Writer/Artist: Paul B. Rainey
Ordering & Website: http://www.bookoflists.co.uk/
There’s No Time Like The Present could well be the Holy Grail of comics. A lofty proclamation, maybe, but this issue gets it so right: we have a pretty much self-contained A story, which has spun out of prior events and will no doubt have repercussions in the future, yet foreknowledge is not required to get the point of it; plus movement in the on-going B storylines, which tantalise if you haven’t seen the story so far, and intrigue if you have. The only thing missing from this issue (which was in #2) is a synopsis – I can forgive the omission, as the book is packed: the strip even covers the inside front and rear covers, that’s twenty-six pages of story for your money, good value indeed.
The main story then: Barry is a bit of a lonely guy. He’s a 30-odd virgin, lives at home with his parents, very self-obsessed: he’s the boy who never grew up. His latest fixation is with SF from the future (via the ultranet, surely an essential invention – I want a link now!), and previously he’s been waiting for Star Wars Episode XIV to arrive. Coming home, he walks into the middle of an argument between his mum and dad about kicking him out: his dad is very (too) lenient, his mum is finally fed up with Barry’s idiosyncrasies, and thinks that if he lived on his own he’d be forced to take charge of his life, get a proper job and maybe, you know, grow up a little. Shortly after this, Barry experiences a life-changing event: I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s the sort of thing that can only happen one, and basically leaves him shell-shocked for much of the rest of the issue. One failed call to the Samaritans later, and we end on a downbeat note: “I am a good person”, he says, attempting to convince himself more than a wheelchair user he has just aided, “I am a good person.” It’s clear he doesn’t believe it, and it’s a hell of a note to close the issue.
Rainey sticks with his familiar layouts throughout the issue, a rigid 4x2 grid giving us regular beats from panel to panel and page to page, yet the structure allows for the occasional half-page panel, which hits with the same impact as a double-page spread in a regular comic. Good value? Nah, GREAT value for money.
Checking out his website, www.bookoflists.co.uk not only gives the ordering information for this book and the two previous issues, but also his one-off works That Telephone Thing and The Books of Lists, samples from which also appear on the site. Check it out – check this out.
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