In a short 24 pages Andi Watson has struck again. The writer/artist of such past indy hits as
Skeleton Key and Breakfast After Noon is back with a new mini-series from Slave Labor
Graphics. With this new series Watson introduces us to Katharine, an American student who is
spending the summer as an intern for a small newspaper in the United Kingdom. While the
focus of the series is the small cultural differences Katharine encounters while assimilating to the
culture, Watson also makes a point of emphasizing some of the unexpected similarities both
cultures share.
The first issue of this series presents Katharine's first day at the newspaper and introduces us to
some of the supporting cast. Watson does a great job of establishing this cast, as well as
establishing the hectic nature of running the Wheatstone Mercury. Owen, the reporter Katharine
is assigned to assist, is a particularly well-developed character who seems like someone you
could easily know. That is the strength of Andi's work on this issue: completely believable
characters presented in a way that makes them charming and entertaining.
It's tough to judge this introductory issue without seeing the following parts of the story, but if
this issue is any indication this will be a big breakout project for Andi Watson. I would
recommend this story to anyone who doesn't mind a comic without guns or spandex, and I
would highly recommend it as a "gateway" book for introducing friends to comics.