Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From art droid Kev F Sutherland

Name: Kev F Sutherland

Blog or web site:  comicfestival.co.uk

Currently working on:

Self-published comics Captain Clevedon and Hot Rod Cow, with the book of my classic Tales Of Nambygate and Phallas strips from Gas and Brain Damage comics now all available.

You can still get some of my best Beano strips from Amazon in the Beano annuals 2007, 8 & 9.

First memory of 2000AD?

I bought Prog 2 then read it on my paper round. As a result it bears the ink smudges of a few dozen Leicester Mercurys as it slid in and out of my bag, so is probably worth less than some copies. I was addicted to the weekly Marvel reprints at the time so took a while to start getting 2000AD regularly, only becoming a subscriber when it merged with StarLord.

Favourite Character or Story?

For a long time it was Dredd, and I'm the reader who still thinks Gerry Finley-Day's Rogue Trooper remains the best version of the character, but once Alan Moore's strips started, nothing else compared. DR & Quinch, Halo Jones and Skizz are pretty unbeatable.

What do you like most about the 2000AD? 

In its heyday it quite simply led the world in the quality and originally of its creators and creations. I was privileged to be the right age to live through 2000AD's golden age as a schoolkid and student.

At the age of 18, in 1980, I got to visit the 2000AD offices in Kings Reach Tower when Alan Grant and Steve McManus were in charge there. To that date it was probably the most exciting day of my life.

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

Sadly I have lost touch with 2000AD, drifting from it in the early 2000s, but I hear good things. I look forward to hearing more.

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

• My first cheque from 2000AD, for either a Captain Klep script or an illustration in an annual (circa 1980) was made out to the Rev F Sutherland.
• I wrote a Ro-Jaws Robo Tale in the 1981 Sci Fi Special whose credit-box fell off en route to the printers, so no-one ever knew I wrote it. It was the robot with the knife out the bottom story drawn by (equally uncredited) Steve Kyte.
In recompense, a recent Titan reprint volume of ABC Warriors and Ro-Busters credits me as the author of a story from an early annual which I had nothing to do with!

• 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

Captain Clevedon: a local comic for local people!

Kev F. Sutherland is the latest creator to join a number of talents who are publishing what I can suppose can be described as 'hyperlocal comics' - titles with a strong connection to one part of the UK, available, for now, in a limited number of 'local' outlets.

We plugged CDComics, whose focus is Sheffield, earlier this month - and there are plenty of examples of titles whose identifiable setting should have helped sales, such as Harker from Ariel Press, a detective story that's had beautifully visualised stories set in Whitby and London.

Captain Clevedon No 1 features a brand new 24-page comedy adventure of Clevedon's own superhero -- plus the original 1994 debut story, reprinted for the first time.

Written by Kev F Sutherland, the comic features art by Kev F, Garry McLaughlin, Glenn Fleming, Andrew Dodd, Soren Madsen and Phil Baber and - right now, is only on sale in outlets around Clevedonin Britain's West Country.

"Captain Clevedon's the world's most local superhero, with the world's smallest distribution network," says Kev. "Get it while it's hot.

"Okay, Forbidden Planet have taken 50 copies. But apart from that, it's a local comic for local people, we'll have no trouble here!
Interested comic fans will have a chance to get it next weekend, 27th August, at the BC 2011 comic convention in Birmingham - but before that, and throughout the summer, you can get it in Clevedon at the following local outlets below for just £1.99.

• Clevedon Pier
• The Curzon Cinema - Old Street, Clevedon
• That Copyshop - Alexandra Road, Clevedon
• Alexandra Road News
• Paper Planet - Triangle, Clevedon
• Seeleys Newsagents - Hill Road, Clevedon
• Tudor Books - Weston Super Mare

Web Links


• Kev F's Official Comics Blog



• Captain Clevedon Facebook Page

Will you help bring back Captain Clevedon?

Comics artist and writer Kev F Sutherland, whose credits include The Beano, Doctor Who Adventures, Match and others, is looking for an artist, or artists, to help him finish a comic that's been lying dormant for a number of years.

Kev's a dedicated comics creator who I've worked with in the past on Doctor Who Magazine and has done much to promote comics to people, through the original Bristol Comic Festival, his Comics Masterclasses in schools across the country and TV appearances.

"In 1994 I wrote and drew an eight-page photocopied comic called Captain Clevedon, he explains via his blog. "He's a superhero based in the town where I live, and it's a comedy action strip intended for a wide audience, from kids to adults.

"Its initial run sold out in the town itself back in the day, and even got featured on local TV (cheesy, ain't it?) but I never progressed with it after that first taster issue.

"It's always been a popular character that people bring up in conversation," he continues, "and lots would like to see his story finished, but I can never quite find the time. Added to which my comic art style has crystallised as much more cartoony than I think suits this book.

"So, I'm looking for a superhero artist to help me complete it. I have the script plotted and almost complete for a 24 page self-contained first story (In which Captain Clevedon learns more about his powers of Enhanced Benevolence and defeats the Severn Boar/stroke/Sky Pig From Space). Who'd like to draw it?

"The caveat is that this is, most likely, not a money-making venture. I wrote and drew the original for love (and the vast profit from its sellout first run, which added up to less than fifty quid, spread over more than a year) and would expect this issue to not make big money. However I would offer any collaborators an agreed profit-share, in the event of the comic taking off, and would split all sales pro rata (eg Comic Convention sales, Indy Planet online sales, plus you could get cost price copies via Ka-Blam to sell yourself). This project is ideally suited to an up-and-coming artist who wants to use their pages to boost their portfolio of superhero art. And, by the way, the end product will be fun to read. And when they option it to make a movie we'll all get to go to a party (that last bit is not guaranteed, by the way)."

If you're intrigued, check out the original short story from 1994 on his blog here.

"The new 24-pager will not be in the same cramped comedy style with four bubbles to a panel, six panels to a page," Kev insists, "but will be in a more familiar superhero comic layout. Lots of splash pages and fight scenes, with flying, action, monsters, machinery and superhero posing. I plan to publish it as a black and white comic, to keep it affordable to the kids."

Kev's a regular face on TV spots about comics - his appearances include The One Show, among others. His next media spot is a webchat for BBC Northern Ireland next week (Friday 3rd June), answering questions about comics: more information here at www.bbc. co.uk/northernireland/arts/ live/ .

• If you are interested in drawing this comic, send a link to some online samples to Kev at kevf.sutherlandATvirgin.net. Please note - don't email him art as attachments.

Buzz Comic Launches Soon

Buzz Comic - a web site described by its creators as "a kind of YouTube for comics people", offering space to promote comics and advice on creating them, should be ready for a beta launch on Monday 19th July.

The idea of BuzzComic is to enable comic creators to upload your comic pages, which can be just teasers of your published work or stuff you are experimenting with. When the site goes live, the stories can be favourited and commented on (anyone can favourite, even non members but comments are limited to those with paid accounts so that there is more quality and integrity to the site).

One of the main ideas of the site is that it will act as a natural market research tool as the popularity of any story or genre will become clear as the top favourited stuff gets pushed to the top.

The site will also include a library of tutorials teaching graphic novel and comic making which the site's editor hope to build on over time. Currently Bryan Talbot, Kev F Sutherland and Warren Pleece feature.

BuzzComic.com will now be open to all comic/graphic novel genres, so it is no longer aimed at children only as was originally planned.

• Sign up at www.buzzcomic.com

Hi-Ex Update: Shelton, McIntyre, Heggie confirmed guests

The Scottish HiEx comic convention has just announced several guests for its next event in March 2010.

Taking place at Eden Court Inverness (27th and 28th of March), the convention - very much a family event - will feature a number of exciting new events over the course of the weekend, including plenty that will appeal to young children and families.

A Kids Corner, where members of the DFC Library team will be on hand, is just one such item, an event marking the impending launch of three collections from the much-missd subscription-only weekly, The DFC. Each book showcases a single strip from The DFC, starting in March with Good Dog, Bad Dog by Dave Shelton, who is a Hi-Ex guest. Dave describes it as "a knockabout comic noir adventure comedy full of slapstick humour, terrible puns and exciting action"!

(Good Dog, Bad Dog is followed by MeZolith in April from master storyteller Ben Haggarty and artist Adam Brockbank and The Spider Moon in May by Kate Brown).

Sarah McIntyre , author of Morris the Mankiest Monster, will also be on hand to help the younger (and older!) visitors who fancy trying their hand at creating their own monster.

And as if this wasn’t enough, this year sees the welcome return of Kev F Sutherland and his famous comic masterclass, with help from funding from the Highland Council. Plus, as an added bonus this year, Kev will also be putting on a performance of the hilarious Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

Also part of this year's line-up are Morris Heggie, former editor of The Dandy and author of The History of The Beano and Gordon Tait, creative consultant on the Dennis & Gnasher TV series. Their Q&A session will include a rare chance to see original art from the comic's huge archives and will be followed by a book signing and sketching session

• Day tickets for Hi-Ex can be bought at Eden Court, with discounted advance day and weekend passes available through the HiEx website: www.hi-ex.co.uk

Nessie and Judge Dredd image art by Colin McNeil. Judge Dredd & Ro-Jaws © Rebellion 2010

Dennis De-Menacing Denounced

(Updated 24/8/09): CCBC's revamp of The Beano's Dennis the Menace, which launches next month on the TV channel, has been given the big thumbs down by his creator's family.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Rosemary Moffat and Alison Gardiner, the daughters of the late David Law who created Dennis back in 1951, said their father would have been horrified by the transformation.

According to the newspaper, the 52-part cartoon series features a more 'caring' Dennis - no, really - without his trademark catapult, peashooter or water pistol, his trademark scowl replaced with a boyish grin, and he won't be allowed to bully Walter the Softie.

And, instead of allowing his dog Gnasher to bite people, Dennis will now be more creative, getting into scrapes when his imaginative inventions go wrong.

(Since we first published this story, top British cartoonist and comics expert Lew Stringer has carefully deconstructed this and other press reports about the new show, poting out many inaccuracies in some newspapers coverage).

Upping the ante on earlier reports claiming the CBBC version was 'political correctness gone mad', the Telegraph reports the decision to “re-imagine” Dennis for the “iPod generation” has disappointed Law's daughters.

”I think my father would feel they are downgrading him to make him quite ordinary,” said 63-year-old Mrs Moffat, while Mrs Gardiner, who was given a preview screening of the cartoon, said it was nothing like the real Dennis the Menace.

The makeover hasn't gone down well with some Dennis fans, either. Talking to The Bristol Evening Post, comics writer and artist Kev F. Sutherland said "I think it's probably a bad idea but you cannot do anything about it. I think perhaps they could have targeted a slightly older audience with the cartoon.

"You can do humour and sophisticated comedy without scaring the horses. If you pander too much to over-sensitive parents you will end with not very funny comedy."

DC Thomson, which collaborated on Dennis's new look with Red Kite, an animation company, said it “wanted to remove any traces of nastiness”, while the BBC argues that like many cartoon characters, Dennis the Menace has been evolving ever since its creation in 1951, so changes are nothing new.

"The Beano comic book style of the 1950's is very different to children's expectations for their entertainment heroes today," said the corporation, while in another statement reported by Pink News over a week ago, they did argue the changes to Dennis wouldn't make dull.

"Although the stories and animation have been updated to appeal to current CBBC viewers, his character has not changed significantly and Dennis remains as boisterous and mischievous as ever."

Pink News readers found the idea that Dennis' traditional enemy Walter was potentially gay, which had resulted in the ban on him getting beaten up for fear of accusations of homophobia, laughable.

"By doing this the BBC are just pandering to the typical stereotype that gay men are pathetic wimps who'll get bullied," said one.

"The children of today are going to turn into a nation of 'Walters'," said another. "I read Dennis the Menace as a kid, and all the others.

"Kids like to be anti-social and rude and anti-establishment and making fart noises behind teachers backs. You haven't grown up until you've had a scrap and a bloody nose.

There is some good news: the Beano editors apparently have no plans to make Dennis a softie in the comic itself.

• Read Lew Stringer's brilliant expose of how the British press has wilfully mis-reported this story here