Press Release
Broken Voice Comics is pleased to announce that the long-awaited second volume of its two-part graphic novel Shades will be available in April through online comics retailers ComicsyUK and IndyPlanet.
Written by David A J Berner and illustrated in full colour, Shades is a contemporary action/adventure story, asking the question “what makes a hero?” and examining the traits and characteristics which have come to define the British national character. Volume 1 was released in 2011. This second volume begins with Stanley Miller and his motley group of quasi-historical British heroes still reeling from the traumatic events at the end of Volume 1. Meanwhile, the prehistoric mystic Bedlam and his allies are preparing to make their move for control of the UK.
“This is not a new story,” Berner told us. “It’s the concluding part of the story we began in Volume 1. For readers new to Shades, therefore, the book includes a summary of the main events in the first book. Stan and his family issues are still very much at the heart of the story but, as the action ramps up, readers can expect to see a lot more action from the likes of Doug (a WW2 fighter pilot known as Spitfire) and Boo (the First Century warrior queen – and fan favourite! – Boudicca).”
As well as giving additional insight into the motivations of the book’s principal villains, Volume 2 also introduces two new characters. “I don’t want to give away too much about them,” says Berner, “but the new art team has worked wonders on those guys.” That art team comprises Brazilian artist E.C. Nickel (pencils and inks) and Indonesian artist Muamal Khairi (colours). “Nickel and Qoiri immediately grasped what I was trying to do with Shades,” he continues. “Achieving a look that’s both traditional comic book and realistic, portraying characters who are both steeped in historical significance and yet who also manage to convince us that they’re the kind of people we might actually know in real life … I always saw those things as vital to Shades, and Nickel and Qoiri delivered on all fronts!”
Readers have often described Shades as “a British Watchmen” and “a Watchmen for a modern audience”, while Berner’s writing has been favourably compared to James Robinson’s run on Starman. Berner is understandably delighted by such comparisons.
“I’ve never made any secret of the fact that Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns were the books which first made me want to write a graphic novel of my own,” he says, “so those kind of comparisons are incredible. I hadn’t read any Starman when I wrote the script for Shades, but I began playing catch-up just recently and I can certainly see similarities with what Robinson was trying to achieve. My intention was to write a “high concept” graphic novel (i.e. an examination of the British national psyche) with believable characters, but which would also be enjoyed by fans of mainstream super hero comics. When readers compare it to the likes of Watchmen and Starman, therefore, it makes me think we must have been at least partially successful!”
Shades Volume 1 is available now at ComicsyUK (www.comicsy.co.uk) and Indy Planet (www.IndyPlanet.com). Shades Volume 2 will be available this April.
