Take Ten: Channel 4's Alien Ink graphic novel project launched

Channel 4 Education recently launched Alien Ink, an online graphic novel for teens. Written and illustrated by the team at Pulp Theatre, publishers of the hard-hitting cult hit graphic novel Brodie’s Law, Alien Ink aims to reflect a series of teen pressures, including relationship issues, sexual health and drug use.

Published in seven issues, comprising a total of 30 episodes, one-a-week for 30 weeks, Alien Ink combines Pulp Theatre’s trademark innovative illustrations and animations with engaging storylines designed to reflect the experiences of teenagers today. In it, teens Trinity and Ryder arrive in Camden, London, curiously at the same time as UFO sightings on Primrose Hill. They open Alien Ink, a tattoo shop in Camden Town, which quickly becomes a hub for local teens, thanks to its unusually welcoming aura and the beautiful tattoo art. Trinity and Ryder seem to be normal young people – but as word spreads about their extraordinary tattooing talents, questions begin to be asked....

Alien Ink is the first title to be published under the umbrella of Pressure Comics, set up to produce graphic novels to tackle issues in teen life.

downthetubes caught up with Pulp Theatre's Esther Bircham to pose her one of our occasional "Take Ten" Question and Answer sessions and find out more about this innovative new project...

downthetubes: How did you come up with the story - or was this a project instigated by Channel 4, who then sought out Pulp Theatre?

Esther Bircham: Pulp Theatre came up with the complete story concept and characters. We worked with Channel 4 who provided the brief that they wanted a comic geared around teens. Pulp Theatre and Channel 4 brainstormed together before Channel 4 were happy to proceed.

downthetubes: Is this the first time Alien Ink has been published?


Esther: Yes, this is a completely new concept. We are still fine tuning the artwork, as the comic is being produced.

downthetubes: This is a pretty exciting project and a major platform for comics given Channel 4's involvement. Are you planning anything else at this stage?

Alien Ink character designs

Esther: Yes, we are planning to launch the graphic novel offline - with the popularity of Alien Ink there are many opportunities we can explore – really the sky’s the limit.

downthetubes: Will there be a TV tie-in or is this purely an online play?


Esther: At present there are no TV tie-ins – Alien Ink is purely dedicated to online play.

downthetubes: David Bircham is the artist on this project. Can you bring us up to speed on his many projects?

Esther: David has been drawing comics for over 20 years. His career started with 2000AD, when he drew characters such as Judge Dredd, Slaine and various others. David met Daley Osiyemi a graphic designer for the likes of Saatchi and Saatchi amongst others and together they started Pulp Theatre.

Merging all our talents, we designed a dynamic array of online websites, micro-sites and games using a distinctly different style. Because of our passion for the comic medium, we decided to take the long road to producing our own comic, Brodie’s Law (in 2004). It received a lot of critical acclaim from all fronts and even attracted attention from Hollywood. [Brodie's Law has sold over 30,000 copies worldwide - downthetubes Ed]

downthetubes: Do you have any favourite creators or influences?


Esther: We are fans of British and US comic book artists such as Simon Bisley, Alan Moore, Alan Grant, Jim Lee, Chris Bachalo, Frank Miller and Travis Charest.

downthetubes: What’s the most challenging thing about working on Alien Ink?


Esther: Balancing the needs of Channel 4 as well as providing the edginess to satisfy the audience.

downthetubes: And what’s the best part about working on this project?


Esther: The potential to reach a worldwide audience and to be the first comic book publisher to work with a major UK broadcaster on an online graphic novel project.

downthetubes: What one valuable lesson have you learnt creating comics that you apply to your work now?


Esther: We have learnt success depends on the quality of the product and success always means great sacrifice. It’s an old lesson but definitely one worth remembering.

downthetubes: What's next for the strip — and Pulp Theatre?


Esther: We have various plans which will unfold naturally – stay tuned to Pulp Theatre and we will make sure you’re the first to know.

Special thanks to Esther for taking time out of a busy schedule to answer our questions.

Readers can interact with the comic via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, quiz apps, YouTube (in a partially animated format) and the Pressure blog, and are encouraged to get involved in the Alien Ink world, discussing the issues raised or by submitting examples of their own creativity, be it artwork, graphic design, writing, poetry, or even their own tattoo design.

Alice Taylor, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 Education says: “We’re thrilled to have found and be working with a dynamic organisation like Pulp Theatre, and to be exploring a new way to engage with teenagers. Alien Ink will raise everyday issues in a relevant and entertaining way, and will further deliver useful data on topics like health, drugs or tattooing alongside the storylines. We think this is a great way to reach teens with stories that matter, and to point them to information that’ll genuinely help.”

• More about Alien Ink on the official website www.alienink.co.uk, which includes links to all the various social network extensions of the project.

Culture Show Discusses Comics Tonight

Just a quick 'heads-up' to advise you to tune into tonight's The Culture Show on BB2 (at 7.00pm, repeated at 12.20am Friday morning). The programme will be exploring "the past, present and post-election future of British comic art" which is the focus of a new exhibition, Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at the Tate which opens on 9th June.

And if that's not enough to persuade fans of all things cult to tune in, they're also be a Noel Clarke interview (that's Mickey from Doctor Who) in which the writer, actor and director will be discussing his latest film, 4,3,2,1.

Put together with some the country’s best-known cartoonists and comedy writers, Rude Britannia: British Comic Art at the Tate explores British comic art from the 1600s to the present day and the exhibition also includes a number of special events, detailed on its dedicated web site. Bringing together a wide array of paintings, sculptures, film and photography, as well as graphic art and comic books, the exhibition celebrates a rich history of cartooning and visual jokes.

The room on the Absurd is curated by comedian Harry Hill, and includes such diverse materials as Alice in Wonderland illustrations, David Shrigley’s sculpture, and films by Edwina Ashton and Oliver Michaels. Within the Bawdy, Donald McGill’s 'smutty' seaside postcards, can be seen with works by artists as different as Aubrey Beardsley, Sarah Lucas, and Grayson Perry.

The rooms exploring Politics, Social Satire and Cruikshank's Victorian masterpiece The Worship of Bacchus, have been put together with Gerald Scarfe, Steve Bell, and the cartoonists from Viz. These show the power of comic art as a form of social and political commentary throughout history, from satires of Georgian society by Rowlandson and Gillray to Spitting Image's damning Thatcher puppet.

Looking at comedy that is both timeless and of-its-time, Rude Britannia contrasts contemporary artists such as Angus Fairhurst with key historical pieces, and covers everything from Hogarth to the YBAs.

Gasp, cringe, or have a sly chuckle: Rude Britannia will certainly cause a reaction. See politicians brought down to size and the great and the good exposed; blush at the saucy postcards and laugh out loud at the slapstick fun - but watch out for that banana skin!

• BBC Culture Show: www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow

• Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions: Entrance to Rude Britannia is £10, Concessions £6. Open every day 10.00–18.00. Last admission to exhibitions

In Review: Scheme Comix #1

The Comic: SF-inspired comics anthology featuring the work of Kev Harper, Number Six, David Walker, T. Bye, Sharon Irvine and Drip Tray.

The aim of publishing Scheme is to showcase the best unknown artists working out of the city of Glasgow, and the best way to make sure the work reaches as many people as possible is to give away each issue for free.

The Review: Sometimes, you just have to despair of the mainstream British comics industry. What are the combined talents featured in Scheme Comix doing at its periphery, putting out this energized A5 anthology of science fiction inspired tales? Why aren't there more openings for such creators here in the UK for them to be given space?

I feel the same way when I pick up titles like Futurequake, Zarjaz and Spandex; or I get sent advance copies of the great-looking titles like Scar Comics superb Madam Samurai. We have such a huge, homegrown range of talent that simply isn't getting the exposure it fully deserves.

It's to the credit of Kev Harper and team that like many other creators they've risen above this sad state of affairs and put out Scheme Comix, showing off some impressive Glasgow-based art talents throughout, even if the actual stories are, inevitably for an anthology, something of a mixed bag. (Script wise, while I'm not so keen on the art, 'Break on Through' is the best written, for me, although there's a line about love in 'Tijuana Bible' that just bursts with hope).

Overall, it's a great promo for some local talents and if you can track down a copy, which shows huge promise.

The A5 format of Scheme Comix #1 also doesn't do the art justice: perhaps the team will reconsider this decision before putting out the next issue (it wouldn't be the first time a fanzine has changed formats during its run).

Helped by funding from Arts Trust Scotland, Kev and team have put together a terrific package of strips, one of the best we've been sent in recent months from the indie press.

I may have some gripes about format and not every strip works, but this is a package from a team of creators that fully deserve wider exposure and acclaim. Check them out.

• Scheme Comix #1 (price: £2) is available to buy at Aye-Aye Books (CCA) and the Monorail Music record shop, Glasgow and Deadhead Comics, Edinburgh.


Links


• Scheme Comix on Facebook

• Scheme Comix on MySpace (to which we have to ask, why!? The platform sucks!) - currently requires friendship acceptance

• Scheme Comix Preview on Literate Machine

• Scottish Cartoonists Society (Ning Forum)

VE Day Marked in Latest Commandos

The latest issues of DC Thomoson's Commando, on sale now, features another cover from Janek Matysiak using his new direct-to-screen way of working. (You can see the first he did in this way here). The releases also feature the work of Ferg Handley, Macabich and

Commando 4299: Target: Tiger!
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Morahin Cover: Janek Matysiak

D-Day, Normandy, June 1944 — and tank commander Joe Gibson is raring to go. Then a Tiger destroys his Cromwell killing his crewmates. He blames himself for their deaths.
Joe soon returns to duty but soon in an inferior, in his mind, M4 Sherman. To his new crew it looks like Joe has lost his nerve.
Was that the truth? Even Joe is beginning to wonder — especially when he has a Tiger in his sights…

Commando No 4300: "Fire!"
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Macabich Cover Art: Macabich

They were simply supposed to showcase some new nine-pounder field pieces. But in 1861, Austrian artillery Lieutenant Stefan Kircher and his battalion of gunners found themselves caught in the thick of the American Civil War. And fighting on the side of the Confederate South against the Union.
Stefan didn’t like it. And worse, some the Confederates weren’t keen on the Austrians’ involvement either...

Commando 4301: Wings of War
Story: Ian Clark Art: José Maria Jorge Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
Originally no 2855 from 1995

From the first day of war in 1939, the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the countries opposed to Hitler’s Germany knew that it would be a long, bloody struggle before the Nazis were toppled to defeat.

They couldn’t know then that the day of victory would come in May, 1945, but they did know that only the lucky ones would survive the war. Brothers Rory and Hamish McLean, fighter pilots, would push their luck to the limit... and beyond!

This is Part five of Commando's seven-part series celebrating the end of the war in Europe in 1945. This time an air story with illustrations by two experts in the field.

Commando 4302: Code of Honour
Story: Ian Clark Art: Carlos Pino Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
Originally No 2856 from 1995

VE Day, May, 1945. For Wehrmacht Major Franz Thomas, a day that hadn’t come soon enough to save many lives... and he was sure it was his fault!

Part six of the seven-part VE-Day series. The story is seen from the point of view of a German — something Commando has done many times over the years.

• Official Commando web site: www.commandomag.com


• Click here for subscription information or write to: D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, The Subscribers Department, Commando Library, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL or Freephone (UK only) 0800 318846