Six-Gun Gorilla comics inspired by British pulp hero in the pipeline

Two comics projects inspired by an obscure British Pulp hero published by DC Thomson the 1930s are in the works, illustrating, perhaps, the potential pitfalls of reviving "Golden Age" heroes in the public domain.

Six-Gun Gorilla was published in Wizard, published by DC Thomson and written by an anonymous author in 1939. The only survivor from a circus train wreck, a baby gorilla is found by Johnson, an elderly prospector,. He names him O’Neil and raises him, teaching how help him pan for gold, as well as how to cook, clean and survive on his own in the Western wilderness, part of which involves O’Neil learning how to use a revolver – learning it so well he becomes a crack shot.

When Johnson is killed by bandits after his gold, O'Neil sets after them seeking vengeance.

The character is now considered to be in the public domain in both the US and UK, as the serial's copyright was never renewed in the United States, and 50 years have passed since its publication here.

Earlier this summer, US publisher BOOM! Studios announced that they were releasing a Six-Gun Gorilla title (Issue 1 is on sale in next month), written by Si Spurrier and drawn by Jeff Stokely. "If you haven’t heard of him yet, you will. He is perfect for this book," says Si of Jeff's work.

Six-Gun Gorilla by Jeff Stokely

In #1, we're introduced to “the Blister” -- a bizarre other-world colonized by humans sometime in the 22nd century, which quickly became a hotly-contested source of fertile land and natural resources long ago exhausted on Earth. In this new frontier, a rogue gunslinger and his companion wander across a wilderness in the grips of a civil war, encountering lawlessness, natives, and perversions of civilization in a world at the crossroads between the past and the future.

The fact that said gunslinger is a bio-surgically modified silverback gorilla toting a pair of enormous revolvers is neither here nor there.

"I love Westerns," Si said of the project earlier this year. "Six-Gun Gorilla is the culmination of all my obsessive theorizing and cultural sampling: a love-letter to the most beautiful, most tragic, most self-fulfillingly-obsolete genre of them all. 

"It’s is not about a Gorilla in a cowboy hat. It features a hole in the wall of reality, a mass-market tv-show based on violent military suicide, a world where the laws of physics don’t work quite right, and - yes. A f****** enormous primate with a f******  enormous gun. And wide shots. And high noon. And deals gone wrong and war and death and frontier life and corrupt men."

The project sounds great and has gained plenty of comic press attention, although part of it, of course, is down to the fact that there's a rival project in the works.

The rival, which has yet to get a publisher, appears to be more in line with the source material, and is described by writer Brian Christgau as “A very big ape with very big guns blowing very big holes in very bad people.”

With a cover by Wes Huffor, Six Gun Gorilla: Long Days of Vengeance is drawn by  Argentinian artist Adrian Sibar, best known to fans for his work on DC’s Batgirl, Planet of the Apes for Dark Horse and more.

“I wish BOOM, Si Spurrier and his collaborators the best,” says Christgau. “I genuinely do, but their book is completely different from what I’m doing.

“A few years ago I stumbled across the title while browsing a website about Golden Age and Pulp superheroes,” Christgau says . “I heard that title and BANG! It was like a firecracker went off in my head. Later I was driving to a local shopping mall, listening to the Hawk the Slayer soundtrack of all things, and by the time I parked I already had the entire story.”

“I approached the story as Tarzan in reverse,” Christgau elaborates. “Instead of a human raised by apes in the jungle you’ve got an ape raised by humans in the Old West. The only thing I took from the original story is the title and the basic idea of a gorilla stalking the Old West for the outlaws who murdered his adopted human father. And boy did I run with it.”

Six Gun Gorilla: Long Days of Vengeance is the story of Kumba, an intelligent, sharp-shooting circus gorilla who blazes a trail across the Old West in search of the outlaws who murdered the man who raised him. Along the way he joins forces with his human sister, the only one who truly understands him, and Union spy Giuliano Schmidt. Together they uncover a much greater threat.

“What starts out as a small, simple revenge story swells up like a fat lip,” says Christgau.  “When he sets out to hunt down the killers, Kumba and his friends uncover a much wider conspiracy that extends far beyond his one-primate search for vengeance, leaving the destiny of the very country in his hairy hands.”

“It’s not campy, that’s for damn sure,” says Christgau. “I really, strongly believe that this sort of story is best served by being played poker-faced. It has a sense of fun and adventure, but avoids the pitfall of self-parody. Comics and movies have become too self-aware these days. The last thing I wanted to do was slip into empty hipster irony.”

“Adrian has a visual storytelling ability that is great at conveying atmosphere, drama and a sense of the epic,” Christgau enthuses. “Most of all, he invests his work with the one thing so rare in today’s comics: heart. He gives the characters a real sense of soul. I fashion them out of clay and he breathes life into them.”

“Wes’s incredible covers show the book for what it ultimately is: a Western comic. This isn’t a spoof or a ‘re-imagining’. This is a rootin’, tootin’, two-fisted tale of one very pissed off, pistol-packin’ gorilla on the hot trial to vengeance in the Old West! It’s got showdowns, saloon brawls, heroic loners, horse chases – the works. I think people are going to get a real kick out of it.”

Si Spurrier is non-plussed by the rival project. Like Christgau, he wishes him all the best with his version.

"I have great sympathy for Mr Christgrau because – yeah – there really is nothing more annoying-seeming than being pipped to an idea," said last month. "It’s happened to me more times than I can remember. 

"I have nothing but good wishes for him and his project: the art looks lovely and, hey, it’s about a gorilla with a gun. Sold. But the important point (as he explains) is that his vision for 6GG and mine are totally different. I’m no expert on trademark or copyright laws so I won’t speculate about use of the title (except to gently recall that comics with, say, “Dracula” in the title are released by multitudinous publishers every year, aren’t they?) but I see no reason both versions can’t co-exist, under whatever name."

Si points out that there's also at least one other Six-Gun Gorilla project has launched before, written by Colin Bel with art by Tanya Roberts. "Again, it’s a million miles away from the Boom Studios version," says Si. "Too many cooks? Too much broth? ... No. There’s always room for more gun-toting gorillas."

“If [no publisher wants it] I’ll probably just throw the thing online for digital download,” Christgau speculates of his version. “I’m old enough to remember that in 1983 there were two James Bond movies that came out that same summer, one with Roger Moore and another with Sean Connery. Hopefully there’ll be room for two Six-Gun Gorillas!”

While it's all sounding wonderfully amicable, if DC Thomson decide to revive the character in the digital Dandy we'll really be having a Harry Hill summer of brawling gorillas!

• For more information on Six Gun Gorilla #1 written by Si Spurrier and drawn by Jeff Stokely visit: http://boom-studios.com/series/title?series_id=927&name=Six-Gun%20Gorilla

• For more information on Six Gun Gorilla: Long Days of Vengeance, visit www.sixgungorilla.com for links to the official blog and Facebook page.


• View samples of the Six-Gun Gorilla project written by Colin Bel with art by Tanya Roberts


• Read more about the original Six-Gun Gorilla story in Wizard here on Jess Nevins web site

Titan Comics to publish Spurrier and Holden's 'Numbercruncher' in colour

Titan Comics has announced it will publish Numbercrucher in July a creator-owned series by writer Si Spurrier and artist PJ Holden, first seen in Judge Dredd Megazine – but now being re-published in full colour.

To be launched on 10th July, Numbercruncher is an off-the-wall romance mixing time-travel, life-after-death and coal-black comedy.

Si Spurrier is a novelist, comic book writer and former BBC art director whose career has often intertwined with flagship British sci-fi comic 2000AD and its spin-off, Judge Dredd Megazine, whether penning the tales of its flagship character, or co-creating such unique and disturbed characters as Lobster Random and The Simping Detective.

Currently writing the electric super-psychological adventure X-Men: Legacy for Marvel NOW!, Spurrier has also penned adventures of Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Punisher.

Spurrier is the writer of two critically-acclaimed post-pulp occult crime novels, Contract and A Serpent Uncoiled, both from Hodder Headline.

Co-creator and artist PJ Holden, also an acclaimed regular on 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine, crafting stories of Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Johnny Woo and The 86ers. He also co-created Black Ops Extreme for STRIP Magazine.

Holden broke into US comics with Fearless, from Image Comics, and is working on another creator-owned project with Gordon Rennie, Department of Monsterology, which is being published by Renegade Entertainment.

A digital comics pioneer, he designed the 'Comics Reader App' in 2009, which was licensed by NBC for its similarly pioneering Heroes webcomics.

Utterly unusual, vaguely insane, and unexpectedly heart-warming, Numbercruncher follows a brilliant Mathematician who dies young, enters the afterlife and discovers a way to cheat the terrifying Divine Calculator. He schemes to be endlessly reincarnated within the lifespan of the woman he loves, no matter how often the violent bailiffs of the Karmic Accountancy cut short each life.

It falls to one such bailiff – the surly Bastard Zane – to put a stop to the time-twisting romance once and for all, before the Mathematician can pull-off his greatest trick and escape Existential Justice forever!

“When Si first proposed Numbercruncher to me, it was clear we'd need to play with some different techniques for this multi-layered, multi-reality story,” says P.J. Holden, co-creator. "Flipping between the afterlife and the real world was a key element, and we needed something to make those realities distinct. And, being a huge fan of the Pressburger and Powell film A Matter of Life and Death (a romance about a dying World War II pilot, which similarly flits between a monochromatic afterlife and a technicolour real world), it seemed fairly obvious that the best way to do that was to have the afterlife be a sort of dreamy, textured black and white world, and the real world a much more comic book style, pure lineart with colour.

"And, when Zane moves from the afterlife to the real world, crashing that black and white world into the colour, visually it would be show-stopping, and look like nothing else out there."

”PJ and I worked our socks off on Numbercruncher – a time-travelling romantic comedy thriller with more twists than Agatha Christie’s corkscrew," says Si Spurrier, co-creator, "So it’s enormously satisfying to see it published by such a prestigious institution as Titan, and hugely exciting that it’s part of their new all-original-content initiative".

”Numbercruncher is one of those intensely personal yet universally brilliant projects you just can’t wait to get into print”, says Steve White, Senior Comics Editor. “Si is a master of the wonderfully off beat idea, and PJ has illustrated it to perfection. The new, subtle, and emotive colors by colorist, Jordie Bellaire help round off the Titan package. This is a title that’s flown under the radars of a lot of readers in the US, so it’ll be great to finally get it into their hands.”

Numbercruncher was originally serialized in black and white in Judge Dredd Megazine in the UK. The series is now being newly coloured and expanded for the first time by Titan Comics.

• Numbercruncher #1 will hit comic stores on 10th July 2013. The series will also be available to read day and date on the iPad, iPhone, Web, Android and Kindle Fire, exclusively through the comiXology app and comiXology.com. Retailers can order Numbercruncher #1 from the March 2013 edition of Diamond PREVIEWS.

Titan launches creator-owned comics line

Titan Comics goes big in 2013 - with original, creator-owned series by new and world-renowned talent.

Titan Comics is the bold new imprint from the London-based world-leading publisher – offering the best original creator-owned comics alongside new and classic graphic novels, a project company boss Nick Landau has had for many years.

The imprint launches in July 2013 with two creator-owned miniseries and four brand-new collections, with a new series beginning each month afterwards: debut Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol by writer/artist Stuart Jennett, who cut his teeth at Marvel UK with Warheads but now runs an expanding design studio; newly coloured Numbercruncher by X-Men: Legacy writer Si Spurrier and 2000AD artist P.J. Holden; Ring of Roses – collected in colour for the first time, by writer Das Petrou and artist John Watkiss; the wonderfully funny Thrud The Barbarian by writer/artist Carl Critchlow (2000AD, Magic: The Gathering); plus never-before-published volumes in a complete library of The First Kingdom by comic legend Jack Katz.

The next wave will see three new series launching later in the year: Gravestown by writer Roger Gibson and artist Vince Danks (Harker), and Surface Tension by writer/artist Jay Gunn hit stores in September, while the stunning Death Sentence by writer Monty Nero and artist Mike Dowling (2000AD, Rex Royd) continues the new line into October.

Titan Comics is the latest initiative from Titan Publishing, which has been a purveyor of comics, graphic novels, fiction and licensed publishing for over 30 years.

Since 1981, they have been instrumental in the field of licensed film and television properties, including The Walking Dead, Star Wars, Transformers and Star Trek, as well as creator-owned successes such as Tank Girl and Lenore – but now they feel it's the time to nurture a new generation of creators, characters and properties.

Titan Comics is seeking to help creators shape their ideas into the best comics possible. "Combining unique voices and visions with strong marketing and a trusted brand, Titan Comics is the ultimate expression of our editorial, design and sales experience," said a company spokesperson.

From editorial to design, Titan Comics will help creators shape their ideas into the best comics possible – while they retain full rights over their creations and intellectual property.

As well as all-new creator-owned titles, Titan Comics continues to restore and reprint the best classic material, bringing back seminal titles in lovingly-produced volumes.

"This is the start of something very special," says Nick Landau, Publisher of Titan Comics. “We’re searching out fantastic new voices and astonishing new artists, and helping them bring their dream projects to fruition – as well as remaining a world-leader in the field of classic comics restoration and republication.”

Steve White, Senior Comics Editor, says readers can expect, “the same level of quality we've delivered across Titan's huge portfolio of licensed publications – coupled to the blazing imaginations of the next generation of independent creators.”

Each new release will also be available to read day and date on the iPhone, iPad, Web, Android and Kindle Fire.

• To keep up-to-date with news on all these new series and future releases from Titan Comics, visit www.titan-comics.com or join us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/comicstitan) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/comicstitan).

• Retailers can keep up to date with ordering details and incentives by signing up to Titan’s retail newsletter, here or follow @TitanRetail on Twitter.