Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Writers: Grant Morrison, Raymond Chandler, Tom DeHaven, John Freeman, Chris Reynolds
Artist: Rian Hughes
Publisher: Knockabout Comics
Price: £25.00
Release Date: 12th July
Yesterday’s Tomorrows is a wonderful book that collects together the UK comic work of artist Rian Hughes. Weighing in at 256 pages and limited to 3000 copies, it’s a delightful thing to behold, the embossed cover immediately shows off Hughes’ design work to excellent effect. Rian started out in the British comics industry during the 1980s, really coming to the fore at the end of that decade and early into the nineties with work on 2000AD, Revolver and Crisis, as well as many underground comics. A design genius, he lettered his own work and even invented a number of fonts. His mainstream US comics work consists of cover designs for DCs Tangent line, The Invisibles and Flex Mentello.
The collection here consists of five stories and reproductions of the Visions of the Future card set as well as extras including covers for the stories, sketches and posters. The first story is “The Lighted Cities”; originally published in Mauretania Comics in 1987 it is a six page two-colour tale that effortlessly combines noir with understated sci-fi backdrops to depict the random memories of the occupants of a block of flats. By utilising a nine-panel grid, Hughes manages to impress with his amazing ability to convey either close-up shots of the characters, or wide shots of art-deco styled buildings. His use of black is particularly impressive, effortlessly conveying a sense of watching a hard-boiled thriller from the ‘30s with a timeless sense of cool.
For all its artistic merit, ‘The Lighted Cities’ is a strange story. Written by Chris Reynolds, it doesn’t really bother itself with explaining anything, just allowing a series of strange characteristics to manifest themselves. Such as Marlon, who didn’t like his shiny tiled floor, and so smashes empty bottles onto it until he can’t see it anymore. Quirky is probably the best word for this story, I have a sneaking suspicion I am missing the point of the tale.
”The Science Service” was published in 1988 and shows early evidence of the kind of design elements that would find there way into the later and more famous story “Dare”. Clocking in at thirty pages, Hughes really gets to stretch his muscles here. Pages are not restricted to the previous nine-panel format and this allows for more space to really convey some wonderful sci-fi landscapes, rockets and spaceships effortlessly floating about in the backgrounds in a world that looks like how people in the ‘50s thought we would be living like by now.
The story concerns the misuse of technology in a future England, where patents and commercialism rule all. There are some great ideas in here, such as the London Overground instead of an Underground, beautifully stylised monorails that are covered in graffiti and have obviously seen better days – like the country presumably has. The pinnacle of the story is a two-page spread overlooking the 2051 New Festival of Britain. Constructed on the South Bank of the River Thames, it’s amazing to imagine this was conceived back in 1988, 12 years before the old docklands areas would be rebuilt for the Millennium Dome, Britain’s attempt at ushering in the new century. The reason I mention this is because right there, on that double-page spread is the equivalent of the dome, but it is sponsored by a fast food company and is in the shape of a massive hamburger.
I think I preferred Rian’s choice of exhibition architecture.
”Goldfish” is a wonderful adaptation of the Raymond Chandler story by Tom DeHaven, a tale of broads and money, betrayal and smoking. The plot concerns some very expensive pearls that have gone missing, and private detective Philip Marlowe is given the job of trying to find out where they have gone. Obviously this entails a person being killed by having their feet ironed, a man who collects goldfish, a couple of femme fatales and more double-dealing, treachery and back-stabbing than you can shake a fist at.
Hughes makes really effective use of limited palette here, with the two colours only emphasising the noir feel of the story in a much more mature way than “The Lighted Cities”. It is gorgeous to look at, shifting from grimy back streets and smoke-laden offices, to countryside homes and chickens that smoke. The line-work is impeccable, minimalist, yet packed with expression and it oozes class.
”Really & Truly” is maybe my least favourite story, written by Grant Morrison and published originally in 2000AD in 1993, it concerns two girls (the titular Really & Truly) on a crazy drug-fuelled roadtrip from Columbia to San Francisco. Packed with Morrison’s wacky ideas whilst also ‘borrowing’ ideas such as the speech patterns from A Clockwork Orange it doesn’t really hold your attention as much as the other work it sits alongside. Granted, it does give Hughes ample opportunity to play about with lettering fonts and effects. The nature of the story means that Hughes employs a much thicker line in his work, and the colouring is really rather overdone to the point of being neo-psychedelic. This is fine as it matches Morrison’s crazed ideas, but it isn’t as rewarding for the reader when placed in context with his previous works.
”Dare” is the real highlight of the book. I missed it first time around when it was published firstly in Revolver and then in Crisis, it even got published in the US by Fantagraphics in 1992. Morrison is at his best here, presenting classic British hero Dan Dare as a man out of time, growing old and feeling unwanted in a Britain that is an economic mess. Morrison takes the hero and places in him a context that allows for blatant criticism of the then Conservative government and the wreckage they had made of 1980s Britain. Hell, the prime minister is obviously Margaret Thatcher in all but name, there are even analogies to the divide between north and south, a lack of jobs and class divisions.
“Dare” is a stripped back exploration of what it is to be a hero when the world around you changes and coupled with some of the panel use, this is probably as close as we will get to Morrison making his own Watchmen. The use of heroes growing old and feeling useless in the modern world, the dénouement of the enemy, the political overtones, and the desire and urge to do what is right above all else is wonderful. The extra edge comes from using established iconic characters such as Dan Dare and Digby. It also has a wonderful two-tier ending that closes the story and also acts a fitting tribute to a British Hero and his creator.
Hughes’ work on Dare is staggeringly brilliant, all the elements of his work that he demonstrates in the other stories is cranked up another notch here. The simple, seemingly innocuous opening page opens out into a dramatic two-page spread that has hundreds of Rian’s designs literally flying about, buildings, spaceships, cars, signs, clothes, even litter. Nothing is overlooked. The Overground seen in “The Science Service” is presented here again, taking it’s place in the clean streets of London, whilst people up north have to live in ruin and poverty. The character designs of Dare and his colleagues is also effectively done, it would be impossible to replicate the work of Frank Hampson, but the approach Hughes takes pays tribute to it whilst retaining his unique style.
The extras that make up the end of the book are a real treat, showcasing the excellent work Hughes has been generating for years. From the Visions of the Future cards to the promo work for “Dare”, to the posters for the Daily Express Lifestyles 2000 exhibition, the crisp strong lines seeps brilliance from the pages. As a whole, Yesterday’s Tomorrows is a wondrous book that comes very highly recommended if you are a fan of Rian Hughes work previously, or even if you’ve never knowingly recognised his work before. You will not be disappointed.
James Dodsworth - Born and raised in Yorkshire, residing in London since 2000, James has a Law Degree and works for the Anti-Financial Crime Office of a International Asset Management Company. He is a writer and editor for FractalMatter.com.
But his main claim to fame is living next to the pub where Shaun of the Dead was conceived.