ARCHIVED NEWS - FEBRUARY 2007
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PUNK!
28/2/07: Or rather, 2000AD, which celebrates 30
years of continuous publication and is one of the few fully originated British
boys adventure title aimed primarily at teenagers still standing on the
UK news stand (and that's not to denigrate the continued success of Panini's
part-reprint titles and new comics such as A.T.O.M).
There have been a host of reports and tributes on the occasion, including
features on the BBC
web site, Saturday's Independent newspaper,
plenty of coverage in the latest Redeye,
on the radio with I'm
Ready For My Podcast and
commment from comics creators Steve
Holland and Lew
Stringer -- and that's just for starters -- in the blogosphere. Top SF writer
and artist China Mieville has also praised the title and says he's love to write
for it,
in
an interview on readexpress.
With 2000AD owner Rebellion's recent of purchase of comics-for-ipod provider Clickwheel it
seems clear the title plans to stick around for some time to come...
Web Link: www.2000adonline.com
GIVE ME ANOTHER REDEYE!
26/2/07: The latest issue of Redeye,
the "vital magazine" for
indie comics, is out. #6, available from www.enginecomics.co.uk,
features interviews with popular Wildermere
and Mixy creator
Alex CF; the creative team behind the latest Judge Dredd megaepic, Origins --
John Wagner, Kev Walker, WR Logan, and Matt Smith; autobiographical cartoonist
Lee Kennedy; legendary Zenith artist Steve Yeowell;
and critically acclaimed cartoonist for The Guardian and
one half of Cabanon Press, Tom Gauld, who also provides the cover.
The jam-packed 110-page issue also features articles on the 2000AD Art
of Mike McMahon; a detailed retrospective of V For Vendetta from
sketchbook to DVD release in The Road to Larkhill;
plus an exclusive guest column from the legendary creator Pat Mills on the
nature of fandom.
Priced just £4, Redeye #6 also includes an exclusive
10-page preview of Regards from Sebia, Top Shelfs'
latest book with commentary from the creator, Aleksandar Zograf; plus preview
art from upcoming titles, news, and an massive expanded reviews section.
Web Link: www.enginecomics.co.uk/redeye
2000AD RADIO SHOWS
22/2/07: This week and next week radio show "I'm
ready for my close-up" is
covering 30 years of 2000AD.
Today (22/2/07) Alex
Fitch and Duncan Nott interview Pat Mills about his history with the comic,
helping to create Judge Dredd and the new projects he's working on. On 1
March, Alex and Duncan will be talking to Matt Smith, the current editor
of the comic about the 30th anniversary celebrations and his plans for the
future.
"I'm Read For My Close-Up" is broadcast on
Thursdays at 10.30pm on Resonance 104.4 FM (London) and streamed at www.resonancefm.com.
The shows are also available as a podcast at www.readyformycloseup.blogspot.com
2000AD BUYS CLICKWHEEL
22/2/07: Rebellion, publishers of 2000AD, have just bought the comics-on-ipod
distributor Clickwheel. Terms have not been disclosed.
Comics on the service
will remain the copyright of the creators but Clickwheel's management
hopes that the acquisition will spell a bright new future for Clickwheel.
"A full relaunch of the site is forthcoming," says Clickwheel editor Tim
Demeter, "including new features for yourselves and for readers, including
new ways of broadcasting your work as well as increased opportunity to monetize
your work.
More news as it becomes available. "We’ve got some great things
in store," says Tim.
BIRMINGHAM FESTIVAL RETURNS IN OCTOBER
18/2/07: After the successful debut of the Birmingham
International Comics Show (BICS) last year, organisers have announced the
2007 event will take place over the weekend of the 13-14th October at the
Thinktank situated at Millennium Point within the city.
"The Custard Factory was popular with many of our visitors," organisers
say, "But renovations are due to be undertaken for a period of about 18
months, and we didn't want to keep the fans waiting. In fact we've moved the
dates forward!"
The Thinktank is an events-driven modern building containing the city's new science
museum, an Imax theatre, and a large bar and eating establishments, among other
amenities. "The show will be bigger and more importantly it will be even
better." BICS continued. "We are excited about the challenges the new
venue offers, and very pleased about the level of administration and technical
support being offered us at this stage. As we did with the Custard Factory we're
going to do for the Thinktank: make it even more popular!"
Celebrations for anniversary events in the comic book world are being prepared,
international guests are being finalised, and some great fun ideas being heavily
debated to guarantee BICS 2007 a weekend to remember.
For further information & to reserve
tickets visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk
HOGARTH AT THE TATE
7/2/07: Forbidden Planet International's blog reports
that 18th century artist William Hogarth is the subject of a new
exhibition which has just opened at Tate Britain and runs until 29 April.
A celebrated and influential British artist, engraver and printmaker to be sure,
but apart from a general interest in visual arts why mention him on a comics
site? Well, because Hogarth is also held by some to be one of the seeds from
which the comics strip eventually grew into the form we know and love today,
not just with his caricatures but with mutli-part paintings which depicted an
unfolding story, a wordless tale told using sequential art. Read the full
FPI story...
BEANOMAX LAUNCHES THIS MONTH
2/1/07: Perhaps responding to the success of monthly comics
titles from other companies such as TOXIC and Wallace & Gromit,
DC Thomson launches a new Beano tie-in, BeanoMAX on
15 February.
With an initial print run of 120,000 DC Thomson say the title will be aimed at
a slightly older market - 8–13 year old Beano readers
- and will have an inspirational appeal, incorporating a features and competitions,
with strips featuring "long established quirky and fun characters' but in longer stories to give them more depth.
BeanoMAX will be published 10 times a year, with 2
bumper issues priced at £2.48 and £2.98
resepctively. Issues will be themed around major events, with the launch issue
supporting Comic Relief.
"61% of The Beano readers donate to charity so launching
The BeanoMAX on red nose day is perfect!" DC Thomson reveals in promotional literature for the title. "Not
only that, 32% donated to comic relief in the last year."
ROY OF THE ROVERS REPRINTED
2/2/07: North East-based football magazine Players
Inc. is to begin a reprint
run of the famous football strip Roy of the Rovers in its next issue,
on sale tomorrow.
The reprint will begin with the 1975 season stories, with Roy Race on top
form rather than the later episodes which saw him lose his foot to a shark.
Players Inc. editor has apparently purchased
the reprint rights for just £150 from Roy of
the Rovers owners Egmont.
Players Inc editor Steve Wraith, a Roy of the Rovers collector and fan, told
reporters "We're
going to run the 1975 season as it appeared at the time and we are currently
in negotiations about creating a new strip and some new stories." This
was the season Race began his career as player-manager.
Wraith, speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning, acknowledged that although
it would be nice to do new strips, his magazine is all about nostalgia.
First published in 1954 in Tiger, the character was last published in the
BBC's Match of the Day Magazine in 2001. An official website dedicated to
the character created by Mark Towers -- www.royoftherovers.com --
launched in 1999.
The recent Striker comic investigated the possibility of reprinting Roy
of the Rovers during its run, but negotiations broke down after Egmont expressed
concern at the rest of the comic's content when it began reprinting Billy's
Boots.
• In related Roy of the Rovers news, North-East-based Paul Trevillion, one
of the artists on the original strip, has just produced a Referee
Academy DVD-ROM, working with former referee Keith Hackett. Bedford
Today reported in January that the DVD will be used for training by the
professional game's match officials, and is backed by the Football League,
the Football Association and the Premiership.
Paul, who lives in Sharnbrook also draws the You
Are The Ref series which has appeared in newspapers for more than 50
years: a collection of those strips has
recently been published by Guardian
Newspapers.
Mr Trevillion told the paper his unique style was inspired by a meeting
with Milt Neil, the legendary Disney animator who won an Oscar in the 1940s.
"When I was a young artist, I thought I could make it as a animator," he
said. "So Milt asked me to draw in 20 frames of a Union Jack flag blowing
in the wind. But I just couldn't do it.
"Milt then picked up a pen and the 20 pieces of paper, and went bam-de-bum-de-bum
over the pages. He then just flicked the sheets and it was incredible, it just
moved perfectly. Milt called it mini-animation."
As for Roy of the Rovers, Trevillion claimed it
wasn't such a big strip when he took over the artwork "but, the way I drew,
it looked like he was really moving, rather than like any other cartoon character.
"It wasn't like Dennis the Menace or Desperate Dan," feels Paul. "Youngsters
really believed he was a real person. I still have people in their forties
and fifties asking me to sign their Roy Of The Rovers comics with my signature
and with Roy's!"
Trevillion is working on another book with Don Howe, one-time Arsenal manager
and assistant to three England managers, The Art Of
Football which will
be released in the summer. Another title by Paul, Celebrating
50 Years of Sporting Art, is due for release in July.
• Roy of the Rovers official site: www.royoftherovers.com
• Read our feature on Roy of the Rovers
