Haven't been posting much small press fan art here for ages(boooo). Here's something, I guess:
What the heck, eh? Well, it's not a comic, and there's not even a chance of it making sense unless you've actually completed the first three instalments of the project it's fan art for, but it does give me an opportunity to talk about that project:
Cryptogram Puzzle Post.
It's the new(ish)project from Jack Fallows (ultra-multi-talented artist/musician/everything - all their work makes me hideously jealous). If you like the idea of art and puzzles being mashed together with an occult theme - and having this delivered through your letterbox monthly, you really should investigate. Here's the teaser for next month's issue:
What is so great? I like a Sudoku (or even a crossword when in the mood); pick up any newspaper and there'll be plenty of puzzles to ponder - but the forms are so well understood and so abstracted that there's no narrative and no
mystery to them. And that's why Cryptogram Puzzle Post stands out - it's doing something that I've rarely seen, namely: inventive puzzles for grown-ups with a narrative framework, a strong aesthetic, and an actual authentic sense of mystery.
I'm struggling to think of much else even vaguely comparable that I'm aware of being produced at the moment. I'm a fan of the Von Doogan books by Lorenzo Etherington (check out some sample puzzles here
http://comicsboutique.blogspot.co.uk/), they definitely seem in the spirit of fondly-remembered Usborne Puzzle Adventures. However, whilst the puzzles are certainly tough enough to give the brain cells a good workout, the tone is aimed at kids (naturally, since both books were originally serialised in
The Phoenix) - they're highly enjoyable but not mysterious.
And that's literally all I can think of (I'm sure there's other stuff out there, but I've not come across it). So, if you want a genuinely new experience in puzzles, try Cryptogram Puzzle Post!
