Truth be told, I bought this solely because of Gary Northfield’s contribution. I’ve previously enjoyed both his Bad Dog and Stupid Monsters comics, and always look forward to seeing his work. He has a pleasantly loose style that seems to consist of controlled scribbles. In this comic he provides an untitled tale of piracy, death and pet crabs that is both earnestly and endearingly loopy, not to mention blackly comic. Lovely stuff.

However, Gary’s contribution only comprises the second part of the comic. The first half is taken up with Matt Abbiss’ excellent story Allstrong, which features a young boy called Neil who knows he is going to be an astronaut when he grows up, because the moon has chosen him to. Alternately funny and creepy, this is a genuinely compelling story. I’ve not read much of Abbiss’ work, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for more in future.

Bernard Cribbens’ contains two great stories, is attractively presented, and is reasonably priced. In short, this is a comic that you should own. Do yourself a favour and see that you do.