Blue Spear and Com.x

Blue Spear was published by Com.x in December of 2011. Unfortunately it wasn't until recently that I was able to get my hands on a copy - via the good people at Amazon (not forgetting a little help from my constituents in the UK)!

I had been looking forward to it for two reasons. Firstly, it was published by Com.x and secondly, it was illustrated by Cosmo White.

Com.x have been publishing comics and graphic novels for twelve years now. The UK company was founded in 2000 by Eddie Deighton, Russell Uttley and Neil Googe. They soon established themselves as publishers of note, releasing such comics as; Bazooka Jules, Puncture and Razorjack.

The quality of each book was considerably high - both in content and design. One can always tell a Com.x book from the print quality alone!

Each book was printed in the American format, resulting in the Com.x name being revered over-seas. The talent in particular made US publishers sit up and take notice - so much so that Googe and Puncture artist, Ben Oliver soon went to work for DC on such titles as Majestic and The Losers, respectively.

Next for Com.x was Cla$$war. A hugely popular title in the vein of The Authority. This time, Trevor Hairsine (artist on Ultimate Six and Ultimate Galactus) was the one to make the move over-seas - Cla$$war was consequently delayed, then completed by up and comer, Travel Foreman (you can see where this is going)!

Ongoing series' were being delayed and cut short and creators were being replaced left and right - Com.x had to rethink their strategy.

They did just that and relaunched with the objective to publish completed story-arcs, in the graphic novel format. Recent titles of note include; Path by Gregory Baldwin, Seeds by Ross Mackintosh and Forty-Five by Andi Ewington.

Forty-Five was an interesting title - and a milestone for the company. 

This is a story taken from the perspective of a journalist (and expectant father, James Stanley), as he interviews forty-five people about their existence with the Super-S gene. 

Stanley discusses everything - from the development of their powers to their place in society and beyond - in an effort to better prepare the journalist, should his own offspring carry the gene. 

It approached the subject of super-powered beings as if they were real and set about introducing a host of colourful new characters to the world of comics - and effectively created a new universe for Com.x to source from.

Which leads us to Blue Spear, who was one such character. A hero of Tokyo who plays guardian to both his city and the marine life of it's surrounding waters.

As custodian to the characters he created with Forty-Five, Andi Ewington writes - this time with co-writer, Eddie Deighton. While the artwork is stunningly supplied by Cosmo White!

Having set the stage with Forty-Five, this tale starts with a further glimpse in to Blue Spears origin.
The beginning cuts between Yuji Tomikawa reawakening as the titular hero - to present day, as an older Yuji dispenses with some local thugs. Yuji has estranged himself from his brother Akira, who lives and works in Tokyo. From time to time Yuji checks in with him, all be it from a distance (Akira being Yuji's achilles heel).
Loved and revered by his people, Blue Spear has unwittingly caught the attention of the outside world. This would be manageable, were it not for the interest Xodos has in him.
Throughout Forty-Five, Xodos were the organisation most were happy to have little to no affiliation with. They are the government-like body invested in those with the Super-S gene for reasons of global power and influence.
Three agents under the Xodos guise travel to Tokyo with the purpose of finding Blue Spear and taking from him the source of his power - namely that of his spear.

Blue Spear is effectively an action story, featuring a spiritual yet distant hero trapped between worlds. Essentially Yuji is forever changed, fully embracing the role of Blue Spear, yet part of him clings to his lost humanity. He is a fighter and a lover with boundless compassion for that of his people - particularly his brother.
The design and over-all approach to Forty-Five was closer to that of a magazine than a comic, so it's nice to see Ewington's world explode in to a full-blown sequential tale here. This forty-page one-shot is nicely written by Ewington and Deighton - but it's Cosmo White's artwork that makes the book shine (quite literally)! Not content with just pencilling and inking, White also colours his own work. He's a good fit for this book - a great fit for bringing the neon-lit world of Tokyo to life!

Cosmo White heralds from Brighton in the UK - a town I was never very far from growing up. Just after the inception of Com.x comics in 2000, a small-press publishers in Brighton emerged, named Underfire comics (Colin J. Dinnie, publisher).
White was an integral cog in the machine at Underfire, contributing covers and interior work to their anthology series, Rapid Fire. His crowning achievement at that time was Operation Black Jet -  a three issue mini-series he wrote and illustrated (issue #2 eludes me to this day)!
In 2005 Underfire relaunched the renowned 2000AD fanzine, Zarjaz - issue #1 came with an impressive Dredd cover by White (see below)!

Intermittently, White continued to pursue a career in illustration. Before long he was working for Titan publishing, on such revered titles as Transformers!

Having collected a lot of his early work, it's been great to see White emerge as a fully-fledged professional. As a comic-book creator myself, it's inspiring to see contemporaries such as White rewarded for their efforts and perseverance.
At this point I'd like to point you in the direction of ifanboy.com and the following link: http://ifanboy.com/articles/ifanboy-upstarts-cosmo-white/ Here you'll find some of White's Transformers work - and lots more besides!

Over-all, Blue Spear is a very fine package. I believe there are plans a-foot to produce similar books, featuring a selection of other characters from the Forty-Five 'verse. I would certainly welcome this - and am hopeful for a Blue Spear follow-up!

I wait in anticipation for White's next project -  and will continue to keep a watchful eye on future Com.x publications (www.comxcomics.com). Any comic-book fan would do well to do the same!

Com.x logo courtesy: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Forty-Five image courtesy: www.comicbookresources.com
Zarjaz #1 cover courtesy: www.zarjaz.blogspot.com