Overload anthology launches at Kapow

Here's the gruesome but powerful cover art by Graeme Neil Reid to a new anthology, Overload, edited by Martin Conaghan, which will be launched at Kapow this weekend, priced £4.

Yes, as if the very memory of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wasn't bad enough - the darling of our current leadership - now she's back as a zombie*.

Contributors to this new title include Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby, Eoin Coveney, Martin Hayes, Graeme Howard, Dave Cook, Gary Crutchley, Geoffrey D. Wessel, Steve Penfold, Matt Gibbs, James Reekie, Jacen Burrows, Paul McClaren and Jim Campbell.

Overload is also looking for contributors – you can bring along your portfolio or story ideas to table 34 on Saturday 19 May at Kapow at 1300BST and on Sunday 20 May at 1300 BST

- View a preview online at: www.copydesk.co.uk/overload1
* Margaret Thatcher is not yet dead.

Kapow!@GFF 2012 Kicks Ass

As Jeremy Briggs first reported last month, Glasgow Film Festival ambassador and local superhero Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch are to helping to kick ass with Kapow!@GFF – Glasgow Film Festival’s film strand next week, dedicated to graphic novels, gaming and beyond.

Now in its second year, Kapow!@GFF offers superhero classics old and new, unmissable discussions and debates, documentaries and premieres and this year includes appearances from artist Charlie Adlard and writer Gordon Rennie.

This year Mark introduces Flash Gordon and tells us why it’s his favourite ‘Geek Film’, while Bryan Hitch does the same for the 1978 groundbreaking Superman. Other vintage screenings are Alex Proyas’ brooding, bravura The Crow and David Cronenberg’s taut thriller A History of Violence.

Coming right up to date they have Tatsumi, a completely animated tribute to Yoshihiro Tatsumi, the father of gekiga (‘dramatic pictures’), by former comic artist Eric Khoo. Death of a Superhero is a poignant story of a teenager dealing with cancer who finds a retreat in his comic book drawings and becomes a brawny superhero in his alternative universe. The screening is introduced by a representative from Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters is Adam Cornelius’s addictive documentary about one of the most addictive games in the world as he follows the preparations for the Tetris World Championships in Los Angeles, while Superheroes examines the appearance of an extraordinary American subculture; the self-appointed caped crusader.

Emerging Scottish talent is represented by Night is Day, filmmaker Fraser Coull’s Glasgow-set sci-fi tale of a normal teenager who ends up having to save the world, a film that was self-funded with the help of local supporters and businesses.

Plus there's the eagerly-awaited Electric Man - an impressive micro-budget Scottish comedy-chase thriller set in the impoverished world of the owners of Deadhead Comics, directed by David Barras.

In a series of events with very special guests, potential comickers get the chance to hear expert testimony of adventures in the graphic art industry when Mark and other premier exponents relate their journeys through time and space. Bryan Hitch, Kate Brown, Frank Quitely, Charlie Adlard, Rhianna Pratchett and Gordon Rennie will all take part in conversations with the audience while Dr Chris Murray and John McShane discuss Scotland and the Future of Comics and Denise Mina, Penny Sharp and Gillian Hatcher talk about women’s experiences in the industry and the future of how women are drawn.

KAPOW!@GFF 2012 FILMS

• Flash Gordon (Geek Night Special) Glasgow Film Theatre, Tuesday 21 February, 20.15 (PG)

• Superman GFT, Wednesday 22 February, 17.45 (PG)

• The Crow GFT, Thursday 23 February, 23.00 (18)

• A History of Violence CCA, Thursday 23 February, 15.00 (18)

• Tatsumi Cineworld, Tuesday 21 February, 18.00 and Wed 22 February, 12.00 (15)

• Death of a Superhero Cineworld, Wednesday 22 February (20.30) Thursday 23 February, 13.00) N/C 15+

• Superheroes GFT, Thursday 23 February, 19.20 N/C 15+

• Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters CCA, Thursday 23 February, 13.15 N/C 12+

• Night is Day CCA, Wed 22 February, 18.30 N/C 12+

• Electric Man CCA, Thursday 23 February, 16.45 N/C 12+


KAPOW!@GFF 2012 EVENTS

Setting the Scene: Scotland and the Future of Comics
Tuesday 21 February (14.00), CCA, £8/6, N/C 8+

Two of the stars of the BBC film Scotland’s Amazing Comic Book Heroes will use their powers to step off the screen and expand the discussion on the future of comics in Scotland. Dr Chris Murray runs the Comic Studies MLitt/PGDip course at the University of Dundee. John McShane is chairman of the Scottish Cartoonists Society and his company, Fat Man Press, published The Bogie Man, one of the early examples of a comic book to film adaptation. John and Chris will expand upon ideas raised in the film and answer your questions.

Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
Tuesday 21 February (16.00), CCA, £5, N/C 8+

Writer Mark Millar and superstar DC and Marvel artist Frank Quitely talk about their first collaboration together in ten years, taking us through the step-by-step process of an idea becoming a script, a comic book and eventually a big budget movie. Both living and working in Glasgow, they explain how geography is no disadvantage in the world of Hollywood movies or New York publishing. Their new, yet-to-be-revealed project is already one of the most anticipated comic-book events in 2012.

Writing for Games and Comics
Wednesday 22 February (12.30), CCA, £5, N/C 8+

If you have a great idea for a video game or comic where do you start? A panel of distinguished video game and comic book writers, including Rhianna Pratchett and Gordon Rennie, give tips on how to get into the industry and get ahead. They discuss the ups and downs of being involved in the industry, the difference between writing for games and comics and the challenges to be faced.

Kate Brown in Conversation
Wednesday 22 February (13.45), CCA, £5, N/C 8+

What does it take to build a full-time career as a comicker? Kate can tell you everything you want to know. In 2010 Kate was awarded the Arts Foundation Fellowship for Graphic Novels. She used it to fund the completion of her self-published comic Fish + Chocolate which has since been picked up for publication by SelfMadeHero. Kate will speak about her wide experience in the comics industry and take questions from the audience.

Bryan Hitch in Conversation
Wednesday 22 February (15.00), CCA, £5, N/C 8+

British comic book artist Bryan Hitch is widely recognised as one of the industry’s leading artists and storytellers, with his books regularly selling over 100,000 copies an issue in America alone. His designs have appeared in the successful relaunch of Doctor Who in 2005 and numerous feature films, including Captain America and Star Trek (2009), as well as the upcoming The Avengers film, based on The Ultimates comic book by himself and Mark Millar. Bryan will discuss his career, including his new book co-written with Jonathan Ross.

Walking Dead illustrator Charlie Adlard in Conversation
Wednesday 22 February (16.15), CCA, £8/6, N/C 15+

Apocalyptic graphic novel The Walking Dead, a survival story of a world overtaken by zombies, captured the imaginations of a legion of fans and is now a multi-million dollar US TV series. In this unique event, the Shropshire-based artist discusses how he came on board as illustrator for the series and the effect it has had on his career. After the conversation we will screen one of Charlie’s favourite episodes from the Golden Globe-nominated series.

Women in Comics
Thursday 23 February (15.15), CCA, £5, N/C 8+

Casual graphic fiction readers might see the way women are represented and decide that the medium must be male dominated and that the industry is a prejudiced place for women to work. But is all as it seems? And what are the actual experiences of women working in the comics industry? Women in Comics presents original research by Graphic Scotland and brings together Denise Mina, Kate Brown, Penny Sharp and Gillian Hatcher to talk about the difficulties of getting into the industry and the future of how women are drawn.

• Tickets for all shows are on sale now from the Central GFF Box Office at GFT, by phone on 0141 332 6535 and online via www.glasgowfilm.org/festival. Tickets for events taking place at the CCA can be bought there on the day of the event.

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From script droid Gordon Rennie

Name: Gordon Rennie

Currently working on:

Dept of Monsterology, Absalom, Aquila, Judge Dredd, Robert Burns: Witch Hunter, Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays. Computer game stuff.

First memory of 2000AD?
I was there from Prog 1 (minus a wander off into the wilderness during the dark days of the early 1990s, when its pages were slathered in mud-like brown paint and ill-advised attempts to be wild, crazy and with it, by writers who needed to learn to walk before they could run.)

The thing that sticks most in the mind is an early cover for the story Flesh, featuring a guy in the jaws of a tyrannosaur, and calling out to his mate. “Shoot me, boss! Don’t let Old One Eye eat me alive!” They don’t write dialogue like that anymore....thank the heavens!

Favourite Character or Story?

Dredd. Early Zenith. The ABC Warriors. But not Strontium Dog, because he’s got stupid, stupid hair.

What do you like most about 2000AD?

As a writer – the scope to do a variety of very different stories. As a reader, being able to read that same variety. And all the sly (and not so sly) jokes.

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

Dredd getting a hefty reboot up the arse. God knows the old slugger needs something to keep him and his world fresh and moving forward.

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

Well, there was the time when a previous Tharg regime told me I’d never write for the title. My, but how we still laugh about that to this day.
 

• 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

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

Overload yourself at the Glasgow Comic Con

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meet 2000AD's new demon hunter: Absalom

Dying of cancer, combating demons and swigging from a bottle of laudanum – Inspector Harry Absalom ain’t exactly Inspector b***** Morse.

Mixing The Sweeney with The X-Files, Absalom is the latest dark tale from Necronauts writer Gordon Rennie, brought to gritty life with artwork from newcomer Tiernen Trevallion.

Premièring in 2000AD prog 1732 tomorrow (5th May), Absalom is a pseudo-spin-off from Rennie’s popular but unfinished Caballistics, Inc. series for 2000AD about a freelance team of demon hunters caught up in an ancient game of good versus evil.

A page from new thrill Absalom

An old-school London copper, Absalom has been on the force for 40 years. He’s also head of a special squad that enforces The Accord, a diplomatic treaty made in the 15th Century between the throne of England and the powers of Hell, keeping tabs on the demons who walk amongst us.

Gordon Rennie's past credits include Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper for 2000AD (among many others) and he's recently written Monsterology, a new comic being drawn by PJ Holden which will be published later this year.

Tiernen Trevallion describes himself as a "goat-based life form forced out of school at an early age for eating stationery, after which I decided college didn't deserve me."

Ever since, he's been working as an illustrator, storyboard artist, matte artist and more: his illustrations recently featured in Black Library's The Bloody Handed and Barman's Tale, written by Jaspre Bark. He's also created album covers for bands such as Deadbeat Kaos, Malpractise and Bad Company UK.

Dark, nasty and just a little bit funny – Absalom is another twisted tale from 2000 AD that lends new meaning to the phrase ‘demonic forces’.

• 2000AD Official Site: www.2000adonline.com

Absalom debuts in 2000AD Prog 1732

Cal-Hab Droids Infiltrate Megazine 301

The latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine, Meg 301, has a distinctly Scottish flavour to its art and script droids.

Behind a lovely Judge Inspector Inaba cover by Frank Quitely, from Cal-Hab's west coast, comes the Dredd story The Natural (shown below) about a Mega City One athlete who, controversially, refuses cybernetic assistance for his races. Written by Gordon Rennie, pencilled by Graeme Neil Reid, both from the east coast and inked by west coast Gary Erskine, the strip is the debut for Graeme in a 2000AD title. Graeme has been talking about his route to drawing Dredd professionally on his blog where he bravely shows off some of his earliest Dredd artwork from 20 years ago, as well as the spec scripts and responses he received from the Nerve Centre at the time.

The Judge Inspector Inaba story Hondo-City Justice, with art by Neil Googe, is written by Cal-Hab-er Robbie Morrison while Robbie's Nikolai Dante co-creator Simon Fraser, another Cal-Hab-er, writes and draws Lilly MacKenzie And The Mines Of Charybdis now on its fourth episode in which Lilly and Cosmo finally make it onto the surface of the planet.

Both stories are coloured by Gary Caldwell, yet another Cal-Hab-er.

Last but certainly not least of the Cal-Hab droids in Meg 301 is Alan Grant who is writing the Anderson Psi-Division story The House Of Vyle, drawn by Boo Cook, in which Cassandra is called to the hamlet of Salem just outside the Mega-City's walls where strange things are afoot.

Megazine 301 also includes Armitage by Dave Stone and John Cooper while the reprint is a selection of Mick McMahon's Judge Dredd stories.

• Judge Dredd Megazine 301 is available from newsagents and has a cover price of £5.99.

• Graeme Neil Reid, Gary Erskine and Simon Fraser are all members of the daily artblog Scotch Corner.

Oxfam Comics Event 2010 - Saturday 17 July

The Oxfam Comic Event 2010 will be taking place next Saturday, 17 July 2010, as part of the 2010 Oxfam Bookfest. The Comic Event begins at Noon in Edinburgh's MacDonald Road Library which is only a 10 - 15 minute walk from the city's main bus and train stations. This is an informal discussion based event with comics and books from Oxfam's three Edinburgh charity bookshops available to buy on the day.

After last year's discussions about Scotland in comics and Scottish comics in general, this year's theme will be the evolution of a comic from original idea to writing, art and publishing. Since our last post more guests have been confirmed and the current guest list includes - 2000AD and Megazine writer Gordon Rennie, Superman and Batman artist Frank Quitely, Marvel Heroes and Commando writer Ferg Handley, 2000AD writer and editor David Bishop, Doctor Who Adventures artist John Ross, DC Thomson artist Gordon Tait and DC Thomson archivist Morris Heggie.

Tickets, priced at only £3 - the same as last year, will be available on the door but are also available in advance from eBay and the Morningside Oxfam Bookshop which once again is organising the event. It is located at 210 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4QQ, and the telephone number is 0131 4469169. The shop can also be contacted by e-mail via oxfamshopf5808AToxfam.org.uk.

The fun poster for the event is the work of Edinburgh based artist Ben Morris who is a regular illustrator on Doctor Who Magazine and the junior Doctor Who Adventures.

T• here are more details of the 2010 event at the event's Facebook page and on the Oxfam Morningside Twitter feed.

• There are videos of Ferg Handley and David Bishop at the 2009 event on YouTube.