Cooking up a treat: Busiek, Hine, Lloyd and Emerson join Lakes International Comic Art Festival line-up

Kendal's Lakes International Comic Art Festival has revealed more of the writers and artists who will be taking part in the event later this year.

The festival, which will run from 18-20 October 2013 in Kendal in Cumbria, now has a guest list running to more than 50 writers and artists from the United States, Europe, South America and the UK.

The latest guests announced by the festival again show the diversity of the medium including superheroes, comedy, adaptations of historical novels and innovative new story-telling.

American Kurt Busiek has won over two dozen industry awards for his work.  He has had runs on Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman, Conan and others, and has co-created books such as Thunderbolts and Arrowsmith.

He is best known for his work on the multiple-award-winning Astro City and Marvels.  A commercial and critical hit, Marvels tells the story of superheroes like Spider-Man and the X-Men from the point of view of an ordinary man on the street.  Stan Lee described it as 'a giant leap forward, bringing us to a new plateau in the evolution of illustrated literature'.

David Hine is a British writer who has worked with Marvel on comics such as X-Men and Spider-Man, as well as writing Batman comics for DC.  He is currently working with fellow festival guest Doug Braithwaite on Storm Dogs and has also worked on a comic adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel The Man Who Laughs, illustrated by Mark Stafford, which is published this week by SelfMadeHero.

Hunt Emerson has received several comics industry awards and in 2000 was named one of the 75 Masters of European Comics by the CNBDI, the noted French comics Academy.  He has produced witty adaptations of stories such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, as well as two books based on the ideas of Victorian philosopher John Ruskin. His latest book is a riotous take on Dante's Inferno.

David Lloyd, who launched a new digital comic Aces Weekly, last year, is the well-known illustrator and co-creator of V For Vendetta. He has also produced stories for the Hellblazer series, Aliens, Marlowe, War Stories, and the acclaimed crime thriller, Kickback.

Pete Doherty is an artist and colourist who is particularly known for his work on Judge Dredd.  He is currently colouring Jupiter’s Legacy, a new epic tale by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely.

Stephen Collins began cartooning for The Times in 2003, and has since won several awards, including the Jonathan Cape/Observer Graphic Short Story Prize 2010. He contributes regular comics to the Guardian Weekend and Prospect magazine. His first graphic novel The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is published by Jonathan Cape next month.

Warren and Gary Pleece’s Montague Terrace, published by Jonathan Cape last month,  is a series of surreal vignettes based in and around a decrepit London block of flats. The Observer's Rachel Cooke said the Pleece brothers' black and white drawings are 'brisk and economical, they have an energy that pulls you along. Their story gets under your skin.'

Steven Harris is a British cartoonist and writer, based in London. His first graphic novel Eustace was also published by Jonathan Cape last month.

Artist Rob Davis is best known for reinventing Roy of the Rovers and for drawing Judge Dredd. He has recently finished illustrating a second volume of Don Quixote stories, which will be published by SelfMadeHero in May.

Belgian Ivan Petrus is the author of The Nieuport Gathering, a moving historical comic book on World War One, in which a Belgian, French and English soldier meet each other on the front line, starting a friendship that will transcend life and death.

Nicola Streeten is an illustrator and the co-creator of Laydeez do Comics, a graphic novel forum with a focus on the new wave of comic work based on the drama of everyday life.  Her first graphic book, Billy, Me & You, was published by Myriad in October 2011.

Gareth Brookes is known for his unusual approach to materials, using embroidery, textiles, lino-cut print, stenciling and even pressed flowers in his work.  In 2012 he was the winner of the First Graphic Novel Competition. Myriad Editions is due to publish his book The Black Project in September 2013.

The guests who have already been announced include Ed Brubaker, Jose Munoz, Posy Simmonds, Viz creators Simon Thorp and Graham Dury, Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, comics journalist Joe Sacco and Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard. The founder patrons of the festival are Bryan and Mary Talbot, and Sean Phillips.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival aims to make the whole town of Kendal part of the festival, like the popular festivals on the continent in places such as Angouleme.

There will be a wide range of talks, special live drawing events, workshops, films, exhibitions and a kids’ zone.  Some of the events, including the exhibitions and the kids’ zone will also be free.

The festival's Comics Clock Tower will champion breaking talent from all styles and genres.  Many of the big name writers and artists visiting the festival will also be appearing in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend.

Festival Director Julie Tait says: “We want to turn Kendal into a comics town for the festival weekend and we are looking forward to welcoming all the writers and artists who will be coming here from across the UK, the US and Europe.

"Whether you call them comics, graphic novels or sequential art, this is a medium that is growing in popularity, so this new festival couldn’t be starting at a better time.

"We want to give the comic fans the chance to discover something new and encourage others who think comics are just for kids to pick up a graphic novel and find out what they're missing.

"We'll be celebrating people like Kurt Busiek and David Hine who have made their names taking forward the stories of some of our most famous superheroes.  We'll also be exploring the work of the many talented young British graphic novelists who are using comic art to tell a huge range of exciting and innovative stories.”
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More details about the new event are available at www.comicartfestival.com.  It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page. Tickets will go on sale 13 May 2013.

Hunt Emerson, Paul Rainey in latest Self Publisher Magazine

Self Publisher! Magazine #61 might be a US-based digital title but with the huge number of British creators doing their own thing it's no wonder quite a few feature in the free downloadable magazine.

British talents interviewed this issue are Hunt Emerson, Paul Rainey and Tim Perkins, rubbing shoulders with a cover feature on Marvin Wynn's The Edge and an interview with Sneak Peek of Call Me Perilous #1

Regular articles include the Small Press Hall of Fame and more, a "Last Word" from comic creator Jay Savage, all in a full colour, 48-page magazine.

• Grab a copy right now at: http://www.selfpubmag.com/downloads/entry/free-downloads/self-publisher/self-publisher_7.htm

 

It's The Dandy Show! Final print issue to be celebrated at London Mart

With the final print edition of The Dandy comic imminent - a 100-page special that includes a facsimile of the first issue - the London Comic Mart is marking its transition to a digital format on Sunday 2nd December by hosting a special Dandy-themed day to celebrate 75 years of the much loved comic.

Launched on 4th December 1937, The Dandy hits 75 years at the beginning of December – but, sadly, the anniversary will see an end to the print edition. Hopefully, the move to an entirely digital comic will prove a success – DC Thomson have been working on it for months, so fingers crossed!

To celebrate the anniversary and to tie-in with the final print issue of the iconic DC Thomson comic, Showmasters is hosting a special edition of its ABC Show. Held on 2nd December from noon to 4.00pm at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London WC1, the festivities are an addition to the regular London Comic Marts held at the same venue.

In attendance will be such contemporary Dandy artists as Henry Davis, Laura Howell, Gary Northfield, Lew Stringer and others.

Original artwork from The Dandy from the 1930s to the 1960s will be on display, as well as issues of The Dandy from the same period.

Organisers say this is a unique opportunity to meet the people behind The Dandy, hear them talk about their experiences working on the comic and see some of the rarities from the weekly’s history.

In addition, Hunt Emerson - also a Dandy contributor - will be at the event, signing copies of his new book, Dante's Inferno; and author David Ashford will be signing copies of his latest book The Art of Denis McLoughlin, published by exhibitor Book Palace, who will also be showing off the first issue of illustrators , the quarterly publication devoted to the finest European illustration.

Dealers at the event will also be offering comics and memorabilia from across the wide range of British comics in general.

• London Comic Mart, Noon - 4.00pm Sunday 2nd December 2012. For more details visit the Showmasters website here: http://londoncomicmart.co.uk

In Review: Dante's Inferno by Hunt Emerson

Out: Now
Publisher: Knockabout

The Book: Hunt Emerson, the dazzlingly talented cartoonist, tackles the biggest literary name of them all: Dante. Emerson's Inferno delights on many levels: as an ingenious translation of classic verse; an effortlessly readable introduction to a complex poem; a delicious crib for anxious Dante students; and as a warm tribute from the master of one art form to the grand master of another.
It is a wonderful treat for anyone who already loves Dante.

The Review: Hunt Emerson has proven a dab hand at adapting works of great literature into the comics form and his talent for doing is firing on all cylinders with his version of Dante's Inferno.

It's a title, of course, that has seen its fair share of adaptation: Bloomsbury published a sumptuous comics re-telling by Seymour Chwast back in 2010, for example. But Hunt tackles the subject mnatter with such gleeful subversion that you can't help but smile at his re-telling of Dante's tale of the hapless living soul taken on an often macabre but always compelling journey through the seven circles of Hell.

Pulling no punches when it comes to the more horrifying imagery the story conjures - but drawing them in such as way as to make them visions to (largely) smile at rather than grimace – this is an edition providing a lively and readable introduction to the poem for those too busy or too intimidated to tackle it without a guide.

There's also an essay by Kevin Jackson on Dante included in the book, which explains how the comic has been developed from the original, points out some of the more complicated jokes, and invites readers to go back to tackle Dante for themselves.

I particularly enjoyed their reasoning for omitting some of the more distasteful elements of the story. (Dante fans will know exactly which ones cartoonists would do well to avoid).

This is another terrific adaptation of a classic work of literature from Hunt: the art's fantastic, it's clever, it's witty, but at the same time it's a reverent treatment of the poem.

And what's not to like about Margaret Thatcher being used as a model for a feisty gate-guarding demon? Go on, track down a copy...

 

Hunt Emerson invades the iPad as Only He Can

According to comics historian Paul Gravett's 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die Hunt Emerson is "Britain's greatest underground cartoonist". According to the The Comics Journal his mind "works on a level untouched by most humans". According to the French he is, with Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton, one of the legends of underground comics.

According to his mum, he's still a lovely boy.

Now in celebration of over 35 years of cartooning madness, digital publisher Panel Nine has released The Certified Hunt Emerson - a smashing collection of his incredible work (can you tell I'm a fan of his work, yet?). The collection - available now for iPad - features over 200 pages of the finest cartoons and comics from Emerson's warped mind.

The release comes just as Knockabout and Top Shelf release Hunt's adaptation of Dante's Inferno in print, a fabulous new work by Hunt with Kevin Jackson, which is another gem of a title from the man who also created comic strip versions of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Amongst the 27 different strips included in The Certified Hunt Emerson are his collaboration with Alan Moore on Leviticus, his take on Gilbert Shelton's Freak Brothers, the adventures of cats Firkin and Calculus, Puss Puss, Alan the Rabbit and much, much more.

The one thing missing for me is his album cover for Scandal in Bohemia for Jazz Butcher, (the only album I ever bought for the cover first rather than the music but was glad I did) but hey, with digital editions there's always an update!

The comprehensive set of extras includes audio commentaries and introductions to the strips by Hunt, a stunning cover gallery spanning over three decades, a gallery of self-portraits, a special section of astounding illustrations that have rarely or never been seen, and an exclusive interview with the artist for this collection that includes embarrassing photos of Hunt and comics creators such as Bryan Talbot and Robert Crumb.

Priced at only $9.99 / £6.99, the collection is, the publisher believes, a mind-warpingly attractive bargain.

Features:

• Specially-designed Panel Mode where you can double-tap on comics pages to zoom in and swipe from panel to panel

• Audio commentary synchronized with selected pages, recorded by Hunt Emerson exclusively for the app

• Beautiful high-quality digital images, with a specially-designed user interface that gives you fast, smooth swiping from page to page and flawless pixel-per-second movement

• Visual contents and bookmarks that let you view thumbnails of all pages and navigate quickly and easily

• High-resolution JPEGs and PDFs to enable users to zoom in to panels at up to three times the original size without loss of resolution

• Introductory notes to each comic strip written by the artist

• Buy The Certified Hunt Emerson now from iTunes

Notice: Panel Nine sponsors and supports the continued production of downthetubes

Further Notice: Hunt Emerson is quite simply brilliant. We'd have published this anyway!

Caption 2012 - The Countdown Begins...

Limited Edition Caption T-Shirt available now, ordering details below

 This year's Caption small press and comics festival in Oxford is only 17 days away!

Guests include: Hannah Berry, Richy K. Chandler, Jade Sarson, David O’Connell, Al Davison, Hunt Emerson, Patrice Aggs, Robin Etherington, Woodrow Phoenix, Darryl Cunningham and Nicola Streeten.

Saturday 18 August

Doors open 10 a.m. Bar open from 10 for coffee, 12 for drinks.

12:00. PANEL: Good, Clean, Knockabout Fun! Publisher Tony Bennett joins artists Hunt Emerson ('Lady Chatterly's lover'), Krent Able ('Big Book Of Mischief') and Brick ('Depresso') to talk about 32 years of the controversial British comics company.

13:30. WORKSHOP with Al Davison. ‘The Alchemist's Easel: a rough guide to drawing the unconscious’

14:30. PANEL: Shedding Light on the Dark Art of Editing Comics. Woodrow Phoenix ('Nelson'), Corinne Pearlman (Myriad), John Anderson (Soaring Penquin) and Hannah Berry (First Fictions judge) discuss editing and commissioning comics and graphic novels.

16:30. PANEL: Myriad Editions. Myriad commissioning editor Corinne Pearlman discusses the output of the company alongside Woodrow Phoenix ('Rumble Strip'), Darryl Cunningham ('Science Tales'), Nicola Streeten ('Billy, Me & You') and Gareth Brookes ('The Black Project').

21:00. QUIZ by Tony Hitchman, ‘Dangerous when wet!’

Doors close 23:00

Sunday 19 August

Doors open 10 a.m. Bar open from 10 for coffee, 12 for drinks.

11.00. BOOK GROUP: Comic Gosh!p Book Club (escaping from London) discuss Maus (Art Spiegelman) & My Cardboard Life (Philippa Rice). Try to (re)read one or both of these before the informal discussion in the bar, so you can join in!

12:30. PANEL: Playing in Someone Else’s Sandbox. Cartoonists discuss the benefits of working on creator owned vs. pre-existing characters, featuring Richy Chandler ('Wallace & Grommit' in The Sun) , David Baillie (via video! - Russian 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), Charles Cutting ('The Dream Quest of Randolph Carter') and Robin Etherington ('The Phoenix' / 'Transformers').

14.00. PANEL: The Phoenix - A Gallimaufry of Graphical Goodness. Daniel Hartwell (writer, ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Neill Cameron (artist, ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Adam Murphy (‘Corpse Talk’), Robin Etherington (writer, ‘Long Gone Don’), Patrice Aggs ('Blimpville') discuss year two of the popular British kids comic.

15.30. PANEL: America is not the Only Fruit. Manga influenced (and Manga Jiman shortlisted) small press creators Rebecca Burgess, Sarah Burgess, Jade Sarson and Joe Morgan discuss looking outside Anglo-American comics for inspiration with David O'Connell (Tozo, the public servant).

Doors Close 17:00

The website - www.caption.org - includes info on how to order the limited edition T-Shirt designed by Sarah MacIntyre, pictured above, which you can pre-order and pick up at Caption. Also, exclusively available at the event is the Caption 2012 programme featuring a brand new jam comic - 'How I spent my summer holiday' - by Hannah Berry (see above), Richy K. Chandler, Brick and more...

• Caption: 18th / 19th August 2012, East Oxford Community Centre, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1DD (Near to St. Clements 'Oxford Tube' stop)

Beasts take over the Cartoon Museum!

Animals have always inspired cartoon and comic artists, from the British Lion to Bunny Suicides, Korky the Cat to Simon’s Cat. Now, London's Cartoon Museum is to host an exhibition of animal-inspired cartoons.

The Animal Crackers exhibition includes works by creators such as Nick Abadzis, Leo Baxendale, Alfred Bestall,  Simon Bond, Hunt Emerson, Michael ffolkes, Martin Honeysett, Don Lawrence, Royston Roberston (above), Ronald Searle, Ralph Steadman, Bryan Talbot, Norman Thelwell, Dudley D. Watkins and many, many more.

This cartoon bestiary features the iconic American Eagle, the Russian Bear and the financial Fat Cat, as well as favourite characters such as Mickey Mouse, Wallace and Gromit, Flook, Fred Basset, Gnasher, Pip, Squeak and Wilfred and Rupert Bear. Also included are cracking joke cartoons from Punch, Private Eye, The Oldie, The Spectator and many national papers. There is something for everyone with over 140 cartoons, caricatures, comics and graphic novels by over 60 artists.

Throughout history animals have fascinated us. We have hunted, eaten, studied, collected – and drawn them. They inspired our earliest art and our oldest myths. We have given them human attributes: ‘as cunning as a fox’, ‘as wise as an owl’, ‘as brave as a lion’. Selfish pigs and proud peacocks strut their stuff on our gallery walls accompanied by Aesop’s Hare and Tortoise, the Three Bears (minus Goldilocks) and other characters of fur, feather and scale from folk and fairy tales and from literary classics such as the Alice books.

Giants of the natural and unnatural world such as Moby?Dick and the Lambton Worm also feature, as well as beings which only exist in the minds of cartoon and comic artists. Among the ‘marvellous creatures’ are dragons of yore, the Loch Ness monster and a psychedelic horse.

Many of the cartoons suggest how much animals are ‘just like us’. From Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket and King Louie of The Jungle Book to Nick Park’s Gromit, these animals are human in every way that counts. Others, such as Simon’s Cat and Thelwell’s ponies, highlight our pets’ irritating or endearing habits.

Also represented are political animals, both individual and national. When political caricature developed in the eighteenth century it drew on the tradition of heraldic beasts – the English Lion, the Scottish Unicorn and the Habsburg double-headed Eagle. Others such as the Russian Bear and the French Cockerel became established in the nineteenth century.

Certain creatures are purely figments of the cartoonist’s imagination such as David Low’s ‘Coalition Ass’ and ‘TUC Carthorse’. At times animals themselves have taken on a political significance, as in China’s so-called ‘Panda diplomacy’. Politicians can find themselves depicted as King Kong or a chimp, a panda or even a dodo.

The world of animal cartoons is often a surreal place, allowing creatures to stray into the realms of art, business, politics and personal relationships. It reminds us just how much we share with our fellow animals.

• Animal Crackers: A Cartoon and Comic Bestiary; 25th July – 21st October 2012,  Cartoon Museum, 35 Little Russell Street London WC1A 2HH. Tel: 020 7631 0793 Web: www.cartoonmuseum.org

David Lloyd to launch weekly creator-owned digital comic

An all new sequential art magazine will soon be available exclusively through on-line subscription and was devised by David Lloyd, co-creator of V For Vendetta. It will be published as an 18-page weekly and form into seven issue volumes. There will then be a break in publication before the next seven issue volume begins its weekly release.

Contributors lined up for the project so far include David Lloyd, Kyle Baker, John McCrea, Phil Hester, Mark Wheatley, JC Vaughn, Billy Tucci, Bill Sienkiewicz, Steve Bissette, Marc Hempel, Yishan Li, Algesiras, Alain Mauricet, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lew Stringer, David Leach, Phil Elliott, Carl Critchlow, Esteban Hernandez, Rory Walker, Dylan Teague, Dave Hine, Shaky Kane, Colleen Doran, Dan Christensen, Kev Hopgood, Ferg Handley, David Hitchcock, Paul Maybury, Henry Flint, Hunt Emerson, Roger Langridge, Cosmo White, Paul Peart Smith, Mychailo Kazybrid, Ben Dickson and Gavin Mitchell.

All creators keep the copyright on their individual characters, as one would expect from a company set up by a comic creator.

The on-line magazine has been funded by publisher David Lloyd, who has commissioned a web site - the site name as yet unrevealed - from which the weekly publication can be logged onto and read.

The comic allows creators to reap the benefits of the blossoming digital market without giving up their on-going in print work, but still manages to give subscribers a very good deal.

The comic relies on established names to attract comic readers who are aware of the reputation of the creators. This makes the shift to digital less daunting for creators and readers alike.

The weekly publication does not rely on the potentially huge audience beyond the direct sales market to succeed, but is designed to be viable even on a small percentage of the direct sales market. This can be achieved due to the structure of the company which David Lloyd has created, which is specifically designed to make money for the creators.

A seven issue subscription will cost £6.99/$10. More news as we get it!

Bryan Talbot exposes comic legends with 'engorged' book

The Naked Artist, comic creator Bryan Talbot's prose book documenting the outrageous, daft and occasionally educational tales of the comic industry is now available in Kindle, iBook and several other formats including PDF.

If on the night of a comics convention you were to go to the the hotel bar and buy a few drinks for a comic book pro, you'd soon hear stories about his fellow creators - tales of drinking and drugs, of missed deadlines and missing pants, of maniacal editors and crazed fans. These are the urban legends of the comic industry.

Illustrated by Hunt Emerson, acclaimed graphic novelist Bryan Talbot (creator of the award-winning The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, The Tale of One Bad Rat, Alice in Sunderland and Grandville) saves you the cost of gin and tonics by bringing you this collection of the wild and hilarious anecdotes told by - and starring - some of comicdom's leading lights. This expanded edition includes all the stories from the original print edition and more.

"It’s an updated edition with an extra few thousands words’ worth of stories," Bryan tells us. "In fact, I was thinking of calling it The Naked Artist - Engorged!"


• The Naked Artist is available for the ludicrously low price of $2.99 (approx £1.86, or £2.13 for the Kindle edition in the UK). You can read the first 20% of The Naked Artist free here: www.combustoica.com/NakedArtist.php

UK Readers

• Buy The Naked Artist: Comic Book Legends (Kindle edition) from Amazon UK

• Buy The Naked Artist (iBook) from Apple UK

• Other eBook editions - Smashwords


 US Readers

• Buy The Naked Artist: Comic Book Legends (Kindle edition) from Amazon.com


• Buy The Naked Artist (Nook Edition - Barnes & Noble)


• Buy The Naked Artist (iBook) from Apple US

Major comics conference in Manchester in July

Manchester's Metropolitan University will host a conference on graphic novels and comics early next month, featuring American artist Melinda Gebbie, Hunt Emerson, French artist Edmond Baudoin and Professor Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle from the Sorbonne University, Paris.

A conference involving three comics journals, the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Journal of European Comic Art and Studies in Comics speakers come from round the world also include established experts such as Bart Beaty, Martin Barker and Ann Miller.

The main themes of this conference, which the organisers hope will prove a major landmark in the international study of comics, are space and time in comics and audiences and readership. "We also have panels on much else," they told downthetubes, "including comics and gender, architecture and Francophone Africa."

• More information can be found here: www2.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/conferences/graphic-novels-bandes-dessinees-comics

• Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics, 5-8 July 2011 at the Manchester Metropolitan University. If you want to attend or contact the organisers email d.huxleyATmmu.ac.uk, j.ormrodATmmu.ac.uk, m.screechATmmu.ac.uk, jroundATbournemouth.ac.uk, or c.murrayATdundee.ac.uk

Stately Hunt Emerson releases CD

Birmingham-based cartoonist Hunt Emerson is to release a single, Josephine, on May Day 2011.

Released on the new Spritely Records label, Josephine is a song by legendary singer-songwriter John Otway and described by Hunt as "an epic tale of  innocence lost set on a village green during traditional revels."

Dripping with pagan passions, we're told Josephine, performed by Hunt and Stately Homes of England (aka Billy Milk and White Glove), comes in a variety of mixes and several desirable editions including an 8 track CD in beautifully designed Hunt Emerson sleeve (£5); a CD plus 4 signed A3 prints by Hunt Emerson (£20); an 8 track download (£2) or individual tracks (79p); and, for the real Emerson (or Otway) fan, a deluxe edition limited to TEN copies only,  which includes CD, A3 prints, an original drawing by Hunt Emerson, and a top quality Spritely Records apron,
all packaged in a special envelope.

Along with the regular 8 tracks, the Deluxe CD includes two extra mixes, one of which
will be exclusive to each CD. The highly collectable Deluxe edition of Josephine will be priced at £100.

Hunt has a longtime connection with the British music business as well as his amazing cartoons for the likes of Fortean Times, The Beano and other titles. In the past he worked with bands such as The Beat (currently on tour, by the way) and Jazz Butcher (google them if you've never heard of them, their music is great fun).

• Hunt is taking pre-orders for the Deluxe edition now at www.thecrowdscreams.tumblr.com (where you can listen to a short version of the track)

• Hunt Emerson's Official web site: http://largecow.com


• Stately Homes of England: www.statelyhomesofengland.com

Comix Come To Telford: Creators Wanted

Budding young comic artists in Telford have the chance to learn from Marvel/DC/DC Thomson pro’s.

For the first time since it started five years ago, Midlands-based organisation Hi8us, which develops and delivers a range of arts and media projects collaborating with young people, will deliver its internationally successful and innovative Comic Art talent scheme in Telford.

Comix Telford is a talent finding competition for budding young comic artists. The aim is to discover and nurture talented artists and support them to get into the comics industry with the help of world-class comic professionals such as John McCrea (X-Men, Spider-Man, The Hulk) and Hunt Emerson (The Beano, Fortean Times). The scheme is completely free thanks to Telford & Wrekin’s Find Your Talent programme and the only thing applicants need to do to be considered is send in copies of their most recent comic strips and complete a short application form.

From July 2009 to October 2009, 20 finalists will get the opportunity to train with the lead professional comic artists on the scheme John McCrea and Hunt Emerson as well as a wealth of other professional talent including Laura Howell (The Beano, The Guardian), IMAF winner Asia Alfasi and Andi Watson (Geisha, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) amongst others. The invaluable experience of the professionals will be used to support and develop the talents of those on the scheme, giving them all the essential training, tips and tricks relating to the art of comics as well as a route into the industry by providing access to publishers and editors. The scheme will culminate in the trainees having their first comic book published and launched at the British International Comics Show in October.

As we've mentioned in the past, Hi8us Midlands is part of an established charity with an impressive long history of utilising the skills of experts to guide aspiring artists and media producers, with professional results. “We run a range of arts & media projects in a range of communities up and down the country; we come across a great deal of untapped talent and this scheme is just one way of meeting the needs of the gifted individuals we know are out there,” says Kulwant Dhaliwal, Hi8us Midlands Director.

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity,” comments John McCrea. “When I was breaking into the industry I would have loved the chance to be on this project”.

This scheme is fully funded by Telford & Wrekin Council’s Find Your Talent programme. Julie Jones, Creative Arts Manager at Telford & Wrekin Council said “Our aim is to support and nurture talented young people, we know they’re out there!”

• The deadline for postal submissions is Friday 17th July 2009. The deadline for email submissions is Sunday 19th July 2009. If people want to find out more about the scheme they can attend the informal recruitment session taking place at the Telford College of Arts and Technology from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm on Wednesday 8th July. Comix Telford will prioritise 16 to 19 year olds living or studying in Telford.


• Applicants need to submit examples of their best and most recent work. We are looking for good photocopies of 2-4 pages of original continuous comic strip (no posters), preferably without lettering. Submission guidelines can be downloaded from www.hi8us.co.uk. To book a place at the recruitment session and/or get an application pack, contact: Kulwant Dhaliwal on 0121 753 7700 or kulwant@hi8us.co.uk

New Hi8us Comic Scheme Launched

If you’re 16 plus, with a passion for comic art and live in the West Midlands, then Hi8us Midlands’ latest free comic art scheme, called Comix, could be for you. Applications for the competitive scheme, are now being accepted for consideration.

All the lucky winners will get to work with people on similar schemes across Europe and get a supported trip to a comic art festival in Spain and the Birmingham’s International Comics Show.

20 talented individuals will get the opportunity to develop their skills with John McCrea (X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk), Hunt Emerson (The Beano, Fortean Times), Laura Howell (The Beano, The DFC), IMAF winner for Best New Manga Asia Alfasi and Andi Watson (Geisha, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) amongst others.

Comix is a competitive scheme with only 20 places available for anyone 16+ who lives in the West Midlands and welcomes applications from all groups. (Women are particularly encouraged as they're still under-represented in the comics industry). If you're interested in submitting, applicants don't need any previous qualifications -- just passion, talent/potential and commitment to work hard!

To submit for the chance to participate, send Hi8us examples of your best and most recent work. They're looking for good photocopies of two to four pages of pencilled, original continuous comic-strip preferably without lettering (they don’t want pictures of single characters standing around). In other words, they want you to illustrate a comic story without drawing the words or speech bubbles (if you’ve already put text on your artwork they will however accept it). The most improtant thing about your subission is to show how you draw and also how you tell a story in pictures.

• At the latest, submissions must reach Hi8us by 6.00pm on Monday 1st June 2009.

• A full application pack with guidelines is available to download from the Hi8us web site: www.hi8us.co.uk

• An informal recruitment session will take place on Tuesday 26th May, offering an introduction to the scheme and opportunity to meet the lead artists, John McCrea and Hunt Emerson. Hi8us strongly recommend anyone wishing to apply to bring their submission artwork and application form to the recruitment session or, at the very least, examples of work. Contact Hi8us via email (kulwant@hi8us.co.uk) or telephone (0121 753 7700) as soon as possible to book your place at the Recruitment Session.

Tube Surfing: 20 January 2009

• On the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration as 44th president of the United States, surely only a warped mind like The Guardian's Steve Bell could come up with a cartoon like this, published in yesterday's paper. Well, it made me laugh out loud... Art © Steve Bell, More Cartoons by Steve here

• downthetubes' Jeremy Briggs has been doing a little digging into the mysterious trailers for the upcoming activities of London Underground Comics. "I searched on the 176 that LUC are referencing," he informs us. "There's a gallery space called 176 very close to Camden Market, were LUC used to be, which is open at weekends and has a cafe. It looks like the sort of place that would go for a zine fair style event..." Could this be what LUC are planning?

• Beano and Fortean Times cartoonist Hunt Emerson has been in touch to let us know about some updates to his web site (www.largecow.com), including five new Phil Stamp Covers and two new Beano Poems in the Gallery and information about New Products he has for sale including Ancient Mariner Mugs, t-shirts and tea towels and his classic t-shirt design for that great band The Beat. You're invited to take a look!

• The DFC's Faz Choudhury, creator of Dead Pets for the comic (and one of the artists involved in the web comic jam Huzzah along with Paul Harrison-Davies and others), has posted some early samples of the strip on his blog. "Before being given the go ahead to start, I did a sample piece to give a general idea of how the strip might look," he explains. "The characters changed a little from this initial piece, Frazzle the cat, in particular." Dead Pets is also being serialized in The Guardian - read episode two and three.

• (via Warren Ellis): Ben Templesmith is drawing a new Doctor Who strip, scripted by Leah Moore and John Reppion. "It's a one-shot comic from IDW," says Ben, who has posted some sample pages on Flickr. "It would make a cool tv episode if it weren't a comic."

• There's a new podcast interview with 2000AD and DC Comics artist Steve Pugh online via ComicBookPage. "It's the first time I've been interviewed over the phone, and I seem to have developed a charming girlish giggle," he notes on his blog.

• Talking of interviews, Forbidden Planet International has just posted one with Super Sam creator Darryl Cunningham (it's more than a year since FPI posted the very first Super-Sam and John-of-the-Night on the FPI blog), while Adam Cadwell, the main man behind the Manchester Comix Collective, has been interviewed by Bugpowder.

• Time for Werewolves! Part 3 of Frontier is now appearing in issue 33 of The DFC, available by subscription. Just as things were getting weird they now get… scary as werewolves threaten our heroes, Mitch and Daisy in this new strip by Andrew Wildman and Jason Cobley. More info at www.weirdwildwest.com

• And finally... here at downthetubes we were very sad to hear about the death of artist Tony Hart (read obituaries from The Telegraph, Guardian and Indpendent), an artist who inspired thousands down the years to pick up a pen or pencil and start drawing thanks to his appearances on shows such as Vision On and Take Hart. Many comics creators have paid tribute to him over the past few days. "He had a gentleness and kindness that you just don't see any more on TV," noted Jon Haward, while Gary Erskine says "He made drawing and painting and sculpting fun and encouraged a whole generation to explore their potential. Even cutting up paper was a marvel to watch and what he did with simple coloured chalk shapes still surprises and warms me."
"I loved Morph, and the Professor, but for me, it was always about Tony," says Rufus Dayglo. "He truly inspired generations of artists..and I'm certainly one of them."
"Hart managed to get a generation of kids picking up materials and making things, which gets you halfway towards being an artist," commented artist Michael Landy in The Guardian. "Who could replace him? None of the artists I know. Not one of us can draw like he could."
Lew Stringer noting that in addition to his many TV credits Hart was himself a comics artist, drawing strips for TV Comic in the 1950s, including Sooty and Packi the Elephant.

• You can send your own tributes to Tony's family via his official web site

Free Hunt Emerson Comic

Following up the recent downthetubes piece on Hunt Emerson and his work with Phil Stamp Covers, Emerson fans may like to check out the comic that he has produced for the BBC RaW adult literacy campaign.

The 16 page full colour glossy US sized comic is entitled Tips For Storytelling and is written and illustrated by Emerson. The tips for reading stories out loud to children are passed on from one father, Errol, to another, Keith. Errol explains how to involve a young child in the story telling and maintaining their attention. As well as giving tips on reading for adults, the comic effectively provides aspiring humour artists with tips on drawing a wide range of expressions as Errol explains to Keith how funny voices and faces can add to the experience of the story for the child. For that reason alone it is worth looking for a copy.

The BBC RaW Tips For Storytelling comic is available free to UK residents from the BBC RaW website.

Emerson Stamps His Mark

Cartoonist Hunt Enerson has been busy updating hiw website, Largecow.com and has added somne some news about his band The Hound Dogs, and added a new Phil Stamp Gallery featuring his First Day Stamp Covers.

"Phil Stamp Covers are colourful cartoon First Day Covers for [the UK's] Royal Mail postage stamps," he explains. "First Day Covers are printed envelopes that carry the stamp sheets, with special franking by hand stamps, and are produced in limited editions for collectors.

"Phil Stamp Covers have produced covers for a number of years, based on cartoons by J. Edward Oliver (Jack), a great cartoonist who sadly died in 2007. I remember Jack's work in the old music paper Disc; I admired and copied his work when I was a teenager. The Phil Stamp logo on this page is Jack's drawing. So when I was asked by Steve Oliver, Jack's cousin, who runs the business, to be first a guest cartoonist, and then to take over Jack's position as House Cartoonist, I was both delighted and honoured. "

• Colouring on Hunt's work is being done by Steve Oliver. To see the full range of Phil Stamp Covers, including J. Edward Oliver's and those by a wide range of guest cartoonists, visit the Phil Stamp Web Site.

Tube Surfing: 5 September 2008

• There's an excellent interview with David O'Connell, the writer and artist behind science fiction comic Tozo, over at Garen Ewing's website.

David's art is very much in the tradition of ligne claire (clear line) artists such as Belgium's Herge (of Tin Tin fame) and France's Jacque Tardi. In the interview, Garen, himself a talented cartoonist, talks to David about ligne claire, world-building and the Dutch comics scene (David lived in Amsterdam for a while):

"The Dutch domestic comic scene is unsurprisingly small but very healthy," says David in the interview. "They have fun with what they do and are more interested in the 'artform' of comics than in the 'business', or at least, that's my perception.

"I've found that idea very important to hold on to: if you go looking for some kind of material gratification through comics, whether it's in terms of cash or number of blog comments then you'll end up miserable."

Garen Ewing is the man behind the rather fantastic Rainbow Orchid. He's also got a forthcoming strip, Charlie Jefferson and the Tomb of Nazaleod, in new children's comic The DFC. You can see a preview of this strip here. David's Tozo strip can be found here.

(This interview sourced via the brill Forbidden Planet blog)

• Oliver East of Bugpowder makes us aware of the new issue of Colouring Outside the Lines, which features an interview with British indie cartoonist, Lizz Lunney.

According to its myspace site, Colouring Outside the Lines is "...a zine featuring interviews with contemporary female artists; illuminating various corners of current female artistic and creative activity."

Lizz Lunney's minimalist style and occasional anthropomorphic stylings should appeal to fans of cartoonists such as Ralph Kidson and Lewis Trondheim.

Anyway, sounds like a cool zine. Please check it out.

• Speaking of Oliver East, his blog is well worth a read, especially for its stream of consciousness musings on India, the creative process and fellow cartoonist Stuart Kolakovic's superb rugs!

• Richard Bruton draws our attention to cartoonist Hunt Emerson's recently revitalised website, Large Cow.

I'll let Richard do the plug for this one:

"Hunt Emerson's website Large Cow is proving to be a black hole of time stealing delight. I was directed there via Pete to have a look at the Owl & The Pussy Cat three page strip from the Beano and I find myself looking around for the best part of an hour..."

If we're mentioning Richard, we should also give a shout-out to his excellent blog, Fictions, which often contains lots of comics-related goodies, including the Propoganda reviews that are cross-posted at the aforementioned Forbidden Planet blog.

And finally... Peter Murphy has just posted an interview with comics legend Alan Moore over at the Blog of Revelations. It's pretty good stuff, with some classic Moore-isms and interesting anecdotes:

"So I got the second draft of the [film] script [for V for Vendetta] where I think to justify the special effects budget, they decided that having Britain taken over by fascists was just not exciting enough, and they’d used the fact that I mentioned a limited nuclear war to say, ‘Right, there’s mutants everywhere!’ So instead of it being fascist policemen that are patrolling the benighted streets of this enslaved London of the future, it’s half-goat mutant policemen. You’ve got these people that are policemen down to the waist and have goats’ legs. And as I said at the time, if you wanted to do a film about goat policemen, then why the f**k didn’t you just buy the option to Rupert Bear?!!"

Jazz Butcher on emusic

Have you ever bought an album for its cover? When it was released way back in 1984, Hunt Emerson's energetic, enthused art for Jazz Butcher's Scandal in Bohemia was what caught my eye, and persuaded me to hand it over to the staff in the (sadly long gone) Ear Ere Records store in Lancaster and ask for a listen.

I was hooked (the Emerson cover a definite plus). I followed Jazz Butcher via their albums through the 1980s and once caught them live at a gig in London when I was working there (somewhere off Euston Road, I think).

As a review of the band over on music download site emusic recounts, The Jazz Butcher was the vehicle of prolific singer/songwriter Pat Fish, described by them as an archetypal British eccentric whose sharp observational wit and melodic gifts navigated the group through over a decade of constant line-up shifts, stylistic mutations and even a series of name changes which found the band performing variously -- and apparently randomly -- under such titles as The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy and the Jazz Butcher & His Sikkorskis From Hell.

But every time I mentioned Jazz Butcher when the matter of favourite bands came up, it was rare that anyone had heard of them (in fact, I think it was only Nick Jones at Titan Books who ever named one of their albums). Strange, considering they only disbanded in 1995.

Well, that's all going to change, surely, because not only is a lot of the Jazz Butcher's back catalogue now available via emusic, I've just found the band's official web site and JB Pat Fish's MySpace site. So, go check them out. And I still rate Scandal in Bohemia as a fab album!