As part of the Rivers of London 10th Year Anniversary Celebration, Rivers Of London Vol. 1: Body Work – Deluxe Writers’ Edition will be available from Titan Comics. The Rivers of London series is a series of supernatural crime novels by the English author Ben Aaronovitch. The novels have been international bestsellers and tell the story of Peter Grant. The Rivers of London series so far includes eight novels, four novellas, and seven graphic novels. With the release of Body Work in 2016, Aaronovitch finally fulfilled his dream of adding graphic novels to his series.
Premise of the Rivers of London series – CSI meets Harry Potter
Grant just completed his training as a Police Constable (PC) at the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) when he gets involved in the investigation of a series of murders. The mysterious deaths take place without outside interference, which alarms the head of a special unit for special cases. Police Inspector Thomas Nightingale is the last active wizard serving under the British Crown, and Grant becomes his apprentice. From now on, they work together on rather unusual crimes. These crimes involve magic and the general weirdness that permeates London.
About killer cars and ominous wooden benches
Grant’s adventure begins with a homicidal car that drives around town killing people – without a driver to steer it. In Body Work, the part-time wizard also has to deal with a Bosnian refugee and the Most Haunted Car in England. Besides that, he has trouble with a bunch of teenagers loaded on Ketamine, a seemingly harmless wooden bench, and the dark past of his mentor, Nightingale. Of course, not everything is as it seems. Grant realizes once again that, although he has still a lot to learn as a wizard, he does a good job as a policeman. Of course, well-known characters such as Sahra Guleed, The Housekeeper Molly, Beverly Brook, or Toby the Terrier make an appearance in the comic.
The books of the Rivers of London series are written from the perspective of Grant. It would have been difficult to transfer this perspective directly into the graphic novel as it would interfere with the visual narrative. However, artist Lee Sullivan captures the essence of the series’ characters and brings them to life. He is also able to put an expression on his illustrations’ faces that show what the characters are thinking. Body Work is, in sum, a visual experience.
Illustrations and scripts Side-by-side
Body Work will be released in July 2021 as a Deluxe Writer’s Edition. The full-color artwork from Lee Sullivan is printed unlettered and next to the full script of the graphic novel. This side-by-side presentation of illustrations and the original script is quite unique. It gives an interesting perspective on this graphic novel.
While the spreads above show some sketches of the later panels, other ones show photographs of buildings and places across London that Sullivan has used as inspiration for his artwork. It’s amazing to see how the artist turns them into unique illustrations.
The Creators of Rivers of London
Ben Aaronovitch, besides being a best-selling author, has written for TV productions such as Doctor Who and Casualty.
Andrew Cartmel started his career in TV as a script editor on Doctor Who in the 80s. He has recently completed a comedy for the London stage and is writing the Vinyl Detective series of crime novels for Titan Books.
Lee Sullivan is associated with Doctor Who as well. He worked on various Doctor Who strips and contributes since 1988 to the Doctor Who Magazine. He has been the regular artist on the Titan Comics Rivers of London comic since 2015.
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