The Paradox Comics Group are a collective of comic book connoisseurs who all frequent the esteemed retail establishment Paradox in Poole, England. Their tastes in the sequential art medium are wide and varied but they all possess an eternal fascination at the prospect of spandex-clad muscle men punching each other in the face.
...but who are these fellows with their strange, outspoken opinions about that oft-maligned storytelling format, the comic book?
...but who are these fellows with their strange, outspoken opinions about that oft-maligned storytelling format, the comic book?
Let's meet the team and find out...
Matt C aka Matt Clark
The ringleader. Father of two boys who he hopes will one day grow up to inherit his comic reading habit and, maybe if they behave themselves, his vast comic collection. Matt loves the icons but also has an insatiable hunger to discover new ideas and new talent. He'll never choose between Stan and Jack - "They're both equally important!" - but he will admit to a near-obsession with both the works of Darwyn Cooke and the majesty of Victor Von Doom.Follow @Disappearer
James R aka James Randall
Now the wrong side of 40, James has a terminal case of comics-itis. After a tumultuous split during his teenage years in the 1990s, the work of Alan Moore re-ignited his love of comics during his university days, and he has never looked back! Today he is more in love with the medium than ever, still amazed by the work of Moore and Warren Ellis (whenever he finishes a series) but now augmented by a huge respect for a wealth of creators - Jeff Lemire, Chris Ware, Tom King, Greg Rucka, Frank Quietly, Jason Aaron, Amanda Conner, Scott Snyder, Jonathan Hickman, Marcos Martin, John Cassaday, Greg Smallwood...The list goes on! A proud member of the PCG since day one, and prouder still to be a long-time contributor to the blog, it seems that he'll be reading comics until he keels over. For now, he'll continue to review books whilst maintaining his alter-ego as a teacher...Follow @Randall77
Rob N aka Rob Nott
A veteran of the early Bronze Age, Rob began buying American comics at the challenging age of 7 in 1971, but despite having an encyclopaedic knowledge of Marvel continuity and history up to the 1980s, he couldn't tell you which characters are in the X-Men these days. The first two comics he ever bought were Phantom Stranger #8 and Teen Titans #34 because the covers looked great. His collection has now passed the 60 box mark and is threatening to take over the house in conjunction with his other collections of vinyl records and books. Girlfriends in the past have always despaired, and rightly so. Tom P aka Tom Pike
Tom is a farmer based on his family farm in the Purbecks. His love of Comics started early with Asterix, TinTin and the Beano. He quickly became obsessed with early Wildstorm and Marvel but having made a financial decision to avoid the big two he mostly reads Image and Dark Horse titles these days. He will however always buy a Fantastic Four Comic. Kenny J aka Kenny Jeffery
The first and still most read comic in Kenny J's collection is Uncanny X-men #324. This single issue instilled a life long love of everything X. Now armed with twenty five other letters and some punctuation, Kenny loves many other comics. Even some with no mutants at all.Follow @paxjaguar
Jo S aka Jo Sibley
Jo is a mathematician by day, relatively new comic fan by night, and an evangelist to both these faiths, in some cases professionally. Having been a founder member of the local MathsJam, she is comfortable that the Paradox group is only the second nerdiest club she attends. Her eclectic taste in comics encompasses a wide range - she has no problem jumping from gore to art nouveau and will snap up anything containing robots, maps or puzzles. She has a peculiar fascination with Spider-Ham and is instantly infuriated by plot resolution in the form of the sudden discovery of a time travel capability. Her family are very patient.Follow @JusSumChick
