Dick Turpin, Britain’s most infamous highwayman, is an almost legendary figure in the country. Turpin’s crimes and exploits, in a similar manner to Robin Hood, have been romanticised, reimagined, and mythologised. Time Bomb Comics’ Dick Turpin and the Vengeful Shade joins this tradition. However, rather than retelling a known story, writer Steve Tanner takes it in another, more fantastical direction.
Why read Dick Turpin and the Vengeful Shade?
For those who want a quick, spoiler-free, list of reasons to read it.
- It is a historical, light-horror, blending fact and legend. Great for those who like a bit of fantasy in their stories.
- The comic requires no prior knowledge of the characters or period, despite its historical setting.
- It offers value for money and is available in print and digital.
Spoilers ahead!
An unholy spirit
As the cover alludes, this story is not a straight, historical depiction of Dick Turpin. Set in Epping Forest in 1731, the story starts with Turpin attempting an act we might expect from the most well-known highwayman. He attempts to hold up a carriage.
The robbery does not go well however, with the carriage crashing before the travellers even realise Turpin had been lying in wait for them. Element of surprise gone, Turpin switches tactics and the group band together, seeking shelter from a storm in a nearby monastery.
Here the story enters its main phase. A vengeful spirit harasses the group, reciting latin to them about damnation. Turpins manages to escape these first encounters but has to find a way to survive. The diary flashback used to explain the spirit’s motive is effective in a relatively short story (56-pages) and reveals an Abbott who lost his brothers to the plague.
The Abbott blamed himself for the death of his brothers and decided only vengeance would rest his soul. In a nice twist, vengeance is what quietens the Abbott’s spirit but the vengeance was not his. A combination of Catholic prayer and the internment of the Abbott’s remains ends his wrath but only as his brothers drag him underground.
In Dick Turpin and the Vengeful Shade, Tanner deftly weaves in some history of Catholicism, the plague, and good old-fashioned horror. It is not one to keep you up at night but frankly more stories should have an army of rats.
Atmospheric art
The artwork in Dick Turpin and the Vengeful Shade compliments the story well. While some of the figure-work could be more refined, illustrator Roland Bird makes up for this in other ways. Bird uses interesting angles and framing to bring the action scenes to life. It is rare for consecutive panels to uses the same point of view, keeping everything visually interesting.
Bird also should be commended for his character design. All the characters feel distinct, both in costume and in facial features. An often overlooked area in comics, but this helps readers distinguish and identify the different individuals.
Bird’s design for the Vengeful Shade is brilliant as well, making good use of a plague doctor helmet. He also showcased his skills in a memorable series of panels involving someone rapidly getting the bubonic plague, but leaves readers wanting more boils!
Of couse Bird’s art owes a lot to colour artist Brett Burbridge, who does a great job. While there is perhaps a case for a darker palette being used in places, Burbridge sets the atmosphere with his use of lighting. You can almost see the lanterns flickering across Turpin’s face.
Tom King, the Gentleman Highwayman
The story has two protagonists as Tanner pairs Dick Turpin with one of his peers, Tom King. Known as the Gentleman Highwayman, King did actually partner up with Dick Turpin, so there is a historic precedence for this.
Having King there elevates the story. Having two partners in crime makes the story easier for readers to navigate, as they both talk through plans. It also adds a fantastic contrast of personalities. Where Turpin is gruff and to the point, King is affable and scheming. Without King there, we would not have such an interesting dynamic.
King supposedly had a lot of the swagger that eventually got associated with Turpin. Tanner avoids this and Turpin’s character is better for it too. Despite their differences in personality, both are still highwaymen though and King is just as happy to play that part as Turpin.
A mix of history and legend
Tanner has definitely taken some artistic license with historical accuracy. Set in 1731, it is likely that Turpin, although a petty criminal and part of the Essex Gang, had not started his career as a highwayman then. Either way, he would only have been a year or two into his life of crime and would not have reached serious levels of notoriety. In the comic however, Dick Turpin is the first example of a highwayman General Charles Andrews can think of.
This is, of course, nit-picking. Comparatively little is known about Dick Turpin and even less is known for certain. As an almost mythological figure, it makes sense for his stories to grow and change. So why not in Tanner’s story? It also has ghosts in, so exact dates do not really matter.
There are plenty of other nods to historical themes, such as the persecution of Catholics, that add depth to the story. Tanner also includes references to fictional works too. It was writer Ainsworth who named Turpin’s horse Black Bess, who appears in the comic, in his 1834 novel Rookwood. Ainsworth has repurposed a story of an earlier highwayman, William Nevison, who road on his horse for 200 miles in one night. This legend, now ascribed to Turpin, was cemented by retellings in penny dreadfuls.
Who Dick Turpin actually was almost does not matter. Like many such figures, it is more about who we need them to be. Tanner follows in this tradition on building on the legend of Dick Turpin and we are better off for it.
Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead
Dick Turpin and the Vengeful Shade is not the only Dick Turpin story published by Time Bomb Comics and written by Steve Tanner. The highwayman takes on vampires in Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague, plus Tanner and John Erasmus have just successfully completed a Kickstarter for another story. Read more about Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead.
Check out more from Time Bomb Comics: https://timebombcomics.com/
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