If there was any justice, Paul Grist would be a Superstar in modern comics. His crisp, elegant layouts and use of negative space combine with a capacity for quirky, eloquent storytelling to create a unique voice. It's criminal that he's not better known and appreciated.
Everything about this makes me think it was a webcomic in some alternate timeline. A good webcomic, sure, but the erratic publication rate, the distinctive art and character designs, a surprisingly deep and involved story, even the lack of longterm mainstream and commercial success - this is a webcomic that our reality somehow trapped in a print book format.
Great episode. Weapon H is an homage to 'Captain Hurricane' another UK comic character. There are also homages to classic UK TV series, like 'Steptoe and Son', and 'Dads Army'
A great writer and amazing artist. I’ve met him a couple of times in my local comic shop and he’s a top bloke. I believe he even gave the staff of our local shop ‘Space Centre’ a cameo in his Kane series!
Congratulations for your channel man, you are the most diferent and always brings interesting comics like these one. I never heard about Jack Staff and i really enjoy this video, also your voice is very relaxing and the editing is good. PS: I'm from Brazil so forgive me for my bad english, Until next time 👋🏿
Great review. Need to buy his THE UNION series. Paul Grist's DAILY BUGLE is my favorite Spider-Man story. It was black and white and came out during THE CLONE SAGA so it was ignored.
have you read the fourth wall breaking news style daily bugle? it's on actual newsprint, and actually fairly hard to find (in my experience.) but i have it in my shop and it's fascinating.
you continue to be one of my fave comic channels. you always show me something interesting, that if i didn't already know; i would like to know more about.
Thanks so much for making this video. I am a HUGE Paul Grist, fan. Looks like it's time for another full reread of Jack Staff.....after that it's on to Kane! :)
For the record, it's perfectly fine for a comic book to be a reworking of an earlier comic or comic pitch. It's also ok if characters bear superficial similarities to other characters from the original pitch (intellectual property challenges notwithstanding). You point out that the characters have unique personalities and meaningful arcs, and that's what's important. A few months ago you were concerned that we'd think that the Fantastic Four was a rework of... Challengers of the Unknown, I think? Because Kirby did them both. Being a rework of an earlier idea is not, artistically speaking, a bad thing. Its actually very interesting because it allows comparitive analysis of themes, characters, and the creator's body of work. Besides, everyone knows Fantastic Four was a rip-off if The Incredibles.
'it's perfectly fine for a comic book to be a reworking of an earlier comic or comic pitch. It's also ok if characters bear superficial similarities to other characters ' Right. See also virtually everything Alan Moore ever did.
Jesus Christ. I forgot all about this buried treasure. Thank you for bringing this back to my consciousness in a big, bad rad way. My cousin introduced me to this and I was obsessed with the first five issues. You've inspired me to track down the rest of the run. Brilliant per usual, mate
Grist is an absolute favorite of mine. Kane is a personal favourite. Although vastly different artists, Grist and Nabil Kannan (Exit) were some of the most creative storytellers of the late 90s and early 00s.
Honestly, if I could only read ONE comic series for the rest of my life, it'd be a toss-up between this one, Kurt Busiek's 'Astro City' and Jeff Parker's 'Agents of Atlas', with 'Jack Staff' probably just edging the others out. It feels like it's been written just for me.
With this series, I fall in love with the work of Paul Grist. It's smart and funny with a rich mythology and an awesome storytelling. It's a pity that there is no planned conclusion.
For some reason, I imagine that this series would be a good companion to Tom Strong as something to read beside. Never heard of this series but now I’m very interested in checking it out! Great video!
Thank you! Yes, I do think it's along the same lines as Tom Strong in the sense that it is pure story, with strong characters in a challenging situation.
@@StrangeBrainParts same! But your video served as reason enough for me to dig through my storage and yank it all out for a reread... I truly love the non traditional pacing, as most of it is paid off in the long run. So many things that seem like offhand weirdness turns out to matter. I wish grist would get a chance for a new series, it really had something special
@@StrangeBrainParts , I hope you hit the O.G Tmnt. The Turtles are my favorite comic characters overall, and while I prefer the brighter, more light-hearted adaptations of the Turtles T.V shows and movies. I still love visiting the comics to see where it all started
I definitely got a finer appreciation for the series when I reread recently. Once I started breaking it down and looking at the pieces I was quite stunned at how well it was put together. Truly, it's masterful in so many ways. And I do hope others discover it.
@@StrangeBrainParts well, hopefully they will because of this video! Unfortunately there's so little attention given to indy comics years later except for a small few. It's easy to let series get forgotten, so it's good you're able to focus your viewers on it, and hopefully someone will tackle it for the first time.
I showed a list made mostly of comics I assumed a friend (who is marries and a birth will occur) would mostly not know. I was more than surprised that they understood and bought a copy of Jack Staff before, it was on my list, along with Bottomless Belly Button by Shaw and some mainstream comics.
I would not be surprised to find Paul Grist a student of Alex Toth's work, definitely got that vibe from the pages here. How much of the series has been collected? I desperately want to read this now.
From what I read, Mr. Grist wasn't influenced by Alex Toth. But the resemblance is there, that's for sure. I know the entire black and white series has been collected and may still be available. The colour series (with the exception of The Weird World Of Jack Staff) is also available digitally.
@@StrangeBrainParts In an interview Grist talked about how Toth reached out to him and praised his work. He also said that Toth may have done it to try and get free comics (and that it worked).
The Steel Claw was a classic British comic character first appearing in Valiant in the 60's. Essentially a riff on HG Wells' The Invisible Man, he starts out as a criminal who, by channelling electricity through his namesake Steel Claw, can become invisible. At first, he's a dangerously deranged villain, but eventually takes on a more heroic role as a sort of secret agent character. Janus Stark first appeared in 'Smash' in the late 60s and was the story of a Dickensian orphan and thief who, after making a success of himself as an Escape Artist, becomes a Consulting Detective of sorts in Victorian-era London.
It's exactly what an Invaders knock-off would look like but, "it's completely distinct from the Invaders." Umm...okay lol. But add "meta" self aware stuff, "behind the curtain" industry insider shout outs make it legit. Except it doesn't.
Paul Grist is one of the single best creators in comics history. It just breaks my heart that stuff like Jack Staff, Kane and Mud Man were never finished due to sales. Such a travesty. They should be among the best selling titles ever.
If there was any justice, Paul Grist would be a Superstar in modern comics. His crisp, elegant layouts and use of negative space combine with a capacity for quirky, eloquent storytelling to create a unique voice. It's criminal that he's not better known and appreciated.
I wholeheartedly endorse this statement. His talent has been criminally overlooked.
He was in invincible, and I read his series. He's awesome
YEAH! My guy Jack beat that evil-empire-Mark MF with nothing but a stick!
Everything about this makes me think it was a webcomic in some alternate timeline. A good webcomic, sure, but the erratic publication rate, the distinctive art and character designs, a surprisingly deep and involved story, even the lack of longterm mainstream and commercial success - this is a webcomic that our reality somehow trapped in a print book format.
Great episode. Weapon H is an homage to 'Captain Hurricane' another UK comic character. There are also homages to classic UK TV series, like 'Steptoe and Son', and 'Dads Army'
A great writer and amazing artist. I’ve met him a couple of times in my local comic shop and he’s a top bloke. I believe he even gave the staff of our local shop ‘Space Centre’ a cameo in his Kane series!
is that the space centre in sheffield?
@@bigwibble6 yes indeed!!
Congratulations for your channel man, you are the most diferent and always brings interesting comics like these one. I never heard about Jack Staff and i really enjoy this video, also your voice is very relaxing and the editing is good.
PS: I'm from Brazil so forgive me for my bad english, Until next time 👋🏿
Great review. Need to buy his THE UNION series.
Paul Grist's DAILY BUGLE is my favorite Spider-Man story. It was black and white and came out during THE CLONE SAGA so it was ignored.
The Union just wrapped up so I'm looking forward to giving it a read.
have you read the fourth wall breaking news style daily bugle? it's on actual newsprint, and actually fairly hard to find (in my experience.) but i have it in my shop and it's fascinating.
I've not read it. But now I will be looking for it!
You are in for a treat. I think you will be very surprised how good it is considering what you think of 90's comics. Lol
I love your videos, they have sparked back my interest in comic books, and inspire me to continue. Greetings from Mexico!
I just want to say that I love your videos and you have great taste in comics.
you continue to be one of my fave comic channels. you always show me something interesting, that if i didn't already know; i would like to know more about.
My humble thanks. I hope that opinion remains well into the future.
Cool! I literally just ordered the first volume off of eBay 😄
This is such a great series. Paul Grist is a master. Thanks for covering this.
Great video!
This channel is just Great.
I have the black and white era compiled in a big volume, loved it. i need to get the rest eventually.
Keep it up, love your videos.
Thanks so much for making this video. I am a HUGE Paul Grist, fan. Looks like it's time for another full reread of Jack Staff.....after that it's on to Kane! :)
Well, I know what I'm hunting for this weekend! Looks pretty cool 👍
For the record, it's perfectly fine for a comic book to be a reworking of an earlier comic or comic pitch. It's also ok if characters bear superficial similarities to other characters from the original pitch (intellectual property challenges notwithstanding). You point out that the characters have unique personalities and meaningful arcs, and that's what's important.
A few months ago you were concerned that we'd think that the Fantastic Four was a rework of... Challengers of the Unknown, I think? Because Kirby did them both. Being a rework of an earlier idea is not, artistically speaking, a bad thing. Its actually very interesting because it allows comparitive analysis of themes, characters, and the creator's body of work.
Besides, everyone knows Fantastic Four was a rip-off if The Incredibles.
'it's perfectly fine for a comic book to be a reworking of an earlier comic or comic pitch. It's also ok if characters bear superficial similarities to other characters '
Right. See also virtually everything Alan Moore ever did.
Jesus Christ. I forgot all about this buried treasure. Thank you for bringing this back to my consciousness in a big, bad rad way. My cousin introduced me to this and I was obsessed with the first five issues. You've inspired me to track down the rest of the run. Brilliant per usual, mate
We definitely gotta get a Judge Dredd comic analysis/ review. / history of, anything would be great !
You sir, are my comic book sherpa. Taking me to places i would never have made it by myself!
I used to go to the old image comics website and regarding this
Grist is an absolute favorite of mine. Kane is a personal favourite. Although vastly different artists, Grist and Nabil Kannan (Exit) were some of the most creative storytellers of the late 90s and early 00s.
Honestly, if I could only read ONE comic series for the rest of my life, it'd be a toss-up between this one, Kurt Busiek's 'Astro City' and Jeff Parker's 'Agents of Atlas', with 'Jack Staff' probably just edging the others out.
It feels like it's been written just for me.
With this series, I fall in love with the work of Paul Grist. It's smart and funny with a rich mythology and an awesome storytelling. It's a pity that there is no planned conclusion.
Hey I remember this guy he was in invincible
For some reason, I imagine that this series would be a good companion to Tom Strong as something to read beside. Never heard of this series but now I’m very interested in checking it out! Great video!
Thank you! Yes, I do think it's along the same lines as Tom Strong in the sense that it is pure story, with strong characters in a challenging situation.
Goddamn, you just hitting all my favs... jack staff is awesome
I almost wish I could forget the series so I could read it fresh once again.
@@StrangeBrainParts same! But your video served as reason enough for me to dig through my storage and yank it all out for a reread...
I truly love the non traditional pacing, as most of it is paid off in the long run. So many things that seem like offhand weirdness turns out to matter. I wish grist would get a chance for a new series, it really had something special
@@StrangeBrainParts , I hope you hit the O.G Tmnt. The Turtles are my favorite comic characters overall, and while I prefer the brighter, more light-hearted adaptations of the Turtles T.V shows and movies. I still love visiting the comics to see where it all started
I definitely got a finer appreciation for the series when I reread recently. Once I started breaking it down and looking at the pieces I was quite stunned at how well it was put together. Truly, it's masterful in so many ways. And I do hope others discover it.
@@StrangeBrainParts well, hopefully they will because of this video! Unfortunately there's so little attention given to indy comics years later except for a small few. It's easy to let series get forgotten, so it's good you're able to focus your viewers on it, and hopefully someone will tackle it for the first time.
5:12 Further strengthening a connection to animation along with the simple designs
Think I first read about him in Wizard magazine. Looks like an interesting series.
when i saw the thumbnail i thought this was gonna be about union jack
Me too
Strange Brain Parts Have you heard of or read The Goon?
👏👏people behind jack staff, genious! Why arent those great comic creators controling the industry?
Kane was excellent crime comics by Paul Grist.
I bought the omnibus but started with single issues. Thank you for showing this SBP.
Thanks for watching!
Looks like an interesting comic 🤔
I bought one issue of Jack Staff and I liked it, but it never showed up on the rack again.
I showed a list made mostly of comics I assumed a friend (who is marries and a birth will occur) would mostly not know.
I was more than surprised that they understood and bought a copy of Jack Staff before, it was on my list, along with Bottomless Belly Button by Shaw and some mainstream comics.
I've enjoyed Paul Grist's art and storytelling since Kane
Grist's visual sense is unerring.
I would not be surprised to find Paul Grist a student of Alex Toth's work, definitely got that vibe from the pages here. How much of the series has been collected? I desperately want to read this now.
From what I read, Mr. Grist wasn't influenced by Alex Toth. But the resemblance is there, that's for sure. I know the entire black and white series has been collected and may still be available. The colour series (with the exception of The Weird World Of Jack Staff) is also available digitally.
@@StrangeBrainParts Thanks for the info - and bringing this series to my attention, I can already tell I am going to love it!
@@StrangeBrainParts In an interview Grist talked about how Toth reached out to him and praised his work. He also said that Toth may have done it to try and get free comics (and that it worked).
Would you cover Invincible?
Any chance you would do a video on Grist's "Kane"?
Yes, that is also possible. It's another one I've been meaning to do for a while.
@@StrangeBrainParts Awesome! That's very exciting to hear.
In fact, this comment inspired me to pull out Kane so I don't forget. :)
Jack staff is cool
2:57 robot archie is a classic british hero ? 3:02 who is the steel claw 3:07 who is janus stark?
7:22 that's intersesting way of saying it
The Steel Claw was a classic British comic character first appearing in Valiant in the 60's. Essentially a riff on HG Wells' The Invisible Man, he starts out as a criminal who, by channelling electricity through his namesake Steel Claw, can become invisible. At first, he's a dangerously deranged villain, but eventually takes on a more heroic role as a sort of secret agent character.
Janus Stark first appeared in 'Smash' in the late 60s and was the story of a Dickensian orphan and thief who, after making a success of himself as an Escape Artist, becomes a Consulting Detective of sorts in Victorian-era London.
Jack Staff, any relation to Jean Le Baton, lol?
My Brit-Bro Jack beat the shit out of Invincible with a stick!
It's exactly what an Invaders knock-off would look like but, "it's completely distinct from the Invaders." Umm...okay lol. But add "meta" self aware stuff, "behind the curtain" industry insider shout outs make it legit. Except it doesn't.
But... this stuff is clearly awful and unappealing.
Paul Grist is one of the single best creators in comics history. It just breaks my heart that stuff like Jack Staff, Kane and Mud Man were never finished due to sales. Such a travesty. They should be among the best selling titles ever.