Since the creation of ‘Prodigal’ a couple of years ago I’ve had an urge to try out a variety of comic formats, partly out of curiosity, partly in an attempt to find a format that suits the style, drive and interests I have in the comics medium.

The initial instalment was a basic modern era full colour 2000ad layout, the second a variation on the two colour strips beloved of 1970s British Annuals, and the third an homage to the loose genius of Ashley Wood.

These initial episodes were short pieces scattered within the pages of the 77 anthology comic, but a long held desire has been a black and white 64 page digest episode in the style of ‘Commando’, ‘Starblazer’ and the classic Italian fumetti , ‘Diabolik’.

In 2021 I was asked by Alan Holloway if I would be interested in supplying art for one of his and Ed Doyle’s ’Sentinel’ comics.

Already an established small press phenomenon in the UK, ‘Sentinel’ fitted the bill for a ‘Prodigal’ ‘dry run’ with the format being a 64 page, black and white digest inspired by the beloved D C Thompson ‘Starblazer’ digest of the 80s/90s.

It’s taken a while (for various reasons) but last week the final page and covers were completed and the book will be available to support on Kickstarter in a couple of weeks.

Something that I wasn’t expecting in producing Trinity was how much I learned about comics in general.
The worth of pure cartooning, the focus on the basics with the limited panels, the need for simply drawing due to the lack of colour, and I am now thinking of using the format, or perhaps an A5 version of it, moving forward… it suits my approach, and I had a hugely enjoyable time completing the 64 pages.