Lakes International Comic Art Festival announces full guest list

Duncan Fegredo is just one of the latest
guests announced for LICAF

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has now announced the full line up for the event which will run from 18-20th October in Kendal, Cumbria.

15 new guests are being revealed today. These are on top of the 37 guests who have already been confirmed including Kurt Busiek, Ed Brubaker, Posy Simmonds, Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, comics journalist Joe Sacco, Gilbert Shelton, Hunt Emerson, Glyn Dillon, Doug Braithwaite, Viz creators Simon Thorp and Graham Dury and Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard.

The founder patrons of the festival are Bryan and Mary Talbot and Sean Phillips.

​Bryan Talbot says: “Everyone can now see the full line up for the festival in October.  It’s an impressive list of some of the best and most innovative comic creators from around the UK and overseas.

“Kendal is the perfect place for a European-style festival and we’re all looking forward to seeing the town transform itself into a centre for comic art in October.  We look forward to welcoming the fans but also those who perhaps have not picked up a comic book since childhood.”

The final group of guests revealed by festival organisers includes a leading British political cartoonist, an artist on the Hellboy comics and some of the best of the new wave of comic writers and artists.

Steve Bell is one of the UK’s leading political cartoonists, producing cartoons for the leader pages of The Guardian. His strip cartoon Maggie’s Farm appeared in Time Out and City Limits in the 1980s and since 1981 he has also written and drawn the daily If… strip in The Guardian.

Steve created the memorable images of John Major with his underpants worn outside his trousers, of Tony Blair with Margaret Thatcher’s rogue eyeball and of George W Bush as a chimpanzee. His work has been published all over the world and he has won numerous awards.

Artist Duncan Fegredo is best known for his work on the Hellboy comics created by Mike Mignola. As we reported earlier this week, the pair are currently collaborating on a new Hellboy project, The Midnight Circus, which is due out later this year. Duncan Fegredo has also worked on a number of other comics, including Judge Dredd.

Duncan is the only other artist that Mike Mignola has entrusted with Hellboy. Mike Mignola has described him as a 'genius' saying: "Duncan can draw anything.  He can draw the real world, he can capture the mystery and the atmosphere that the book needs-but he's also a fantastic cartoonist, so he can keep the life and the humour that I try to get in my stuff."

Al Davison is an award winning graphic novelist. He is also a film maker, martial artist, fight choreographer, performer, and teacher, and is probably best known for his autobiography The Spiral Cage. He is currently illustrating Blood-Light, a graphic novel written by Alex Finbow.

Dave Taylor is a comic artist who has worked for Marvel on Zorro and for DC on Batman.  He is also known as one of the artists on Judge Dredd and is working on a film and TV project based on the 1980 UFO incident at Rendlesham forest known as 'Britain's Roswell'.

American Nye Wright was hailed as ‘an amazing talent’ for his first book Lex Talionis: A Jungle Tale. He was the animation director for a cartoon sequence in Michael Moore’s Academy Award-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine. His book Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park was published by Myriad Editions in February 2012.

Isabel Greenberg is an illustrator and writer. She won the Cape/Comica/Observer Graphic Short Story Prize in 2011 with 'Love in a Very Cold Climate'.  It forms the prologue to The Enyclopedia of Early Earth, which will be published by Jonathan Cape later this year.

Daryl Cunningham is a prolific cartoonist, sculptor and photographer. His most recent book, Science Tales, was published by Myriad Editions in spring 2012.  It is a documentary comic book debunking myths and exposing the lies of scientific naysayers and conspiracy theorists, and the role of the media.

Ian Williams is a comics artist, physician and writer. He originated the website www.graphicmedicine.org, coining the term that has been applied to the interaction between comics and the discourse of healthcare.  His book The Bad Doctor will be published by Myriad Editions in 2014.

Ed Hillyer is a comic strip writer, artist and editor. His works have been published by Marvel, DC and Dark Horse in the USA, Kodansha in Japan, and numerous independent companies worldwide. He is currently working with Joe Kelly of Man of Action studios (the creators of BEN10) on a brand new concept called Kid Savage and Room4Love, a graphic novel for Selfmadehero.

Kate Charlesworth is a successful cartoonist and illustrator who is currently working with Mary and Bryan Talbot illustrating 'Sally Heathcote – Suffragette’.

Art by Gary Erskine

Gary Erskine is a Scottish artist who has worked on a wide range of comics including Judge Dredd, Hellblazer and Star Wars. One of his latest projects is Roller Grrrls.

Katie Green's first graphic novel, Lighter than my Shadow, will be published by Jonathan Cape in October.

Andy Poyiadiagi is a filmmaker and comic artist. His comic Teapot Therapy was shortlisted for the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize.

Dan Berry is an illustrator, designer, cartoonist and lecturer.  He also runs a podcast on comic art called Make It Then Tell Everybody. His book, The Suitcase, is published by Blank Slate Books shortly.

Owen Johnson is a Cumbria based artist who is also organising the festival’s version of a comics marketplace. His first graphic novel was Who on Earth was Thadeus Mist. He is now working on his next book Raygun Roads & The Infinity Loop Death-Trap of Ullysses Pomp, which is due to be published in the summer.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is modelled on the popular festivals on the continent in places such as Angouleme.  The format will be more like a literary festival than the comic conventions that UK fans are more familiar with.

There will be a wide range of talks, special live drawing events, workshops, films, exhibitions and a kids’ zone.  Some of the events, including the exhibitions and the kids’ zone will also be free.

The festival's marketplace – the Comics Clock Tower - will champion breaking talent from all styles and genres.  Many of the big name writers and artists visiting the festival will also be appearing in the Comics Clock Tower over the weekend.

Sean Phillips, one of the patrons of the festival, is the artist on Fatale which recently received six nominations in the Eisner Awards, the Oscars of the comics industry.  He says: “Like many people working in comics, I’ve long wanted to see a British version of the kind of festivals that take place in Europe, so I’m delighted to be involved in this new festival.  We have a fantastic line up and we hope to turn Kendal into a comics town for duration of the festival.

“With talks, special live drawing events, exhibitions and a kids’ zone there will be something for everyone to enjoy.  If you think you don’t like comics, we think you’ll be in for a surprise, with a huge diversity of work on offer in different genres from superheroes to politics, journalism to manga, and comedy to crime.”

The Festival is being supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

The founder partners of the event are the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal College, South Lakeland District Council and Osprey Communications. Founder supporters are Curious Road, Designworks, Jonathan Cape, Kendal Town Council, Forbidden Planet, Absolute Digital Print and Kendal Library.

The festival is also supported by publishers Myriad Editions, Nobrow, Blank Slate, Knockabout, DC Thomson, Cinebook, Dark Horse and SelfMadeHero and by 2000AD, Game, Comica, Panini, Redan, Westmorland Shopping Centre, The Phoenix Comic, Derwent Pencils, Soundsmith and Aha Marketing.

• The full list of guests is available at www.comicartfestival.com. It is also possible to keep up to date with plans for the festival by following @comicartfest on Twitter or by liking the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Facebook page. Tickets for the festival will go on sale 13 May 2013.

SciFi Art Postcard book on sale now

The long-awaited SciFi Art Postcard title from ILEX, compiled by myself with wonderful support from Tim Pilcher and all the artists involved - including many British comic artists - is now officially on sale in all good bookshops and online.

With a cover by Patrick J. Jones, the title comprises a selection of ace science fiction art also featured in my 2010 book, Sci-Fi Art Now and some other art specially selected for this project, too - 30 gorgeous SF-inspired postcards in total.

British artists featured are: Rian Hughes, Stuart Jennett, Paul McCaffrey, Steve Sampson, Smuzz (who I'm working with on the Crucible comic) and Dave Taylor. 

Other artists work in the book are: Larry Blamire, Matt Gaser,  Aaron Jasinski, Patrick J. Jones, Michael Kaluta & Lee Moyer, Tom Kelly, Yigit Koroglu, John Malcolm, Sergey Musin, Nemons, 2012 Hugo and Chelsey Award-winning John Picacio, Neil Roberts,  Jon Sullivan, and Oliver Wetter.

The book looks great and joins a number of similar titles from ILEX, more information here in an earlier post.

Thanks to all involved - the creators and the ILEX production team, headed up by Tim Pilcher.

SciFi Postcard Book to be released in January 2013

Just through my door this weekend: an advance copy of the Sci-Fi Art Now postcard book ILEX asked me to compile earlier this year, which features illustrations by a number of British comic artists, including Rian Hughes, Smuzz and Dave Taylor.

With a cover by Patrick J. Jones, it features some art used in the Sci-Fi Art Now book and other illustrations - 30 gorgeous SF-inspired postcards in total.

The artists featured are: Larry Blamire, Matt Gaser, Rian Hughes, Stuart Jennett, Paul McCaffrey, Aaron Jasinski, Patrick J. Jones, Michael Kaluta & Lee Moyer, Tom Kelly, Yigit Koroglu, John Malcolm, Sergey Musin, Nemons, 2012 Hugo and Chelsey Award-winning John Picacio, Neil Roberts, Steve Sampson, Smuzz (who I'm working with on the Crucible comic), John Sullivan, Dave Taylor and Oliver Wetter.

My thanks to them all for being part of this spin-off, which is set to be published in January and looks absolutely fantastic! Thanks also to editor Tim Pilcher and the ILEX team for creating another great book.

The collection is one of a series of Postcard books published by ILEX, which have been well received and sold very well in the UK. They include:  

• Army Camp! 30 Postcards That Do Ask and Do Tell! - A riotous introduction to the unintentionally homoerotic side of military life. Classic images date from between 1914 to 1946, when armies everywhere were crying out for fit, toned men to join up, bond together and make the world a better place.  

• Fantasy Art - Includes art by Robert Chang, Matt Dixon, Raymond Swanland and Matt Gaser featuring modern twists on traditional themes such as dragons, orcs, fairies and adventurers.  

• Lovelorn - 30 of the very best in cult romance comics of the 1950s. From Brides in Love and Romantic Hearts to G.I. Sweethearts and Romantic Adventures there are dozens of romantically quirky postcards ready for you to send to your beloved!  

• Tales of Terror - 30 of the scariest, most bizarre and downright strange horror comics covers. These pre-code horror comics make an ideal gift and are perfect to send chills in the post, or to simply keep and laugh at the uncanny covers. Each cult postcard includes the title, artist, publisher and publication date on the back.  

• Tattoos: 30 Postcards to Colour and Send - A fun, interactive postcard set includes 30 of the coolest designs by top manga artist and tattooist, Jian Yi. All the designs are clear line drawings of everything from fairies and flowers to dragons and tigers, and are easy to complete and colour, before wowing friends and family with a piece of original art through the post.  

• Vampires: 30 Postcards - Artists from different backgrounds and cultures share their versions of the vampire in their chosen medium. Each postcard includes the titles, artist, publisher and publication date on the back.  

• More about Sci-Fi Art Now on its dedicated blog here

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From art droid Dave Taylor

Judge Dredd by Dave Taylor

Name: Dave Taylor

Blog or web site: http://davetaylorart.blogspot.com

Currently working on: Batman: Death by Design, written by Chip Kidd. Published in June.

First memory of 2000AD? 

A deep rumbling, as if a powerful force within had been awoken.

Favourite Character or Story: 

Dredd, The Cursed Earth. This was so inspiring for a young lad!

What do you like most about the 2000AD? 

The freedom of expression. The freedom to experiment. Oh, the endless possibilities!

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

A continuing flow of innovative story telling and imagination. A free gift every so often wouldn't hurt!!

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

Tharg is seen as quite a formidable creature, a brute of cosmic proportions, but let me tell you that he's actually a very enlightened and compassionate fellow. He rescued me from the gutter, literally gave me a home, a pencil and a desk on which to work. He can make your dreams come true, but only if you believe in him.

• 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

Web FInds: Someone Old, Some New

Art by Cliff Robinson

(with thanks to Matt Badham): Many British comic characters may not be getting the exposure these days - who wouldn't want to see new adventures of Steel Claw or Adam Eterno? - but thanks to the web, comic creators can keep these icons alive. Case in point is Someone Old, Someone New - a blog where artists feature old and new British comic characters in one frame of 'What If?' style fun.

The creation of 'MangaMax', who also runs the AIEEE blog on British comic characters, the  brief is simple: ask an artist to depict a chosen classic, long out of print British comic character meeting a modern, in print one. Whether they get along and what they're doing is entirely up to the artist - part of the fun of it seeing just what they'll come up with. The only stipulation anyone is given is that it must be black and white, the natural enviroment of the 70's, apart from that its all down to them.

Robot Archie and Judge Anderson
Art by Dave Taylor

Many artists have already stepped up to the plate, including Cliff Robinson (above, who helped kick the project off), Glenn Fabry, Dave Taylor, Paul Grist and many others.

The blog is also  a showcase for a slowly growing collection of commissions of Black Max, MangaMax's favourite ever British comic character - and convention sketches of those classic 60/70's strips he love so much.

So well worth checking out at: http://someoneoldsomeonenew.blogspot.com

- The Spider, Janus Stark and Robot Archie © IPC
- Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson © Rebellion

- Adam Eterno and Black Max © Egmont UK

Get Wasted! Issue 4 hits the stands

Issue 4 of adult humour magazine Wasted is on sale now, featuring a sexy cover by the ever-brilliant Dave Taylor.

This issue features more War On Drugs, Alan Kerr's absolutely superb Lusi Sulfura ("She was sent to Earth to drag souls to hell... but couldn't be bothered!"), and three fab Tales of the Buddha before he got enlightened strips by Alan Grant, drawn Jon Haward - always a highlight of each issue of the adults-only magazine.

"Buddha is bonkers stuff," admits Jon, "but every one I know say they like it – even Buddhists!"

This issue also see the debut of Adventures in Sherweed Forest: Robin Head and his Merrywanna Men, again written by Alan and drawn by Jon

"I decided to draw this strip in a homage style to humour comic greats Ken Reid and R.T.Nixon," says Jon, "who drew British humour kids comics that I read growing up in comics like Cor!, Buster, Shiver and Shake and Whizzer and Chips.

"All these stories were great fun to draw as they made me laugh all the time as I was drawing them," he adds, and given the above line-up of characters on Robin Head, we can see why!

• Wasted costs £3.25, ISSN 1751-2522 and is available in all disreputable comic stores across the country or you can buy it on line via http://badpressltd.com/buy-wasted.php or subscribe via http://badpressltd.com/subscriptions.php. We're sure copies will also be on sale at the upcoming Comics Expo in Bristol later this month, too.

• Read our review of Wasted Issue 3

• Read our review of Wasted Issue 2

• Tales of the Buddha: a WASTED gem!

Tube Surfing: 23 March 2009

• Artist Rob Davis recently posted an interesting article about his work for Roy of the Rovers Monthly when it relaunched in late 1993. Davis had previously worked on the short-lived comic Glory Glory for Tundra UK with Stuart Green, who then became editor of the new Rovers title. "Stuart's plan was to bring the same sensibilities to Roy of the Rovers. His ideas were brilliant but ruthless," Rob reveals. "The original title had been cancelled in March 1993 and the story of Roy Race ended with Roy crashing his private helicopter, readers were left not knowing if he was alive or dead.
"In September of the same year our Monthly comic started up and Roy awoke from a coma to find that his comic strip world had gone and reality had moved in. The first shock was discovering that he had lost his famous left foot, amputated after the crash..." Although this version was disregarded by later revamps of the strip, it's an interesting look at this controversial re-toolong of the famous character.

• In 1992 writer Ian Carney and artist Dave Taylor teamed up to do some Mr Murray strips, purely for fun. Ian is now a writer for children's cartoons and shows such as Shaun the Sheep, but back then both were both struggling artisans trying to find their way in life. "Our love of comic books turned into this here strip," says Dave, who has now posted some samples of the strip on his blog. "The last page was written by myself and features Randy the Skeleton, a wonderful creation of Aidan Potts, another fellow Brit cartoonist who's work was always an inspiration."

• Diamond's Scoop site notes that it's been 80 years since Tarzan first apeared in comics. Let's not forget that includes appearances in later issues of TV21, capitalizing on the TV version of the character starring Ron Ely, who has also played Superman and Doc Savage.

• Joe Kubert's Tor: A Prehistoric Odyssey, collecting all six issues of the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the character - a story begun over fifty years ago is now on sale in comic shops. In addition to the six issues, the hardcover book includes all six covers - including the correct version of cover number five - as well as rare, previously unpublished sketches and thumbnails. by the artist.

• Ian Sharman's fantastic-looking Young Gods project, available via myebook.com, is now Alpha Gods -- we suspect some copyright shenanigans. The comic centres on the eponymous Gods in battle with an ancient evil, Malak. Written by Ian Sharman with art by Ezequiel Pineda and coloured by Mauro Barbosa, this is an action packed series from Orang Utan Comics that will eventually be released as a print edition.

• James Moran, writer of series such as Torchwood, Primeval, Doctor Who and horror comedy Severance has published a really useful FAQ on writing, which includes the obvious advice that if you wnat to be a writer "Start writing. Keep writing." It seems many people just don't get this. "If you want to be a writer, you have to write, a lot, and read a lot, and rewrite a lot," he continues. You write and write and write, and you might not be any good for a long time, maybe several years, until you get a bit better, then you keep going, then eventually you'll get good at it."

• Since his creation by Mike Mignola, Hellboy has been adored by comic book fans across the world. Guillermo Del Toro brought him to the big screen and now author Mark Morris, author of several Doctor Who books, and winner of the 2007 British Fantasy Award, talks about his new Hellboy novel at the upcoming Leeds Young People Film Festival. This masterclass is followed by the screening of the animated film The Sword of Storms, which is free to anyone attending the masterclass. To book tickets please call City Centre Box Office on 0113 224 3801. More info online here

Compiled with thanks to Matthew Badham

Tube Surfing: 29 January 2009

• Dave Taylor has just posted this stunning teaser for a new Judge Dredd story, a four parter written by Ian Edginton. Look out for more soon on his blog. Dave's one of several comics artists involved in the fab online stripjam, Huzzah!, along with Faz Choudhury, Dylan Teague, Paul Harrison Davies, Rob Davis, I. N. J. Culbard (who's got some terrific designs for his Sherlock Holmes project for SelfMadeHero on his blog), Colin Fawcett, Sketchybeast, D'Israeli and Dan McDaid.

• Talking of Paul Harrison Davies, my fellow Lancaster-based comic creator has been recommending some good comics reads, including D'Israeli's Stckleback, Bogie Man and the Verttigo title Northlanders, which I enjoyed myself. Check out his hot picks here. He also rightly directs people to web comic Rip Haywire, which is still in its early days, and "a great throwback to classic US adventure strips like Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy and Steve Canyon for the Dilbert generation".

• Both Andrew Wildman and Faz Choudhury highlighted this video on Facebook, showing Spanish cartoonist and animator Juan Berrio at work, making unusual use of a moleskin notebook. Simply stunning...



• Bad news for Magazine fans: Realms of Fantasy is closing down following publication of its April 2009 issue with Managing Editor Laura Cleveland telling SFScope the news came very suddenly. So suddenly, Warren Ellis notes, that even Editor Shawna McCarthy (currently on vacation in Italy) hadn’t been informed yet. RoF failed to embrace the digital age -- its web site doesn't seem to have been updated for a couple of years by all accounts -- which surely can't have helped.

• In more bad magazine news, several are mourning the announcement that DC Comics MAD Magazine will switch from monthly to quarterly publication, beginning with its 500th, April 2009 cover dated issue. DC are also killing spinoffs Mad Kids (ceasing publication after 17 February) and Mad Classics (ending on 17 March). The quarterly schedule will begin in April and the change will see the humour magazine expand from 48 to 56 pages.
Brushing off the gloom, as you'd expect from Mad, editor John Ficarra told the New York Times, "The feedback we’ve gotten from readers is that only every third issue of Mad is funny. So we decided to just publish those."

• (via Cy Deathan): The Insomnia Publications blog is currently featuring an interview with Cancertown and Slaughterman's Creed artist, Stephen Downey, discussing his methods and influences, and offers advice on breaking in.

• Neil Gaiman, who is a guest of the Dubin Film Fair which is screening animated fim Coraline, has received the prestigious John Newberry award from the American Library Association awarded for his novel, The Graveyard Book, for the most outstanding children’s book.

Tube Surfing: 5 January 2009

• Empire Online, illustrating the news with a tasty image of Judge Dredd by Dylan Teague, report Danny Boyle’s DNA films has snatched up the rights to return the famous Judge to our screens in a story that remains so far under wraps.

• (via Andrew Moreton): Paul Rainey has started a new weekly strip on his site at: www.pbrainey.com. His There's no Time Like the Present series is highly recommended, as is his 2000AD blog progslog at: www.progslog.blogspot.com

• (via Warren Ellis' blog): David Langford notes via Ansible that Gordon van Gelder's The Magazine of Fantasy & SF is switching to bi-monthly publication. "Rising costs — especially postal costs — and the economy put us in a position where we either had to raise our rates severely or cut back somewhere," Gelder explains. "Given the state of the economy, I decided a cutback on frequency made the most sense.
"We’ll lose a little more than 10% of our content this year, but publishing on a bimonthly schedule should put us in a great position for the coming years."

• Over on Bear Alley, Steve Holland has just posted a round up of comics titles that were released on the run up to Christmas. A handful of titles that were announced have been delayed or publication has been pushed back and these can be found on his Upcoming Releases listing.

• Gez Kelly, organiser of the Golden Orbit Sci Fi and Comic Fairs around the UK has been in touch to give us the latest dates (see our events page for these) and to say he's offering some free exhibiton space to creators / small press publishers at several of the of the venues in February and March. For further info please contact Gez via the Golden Orbit web site.
The next Fair is on Saturday 17 January at the Nautical Club, Bishopsgate Street, off Broad Street and a short walk from Smallbrook Queensway in Birmingham, followed on Saturday 24 January with an event at Sachas Hotel, Tibb Street, Piccadilly, Manchester. Both events start at 12 noon.

• Dave taylor has joined a taleneted line up of comics artists contributing to the online comic HUZZAH!, which itself follows hot on the heels of Who Killed Round Robin. A simple parlour game where creators take it in turns to tell a story, in HUZZAH's case its theme is Space Opera.
"Not all available artist slots have been filled as yet but so far we have a great line-up," says Dave. "Ian Culbard, Colin Fawcett, Faz Choudhury, D'Israeli, Rob Davis, Stetchybeast and little old me." See the epic evolve here: huzzah2009.blogspot.com

• Neill Cameron's strip Mo-Bot High recently won the Golden Oinky award for Best Strip in The DFC, as voted for by the readers of that august periodical. "I even got to appear in the comic, collecting my award in person, as illustrated by the very talented Zak Simmonds-Hurn," he reveals on his blog. "I kept my 'acceptance speech' on the brief-and-flippant side as, y'know, I thought that would be funnier, but I just wanted to say here how genuinely thrilled and just absolutely bowled over I was by the whole thing."

• Thomas Cochrance has published a new Chapter of his graphic novel The Fat Man via
myebook.com. To catch up with the story so far - (78 pages) go to www.myebook.com/ebook_viewer.php?ebookId=2170

• And finally, an extended interview with new Doctor Who Matt Smith from Doctor Who Confidential has been made available online via YouTube and the BBC website. Meanwhile, Forbidden Planet International notes that just a couple of short hours since the announcement PJ Holden (he of Judge Dredd, the ‘86ers, DeadSignal and more) already had the first Matt Smith illo up online...
The Observer got in touch with me on Saturday night to ask me what I thought of the casting (the reporter is an old friend), but my comments didn't make it to the paper, it seems. Hardly surprising since just as the media were digesting the casting news, Israel went into Gaza tanks ablazing.

Win Some Dave Taylor Art

(Via 2000AD artist Dave Taylor's blog): If you visit the wonderful site run by artist Andrew Glazebrook (bsmbow.blogspot.com) you can win a black and white version of this sketch by Dave Taylor, simply by entering his caption competition and being as funny as you can.

"Andrew's site is most entertaining and full of delightfully interesting things so why not pop over and see for yourself," says Dave.

Only one entry per person and the closing date will be Friday the 5th December 2008 and the winner will be announced sometime soon after that date.

Tube Surfing: 28 October 2008

• Voting is now open for the 2008 podcast awards (www.podcastawards.com) and comics podcast Geek Syndicate has been nominated in the best entertainment category, which is great nes -- the team there have done a brilliant job of promoting British comics this year. If you've been following and enjoying their work, you can vote once every 24 hours and voting closes on 6th November 2008.
The team were at the MCM expo in London on Saturday and will be reporting on several of the panels including the press Q & A sessions for Heroes, Primeval, Demons, Merlin and Battlestar Galactica. "Once I've sorted out the quality a little more I'll be sticking them up on our website for people to listen to," the Syndicate's Barry Nugent tells downthetubes.

• Part works publisher GE Fabbri are fireld testing a new magazine devoted to Indiana Jones in the North East of the UK, which features comic strip by John Royle which looks superb. More news as we get it.

• 2000AD artist Dave Taylor has posted a sneek peek of his Christmas Judge Dredd story for the weekly comic, written by John Wagner. Like many other comics artists, his blog is a useful stoop if you're interested in seeing how he works on a strip from blue line to finished images.

• (with thanks to Forbidden Planet International): Simon Mayo’s Radio 5 show included a feature on Graphic Novels earlier today, with guests Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons and Paul Gravett discussing what a graphic novel is, the relationship to Hollywood and more. Here's the BBC's listen again link, which will be live for seven days.

• With Hallowe'en on its way, regular Forbidden Planet International contributor and top cartoonist Rod McKie and the FPI team have published The Ballad of Jack Palance, a little spooky tale of tall tales , movie stars, ghosts, an ancient churchyard and, this being set in Edinburgh, a good pub. For those who have never visited the city, Greyfriar’s Bobby is an old pub only a few minutes walk from the Forbidden Planet store in Edinburgh’s Old Town, named for the famously loyal dog who stayed by the grave of his master until his own death, eventually being adopted by the city so he wouldn’t be treated as a stray under law.
Rod’s put it into a good resolution PDF which you can grab from the FPI site and read free online or download it and print it off to read; there's also a Comic Book Reader version (as a mini comic) so if you use the CBR viewer or GonVisor you can use those to download it here. (Downloadable files are by and © Rod McKie).