Lytton #4 - Cutaway Comics

LYTTON No. 4, June 2021

Tenaciously trying to tie-up all the different plot threads which this title has previously created during the lead protagonist’s utterly mind-blowing hunt “for the Positron”, Eric Saward’s screenplay for Issue Four of “Lytton” must surely have kept its readers holding on to the comic for dear life with the sense-shattering speed of its numerous action sequences. Sure, so frantic a pulse-pounding pace arguably leads to the odd scene needing to be re-read so as to ensure all of its nuances are properly understood, but the former “Doctor Who” script editor crams so much into this single twenty-eight page periodical that such an undertaking to comprehend the breadth of the screenwriter’s storyline was probably always going to prove a necessity anyway; “I’m not used to working this amount of overtime on a week night, Mister Lytton.”  

For starters, the revelation that Mister Longbody is actually a Terileptil planning to take over a London warehouse packed full of extra-terrestrial weaponry in order to use its explosive stockpile to destroy the capital city, must certainly have caught many a bibliophile by surprise. Coupled with the aggressive alien’s determination to have the “rogue prototype” E.V.E. similarly annihilated, and much of the intergalactic freelance soldier’s extreme efforts earlier in this mini-series to both placate the reptilian humanoid’s mounting anger, as well as cover-up its bloody murder spree, finally starts to make much more sense.

In addition, the exhilarating adventures of Wilson and the mysterious Artemis positively demand a willing suspension of disbelief from this book’s audience, due to just how well Saward pens them. The pair do a first-rate job of overcoming some of the Terileptil’s infamously formidable androids with little more than brute force, and then continue to impress as ‘kick-ass’ companions when they individually tackle a truly massive Vindanty Snare Beast and recalibrate the complex inner workings of a Positron’s backup coolant unit respectively.

Equally as enthralling though are Barry Renshaw’s colourful pencils, which contain all manner of nods to numerous other science fiction/Spy-Fi franchises such as Logan’s Run and Jason King. The “Lucasfilm Officially Approved Star Wars Sketch Artist” does a particularly fine job depicting Lytton’s swashbuckling swordfight with Longbody, and momentarily manages to make it look as if the deadly contest may well actually portray the final moments of the mercenary from the satellite Riften 5.

The regular cover art of "LYTTON" #4 by Barry Renshaw

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

Lytton #2 - Cutaway Comics

LYTTON No. 2, December 2020

Absolutely packed full of enthralling conundrums and nerve-wracking plot-twists, Eric Saward’s narrative for Issue Two of “Lytton” should readily hook any fan of the former “Doctor Who” Script Editor’s work from the comic’s very opening, in which Charlie Wilson nonchalantly mentions to his enigmatic boss that he’s already shipped some inconvenient corpses “to Afghanistan in a sealed container.” Indeed, the bodyguard’s imperturbable attitude towards all the death and utterly bizarre destruction occurring around him is one of this twenty-eight page periodical’s greatest draws, whether the Vietnam veteran is staring open-mouthed at the disconcerting demise of the robotic Miss L, being partially eaten by a hungry Space Louse, or thoroughly enjoying himself battering a pair of homicidal constables and then subsequently running for his life; “I’m enjoyin’ this. Didn’t realise I was so fit. We need to get off this road. Those Policemen won't be down for long.”

Similarly as successfully penned is this book’s titular character, who exudes all the arrogant charm and assertive confidence which made him so popular when portrayed on television by the late Maurice Colbourne in the mid-Eighties. Gustave’s apparent knowledge of the deranged “space traveller” Longbody, as well as his evident familiarity with a portal to a parallel Earth, definitely raises more questions within the audience’s mind than they answer. But that just makes his repeated need for Wilson’s presence all the more intriguingly troubling, especially when things start to happen which the straight-backed mercenary was clearly not anticipating, such as his chance encounter with Astro-physicist Artemis Brown and a time slip bricking up the entranceway to the underground tube tunnel Lytton was trying to escape from.

Also adding enormously to this comic’s extra-dimensional ambiance is Barry Renshaw’s garishly coloured pencils, energetic layouts and genuinely creepy viewpoints of the adventure as it unfolds before the readers' eyes. The Liverpool artist really manages to capture the standoffish stiffness of this mini-series’ leading man from Riften 5, whilst simultaneously showing that he can equally be every bit the action hero a situation requires by dynamically sketching him sprinting through spatial doorways after his work colleague, unloading his pistol upon a particularly nasty-looking spectral amoeba and haring down heavily-tiled corridors as they collapse about his ears.

The regular cover art of "LYTTON" #2 by Barry Renshaw

Lytton #1 - Cutaway Comics

LYTTON No. 1, September 2020

Financed by a successful “Kickstarter” in July 2020, this opening instalment to a “new four part comic mini-series from legendary Doctor Who writer and script editor Eric Saward" certainly must have pleased the vast majority of its backers when they received their copy later in the year. For whilst there isn’t a trace of either the Daleks or Cybermen threatening the well-being of Gustave Lytton in this particular twenty-eight page periodical, the comic does live up to its pre-publication promise of depicting the ex-soldier in a thoroughly entertaining “noir thriller… perfect for fans of Sin City and Criminal.”

Indeed, the mercenary turned businessman’s ‘swapping of a shooter for a suit’ as he desperately searches London's West End for a positron molecular condenser seems to suit the cold-hearted killer’s character very well, and certainly shows a side to the alien from Riften 5 that was rarely touched upon during his two stories on the small screen. True, the man is every bit as mean and arguably unpleasant as actor Maurice Colbourne portrayed him in “Resurrection Of The Daleks”. But Saward’s enthralling script also hints at a softer side to the stony-faced ‘dog of war’ when he admits to keeping the ever-loyal Lance Corporal Wilson at his side for once saving his life in Saigon in 1968; “I at least own him a living.”

Delightfully, the British author’s development of this comic’s other cast members is just as intriguing, with the aforementioned Wilson proving particularly endearing. Determined to discover the murderer behind the deaths of six women and four men, the man risks all by clambering down into the London sewers despite the best efforts of Lytton to put him off the scent by claiming the noise he keeps hearing below his feet is “just a radio belonging to a sewer worker.”

Barry Renshaw’s artwork for Issue One of “Lytton” also helps imbue the narrative with an engaging sense of dread and foreboding. The Liverpool-born illustrator can readily pencil action, as shown with this book’s awesome opening sequence concerning a Vietnamese suicide attack, and Lytton’s incredibly violent dust-up with a party of 'hired help'. Yet it is debatably Renshaw’s choice of gaudy colours for the bright lights of seedy Soho which truly helps bring this publication’s storytelling to life, especially when they’re used to highlight the distinctly dark thoughts and feelings running through Gustov’s head.

The regular cover art of "LYTTON" #1 by Barry Renshaw