This week on the Never Iron Anything Comics Review Podcast Tony is joined by comics creator and multi-media artist Sarah Harris. The pair sit down and discuss ‘The Sentinels’ a story that appeared in Misty in 1978.
You can find the episode here on Spotify, right here on Apple Podcasts and on this very website here.
This story tells of two tower blocks in the seventies. One is full of families and life and the other is a portal to a parallel Universe where the German’s won the second world war and England is suffering under the boot of a Nazi occupation. But when Jan Richards’ family lose their home they decide to hide out in the abandoned block so they can stay together. What follows is a creepy, scary and often violent tale told in four page chunks.
This was written by Malcolm Shaw with art by Mario Capaldi and appeared at the launch of Misty in February 1978.
Sarah and Tony talk about the history of the book and the impact that it, along with many other popular girls comics, had on the Britain of the seventies. These comics were selling 250,000 at their height and Sarah recounts stories of how much she loved reading each issue. She also talks about the free gifts that came along with the first three issues.
The ‘Forecast Indicator’ was a cross between a cardboard free gift, a New-Age crystal ball and a life coach. Other free gifts included a bracelet in issue one and the much coveted ‘Cat Ring’ in issue 2. Stories in this weekly comic were fairly short run and would often only appear for ten weeks before disappearing forever. In the episode we also get some insight into the creation of ‘the Sentinels’ from the comics creator Pat Mills.
Sarah has also been branching out in her own art and has recently released a Colossive Cartography fold-out zine through Colossive Press. ‘Unravelling’ is a spectacular piece of mixed-media with some real poetry to the words and the art. You can find a copy by visiting the Colossive Press website here.
This is a really fun interview with Sarah. She shows that the passion for a comic can influence all areas of your life as you grow older. What shapes your choices and tastes can be imprinted in those early formative years. It’s quite the inspiration.
You can follow Sarah on Twitter right here.
Many thanks for listening.
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