Tube Surfing: Saturday 28th March 2009

• British comics creator Sean Michael Wilson, whose recent credits include writer for Classicial Comics upcoming Canterville Ghost (out in November) and Sweeney Todd (out next year) adaptations, has become, we believe, perhaps the first British creator to have a comic on Japanese mobile phones (comic strip on mobile is known as Keitai manga in Japan).
"A Japanese language version of my Lafcadio Hearns Japanese Ghost Stories book is now out in Japan, in two formats," Sean, who lives in Japan, told downthetubes. "As an e-book and an edition for mobile phones. Both formats are big business in Japan." More on this story on our dedicated Mobile Comics blog

• Eddie Campbell has posted a snippet of an interview with Alan Moore from back in 2000 in which he talks about his take on what happened to Big Numbers, whose never-published third issue surfaced on e-bay in January, albeit only as photocopies (see news story). Alan seems to clearly have wanted to try again with the project with issue 1, but also recognizes the impracticalities of that. "I don't see any way that I can resurrect it as a comic strip," he told Blather.net. "I mean, what do I do? Do I actually sort of say "Yeah, we've got a great new artist, are we going to start from #1 again but this time, no, buy it, because this time we really will get to issue #12." I mean, I wouldn't buy that if I heard it from somebody who'd kind of failed twice to do what he said he was going to do." Eddie also thinks he's uncovered art from #4, featured in this post on his blog.

• Talking of Alan Moore, Pádraig Ó Méalóid has transcribed and kindly sent us a draft copy of his wide-ranging interview with the comic creator, scheduled to feature on the Forbidden Planet International blog soon. It's a doozy, with plenty on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen including plans for the next tale to centre on a group of superheroes, projects such as The Bumper Book of Magic, his novel, Jerusalem and confirms that a new Bojeffries Saga, which is being right now by Steve Parkhouse, is in the works and will be released as part of a collection of al the Bojeffries strips!

• DFC contributor Sarah McIntyre has offered a bit of 'Vern and Lettuce' back story on her LiveJournal, and tells us an Oxford Literature Festival panel on Saturday 4 April about the project is still going ahead. It should a chance to ask questions of David Fickling and several creators (Robin and Lorenzo Etherington, Sarah and John Aggs) what happens next... All participating children will receive a free copy of The DFC. More info here

• (via Kasterberous): How do you know if you’re in a parallel world? This week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures, out now, is a parallel worlds special. Discover what happened when a sinister fortune teller made Donna rewrite history in last year’s episode Turn Left. You can also find out about all the weird alternate realities in Doctor Who – and learn how to see if you have strayed into one by accident. The issue comes with a free set of badges and a model time watch as worn by companion Donna.

• With Accent UK's 2009 graphic anthology Western now available (buy a copy now), Lee Robson has decided to indulge in some some shameless self-promotion for the the strip A Fistful Of Steam Valves (by him and Bryan Coyle) which features in the very pages of that book and featured a couple of the story's steampunk designs on his blog.

• And finally... London-based publisher NoBrow has released its first book, Gods and Monsters, and is running an exhibition in May of some of the art. More info here. The diverse contributors were hand picked for their unique styles and all were invited to generate work based on the theme. Some are up and coming, others are plucked from unexpected places, but as you'll see if you follow some of the liks below, all are talented: Dave Taylor, Alex Spiro, Sam Arthur, Jordan Crane, Emiliano Ponzi, A. Richard Allen, Jens Harder, Reuben Rude, Benjamin Guedel, Eda Akaltun, Matthieu Bessudo, Caspar Williamson, Toby Leigh, Alex Bland, Ben Newman, Nick White, Stuart Kolakovic, Sarah King, Leah Hayes, Paul Blow, Bjorn Rune Lie, Brett Ryder , Carl Johanson and Blexbolex.

(Compiled with thanks to Matthew Badham, Sarah McIntyre and Pádraig Ó Méalóid)

Tube Surfing: 27 March 2009

• This weekend sees the opening of the touring Doctor Who exhibtion in Glasgow’s superb Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with costumes, props and more from the revived series going on show from this Saturday through to January 2010. Forbideen Planet International's blog reports the opening weekend is completely sold out in advance, a mark of just how popular the return of the show has been that it can command sold out audiences even when its off the air.

• Adam Grose has posted new episodes of his strip The Dragonfly on the Clown Press web site. "Hopefully this should put me back on track with my own personal deadline," he says. Adam is still working away on his Supernatural tale, too although he confesses he slipped a bit on that deadline a little too. "Thankfully I have some holiday coming up soon to help!" Catch Dragonfly here: www.clownpress.com/5.html

• Paul Birch reports the Giant-Sized Band-Thing, the four-piece rock band featuring comic book creators, will be playing a corporate gig as part of anniversary celebrations for comic shop Infinity & Beyond in Telford, Shrewsbury on Saturday 28th April. The band features Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead, Green Lantern/Green Arrow) on drums, Paul H Birch (Dead Ahead, Gumby Comics) on bass, Liam Sharp (Gears of War, Testament) on lead vocals, with Phil Winslade (The Brave & The Bold, Daredevil) on lead guitar. More info here

• In addition to the UK Web and Mini Comix Thing this weekend, Bugpowder reports Mile End London is host to another one-day comics event. Schmurgen Con promises to be in "uncompromising style" Schmurgen is known for.

• Steve Holland has a great tribute to the late Jose Casanovas, whose artwork appeared in 2000AD, Starlord, Starblazer and elsewhere in the UK, who died on 14th March, only a day after the death of his countryman, José "Pepe" González. Although he only occasionally drew Judge Dredd, he became associated with another denizen of Mega-City One, Max Normal, whom he drew for various editions of the Judge Dredd Annual in the early 1980s. Much of his UK work here was one-off strips, mostly for 2000AD, but he also drew half a dozen longer stories for Starblazer, amongst them the Mikal Kayn adventure "Supercop" (1988). With his son (also called Jose Casanovas), he drew "Sam Slade Returns" in 1991 and was one of the regular Robo-Hunter artists until 1993.

• Dave Gibbons was interviewed over on wharf.co.uk earlier this month, but we've only just found the link. "We tried to ask the questions that hadn't been asked in comics before," he told the site of the origins of Watchmen. "I think that at that time comics had become rather formulaic and there were certain things you'd just accept. If someone got powers they'd just become a superhero and go off and fight crime. We were asking 'If costumed heroes were real, why would they really do it?'."
David also maintains his commitment to the comics form today. ""There's something elemental about the comic book," he feels. "In many other storytelling media, it's quite difficult to get your vision across." Read the full interview

• Another interview that almost slipped by is one in The Times with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen artist Kevin O'Neill. He talks extensively about the upcoming volume, Century. "Alan and I were born in the same year - 1953," he reveals, expanding on the pair's love of detail in the title. "We both read the same comics as kids and we were both big fans of the Beano and the Dandy. They were full of detail and full of background in a way the modern versions are not. I also read Mad paperbacks... Mad had great guys working for them - Bill Elder, Wallace Wally Wood - who would layer in so many other points of humour into the background, so many things that you could go back and read and reread. There was so much to soak up. You would want to try it yourself. Those early influences did play a part. I gives me pleasure including those details."
GOSH London will be hosting a signing with Moore and O'Neill as soon as the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book Century: 1910 arrives. Problem is, they're not sure exactly when that will be so they can't settle on a date for the signing just yet. It will be late April/early May. Ish.

• And finally... It seems the new film, The Damned United, set in the 1970s features a classic comic, The Wizard in one scene - but some critics were unable to distinguish it from The Eagle. Here's a clue -- The Eagle wasn't being published at the time the film was set....

Scottish Uni Launches Comic Writing MA

Edinburgh Napier University has announced a new MA course in creative writing aimed at aspiring computer games and graphic novel writers.

The one-year postgraduate course, part of a range from the University's School of Creative Industries, has been created by former 2000AD editor and The Phantom writer David Bishop and former literary agent Sam Kelly and starts in September. It will include guest lectures from leading writers, including Ian Rankin, Mark Millar, Denise Mina, Alan Grant, James Moran and Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman. A Writer-in-Residence is also part of the course, yet to be announced.

Crime writing and science fiction will also be part of the syllabus, but not poetry.

"We're embracing the kinds of creative writing that get ignored or patronised by other courses," says David. "We've already had a fistful of applications and marketing has only just begun. There's been a steady stream of people coming to see us at the Craighouse campus in Edinburgh, eager to find out more.

"We're offering something different from the usual mix of literary fiction and poetry on other creative writing MA course - and it's proving popular."

• School of Creative Industries web site

Howard Chaykin on Board for BICS

Legendary comics creator Howard Chaykin, creator of American Flagg, Time2, American Century and more is the latest overseas guest confirmed for this year's British International Comic Show taking place in Birmingham in October.

With a career spanning four decades, Chaykin's earliest work includes Ironwolf in the science fiction anthology title Weird Worlds for DC and Dominic Fortune, (inspired by his Scorpion character, originally drawn for Atlas Comics) for Marvel. Cody Starbuck, published in the anthology title Star Reach, was one of the first independent US titles of the 1970s.

He also worked on Heavy Metal and drew a graphic novel adaptation of Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination, and produced illustrations for works by Roger Zelazny.

American Flagg! first appeared in 1983, published by Chicago-based First Comics. He then updated and revamped The Shadow in a controversial but strong-selling four-issue mini-series for DC Comics in 1985. It was this book that arguably established him as a major creators in US comics, although his dedicated fans had been following his work for years.

These books were followed by titles such as graphic novel series Time2, described by Chaykin as one of his favourites among his own output, DC Comics character Blackhawk and his controversial but high-selling Black Kiss, a 12-issue series about sex-obsessed vampires in Hollywood published by Vortex Comics containing explicit depictions of sex and violence.

Chaykin's vast body of work also includes the three-issue prestige format mini-series Twilight, drawn by José Luis García-López, radically re-vampimg some 1950s DC Comics science fiction characters such as Tommy Tomorrow and Space Cabby; Cyberella, a cyberpunk dystopia written by Chaykin and drawn by Don Cameron; and an Elseworlds comic, Batman: Dark Allegiances which he wrote and drew in 1996. More recently, his work includes titles such as the three-issue mini-series Pulp Fantastic for Vertigo, pulp-adventure American Century with David Tischmann, set in post-war America, gangster vampire Bite Club and more. Currently artist on Punisher War Journal, he recently signed a deal to revive Supreme Power for Marvel.

Outside comics, his film and television work includes Executive Script Consultant for the CBS The Flash television series and the action-adventure series Viper. He was also part of the creative team on Mutant X.

Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said, "I'm a cult figure. I never became a star, and I'm comfortable with that."

"We're thrilled that such a visionary and prolific creator will be joining us this year for our annual celebration of the medium," says BICS co-coordinator Shane Chebsey, adding that UK guests confirmed for the weekend event include Alan Davis, Charlie Adlard, Duncan Fegredo plus many many more.

• To find out more about BICS 2009 at Birmingham's ThinkTank over 3-4 October visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk where you can also book tickets for the show.