Madefire and deviantART To Launch "Motion Books" to Worldwide Audience

Digital comics makers Madefire and the art-focused social network deviantART have announced they have formed a strategic partnership to provide unprecedented access through deviantART’s creators and audience to the making and distribution of digital Motion Books ™ published with Madefire’s highly respected publishing platform.

The companies involved say the new partnership formed between deviantART and Madefire, will turbocharge a next generation of dynamic storytelling.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp (who DTT readers will recall as the artist on British comics such as 2000AD, Death's Head II and more) and Eugene Walden, Madefire provides artists and writers a publishing solution for iOS and the web, allowing creators to build their stories in a new format called Motion Books.

Madefire is backed by Toni Schneider, Partner at True Ventures and CEO of Automattic, the makers of the wildy popular blogging platform Wordpress, with angel investors including Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc. The Advisory Board also includes industry leaders Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard, Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time, and Bill Sienkiewicz, widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art.

The alliance between the 5-star App Store-rated sensation Madefire and the massive creative community of deviantART brings together the toolset and delivery system to reach a global audience.

"The walls of the traditional comic book world, limiting artistic access to the tools of production and distribution, have now fallen," claimed a spokesperson.

"Madefire and deviantART have seized the power of the digital space to introduce the next generation's shared cultural mythos with stories and characters that will move across the screen of imagination with incredible sound and fury.

“DeviantART and Madefire will provide the ultimate story engine, by bringing creators and readers together,” said Ben Wolstenholme, co-founder of Madefire. “The Madefire app for iOS has had a storming response, and now we are moving to the web with deviantART and enabling a new generation of storytellers.

The deal consists of a creative partnership where the entire deviantART creator community is given unlimited access to Madefire’s revolutionary, browser-based publishing platform to create and distribute content while individually controlling the price point. Using deviantART’s Premium Content Platform, the content will reach an enormous worldwide audience while taking advantage of the Platform’s built-in payment and royalty systems fuelled by deviantART’s virtual currency. The content will also then be available on mobile through the Madefire App.

“Madefire and deviantART share in the creator-first mission of empowering artists, writers and visionaries to liberate their narratives,” said Angelo Sotira, CEO and Co-Founder of deviantART. “It just looks so fantastic, exploding cells off the ‘page’ with the pop vibrancy that the comics style had always suggested, but never achieved until now.”

As a special introduction, the first flight of Madefire books will be made available on the Web through deviantART for 10 cents a piece - the same price at which the world first thrilled to Batman and Superman in the 1930s. The books will remain free on the Madefire App for iOS devices for a limited time.

As part of the agreement, Madefire will be the very first native motion-book reader on the deviantART platform. Madefire’s previously iOS app-only experience will now be available for web reading through madefire.com and deviantart.com. Top line publishers now will be able to distribute through to deviantART’s huge community with Madefire.

Several Motion Books are now available on your desktop by some of the top creators in the world working with Madefire, like Dave Gibbons, Liam Sharp, Bill Sienkiewicz, and now you can keep an eye out for radical content by some of deviantART’s amazing community of storytellers from every corner of the art world.

DeviantART - the seventh largest social network on the web – was created to entertain, inspire, and empower the artist and art lover in all of us. Founded in August 2000, deviantART is home to over 26 million registered members worldwide and features an extensive platform used to exhibit, promote and discover works and other members within a peer community. As the largest aggregator of creative talent on the Internet fuelled by over 150,000 daily submissions and an audience reaching 76 million monthly unique visitors, deviantART is one of the world’s largest websites enabling participation in the arts at a scale never imagined in the traditional art world.
• The Motion Books are available at http://browse.deviantart.com/motionbooks

• For more information go to madefire.com

British creators support Peter David charity art auction

British creators are supporting an auction to help American comics writer and novelist Peter David get back on his feet after he suffered a stroke late last year.

The auction, which will take place later this month, has been organised by US comics artist JK Woodward and will offer art featuring all of Peter David's characters; those that he created or those that belong to Marvel and DC that he brought to life in that special Peter David way.

"Originally, I wanted to do one big jam piece of all the characters drawn by different artists so I called on some friends to see if they'd be interested," he explains in a blog post. "Then it occurred to me that one big jam piece (as great as it would be) would not bring in as much money as separate pieces and would be a logistical nightmare as well as costing a fortune in postage stamps.

"So I decided separate pieces of art from each artist, but I would still have every artist contribute a unique character, otherwise we'd have 20 Maddrox's (though that might be somewhat appropriate when you think about it).

"I approached IDW edtor, Chris Ryall and Marvel X-book editor, Nick Lowe to see if I could make use of their rolodex. They were kind enough to send out emails and as a result I received responses from most of the contributing artists."

Among the contributions is the Incredible Hulk cover, above, drawn by Madefire's Liam Sharp and inked by Robin Riggs. "It's the second cover from our run with Peter on the Hulk in the mid nineties," says Robin, "and has always been one of my favourite pieces. I hope it makes a decent amount for Peter."

Other ways to support raising funds for Peter, suggested by his wife, Kathleen, include:

• Buying his e-books from Crazy 8 Press (via ComicMix) or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites. These are books that he gets the money from directly and the most per book. The quickest and most money is buying the EPub versions from ComicMix, by the way. "The more we sell of these books, the easier it will be for us to pay the [medical] bills as they start to pour in," says Kathleen.

• Buying his other books does help – especially the Marvel graphic novels he has written. The Crazy 8 books are the most immediate help but all his writings do help the family and the family’s ability to pay bills. If you buy via Amazon, please use this link, and if you buy via Barnes & Noble, please use this link, which will bring in even more funds.

• Buy X-Factor. Put it on your pull list at your local comic book store. Encourage others to do the same. Peter is still writing it and will continue to write it. Issue 250 [which shipped in mid January to comic shops] is a great jumping on point for both X-Factor and something Peter has been working on in the Marvel Universe since his Hulk days."

•  There's also a donate button at this blog post

• The actual auction is in mid-February and will be announced on JK Woodward's blog and elsewhere soon.

Madefire extends its digital comics app to iPhone and iPad

Digital comics publishing house Madefire - co-created by British comic creator Liam Sharp - has announced a major update to its revolutionary comics app, bringing it to iPhone and iPod touch for the first time.

The Madefire app, which delivers a fully-immersive, episodic comics reading experience, is now optimized for the four-inch Retina display on iPhone 5 and supports Facebook single sign-on in iOS 6. The app is also available for iPhones 3GS, 4, 4S, and for third and fourth generation iPod touch.

Madefire's distinctive format features episodic, 'short-burst' (10-15 minute) reading, and utilizes sound, music and motion - as well as special effects, like parallax and panorama, to transport readers deep into story worlds.

Madefire says it is also growing its catalogue of free titles and weekly releases of new episodes, giving readers even more opportunities to explore 'short-burst' reading.

We've downloaded a couple of stories here at DownTheTubes and it's looking slicker than earlier versions, although we're still not convinced by the size of lettering on the iPhone screen or some of the storytelling decisions when it comes to presenting speech balloons, for example - but there's no doubting the art is gorgeous and we're intrigued by the upcoming beta testing of its Motion Book Tool, which has apparently been heavily oversubscribed in terms of creator interest.

As part of Madefire's commitment to democratizing digital publishing within the visual storytelling space, the company is making this browser-based Tool -- on which all Madefire titles are built -- available to creators through a phased release.

The app includes a new 'Feed' feature, which gives readers an inside look into Madefire titles and creators, with special features such as 'The Making of' and sneak peeks of upcoming releases.

"We received a tremendous response for Madefire on iPad and wanted to bring this amazing content to millions of iPhone or iPod touch users around the world," said Madefire co-founder Ben Wolstenholme. "Plus, with iPhone 5, users will now be able to experience their favorite episodes and stories on the beautiful, four-inch Retina display."

The Madefire app currently features seven titles:

• "Captain Stone is Missing... " Chapter 1
• "The Engine" Episode 1
• "Houses of the Holy" Episode 1
• "The Irons" Episode 1
• "MONO" Episode 1
• "Treatment: Toko" Episode 1
• "Treatment: Mexico City" Episode 1

"Feedback about Madefire has been extraordinary," said Dave Gibbons, Watchmen co-creator and author of the original Madefire series 'Treatment.' "As a content creator, I am excited to bring my new stories and characters to iPhone and iPod touch users around the world via the Madefire app."

Madefire says it is currently the only publisher offering episodic, digital stories in an immersive Motion Books format. Content creators include world-renowned comic and graphic novel artists, as well as up-and-coming artists.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp and Eugene Walden, Madefire is backed by True Ventures, with angel investors including Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc -- who sits on Madefire's Board of Advisors.

The Board of Advisors also includes industry leaders like: Toni Schneider, CEO of Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com); Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard; Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time; and Bill Sienkiewicz , widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art.

• For more information go to madefire.com, or download the Madefire App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch from www.madefire.com/iOS

Madefire seeks monster makers

Ground-breaking digital publisher Madefire, whose creator roster includes Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons, has just launched its first talent hunt.

"Here’s a chance to get a paid gig alongside some of the greatest names in the imaginative arts industry," enthuses Madefire’s Chief Creative Officer and creator of Captain Stone is Missing… Liam Sharp.

"Madefire is looking for a horror illustrator for a story that will go live on our 5-star rated app at Hallowe'en. The creature in the story is a Metawhal Alpha." (Drawn by Liam, above).

Go and check out the rest of their website and/or iPad app to get a feel for what they’re creating. To be considered, don't send Liam direct messages, including via DeviantArt: submit your work to Madefire at: contactATmadefire.com.

The portfolio submission period won’t last for more than a few weeks, as they want to select an illustrator in time for a finished title to go live end of October 2012.

"We can’t reply to everybody, so would appreciate it if you didn’t chase us up," says Liam. "If you’re the lucky chosen artist we'll be contacting you. However, even if we don’t contact you this time, it doesn’t mean we don’t love your work, and you may well find yourself being contacted for other projects in the future — we have a lot of material lining up over the coming weeks and months."

Launched earlier this year for iPad, Madefire's aim is to give creators a strong platform for their own storytelling and revolutionize how stories are told, read and shared, transforming a once static medium into an "interactive experience" that unfolds dynamically on mobile devices, and evolves with each new episode.

The company has developed a Motion Book Tool to make all this possible and to give new creative freedom to the world’s most visionary creators and storytellers.

- For full details of what Madefire are looking for, check out this blog post

Liam Sharp announces new digital comic project

Treatment by and ©
Dave Gibbons

(with thanks to Matt Badham for the spot): Comic creator Liam Sharp and Ben Wolstenholme, founding member and CEO of Moving Brands, are teaming up with creators such as Dave Gibbons and to launch Madefire, a new digital comics company.

Debuting at the San Diego Comic Convention next week, Liam says Madefire was initially almost a digital and PoD version of Mam Tor Publishing, with new work created by top names at the highest level.

"What I found with Mam Tor was that the costs were prohibitive when it came to small runs printed traditionally," he notes on his web site. "Unfortunately for small companies there are no concessions and you don't get the same benefits. Print runs, advertising, distribution, etc. cost the full amount. Bigger companies with huge runs get all the discounts as incentives.

"It's the way of the world that wealth and success is rewarded with gifts, discounts and free promotion - you can see and clearly understand the economical model and thinking behind that, but it makes it extremely hard for start-ups. So Mam Tor lost a lot of money, but I still felt it mattered and remained an important platform.

When Ben, a talented artist who attended Liam's school, was finally reunited with his old friend, they soon set about putting the world to rights and looking at ways to work together.

Dead Apes in the Snow
by Liam Sharp

"Ben was desperate to exercise his creative side again and showed me some brilliant developmental work he had been doing on various characters - for films, books and comics. I told him our experience with Mam Tor, he told me his at Moving Brands, and we started throwing ideas around for projects we could jointly be involved with... Ultimately what we both knew we wanted out of a collaboration between us was simple - the chance to publish our own work under our own terms. So then it became a question about how do we do that?

"The answer was - create a digital comic. Create an app.

"The great thing about the current situation of digital publishing is that it's wide open," Liam argues. "There are no rules yet, and nothing is truly dominating in the same way the big companies dominate printed matter. We can get our work out to anybody. And it can also be collated and printed to order for anybody who loves printed matter.

"For me, the internet is the new corner shop - the more comics are seen in digital format the more people will get interested in them and find their way back to the stores. At the moment kids no longer see comics in the shops. In day to day life you barely see them at all! When I was young you saw them in every newsagent and street corner store. On holiday they were bagged in multiple copies and sold cheap. That was the thing - it was cheap, accessible entertainment. I didn't even know there were specialist outlets until I was about 19! So for me it was the wider visibility of the material that hooked me in, and later took me to the stores where you could really indulge your interest. One led to the other. So after that it was about building a fantastic platform and getting some great talent on board - and that's where we're at now."

Captain Stone is Missing
by Liam and Chris Sharp

Stories planned for release later this year so far are Captain Stone is Missing... by Liam and his wife Christina; and Dave Gibbons is writing and drawing a story featuring his creator-owned characters called 'Treatment'.

"Ben is debuting in comics and showcasing his character 'Mono'," Liam reveals. "We have other stories in development too, from Mike Carey and Dave Kendall, called 'Houses of the Holy', and Edmund Bagwell, called 'Ricky the Boy Machine'. And there will be opportunities for established talent and new creators to get involved as we progress.

"Ben and I have been working on this for a couple of years now, and San Diego Comic Con just seemed the perfect place to raise our heads above the parapets and announce our arrival - which we're celebrating with my books Dead Apes in the Snow and The Shed, as well as Ben's Mono sketchbook, all published traditionally by Madefire."

• Dave Gibbons, Ben and Liam will be signing and answering questions on the Madefire stand (4902 in SDCC) on the Saturday afternoon at 4.00pm, and they'll have other bits and bobs to give away, too. More info: www.liam-sharp.com/madefire.htm

FutureQuake blasts from the hip with three 2000AD-inspired titles

Ace Eagle Award finalist publisher FutureQuake Press have just released the latest issues of of their superb comics featuring a host of raw British talent, both new and established - including the likes of Liam Sharp - yes, Liam Sharp! - and Nigel Dobbyn. Here are the details...

Behind an awesome cover by Neil Ford, FutureQuake 18 features

• Addicts by William Tennant, art by James Feist, lettered by Bolt-01
• Spirit Leveller by Lawrence Conquest art Conor Boyle, lettered by Bolt-01
• Praxis by Rob Burton, art by Roland Bird, lettered by Bolt-01
• Counter Reality Incident by John A Short, art and lettering by Alex Paterson
• Sam by Mark Woodland, art by Steven Denton lettered by Bolt-01
• In His Kiss by Lawrence Conquest, art by Jack Davies lettered by Bolt-01
• The Replacement Heroes: Butch Stone by Mike Moreci, art by Andy Scordellis, lettered by Jim Campbell
• Not this time Johnny Tomorrow by Robert Ferrie, art by Simon Hayes, lettered by Bolt-01
• Social Engagement eXperiment by Steven Fraser, art by Will Pickering, lettered by Bolt-01



Dogbreath 24 has been a long time coming but the Strontium Dog-inspired title features 48 pages of stone cold classic Search/Destroy action.

Behind the rather awesome cover by the ever talented Nigel Dobbyn is the following:

• Strontium Dog - Death of a Mutant by Mark Pexton, art by Toby Philp, lettered by Bolt-01
• The Gronk - Small Universe 2 written and drawn and lettered by Nigel Dobbyn - completing the tale bagun last issue!
• Strontium Dog- A Moment's Hesitation by Miles Reid, art by Bruce McLaren, lettered by Bolt-01
• SD's - Catch Of The Day by Matthew McLaughlin, art by Ryan Thomason, lettered by Bolt-01
• Impetigo Jones - The Big Scab by Greg Meldrum, art by David Broughton, lettered by Bolt-01
• Interview: A question of Rage: Shaun Avery talks to John Wagner & Alan Grant!
• Case File Interludes: Leigh Shepherd looks at the tales from various annuals and specials!
• Strontium Dog- Served Cold by Richmond Clements, art by Matt Soffe, lettered by Bolt-01
• M06 - Reservation Dogs by The Emperor, art by James Feist, lettered by Bolt-01
• Star Scan - Durham Red by Mark Pexton



The awesome- award winning Alex Ronald provides the cover for Zarjaz issue 12, and sees the first annual Judge Dredd summer cover! Inside, there's a top line up, including...

• Constable Dredd - The Cursed Beat by Richard McAuliffe, art by Mark Chilcott, lettered by Bolt-01
• Zenith - Invasion by Chris Denton, art and letters by David Frankum
• ToM-C1- Fat Chancers by Alexi Conman, art and letters by Luis Chichon
• Judge Fish by David Withers, art and letters by Phillip Vaughan
• Slaine - Tattered Wings by Liam Sharp (Yes, Liam Sharp!)
• Judge Dredd - Moon in the Undercity by Paul Glasswell, art by Dave Thomson, lettered by Bolt-01

• The new issues are available from the FQP Webshop (http://www.futurequake.co.uk/shop.php) and previews will be available soon.

• More information at: http://thequaequamblog.blogspot.com/

Flesh returns to 2000AD in March

After more than 30 years, one of very first strips to appear in 2000AD is to return in blood-splattering, eon-spanning dinosaur-hunting glory.

Dino-terror classic Flesh is to return to the weekly comic with Prog 1724, out on 9th March.
Written by the series‟ original creator, Pat Mills, and drawn by James McKay, the new series is the long-awaited sequel to the much-loved original Flesh – part of the line-up in the very first issue of 2000AD in 1977.

Penned by Mills and drawn by Spanish artist Boix and Ramon Sola, Flesh was a futuristic Western where time-travelling ranchers farmed dinosaurs like cattle and sent their meat back to a hungry future.

The dinosaurs fought back and destroyed the Trans-Time base – and the new series follows the survivors as, stranded millions of years in the past, are ordered to drive their herds across the prehistoric American landscape to Texas – where another base promises safety ... and profit!

The new series will premiere with a stunning gatefold cover by Death’s Head II and Testament artist Liam Sharp.

“Flesh was one of the original strips from the very first issue of 2000AD in 1977 and while there have been spin off stories, we never found out what happened to the survivors of Trans-Time Base Three," notes 2000AD editor Matt Smith.

(A 10-page one shot 'prequel' to Flesh, written by Pat and drawn by Ramon Sola, ran in Prog 1526 in 2007, reviewed here on Broken Frontier).

“It's great to see the sequel make it into 2000AD, 30 years after it first appeared," he adds. "It's a great strip with some fantastically gory dinosaur action that will appeal to both old fans who read the original and new readers who want comics with some real bite!”

"James has done the impossible," says Pat. "He's brought Flesh back to life with a vengeance. After Ramon Sola's brilliant interpretation of Flesh in Book One, I never thought I'd find another artist who could do justice to its varied themes - cowboys, time travel, science fiction and dinosaurs. James has achieved this and more."

• 2000AD 1724 will be on sale from 9th March 2011, priced at £2.25, available to buy online, from all major magazine retailers across the UK and Europe and from all good comic stores across the US.

• More info at: www.2000ADonline.co.uk. For details on the original Flesh visit: www.2000adonline.com/vault/series/flesh/story/flesh_book_1

• Check out James' Official web site at: www.jamesmckay.info

Liam Sharp, Gary Erskine and Tim Perkins to attend Malta ComicCon 2010

(via Tim Perkins): The second Maltese Comic Convention has announced its first guests for this year’s line up, who include Liam Sharp (left), Gary Erskine and Tim Perkins (below).

Taking place 16th-17th October, the convention will take place in the Saint James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valetta.

The convention is organised by Wicked Comics, a non-profit voluntary organization aimed at promoting the comic culture both in Malta and abroad.

Wicked Comics was conceived in 2005 when a bunch of proud-to-be-geeks with a penchant for writing, drawing and organizing events decided that it was time to kick start the local comic scene, and held their first annual Comic Convention in Malta last year. "The road to the Comic Con wasn’t easy," they say. "In fact, one day, we might just write a comic book about it!

The intention behind the convention is to place Malta in the heart of the International Comic World and Wicked Comics hope the Malta Comic Con will become a yearly event which will grow bigger each year.

The venue looks impressive: housed in a 16th Century fort, the centre is home to a small theatre-in-the-round, an arthouse cinema, a chamber music room and gallaries.

Now celebrating its 10th year, the the Saint James Cavalier Centre has welcomed both local and foreign artists, writers, singers and actors, dancers, musicians as well as thinkers, scientists and other creators. It has staged operas and premiered plays, held major exhibitions of contemporary pieces as well as past masters.

It runs courses for adults and children and has been enjoyed for over a million vsiitors in the past 10 years.

More info:

• Malta ComicCon2


• Malta ComiCon on Facebook

• Wicked Comics – Malta Comic Web Hub

• Tim Perkins 1st Annual Malta Comic Con Report Part 1; Part 2; Part 3

Liam Sharp Turns Director for Fistful of Blood

• Hearty congratulations to Gears of War and MamTor publisher Liam Sharp, who has landed himself the job of a lifetime. "I'm art directing a movie, and not just any movie," he reveals. "It's Fistful of Blood, the movie based on the cult graphic (and I mean graphic) novel by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley, great friends both."

The film is being directed by Digger T. Mesch, who created Art Asylum, with a cast that includes Peter (Chewbacca) Mayhew. It's being designed by Tom Muller, who talks about his initial work here, and who has set up a Flickr set which will include more design work as it becomes available. Right now, that's mainly the promtional work, including the poster, above.

"I'm only just taking it in," says Liam on his deviantart journal. "For the last few years this is the job I've dreamt of doing - production design/art directing. But in an extremely aggressive marketplace that seemed highly unlikely. And yet - here I am."

I've known Liam for many years, right back to Marvel UK when he was drawing Death's Head II, and I can't think of a more deserving case for someone whose hard work and dedication to his craft has finally paid off in a way he always wanted. Great news.

Sharp Advice on Breaking Into Comics

British comics artist Liam Sharp (publisher of MamTor, artist on Gears of War and, many moons ago, Death's Head II) has just posted a revamped version of his excellent guide to breaking into comics over on DeviantArt.

The post is packed with a huge amount of useful advice and suggestions for aspiring creators, building on an article he first wrote a couple of years back.

"Getting into comics is something a lot of people want to know how to do, but there's a lot of questions you want to ask yourself first," he advises. "There's such a vast array of genre and subgenre, technique, approach, and so on, that it’s important to be clear on where you want to go with your work at the outset – and you have to be really honest and tough with yourself at this stage!

"If you're into the capes and tights and you want to go mainstream you’re going to have to want it incredibly badly, as the competition is the most extreme I’ve ever known it right now," he warns. "...Right across the industry there's an enormous amount of competition.

"One thing I'm not seeing at cons is break-the-mould, edgy and accomplished new types of comic art," Liam notes. "Invariably it's by-numbers superhero fare of a fairly similar standard - what I would typify as three or four years off pro-standard but showing promise. I often wonder when we're going to see the next Sienkewicz, the next great stylist. Originality is not only becoming rarer, it seems less desired - either by the industry or the fans, who want above all else consistency."

• Packed with advice on indie publishing and promotion, you can read Liam's article in full on DeviantArt here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tube Surfing: 21 October 2008

• Titan is to release a collection of Jane strips from the Daily Mirror later this week and over on Bear Alley Steve Holland has cast his expert eye over the various stories which made up the strip’s run. The article includes a full listing of her stories.
Jane: The Misadventures of a Bright Young Thing is published by Titan Books on 24 October 2008. You can buy it from amazon.co.uk (ISBN 978-1848561670)

• (via Forbidden Planet International): Phill Jupitus continues his series talking to a variety of cartoonists for Radio 4, this week meeting Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor, creators of the financially obsessed City businessman Alex. As with the first two parts (with Gary Trudeau and the Cartoonists With Attitude group) there is also a permanent link. If you missed the show show or forget to use the BBC's "Listen Again feature" before it expires (it has a seven day window) you’re still covered.

• downthetubes is pleased to report that contributor John Freeman is now writng British comics news items for the SciFi Channel UK web site.

• The first issue of Liam Sharp's new project, Gears of War, has sold out! "I'm so delighted," the British artist says via his deviantart blog. "It's been an age since I last had a sell out comic - Death's Head Gold in fact, from '93 I think. Thankfully I hear Diamond are putting in an order for more, so if you missed it make sure to go and reserve a copy!"
There's a new site up with art for sale from Gears of War but Liam warns it's selling really fast. "My head is spinning!" he says. Check it out at: gowart.weebly.com

• Talking of Death's Head, Marvel UK fan blog It Came From Darkmoor has a detailed psoting on the appearance of Doctor Necker, creator of Minion aka Death's Head II in a recent issue of Marvel's Nova, written by Dan Abnett (also the writer of Death's Head II back in the 1990s) and Andy lanning. So, any chance Marvel is finally bringing Death's Head intot he mainstream Marvel Universe? Read the full post...

Gears of War Prview Online

From downthetubes.net news blog

(via Digital Comics News): The Gears of War mini-series from Wildstorm Productions, drawn by top British artist Liam Sharp has preview pages online for those of you still foolish enough not to go out an buy a comic drawn by a seven foot giant who could cut you in half with his little finger if you fail to obey.

Written by Gears of War 2 game writer, Joshua Ortega and illustrated by Liam Sharp, the mini-series bridges the end of Gears of War with the upcoming Gears of War 2 game release.

• Download the Sneek Peek from the official web site

Giant-Size Band-Thing!

You know, now I'm even more annoyed that I missed out on the Birmingham International Comic Show last weekend (the result of circumstances beyond my control). If I'd been able to make it for the whole weekend and known they were on, I'd really have liked to have seen comics artist Liam Sharp and co, aka the Giant-Size Band-Thing strutting their stuff at the Launch Party, but twas no to be.

So instead, those of us who missed Liam, Phil Winslade, Charlie Adlard and Paul Birch perform as an all-comic-pro band to help kick the con off, we'll just have to settle for the entire set on YouTube (playlist ink below), the gig the result after a mere five rehearsals!

"Who knows," says Liam. "the Giant-Size Band-Thing may keep on rolling..."

In terms of the day job, Liam's new book, Gears of War #1 is out now in the US, and his novel, God Killers, is out now too. More information at: www.mamtor.com

Gears of War

Former Marvel UK artist and these days a publisher in his own right of a range of high quality indie titles from Mam Tor Publishing , (along with partner, Christine), Liam Sharp is busy working on a new six-part story for the new Gears of War comic from Wildstorm, based in the universe of the top-selling game.

The first issue based on Gears of War 2, the sequel to the computer game, debuts in October, one month before the game's launch.

"I'm very excited.," says Liam of the story, which has been scripted by Gears of War 2 video game scriptwriter and comic book writer Joshua Ortega. "I'm doing the lead six issue story."

The opening six-issue arc of this new ongoing series bridges the end of the first Gears of War game and the start of the second one, following the brutal adventures of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad in the battle against the Locust.

For Liam, the appeal of drawing the book was nothing to do with it being a tie-in to a game, but "everything else", he told US comics site Newsarama in a recent interview - the characters, environments, monsters...

"It felt really familiar," he explains. "The deeper I got into looking at everything, not having the game at the time and just going on the visuals, the more I felt I could be well-suited to it. The imagery felt sort of like The Death Dealer with guns - something epic that would require a lot of detail, energy and I guess my kind of grittiness - and that really appealed to me."

The winner of over 30 Game of the Year awards, Gears of War for Xbox 360 and PC features amazing tactical action and multiplayer excitement. The plot thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing story of humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet.

Gears of War 2, which continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad in an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution, is the sequel to the blockbuster game that sold over 4.5 million copies and redefined the third-person tactical action game genre. The game is being developed exclusively for Xbox 360 and will launch this November.

" The game is awesome," says Liam" so I'm trying to give it the same grit and density of detail."

• Taking of Liam and MamTor, a quick plug for the recently released The Enemy's Son - Erth Chronicles Book I. This is the first book in the Erth Chronicles series by James Johnson., a unique vision in SF & Fantasy that unveils an epic universe that stretches from the printed page to a world-wide online community. You can download a preview of 'The Enemy's Son here (Acrobat Reader required).