There’s no escape: The Prisoner is returning to comics

Not for the first time, the short-lived, highly regarded 1960s TV series The Prisoner is being adapted for comics. Titan Comics has announced they are to publish all-new comic books written by Peter Milligan, drawn by Colin Lorimer,  to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of classic cult phenomenon, in partnership with ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

The Prisoner to first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 29 September 1967 – and in 1968 in the United States - and despite running for just 17 episodes, was has become a cult classic with global audiences, thanks to its surreal mix of spy fiction with sci-fi, allegory and psychological drama elements.

The series starred actor and, later, director Patrick MacGoohan (Danger Man, Columbo, Escape from Alcatraz) as Number 6 – the fiery British former secret agent who is abducted and held prisoner in a shadowy coastal village, where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job.

The TV show has captured imaginations ever since, spawning a following still pondering the show’s twists and turns to this day.

The Prisoner inspired Jack Kirby to fashion a homage in Marvel’s Fantastic Four #84-8 1969, involving Doctor Doom's kingdom of Latveria.

(There have been plenty of homages to the show in comics and other popular media since, too).

Kirby was clearly enamoured of the show and it’s perhaps no surprise he was chosen to provide art and story for a comic version of The Prisoner in 1976. But not before writer Steve Englehart had taken a crack at the concept.

“Marv Wolfman, as Marvel's Editor-in-Chief, wanted to adapt the classic TV show, but after securing the rights, his duties didn't leave him enough time, so he handed it off to me,” Steve Engelhart recalls of the project’s origins.

Steve Engelhart, Steve Leialoha and letterer Tom Orzechowski recreated the splash page of Engelhart's comics take on The Prisoner for a convention program

“I plotted an adaptation of the first episode, and Gil Kane handled the art (with Joe Staton providing his layouts). I was all ready to script - but by then, Marv had resigned, a new E-I-C had taken over, and Marvel was in turmoil. I ended up leaving, and was told I would not be allowed to script my Prisoner. I told them I darn well would, and they told me I'd have to turn in the script the next morning!”

He delivered a script on time - but it was still shelved.

Kirby’s planned series never went into production either, the hugely influential comics creator instead tackling 2001: A Space Odyssey. Most pages of the first issue, based on the show’s opening episode Arrival, were drawn. You can read It on line over at Forces of Geek and there’s a great article by Charles Hatfield about the history of the project, first published in Jack Kirby Collector #11, first published in 1996, over at TwoMorrows.com.

A four-part The Prisoner sequel, Shattered Visage, by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith, was published by DC Comics in 1988-89, which attempted to answer some of the show’s many questions - but fans didn’t like the revisionist approach to the source material.

There’s been more favourable fan reception to EVERYMAN: A Celebration of Patrick McGoohan & The Prisoner, British comic creator Brian Gorman’s new graphic novel, launched, appropriately enough, at this year’s Portmeiricon, the annual Prisoner event hosted by Six Of One.

Titan Comics new comic will be written by Peter Milligan (The Mummy, Dan Dare, Hellblazer) with art by Colin Lorimer (The X-Files, Hellraiser, Harvest - and will launch next year.

“For a story where all is ambiguous, it’s hardly surprising that everyone takes from The Prisoner something different,” says Peter. “Like most people I had my own theories, my own twisted notions – mostly Kafkaesque and existential - of what was really going on in those mock Italianate dwellings.

“Personally the stranger and more baffling it was the better it suited me, so what an honour it is now, thanks to Titan Comics, to be writing Number 6’s successor into that enigmatic and beguiling world.

“And how cool it is to imagine that while I’m writing this new iteration of the Prisoner, I am at least for a while... number one.”

• Titan’s The Prisoner hits stores in 2018, and will be available to pre-order from an upcoming edition of Diamond PREVIEWS. Register your interest with your local comics retailer now

• The Prisoner - Shattered Visage and other The Prisoner books are available on amazon.co.uk

• Buy The Prisoner TV series from amazon.co.uk

• The Unmutual - The Prisoner news site

TRIPWIRE kicks off its 21st birthday celebrations

May is a busy month for the British independent media magazine TRIPWIRE. Despite not hitting the kickstarter target for TRIPWIRE 21, its planned 21st anniversary special, publisher and editor-in-chief Joel Meadows tells us he's putting the book out anyway.

The kickstarter crowdfunding campaign achieved over 70 per cent of its hoped for backing but did not make target, which is clearly disappointing for Joel – but he remains upbeat.

“It was always going to be a gamble and the fact is that we have distribution in place which means that we are able to fund the book in a more traditional fashion anyway,” says Joel.

Along with the book launch, London's top bookshop Foyles will be hosting a double celebration of TRIPWIRE’s birthday. Kicking off on 16th May in its prestigious Charing Cross Road gallery in the world-famous bookshop is an exhibition showcasing a selection of photographs, images and covers from TRIPWIRE over the years.

“It will give visitors the opportunity to see these images up close and at a much larger size than they’ve ever seen them before," Joel enthuses. "It will feature photos of Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Michael Moorcock and classic covers by the likes of Frank Quitely and our iconic Fury cover by Jeff Carlisle."

Also on 16th May at Foyles, in the evening, is the TRIPWIRE 21 event. Meadows will be joined by legendary SF and fantasy author Michael Moorcock, Mike Carey (Felix Castor, The Unwritten), Roger Langridge (Muppets, Snarked!), Peter Milligan (Hellblazer) and Christopher Fowler (Bryant & May, Roofworld) to talk about 21 years of TRIPWIRE and 21 years of comics.

There will also be copies of the limited edition TRIPWIRE 21 hardcover and the paperback to buy at the event.

“We are very excited that we have managed to gather such an impressive line-up of guests to help us celebrate TRIPWIRE’s birthday and the fact that it’s at such a prestigious place like Foyles makes it even more of an occasion,” Meadows admits.

• TRIPWIRE 21 will be offered in June’s edition of the Previews catalogue for Diamond US. It will be available to buy, retailing at £14.99 UK and $24.99 US in paperback and £29.99 UK for the limited hardcover from 9th May 2013. It will be distributed to the UK booktrade through Turnaround, to the US direct market through Diamond Comic Distributors and to the US booktrade through SCB Distributors. 

• TRIPWIRE Web: www.tripwire-magazine.com


• Foyles Event Details: 

Exhibition: www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=1920 
Launch Event: www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=1893

Brits invade BackIssue magazine

The April 2013 editin of TwoMorrow Publishing's BACK ISSUE (#63) watches the USA’s and UK’s comics worlds cross over in our “British Invasion” issue.

Featuring a history of Marvel UK by Rob Kirby, the Beatles in comics, DC’s British talent pool of the 1980s, V for Vendetta, Excalibur, Marshal Law, Doctor Who and a “Pro2Pro” interview with Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy, it showcases the talents of many great talents. These nclude Brian Bolland, Alan Davis, Dave Gibbons, David Lloyd, Alan Moore, Dez Skinn and others.

With loads of art originally produced for the UK market the issue comes with a Mighty Marvel in London cover by Ron Wilson and Dave Hunt, showcasing art from Marvel UK’s rare 1970s “Quadra-Poster” as a deluxe 25-inch long fold-out triptych cover.

Rob Kiby's feature is part of a book about Marvel UK he's been compiling for some two decades now. "I'm thrilled to have been given an opportunity to share a tiny portion of my work with a larger audience for the first time,'" he says. "They've done an outstanding job on the feature, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing all the other British-related goodies they've come up with."

• There's more info here on the TwoMorrows website. Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: DEC121348

 

Radio show on 25 years of Hellblazer featuring Delano, Diggle, Lloyd and Milligan

Panel Borders - 25 years of John Constantine: Hellblazer

Panel Borders returns after the Christmas break for a new series in an earlier slot on Sunday evenings. Starting a series of shows about the 25th anniversary of the occult detective John Constantine's first appearance in his own solo comic book, Alex Fitch talks to writers Jamie Delano, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan, and artist David Lloyd, about creating issues of Hellblazer from its first issue to the present day. 

Jamie and David discuss the early days of the comic, launched as a spin off from Alan Moore's acclaimed run on Swamp Thing while Andy and Peter talk about bringing the character into the 21st Century.

(Recorded in front of a live audience at SCI-FI-LONDON, Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, April 2011)

6pm, Sunday 13th January 2013, repeated at 4.30pm, Tuesday 15th January, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

Multiverse muses on DC makeover, Com.X and Valiant reboot

The latest issue of British comic news magazine Multiverse is on sale now in all good UK comic shops - and back issues are now also available digitally from graphic.ly.

Edited by Mike Conroy, Issue 4 sports a DC Comics revamp-inspired cover, as, inside, Scott Snyder, Paul Levitz, Jimmy Palmiotti and Peter Milligan are among the writers offering their thoughts on the nuDCU.

Levitz also joins Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil and others to discuss comics then and now and their work on the DC Retroactive titles.

The issue also includes exclusive interviews with Valiant chief executive officer Jason Kothari, who talks about the plans to relaunch the 1990s powerhouse; the new Ghost Rider creative team of Rob Williams and artist Matthew Clark discuss their incarnation of Marvel's Spirit of Vengeance; and com.X's Bluespear co-writers Andi Ewington and Eddie Deighton and artist Cosmo White offer an insight into their spin-off from last year's Forty-Five while writers Brian Michael Bendis, Nick Spencer and Jonathan Hickman provide an insight into Marvel's reboot of its Ultimate Comics line.

• Priced at £2.50, Multivese is on sale in British comic shops and from the official Multiverse web site: www.multiverse-magazine.com

• Back issues of Multiverse are now available as digital editions from graphic.ly via http://graphicly.com/hell-freezes-over/multiverse 

Hellblazing! 25 Years of John Constantine

Hellblazer writer Jamie Delano will be making a rare public appearance in the UK this weekend at in London.

For those who don't already know, John Constantine: Hellblazer, published by DC Comics, centres on a magus who investigates occult crimes, hauntings and disasters. Originally a secondary character introduced during Alan Moore's revolutionary Swamp Thing run, Delano was the title's original writer, chosen by Alan to continue John's adventures, and established the character in his own right, fleshing out what had been, in Moore's hands, a more shadowy, wisecracking sort of figure.

It was also Delano who set the character firmly in London, Moore (and, later, Rick Veitch) preferring to present him travelling virtually anywhere at will. Delano's Constantine is very much flesh and blood, never using magic when a con will do, frequently drunk, down and out, and haunted by his accidental condemning of a little girl named Astra to hell.

Joining Jamie on stage are artist David Lloyd, who contributed to the comic and illustrated the Constantine graphic novel, The Horrorist; and two of the most recent contributors, Andy Diggle and Peter Milligan.

"As far as I know this is Jamie Delano's first appearance at a British comics festival in many years," says event organiser Alex Fitch, "and apart from a last minute addition to the Kapow! line-up, the first that Peter Milligan has done in a long time also. No-one else has put both of them and David Lloyd and Andy Diggle on the same panel."

The discussion will be followed by a screening of the film adaptation of the comic, Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves.

The event is just part of Comics@Sci-Fi London, curated by Alex Fitch from Panel Borders, the UK’s only radio show about comics, celebrating British comic creators from the last 30 years in The Blue Room at BFI Southbank, which includes appearances by creators such as Lee O'Connor, Ian Edginton, Al Davison, Tom Humberstone and many more.


• 25 Years of John Contstantine is at 5.00pm on Saturday 23rd April at the BFI. Full event details here and tickets on sale here:

BFI Comics@SciFi London Weekend:
• Day One details: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/programme/event/comics-sci-fi-london-day-one
• Day Two details: www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/programme/event/comics-sci-fi-london-day-two

• Jamie Delano's official web site: www.jamiedelano.co.uk

Multiverse springs back onto the shelves

The second 52-page issue of comics news and features magazine Multiverse is now at the printer with copies due to go on sale at the end of the month in all UK comic shops.

Alongside the £2.50/$3.99 title’s regular news and reviews sections and Frame to Frame, publisher Mike Conroy tells us Multiverse #2 also includes exclusive interviews with Garth Ennis, Frank Quitely, David Lapham, Mark Waid and the new Silver Surfer creative team of Greg Pak and Stephen Segovia. Also, newcomer Ross Mackintosh talks about his new com.X graphic novel, Seeds, while Dave West discusses the new Accent Press title Fall of the Wolfmen and the burgeoning British small press scene.

Multiverse #3 is scheduled to hit shops on 21st April.

Among exclusives lined up for the issue are Missy Suicide and artist David Hahn talking Suicide Girls; Peter Milligan, Tomm Coker and editor Sebastian Girner discussing Marvel’s latest Wolverine saga, 5 Ronin; writer Chris Roberson discusses Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse and Elric: The Balance Lost; and Christopher Monfette reveals all about resurrecting Clive Barker’s Hellraiser.

• Latest information at: facebook.com/pages/multiverse

Milligan signs For EA Comics Army of Two

Electronic Arts Inc. has that it has signed a deal with IDW Publishing to expand two of its intellectual properties, Army of Two and Dragon Age, into comics under a new EA Comics imprint with IDW beginning in January - and one will be written by top British creator Peter Milligan.

EA and IDW will launch monthly, ongoing series for both Army of Two and Dragon Age, both in print and as digital versions released for iPhone and iPod Touch and other emerging digital platforms.

Written by veteran comic book writer Peter Milligan (whose credits include 2000AD, X-Men, Batman and Hellblazer), Army of Two is being published as a comic starting in January 2010.

Rising star Chester Ocampo is the cover artist while the interior artist/penciler, Dexter Soy, is described as a ‘hot newcomer’ on the comic scene. Soy’s work suggests influences from well-known comic artists such as Whilce Portacio and Leinil Francis Yu.

The first story arc, “Across the Border,” follows ex-Army Rangers Salem and Rios as they form their own Private Military Corporation: Trans World Operations. The story of the comic follow the events of the first Army of Two game but takes place before the deadly invasion of Shanghai by The 40th Day initiative in the videogame sequel. In the comic, Salem and Rios get more than they bargained for as they are unexpectedly caught in a brewing war between the Mexican Army, drug cartels, and The Maras – one of the most powerful street gangs in Mexico.

Inspired by the highly-anticipated BioWare RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age comic book series will be written by award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer Orson Scott Card (creator of Ender’s Game and the Seventh Son saga). The cover artist is the critically acclaimed Humberto Ramos. Story details and the interior artist are expected to be announced shortly.

“We’ve seen an increasing number of video game tie-ins with comics over the last few years, explained said Mike Quigley, Group Vice President, Global Marketing, EA Games Label, no doubt referring to titles such as Gears of War, drawn by another top British talent, Liam Sharp. "This marks another step in our strategy for extending EA’s wholly-owned game properties to new media.

It's exhilarating to be working with the comic book creators directly,”

Under terms of the agreement, EA will fund and manage the creative aspect of the comic book series, while IDW will be responsible for printing and distribution. IDW is the leader in digital comic book distribution and the nation’s third largest comic book publisher overall.

“This is a great opportunity for IDW to work with a worldwide leader in video games,” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer for IDW. “We look forward to bringing a tremendous amount of great content into the comics market.”

• To sign up for the EA Comics mailing list, register at: www.eacomics.com. The site will feature complete information on all the EA comic book series, as well as unique “behind the scenes” content, news, blogs and artwork, plus weekly content updates to keep audiences apprised of the latest developments on current and upcoming projects.

Shades of Milligan

(with thanks to Reuben Willmott): Yesterday, we gave passing mention to Peter Milligan's new project for DC Comics' Vertigo crime line, The Bronx Kill, working with James Romberger.

Coincidentally, Milligan, whose past work includes 2000AD's Bad Company and Shade: The Changing Man and is currently wirting Hellblazer for Vertigo, has just been interviewed on Standard Attrition, the group blog for Vertigo creators.

There, he enthuses about his other new Vertogo title, Greek Street -- a creator-owned title which Vertigo has been developing for six-to-eight months with Milligan and David Felice, which Milligan describes as an "edgy, violent, very sexy re-imagining of some of the classic tales of ancient Greek drama seen through the prism of a tough modern-day London."

Featured here is a promotional image for the book which Felice drew for the New York Comic Con but was not used during the Vertigo panel where the series was announced.

Milligan also talks his approach to writing comics in the short interview and, in passing, about the controversy caused by his Marvel project, Xstatix, remarikng "...I was disappointed with the people higher in the food chain when the uproar about the Princess Diana story broke, and we had to f*** around with it. I thought, you Americans had a revolution so you didn’t have to worry about what our insane and largely inbred bunch of Royals thought..."

• Read the interview by G. Willow Wilson
• The first issue of Vertigo's Greek Street will be oversized and cost just one dollar. Davide Gianfelice (please note, this blog is in Italian and features adult images), whose credits include Northlanders, will draw the series. "It's fantastic art," Milligan said during a panel at the New York Comic Con

Tube Surfing: 12 February 2009

• Former Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton, now an ardent campaigner for internet rights and longtime blogger has a new short collection of his favorite pieces from his books and blog called Sunken Treasures, including a production diary from his 2008 role in Criminal Minds. We mention it here -- quite apart from the fact that it's sure to be an enjoyable read -- because the cover design is by 2000AD creative D’Israeli. Two editions are avalable: a US Edition and a World Edition both from lulu.com.

• Talking of D'Israeli, the consummate colourist holds his hand up to past mistakes in an honest post on his blog, revealing where his career as a 2000AD colourist jumped the shark. "One of the drawbacks of being a commercial artist is that your mistakes are as public as your triumphs," he notes, on discovering that this month's Judge Dredd: The Megazine is accompanied by a reprint volume of Pussyfoot Five. Read the tale here

• The latest issue of The DFC contains FRONTIER Part Six: 'The Greedy Ground' with art by Andrew Wildman, script by Jason Cobley. Weird goings on down in the mines as Mitch meets the eveil Mr Winchester and Daisy meets the amazing 'Mother'. Who is 'Mother'? Well you will just have to get hold of your copy.

• More news from Jim Boswell: he's drawing a football strip for KiCK! magazine, which is aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. "It's been a lot of work, but surprisingly fun, too," he says. "The editor has been fantastic, sending through a tonne of good ref photos and links to youtube clips of the actual match I've been drawing. These have been invaluable, as they're very keen to get the players' likenesses spot-on."

• In the run up to Christmas, author Iain Rankin was doing the rounds plugging his new book, Doors Open. During the interviews he always mentioned his John Constantine graphic novel featuring the Hellblazer anti hero published by Vertigo, even saying he had finished it. Well, it seems something has changed because when Vertigo's line of crime-driven comics and graphic novels was discussed at last week's New York Comic Con, Constantine did not feature in the Rankin-penned Dark Entries, illustrated by Werther Dell’Edera. Comic Book Resources reports that Rankin, a longtime comics fan, did initially pitch a Hellblazer story, according to the line's editor, Will Dennis, it was more a detective story that fitted well into their ideas for the crime line that centres on a private detective hired as a mole on a reality TV show called Haunted Mansion. Something of a locked room mystery, things outside the producers’ control start to affect the contestants. Dennis said that the book has supernatural elements and though it’s not a Hellblazer story, Constantine fans should enjoy it.

• Former 2000AD creator Peter Milligan, currently writer of Hellblazer and Greek Street, is also involved in the Vertigo crme line, working with James Romberger on a book called The Bronx Kill.

• Sean Azzopardi has just published an interview with critically acclaimed artist Oli Smith, the London based self publisher whose work include titles such as Hazy Thursday, Summer Ball and Weekend friends. He has also written for Doctor Who and illustrates and paints the odd canvas. (Check out Oli's own web site here). Sean, no slouch himself when it comes to cretivity, reports he has just found out that a four page strip he submitted has been accepted for Side B, a music anthology.

• This "Tube Surf" complied with help from Matthew Badham and Reuben Willmott