Tales of Vanity and Vengeance!

US publisher Eureka Productions has just published its latest title, Graphic Classics: Oscar Wilde, featuring work by British comics creator Nick Miller, whose credits include football comic Rammie (see news story) and downthetubes very own Really Heavy Greatcoat.

This Oscar Wilde release marks the sixteenth volume in Eureka's Graphic Classics series of comics adaptations of great literature, which includes much-praised titles focusing on authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain (see news story), H.P. Lovecraft and others.

Nick Miller and writing partner Antonella Caputo contribute their adaptation of "The Canterville Ghost" to this new volume, which also features "The Picture of Dorian Gray", Wilde's tale of narcissism and horror, adapted for comics by Alex Burrows and illustrated by Lisa K. Weber, "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" by Rich Rainey and Rich Tommaso, and an adaptation of Wilde's exotic Biblical play "Salome", illustrated by Molly Kiely.

A host of creators, including Nick, Antonella, Roger Langridge, Hunt Emerson and more have all contributed to past volumes of Graphic Classics -- full list below, all links to amazon.co.uk.

Graphic Classics: Oscar Wilde
Edited by Tom Pomplun
Published January 2009, Eureka Productions
Distributed by Diamond Book Distributors
ISBN 978-0-9787919-6-4

• Graphic Classics are available from bookstores, comics shops, or direct from the publisher at: www.graphicclassics.com

• Nick Miller and Antonella Caputo's Team Sputnik web site

The Graphic Classics series
• Graphic Classics: Edgar Allan Poe
• Graphic Classics: Arthur Conan Doyle
• Graphic Classics: H.G. Wells
• Graphic Classics: H.P. Lovecraft
• Graphic Classics: Jack London
• Graphic Classics: Ambrose Bierce
• Graphic Classics: Bram Stoker
• Graphic Classics: Mark Twain
• Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson
• Horror Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Ten
• Graphic Classics: O. Henry
• Adventure Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 12
• Graphic Classics: Rafael Sabatini
• Gothic Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 14
• Fantasy Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Fifteen
• Graphic Classics: Oscar Wilde

Expecting Great Things from John Stokes

(with thanks to Jon Haward): Classical Comics, the British publisher adapting classic works of fiction into comics for both schools and general readers, has just published some pages form its latest project, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, on its web site.

Adapted by Jen Green, the art for the project is the work of former Marvel UK and IPC artist John Stokes, whose perhaps most memorable credits for downthetubes readers include Black Knight for Hulk Weekly, Fishboy for Buster, Future Shocks for 2000AD, the comic strip adaptation of the film Time Bandits, Doctor Who strips and much more.

Jon Haward, who has been working for Classical Comics as both artist and art director, is delighted with John's work. "I'm really happy for John," he enthuses, "and publisher Clive Bryant, as I think this book has winner stamped all over it."

Stokes' work, coloured by Jason Cardy, brings Dickens' powerful tale of Pip, Miss Havisham, and the spiteful Estella to glorious life, his attention to detail without losing sight of the need for strong storytelling in plenty of evidence from these sample pages.

As a tale described as "one of the greatest works of literary history," John and the Classcial Comics team have certainly done it justice in graphic novel form.

• Great Expectations, which will be available in Original Text and Quicktext formats, will be published in March. Order it from amazon.co.uk

• John Stokes' Profile on Lambiek

Monkeying about with Young Gods!

Ground-breaking British indie publisher Orang Utan Comics Studio have released the first part of their Young Gods Online Graphic Novel onto an unsuspecting world this week, aiming to bring the title to comics fans in new -- and free -- ways.

An action packed adventure tale, Young Gods, in part previously serialised in 'newspaper strip' form on ROK Comics, is a stunning looking book that's certain to appeal to a wide range of comic book fans. The series sees OUCS make the bold leap from the printed page into digital media, with Young Gods being available to read completely free online, via the digital publishing site myebook.com.

OUCS were the first organisaton to sign up to myebook’s publishing partnership plan when it went live last year.

“I think we recognized the huge potential of myebook about thirty seconds after first being shown it,” said Orang Utan Comics Studio’s Managing Editor and Young Gods’ creator, Ian Sharman. “It’s an ideal solution for small studios like ourselves who want to get our work in front of as many people as possible but don’t have the capital to finance large print runs.”

With the recent policy changes at speciailst comics distributors Diamond reducing the opportunities for small press and independent publishers to reach a wide audience through traditional print publications, OUCS see online digital publishing as an essential tool for distributing their comics to a wider market.

Ian Sharman has been working on Young Gods since he was a teenager, gaining the initial inspiration while listening to the Little Angels album of the same name. However, the road from original idea to the comic book page has been a long one, and finding the right creative team to bring his ideas to life proved very challenging.

“I think we went through seven artists, including at one point myself, before we found Ezequiel Pineda," he reveals. "His unique style was exactly what I was looking for, allowing the focus to shift from the overblown superheroics to the diverse characters that make up the team.

"The addition of Mauro Barbosa on colours proved that lightening can strike twice, as his dynamic colours proved to be the perfect complement to Ezequiel’s art.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate,” Ian continued, “finding not only one, but two extremely talented artists with the same passion for this comic that I have.”

The first part of the Young Gods OGN, which introduces the team and sets up plot points that will be continued in a six issue series that the creative team are currently hard at work on is available to read FREE online right now, and the second part will be released on 28th February. Be one of the first to read this exciting new comic, and share it with your friends online, just as you would a YouTube video!

However, for people who prefer to read their comics on the move, rather than sat at a computer, Orang Utan Comics Studio are also exploring other areas of the digital revolution in comics, making Young Gods available to download to your mobile phone via ROK Comics.

• To find out more about Young Gods, read character bios and creator profiles, please visit www.younggodscomic.co.uk
• For more information on Orang Utan Comics Studio visit them online at www.orangutancomics.co.uk

• Promote Young Gods!

The success of Young Gods will almost entirely depend on fan support, on word of mouth and the book spreading across the internet in a viral fashion. With this in mind, Orang Utan Comics Studio have produced a promotional video which they are encouraging their fans and supporters to put on their blogs and web sites in order to spread the word about this ground breaking release.

Brautigan Comic part of new Torpedo Quarterly

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the death of American writer Richard Brautigan, whose best known works include his 1967 novel, Trout Fishing in America, his collection of poetry, The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster (1968), and his collection of stories, Revenge of the Lawn (1971).

Marking the anniversary of one of his favourite writers, Brighton-based comics creator Paul O'Connell is one of several contributors to the leatest issue of the quarterly Australian fiction magazine Torpedo, whose latest offering is a special Brautigan themed issue.

Co-edited, and with a foreword, by Brautigans daughter Ianthe Brautigan, the special issue features Brautigan inspired fiction from 30 writers, a section of Richard Brautigans own writing plus a specially designed envelope containing eight full colour A5 double-sided prints featuring artwork based on his stories, one of which prints is a comic strip by Paul using Richard Brautigan's own text, called 'The Library'.

In Brautigan's novel The Abortion: A Historical Romance 1966, the narrator is the sole employee of a library that collects unpublished and unpublishable books. It's sole criteria is that books must be delivered in person. "A chapter in the novel which I adapted into comic strip form
describes a typical day in the life of the library," Paul told downthetubes, "and the many kinds of
characters who stop by to leave their charming, idosyncratic and bizarre manuscripts and books."

"It's a real privilege to be included in this special edition."

Apparently, the idea for the kind of library featured in the novel proved so popular that it inspired more than a couple of actual real life libraries based upon the same principle.

Other contributors to the magazine include Brian Evenson, Ryan Boudinot, Dan Pope and Caren Beilin, an outro by Radiohead illustrator Stanley Donwood and a cover by Los Angeles-based illustrator Kristian Olson.

• Torpedo is available now to buy from the Falcon vs Monkey website
• Brautigan Bibliography and Archive
A bio-bibliographical archive for Richard Brautigan, his life, and writings