• If you're in the area this Sunday, you could do worse than pop along to Manchester Comic Collective's (MCC) monthly Drink 'n' Draw. It kicks off at 4pm and is usually lots of fun (although I haven't made it down for a fair few months). From the MCC blog:
'[It's a] casual get together of people who like to draw and also drink. Anyone is welcome... Free entry, materials and snacks provided and 10% off at the bar.'
(This monthly event is usually held at Sandbar, but you better check their official site in case the venue has changed.)
• The Shoot, a short film written by comics writer Tony Lee (Doctor Who, 2000AD, The Gloom), is now online. He'd like feedback, so go watch it and then... well, feed back...
• Orang Utan Comics have begun to serialize Young Gods on ROK Comics. You can read it on ther web site or via WAP subscription (wap.rocomics.com).
• Talking of phones: the iphone, which is beginning to feature more and more comics applications, is not a passing fad: at least not according to author Charles Stross who reveals in a blog post titled "How to tell the difference between a trend and a standard" that "90% market dominance is all very well, but when half the cars destined to be sold in the USA in 2009 offer iPod connectivity it's a fair bet that the iPod isn't going to die out in a time frame of less than a decade. "It's the new cassette tape, and that lasted for nearly four decades," he argues, "even taking into account the faster turnover of technologies I reckon being built into cars means it's going to be around for another 5-10 years minimum — one to two generations in the automotive world."
• The first issues of Warren Ellis' Doctor Sleepless have been collected and the book's now available from "better comics stores and bookshops".
• (via Chris Weston): 2000AD cobver and strip artist Cliff Robinson, creator of hundreds of iconic Judge Dredd covers for the Galaxy's Greatest Comic, now has his own blog at cliffrobinsoncomicart.blogspot.com
• (via Forbidden Planet International): the Irish Comics Wiki has moved from Wiki to Wikia, which uses similar software but is apparently easier to use and register with. You can access the new version here.
• SciFi Pulse has published a handy round up of Star Trek movie pictures.
• (Via FPI): Top British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe has received a CBE from the Queen. “It’s slightly strange since I’ve spent most of my life being rude to people that I should receive this," he said. "It came completely out of the blue, I had no idea - but naturally I’m proud."
• Neal Hefti, a Big Band trumpeter, arranger and composer of themes for the film The Odd Couple and the Batman television series, has died. He was 85. Links: Daily Telegraph obituary • Los Angeles Times
• Matthew Craig just uploaded my new Trixie Biker novella, Attack of the Sixty-Inch Pixie, to The Matthew Craig web site. "Sixty-Inch Pixie is the longest Trixie Biker story to date," he says, and sees the unconventional superheroine contend with frantic fairies, superhuman hermits and a threat to both her peace of mind and her secret identity, in the form of the sister that leaves this superhero in the shade." Matthew very nearly sold out of his initial print run at the Birmingham International Comic Show, but anyone who would like a copy of Sixty-Inch Pixie (and can't wait for Thought Bubble) should get in touch with him via my website. The print edition costs £1.75, including postage. His other new comic, Bostin Heroes - For The Black Country And Beyond, continues apace, over at www.bostinheroes.com.
