[FreakyBeanz]

Is anyone reading Jonathan Ross' Image comic book: Turf?

I've read the first two issues so far and was interested to hear what others thought.

I'm loving Ross' style. Reminds me a lot of golden and silver age comics in the way he delivers his prose. The first issue was very wordy (to say the least!), but that was reigned back slightly for the 2nd issue. Love that he's brought back thought balloons too!

Not too keen on Tommy Lee Edwards artwork though - sometimes it looks amazing, and sometimes it looks "scratchy" and rushed.

But the mix of 1930's New York, with gangsters, vampires, and aliens - what's not to like?

[Obi Steve Kenobi]

Seems fun, I'm just a bit worried that 5 (or 6 -anyone have a definitive answer as to how many issues it will be?) issues is not enough to come to a satisfactory ending, especially as some characters have only just been introduced.

[Wayne1421]

I read the first one, love the art.... but them word bubbles kept getting in the way
As everyone says it was very wordy but i did find it a lot of fun and will probably look to pick up the trade when its collected, image trades are usually good value as well.

[OnTheThirdDay]

I read teh first one and thought it was really good. I missed the second so will have to wait for the book version. There were a lot of words.

[FreakyBeanz]

Originally Posted by Wayne1421

I read the first one, love the art.... but them word bubbles kept getting in the way
As everyone says it was very wordy but i did find it a lot of fun and will probably look to pick up the trade when its collected, image trades are usually good value as well.

To say the 1st issue was "verbose" is an understatement!

Reminds me of early Lee & Kirby, where Stan the Man would fill up 50% of a panel with dialogue!

Now there's a TV show I'd love to see Wossy do (after his fantastic Steve Ditko documentary) - Wossy interviewing Stan Lee!

[Wayne1421]

Originally Posted by FreakyBeanz

To say the 1st issue was "verbose" is an understatement!

Reminds me of early Lee & Kirby, where Stan the Man would fill up 50% of a panel with dialogue!

Now there's a TV show I'd love to see Wossy do (after his fantastic Steve Ditko documentary) - Wossy interviewing Stan Lee!

Just picked up some of the essential classic x-men books and some of the dialouge by stan is expansive to say the least.

When i first read my copy of Turf (Signed by Wossy and Edwards) my intial thought was that this was typical first comic-book syndrome, look at most first time writters who come from other mediums and they write far too much. However having since heard him interviewed about it, there was obviously a conscious effort to make this a more wordy book than is typical at this time. The key here is going to be getting a balance, i felt it went too far the other way with #1, I hear that #2 is a bit better in this regard and according to Ross he feels that he really got the hang of it around issue 3. For me its just going to be a case of Ross learning to trust the artist to tell the story and this will allow the dialouge to be shortened a bit.

I really did like the concept and the story in issue 1 and will be checking it out when its collected.

[kevinj]

Definitely gets better with issue 2, while still tending towards the verbose the second half of the issue and the action sequences are almost silent in the way they are shown, with the way he uses the concept of flying vampires almost cinematic in the good sense.

[Happy-Hangman]

I think to some extent Wossy's twying to wun before he can walk. Good basic concept and characterisation - and a very good sense of period, which is worth noting - but what might otherwise be a briskly paced page-turner is weighed down by too much cine-savvy dialogue, much of which is unecessary.

#2, as has een already mentioned, was a vast improvement, largely because it relied more on events than the laboured exposition of back-story through talking heads.

[FreakyBeanz]

It's looking like we're all agreed on the 1st issue "wordy" problem.

I would have thought; given Ross' background that he would have dived in head-first into the superhero genre, so it was quite a surprise when I heard the concept of this series. This is definitely a "high concept" series, that would probably make a damned good movie.

It's looking like he's got another couple of series up his sleeve though (according to his Tweets on Twitter), so I wouldn't mind betting we see some spandex coming along soon!

[Lee Grice]

Loved the first issue - even/especially the wordiness - it felt like a real throwback to comics from the late 70s & early 80s; Don McGregor & Marv Wolfman in particular. I can't remember the last time it took me 20-25 minutes to read a single issue - very satisfying i felt.

The only worry i had was that the crashed spaceship might be over egging the pudding slightly, but we'll see how it goes. I've not read the 2nd issue yet

I was really impressed that Ross seemed to be writing it as an actual writer if you know what i mean - he genuinely had a story he wants to tell, it doesn't at all feel like a vanity project - unlike Samuel L Jackson's Open Space or Michael Chiklis's Olympus.

Incidentally Ross interviews Jim Steranko in today's Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010...-jonathan-ross