Titan Books lands Avatar Press distribution rights for the UK

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
will be distributed in the UK by Titan Books

Titan Books has announced it is partnering with Avatar Press, the highly regarded independent American publisher of comic books, founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, to distribute their award-winning line to the book trade in the UK and Ireland.

Featuring exciting work from major stars of the comic book universe including Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, George RR Martin, Christos Gage, David Lapham, and more, Avatar Press is notable for offering creators an opportunity to publish creator-owned books with no content restrictions whatsoever.

Titan plans to distribute approximately 40 new books a year, with full PR and marketing campaigns on lead titles. In addition Titan will make the rich Avatar back catalogue fully available to the book trade.

The first titles will include Game of Thrones author George R.R Martin’s Fevre Dream, Night of the Living Dead 2 and Alan Moore’s much anticipated Neonomicon, which will all be available in the UK from Titan in late 2011.

Fevre Dream is an adaptation of George R.R Martin’s 1982 historical horror novel about vampires on antebellum Mississippi river steamboats. "'Bram Stoker meets Mark Twain,' one might say," says the author of the book, "or even 'Huck Finn Meets Dracula.'" It was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.

“We're proud and delighted to be working with a wonderful publisher like Avatar," commented Publisher Nick Landau, currently at the San Diego Comic Con, "and are confident we will raise their business to new levels in the UK”.

“The UK book market is a challenging environment to sell into," notes William A. Christensen, CEO of Avatar Press. "We are happy to have an institution like Titan Books to help us navigate the waters and provide long-standing relationships with the biggest booksellers. The opportunity to work together with their highly regarded distribution network will allow us to reach new readers in the UK.”

Avatar Press produces a wide variety of cutting-edge comic books, graphic novels, and original web content. Their high-quality publications include the work of such industry luminaries as David Lapham (Caligula, Crossed: Psychopath), Alan Moore (Neonomicon), Warren Ellis (FreakAngels), and Garth Ennis (Crossed, Chronicles of Wormwood). They also produce a diverse range of licensed projects including the classic zombie epic Night of the Living Dead and George RR Martin’s Fevre Dream.

Titan Books is part of the Titan Publishing Group, an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. With offices in London's Bankside area, close to Tate Modern, the company publishes books and magazines on a world English basis, as well as territory by territory, with domestic sales teams and distribution in the US, UK, Australia & New Zealand, and export agents in other territories. The Books Division has four main areas of publishing: film, TV and music; fiction; graphic novels; and illustrated books.

Its own catalogue includes a range of British comic collections including Charley's War by Pat Mills and Joe Colqhuhoun and Darkie's Mob by John Wagner and Mike Western.

• For more about Titan Books range visit: http://titanbooks.com

•  For more information about Avatar Press, their publications, and creators visit www.avatarpress.com

Dredd movie release date set for September 2012

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. Via IM Global

(with thanks to Everything Comes Back to 2000AD): Variety is reporting that the release date for the Judge Dredd movie - titled simply Dredd - starring Karl Urban as 21st September 2012.

At this stage, it's unclear whether this is just the US  release - British comic fans are clearly hoping for a simultaneous UK debut.

Produced by Lionsgate and set for a 3D release, Dredd will follow The Expendables 2 into cinemas, which is set for release on 17th August.

Directed by Pete Travis, director of Endgame and Vantage Point, Dredd stars Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson and Lena Headey as "Madeline Madrigal".

Shot in South Africa, Variety notes the film is produced by DNA Films' Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Alex Garland, along with Stuart Ford's IM Global.

Reportedly a day in the life as of Dredd as he trains rookie Anderson, "Alex Garland's script is faithful to the original concept that made Judge Dredd a favourite bad-ass hero," Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner revealed last May (reported here on ReelzChannel). "It's a high-octane slay ride through the dark underbelly of the vast future city. A fan pleaser."

The official synopsis of the film, published on the IM Global site, reveals Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth.

"Judge Dredd is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot — if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Pete Travis bring Dredd to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip."

"I grew up reading Judge Dredd," said script writer Alex Garland. "The incredible writers and artists of 2000 AD were formative influences on me. Andrew, Allon and I have developed this adaptation of Judge Dredd with an emphasis on adrenaline and realism, but with all the scale and spectacle of Mega-City One."

Of director Pete Travis he commented: "We think Pete's propulsive, edgy style is a perfect match for the project."

Dredd will be competing with Hotel Transylvania, an animated film from Sony on its US release weekend.

Commenting on the news, 2000AD fan site ECBT2000AD noted: "It doesn’t confirm if that's just the US date or if we’ll get it over in the UK at the same time. If anyone from Lionsgate reads this I’d just like to point out that if there is one of those 'It's released in America today, you guys get it in three weeks' announcements you can expect some serious kicking off. Just for the record."

We're sure there will be more news on the film and its release date this weekend at the San Diego Comic Con, where Rebellion and 2000 AD have a big presence as they step up their US activities.

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. Via IM Global

Diesel launches Only the Brave Captain America fragrance

Well, Parliament has wound up for the summer and it's time for the traditional 'silly season' of stories, as the news media scrabble for stories to fill both print and electronic pages.

We just didn't think things would start here in comics world with the launch of a superhero fragrance.

Still, you've got to admire DIESEL, who have created this "new and utterly cool limited edition fragrance" Only The Brave: Captain America Edition. It's a sign of great faith in the potential popularity of the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger film, which was partly shot in the UK - and the enduring appeal of the good Captain himself, discussed here on USA Today.

Still, we have to say the PR hype for this new license is a bit OTT. Created to celebrate the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, we're told this fragrance "signifies the ultimate encounter between the most iconic men’s fragrance and the most legendary superhero".

Our astonishment aside, you can't knock the product design - ace British comics artist Bryan Hitch designed the comic box the fragrance comes in and, in celebration of this momentous occasion, the Only The Brave fist will don Captain America’s iconic shield in a pop style: strong, fun, arty – heroic!

Yes, it's gloriously daft. But hey, it's clearly been done in style.

Panel Borders: Infamous Games and Comics

Continuing the Panel Borders radio show's month of shows about the crossover between games and comics, Alex Fitch talks to writer Pat Mills about the series of seven online comic strips he’s written to accompany the release of the new PlayStation game inFAMOUS 2 - InFamous 2: The Fame Strips.

In the comic strips, riffing on the idea of fame and infamy, Pat and editor Howard Marks are satirising modern celebrities and also giving them and their companions the kind of powers you might find in the game.

Alex and Pat talk about writing these strips, his previous experiences in writing interactive comics in the form of 2000AD spin off title The Dice Man and his thoughts on web comics and strips available for ebook readers.

• Panel Borders: Infamous Games and Comics airs at 5.00pm, Thursday 21st July 2011 on Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com


• Read the full collection of InFamous strips online here