There’s a letter from a reader in the fifth issue of Quantum which mentions how nice the comic smells – and I couldn’t believe it took this long for someone to point it out.

From the moment I picked up the first issue of British science fiction anthology comic, Quantum, it struck me just how good the print quality was and how nice the pages smelled.

Which may seem like an odd thing to point out, but in the modern age, when i struggle to get hold of anything other than digital comics – or have anywhere I could even store them safely, in all honesty – the various ways that we tangibly interact with comics in their physical form becomes even more important, noticeable and part of the overall experience.

In fact, even as a very young reader of imported American comics, one of the things that I always noticed and appreciated was the smell of them compared to their British counterparts; again, it was just part of the experience.

Though I’ve read quite a bit of 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine in physical form in the last few years, they don’t really have a distinctive or even noticeable smell; so that’s definitely something that Quantum has over the competition.

Anyway, enough rambling about how Quantum smells – is the fifth issue any good?

As always, the answer is yes.

I’ve enjoyed the rather campy, parallel universe adventures of Major Rakhana, intergalactic defender of the British Empire from the beginning; though there’s been a few hints that the Empire aren’t as heroic as they paint themselves, it’s never been more obvious than it is in this chapter.

That viewpoint is surprising – given the otherwise lighthearted, often daft nature of the setting and characters – but definitely welcome and somewhat thought provoking too.

Westernoir’s second story arc begins – with a much brighter setting to contrast with its moody, night-bound first tale. That said, the tone and events aren’t any lighter – and things continue to develop in a most intriguing way for our female protagonist.

The complex political machinations that drive the plot of alternate-Egypt thriller Memphis necessitate a page of character and story recaps; despite the fact that I’ve been reading from the start, this is still most welcome – as, honestly, at times I’ve struggled to keep up with what’s going on.

Still it’s ambitious and feels unique; I think I’d definitely benefit from reading the whole of the story in one sitting, however, once it’s completed.

Whatever Happened To The World’s Fastest Man reaches it’s inevitably tragic conclusion here; this sad tale has been gripping from the start – and its ending is no less so.

Finally, the excellent Death and Taxes reaches a rather open ended conclusion, with a promise that it’ll (thankfully) return in the future.

Quantum really is a great publication; it’s a breath of fresh air for UK comics, of which there are far too few at retail these days. Being able to walk into a newsagent and pick up each new issue is such a lovely, old school feeling – which should never have gone away in the first place.

And then there’s the smell. Don’t get me started on the smell again…

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