Some may think there’s not  a lot of fanboy/girl activity in the city in which I dwell. Sure, Perth is the most isolated city in the world, but we have a high percentage of comic book lovers. The new Supanova Pop Culture Exhibition is doing well, with its 3rd year coming in a few months, plus 24 Hour Comic Book Day, and even a few local lads done good (Ben Templesmith, Ashley Wood and Shane McCarthy spring to mind). All this serves as a reminder that creativity and curiosity can flourish anywhere.  Now, local publisher Gestalt has reached its 5th year of operations. That’s an impressive stint and certainly worth celebrating, so they are! February  18th at 7pm at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Applecross, Western Australia is the place to be. I’ll certainly be there (but please come anyway). Gestalt will be launching their new book Rombies, with its creative duo in tow, writer Tom Taylor (Star Wars: Invasion) and artist Skye Ogden (Gestalt’s Vowels).There’ll also be live music and the chance to hobnob it with the creative elite.

Rombies is available now and is such an awesomely simple concept – Roman zombies, with an appropriate tagline, “Friends, Romans, countrymen…lend me your brains!” This is how Gestalt describe the unique one-shot.

Rombies conveys the terrifying sense of claustrophobia in the samnite gladiator’s desperate dash for freedom through the catacombs under the coliseum. Pursued by both undead men and beasts, the samnite has to use all his strength, skill and cunning to escape with the his companions; a thracian gladiator and a young boy who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Staying with Gestalt for a moment longer, their latest project, Justin Randall’s Changing Ways launches in April and you can order it now on page 258 of the February Previews catalogue. It’s moody and beautiful and scary and …well, is described thusly:

Changing Ways conveys the intimacy and heartache of a family struggling to survive in a world that’s falling apart.  Randall was focused on delivering a story that people could relate to from the outset.

“I wanted to create a story that, despite the cataclysmic events going on in the outside world, you could really just focus on the intimate moments of a small family,” he said.

Synopsis:
David Barrot, a retired Corrections Officer, moved to Grey Oaks after the tragic death of his son, Cale.

With wife Lucy and daughter Jessie, the Barrot family bought a farm on the outskirts of town and began their new life, putting aside all the dark events of their past.

Unfortunately for them, the dark just won’t leave David alone.

The first sightings started months ago, igniting rumours of disease and infection. Newspapers reported unusual lesions appearing on livestock and stories of strange side effects spread quickly. Perhaps it was inevitable that the people of Grey Oaks would be next.

These are their Changing Ways.