Future Shocks Re-Worked for iPhones

For the first time ever, a selection of Alan Moore’s earliest comic-strip creations Future Shocks from 2000AD are now available globally via the Apple iTunes App Store.

Alan cut his teeth writing comics for Marvel UK and on this series of ambitious and innovative short stories, and they've now been re-worked by digital comics publisher Clickwheel.net and will be available in eight parts over eight weeks.

The aim of the adaptation, says Clickwheel, is to bring Alan Moore’s Future Shocks to thousands of comic fans who have never had access to these stories before. Available now, each episode is priced at $0.99/£0.59.

“We’ve been waiting a long time to get our hands on this material," says Tim Demeter, Clickwheel’s Editor, "and as a comic fan myself, I can confidently say that if Alan Moore is one of your favourite creators, you need this!"

Quite what Alan Moore may make of this, we're unsure: there has been many a dispute between early writers on 2000AD and publishers Rebellion over reprint rights on paper, let alone iPod -- behind the scenes, Rebellion has been engaged in laying claim to all rights over material published in early issues of the comic that creators laid some ownership to for a while now to make the most of its assets. Some creators have point blank refused to sign away rights, which is why some 2000AD strips remain unreprinted.

We'd be interested to know how Clickwheel swung this deal...

• Download Alan Moore's Future Shocks from the iTunes App Store Today

Ex Astris on Clickwheel

The Ex Astris strips first featured on ROK Comics are now appearing on Rebellion's iPod and iPhone service Clickwheel.

Ex Astris is a multi-strand CGI-created strip written by John Freeman and drawn by Mike Nicoll. The strip also appears in print in Spaceship Away and featured in Bulletproof Comics #2.

The stories in print are currently set in different time periods to that of the online story.

Clickwheel is a young, UK-based company with big ambitions featuring the online version of 2000AD and Active Images superb Elephantmen comic, written by former Marvel UK editor in chief Richard Starkings (the print edition of Elephantmen #15 is out in specialist stores next week).

All the strips on the service are offered in downlaodable iComics, which can be viewed on iPod and iPhones, and .cbz, adapted zip files whcih can be viewed in a .cbz reader such as Comic Book Lover.

Other strips include Sword of Dracula by Jason Henderson, featuring the art of Greg Scott, William Belk, Terry Palloy and Tony Harris and many others, encompassing a wide range of styles and genres.

• To view Ex Astris on Clickwheel click here: www.clickwheel.net/features/256
• A more traditional newspaper-styled web version features on Bulletproof Comics
• Ex Astris Official web site

Tube Surfing: 12 Novmber 2008

• Over on Bear Alley, Steve Holland reports that Tim Pilcher's Erotic Comics: A Graphic History, Volume 1: From Birth to the 1970s book, published by Ilex in the UK, has been banned by Australian customs from entering the country. Customs have demanded that a special large sticker with an "M" on it must be placed on the cover — indicating that the book is for “Mature Readers” — otherwise the books will be prevented from being sold in Australia. Tim Pilcher said, “I find it ludicrous and risible that the Australian authorities need a big sticker to point out the book is for ‘adults only’. Surely the word ‘Erotic’ in the title gives it away? Perhaps they got confused with the word ‘Comics’ and couldn’t believe that adults read sequential literature!”
• As if you really needed reminding, the Thought Bubble Leeds Comic Festival takes place this weekend. Er, in Leeds... Comica 2008 in London runs from the 14th - 30th November 2008. More details on both the ICA and Paul Gravett's web site.
• Rebellion's digital comics arm Clickwheel has announced that it is publishing the vampires-versus-commandos comic series Sword of Dracula for iPhone. The military horror series, called “creepy cool” by Entertainment Weekly and “the coolest interpretation of Dracula in years” by Cinescape, is available in seven individual chapters or as a collected graphic novel.
Sword of Dracula tells the story of Veronica “Ronnie” Van Helsing, a commando who leads a vast spy organization against Dracula, here seen as a powerful, globe-trotting terrorist who controls blood in order to create weapons and materials.
A followup mini-series, Sword of Dracula: The Dracula War, from publisher Digital Webbing, will be released beginning in December on both the iPhone and retail racks.
Clickwheel is home to hundreds of comics including the UK’s premiere comic publication, 2000AD.

• Meanwhile, new digital comics publisher iVerse Media has announced its first wave of titles are now available in the iTunes App Store. The company has titles from Ardden Entertainment, Antarctic Press, Bluewater Productions, and Image Comics Creators with more books from other publishers on their way. Sign up for our iVerse Updates to keep up with the latest digital comics offerings from the company.
Launch titles include: Proof, ShadowHawk, Flash Gordon, Oz: The Manga, Wrath of the Titans, and Gold Digger: Peebo Tales. For a full list of our titles plus covers and solicitation info take a look at www.iversecomics.com/titles

Elephantmen Joins Clickwheel

ipod comic publisher Clickwheel has announced a new addition to its premium roster with the arrival of top British creator Richard Starkings' Elephantmen.

True to its Sci-Fi themes, Elephantmen and Starkings are eager to help Clickwheel, which is owned by 2000AD publishers Rebellion, push the boundaries of comics as we know them.

Elephantmen are the survivors of genetic engineering experiments and indoctrination by Doctor Kazushi Nikken and MAPPO, a sinister organization which sought to create suprahuman weapons of mass destruction. Following their involvement in the war between Africa and China, Nikken's creations were freed and rehabilitated by the United Nations. These 'Unhumans' now live amongst men. Legitimized by the 'Elephantmen' act, they are nevertheless denied the right to bear arms and survive on their wits alone. (For more information, visit the official web site).

"I've been interested in Clickwheel since Tim Demeter set up the site," says Elephantmen and Hip Flask writer/creator Richard Starkings. "Of all the sites that approached Comicraft with the whole 'iTunes for comics deal', it seemed clear that Clickwheel had the cleanest, best designed user interface, and as 'Purveyors of Unique Design and Fine Lettering' the presentation of a download site is obviously going to be important to us.

"Plus -- Tim didn't even approach me, he got my attention just by doing a good job, what a concept!

"When Tim added 2000AD to Clickwheel I realized that we were more than a perfect match -- I've often said in interviews that Elephantmen is the strip I would have contributed to 2000AD had I ever had the opportunity. 2000AD's founding fathers, John Wagner and Pat Mills were a huge influence on me and we even share cover artist Boo Cook from time to time!"

"Tim and I have been working out the logistics of posting Elephantmen on Clickwheel for the last couple or three months but now the contracts are signed, the ink is dry, the hands have been shaken, the tees crossed and the eyes dotted and... I'm sorry, I'm drifting..."

Elephantmen will be available for download every month on Clickwheel for just $1.99 an issue. Every ad, every letters page, all the back up features and indicias will be included. "Everything except the staples," says Richard, "and Tim tells me he's working on making small pieces of bent rusty metal downloadable even as I speak."

"I lettered my very first comic with Comicraft fonts and it's a true honour to be working with Rich," says Tim Demeter, Clickwheel Editor in Chief. "I'm really excited about this for a lot of reasons, none the least being that Elephantmen is a great book. It's the type of quality we want people to think of when they think of Clickwheel.

I'm also happy to announce that Elephantmen is the first of many, many new comics to come at Clickwheel in the coming weeks."

• Elephantmen is available monthly at www.clickwheel.net. One $1.99 purchase earns three formats: PDF, CBR and iPhone formatting. (Via the Clickwheel iPhone reader, available free on the Apple App Store.) • Download Elephantmen #1 now at www.clickwheel.net/features/254