Have I talked about John Allison recently? No? Then it’s time once again to bring up his writing over the past decade. From webcomics to series long and short, his are the comics I can always count on to find some measure of joy in despite anything else happening in the world. And it’s his, Max Sarin, Sammy Borras, and Jim Campbell’s The Great British Bump Off that’s providing that extra helping of serotonin and attempted murder in the new year. 

The Great British Bump Off takes the format of The Great British Baking Show and sprinkles a little mystery on top of it. We have our tent full of amateur bakers all vying to be recognized by the two judges as one of the best bakers in the country, but when one of them is poisoned under mysterious circumstances, Shauna Wickle is tapped by the producers to find the culprit. Through the signature bakes, the technical challenge, and the show-stopper, Shauna must deduce who would be so bold as to poison multiple contestants under the eyes of the camera crew while also trying to compete herself. But despite everything, even another contestant stealing her case notes and believing Shauna to be the culprit, she’s still able to do well enough to stay in the tent before realizing who has been doing the poisoning. Or, rather, which two people have been benefiting from other contestants dropping out of the competition.

The best thing about The Great British Bump Off, though, is you can feel how much fun Allison, Sarin, Borras, and Campbell are having with the concept of the series. Over four issues we get what would amount to the first week of competition in the original TV series, but all of those extra bits of intrigue and contestant interaction that we only glimpse in a given episode. A show like Bake Off, though, has fourteen seasons and enough material to warrant parody in its format. But the creative team here goes at it from a different angle—it’s pastiche but without the malice. They recognize how the original show plays out and the different personality types that are most common—even having a character give everyone their role in the competition—but the series embraces that aspect to show. There is a formula to the show, like how there is with any mystery series, and they blend those ingredients together like a well-made tart. 

If there’s ever a writer I’m always going to come back to, it’s going to be John Allison. Between The Great British Bump Off, Wicked Things, Giant Days, and the ever-continuing Bad Machinery, I can always find one of his comics to stick with for months on end. And with more of his original Scary-Go-Round characters striking out in their own series, there’s likely going to be even more stories for him to tell for decades after this. 

Get excited. Get set. Get baking.

Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, & 510) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.