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Thursday 26 May 2011

Will you help bring back Captain Clevedon?

Comics artist and writer Kev F Sutherland, whose credits include The Beano, Doctor Who Adventures, Match and others, is looking for an artist, or artists, to help him finish a comic that's been lying dormant for a number of years.

Kev's a dedicated comics creator who I've worked with in the past on Doctor Who Magazine and has done much to promote comics to people, through the original Bristol Comic Festival, his Comics Masterclasses in schools across the country and TV appearances.

"In 1994 I wrote and drew an eight-page photocopied comic called Captain Clevedon, he explains via his blog. "He's a superhero based in the town where I live, and it's a comedy action strip intended for a wide audience, from kids to adults.

"Its initial run sold out in the town itself back in the day, and even got featured on local TV (cheesy, ain't it?) but I never progressed with it after that first taster issue.

"It's always been a popular character that people bring up in conversation," he continues, "and lots would like to see his story finished, but I can never quite find the time. Added to which my comic art style has crystallised as much more cartoony than I think suits this book.

"So, I'm looking for a superhero artist to help me complete it. I have the script plotted and almost complete for a 24 page self-contained first story (In which Captain Clevedon learns more about his powers of Enhanced Benevolence and defeats the Severn Boar/stroke/Sky Pig From Space). Who'd like to draw it?

"The caveat is that this is, most likely, not a money-making venture. I wrote and drew the original for love (and the vast profit from its sellout first run, which added up to less than fifty quid, spread over more than a year) and would expect this issue to not make big money. However I would offer any collaborators an agreed profit-share, in the event of the comic taking off, and would split all sales pro rata (eg Comic Convention sales, Indy Planet online sales, plus you could get cost price copies via Ka-Blam to sell yourself). This project is ideally suited to an up-and-coming artist who wants to use their pages to boost their portfolio of superhero art. And, by the way, the end product will be fun to read. And when they option it to make a movie we'll all get to go to a party (that last bit is not guaranteed, by the way)."

If you're intrigued, check out the original short story from 1994 on his blog here.

"The new 24-pager will not be in the same cramped comedy style with four bubbles to a panel, six panels to a page," Kev insists, "but will be in a more familiar superhero comic layout. Lots of splash pages and fight scenes, with flying, action, monsters, machinery and superhero posing. I plan to publish it as a black and white comic, to keep it affordable to the kids."

Kev's a regular face on TV spots about comics - his appearances include The One Show, among others. His next media spot is a webchat for BBC Northern Ireland next week (Friday 3rd June), answering questions about comics: more information here at www.bbc. co.uk/northernireland/arts/ live/ .

• If you are interested in drawing this comic, send a link to some online samples to Kev at kevf.sutherlandATvirgin.net. Please note - don't email him art as attachments.

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