Tube Surfing: Phoenix, Jamie Smart, Commando and The Broons

It has been a while since we have had a Tube Surf so…

The Phoenix had a bumpier than expected take-off when their distribution deal through Waitrose supermarkets left many potential readers puzzled when no Waitrose had copies of the new comic. We are glad to say that our network of twitchers are now reported sightings of Phoenixes nesting on the shelves of many different Waitrose stores so, if you have a nearby store, this is a nest site that we would be happy for you to raid. It you don't have a nearby Waitrose there is still the option of a taster subscription which gets you five issues (worth £14.95) delivered to your door for just £10. Our review of Phoenix issue 1 is here and the Phoenix website with subscription details is here.

Dandy, Phoenix, Corporate Skull Who et al artist and writer Jamie Smart has recently been on the receiving end of criticism of his work that has too often crossed the line into some disgracefully personal attacks. Jamie takes the time to write a very well thought-out and articulated FAQ-style piece on what artists, professional or amateur, should expect when they release their work out into a harsh, cruel world. Jamie's blog piece is here.

On a similar note, while we don't hang out on forums much, we have noticed that comics professionals seem to be quietly withdrawing from many of the various comics forums. While such places are poorer when they leave, it is understandable if, for instance, a forum member posts that they hate a particular artist when what they actually mean is that they dislike that artist's work. To a certain extent Facebook has replaced the work of a lot of the forums, as forums previously replaced Yahoo groups. downthetubes gets more comments about our blog pieces on Facebook than on the blog itself and it is a much more pleasant place to be than some forums as people appear to think twice about what they say when they cannot hide behind cryptic nicknames.

Last year Carlton books issued a set of four Commando paperbacks each containing 3 Commando reprints which were reminiscent of the IPC War and Battle Picture Library Summer Specials from the 1970s and 1980s. They were also considerably cheaper (and lighter) than the big 10 and 12 story oversized reprint books of previous years. The four titles have proved popular enough that Carlton are issuing a second set of four, each themed around a particular military subject and with stories chosen by Commando editor Calum Laird. The titles are Bombs Away!, Desert Rats, Dive! Dive! Dive! and Who Dares Wins and they are due to be published on 12 April 2012 at a cover price of £4.99 each.

Sticking with a DC Thomson theme, the company now has a Broons and Oor Wullie on-line shop, separate from the main DC Thomson e-shop. They have also expanded their range of Broons and Oor Wullie merchandise from the familiar softcover bi-annuals, hardcover reprint books and Ma's cookbooks to include, amongst other things, scarfs, flat caps and baseball caps in the official Broons and Oor Wullie tartans plus a range of jute shopping bags with Broons images on them. With DC Thomson's hometown of Dundee known for its three J's of Jute, Jam and Journalism our favourite of the new items would have to be the shopping bag, showing Ma Broon despairing of the cost of her groceries, which covers the jute and journalism of the three J's and allows you to add the jam yourself.

The Independent has an interesting piece on book illustrators and how, in modern book publishing, internal book illustration has become the preserve of children's books when, in the past, major authors writing for an adult audience such as Charles Dickens would work closely with an artist to illustrate their work. With quotes from the likes of Gerald Scarfe and Posy Simmonds, it is worth a read.

The Sunday Post Celebrates 75 Years Of Oor Wullie And The Broons

On Sunday 8 March 1936 the headline on DC Thomson's newspaper The Sunday Post was "Europe Alarmed - France's Retort to Hitler's Move - All Army Leave Cancelled". Inside however there was something a little more light hearted with the first episodes of the twin humour strips The Broons and Oor Wullie. That was the 1593rd issue of the paper.

3907 issues later, with a photo of the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami, the headline is "Death Toll Mounts" but The Broons and Oor Wullie are still there with two new stories and, especially for the 75th anniversary, a 16 page souvenir pullout. This covers the history of the two strips with details of their background and the people who worked on them including original artist Dudley D Watkins.

Published for the first time is an early strip in which Daphne Broon attempts to elope with her lover, considered too strong for the paper at the time, and a panel that shows Wullie's younger sibling, simply referred to as "The Bairn", who was quietly ignored in later strips. The pull-out continues the fallacy that Watkins was on a Nazi death list but includes an "A-Z Guide To Broon's Blethers" for those who find the Scottish dialect in the two strips a challenge.

The Sunday Post is on sale today, Sunday 13 March 2011, and costs £1.10.

In Review: Maw Broon's Cooking With Bairns

She has been cooking for bairns since 1936 (in fact the exact same bairns since 1936) so Mrs Brown should really know a thing or two about cooking with children. With the help of Scottish cookery writer Catherine Brown, no relation but known as Auntie Catherine all the same, and her official biographer, DC Thomson managing editor David Donaldson, Maw Broon is back with her third full length cookbook.

The Broon's publishing empire has gone from strength to strength in recent years after the initial sales success of Waverley Books' lovingly detailed Maw Broon's Cookbook
in time for Christmas 2007. This lead to a run of titles covering Burn's Night suppers, days out in Scotland and gardening tips as well as an apron and the one that tickled our fancy last Christmas, a wooden spoon.

From a comics perspective, the Broons cookbooks have been lovingly compiled with lots of Broons artwork and story pages from the Sunday Post newspaper that the strip has been published in for all these years. They have been beautifully produced with the first book going as far as having virtually all the modern publishing information on a throwaway paper band that left the book itself as a supposed replica of Maw's own cook's notebook complete with hand written notes and recipes from the Sunday Post 'cut out and stuck in'. As such it worked just as well as a nostalgia book as it did as a Broons book or even as the cookbook that it was intended to be.

Maw Broon's Cooking With Bairns is different to its two predecessors in that it is actually aimed at children and so the nostalgia level of the book is cut back to allow for visual explanations of the cooking skills required as well as a lot of groan inducing cookery jokes. Not all of the artwork is gone however and there are pages of Dudley D Watkins Broons art reprinted in the book while current Broon's artist Peter Davidson provides the cover and two lovely related colour frontispieces. The recipes are simply explained and often Scottish oriented - how about Chicken Stovies followed by Cranachan for dessert and if the children eat that all up, a walnut tablet as a treat (tablet being Scottish sugary fudge rather than something medicinal)?


Maw Broon's Cooking With Bairns is published by Waverley Books on 1 April 2010 and, like all Waverley Broons books, is very keenly priced at £9.99 for an A4 size hardback. This is one Broons book that I would place with the gardening and holiday books as a tie-in rather than with the other two cookbooks which deserve to get added to a collector's Broons shelf but, that said, I would still expect to be buying some of them as presents for several mothers in the near future.

Tube Surfing: Ro-Jaws, Rebellion, Crikey!, Rankin, Road and Comic Fairs!

Ro-Jaws returns to 2000AD this week, making a comeback in the A.B.C. Warriors strip by Pat Mills and Clint Langley, who also provides the cover for Prog 1667, right.
Originally designed by Kevin O'Neill for the Ro-Busters strip in Starlord weekly over 30 years ago, this is something of a blast from the past - and if Ro-Jaws beahves like eh used to, we're sure it will be a blast. More info: www.2000adonline.com

• Talking of 2000AD, parent company Rebellion is undergoing something of a restructure, and part of the move puts the staff at its Derby studio under consultation as the lease on that studio expires. Develop Daily reports the firm is still committed to growing the staff at its Oxford HQ and expand its Runcorn base.
Rebellion Derby had most recently worked on completing Bethesda's Rogue Warrior. Its sister studios are hard at work finishing the new Alien vs Predator for Sega. Expect more news in coming weeks as to what this will mean for the games company.

• Novelist Ian Rankin was presented with West Lothian Libraries' Scot Scriever Award on 12th January. At his presentation ceremony he talked about how the local library in his native Fife had been a big draw for him as a youngster before he went on to talk about his career and take questions from the audience. When he was asked what he was reading at the moment he immediately said the latest Broons book and went go to give the examples of Granpaw Broon getting an ASBO and the wind turbine that now overlooks their But An' Ben holiday cottage as how the Sunday Post's strip, that has been running for almost three quarters of a century, was remaining contemporary.

• Sgt Mike Battle #14 is out now and sees the whirlwind romance between Roger Knightly and Shapely Charms reaches its thrilling finale. Can you really afford to miss the most shocking and heart-wrenching story in the history of comics? Do not worry about crying your eyes out as you read the comic because for a limited period you will get a free tissue with every issue!
Priced at £1.50, you can order your issue via the Sgt Mike Battle Fan Club on Facebook. For more information, visit www.sgtmikebattle.co.uk

• Good news from the publisher of Crikey! After concerns that the Borders collapse would damage the format of the title, we can report that despite earlier concerns it might have to black and white throughout, Crikey! 13 will have a centre section of eight pages in full colour. Discussions about expanded distribution through other retail outlets is also looking more positive.

• British Comic Creator Eddie Sharam got in touch with us lately, drawing our attention to the webcomic ROAD over on Zuda, which he writes and draws and will soon pass an impressive a 100 page milestone. He's been at it for over a year, with another year planned out. You can read ROAD on Zuda.com for free at zudacomics.com/road and Eddie would welcome feedback.

• And finally... here's a list of upcoming Golden Orbit comic fairs, which I hope to get chance to add to the events listing soon. All events start at midday apart from Leeds.

• Saturday, January 16, Birmingham - The Nautical Club, Bishopsgate Street, off Broad Street and a short walk from Smallbrook Queensway.
(Future date: February 20)

• Saturday, January 23, Manchester - Sachas Hotel, Tibb Street, Piccadilly
(Future date: March 13)

• Sunday, January 24, Liverpool - The Liner Hotel, Lord Nelson Street, off Lime Street
(Future date: March 14)

• Saturday, January 30, Leeds - Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow - from 11.00am
(Future date: March 6)

• Saturday, February 6, Sheffield - The Showroom, Paternoster Row, Sheaf Square (opp Railway Station)
(Future date: March 20)

• Saturday, February 13, Nottingham - Comfort Hotel, George St, off Upper Parliament St & Broad Street
(Future date: April 10)

• Saturday, February 27, Newcastle - University of Northumbria, Rutherford Hall, Ellison Place, off College Street

More details, map directions etc. at www.goldenorbit.co.uk