstrong’s comic strip end up being reflected with the same styling for the larger story. Every page of the story oozes clever storytelling techniques, fictional characters are clear imitations of real life prominent characters within the comics industry.
The issue is also dialogue heavy, but far from this being a negative it makes this issue last longer than most comics do and it feels like a comic twice the length. Some action heavy comics can be read in a couple of minutes and leave the reader feeling short changed, not so here.
Dave Howletts art is incredible. The fictional comic strips within the larger story have a different style than the main events in the reunion panel do. Flashbacks have a different style. Each time the art changes it’s a clear change within the storytelling, and could be done by different artists. It’s yet another clever storytelling technique within the larger story. This comic marks Dave Howlett as an artist and storyteller to be watched.
The comic is being published through Gumroad, and you can find the first two issues for sale here: https://gumroad.com/paskettiwestern for the ridiculously reasonable price of less than two Canadian dollars.
Having one creator being responsible for both writing and art means that all these different aspects of the comic come together to create one cohesive whole which is so dense with little details and touches, Easter Eggs and knowing references, as well as an entertaining story. This is an exceptional comic and deserves to be read, by both veteran readers who’ll enjoy the references, and newcomers to comics who will, in addition to reading a fantastic story, will get a bit of a history lesson. Read this comic, you won’t regret it.
A Look Inside
