Geek of Oz

The great irony of comic books is that although they're constantly disregarded as childish and 'for kids', there is very little in the modern comic book store that is actually suitable for children. Between Batman punching the criminally insane, Wolverine carving up bad guys like Christmas turkeys and Hitgirl dropping an 'F-bomb' in every panel, there's not much on the shelf made with younger readers in mind. Well, Winter City Production's Patrick Purcell and artist Diego Toro aim to change that with their latest offering, Mechanical Knight. Most Australian comic book readers will know Winter City Productions for their namesake title ' Winter City ', a gritty and gruesome tale about a mass murdering vigilante known as the Winter Reaper. Although this probably goes without saying, Mechanical Knight goes in a completely opposite direction. Where  Winter City takes cues from series like Batman and Spawn, Mechanical Knight takes its own from a...

Seven issues in and Winter City continues to impress with its high production values and dedication to storytelling. Although this latest installment represents a rather significant change of pace for the series, and indeed the absence of action was certainly a risk , it doesn't prevent it from being my favorite issue to date. This more emotionally focused story hits all of its marks and proved without a shadow of a doubt that Carl and Patrick Purcell have an impressive writing range. After the action packed climax of issue six, Winter City #7 acts as a refreshing character piece. As with the previous issues it switches between both the past and present, opening with a young Sam Winters going to church.  Sam, who is aged 12, is understandably nervous about going for the first time but what he finds is a sense of comfort in the Preacher's zealous sermon.

Beardy and the Geek are back and this time we talk to one of the men behind the phenomenal Winter City.  Patrick Purcell and his brother Carl have scripted a neo-noir detective story that revolves around a mysterious, masked and murderous man who makes his mark through meticulously mapped moments of mayhem... or similar. Back in June I reviewed the first few books and loved it so it was great to have a chat to one of it's main men, Patrick Purcell. Check out the full podcast after the jump!

Well, it's that time again. The incomparable Emmet and I delve back into the world of Aussie comics and this time we talk about The List by Paul Bedford and Winter City by the brothers Purcell.  Both of these books have a touch of the mental so before you jump in, make sure that you have somewhere for a lay down and maybe even a safe word. Also, I give YOU details on how to WIN a trip to New York Comic-Con. Check out the podcast after the jump!

Winter City is great, really great. This is the kind of indie comic book that leaves you wondering "why the hell isn't this being published by the big guys?". Initially I wondered if the quality would slip after the first issue where first impressions can make or break a series, especially an indie one. Thankfully, it actually goes from strength to strength.