Ron Smith joins other 2000AD for Free Comic Book day signing

Legendary 2000AD artist Ron Smith is to appear at a signing in London to mark Free Comic Book Day – his first signing for well over a decade.

Revered by Judge Dredd fans for his satirical and, at times, bizarre take on the world of Mega-City One, the 89-year-old artist will be joined by writers Dan Abnett (Sinister Dexter, Insurrection) and Al Ewing (Zombo), and artist Ben Willsher (Judge Dredd) for this signing.

The event will take place from 1pm on 4th May at the Forbidden Planet Megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue, London.

A former Spitfire pilot and animator, Ron first appeared in 2000AD in 1978 before helping define Dredd’s futuristic world, from the League of Fatties to the craze for Otto Sump’s ‘ugly’ products.

Considered one of the ‘big four’ Dredd artists alongside Carlos Ezquerra, Mick McMahon, and Brian Bolland, Ron is also one of the most prolific artists in 2000AD’s history and his work continues to delight fans thanks to the best-selling Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files series.


Ron also drew many of the Judge Dredd newspaper strips for the Daily Star. Beyond 2000AD, his comics credits, which date back to the 1950s, also include "Codename Warlord" for DC Thomson's Warlord, and he is credited with the creation of the British hero "King Cobra" for Hotspur, now revived in STRIP Magazine.

Now retired from illustration, Ron has not attended a public signing for many years and fans should grab this opportunity to meet one of the greatest Judge Dredd artists of all time.

Free Comic Book Day is an annual event in May each year aimed at helping promote local comic book stores and the comics industry in general. Participating shops across the world give away special comic books free to anyone who comes into their stores.

• More about the Forbidden Planet Free Comic Book day evets here on the Forbidden Planet Megastore web site

• Download a copy of the "Thank You, Ron" comic given to Ron last year, organised by the Everything Comes Back to 2000AD web site (zip file)

Comic writers part of Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Signing at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is to host the first of what probably won't be the last of its events to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who on Saturday 9th March, with a special signing of the 50th Anniversary Collection from BBC Books.

Eleven classic novels, one for each Doctor – are being released, repackaged with new introductions, and guests include former Doctor Who Magazine editor and comics writer Gary Russell and comics writer Dan Abnett.

PLAYERS (TERRANCE DICKS) Arriving on the sun-baked veldt in the middle of the Boer War, the Sixth Doctor is soon involved in the adventures of struggling politician and war correspondent Winston Churchill. Of course, he knows Churchill is destined for great things, but unseen forces seem to be interfering with Winston's historic career. The Doctor suspects the hidden hand of the Players, mysterious beings who regard human history as little more than a game. With time running out, can the Doctor find the right moves to defeat them?

REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS (BEN AARONOVITCH) With unfinished business to attend to, the Seventh Doctor returns to where it all began: Coal Hill School in London in 1963. Last time he was here, the Doctor left something behind - a powerful Time Lord artefact that could unlock the secrets of time travel. Can the Doctor retrieve it before two rival factions of Daleks track it down? And even if he can, how will the Doctor prevent the whole of London becoming a war zone as the Daleks meet in explosive confrontation?

BEAUTIFUL CHAOS (GARY RUSSELL) Wilfred Mott is very happy: his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens - something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry.

THE SILENT STARS GO BY (DAN ABNETT) The winter festival is approaching for the hardy colony of Morphans, but no one is in the mood to celebrate. They're trying to build a new life on a cold new world, but each year gets harder and harder. It's almost as if some dark force is working against them. Then three mysterious travelers arrive out of the midwinter night, one of them claiming to be a doctor. Are they bringing the gift of salvation or doom? And what else might be lurking out there, about to wake up?

• Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Signing Saturday 9th March 2013 1.00 - 2.00pm Forbidden Planet London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. More information here on the Forbidden Planet web site

Confess, creeps - you want to buy the new 2000AD...

On UK newsagents shelves, online, and via iOS app –  2000AD Prog 1802 is on sale now.

The steely glare of Dredd stares out from this latest Prog, which lands today, and Dolman is settling his differences with the Marines in Judge Dredd: Payback by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden.

Cadwallader meets a fiery end in Brass Sun: The Wheel of Worlds by Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard, while Hammerstein heads back to the mother planet in ABC Warriors: Return to Earth by Pat Mills and with glorious old school hand-drawn art by Clint Langley. Diplomatic immunity gets pushed to its limit over tea and biscuits in Grey Area: This Island Earth Dan Abnett and Lee Carter, while Bob Byrne returns to 2000AD with another of his Twisted Tales.

And after an unfortunate production error (for which the droid in question has been melted down and turned into colostomy fittings), Tharg the Generous is giving fans a free download of last week’s episode of Judge Dredd: Payback by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden!

• Prog 1802, now available worldwide: www.2000adonline.com

2000AD goes on tour in run up to 'Dredd' film release

It’s been the cutting edge powerhouse of British comics since 1977 – and now 2000AD is celebrating 35 years of Thrill-power with its first ever National Signing Event.

Just days before DREDD 3D hits movie screens, on Saturday 1st September, six comic book stores in six cities from north to south will play host to a band, nay, a legion of top British comic book talent from the past three and a half decades.

From old hands such as Dave Gibbons Simon Bisley to the newest finds such as Al Ewing and Alec Worley, 2000AD will be celebrating Britain’s greatest export across the nation.

Forbidden Planet stores in London, Bristol, and Birmingham, along with Travelling Man stores in Leeds and Manchester, and the Forbidden Planet store in Edinburgh will be stuffed with artists and writers who have made 2000AD what it is today.

Legendary writer, and Dredd and Strontium Dog co-creator, John Wagner will be headlining the day with a visit to Manchester and other big names now confirmed include Dave Gibbons (Rogue Trooper, Watchmen), Simon Bisley (Sláine: The Horned God, Lobo), Steve Yeowell (Zenith), Clint Langley (Sláine, ABC Warriors) Dan Abnett (Sinister Dexter, Kingdom), John Higgins (Judge Dredd), D’Israeli (Leviathan), Ian Edginton (Leviathan, Red Seas), and Mark Buckingham (Fables).

- More big British names will be announced in the coming weeks – keep an eye on 2000adonline.com for all the latest updates

 

Age of the Wolf set to return to 2000AD

The claws are out for the return of post-apocalyptic werewolves series, Age of the Wolf, to 2000AD early next year.

Lycanthrope-hunting heroine Rowan Morrigan is to return to the weekly comic in February 2012 in Age of the Wolf: She is Legend.

It's the second chapter in the fast-moving fantasy series – in which a spellbound moon has turned half the earth’s population into ravenous werewolves – by writer Alec Worley (Dandridge, Six Brothers) and Eagle Award-nominated artist Jon Davis-Hunt (Judge Dredd, Transformers), and it stars one of the strongest female characters to emerge from 2000AD in recent years: a reluctant action heroine who’s more than a match for the ‘Big Bad Wolf’.

In the series, London has become a primordial forest in which surviving humans are being hunted to extinction. And there are worse things than lycanthropes lurking among the overgrown ruins of the city. The fortified remains of Buckingham Palace have been taken over by a ruthless gang of slavers, the Skinners: Harry, a hulking neo-Nazi with a sinister secret, his sister Kate, a sadistic huntress with a score to settle, and their merciless matriarch ‘Granny’.

While the forest community face slavery or death, the only thing standing in the Skinners’ way is a mysterious red-haired woman known among those she protects as ‘Little Red Robin Hood.’

With this and more thrill-drenched series launching in 2000AD over the coming year, now’s the perfect time to jump aboard and buy this year’s 100-page Christmas special.

Prog 2012 features a circuit-shattering line-up of seasonal thrills including classic titles Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Nikolai Dante and Sinister Dexter, alongside stories from newcomers Dandridge and Absalom.

This issue also sees the launch of two brand new thrills: sci-fi drama Grey Area by Dan Abnett and Karl Richardson, and ancient Roman action fantasy Aquila by Gordon Rennie and Leigh Gallagher.

• 2000AD Prog 2012 is now on sale. For print and digital subscription details visit www.2000adonline.com

IDW republish Grant Morrison's final 'Doctor Who' story

IDW's Doctor Who Classics series, now re-publishing the Seventh Doctor's adventures from Doctor Who Magazine has a 'first' and 'last' feel to Issue 5, on sale this month in the US.

The collection sees the publication of 'Culture Shock', Grant Morrison's final Doctor Who comic story to date, but Bryan Hitch's first Who work - not that the accomplished artist would like to be reminded of it.

With a new cover by Robert Hack and colouring from Charlie Kirchoff, also included is 'Echoes of the Mogor', a cracking spooky tale from Dan Abnett and John Ridgway.

Grant Morrison, whose past Who strips included the hugely popular Cybermen origin story, 'The World Shapers', may have gone on to better known comics such as The Invisibles, All-Star Superman and X-Men but he has always been a Doctor Who fan.

“These stories were very early on, when I was starting to work in comics,” Morrison told MTV in 2008, with the focus of Culture Shock – a living creature playing host to a microscopic universe all its own – pre-dating wider exploration of such themes in series such as The Invisibles. “It came up because I met John Ridgway through some other work, Liberators, on Warrior, so it was kind of through John, he suggested it,”

“I was a big Doctor Who fan all my life, so it was a good fit..." says Grant of his time working on the DWM. "I absolutely enjoyed doing it, and I would love to do more Doctor Who.” Although not necessarily as a comic, “because I’ve done enough of it in the comics.”

Might Grant one day follow Neil Gaiman and write a TV episode?

Bryan Hitch, now well known for his stunning work on Marvel's Utlimates and Fantastic Four and more, would rather skate over his first ever Doctor Who strip, which he drew when he was just 17. "I usually encourage people to burn my early work," he pleads.

Notable as the first appearance of Dan's Foreign Hazard Duty, a futuristic version of UNIT, Dan Abnett confesses that although he is “ridiculously good” at archiving back issues of his work, his Doctor Who Magazine collection seems to have disappeared into an alternate dimension, and, like Alan Grant, he has few memories of 'Echoes of the Mogor'. “I hope it’s a good one, and not an ‘Ooh, did I really write this crap” one,” he opines.

“The funniest part of all is where working on DWM got me. I loved it, but I never expected to write for Doctor Who again. I tried to get a Virgin novel commission early on, and they didn’t even reply. I felt I was very much ‘not in the Who clique’ and had only been lucky enough to write for the good Doctor because I knew you and Richard.

"Then, suddenly, in the last few years, it all came back to haunt me. Gary Russell came to me for a couple of Big Finish adventures, which led to the likes of my Torchwood novel and audios, and the Martha novel, and the Tenth Doctor audios for the BBC etc., and that train of events only happened because Gary had remembered how much he’d liked my DWM strips and came looking for me.

“The FHD were envisaged as a future version of UNIT,” he confirms. “I can’t be sure, but I think that connection actually gets made somewhere. I intended it too, anyway. They’ve popped up from time to time in all sorts of places, not all of them Who stories.”

“The FHD was originally a very infantile piece of slang that was invented by my mates at college,” Dan reveals. “An FHD was a really good night out, because one got so drunk, one had a terrible hangover in the morning, otherwise known as a F****** Horrible Death. Obviously, for DWM purposes, I changed what it stood for!”

At one point an FHD US title was considered, along with a number of other projects (including an Abslom Daak - Dalek Killer story by Steve Moore), but it was shelved after editorial changes instigated by Marvel Comics directors in America.

Other IDW Doctor Who titles on sale this month are Doctor Who #6, written by Tony Lee (with interior art from Matthew Dow Smith, who also provides a rare variant cover, the other by Tommy Lee Edwards), which sees the start of a three-part tale, 'When Worlds Collide', featuring Sontarans, a rift world, cowboys and Romans.

Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #3 (of 4) by Eisner Award-nominated writer Matt Sturges (with art by Kelly Yates) features a cover by Mark Buckingham, in which the Doctor is forced the question, what's better, an ugly reality or beautiful fantasy? Meanwhile,  Amy finds herself reluctantly cast as a damsel in distress on a medieval fantasy world...

• While print editions of  IDW's Doctor Who titles aren't officially available in the UK, you should be able to buy the digital editions of these comics.

• IDW Comics is at: www.idwpublishing.com

Tube Surfing: Weekend Comic events, another Royal Wedding Comic and Phoenix Comic

• The final cover art for another Royal Wedding comic has been revealed. The Geek Files, which also has some interior art, reports Bluewater Productions biography comic, Fame: The Royals, will be released next month in time for the wedding on 29th April, pitting it against Markosia's wedding comic whose contributors include Gary Erskine and Mike Collins (see news story).
Bluewater's cover is by Michal Szyksznian and there will be no alternative covers.

• This Saturday, the 26th March 2011, Dan Abnett will be at Forbidden Planet's London Megastore signing an exclusive Forbidden Planet Limited Edition of his new Angry Robot novel Embedded. Details here on the Forbidden Planet web site between 1 and 2.00pm. This is in advance of general publication, so don't miss out.

• Talking of events, Speech Balloon reminds us the cream of Midlands comic talent is taking part in the Memorabilia Show at Birmingham NEC this weekend. The London MCM Expo's famous Comic Village is taking comics around the country and the first stage of the tour is Memorabilia on 26-27 March.
Comic creators attending this weekend's Memorabilia include Lee Bradley; John McCrea; Kat Nicholson; Jason Cardy; Laura Howell; Liam Shalloo; Al Davison; Keith Burns; MC2; Matthew Craig; Lizz Lunney; Philippa Rice; Dylan Cook; Tony McGee; Markosia; Alice De Ste Croix; Ian Sharman; Josh Clarke; Linh Ha; Scot Stanford; Lyndon White; Ty Wilson; Sean Azzopardi; Lily Mitchell; Howard Hardiman; Toonikun and Minyi.

• The 2011 Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival is almost upon us and visitors can expect a packed weekend of activities in the heart of the medieval town. The main event weekend is April 16th-17th but many shows and exhibitions open in advance and ace British cartoonists blog Bloghorn has published details along with a handy map.

• A little more on the new 'DFC' (or 'Not DFC'). The new comic is expected to launch in early 2012 and you get more information by signing up for their mailing list at http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/, or by following editor Ben Sharpe on Twitter.

• And finally, because the journalist probably had nothing better to do, the Daily Telegraph let William Langley wheel out the trite "comics aren't as good as they used to be" line, this time marking Dennis the Menace's 60th birthday. "In these over-sensitive times, the Beano's greatest creation, the rascally schoolboy Dennis the Menace - who has just turned 60 - is not as much fun as he used to be," he moaned. Did he actually read last week's ace celebratory issue? I thought it was great fun seeing the modern Menace alongside his yesteryear counterpart - and still menacing, for all his modern updating.

SFX Weekender line up includes comics guests Abnett, Mills, Talbot and Lee

This year's SFX Weekender, organised by SFX Magazine takes places next month at Pontins in Camber Sands, and the event promises to have plenty of things to interest comics fans as well as exclusive screenings, tons of prizes giveaways and guests.

There's also a competition being run at the moment to win tickets.

Highlights of the event include the SFX Awards 2011, hosted by top sci-fi author Robert Rankin. The famous SFX Blastermind Quiz, the Maskerade Ball and the SFX Imaginarium - the ultimate sci-fi stage show.

Top celebrity guests attending include legendary Discworld author Sir Terry Pratchett, Anthony Head (star of Buffy and Merlin), George Takei (Star Trek's Mr Sulu), Keeley Hawes (Ashes To Ashes) and Craig Charles (Red Dwarf's Dave Lister).

Comics guests include Pat Mills, Dan Abnett, Paul Cornell, Tony Lee, Glenn Fabry, Dez Skinn and Bryan Talbot.

The organisers have 50 sets of SFX Weekender passes to give away. To be in with a chance to win, simply answer this ridiculously easy question: what date is the SFX Weekender 2011 being held?

A) 26-27 February 2011
B) 18-19 February 2011
C) 4-5 February 2011

Email your answer (A,B or C... no really) and your name and contact telephone number (important!) to info@sfxweekender.com and quote the code SFXWSFL.


• The venue is Pontin's Holiday Park, Camber Sands, East Sussex and the weekend runs 4-5 February 2011

Zombies? British Comics have been there, done that back in 1979...

Prompted by the hit US TV show, there's plenty of interest in The Walking Dead, drawn by Britain's very own Charlie Adlard and published by Image Comics. Indeed, it seems comic fans just can't get enough zombies at the moment, with IDW preparing Infestation, a crossover zombie saga launching next year that will even run in some of their licensed titles such as Star Trek and GI Joe.

What may surprize downthetubes is the fact that the usually straight-laced DC Thomson published a zombie-inspired tale here in the UK, way back in 1979.

Plague 2000 featured in The Crunch from Issue 14 - cover dated 21st April 1979 - until Issue 29, cover dated 4th August 1979.

Set in the year 2000, the story reveals mankind has been decimated by a terrible death plague. Many of those not killed by the plague have become something far worse - 'The Crazies', zombified humans determined to kill.

Captain Brett Cantrell is assigned to lead an expedition across a devastated United States to New York to find an antidote for the plague, facing the worst of The Crazies along the way.

While stopping short of calling them zombies, there's no doubt in my mind that this story must have been inspired by films such as George A. Romero's The Crazies and, more likely, Dawn of the Dead, released in 1978. Dawn of the Dead would have been a film readers of The Crunch would have been well aware of, even if they had never seen it. (Back then, there would have been no other way to see such a film except at the cinema, and it wasn't always easy to sneek into a showing if you looked under age).

The storyline might also have borrowed from Roger Zelazny's SF novel Damnation Alley (which also influenced the original Judge Dredd Cursed Earth saga), which is a much better book than its dire film adaptation might suggest.

Like many British comics of the time, The Crunch drew its inspiration from popular film and TV. Editors would work on the principle that while most of their readers could not actually see more 'adult' films like Jaws (in the case of Action) or Dawn of the Dead legally, they would be aware of it and its storyline.

Plague 2000 features on the cover of Issue 21 and 23. The Crunch itself - which features some stories that are quite hard hitting and gruesome at times, which might seem at odds with DC Thomson's normally 'wholesome' image' - ran for 54 issues before amalgamating with the Hotspur in February 1980.

Such was the impact of Plague 2000, it's haunted one Crunch reader since childhood, prompting him to try and find out more about the strip on the downthtubes forum. "The artwork kept me buying," Colin Noble recalls.

IDW's upcoming zombie epic, Infestation, also has a British element. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will pen Infestation #1, launching in January 2011. This initial 32-page story begins in IDW's own Zombies vs Robots universe, where something goes terribly wrong and ultimately infests  the worlds of Transformers, Star Trek, G.I. Joe and Ghostbusters with zombies and infected robots.

From there, the story spins ferociously into each of the four properties throughout February and March, and culminates in April's bombastic finale, Infestation #2.

In February, Transformers Infestation #1-2 and Star Trek: Infestation #1-2 will ship bi-weekly. The Transformers title will also be penned by Abnett and Lanning, with fan-favourite Nick Roche handling the art. Star Trek  will be written by mainstay authors Scott and David Tipton and illustrated by Casey Maloney.

• Discuss Plague 2000 and The Crunch on the downthtubes forum 

• More about Infestation here: www.idwpublishing.com/news/article/1415

Tube Surfing: Comic Heroes, Jon Haward, Dragons and Night Salad

We've run Mr Matthew Badham ragged with our demands on his multi-layered brain, so he's taking a little break. You will, instead, have to put up with my meanderings around various British comic creators equally meandering (at times, anyway) web site... Special thanks to Matt for doing such a great job - check out his ace article on independent press comics in the UK in the latest Comics Now mag from Future Publishing!

(Which also features a great column on the loneliness of the long-distance comics freelancer by Dez Skinn)

• Jon Haward is one of Britain's best comics artists, with credits aplenty for his work for almost every British comics publisher. Sadly, he's the latest victim of the economic downturn and he's giving up on his freelancing and is looking to relocate to find a full time job. Anyone after an in house concept illustrator /storyboard artist or art director should contact him via his Facebook page before he gets snapped up.

• The Forbidden Planet International blog reports that American cartoonist and respected commentator on the scene Daryl Cagle recently posted a comment about US editorial cartooning and ‘the rest of the world’ which has stirred some debate, not least on the blog of the UK professional cartoonist’s association, the Bloghorn, who have taken exception to Cagle painting the rest of the cartooning world outside the syndicated US mainstream with the same brush, his post appearing to infer that ‘world cartoonists’ spend all their time doing relatively obscure works with the aim of getting them into international competitions, while US cartoonists are busy earning a wage and creating cartoons that use both words and pictures to make a point and create humour.

• Emma Viceli's fab manga adventure Dragon Heir: Reborn is now available to buy online from the Sweatdrop store. For direct copies, you can either contact Emma via her blog, or get along to shows like the MCM Expo, London, where she'll be selling the book at the Sweatdrop stand. "If you pick up a copy, whether online or in person, you have my heartfelt thanks and sincere hopes that you enjoy your purchase," she says.

• Warren Ellis joined in with the 'Influence Map' meme that has been doing the rounds among creators for a few weeks now. While he didn't create this one himself, he says it's "very close"...

• A quick plug now for the latest issue of the newly Hugo Award-winning StarShipSofa Stories (volume 2) which features an illustration by Leigh Gallagher. "Quite a while back Dee Cunniffe got in touch to see if I'd like to do an illustration to go with one of the many prose pieces, of which I picked a story called 'Bitterseed' written by Ted Kosmatka," he reports via his blog. "They have an impressive line up of talent of this book -- Neil Gaiman for one -- but what's also cool is this nifty trailer which you can find on Youtube here!"

• Metaphrog reports their new graphic album Louis - Night Salad was featured in The Scotsman on Saturday.

• Writer Dan Abnett clearly had a great time at Games Day along with Jim Swallow and many other ace creators and has written up a photoblog entry here.

• And finally... Sarah McIntyre's Vern & Lettuce has just been voted a young girl's favourite comic of the moment over on the Forbidden Planet International blog, which is good enough for us. It's out soon and we've interviewed Sarah here and will be posting our own review later this week...

Panel Borders: Making Marvels in the UK (Part 2)

Continuing radio show and podcast Panel Borders month long look at British creators who have written and drawn superhero comics, (in a panel recorded in front of a live audience at the London Science-Fiction Film Festival) Alex Fitch concludes his talk with a quartet of Marvel UK luminaries who were responsible for some of the best British action / adventure titles in the 1980s and 90s.

Alex discusses with artist Gary Erskine and writers Dan Abnett, Simon Furman and John Freeman, the decline in fortunes of Marvel UK as a publisher in the 1990s – despite their creation of memorable titles such as Knights of Pendragon, Dragon’s Claws and popular Transformers spin-off title Death’s Head - due to changing market pressures.

Alex did a fab job of making sense of what must have been a fairly chaotic panel with Part 1 last week, so I'm looking forward to listening to this second part.

• Panel Borders: Making Marvels in the UK (Part 2) airs at 5.00pm, Thursday 16th September, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com and now on itunes (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/id390974029)

Panel Borders: Making Marvels in the UK

Continuing podcast and radio show Panel Borders month-long look at British creators who have written and drawn superhero comics for both the American and domestic markets, in a panel recorded in front of a live audience at the London Science-Fiction Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to a quartet of Marvel UK luminaries who were responsible for some of the best action-adventure titles in the 1980s and 90s.

Dan Abnett and Gary Erskine co-created The Knights of Pendragon (along with John Tomlinson), a series which gave UK superhero Captain Britain a new, darker spin in the 1990s by adding him to an Arthurian team of heroes. Simon Furman was (and still is) the primary writer of Transformers, as well as the scribe behind a dozen installments of the Doctor Who comic strip, plus many of Marvel UK’s most memorable SF titles including Dragon Claws and Death’s Head. John Freeman helped create many of Marvel UK’s early 90s titles such as Death’s Head II, Warheads, Killpower and Motormouth and edited Marvel UK's intended rival to 2000AD, Overkill, for much of its run.

Alex and the four creators discuss the rise in popularity of Marvel UK as a producer of original material in the 1980s and some of the memorable comics they founded along the way.

• Panel Borders: Making Marvels in the UK (Part 1 of 2) airs at 5.00pm on Resonance 104.4FM (London) / www.resonancefm.com, on Thursday 9th September 2010. For further information visit http://podcasts.resonancefm.com/archives/4477

• The podcast is available here on archive.org - or just play it via this embed...

Brits Invade ComicCon Again: Morrison, Mills, Abnett and many more

(Updated 20/7/10): If you're a Grant Morrison fan and you're lucky enough to be at the San Diego Comic Convention next week, you won't want to miss the Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods panel.

Sequart and Respect Films have produced an authorized, feature-length documentary on Grant Morrison that features interviews with the creator of The Invisibles and 2000AD's Zenith, and many of his collaborators.

Hosted by the director, Patrick Meaney (author of Our Sentence is Up: Seeing Grant Morrision's The Invisibles), the hour-long panel will feature 20 minutes of exclusive footage from the documentary, stories about the crew’s time with Grant, and a special guest.

The panel will take place in Room 9 from 7.30 to 8.30pm on Friday 23rd July. The organisers admit there are some other interesting panels happening at the same time, but while the comic-book sites may report on those other panels, you won't be able to get another look at this documentary until the DVD comes out in October.

If you're a big Morrison fan, consider swinging by. Here's a trailer of the documentary...







Grant, whose credits also include Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, and Final Crisis will be on hand on Friday to give a candid chat about DC Comics projects past, present and future, at a panel hosted by DC's senior story editor Ian Sattler.

While US comics, films and TV dominate much of the programming - Marvel legend Stan Lee being one of the top guests - there's will be plenty British talent on hand this year, as well as the presence of already-occupying forces such as Active Images Richard Starkings, who will hopefully have lots more to say about the upcoming Elephantmen movie.

Elephantmen creator Richard will be at the Con with Comicraft's Secret Weapon J.G. Roshell manning booth #2106, with fellow men Axel Medellin and Gabriel Bautista, and the distinctly un-manly Miki.

2000AD will have a major presence, with its original co-creator Pat Mills spearheading the weekly comic's promotional activity at this huge event.

In addition to signing new editions of ABC Warriors Meknificent Seven and Judge Dredd Case Files 01 at the 2000AD exhibition booth 2-4.00pm each day of the convention, Pat will be doing a pre–convention signing at Barnes & Noble’s Mira Mesa store, 10775 Westview Parkway San Diego. This signing will take place at 2.00 pm, Tuesday 20th July where all attendees have the opportunity to win an original large scale piece of ABC Warriors artwork by current series artist Clint Langley.

SFX Mgaazine will also presenting a panel titled The British Invasion. Five top UK writers from the worlds of TV, comics, books, and movies discuss what makes modern British SF unique. Dan Abnett (Ultramarines), SF author China Miéville, Paul Cornell (Doctor Who, Superman), Kieron Gillen (Thor), Pat Mills and Toby Whithouse (creator of the TV series Being Human) talk to SFX editor Dave Bradley in this panel and Q&A session on Thursday.

Among others, Eisner Award–-winning artist Sean Phillips is also on the guest list, as is John Cassady, Duncan Fegredo, Eddie Campbell (talking about the acclaimed graphic novel The Playwright, alongside the editor of Australia's DeeVee magazine,  Daren White), Tony Lee, and  Sean Michael Wilson (promoting his stunning looking new manga title, AX, published by Top Shelf).

"So far the AX book has been received exactly as we hoped for, in that a lot of critics have said, basically, it takes a large step forward in expanding the range of mature manga available in English," says Sean of the project. "It's been touted as a must buy for such manga fans. I'm interested to see what people say to me about it in the San Diego con."

Tripwire magazine editor Joel Meadows will be promoting his latest fab-looking new issue (see news story); and plenty of US TV shows screening here, such as Warehouse 13, Futurama, Stargate Universe and Sanctuary will be previewing their upcoming seasons.

ComicCon is a massive event that attracts thousands of comics, film and TV fans: if you're going for the first time, you'll soon realize it's impossible to see everything. But if you take advantage of the official web site's handy schedule planner, you should be able to keep tabs on the Brit events and other things you don't want to miss.

• Please note, the Comic-Con International 2010 Programming Schedule is subject to change. Check the schedule signs outside each door at the event for updated information.

Tube Surfing: EveryDay Praise, Muppets and Mirabilis

• Forbidden Planet International's Richard Bruton has been heaping praise on the work of Manchester-based Adam Cadwell, whose EveryDay webcomic . "Cadwell’s work is much more slice of life, observational style than others," says Richard. "This means that the majority of strips tend to be stand-alone things, relying on an interesting idea, event or gag than any narrative, concentrating on the immediacy of the moment being conveyed in 3 or 4 panels of the strip... But where some autobiography that concentrates only on the minutiae of everyday life does come unstuck with the repetition, Cadwell’s work is fresh and interesting to read." Three collections of Adam's Everyday strip are now available from his web site. Read Richard's full review here

• Dan Abnett has just published the dates for his "Bloody Pact Tour" of the North, which starts at the Games Workshop Metro in Gateshead on 16th October.

• Good news for British fans of the Muppets and ace cartoonist Roger Langridge. .The first Muppet Show Comic Book collection, Meet the Muppets, is out this week and the good news for readers in the UK is that although the original comics weren't officially available in the UK, the collection is and is available from Amazon UK here. "So now British readers can stop wondering what I've been up to for the last year or so," says Roger. As an added incentive, the ten-page story he did for Disney Adventures a couple of years ago, which has never before been published in its entirety, will finally see the light of day in the collection. (There's a hardcover edition available, too).

• Martin Eden, creator of the critically acclaimed indie O-Men superhero comic, is putting the finishing touches to the first issue of his new project, Spandex. "The art is done, and now I just need to wait and see if I'm going to get lottery funding to print it up," he reveals on his blog.

• Bleeding Cool reports comics writer Mark Millar will be speaking at Charlotte Square Gardens as part of the Edinburgh Festival tomorrow night at 8pm, about comics, graphic novels and movies. However, as Jeremy Briggs reported here weeks ago the event is sold out: you'll need to see if there are returns on the door if you want to see him.

• Sky Box Office in the UK is to screen Watchmen from Monday 14th September.

• • Bleeding Cool also reports the hype for the Batman: Arkham Asylum game has given sales of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's graphic novel that inspired it a huge boost.

• Broadcast reports Michael Chaplin, creator of the BBC drama Monarch Of The Glen, is adapting Goodnight Mister Tom author Michelle Magorian's new young adult novel Just Henry as a family drama special, potentially for ITV. While the project has not yet been given the go-ahead, it is in development at ITV Studios. Published by Egmont UK, Just Henry is a post WWII thriller that follows Henry, a film-loving and judgmental teen who lost his father in the war, as he reluctantly becomes friends with two classmates when they are put together to work on a school project. When Henry is given a camera to help with the project he takes a photo that turns everything upside down and in the process he teaches him about friendship and not to be so judgmental.

• And finally... they aren't actually new if you subscribed to much-missed subscription weekly The DFC, but if you missed the run of ace fantasy strip Mirabilis there you can now read the first 25 pages (ie the first chapter of the Winter book) over on the Mirabilis website. Highly recommended!

Angry Robot UK Launch in October

It’s a brand-fusion to reinvent science fiction in the UK, a union that may yet shake London to the core. Forbidden Planet London will be hosting the official UK Launch of Angry Robot Books on Saturday 10th October at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR, with 2000AD, Marvel and DC Comics writer Dan Abnett, Andy Remic and Colin Harvey on hand to sign for their many fans.

Angry Robot is a new imprint from HarperCollins which started back in June, offering a wickedly fresh take on the SF, F and WTF industry. Publishing the best in dark and edgy fiction from renowned authors and the hottest in up-and-coming new talent, the Robot is set to bring you teenage serial killers, zombie detectives, howling axes, sex-crazed vampires, murderous gods and steampunk swordfights. And that’s for starters.

Featured guests Dan Abnett (Triumff), Andy Remic (Kell’s Legend) and Colin Harvey (Winter Song) will be on hand to allay (or possibly enhance) fears, chat to fans, answer questions and sign copies of their Angry Robot titles. There will be free prints available of the Larry Rostant cover of Triumff as well as a chance to see the Kell’s Legend promotional video... up close and personal.

There will also be a wide range of Angry Robot’s other titles available.

• Angry Robot Books: http://angryrobotbooks.com

• The following film was written, directed, and stars our Andy Remic, and gives a good taste of the flavour of his book Kell’s Legend, which is launched in the UK and Australia next week. Music by th3 m1ss1ng.

Comics International Specials Go On Sale

Two Comics International Specials are now on sale in comic shops -- but the regular magazine is still in limbo, the next announced as not due until August.

The Star Trek Special celebrates the recent released JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie reboot, looking back over four decades of the comicbook adventures of the Starship Enterprise. Charting the course of Star Trek comics from the very first 1967 issue from Gold Key all the way to IDW’s latest titles and taking in alternate realities, multiverse crossovers and more, this latest CI one-shot takes you on a warp speed tour through some of the strangest new worlds and civilisations you’ll never see on TV.

Heavily illustrated and showcasing unpublished artwork and more, it features interviews with key Star Trek creators, including British contributors to the Trek mythos - Dan Abnett, Mike Collins and Ian Edginton - as well as creators such as writers Mike W Barr and Diane Duane along with artists Gordon Purcell, David Messina and Scott Tipton. Star Trek fans who aren't even that interested in comics may be persuaded to pick up the £4.99 Special by the inclusion of interviews with Walter Koenig, who played Chekov in the original Star Trek series and Voyager‘s Doctor, Robert Picardo.

The Magazine is well designed - although perhaps with even more pages, the creator interviews could have been given more space and additional visuals - but this is a mere nitpick. It also includes a feature on the British Star Trek material created for the 1960s title Joe 90: Top Secret and later issues of TV21, material that many US Star Trek fans are unaware of. Definitely one for Trek fans to check out.

Also out now is Comics International Horror Special, going behind the scenes on some of the goriest and scariest titles in recent months. Designed more like the 'regular' Comics International title, it includes interviews with Tim Bradstreet, Alan Grant and other writers and artists responsible for such fear-drenched comics as Stephen King’s The Stand, Age of Desire, Savage, The Dead, Golly and Zombie Cop.

Also featured are Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (sadly, in what looks like a print error that also seems to have affected the alignment of pages, the interview with Si Spurrier is unexpectedly truncated, simply cut at the bottom of the page, mid-sentence, never to be returned to) Superman and Batman vs Vampires and Werewolves.

The 52-page issue costs just £2.50 ($4.99) and is again on sale in many comic shops.

While it's great to see these Specials on sale -- particularly the Star Trek title, which is an impressive piece of work in terms of interview material and breadth alone -- along with these Specials comes the perhaps grim news that the next regular issue of Comics International (#208) is now currently not set to appear until early August. The continued delay is not helping the magazine: even loyal readers who've been in touch with downthetubes are in despair over its missing-in-action status.

"I'm a bit miffed at CI's attitude to be honest to its customers," said one on the downthetubes forum. "I think it's really poor - and having 're-discovered' [Diamond trade catalogue] Previews, it has all I need really and can be counted on month after month to be on the shelves

"If Comics International gets back on track properly I may go back to it, or if #208 is a good relevant up to date issue I may pick it up."

While we're aware that there have been many behind the scenes problems that have sadly combined, through no fault of those directly involved in the magazine's production, to sabotage attempts to re-establish a monthly frequency, the future of Comics International still seems far from secure. Let's hope the naysayers fears are, however, unfounded...

• More about Comics International at: www.comics-international.co.uk

Dan Abnett Video Q&As on YouTube

Comics writer Dan Abnett has been having great fun with a series of video question and answer sessions compiled by Adelie High.

This one, titles "From Ghostbusters to Triumff" - there are several which include questions about his work on Warhammer and more - includes Dan's recollections of his first comics work at Marvel UK. He also has great fun describing the layout of his secret headquarters as he answers questions from just some of his many fans, and outlines his latest projects including Triumff and Embedded. Recommended viewing!



• View all the Mini Interviews Here

Tube Surfing: 8 March 2009

• (via Matt Badham): Space war story Insurrection is currently wowing all those Earthlets who pick up Judge Dredd: The Megazine every month - with many suggesting that it might be one of the best series the Megazine has ever produced. John Burdis caught up with writer Dan Abnett to find out more. "The actual brief was to bring to the Dredd Universe something of the epic war-in-space scale of the stuff I write for Warhammer 40K," Dan reveals. "Tharg (Matt to his friends) wanted a stonking big space war story that would suit the universe of the Mega-Cities. I was happy to oblige..." The full interview features on 2000AD Review here

• Thomas Cochrane informs us a new chapter of his fabulous tortological time travel tale Fat Man strip is now available via MyEBook.com, introducing the fabulous Louise Brooks as a character. Thomas is also launching an online comic strip Soap Opera on 1st April called The Queen of Spades, a modern version of Pushkin's classic. Described as a live action comic book, find out more about this dark tale of murder, madness and satanism via facebook...• (via Warren Ellis): Rudy Rucker’s webmag of weird fiction and stuff, FLURB (www.flurb.net), has reached its seventh iteration, with an excellent line-up including 2000AD creator Kek-W, Richard Kadrey and Simon Logan. FLURB is rarely less than fascinating. Go and read, all for free.

• After months of talking about it, Jon Haward and Andie Lines have launched their new web strip, the amazing interplanetary travels of Joe Gravity and his friends in their first adventure called Gravity Quest. "It's a new kid friendly blog strip," says Jon.

• Former Marvel UK Bullpen boss Richard Starkings got the opportunity to enthuse (as well he should) about Elephantmen on Electric Playground recently: catch the interview via this link, about two-thirds in...

• Antony Johnson's Alan Moore adaptation Light of Thy Countenance is now finally available in stores.

• Jim Boswell has a two-page strip featuring Wayne Rooney in the latest issue of footie mag Kick!, on sale now in all good newsagents!

Knights of Pendragon Collection Planned

Panini UK has confirmed a collection of the first nine issues of Marvel UK's highly-acclaimed orginal Knights of Pendragon series, created by Dan Abnett, John Tomlinson and Gary Erskine, is in development, for publication later in 2009.

Knights of Pendragon, which also featured covers by artists such as Alan Davis and Simon Bisley, was initially a highly political and environmental comic, its themes drawn from the British folklore of King Arthur, environmental issues and New Age and neo-pagan subcultures.

The 216 page collection, comprising the first nine issues of the title's original 18-issue run, will feature an introduction by co-creator Dan Abnett and is currently scheduled it for an October 2009 release.

"It’s great news," Knights of Pendragon's original editor Steve White told downthetubes. "That was such a personal project for us and paved the way for so much that followed, such as Lords of Misrule [published by Dark Horse] and Hypersonic.

"I have a lot of happy memories of that time and even though I was only the editor, I felt I invested an awful lot of creativity into that.

"Looking back, it seems a bit cliched and naïve now, but we were young and reckless, and the environmental issues we now take for granted were still relatively new in the eyes of the readers. Even so, the creative team was a fine blend of talents."

The team took the environmental concerns as far as the format of the book, publishing it on Scangloss, an environmentally-friendly paper. While that may seem old hat now, back in the 1980s it was something of a first or a comics title.

"I'm absolutely delighted that the first series will see print," commented series artist Gary Erskine, whose credits include Star Wars, Dan Dare and more and describes the title as the "Best introduction to comics ever."

"I remember seeing a collected Italian or Spanish edition years ago of (containing the first six issues) and was always a little disappointed that we never followed up at Marvel UK."

"Does anyone still remember Marvel's first (and so far, only) green superhero book?" said co-writer John Tomlinson, who now wors for Eaglemoss. "I hope it's printed on eco-friendly Scangloss paper, or we're all going to Hell!

"When I think of The Knights of Pendragon now I remember Gary's unique, strange and sometimes terrifying artwork, the amazing lineup of cover artists (Alan Davis through Simon Bisley via John Bolton) and all the great letters we got," recalls. "Not only that, but I still can't go into McD*****s without being poleaxed by guilt, or at least acid reflux."

Like Steve, he's unsure how modern readers will respond to the story but remembers the book fondly. "I'm not sure how well it's aged, but K.O.P. (the first 18 issues, anyway) gave me, Dan, Steve and Gary, still pretty green ourselves, to effectively grow up in print. It's not often you get the chance to do that."

• Knights of Pendragon at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Knights of Pendragon at the Marvel Directory
• Knights of Pendragon at the Comic Book DB - this includes an issue by issue guide to the title
• Knights of Pendragon Wikipedia Entry
  

Sleeze Brothers Return!

The Sleeze Brothers are back! Those anarchic, lunatic and downright shady PIs, the creation of John Carnell and Andy Lanning back in the 1980s, are being given a brush up (and probably, a good spanking) just in time for their 20th anniversary.

The return of the Sleeze Brothers is the work Comicraft's publishing arm, Active Images, which recently remastered David Hine's Strange Embrace for Image Comics and is currently digitally remastering The Sleeze Brothers on the occasion of the book's 20th anniversary.

The Sleeze Brothers, published by Marvel UK in the late 1980's under Archie Goodwin's Epic imprint, was the first (and, sadly, the last) creator owned monthly comic book published by Marvel's British operation. (Some strips published in the title Strip were creator-owned, but despite the best efforts of Dan Abnett while editor at the publisher, planned monthly books featuring them were never realized in favour of projects such as The Knights of Pendragon).

Created by John Carnell and Andy Lanning before, during and after their successful work on the weekly UK comic The Real Ghostbusters for latterday Marvel UK editor (and present day Elephantmen creator, Richard Starkings). "The Sleeze Brothers dared to be funny and a little off the wall in an industry dominated by straight ahead action adventure titles," says Richard today.

Who are the Sleeze Brothers? Well, imagine the bastard offspring of the Blues Brothers and Blade Runner and you're probably halfway there. El Ape and Deadbeat Sleeze have been described as the "wisecracking, dirtiest P.I.s in the Big Apple". They certainly aren't the quickest thinkers in the world, nor the most moral, but they stumbled their way through seven adventures with help from their digitally operated secretary/receptionist, Doris.

Despite building quite a cult following in a pre-Internet age, Marvel UK shelved the series after the sixth issue and -- but for a one shot and short story, Some Like It Fresh, published by Marvel US's Epic imprint and an appearance in a Doctor Who strip -- The Sleeze Brothers seemed destined to be fondly remembered but largely forgotten until the rights reverted to Carnell and Lanning in the late 1990's.

Under the auspices of John Carnell and Andy Banks' Foof Productons, a series of short web cartoons are currently in development (the first directed and scripted by John) and so John and Richard decided the time was right to re-present, and re-master, the original series.

Digitally remastering involves Comicraft's Secret Weapon, John JG Roshell, deleting the lettering from the scans of the original artwork and performing a little digital art restoration so that Ace Colourist, Gregory Wright, can colour the complete art before Richard Starkings adds the digital lettering. (There have been some problems with doing this, as Richard himself relates on the Elephantmen blog...)

The Sleeze Brothers debut in an eight-page prologue in Elephanthmen #16 published by Image Comics this February and feature on a 'flip' cover of the issue (above).

In addition to the Sleeze Brothers animations, John, whose credits also include a graphic novel adaptation of Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and has for the past few years working on film scripts, has revealed Foof Productions also plan to launch another animated series, Animentals, for mobile phones. He's also working on a children's trilogy, The Dingbats, the story of a bunch of dysfunctional homeless bats fighting to save their village sanctuary from ruthless developers.

It's great news that the Brothers are on their way back. While the humour might be offbeat and not to everyone's taste, the characters still has a fan following to this day, and there was such a buzz about this project in the Marvel UK offices when the book was first launched and both John and Andy were -- and still are -- some of the most enthusiastic advocates of comics I can think of.

Those of you who head to your comic shops in February and can't find this new incarnation might need to look out instead for this stunning "A side" cover to Elephantmen #16, surely a reason to buy the comic for that alone...

Sleeze Brothers Check List
(1989-91, Epic/Marvel Comics)

• Issue 1: Nice And Sleezy
• Issue 2: Reel To Real
• Issue 3: The Big Leap
• Issue 4: Murder In Space
• Issue 5: Down In The Sewer
• Issue 6: The Maltese Egg
• The Sleeze Brothers: Some Like It Fresh - one off issue for Epic
• The Sleeze Brothers: Saturday Night Special - short story published in Dave Elliot's A1 anthology for Epic.
• The Sleeze Brothers also appeared in Follow That Tardis a strip published in Doctor Who Magazine #147 in April 1989
• The original six-issue series was also collected by Marvel UK in 1990 as The Sleeze Brothers Case Files.
• An early version of The Sleeze Brothers animated show is on YouTube