Webcomic Spotlight: Vanguard by Dan Butcher

Vanguard Comic - Banner

 

Written by Dan Butcher & Gary Cohen
Drawn and created by Dan Butcher
View it at: www.VanguardComic.com

 

Vanguard Comic #1 Page 8

Art from Vanguard Comic #1

 

The Story: Vanguard is the story of a team of genetically enhanced meta-humans employed by the British government to protect the nation’s interests, at home and abroad.  It is set in the not too distant future, where the world is becoming more politically and economically unstable. There are food riots, water and power shortages, and a rising crime rate as day to day living becomes more of a struggle. The story begins with a simple rescue mission and events spiral from there…

 

Vanguard Comic #2 Page 18

Art from Vanguard Comic #2

 

The Review: Vanguard is a huge old dollup of bash ’em up fun. Dan is one of the guys who beavers away online and is slowly creating a huge universe of fully rounded and fun superhero characters. Unashamedly like a modern version of the Marvel UK books of the 1990s (think Knights of Pendragon, Genetix or Warheads) you can read it free and regularly online. I’ve been an early morning fan of this series for quite a while and love the energy that both goes into the strip and shines back out.

It isn’t without its edge however, and the strip lets you see the darker side of a team of superheroes in the modern world and is in that way similar to a book like the early Frank Quitely drawn Authority issues from the late 1990s early 2000s. Dan shares that sense of humour with writers like Garth Ennis and Mark Millar as well as their predisposition to a little of the old ultra violence and blood and gore here and there.

The art is full on, detailed, bright and created with great energy. You can see how Dan pushes himlself on each page and is really growing in ability.

 

Vanguard Comic #3 Page 18

Art from Vanguard Comic #3

 

Dan mixes up a background in animation, a current day job of graphic designer and a night full of comics. He’s also worked on some other web comic series that include Retake, Death Boy, Heroes Alliance/Unite, Acrobat and the Curse of the Black Terror. His work has an infectious (and dark) sense of humour and this is well worth a click.

If you like comic books like Noble Causes, Stormwatch, The Avengers or Gen 13 this will be right up your street.

 

Vanguard Comic #8 Page 20

Art for Vanguard Comic

 

You can read this in full over at www.VanguardComic.com and there are also some great ‘making of’ sections, commissions and a message board for each page that you can join to chat about the story.

You can buy physical copies of Volume 1 here from IndyPlanet and the book will soon be available on Comixology

• You can find Dan on Twitter @VanguardComic on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VanguardComic and you can subscribe over at Patreon www.patreon.com/VanguardComic?ty=h

Many thanks for reading.



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