Review by John Freeman
This latest annual is elegantly designed by someone who knows the best way to present the visuals in a way that complements the editorial -- something many magazine designers, with their idiotic predilection for seeming hip, using white lettering on brash colours that make whole sections illegible for example fail to achieve. The title offers a fascinating, carefully chosen selection of material, presented in a way that will appeal not just to fans of an article's subject matter but also for those simply dipping into the mysteries of, for example, Futurama or the many worlds of Michael Moorcock, for the first time.
For comics fans, the annual includes an enjoyable by Andrew Colman feature on the seventy year history of Superman; an interview with graphic novelist Posy Simmonds, author of Tamara Drewe and Gemma Bovary, who talks about illustration and her career; and a feature about the career of James Bond storyboard artist Martin Asbury; and a much fought over list of 15 grahic novels for 'regular readers', books the Tripwire team recommend for people who don't read comics such as Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs and We Can Still be Friends by Mawil.
The Harrods "Comic Timing" Exhibition starts tomorrow, running until 31st October 2008 in London's perhaps most famous department store.
Baa! Another bunch of great woolly adventures for Shaun, Bitzer, Shirley and the flock, not to mention those troublesome pigs is about to be released on DVD, as they go looking for more sheep thrills.
Earlier this year, David Fickling Books and Random House launched The DFC, a new weekly comic in the UK, the first of its kind in terms of the levels of originated, new characters for many years.
After soliciting questions from downthetubes readers about the comic and David's plans for it prior to launch, a number of circumstances conspired to prevent the interview below taking place, not least of them being David Fickling's hectic schedule and the demands a weekly title imposes on even the most dedicated of editorial teams. But now he's been able to sit down and chat about the comic, his love of comics and plans for so much more than just one new comic...
Euan Kerr, former editor of The Beano, has hit out at the current content of the comic and the Dandy arguing they have become too politically correct.In an article in the Telegraph, picking up on a report in Scotland on Sunday, Kerr, who edited the Beano for 22 years, says key characters such as Dennis the Menace and Desperate Dan in the Dandy had to be "toned down" during his tenure.
He stopped Dennis menacing the character Walter the Softy in the 1980s to avoid claims that the comic may have encouraged "gay bashing, and points to how cow-pie eating cowboy Desperate Dan was forced to go on a diet have his revolver was replaced by a water pisto.
Dennis routinely tormented soppy Walter, a bespectacled boy who spent his days sewing, picking flowers and holding tea parties for his teddy bear.
"The evidence is that the kids understand a comic is a comic and that it isn't anything like real life," he told the paper. "But the relationship between Dennis and Walter was always one that worried me.
"There were accusations from certain quarters that it was a little like gay-bashing. This obviously wasn't the way we intended it to be perceived.
"We decided the best way to approach it was to make sure that even though he and Dennis didn't get along, Walter was completely happy about who he was and a confident, likeable character in his own right."
Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Kerr conceded that other aspects of the Beano had been softened to avoid falling foul of liberal critics.
"The comic has certainly changed over the years to come in line with political correctness," he said. "For example, every strip used to end with the rogue of the piece being punished in some way – usually a smack across the head or a slipper across the bottom.
"This sort of corporal punishment became outdated and eventually it was phased out."
Now, Kerr argues the pendulum had now swung too far and he would welcome a return to the comic's anti-establishment roots and there are already signs that the balance is slowly turning against PC culture in strips such as The Neds, which chronicled the misadventures of work-shy, Scottish ne'er-do-wells.
Kerr's concerns about the comic are supported by the Campaign Against Political Correctness, publishers of The Politically Correct Scrapbooks.
"For 70 years the Beano has been read by children and they do not look at comics through politically correct eyes," commented John Midgeley. "It's a great shame that in recent years this national institution has been watered down to placate a tiny minority of humourless, do-gooding adults."
DC Thomson has so far declined to comment.
• Read the full article on the Daily Telegraph web site
• Click here for the story in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper and here for the story in The Times.
I was sorry to hear that founding Pink Floyd member and keyboardist Richard Wright has died at the age of 65 after losing a short struggle with cancer.Wright, a self-taught keyboardist and pianist met fellow band members Roger Waters and Nick Mason while at architecture school and was a founder member of The Pink Floyd Sound in 1965, and the group's previous incarnations, such as Sigma 6.
In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Syd Barrett, was seen as the group's dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote and sang several songs of his own. He left the band after falling out with Roger Waters during recording of The Wall but officially rejoined when Waters hiself left, contributing vocals and keyboards to the 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. In 1994, he co-wrote five songs on The Division Bell album, singing lead vocals on the track Wearing The Inside Out.
Writing on his website, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has praised Wright for his "vitality, spark and humour".
"In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten," he notes. "He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.
"I have never played with anyone quite like him."
• Official Pink Floyd UK web site
• David Gilmour's official site
• National Public Radio Tribute by Robert Hilton
After a summer spent diligently producing page after page of comic book nonsense in their Bristol studio, the Etherington Brothers, creators of strips such Monkey Nuts and Malcolm Magic are about to begin an frenetic End of Year appearance schedule, much of it part of ongoing promotion for the subscription-only weekly title The DFC.
Last month, we reported on a new Doctor Who magazine in development from part works publishers GE Fabbri, publishers of the Doctor Who magazine Battles in Time and magazine-video titles such as Ronnie Barker, Charmed and Stargate SG-1.
A bit of shameless self-promotion: I'm delighted to report that Secrets of Ceres, the first part of a new SF strip drawn by Mike Nicoll and written by me, John Freeman, will feature in the next issue of the Dan Dare-inspired comics magazine Spaceship Away, now at the printers and which editor Rod Barzilay tells us will soon be shipped to subscribers.
(with thanks to Reuben Willmott): Penguin Books will publish a graphic novel version of Charlie Higson's first Young James Bond story, Silverfin, in October.
Dave Hitchcock, the man behind Black Boar Press and highly acclaimed indie comics such as Whitechapel Freak and Springheeled Jack, is about to self publish another newspaper/comic called Gothic.
"I found that I preferred the Victorian era as it's a lot more visually interesting, " he reveals. "My next foray into making comics was Springheeled Jack, another little-known Victorian myth. After reading the 'eye-witness' reports dotted about the internet, I decided to embark on what has become my longest project to date, and possibly the most popular, as it won a much coveted Eagle award in 2006, something I never expected due to the sporadic nature of my work: it's really just a great hobby which I do as and when time permits.
Simon Mackie's ace Flick and Jube web comic, published over on DrunkDuck (along with several more of his comics such as Dr Ballard The Golem Rises and Bikini Blow Up, is finally complete. "Now to try and find a publisher," he tells us.
