Dick Turpin returns to Time Bomb Comics

Time Bomb Comics has announced that their next release, Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague, will be launched at the Leeds Thoughtbubble weekend of the 19th & 20th November, where the creative team will be conducting a mid-day signing session at the Time Bomb Comics table on the Saturday afternoon.

One week later, Steve Tanner and Time Bomb Comics will be at the Malta Comic-Con taking place in Valletta, Malta over the weekend of 26th & 27th November to launch the book internationally.

The long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed one-shot Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead, Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague features the notorious highwayman up against a nest of vampires in 18th Century London.

Once again written by Steve Tanner, this second horrors and highwaymen mash-up from the Birmingham based company features artwork from rising star Graeme Howard – who is currently drawing Cy Dethan’s Cancertown 2 for Markosia – and lettering by the talented Nikki Foxrobot.

Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague also contains The Rogues Gallery featuring exclusive Dick Turpin artwork from Keith Page, Stuart Tipples, Simon Wyatt, Alex Thompson, Josceline Fenton and Glenn Jones.

It has also been confirmed that Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague will be available to order in the December 2011 Diamond Previews Catalogue.

• Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague -  56 pages, Graphic Album, perfect bound, full colour cover, black and white interior, retail price £6.99/$11.99, ISBN 978-0-9561822-4-1

• For more information on this and any other Time Bomb Comics visit: www.timebombcomics.com

View from the Trenches: the Cardiff Comic Expo

Time Bomb Comics publisher Steve Tanner kindly sent us a report on the Cardiff International Comic Expo, which included the launch of titles such as Stuart Tipples 10thology project and Barry Nugent's Fallen Heroes...

Fallen Heroes - one of several new
titles attracting attention at CICE

When I heard a whisper last October that there was going to be a one day comics event taking place in Cardiff in February 2011 organised by those behind the Bristol Expo, I was straight in touch with them to book a table before any official announcements of the con had been made – I was that certain it was going to be a worthwhile addition to the Time Bomb Comics’ burgeoning convention calendar.

The last time comics conventions were held in Cardiff was back in the early 1980s. Known as the Cymrucons, they were small intimate affairs that boasted the likes of Alan Moore, Garry Leach and Dez Skinn as special guests. It’s probably no surprise that neither of those three pitched up in the Welsh Capital again for the inaugural Cardiff International Comics Expo that was held on Saturday 26th February, but I don’t think their lack of presence made much difference.

Arriving at the Mercure Holland House on the Friday night the first titbit I found out about the Expo was that the pre-event buzz had been so good that a decision had already been made to not only have another one in February 2012 but to make that one a two-day show. Clearly, after a barren 30 years the Welsh are intent on playing catch up!

Saturday morning arrived to find Cardiff grey, miserable and wet, but the banqueting room of the Mercure was already buzzing with tables being dressed, daleks being adjusted and stormtroopers ambling about looking lost. Outside, an impressively long queue was snaking away towards Newport. Inside, an equally-impressive looking TARDIS had been squeezed into place, and a quick nosey around the tables revealed some welcome new faces had arrived on the comics show circuit in amongst the old hands:

Dalen Books were here, a predominantly Welsh language publisher that has begun to release English editions of some of their licensed European titles such as TinTin and Lucky Luke. Anyone impressed by any of Cinebook’s editions would be blown away by Dalen’s Druids and Arthur books – wonderful stuff!

Dave Morris’ Corvus Press debuted their new The Baker Street Irregulars series, an intriguing looking story that channels those terrific spy and secret agent serials from the sixties.

The first issue of Fallen Heroes launched (check out videos of the event here on Geek Syndicate), the comics adaptation of Barry Nugent’s novel (and promptly sold out by 11.00am!).

Also launching to much excitement was 10thology, an impressive anthology of stories set in Wales by creators from Wales – it was obviously a big draw for the local crowd and it became more unusual to see someone who wasn’t clutching a copy of this as the day progressed.

Editor Stuart Tipples tells us the titles beat all expectations and sold out of the 80 copies available on the day for the soft launch. "Not bad for a 114 page graphic novel even with the price reduction to £12!" he says.

It wasn’t just about the new boys though. Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard had a constant line of fans waiting for sketches. The Etherington Brothers, Markosia, Dealer Comics and my own Time Bomb Comics all seemed to be holding their own. That said, things did quieten down considerably from 4.00pm, but it was then a good opportunity for those of all behind tables to get together and compare notes.

Having expected “Bristol-Lite” I was pleased that the Cardiff Expo had its own identity and the day was clearly a success, starting the UK 2011 convention season off with a bang. Hopefully CICE 2012 and Hi-Ex 2012 won’t clash!

• The Cardiff International Comic Expo wil return next year, running the wekend ofn 25-26th February 2012. More info: www.fantasyevents.org/cice

• Fallen Heroes Launch Event - Videos on GeekSyndicate

• Special thanks to Steve for taking time out of his busy schedule to write this report. Check out Time Bomb Comics - which include Stephen Walsh and Keith page's London Calling - at www.timebombcomics.com
 

TimeBomb's "Bomb Scares" set to disturb minds!

Leicester-basd British indie TimeBomb Comics has launched Bomb Scares, their first horror anthology collection.

Best described as "disturbing horror in a twisted vein" this 56 page one-shot features 10 stories by 18 talented creators from across the globe: Shane Oakley, Gary Crutchley, Richmond Clements, John Cahill, Alec Robertson, Montos, Scott Mitchell, Gordon Robertson, MC Carper, Jonathan Darque, Rachele Aragno, Chris Young, Katja Lindblom, GM Jordan, Anglada Kamarasa, Dino Caruso, Andrew Dodd and Steve Tanner.

"From zombies to curses, mind terrors to body horror, Bomb Scares presents a horror anthology that really is not for the faint-hearted," says Steve.

• Bomb Scares is available now from TimeBomb's online shop priced £4.00/$5.50 (along with all their other titles).

The Furies Preview Released

The full first chapter of Time Bomb Comics forthcoming graphic novel The Furies, written by Steve Tanner with artwork by Andy Dodd is now up and running at myebook.

A dark, apocalyptic tale set in 2012, The Furies is also the first comic Steve and Andy first completed together more than twenty years ago!

Originally due to be serialised in the short-lived Ground Zero anthology in 198, only three chapters were published before Ground Zero ceased to be. The forthcoming Time Bomb release, of The Furies, due for release this autumn, will be first time the story will be collected in its entirety.

In Review: The Sisterhood

British indie Timebomb Comics The Sisterhood: Morningstar is a gem of an indie title from this young Leicester-based UK publisher, who also brought us the time-bending Ragamuffins last year.

With art from newcomer Dan Barritt, The Sisterhood are dedicated to fighting the good fight in God's name. Sinners, it seems, are everywhere, blinded by Satan’s lure. Who else but women of faith, from all the known worlds, can thus help bring salvation to the lost souls of the galaxy and, in particular, to the backwater planet Morningstar that refuses to accept the message of the Church?

TimeBomb's first full-colour book, Steve Tanner delivers an acerbic script drawing, I'm assuming, on the Catholic Church's treatment of non-believers in the past (much in evidence in South America and Mexico during the destruction of indigenous civillisations in the quest for gold, for example): although of course there's plenty of modern-day evangelists of all Christian churches that continue to employ some appalling tactics in pursuit of converting the heathen. (The web site Religious Tolerance provides a starting point for examples...)

None though, measure up to the devastating tactics of the future See in The Sisterhood, wiping out entire planetary societies if they don't bend to the will of God. Steve's vicious and yet often funny script is actually given more menace through artist Dan Barritt's cartoony, manga-esque style: while anime and manga often use funny animals to deliver a satirical take on the world, Steve and Dan go for the jugular and bring deliver a cruel, savage take on future war, future religion with a cast of human characters.

While the title is not without fault -- with a fairly big cast for a one-shot title, more could have been done with character introduction for example, and the sheer chaos of the battle of Morningstar very occasionally leads to some confused storytelling -- any faults are more than made up for by Dan Barritt's stunning panoramic battlescapes and the delightful satire the script offers, easily on a par wit some of the best of the early 2000AD stories.

While I'd also argue the overall print quality of the title is a little dark, muting the quality of the art a tad, this is still a title well worth tracking down via TimeBomb themselves or other outlets.

• Buy The Sisterhood on the TimeBomb Comics web site
• Dan Barritt's official web site
• Short Fuses: The Official Time Bomb Comics Blog