March 24th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah, News |

Collected Editions of Egmont-owned comics to be sold in WH Smiths

by M.I.K.

A Roy of The Rovers Collected Edition will go on sale from April 1st in branches of WH Smiths with a Buster, Battle and, (of more interest to us), Misty collection to follow later.

More info here…

http://downthetubescomics.blogspot.com/

 

February 26th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Kevin O’ Neill : The Early Days

by M.I.K.

Cartoonist Lew Stringer posted an interesting article over on his blog a few days ago about the early career of Kevin O’ Neill, the comic artist who’s currently collaborating with Alan Moore on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I’m posting a link to it here, because as you can see, there’s some stuff visitors to this site may find interesting…

… and here’s the link…

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2009/02/kevin-oneill-early-days.html

 

February 15th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Blah, News, TV |

Here’s Johnny documentary (More4 Feb 17th 10pm)

by M.I.K.

Here’s Johnny, a documentary about comic artist John Hicklenton, will be showing on the UK’s More4 freeview channel this Tuesday 17th February at 10pm.

Some info from the official website…

Here’s Johnny enters the surreal world of renowned graphic artist Johnny Hicklenton, who is battling against Multiple Sclerosis. Living in an increasing state of immobility and frustration, Johnny escapes the confines of his frontroom through his artwork.

Through the expression of his brilliant and sometimes troubled imagination we learn about the disease that he cannot escape from.

Launched at the Science Museum on January 30th 2008, and premiering at South by South West film festival in March 2008, Here’s Johnny went on to win two prestigious Grierson Awards in November 2008. Winning both the ‘Best Arts Documentary’ and ‘Best Newcomer’ awards, Here’s Johnny is the first film ever to win two awards in the Griersons’ 36 year history.

Website : http://www.heresjohnnyfilm.com/

Facebook group : http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=63199301042

 

January 26th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah, News |

The Complete Dracula coming in April 2009

by M.I.K.

Dynamite blurb follows…

THE COMPLETE DRACULA #1

Written by Bram Stoker, Leah Moore and John Reppion, art by Colton Worley, covers by John Cassady.

Dynamite presents an unprecedented comic book series that tells the complete story of the Lord of the Undead — Dracula! For the first time in 112 years the tale that Bram Stoker intended to tell is told (including “Dracula’s Guest”!). If you thought you knew how it began or how it ends, you were wrong! A five-issue issue odyssey of life, death and the blood that flows within us all!

This fully painted series features a massive 32 pages of story and art per issue, each page fully-painted in a rich, moody style by Worley, all under covers by modern master John Cassaday! Moore and Reppion also provide bonus material such as script pages, annotations and samplings of the original text by Bram Stoker!

40 pages, $4.99.

http://moorereppion.blogspot.com/2009/01/complete-dracula-coming-in-april-2009.html

 

January 15th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Temple APA Issue Two

by M.I.K.

Issue 2 of the, (slightly belatedly festive themed), Temple APA digital showcase comic is now available to download for free, in both hi-res and lo-res PDF versions.

Compiled by John Kirkham, within its 38 pages you’ll find comic strips, artwork and previews by the likes of Dave Hailwood, Adam Grose, Jim Stewart, Paul Eldridge, Simon Mackie, Tony Suleri and something going by the name of Malcolm Kirk.

Also included is a British small press directory with details of various indie publications available for sale.

You can visit the site by clicking this link… http://templeapa.ning.com/

To download issue 2 click here , right click on one of the ‘Attachments’, (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.

 

December 17th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Blah, TV |

Crooked House

by M.I.K.

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.

More info here… Crooked House feature

…and a clip can be seen here…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gf5cz

I also saw a trailer for this tonight, but that doesn’t appear to be online yet. It certainly looks promising though.

AIRDATES :

Crooked House – The Wainscoting Ep 1/3
Monday 22 December
10.30-11.00pm BBC FOUR

Crooked House – Something Old Ep 2/3
Tuesday 23 December
10.30-11.00pm BBC FOUR

Crooked House – The Knocker Ep 3/3
Wednesday 24 December
10.30-11.00pm BBC FOUR

Crooked House Special
Saturday 27 December
9.00-10.30pm BBC FOUR

 

November 21st, 2008 | → 7 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Survivors

by M.I.K.

Typical, isn’t it? You wait years for an apocalyptic British drama serial and then loads turn up…

The following comes from the official website…

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.

 

November 16th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah, Creepy Videos |

Carnival Comics Funhouse of Horrors – Chapter Three

by Ghastly McNasty

The third chapter of ‘Funhouse of Horrors’ published by Carnival Comics.

 

October 28th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah, Creepy Videos |

Carnival Comics Funhouse of Horrors – Chapter Two

by Ghastly McNasty

The second chapter of ‘Funhouse of Horrors’ published by Carnival Comics. Good story with some cracking artwork. Click here for Chapter 1

I always thought it would be awesome to try and do this sort of production with some of the old Scream stories. Bagsy doing the voice for Max!

 

October 12th, 2008 | → 5 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Gothic

by Ghastly McNasty

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

Sounds right up our street.

There is a competition to win 1 of 3 signed copies on www.moorereppion.com

Check out Dave Hitchcock’s blog here.

 

October 11th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Temple APA Issue One

by M.I.K.

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.

Anyway, click the link to be taken to the site:
http://www.templeapa.ning.com”

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.

Temple APA – Issue One hi-res (29.1mbs)
Temple APA – Issue One lo-res (11.3mbs)

 

October 9th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Blah |

Return Of The Monster Munch Monsters!

by M.I.K.

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…

http://www.findourmonsters.com/