Luke Kirby

[The Adventurer]

I personally thought there was a missed opertunity to rereprint Firekind bundled in the Leatherjack collection.

[Jim_Campbell]

This might be the best looking book Rebellion have ever put together. I love the endpapers & cover. The art looks a bit darker than in the prog and is all the spookier for it. Ridgway & Parkhouse's are is stunning.

Quite cross I didn't order one of these now!

[JOE SOAP]

Quite cross I didn't order one of these now!

You still can, Jim. Go on...do it.

[TordelBack]

Oh feck this, I'm in. If I can't get to Enniskillen, I may as well spend some of the OT on something as nice-looking as this. Ordered!

[TordelBack]

And threw in a copy of The Mighty One to offset horrid P&P (a bit). Presume international postage will be almost free after Brexit, once all that awful common market redtape is gone?

[Woolly]

Just finished it all - quite simply one of the best series ever to see print in the prog. Just jaw-droppingly stunning throughout.
Wasn't convinced when I first saw Steve Parkhouse's take, but his work The Old Straight Track won me over. Truly beautiful artwork.
If Tharg could sort things out with Alan McKenzie and get him writing for the prog again, and get John Ridgeway back on art duties, I would probably be the happiest squaxx in the world.

[IndigoPrime]

It's also so much better than anything else McKenzie did for 2000 AD. Hard to know why. Did he just put more effort into this one, or gel with it in a manner he didn't with his other work?

[Woolly]

For me it's the overall coherence of the ideas throughout the story. It never feels like it's been written on the fly, and suggests there was alot more plot already mapped out that we haven't had a chance to see yet.
The collection certainly reads more like an introductory book for a much longer series.

[Greg M.]

For me it's the overall coherence of the ideas throughout the story. It never feels like it's been written on the fly, and suggests there was alot more plot already mapped out that we haven't had a chance to see yet.

That said, there's an interesting continuity glitch in Trick or Treat / Sympathy for the Devil. The idea that Luke's dad was taken away by a demon doesn't tie in at all with The Night Walker, in which Luke strongly implies he saw his father's body. Moreover, if from Luke and his mum's perspective, his dad had simply disappeared one day (and has only been gone four months at the time of Summer Magic) they surely wouldn't automatically assume he was dead. Even the police refer to him as dead. (You could, of course, come up with magical explanations for all this, but still.)

[Woolly]

For me it's the overall coherence of the ideas throughout the story. It never feels like it's been written on the fly, and suggests there was alot more plot already mapped out that we haven't had a chance to see yet.

That said, there's an interesting continuity glitch in Trick or Treat / Sympathy for the Devil. The idea that Luke's dad was taken away by a demon doesn't tie in at all with The Night Walker, in which Luke strongly implies he saw his father's body. Moreover, if from Luke and his mum's perspective, his dad had simply disappeared one day (and has only been gone four months at the time of Summer Magic) they surely wouldn't automatically assume he was dead. Even the police refer to him as dead. (You could, of course, come up with magical explanations for all this, but still.)

I read that as meaning [spoiler]there was a body, but his soul was trapped in hell. Hence '..he doesn't belong alive, either. He's dead and he has to go on.'[/spoiler]
Also, the Sympathy for the Devil prologue makes it clear that [spoiler]astral projection is a power the Alchemists have, which may explain how a body could be left behind.[/spoiler]
That said, the art makes it pretty clear that [spoiler]the demon has literally taken Luke's dad through to hell[/spoiler]. Maybe [spoiler]the witch didn't have all the info, and was making it up a bit?[/spoiler]

[Greg M.]

Also, the Sympathy for the Devil prologue makes it clear that [spoiler]astral projection is a power the Alchemists have, which may explain how a body could be left behind.[/spoiler]

Fair points all. This is probably the explanation that works best, though as you say, that's not how it's drawn. Dramatic license on the witch's part then. To me, it feels like McKenzie's plans changed between the (excellent) Sympathy prologue and Trick or Treat: the story being set up by the former seems a lot more chilling and exciting than how it actually panned out.

[Rara Avis]

One episode of Firekind was accidentally left out of its original run, and ended up being published the week after the series had ended.

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

[Prodigal2]

Oh feck this, I'm in. If I can't get to Enniskillen, I may as well spend some of the OT on something as nice-looking as this. Ordered!

A last minute no-go on Enniskillen and how I wish I had made the same choice as you now TB.

[CalHab]

I've just finished the book, and it really was as good as I remembered. John Ridgway's art is incredibly evocative. Wonderful.

[CalHab]

Thinking on it a bit more, Sympathy For the Devil does seem a bit of a misfit. It seemed fine to me back when I was reading it in the prog, but it jars when you read the rest of the series. I like the Parkhouse art, and it is some of his best work, but he doesn't seem to be able to decide whether it is set in the 60s or 90s. Is this deliberate? The rural setting of the other series is abandoned for a predominantly urban one, and the tone is totally different. I can see why they went back to the countryside for The Old Straight Track.

I'm glad that the book confirmed my fond memories of reading it in the prog, though. One of the best collections Tharg has put out, in my opinion.