Grandville 'Bête Noire' Trailer released

Bryan Talbot has just released this sneak peek at his new Grandeville book, Bête Noire (due for release 6th December in the UK from Jonathan Cape), on YouTube.

The Badger is back!
 
At Toad Hall, lair of multibillionaire Baron Aristotle Krapaud, a cabal of industrialists and fat cats plot the violent overthrow of the French state by the intervention of horribly beweaponed automaton soldiers. Meanwhile, the brutal murder of a famous Parisian artist, mysteriously stabbed to death in his locked and guarded studio, is subject to the investigations of the tenacious Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard, placing him and his faithful adjunct, Detective Sergeant Roderick Ratzi, in pursuit of the mysterious masked assassin stalking the cut-throat commercial world of the Grandville art scene.

Bête Noire signals the welcome return to anthropomorphic steampunk detective fiction of master storyteller and graphic novel pioneer Bryan Talbot with the third stand-alone volume of the Eisner and Hugo Award nominated Grandville series.

As the body count mounts and events spiral exponentially out of control, aided by his brilliant deductive abilities and innate ferocity, LeBrock battles against outrageous odds in this funny, high octane thriller, an adventure shot through with both high art and comic book references, a glorious illegitimate offspring of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming - with animals!

Follow the Badger!

• Bryan Talbot's Official Grandeville Page

• Buy Grandville Bête Noire from amazon.co.uk

• Buy Grandeville Bête Noire from forbiddenplanet.com

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

Try animating - the Aardman way

Ever watched Wallace and Gromit or Morph (remember him?) and wanted to try animating for yourself? Well, creating a stop motion animation has never been easier (according to Aardman) now that you can get Aardman's Animate It! software on your iPhone and iPad.

Use your phone's camera to shoot frames of your animation, using the software to help you line up each shot and stitch it all together. There's also lots of animation hints, tips and inspiration to get you started on the official Animate It website.

• Download the Animate It app for just 69p/$0.99/0,79 € from the iTunes store now »

Tank KIllers and Traitors lurk in latest Commando comics

There's a fine mix of old and new to the latest Commando releases, on sale today in all good newsagents and for iPad and other IOS devices.

Commando No 4535 - The Fighting Gendarme
Story: Peter Grehan Art: Olivera Cover: Janek Matysiak

A Gendarme, a French policeman. That's what Raoul Laurent was when World War II broke out. Sergeant Laurent decided he wasn't going to bow down before the occupying Nazis, escaping to England to join the Free French Forces and become a Commando.

In time, Raoul was selected for a dangerous mission back in his homeland, helping the French Resistance to locate and destroy vital coded documents that were in Nazi hands. To succeed, though, Raoul would have to rely upon an old adversary from his police days. Not only that, pretty soon it looked like his new allies had a traitor in their midst...

Commando No 4536 - The Tank-Killers
Story: Stephen Walsh Art: John Ridgway Cover: John Ridgway

Tank, panzer, char d'assault, tahk. Call them what you will, these armoured giants struck fear into all infantrymen who faced them in battle.

Not quite all, though. This is the story of four men brought together by the fates of war who challenged the metal monsters and called themselves... The Tank-Killers!

Commando No 4537 - Fly Fast Shoot First!
Originally Commando No 14 (December 1961)
Story: Peter Ford Art: Peter Ford Cover: Ken Barr

The machine-guns chattered their chant of death, the Spitfire spat its eight-forked tongues of flame - and from the wide blue sky tumbled another charred fragment of the once-mighty Luftwaffe.

Mike Arden was a flying fool: a pilot with only one fault. In his eagerness to get into a fight he left more than burned-out Nazis behind him - he left a trail of broken Spitfires too!

So they gave him a choice: Transfer to Coastal Command or stay on the ground.

Mike transferred - and did things with a four-engined bomber that had never been done before!

"I hope nobody minds that I've dipped into 1961 for a story to give a fresh airing but this one really does deserve to be seen again," notes editor Calum Laird of this latest representation of a classic story from Commando. "It's one of very few Commandos to have been written and drawn by the same person and it shows - some of the full-page illustrations which pepper this book are little masterpieces all on their own. If the narrative comes off second-best, it's only because the art treatment is so accomplished.

"Oh and there's no truth in the story that Ken Barr's excellent cover features a Spitfire only because we couldn't fit a Liberator in the space."

Commando No 4538 - Dakota Pilot
Originally Commando No 2087 (May 1987)
Story: Bill Fear Art: Terry Patrick Cover: Ian Kennedy

For Ben Smart, Dakota pilot, things had been going badly. Bad luck seemed to follow him wherever he went, and always managed to strike where it could do the most damage.

And this time, of all places, it had to be the terrible battle of Arnhem

"As usual, Ian Kennedy has done Commando proud with his stunning front cover," notes Depurty Editor Scott Montgomery, "producing an amazing image - a snapshot telling you everything you should expect from the story that appears in between the front and back pages.

"Aerial action and thrills abound, of course, but there's also a solid, character-driven story - by writer Bill Fear and interior artist Terry Patrick - about a pilot who believes he is jinxed and wonders if he's a danger to himself and his comrades.

• downthetubes is pleased to offer an exclusive discount on a subscription to DC Thomson's Commando comic, entitling readers to save 50% by ordering using our special discount code! Follow this link to DC Thomson's subscription page. When prompted, enter this unique code COMDT - then make your payment and your subscription will be up and running! 

• 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

• Steadfast! the Commando artwork exhibition at The Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen runs until 30th November 2012. There are more details about the exhibition on the museum website.