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Over twenty years in the making, comic creator Roger Mason completes his acclaimed SF adventure, “The Mice”

By John Freeman on September 4, 2023

The Mice - Factory Menace by Roger Mason

After 22 years, several changes of address and one change of country – as well as using three different drawing media – longtime comic creator Roger Mason has finally completed his amazing-looking SF graphic novel project, The Mice.

The well-received adventure, described as “small press comics at its absolute best” by Comics International and “thick with satire, irony and humour” by Starburst, grew out of the British small press scene of the early 2000’s, was published briefly by Scar Comics around 2012, and continued to be produced while Roger was drawing various bande dessinée (London Inferno, Mongo Le Magnifique) and storyboards.

After a long period watching the comics industry change, and choosing to prioritise production over publishing, Books One and Two, “The Factory Menace” and “Culture Shock”, are now free to read on globalcomix.com, with Books Three and Four, “Line Eleven” and “Incandescent”, to follow soon.

In The Mice, a young couple battle impossible odds against alien invaders – aliens taller than trees, destroyers of civilisation and builders of soulless factories. But as the aliens work 12-hour shifts, humans steal food, cut wires and plan their revenge…

The Mice - Incandescent by Roger Mason - Preview

“The Mice is a sci-ﬁ adventure story in which humanity ﬁghts for survival,” says Roger, “and aliens scheme to knock off early.”

Roger’s graphic novel with French writer LF Bollée, London Inferno, an 80-page crime story, published by Markosia, is available in print.

The Mice in Catfood (2001) — *How “The Mice” was first published, back in 2001*

SFX previously described The Mice as “Genius… big on ideas and action. The opening scene… is one of the most perfectly-designed sucker punches I’ve seen in years. You spend several panels being carefully introduced to the cast of characters, in a setting that’s intensely familiar, only to have what you think you know snatched away from you.

“That willingness to upend a reader’s expectations lies at the heart of what Roger Mason is trying to do with the book and he succeeds admirably. This is smart, incredibly bleak science ﬁction of the sort that seems to have a natural home in the UK thanks to 2000AD and its ilk… a highly unusual post-apocalyptic story and one that 2000AD fans in particular shouldn’t be without.”

Roger Mason at work on "The Mice" in New Zealand, in 2019 — *Roger Mason working on his garphic novel, “The Mice”, in New Zealand in 2019*

“Roger Mason’s fully-formed future scenario pits tiny terrorists in the Land of the Giants against occupying alien forces,” enthused fellow comic creator Gary Spencer Millidge. “A rollicking SF epic brought to life with splendidly fluid chiaroscuro brushwork by one of the UK’s most exciting young talents.”

Roger Mason is a professional storyboard artist who also creates comics and book illustrations. He drew the crime BDs London Inferno and Mongo Le Magnifique with writer LF Bollée and he has taught drawing skills at numerous higher education establishments including University of Teesside and Auckland University of Technology.

Roger lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand and acts in theatre in his spare time.

GlobalComix is a free digital reading and distribution platform that helps creators and publishers share and sell their comics, license them globally, and understand their readers on a deeper level.

• Check out The Mice here on GlobalComix

• Roger Mason is online at looksgoodonpaper.co.uk and rogermason.co.nz | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | RedBubble

• Check out Inferno by LF Bollée and Roger Mason on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

Two London coppers, John Cope and Mark Hollis, face many dangerous cases together. But Cope is in love with Valerie, Hollis’s wife. One night, Hollis throws a party. John and Valerie manage to be together during the evening, but Cope leaves… and a terrible crime is committed.

Betrayal, intrigue, and a violent quest for the truth: London Inferno is Sin City meets Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and it won’t put you down until the end.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.