Lytton #3 - Cutaway Comics

LYTTON No. 3, March 2021

Whilst Gustave Lytton’s fantastically fast-paced exploits “deep underground on a parallel Earth” may well have conjured up many more questions than actual answers as to just what is happening to the intergalactic mercenary, Eric Saward’s script for Issue Three of “Lytton” must still have had the vast majority of its readers clamouring for more once this mini-series’ particular instalment concluded. In fact, the nonsensical assault which this publication’s plot makes upon the audience’s senses, as the former British army Major encounters the Samurai-styled Mister Seaton, a ghost train, killer policemen and a time vortex riding Mini Cooper, arguably goes a long way to prove a bibliophile doesn’t necessarily need to understand exactly what’s taking place within a comic book’s narrative to still find it a thoroughly enthralling experience.

Undoubtedly helping to make this twenty-eight page periodical’s mishmash of ideas work has to be the author’s ability to imbue each and every one of its set-pieces with a genuine sense of menace, most especially those towards the magazine’s end when the titular character is suddenly stolen from Wilson’s side by some extremely sinister Raston Warrior Robot lookalikes. Admittedly, Lytton’s character remains ever calm and unassailably assertive, even when being chased through a trans-dimensional portal by a sky-boarding demon. But the same assurity of survival cannot be said for the man’s companions who leap from one life-threatening escapade to another. Indeed, “the mysterious Artemis” would appear to have been almost exclusively created in order to provide this comic’s cast with some additional vulnerability, courtesy of the young lady debatably coming extraordinarily close to being gunned down by a couple of homicidal Bobbies in a deserted car park.

Equally as responsible for this book’s success though has to be Barry Renshaw’s dynamic drawings and eclectic choice of colours. Whether it be the slightly sterile atmosphere of the heavily-tilled London Underground station with all its greens and cold blues, or the foreboding browns and candle-lit yellows of a catacomb, the artist’s proficient pencilling imbues each location with a unique, vibrant life all of its own, which really helps instil the storyline with a palpable sense that its protagonists are physically going on a lengthy journey; “From the way you handled those policemen, I think you deserve the chance to drive.”

The regular cover art of "LYTTON" #3 by Barry Renshaw