Scott, McCaffrey re-tell "The Last Days of Man"

Released in time for last year's Thought Bubble, Paul Scott of Omnivistascope fame put together a US comic-sized collection of the strips he's done with artist Paul McCaffrey, under the title The Last Days Of Man.

Since the release, Paul tells us the collection has garnered plenty of praise - no surprize give Paul's past awards for projects such as the humour title Solar Wind and his other works such as Midlam Miniatures.

Reconstructed through genetic and data records, just over three million years in the future, the two Pauls have worked on recreating some of Professor Brabblepap’s most important work for the University of Flobobobapple on that most enigmatic and pervasive extinct species, the human race.

Join us them a journey through the great hives of Earth, where the curious descendants of the human race still live. Visit the distant asteroid base of Professor Milius, where the last great human experiment is about to reach its conclusion. Tune in to the exclusive Thoughcast™ from Kesney Towers as the inventor of Bodyclock™ runs out of time. And in deep space, the transmitted shadow of a long dead race threatens the entire galaxy.

Included in the comic is all of their work from across five issues of the critically acclaimed science fiction comic, Omnivistascope, with four stories, re-mastered and presented in a new 36 page US format comic book.

• The Last Days of Man is on sale online for just £3 at: www.midlamminiatures.co.uk/books/LDoM.html

 

In Review: Keegan Jask - Tales From the Heaven-11

You know that slightly dodgy bloke in the pub who is known for exaggeration and who likes to embellish his stories? Well writer Paul Von Scott and artist Leigh Shepherd have given him a name, Keegan Jask, and sent him into space to the Omega Bar of the Heaven-11 space station.

Tales From The Heaven-11 tells nine interlinked tales of Keegan Jask as he manages to overcome all the odds, as well as various intergalactic hitmen, Mafioso and police, to return to the Omega Bar to get a drink. Do some of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy really hate him that much because he upset their plans, or is he prone to a little too much exaggeration?

Paul Von Scott has been producing anthology titles for well over ten years now beginning with the National Comics Award winning Solar Wind, an affectionate parody of British boy's comics like 2000AD and new Eagle before moving on to his roughly annual science-fiction anthology OmniVistaScope which ran for seven issues and was regularly labelled Fanzine Of The Month by SFX magazine.

Keegan Jask: Tales From The Heaven-11 reprints the eight Jask strips from OVS as well as the various adverts and one pagers that appeared in that title, plus a brand new tale, Down Among The Admin, and adds to the package with a string of extras from a Jaskopedia of all the places and characters in the strips to Paul and Leigh's 'conversation' about the creation of one of the comic strip stories. With Paul's interest in gaming, both in game creation and modelling miniatures, it is unsurprising that there is also a Keegan Jask RPG game included.

Looking at the board of the RPG made me think of the old British annuals, which often included a dice game, and perhaps the best way to describe this Keegan Jask package is that it resembles a British comics annual for the character. While many other small pressers aim to produce something that looks to all intents and purposes like a US format comic or graphic novel, the 96 page, A4 sized, perfect bound Keegan Jask: Tales From The Heaven-11 could readily be viewed as a softcover British annual, with its selection of contents reminiscent of the best of the 1980s Judge Dredd annuals.

Leigh Shepherd's greytone artwork, with its multitude of different aliens, is a great benefit to the book and while the art in the early tales is less accomplished, you can see how Leigh improves in confidence as the stories progress. It is always worth checking the backgrounds for in-jokes, with Judge Dredd helmets and Dr Seuss hats appearing or one bartender to looks like he is a Doctor Who fan, showing that the artist is enjoying himself as much as the writer is.

Keegan Jask: Tales From The Heaven-11 is an impressive package which combines Paul Von Scott's tongue-in-cheek writing with Leigh Shepherd's multitude of alien creatures to create a remarkably detailed universe for one rather lovable rogue to spin his next tale.

There are more details of Keegan Jask - Tales From The Heaven-11 on the OmniVistaScope website and the book is available from the OVS shop.

Paul Scott will be launching Keegan Jask - Tales From The Heaven-11 at the Bristol Comic Expo at Brunel's Old Station Passenger Shed on 12 and 13 May 2012.

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From comics editor and fan Paul Scott

Name:  Paul Scott

Blog or web site: www.omnivistascope.com

Currently working on: 

Keegan Jask book 1, a collection of implausible tales from the stellar storyteller. Written by myself with help from artist Leigh Shepeherd It will be 100 pages+ and feature an all new, somewhat improbable tale and hopefully be on sale at the Bristol comics show in May!

I wouldn't be involved with comics in any way without 2000AD .

First memory of 2000AD?  

 Sitting in a tent one summer with the then obligatory huge pile of comics. Amongst them was a strange thing called 2000AD, which had a strange effect on me. It just felt so completely different to anything I'd seen before, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond. I remember it was the issue with the Princess Porkina (from Ace Garp) poster, and it all seemed so weird and ludicrous. Fantastic.  

I would have similar encounters over the years with 2000AD , till I eventually got more permanently hooked with issue 454.

Favourite Character or Story?

There are so many from the first ten years of the comic, it hardly seems plausible. Where do I start? Rogue Trooper? Halo Jones? Judge Dredd? Nemesis the Warlock? Strontium Dog? All superb. 

I have a huge soft spot however for Harry Twenty on the High Rock, a strip created by the wonderful Gerry Finley Day, with a somewhat complicated history. It features wonderful art by Alan Davis, where you have that magicall moment where you get to see an artist really mastering the art form.  

Harry Twenty is a classic manly anti-hero, a good natured rogue who knows the real meaning of good and evil. The story is essentially Escape from Alcatraz, in space with lots of zany ideas and characters that you'd expect from Gerry!  

It may not feature on everyone's A-list list of 2000AD stories, but it's great fun. And you know, he's still out there, and hopefully no-one will ever catch up with him.  The story has been reprinted in the best of 2000AD monthly, the U.S. reprints and is currently available in a book from Rebellion.

What do you like most about the 2000AD?  

What I always loved about it was the concentrated imagination, the fact for so many years it was ahead of everything else going on in this country or anywhere else. A genuine institution that has had a vast, but largely unsung, cultural effect on this country.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?  
 
Something old by the old guard, or something impossible new and amazing. Either is always possible from the comic. But if I had to be pinned down, more Strontium Dog from Wagner and Ezquerra. Alpha Lives!

Spludig Vur Thrigg!

• 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

OmniVistaScope Model VII Now Available

The 2011 issue of Paul Scott's yearly Omnivistascope has been released. Model VII continues the A4 science-fiction anthology format of the previous issues and comes in at a whopping 114 pages, the longest issue of OVS yet.

Behind the wraparound cover by Matt Herbert are the variety of comic strips that we have come to expect of OVS, virtually all written by Paul Scott. Dirk Despair returns in three different stories with art by Chris Geary, Space Lord gets two stories with art by David Goodman, while Keenan Jask also returns with art by Leigh Shepard. Paul continues his affectionate send up the photo stories of the early 1980s Eagle comic with a three part trilogy about his consulting magician Warlock Holmes (and the Amazing Dr Wizard TM).

In addition there are a number of text articles covering everything from BBC TV's Artemis 81 to Alan Frank's 1970s Sci-Fi Now book.

Omnivistascope Model 7 is a 114 page, perfect bound A4 book with colour cover and monochrome interiors. Cost is £5 and it is available via Paypal on the Omnivistascope website.

More details of Omnivistascope are on the OVS Facebook page.

Paul Scott will be selling Omnivistascope at the Canny Comic Con in Newcastle this Saturday, 10 December 2011.

OmniVistaScope Model 6 Now Available

The latest issue of Paul Scott's annual Omnivistascope has been released. "Model VI" is dedicated to the memory of Patrick McGoohan and features an article by Ed Berridge on the real life inspiration for The Prisoner's Village. The cover by Paul McCaffrey, of a human astronaut finding a desolate Martian Tripod on the surface of Mars, is inspired by the article by Jeremy Briggs on Orson Welles' radio version of The War Of The Worlds.

However the main reason for buying OmniVistaScope is for the comic strips, mainly written by Paul Scott. The robot Rathbone returns in the forth part of 'The Last Of The Organic Wars' with art by Brian Coyle, Dirk Despair returns in 'Conservatoire De La Mort Et De Paranoia' with art by Chris Geary, while Keenan Jask is back with art by Leigh Shepard. Paul Scott also continues to affectionately send up the photo stories of early new Eagle comic with two stories of his consulting magician Warlock Holmes (and the Amazing Dr Wizard TM).

Omnivistascope Model 6 is a 100+ page, perfect bound A4 book with colour cover by Paul McCaffrey and monochrome interiors. Cost including UK postage is £6 and it is available via Paypal on the Omnivistascope website.

More details of Omnivistascope are on the OVS Facebook page.

Omnivistascope 5 Now Available

"Omni-Vista-Scope"

1. A device upon which all things may be viewed.
2. The Omnivistascope Corporation, a universal broadcaster.
3. A high quality science fiction comic anthology written by Paul Scott.

The latest issue of Paul Scott's excellent annual Omnivistascope has been released. "Model V" features comic strips written by Paul and illustrated by various artists including Bryan Coyle, Julia Bax, Darren Stephens and Leigh Shepard. David Goodman's work on Space Lord continues with the universal Emperor attending a SF style convention in his honour only to be told by the cosplayers that his costume isn't accurate enough. The consulting magician Warlock Holmes returns in two photo-strips plus a making of feature presented by the League of International Atheistic Revisionist Scientomerists (L.I.A.R.S.).

This issue also includes articles on various incarnations of the Rebelstar computer game, the parts of the second radio series of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy that Douglas Adams didn't use in his novels plus an in-depth interview with author and critic, Kim Newman.

• Omnivistascope issue 5 is a 100+ page, perfect bound A4 book with colour cover by Oliver Redding and monochrome interiors. Cost including UK postage is £5 and it is available by sending a cheque made payable to Paul Scott to 13 Kiln Crescent, Bishop Middleham, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 9AP.

• Alternatively it is available via Paypal on the Omnivistascope website.

• Overseas postage rates are available by e-mailing Paul via paulvonscottATyahoo.co.uk.