Comic Cuts

They say no news is good news so I guess I have good news. I'm still working on the Trigan intros, having spent Monday on another mini-essay for the upcoming War Comics book. Took a day off yesterday to clear out some more boxes (nearly finished!) but spent most of the afternoon working on yesterday's blog piece on Netley Lucas... I'd planned to put up a squib I'd written a few years ago but got carried away. Today: Trigan Empire. Tomorrow: Trigan Empire. So not much in the way of news, although I might have some soon.

I've posted a page for the newly arrived King Arthur book which you'll see if you scroll down. I'll add in a link to it in the 'My latest books' vanity column (over there on the right somewhere) shortly.

Given my own lack of anything interesting to ramble on about, here are a few things from around the net...

* The former Virgin Comics has undergone a change of ownership thanks to a management buyout by Liquid Comics led by Virgin's founding management team of Gotham Chopra, sharad Devarajan and Suresh Seetharaman. According to a press release: "Under the new Liquid Comics name, the management team plans to proceed with a number of projects previously announced as Virgin Comics and will make announcements shortly regarding those projects and the restructured launch dates." What this means for the second series of Dan Dare is still unknown as the champion of the character was Virgin's Richard Branson.

* John Adcock has recently discovered a 3-part article that appeared in the Canadian newspaper The Maple Leaf in July 1945 in which Jack Scott takes a look at 'The Story of "Jane"', which includes some quotes from Jane's creator, Norman Pett, and writer John H. G. Freeman. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

* Lance Parkin's Alan Moore, which appeared from Pocket Essentials a few years back (it was one of a handful of titles that I handled when I was briefly an editor for the firm!) has been revised and updated. The new edition is due out 20th November and runs to 160 pages.

* I'm breaking my usual "no American comics" (there are other sites who offer more and far better coverage than I could ever manage) for The Vertigo Encyclopedia, recently released by Dorling Kindersley. I justify the move because (a) Vertigo was home to lots of British creators and (b) the book was put together in the UK, edited by Dorling Kindersley's Alastair Dougall (although written by American SF and comics writer Alex Irvine). Really it's just an excuse to link you to the following video which has appeared on YouTube advertising the book...



* Unique Collectables, who produced the Commando and Starblazer calendars mentioned here recently, have now listed quite a few new products on their website, including limited edition prints based on a number of covers (some with the Commando logo and title lettering, some without) by Jose Maria Jorge, Carlo Jacono, Ken Barr and Ian Kennedy. Each print comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Commando editor Calum Laird. More prints from the pages of Beano and Dandy can be expected shortly.

* This one's not out for another year, but Mainstream Publishing have already announced Football's Comic Book Heroes: Celebrating the Greatest British Football Comics of the Twentieth Century (ISBN 978-1845964085, 3 September 2009).

"Ever since comics for boys were first published in the late nineteenth century, they have offered their readers fun, adventure and escapism. As participation and attendance at sports events rose dramatically during the first half of the twentieth century, boys' comics began to regularly feature sportsmen of all types, and footballers became the ultimate favourite. The introduction of football comics presented in a cartoon-strip format became immensely popular during the 1960s, with Rover, Hotspur and Wizard amongst the top titles. Although these comics are no longer in circulation, there is still a significant level of interest amongst boys and men of all ages, and the culture of the comic-book hero continues.Renowned publisher D.C. Thomson has delved into its archives to produce the definitive document of the most legendary footballing characters to grace the pages of boys' comics, including such favourites as Limp Along Leslie, Roy Race, Billy Dane and Hotshot Hamish. Extensively researched to cover the history and the storylines associated with these comics and their heroes, this is a unique, nostalgic account of the football comic-book phenomenon that will jog the memories of older readers and introduce the magic of these imaginary sporting stars to a new generation."