The Originals [2004] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre

The Originals [2004]

This is a story created by Dave Gibbons solo, a 154-page story presented as an original hardcover from DC's Vertigo imprint from editor Karen Berger in one of their deviations from the standard formats they were known for, shorter and slightly wider than a standard US comic and with greytones.

I believe this is the only major creator-owned book that Gibbons both wrote and drew. He's most famous, of course, as one of the creators of THE WATCHMEN (the only one, if you believe the screen credits).

This is the story of a young man, Lei, growing up in an era which is a hybrid of 1960s England and some vague future with hover bikes and domed cities. He and his best friend Bok aspire to be part of a stylish bike gang, the Originals, who ride around and pick fights with a rival gang, the Dirt.

This is a pretty decent book. The story itself is a bit light, but it serves the job of giving Gibbons a chance to draw a fully realized world, rendered with precision and with occasional virtuoso flares.

This was reprinted as a softcover a few years later, and in 2018 a new edition from Berger Books was published in a larger format with extensive background material I'm kind of curious to see it, since I always thought the tones in this one seemed to print a shade darker than they should have, and wonder if they were modified for the reprint.