Previously is a collection comic strips drawn by PJ Holden between 1999 and 2007. PJ originally released the collection in print a few years ago, but with it now being out of print, he recently decided to make it available for download and purchase in .CBZ format from his website.

Many of these strips were drawn for small press publications, such as Violent, and Bulldog Adventure Magazine. Some were drawn for news shelf magazines such as Neo Magazine, and many more were drawn just for fun!

• The Tallyman – Written by Gordon Rennie. From Violent #1, 1999.

Tallyman is a three page hard crime tale about a tough as nails Scottish debt collector who turns up in a London bar to collect some payments… in blood! Tallyman is a brutal story that sees more vicious killings in three pages than your average Hollywood slasher film. PJ illustrates this one incredibly darkly, with every gruesome face slashing and limb removal drawn in explicit detail. Then, after all the killings are done, and the evidence is destroyed, Gordon Rennie leaves a little sting in the tail that makes you go, “Ahhhhhh!” It’s a hell of a way to open the collection, like a shotgun blast to the face!

• Bertie’s Backyard Bomber – Written by Paul Glasswell. From Solar Wind, March 2004.

This one is a goofy little strip about an ex-RAF pilot turned farmer who repairs a crash landed Mosquito bomber and runs secret missions in German occupied territories. One problem though, he has no bullets and bombs, so what’s the next best thing to drop of Germans? Well, cows of course! PJ says in the liner notes that he has never used this cartoony drawing style before or since, but to me, it looks a lot like the art style used on Bluepilot’s Eyecandy series of kids comics for the iPhone. If they hadn’t ceased doing that project, this strip would be a great addition to the series!

• Broken Claw: Hot Date Tokyo – Written by Stu Taylor. From Neo #1, October 2004.

Broken Claw was original planned to be ongoing serious, sadly Taylor and Holden got tied up doing other things, and this 6 pager is all we are left with. Broken Claw is a an espionage story set in a world of vampires, demons, the undead, and all manner of gothic horrors. Bishop is a British spy, who is attempting to uncover a black market ring of zombie skin-flicks, when a demon-possessed woman shows up claiming to be a ghost from his past, who has come to take revenge. Unfortunately, Bishop has so many mortal enemies that he doesn’t recognize her from Adam…. so, with a crazy demon bitch out for revenge, and his ‘mark’ getting away, Bishop has to come up with a solution fast! I really liked this one, and would love to have seen more of the world in which the story was set it, I hope they revive it some day!

• The Adventures of Rogue’s Secret Other Biochip Buddy – Written by Gordon Rennie, 2002.

The strip that answers the question that has been on every Rogue Trooper fan’s mind for so many years! It Helm went into Rogue’s Helmet, Bagman went in to his Bag, and Gunner went in his gun…. what ever happened to his pal Butt Plug???? Gordon Rennie rules, and PJ draws an amazing Rogue Trooper!

• Horror – Written by Kieron Gillen, 2006.

This horror story starts of by showing a pig’s version of true horror, before it is killed by a farmer. It then shows the farmer’s version of horror, before he and his family are killed by marauders. We then see the marauders’ version of horror, before being shown the lonely horror of a ‘god’ who observes these amusing creatures from afar. Suddenly the god grows bored, and destroys their whole planet on a whim. Damn, that’s dark! Kieron Gillen never fails to deliver, and this is an incredibly smart and dark story that makes you sit back and contemplate things for a while. PJ’s art on this one is top-notch!

[UPDATE - PJ just made Horror available to read for free on his blog, so head over and feast your eyes on it!]

• Stripped Bare – Written by Jaspre Bark, 2004.

These three short strips were written by Jaspre Bark and accompanied a series of article he was writing at the time. The strips focus on the Hollywoodization of comics, introducing comics to a youth audience, and the world of Indy comics. All examined in an irreverent and tongue-in-cheek manner. These strips are quite hilarious, and if you ever wanted to see PJ draw the Bash Street Kids, or a man his his fist up a Bishop’s arse, this is probably the only place you will EVER see that

• Dark Judge Wedgie – Written by Gordon Rennie, March 2003.

Another silly 2000 AD one-page parody. You thought Judge Death and Judge Fear were scary, wait till you meet Judge Wedgie, with his incredibly long fingers! Ouch!

• Facerot – Written by Paul Scott, 2005.

6 panels of a school child whose face is decomposing. Very odd!

• Rebel Strip - Written by PJ Holden, February 2006.

A cool little Star Wars parody taken from a series of westrips that PJ did for his site back in 2006.

• Bulldog: Forgetful Snow – Written by Jason Cobley, March 2003.

This on is an odd little action/adventure story featuring a jet packing humanoid Bulldog who has to evade a military resistance in order to deliver a food parcel to starving children. PJ has drawns some realy nice faces on this one, and the Bulldog is really cool looking.

• Strontium Dog: The Day the Dog Died – Written by Kelt, March 2003

Another hilarious 2000 AD send-up. Johnny Alpha and Wolf Sternhammer are two of the galaxy’s toughest bounty hunters. You’d think that they would go out in a blaze of glory, right? An epic battle against their toughest oppenents of all time… well, think more along the lines of bad driving skills, and you’d be closer to the mark. I really like PJ’s depiction of Johnny and Wolf in this strip, he draws their faces so well!

• Cages – Written by Nick Bronlow, 2004.

This one starts as an SAS raid on a detention centre, then quickly goes all Call of Cthulhu, as an inmate awakens an n-dimensional vampire that feeds on human pain and suffering. Sort of nutty, but hellishly fun. It made me think a bit of the crazy-ass stories that John Smith submits to 2000 AD. The art on this one is gorgeous, with some nice heavy inking, and luscious greyscale shading. PJ’s art on the emotional vampire scene is incredibly intense! I’d love to see some more of this one!

Previously is a fantastic showcase of PJ Holden’s art skills. PJ draws a little bit of everything in here, from the outrageously violent, to the hilariously cartoony, via everything in between. No matter what the subject matter is, PJ alters his style to fit the piece, and that takes some real talent! Apart from the amazing artwork, there are plenty of great stories in here by talented creators like Gordon Rennie and Kieron Gillen, that you just can’t find anywhere else! But don’t look for this collection in shops, as it is only available to buy direct from PJ Holden’s online store. PJ is offering the 32 page collection as a 13Mb CBZ file (Image resolution 760×1150) for only £0.99/$1.70. Or if you would prefer a high resolution version of the comic, PJ is offering it as a 23Mb CBZ file (Image resolution 1575×2411) for only £1.50/$2.60.

It’s a bargain at half the price, so get over there and buy it!

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