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The Leopard of Lime St

Started by robert_ellis, 27 July, 2017, 09:59:01 PM

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robert_ellis

Relocating Spider-man to a grotty English town in the seventies works a treat. Even the radioactive leopard origin doesn't seem too daft. What makes this a great read is the atmosphere of the time period. The energy crisis is on, there's unemployment and the best you can hope for is light bullying at school before being thoroughly beaten at home. At least you have your pantomime leopard costume and claw rope thingy to right a few wrongs. Recommended for fans of simpler fare like Doomlord. I couldn't get on with the Misty reprints - I think the typed captions kill it dead - but this was great fun. The retouching is pretty solid. Sometimes the type looks a bit grainy. I think maybe I'd prefer a new cover but it's a great package particularly as a hardcover with the print.

Mardroid

I'll admit, the blatant similarity to Spider-man put me off a bit, initially.

The working-class British flavour of the thing, as mentioned in reviews, is appealing however.

So that's 3 books I'd like to get. (Well more than that, but of the new releases, I mean.)

The Leapard of Lime Street
Misty
The Journal of Luke Kirby

Not necessarily in that order. Role on full-time permanent work!  :lol:

Mardroid

leapard = leopard. I'm unable to edit, for some reason.

Colin YNWA

This one finally reached the top of my 'to read list' and its absolutely wonderful.

Robert Ellis' opening post perfectly sums it up really. The fact that they re-locate Spidey to a downtrodden British town makes the series work even better than its obvious source material. I mean its not shy in how clearly it rips off Spidey, but it all the more down to earth and 'real' by putting such a fantastical hero into such a gritty location. It has none of the glitz of Spidey's New York - the lack of shiny dynamic super villians really underlines this and it just a rip roaring romp of a story.

It a real masterclass in efficency as well. Tom Tully, Mike Western and Eric Bradbury (how are art duties handles after the first few episodes when you can tell, this is Western and now its Bradbury I'm not quite sure how they shared duties? Is Bradbury inking Western... vice versa... I can't work it out) keep the story charging along at such a brisk pace, yet it somehow avoids feeling too rushed.

And while the characters are panto cliche's that also strangely works in the strips favour. Characters we've seen in so many strips about downtrodden kids are all here, and all serve to elevate the wonder The Leopard - to make the adventures feel real, while entirely in context of the time it was created in.

I adore this book, can't wait to read volume 2 and I'm a little sad we've not seen a volume 3. Hopefully its still planned somewhere down the line and the series has done well enough to justify continuing as I really do want more, more MORE.

Just brilliant 70s British nonsense.

Michael Knight

I really enjoyed both of these and can't recommend them highly enough. I dont remember series first time round, just wondering how much there is left to reprint? Would love to read it in its entirety.

Barrington Boots

Very tempted to pick these up in the current sale, given the high praise on here.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

broodblik

I have read both and they are fantastic. Hopefully we will get a third volume 
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.