BOOK RELEASE: A NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL WITH MILTON KEYNES AT ITS CENTRE

They say the best things are worth waiting for, and adding weight to the argument comes the new page-turner, There's No Time Like The Present.

It is the debut novel by Milton Keynes artist Paul B Rainey, and he has been hard at work for a long time on his masterpiece.

Paul has been creating comics since the age of seven - when he first read Planet of the Apes No.4.

Little could he have known - as a wee nipper clutching the comic for the first time - that it would be the start of a lifelong appreciation for, and love of, graphic art.

There's No Time Like The Present has been seven years in the making, and has our new city at its core - MK features both as the real and imaginary settings in the read.

It was published last week through Escape Books.

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Shall we feed you the blurb?  Here you go: 'Set in Milton Keynes, in a world where time travel has at last been discovered, how is it that everyone's life is more the same than ever before?

People have access to the ultranet and can, if they want to, download music that hasn't been written yet, movies that haven't been filmed yet, and even, if they're not too careful, learn the exact date and time of their own demise.'

The reviews are coming in, and they are twinkly and rather fab, but then Paul has plenty of form in the genre - he has written, drawn and self-published plenty of comics and edited many others.

In recent years he has been a contributor to Viz too.

This release is particularly well-timed - as of today (Wed) Paul has lived in MK for 33 years.

Paul's book is set in a time travelling age, but he is pretty forward thinking himself, as it transpires.

Take the character of Cliff in the book, for example.  He is a Doctor Who fan.

"When I started work on the strip, Russell T Davis' relaunch of the show hadn't begun," Paul said.

"In fact, I wasn't even aware it was happening," he admitted.

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There's No Time Like The Present receives its official launch here in Milton Keynes on Thursday evening (April 9), with an illustrated talk at Waterstones, Midsummer Boulevard.

During 'Milton Keynes Unpacked', Paul will share the history and influence MK has had on his work. 

The talk begins at 6pm, admission is free and all are welcome.