Image Duplicator exhibition opens this week at Orbital Comics

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein currently has a show on at the Tate Modern. While the public is
intimately familiar with his work, what they may be unaware of is that many of his images were directly “appropriated” from comic artists like Irv Novick, Russ Heath, Jack Kirby, John Romita and Joe Kubert, who received no fee or credit.

Is this an act of brilliant recontexturalisation? The elevation of commercial “low” art to “high” art? Art world snobbery? Artistic licence? Gallery shortsightedness? Cultural annexation? Or something else entirely?

Image Duplicator, a new show at Orbital Comics in London which opens later this week, brings together real comic-book artists and other “commercial artists” – illustrators, designers, cartoonists – to ask these kinds of questions and share their views, via their work.

Each artist was asked to “re-reappropriate” one of the comic images Lichtenstein used: to go back to the source material and twist it into something interesting and original, and in the process to comment on the act of appropriation.

Money raised from selling prints and originals will be donated to the Hero Initiative, which helps down-on-their-luck comic book veterans: www.heroinitiative.org.

Take Back the Art!

“I’ve spoken out in the past about my dislike, on both aesthetic and ethical grounds, of the “appropriation” of comic strip images by 'pop art', says Dave Gibbons. "The feeling amongst the comics community is pretty much unanimous: we feel patronised, and we feel that several of our revered elders have been, frankly, robbed.


“To us, their creativity and skilled labour has been discounted by considering their work as being merely, in the jargon of the art world, “found”, and they have received no credit or recompense for what amounts to celebrated and expensive copies of their creations.


“The current exhibition of such images at the Tate Modern in London has prompted a new
consideration of these matters, and I was invited to speak on a recent TV show about my views.

”However, it was Rian Hughes, another vociferous critic of the art establishment’s attitude who came up with the brilliant idea of our comic community using its own medium to make the point. Under the title Image Duplicator, the response has been very heartening and we are staging an exhibition of several dozen images in the gallery space at Orbital Comics.


“Naturally, I’m very pleased to support this project and have created an image for exhibition and subsequent auction sale.  (Artwork above).

"Entitled “WHAAT?”, it’s framed in diptych format, measuring 41" x 94", and is my very own “re-reappropriation” of an image originally created by Irv Novick.

“Whilst he and nearly all of the artists mistreated in the past are no longer with us to benefit, all profits from the Image Duplicator venture will, appropriately, be donated to the Hero Initiative.

"This is a US-based charity which exists to help living comic artists and their families who find themselves in financial difficulty due to age or ill-health.


“So, not only will IMAGE DUPLICATOR make a cultural statement on behalf of the medium which we love but will also have a positive and practical benefit for those in our community who have given of their creativity for often poor rewards.”


Prints of WHAAT? will be available as a signed and numbered edition up to 16th May. Dave Gibbons will also be signing copies at the IMAGE DUPLICATOR launch night at Orbital Comics. After this date, the print is still available in an unsigned, unnumbered edition, but the numbered and signed version will be no longer available.

All prints will be shipped and dispatched week commencing 20th May. For print sales and enquires, please email blam@print-process.com


• Image Duplicator: 16 to 31 May 2013,  Orbital Comics Gallery, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Opening night: 16 May 7.30 - 9.30pm
Tel: 0207 240 0591
Web: www.orbitalcomics.com
Image: Dave Gibbons after Irv Novick
Curated by Rian Hughes and Jason Atomic

Digital prints kindly provided by Mark Blamire at www.print-process.com

Prints of the images areavailable for purchase: http://tinyurl.com/ckxtjwf

For catalogue enquiries, please email infoATdevicefonts.co.uk

Comica Festival Unveils Dave Gibbons' Giant Print Satirising Roy Lichtenstein

The Comica Festival will unveil Dave Gibbons' giant print satirising Roy Lichtenstein's 'WHAAM!' at Central Saint Martins, King's Cross, London, Saturday 20th April.

'WHAAM!' by Roy Lichtenstein is Pop Art's most famous appropriation of comic book panels. It is currently the toast of London as the star attractions a massive Lichtenstein retrospective at Tate Modern. But what about the unsung, underpaid artist who drew the panel he used?

Dave Gibbons, illustrator and co-creator with Alan Moore of Watchmen, has re-appropriated Roy’s original source for his iconic painting 'WHAAM!' and turned the spotlight back onto the brilliant illustrator, Irv Novick, who produced it in the DC war comic book All-American Men of War.

Gibbons has used Novick’s original composition to make 'WHAAT?', his own version of the panel, by removing none of Novick’s original elements. He has also stayed true to the full original script in both caption and balloon, probably written by editor Robert Kanigher, and to the design and placement of letterer Gaspar Saladino’s lettering and sound effects. Gibbons wittily turns WHAAM!’ into ‘WHAAT?’ and the missing onomatopoeia of the missile firing, ‘WHOOSH!’, into the telling question, ‘WHOOSE?’. And all those red dots are actually dollar signs!

Gibbons explains, “I drew the piece in Adobe Illustrator using vectors, so it can be enlarged to any size and still stay pin-sharp. I intend to do one huge enlarged version. The idea would be to present it in as much the same way as the Lichtenstein version as we could. I will then sell it and donate the profits to the Hero Initiative.”

It’s an appropriate charity, as its proceeds go to help comics professionals who need financial assistance. Gibbons has had this giant print specially made, and will also raise funds by signing a smaller limited edition prints of this image, available shortly.

Meanwhile, his controversial large blow-up of 'WHAAT?' goes on show to the public for the first time on Saturday April 20th as part of Comica Festival, a whole day of exhibits, interviews, live-drawing, competitions and a massive independent comics fair, from 11.00am to 7.00pm in The White Lab, at Central Saint Martins, King's Cross, London, admission free.

• For details please see: www.comicafestival.com and http://paulgravett.com/index.php/articles/article/the_principality_of_lichtenstein

 

Madefire and deviantART To Launch "Motion Books" to Worldwide Audience

Digital comics makers Madefire and the art-focused social network deviantART have announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide unprecedented access through deviantART’s creators and audience to the making and distribution of digital Motion Books ™ published with Madefire’s highly respected publishing platform.

The companies involved say the new partnership formed between deviantART and Madefire, will turbocharge a next generation of dynamic storytelling.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp (who DTT readers will recall as the artist on British comics such as 2000AD, Death's Head II and more) and Eugene Walden, Madefire provides artists and writers a publishing solution for iOS and the web, allowing creators to build their stories in a new format called Motion Books.

Madefire is backed by Toni Schneider, Partner at True Ventures and CEO of Automattic, the makers of the wildy popular blogging platform Wordpress, with angel investors including Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc. The Advisory Board also includes industry leaders Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard, Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time, and Bill Sienkiewicz, widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art.

The alliance between the 5-star App Store-rated sensation Madefire and the massive creative community of deviantART brings together the toolset and delivery system to reach a global audience.

"The walls of the traditional comic book world, limiting artistic access to the tools of production and distribution, have now fallen," claimed a spokesperson.

"Madefire and deviantART have seized the power of the digital space to introduce the next generation's shared cultural mythos with stories and characters that will move across the screen of imagination with incredible sound and fury.

“DeviantART and Madefire will provide the ultimate story engine, by bringing creators and readers together,” said Ben Wolstenholme, co-founder of Madefire. “The Madefire app for iOS has had a storming response, and now we are moving to the web with deviantART and enabling a new generation of storytellers.

The deal consists of a creative partnership where the entire deviantART creator community is given unlimited access to Madefire’s revolutionary, browser-based publishing platform to create and distribute content while individually controlling the price point. Using deviantART’s Premium Content Platform, the content will reach an enormous worldwide audience while taking advantage of the Platform’s built-in payment and royalty systems fuelled by deviantART’s virtual currency. The content will also then be available on mobile through the Madefire App.

“Madefire and deviantART share in the creator-first mission of empowering artists, writers and visionaries to liberate their narratives,” said Angelo Sotira, CEO and Co-Founder of deviantART. “It just looks so fantastic, exploding cells off the ‘page’ with the pop vibrancy that the comics style had always suggested, but never achieved until now.”

As a special introduction, the first flight of Madefire books will be made available on the Web through deviantART for 10 cents a piece - the same price at which the world first thrilled to Batman and Superman in the 1930s. The books will remain free on the Madefire App for iOS devices for a limited time.

As part of the agreement, Madefire will be the very first native motion-book reader on the deviantART platform. Madefire’s previously iOS app-only experience will now be available for web reading through madefire.com and deviantart.com. Top line publishers now will be able to distribute through to deviantART’s huge community with Madefire.

Several Motion Books are now available on your desktop by some of the top creators in the world working with Madefire, like Dave Gibbons, Liam Sharp, Bill Sienkiewicz, and now you can keep an eye out for radical content by some of deviantART’s amazing community of storytellers from every corner of the art world.

DeviantART - the seventh largest social network on the web – was created to entertain, inspire, and empower the artist and art lover in all of us. Founded in August 2000, deviantART is home to over 26 million registered members worldwide and features an extensive platform used to exhibit, promote and discover works and other members within a peer community. As the largest aggregator of creative talent on the Internet fuelled by over 150,000 daily submissions and an audience reaching 76 million monthly unique visitors, deviantART is one of the world’s largest websites enabling participation in the arts at a scale never imagined in the traditional art world.
• The Motion Books are available at http://browse.deviantart.com/motionbooks

• For more information go to madefire.com

Anthology Three to be released at Dundee Comics Expo

An anthology of work from aspiring comic and graphic artists from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) will be launched on Saturday the 30th of March at the Dundee Comics Expo, wrapped in an all-new cover by Dave Gibbons.

Anthology Three will showcase the work from the Comic Art and Graphic Novels module undertaken by Level 3 students at DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee. The 120-page, full colour comic is published by 'UniVerse', an imprint specially created to provide exposure for the students' work.

The cover for Anthology Three is provided by legendary comics artist Dave Gibbons, who is a visiting lecturer on the module.

He was one of a number of leading industry professionals who hosted workshops with the students as part of the module.

Lecturer Phillip Vaughan, who runs the module, has been very impressed with the high standard of the students work. “This time around the module was made available to all Level 3 undergraduate students within DJCAD, and the class was full to capacity…”

"Again the work was completed over a 12-week period, which is a tight turnaround, although I am happy to say that the students were up for the challenge. The results speak for themselves! The work is attracting the attention of major comics creators and publishers, which is great exposure for the students!

“Dundee Comics Expo is a great launch pad for this new book, as we have some top comics creators coming to the event, people such as David Lloyd (V for Vendetta / Aces Weekly) and Bryan and Mary Talbot (Dotter Of Her Father's Eyes / Grandville), who won the Costa Biography Award 2012.”

Dr Chris Murray who runs the MLitt in Comics Studies at the University, and who also teaches on the module, paid tribute to the work contained in Anthology Three, saying, “The comics created on this module were outstanding! The students certainly rose to the challenge and it was wonderful to see this work come together over the course of the module.

"The students also benefitted enormously from masterclasses and workshops by Kate Brown, Cam Kennedy, Colin MacNeil, Ian Kennedy, and Dave Gibbons. We are honoured to have the support of top industry talent in the Comics Studies modules at the University of Dundee.

"We are particularly indebted by Dave Gibbons for the incredible cover art, which makes this issue a little bit extra special!”

The cover price of Anthology 3 is £6.00, and the venture is not for profit, with funds from sales being put directly back into the cost of publishing promotional copies of the next issue. Anthology Three will be launched at Dundee Comics Expo 2013 at the Tower Building, University of Dundee.

• For information, please email: universecomicATgmail.com. To buy online go to (Anthology One & Two Available now – Anthology Three from the 30th March): http://ukondisplay-com.mybigcommerce.com/universe/ 

• Dundee Comics Expo is on Saturday 30th March: http://on.fb.me/14h1Hdq

Dave Gibbons 'Whaat' art challenges Lichtenstein's dubious 'legacy'

'Whaat' by Dave Gibbons, after Irv Norvick

Watchmen artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons was interviewed on a recent BBC TV documentary about the Pop Art painting 'WHAAM!' by Roy Lichtenstein, which is currently on show in a major retrospective at Tate Modern, London.

Gibbons was probably the only dissenting voice in the documentary, critical of Lichtenstein's appropriation of comic art In some of his 1960s work - and has now created a piece of art honouring the original comic panel by American artist Irv Norvick that inspired 'WHAAM'.

Dave hopes the eventual sale of his canvas will raise funds for the Hero Initiative, a US-based charity that dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need.

Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.

While Gibbons refuted accusations that Lichtenstein was a plagiarist - as suggested in an article headline from the period the painting was released, ‘Pop Artists All Copycats’ - he said he would describe him as a "copycat".

"In music for instance, you can’t just whistle somebody else’s tune or perform somebody else’s tune, no matter how badly, without somehow crediting and giving payment to the original artist," Dave argued. "That’s to say, this is ‘WHAAM! by Roy Lichtenstein, after Irv Novick’.”

"From the point of view that I come from, I find there’s something slightly dishonest about it, there’s something that is trying to be ironic that I think doesn’t actually work," Gibbons said later in the interview. "It seems to be doing a disservice to comic art because of that.”

Comics expert and advocate Paul Gravett reports on Dave's interview in a detailed piece on his blog here, which also throws a thought provoking spotlight on how modern artists are still appropriating comic imagery, some to the point of outright plagiarism.

"Another disappointing legacy is the continuing widespread public assumption that Lichtenstein’s paintings still sum up and represent what comics art looks like today," Paul notes, "when the range of media, techniques and approaches is actually more diverse than ever.

"Astonishingly, I heard about someone who owns a print of ‘WHAAM!’ and had absolutely no idea that it came from comic books at all! When they were told, not only were they horrified, but they also treasured the piece less as a result. The stigma of ‘despicable’ comics lingers on."

Gibbons has now responded further by going back to Lichtenstein's original source, a DC war comics panel drawn by Irv Novick, to create a brilliant satirical 're-purposing' of this iconic image, now titled 'WHAAT?'

"I intend to do a huge stretched canvas version," he reveals. "The idea would be to present it in as much the same way as the Lichtenstein version as we could. I would then sell it and donate the profits to the Hero Initiative.”

Meanwhile, Paul wonders if the art world will continue to turn a blind eye to image appropriation. "Perhaps it can, as long as these works sell and nobody makes an issue of it. But is it now time for this practice to stop or at least be debated, for the sake of comics and for the sake of contemporary art? One idea might be to regulate this process, perhaps requiring artists to pay for their samples in the same way that musicians already do."

Designer and comics creator Rian Hughes, who has previously commented on the issue of plagiarism of pop culture imagery, is now responding by co-ordinating an exhibition called Image Duplicator from 16th - 31st May at the Orbital Gallery in London. He's inviting comics artists to follow Dave Gibbons’ lead and consider such questions as: ‘Is this an act of brilliant recontexturalisation? The elevation of commercial “low” art to “high” art? Art world snobbery? Artistic licence? Cultural annexation? Gallery shortsightedness? Or something else?’. And then to share their views by making new works.

“Every interested comic artist should 're-reappropriate' one of the comic images Lichtenstein used, and rework it," Rian proposes, "using some of their ‘commercial art’ drawing skills, to warp and twist it into something interesting and original,
 and in the process to comment on this type of appropriation.

"The important thing to stress is that you’d be going back to the source material and re-reappropriating Coletta, Novick, Kirby et al – not copying Lichtenstein, as we don’t want copyright issues from the Lichtenstein estate. Take Back the Art!"

• You can choose your images here, at this handy “compare and contrast” site: Deconstructing Lichtenstein. Please give credit to the original artist: “Artist Name after Irv Novick”, for example. The new work could be shown next to the original, so viewers could compare and contrast. See this as a celebratory, positive show which aims to get the point across that the original artists deserve credit and respect.

• Read more of Dave Gibbons interview comments and find out about Lichtenstein's sources and legacy, including current fine artists who continue to copy from comics artists such as Brian Bolland, here: http://paulgravett.com/index.php/articles/article/the_principality_of_lichtenstein

 

I Went to Malta and all I got was This Great Comic Convention

Guests are greeted for the Malta Comic Convention. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

Writer, editor and comics event organizer Richmond Clements reports on his visit to Malta as a guest of the island's increasingly popular annual comic convention. British guests this year included Dave Gibbons, Sean Azzopardi, Tim Perkins, Dez Skinn and other creators from around the globe...


I was lucky enough to be a guest at the Malta Comic Con this year.

So, while this is a kind of review/overview of the event, I will freely admit that a lot of what I say may be swayed by my position as a guest.

Sunny Malta! Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

First off: Malta itself. It is gorgeous. A truly stunning place with thousands of years of history oozing out of every corner, and inhabited by some of the most warm and friendly people I have ever encountered. The weather was, for the most part, great. (Well, I thought it was great. The locals seemed to consider temperatures in the mid-teens to be signalling the next Ice-Age, but it was t-shirt and shorts weather for me!)

Inside the Malta Comic Convention at St James Cavalier in Valletta. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

The venue, St James Cavalier in Valletta, is one that any other convention on the planet would struggle to match. Certainly, it’s the only convention that I am aware of that is held in a 700 year old fort! Tables are spread throughout the venue on multiple floors. This did make for an initial bit of confusion when finding your way about, but after a lap or two, things were a lot clearer.

And there were an impressive array of books for sale. They ranged from the usual dealers selling graphic novels and action figures, to some incredible local talents.

The Pilot team. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

One of these books is Pilot. The publishers and creators, all local Maltese folks, had just published the second edition in time from this convention. It is an astounding book, both in the production value and content. It is something all involved should be very proud of. In my opinion, it’s matching in quality anything I have seen for a UK publisher. Seek this book out and order yourself a copy if at all possible.

Tim Perkins delivers a comic art workshop for Maltese schoolchildren. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

Sean Azzopardi sketching at the event. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

Emma Emma Ríos delivers a Guided Tour of her exhibition. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

 Dave Gibbons meets Maltese comic fans. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

As usual, the event was held over the weekend, and even though there were a few last-minute cancellations, most of the guests managed it, and from what I heard, all of them enjoyed themselves.

The venue and general size of the event help lend it a wonderful, friendly atmosphere. The kind of atmosphere that Hi-Ex!, which I co-organize in Inverness has, in fact. There were a lot of families and children there, and all were enjoying themselves.

Richmond Clements with cosplayer and cosmaker Federica di Nardo. Photo courtesy Richmond Clements

It is always pleasing to talk to people who don’t read comics, but thought they’d turn up and have a look, and then they end up buying some stuff. This, to me, is what these events are all about: introducing comics to a new generation and showing them the possibilities and scope of the medium.

The celebratory meal in Valletta, in front of the St John's Co-Cathedral. Photo courtesy Malta Comic Con

So, on our final night in Malta, we had a wonderful meal with all the remaining guests and organisers. I was forced to eat octopus. (Not like in Oldboy, though).

After the meal, there were, of course, a few speeches.

During one of these, organiser Chris Le Galle said that one of their ambitions is to try to create a comic community in Malta.

Well, Chris, from what I seen over the weekend, you can stop trying. You have already done it. There is a vibrant and exciting comics community in Malta, and these guys are to be thanks for it.

What they need now is support to help make it grow. So, buy their comics and visit their convention! And don’t think it’s out of your price range either. It cost me less to go to Malta than to the Bristol Convention, after all...

• For more information about the Malta Comic Con visit www.maltacomic-con.com or find them on Facebook

• The Pilot Comic Anthology Richmond mentions above  is a collection of short comics, each drawn and written by a different artist or author. Every volume of Pilot features a new theme, the first one being Steampunk and the second and latest book being Medieval. The book places a strong emphasis on variation of comic styles and stories that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of audience.
If you're interested in purchasing Pilot, drop an email to  info@maltacomic-con.com 

Photo Review: Dundee Comics Day 2012 - Part 1

The Dundee Comics Day returned to Dundee University's Tower Building for its fifth year as part of the Dundee Literary Festival and this year the normally one day event spread out over the weekend. Friday 26 October saw a screening of the documentary Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods at the Dundee Contemporary Arts cinema which tied in with the main Sunday event, Invisible Symmetries: The Comics Of Grant Morrison.

 

Before the main day on the Sunday, Saturday afternoon brought artist Dave Gibbons to Dundee almost forty years after his first DC Thomson strip, The Wriggling Wrecker, was published. With the Lit Fest's programme having to be published before this event was firmed up, it was described very generically as a 'Comics Workshop'.

 

Anyone expecting to be handed a pencil and a piece of paper as they entered was going to be disappointed however - but not for long. On the day Dave Gibbons stood in front of a busy lecture theatre for over one and a half hours talking about his career, his process for taking a script page through to a final coloured and lettered art page (a shortened version of the lecture he had given at Dundee's Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art and Design the day before), and finally gave a demonstration of the Madefire e-comics app that he is involved with.

 

At ease in front of the audience, and with plenty of anecdotes and humour in his talks, this made for a fascinating and informative event that seemed to go down very well with the audience. When it was announced that there would be the expected signing session afterwards virtually everyone adjourned upstairs to the Baxter Suite (currently the location of the university's Art Of Judge Dredd exhibition).

 

With a queue of people stretching over half way around the suite, Dave started into signing and sometimes sketching in the books presented to him most of which, it has to be said, were various editions of Watchmen. As the good-natured queue slowly worked its way around the room Dave dedicated his signatures and took the time for a quick chat and to shake the hand of each person there.

 

If any criticism could be levelled at the Dundee Comics Days of previous years then it would be the fact that most guests are only allocated 20 minutes to give their talk or presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions from the audience. For guests with decades of experience in British comics, and much to tell, this is simply not long enough. The 1.5 hours of Dave Gibbons' talk showed that this mold can be successfully broken especially with such a interesting, knowledgeable and courteous guest.

You can follow Dave Gibbons on his Twitter Feed.

There are more details of the Madefire App on the Madefire website.

Dave Gibbons guests at Dundee Literary Festival

Another reminder about events in Dundee next weekend, that are part of the Dundee Literary Festival.

On Saturday 27th October Dundee University welcomes special guest Dave Gibbons, one of the most famous comics artists in the world, and best known as the co-creator of Watchmen, the ground-breaking graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Gibbons.

Gibbons will deliver a talk on the theme of Creating Comics, and will discuss his own methods for producing comic art, and in particular, his use of Manga Studio, which he will demonstrate. He will also lead a workshop on this theme, which anyone can participate in, but would be particularly useful for anyone who has ever considered creating a comic.

Dr Chris Murray, lecturer in Comics Studies at the School of Humanities and Director of the Scottish Centre for Comics Studies said “it is a tremendous honour for us to host a workshop with Dave Gibbons. He is a hugely talented and influential figure”. He added, “to have Dave Gibbons and Grant Morrison in Dundee on the same weekend is astounding - we are very proud that comics creators of this calibre are supportive of the Comics Studies courses and events that the University of Dundee is leading”.

Phil Vaughan, lecturer at DJCAD added, “comics students at the Art College and in Humanities will benefit enormously from meeting Dave Gibbons and Grant Morrison, and hearing about their creative processes”.

"It's also good to see such interest from the general public in these events," notes Chris, "as this demonstrates that for many Dundee’s proud history as one of the homes of comics production is still something that has a great deal of resonance”.

The talk and workshop are open to the general public, but are ticketed (£15 full price, £7.50 concession). This ticket also allows access to Dundee Comics Day on Sunday 28th October, which features comics superstar Grant Morrison, along with several of his collaborators, including Frank Quietly, Peter Doherty, Rian Hughes, Frazer Irving and Cameron Stewart. The events will be held in the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre and Baxter Suite, Tower Building, University of Dundee. More information is available here: http://on.fb.me/WgJH1t

To buy tickets, please visit www.literarydundee.co.uk or http://bit.ly/SXEityTickets are also available from Literary Dundee, 6th floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, tel. 01382 384413. Please note, this workshop and talk is part of a wider event called “The Comics of Grant Morrison”, so that should be selected. One ticket allows access to all events on Saturday 27th and 28th October.

 

Grant Morrison headlnes Dundee Comics Day

A reminder that one of the world’s most successful comics writers, Grant Morrison, heads the stellar line-up of top industry talent appearing at this year’s Dundee Comics Day.

The annual event, part of the Dundee Literary Festival, takes place on Sunday, 28th October and this year’s programme, entitled ‘Invisible Symmetries: The Comics of Grant Morrison’, celebrates the work of the Glasgow-born writer.

It will be preceded by two special events in the run-up to Comics Day – a screening of the documentary ‘Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods’ at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Friday 26th, and a two-hour workshop on creating comics using Manga Studio on Saturday 27th. This workshop will be delivered by Dave Gibbons, the co-creator of Watchmen and one of the world’s most respected comics artists.

Grant Morrison began his career at the famous Dundee publishers DC Thomson before going on to work for Marvel and DC Comics and write for many of the world’s best-loved publications, including Superman, Batman and X-Men.

He will be discussing his approach to writing comics, his thoughts about superheroes (as expressed in his recent book Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero), and his experience of working with some of the best comics artists in the world.

Joining him at the event will be several of his collaborators, including Frank Quietly, Peter Doherty, Rian Hughes, Frazer Irving and Cameron Stewart. They will talk about their experience of working with Grant Morrison, as well as discussing their wider careers and future projects.

Dr Chris Murray, event organiser and one of the UK's foremost authorities on the subject, said Grant Morrison’s upcoming appearance was causing a great deal of excitement among comics fans.

“Grant Morrison is, quite simply, a legend in the world of comics,” he said. “Having him come here is a real honour and we are absolutely delighted to be able to pay tribute to a truly great comics writer.

“The fact he is Scottish and began his career with DC Thomson is testament to the great comics tradition here. We have a fantastic line up of other artists and writers and this is an event no true comics fan should miss. We know that people are planning to travel considerable distances for this year’s Dundee Comics Day so I’d advise people to get their tickets fast.”

Dundee is one of the great powerhouses of comics production, not just in the UK, but internationally. The publisher DC Thomson is at the heart of the city, with its long running comics, The Beano and The Dandy, and a host of beloved characters, such as Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan, and the Bash Street Kids.

Building on this local tradition and expertise, the University of Dundee is currently leading the way in this emerging academic field, with modules on comics at undergraduate level and the UK’s first Masters course in Comics Studies.

The Scottish Centre for Comics Studies (SCCS) is based at the University, bringing together researchers, teachers, archivists, artists and writers, industry professionals, and others involved in the promotion of Comics Studies.

Comics Day has been held annually since 2007 and has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, including artists, historians, scholars and writers, in that time. It is designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in comics, and will be accompanied by an exhibition of comic art work. Book signings, talks and the announcement of the Dundee Comics Prize winners will also take place.

The events will be held in the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre and Baxter Suite, Tower Building, University of Dundee. More information about any of the events is available by contacting Dr Murray at c.murrayATdundee.ac.uk.

• To buy tickets, please visit www.literarydundee.co.uk. Tickets are also available from Literary Dundee, 6th floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, tel 01382 384413.

 

Dave Gibbons Comics Workshop In Dundee

The fifth annual Dundee Comics Day will be taking place at the University of Dundee on Sunday 28th October 2012 and, as previous reported, will be dedicated to talks by writer Grant Morrison and his artistic collaborators Cameron Stewart (Batman), Frazer Irving (Batman), Frank Quitely (All Star Superman), Rian Hughes (Dare) and Jill Thompson (The Invisibles).

An added extra to the event is what was initially vaguely described as a two hour comics workshop on the Saturday afternoon. The details of this have now been confirmed and it has turned out to be rather more impressive than originally envisioned.

Saturday 27th October 2012 sees artist and writer Dave Gibbons giving a two hour show and tell about his work plus giving a demo of the Manga Studio artist's tool. This will begin at 2pm on the Saturday and the cost of entrance is included in the ticket for the main Dundee Comics Day, meaning the the £15 ticket covers the holder for entry to both the Dave Gibbons presentation on the Saturday and the full day of Grant Morrison goodness on the Sunday.

• There are more details of the Dave Gibbons event on its Facebook page.

• There are more details of the Dundee Comics Day on its Facebook page and the Dundee Literary Festival website: www.dundee.ac.uk/literarydundee

Tickets for the Dundee Comics Day cost £15 for adults and £7.50 for children and are available via the Dundee Literary Festival website

Madefire extends its digital comics app to iPhone and iPad

Digital comics publishing house Madefire - co-created by British comic creator Liam Sharp - has announced a major update to its revolutionary comics app, bringing it to iPhone and iPod touch for the first time.

The Madefire app, which delivers a fully-immersive, episodic comics reading experience, is now optimized for the four-inch Retina display on iPhone 5 and supports Facebook single sign-on in iOS 6. The app is also available for iPhones 3GS, 4, 4S, and for third and fourth generation iPod touch.

Madefire's distinctive format features episodic, 'short-burst' (10-15 minute) reading, and utilizes sound, music and motion - as well as special effects, like parallax and panorama, to transport readers deep into story worlds.

Madefire says it is also growing its catalogue of free titles and weekly releases of new episodes, giving readers even more opportunities to explore 'short-burst' reading.

We've downloaded a couple of stories here at DownTheTubes and it's looking slicker than earlier versions, although we're still not convinced by the size of lettering on the iPhone screen or some of the storytelling decisions when it comes to presenting speech balloons, for example - but there's no doubting the art is gorgeous and we're intrigued by the upcoming beta testing of its Motion Book Tool, which has apparently been heavily oversubscribed in terms of creator interest.

As part of Madefire's commitment to democratizing digital publishing within the visual storytelling space, the company is making this browser-based Tool -- on which all Madefire titles are built -- available to creators through a phased release.

The app includes a new 'Feed' feature, which gives readers an inside look into Madefire titles and creators, with special features such as 'The Making of' and sneak peeks of upcoming releases.

"We received a tremendous response for Madefire on iPad and wanted to bring this amazing content to millions of iPhone or iPod touch users around the world," said Madefire co-founder Ben Wolstenholme. "Plus, with iPhone 5, users will now be able to experience their favorite episodes and stories on the beautiful, four-inch Retina display."

The Madefire app currently features seven titles:

• "Captain Stone is Missing... " Chapter 1
• "The Engine" Episode 1
• "Houses of the Holy" Episode 1
• "The Irons" Episode 1
• "MONO" Episode 1
• "Treatment: Toko" Episode 1
• "Treatment: Mexico City" Episode 1

"Feedback about Madefire has been extraordinary," said Dave Gibbons, Watchmen co-creator and author of the original Madefire series 'Treatment.' "As a content creator, I am excited to bring my new stories and characters to iPhone and iPod touch users around the world via the Madefire app."

Madefire says it is currently the only publisher offering episodic, digital stories in an immersive Motion Books format. Content creators include world-renowned comic and graphic novel artists, as well as up-and-coming artists.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp and Eugene Walden, Madefire is backed by True Ventures, with angel investors including Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc -- who sits on Madefire's Board of Advisors.

The Board of Advisors also includes industry leaders like: Toni Schneider, CEO of Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com); Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard; Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time; and Bill Sienkiewicz , widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art.

• For more information go to madefire.com, or download the Madefire App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch from www.madefire.com/iOS

Comic Creators voice protest to proposed UK copyright law changes

(Updated 9/7/12 with comments from various creators about the plans)

Comic creators are raising concerns about changes afoot to copyright law in the UK, effectively stripping away long held rights and potentially handing the handling of your copyrighted creations to new 'colllecting agencies'.

The new legislative measures to update the UK's copyright licensing system were announced last week, which the British government claims will "help strengthen the system and boost its contribution to the economy and society."

New clauses primarily drafted to address the problem of 'orphan works' material where the original creator might be unknown, will now be included in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, currently being discussed in Parliament.

The proposals, if approved, would:

• allow the creation of a future ‘orphan works’ scheme to open access to valuable material that currently can’t be licensed or used
• put in place a voluntary regime for extending collective licensing to help reduce complexities in the system
• reserve a power to introduce statutory codes of conduct for collecting societies if they fail to operate to minimum standards.

The proposed changes are complex, but essentially would remove an automatic right to copyright.

This isn't DownTheTubes usual area, but I feel it's an important matter for all British comic creators who might be reading this.

Whatever your view, you should not ignore what is being cooked up by our government.

The actual proposals are outlined here on the Intellectual Property Office web site (PDF): http://www.ipo.gov.uk/response-2011-copyright.pdf

Writing for tech site The Register, Andrew Orlowski argues photographers, illustrators and authors will be amongst those to lose their digital rights under the radical new proposals published by the Government today.

"New legislation is proposed that would effectively introduce a compulsory purchase order, but without compensation, across an unlimited range of creative works, for commercial use," he notes. "Millions of amateurs who today post their images to Flickr and automatically receive the full protection of the law, would also lose, unless they opted-out.

"The changes involve orphan works reform - floated as Clause 43 of the Digital Economy Act in 2010 but killed off by photographers - and an Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) program. The white paper follows intense lobbying by the culture sector and large corporate users of copyright works, such as Google, who wish to lower their costs."

Comic creator Jim Campbell has started a petition protesting at the proposed changes.

"I'm not a lawyer, and I'm certainly not an expert on copyright, so I would urge you to read the government's consultation document and form your own opinion," he says. "The document, in so far as I understand it, raises a number of areas of concern.

"The proposed changes to the law on orphaned works will mean that all works where the copyright holders are unknown or uncontactable will be assumed to be available for commercial exploitation," he argues, "and the rights to do so will be left in the hands of 'collecting societies' who will be able to negotiate licenses to use material without the express permission of the material's creators.

"This represents a fundamental reversal of creators' current rights under copyright law and requires creators to explicitly assert their rights over material or face losing those rights. The government is quick to defend the intellectual property rights of big business and should do no less on behalf of the individuals and smaller creative organisations who contribute so much to the country's economy and character."

Signees so far include Dave Gibbons, John Ridgway and many other key British comic creators.

“I already see far too many instances of creative work being plundered for profit,” notes comic creator Simon Coleby. “This legislation serves only to legitimise that unethical and unfair practice, and is only in the interests of those who wish to unscrupulously benefit from other peoples' creativity.”

"What I create is mine to pass to those I want it to go to, not to have it stolen by suits who are allowed to say they have "searched dilligently but in vain" for the copyright holder,” argues John Ridgway.

“These changes skew things far too much in favour of big corporations who already have the resources and legal muscle to protect their interests," feels Roger Langridge, “effectively allowing them to exploit small companies and individuals with the full protection of the law. It's just wrong.”

“This was something I was very active with when the Orphan Rights Bill was being forced through the US Government a while ago,” says comcic creator and publisher Tim Perkins. “Creative people have rights and this is yet another example of corporate and super-rich greed. Orphaned works can be obtained if the Canadian example is employed. This is just another lazy way for legislation to grab "Real" orphaned works and make it so that larger corporations and publishers can 'Steal' new works as well, knowing most creative people could never sustain any real amount of protection!"

Announcing the changes, Business Minister Norman Lamb said: "It is vital that we make the most of our creative industries, boosting their contribution to the economy while ensuring protection of the rights holders. The copyright licensing system has been behind the times and we need to modernise and make it fit for the 21st century.

"The measures we plan to introduce as soon as possible would make it easier for those seeking access to, and use of, copyrighted works. Freeing up so-called ‘orphan works’ will allow use of works for the first time, making the most of untapped economic and creative potential. Extending licensing arrangements for collective societies, whilst ensuring rights holders are protected, will also help maximise the benefit for the UK’s world-class creative industries."

The draft clauses will be subject to scrutiny as part of the Bill’s progress through Parliament. These measures were developed by Government in response to recommendations from the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property, which was published in August 2011, which is broken down into somethingsome folk may be able to better get their heads around on the blog for Action on Authors' Rights.

• You can read Jim Campbell's thoughts on the proposals here on his blog

• View Jim's petition against the proposals 

• The Government’s policy statement: Consultation on modernising copyright (PDF, 406Kb) is available on the Intellectual Property Office website

CLiNT revamps: more strips, more action!

Hot off the back of his 2012 Kapow convention success, Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar launches a stunning new volume of CLiNT, with a new 100-page Issue 1 featuring four new stories between its covers, coupled to a brand new look, new logo and new attitude!

Every issue from Titan Magazines now features epic news and interview exclusives you won’t read anywhere else – the first issue's including Mark Millar hmself – from set reports, casting announcements and extensive actor grillings to behind-the-scenes commentaries and new art from top comics talent!

On sale now, CLiNT #2.1 showcases a double kidney punch of new Mark Millar strips: Supercrooks with artist Leinil Yu, the story of a group of failed supercriminals who head to Spain for one last heist. The art is great, as you'd expect given Millar's connections, with some great character development from the get go when it comes to the protagonists.

Next up is The Secret Service, Millar’s hotly anticipated collaboration with Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons and Kick-Ass / X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn. (The fast-tracked movie is being plotted by Vaughn at the same time as the comic). I had a very quick chat with Dave at Kapow! as he was rushing from one event to the next, and he told me he was really enjoying drawing a regular title again – and it shows in this opening chapter. which includes a guest appearance by original Star Wars actor Mark Hamil!

The CLiNT reboot also boasts the exclusive, Hollywood-baiting Death Sentence strip – which has built up a wave of well-deserved hype. Creators and critics alike have been lining up to praise the hotly-anticipated sex, STDs and superheroics saga, written by newcomer Montynero and illustrated by Mike Dowling (2000AD, Rex Royd, Torchwood).

I've been lucky enough to see the whole first arc of this story and it's superb - hard-egded, dramatic, thought-provoking and well deserving of the praise it's been getting. Montynero's script is terrific and Dowling really delivers on the art front.

(You can buy the digital edition of Death Sentence issue 01 for 99p from Amazon (kindle) iTunes (ipad) kobo and graphicly (pc) http://graphicly.com/aaaah/death-sentence)

Rounding off the magazine's comics line-up is Rex Royd by Frankie Boyle, which is still the weakest of the strips, the great art let down by a near inpenetrable script. But anthologies always have a mix of strips that might appeal to one audience but not another.

Mark Millar discusses Supercrooks and American Jesus movies in an exclusive Millarworld movie round-up feature.

“Everything that I've done, movie-wise, I've gotten a little more involved.” says Millar. “On Wanted, I was just involved at a tangent, I'd just come in for meetings and watch footage. With Kick-Ass, I was very involved from the beginning, from the two month when the screenplay was being put together, though costume designs and all of that. And from that, to Supercrooks, American Jesus and Kick-Ass 2, which will feel incredibly hands-on."

To hear Supercrooks director Nacho Vigalondo's side of the story, check out our exclusive new interview with him, available only on clintmag.com.

CLiNT also celebrate 20 Years of Lenore, with a special feature exploring creator Roman Dirge’s morbid imagination with a four-page sequence from Lenore #4: Revenge of the Creepig!

• CLiNT #2.1 is available from all good magazine retailers and comic stores from May 23rd.

• Special Subscription Offer! Get 9 issues of CLiNT - saving 20%, plus a FREE signed Dave Gibbons 'The Secret Service' Art Card! Hurry, only 200 signed Dave Gibbons Art Cards available! To subscribe click here

• Mega 48-Page Preview of CLiNT http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=37319

• For more information and to subscribe to CLiNT, visit: http://clintmag.com

• Connect with CLiNT: Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/clintmag Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/CLiNTmag

 

CLiNT set for re-boot in May

CLiNT - the comic magazine published by Mark Millar and Titan Magazines - is about to get a major re-boot.

Re-launching in May with a near all-new line up that includes Mark Millar's Supercrooks (with art by Leinil Yu) and The Secret Service (with Dave Gibbons), the new #1 cover sports a comic cover reflecting the bulk of its impressive 100-page content. On its original launch almost two years ago, the title favoured photographic covers that seemed to target the 'lads mags' market.

Titan is no stranger to re-boots - and it's a marketing tactic employed by several publishers, on both sides of the Atlantic. (Titan's Star Wars Comic, for example, has bee re-branded and re-launched pretty much every time Lucasfilm has tweaked the Star Wars franchise). While CLiNT's UK comic shop sales and US direct sales are strong, the re-boot won't hurt to remind non comic-savvy high street retailers the title is still available, and a logical complement to other comic offerings like 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine.

But it's the content, not the marketing, downthetubes readers are interested in - so what's on offer?

"The idea behind [Supercrooks] is that a bunch of supervillains get together and say, 'You know what, we keep getting beat by the superheroes. We always end up in prison,'" Mark Millar told Comic Book Resources last yerar. "This is terrible no matter what we try to do. Let's go to a country where they don't have any superheroes, and then we can kick ass.' So they leave America and head over to Europe where there are no superheroes, and it's like Ocean's Eleven meets the X-Men where seven supervillains head to Europe to pull the biggest job of their career where there are no supervillains to stop them. So it's a fun heist story."

Sure to get attention from fans is The Secret Service, which is also being published as a six-issue mini series under Marvel Comics' Icon imprint in the US from April. Mark collaborated with writer-artist Dave Gibbons on this, with X-Men: First Class helmer Matthew Vaughn is on board to turn the series into a movie in the future.

Talking about the project in CLiNT recently, Mark explained he had been working on this idea for some years and revealed the story was “Something to do with the government and something to do with the military intelligence wing of the government. It’s not a spy story as such,. That would be way too straight for a couple of guys who made their names in superhero comics… It’s a hero book, and there’s a sidekick and there’s vast headquarters and a secret origin and all the stuff you’d expect to see in a superhero book. But we really, really play around with a lot of conventions here.

“No two scenes seem to be set in the same country and we’re working on a scale unlike something as up-close-and-personal as a crimefigheter with no super-powers," he added. "But I can see the link, because we’re balancing that sense of the real and the outrageous and there’s super-villains and so on. But what’s exciting about it is that it‘s something new.

“The Ultimates was about heroes responding to the new America and the new world after the attacks on September the 11th. The Secret Service is the ramifications of that, as America is struggling on the world stage, funding is being seriously undercut to balance the books and some people are trying their best to take advantage of the fragile global situation.

“The Secret Service started as two different projects," he revealed. "I had an idea that was mainly set in the US and [Matthew Vauughn] had an idea for a similar thing that was mainly set in the UK. I can’t give too much anyway without blowing the story, but we essentially fused both characters together and so the Batman and Robin or whatever you want to call these guys really are a genuine co-creation between me, Dave and Matthew. He had some sequences in mind and I had these crazy plot ideas I’d been mulling over for a year or two and we just hammered it out in the pub, really. It evolved naturally. So I’ve gone off and written the comic and he’ll write the screenplay for the movie, which might feed back into the comic too. l don’t know.

"It’s impossible for one of us to untangle one from the other and now Dave is the third man in this whole creation, bringing in a third dimension to the story. We’re going to see all his drawings and designs and emblems and so on working their way back into the movie too.”

The magazine's line-up also includes the highly-anticipated Death Sentence from Jim Montynero and Mike Dowling, which was trailed last December.

Created by writer Montynero and Mike Dowling (artist on CLiNT’s Rex Royd), Mark Millar feels the story is a perfect fit for the 100-page magazine's brand of big-budget action with a cynical twist.

The story of three Londoners granted superpowers and six months to live by the devastating, sexually-transmitted G-Plus virus, Death Sentence is by turns dramatic, thought-provoking and hilarious; a take-down of modern celebrity culture that also takes a stand against oppressive and invasive government.

With a world exclusive new chapter of Rex Royd – plus the terror of Graveyard of Empires -- the new CLiNT looks set to be a major talking point in the next couple of months and the revamped title is nound to be a major part of the second Kapow convention in May.

Let's hope Mark Millar and Titan's determination to make CLiNT even more of a success pays off - not just in comic shops, but WH Smiths, too.

- CLiNT is published simultaneously in the UK and US. For more information in the title, interviews and previews visit: http://titanmagazines.com/t/clint/

BD & Comics Passion weekend in London in October

(With thanks to Paul Gravett): London's Institut Français in association with Comica Festival will hold the first of its annual BD & Comics Passion weekends in October (7th-9th).

The graphic novel medium has grown over the years to become an increasingly important force in popular culture, dominating the film landscape and coming into its own as an explosive new literary genre. To celebrate this, as well as explore accepted ideas about the genre, the Comica team have invited some of the most celebrated British and French authors to join them in London to discuss their work and share their love of graphic novels.

"Over the course of three days, enthusiasts and beginners alike are invited to participate in this exciting array of events," explains Comica Director Paul Gravett, "with acclaimed authors and artists such as Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), China Miéville (Kraken), Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Bryan Talbot (Grandville), Yves Sente and André Juillard (Blake & Mortimer).

"Plus there's Jean-Claude Mézières (Valérian & Laureline), Benoît Sokal (Canardo), Catel & Bocquet (Kiki de Montparnasse), Bastien Vivès (The Taste of Chlorine), comics guru Paul Gravett (1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die) and more!

"There's something for everyone here," Paul enthuses. "A drawing duel between Jean-Claude Mézières and Dave Gibbons, talks (Bryan Talbot on the tradition of animals in comic books, me on the history of the medium, China Miéville on his love for comics, Audrey Niffenegger on her passion for Aubrey Beardsley); a masterclass by Alan Moore collaborator Oscar Zárate (A Small Killing) on making a four-page comics about London, and a conversation with Yves Sente and André Juillard about the making of the popular series Blake & Mortimer.

"We'll also host a drawing session starring the rising star of French graphic novels, Bastien Vivès, a translation workshop given by the famous translator of Astérix, Anthea Bell, and live drawing events with Sokal and Catel & Bocquet."

Along with this , visitors will also be invited to celebrate their favourite character during the weekend's costume party!

• For the full programme which runs from 7th - 9th October 2011 and booking see http://www.institut-francais.org.uk/programme/bd-comics-passion. The Institut Français is at 17 Queensberry Place, London. Tel: 0207 073 1350). Early reservations recommended. Tickets for each event £8 (Concessions £5)

Cartoon Museum celebrates Doctor Who in comics

London's Cartoon Museum is to host an exhibition of Doctor Who comic art over the summer, celebrating almost 50 years of his adventures in print - and hopes it might solve a long-running mystery about the artists who first drew the strips.

The exhibition includes the work of many artists and spans the Doctor's comic incarnations from TV Comic onwards, including Dave Gibbons, Lee Sullivan, Martin Geraghty, John Ridgway, Gerry Haylock, Ron Turner and many others.

Doctor Who is the world’s longest‐running comic character based on a TV programme. A uniquely British superhero by turns eccentric, wise, often kind, sometimes dangerous, but ultimately mysterious, this exhibition of over 100 works is the first to showcase the Doctor in his many incarnations and shows how the character has evolved in comics over the last 47 years.

The museum hopes that during the exhibition the public will help solve the mystery of who created a number of early comic pages including iconic images of the Daleks and Davros.

The show includes all eleven Doctors – plus his early film incarnation played by Peter Cushing.

Doctor Who in Comics is of course intimately connected to the TV programme, but the comic stories have also taken fans on imaginative and far‐flung adventures which would have been way beyond the budget and special effects capacity of the BBC. The Doctor has been appearing in comics for 47 years and has been drawn by many great comic artists including Frank Bellamy, Martin Geraghty, Dave Gibbons, John Ridgway and Lee Sullivan. Between 1989 and 2005, when the programme was off the air, apart from a one‐off TV film in 1996, the Doctor lived on in comics, the only place where fans could continue to see their hero in new adventures.

The Dalek Omnibus, 1976, artist unknown

Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television on 23 November 1963. The programme rapidly attracted a following – particularly with the appearance of the Daleks in the second story. What is less well known is that on 14 November 1964 the Doctor featured in his own strip in TV Comic and he has continued to appear in comics in every year since.

In 1979, he finally got his own title with the arrival of Doctor Who Weekly and its descendant, Doctor Who Magazine, continues to this day and is the biggest selling SF magazine in the UK (if not the world).

In his comic life, the Doctor was sometimes ahead of his time. In 1980 he was accompanied by his first black companion, Sharon – 25 years before Mickey or Martha Jones appeared on screen. Favourite villains such as the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master have made many  and many important characters such as Sarah Jane Smith, K‐9, Brigadier Lethbridge‐Stewart, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Martha Jones and Amy Pond have all featured.

The exhibition, drawn in part from private collections of Doctor Who art, includes the original illustrations from the 2006 story which went on to inspire the famous TV episode ‘Blink’, and artwork from the only story to be written by a ‘Doctor’ – The Age of Chaos by the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker.

The Usual Suspects Revisited by Lee Sullivan

The exhibition includes stories from TV Comic, 'The Daleks' from TV Century 21, Doctor Who Weekly, Doctor Who Monthly, Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Adventures. The organisers say it has something for fans of Doctor Who of all ages, showing how a story evolves from script to finished page.

The museum is also running special Doctor Who-themed workshops for kids over the summer.

• Artists in the exhibition: Frank Bellamy, Doug Braithwaite, Mark Buckingham, Mike Collins, John Canning, Paul Crompton, Vincent Danks, Al Davison, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon, Martin Geraghty, Paul Grist, Gerry Haylock, Walt Howarth, Dicky Howett, Richard Jennings, Daryl Joyce, Roger Langridge, Dave Lloyd, Paul Neary, John Ridgway, John Ross, Andrew Skilliter, Ben Templesmith, Ron Turner, Barrie Mitchell, Adrian Salmon, Lee Sullivan and Andy Walker.

• The Cartoon Museum is open Tues – Sat, 10.30 – 17.30; Sun, 12‐17.30. Admission £5.50, £4, £3. Free to under‐18s. Find it at: 35 Little Russell Street London WC1A 2HH Tel: 020 7631 0793. E-mail: info@cartoonmuseum.org Web: www.cartoonmuseum.org

All Doctor Who material is © BBCTV © Doctor Who Magazine/Panini UK