ROK Comics teams with escape artist 'Master Merlini' for latest audio title

Lancaster-based ROK Comics, publisher of audio comics for a range of mobile devices, have announced the release of Master Merlini, its latest interactive title featuring an all-new incarnation of the real-life, world famous escape artist David Merlini.
Escape artist, crime fighter, adventurer, Master Merlini is all of these things and more, as he battles the villainous Caligari while a mysterious woman helps him discover an incredible truth about his world and his existence!

Written by Cy Dethan, author of the acclaimed Cancertown series and Starship Troopers, with art from Giancarlo Caracuzzo (artist on Marvel's Formic Wars and Gorilla Man), the debut Master Merlini audio comic plunges the hero into a strange world beyond our own, linked to a real world event in New York on April 18th 2013.

With full audio 'play' to accompany the comic and escape artist tricks revealed in exclusive videos as well as animations and extra background information on some of the characters, Master Merlini will leave you wondering... where does fiction end and reality begin?
Based on a concept by ROK Comics founder Jonathan Kendrick and David Merlini himself, who also voices his comic alter ego, Master Merlini merges the real world with a fiction that is all too real for its hero!
Master Merlini joins a range of audio comics published by ROK, including Team MOBILE, a teen secret agent title, Houdini Adventures and The Beatles Story. The company is developing a number of new audio comic titles. There's a full list of released comics below.
MASTER MERLINI ONLINE
• Master Merlini Online at www.mastermerlini.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Master-Merlini/576738435671570
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasterMerlini
Available now for iPad, iPhone and Android

• From iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/app/master-merlini/id615910310

• From Google Play for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.mastermerlini001

Other ROK Comics


Team MOBILE #1
https://itunes.apple.com/app/team-m.o.b.i.l.e-1/id578981996
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.teammobile01


Team MOBILE #2
https://itunes.apple.com/app/team-m.o.b.i.l.e-2/id579055097
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.teammobile02


Houdini Adventures #1
https://itunes.apple.com/app/houdini-adventures-1/id579058111
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.houdini


MUSIC COMICS

The Beatles Story

https://itunes.apple.com/app/the-beatles-story/id569176209
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.beatles001
Rick Fury

https://itunes.apple.com/app/rick-fury/id573928983
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.rickfury001


OG Niki
https://itunes.apple.com/app/og-niki/id594555051


ZeZi
https://itunes.apple.com/app/zezi/id573944649
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.zezi001


Joe Whelan
https://itunes.apple.com/app/joseph-whelan/id562249855
Also available for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rok.comics.joewhelan

British 'Showcase Comic' preps for October launch

A new title highlighting British comics talent is currently in pre-production, and set to launch later this year.

Announced last November, the British Showcase Comic from Markosia, dedicated to promoting the best indie British Talent working in Comics and Graphic Novels, will launch in Cardiff in October

The line up will include the work by creators such as Cy Dethan, Amrit Birdi, Graeme Howard, Russ Leach, Peter Mason, Cheuk Po, Pete Rogers, Matthew Soffe and Nic Wilkinson.

• The official page for the British Showcase comic book anthology is on facebook here

 

•  Visit Markosia's website to see the great titles they already have on offer. www.markosia.com

Cancertown creeps back to scare readers again

We can no longer protect you. Cancertown 2: Blasphemous Tumours is coming... and the creative tram is now accepting pre-orders for the book before its official launch in November.

If you order now, you're also in with a chance to win a framed piece of art by the book's artist, Graeme Howard.

 

Set six months after the events of the indie comics horror hit Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth, Vince Morley is a dangerously sick man. Bugf**k is in a psychiatric hospital, sticky fingers picking through the darkest corners of the mind that brought Cancertown into existence. The crossing points between Morley’s two realities are wearing thin and all the rules are changing. 

 

Within Cancertown, something new has appeared – a creature of horrific violence and limitless rage. The foundations are shaking and the old powers are falling, one by one. Papercut, deadliest of the Cancertown players, seeks out Morley to claim the favour he owes her – a favour that could cost him more than just his life.

Written by Cy Dethan, with pencils by Graeme Howard, colour by Peter Mason and lettered by Nic Wilkinson, Cancertown 2: Blasphemous Tumours is set for a November 2012 from Markosia - so get one ordered now before it gets drowned in the latest Marvel/DC crossover melee and never makes it to your local comic shop.

In May 2009, an unknown team unleashed their first creator-owned work, Cancertown, on an unsuspecting world. As the scrappy indie outsider flew off the stands at Bristol Con at its astounding launch weekend, it earned high praise from the likes of comic book legend Bryan Talbot and others, including myself.

Suitably encouraged, Cy and company are now back with a second helping of Cancertown and if the art they've shown off on their blog and via MyEBook is anything to go by, this sequel is even more disturbing but enthralling as the first, and it's likely to be a smash hit when it launches at the Thought Bubble Sequential Arts Festival in Leeds in November.

The Cancer Cell has grown and mutated to include the talents of Graeme (Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague) Howard on pencils and amazing new discovery Peter Mason on colours.

 

The book is the focus of a Pre-order Offer prior to its Thought Bubble debut:

• £12 Cancertown 2 (prepaid, pre-order for posting or collection)
• £15 Cancertown 2 (buy from the table at Thought Bubble Launch) 
• £20 Cancertown 1 and 2 (pre-order or from the table for posting or collection)

Everybody who pre-orders will be entered into a draw to win a framed original sketch of the Cancertown characters by Graeme Howard.

Every pre-order will also have a DVD containing the following:

• Scripts for all six chapters 
• Script for a previously unseen Crosshair origin short story 
• Cover concepts 
• Full chapter in inks Full chapter in colours 

Postage: £2.50 UK, £4.00 Rest of World. Payment must be received for pre-orders by 1st November 2012 to qualify for pre-order price, competition and extras DVD. Normal cover price of the book is £16.99 (180 pages, colour). You can pay by cheque or Paypal.

• Please visit http://theraggedman.blogspot.co.uk/p/special-offers-and-pre-orders.html or email cy@cydethan.com for more details, to place your order or for payment information.

• Read a free 11-page preview: http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=128757

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From writer and fan Cy Dethan

Name: Cy Dethan

Website: www.cydethan.com

Blog: www.raggedman.com

Currently working on:

Right now I've got enough projects in the works to knock a buzzard off a gut-wagon. Among those currently scheduled for 2012 are White Knuckle (Art: Valia Kapadai, Letters: Nic Wilkinson) - a complex and intense psychological thriller, distorting the ever-popular "retired gunslinger" motif into a rain-slick urban fantasy of murderous men and the needs that drive them.

Plus Cancertown: Blasphemous Tumours (Pencils and Inks: Graeme Howard, Colours: Peter Mason, Letters: Nic Wilkinson). Set six months after the events of Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth, Vince Morley is a dangerously sick man.

Bug**** is in a psychiatric hospital, sticky fingers picking through the darkest corners of the mind that brought Cancertown into existence. The crossing points between Morley’s two realities are wearing thin and all the rules are changing... and something new has appeared – a creature of horrific violence and limitless rage. The foundations are shaking and the old powers are falling, one by one. Papercut, deadliest of the Cancertown players, seeks out Morley to claim the favour he owes her – a favour that could cost him more than just his life.

First memory of 2000AD?

My earliest memory of the comic would probably be the 1983 hardcover annual, which I got from an aunt as a Christmas present. As a primer for the whole 2000AD phenomenon, you really couldn't ask for a more concentrated jolt of chaos than that collection.

It was a crash course in everything 2000AD was about, from the iconic Dredd and Strontium Dog stories to my first terrifying encounter with the team of Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill on their "Secret Life of the Blitzspear". I still have the annual, and I still return to it almost 30 years later. How many books can you honestly say that about?

Favourite Character or Story?

I guess, in terms of the lasting effect they've had on me, I'd have to single out Hewligan's Haircut here. That strip seemed to exist purely to break rules and defy expectations. They were doing things I'd never imagined possible in the storytelling of that strip, and I've still never seen anything like it since.

What do you like most about the 2000AD?

In a word: spite. 2000AD for me has a raw viciousness mixed in with the humour and adventure that you rarely see executed so well and so enjoyably. 2000AD at its best is a comic that glories in its own wildness and would cheerfully kill you as a punchline.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?

Much the same as I expect of myself as I head into mine. I want to see rebellion, dark humour and utter shamelessness on every level.

If you worked on 2000AD, do you have an anecdote you'd like to share about your experience of Tharg and his minions?

Nope, never pitched them anything. Hell, maybe I should...

• This post is one in a series of tributes to 2000AD to mark its 35th birthday on 26th February 2012. More about 2000AD at www.2000adonline.com

2000AD © Rebellion <

In Review: Thought Bubble 2011

Comics writer Cy Dethan was one of many creators at this year's Thought Bubble event in Leeds earlier this month and has kindly agreed to let us post his thoughts on the vent on downthetubes, first published on his own blog...

Thought Bubble has always been considered a creator-friendly convention, so it was a massive kick to be launching three separate ventures at this one. Firstly, we had the long-awaited print release of The Indifference Engine: A Holographic Novel, which I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Having Rob Carey, the book’s artist, at the table over the weekend was deeply cool, as the man’s a total dynamo.

(Under the heading of “speaking in whispers so we don’t jinx it,” a brief conversation with Markosia suddenly means work on an I sequel is likely to kick off in earnest very soon...)

Next up was Broadcast: the TV Doodles of Henry Flint. Being a dedicated art book, this is really Henry’s show. In providing a sort of contextual commentary to the work, my role is pretty much that of a DVD extra. That said, I had an incredible time wrapping my skull around the disarming, disturbing weirdness that Henry so masterfully orchestrates, and hopefully some of that comes across in my contribution to the completed book.

Finally, there was Barry Nugent’s Tales of the Fallen anthology. Barry’s development of the Unseen Shadows property from self-published cult hit to full-on transmedia empire has proven a masterclass in what a creator with a clear vision can accomplish. With scripts from Richmond Clements, Pete Rogers, Dan Thompson and myself, and art by Steve Penfold, Conor Boyle, Roy Stewart and my Indifference Engine co-creator, Rob Carey, Tales of the Fallen fleshes out the backgrounds of several key figures from the Unseen Shadows universe while retaining a stand-alone independence that requires no prior knowledge of the novel. It was an extraordinary project to have been involved in, and I’m looking forward to getting my second bite soon.

The pre-ordering system Markosia has been operating turned out to have been a virtual necessity, as both their entire stock and ours of Indifference Engine and Slaughterman’s Creed were wiped out at the convention, due in no small part to comic shop owners looking to take large bundles of books from the tables. With more and more shops now opting to deal more directly with publishers, initiatives like pre-ordering and Stuart Gould’s excellent UK Comics service (whose first catalogue is now available) are becoming increasingly central to the indie scene.
 

My partner, Nic Wilkinson, was saved from performing a 50-minute lettering solo at the Saturday afternoon lettering workshop when she was joined by Ian Sharman in his hard-rocking steampunk hat. What emerged from this was one of the most interesting convention panels I’ve ever seen, with Nic and Ian taking attendees through the broad concepts and tiny details that underly comic book lettering, demonstrating that attention and forethought given to lettering strategy at every stage of a comic’s production make all the difference between seamless, fluid storytelling and becoming unreadable. For the rest of the show there was a steady stream of people coming up to the table with more questions about lettering, or asking for advice on the artistic and technical side of things. (Jim Campbell was sadly prevented from making the show this year due to a sudden deadline crunch but check out his blog for some of the best tutorials and info around).

On Sunday it was my turn to take a minor corner of that same stage (at the Alea Casino Cinema Room, straight across the gaming hall, turn left at the 1970s and take the lift t0 the second floor – if you saw the place you’d understand) for the Unseen Shadows panel. In the company of (almost) the whole creative squad, Barry took the audience through the evolution of the project from first principles to the verge of total media domination. I got to rattle off a few words about my Wrath of God story, which is a multi-narrative piece told almost entirely through the medium of gunplay. Great fun to write, and the art team of Steve Penfold and Gat Melvyn did a stunning job of bringing it to life. In a surprise move, Barry took the opportunity to announce a four-part miniseries involving Wrath of God’s protagonist, The Reverend, with the same creative team, along with a similar venture for Napoleon Stone by Fragments of Fate creators Pete Rogers and Roy Stewart.

Along with our launch books, Nic and I had taken along digital previews of Cancertown 2: Blasphemous Tumours and White Knuckle. Thanks to everyone who asked about those. The level of interest and responses we got were really stunning, with the terms “dark”, “haunting” and “ominous” providing recurrent themes. I’ll be posting more as things develop on these projects, and both books are looking solid for launches in the first half of 2012.

In the “great to finally meet” category, we have Starburst columnist and horror writer, Philip Buchan (whose work combines Romantic Poet sensibilities with balls-out body-shock atrocity), artist Alwyn Talbot, whom I seriously need to work with right now, and both Conor Boyle and Roy Stewart, with whom I am currently working but can’t really talk about yet. Outstanding to catch up with all of these guys.

Another key figure in this category would be Jacob Welby, a writer I’ve been in email contact with for a while. Jacob’s got what I consider to be a really strong, deeply original story to tell, and an artist ideally suited to tell it with him, so I was excited to be able to introduce him to Markosia boss, Harry Markos, and watch him deliver his pitch. Best of luck to you, mate.

As far as weekend purchases go, my personal highlights would have to include a double-shot of Time Bomb Comics’ Dick Turpin books (by Steve Tanner, Andrew Dodd and Cancertown 2’s Graeme Howard), Jennifer Wilde #1 (Maura McHugh and Stephen Downey) and Dark Judgement 2, the second all-Rich McAuliffe and Conor Boyle Dark Judges book from Futurequake.

Random personal highlights would also feature tag-teaming with Corey Brotherson to introduce Jennie Gyllblad to the underlying concepts of professional wrestling, watching David Monteith win at life as he toured the convention with his wife and new child (described at one point as a baby wearing a full-size Predator backpack), Nic developing a new life goal of becoming a professional Roller Derby player while I snagged an incredible piece of art from Vicky Stonebridge as a present for her and reuniting the Digital Wolfpack when Paul Richardson arrived at the table.

In summary, I can’t stress enough how smoothly and professionally Thought Bubble is run. It basically doubled in size this year and there wasn’t a single sign of strain from where I was sitting. Congratulations, gratitude and a permanent slot in my convention schedule are most certainly due.

In fact, my only slightly shaky experience over the entire weekend was a minor Highlander moment I had during the Saturday night mid-convention party, on receiving the ominous warning, “Gary’s brought his cards”. This seemingly innocuous comment instantly brought the Quickening upon me, as it could mean only one thing: another magician was on the premises. It is a little-known fact that when two magicians meet on non-consecrated grounds, they must duel for The Prize. 

Luckily for all involved, I never found out who the mysterious “Gary” was, and his cards appear to have remained safely in their scabbard for the duration of my stay. There can, after all, be only one...

• Cy Dethan is a British comics writer whose credits include Cancertown, Slaughterman's Creed and the Starship Troopers Ongoing Series, currently kicking bloody great lumps out of the British comics industry. Check out his blog at http://theraggedman.blogspot.com

• Check out info on Thought Bubble at: http://thoughtbubblefestival.com

• Blogomatic 3000: Thought Bubble - Day 1 in Pictures

More Reviews

• Kristyna Baczynski: Thought Bubble 2011
"... Always the highlight of my creative year both productively, working to release new content for the festival, and socially, meeting and talking to more excellent people in the festival week than cumulatively across the other fifty-one of the year. This year was super special, as I had the honour of being Thought Bubble's first Artist In Residence..."

• Comic Conventions UK

• Forbidden Planet International Blog, Part One

• Forbidden Planet International Blog, Part Two

• Lee Robson: Random Thoughts on Thought Bubble 
"The key thing about this year's Thought Bubble for me (apart from an aching pair of feet), was that I've come away from it feeling more energised and upbeat about comics and writing in general."

• SFX: Thought Bubble - a Comic Convention for all the Family  
"There was all the usual fabulousness that Thought Bubble offers, and loads more beside: interesting and informative panels; dealer rooms that are like comicky caverns filled with a delicious mixture of small/indie and mainstream press selling their wares; signing tables with everyone from Gail Simone and Jeff Lemire to Mick McMahon and Roger Langridge; and the more unusual things like Planet Replicas where I picked up a brilliant Dredd badge keyring."

Markosia's mind-bending comic releases!

It’s not often you get to release a book that causes people to worry about reality and feel unstable after reading it - which is how I felt after reading one of them. It’s almost unthinkable, dangerous even, that you might release two such subversive creations at once. That, however, is just what Markosia Enterprises is planning to do this November. Stay tuned to find out what will be left standing when these monsters collide.

Broadcast: The TV Doodles of Henry Flint

“The mind of Henry Flint is a galaxy of beautiful atrocities – a nightmare factory where the bestial becomes benign, the mundane magical. Henry Flint is at once a full-service doodling savant and a one-man alien zoo, and this never-before-seen collection of his personal work is an attempt to chart a single, crooked leg of the artistic journey he takes daily. Welcome to the best of the bestiary.”

Broadcast offers something very different from Henry Flint’s narrative artwork, familiar to fans worldwide from his books for 2000AD, Vertigo and Dark Horse. With writer Cy Dethan acting as guide to the reader, the book is at once a treasure map and an open invitation to explore Henry’s personal work and zen-like experiments in art.

The Indifference Engine: A Holographic Novel 

“Responding to a strangely specific job advertisement, Alan Blake, a distinctly ordinary twenty-something suburban slacker finds himself in the middle of an inter-dimensional task force staffed entirely by superhuman alternate versions of himself. Struggling to fit in, he uncovers a conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of the organisation – a conspiracy that only he can stop.”

“Being a science fiction fan,” says Wayne Hall of Sci-Fi Pulse, “I sometimes ache for a comic that will challenge my perceptions of the world, of the universe, of my way of thinking... The Indifference Engine scratches that itch spectacularly!"

This is Cy Dethan’s third original graphic novel from Markosia and he is joined this time around by hot-shot new artist Rob Carey, along with colourist Mel Cook and letterer Nic Wilkinson. Following the convention-busting performance of the horror-noir Cancertown and the surreal gangland thriller Slaughterman’s Creed, it already looks as if Dethan’s first creator-owned sci-fi story, which I'm happy to declare a gripping, nihilist alternate reality adventure, so let's hope it will be enjoying the same levels of success.

Dethan first explored the genre for Markosia as writer of their Starship Troopers line.

The digital version of the book has already been incredibly popular. Cy Dethan's script is superb, and this is a tightly-written multi-universe-spanning adventure tale and it's...definitely a book to look out for.

• A free preview of The Indifference Engine can be read at http://www.cydethan.com/index.php?page=free-online-preview. 

• Pre-order Broadcast through the Markosia website: http://www.markosia.com/wordpress/titles/broadcast-the-tv-doodles-of-henry-flint/

• Pre-order The Indifference Engine through the Markosia website: http://www.markosia.com/wordpress/titles/The-Indifference-Engine/

Jonathan Ross praises "Tales of the Fallen" in special intro

Jonathan Ross (left) with Barry Nugent (right)

(with thanks to Barry Nugent) Turf witer and TV broadcaster and presenter Jonathan Ross has provided a special intorduction to Tales of the Fallen, the latest project set in the Unseen Shadows universe.

"If, like me, you like rip-roaring testosterone fuelled pulp fiction," enthuses Ross, "with soldiers, and mysteries, and all round weird stuff in, then this is the book for you."

"The above sentence is a very small portion of a special introduction," says Barry, who's also co-founder of the smashing cult news site Geek Syndicate. "As most of us in the comic world know Jonathan is also a huge comic fan and has recently become a comic writer with his Turf mini series published by Image Comics.

"I approached Jonathan a while back with Tales of the Fallen and asked him if he would be interested in writing the introduction for the anthology," he reveals. " To say I was pleased when he accepted is a little bit of an understatement. Since then I’ve kept Jonathan’s involvement under wraps, from pretty much everyone on the creative team, as I wanted this to be one last surprise before the book went off to the printers."

Tales of the Fallen offers the stories of murderers, martyrs and mercenaries in the no-man’s-land between adventure and crusade – soldiers of fate and fierce honour, bound together in mystery, darkness and blood. Their enemies are shadows haunting the outermost borders of a darkening world, and as night approaches the shadows grow long.

Creators on the four stories are Richmond Clements, Cy Dethan Pete Rogers and Dan Thompon (Writers); Conor Boyle, Rob Carey and Steve Penfold (Art); Gat Melvin, Roy Huteson Stewart and Vicky Stonebridge (Colours); Paul Mclaren and Nic Wilkinson (Lettering).

• To read full Jonathan’s full introduction pre-order your copy of Tales of the Fallen now at special price of £8.50 with a free digital version

Tales of the Fallen anthology cover revealed

Barry Nugent's rapidly expanding Unseen Shadows universe, which encompasses novels, comics and audio drama, has another addition on the way - a Tales of the Fallen anthology, hopefully due for release at the Thought Bubble in Leeds in November.

Barry tells us artwork is coming in from left, right and centre for the book which will come wrapped in a cover by Rob Carey (right). Writer Cy Dethan also offers this synopsis of the book:

They are murderers, martyrs and mercenaries in the no-man’s-land between adventure and crusade – soldiers of fate and fierce honour, bound together in mystery, darkness and blood. Their enemies are shadows haunting the outermost borders of a darkening world, and as night approaches the shadows grow long.

They are the Fallen, and these are their stories.

The Unseen Shadows universe kicked off with the Fallen Heroes novel - a follow-up, Forgotten Warriors, is on the way. It's a project that has also spanned comics, CDs and even, soon, a series of live action web episodes is currently being planned in conjunction with Zzizzl Media. 

"Originally Fallen Heroes was called Unseen Shadows but the more I worked on the story the more I felt that the title was a little too overarching to fit one book," says Barry of the project. "I knew I was going to tell this one huge adventure spread over three books and so Unseen Shadows became the overall theme for that story.

"Now with the ongoing work to expand the world and characters I’ve created via the mediums of comics, audio and live action it made sense to bring the term ‘Unseen Shadows’ more to the forefront. I know a lot of people, myself included sometimes, still refer to everything involved with the project as Fallen Heroes but in truth everything being worked on is part of the Unseen Shadows universe. It was one of the reasons I decided to launch a new website to try to reinforce that message.

"The really exciting thing for me is how the spin-off work has affected me as I work on the second book in the trilogy, Forgotten Warriors," he continues. "I found myself subconsciously referencing events in the spin-off scripts as if they were canon and then the thought occurred to me ‘Why don’t I just make them canon’. 

"So now every member of the creative team knows that their material is 100 per cent a part of the Unseen Shadows universe and not just a nice little side story with no impact on the events surrounding it." 

That team includes writers Martin Conaghan, Cy Dethan, Dan Thompson, Richmond Clements and Pete Rogers along with artists such as Conor Boyle, Steve Penfold and Roy Huteson Stewart.

"The spin-offs expand and enhance the characters lives and relationships within the novels," says Barry. "Although the books and the spin offs can be read and enjoyed independently of each other you will get more insights into the characters by experiencing all the stories across the Unseen Shadows universe. At least that is the plan we are all working towards. 

"You want to know more about the how the Reverend was trained to become the man we see in Fallen Heroes? Then you Cy Dethan’s The Reverend: Wrath of God comic. If you’ve ever wondered how did a decorated solider like Clancy become a mercenary then Dan Thompson’s Clancy Wallencheck: Band of Butchers is for you. Desperate to learn about the inner working of the Icarus Foundation? Alan White’s Tales of the Fallen: Empire of Blood audio drama is the place to begin your education."

• More about Unseen Shadows at: http://unseenshadows.com or on Facebook. Follow Barry on Twitter @ba_nuge

Overload yourself at the Glasgow Comic Con

If you're at the Glasgow ComicCon this Saturday, then look out for copies of Martin Conaghan's new title, Overload, which comes wrapped in this ace cover by Roy Stewart.

All work in the title is creator-owned, with Overload reserving some reprint and digital rights.

"I started up my own company, The Copydesk Ltd, a few months ago with a view to publishing some of my own projects," Martin says of the project "and I'm starting with a US-format black and white anthology title called Overload. It'll be short run stuff, but will hopefully build.

"Issue #0 comprises my old six-page stories, previously published in Negative Burn and some other places, but it helps me get it off the ground.

"I'm planning for it to be semi-regular, perhaps quarterly at first and I'm aiming to crowdsource some of the money to cover costs etc.

"I've started gathering a roster of names for issue #1," he reveals, which I'm aiming to have done by October (in time for the Leeds' Thought Bubble convention) and then I'll work on a schedule from there.

"So far, I've recruited Gordon Rennie, James Peaty, Vito Delsante, Cy Dethan, Matt Gibbs and Martin Hayes (plus me) for issue #1. It's a good blend of established, semi-established and up-coming writers. For now, it's invite-only, so I'm being careful about how I source contributors."

• Overload #0 will be sell at the Glasgow Con, price  £4 (44 pages, b/w, colour cover).

Take a Butcher’s at Slaughterman’s Creed

Markosia Enterprises have just announced their new graphic novel, Slaughterman’s Creed - a surreal London gangland thriller which combines the vicious intensity of British crime fiction with the structure and spirit of a Samurai revenge drama in a nightmarishly compelling urban fantasy.

The book re-unites writer Cy Dethan with artist Stephen Downey, the creators of the 2009 indie hit, Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth. Set in a world where an ethical knife-edge is all that separates hero from villain, the story combines a strong British crime aesthetic with mythological overtones and a distinctive noir edge.

“What you will find is a nasty, dark tale which cuts into the underbelly of gangland London," enthuses Laurence “The Punisher” Campbell in the album's foreword. "Think The Long Good Friday meets No Country For Old Men.

"... Cy Dethan pushes the boundaries. No, not pushes them - casually disregards them and walks right over them.”

Definitely not a book for the squeamish, as you'll gather from this free 12-page preview, the story centres on Sidney,   a professional killer working for Big Lenny Addison, a London ganglord specialising in human trafficking. He is almost completely uneducated except in his family’s trade at which he is an unparalleled expert.

When he's called upon to breach his code and bring a pregnant woman to slaughter, Sidney's world is changed forever. Betrayed by those he has served his whole life, the Slaughterman embarks on a bloody vendetta - determined to put Addison's entire monstrous empire to the blade.”

Described by writer Cy Dethan as “a story of the fall and rise of monsters”, the book is already carving a name a name for itself on the independent comic scene.
"My plan was to take my time and read Slaughterman’s Creed over a few days, but pretty much by page five I was in for the long haul and ended up reading the whole thing in a single sitting," says  Barry Nugent of The Geek Syndicate, while over at Sci-Fi Pulse, it gave reviewer Wayne Hall a case of the night terrors - although, strangely, he seems to have enjoyed them. "If Mr. Dethan keeps delivering this kind of novel perspective on the world, I’ll have trouble sleeping at night, says Wayne. "... But I was gripped from the first page, so please keep it up!"

Slaughterman’s Creed is published by Markosia Enterprises and will launch on 14th May  at the Bristol Comic and Small Press Expo, as part of the Markosia Madness event, which will include signing, sketching and facepainting.

A limited signed edition, costing £10 (RRP Price £12.99), is available to pre-order, which also includes entry into a draw to win a piece of original art by Stephen Downey and Vicky Stonebridge.

• Pre-order details can be found at Cy Dethan’s blog. The book can be ordered through the March edition of Diamond Previews in the usual way using order code MAR11 0811.

• Slaughterman’s Creed is also available digitally on the Sony Playstation Network with audio commentary by Cy Dethan, and will be available on Comixology and Graphic.ly, with other formats to follow.


Slaughterman's Creed - Credits
Writer: Cy Dethan
Pencils & colours chapters 1-2: Stephen Downey
Inks: Andy Brown
Colours: Vicky Stonebridge
Letters: Nic Wilkinson
Cover: Ryan Brown
Foreword: Laurence Campbell

• More info at: www.slaughtermanscreed.com

Markosia to publish Henry Fint art book

(via ECBT2000AD and Cy Dethan): Markosia will be publishing Broadcast, The TV Doodles of Henry Flint later this year.

The book will contain about 100 pieces of all new artwork from Henry, best known for his work on 2000AD, Vertigo and Dark Horse, along with text and commentary co-written by Cy Dethan, author of Cancertown and just-launched Slaughterman’s Creed.

"It's Henry's personal work and will take a look at the stories behind the art, Henry's creative process, and, perhaps more scarily, explore the receiving equipment inside his head!" notes Cy.

"The book will be published by Markosia, and it's their first art book, but when Harry Markos heard about that the book was looking for a new publisher he leapt at it, being a big fan of Henry's work himself."

Posting a couple of examples of Henry's work on the Everything Comes Back to 2000AD blog, Rich Mcauliffe says " the scans I’ve posted here are doing the peices and their insane levels of detail no justice whatsover so I’m really looking forward to checking out these previews and of course the finished book."


• Broadcast, The TV Doodles of Henry Flint is due to be published in time for the 2011 Birmingham International Comic Expo but expect to see previews on the Markosia stand at this year's Bristol Con. Web: www.markosia.com

Art © 2011 Henry Flint

Indifference Engine released in time for Christmas

One of the upcoming titles from Markosia thrust into my eager paws over the past couple of months was The Indifference Engine, written by Cy Dethan (writer of Cancertown) with pencils by Robert Carey.

It's a great timeline-spanning four-part mini-series, centring on one Alan Blake, a distinctly ordinary 20-something suburban slacker responding to a strange job advertisement who finds himself in the middle of an inter-dimensional task force staffed entirely by superhuman alternate versions of himself.

Struggling to fit in, he uncovers a conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of the organisation – a conspiracy that only he can stop.

There's some good news for people intirgued by this premise, because the book has been bumped up Markosia Publications’ release schedule and has made its way to the Playstation Network Comic Store just in time for Christmas.

You might recall I enthused about this book a while back, and now you can find out about the title for yourselves, which should make Rob Carey very happy as this his first full length graphic novel.

Meanwhile, over on the PSN blog, Pauline Martyn, the Publishing Manager at PSN Digital Comics posted: “Cancertown was one of the highlights of our early offerings – a great series which steadily grew a loyal cult following during its time on the store."

“You’re going to be freaked out," enthuses publisher Harry Markos of the book. "I warned you, a while ago, that The Indifference Engine would blow your minds. Well, as promised, issue one is here to do just that..."

• Read a free preview of the first 14 pages over on the website along with a sneak peak at art from later episodes.
• For those who don't have a PSP, look out for other formats next year - and there is already a sequel in the works!

Drop in on comics artist Vicky Stonebridge

Vicky Stonebridge at work

For those of you going to the British comics convention Thought Bubble in Leed this weekend, drop in on the Eco-comics workshop run by Sci-Fi Art Now contributor  Vicky Stonebridge.

The workshop will run from 1.30pm-4pm on Sunday in the Leeds Art Gallery Tiled Hall and
admission is free.

Vicky, who's currently working on the comics project Slaughterman's Creed written by Cy Dethan for Markosia, will be showing how to make your own handmade small storybooks using a variety of recycled products such as waste products, old magazines, scrap paper and packaging.

"It's quick, easy and fun to do," she enthuses.

This is a drop in workshop, but places are limited so if you want to be sure of a place you can pre-book by emailing thoughtbubbleinfo@googlemail.com.

Vicky will also have prints of her own work for sale over the weekend.

• The full programme of Thought Bubble events is here:www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/full%20programme%20new.asp

• More about Slaughterman's Creed


• Read an interview with Vicky on the SciFi-Art Now blog


• Visit Vicky's web site at: www.balnacra.com

Preview: Markosia's The Indifference Engine by Dethan, Carey

Cy Dethan and Robert Carey's new project, The Indifference Engine, is set to be released soon by publishers Markosia. The team on the book have kindly sent us a review copy of this tightly-written multi-universe-spanning adventure tale -- and it's definitely a book to look out for if you're a fan of alternate timelines and other such SF themes.

Responding to a strangely specific job advertisement, Alan Blake, a distinctly ordinary 20-something suburban slacker finds himself in the middle of an inter-dimensional task force staffed entirely by superhuman alternate versions of himself. Struggling to fit in, he uncovers a conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of the organisation – a conspiracy that only he can stop.

Alan, by any credible standard, is a waste of good skin - a directionless and ambitionless slacker whose single most notable characteristic is that he makes other people feel good about themselves in comparison to him.

Alan considers himself a good listener, but it’s more complex than that. It’s almost like he absorbs other people’s problems and somehow unburdens them. If he weren’t such a loser, that one character trait alone could have made him immensely popular. Still, at least he serves a purpose of sorts. Whatever your own personal flaws or failings, hey – it could be worse. You could be Alan Blake.

Cy Dethan's script is superb on this book, with Robert Carey bringing what the team describe as "just the right combination of subtlety and power that the book needs in the art", with Mel Cook on colours and Nic Wilkinson on lettering.

Speaking at the British International Comic Show last weekend, Markosia's head honcho Harry Markos told the audience of a panel about British comics that he had some 60-plus books in development at present. The Indifference Engine looks set to be one to look out for.

• Visit Markosia's official site for release information: www.markosia.com
• More info on Cy Dethan's blog: www.cydethan.com/index.php?page=the-indifference-engine 
•  Previews of The Indifference Engine Pages 1-4 (Pencils)
•  Read Free Online Preview of The Indifference Engine

Cancertown joins Markosia publication line up

Cancertown - one of the books published by now defunct publisher Insomnia - has found a new home with Markosia.

Written by Cy Dethan with art from Stephen Downey, with colour by Melanie Cook and lettering by Nic Wilkinson, Cancertown was well received on publication (downthetubes enthused about it here). It had a very successful launch weekend at the 2009 Bristol Comic Expo; a the string of bookshop signings  followed and earned  consistent top-ten status on the PSP download charts.

"Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth was always a book with a much higher profile than we had any right to expect," notes Cy Dethan in a recent blog post. With the echoes of the apocalyptic Insomnia Incident still ringing in our ears, the Cancer Cell (that is, Nic, Stephen, Mel and I) started trying to work out precisely where the book now stood. It was at this point that Markosia stepped in and saved the day once again.

"Right from my first steps in comics, Markosia has been nothing but good luck for me," Cy enthuses, "so when Harry Markos signed Cancertown up it was a significant, even hazardous amount of joy to dump on me all at once. Right now we're looking at getting the book back up on the PSP store as soon as possible, with other formats to follow."

• The Cancertown team will be at the British International Comic Show next weekend - catch them there to find out about the plans for the future

In Review: Cancertown

While regular downthetubes readers are well aware there are plenty of "graphic novels" on the market, they also know many are actually collections of monthly comics, better known as "trade paperbacks", perhaps complemented by additional material such as pin ups and background "extras". It's actually quite rare to pick up a graphic novel that truly exploits the opportunities afforded by the longform equivalent of a novel, slowly but surely delivering a story over many pages rather than in bite-sized, previously-published material.

Cancertown is one of those exceptions.

It's the story of Morley, a former mental patient with an inoperable brain tumour who conducts search-and-rescue missions into a monstrous, alternate version of London. Except that, if you're reading Cancertown without the advantage of press previews, even this nugget of information only becomes apparent as you read the story - and that carefully strung out, steadily-paced unfolding of the story is just one of the appeals of this horror tale, a book I described to someone asking me what it was about as a "rip-roaring mindf***".

Morley suffers from a rare mental disorder that causes him to believe a number of weird things about himself and his relationship to the outside world. The major upshot of this is that his delusions manifest themselves in a twisted alternate world he calls Cancertown. The real fun for Morley began when dispossessed people - those who were lost or who had a diminished sense of their own identity - started to fall into Cancertown and Morley decided that his purpose in life was to find those people and return them to the real world before they became permanent residents.

Cancertown is no easy read: you have to pay attention as Morley's adventure and encounters with warped characters such as Corpsegrinder and Piecemaker unfold, and what may be the truth of the origin of Cancertown is revealed. The overall feel of the book is distinctly unsettling but rivetting -- a graphic novel you'll find yourself wanting to read in one sitting.

Speaking personally, I think I would rather have had a little more exposition than unasnswered mysteries, but that isn't to denigrate Cy Dethan's script, which successfully delivers a powerful horror story, ably complemented by Stephen Downey's creepy otherworld art, the Cancertown elements juxtaposed by very realistic "real world" sequences the artist reveals in background notes are based on photo shoots and other reference. While this is still early days for Downey, with the right guidance I can easily see him making the jump to, say, drawing for Vertigo or other publishers. Good luck to him -- and Cy, too, whose potential as a writer is, frankly, enormous.

Considering that all the creators involved in this project are, for the most part, relative newcomers to the professional comics industry, and the opportunities to break into the maintstream these days are scarce, they can all can be proud of their work on this book. In his introduction, veteran comic creator Bryan Talbot, whose talent for creating longform graphic novels himself is well known, suggests we're seeing the first outing of creators who will make their mark in future on the wider comic industry: and I can fully agree with that sentiment.

A tip of the hat too, to newcomer publisher Insomnia Publications for publishing Cancertown: they're nurturing some fine new talents that would otherwise find publishing opportunities in short supply, and if this first title is any evidence of intent, then we can expect further treats in coming months.

• Cancertown is written by Cy Dethan with art from Stephen Downey, with colour by Melanie Cook and lettering by Nic Wilkinson and is introduced by Bryan Talbot. It's available from specialist comic stores and the Insomnia Publications web site: www.insomniapublications.com /

CancerTown Signings Announced

Cy Dethan, writer of Insomnia Publications new graphic novel Cancertown, has revealed several signings are planned for the book, which features art by Stephen Downey, colours by Melanie Cook and letters by Nic Wilkinson.

The first to be announced are:

• Forbidden Planet, Belfast 2 - 4.00pm Saturday 30th May
Signing by artist Stephen Downey who will be offering a free, unique sketch to anyone who buys a copy. Official Forbidden Planet announcement here

• Whatever Comics, Canterbury 11.00am - 4.00pm Saturday 6th June
"Whatever Comics is unquestionably my all-time favourite comic shop," says Cy, "and its owners have been among my strongest supporters throughout my adventures in the comics business, so this one's a lot like coming home for me. Nic Wilkinson, Insomnia's Creative Director, will also be at the signing.

• Waterstones, Chelmsford Saturday 27th June

More details and dates to follow, including signings in Dublin and Newport on the Isle of Wight.

Cancertown centres on Vince Morley, a man with big problems and a brain tumour like a baby's fist, living with one foot in a monstrous alternate world he calls Cancertown.

When the lost and dispossessed of London start tripping over the same cracks in reality he spends his life avoiding, Morley realises he must confront the residents of Cancertown - and risk finding his place among them.

• Order Cancertown from Amazon

Cancertown To Get Expo Launch

When Bryan Talbot, multi-Eisner award winning creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, the first British graphic novel, reads the first ever creator-owned work from a new creative team and says its the first outing of creators "will make their mark on the future comic industry," it's time to sit up and take notice.

Here at downthetubes we've been playing close attention to developments at Insomnia Publications, and the fast-developing acclaim writer Cy Dethan and artist Stephen Downey, two of over 100 creators the company has been working with, have been getting.

We've also plugged Cancertown, written by Cy with art Stephen Downey and we're delighted to report the book will be launched at the Bristol International Comics Expo next month.

Cancertown is the story of Vince Morley, a man with big problems and a brain tumour like a baby's fist, who lives with one foot in a monstrous alternate world he calls Cancertown. When the lost and dispossessed of London start tripping over the same cracks in reality he spends his life avoiding, Morley realises he must confront the residents of Cancertown - and risk finding his place among them.

The book is the first creator-owned title by Cy Dethan from Edinburgh-based Insomnia Publications, tipped as “ones to watch” in the Forbidden Planet blog’s “Best of the year 2008” roundup.

"Cancertown will disorientate you, suck you in, chew you up and spit you out and you might well be in need of a change of underwear by the end," warns Bryan Talbot in his introduction for the book, enthusing of the creative team behind it. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

“Unusually for a book from an independent publisher we have had to increase the initial print run by 50% based on pre-orders alone,” said Crawford Coutts, Managing Director of Insomnia.
Cancertown is the second title to be released this year by the publishing company which now is now working with over 100 creators, many of whom have worked for Marvel, DC, 2000AD, Image, DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. Heavy Metal, ImagineFX, IDW, Caliber Comics and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

“The buzz surrounding the launch is incredible,” continues Crawford, “and credit is due to all the other Insomnia creators who have been doing a fantastic job promoting each other's work around the web, on Twitter, at events etc. This mutual support by creators is exactly what we were aiming for when Insomnia was founded. The results of this have been unbelievable and will only get stronger as we grow.”

Formed in 2006 by Dundee University graduate and former DC Thomson & Co. Ltd employee, Crawford Coutts, Insomnia Publications will release six titles in 2009 and has more than 20 further titles already in development by international creative teams, scheduled for release over the next two years.

The company has already gained critical acclaim for anthology title Layer Zero and the graphic novel Cages and the company was recently selected to be a part of Scottish Enterprise’s Growth Pipeline, to assist Insomnia develop and grow.

“Insomnia’s books are aimed at older teen and adult readers," says Crawford. "With each of our products we look to publish something which is unusual, literate and thought provoking and Cancertown succeeds in meeting all three dead on.”

• Cancertown will be launched at the SPExpo, part of the Bristol International Comics Expo on 9th May 2009. Visitors to the show will be able to get the 176 page, full colour book at a special price of £10. Cy Dethan, creator and writer and Stephen Downey, artist, will be at the Insomnia stand at the SPExpo in the Mercure Hotel to talk about the book, sign copies, and sketch characters (better ask Stephen to do that, we've no idea what Cy might draw...)

Insomnia Publications titles are available from all good bookshops, comic shops and online from Amazon. In France their titles are available from Album and exclusively on sale from independent stockist Librairie Delvaux, 17 rue du Val, 77160, Provins.

Web Links:

• More About Cancertown: www.cancertown.co.uk

• Free Chapter one preview on MyEBook.com

• Insomnia Publications: www.theredeye.co.uk

• Keep up to date with all the latest news and products every Monday at Midnight on the official Insomnia Publications blog: www.TheRedEye.co.uk

Talbot Praises Insomnia's CancerTown

To the delight of new British indie comics company Insomnia Publications, top British comics creator Bryan Talbot (The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, Alice in Sunderland) has written the foreword for their upcoming title Cancertown, written by Cy Dethan with art from Stephen Downey.

"This is seriously the best thing that has happened to us since we began our adventures in comics," Insomnia's Creative Director Nichola Wilkinson told downthetubes.

Cancertown - previewed on myebook, click image right - centres on Vince Morley, a man with big problems and a brain tumour like a baby's fist, living with one foot in a monstrous alternate world he calls Cancertown.

When the lost and dispossessed of London start tripping over the same cracks in reality he spends his life avoiding, Morley realises he must confront the residents of Cancertown - and risk finding his place among them.

Cancertown will be released in May, and is currently available to pre-order from Amazon.

"For a first graphic novel from a new creative team, Cancertown is remarkable," says Bryan. "Cy Dethan’s concept alone is brilliant. Is the protagonist, Vincent Morley, a cynical knight in tarnished armour battling unspeakable monsters in a gonzoid Chapel Perilous or a dying sad bastard besieged by visions generated by his terminal brain tumour?

"... Moreover (do people still say that?) Cancertown actively embraces horror, the genre of horror fiction," he adds. "It’s not trigger-shy... It sets out to horrify, and it succeeds. Although Cancertown owes more to Clive Barker than Ramsey Campbell, it still, like Campbell, has its roots in H.P. Lovecraft and its evocation of genuine creepiness is undeniable. This is in no small part due to the visceral, hallucinogenic art of Stephen Downey working in tandem with the hard-bitten script, the atmospheric colours of Melanie Cook and inventive lettering of Nic Wilkinson.

"We’re seeing here the first outing of creators who will make their mark on the future comic industry."

"The eye-opening experience of reading Luther Arkwright as a kid was one of the key reasons I wanted to start writing comics in the first place," says Cancertown writer Cy Dethan, "so to have an introduction from its creator is simply unbelievable."

• If you're going to be at the Bristol International Comic Expo and the Small Press Expo 2009, you'll be able to pick Cancertown up (along with its Insomnia brethren, Layer Zero 3 and Cages) at special convention prices or by pre-ordering directly from Insomnia before 9th May (either to pick up at the convention or to be posted to you if you can't make it). Just email Nichola at nichola@insomniapublications.com and let her know what you need.

• You can read Bryan's full foreword here on the Insomnia Publications official blog.

• Insomnia's website: www.insomniapublications.com

Tube Surfing: 21 January 2009

• Comics Bulletin have run the first review of Thunderbolts #128, writen by Andy Diggle and drawn by Roberto de la Torre, on sale today in the US, which sees Black Widow and Ant-Man engaged in covert ops aboard Air Force One. "Writer Andy Diggle uses dialogue quite well, with the entire cast sounding unique and true to their character. The art is excellent, both the consistent and sharp pencils and the mood setting colors," they say. The issue is already selling for $20 on eBay. Read the whole review, plus a six-page preview, at Comics Bulletin.

• IDW's Doctor Who: The Forgotten #6 is also on sale now in North America (technically, the only place they're on sale...), written by Tony Lee with art by Kelly Yates. It's Timelord vs. Timelord in this final issue as The Doctor takes on the Clockwork Droids and the Robots of Death! But, weakened and disorientated, can the Doctor really beat him this time? Or will he need a little help from each of his prior incarnations… and a variety of previous companions including Sarah Jane, Harry, Kamelion and Adric? Ben Templesmith provides a special cover for this concluding issue.

• (via Forbidden Planet International): Continuing the theme of Brits Abroad, over on his blog, artist JH Williams reveals what we’d all been suspecting: there will be an Absolute Promethea from DC Wildstorm in October 2009, as confirmed tonight by the DC solicits that have just been released. Promethea, for those who came in late, was of course written by Alan Moore.

• Insomnia Publications has now posted its 2009 brochure on MyEbook.com. "It's an impressive line-up, and endorsements from industry figures like Alan Grant and Ben Templesmith speak volumes about the company's commitment to putting out high-quality books," says writer Cy Dethan.

• Talking of e-publications and variants, Warren Ellis kicked off a discussion about Print on Demand services on his Whitechapel site. Check out the debate here. Views on services such as Lulu, Ka-Blam.com, blurb.com and others feature.

• Rufus Dayglo has posted a stunning cover rough for The Mythid, a project he's working on with done with Brett Ewins and Scott Brown, on his blog.

• Tim Perkins has released the first of his Fantasy Bookmarks based on his Wizards Keep project, that only folks that have visited the Wizards Keep stand over the past couple of years at Comics Conventions here in the UK have seen, or you may have seen on his Blog. The Troll bookmark is on sale from his website, under the Fantasy Bookmarks section of his Shop.

• (via Jon Haward): John McShane started a new Scottish cartoonists site and forum over on Ning (scottishcartoonists.ning.com). Talking of Ning, the downthubes forum's membership has had a flurry of new members after Andrew Wildman very kindly went on a recruiting drive off his own bat, including The DFC's publisher David Fickling and son Will, comic creators Sarah Macintyre, Laura Howell, Stephen Baskerville, Izzie Tun and Richard Starkings. Why not sign up and join in the fun?

• Long-time readers of Bear Alley, the blog of British comics expert and writer Steve Holland will know he's a big fan of Roland Davies, whose "Come On, Steve!" strip has been mentioned there quite a few times over the years, so you can imagine how pleased he was to have stumbled across a previously unrecorded strip by Davies in the pages of Everybody's: "Sporty Shorty"— or "Sporting Shorty" as the title seemed to change each week. Read more...

• Happy Birthday for yesterday to former Doctor Who Tom Baker (although you never really escape that role), who is now 75. Star of television, time, space and everything, one of my favourite interviews I did while editor of Doctor Who Magazine was spending a couple of hours in his bonker presence. I shall also never forget that at a US Who convention, his minder was armed. That was scary...

• And finally, while not comics related, I note with some irony that having made the vast majority of its technical staff redundant, my former employers ROK Entertainment (the company behind ROK Comics, which it's good to see is still live) have launched the ROK Developer Challenge with an open invitation to developers around the world to submit their ideas with a view to partnering with ROK on the commercial deployment of the best and most innovative new applications received. It's one way to keep innovating, I suppose...