Panel Borders radio show on The Phoenix / new British Horror Films

Panel Borders: The Phoenix

In the first of a new series of Panel Borders, we start a month of shows looking at comic book anthologies with a recording of a panel discussion of the children's comic The Phoenix. Creators Daniel Hartwell (writer: ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Neill Cameron (artist: ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’, Adam Murphy (‘Corpse Talk’), Robin Etherington (writer: ‘Long Gone Don’) and Patrice Aggs ('Blimpville') discuss creating serialised comics for children and how the title rose from the ashes of The DFC - hosted by David O'Connell and recorded live at Caption Festival, Oxford.

8pm, Sunday 16th September 2012, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

I'm ready for my close-up: Home Invasions

With unfortunately apposite timing, following the case of burglars being shot in a Leicestershire break-in at the start of this month, Alex Fitch interviews the directors of two new British horror films that deal with supernatural home invasions and their consequences. Oliver S. Milburn discusses his debut film The Harsh Light of Day which looks at a home owner's Faustian deal with a vampire to get revenge on the thieves who broke into his home and murdered his wife, and Pat Holden talks about his new movie When the lights went out, starring Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) and produced by Bil Bungar (Moon), and dramatises the story of the 1966 haunting and subsequent exorcism of a semi-detached house in Pontefract.

When the lights went out was released in cinemas on 14th September and The Harsh Light of Day is released on DVD on 1st October - whenthelightswentout.com / www.harshlightofday.com

11.30pm, Tuesday 18th September, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

WebFinds: Chris Weston, Movie Star

Today's WebFind: ace British artist Chris Weston has re-plugged some 'motion comics' created to promote last year's Book of Eli film directed by the Hughes brothers and starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.

It looks like two comics were published, with Chris, who drew the tale, making a cameo in the second, "The End", below...

So why didn't we we see him on the Oscars red carpet at the weekend?

"Billy"
A lone hero must fight his way across the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America to protect a sacred book that holds the key to saving the future of humanity. This motion comic was drawn by "the annoyingly talented Tommy Lee Edwards", Chris tells us.





"The End" - featuring Chris Weston (who also drew it)





Released to mix reviews and pitted against films such as Avatar, Box Office Mojo notes The Book of Eli gross $94,835,059 in the United States and Canada, and $62,256,659 in other markets, with an estimated worldwide total of $157,091,718.

Kapow plans secret sneek movie preview - could it be Thor?

Could the Kapow convention team be planning an advance screening of Kenneth Branagh's Thor film? They aren't saying, but it's one possible option for their just-announced sneak preview movie night.

The team behind next year's upcoming Kapow convention next April continue to unveil their plans and the latest is MOVIE X - a special advance movie screening of an upcoming superhero movie.

While the actual movie has yet to be announced - it's planned as a a secret, surprise screening that will be the finale to the show on Sunday 10th April 2011 - there are plenty of possibilities, including director Kenneth Branagh's Thor, which opens 29th April in the UK.

The advance screening will be shown in a 500 seater auditorium in the London Business Design Centre with state of the art facilities.

Nobody will know what MOVIE X is until the lights go down, but organisers say fans of comic book cinema can rest assured they are in for a special treat. "Our only clue this year is that the movie features a solo superhero. Have fun guessing who he is!"

If not Thor, given this clue, it could be James Gunn's Super, opening 1st April in the US, which has a kind of Kick-Ass vibe to the plot that might appeal to Mark Millar, one of the Kapow team.

A major coup would of course be a very advance screening of Green Lantern, set for a June release.

In addition to ‘MOVIE X’, the panels, signings, exclusive announcements and portfolio reviews, Kapow! visitors will also be able to enjoy the Comic Fans vs. Pros Game Show hosted by Jonathan Ross and The Stan Lee Awards. The guest list now includes Jonathan Ross, Frankie Boyle, Noel Clarke and Stewart Lee who all write for Titan's CLiNT, plus A-list UK and US comic  creators such as John Romita Jr., Dave Gibbons, Mark Millar, Leinil  Yu, Paul Cornell and Andy Diggle.

• The full movie and TV line up will be announced on Kapow! on 14th February. Tickets for Kapow! are available in advance only, and can be purchased  at www.kapowcomiccon.com. Tickets will not be available on the door.

Classic British Movie on DVD

11 October see the release of an over-looked gem of a film on DVD. Three Cases of Murder sounds like a conventional crime movie. However, the film is made up of three individual stories (rather like the classic Dead of Night) and two of them have strong supernatural/fantasy elements.

Three Cases of Murder was shown at the Bradford Fantastic Film Festival at Bradford Media Museum earlier this year and museum curator Tony Earnshaw did not attempt to conceal his enthusiam for it. It is the first of the three stories in particular that you should look out for. In this tale, a museum warder steps into a painting and the fantasy world within. It's a chilling, gripping piece of cinema history and well worth a look. If that's not enough, the movie is introduced by Eamonn Andrews!

Actor Alan Badel appears in all three tales, with Orson Welles starring in the third one.

Three Cases of Murder is available from 11 October 2010.

In Review: Bradford Fantastic Film Weekend

The 9th Bradford Fantastic Film Weekend was held at the National Media Museum from 4 to 6 June. The annual event began in 2002 as a celebration of classic ghost stories and the supernatural and has evolved into a major celebration of horror, sci-fi and fantasy TV and film.

As always, the three-day event featured a packed schedule with movies showing on two screens (as well as classic TV such as Captain Scarlet playing in the TV Heaven viewing area). It's simply not possible to see every film on offer (although attempts are made to make it as easy as possible, with popular films showing more than once) but here are my thoughts on some of the films I was able to see (and boy, I watched a lot!!)...

Modern films included the excellent 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later shown as a double bill and I was also pleased to see eXistenZ, a film unfamiliar to me but which is very thought-provoking and clever and, like 28 Days Later, features Christopher Eccleston. 2009's Shadow, directed by Federico Zampaglione, was very intense, very gory (as in Saw levels of gore!!) but also wonderfully political, topical and very intelligently made. There was also a selection of short films - these included The Cicerones (featuring Mark Gatiss visiting a creepy church to view a painting) and Full Employment (which was so funny it had to be seen to be believed).

There was also no shortage of vintage material including the classic Matthew Hopkins Witchfinder General, a beautiful digital version of Psycho (superb in every way) and The Giant Spider Invasion, one of those 'so bad it's good' movies which the audience loved and which featured a giant spider that looked like a prop from The Goodies!! A highlight for me was Three Cases of Murder, a wonderful British film from the 1950s which consisted of three self-contained stories, including a wonderfully spooky tale of an artist who emerges from one of his own paintings and drags a museum worker into his sinister world. The FFW team always do a great job of digging out rare, overlooked films such as this.

In addition to these amazing films, there were two special guests in the form of director/cinematographer Stanley A Long (who worked with Boris Karloff on The Sorcerers) and writer/director Michael Armstrong (Mark of the Devil). I missed Michael's talk but saw Stanley's and he was absolutely fascinating and very popular with the audience.

The whole event was held together by festival director Tony Earnshaw who gave fascinating and humerous introductions to many of the movies. His insights set the scene for each film. He was well supported by the museum staff who were very helpful and friendly. In fact, the whole event had a very friendly atmosphere with a group of like-minded people coming together to enjoy great films.

Comic-inspired movie Largo Winch comes to London

Successful Belgian bande dessinée series Largo Winch has been made into a live action film. Its writer and creator Jean Van Hamme was on hand at the Institut Francais in South Kensington in London to answer questions after a screening of the film. Joel Meadows reports...

Largo Winch, a co-production between France and Belgium, is in English with selected French and Croatian subtitles and captures the flavour of the graphic novel pretty effortlessly.

Largo is the adopted son of business magnate Nerio Winch who is incapacitated and so his multimillion dollar business is up for grabs from all comers. A playboy, Largo travels the world rescuing women in distress and generally living it up in a pulp adventure cut from the same cloth as something like The Shadow, with a dash of Bruce Wayne and James Bond thrown in for good measure.

Director Jerome Salle makes good use of the European settings in the film and Tomer Sisley as the eponymous hero is decent value. While the plot is a little convoluted at times, it rewards the viewer’s concentration and you are left with a satisfying romp of a film.

Despite the fact that it is predominantly in English, Largo Winch manages to preserve that very European feel that makes the graphic novels such a joy to consume.

The Q&A afterwards shed quite a lot of light on the adaptation process, with Van Hamme coming across as a passionate and intelligent man. Even though the film only received a week’s theatrical release, at the Institut Francais, it is coming to DVD at the end of July from Optimum Releasing, and a sequel is already being made, so the name Largo Winch is one that the English-speaking world will no doubt be becoming more familiar with over the next few years.

Pictures from the screening by and © Joel Meadows

• Largo Winch is available to buy in English from Cinebooks and the film will be on DVD from Optimum Releasing in August.

• Read Jeremy Briggs review of Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Aymond's Lady S


• Joel Meadows is the editor-in-chief of TRIPWIRE, Britain’s only features-driven comics and media magazine as well as having written about comics and genre for many of the world’s best-known publications including Time Magazine, The Times, Variety, Empire and many more.

• Tripwire official website: wwww.tripwire-magazine.com

• Walls and Bridges blog: http://joelm1-joelmead.blogspot.com/

Den of Geek Celebrates B Movies

The Den of Geek website is taking a week long look at the phenomenon that is the American B movie. Today, Karla Helion presents an overview of B movies, examining the circumstances under which they emerged, and over the next few days the site will be looking at how the films developed through the decades. Tomorrow, it's the 1940s and 50s. There's also a countdown of the top 11 'So Bad They're Good' movies and, naturally, Ed Wood and Roger Corman are both in there!

Usually made using pre-existing sets, low paid actors and stock footage, B movies tended to be less than 80 minutes long and were shown at cinemas following a more expensive and glossy 'A' feature. Whilst they were naturally often in the shadow of the films they accompanied, many B movies have gone on to have a huge following of their own.

Bubo Bobblehead!

Sometimes an item of fantasy or sci-fi memorabilia just catches your eye and makes you think 'I want one of those!' This rather adorable character is Bubo, mechanical owl and Perseus' guide from the 1981 version of the movie Clash of the Titans. It even has its own Greek-style column base! Get it from 30 April.

Hammer Films Update

The official Hammer Films website has today launched a new online shop selling items associated with the vintage British film studio. Items for sale include DVDs, books and T-shirts, along with some new reproduction film posters.

But that's not the only news from the House of Horror because there's quite a lot happening in the world of Hammer at the moment, including a Hammer exhibition at the Opus Gallery in Newcastle, which runs until 21st February.

The 1967 Hammer film The Lost Continent has also just been released on DVD in the UK for the first time and the recent Hammer production Beyond the Rave, which premiered online in 2008, is also available, as a limited edition.

Meanwhile, there are new Hammer films in production. Let Me In, a co-production between Hammer and Overture Films, will be released in the US in October. The Resident, starring Christopher Lee, should also debut this year and the company has also acquired rights to the Susan Hill ghost story The Woman in Black.

Now, if only someone would collect all those classic House of Hammer comic strips...

Blade Runner Tops "Greatest SciFi" Poll

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford and set in a bleak LA of the future, has been named the greatest sci-fi movie of all time by the Titan Magazines-run sci-fi website, Totalscifionline.com.

The online publication has produced a definitive list of the top 100 films in sci-fi, with the 1982 film beating off strong competition to take the top slot.

Stanley Kubrick’s epic 2001: A Space Odyssey comes in second place, while the first release of the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is at number three.

As the news breaks that Ridley Scott is set to make Alien 5, his first entry in the franchise is named the fourth best sci-fi movie of all time, and Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s iconic film from the silent period, completes the top five.

The authoritative list spans more than a century of movies in the sci-fi genre, with current release Moon making position 74, and the pioneering A Trip to the Moon from 1902 in the top fifteen.

Other entries in the list include two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a plethora of titles from the genre’s 1970s heyday such as Silent Running, The Man Who Fell To Earth and The Andromeda Strain, and classic films by Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky.

Surprisingly, the recent smash hit Star Trek movie prequel makes the list, but comes in at a lowly 93. Two other Star Trek movies, The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country, are adjudged to be superior entries in the franchise, coming in at 19 and 67 respectively.

“It’s odd to think that Blade Runner was not a critical or commercial success on its initial release in 1982," commented Matt McAllister, Editor of Totalscifionline.com. "Some critics dismissed it as a case of style over substance. Yet while the depiction of a neon-lit future LA is still breathtaking, Ridley Scott’s film is backed up a real sense of sadness, fear and longing. It also contains career-best performances from Harrison Ford as Deckard and Rutger Hauer as the charming, feral Roy Batty, and terrific supporting performances from the likes of Daryl Hannah and Sean Young.

"However many times you’ve seen Blade Runner before, it retains its awe-inspiring power. A sci-fi masterpiece.”

The Top Ten:



1. Blade Runner (1982)

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

3. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

4. Alien (1979)

5. Metropolis (1927)

6. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

7. The Terminator (1984)

8. The Planet of the Apes (1968)

9. E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial (1982)

10. Solaris (1972)

• To view the 'Top 100 films in sci-fi' list in full, visit:
http://totalscifionline.com/features/3809

Engines of Enchantment at Cartoon Museum

London's Cartoon Museum is to host an exhibition dedicated to the work of eccentric genius Rowland Emett this summer.

Described in TIME Magazine as "a nostalgic-romantic artist-humorist social commentator-engineer," this exhibition brings together, for the first time in Britain, the eccentric genius of Rowland Emett both as a cartoonist and as a maker of ‘Gothick Kinetic Things!’

The show includes five fantastic whirring, winking machines including three created for the classic children’s film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968 as well as originals of many of his best cartoons, some on show for the first time.

The world created by Emett is uniquely British but with international appeal - his cartoons have been admired by many including Saul Steinberg and Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, who chose ‘The Cartoons of Rowland Emett’ as one of his top 100 things in the world.

In 1939 Emett first submitted a drawing to Punch. It was rejected but with the note: "Not quite... Very ingenious though. Try again." Try again he did and five of his drawings were accepted.

During the war he worked as a draughtsman at the air ministry but continued to supply drawings to Punch increasingly of romantic gothic trains, trams and boats which, together with their crew, appeared to be humorous relics of a bygone era.

In 1951, someone had the idea of turning Emett’s spidery railway cartoons into reality and he was invited by the Festival of Britain committee to construct three child-sized engines for the working Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway. He did. The railway was a huge success carried millions of visitors in the Festival’s Pleasure gardens and he and his machines never looked back. The exhibition includes the original model train, complete with driver, which he presented to the Festival committee.

The exhibition at the Cartoon Museum also includes the Exploratory Moon-Probe Lunacycle MAUD, (Manually Assisted Universal, Deviator), the Fairway-Birdie Mk. 1 - fully automated airborne self-golfing golf machine. Also on display will be the Little Dragon Carpet Cleaner and Visivision Machine all of which were created for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Emett constructed the machines out of antique doorknobs, umbrellas, lamp shades and any other bits and pieces he found around the house – much to the irritation of his wife! The result were cartoons come to life - working machines which whiz, whirr and whistle.

The cartoons are surreal confections filled with playful details. Amongst them is a drawing of a Rolls Royce fitted with roulette wheels and staircase created for the wedding of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace in 1956 which he actually attended.

• Engines of Enchantment: The Machines and Cartoons of Rowland Emett opens on 29 July and runs until 1 November. More info: www.cartoonmuseum.org

• Rowland Emmett: Art and Images


• More about the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway

• More about the 1951 Festival of Britain

Tube Surfing: Comic Cutbacks, San Diego Schedules, Dinsoaurs and Weird Fishes...

• Filming has started on the new series of Doctor Who that will see Matt Smith will take on the eponymous role. Matt is seen here in costume, side by side with Scottish actress Karen Gillan who plays new companion Amy Pond.

Arriving on set in Cardiff for his first day of filming, Smith commented: "I feel very privileged and proud to be part of this iconic show.

"The scripts are brilliant and working alongside Karen, Steven and the rest of the crew is an inspiration because their work ethic and passion for the show is so admirable."

• Talking of Doctor Who, the new free to download Big Finish podcast is a Bernice Summerfield special, the companion created by Paul Cornell for Virgin's New Adventures novels and who went on to star in Doctor Who comics and get her own audio adventures. David Richardson and Lisa Bowerman discuss all things Benny.

• The Guardian newspaper has come under fire for cutting The Comic, its supplement created in partnership largely with the sadly-defunct The DFC comic. The paper's Readers' editor, Siobhain Butterworth, reports today that people have noticed that the newspaper has slimmed down - a response to economic woes affecting all newspapers - and more than 200 print readers have been in touch about the demise of The Comic, reduced radio and TV listings, and the disappearance of environment pages from the weekly Society section. Of these, 80 specifically complained at the loss of The Comic, but this was not the only part of the paper to be hit by cuts. Education and Society have dropped from 10 and eight pages of editorial, respectively, to six, and G2 has also become slighter. Sad times for the paper.

• Talking on the Guardian, artist Eddie Campbell notes that Gemma Arterton has reportedly been cast as title character in movie adaptation of Posy Simmonds's comic strip Tamara Drewe , featured in the paper.
The strip centres on a beautiful columnist who ruffles feathers in a rural writers' retreat.

The director of The Queen and The Grifters is reported to have cast former Bond girl and St Trinian's graduate Gemma Arterton as the title character, a newspaper columnist whose recent nose job transforms her into a seductive flirt, to the chagrin of the quiet village's womenfolk. Tamsin Greig and Roger Allam are also said to be attached to the project.

• Artist and writer Adam Grose reports that the dedicated website for his imprint, Clown Press, has closed down, but all content has shifted to www.adamgrose.com. "This site will be fully up and running from August and will expand over the coming months with the galleries to upload," says Adam. " In the meantime check out the Phoenix: A Warrior's Tale preview on the news page or from the shop. This book is set for release in October."

• Wildstorm have just published the cover of Warren Ellis' Planetary #27, drawn by John Cassaday. The issue is out in October. Warren will be at the San Diego Comic Con and post his schedule here, appearing at the event under the exclusive aegis of Sony, Madhouse and Marvel Anime.

• Talking of Warren, he's just plugged Jamaica Dyer's new graphic novel, Weird Fishes. Pre-order it at this link direct from the publisher and read a bunch of her work here. "The only explanation for Jamaica Dyer is that she was built by aliens and dropped here to show us all how crap we are compared to her," he enthuses.

• ... and talking of San Diego schedules, writer Tony Lee posts his appearances here; Transformers guru and top writer Simon Furman has posted his here; brilliant artist Liam Sharp (Death's Head II, Gears of War etc. etc.) has announced his plans here; and David Lloyd has his schedule here.

• Even Tharg will be in San Diego: well, a sampler of the comic, anyway! Kudos to Rebellion for flying the flag! (with thanks to Chris Weston)

• Lew Stringer has a great post charting the history of the rise and fall of the British comic Summer Special, complete with gallery. It was prompted by a Guardian feature by David Barnett bemoaning their disappearance. Although the Summer Specials are no more, some publishers have launched the Summer Annual in its place - hardback books in the traditional children's Christmas annual format, albeit thinner. Egmont currently have several out, tied into licensed properties, including, this year, the Power Rangers Super Legends Summer Annual and the Disney Princess Summer Annual.

• Comics artist Neil Cameron has just posted some intriguing drawings from a new project, The Pirates of Pangaea, on his blog. It's the sort of posting that really makes you want to know more but apart from the tidbit that it's being written by Dan Hartwell, Mr Cameron is playing coy...

• Also at San Diego will be artist Colin Wilson, making his first visit in 15 years. He'll be appearing at Dark Horse Comics (Booth #2615) from 3 - 4pm on Friday afternoon, and again on Sunday morning from 11 - 12am, so everyone is welcome to call past and have a chat.
"I will be also handling a limited commissions list while I'm at the Con, so grab us while you can as this will be our first, and only, US appearance for the year."

• And finally... the Sunderland Echo has a report on artist Bryan Talbot's recent promotion to Doctor. Bryan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts at Sunderland University's graduation ceremony at the Stadium of Light – the first time a doctorate has been given to a comic book artist.
The paper reports that Bryan was delighted to accept the honour on behalf not only of himself, but his profession.
"This doctorate, a first in the UK for work in the comics medium, is an indication of the growing recognition of the graphic novel as a respectable vehicle for entertainment, education and communication and the medium itself as a legitimate art form," he said.

"There's still a lot of prejudice and preconceived notions of what comics are but we're getting there."

8th Fantastic Film Weekend in Bradford

The National Media Museum in Bradford will be presenting their 8th Fantastic Film Weekend from 12 to 14 June.

The Film Weekend has become a hugely popular event for fans of sci-fi and horror movies and this year there'll be screenings of such gems as The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the 1980s Flash Gordon, Shaun of the Dead and Aliens. They'll also be IMAX screenings of Watchmen and the new Star Trek movie, showings of cult TV programmes and star talks.

For more details and tickets, check out http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/fantastic/2009/

Manwha 100 Opening Report

Last week David Baillie was our downthetubes roving reporter lucky enough to be invited to a private view of the new Manwha 100 exhibition in London which, if the name hasn’t already given the game away, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Korean comics... Heres how the evening went...

The Manhwa: A Language of Unlimited Imaginations Launch Party was a lavish affair, abundantly attended as it was by Korean officials, journalists, people in spectacular costumes and cartoonists from both the UK and Korea. As Tripwire's Joel Meadows snapped photos, Mark Stafford (of Cherubs fame) quaffed copious amounts of free wine and Leon 'Doc' Hewitt discussed the technological implications of setting up a Manwha webcomics portal with a like-minded Korean tech-savvy businessman, I stuffed my face with an exotic delicacy I had just discovered in the finger buffet.

The Korean ambassador, upon noticing this, crossed the busy floor and politely informed me that they were called tok and apparently are very difficult to source here in London. I tried to thank him for the information, but my mouth was full of gooey rice.

A diplomatic disaster was narrowly averted when Sean 'Necessary Monsters' Azzopardi loudly declared he wasn't eating anything that looked like eyeballs.

Still busy chewing, I took the opportunity to wander around the exhibition and couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the work on show. Anyone who, like me, is addicted to visiting the Cartoon Museum on Little Russell Street will not want to miss Manwha 100. The Art Toon Art gallery area features the work of twelve contemporary Manwha artists, cherry-picked from the annual 'Masterpieces Meet Comics' exhibition which specialises in the cross-over between fine art and comics, and provides an intriguing hint at where the art form might be headed today.

Also on offer was a selection of work from some of the recognised masters of Manhwa – including artists such as Min-Woo Hyung and Kwang-Mook Lim. Meanwhile, in the back, Chul-Ho Park was hectically sketching and signing prints for fans in a room decorated with facsimiles of his comic pages.

The pièce de résistance of this exhibition, however, is the Manwha Bang (‘bang’ being the Korean word for ‘room’) which features a stunning library of Manwha titles in both English and Korean in a relaxing lounge setting. Having returned when the place isn’t flooded with people stuffing their face with Korean cakes and wine, I can thoroughly recommend The Great Catsy and Priest, among dozens of other titles. Interestingly, Manwha reads left to right like English language comics, so if you’re the sort of reader normally turned off by the initial cognitive dissonance of reverse reading Manga, this will be right up your street.

Now – can anyone tell me where I can find more tok?

• Manwha 100 runs until 24h June at the Cultural Korean Centre, 1-2 The Strand, just off Trafalgar Square. (Although the entrance is actually on Northumberland Avenue. You can’t miss it there’s a big Korean flag outside which can be seen as soon as your turn the corner.)

Tel: 020 7004 2600

Web Link: http://london.korean-culture.org

Furman Talks Revenge!

There's still a month to go in the UK before Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens in cinemas here (19th June), but the first part of US publisher IDW's comic adaptation, written by Transformers supremo Simon Furman, is on sale now in all good comic shops.

"This was my first stab at turning a movie script into a comic book, so I’m eager to hear what people think," Simon notes on his official blog. "It was actually more of a challenge than I thought it would be, as so much has to be condensed, refined, shuffled or realigned to make it work as a cohesive, coherent panel-to-panel comic book.

"All the key plot points need to be front and centre and some stuff, inevitably, has to be almost sidelined or skipped over...But it was fun too. And I was pleased with the end product, especially as artist Jon Davis-Hunt made it all look so damn good!"

• Read Simon's full comments here on his blog

• Revenge of the Fallen: The Official Movie Adaptation #1 is on sale now, with #2-4 following in quick succession thereafter. For more details of all IDW Transformers releases, check out their website here.

London Hosts Centenary Manwha Exhibition

The Korea Creative Content Agency and Korean Cultural Centre UK have announced a celebration of the centenary of Korean comics, known as manhwa, with a host of interrelated special exhibitions, events and film screenings, starting next week.

Manhwa: A Language of Unlimited Imaginations, which opens on 21 May, celebrates manwha's 100th anniversary, a popular art form in Korea which began with the first publication of Doyoung Lee's political cartoons in the newspaper Daehanminbo, which was founded on 2nd June 1909.

As an art form, manhwa is used to comment on a wide variety of topics. It can often spotlight societal injustices. Sometimes, manhwa tells marvelous tales of dreamy romance. At other times, the art form simply uses its simplified figures and their exaggerated gestures to provide amusement and entertainment.

To this day, as with western comics, manhwa continues to evolve and hold a special place within the hearts and minds of Korean society.

The history of manhwa highlights unique traits within each distinct era of Korean history, and the exhibition throws light on how authors of each generation interacted with the public. Following its birth, manhwa had to endure Korea's tumultuous history under Japanese colonial rule, then survive the country's national liberation, the dark years of the Korean War, and through the dismal military dictatorship.

The 1980's and 90's marked the renaissance of manhwa, while new work from 2000 onwards employs digital media technology offering exhibition visitors the opportunity to interpret present-day Korean comics in a new light and, perhaps, even predict the industry's future.

Within the exhibtion are two special displays. Art Toon Art brings together the work of 12 artists, including Dong-Hwa Kim and Young-Ok Kim, whose work pushes the boundaries of conventional comic book art humorously by reinterpreting famous masterpieces. This small display is derived from the exhibition Masterpieces Meet Comics, which is held annually in Korea and is based on the theme of convergence between comics and art.

Manhwa Illustrations offers a small collection of work by famous graphic illustrators including Min-Woo Hyung and Kwang-Mook Lim, shown together for the first time.

• Manhwa 100: A Centenary of Korean Comics runs from 21 May - 24 June at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Grand Buildings, 1 - 3 Strand, London WC2N 5BW Tel: 020 7004 2600. Web Link: http://london.korean-culture.org
• A number of tie-in events have also been scheduled: see details below.

Events

• Meet Korean Manhwa Artist Chul-Ho Park
Wednesday 20 May 6.30-7pm

• Live Drawing Performance & Workshop with Manhwa Artist Chul-Ho Park
Thursday 21 May 2-3.30pm
Manhwa artist Chul-Ho Park leads a live drawing workshop with London based journalist and leading authority on Asian comics Paul Gravett.

• Manhwa Bang
Bang is the Korean word for room. It's a social space where you can hang out with friends and read a wide variety of Korean Manhwa.

Film Screenings
Admission to the films is free but tickets must be booked in advance with the Korean Cultural Centre. Tel: 020 7004 2600

• Hello Schoolgirl
Thursday 21 May 6pm
Venue: Multi-Purpose Hall, Korean Cultural Centre UK
Two civil workers at the local district office find love but in distinctly different directions. Written by famous Korean comic artist Pool Kang, featuring Ji-Tae Yu (Oldboy) and K-pop singer turned actor Kang (Attack on the Pin-up Boys).
South Korea 2008 Dir. Jang-Ha Ryu (English Subtitles) 113 min

• The War of Flower
Friday 22 May 4pm
Venue: Cinema Hall, Korean Cultural Centre UK
Go-Ni loses his entire savings and the money that he stole from his sister in the high stakes card game known as "Hwatu." Go-Ni figures out shortly after the game that he was swindled and he spends the next six months tracking down the person that robbed him of his money. Starring Seung-Woo Cho, Hye-Su Kim, Yun-Shik Baek.
South Korea 2006 Dir. Dong-Hun Choi (English Subtitles) 139 min

2nd Leeds Zombie Film Festival Approaches

Sunday 26 April sees the second Leeds Zombie Film Festival. Held at the Cottage Road Cinema in the Headingly region of the city from 12 noon to 12 midnight, full day passes (available from the box office on the day or the ticket hotline - 0113 275 1606 ) will cost £15 with profits going to the World Society for the Protection of Animals. There will also be an aftershow party at the New Inn, opposite the cinema, from midnight. Food and drink are available from the pub all day.

The event is organised by two stars of the Emmerdale series - Dominic Brunt and Mark Charnock (Paddy and Marlon) - who are self-confessed zombie obsessives. The two will give a brief intro to each film shown and explain why it was chosen.

The current proposed line-up of films includes Plan 9 from Outer Space and Black Sheep.

• Check out the website at www.leedszombiefilmfestival.com for the latest list.

Tube Surfing: 11 April 2009

• ComX publisher Eddie Deighton has just been interviewed for a new article, published here on comicon, giving a little insight into the company and his thoughts on the industry, offering advice for small publishers and comments on viral marketing. He also talks about the 90-page graphic novel Path, which sailed under most people's radar.
The terrific Cla$$war and John Higgins' Razorjack - we hope to post reviews of both next week - are available this month as hardcover and softcover collected editions, respectively.
Somewhat chastened, perhaps by the problems that beset ComX in the past - most beyond the company's control, not least the theft of their equipment, Eddie says that, "this time ‘round, we’re not going to rush projects just to maintain a presence in the public eye.
"From both a financial and timing perspective, we need to make sure all aspects of the publishing model are working efficiently before we solicit them for release," he continues. "We are still self-publishing, indie-publishing, whatever people want to call us, so we still have to count the pennies back at base.
"..Our publishing model, at least for the time being, is going to focus on graphic novel format, collected editions, complete story-arcs, etc. That was one of the big lessons we learned from our last foray into the comics industry. Read the ful interview here on comicon
Watch out also for another interview with Eddie in an upcoming issue of Judge Dredd: The Megazine.

• Talking of interviews, Insomnia Publications publisher Crawford Coutts has been talking to the Edinburgh Evening News, commenting on the recently announced news that the publisher is getting support from Business Gateway as part of Scottish Enterprise's Growth Pipeline. ""We see enormous potential in the USA and Canada," he told the paper. "...We are now working further with Business Gateway to look at how we expand further in the industry and link with other industries such as TV, film and merchandising."

• (via Forbidden Planet International): Will The DFC return? The good news is, publisher David Fickling say it will, next year as an independent title. "We are going to come back next year independently,” publisher David Fickling told the Federation of Children’s Book Groups in Sussex, journalist Jayne Howarth reports. He also revealed that when Philip Pullman, who wrote The Adventures of John Blake for the comic, heard of the closure he told David that the “story must continue.
“Don’t let the closure of your comic stop your great enterprise,” he said.
Steve Holland also notes a news item published in The Bookseller (5 April) noting that the growth in sales of graphic novels could see the title relaunched reportng David was exploring different options for the comic's future. "It's a special creation that should come back and needs to come back in some way," he said. Steve offers some comment on the graphic novel model.

• Robert Downey Jr. is officially back in the superhero business. Production started Wednesday on Iron Man 2, the sequel to his 2008 blockbuster about the Marvel Comics character. Meanwhile, PA News reports Scottish actor Alan Cumming says he would be interested in returning to the X-Men franchise. "Nobody's said anything about it, but it might be quite fun to go back," he commented. "I was supposed to do it again and they didn't pick up my option for a third one. It was sort of 'superhero interruptus'."

• Former Punch cartoonist Noel Ford has been talking to the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation website Bloghorn about how he became an artist. "I didn’t have much choice," Noel, who is editorial cartoonist for half a dozen national UK publications andproduces work for calendars, greeting card and book illustration (including the Grumpy Old Men series of books). "Brainwashed by having Film Fun and Radio Fun read to me from the age of two, bombarded with my Uncle’s and Auntie’s huge backlog of Beanos and Dandys, I drew my first cartoon around the age of five (Child to mother, “Why are bananas nice?” Mother to child, “Because you like them.”) Okay, okay, I was only five, remember." He's Bloghorn's Artist of the Month, which has also been promoting the new edition of Foghorn Magazine.

• Steve Holland reports he is hard at work on The Art of Ron Embleton book, reprinting some of Ron's finest work from the pages of Look and Learn. "With about 600 pages to choose from, it's going to be a cracking book," he enthuses, posting some examples of Ron's wor on Bear Alley.

• Over on the Birmingham Mails' Speech Balloons column, Paul Birch plugs the return of revamped (sorry) and reinvigorated fanzine From the Tomb. The story is a .jpg, so you'll just have to exercise your fingers and click the link!

• If you're a fan of the Robin Hood legend, you may get a kick from these designs for an animated Robin Hood movie by Jon Haward. "In 2004 a writer friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in drawing designs for a Robin Hood animated movie... sadly like a lot of things, they didn't get the funding."

• Talking of design work, there's a smashing post on long-time 2000AD contributor D'Isreaeli's blog on how a selection of Dredd artists have portayed the architecture of Mega-City One over the years.

Happy Easter!

Watchmen Reviews Round Up

In the absence of getting to the film myself yet -- is it really worth putting up with modern cinema goers habits like texting on their mobiles, talking through the film and having the bladder control of fleas to bother? -- here's some clips from a selection of reviews so far for Watchmen, which is released tomorrow in the UK...

UK Reviews...

• Empire
"Okay, it isn’t the graphic novel, but Zack Snyder clearly gives a toss, creating a smart, stylish, decent adaptation, if low on accessibility for the non-convert..." (4 Stars)

• The Scotsman
"The strengths of the film are the strengths of Alan Moore: ingenious, psychologically resonant stories full of breathtaking images and set pieces. Watchmen isn't an empty husk like The Spirit or a cinderblock piece of myth-making like Dark Knight. The character flaws extend to erectile dysfunction for one superhero; when it turns out that he just needs to beat someone up beforehand, Watchmen shows him conquering his problem to the tune of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'..."

US Reviews

• Associated Press: Watchmen Almost Too Faithful to the Book
"At almost three hours, Watchmen tries to cram in nearly everything writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons originally depicted, but then the ending feels rushed. (And it's slightly different. That's all we'll say.)"

• Boston Herald: What A Long, Strange Trip
"A superhero “Doctor Strangelove,” softly murmuring the line, “Hello darkness, my old friend,” into our ears, the long-awaited, deservedly R-rated Watchmen arrives, and the hills are alive with the sound of fanboy geekgasms. But at 2-hours-plus, it’s a long, noirish, misanthropic slog through the dank pop-culture dungeons of creator Alan Moore’s mind..."

• The Edmonton Sun
"Although the performances range from thoughtful (Wilson) to misguided (Matthew Goode as Ozymandias), the standout here is Jackie earle Haley as the fascistic, uncompromising Rorschach, a seedy avenger whose obsessions would give Bruce Wayne the willies..."

• Gizmodo: Is Ozymandias Steve Jobs?
"The movie may not be the comic book, but I loved Watchmen. Great eye candy, awesome soundtrack, and it's packed with pop culture references—and some of those made me think that Ozymandias is Steve Jobs..." (Great montage to support this theory...)

• Houston Chronicle: Watch out — superhero flick is over the top
"... The tale of outcast vigilantes in a rotting alternate America was never “unfilmable.” The question isn’t whether Watchmen could be turned into a movie. The question is, should it? And judging from Zack Snyder’s garish, uneven and excessively cruel interpretation, I’d say no..."

• The Los Angeles Times
"Alan Moore was right. There isn't a movie in his landmark graphic novel "Watchmen" -- at least not a really good one. What we get instead is something acceptable but pedestrian, an adaptation that is more a prisoner of its story than the master of it."

• The New Yorker
"The bad news about Watchmen is that it grinds and squelches on for two and a half hours, like a major operation. The good news is that you don’t have to stay past the opening credit sequence -- easily the highlight of the film..."

• PopCandy
"Watchmen isn't a feel-good superhero story, and Zack Snyder's version is definitely not for kids. It's bloody, bullet-riddled and raw... I think the best thing to come out of the renewed Watchmen hysteria is that it may introduce/reintroduce thousands of people to comics. And, for that, I'm willing to sacrifice a squid."

• Rolling Stone
"Even if you don't see Snyder's version, which has its problems, it won't kill you to peek at the comic book that Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof called "the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced. As for you Watchmen junkies, enough with tearing down the movie before you even see it... [Alan] Moore recalled his four years of toil on the 12-issue DC Comics series as "slam-dancing with a bunch of rhinos." That description also fits watching the movie, which stumbles and sometimes falls on its top-heavy ambitions. But there are also flashes of visual brilliance and performances, especially from Haley and Crudup, that drill deep into the novel's haunted soul..."

• The Seattle Post Intelligencer
"Fans of the critically acclaimed and enduringly popular 1986 graphic novel Watchmen should be pleased with the eye-filling, slavishly faithful, long-time-coming film version that opens today and threatens to become the first true movie event of 2009. In many ways, it's right on the money... On the other hand, in paring down the novel's complex structure and dense tapestry, so much of the characters' backstories and the setup of its alternate universe have been lost that it's hard to imagine how anyone completely unfamiliar with the book could possibly make much sense of what's going on. (B+)

• The Seattle Times: Watchmen" has the power to stupefy
Watchmen, the latest adaptation of a superhero fantasy, is literal, tiring — and much less fun than Dave Gibbons' graphic novel. Review by Seattle Times movie critic Moira Macdonald.

• The Toronto Star
"It's not family entertainment, but this comic adaptation will satisfy fanboys and newcomers... If there's a guiding philosophy for this motley sextet of vigilantes, philosophers, thrill seekers and latex fetishists, it's that they're in it mainly for themselves." (3 and a half stars out of 4)

More Watchmen Coverage...

• The Indpendent: Watchmen returns: The 20-year struggle to bring a cult classic to the big screen

Who Watches the Watchmen? - A Veidt Music Network (VMN) Special - 1983

Perhaps the best Watchmen viral clip yet -- an 80's MTV parody! The film makers have really gone to town in recreating media from the Watchmen Universe.

And there's more... if you haven't seen the Tales from the Black Freighter trailer for the dvd of the story from within the story, here it is...



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