In previous year’s we’ve seen Rebellion publishing bring back classic Fleetway names like Misty, Scream, Cor and Buster. Join these illustratious reboots are the new Tammy and Jinty Special, and this debut is packed full of fantastic female focused stories, which features new work from some of small press’ biggest names.

Publisher: Rebellion Publishing
Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Price: £3.99 digital or £4.99 print from shop.2000AD.com

Compared to the more horror focused world of Misty and Scream, Tammy and Jinty rely on a mix of magic, mystery and science-fiction (which were Jinty’s specialism back in the day) to tell their stories. Also like their weekly fore-bears, this collection features a series of short 3 or 4 page stories featuring a variety of female characters, telling stories which are  mix of ‘one-and-done’s, but with others having the potential to develop into more regular series.

It starts with the magic and mythology of Emma Beeby and PJ Holden’s, Justine: Messenger of Justice, which sees a young girl given a mystical mirror which sees her given the powers of the goddess Athena. It’s a fun opener, which sets the tone of the book well, however it is next story which is the real star of the show.

Rob Williams and Lisa Henke’s Roy of the Rovers spin off, Rocky of the Rovers is a companion piece to William’s re-imagining of the legendary sporting superstar. While Roy is off scoring goals for Melchester Rovers, Rocky is cast as a struggling junior player who lives in her famous relations’ shadow. Instead of being a striker she opts to be a defensive midfielder which gives the story a much greater depth, and allows for Williams to tell more complex stories than – our hero scores in the last minute to win the cup. With it’s anime infused artwork it’s a bright and energetic story and is a great centre piece for Tammy and Jinty to have at it’s core. With hints at a larger series and plenty of potential to build it’s popularity (Especially with this summer’s peak in interest in women’s football) this is definitely the character that future issues could be built around.

The remaining stories see a fantastic mix of genres and styles from a host of small press stars including: Captain Cosmic’s Andy Clift, bringing us another slice of Silver Age space adventuring in Affirmative Action; Maisie’s Magic Eye – a magical tale from Widdershins Kate Ashwin and Kel McDonald; In The Cold Dark a creepy archaeological horror story from MULP’s Matt Gibbs and VV GLass; Speed Demons a tale of demonic roller derby girls from NPC Tea’s Sara  Millman; a thought provoking story about the impact of online posting from Wired Up Wrong’s Rachael Smith and Paradox Girl’s Yishan Li; The Enigma Variation – a creepy black and red story from Bubbles O Seven’s Grainne McEntee and artist Dani that sees a group of school girls discover the real secrets of Alan Turing’s enigma machine; and a sublime gymnastic story, Bella at the Bar, from Wolf’s Rachael Ball and Vanessa Carindali.

As with any anthology, it’s a mixed bag of stories, with some feeling stronger than others. However there does not feel like there is a ‘bad’ story among these twelve – just some which are more instantly enjoyable than others. The range of genres makes it a really interesting collection, while the range of subject and art styles (from cartoony and light hearted, to more dark and gothic) help to make give the comic a really broad reach which appeal to the widest range of readers possible. As does the fantastic variety of creators on show here.

Although Tammy and Jinty were traditionally seen as ‘girls’ comics, the world has moved on and there is nothing in this comic that wouldn’t appeal to comics readers of all genders. While the strong focus on interesting and forthright female characters will definitely appeal to young female readers, it shouldn’t be seen as just that. And certainly stories like Rocky of the Rovers deserve to be enjoyed by boys and girls alike. This is a fantastic read and a reminder of the kind of quality work being produced by all genders in the UK comic scene in 2019 and we hope this is just the start of a regular Tammy and Jinty series.