56: Relight My Flame

After a couple of decades of non-existence, a new incarnation of First Comics was founded in 2013, confusing branded as 1First. They launched with a collection of the Brunner issues of Warp, which led to Peter Gillis being offered a new The Black Flame graphic novel. Gillis chose old Micronauts cohort Kelley Jones to draw it, but tracking him down proved difficult. So instead, PBG reached out to someone he'd long admired but never worked with, classic 70's artist Alex Nino, who delighted Gillis by agreeing to draw it. In the meantime, someone at First had located Jones' address, so the decision was made to split the book between these two stellar artists, with Nino delineating the heavenly Miracle Land pages, leaving Jones responsible for the rest. Despite artwork being completed in 2014, it took another three years to see release, following on from a 7 issue collection of the original Black Flame series.

The Black Flame - Nobody Knows This Is Everywhere (2017)

Art: Kelley Jones, Alex Nino

The Black Flame series ended over thirty years previously, with the Flame having earned his rest in the Land Of Miracles, and his Earthly companions having largely moved on from their time with him. Gillis wisely doesn't waste time reintroducing old characters, but focuses on new ones, providing a fresh viewpoint on the original series' central premise.

The story begins, oddly similarly to Peter Gillis' first Dr Strange story about an artist and her missing lover. In this case the boyfriend is a 'sound designer' named Herman, who has been kidnapped by boogeyman in his closet. The Chicago police are uniquely open minded to girlfriend Mary's odd claims and set out investigating. There's a clear emphasis on the power of artistic creation, a theme running through several of PBG's stories. Mary steps into one of her paintings, which becomes a doorway to the Land of Miracles, where the now retired Black Flame resides. He agrees to help find Herman, but it turns out to be a trap to lure the Black Flame back into boogeyman service in the Nightmare Realm.

The Black Flame eventually manipulates events to free himself from the Nightmare Lord's chains once more, and sets off on a quest to find Herman amongst all these strange and wondrous miracles. It's a clever setup, perfectly executed in story and art. Some veteran creator's work can feel dated to more modern sensibilities, but Gillis' scripting was always ahead of its time, never overloading a page with dialogue or captions, giving the artist breathing room to tell the story. And what art it is, utterly gorgeous throughout. Jones provides the lion's share with the Earthbound and Nightmare Realm sections, the latter giving him free reign to show off his horror leanings. Nino's Land of Miracles is exquisitely rendered in bizarre and beautiful full page spreads. Colourist Michelle Madsen does an excellent job blending their disparate styles, so the leap back and forth between the two is never too jarring.

This book turned out to be a swansong of sorts for Peter Gillis, but as final published stories go, this is as perfect as encapsulation of his work as you could hope for. A captivating story of love and loss, beautifully told. The Black Flame's speech towards the end of the story sums it up rather nicely...

"Infinite fear is as meaningless as infinite bliss, or infinite freedom. The terrible or wonderful thing happens--and then it stops. You have the chance to learn, to grow, to know what it was that happened--and what it was to experience it. The essence of love is limitation. It is only when your are bound to one thing, one person, one beauty, that you can receive and generate the one infinity that means anything."

57: The Last Word