Brubaker, Sacco and Munoz among first 'big name' guests for Lakes International Comic Art Festival

Lakes International Comic Art Festival Poster
by Bryan Talbot. Competition below!

Some of the biggest names in comic art - including top names such as Joe Sacco, Ed Brubaker and Posy Simmonds, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra - will be heading to the inaugural Lakes International Comic Art Festival later this year.

Festival organisers have just announced some of the guests of honour who will be appearing at the event which will run from 18-20th October 2013 in Kendal in Cumbria, who include writers and artists from the United States, Argentina, Spain and the UK, working in a wide range of different genres.

The event, which is modelled on the European style comic art festivals such as Angouleme, has a guest list running to more than 40 writers and artists - some yet to be announced.

Ed Brubaker. Photo: Luigi Novi

Organisers plan to reveal more names over the next few months, in the run up to tickets going on sale in May.

American writer Ed Brubaker is making his first visit to a British comic art event.  He is famous for his work on comics like Captain America, Batman, Catwoman, Uncanny X-Men and Daredevil, as well as the creator owned comics Criminal and Fatale. He has won four Eisner awards, the comic industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Artist Sean Phillips, a founder patron of the new festival along with Bryan Talbot, has been working with Ed Brubaker for about 12 years, most recently on Criminal and Fatale. “I find Ed’s work believable," he says. "We do crime fiction so there are obviously things like armoured car heists, pickpockets and other crime plots.

“But the important bit is the characters and how they react to their situations.  And the way the characters created by Ed react is always believable.  You have to be able to care about what happens to the characters and that is what he does really well.”

Jose Muñoz

Another guest at the festival, the highly rated Argentine artist Jose Muñoz, has had a strong influence on a number of other leading comic artists.  Muñoz is noted for his influential black and white artwork and his graphic novel series Alack Sinner was the inspiration for Frank Miller's Sin City comic series.

Art by Joe Sacco

Another US writer and artist who will be flying over for the festival is Joe Sacco, who writes and draws international political reportage in a comic book format, providing an insight into the complex issues of global politics while telling the stories of some of the ordinary people living in war torn areas like Sarajevo, Chechnya and Palestine.

Festival patron Bryan Talbot says: “Joe was trained as a journalist and singlehandedly created the genre of reportage in graphic novel form. Immersing himself in a situation, his in-depth reports use the medium of sequential art to its full advantage. His books, such as Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde or his recent Footnotes in Gaza, follow his investigations and interviews, explaining the history, politics and dynamics of the situation as he goes along.” 

Judge Dredd fans will be particularly looking forward to meeting British writer John Wagner and Spanish artist Carlos Ezquerra, who are the co-creators of the famous law maker.  They have both created many other characters for 2000AD including Strontium Dog. 

John is also credited as being one of the people who revitalised British comics in the 1970s along with Pat Mills and others.

The work of another guest, cartoonist Posy Simmonds, could not be more different.  She satirises the English middle classes, particularly those of a literary bent.  Her cartoons for The Guardian, Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, have both been turned into books.  Tamara Drewe won the Prix Des Critiques in 2009 and was made into a feature film in 2010. 

Posy has also written and drawn several books for children.

Two British comic creators coming to the festival recently won prestigious awards at Europe’s biggest comic art festival in Angouleme.

Glyn Dillon won the the Prix Spécial du Jury for The Nao of Brown, the story of a half Japanese, half English woman who suffers from violent morbid obsessions and a racing, unruly mind.  He has had a wide ranging career, including working as a storyboard artist and concept designer for both film and television.

Jon McNaught was the first Briton to win the Prix Révélation, The Best Newcomer Award, at Angouleme, for his first full-length book Automne (entitled Dockwood in English).

Artist Doug Braithwaite began his career in comics 25 years ago working for Marvel UK and 2000AD.  He has worked on many of the industry’s flagship titles, and has drawn just about every major character for both Marvel and DC comics. His recent work includes Secret Invasion: Thor, Wolverine Origins, and the award winning Justice series for DC comics.  He is currently working on the creator owned series Storm Dogs with writer David Hine.

Another British writer who will star at the inaugural festival is Andy Diggle.  He is currently working on Superman and writing stories for Doctor Who, Thief of Thieves and a new supernatural comic, Uncanny.  Andy has recently launched his own thriller called Snapshot with artist Jock.  He has also been nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award for co-creating the New York Times best-selling action thriller The Losers, which was turned into a film.

Andy says: “The wider world is finally waking up to the richness, vibrancy and immediacy of the comics medium in all its diverse genres. Comics aren't just great art and great entertainment - they're also educational. Multiple studies have shown that kids who read comics have improved literacy, and go on to read more prose in a wider range of styles and genres than kids who don't.

“So it's great to see a European-style comics festival come to the North-West, bringing the joy of comics to a whole new audience.

"As for myself, I'm looking forward to meeting the fans - and the other creators. Festival Director Julie Tait has pulled together an amazing line-up of talent, especially considering it's the inaugural festival. Long may it continue!”

These first nine guests of honour join founder patrons Bryan and Mary Talbot, who won the biography category in the Costa Book Awards earlier this year, and Sean Phillips.

Bryan Talbot has also created a special festival poster which features Kendal’s town hall a lake and references to 28 different comic art characters. If you can name all the comic characters referenced in the Festival's poster which has been created by Bryan Talbot, they'll put you into a prize draw to win one of five signed copies and our festival mug. Email your answers to media@comicartfestival.com by 11.00am on Monday 18th March.

The festival will include events where people will be able hear from writers and artists, panel discussions, special live drawing events, films, several exhibitions, workshops and a kids’ zone.  Authors and artists will be signing copies of their work and there will be a marketplace to buy comics and comic art.  There will also be some free events and exhibitions.

Festival Director Julie Tait says: “We’re very excited to give people their first real taste of the guest list for our new festival.  We have a great line up which includes top creators from the UK, Europe and further afield who are recognised as leading lights or exciting new talent - all are pioneers in some shape or form.

“We’ll be revealing more big names over the next few months.  We know people are eager to find out who all our guests are but we want to keep people in suspense for a bit longer!

“The festival will include a wide range of events, including some which are free.  We want The Lakes International Comic Art Festival to appeal not just to the people who are already big comic art fans but also to help bring new audiences to this fantastic and versatile medium.”
          
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 and Jonathan Cape. The festival is also supported by Kendal Library and publishers Myriad Editions, Nobrow, Blank Slate, Knockabout and Selfmadehero.

The leader of SLDC, Councillor Peter Thornton, says: “I’m really excited about this inaugural Comic Art Festival. Super Heroes in Kendal, Spiderman climbing the Town Hall – who knows what will happen?

“Kendal’s a great place to have this festival and I know that it will draw in many visitors who will experience Kendal hospitality and return again and again. Great work by Julie and her team, South Lakeland District Council is pleased to be able to support this event.”

• More details about the new event are 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.

IDW offers limited edition Bolland Dredd collection

IDW Limited has announced the launch of Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland, the first of a series of deluxe hardcover editions as part of their of the Judge Dredd reprint program.

Featuring signatures from top Judge Dredd talent and the original creators, the US publisher - which recently launched its own Judge Dredd comic in partnership with Rebellin - will be "the definitive line for fans of the smash 2000AD. series". This first offering includes signatures from iconic artist Brian Bolland as well as the co-creator of Judge Dredd, John Wagner.

"Back in the ‘70s, when 2000AD was first published, the stories were printed on low-grade newsprint paper, which has yellowed with age, so it's great to see Dredd published again in new formats," says legendary Judge Dredd artist Brian Bolland. "Fans should be delighted with this limited-edition book. John (Wagner) and I have signed every copy and the art portfolio that comes with it captures a dozen of our favourite moments from the series. It's a top-notch presentation of work we're very proud of."

This Red Label book, which has a $125 (£80) price tag, is limited to just 325 copies. Fans will receive a deluxe hardcover book housed in a hand-built, custom-designed slipcase featuring artwork from Brian Bolland. Not only has each book has been signed by Bolland and original Judge Dredd co-creator/writer John Wagner, they’re also accompanied by a hardcover artist’s portfolio containing a dozen limited-edition lithographs depicting key covers and the most memorable moments from Bolland’s iconic run on Judge Dredd. Stamped and hand-numbered, these collector’s-edition books push the boundaries of awesomeness to their legal limits.

"With strong design and packaging, plus the involvement of [Brian] Bolland and [John] Wagner, we've managed to do something special here," says IDW's Judge Dredd editor Justin Eisinger. "Which is no small feat, considering this material has been beloved by generations of fans and seen reprint in several forms. Hats off to everyone for their efforts!"

Available for pre-order now, these books will be rolling out the door faster than a high-explosive round. And don’t worry, there’s more than one round in this chamber: details on a limited-edition Carlos Ezquerra book won’t be far behind.

• Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland DELUXE LIMITED EDITION (RED-$125.00; 316 pages; 9.2" x 1" x 12"; hardcover)

 

In Review: One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant

Hibernia Books, who have previously published licensed reprints of 1980s IPC strips Doomlord from new Eagle and The 13th Floor from Scream, are back with a factual fanzine about the weekly IPC comic Valiant and its links with 2000AD entitled One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant. Writer David McDonald has created a 36 page magazine with a black and white cover, and black and white and colour interior images about Valiant comic and its Dirty Harry style cop character who foreshadowed Judge Dredd.

Split into five sections, the magazine gives an brief overview of Valiant weekly from its origins in 1962 before focusing on the revamp it was given by writer and editor John Wagner when he was tasked with revitalising the title in 1975. While this revamp gave the Sixties comic a more modern Seventies look, it did not halt the declining sales figures enough to prevent the title being amalgamated into its sibling title Battle Picture Weekly in 1976. David interviews John on the subject of his editorship of Valiant which makes a refreshing change from the more normal interviews with him which inevitably concentrate on his creation and writing of Judge Dredd.

One of the strips introduced in the revamp of Valiant was about Detective Jack McBane, the New York cop known as One-Eyed Jack, written by John Wagner and illustrated by John Cooper. While Wagner took his inspiration from TV series such as The Streets Of San Francisco as much as movies, it was Cooper who based the visuals of the character on Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. David focuses on this proto-Dredd character and interviews the now retired John about his art on One-Eyed Jack as well as talking about the rest of his career from Thunderbirds in TV21 in the 1960s to his recent Armitage strip in the Judge Dredd Megazine. John Cooper has rarely been interviewed before so it is a treat to be able to read what he has to say.

The magazine concludes with an interesting piece on the background role of the Art Editor focusing on Jan(et) Shepheard who worked on Valiant, 2000AD, Starlord and Tornado amongst many other IPC titles, with contributions both by herself and former 2000AD staffers, editor Kelvin Gosnell and art editor/artist Kevin O'Neill. While this may sound like the least interesting section of the magazine, covering as it does the work of people who are rarely if ever mentioned, I found this a fascinating read which highlights a side of the comics that readers simply take for granted.

One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant is available as a digital edition but I would think that the majority of readers will be from a background where they want a paper version in their hands and the print version is no let down. Professionally printed on matt paper that is just slightly shorter than A4, this is an impressive publication both from a production, a design and a writing perspective and is the first of a potential series of semi-regular titles covering older UK comics entitled "Comic Archive".

As I said when the title was initially plugged on downthetubes, most of the writers here on DTT come from a factual fanzine (as opposed to a stripzine/small press) background and so we know what it is like to produce this sort of title and how difficult it can be getting interviews and 'new' hard facts that have not previously been discussed to death.

One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant is one of the best factual fanzines that I have read in a long time and I can't recommend it highly enough to both those interested in the general history of British comics as well as those who choose to focus on 2000AD alone.

One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant is available to buy via Comicsy with the printed edition costing £3.99 plus £1.50 postage while the digital version is only £1.50. Copies of the Doomlord reprint magazine are also available.

There are more details of all Hibernia titles on their blog.

Wagner and Ezquerra join growing guest line up at London Super Comic Convention

The creators of Judge Dredd, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, are teaming up once more to attend the London Super Comic Convention in February next year.

The huge event at London’s ExCel convention centre on 23rd and 24th of February 2013 will have a distinctly 2000AD flavour - and not just with a stellar line-up of guests.

It’s been a Dredd-filled 2012 with the release of DREDD 3D and 2000AD celebrating its 35th anniversary, and Wagner and Ezquerra are to be joined by fan-favourite artists Brian Bolland (Judge Dredd), Glenn Fabry (Sláine), and Brett Ewins (Judge Anderson, Bad Company).

Other 2000AD guests already announced include Gary Erskine (Judge Dredd, Flesh), Mike Collins (Judge Dredd, American Gothic), Alan Grant (Judge Anderson), Peter Hogan (Robo-Hunter, Strontium Dogs), and Nick Percival (Judge Dredd, Sláine).

One of 2000AD’s most popular characters, the Celtic warrior Sláine the Barbarian, celebrates his 30th birthday in 2013 and LSCC will be having a special competition along with Sláine-themed cosplay.

SHAKO: the only bear on the CIA death list!

This is no cute and cuddly polar bear. He’s a blizzard of white hot horror, the terror of the frozen wastes, he is SHAKO - and he is death!

When a US Air Force plane crashes in the Arctic, the great white polar bear Shako gets his first taste of human flesh! Unfortunately for the C.I.A., the beast has swallowed the top secret capsule being transported by the plane, so they must track down the deadly creature to retrieve it.

This won’t be an easy task, because Shako hates mankind, and what Shako hates, Shako destroys!

Written by Pat Mills (Charley’s War, Marshal Law) and John Wagner (A History of Violence, Judge Dredd), the series - collected for the first time in book format - features stunning art from a number of European artists, including Ramon Sola (Flesh), and with a cover by Jock (The Losers, Batman).

Shako is a true classic from the early days of 2000AD when blood-thirsty ultra-violence was a hallmark of an anarchic new comic which would go on to become a British institution.

Vicious, uncompromising and with bleak black humour, Shako is a ‘bear necessity’ for all comic book fans!

• Buy Shako from amazon.co.uk

• Buy Shako from forbidenplanet.com 

New One-Eyed Jack / Valiant Fanzine Available

Hibernia Books, who have previously published licensed reprints of 1980s IPC strips Doomlord from new Eagle and The 13th Floor from Scream, are back with a fanzine about the IPC comic Valiant entitled One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant.

David McDonald has created a 36 page magazine with a black and white cover and black and white and colour interior images about Valiant comic and its Dirty Harry cop character who foreshadowed Judge Dredd. Features include The Death Of Valiant covering the last year of the title before it was amalgamated into Battle Picture Weekly, a comparison of One-Eyed Jack and Judge Dredd, a piece on the work of IPC art editor Janet Shepheard, as well as interviews with artist John Cooper and writer John Wagner.

This is the first of a potential series of semi-regular titles covering older UK comics entitled Comic Archive. As most of the writers on downthetubes come from a fanzine (as opposed to a stripzine/small press) background, this is a venture that we wish David every good luck with.

One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant is available to buy via Comicsy with the printed edition costing £3.99 plus £1.50 postage while the digital version is only £1.50. Copies of the Doomlord reprint magazine are also available.

There are more details of all Hibernia titles on their blog.

Judge Dredd-Batman Collection out soon

If you're a fan of those once occasional cross-company comic crossovers, then you'll be happy to hear that the epic Batman vs. Judge Dredd stories are still among the most brutal crossovers in comics, 20 years since it was first published.

Out later this month from 2000AD and DC Comics is The Batman Judge Dredd Collection, which brings together the four team-ups between the Lawman of the Future and the Dark Knight for the first time in a brand new hardback edition, with a fantastic roster of superstar talent, including Simon Bisley and Glenn Fabry.

Originally released between 1991 and 1998, these epic crossovers - Judgment on Gotham, Vendetta in Gotham, The Ultimate Riddle, and Die Laughing - brought the dynamic duo together to fight their ultimate foes. From alien super-fiend Judge Death escaping to Gotham to the Joker teaming up with the Dark Judges to cause mass slaughter in Mega-City One, The Batman Judge Dredd Collection brilliantly captures the lunacy and non-stop action of these two all-too-similar worlds from either side of the Atlantic.

Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner leads a pack of top names, including Alan Grant (Batman, Lobo), Simon Bisley (Hellblazer), Glenn Fabry (Preacher, Hellblazer), Val Semeiks (The Demon, Lobo), and Cam Kennedy (Batman, The Light and Darkness War) - all contained in a cover from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

Published by 2000AD in the UK and Ireland, and by DC in North America, this ultimate new edition also includes the hard-to-find meeting between Dredd and psychotic biker Lobo, and deserves a place in the collection of any self-respecting Dredd or Batman fan.

• The Batman Judge Dredd Collection is available from 27th November 2012

• Buy it from amazon.co.uk

• Buy it from ForbiddentPlanet.com

 

Warm reception for new Judge Dredd's tale "Cold Deck"

The co-creator of Judge Dredd, John Wagner, has praised "Cold Deck", the latest Judge Dredd serial in 2000AD - a storyline by three of British comics’ top writers that has electrified the fan base.

The audacious plot twist in last week’s Prog 1807 by Al Ewing, Simon Spurrier  and Rob Williams was “a little bit of comics genius”, said the man behind many of the title’s most popular characters.

And the critics agree - Comic Book Resources’ Robot 6 blog called it “an instant classic” while chaoshour.com described the opening episode in Prog 1806 as “the kind of comic that reminds you of why you fell in love with comics in the first place.


"Writer Al Ewing’s talent at making even the most insignificant characters come to life is evident here, as is his wonderful take on the ruthless attitude needed to succeed in a political environment," chaoshour reviewer Gareth Davies enthuses. But it’s his depiction of Dredd that sticks with you, the way that even he must now force himself to carry on with his duties.

"It’s a subtle touch, but one that strikes a nerve. After all if the toughest judge on the beat is finding it hard to keep a grip on things, what hope does anyone else have?

The latest installment, Prog 1808, arrived day-and-date digital and in UK stores today.

Now readers who have missed the story so far can read the prologue of Al Ewing’s story, Judge Dredd: Cold Deck from Prog 1802, absolutely free (PDF link). With art from Henry Flint, this six-page opening episode is, 2000AD tell us, the beginning of the biggest Dredd story since Wagner’s year-long Day of Chaos changed the world of the lawman of the future forever.

• Prog 1804 and the issues that follow are available digitally from the 2000 AD online shop or through the 2000AD iPad/iPhone app.

DREDD 3D Behind the Scenes - Getting the Story right

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. Image copyright Reliance Entertainment

With DREDD 3D now in UK cinemas, downthetubes goes behind the scenes to discover the secrets behind the creation of the well-received film...

The future world of Judge Dredd created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra back in 1977 for 2000AD has grown to have a life of its own. With countless stories and characters, it has been voted best British comic and Best Comic in the World Ever at the National Comics Awards.

Now, the endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland brings DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip.

"I grew up reading Judge Dredd," says Garland. "The incredible writers and artists of 2000AD were formative influences on me. Andrew, Allon and I have developed this adaptation of the strip with an emphasis on adrenaline and realism, but with all the scale and spectacle of Mega City One.”

And Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner and 2000AD are on board, “Alex Garland’s script is faithful to the original concept that made Judge Dredd a favourite bad-ass hero," he enthuses. "It’s a high-octane sleigh-ride through the dark underbelly of the vast future city. A fan pleaser.”

Getting the story right

John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip about a single-minded lawman in a distant future was born over three decades ago and has since spawned a legacy of its own. Novels, magazines, board and card games, computers and role-play games, action figures, duvet covers, pinball machines and even dressing gowns have been devoted to the iconic policeman, judge, jury and executioner who became a legend through a comic-book.

In its heyday in the late 1970s and then under Thatcherism, British comic 2000AD sold 100,000 copies a week, and the young Alex Garland was taken by its dark, visceral, ironic violence.

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd on his Lawmaster. Image copyright Reliance Entertainment

“I was around 10 when I found a copy of 2000AD at the local newsagent and started reading it,” the celebrated screenwriter and novelist says, “I got quite fixated about all of the stuff in there, but particularly Judge Dredd. That story you know of finding 2000AD in a shop and getting hooked on Dredd is really common amongst guys my age…and we’ve all carried something about that into our adult lives, I remember it was partly because Dredd has an adult aspect to it, like I was maybe slightly too young to be reading it. Like watching an 18 certificate film when you were 12, that particular thrill.”

The novelist and screenwriter, famed for his mix of psychological exploration, moral conundrum, and suspenseful plotting in his novels The Beach, The Tesseract and The Coma as well as his intense screenplays for 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Never Let Me Go, says he always thought he’d end up telling stories through comic strips.

“My dad’s a cartoonist, and I always thought I was going to end up doing cartoons. I used to draw comic strips constantly, so I picked up a lot of how to construct a narrative by that.”

He believes that this graphic-novel sensibility comes through in his books which are cinematic, “and comic strips are quite cinematic, the length of the chapters, and the speed with which the plot moves. So it is in my background in one kind of way, a graphic way of dealing with narrative.”

Co-creator of the comic book John Wagner understands Garland’s visceral reaction to his work and believes that the main attraction of Dredd is that he is a combination of good guy and bad guy.

“He’s a real bad-ass cop and in some respects you are all for what he’s doing and in others you think – ‘thank god someone like him doesn’t exist today’.”

That contradictory mix of good and evil is something that he believes is the real drawing force of the legendary character. "Although Dredd would never see himself as villainous, he believes he’s upright and righteous but he is certainly not someone you would want on the streets looking after you, because you’d probably end up inside.”

DREDD 3D Concept Art created by Framestore. Image copyright Reliance Entertainment
More imagery here on i09

Producer Andrew Macdonald first collaborated with Garland when he produced Danny Boyle’s film of The Beach ten years ago. In 2002 Garland wrote 28 Days Later for Boyle and Macdonald, who was now running the UK independent company DNA Films together with Allon Reich. Garland went on to write Danny Boyle’s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Sunshine and adapt Kazuo Ishiguro's masterful novel Never Let Me Go into a moving and provocative film for DNA Films.

The writer was inspired when the company decided to expand its horizons and venture into bigger budget waters with franchise-based, genre pictures aimed at a larger audience base with wider releases. Producers Allon Reich and Andrew Macdonald became aware that they might be able to get the rights to Judge Dredd and Garland would obviously be the perfect talent to pen the script.

Tracking down the rights, however, was intricate says Macdonald, “It was complicated because the film rights had moved through different owners. At one stage Disney owned them, then Stallone’s version. We spent two years getting the rights sorted.” But all along the team had faith that they’d get them and so Alex started working on the first drafts of a script.

The irony is that because the 1995 Stallone vehicle never delivered on the goods it enabled the filmmakers to get this reboot into gear. “It bizarrely enabled us to get the rights,” says Garland, “If the first film had been a smash hit, we would have never got the rights. It opened the door for us. And also we knew that people’s expectations would be defined by that film, so from the beginning we wanted a whole different thing. Something that was much more hard-core and edgy.”

Macdonald echoes Garland’s sentiments, “The rights were held by Rebellion [owners of 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine], run by two brothers, Jason and Chris Kingsley, who are also producers and they were very protective and knew the property had value and, like us, wanted to exploit it properly.

"It took a while to convince them that we were the right people but we had just done 28 Days Later and we said we wanted to do it like that. A movie that would not please everyone, which the first one tried to do and ended up diluting Dredd’s character. They changed the tone of the comic which was a big mistake.”

Even the star of that first Dredd film Sylvester Stallone agrees with their criticism, and has been quoted as saying it was a “real missed opportunity... for me it is more about wasting the great potential there was in that idea...it didn't live up to what it could have been.”

This time round the filmmakers wanted to remain true to Wagner and Ezquerra's vision and both Reich and Macdonald have always maintained the importance and integrity of the screenwriter and original content.

“We have always taken the view that any originator of material is important to keep on side and it’s vital to work with their wealth of knowledge and information about the material. On Never Let Me Go we worked very closely with Ishiguro and he was very involved at strategic moments,” says Macdonald. “When we wanted to do DREDD, it was essential to go and see if we could get the support of the person whose imagination it first came out of and that was John Wagner and we went to meet him. He has had other novels made into movies and was essentially a sceptic, even though he was perfectly polite!”

Wagner recalls getting an email from Garland requesting a meeting, “I thought ‘aha not another one!’ Then I met up with them and I thought to myself: ‘these guys are genuinely serious?!’

He says he was “desperate for a second Judge Dredd film to be made, because I wanted it to be made right and after our meeting I was impressed by their honesty and I really believed they were serious. I mean the fact that they cared enough to get me involved at such an early stage meant a lot to me.

"In 1995 they made the wrong film; they didn’t read Judge Dredd and just filmed another story. What they were embarking upon this time I knew was going to actually be the Judge Dredd I know.”

Garland was thrilled that they brought in Wagner at the first opportunity, “If at that first meeting John had said I just don’t want another film, the last one was too bruising and he doesn’t work on film and should stay as a comic book character and that’s where he should stay. I think we would have walked away and said fair enough. But I knew Dredd. I read him my whole life and I felt confident we would be able to do this.”

Producer Allon Reich reckons the meeting of minds in Garland and Wagner was fortuitous and led to a unique cinematic take on Dredd, “It is his creative vision. Alex is a big comic book fan, he grew up with Dredd and is immersed in the world of 2000AD and Mega City One and is also an experienced screenwriter.”

Garland used a lot of the original material, says Reich, but he also made it stand alone as a film in its own right. “It is absolutely his imagination and his creative vision and that is the stamp on this movie, without any question.”

Judge Dredd. Image © Reliance Entertainment

But writing it proved no easy task, “I started writing a story with another character in the Dredd universe, Judge Death, who is a nemesis character for Dredd and worked on that for a year through several drafts,” Garland says, “And in fact that was the first draft that John saw, but I realised I couldn’t crack it so I shifted on to pro-democracy terrorists which is another of the storylines that John created that I found particularly interesting.”

But the writer felt that wasn’t working either as an efficient narrative for the rebooting of Dredd onto the screen.

Judges Anderson and Dredd. Image © Reliance Entertainment

“Suddenly I thought, ‘I keep trying to go too big with this’ - that I needed to be thinking in a more reductive way and think of different kind of stories that John would tell. Which were not the big grand sweeping narratives of which there are many over the course of the Dredd mythology.”

Garland started to pare it all down and look at “some of the punchier stories which are like short stories.”

What he decided was to write a day in the life movie and Wagner couldn’t be more thrilled, “That was what was wrong with the first movie, it was too sweeping. They tried to show far too much. Alex has narrowed it down to a day in the life of Dredd and I think it is so much better for that.”

The long journey to the page proved fruitful and everyone responded to the script with delight, Pete Travis says, “I read Alex’s script and it blew me away. I think Alex created a story that goes beyond your needing to be a fan of the comic. If you live in a city, violence frightens you, and DREDD is set in a future that is not so far from ours. I think he has managed to fashion a character you can really grab hold of.”

Andrew Macdonald sums it up when he says, “What made DREDD possible was that we had a great character and we had a great script. Everyone who read it wanted to do it.”

- DREDD 3D Official website

- 2000AD Official website: www.2000adonline.com

2000AD national signing event shapes up

Following-on from the announcement last week of the first ever 2000AD National Signing Event, Rebellion have announced even more big names taking part – and the addition of a signing at Forbidden Planet in Belfast.

To mark 35 years of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, on 1st September artists and writers from the past three and a half decades of Thrill-power will be descending on comic book stores nationwide.

The venues are the Forbidden Planet stores in London, Bristol and Birmingham, Travelling Man stores in Leeds and Manchester, and Forbidden Planet stores in Edinburgh and Belfast.

Less than a week before DREDD 3D hits movie screens across the UK, Dredd co-creator John Wagner will be signing at Travelling Man in Manchester, while we are very pleased to unveil the signing at Forbidden Planet in Belfast with Judge Dredd writer Mike Carroll and artist PJ Holden.

35 years of Thrill-power, one zarjaz day!

EDINBURGH Forbidden Planet

• Gordon Rennie
• Gary Erskine
• David Bishop
• Colin MacNeil

BELFAST Forbidden Planet

• Mike Carroll
• PJ Holden

BIRMINGHAM Forbidden Planet

• D’Israeli
• Ian Edginton
• Mark Harrison
• Lee Garbett

BRISTOL Forbidden Planet

• Mark Buckingham
• Dylan Teague
• Patrick Goddard
• Kek-W

MANCHESTER Travelling Man

• John Wagner
• Steve Yeowell
• Sean Phillips

LEEDS Travelling Man

• Al Ewing
• Lee Carter
• Peter Doherty

LONDON Forbidden Planet

• Simon Bisley
• Dave Gibbons
• Dan Abnett
• Rufus Dayglo
• Ben Willsher
• Lee Townsend
• Clint Langley
• Boo Cook
• Dan Abnett
• John Higgins
• Simon Spurrier

Glasgow Comic Con 2012: More Pictures

Following up on our review of Glasgow Comic Con, here are some more pictures from the event, courtesy of the organisers. Photography by by Alasdair Watson © Alasdair Watson & Glasgow Comic Con

Queueing around the block

Newly-signed creators for Black Hearted Press

Doctor Strange sees all!

A new 2000AD fan meets writer John Wagner

Comic artist and writer Jim Starlin signs for fans

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on stage

Second Glasgow Comic Convention proves success

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely at Glasgow Comic Con 2012. Photo: Craig Hastie of Comics Anonymous

David Robertson of Fred Egg Comics reports on a weekend offering a range of big name guests and upcoming comics revelations... Photos kindly provided by Craig Hastie at Comics Anonymous

The second Glasgow Comic Convention moved into two venues this year, giving more room, with small pressers, Waterstones and various signings happening right across the street from The Mackintosh Church at Queens Cross Hall. The event was still a bit tight at times. At one point there was a single line of people that split off to Jim Starlin sketching, a snack / coffee vendor and the toilet.

There were lots of events on, and as with all cons, you had to pick and choose. The first talk I attended was a panel with writers David Bishop, Alan Grant and John Wagner and Multiverse editor Mike Conroy asking the usual questions such as “Why do you think 2000AD has lasted so long?” David Bishop came up with a memorable line, describing the big superhero companies constant representing of their characters and stories as “rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic”.

Next was a Cosmic comics talk with artists Rufus Dayglo and Jim Starlin and writer Eddie Deighton. Dayglo swore a lot, which was disconcerting as there were a fair amount of kids in the room. He also was the most politically vocal of all the guests over the weekend, stating his displeasure at Marvel Comics’ poor treatment of Jack Kirby’s estate.

Artist Jim Starlin. Photo: Craig Hastie 
of Comics Anonymous

Jim Starlin was asked what he thought of the movies that featured the characters he’d created to which he remarked that he had to pay to see (SPOILER WARNING) Avengers, in which Thanos pops up at the end for 30 seconds. He wryly commented that he could find no fault with it.

During Saturday, attendees were encouraged to vote in the SICBA Awards for small press comics. The books were available to read to help you make your choice, and the winners were announced on Saturday night.

There are always things going on at comics conventions that make you wonder what the connection is to comics. The ICW Wrestlers were in attendance, ostensibly to judge a cosplay competition, but really to stage one of their mock bouts onstage to publicise an event they were holding in Glasgow on Sunday night.

Changes to the schedule meant that after going across the road to see Jim Starlin signing as advertised I found he was actually in the church in the dealers’ hall. Also Mike Ploog and Colin MacNeill did not turn up at all, which was disappointing.

Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison appeared on stage to end Saturday. Maintaining his mystique, Morrison appeared only as he walked onstage. He seemed a bit nervous at first, which was perhaps understandable as he was appearing to his home crowd. Notable in his talk was his statement that in his upcoming revamp of the Charlton Comics characters, he plans to update the storytelling techniques of Watchmen. The example he gave was that instead of having a nine panel grid structure on each page, he would have eight panels. This talk was a lot shorter than advertised so they could move on to a signing session.

Cosplayers at the Con. 
Photo: Craig Hastie of 
Comics Anonymous

Sunday was a quieter day from the beginning. It started off with a quiz. Comedian Billy Kirkwood was shouting in order to get the crowd enthused, and asked a organiser if he was allowed to swear. The answer came in the affirmative and it wasn’t long before we’d heard more swearing onstage.

Then came Rufus Dayglo and Karrie Fransman. They were the first comics creators of the weekend to actually talk about making comics, which was great. Specifically, they talked about how they approach the blank page and decide what to put in their stories. Dayglo said he was sick of reading dark superhero stories all the time, and laughingly pointed out a Batman cosplayer off to one side of the stage – “I can see Batman over there giving me the evil eye; “I’ll pull you offstage. I’ll f*** you up”

During John Wagner’s talk he revealed that he can see himself retiring very soon. He said there is one more Judge Death story that he thinks looks really great. Wagner became very enthusiastic when talking about his hobby/small business of keeping chickens and selling eggs around his village.

I quickly ran off to catch up with Frank Quitely, whom I’d first met at Dundee Comics Day last year. He always makes time to encourage small pressers.

Although he wasn’t scheduled to do so, Jim Starlin spent all weekend signing and sketching. In the final talk of the weekend, he revealed that he made up his Warlock stories in the 1970s by sitting down, drawing and making it up as he went along. He also said that when he killed off Robin in Batman, it created lots of publicity, but there was masses of merchandise that featured Robin still in the stores and so Starlin’s name became mud and his DC work dried up in the space of two weeks.

Starlin stated that both his own mother and his mother-in-law are both very ill and this is inspiring him in a direction for a final Dreadstar story. Starlin’s talk was a really great way to end the weekend and when it was over he received an ovation that appeared to make him a bit embarrassed.

The weekend was very enjoyable, and I hope the rumours of a third next year turn out to be true.

Craig Hastie, Sha Nazir of Black Hearted Press, Frank Quitely and Jim Stewart 
on stage at Glasgow Comic Con 2012.
Photo courtesy of Craig Hastie of Comics Anonymous

30 Years of the New Eagle

Thirty years ago last month, a new incarnation of one of Britain’s most famous comics burst on to the news-stands (ok, we're a bit slow off the mark with this one, but the down the tubes office is a busy place ok?!). Eagle, the Rolls Royce of comics during the 1950s, was back in a new format for a new generation. In some ways it was a completely new title - only Dan Dare survived from the previous version. Many purists hated the re-launched publication but for a new generation, Eagle became the comic of choice.

How to mark this landmark anniversary? Well, we could tell you about Doomlord and the other photo-stories. We could tell you about the wide range of features in the comic including columns by major personalities of the day. We could tell you about the interviews with people as high-profile as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and… Cannon and Ball. (Actually, that’s a cheap shot - Cannon and Ball were major stars in their day). We could even tell you about the free space spinner in issue one. But you know all that. Instead, let’s look at what made Eagle different. What made it special, unique, pioneering… And no, we’re not talking about the Glamorous Teacher feature!

Here’s how -

New Eagle Did It First!


The magazine format

A lot of boy’s comics today aren’t really comics at all. They are magazines with puzzles and all sorts of features and information for children to enjoy. Eagle was effectively a magazine and was ahead of its time in being so. Sure, there were comic strips but there were also columns written by major sporting personalities, radio DJs and comedians of the day. Eagle was so much more than just a comic.

Predicting/showcasing new technology
Eagle used to have lots of features about up and coming technology and gadgets, some real and some imagined, be it wrist watch radios or shiny little discs which music could be recorded on called CDs (wonder if they caught on?). They didn’t always get it right. In January 1983, Eagle suggested that by the year 2000 the skies might again be full of airships! And in February of that year they suggested that Dalek-style security robots would be available within 2 years and that they could replace security guards! Now, I know some security guards might act like Daleks but even so…

Amazing 3D

In February 1983, Eagle promised us a ‘super new picture-story and features in 3D’. Using red and green glasses that came free with the comic, readers could enjoy stories and photographs in three fabulous dimensions. Ok, 3D had been around for decades and is commonplace today, but in the 80s this was an exciting new development for young comics reader who knew nothing of the craze for 3D movies in decades past.

Showcasing new talent

A lot of very talented people did early work on Eagle and there’s no better example of this than writers Alan Grant and John Wagner who went on to become international comics legends achieving the dizzying heights of, amongst many other things, writing Batman for DC. And the 30 April 1983 issue featured a rather splendid Dan Dare drawing by reader Jonathan Haward - he actually went on to draw the Dan Dare strip for the comic in future years.

Ideas which cropped up in TV/films years later

Eagle’s writers were very, very imaginative. And some of their ideas were used in movies and films years after they had been in the comics. That’s not to suggest plagiarism - two writers can come up with the same idea independently and you will often see an idea in one programme that’s been used in a film years before. Even so, it really is remarkable how some of the concepts in Eagle have been recycled.

Yes, Doctor Who fans may say how original their favourite programme was introducing a flying shark in the first Matt Smith Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, in 2010. A flying shark - who would have thought of that! In fact Dan Dare introduced a flying shark in 1982. The sinister mercenary Star Rider had his own flying pet shark, Zarkuda. Once off its leash , it was a deadly killer. And very cool. Keeping on the Doctor Who theme, the next series is going to feature a cybernetic cowboy it seems - Eagle did a robotic cowboy years ago in - you’ve guessed it - Dan Dare (mind you, that was arguably a homage itself to the 1973 film Westworld). Then there was The Mask of Evil strip which featured a mask which, once worn, merged with the wearer’s face and changed their personality - eat your heart out Jim Carrey! And here’s what Alan Grant said to the fanzine Eagle Flies Again about the Eagle story The Thirteenth Floor (which had begun in the short-lived horror comic Scream): ‘I’ve seen several movies based on the same concept - one of which was actually called The 13th Floor (I think it was Australian, and I bet the writer or director had seen Eagle as a kid).’

Truly, the 1980s Eagle was a comic ahead of its time!

Cursed Earth Mega-epic kicks off new 2000AD book range

One of the all-time greatest Judge Dredd stories ever told is returning in a brand new pocket-sized format.
The Cursed Earth, the first ‘mega-epic’ featuring the famous Lawman of the Future, is being published in B-format for the first time.

A deadly plague is ravaging the futuristic metropolis of Mega-City Two on the American West Coast. To deliver a life-saving vaccine to the city, Judge Dredd and his crew of Judges, war droids and the lawbreaking biker, Spikes Harvey Rotten, must travel across ‘the Cursed Earth.’

This hellish radioactive wasteland is filled with hate-filled mutants, flying rats, rampaging monsters and crazed war robots. Many men have attempted to cross it and most have failed, but Judge Dredd has a duty to perform – even if he has to crawl all the way himself!


Written by Pat Mills and John Wagner, with art by Mick McMahon and Brian Bolland, The Cursed Earth is the early classic that cemented Dredd’s reputation as the legendary hard man of British comics.

These stylish new B-format editions bring the classic Judge Dredd stories from the best-selling Complete Case Files series to open up the world of Dredd to new readers and fans at a low price.

• The Cursed Earth is released next week, 2nd February in the UK. ISBN 978-1-781080-08-5 , £6.99

2000AD gets set to celebrate 35th birthday

 Break out the balloons, paper plates and the party poppers – it’s 2000AD’s birthday!

The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic is celebrating three and a half decades of Thrill-power at the SFX Weekender event in February 2012, with its one and only official 35th birthday party!

And what better way to mark this incredible moment in comics history than the legendary co-creators of classic characters Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, appearing together for the first time in years!

Along with a glittering array of galactic talent, there’ll also be a special Friday night bash, and the 2000AD team will be ensuring that the next 35 years gets off to a flying start with all the latest graphic novels plus giveaways and freebies!
 
Back for a third year in 2012, the SFX Weekender, taking place at Prestatyn Sands holiday camp in Wales from 3-4 February 2012, will be packed with activities for fans: big-name guests, interviews, Q&A sessions, comic workshops, videogaming, music, book readings and plenty more.

“It's an incredible achievement for any British comic to reach 35 years of continuous publication,” said 2000AD editor Matt Smith, “and the fact that 2000AD is still here is testament to the remarkable talents of the writers, artists, colourists, letterers, designers and editorial staff that have worked on it over the past three and a half decades – and, of course, to the loyal readership that continue to pick up the Galaxy's Greatest every week.

"We hope that the 35th birthday party at SFX Weekender will be a fitting celebration for everyone to raise a polystyrene cup in salute to Tharg's Mighty Organ!”

"We're thrilled to be celebrating 2000AD's 35th anniversary at the SFX Weekender!” said Dave Bradley, editor of SFX. “The Galaxy's Greatest Comic has been incredibly influential through its history and remains a must-read – it makes sense to join up with the world's leading sci-fi mag for a fan-filled party. And meeting Judge Dredd legends Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner will be a geek-tastic treat. Roll on February!"

• Tickets can be purchased by going to www.sfxweekender.com

Photo Review: Dundee Comics Day 2011

"The Dundee Comics Day has been the highlight of my comics year so far and I look forward in anticipation to what Chris Murray and his team have in store for next year" was how I ended my review of the 2010 Dundee Comics Day some 16 months ago, so this year's event had a lot to live up to.

As part of the Dundee Literary Festival organised by Dundee University, the Comics Day had to move with the festival from its normal timeslot in June to October putting it close to Thoughtbubble, and its academic conference, and clashing with London's MCM Expo. Yet, other than the fact that it was too cold to eat lunch outside on the front lawn, the date change does not seem to have negatively affected the event or the attendance, indeed the turnout was noticeably larger than in previous years. Whether this was down to the fact that it was term time and Dundee's students were around, or that the 2000AD fans realised that it was worth attending due to the number of script and art droids due to be there, or even that the Glasgow Comic Con in July had opened Glaswegian comics fans eyes to what was going on in the rest of Scotland, is open to debate.

In previous years the day has begun with a morning workshop but this year the workshop was done away with and the pre-lunch session was expanded into a series of talks beginning at 11am with comics historian and author Paul Gravett (above). Paul has been to Dundee before and this year his talk was based around his new book 1001 Comic Books You Must Read Before You Die as he suggested a fairly long list of comics creators, several of which I hadn't heard of, from which to chose five.

Next up were Burke and Hare writer Martin Conaghan and artist Will Pickering, talking about their graphic novel, originally published by Edinburgh's Insomnia, and which won the Best Graphic Novel, and Conaghan best writer, at the inaugural Scottish Independent Comic Awards at the Glasgow Comic Con in July. They discussed the background to the book, their inspiration for it in the form of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell, plus the amount of research that they put into it to avoid the many myths that have grown up around the two murderers.

The morning session came to an end with a short talk by artist Jimmy O'Ready about his new comic Death Sentence which he writes under the pen name Montynero and which has art by Rex Royd's Mike Dowling. The audience showed their interest after this talk by buying every copy of the comic that Jimmy had with him.

A light buffet lunch was proved as part of the day's entrance cost of £10 after which the early afternoon session took on a heavily 2000AD feel. Yet for all the fact that John Wagner is associated with 2000AD and his co-creation of Judge Dredd, he began his talk with his time at DC Thomson and showed photos of Pat Mills' former garden shed where the pair of DC Thomson men had written 23 scripts for IPC's Cor! humour comic and had 12 of them accepted. They wrote IPC humour characters such as Jack Pott and Tom Boy. He then moved on to the creation of Battle Picture Weekly as a competitor to DCT's Warlord and the attempts to shore up the falling sales of Valiant before it was amalgamated into Battle. One of the Valiant characters was the Dirty Harry-esque One Eyed Jack who mutated with the arrival of 2000AD into Judge Dredd.

Robbie Morrison was next who has been writing Nikolai Dante in 2000AD for the last 16 years as well as creating Shimura and Shakara which, it was pointed out, sound similar but aren't. Of the two very different artists on Dante, Robbie said that he wrote to their strengths with John M Burns preferring adventure over science-fiction and Simon Fraser getting the more SF and emotionally charged stories. One snippet that I hadn't heard before was that his first professional script sale was to DCT's SF digest Starblazer and that he had written some 4 or 5 scripts for the title, none of which were used before Starblazer was cancelled in 1991. Chances are those scripts are still sitting in DC Thomson's archive.

Finally in this session was artist Colin MacNeil, another of the Starblazer alumni who pointed out that he was "not a comics artist, just an artist who draws comics." Stating that he was more at home with pictures than words, Colin then went on to give a very thoughtful talk about his work over the years, his influences including his very close encounter with Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' in Holland and his plans for a Battle of the Somme graphic novel to come out in 2016. Colin was followed by a break for refreshments and a signing session in the foyer.

The final session of the day began with Matthew Jarron of the university's Museum Services introducing Commando editor Calum Laird (right), deputy editor Scott Montgomery (left) and former editor George Low (centre) for a short talk about the Commando Battlelines exhibition that was displaying original cover and internal artwork from the comic in the foyer. They gave a good-natured talk and answered questions about one of the great survivors of British comics during which they got what was perhaps the most off-the-wall question of the day when they were asked how much of their readership was female. Surprisingly it is 2%, or 1 in 50, which may not sound like much but it is much higher than I would have expected it to be.

Next up was at talk by Jamie Bryan (left) of computer game firm Tiger Games who, along with the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design lecturer and one of the organisers of the Dundee Comics Day Phillip Vaughn (right), talked about their new Superman game for iPads and iPhones which has not been released yet. While it was an interesting talk, it was definitely the odd-man-out of all the talks during the day.

Things got back on a comics track with artist Cam Kennedy who stood at the front with the microphone and, rather than giving a talk, immediately asked for questions. Cam has a dry humour and it came across well here as questions set him off on amusing anecdotes about his career as he told the audience about his time in France and America as well as his disregard for Star Wars. After the success of his two Dark Empire series when Dark Horse asked for a third he turned them down as he was "fed up drawing a big carpet and a dustbin." When pressed by them he said that he would do a series on Boba Fett as long as John Wagner wrote it and they agreed - not realising that John Wagner hadn't even seen Star Wars at that point. With his art on the screen behind him and the chance of a sketch book of his work being published in Europe (we can but hope), Cam's session was one of the highlights of the day.

After the energy and humour of Cam came one of the most highly regarded comic strip artists of modern times, Frank Quitely, whose 'secret identity' just happens to be a quietly spoken bloke from Glasgow called Vincent Deighan. Unlike most artists who prefer their artwork to do the talking, Vinnie is at home in front of an audience and he sat at the front cradling the mic and talked about his work and career. Like Colin MacNeil, as a child he had considered books were something for school and it was comics that he read for fun at home, while his favourite pastime even then was drawing.

The audience were then invited to move out to the foyer for the Tartan Bucket awards presentation. In association with DC Thomson the university had run a competition to create a new 1 or 2 page humour strip in the vein of Beano and Dandy. With a honourable mention for Craig Balmer, the four runners up who received a cheque for £250 each were Steven Baskerville, Jamie Huxtable, Paul Rainey and Adam Smith while the tartan Bucket Prize was won by Steve English (below) with his two page strip Belle's Magic Mobile. As well as a cheque for £1000 and, quite literally, a bucket full of DC Thomson merchandise, Steve's strip will be published in the Beano in the new year.


Finally, and a surprise to most not least of all Cam Kennedy, there was a short presentation by Calum Laird about the two unrelated Kennedy "brothers", Cam and Ian. Artist Ian Kennedy had quietly joined the audience towards the end of the day which meant that he was there for Calum presenting him, and John Wagner presenting Cam, with lifetime achievement awards which, it has to be said, were both very richly deserved. Despite both being Scottish, Cam (left) and Ian (right) had never met before and this candid photo below shows the moment when the men were introduced to each other for the first time by a delighted Phillip Vaughn.


The day's talks were themed as 'Wot I Learnt From Comics' and two fairly consistent things came from that. Firstly comics creators don't read many comics (and why would they when they spend all day working on them?) and secondly, and more importantly for budding creators in the audience, if you want to make a comic just go ahead and do it - practice may not make perfect but it can only benefit you in the long run.

Practice has pretty much made perfect when it comes to the Dundee Comics Day and congratulations must go to Dr Chris Murray and his team for yet another excellent event covering both old and modern British comics and their creators. Long may it continue.