Elephantmen enjoy some Sleeping Partners

The latest issue of British comic creator Richard Starkings smashing science fiction strip Elephantmen (#46) features art by Bulletproof Coffin artist Shaky Kane in the fourth installment of the 'Sleeping Partners' storyline.

Published by Image Comics. the issue tells the disturbing tale of Harry Hazard -- a man who will quite probably fill you with his disease.

There's a six page story preview on Comic Book Realm

The issue is available from all good comic shops now (Diamond Previews code SEP12 0498)

•  More info on Elephantmen #46 here

Panel Borders continues its look at Elephantmen + The Pod Delusion examines The Dandy cancellation

Panel Borders: Taming the Elephantmen

In a companion podcast to last week's episode, Alex Fitch continues his conversation with writer Richard Starkings and artist Ian Churchill about Elephantmen, a sci-fi anthropomorphic comic about animal / human hybrid soldiers coming to terms with life in the big city after being demobbed.
In a Q and A recorded at the Leeds Thought Bubble festival, Autumn 2011, Alex discusses Elephantmen issue #25 and beyond, including the comic's use of guest artists such as Tim Sale and Marian Churchland and the programme of collecting the title into chunky graphic novels.

(This is the last in the current series of Panel Borders, which will return on September 16th, 2012)

online Sunday 26th August at www.panelborders.wordpress.com / http://podcasts.resonancefm.com


The Pod Delusion episode 150!

The Pod Delusion hits 150 episodes this week and as ever, mixes levity and serious issues in this regular counter-culture and alt-politics podcast. This celebratory episode kicks off with a bit of a grim start as we cover the debate of the definition of rape that the media has been having this week, as well as the continuing predicament of Julian Assange.

Then we get a bit more upbeat as we talk about atheism and religion, and Alex Fitch looks into possible reasons behind the cancellation of The Dandy… plus Salim Fadhley and Matthew De Abaitua discuss the Art of Camping!

http://poddelusion.co.uk/blog/2012/08/24/episode-150-24th-august-2012/

Doctor Who / The Dandy / Elephantmen in discussion on the radio

Squeezing in a trio of radio appearances on 104.4 FM and elsewhere before Resonance FM runs a three week repeat schedule while the studio is refurbished, Alex Fitch is covering a variety of subjects over the weekend...

Clear Spot: Out of the Whoniverse

In an hour long show looking at the further adventures of companions and minor characters in Doctor Who episodes, Alex Fitch talks to a selection of writers, actors and producers about two audio based spin-offs from a couple of 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) adventures in particular: The Minister of Chance which continues the story of a character from Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time,
and Counter Measures which explores further alien and paranormal encounters dealt with by the supporting cast of Remembrance of the Daleks.
Actors interviewed in the show include Paul Darrow (Blake's 7), Pamela Salem (Miss Moneypenny in Never Say Never Again) and Doctor Who audio regular John Banks, plus producers and directors Dan Freeman, David Richardson and Ken Bentley.

8pm, Friday 17th August, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcasts after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

Jon Briggs Breakfast show: Caption and The Dandy

As part of Jon Briggs' Saturday morning breakfast show which runs from 6am - 9am, Alex Fitch and Robin Etherington will be talking about this year's Caption Festival in Oxford and the sad demise of The Dandy comic in its 75th year. Robin wrote the strips Yore and Tag Team Tastic for The Dandy in 2011 and is a regular contributor to The Phoenix comic, which he'll be discussing in person at Caption on Sunday 19th.

7.50am approx., Saturday 18th August, BBC Oxford 95.2 FM (Oxfordshire) /
streamed at www.bbc.co.uk/bbcoxford /
'listen again' after broadcast at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wyw49 (until 24/08/12)

Panel Borders: Unleashing the Elephantmen

In the last of the current broadcast series of Panel Borders, which this month has been looking at anthropomorphic or 'funny animal' comics, Alex Fitch talks to writer, editor and letterer Richard Starkings, and Ian Churchill, one of a rotating team of artists on Elephantmen, an American monthly comic (primarily created by Brits) about retired super-soldiers that are half animal, half human hybrids. Mixing the sci-fi / noir ambience of Blade Runner with the anthropomorphic horrors of The Island of Doctor Moreau, the comic has been serialised since 2003 and in this episode, recorded in front of an audience at last year's Bristol Small Press Expo, Alex talks to Richard and Ian about the origins of the title, Richard's move to America as a creator and Ian's own creator owned title, Marineman, which first appeared as a back-up strip in Elephantmen #25.
(The next podcast episode of Panel Borders will be online 26/08/12 and next broadcast on Resonance on 16/09/12)

8pm, Sunday 19th August, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

Ross, Hitch signing at Forbidden Planet to launch 'Powers'

Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch will be launching their new comic America's Got Powers (published by Image Comics) at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Saturday 14th April from 1 – 2pm.

Welcome to America's Got Powers!It's the biggest TV show on Earth, where the chance to win fame, fortune and get laid are dangled in front of a generation of super-powered teens. All they have to do is Win. Who is the fastest, the strongest or the greatest? Who survives? Young Tommy Watt's dreams of being the greatest hero of them all might just be shattered when the greatest show on the planet begins to reveal it's dark heart.

Needing no introduction, Jonathan Ross is not only a national celebrity but a lifelong comics fan - who made his writing debut with the fantastic Turf! Bryan Hitch, who I've known back since his early days at Marvel UK, should need no intriduction to DTT readers either, but his credits include Ultimates, Fantastic Four, Stormwatch and The Authority. He also worked as a concept artist for the 2005 relaunch of Doctor Who for the BBC.

- Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch Signing: Saturday 14 April 2012 1-2.00pm, London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

 

Warren Ellis film makers plan Image Comics documentary

Publishers Sequart and Respect Films, makers of films about comic creators such as Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis, have launched Kickstarter campaign to help fund their next documentary project charting the history of Image Comics.

Image was originally founded in 1992 by seven artists who left Marvel Comics to create their own company: Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Of those seven founders, only six opted to become full partners: Larsen, Lee, Liefeld, McFarlane, Silvestri, and Valentino. (Today, there are currently five: Robert Kirkman, Larsen, McFarlane, Silvestri and Valentino).

Since its inception, Image has gone on to publish work by several British creators, including Richard Starkings, creator of Elephantmen, as well as publishing a huge number of highly successful titles, including Spawn, Savage Dragon, Witchblade and The Darkness, now in its 100th issue.

Comics in Focus: The Image Revolution will examine one of the most important and daring moves in modern US comic book history as Image continues to influence mainstream comics and culture to this day.

"Image Comics began as more than just a publisher," say Sequart. "It was a response to years of creator mistreatment, and it changed comics forever."

The Image Revolution will tell the amazing story of this from-scratch company, from its founders’ work at Marvel, through Image’s early days, the ups and downs of the 1990s, and the publisher’s new generation of creator-owned properties like The Walking Dead (drawn by Britain's Charlie Adlard).

"We will tell this story through new interviews with the people who made it happen. And what better time than during Image’s 20th anniversary to do it?"

The film will be produced by the same Sequart / Respect team behind the critically-acclaimed documentaries Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods (now available on DVD) and Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts (out on DVD in mid March).

This will be the second (after Comics in Focus: Chris Claremont’s X-Men) in a new series of documentaries offering in-depth looks at significant works and moments that shaped comics history. These documentaries will be released through direct download and online DVD sales.

The producers have have turned to Kickstarter to help fund this project, hoping fans will support discussion about the merits of comics and to help document stories about the people who have had a part in shaping contemporary pop culture.

Rewards include the documentary as a DVD and / or digital download, a “Thanks” and other credits in the film, and digital access to extra interview footage that won’t be included in the film. Rewards also include books and feature-length films from Sequart's catalogue.

Sequart promotes research into comics-related topics, publishing books, producing documentary films, and maintaining online resources that encourage comics scholarship. They also seek to promote comics literacy by promoting the medium and encouraging others to experience the unique artform known as comic books.

- For more information, visit the project’s Kickstarter page or its page on Sequart

 

Rian Hughes brings British science fiction comics to Image

US publisher Image Comics will present Tales from Beyond Science, an outrageously pulpy collection of science fiction short stories in December in one hardcover volume, all drawn by Rian Hughes and written by some of Britain’s finest comic writers, including Mark Millar (Kick Ass and WANTED), Alan McKenzie (The Harrison Ford Story) and John Smith (Devin Waugh), all together in one colorful oversized hardcover, specially designed by Rian.

Rian began his career as a designer working for Smash Hits, i-D magazine and a series of record sleeve design companies. His early comic strip work appeared in the alternative press magazine Escape, and this led to work for Belgian art-house publisher Magic Strip. His first mainstream UK comic work was Dan Dare with Grant Morrison for Fleetway’s short-lived Revolver title, and from there he moved to 2000AD, illustrating such series as 'Really and Truly', again with Morrison, and 'Robo-Hunter' with Peter Hogan.

Dividing his time between illustration and design, he has provided design, custom type and illustration for advertising campaigns, CD and record sleeves, book jackets and graphic novels, and numerous comic book logos for mainstream comic publishers such as DC Comics and Marvel. Recent publications include Cult-ure: Ideas can be Dangerous (Fiell) and Yesterday’s Tomorrows, published by Knockabout in the UK and Image in the US.

Tales from Beyond Science will invite readers to follow Hilary Tremayne on eight surreal journeys into the unknown, where they may discover the truth behind the mysteries of spontaneous human combustion, the Bermuda Triangle, the lost 13th month, and the real reason men have nipples.

"I worked with some great writers on these stories," said Hughes. "And it's nice to be bringing all these tales together in one beautiful volume, with all-new material, via Image."

- Tales from Beyond Science (OCT110500, ISBN: 978-1-60706-471-8), an 88-page full-colour sci-fi mystery and suspense hardcover for $16.99, will be on sale in US stores 21st December and is available for order in the upcoming October issue of Previews.

- For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com

Image publishes US edition of Rian Hughes Yesterday's Tomorrows

Yesterday's Tomorrows, a collection of comics by "luminescent pop culture demon" Rian Hughes spanning over two decades of his career, is being re-published in the US by Image Comics in November.

Previously published by Knockabout Comics in the UK in 2007, the 264-page collection features two infamous and hard-to-find collaborations with Eisner Award winner Grant Morrison: Dan Dare, a post-modern classic that sets the aging and retired iconic British character Dare against a modern British landscape he no longer understands; and Really and Truly, a high-octane psychedelic road-trip torn from the pages of cult comic 2000AD.

Also included is one of Hughes’ first longform comic tales - The Science Service, also the first professional commission written by John Freeman back in the 1980s, created in duotone for Magic Strip; while Hughes explores an evocative noir palette replete with dramatic angular lighting for Raymond Chandler's Goldfish, adapted by It’s Superman author Tom DeHaven; and The Lighted Cities by acclaimed comics creator Chris Reynolds.

Rian is an award-winning graphic designer, illustrator, comic artist, logo designer and typographer. He studied graphic design at the London College of Printing before working for an advertising agency, i-D magazine and a series of record sleeve design companies. In 1994, he founded his own studio, Device, and has since worked with a wide range of international clients in publishing, advertising, music and fashion. He has also worked extensively for the British and American comic book industries, both as artist and designer. 

In addition to sketchbook pages, merchandise and rare strips Yesterday's Tomorrows features an introduction by comics guru Paul Gravett, who published Hughes’ very first strips in his seminal independent comics magazine Escape.

Rian also has a number of books about different aspects of 20th century design scheduled for release from Fiell Publishing Limited, either already published this year or due for publication soon. Out now is Lifestyle Illustration of the 60s (Amazon UK link), a survey of magazine artwork from the Swinging Sixties. Featuring over 1,000 gloriously inventive and stylistically diverse illustrations, it offers a fascinating insight into the extraordinary artistic talents of the illustrators featured, it also reveals the social aspirations of this unprecedented era of political optimism and sexual freedom.

Complementing this release is Lifestyle Illustration of the 50s (Amazon UK link), also due for release in November, an overview of the astonishing artistic skill of the leading lifestyle illustrators of the period, revealing the changing social aspirations of the post-war generation and their growing optimism for the future.

Out in October is Custom Lettering of the 40s and 50s (Amazon UK link) is a celebration of the stunning and stylistically varied headline lettering that predated modern computer type. Each a unique one-off, custom hand-drawn lettering had a stylistic freedom and creative energy unfettered by traditional typographic rules and regulations.

The handbook features over 4,500 examples of custom lettering - from urgent rough block capitals to sophisticated looping copperplate scripts, elegant fashion brush scripts and dynamic illustrative sans serifs, the extraordinary range of graphic styles is as exciting as it is stylistically diverse. It should appeal to typographers, graphic designers and, of course, retro culture fans, lettering aficionados and printed ephemera collectors.

• More information about Image Comics new US edition on the Image Comics web site

• Buy the Knockabout Comics edition from Amazon UK

• Rian Hughes official web site: www.devicefonts.co.uk 

• Fiell Publishing Limited 

Elephantmen: more details on film emerge

Following up on our previous story about Comicraft/Active Images Elephantmen, more details have been released about the planned film of the comic created by top British creator and former Marvel UK Group Editor Richard Starkings.

Comicraft has now officially announced Elephantmen has been by Zucker Productions for major motion picture development and the treatment for the movie is being drafted by Richard Starkings, creator and writer of the book.

"I'm very pleased to be working with producer Janet Zucker and everyone at Zucker Productions, says Richard. "Janet has a wonderful instinct for story and totally understands the more subtle tones of the Elephantmen series."

"Richard has created a world of implausible ideas and impossible characters, a world where transgenic animals and human beings come together in a dark, yet hopeful universe," says Janet Zucker. "Jerry [Zucker, director of Ghost] and I can't wait to bring the stories of Hip, Horn and Sahara to life on screen in a way that will simply take your breath away

Starkings reveals he was approached by a number of companies and directors interested in optioning the project, but until recently he brushed them away, preferring to concentrate on putting out a good book.

"On the road to the creation of Elephantmen, I talked to everyone else in the business and listened to their advice. It's taken a very long time to build the series -- I created these characters 15 years ago -- and I'm very grateful for our loyal readers and the incredible professional support that the book has received." says Starkings. "I didn't set out with a movie in mind, but I am grateful that this opportunity has come along and allows me to continue to write something that is very dear to me."

Elephantmen -- a brilliant commentary on racism, miscegenation, global warming, stem cell research and warfare -- is an Eisner Award winning series first published in 2002 under Starkings' Active Images imprint. In 2006, Image Comics, a leading US comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists, approached Starkings to bring the book under their umbrella.

Featuring art by the likes of Ladrönn, Moritat and Boo Cook, the story of the Elephantmen takes place in Los Angeles in the not too distant future -- in a world where human/animal hybrids were created to fight a war between Africa and China. Scarred by their experiences in war and seeking to somehow find their own humanity, the Elephantmen are now scattered throughout the world amongst the humans they were created to kill.

• Elephantmen #25 (DEC090405), a 32-page full colour comic book for $3.50, will be available in specialist comic stores in the UK from 21st April. Collections of the ongoing series include Elephantmen 01: No Surrender, Elephantmen 02: Wounded Animals and Elephantmen 03: Dangerous Liasons, and others.

• Hip Flask Official web site

• Elephantmen Official Site

• Elephantmen Blog

• Active Images

• Comicraft

• ComicBookFonts.com

Darabont Takes on The Walking Dead?

Writer director Frank Darabont - whose impressive credits include The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile - looks about to take on zombies currently being drawn by British artist Charlie Adlard for a new TV project.

Variety reports cable network AMC is close to finalizing one of the richest development deals ever with Darabont to write and direct a series adaptation of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead.

Published by Image Comics since 2003, The Walking Dead was created by writer Robert Kirkman - also the creator of Invincible and Marvel Comics' Marvel Zombies miniseries - and artist Tony Moore (replaced by Charlie Adlard from #7 onward). First published in black and white, but now coloured by Cliff Rathburn, the series chronicles the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse.

Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming, production and original content, said the project appealed to the cabler because of "the quality of the storytelling" in Kirkman's work. The series will stay faithful to the tone of the original novels.

"This is not about zombies popping out of closets," Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming said. "This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world (in 'Walking Dead') is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way."

• Read the story in full on the Variety web site

• Visit The Walking Dead Official web site

• Visit Robert Kirkman's web site

• Visit Charlie Adlard's Official web site

Johnston's Dead Space

British writer Anthony Johnston's latest project is Dead Space, a new comic book series from Electronic Arts and Image Comics based on the upcoming survival horror video game.

The new six-book series is set in the Dead Space universe is a co-creation with artist Ben Templesmith, and the first issue is on sale 3 March, with a limited edition version of the first issue with exclusive cover art available at the San Francisco comics convention WonderCon this weekend (22 - 23 February). Anthony will be at WonderCon to promote the book.

Anthony is perhaps best known for his work on comics work such as his much-praised book for Oni Press, Wasteland, and work on Greg Rucka's Queen and Country series, as well as Stormbreaker (adapted from the Anthony Horowitz novels). His next project is a manga verson of Wolverine for Marvel.

He's also an accomplished novelist: his debut novel, Frightening Curves, won the 2002 American Independent Publishing Award for Best Horror. His second novel, Stealing Life, was published last year under Rebellions Abadon Books imprint.

The Dead Space game is under development at EA's Redwood Shores, and set to ship from autumn 2008 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the PC. Johnston is coy about the actual game because of a non disclosure agreement but told Comic Book Resources it looks fantastic.

"The demos I've seen are very creepy, and the book itself is a good fit for both Ben and I. "Intelligent horror" is how we've been labeling it from the off, and hopefully we can live up to that."

• Anthony Johnston's Official Blog
• Read the first issue of Wasteland: onipress.com/thebigwet/downloads/freeissue1
• Buy Wasteland Volume 1: Cities in Dust from amazon.co.uk

Strange Embrace #3 Released

Strange Embrace #3 (the third issue in an eight-issue series) by British artist and writer David Hine is now on sale in specialist comic shops.

These days, Hine, who writes a regular column for comics news site Broken Frontier, is perhaps better known for mainstream comics such as X-Men: Civil War, but he was a regular contributor to many titles for Marvel UK in the past.

The comic, a modern gothic psycho-sexual tortured romance and is not for the nervous, has received high praise for many quarters and this digitally remastered edition is coloured by Flanimals co-creator Rob Steen.

• For more about Strange Embrace visit the official web site.