Last
week I received my copy of Ken Reid’s Faceache published by the new
copyright owner. I am proud I had an opportunity to make a small contribution
to the preparation of the book, and I am pleased that the editor included a
special thank you to me in the
credits.
I
like nearly everything about the book: introductions by Alan Moore and Ken’s son
Antony are an entertaining read and offer some fresh insights; I like the
endpapers and the back cover (not so thrilled about the front one);
reproduction quality is impressive, considering that the stories were scanned
from newsprint comics; it is nice the book is printed on plain paper rather
than the glossy stock used for Marney the Fox collection published
earlier this year.
The
sub-title says “The Ken Reid Years”, so I would have preferred if they had left
out the poorly-drawn pages by the substitute artist (16 altogether) and filled
the book with Ken Reid’s art from cover to cover.
That aside, it’s an excellent
volume, a must for every Ken Reid/Faceache fan! I very much hope it does well
in the bookstores and Rebellion find it worth their while to release Vol. 2, 3,
etc. of this great character that happens to be one of my favourites in British
comics.
P.S.
- Have you noticed that the actual front cover differs from the version used in
the various online articles and blogposts that promoted the book when it was first
announced? Amazon and eBay sellers are still using the first version of
the front cover. I am glad Rebellion changed it because as many as five scrunges in the first version were drawn by the substitute artist, while those
appearing on the actual book are all by Reid!
