BBC4 are showing a trilogy of ghostly tales, over three consecutive nights starting from Monday the 22nd of December, all written by and starring The League of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss. The stories all revolve around a house which no longer stands…
“Ben, a school teacher, has recently moved into a new house and found a door-knocker in his garden. The local museum curator identifies it as having once belonged to Geap Manor, a now-demolished Tudor mansion with a ghostly reputation. Intrigued, Ben asks if there are any “juicy stories” to be told, and the curator obliges. He begins to recount stories of the manor’s curious past… “
A special which combines all three stories will be shown on the night of Saturday 27th December.
Imagine being the only survivor of a disease that kills every member of your family, that kills lovers, strangers, friends, nearly everyone you’ve ever met.
You are among the lonely few to live and now you must start over in a strange new world where everything that was once safe and familiar is now strange and dangerous.
Set in the present day, Survivors focuses on the world in the aftermath of a devastating virus which wipes out most of the world’s population. What would we do? How would any of us cope in a brave new world where all traditional 21st Century comforts - electricity, clean running water, advanced technology - have disappeared?
These are the questions faced by the bewildered but resilient group of survivors at the centre of the drama. It is an opportunity for new beginnings, but with no society, no police and no law and order, they now face terrible dangers - not just the daily struggle for food and water but also the deadly threat from other survivors.
“Survivors is about what it means to be human,” explains writer and executive producer Adrian Hodges. “It asks questions about our nature and confronts us with our deepest fears. When everything else is stripped away, would we band together and find the best in ourselves, or would we fall apart and retreat into barbarism and savagery? Survivors is about adventure, fear, love, loyalty and friendship. But above all, it’s about new hope.”
Survivors, by Adrian Hodges is a re-imagining of the classic 1970s BBC drama series which was based on the novel by Terry Nation. It launched in April 1975 and ran for 38 episodes over three series.
I obviously don’t know if it’ll be any good or not, but if you’re interested, it starts this Sunday, November 23rd at 9pm.
The original series from 1975, was in all likelihood one of the main inspirations for the story Survival which appeared in the Eagle comic in the 1980s.
Horror comic scribe Dave Hitchcock is releasing a newspaper format anthology of horror stories named ‘Gothic’. Hitchcock, writer of Victorian based comics Spingheel Jack and Whitechapel Freak, has self-produced this great looking comic (I love the newspaper format) which has 7 different stories from himself and also husband & wife comic book duo John Reppion and Leah Moore.
“It’s the most extensive collection I’ve ever done, so, if you like skeleton pirates, vampires, zombies, Victorian aliens, sea monsters, and more, then Gothic is for you.”Dave Hitchcock
Some stuff by me appears in a new free downloadable pdf comic, Temple APA issue one.
Here’s some info on it which I’ve nicked from Dave Hailwood’s blog :
“The first issue of the Temple APA’s digital showcase is now available online to download as a free PDF.
It’s 36 pages long and contains contributions from 10 members, including the likes of Paul Harrison-Davies, Simon Mackie, Malcolm Kirk and more. Inside you’ll find cartoons, full strips, previews of soon to be released small press comics, work in progress, and a behind the scenes look at making a webcomic.If you’re a comic artist/writer who’s interested in joining the Temple APA, then more details are available on the site (it’s as simple as clicking ‘join’).
Although this is the first digital issue (apart from Issue 0, which is also available on the site), the Temple’s been running for more than ten years now and seen a wealth of talent come and go. Everyone’s welcome, from the rawest amateur to the most seasoned pro. It’s a good place to learn from each other and hone your skills, or simply draw more attention to upcoming projects.
To download issue one, right click on one of the links below, (depending on whether you want the high resolution or low resolution version), and “Save Target As…” or “Save Link As…” if you’re using Firefox.
This won’t mean much to anyone outside of the UK and Ireland, but the monsters from the original packet designs of Monster Munch are back!
The packaging was redesigned in the mid-nineties, after Walkers took the brand over from Smiths, but nobody seemed very happy with the changes. However, now the original monsters have returned on packs of Mega Monster Munch, (packets of which I spotted in a newsagents last week), and there’s a £5000 reward for anyone who knows the whereabouts of any of the monster outfits used in the original television advertisements, such as this one…
More information can be found at the website here…
If anyone read the post I made regarding the comeback of a character from classic British comics, and is now wondering where it’s disappeared to, I’ve deleted it.
It seems the person who posted something in his blog about it originally, had jumped the gun slightly, so I’ve got rid of it for the moment to spare any blushes.
This week Carnival Comics released the first of four digital chapters of a new horror story on Myspace, YouTube, Spike TV and Comic Monsters. These videos bring to life Jazan Wild’s comic book story ‘Funhouse of Horrors’ published by Carnival Comics. The chapters will be released once a week so check out this first episode and see if it floats your boat.
Chapter One: Jacob Stone, while on a family picnic, stumbles upon an old abandoned house in the woods just a week before Halloween. The wretched dwelling is being prepared to be used as a one-night only Haunted House! A strange worker, known only as Ole Scratch, sees Jacob and gives him a book with two tickets inside that change his life - or what’s left of it after the ghosts are done with him! Enter if you dare into Jazan Wild’s Funhouse of Horrors!
Ghastly 
M.I.K.
Countess 
Jova