Review: Steak #3
How about some deliciously meaty sci-fi with artisan time travel sure to tickle the taste buds of the Glutton Club in boldly shaded styled art of prime cut quality, oh yeah and it's chock full of Dinosaurs? Then sink your teeth into Steak from Will Conway and Marc Olivent. I refuse to apologise for the amount of food puns sprinkled here.
Will Conway is a writer, teacher and poet from London. Will's previous works include The Whole World Is Just a Stage, A Short Sad Story, How to Make This Booklet, What Cubehead Thinks, Have You Ever Seen, and Tastes of Ink.
Marc Olivent is a freelance illustrator and, as it turns out, a town neighbour of mine residing in Grimsby. Marc's previous works include Boat, 20 Storeys Down and Twisted Dark as well as Dark Satanic Mills for which he was shortlisted for the Carnegie/Kate Greenaway award for illustration. He has also produced work for Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Omnibus Press and Hachette Children's Books. Tip of the food pyramid of creators presented, we'll do the review.
So, let's start with the art. Marc Olivent plates up bold, heavy inking lines with strong shading. There's a rough sketch-like finish to these lines that gives a really cool stylistic edge to the art presented. The warm tone colour palette is really good throughout, working as a great juxtaposition to the thick line shading work, creating an air of darkness and undercurrent of unsavoury intentions. It's a modernistic and conventional comic book style that suits and captures the tone excellently.
There's some fantastic skill of artistry on show, especially in the more visceral moments and the Dino depictions. The character work is also very strong with great emotional range and some clever work utilized to build the image of the "villain" which pays off with strength in no small part thanks to the clever detail used. All round tasty work.
The art is bolstered by the staple of indie lettering, Rob Jones, on issue two, and with issue three, duties are passed on to the excellently professional extra Grimbarian/ Meggies dweller, The House With The Blue Door, aka Sarah Palmer. Her work here is really solid and complements the art wonderfully. Deliciously diligent art addressed its story time.
Will Conway is serving up sumptuous slices of classic time-travel troupe sci-fi with a very clever modern unique garnish. Steak concerns entrepreneur Benjamin Buckland and partner Roger Dukowicz's exploration of unique artisan time travel. Utilising the technology to reach back for tasty gimmick field restaurant orders. The single-minded approach has rustled many a feather of man and dino alike as the waning world considers the implications of two individuals with such power, while also musing on the powerful potential of the privatisation of time.
Previous issues have introduced a shadowy, literally and figuratively, individual with an agenda all of their own. Issue three gives a shocking reveal with the individual, although their motives remain masked. Issue three really is revelatory in many ways, like a melt in the middle pudding. There's some sweet goodies inside. It's a little silly, but its tongue is firmly in cheek, and it's a strong story, a bit of fun, a good mystery, some action. It has a well balanced and compelling approach.
The sci-fi is solid to boot and offers some really interesting moments narratively, with the constant time hopping in each issue really adds to this experience with meaty world building and character development that throws you through the story. As an added bonus, the Dino facts add a wonderful aperitif of nerd out magic that I really appreciated. There's Dino's, there's time travel, there's mystery, there's Capitalism, there's action and violence, there's a lot to love.
Dear reader, this bit is in italics, so you can skip it if you want. However, if you're enjoying all this, buy the book; the creators deserve it. Then, if you feel so obliged, you could donate to our Ko-Fi and help support us here at CBNUK. On with the review.
For fans of sci-fi, time travel, Dinosaurs, mystery, thrillers, action, restaurants with questionable moral approaches to the most novel of meat selection and procurement, Capitalism, shadowy individuals, big game hunting and art with style and skill, then you'll want to order Steak issue three.
Steak issue three is currently on Kickstarter and at the time of print, about halfway funded with plenty of time to get all the way. I implore you to use the link here and back this one. You can get all three issues of this five-part series there, or alternatively from their website here. You can also follow the creators on their social media.
- Will Conway @willconway.bsky.social
- Marc Olivent @marcolivent.bsky.social
- The House With The Little Blue Door etsy.com/uk/shop/Housewiththebludoor instagram.com/thehousewiththebludoor/
Review: 4.6/5
