The Invisible Artist? film released

The Invisible Artist from Northern Visions/NvTv on Vimeo.

The comic booklet: once a mass market media form, some would argue it has all but disappeared from newsagents shelves in the last 20 years - but comic creation continues apace across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

A new film released via Vimeo online, featuring comic artists such as 2000AD and STRIP Magazine artist PJ Holden, explores the hidden heritage of Belfast-centric cartooning that goes back centuries.

More recently, the vibrant underground publishing scene there, from The Belfast People's Comic (1977) to Patrick Brown's The Cattle Raid of Cooley (2011), has begun to attract attention from establishment arts bodies. The Invisible Artist look at the stories of committed creators in this black sheep media and how they have informed our contemporary culture.

The Invisible Artist was written by Andrew Luke and filmed and edited by Carl Boyle of Greater Belfast community group Northern Visions TV. Once a training ground for Channel 4 film-makers, NVTV is free-to-view, and hosts its programmes on Channel 62/799.276MHz in Belfast, with a weekly and omnibus edition, before joining the archive screenings looped rotation.

Shows also appear online in the months after airing. NVTV are hoping to raise their broadcasts to appear on Freeview next year. This film was originally screened on 7 November at 4:30pm, and again on 12th, at approximately 12:30.

"I'm indebted to Carl Boyle for stepping in to cover the editing and production when my workload became too heavy to cope," says Andrew of the production. "The documentary was shot in a short space of time in early 2011 and captures the vibrancy of the time.

"In many ways, The Invisible Artist? is also the story of Davy Francis, a man at the crossroads of four decades of comics creation in Belfast. I'd like to thank Carl, Davy, Paddy Brown, PJ Holden (who called by at the last minute to help out), and everyone who gave their time to make this film happen."

• View the film on Vimeo here

Boffins and Burglars infiltrate Commando!

The latest issues of Commando are on sale now, and it's intrguing to see how cover artist Janek Matysiak on #4464 and one of this set's reprint issues, 4466, has changed styles with a move to digital art.

Commando No 4463 - The Improbable Mission
Script: Alan Hebden Art: Manuel Benet Cover: Manuel Benet

Second-Lieutenant Clement Cleveley of the Army Educational corps was a real boffin. A research student before the war, his mathematical speciality was probability theorywhich didn't really fit with anything in service life.

As it turned out, that wasn't quite the case which was how, instead of peacefully working at a classroom blackboard, Clement ended up charging around the desert dodging bullets with a bunch of crack SAS men...

Commando 4464 - Night And Fog
Script: Alan Hebden Art: Morahin
Cover: Janek Matysiak (Not Ian Kennedy as it says in the credits grenade!)

In Occupied Europe during the Second World War, dawn raids and midnight arrests became regular occurrences. They were feared by all the occupied peoples but soon they began to lose their ability to invoke terror.

That's when an evil Nazi scientist decided that it wasn't enough just to arrest people. He wanted to make them disappear into the... Night and Fog

Commando 4465 - Terror Zone
Originally No 2673 (June 1993)
Script: Mike Knowles Art: Carlos Pino Cover: Phil Gascoine

It started as a routine training patrol to test five top Aussie recruits - until their radio packed in and their NCO was killed in an accident.

Then the dense New Guinea jungle became a terror zone as a bullet flew from out of the shadows. Someone - or something - was trying to kill thembut there wasn't supposed to be an enemy for thousands of miles!

"Commando fans have always held Carlos Pino's artwork in high regard, and rightly so," notes
Commando Editor Calum Laird. "Here he brings the clammy jungle and a band of dishevelled Japanese to life in a few strokes of the pen and brush.

"He's giving form to a story by another long-serving Commando regular, Mike Knowles, whose plots have entertained for long enough to earn him a long-service medal and a well-deserved retirement.

"The late Phil Gascoine did a limited number of Commando covers, but every one was a little gem - even when he had to show an all but invisible figure in the background."

Commando 4466 - The Lion's Den
Originally Commando No 2632 (January 1993)
Script: Bernard Gregg Art: Janek Matysiak Cover: Janek Matysiak

That's where safe-cracker turned secret agent Danny Gregg was headed, to wrest secrets from deep within a Nazi lair.

And he had to succeed. For Danny the reward would be a pardon from his criminal past. For Britain it could mean the difference between victory and defeat!

"At the heart of every Commando story is just that, the story," says Calum Laird. "And here Bernard Gregg, who wrote almost 100 Commando tales between 1972 and 1999, weaves a cracking plot. He takes the safecracker given the chance to go straight idea and gives it a fresh twistor two.
  
"He's ably complemented by artist Janek Matysiak whose detailed artwork and envelope-pushing layouts really bring things to life. Nearly 20 years later, Janek's still working for Commando doing covers, but this black and white work is up there with the best of them."

• The Draw Your Weapons exhibition featuring art from Commando continues at the National Army Museum in London this month and runs until 30th April 2012. For the latest information visit: www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/special-displays/draw-your-weapons-art-commando-comics


• Official Commando web site: http://www.commandocomics.com/


• Commando Official Facebook page


• Click here for subscription information or write to: D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, The Subscribers Department, Commando Library, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL or Freephone (UK only) 0800 318846


• Commando is also available for iPad and iPhone. The apps are free to download through the Apple iTunes App Store and a digital subscription is priced at £4.99 per month, compared to a £99 annual print subscription. For those not sure there are four free issues to download prior to making a purchase.


• Commando Comics iPhone App on iTunes


• Commando Comics iPad App on iTunes

New Dennis the Menace shows - and a musical - on the way

Ahead of tomorrow’s London Toy Fair, DC Thomson has announced a renewal of its partnership with leading content producer Red Kite Animations to co-produce the new series of Dennis and Gnasher.

As The Beano begins the countdown to its 75th anniversary in June next year, there's also news on the The Trial of Dennis the Menace musical, which launches in London next month - and information on the success of The Beano's iPad App.

News of more Dennis and Gnasher animation continues DC Thomson’s investment across multi-media platforms, following on from December’s launch of a range of digital subscription apps, including The Beano, which has already had 72,000 downloads.

The co-production between Red Kite Animations, a subsidiary of global media enterprise August Media Holdings and Australia’s Sticky Pictures, has been commissioned by CBBC, Network Nine and ABC Australia and will be produced by Sueann Smith for Red Kite Animations and Donna Andrews for Sticky Pictures.

The 52 x 11 minute episodes commence production immediately and are scheduled for delivery in summer 2013.  

Dennis and Gnasher has been the best performing for CBBC in the competitive 1500-1600 hrs timeslot, reaching nine million people across its most recent (repeat) run in the UK.

“After 60 years at the top, the world’s greatest menace still appeals to children of all ages," enthuses Mike Stirling, Editor-in-chief for The Beano and BeanoMax. "We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with Red Kite Animations and the next series of the successful animation will introduce hilarious new Beanotown characters plus more menacing, laughs and jokes than ever before.

"With our weekly and monthly comics, best-selling Annual, Beano.com website and social media platforms, more children than ever can experience Beanotown and its great characters across all sorts of media. Awesome!”

“We are proud to be bringing these classic comic strip characters back to the screen," added Ken Anderson, Executive Director & Chief Creative Officer of August Media Holdings. "Producing the new series is a testament to the popularity of the characters and we are confident that the series will create what we hope is a whole new generation of Dennis and Gnasher fans.”

Underlining this increased multi-media investment, Dennis and Gnasher will also be appearing on the London stage next month (17th - 19th February) in the brand new musical commission, The Trial of Dennis the Menace, by Southbank Centre, in conjunction with DC Thomson. This show = part of the Imagine Children's Festival - will bring the world of Beanotown vividly to the stage in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, as part of Southbank Centre’s Imagine Festival.

Written by award-winning poet Caroline Bird with music by Matt Rogers and directed
by Rebecca Gatward, children from 7 to 97 will enjoy the antics of Dennis and co as Dennis is
put on trial, accused of stealing the Mayor of Beanotown’s gold chain! With the grown-ups of
Beanotown declaring war on fun, the show says the kids aren’t guilty!

Who is on their side? Find out from 17th February!

• Buy tickets for The Trial of Dennis the Menace or find out more about the show on beanotown.com

• Visit the official Beano web site at www.beano.com

Comics @ Glasgow Book Festival

Aye Write!, Glasgow's Book Festival, run by Glasgow Council's libraries department at the Mitchell Library is much smaller than Edinburgh's International Book Festival but normally turns up some comics talks and this year is no exception.

Writing For Graphic Novels
Friday 9 March
1300-1400
£15
After a poorly advertised, and hence poorly attended, talk with Pat Mills at last year's Edinburgh BookFest, writer Rodge Glass "discusses the process of writing a graphic novel: the challenges of collaboration between writer and artist, and gives tips and advice on making your graphic novel a success."

Martin Rowson: Guliver's Travels
Tuesday 13 March
1800-1900
£8
Guardian and Independent political cartoonist Martin Rowson "follows Gulliver’s descendant in a new book that is both a homage to the original and an entirely up-to date indictment of the same, enduring human idiocies that enraged Swift so magnificently and memorably."

In addition to the main programme the festival also runs schools events at which Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers of Metaphrog will be running two graphic novel workshops on Thursday 15 March for secondary school year 1 and 2 pupils.

There are more details of Aye Write! and how to buy tickets on the Aye Write! website.