Compass Comics; Crowdfunded
In a sea of comic book and graphic novel crowdfunders of both lesser (many) and greater (a few) fame, in recent years Graham Nolan has produced an almost relentless stream of quality creator-owned comics featuring engaging stories, strong art, and high production values and they’ve all been delivered in timely fashion.
Perhaps his pre-crowdfunding track record should have prepared us for this. After breaking into comics in the 1980s, Nolan’s work was seen on long runs of several titles such as Power of the Atom and Hawkworld before he landed in the Bat-world, where he co-created Bane and contributed to “Knightfall” across a long run of Detective Comics.
Monster Island, his first creator-owned work, debuted in 1998. He then segued into comic strips with Rex Morgan, M.D. and The Phantom Sunday strip, and his own online strip, Sunshine State.
In recent years, with a reissued Monster Island, and works such as The Chenoo, Alien Alamo, Joe Frankenstein, The Ghosts of Matecumbe Key, he’s built his own company, Compass Comics, into a brand from which readers can expect to find adventure, heroism, horror, and romance in a more straightforward fashion than from traditional publishers these days.
He’s said, “Compass Comics is charting a course back to when comics were fun and respected the readers.” His claim is born out the finished products.
His latest release is Return To Monster Island (which will eventually lead to next year’s Escape From Monster Island), and it is the usual excellently produced package. Enjoyable from start to finish, it ranges from over-the-top action – huge monsters, aliens, Russians, you name it – to romance. His approach has matured since the original Monster Island, but this comic isn't pretentious. It's a fitting sequel to the original.
As his readers have come to expect, the storytelling is rock solid and the art is excellent. Combined with the physical presentation of the books, it’s easy to see why his reader-backers keep coming back for more.
– J.C. Vaughn
