So this is pretty exciting.

We’re making a comic. I say we. I mean I’m writing, and Will Chetwynd is doing everything else. It’s fair to say I’ve got the far easier end of the deal. But I’m better at social media, so I get to brag about it.

We’ve collaborated once before: the Norm’s Attempt comic/short located elsewhere on this site is by him, too. But this one is far more exciting, because a) it isn’t a story of mine retrofitted into a comic, and b) this one is far more collaborative. First time around, Will just said, “Give me a script, and if it’s good, I’ll draw it.” Now, he wants to input. I’m hoping this means it’s because he likes the idea and wants to see it succeed, and not a poor reflection on the Norm tale…

Anyway, here’s the pitch for our next thing, is called, as you might have guessed, The Recessionists. It tells the tale of an alternate London – one where the London Riots never ended, and the police and government were forced to surrender it to gang control. In this city lives retired former supervillain Theo Deviant, and he is bored. With the financial centre in the City of London – run by the shadowy figure, the Lord Mayor – still continuing to operate and trade, undeterred by the gangs and unregulated by the government, not to mention the gang control, this isn’t the anarchy he pictured.

Deviant decides enough is enough. Before the riots, one man would have been able to stop this; London’s own hero, the enigmatic Patrolman. There’s one problem: Deviant killed his long-time nemesis on the eve of the riots, thus enabling them to happen. It’s up to him to train a new Patrolman to wrestle the city back from the forces that have laid claim to it.

It won’t be easy. London is very different now. The city has been carved up, and the police have withdrawn, sealing off the infamous M25 motorway, creating a walled ring around the city. Violence between the gangs is still rife, and even the Black Cabs of London are armoured, and may very well skin you if you don’t pay your fare.

If Deviant is going to pull this off – train a new Patrolman and save London – it’s going to be no mean feat. Not that this will put him off; he’s a supervillain after all. It’s probably for the best though – the people who remain in London are not inclined to heroics, and standing up to the gangs and the government influence does not lead to a long life expectancy. It’s going to take a villain to do a hero’s job.

The below pages are a pretty good preview of how this is going to go. Enjoy. I’m hoping I get more to share soon.