Following in the footsteps of our recent interview with Milky’s writer Joshua Saxon, we check out the first two issues of his fantastic milkman vs aliens comic book. But is Milky going to be out of this world or will it leave a sour taste in readers mouths?

Publisher: Joshua Saxon Comics
Writer: Joshua Saxon
Artist: Gian Fernando (Art), DC Alonso (Colours), Joshua Saxon (Letters)
Price: TBC

Milky tells the story of Vikinder Singh, trusty milkman of the village of Crafton Hill, who the locals affectionately (or insultingly) refer to as ‘Milky’. Milky is an all-round good guy who would never say boo to a goose, although this is to his detriment as the locals tend to insult, abuse and mock him as he goes about his daily business (all the while secretly pining for the local pharmacist, Lucy). However, Milky’s monotonous way of living comes to an abrupt end when Crafton Hill is invaded by a force of seemingly indestructible aliens who have come to Earth to take the human women for their own nefarious purposes. Now, it’s up to Milky, as well as a rag tag band of surviving village folk, to save the village, the villagers and, maybe most importantly, Lucy. But is he up to the task and does he have enough milk to fight with?

Joshua Saxon has produced an immensely fun and ludicrously funny action comic with Milky, forming a story whose tone and sensibilities that reminded us a lot of the fantastic Cornetto Trilogy. if you are fans of those movies then you’ll love Milky as it very much resembles elements of all three of those movies. From the everyman protagonist of Shaun of the Dead, via The World’s End’s intergalactic villains to the over-the-top Hot Fuzz action that erupts in the second issue.

However, don’t worry it is not a carbon copy of these movies, and Milky definitely manages to create it’s own unique style and story. Its cast of characters, are truly eclectic and bounce off of each other well. (Especially Mrs Boggins who is a foul mouthed favourite). However they do feel a bit like characters who appear in almost every story of this type. That said, these cliches don’t detract from the originality of the story as Saxon’s writing certainly feels sharp and does show off hints of politicism in some of his character’s bigoted viewpoints as well as satire in regards to the alien oppressors who do come across as rather ‘anti-alien’ in their demeanour and speech. As well some fantastically lively diallogue.

Meanwhile, Gian Fernando offers some top quality artwork for Milky. Fernando’s style is very reminiscent to Bryan Hitch’s work in Image mini-series America’s Got Powers. This works well for it, as many of the scenes have a real cinematic atmospheric look, almost as though they could have been ripped straight from the silver screen. The colouring adds to this really well as DC Alonso makes everything looks incredibly ‘normal’ int scenes in the village, but also manages to heighten the colours for the more sci-fi scenes to make it just a much more vibrant and epic in tone. It has a palette that feels strikingly similar to Sam Webster’s Joe Cape and Dan Butcher’s Vanguard mixed together.

Fernando and Alonso really offer some great visuals in this series, from the sci-fi knick knacks adorning Milky’s room to the all out spectacular action scenes, the art is really high quality. Although if we were being picky, it is a little bit undone by the rough look of the aliens, as well the inconsistent visuals during their ‘deaths’.

Milky is a truly enjoyable comic which is a whole lot of fun and feels like an action comedy film fit into around 25 pages. While both the writing and art has some minor flaws to work on, the creative team have done a terrific job throughout and offer readers stylish visuals and a captivating story. Milky is definitely a comic worthy of your time, so order it with you morning pint (of milk).