JMB, The Unseen Art Of John M. Burns: A Surfeit Of Assassins 1888 by John Dakin (graphic novel review).
In his introduction to this rather long titled ‘JMB: The Unseen Art Of John M. Burns: A Surfeit Of Assassins 1888’, author John Dakin was surprised that he got comic book artist John M. Burns (1938-2023) to work on a non-commissioned project to get a newspaper adventure strip going in a time when and still is unpopular for newspapers to have them anymore. Some still exist but not the adventure type anymore. Alas, when all attempts failed, they worked on another project, ‘A Surfeit Of Assassins’, and 40 pages were accomplished and no buyers. Another alas, as Burns stopped working shortly before he died.
In common with many British comic strip artists, Burns could not only draw but also ink, colour and lettering, even if he wasn’t keen on the latter. What makes this book especially interesting is that it also showcases the preliminaries of character design and page development. His detailed layout linework, which is pulled back on the final page, suggests that he must have lightboxed or traced what he needed before watercolouring. Burns never discussed how he did his work, even with Dakin, so we’ll never know for sure.
I first came across Burns when he did the self-named ‘Countdown’ comic strip in the ‘Countdown’ comic from 1972, being its sole artist for its entire run, giving it a unique approach with various colours replacing shadows which made it stand out and never used again in the other strips he drew/painted. Since the spacecraft designs were taken directly from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ with official permission, it has raised a complication today with copyright for any reprints to be done, as I discovered asking around, although there are samples on Google.
With ‘A Surfeit Of Assassins’, we have a much more raunchy and a lot more nudity in Victorian London in 1888, where prostitutes ply their trade with the odd dash of assassination, placing a couple of women into government. Jed Harrison, a private detective, embarks on a multifaceted investigation and uncovers the involvement of news reporter Nancy Drewling, also known as Lucy Lockett, in the conspiracy. The art is breathtaking, and it’s difficult to believe Burns did this work over several years.
With a limited edition of 500 copies, many people are going to regret not getting a copy, so don’t you be one of them.
GF Willmetts
May 2025
(pub: The Book Palace, 2025. 68 page very large hardback graphic novel. Price: £36.00 (UK) – limited edition to 500 copies! ISBN: 978-1-913548-72-8)
check out website: https://bookpalace.com/info_jmb
