FRENCH SMALL PRESS COLLECTION RELEASED
28/7/06 (with thanks to Matthew Badham): Just released in France is the Anthologie de BDs Britanniques Contemporaines, an anthology, in French, of British Small Press comics, featuring Sean Azzopardi, Richard Cowdry, Daniel Goodbrey, Matilda Tristram, The Rubins Sisters, Douglas Noble and more.
The collection costs €15: ordering information at: www.geocities.com/imangaa/antho_uk.htm

KARL THE VIKING COLLECTIONS PLANNED
25/7/06 (with thanks to Martin Baines): The Don Lawrence Collection is to publish collections of Karl the Viking, a strip published in Lion and drawn by Lawrence.
Don Lawrence first drew Karl the Viking in 1960 in a strip called Sword Of Eingar starring Karl and his rival, Skurl. The pair had pledged to recover the 'sword' which had been stolen by the Saxon Earl Gyrth of Eastumbria.
The story proved extremely popular, prompting Karl's return in Karl The Viking, a strip that countered many myths about the Vikings with the hero and his army often fighting for good causes.
The strip continued until 1964, when Lawrence began work on The Trigan Empire for Ranger magazine. In 1969, Smash reprinted the strip as Erik The Viking.
Don Lawrebnce Collection's Rob van Bavel told downthetubes he plans to complete Karl the Viking in four collector's editions. "Book one was sheduled for this year, but because we're doing two big Storm projects right now I think we will postpone it until 2007," he says. We'll keep you posted on developments.

PAPER TIGER LAUNCHES ANTHOLOGY APPEALS
25/7/06: The Brighton-based small press Paper Tiger group has launched an appeal for contributions to Tales of Terror, and World's Worst Love Stories, two new anthologies.
Tales of Terror is to be a mixture of scary and original horror stories and art (this can be psychological horror, paranormal/supernatural, creatures etc), and more tongue-in-cheek, satirical and also homage style strips (B-movie style horror stories & art are welcome, as are EC style strips). "Zombies, demons, ghosts, serial killers, stalkers, war, werewolves, satan, witches, ghouls, halloween, sadists, dungeons, headless horsemen, brain sucking aliens, genetic mutations, H P Lovecraft-esque demon-gods," suggests editor Sean Duffield, "Even hairy toast!
"They're all welcome subject matter -- or whatever other depravity you can think up. The weirder, more bizarre, clever and innovative the better," he suggests. "It would be good to push the envelope in terms of ideas, quality and art."
The Tales of Terroranthology will be A5 black and white with colour cover. Contributors are allowed up to six pages for a strip. One page illustrations are also welcome. The deadline for contributions is 31 September 2006 with the aim of publication in time for Hallowe'en. "We've already had a couple of contributions," says Sean.
World's Worst Love Stories is to be a lighthearted or bittersweet anthology on whatever you deem to be a worlds worst love story. "The strips could be true, autobiographical, absurd, tragic, slightly-sentimental, weird, sinister, warped or damn right hysterical," advises Sean. "Again, the most unlikely and bizarre stories are welcome!
"The first story we have for the anthology is a tragi-comedy-come crime-of-passion between a mermaid and a sailor," he reveals.
"Let your imagination run riot: real-life unrequited quasimodos. amorous androids. Soft-centred traffic wardens, old fashioned courting aliens, backfiring valentines, unlikely heartthrobs, pulp romance send-ups, temptresses, exotica gone bad, 1950's style shock romance (ie:'I married a deadman')... whoever, whatever it's up to you. The weirder, more bizarre, clever and innovative the better."
The anthology will be A5 black & white with colour cover. "We've already had a couple of contributions that are very impressive," says Sean. Again, contributors are allowed up to six pages for a strip. One page illustrations are welcome too. The deadline for this anthology is 12 December 2006.
• More info from papertigercomix@yahoo.com

CELEBRITY DEATH RACE CONTRIBUTORS SOUGHT
25/7/06: Creators Sean Duffield & Paul O Connell are seeking creators who would be kind enough to contribute to a fun comix project. "Essentially, we want people to design their own celebrity race machines in the style of Wacky Races (meets Death Race 2000!)," sasy Sean. "If you can't quite remember the whole Wacky Races idea, check out this site - www.hotink.com/wacky.
"We're a after a single illustration, plan, sketch, diagram, whatever for whatever celebrity you choose (any character, fictional or real is fair game) and their appropriately sooped up racing-machine," he continues, "the crazier the better... gadgets, gizmos and dirty-trick devices encouraged. The weirder, the funnier the better. Bad taste is encouraged too!
"We've already had two contributions; "Mecha Beedle's Mega Beetle" and "Man-O-War's Car-o-War". Tthere are plans for death racers from The Elephant Man, Jimmy Saville and also "Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger!
"So that's the spin, please have a go (do more than one if you fancy it) and please encourage anyone else you speak to to have a go...we'll collect the results together and put them out in some form of small press package.
"If, by any miracle, you can get something done really quick - i.e. in the next couple of weeks - we can put something together to take to Caption in Bristol at the start of August.
"Send scans/original artwork to either myself - papertigercomix@yahoo.com - or Paul - oconnellp@fastmail.fm - or email for a postal address if you want to post something."

Above: Original artwork used for cover of Look and Learn #1002 (23 May 1981), where the title was added "A Hundred Journeys into Space". Just one of hundreds of images from Look and Learn now available to view on lookandlearn.com. The artwork lent to Look and Learn for scanning by The Gallery of Illustration.

LOOK AND LEARN REVIVAL UPDATE
24/7/06 (thanks to Steve Holland): As we first reported back in January, a publisher has begun the revival the British magazine Look and Learn, which featured the stunning art of strip artist Don Lawrence and others in the 1960s.
Anyone who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s will remember this educational weekly, home to Don Lawrence's Trigan Empire comic strip, now being re-published by the Don Lawrence Collection. Look and Learn was the biggest-selling title of its kind for many years and was able to attract some of the best artists of the era to its pages, everyone from Ron Embleton to John Millar Watt.
Illustrations and comic strips aside, the magazine featured an extraordinary range of features on history, geography, wildlife and science.
In 2004, publisher Laurence Heyworth was looking for a title of similar excellence for his young son but could not find anything on today's newsstands that remotely approached the Look and Learn's quality. He approached the title's owners, IPC Media and, with the exception of a few comic strips (including Trigan Empire), bought the rights to Look and Learn and a number of related magazines (Ranger, Treasure, The Children's Newspaper and others).
With a small team of enthusiastic co-workers, Heyworth has already set up an official site -- www.lookandlearn.com -- the first stage in reviving the title.
Although the site is not officially launched until September, many of the features are already live, featuring almost 10,000 images from the various magazines and a full history of Look and Learn and its companions.
The site also reveals Heyworht's plans for a limited revival of the paper.
If you're a fan of the art of Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton, John Millar Watt, C. L. Doughty or dozens of other top artists this site will be a welcome arrival as a quarter of the artwork available has been photographed from the original boards.
"Although we are pleased to have found some of the larger collections of surviving artwork, we are always on the look out for more," says contributor Steve Holland.
If you have any boards you would be willing to loan for photographing or scanning, please get in touch via the website or you can contact Steve Holland directly at archivist@lookandlearn.com

SPACESHIP AWAY JETS IN
23/7/06, updated 29/7/06: #9 of Spaceship Away has just been published, continuing its mission to create new original Dan Dare adventures and much more for a growing readership.
Spaceship Away (a three times a year, full colour, glossy magazine) started out as a way to get a newly created 1950's "old Eagle"-style Dan Dare strip story (first drawn by Keith Watson and now, Don Harley) in print, along with how it was done. This latest issue continues those efforts and continues to be well worth the high cover price (this is a small press magazine which pays its contributing creators).
Included are the ongoing new Dan Dare story Green Nemesis; includes a colour version of Syd (Jeff Hawke) Jordan's Hal Starr never before seen in English (colouring by John Ridgway); and there's more of Charles Chilton's Journey Into Space strip, drawn by Tacconni.
As usual, there are several features, including an article from Alastair Crompton about a proposed new comic from Marcus Morris in the early 1970s. Eagle Flies Again contributor Jeremy Briggs provides a 'Designed For Flight' article on the real aeroplanes that Frank Hampson used as a basis for the spaceship designs in the original Dan Dare strips, with photo references compared to artwork frames. (Jeremy says this will be followed next issue, Rod willing, with an article on the real helicopters that Frank Hampson used as a basis for the helijets in the original Dan Dare. There is also similar piece on Keith Watson's designs which has yet to be scheduled).
This is a title that can only be described as a labour of love from determined editor Rod Barzilay and it deserves the support of British comics fans, especially fans of the original Eagle.
There are very few true science fiction comics out there these days. This is one of them. Buy it!

• A single issue sub to Spaceship Away currently costs £6.99 in the UK (£9 international) but if you subscribe for six issues and you get the seventh free. You can now order issues and subscribe online at the Spaceship Away website: spaceshipaway.org.uk
• Read an interview with Spaceship Away publisher Rod Barzilay, which was first published in Eagle Flies Again #9: Click Here

INFOQUAKE - PLUG FOR A NEW SF BOOK
23/7/06: Yes, I know this site is usually comics-oriented these days but I felt this news deserved the exception.
My friend Lou Anders, who works over at science fiction & fantasy publisher Pyr (www.pyrsf.com), just sent me some info on a book that just came out which is very different from the usual SF novel, one he hopes will have an appeal beyond the typical reader into a broader readership of thrillers, mysteries, and even nonfiction fans, readers of Wired and Slashdot, etc.
Lou's usually a modest guy (I think it must be something to do with his Deep South upbringing!), so when he e-mails me about a book like this, I sit up and take notice. I checked out the book's web site, quickly found I could identify with some of the author's real world experiences in working in the Internet industry in the late 1990s, and placed an order at Amazon.co.uk.
Lou describes David Louis Edelman's Infoquake as "the world's first science fiction business novel, set in a dot-com like industry of the future. It's a world of high tech product launches, corporate rivalry, industrial espionage, government interferance, etc... "We're describing it as 'Dune meets the Wall Street Journal,'" he told me, and it's had some great reviews from the likes of Publishers Weekly ("a slick high-finance melodrama and dizzying technical speculation lift Edelman's SF debut.... Natch's being a borderline sociopath makes him extremely creative in business tactics". )
Edelman has a background in Web programming and marketing and has built an amazing website in support of his book, (www.infoquake.net). The site features audio downloads/podcasts of the first seven chapters of his book, online excerpts, original artwork, and a wealth of additional background material on the world of Infoquake, much of it unique to the site.
"We're marketing this book to the usual science fiction magazines and websites," says Lou, "but I feel this one really has appeal beyond that audience. It should appeal to business people, fans of technotrillers, technophiles, people who read Wired magazine or slashdot. A whole host of people, in other words, beyond the usual suspects!
"I think this book deserves to find its audience and that that audience exists beyond the normal pool of readers we usually market to."
Pushing one of his books like this is not something Lou makes a habit of, so when he plugs a new title like this, he really wants it to attract some attention (not that he doesn't want people to buy other books he edits, but I can count on one had the number of times he's really pushed one of his projects like this to his friends in an e-mail).
• Check out www.infoquake.net and see what you think.
• Buy Infoquake from Amazon.co.uk

DUMBASS DOES JAPAN
23/7/06: The new issue of NEO Magazine (issue 22, on sale 20 July, £3.70 from all good newsagents - or failing that, Borders) features a rather nifty six-page full colour original comic strip by the brilliant Neill Cameron, hello), describing his and wife Di's recent trip to Japan, and all the funky things that happened therein. The strip is packed with the usual fab Cameron elements, including giant robots, manga cafes, drunken exuberance, and a Very Special Guest Appearance from indy comics superstar Sean Michael Wilson.
"It's a blend of comics, travelog, hopefully useful tips and typical lowbrow Dumbass humour, all wrapped up in a funky shiny manga style," says Neill. "Enjoy!"

Left: Neill Cameron and wife Di in Japan, in a strip for the latest NEO Magazine

MIKE CONROY ON THE BBC
20/7/06: Well, sort of... longtime Comics International contributor Mike Conroy has just done his first job for the BBC, providing research for Waiting for Superman. Broadcast on Radio One on Monday night, it includes input from Dan Jurgens, Denny O'Neil and Grant Morrison as well as Superman Returns director Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh.
You can hear it by logging on to www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/documentaries/060717_superman.shtml and clicking the Waiting for Superman link.

MOORE AND REPPION TALK ALBION
20/7/06: Wildstorm's limited series Albion, featuring countless British comics characters of yesteryear owned by IPC Media, comes under the spotlight in a new interview with the book's writers, Leah Moore and John Reppion.
In the interview posted on the Forbidden Planet International blog, Leah Moore reveals that as well as creating a new story featuring many characters beloved by comics fans, book artist Shane Oakley and her father, Alan Moore, who plotted the series, Albion "is more about the decline of British comics. Why don’t the British people read these anymore? What has have happened to the wealth of talent and ideas?
"We tried to weave the real reason into the fantastical story. We wanted the artists and writers of the comics to be present in the story, we wanted the characters to be sent comp issues too. If the characters felt real to us when we first read them, then why assume we were wrong?"
The pair reveal there looks to be plenty of scope for further visits to the Albion universe once the first series completes and say the finale is a humdinger. "Look forward to a ‘Raging Fury’, some revolting romance and several different flavours of comeuppance," says Leah.
Albion will be published as a collection by DC Comics in the US on 4 October and by Titan Books in the UK on 24 November.
• Click here to pre-order the DC Comics edition from Amazon.com
• Click here to pre-order the Titan Books edition from Amazon.co.uk

ARKWRIGHT MOVIE NEWS
20/7/06, updated 24/7/06: Several studios have announced new comics-related film projects in the run up to the San Diego ComicCon, including Will Eisner's The Spirit - directed by Frank Miller - Doom Patrol and Deadman.
Alongside these comes news that the long-awaited Adventures of Luther Arkwright movie, originally announced some time ago, is getting closer to being made.
Hollywood Reporter reports that New Line company Benderspink -- producers of the Oscar-nominated A History of Violence, based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke -- is teaming with Australian producers Andrew Prowse and Sophie Patrick to produce the film based on the award-winning comic book series written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot -- and Britain's first ever graphic novel.
First created in 1978, described by fellow comics creator Garth Ennis as "one of the all-time great epics of the medium", Arkwright story took Talbot more than 12 years to complete, first serialised in various comics and magazines in England before being wrapped up in a series of comics published by Valkyrie Press. A sequel, Heart of Empire, was published in 1999 by Dark Horse. Audio drama company Big Finish have also adapted the story, starring Doctor Who's David Tennant as Luther Arkwright.
Chris Bender, J.C. Spink, Prowse -- whose credits include Farscape -- and Patrick will produce the adaptation with Brian Spink serving in a producer capacity. Benderspink are also developing comic projects including Power and Glory and Y: The Last Man.
"I’m not really involved in the project at the moment though when/if it goes into production, they want me on the production design side," Bryan told downthetubes. "The first script Koukou [who have regularly renewed their option on the story] sent me was really naff. It began with Arkwright married to Princess Anne – and made him a Christian to boot! The writer had reworked the story that much it was crammed with great gaping plot holes.
"I spent a long time constructing the story and if you start pulling out sections of it, changing or inserting new bits and so forth, it totally destroys the elaborate structure and the internal logic," Bryan expands. "Anyway, everybody agreed it was pants so they gave the writer the boot and began again from scratch, this time sticking as close as possible to the original and it’s a very good adaptation."
Luther Arkwright possesses psychokinetic abilities that allow him to travel across parallel worlds. Recruited by agents from a harmonious parallel known as "zero-zero" he is sent to a war-torn alternate reality where a dictatorial British Empire is still in power, ordered to draw out malignant forces bent on destroying the Multiverse.
"Both Arkwright and the doomsday device, Firefrost are unique – existing on only one parallel at any one time," Bryan explains. "It's one reason why Arkwright can enter different worlds. In my original story, the parallels are exactly that – different facets of existence. In the first version of the film script, the writer decided to educate the viewers by having Arkwright explain parallel world theory to Harry Fairfax. The theory he expounds is the quantum mechanics based concept of every single moment forking to produce different temporal alternatives.
"I had to point out to the producers that this would mean that there would be millions of Arkwrights running around after millions of Firefrosts, making a nonsense of the whole story. As I said before, I’d thought the story through. This writer didn’t."
Bryan is hopeful that if the film finally gets made it will mean a new edition of the original book, "using the new digitally remastered files from the Czech edition."
And is there any chance David Tennant might play Luther, as he has in the Big Finish audio plays?
"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" Bryan replies. Perhaps in a parallel universe...
• Buy The Adventures of Luther Arkwright via Amazon.co.uk
• Buy the Big Finish audio drama The Adventures of Luther Arkwright from Amazon.co.uk
• Buy Heart of Empire: or, The Legacy Luther Arkwright via Amazon.co.uk
• Visit Bryan Talbot's Official web site at: www.bryan-talbot.com

ALL NEW, ALL COLOUR GUARD DOGS
19/7/06: The British Starscape webcomic (www.StarscapeComic.co.uk), has just published the first colour installment of The Guard Dogs, "one of the most wonderful strips in recent British comics history," according to editor Chris Smillie.
The Guard Dogs moves in to full colour against the Twig Boy as told by Jason Quinn (Spider-Man, Commando, Power Rangers, Tom & Jerry) and illustrated by John Britton (TV Comic, Flash Gordon, Batman, Action). "Be warned," says Chris "the Guard Dogs will never be the same again after this adventure!
The latest issue also features golden age hero Masterman - the mightiest man in a skirt! Plus the end of the first installment of the Nimrod galaxy with the Deterrent part 3.
Grant Springford continues with his superweirdness in the Abnormals, whilst Dek Baker and Dave Morris begin their conclusion to the classic Jack Kirby OMAC series.
"Writers and artists always wanted," says Chris.

Above: a promotional image for Alice in Sunderland produced by designer Jordan Smith. Bryan Talbot has collaborated with Jordan on the cover for Alice.

BAXENDALE CONTRIBUTE TO ALICE IN SUNDERLAND
16/7/06: Legendary Beano cartoonist Leo Baxendale -- creator of the Bash Street Kids -- has written a page for Bryan Talbot's upcoming graphic novel Alice in Sunderland, due to be published bu Jonathan Cape (Random House) in the UK and Dark Horse in the US in February 2007.
"I drew the page a mixture of both our styles," Bryan Talbot told downthetubes. "He asked to read the script after I'd mentioned the book to him and it inspired him to spontaneously create a one-pager.
"It's his first comic work for 15 years."
"Alice in Sunderland will be an approximately 320 page long graphic novel with the themes of storytelling, history and myth in a form I’ve been describing as a "dream documentary"," Bryan, also creator of the parallel-world travelling character, Luther Arkwright, says of the book on his official web site. "It's not one story but literally dozens, short and long, the central spines being the history of Sunderland and the story of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell (the “real” Alice), both of whom had connections with the city and surrounding area. For example Jabberwocky, the most famous nonsense poem in the English language, was written here.
"The stories are told within the structure of an imaginary performance on the stage of the Sunderland Empire theatre, the shorter ones interwoven within the two main threads and consistently underpinned by the stage setting. As the Empire is an Edwardian music hall, the work is a “variety performance” in that different visual styles are utilised for each story, according to its needs.
"The artwork is a mixture of black and white, line, monochrome and colour, line work, watercolour painting, collage and digital artwork. The styles vary wildly from a conventional nine panel grid, and full page illustrations to multiple image pages, or metapanels, using original art collaged with old prints, maps etc. "
• Read more about Alice in Sunderland on Bryan's official web site

A GRAPHIC POEM...
16/7/06: 28-year-old Franco-Japanese concept artist Veronique Tanaka (art sample, right) has created an experimental graphic novel Metronome, an existential, textless erotically-charged visual poem currently being considered by Jonathan Cape and Harper Collins.
Ms Tanaka is currently in Brazil organising an exhibition of her work.

TOM FRAME DIES
16/7/06, updated 17/7/06: with thanks to Matthew Badham and others: I'm sorry to report that veteran letterer Tom Frame, whose work has graced the page of many a British comic, died on 14 July, having lost his battle with cancer.
In addition to his lettering work, which included 2000AD -- partcularly Judge Dredd -- and Transformers, Frame coloured the covers and centre-spread of 2000AD in the early 1980s.
Frame, who inspired others such as Richard Starkings to become letterers, used a combination of computer-based techniques, including a personal font based on his own hand-drawn lettering.
Comics writer and former 2000AD/Megazine editor David Bishop has posted a tribute to him on his blog, viciousimagery. "I worked with Tom for 12 years, on both the Judge Dredd: The Megazine and 2000AD," he writes. "His lettering was as much a part of Dredd as the future lawman's badge or gun. Tom took a great deal of care with and pride in his work, and rightly so."

A page from PinBoing by Mike McMahon, lettered by Tom Frame: and a classic example of Frame's unique style. Click here for a larger image (will open in a new window).

DELISLE COMES TO THE UK
12/7/06: Publisher's Weekly reports that US publisher Drawn & Quarterly has sold UK publishing rights to two books by artist/writer Guy Delisle to Jonathan Cape publisher Dan Franklin. Cape acquired and will publish Guy Delisle's Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China in September -- observations of life in a cold urban city in southern China that is sealed off from the rest of the country by electric fences and armed guards -- simultaneously with its US publication by D&Q.
Cape will also publish Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea at the same time, which was published in the US last year, based on Guy's visit to the secretive country in 2001, one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortress-like country.
While living in the nation¹s capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company Delisle observed what he was allowed to see of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered; his findings form the basis of what's been described as a remarkable graphic novel.

SNEEK PEAK!
11/7/06: Artist John Royle just sent us this cover for an upcoming Panini UK title featuirng Spider-man and Wolverine ins action.
More of John's work at: www.johnroyleart.com

EAGLE FLIES AGAIN: GOING OUT WITH A BANG
11/7/06: Eagle Flies Again fanzine editor Ian Wheeler and designer John Freeman (er - that's me) have discussed the non appearance of the very last issue of the title, which has been delayed several times because of my many work commitments. I can only apologize for the long wait, which I am sure is a disappointment to our many readers.
The Dan Dare Corporation recently told Ian he could publish one final issue: after that, such publications must be licensed, like Spaceship Away. Ian decided that despite the critical accalim for the title - including a "Zine of the month" honour from SFX magazine - he did not want to continue with the fanzine on that basis.
Consequently, given work commitments which have delayed publication, we have now decided to go 'out with a bang' making Eagle Flies Again #14 a "double issue" size -- but release it in time for the Lancaster Comics Festival in October. And we need creators help...
Celebrating the very best in British Comics, we're appealing for comics creators and longtime British comics fans to send us their 100 - 150 word only best/favourite memories of British comics. Got an all-time favourite comic or character? Tell us what or who it is, and why.
The comic can be from any period: whether you're a fan of Wallce & Gromit or The Beano, The Eagle or TOXIC!, we want your comments. (Pics of panels from favourite stories would be helpful, though!)
Eagle Flies Again has a tradition of featuring pin ups by established and upcoming artists: this last issue will be no different. Black and white art featuring your favourite characters will be very welcome. (This is for a print publication so please supply at 300 dpi to johnfsfreeman@btopenworld.com)
Last year, we began soliciting material for a Hallowe'en 2006 issue of Eagle Flies Again, and we will be featuring material received for that in the issue, including a stunning cover by Graeme Neil Reid. (Dummy cover above). Plus our usual mix of features by Jeremy Briggs, Steve Winders and many others.
If you can do anything to help us make Eagle Flies Again #14 -- the final issue -- a real fanzine to remember, that would be great!
For those not attending the Lancaster Comics Festival Eagle Flies Again #14, priced £3.50 + 50p postage will be available through the downthetubes web site. f you want to order by post, it will cost £3.50 + 50p postage (about the same as the SciFi Special, which sold out almost immediately), via Eagle Flies Again, 54 Hartwith Drive, Harrogate North Yorks HG3 2UY. Cheques/PO payable to Ian Wheeler.
Existing EFA subscribers please note: The issue will count as TWO issues of any outstanding subscriptions (there are a small number remaining). Then refunds of any outstanding subscription monies received will be made by Ian.

JONNI STARR RETURNS
11/7/06: Well, not exactly back, as in new stuff, but cartoonist Phil Elliott has started to stream his Jonni Starr animations, which first apeared in early issues of MacFormat, online at myspace.
"Some of you may have already seen these animations that i originally created for MacFormat, but here's chance to enjoy them again," says Phil. "I'll be adding new episodes every two weeks."
Web Link: myspace.com/phil_elliott

LITFEST PARTNERS COMICS FESTIVAL
10/7/06: Lancaster's litfest organisation has just agreed to partner with the Lancaster Comics Festival (28 October), providing support for the one day event which will take place at the Ashton Memorial and is being widely promoted to the UK small press.
litfest, (www.litfest.org), which is funded by Arts Council England (North West) Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council, has previously organised comics events and activities in Lancaster but not in recent years, so recognitions for comics by such an organisation has been welcomed by Festival organiser Anthony Mercer.
Confirmed guests so far include Bryan Talbot - who will be giving a workshop on comics storytelling and Star Trek comics writer Chris Dows, plus many small press creators. The event will also see publication of the very last issue of Eagle Flies Again, the British comics fanzine edited by Ian Wheeler.
• More information on our events page

BEANO AND THE DANDY PROFILED
7/7/06: As part of Forbidden Planet International's ongoing celebration of British Comics Month its web blog has just published a feature on two of the two oldest continuing comics in these islands and two of the most popular; they are, of course, the Beano and the Dandy.
The feature includes an interview with Euan Kerr, who, after 28 years in Beano World, recently handed over the "best job in town" to Alan Digby, who was Chief Sub Editor when Kerr claimed the Editor's chair back in 1984. "It's been a real wrench to move on and a bit like leaving home," he says. "Fortunately my new job as Deputy Manager of Children's Publishing allows me to look at all areas and opportunities for The Beano."
Kerr, who also offers guidance to would be writers and artists for the Beano in the interview - "youngsters love naughty, rude humour and we have relaxed our views on that sort of thing, though we still try to retain a reasonable(ish) level of good tast." - admits that despite many changes to the title over the years, some of its earliest characters - the title debuted in 1937 - remain the most popular.
"Though there have been a few successes amongst the new characters (Calamity James and Ivy the Terrible for example), the gang of rebels introduced in the early 1950s (Dennis, Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger, Minnie the Minx) still form the core of the comic," he reveals.
"Basically, the naughtier and wilder a character is, the more the readers like them. They also have the benefit of parent and grandparent recognition."
• Euan Kerr will be appearing at the Dundee Festival later this month to talk to Beano fans there.
• Read the feature here

FURRY FREAK BROTHERS WEB EXCLUSIVE!
4/7/06: In the run up to the new CGI Furry Freak Borthers movie, creator Gilbert Sheldon - who currently lives in England - has created a new Furry Freak Brothers strip, the first in 10 years. You can view it online at: www.fabulousfurryfreakbrothers.com and also find out more about the plans for the new Furry Freak Brothers film

MY HERO SEASON 6 DEBUTS
4/7/06: My Hero Season 6 will begin on BBC1 on Friday 21 July, starting at 8.30pm. This new season stars James Dreyfus (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Hell's Kitchen) as George Sunday, aka suburban superhero Thermoman. Emily Joyce returns as long suffering wife Janet.
In the first episode, when George pops back to Ultron for a game of poker he loses more than the shirt off his back – he loses his back as well as the rest of his body. James Dreyfus dons Thermoman's tights and is thrown into saving the world from more disasters.
He also has to deal with the domestic chaos that surrounds his wife, Janet, and their two super-intelligent children. As George tries to return to married life, Janet finds herself living with a man she's never even seen before.
The cast also features Hugh Dennis, Geraldine McNulty, Lill Roughley, Phil Whitchurch, Lou Hirsch and Tim Wylton.
• More about My Hero, including production interviews and episode guides

COMICS INTERNATIONAL #198 - ON SALE 14 JULY
3/7/06: The upcoming issue of Comics International (#198) features a six-page penultimate episode of Paul Grist's World of Jack Staff newly-drawn strip, an exclusive interview with Brad (Identity Crisis) Meltzer on the new Justice League, John Short's exhaustive coverage of the back-up comics stars and strips in Doctor Who Weekly/Doctor Who Magazine (with full checklist), a fabbo competition with five copies of ILEX's new Manga Clip Art book and CD (create your own characters!), The Escapists, Bryan' Talbot's Alice in Sunderland sneak peak, Union Jack, Alex Toth and more... including an exclusive Really Heavy Greatcoat cartoon (surely worth it for that alone!)
• Comics International #198 goes on sale on 14 July (UK; US and Europe + 3 weeks), £1.95/$2.95 (Diamond code: APR063488). Available from all good specialist comic shops or order online: www.comicsinternational.com

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