Paragon is British Small Press anthology comic that is published and edited by Dave Candlish. In this review I will be looking at the latest issue of the title, being Paragon #4.

As with all anthology titles, I will be breaking this review up into sections, then giving a general review in the summary section. Please navigate the review with the below index:

• We’re On Our Way to Wembley, Part One
• Forgotten Heroes (article)
• Battle Ganesh, Part Three
• Undertow, Part Two: Undergrowth
• Hammer Hero – Peter Cushing (Pin-Up)
• Summary

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We’re On Our Way to Wembley, Part One

Written by Alan Candlish & Terry Wilkinson
Adapted by Dave Candlish

As the name implies, this is a football oriented story. It’s essentially about a group of six Geordies (people from Tyneside, for the Yankies in the audience) who travel down to Wembly to watch the England vs. Scotland football match.

This first part of the story takes place in a social club, where two of the characters are sat around waiting for a character named Jon to turn up with their tickets for the big game. The bus to London leaves very shortly, and Jon is cutting it very close. Meanwhile, Jon’s father has little faith in his son turning up with the tickets, and has bought his own ticket, so our two characters are getting pretty nervous…

I’ll be upfront here, and admit that I’ve never been much of a football fan. In fact, I don’t think I have ever sat through a football match, and I don’t think I could even give you the name of one current football player! That being said, this isn’t really about the football, but is more about the characters, and on that basis it works pretty well, and is rather entertaining Soap Opera style stuff.

Dave Candlish’s artwork on the strip is pretty rough-hewn and basic, but he definitely has style! He also seems to have quite the knack for facial expressions, and this elevates the art a level in my eyes, because it goes a lot way towards adding depth to these characters.

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Forgotten Heroes (article)

Written by Dave Candlish
Illustrated by Paul Harrison Davies

This article takes a look at the Republic Serial’s Flash Gordon star, Buster Crabbe. It’s a pretty interesting piece that is packed full of nostalgia for a time when sci-fi was more action/adventure than intergalactic political drama. The article takes a look at Crabbe’s whole career, from his start as an Olympic swimming Champion, through his many years staring in the Flash Gordon Serials, his guest spot as Brigadier Gordon in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, to his death of a heart attack at the age of 76 in 1983.

Accompanying the piece is a really nice pin-up of Crabbe drawn by Paul Harrison Davies that really captures the pulp action nature of the original Flash Gordon serials!

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Battle Ganesh, Part Three

Written by The Emperor
Illustrated by Stephen Prestwood

A word of warning: Battle Ganesh is not a comic for the religiously sensitive, especially devote Hindus…

Battle Ganesh is a comic that takes Ganesh and other members of the Hindu pantheon such as Shiva and Parvati, inserts them into a cosmic battle setting and then runs with it!

Battle Ganesh #1 was a semi-introduction to the character, and featured a battle scene between Ganesh, Hanuman and Ravanu in an action sequence with some obvious Dragonball Z influence.

Battle Ganesh #2 sees Ganesh receive a visit from his parents Shiva and Parvati, who inform him that he has a great quest ahead of him, but that dark forces are massing to stop him. With this knowledge in hand, Ganesh begins to assemble an army of the gods to help him in his quest, including Hanuman, Vusuki, Garuda, and Jambavantha. Meanwhile, Ganesh’s ship stops for supplies, and they discover that one of the crates they took on is full of giant Kali Crabs! Now the ship is overrun with giant crabs, and Ganesh and friends must clear out this crustacean contagion before they destroy everything! But where is that fat old bear, Jambavantha? Oh right, he’s in the galley, fixing a sandwich!

This story is hilarious! I wouldn’t really say that it is offensive, because lots of Chinese and Japanese stories use religious figures in a similar way. However, I showed this comic to an Indian (ex) co-worker, and her head nearly exploded, and I got dirty looks for the rest of the day!

Issue two also sees Stephen Prestwood take over artwork chores from Dave Candlish. Prestwood bring a much more professional look to the book, and really helps to shake off the manga influence, giving the book a much more unique look.

To read Battle Ganesh #1 for free, click here!

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Undertow, Part Two: Undergrowth

Written by The Emperor
Illustrated by Dave Candlish

Part one of this story was told in Paragon #1. As I don’t have this issue I can’t really say too much about this second part of the tale. The story seems to be about a man that has come back from the dead, and ever since he passed over the veils of reality have been lifted and he has started to see all sorts of odd stuff. The end of the world is coming, and our man is the only one who knows the truth. Meanwhile, a mysterious group of men have started following him, with the intent of killing him… permanently.

This was a pretty interesting story, and had the feel of a good Terror Tale 2000 AD. I’m pretty interested to see where this one goes!

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Hammer Hero – Peter Cushing (Pin-Up)

Art by Paul Harrison Davies

This back cover illustration depicts Peter Cushing in a lab conducting some suspect looking chemistry experiments. It doesn’t say what character it is supposed to be, but I suspect it is Dr Jekyl. The illustration is really dark and moody, and is absolutely awesome!

To see more of Paul Harrison Davie’s artwork, check out http://paulhd.blogspot.com/. He’s got a nice Robo Hunter drawing on there, and tons of other great stuff!

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Summary

Paragon #4 was a pretty eclectic collection, that at times felt a little rough around the edges. However, this is still a solid collection that had tons of great stories and artwork. Battle Ganesh is probably my favourite strip out of them all, and as a series is packed full of potential.

I would argue that Paragon’s price however, is a little on the steep side. With a price of £3, or $5 they are not going to get a lot of casual buyers interested in the title. The price is probably high because Paragon is only available in print, and no online version exists. I would highly recommend that Paragon be made available as a .pdf though a site like Drivethru. This way the creators will be able to set a lower price point and get their work into the hands of far more potential buyers, and will still be able to make a profit because they circumvent the need to pay for printing. This method also negates any shipping costs, meaning that impulse buying is much more likely!

To find out more about Paragon head to http://www.comicspace.com/paragoncomic/

To order Paragon #4 for £3, please click here!

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