Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
A little something for Halloween...
Back in 2008, I was teamed up with the always awesome Vicky Stonebridge for a short strip for Something Wicked, the horror anthology from FutureQuake Press. Since it's Halloween, I thought it would be nice to share this little chiller, called The Kindness Of Strangers...
Thanks to Vicky, Rich Clements and Bolt-01 for letting me post this.
Unfortunately, Something Wicked #4 (where this first appeared) is now sold out, but #5 and #6 - featuring more work by me! - are still available to buy from the FutureQuake Shop, priced £3.50 (+ postage), and feature some real spine-tingling tales from the dark side...
Thanks to Vicky, Rich Clements and Bolt-01 for letting me post this.
Unfortunately, Something Wicked #4 (where this first appeared) is now sold out, but #5 and #6 - featuring more work by me! - are still available to buy from the FutureQuake Shop, priced £3.50 (+ postage), and feature some real spine-tingling tales from the dark side...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Talented Miss K...
It's not really much of a secret, but I've been working on a new pitch with the never not awesome Valia Kapadai, and she's started to put together some of her legendary "stinky sketches" in preparation for it:
Well, I think I can officially say I'm excited by this project. And, if there's any publishers reading this, we might be knocking on your door with it soon...
Well, I think I can officially say I'm excited by this project. And, if there's any publishers reading this, we might be knocking on your door with it soon...
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Lung In Question...
Back in July, comic fans heard the news that the legendary comics artist Carlos Ezquerra was suffering from lung cancer, so a bunch of them thought it would be pretty cool to send him something by way of a thank you for all the years of joy he's given down the years. Myself and Dunk Nimmo were invited to join in, but Dunk couldn't make it due to a deadline, and I...well, what do I say to the guy that co-created one of my two favourite comic characters of all time? I mean, there's not enough words in the world for that.
So, I floated the idea of dedicating Death To The Future to Carlos, but then Dunk came up with something even better:
If you want to see that panel in context, Death To The Future is still available in Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 - both of which are a mammoth 56 pages, and cost a mere £3.50 (plus postage). Both of them are available now from the FutureQuake Web Shop (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked). You can also click the covers on the side of the page to be taken straight there.
But, from myself, Dunk and Bolt-01, get well soon, Carlos!
So, I floated the idea of dedicating Death To The Future to Carlos, but then Dunk came up with something even better:
If you want to see that panel in context, Death To The Future is still available in Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 - both of which are a mammoth 56 pages, and cost a mere £3.50 (plus postage). Both of them are available now from the FutureQuake Web Shop (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked). You can also click the covers on the side of the page to be taken straight there.
But, from myself, Dunk and Bolt-01, get well soon, Carlos!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Some random thoughts on Alan Moore's Neonomicon
So, Neonomicon from Avatar Press, then. Supposedly Alan Moore's last comic work (although, if you believe that, then you'll also believe that David Cameron is Santa Claus), and one that's caused a bit of controversy over its second issue.
This is not a post about said controversy, nor is it a personal attack on Alan Moore; I realise he's essentially become the industry's straw man, and it's incredibly easy to take a pop at him and lay various things at his door (especially after some of the interviews he's given recently), but that's not what this is about. Rather this is a post about various observations I've made after reading the first two issues. Now, I'm sure that someone's already had similar thoughts and posted similar blogs, and I probably won't be treading any new ground here, but, hey, this is the Internet and there aren't enough people on it sharing their ill informed opinions.
It was after watching David Smart's video analysis of #1, posted on Bleeding Cool, that something took hold in my mind. As good as the analysis is, it's flawed simply because it misses out two key factors that make a big difference to the story we're reading. The first is that it's a sequel to The Courtyard, a Lovecraft inspired tale from Moore that was adapted into comic form by Antony Johnston and Jacen Burrows, and published by Avatar; this explains - to some degree - the bizarre dome that's set over the city. The second major flaw is that it completely ignores the entire Lovecraft angle of the story (which plays a major role, but we'll come to that later). However, the central argument of David's video is, I think, sound, that these characters are unaware that they're characters in a comic - although, I'd go as so far to argue that they're unaware that they're characters in a work of fiction, and not just a comic.
If you go back and re-read #1, you'll notice that each and every character portrayed in it is a two dimensional cut-out, a walking, talking trope. We have the "evil serial killer" behind the glass, the senior FBI agent who was his victim, the good looking black guy, the good looking blonde agent. The one thing that binds them all is that they have no distinguishing characteristics. This is not an attack on Moore's characterisation, I have to point out, but rather it's me saying that he's being a bit of a clever bastard and dropping the first, very subtle hints that these are indeed characters in a work of fiction, but who remain unaware of their true nature. Admittedly, Agent Brears line about this being like one big, literary in-joke, should serve as a slightly less subtle hint.
It's those last two characters, our two central leads, that we have to pay particular attention to. Look at them again:
They're both young and attractive, compared to the other major characters around them. This is a standard Hollywood [and mainstream comic] idea: cast attractive leads to keep people watching. This becomes more evident in #2, just before the controversial scene:
They're both slim, in great shape, and very sexy individuals. But, I bet you can't name a single defining character trait for either of them, something that makes them stand out in your mind. Go on, try...
Once you realise what Moore's done with the characters, things begin to fall into place a little more, and begin to add fuel to the argument that these are characters who don't know they're trapped in a fictional, two dimensional world.
Moore is clearly using standard fictional tropes here to tell the story/make a statement. I remember watching Moviedrome on BBC 2 way back when Alex Cox presented it, and he pointed out one of the universal tropes of mainstream Hollywood movies (one that's still, sadly, in place now): the black characters always die first.
Moore brings this into play when he has Agent Lamper killed off during the orgy scene - he even uses a standard storytelling trick, and brings into play some wafer thin characterisation earlier in the issue, by having Lamper mention his wife, and try to instil some kind of emotional resonance to his death:
It's worth noting that, in that scene, Moore utilises another standard fictional trope: "The Pope In The Pool", where you're given a lot of exposition, but are distracted by something else as it rolls out. In this case, we get a lot of background about the works of HP Lovecraft and others, but we're distracted by Brears getting undressed.
We're seeing bare bones storytelling here, with Moore using accepted tricks that any and all writers use to to tell the story, and blatantly showing them to us as he goes to hammer home the point that this is fiction.
However, it's Agent Brears where Moore begins to add extra layers of metatext.
Now, I should warn you that from here on in, this post will become incredibly contentious and offensive to certain people, so if you're easily offended, stop reading now.
Agent Merril Brears is, as you can plainly see from the pages of the comic, a slim, attractive, blonde; she's intelligent, she wears glasses and she's witty. It's worth noting that in Moore's original script (as published in the Neonomicon Hornbook), he calls for Brears to be a fairly unremarkable woman, but Burrows clearly draws her as a pretty woman, because, hey, all fiction has to have an attractive lead. However, Brears is also a recovering "sex addict", and has no distinct personality traits. Moore is giving the reader the perfect "comic babe", essentially.
To add fuel to that fire, he has her dress like a "punk" in the first issue, and then has her dressing up in stockings, suspenders and a ridiculously short dress in the second, before finally getting naked. Moore is taking this "perfect comic babe" and presenting her in two different costumes that would hold an appeal to comic fans, before finally giving them what they want in the full frontal nudity of the orgy scene. In the hands of a lesser artist than Jacen Burrows, however, I suspect we'd be seeing a far more idealised "comic" version of Brears, with enormous breasts and constantly striking poses that would break the back of a normal person.
We've already established that Moore is using two-dimensional cut-outs for his characters, and it becomes much more evident with the introduction of Charley:
Long hair, glasses, overweight, dodgy facial hair... He is the broadest definition of a geek, or, if you prefer, a comic fan.
He is also the character that actually commits the rape of Agent Brears.
The "geek" character gets the hot blonde girl in the only way he can: by forcing himself on her.
Is this Moore making a statement? Is he attacking fans?
As it's been pointed out in other corners of the Internet, comic shops and readers had no problem stocking a comic depicting the rape and eventual murder of Sue Dibny, so what makes this so different, other than the more graphic nature of the scene?
Sue Dibny was raped by a guy in a costume. Merril Brears was raped by a "geek".
DC, arguably, fetishised the whole thing, made it "acceptable" by having it done by an established character, and brought it into the mainstream. Now, it's almost as if there isn't a mainstream female comic character that doesn't have rape in her backstory - and this is brought home by the utterly crass way that Kevin Smith did it in his Black Cat mini-series for Marvel. It makes me almost physically sick to type this, but rape has become a very quick way to add texture and meaning to a female character's background. It has become another fictional trope.
However, in Neonomicon, Moore presents rape for what it is: an unambiguously awful act of torture and depravity.
The scene is uncomfortable to read, of that there's no doubt, but when you realise who Moore has commit the actual act, it becomes even more uncomfortable for some readers out there (although, reading the scene through, you realise that Moore throws in a little something extra for those sick fucks who may have been getting off on it: Charley is willingly sodomised as he forces himself on Brears).
I don't for one second believe that Moore has added this purely for shock value, and I don't believe he's forcing his own views or "bizarre sexual philosophies" onto readers. This serves a purpose to the story as a whole, because, as I said, the rape of a female character is a fictional trope, one that people are disturbingly comfortable with.
Moore is using this in that context, but he's making damn sure that we know this is something that happens in the real world and should never be presented in any stylised or fetishised way on the comic page.
Now that you're all suitably uncomfortable, let's move this back to something else that was mentioned above: the Lovecraft angle.
The works of HP Lovecraft play a significant role in Neonomicon, and it's a mistake to ignore it. Lovecraft's stories and Cthulhu mythos have themselves become fictional tropes and standards; a lot of writers draw on them and incorporate various aspects of it into their own works (Hellboy, anyone?). Moore blatantly references Lovecraft stories through the course of the narrative of the first issue (the band, The Rats In The Malls is clearly a play on The Rats In The Walls, while the lead singer, Randolph Carter, is a direct reference to The Statement Of Randolph Carter, and the chapter titles are plays on two Lovecraft stories, At The Mountains Of Madness and The Shadow Out Of Time - and do I even need to point out that the title of the series is a play on Necronomicon?).
However, by the second issue, Moore pulls the rug out from under us and has the characters come to the same realisation, adding another layer to the metafictional narrative that's building, and perhaps giving the characters the first clue that they're nothing but characters in someone's narrative.
If Moore continues to use standard fictional tropes for the rest of the story, then the very first page of issue 1 could well hold the clue to how the story will unfold:
Is Moore planning on using the ultimate trope? Will this be revealed to have all been a dream in the final issue? And if so, whose dream?
I have my suspicions...
You can buy the Neonomicon collection here:
This is not a post about said controversy, nor is it a personal attack on Alan Moore; I realise he's essentially become the industry's straw man, and it's incredibly easy to take a pop at him and lay various things at his door (especially after some of the interviews he's given recently), but that's not what this is about. Rather this is a post about various observations I've made after reading the first two issues. Now, I'm sure that someone's already had similar thoughts and posted similar blogs, and I probably won't be treading any new ground here, but, hey, this is the Internet and there aren't enough people on it sharing their ill informed opinions.
It was after watching David Smart's video analysis of #1, posted on Bleeding Cool, that something took hold in my mind. As good as the analysis is, it's flawed simply because it misses out two key factors that make a big difference to the story we're reading. The first is that it's a sequel to The Courtyard, a Lovecraft inspired tale from Moore that was adapted into comic form by Antony Johnston and Jacen Burrows, and published by Avatar; this explains - to some degree - the bizarre dome that's set over the city. The second major flaw is that it completely ignores the entire Lovecraft angle of the story (which plays a major role, but we'll come to that later). However, the central argument of David's video is, I think, sound, that these characters are unaware that they're characters in a comic - although, I'd go as so far to argue that they're unaware that they're characters in a work of fiction, and not just a comic.
If you go back and re-read #1, you'll notice that each and every character portrayed in it is a two dimensional cut-out, a walking, talking trope. We have the "evil serial killer" behind the glass, the senior FBI agent who was his victim, the good looking black guy, the good looking blonde agent. The one thing that binds them all is that they have no distinguishing characteristics. This is not an attack on Moore's characterisation, I have to point out, but rather it's me saying that he's being a bit of a clever bastard and dropping the first, very subtle hints that these are indeed characters in a work of fiction, but who remain unaware of their true nature. Admittedly, Agent Brears line about this being like one big, literary in-joke, should serve as a slightly less subtle hint.
It's those last two characters, our two central leads, that we have to pay particular attention to. Look at them again:
They're both young and attractive, compared to the other major characters around them. This is a standard Hollywood [and mainstream comic] idea: cast attractive leads to keep people watching. This becomes more evident in #2, just before the controversial scene:
They're both slim, in great shape, and very sexy individuals. But, I bet you can't name a single defining character trait for either of them, something that makes them stand out in your mind. Go on, try...
Once you realise what Moore's done with the characters, things begin to fall into place a little more, and begin to add fuel to the argument that these are characters who don't know they're trapped in a fictional, two dimensional world.
Moore is clearly using standard fictional tropes here to tell the story/make a statement. I remember watching Moviedrome on BBC 2 way back when Alex Cox presented it, and he pointed out one of the universal tropes of mainstream Hollywood movies (one that's still, sadly, in place now): the black characters always die first.
Moore brings this into play when he has Agent Lamper killed off during the orgy scene - he even uses a standard storytelling trick, and brings into play some wafer thin characterisation earlier in the issue, by having Lamper mention his wife, and try to instil some kind of emotional resonance to his death:
It's worth noting that, in that scene, Moore utilises another standard fictional trope: "The Pope In The Pool", where you're given a lot of exposition, but are distracted by something else as it rolls out. In this case, we get a lot of background about the works of HP Lovecraft and others, but we're distracted by Brears getting undressed.
We're seeing bare bones storytelling here, with Moore using accepted tricks that any and all writers use to to tell the story, and blatantly showing them to us as he goes to hammer home the point that this is fiction.
However, it's Agent Brears where Moore begins to add extra layers of metatext.
Now, I should warn you that from here on in, this post will become incredibly contentious and offensive to certain people, so if you're easily offended, stop reading now.
Agent Merril Brears is, as you can plainly see from the pages of the comic, a slim, attractive, blonde; she's intelligent, she wears glasses and she's witty. It's worth noting that in Moore's original script (as published in the Neonomicon Hornbook), he calls for Brears to be a fairly unremarkable woman, but Burrows clearly draws her as a pretty woman, because, hey, all fiction has to have an attractive lead. However, Brears is also a recovering "sex addict", and has no distinct personality traits. Moore is giving the reader the perfect "comic babe", essentially.
To add fuel to that fire, he has her dress like a "punk" in the first issue, and then has her dressing up in stockings, suspenders and a ridiculously short dress in the second, before finally getting naked. Moore is taking this "perfect comic babe" and presenting her in two different costumes that would hold an appeal to comic fans, before finally giving them what they want in the full frontal nudity of the orgy scene. In the hands of a lesser artist than Jacen Burrows, however, I suspect we'd be seeing a far more idealised "comic" version of Brears, with enormous breasts and constantly striking poses that would break the back of a normal person.
We've already established that Moore is using two-dimensional cut-outs for his characters, and it becomes much more evident with the introduction of Charley:
Long hair, glasses, overweight, dodgy facial hair... He is the broadest definition of a geek, or, if you prefer, a comic fan.
He is also the character that actually commits the rape of Agent Brears.
The "geek" character gets the hot blonde girl in the only way he can: by forcing himself on her.
Is this Moore making a statement? Is he attacking fans?
As it's been pointed out in other corners of the Internet, comic shops and readers had no problem stocking a comic depicting the rape and eventual murder of Sue Dibny, so what makes this so different, other than the more graphic nature of the scene?
Sue Dibny was raped by a guy in a costume. Merril Brears was raped by a "geek".
DC, arguably, fetishised the whole thing, made it "acceptable" by having it done by an established character, and brought it into the mainstream. Now, it's almost as if there isn't a mainstream female comic character that doesn't have rape in her backstory - and this is brought home by the utterly crass way that Kevin Smith did it in his Black Cat mini-series for Marvel. It makes me almost physically sick to type this, but rape has become a very quick way to add texture and meaning to a female character's background. It has become another fictional trope.
However, in Neonomicon, Moore presents rape for what it is: an unambiguously awful act of torture and depravity.
The scene is uncomfortable to read, of that there's no doubt, but when you realise who Moore has commit the actual act, it becomes even more uncomfortable for some readers out there (although, reading the scene through, you realise that Moore throws in a little something extra for those sick fucks who may have been getting off on it: Charley is willingly sodomised as he forces himself on Brears).
I don't for one second believe that Moore has added this purely for shock value, and I don't believe he's forcing his own views or "bizarre sexual philosophies" onto readers. This serves a purpose to the story as a whole, because, as I said, the rape of a female character is a fictional trope, one that people are disturbingly comfortable with.
Moore is using this in that context, but he's making damn sure that we know this is something that happens in the real world and should never be presented in any stylised or fetishised way on the comic page.
Now that you're all suitably uncomfortable, let's move this back to something else that was mentioned above: the Lovecraft angle.
The works of HP Lovecraft play a significant role in Neonomicon, and it's a mistake to ignore it. Lovecraft's stories and Cthulhu mythos have themselves become fictional tropes and standards; a lot of writers draw on them and incorporate various aspects of it into their own works (Hellboy, anyone?). Moore blatantly references Lovecraft stories through the course of the narrative of the first issue (the band, The Rats In The Malls is clearly a play on The Rats In The Walls, while the lead singer, Randolph Carter, is a direct reference to The Statement Of Randolph Carter, and the chapter titles are plays on two Lovecraft stories, At The Mountains Of Madness and The Shadow Out Of Time - and do I even need to point out that the title of the series is a play on Necronomicon?).
However, by the second issue, Moore pulls the rug out from under us and has the characters come to the same realisation, adding another layer to the metafictional narrative that's building, and perhaps giving the characters the first clue that they're nothing but characters in someone's narrative.
If Moore continues to use standard fictional tropes for the rest of the story, then the very first page of issue 1 could well hold the clue to how the story will unfold:
Is Moore planning on using the ultimate trope? Will this be revealed to have all been a dream in the final issue? And if so, whose dream?
I have my suspicions...
You can buy the Neonomicon collection here:
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A quick plug before BICS...
Since BICS is this weekend, I thought it would be good to have one final shameless plug for Death To The Future by me, Dunk Nimmo and Bolt-01 - a story so crammed with Thrill Power, we were forced to split it into two comics!
The first ever Zarjaz/Dogbreath crossover, Death To The Future sees Johnny Alpha returning to the Big Meg - and straight into the crosshairs of Judge Dredd! With the fate of humanity itself at stake, can they put their differences aside long enough to save the day?
Part 1 is in Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 is in Dogbreath #23:
Both of these fine publications will be getting their official launch at BICS, but if you're not going, or if they sell out before you can get copies, they're now both available to buy from the FutureQuake Shop, and your local Forbidden Planet International stores. So, really, you've got no excuse not to go and buy them!
For all your Zarjaz and Dogbreath news, check out The Quaequam Blog - but remember to set your browsers for maximum Thrill Power!
The first ever Zarjaz/Dogbreath crossover, Death To The Future sees Johnny Alpha returning to the Big Meg - and straight into the crosshairs of Judge Dredd! With the fate of humanity itself at stake, can they put their differences aside long enough to save the day?
Part 1 is in Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 is in Dogbreath #23:
Both of these fine publications will be getting their official launch at BICS, but if you're not going, or if they sell out before you can get copies, they're now both available to buy from the FutureQuake Shop, and your local Forbidden Planet International stores. So, really, you've got no excuse not to go and buy them!
For all your Zarjaz and Dogbreath news, check out The Quaequam Blog - but remember to set your browsers for maximum Thrill Power!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Babble finds a new home - with Com.X!
Yes, it's true! As it was announced over at Comics Bulletin, Babble has found a new home with Com.X, publishers of Cla$$war and Forty-Five!Personally, I'm still having trouble getting my head around the fact that Com.X were actually interested in taking it on, let alone the fact that it was announced at NYCC, but, as I said, Bryan and I came out of the whole thing with Insomnia Publications with what little reputation we've built up for ourselves intact (as well as a load of brand new small press projects on the slate), and it looks like it's paid off. After all the weirdness that went on with our previous publisher, it's nice to finally be able to land such a personal project with a bunch of guys that have a real respect and passion for the medium that we call comics. As horribly corporate as it sounds, having the Com.X logo slapped on the cover just feels like a natural fit, like Babble has finally found its spiritual home.
Hopefully, this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship. If I can just stop grinning like a loon for a second...
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Some shameless Death To The Future pimpery...
Over on The Quaequam Blog, editor extraordinaire Bolt-01 has started some pimpery for Zarjaz #10 - including a never before seen panel from Death To The Future...
Why has Johnny Alpha returned to the Big Meg? Will he be able to outwit Dredd once more? Or will he finally end up in the cubes?
The answers can be found in Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 - on sale now!
Why has Johnny Alpha returned to the Big Meg? Will he be able to outwit Dredd once more? Or will he finally end up in the cubes?
The answers can be found in Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 - on sale now!
Friday, October 08, 2010
"You'd better start talking, Mutie!"
In case you weren't aware of all the other posts plugging this to high heaven and back, Death To The Future by me, Dunk Nimmo and Bolt-01, is the first ever Zarjaz/Dogbreath crossover, a Thrill Fest of the finest order that sees Johnny Alpha headed back to the Big Meg on what should be a routine pick-up job, only to fall into the path of Judge Dredd, who's determined to bring the bounty hunter in dead or alive!
I've used that image pretty extensively in the previous blog posts, and over on his blog, Dunk spills the beans on how long he actually took to draw Dredd's left arm, and... Well, let's just say it's surprising. But, hey, I just put words on paper and let others do all the hard work so I can ride their coattails.
Anyway, Death To The Future kicks off in the extra sized Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 is in the equally extra sized Dogbreath #23:
Both comics are a massive 56 pages, and each cost a paltry £3.00 (plus postage). Both of them are available now from the FutureQuake Web Shop (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked). You can also click the covers on the side of the page to be taken straight there.
The issues will be getting their official launch at The British International Comics Show later in the month, and will eventually find their way to the shelves of your local Forbidden Planet International store. They ain't The Galaxy's Greatest Fanzines for nothing, y'know!
For all the latest news on Dogbreath and Zarjaz, be sure and check out The Quaequam Blog, but remember to set your browsers for maximum Thrill Power!
I've used that image pretty extensively in the previous blog posts, and over on his blog, Dunk spills the beans on how long he actually took to draw Dredd's left arm, and... Well, let's just say it's surprising. But, hey, I just put words on paper and let others do all the hard work so I can ride their coattails.
Anyway, Death To The Future kicks off in the extra sized Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 is in the equally extra sized Dogbreath #23:
Both comics are a massive 56 pages, and each cost a paltry £3.00 (plus postage). Both of them are available now from the FutureQuake Web Shop (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked). You can also click the covers on the side of the page to be taken straight there.
The issues will be getting their official launch at The British International Comics Show later in the month, and will eventually find their way to the shelves of your local Forbidden Planet International store. They ain't The Galaxy's Greatest Fanzines for nothing, y'know!
For all the latest news on Dogbreath and Zarjaz, be sure and check out The Quaequam Blog, but remember to set your browsers for maximum Thrill Power!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Babble comes out of limbo...
As I've already mentioned over on the website, Babble, the original graphic novel by myself and Bryan Coyle, is now out of limbo and ready to find a new home. At the minute, that's pretty much all I can say about it - which is annoyingly vague, I know, but...
Bryan and I worked incredibly hard on Babble, and the whole collapse of Insomnia Publications and weirdness surrounding it, kind of left us scratching our heads and wondering where we stood (remember, all we had was an e-mail informing us that we had been released from our contracts, rather than any kind of legal papers). So, after much more head scratching and a quick visit to a local solicitor, we now know where we are from a legal point of view, and where we can go from here.
So, where do we go. Well, it's time to be annoyingly vague again... There's a chance - if everything goes according to plan - we'll have an official announcement about Babble and the future of it before the end of the month. There's a lot of things have to fall into place, the stars have to align themselves correctly and we have to be very, very patient.
Watch this space...
Bryan and I worked incredibly hard on Babble, and the whole collapse of Insomnia Publications and weirdness surrounding it, kind of left us scratching our heads and wondering where we stood (remember, all we had was an e-mail informing us that we had been released from our contracts, rather than any kind of legal papers). So, after much more head scratching and a quick visit to a local solicitor, we now know where we are from a legal point of view, and where we can go from here.
So, where do we go. Well, it's time to be annoyingly vague again... There's a chance - if everything goes according to plan - we'll have an official announcement about Babble and the future of it before the end of the month. There's a lot of things have to fall into place, the stars have to align themselves correctly and we have to be very, very patient.
Watch this space...
Monday, October 04, 2010
Four Little Words...
I've been reliably informed by editor extraordinaire Bolt-01 that Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #28 are ready to be picked up from the printers, and are now available from the FutureQuake shop for pre-order. If you'd need any more incentive to pick up the galaxy's greatest fanzines, I can give it to you in four little words: Death To The Future.
Death To The Future is the first ever Zarjaz/Dogbreath crossover, with part 1 appearing in Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 in Dogbreath #23:
Remember, even though Death To The Future is a crossover, each strip is a stand alone story, so you won't have to buy both comics to read the whole thing (but it would be really cool if you did). So, if you only buy Dogbreath but not Zarjaz - or vice versa - you'll still get an extended, action packed story featuring 2000AD's two biggest guns "teaming up" in their own inimitable style.
Scripted by me, drawn by Dunk! Nimmo and lettered by Bolt-01, Death To The Future is a story packed with dangerous levels of Thrill Power* that'll keep you on the edge of your seat and gasping for breath!
Both Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked) are now available for pre-order from the FutureQuake shop, but will get their official launch at the British International Comic Show in Birmingham in October, and will eventually find their way to the shelves of your local Forbidden Planet International store.
* We take no responsibility for cases of Thrill Power Overload brought on by reading this strip.
When Johnny Alpha returns to Mega-City 1 on a routine pick-up job, he comes face-to-face with Judge Dredd - who's determined to bring in the mutant bounty hunter dead or alive! What neither are aware is that Alpha's target is about to unleash one of the greatest villains in Mega-City 1 history on an unsuspecting future...
Death To The Future is a time-spanning mini-epic that teams 2000AD's two most popular characters in a deadly race against time - with the fate of humanity itself at stake!
Death To The Future is the first ever Zarjaz/Dogbreath crossover, with part 1 appearing in Zarjaz #10:
And part 2 in Dogbreath #23:
Remember, even though Death To The Future is a crossover, each strip is a stand alone story, so you won't have to buy both comics to read the whole thing (but it would be really cool if you did). So, if you only buy Dogbreath but not Zarjaz - or vice versa - you'll still get an extended, action packed story featuring 2000AD's two biggest guns "teaming up" in their own inimitable style.
Scripted by me, drawn by Dunk! Nimmo and lettered by Bolt-01, Death To The Future is a story packed with dangerous levels of Thrill Power* that'll keep you on the edge of your seat and gasping for breath!
Both Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23 (along with the latest issues of FutureQuake and Something Wicked) are now available for pre-order from the FutureQuake shop, but will get their official launch at the British International Comic Show in Birmingham in October, and will eventually find their way to the shelves of your local Forbidden Planet International store.
* We take no responsibility for cases of Thrill Power Overload brought on by reading this strip.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
20,000 Human Leagues Under The Sea
The crew of the Nautilus find it hard to tolerate Captain Nemo's angsty obsession with
80s synth pop...
Video by StumpyMoose.
80s synth pop...
Video by StumpyMoose.
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