ARCHIVED NEWS - MARCH 2007
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NEW WAR BOOKS FROM CARLTON
25/3/07: After Carlton Books
success with their collections of DC Thomson Commando
Picture Library stories - The
Dirty Dozen and True
Brit have been published so far with Anzacs
at War now due in August - the publisher is following
that up with two collections from IPC's war title libabry.
Edited by comics expert and archivist Steve Holland, the content of Unleash
Hell and Death or
Glory comprise strips originally published in War
Picture Library and Battle
Picture Library respectively, just some of IPC's comics
titles which had the same format as the ongoing Commando.
War Picture Library was the daddy of them all – the
first pocket library and for many fans, the best.
Debuting in 1958 the title celebrated the heroic actions of the Allies as they
fought back on land, at sea and in the air during World War Two. No theatre of
conflict was ignored. Written by authors who had themselves seen combat, from
the baking deserts of Africa to the steaming jungles of the Far East, these complete
stories gave youngsters growing up in the years after the war an answer to the
question, "What did you do in the war, daddy?"
Featuring stories such as Fight Back to Dunkirk, The
Iron Fist, Lone Commando and The
Black Ace the collections, which will be published
in September, feature some of the most striking war comic art ever produced.
Steve is also working on the first volume of a new series of British comic indexes.
This first one will cover all the war libraries from Fleetway (War,
Battle, Air Ace, War at Sea and Giant)
with their attendant holiday specials. "This has been co-compiled with David
Roach (who should need no introduction) and we're finishing up the proofs at
the moment," Steve reveals on his Bear
Alley blog. "The next in the series will update and vastly improve three
of the indexes I co-compiled with David Ashford: Thriller
Comics, Cowboy Comics and Super
Detective Library."
Steve plans to follow this up with another volume with David Roach covering all
the other libraries, from Action and Top
Secret to all the romance and schoolgirl libraries.
"Since only a handful of these have ever been indexed before we're still
at the coal face, chipping away at the lists but some of the information that
we're coming up with is startling," says Steve, "and I have to believe
David when he says that some of the romance libraries were amongst the most consistently
well-drawn comics ever published in the UK.
"I'm hoping that anyone buying the first two volumes will want to complete
the set... and I can promise you a few surprises amongst the artists who worked
on these things."
SPIDER-MAN 3 TRAILERS
RELEASED FOR UK
22/3/07: New trailers for Spider-Man
3,
released in the UK on 4 May, have just been released and we're sure Panini
UK will be preparing for its arrival with plnety of tie-ins in its superhero
titles.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man 3 reunites
the cast and filmmakers from the first two blockbuster adventures for a
web of secrets, vengeance, love, and forgiveness.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire)
has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to Mary Jane Watson
(Kirsten Dunst) and his duties as a superhero. But there's a storm brewing on
the horizon. When his suit changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers
- apparently in repsonse to his darkening
mood in a quest for the Sandman - it transforms Peter as well, bringing
out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control.
Under the influence of the
suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about
him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the
compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as
two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled
power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves...
• View
the Spider-Man 3 trailer (Quicktime)
COMICS ON YOUR MOBILE
21/3/07 by John Freeman: Well, it's been five years (at
least) in the making -- but I'm delighted to report that I'm in the middle
of a first round testing of a new comics-to-mobile service for ROK Media,
that should launch soon, and will be rolling out in full this May.
Several British creators know I've been touting comics-on-mobile to anyone who
will listen for simply ages, but ROK picked up the ball and ran with the idea
last year, and it's been non-stop ever since. In pure business terms, you can't
ignore the massive rise in digital comic demand – one comics aggregator
says it's delivering some 350,000 comics a day to mobile.
The system will let creators upload their own comics and create them using a
suite of characters, props and backgrounds: all can then be offered to comic
readers to buy and view on their mobiles. Creators will then receive a percentage
of every sale.
ROK Media is also looking at distributing a range of comic strips from various
publishers to mobile and we've had several encouraging discussions so far with
a range of companies, both small and large.
In addition to mobile comics, we're also considering print – including
publishing titles based on licenses on intellectual properties we've signed,
although I can't reveal the names of those properties at this stage. I can say
we have solicited samples from some terrific artists for our first project and
I hope to be able to say more about that very soon.
Exciting times!
WHEN WORLDS END PREVIEW RELEASED
20/3/07: UK indie Monkeys with Machine Guns has
just released a teaser tatesr of its latest anthology, When Worlds
End,
which will be published in time for the Bristol Comics Festival in May priced £2.50
The anthology includes strips such as Hunch drawn
by Christian Ward and Lights Out,
a spooky tale drawn in EC-homage style by Stu.Art, with all strips in
the anthology written by Chris Lynch.
You can grab the trailer at: www.christopherwilliamlynch.com
MOONFACE PRESS GETS ITS TEETH INTO VAMPIRE ONE-SHOT
20/3/07: UK indie publisher Moonface
Press has announced details of Blood
Psi, the second in its series of standalone titles
under THE ONE-SHOT CLUB banner.
Blood Psi – solicited
in May’s issue of Previews and shipping to comics stroes in July – is written
by Andy Winter, drawn by Keith Burns and boasts a cover by Declan Shalvey. The
US format 32-page book has a full-colour cover, and black and white interior
art, including a 24-page main story, a sketchbook section and an
A-Z of British vampires feature. It retails for $3.50 (£2.20).
The story is a vampire murder mystery set in gothic London. When her best friend
in the capital’s close-knit vamp community is slaughtered, Ruby vows to track
down the killer – but the hunt may just unearth painful memories from Ruby’s
human past she hoped would remain buried forever.
"It's a must for fans of Buffy and British TV’s Ultraviolet," says creator Andrew
Winter.
Blood Psi is the second in a series of standalone titles
from Moonface’s One-Shot Club, following the success of last year’s critically acclaimed Hero
Killers. Also slated for release this year are Septic
Isle (a British spy thriller set in the aftermath of the 7/7
London bombings) and Brothers (two feuding superhuman
siblings fight crime... and each other).
"Blood Psi concerns Ruby, a powerful vamp who has never
really come to terms with the hand life (and death) has dealt her," Andy explains. "She’s forever torn between her vampire present and her human past and, although she has plenty of friends in London’s close-knit vamp community, she’s
never felt completely a part of it.
"When one of her best friends is cold-bloodedly slaughtered, she finally has
to choose one side or the other.
"Blood Psi is a murder mystery – but the mystery
is not who did it (that becomes clear fairly early on), it’s why they did it
that’s important. Especially to Ruby...
"The idea behind THE ONE-SHOT CLUB is to give readers a bit of instant gratification," he continues. "All
the books in the line will feature self-contained stories with no cliffhangers
and a definite ending. The idea is to really spread our wings to take in a host
of different comic genres."
TOP COMIC CREATORS HEAD TO NORTHERN IRELAND
16/3/07: Artists and writers from publications like Batman, 2000AD,
Doctor Who Magazine, The
Beano and Viz,
will be gathering at the Londonderry's Verbal Arts Centre in April for 2D -
the first ever Northern Ireland Comics Festival.
The event, which runs from April 19-21 2007, will feature exhibitions, workshops,
panel discussions and portfolio review sessions.
A host of world-class comic creators have already confirmed, including:
John McCrea (artist - Batman, Wonder
Woman), Simon
Furman (writer - Transformers, Death's
Head, Alpha
Flight) Mike Collins (writer/artist - Doctor
Who)
Kev F Sutherland (artist - Beano, Dandy,
Viz, 2000AD), Rufus Dayglo (artist - 2000AD; animator
- Warner Bros and Gorillaz), Charlie Adlard (artist - Judge Dredd,
Batman, The
Walking Dead), PJ Holden (artist -
2000AD), Garry Leach (artist - Judge
Dredd) and Will Simpson (artist - Batman,
Judge Dredd, Transformers,
Hellblazer, Aliens,
Indiana Jones).
"The trend for comics in the mainstream shows no signs of wearing off," says Festival organiser David Campbell. "Our
aim is to make the festival as accessible as possible by providing a wide range
of events catering for all ages - which are completely free of charge. With that
in mind we feel that we have created a line up that will be as interesting for
a hardcore comics fan as it will for a relative newcomer."
Recent years have seen major changes in the comics industry, with the medium
changing from a minority interest, thought to be for hobbyists and children,
to a billion dollar multi-media industry.
With this year’s big cinema releases including the comic-based Spiderman
3,
Transformers and Ghost Rider,
there will be a slew of computer game spin-offs, cartoons and other related merchandise.
The visiting artists and writers will be involved in a number of workshops panel
discussions and exhibitions, which are open to the public.
Schools’ workshops will be held during the day in the Verbal Arts Centre, and there will be events for adults at Sandinos Café Bar.
On Saturday April 21, the Verbal Arts Centre will play host to the Comics Open
Day from 1pm till 5pm - and everyone is invited to come along.
As a part of the festival activities the Verbal Arts Centre is also announcing
a comic art competition for ages eight and up.
The winning pieces of art will be displayed alongside professional comic art
from some of the best artists in the comic industry at an exhibition being held
at the Verbal Arts Centre.
The winners will also be invited to take part in a workshop with the comic creators.
The grand prize winners will receive a signed piece of original comic art.
• For competition details and further information
on 2D, visit the official website www.2dfestival.com or contact David Campbell
at 02871 266946 or email david@2dfestival.com
BLINK TWICE AT THE THING
15/3/07: UK independent comics creators including Blink
Twice (creators of the brilliant Malcolm
Magic), Flying Monkey, Paper
Tiger, Soaring
Penguin,
Portent and many more will be converging on London this weekend for this
year's Web & Mini Comic Thing.
Taking place at the Queen Mary University, Mile End, London, on Saturday
(17 March), this is a major event in the UK indie press year, and those
wacky guys at Blink
Twice report they have produced four exclusive pages
of Moon-related
gubbins for the Thing
Anthology, one of their latest comic
creations.
Those who attended last year's show will remember that this publication
tends to disappear very quickly so arrive early to secure your copy.
The
Blink boys will also be releasing the 8th
Moon! Sketch Book,
free for all purchases of £10 or more from the stand on the day, and an
uber-exclusive One Night in the City Year 1 book.
Only 100 copies are being published with 30 available at the Thing show,
and the rest being available at the Bristol and London Expo Conventions
in May.
•
For more info on the event visit the
official website, which is packed with great webcomics and more at: ukwebcomixthing.co.uk
COMICS
INTERNATIONAL #201 HITS THE STORES
14/3/07: It's taken much longer than anticipated but Comics
International #201 is finally on its way to subscribers
and to the shops. In fact, it should be with those retailers who buy direct
today. Those that get it through Diamond will have to wait a little longer.
Comics International is
now a 100-page magazine costing for £2.99, with the extra pages expanding
the title's already exhaustive news with more space given to Manga Zone
and Frame to Frame while the magazine's Book Report has become a standalone
section. Also added are some lengthy and interesting interviews, some with
accompanying sketchbook art and creator profiles.
This issue the interviews include Jeff Mariotte and artist Alberto Dose talking
about Desperadoes: Buffalo Dreams: Gabriel
Ba on drawing My Chemical Romance; front
man Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy;
Fabian Nicieza on writing Thunderbolts Presents:
Baron Zemo – Born Better; writer Jason Aaron
discussing his new Vertigo series Scalped;
plus Archie president Micheal Silberkleit on the why and wherefores of Betty &
Veronica getting a realistic make over.
"On top of that, there're features on the Ghost
Rider film as well as on the 300 movie
(including a look at Heros the Spartan and
other British sword and sandal comics)," says editor Mike Conroy.
"We're also continuing CI's ongoing look at TV fantasy in comics by spotlighting The
Avengers."
That article is written by downthetubes Ian
Wheeler and John Freeman. Columnists abound, with Paul Gravett's Novel Graphics,
Stephen Holland's Talking Shop, Biff's Hotshots and NetWorks plus a new one,
Fighting Words, an occasional series of provocative columns by "comics'
last real man" Beau Smith.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." says Mike, "but I'm certain
you'll not be disappointed."
YESTERDAY'S TOMORROWS
10/3/06:
Yesterday's Tomorrows,
due in July from Knockbout, compiles
several strips drawn by the unique Rian Hughes, who is very well respected
in the design community having won many awards for his work. This collection
of stories includes Grant Morrison's controversial alternate Dan Dare and The
Science Service,
John Freeman's first professional script; plus Raymond Chandler's "Goldfish",
adapted by Tom DeHaven, where Hughes captures the noir shadows in a clever
use of two-colour artwork.
Also in the book are Really & Truly (also
written by Grant Morrison) from 2000AD and
a selection of sketchbook pages. The book - limited to 3000 copies worldwide
- has been produced in an embossed casebound edition with an introduction
by comics guru Paul Gravett.
• Pre-Order
it from Amazon.co.uk
• Pre-Order
it from Amazon.com
CALL FOR NATIONAL
COMICS MUSEUM
10/3/07: Comics fan Darren Davis has launched a petition for a national
British Comics museum. You can sign up to the petition on the 10 Downing
Street web site.
Although the British Museum's newspaper library in Hendon has a collection
of comics dating back to their first publication, which includes a wide
range of titles from Comic Cuts to 2000AD,
Darren feels it's high time there was a more accesible resource for what
is, after all, a national treasure.
"The UK
has a long and proud tradition of British comics and story papers including
The Dandy comic which
is the world's longest running comic," Darren, who is involved in the
BritishComics.com web site, points out. "Whilst
there are transport museums informing the public about cars and buses and
a museum dedicated to film and television, as far as I am aware there are
no museums dedicated to the medium of comics and storypapers which are very
much part of our cultural history and identity."
Other countries such as France and Belgium have museums dedciated to comics.
There are large collections of comics held by individuals and some educational
centres in the UK, and organisations such as the Cartoon
Art Trust are amassing materials through their Cartoon
Museum, including
some 35000 comics.
Web Links
• The
British Museum Comics Collection
• The Cartoon Museum, London
• Centre National de la Bande Dessinée
et de l'image, Angouleme, France
• The Begian Center
for Comic Art, Brussels
The Kingdom of the Smurfs, Tintin, Lucky Luke, Spirou, Gaston Lagaffe, Spike
and Suzy and plenty of other paper heroes
• La Maison de la Bande Dessine, Brussels
GRAMMARMAN'S
GLOBAL RISE CONTINUES
8/3/07: Last year, downthetubes brought
you news of Grammarman, a comic strip from British
creator Brian Boyd. The stories, which follow the adventures of a decidedly
tongue-in-cheek superhero, aim to bring a fun element to learning English
as a second language.
One year on, and Grammarman is still going strong.
Continuing the tradition of educational
comics in style, Boyd reveals the accurate avenger now appears regularly
in magazines and newspapers in China, Thailand, Malaysia and Argentina (and on
his own website www.grammarmancomic.com).
"Grammarman certainly has his work cut out," Boyd tells downthetubes. "Careless mistakes and sloppy
spelling are everywhere!"
His rogues gallery of foes has expanded considerably
over the last twelve months: King Wrong, Percy Perfect, The Obligator,
Auxilla, The Wizard of Was, Butch Clausidy and the Sentence Kid... the
list goes on.
"Superman may not be trembling in fear just yet, but it’s been quite a year for Grammarman," Boyd continues. "Highlights include teaming up with one of the most unusual heroes around, Flaming Carrot (in episode 8, with the blessing of Bob Burden himself) and a review feature in English
Teaching Professional (the leading ESL magazine)."
More recently, Grammarman has been joined by one of American comics’ most recognizable icons, Archie Andrews of Archie Comics fame.
"There are big plans for 2007 too, with the first 30 episodes set to become available as a pay-per-download e-book," says Boyd. So even if you already speak perfect English, why not pop over to Grammarman’s
site and have a look around?
Web Link: www.grammarmancomic.com
THRUD IS FIVE
8/3/07: Five issues, that is. Carl Critchlow's hilarious Thrud the Barbarian #5, 'Bungle in the Jungle' is out now, continuing the adventures of the infamously stupid warrior.
In this all new story Thrud hooks up with a crooked crew of amateur aviators
in the quest to find the lost world of Mucho Pinchu and it's tempting treasure
trove of golden goodies. Jungle japes aplenty as the forest fights back!
• Read
John Freeman's review of Thrud #5
• Web Link: www.thrudthebarbarian.com
WILL
THE REAL CAPTAIN BRITAIN PLEASE STAND UP?
7/3/07: Comics publisher Dez Skinn has uncovered an unusual
piece of comics history – a design for Captain Britain by much-admired artist Tom Kerr.
The design was intended for a Captain Britain comic Dez proposed to IPC Fleetway over two decades ago, prompting much speculation of "what might have been" had
Marvel not firmly established their version of eponymous character.
"Tom's one of the unsung heroes of British comics," feels Dez. Kerr's contributions
to British comics include Black Axe, The Saxon Avenger for
Buster, The Avengers for
TV Comic and some early episodes of Adam
Eterno for
Thunder.
"Tom didn't get the [Captain Britain] gig," Skinn recalls of Fleetway's proposed
project. "It
went (wisely) to Eric Bradbury, whose version still didn't capture the sense
of wonder the US had refined over the years. "
Fleetway's plans for Captain Britain, codenamed JNP
55 (Juvenile New Project) so DC Thomson wouldn't know what the company was up
to, predated the Marvel UK Captain Britain. "With a Jesus Blasco back up strip and the inevitable football strip accompanying the main story, it went through several versions," Dez reveals, "with
Eric totally redrawing the first two 15-page episodes at [managing editor] Jack
LeGrand's request.
"I kept all the scripts, notes, colour roughs and the like, knowing that one
day it should be recorded for posterity, but Tom's sketch turned up in an unsorted
box."Tom Tully scripted the stories while Jack Potter
[was on] lettering, and, naturally, with Gina Hart colouring."
"I forgot [Kerr] even did a try-out (along with Mike Western and all the other
Fleetway regulars)," says
Dez, who is currently busy with several projects having relinquished the editorship
of Comics
International.