Friday, July 31, 2020

Comic Cuts - 31 July 2020

I've had quite a productive week working on the magazine, which is increasingly likely to be published as BAM! with a subtitle to explain that it's "A magazine about British Comics" or somesuch. Anyone have any thoughts for a logo?

As of the weekend I had a lengthy piece on the history of British pocket libraries almost finished. On Monday I was subbing an article written by someone else (yes, I had my first outside contribution!) and writing a short companion piece, and on Tuesday and Wednesday I was writing another piece that will run in issue two.

It's now Thursday and I've had to take a break as I'm proofing copies of the two Longbow books. I've found a few niggling errors that have crept through—for reasons unknown to mankind (or at least editorkind) you can proofread a book to within an inch of its life, but the moment you get a printed copy, a mistake will leap out of the page at you. As I proudly showed off the printed copies to Mel and she flicked through them, she paused at a random page to read and inside of five seconds was pointing out a little mistake.

I'm taking a break from volume one at the moment, and will hopefully get it and volume two finished next week. The publication date should be within the first two weeks of August.

With another project finished, I was thinking back on a couple of things that I started but that for one reason or another never got past the finishing post.

Way back in the summer of 2015, I was working up some of my notes that I had for a project I called "Caught in the Act", which was intended to overhaul all my writings on old post-war paperbacks. I posted a few pieces between August and November, but not a great many.

The seeds of my later Forgotten Authors series were sown at that time, and one of the notions I came up with was a podcast about (surprise, surprise!) lost and forgotten writers. I had been writing about some of the authors who appeared on my list of early hard-boiled yarns that had appeared in the UK in the 1920s and 1930s, which preceded the gangster boom of the post-war years but which had already inspired the likes of Peter Cheyney and James Hadley Chase to produce hardboiled novels in the late 1930s. As I was researching the career of a long-forgotten writer named John Wallace, author of Millionaire Gangster (1937), he seemed a suitable subject and I set about turning my notes into something that I could narrate.

The idea was to do a series of two or three authors at a time, with each author covered in a number of episodes of about 15 minutes length. I think I'd already noticed by then that podcasts were starting to get longer and longer, and some that had started out at a jaunty half hour were now running to an hour or even two. Too long to give my full attention to. This is still true today. One podcast I  had been listening to regularly since 2012 I kind of gave up on in 2019 because they had bloated from an hour—with the occasional one that ran up to, say an hour fiftyto regularly running longer and only occasionally coming in at the shorter length. There are others where I have a dozen episodes that I haven't listened to, and one music podcast that runs to three hours per episode where I have three dozen episodes to catch up with.

So my idea was to keep 'em short so that they could be listened to in spare moments. You'll notice that the majority of my videos—the ones without interviews—were also around 13 or 14 minutes long, so as not to outstay their welcome.

Back to John Wallace... I wrote up my notes over a period of a few days until I had an article that was  about 6,500 words and, on 13 November 2015, recorded myself narrating it. I did the narration and the edit in the same way that I would later do the videos: just keep talking and, if you stumble over a word, go back to the beginning of the sentence and keep going. It meant that I ended up with two lengthy audio files, but editing was simply a case of removing all the audio where I'd made a mistake.

Because I was reading from a script, there was no problem of not being able to cut the audio together. The videos were rather more free-wheeling, although that never really came across as I edited out a lot of chat that went wildly off-topic. I was able to do that quite quickly. The next step took a little longer, which was to source some royalty free music that I could use to liven up my rather dull narration, and figuring out how to put that together with the audio. Here I took the advice of Adam Buxton who mentioned that he had used a programme called Audacity. This was free, and very easy to use. So I used it.

By the 15th I had a finished episode... and that was the end of it. On the 19th I wrote: "I spent a long weekend recording some audio for a project I'm trying to get off the ground but which won't be ready for some while, so I can't really go into details. As usual, I'm my own writer, narrator, sound-recordist, editor and music director, which is why everything I do takes so damn long."

I seem to recall that I started doing some research into another writer and began writing that up. Between that and other distractions, including Christmas, I never got around to putting music to the second episode of the podcast and the idea died. I needed to make some money to pay for the festivities and doing a podcast wasn't going to pay off my credit card! I also have a feeling that, in January 2016, I started doing the research that eventually resulted in the Iron Mask book.

Ah, well.

If the above has piqued your interest, you can now listen to the results and make up your own minds whether I was right to abandon fame and wealth as a podcaster and instead stick with blogging—which we all know is where the money is. I've had to convert the audio file into a little video, about 15 minutes in length, in order to upload it to Blogger. I hope you enjoy it.


Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Rebellion Releases - 29 July 2020

Rebellion have their regular weekly 2000AD prog out this week. It was also originally planned that the Tammy & Jinty Special 2020 would be out today, but the release has been delayed by a fortnight until 12th August. However, I thought you might enjoy a little preview...

Tammy & Jinty Special 2020

Following the gloom and despair of a spring spent in lockdown, summer is here again and with it a brand new Tammy & Jinty special! These two spectacular tales of courage and awe are guaranteed to chase the blues away, with work by Rachael Smith (Wired Up Wrong), RAMZEE (Zorse), Yishan Li (Hellboy & The B.P.R.D.), and Elkys Nova (Roy of the Rovers), and a cover by Marguerite Sauvage (DC Bombshells).

In Boarding School, Tabatha and her little brother Richard are the only pupils in a mysterious old building. The only other people they have ever seen are the Governesses - four teachers who fawn over the younger sibling but treat Tabatha very badly. Does it have something to do with Richard’s special power? When Tabatha finds a new friend in the outside world, her old life quickly starts to unravel.

An old favourite from the pages of the Sally returns as fourteen-year-old Claire finds an old cat costume in her mother’s wardrobe and wears it to a social media star’s party, unware that she has just donned the magical mantle of the super-sleek crime fighter, Cat-Girl!

Finally, we get an inside scoop on what it was like to write for girl’s comics in their heyday, as Alison Fitt (known then as Alison Christie) talks about her experiences working for Jinty and Tammy on such strips as Heart of Stone, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Ping Pong Paula.

2000AD Prog 2192
Cover: Richard Elson.

Judge Dredd: End of Days by Rob Williams (w) Henry Flint (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
The Out by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Full Tilt Boogie by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Order: Land of the Free by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Diaboliks: Profundo Rosso by Gordon Rennie (w) Antonio Fuso (a) Jim Campbell

Friday, July 24, 2020

Comic Cuts - 24 July 2020

Welcome back to Comic Cuts in writing rather than on video. After blogging for fourteen years, the last fifteen weeks have been my first attempt at a vlog (video blog). Whenever I've had the urge and the energy, I've toyed with quite a few different ideas of how to bring Bear Alley kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century, although they've inevitably fallen by the wayside.

This is the first time I've had an opportunity to act on an idea, and I started doing the videos as it was something different to do during the lockdown. I enjoyed doing them and there's a good chance that I'll be doing more in the future, but it seems apt to bring them to a close—or, rather, put them on pause—as lockdown eases.

With no video to film on Thursday morning, I've knuckled down to some work and managed to leave myself with almost no time to write this. I can round up the week's news fairly quickly. I mentioned in the last video chat that I had the two Longbow volumes laid out and all the text written. I had the book out with a couple of people who had contributed (David Slinn and Steve Winders) and took on board some of their advice and suggestions. I did a little bit of rewriting, which was finished on Monday, and that was that... except the moment I opened the PDF I'd spot something, or decide that I wanted to change something. Better to sleep on it rather than rush, I thought.

It was Tuesday evening before I managed to stop myself tinkering with the books and, with the covers sorted, I was able to send them winging across the internet to the printer... and that's where we are at the moment, waiting on printed proofs.

Wednesday was a bit like the first day of the school holidays. I had plans to do so much, but also had an appointment at the doctors. Nothing serious, just a follow-up to some testing that was done earlier in the year which had thrown up some concerns about diabetes and my kidneys not working properly. The good news is that a recent blood test shows that things are back to normal. I'm still overweight, but I've lost a stone over the three months of lockdown, thanks to regular walks and a better diet—with Mel working from home, I'm making more stews for lunch, for instance, rather than just throwing together a sandwich. The cheese-level in my bloodstream has dropped considerably and it looks like I'm going to be around for a few more years.

As of Thursday I'm working on an article that I hope will be appearing in the first issue of this new magazine thing I've been talking about. Once I have that together and can show some people the kind of thing I'm after, I'll hopefully be able to start planning the contents of the first few issues. As I'm planning on writing some longish articles, I need to plan ahead so that everyone, including me, will have time to write rather than find themselves with an overnight deadline. I'm twenty-five years older than I was when I did Comic World and I don't have the energy to stay up all night like I did back in the 1990s.

I'm keen to run some reviews of comics—British comics preferably, although I'll stretch to British creators elsewhere in the world. I've always thought that the reviews of independent comics was one of the best things in Comic Scene, so I'd be happy to continue that kind of thing. And, while I'm thinking aloud, I'm not sure whether to run news pages or not. I might run one or two bigger news items and some previews of upcoming books or events. We will just have to wait and see what's coming up because the current situation is making predicting release dates almost impossible.

There's no fixed schedule at the moment because I have a staff of one and he's notoriously lazy. I'm aiming for bi-monthly, but that will depend on whether I can off-set some of the work to others. I've edited magazines before and the one thing I know I will need is a small team of reliable writers who can deliver good copy on time. There may be other tasks I can pass to others but, as I said, at the moment the staffing level is just me and a whole lot of woolly ideas that need teasing out into firm proposals.

In summary, we have a long way to go, but the first issue is actually being written and that hopefully means this will be one of my ideas that actually sees the light of day sooner rather than later. More news next week.

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Commando 5351-5354

Commando travels through some of the major ages of war on land, air, and sea in the latest set of Commandos:  issues 5351-5354 — out today!


5351: V for Vitoria

45th Regiment of Foot are back! Wellington intends to meet Napoleon’s forces near the town of Vitoria, but when Tom and Captain Haythorn find themselves captured by French forces, Sam finds he has a great deal to learn about the local camp followers — and manners — if he wants to rescue his friends. Featuring Manuel Benet’s exquisitely detailed interiors and cover art, bringing the Napoleonic era to life.

Story | Andrew Knighton
Art | Manual Benet
Cover | Manuel Benet
 
5352: Blood in the Sand

Hank Hale may be small, out of his depth on parade, and unable to salute properly, but there aren’t many as fierce a fighter as he is! When White Fox troop are wiped out by the Germans in the middle of the Western Desert, he manages to rescue only one man — his sergeant. But as he fights for survival under the blazing sun, it kindles a fire so hot in Hank that the Nazis will never know what hit them! A story of bravery and ingenuity like no other, with all the hallmarks of a classic Commando.

Story | Wilding
Art | Zata
Cover | Sanfeliz
Originally Commando No. 128 (1964).
 
5353: Outgunned!

Jackie Jones ran away to sea from his Falkland Islands home and with the outbreak of WWI, is transferred to the Royal Navy to serve on the HMS Glasgow. Hopelessly outgunned, the HMS Good Hope is burning, taking their comrades to a watery grave. After the Royal Navy’s first defeat in over 100 years, Jackie and his shipmates are steeled for revenge — and the fight of their lives against the best of the Imperial German Navy.

Story | Richard Davis
Art | Morhain & Defeo
Cover | Keith Burns
 
5354: Demolition Squad

Pilot Roy Raven is bored of being a taxi in the war in Burma and hopes for a little more excitement before it all ends. Well, he’s in luck! With old rival Captain Gavin Digby out to destroy a tunnel, he finds himself in the thick of things when they crash deep in the jungle. With the fate of their crew unknown, the pair must trust to local superstition and the indomitable chindits to help them complete this vital mission.

Story | Staff
Art | Philpott
Cover | Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No. 1545 (1981).

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Rebellion Releases (2000AD)

Rebellion have a quiet week, with just the release of 2000 AD.

Rebellion has released a little more information about the team-up between Rebellion Publishing and the Judge Dredd Megazine over the exclusive tie-in comic still available in the current issue.
Everything’s for hire – even magic!
The Judge Dredd Megazine has teamed up with Rebellion Publishing to present a brand new and exclusive tie-in comic book to the new SF novel - The Chimera Code!
     With art by Sygnin, the comic book ties into the debut novel by Wayne Santos and comes in a separate bagged collection with Judge Dredd Megazine #422, which is out now.
     This brand new comic book story features Manga stylings and a fast-paced story, making it an ideal primer for plunging into Santos’ fresh cyberpunk world!
    The Chimera Code novel is out from Rebellion Publishing in eBook format on 23 July, and available in paperback from November 2020.
     If you need something done, Cloke’s one of the best; a mercenary with some unusual talents and an attitude to match. But when she’s hired by a virtual construct to destroy the other copies of himself, and the down payment for the job is a new magical skill, she knows this job is going to be a league harder than anything she’s ever done.
    Dharma’s dead, disembodied and recreated in virtual reality. He doesn’t remember the last six months, but Cloke went to his funeral; and now they’ve got to navigate how exactly this is all going to work.
    And Zee’s been snatched out of danger and installed in luxury as a hot-shot console jockey. They aren’t sure who created them or why, and they can’t trust anyone – but that doesn’t matter, because they’re only in this for the money. Aren’t they?
    Assisted by a virtual reality superstar, a magic sword, a combat cyborg, weather mages and the backing of the largest corporation in the world, the Chimera Team has to find and destroy a resource that their enemies will go to any lengths to protect…
2000AD Prog 2191
Cover: Alex Ronald.

Judge Dredd: End of Days by Rob Williams (w) Henry Flint (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
The Out by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Full Tilt Boogie by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Order: Land of the Free by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Diaboliks: Profundo Rosso by Gordon Rennie (w) Antonio Fuso (a) Jim Campbell

Friday, July 17, 2020

Comic Cuts - 17 July 2020



There's news of the finalized pagination for the Longbow volumes in this, the last Video Comic Cuts for at least a couple of weeks while I get down to work on the next Bear Alley Books project. If you don't know what that is, you've not been watching these videos.

All my books continue to be available from Bear Alley Books and Comic Cuts will return to it's former written format at Bear Alley next week.

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Rebellion Releases (2000AD) - 15 July 2020

Rebellion's releases this week include both 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, which has a feature on Smash! to tie in with the recently released special. And, yes, I'm quoted quite heavily in this one, too (as I was in the Lion article last issue). The issue also has an exclusive strip tie-in to the upcoming novel The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos, due from Rebellion on 23 July as an eBook, and then in paperback on 12 November, described as "the ultimate action-packed techno-thriller with a side of magical realism."

2000AD Prog 2190
Cover: Cliff Robinson / Dylan Teague (col).

Judge Dredd: End of Days by Rob Williams (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
The Out by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Full Tilt Boogie by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Order: Land of the Free by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Diaboliks: Profundo Rosso by Gordon Rennie (w) Antonio Fuso (a) Jim Campbell

Judge Dredd Megazine 422
Cover: Paul Williams / Chris Blythe (col).

Judge Dredd: Extraction by Rory McConville (w) Ben Willsher (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Tales from the Black Museum: The Cackle by Alec Worley (w) Leigh Gallagher (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Devlin Waugh: The Wolves of St. Vitus by Aleš Kot (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Annie Parkhouse (l) 
Blunt III by TC Eglington (w) Boo Cook (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Lawless: Boom Town by Dan Abnett (w) Phil Winslade (a) Jim Cambell (l)
Features: Smash!
Bagged collection: The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos (w) Sygnin (p) Petitecreme (i) Petitecreme (l)

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Eagle Times v.33 no.2 (Summer 2020)

It'll take more than a pandemic to keep Eagle Times out of your letterbox. Now in its thirty-third year, the magazine continues to delight and entertain, with features and stories centred around the famous Eagle comic of the 1950s and 1960s.

This issue launches into a nostalgic look at the (New) Eagle Annual, with a rundown of the highlights from the ten colourful annuals that appeared in the Eighties and early Nineties. I remember buying most of these as they came out, so happy memories of the contents are somewhat dampened by the reminder that a lot of them were printed in such a way that the pages perforated at the binding and fell out.

Jeremy Briggs' articles on obscure contributors are always welcome, and this time he looks at the career of Kenneth McDonough, artist on the 'Heroes of the Clouds' feature but more widely known as a painter of aviation scenes, a scale modeller and box artist for Airfix. If you didn't know anything about McDonough before beginning this article, you'll know plenty by the end of it and enjoyed a lot of good art along the way.

David Britton's 'The Story of a Train that Went Nowhere' picks up steam with part two, based on an unused outline for an article on the Canadian Pacific Railway by Christopher Mayer submitted to Eagle in 1958. Introduced last issue, the outline forms the bulk of the text here, with additional background and detail by Britton, who has a second piece in this issue describing the White Funnel Fleet, the subject of a promotional offer in Eagle. His third continues the story of Charles Chilton and the Indian Wars, studying how Chilton treated real-life incidents in his 'Riders of the Range' strip. Well researched and well illustrated with artwork by Frank Humphris, the series here reaches the war with Geronimo.

Shorter features include another look into the lost sketch books of the Dan Dare Studio, an episode of 'In and Out of the Eagle' which seems to have suffered a loss of signal (you'll get the joke if you buy the issue!), a reminiscence of visiting W. H. Smith's by Kevin O'Donnell, an episode of the magazines' regular P.C. 49 short stories, plus a look at the career of pop musician Donovan. Oh, and (full disclosure) a rather nice review of my Rocket: The First Space-Age Weekly book.

The issue is 25% bigger than normal, clocking in at 52 pages, plus covers, and includes two prints featuring Dan Dare by Bryan Talbot.

The quarterly magazine is the journal of the Eagle Society, with membership costing £29 in the UK, £40 (in sterling) overseas. You can send subscriptions to Bob Corn, Wellcroft Cottage, Wellcroft, Ivinghoe, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 9EF; subs can also be submitted via PayPal to membership@eagle-society.org.uk. Back issues are available for newcomers to the magazine and they have even issued binders to keep those issues nice and neat.

Thursday, July 09, 2020

Comic Cuts - 10 July 2020



Here's the latest video chat with news of how the Longbow books are progressing, plus what you can expect to see from the next Bear Alley Books project.

A quick note to say that the Rocket book got a very nice review in the latest issue of Eagle Times which I think I'm going to pull a quote from: "Great value for money ... an entertaining and informative read, which should appeal to any enthusiast of 1950s British comics." What can I say... of you don't yet have a copy and you're an enthusiast of British comics, you can buy a copy of this great value for money title at the Bear Alley Books website.

Commando 5347-5350

High flying aerial adventures as Commando commemorates the 80-year anniversary of the Battle of Britain in issues 5347-5350 — out today!

5347: Flying Fever

With a terrific cover by aircraft enthusiast Ian Kennedy, this Commando tackles the toll of the constant fights and flights the pilots of the RAF endured during the Battle of Britain. The brave men were sometimes sent on up on several sorties a day with very little to no sleep, something writer Andrew Knighton plays upon in this nerve-wracking yarn.

Story | Andrew Knighton
Art | Muller & Klacik
Cover | Ian Kennedy
 
5348: Spitfire Spirit

Harry ‘Handlebar’ Hanley of the RAF found himself alone against six Black Eagles. They blasted his Spitfire full of holes, and Luftwaffe ace Kurt Krantz was sure his enemy would trouble him no more. But he was going to find out that the Spitfire spirit doesn’t die so easily! This classic Commando is a memorable issue to say the least and is the first of our Battle of Britain reprints!

Story | CG Walker
Art | Medrano
Cover | Phillips
Originally Commando No. 1128 (1977).
 
5349: The Rejects

Jim and David Turner’s ‘The Rejects’ is a story that shows not every flyer fit neatly into the RAF. All manner of men took to the perilous skies in 1940, determined to defend the tiny British Isles from Goering’s fearsome aircraft armada. Different nationalities; British, Polish, Czech, French, and Irish pilots, like Michael O’Connor, banded together and lunged headfirst at the mass of Luftwaffe bombers and fighters — pilots who were equally determined to crush the Allies under their boots!

Story | Jim & David Turner
Art | Carlos Pino
Cover | Carlos Pino
 
5350: Cards of Fate

A seemingly supernatural threat intervenes as six ordinary playing cards are given to six ordinary pilots, marking them as good as dead! Just what was the terrifying power of darkness that cut this Hurricane squadron to pieces during those few weeks of the Battle of Britain? Another exciting — yet offbeat Commando from classic writer CG Walker, who gives the reader a story they are seldom likely to forget!

Story | CG Walker
Art | Gordon C Livingstone
Cover | Phillips
Originally Commando No. 1230 (1982).

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Rebellion Releases (2000AD) - 8 July 2020

Rebellion have a quiet week this week, with Wednesday seeing only the publication on the newsstands. Despite the slow down in the number of physical copies that are appearing over the next few months, there are titles still due in the shops to keep things interesting. We have the Tammy & Jinty Special at the end of July, a Battle Special and the third Misty & Scream Special in September.

Rebellion have also given a bit of an advance look at November's The John Steel Files, which contains two newly-coloured reprints of John Steel adventures. I've been pushing for this series to be reprinted for years -- it was one that I tried to champion fifteen years ago when Carlton were doing their reprints. Now we will have had two reprints in a year: the collection from Book Palace and now a collection from Rebellion. My cup runneth over!

I've seen some complaints about the need for colouring, but... well, I'm not sure where I stand on this. Normally I'd say that if Rebellion are selling this as some kind of Sixties chic ("Sharper than Bond, cooler than The Saint," according to their press release), then black & white is part of that chic. The artwork by Luis Bermejo lends itself to the kind of crime noir stories that John Steel featured in. That said, while I was first attracted to the stories by the artwork, it was the writing that really sold me on the series. It's the closest to Raymond Chandler's lyrical hard-boiled style that British comics ever came.

Here are some samples of the newly coloured versions -- colouring by 2000AD's Pippa Bowland. Purists look away now. Everyone else... read the examples below and I think you'll be persuaded that you need to buy this book!



2000AD Prog 2189
Cover: Neil Roberts

Judge Dredd: End of Days by Rob Williams (writer) Colin MacNeil (artist) Chris Blythe (colourist) Simon Bowland (letterer)
Full Tilt Boogie by Alex de Campi (writer) Eduardo Ocana (artist) Simon Bowland (letterer)
The Diaboliks: Profundo Rosso by Gordon Rennie (writer) Dom Reardon (artist) Jim Campbell (letterer)
The Order: Land of the Free by Kek-W (writer) John Burns (artist) Simon Bowland (letterer)
The Out by Dan Abnett (writer) Mark Harrison (artist) Annie Parkhouse (letterer)

Thursday, July 02, 2020

Comic Cuts - 3 July 2020



The latest Comic Cuts video has the latest news on our two-volume Longbow reprint and a look at who might have been writing the stories.

I'm pleased to reveal the covers to our latest books, which will be released within the next few weeks.


A quick update on a couple of kickstarter projects we've previously mentioned.

The Kickstarter for the ComicScene The History of Comics volumes can be found here. As I write this, the target has just been reached -- £5,309 pledged and the target was £5,280. There's still 27 days to go, but don't leave it to the last minute.

And another that has shot past its target is Ben Cullis' Kickstarter for the second issue of The 77. With ten days to go, the total pledged is almost two and a half times the goal. You can see how well the magazine is doing by following this link, where you, too, can not only put in a pledge for issue two but pick one of the dozens of rewards on offer, from scripts to sketches.

Congratulations to both of these projects.

Wednesday, July 01, 2020

Rebellion Releases (2000AD) - 1 July 2020

Rebellion have a fairly quiet week this week, with only one release -- the regular weekly 2000AD, so this is a good excuse to cover some other Rebellion news.

A thrill-powered new attraction will be opening in Spring 2021 in London: Judge Dredd Uprising: The LIVE Experience!Little Lion Entertainment revolutionised the immersive experiential concept with the Crystal Maze LIVE experiences, when they launched back in 2016.

Now they teleport urban adventurers into a surreal, high-action future with Judge Dredd Uprising: The LIVE Experience – a brand new multi-level team attraction based on the satirical and darkly funny world of Britain’s foremost science-fiction comic book character, Judge Dredd.

Judge Dredd Uprising: The LIVE Experience  takes Little Lion’s cutting-edge mix of immersive live theatre, fiendish mental and physical challenges, multi-level problem-solving and stunning world-building to a whole new level.


With incredible set design, groundbreaking interactive technology and a real-life cast of crooks, robots & convicts, it’s a new dimension in excitement for friends, colleagues, rivals, gamers and fun-seekers alike.

In the sprawling megalopolis Brit-Cit, the post-nuclear London of the future, all manner of characters roam the streets. But Judge Dredd, has discovered a terrible plot and you and your merry gang of chancers are the city’s only hope!

“This new show is insanely exciting!” says Tom Lionetti-Maguire, Founder and CEO of Little Lion. “The experience is part comic book, part sci-fi film, part immersive theatre, part escape room, part action adventure and part indoor theme park… all wrapped into one.

“This is our second show and I really wanted us to push the boundaries of what audiences can expect, to explore the space between theatre, film and reality. With Uprising we have really achieved that.

“Judge Dredd’s mega-cities are a wild, prophetic and very funny world of future crime, surreal action and crazed citizens… and now you can experience that world for yourself. It’s time to choose your side.”


CEO of Rebellion, Jason Kingsley OBE, owners and publishers of Judge Dredd says “The world of Judge Dredd is the greatest imaginative universe to come out of British comics and we’re proud to bring it to ever wider audiences. Every reader has dreamed of setting foot in a Mega-City, and with Judge Dredd Uprising: The LIVE Experience they can do just that...”

An epic new concept in competitive entertainment, Judge Dredd Uprising: The LIVE Experience is set to be the Capital’s ultimate attraction for fun, parties, get-togethers, corporate team-building, big nights out and even dating (what’s a better way to get to know your latest Swipe Right than breaking out of jail with them?).

A new adventure is coming in 2021. Be ready, Citizen.

2000AD Prog 2188
Cover: Boo Cook

Judge Dredd: End of Days by Rob Williams (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Simon Bowland (l)
The Out by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Full Tilt Boogie by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Order: Land of the Free by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Diaboliks: Profundo Rosso by Gordon Rennie (w) Dom Reardon (a) Jim Campbell