Friday, August 30, 2024
Comic Cuts — 30 August 2024
Some BIG news... I've finally signed the contract for THE PHANTOM PATROL. It's definitely happening and the book will be out next month... I'll add "If all goes to plan" because people with long memories will recall me saying something similar back in 2009 shortly before everything went to hell in a handcart.
Only fifteen years late. But what's a decade and a half between friends?
What can I tell you... well, it's 129 pages, has three introductory essays—a general intro plus essays on Willie Patterson and Gerry Embleton—and then the complete Phantom Patrol, beautifully drawn by Embleton using line & wash, with Zipatone used for emphasis and effects. I first saw this in a 2000 AD Annual and wanted desperately to read the whole story. It took almost 30 years, but I finally got to read the whole thing when Look & Learn (where I was working at the time) bought IPC's old nursery comics and the bound volumes for Swift and other titles were shipped to our home in Colchester.
There were a handful of strips retained by IPC, including Phantom Patrol due, I suspect, because of its 2000 AD connection or because holding one or two back made it look like there had been some high-stakes negotiation.
When the work ran out at Look & Learn, I started thinking about getting some of the strips I'd been reading back into print, and Phantom Patrol was one of the first I thought of. I first alluded to it in a Comic Cuts post way back in May 2009 when I appear to have been working on six books at once, including the Frank Bellamy's The Story of World War 1 and the Don Lawrence-drawn Wells Fargo books that came out from Book Palace in 2009 and 2010. Then there were four that I was looking to publish: "The first is well underway; I've a complete set of scans for another; a third is partly scanned; and I've located copies of the fourth, which will be going onto the scanner at the first opportunity. I've cover artists lined up for three of the four."
Well, I can tell you that the four were The Phantom Patrol, Cursitor Doom, Slave of the Screamer and Johnny Future (in two volumes). And the cover artists were Chris Weston, John Ridgway and Garry Leach.
Sadly, Bear Alley Books got off to a faltering start. I couldn't get the deal I wanted with the rights holders and we were informed by our landlord that he was planning to sell the house we were in. Between finding somewhere to live, the cost of moving and the huge disruption that would cause, I had to put publishing to one side and concentrate on work that would pay. By the time Mel and I were settled in Wivenhoe, it was January 2011 and I began work on the Hurricane & Champion Index, which appeared in March, and Eagles Over the Western Front, which originally appeared in three volumes in May, June and July.
Happy days. There have been a few bumps in the road since, but Bear Alley has published 43 books since then—three of them this year—and I have one on the stocks, one in production and four volumes of a classic comic series planned to start later this year. I guess I'll have to start thinking about what I can do for our 50th book.
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Commando 5779-5782
Cold war conflict alongside World War Two action in Commando issues 5779-5772! They go on sale from today, Thursday 29th August 2024!
5779: Pressure Point
In the darkest days of the Cold War, RAF interceptor crews lived on a knife-edge, knowing that every alert could be the harbinger of nuclear armageddon. Every day, they risked their lives to meet the threat of Soviet attack — the intense pressure pushed one beleaguered lightning jet pilot beyond endurance towards a fatal confrontation!
James Swallow returns for another magnificent Cold War Commando! With stunning interior artwork by Esteve Polls and a beautiful aerial cover by Keith Burns
Story: James Swallow
Art: Esteve Polls
Cover: Keith Burns
5780: Operation Firebrand
The capture of an important hostage can change the course of any battle. Imagine the delight of the ragged bunch of Italian partisans who laid hands on Leutnant Franz von Siegel, son of the dreaded Generalmajor von Siegel, Commanding Officer of the most feared and hated Nazi regiment — the “Firebrand Division”. The Commando officer aiding the partisans was Lieutenant Bill Ferguson, a two-fisted hero who had a big debt to settle with von Siegel. Now he really could get to work on it.
Fiery classic Commando incoming from writer Allan. Featuring revenge alongside the need to do your duty all brought to life by fan favourite artist Gordon C Livingstone!
Story: Allan
Art: Gordon C Livingstone
Cover: Gordon C Livingstone
Originally printed as No. 526 in 1971
5781 Blood Money
For mates Pete, Tim, Gary and Winston, the end of the war was so close they could taste it… but what was next? They had no money, no prospects — nothing to show for it all when they got back to civvy street. That was, until a German prisoner offered them a reward for aiding his escape… Hadn’t they earned it? Why shouldn’t they line their pockets and live cushy after the war, no matter what, or who, the cost was? It was blood money, and they didn’t care whose blood was on their hands.
Commando welcomes writer James Moran to its ranks in his first-ever Commando. Moran’s gritty tale of soldiers on the edge is illustrated by Guille Galeote and a blood-rich cover by Marco Bianchini!
Story: James Moran
Art: Guille Galeote
Cover: Marco Bianchini
5782: They Called Him Traitor
When France was overrun and occupied by the Germans in 1940, everyone had to come to terms with the situation. Most Frenchmen accepted the occupation, many fought with the Resistance, but some actively helped the Germans. These people were collaborators, the worst kind of traitor. Rene Latouche and his father were well known to be such men. But as sometimes happens, things were not quite what they seemed...
McDevitt’s tale of twists and turns unwinds before readers in Issue 5782! With splendid artwork from Ibanez and Jeff Bevan!
Story: McDevitt
Art: Ibanez
Cover: Jeff Bevan
Originally printed as No. 1622 in 1982
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Rebellion Releases — 28 August 2024
Button Man is an action-packed thriller, deservedly regarded as one of the greatest strips ever to be published in 2000 AD and a high point in the career of Arthur Ranson, whose photo-realistic artwork astonished readers. Written by John Wagner, the series follows military vet Harry Ex, who returns to England with no idea what to do with his new domestic life. When he gets contacted by an old comrade, however, he finds himself drawn into a vast and strange new world. He is hired to be a “Button Man”: paid by unseen powerful men to engage in underground shootouts to the death with other professional killers.
After surviving his first fight and making his name in the scene, Harry finds himself dragged deeper and deeper into the world – but each shootout could be his last. How long can Harry keep this up, especially when his thirst for violence finds himself at odds with the shadowy figures who hired him in the first place?
Written by Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner and fully-drawn by Arthur Ranson in this run, Button Man is also currently in being adapted into a TV series by The Fall Guy director David Leitch.
Arthur Ranson has long been one of 2000 AD’s most popular artists; having made his initial impact working on Judge Anderson, he teamed up with John Wagner to create the highly acclaimed Button Man series, and later worked with Alan Grant for Mazeworld. He has also co-created the character of pyrokinetic Mega-City One citizen Juliet November, and illustrated both Judge Dredd and several Future Shocks.
This Apex Edition reprints nearly 200 pages from the first three stories, newly scanned from the original art, printed at the size the pages were drawn, and without the inclusion of the dialogue balloons, to give you a real insight into Arthur Ranson’s meticulous work. Each page of this book has been scanned directly from Ranson’s art and presents each page as if you were looking at it in person!
Avaialable to pre-order now, the book will be released on 11 December 2024.
And now, this week's releases...
2000 AD Prog 2397
Cover: Toby Willsmer.
JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // RECON by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Battle Action 2024 #1
Cover: Keith Burns.
JOHNNY RED // A COUPLE OF HEROES by Garth Ennis (w) Keith Burns (a) Jason Wordie (c) Rob Steen (l)
KIDS RULE OK // THE SEPTIC by Brian K. Vaughan (w) Chris Burnham (a) Len O'Grady (c) Rob Steen (l)
After surviving his first fight and making his name in the scene, Harry finds himself dragged deeper and deeper into the world – but each shootout could be his last. How long can Harry keep this up, especially when his thirst for violence finds himself at odds with the shadowy figures who hired him in the first place?
Written by Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner and fully-drawn by Arthur Ranson in this run, Button Man is also currently in being adapted into a TV series by The Fall Guy director David Leitch.
Arthur Ranson has long been one of 2000 AD’s most popular artists; having made his initial impact working on Judge Anderson, he teamed up with John Wagner to create the highly acclaimed Button Man series, and later worked with Alan Grant for Mazeworld. He has also co-created the character of pyrokinetic Mega-City One citizen Juliet November, and illustrated both Judge Dredd and several Future Shocks.
This Apex Edition reprints nearly 200 pages from the first three stories, newly scanned from the original art, printed at the size the pages were drawn, and without the inclusion of the dialogue balloons, to give you a real insight into Arthur Ranson’s meticulous work. Each page of this book has been scanned directly from Ranson’s art and presents each page as if you were looking at it in person!
Avaialable to pre-order now, the book will be released on 11 December 2024.
And now, this week's releases...
2000 AD Prog 2397
Cover: Toby Willsmer.
JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // RECON by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Battle Action 2024 #1
Cover: Keith Burns.
JOHNNY RED // A COUPLE OF HEROES by Garth Ennis (w) Keith Burns (a) Jason Wordie (c) Rob Steen (l)
KIDS RULE OK // THE SEPTIC by Brian K. Vaughan (w) Chris Burnham (a) Len O'Grady (c) Rob Steen (l)
Friday, August 23, 2024
Comic Cuts — 23 August 2024
I mentioned last week that I was putting together a book on Utopian Publishing in the same format as BEYOND THE VOID, although it will be a slimmer volume. I do want to include a couple of additional pieces beyond the history of the company, one of which will be an essay on Norman Firth.
I've written about Firth previously (in C.A.D.S. and in my book The Mushroom Jungle) but this will hopefully—no, definitely!—be a far more comprehensive look at his short career. In five years (Firth was dead at the age of 29) he wrote something like four million words, publishing a lot of 10,000 and 20,000 novelettes masquerading as "novels" in the post-war period of 1945-50, although he also wrote quite a few full-length novels, too, as well as regular monthly 30,000-word magazines. He reputedly could write 6,000 words at a sitting.
I once typed up a book in three days—16,000 words, 3,000 words, 18,000 words—in order to complete my first book (Vultures of the Void) before my 21st birthday. This was a second draft, so most of the hard work had already been done. The dip in the middle was because I had a Brother golf-ball typewriter that used cassettes with tape that the golf-ball punched out onto the page rather than inky ribbons and I had to go into town to buy a new one. You can see one in action on this YouTube video, although I remember mine being slightly different as he doesn't mention the correcting feature. I think this is the model I had, which had a little strip of white tape that, if you mistyped something, you could type back over it and the white tape would lift the misspelled words off the paper. This is what sold the machine to me. No more Tippex! (I pinched the header picture from the eBay sales listing linked above.)
I have a feeling I bought that typewriter in 1981 and it cost £200. The golf balls were expensive, too, and I only had a couple, one of them probably an Ariel 10pt and the other a Pica Italic 10pt. Whenever I had to type the name of a book or film, I had to open up the typewriter, change the golf ball, type the title, and then change it back. Now imagine doing that all the way through typing a book. No wonder I was up from dawn until the wee hours of the morning finishing that book.
Buying those cassettes containing the tape proved quite expensive, and, of course, the lift-off mechanism only worked if you immediately spotted a mistake, as lining up the paper precisely after you'd removed it was impossible. Tippex never had the slightest glitch in their thriving business.
It was the Brother that caused me to slip a disk in my back: the typewriter used to sit on a low table in the living room at home and I had just taken a phone call from Heather (my then girlfriend); I was meant to be catching a bus to meet up with her and other friends in town, so I rushed back into the living room, leant over to lift the table so that it was out of the way, and collapsed backwards from the most unbearable pain I've ever experienced.
I was off work for two months and have had intermittent back pain problems ever since.
Talking of which... I'm currently suffering from damaged tendons in my upper right arm, probably caused by heavy lifting some months ago that have not been allowed to heal due to repetitive strain injury. I went to see a physio and have been given some exercises to do, one of which is impossible due to the agony it causes, and we shall see how I feel in a month. For the most part I feel fine—typing, for instance, isn't a problem—but twisting and lifting my arm, such as when I try to open and shut the curtains next to my desk, quickly reminds me, thanks to the intense shooting pain and sudden outburst of swearing, that everything is not alright.
Let's see if the exercises help.
We're in the last stages of getting THE PHANTOM PATROL into your hands. Progress has been made and we'll have more news next week. But it should definitely be out in September. I'd punch the air and scream "VICTORY!" but I'm worried I'll end up cursing rather that rejoicing.
Today''s Comic Cuts is brought to you by the numbers 37,000 and 200 and the words 'rotator' and 'cuff'.
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Rebellion Releases — 21 August 2024
Welcome to the third bumper prog of the year! In 2000 AD Prog 2396, you'll find two extra complete stories alongside the latest installments of Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Brink, Silver, and Herne & Shuck.
Those two extra stories? Alan Kerr provides a timely Future Shock in "Just Stop Evil," and James Peaty and Steve Roberts team up for "All Aboard the Nova Express," a tale of the struggling band The 400 Blows caught between an unscrupulous manager and intergalactic disaster!
And now, this week's releases...
2000 AD Prog 2396
Cover: Andy Clarke.
JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
New! ALL ABOARD THE NOVA EXPRESS by James Peaty (w) Steve Roberts (a) Jim Campbell (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // RECON by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
New! FUTURE SHOCKS // JUST STOP EVIL by Alan Kerr (w & a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Judge Dredd Megazine #471
Cover: Neil Roberts.
JUDGE DREDD: HIVE by Ian Edginton (w) Kevin West (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ARMITAGE: BULLETS FOR AN OLD MAN by Liam Johnson (w) Warren Pleece (a) Jim Campbell (l)
JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC by Paul Jenkins (w) Marco Castiello (a) Jason Millet (c) Shawn Lee (l)
PANDORA PERFECT: PERFECT SOUNDS by Roger Langridge (w) Gary Welsh (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
DEPARTMENT K: MECHA-CITY ONE by Ned Hartley (w) Mike Walters (a) Jim Campbell (l)
HARROWER SQUAD: URBAN ROTATION by David Baillie (w) Steve Yeowell (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DREADNOUGHTS: NOTHING TO FEAR by Mike Carroll (w) John Higgins (a) Sally Hurst (c) Simon Bowland (l)
Friday, August 16, 2024
Comic Cuts — 16 August 2024
The waiting is almost over. After a couple of weeks delay, I'm told that I should have the necessary paperwork for THE PHANTOM PATROL next week. Hopefully at that point things will be able to motor along swiftly and the book will be out in September. Having lived with the book for fifteen years, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am that it will—finally!—see the light of day.
In the meantime, I have been keeping myself busy with a couple of things. I mentioned last week that I was writing a history of Utopian Publications, who published science fiction and spicy magazines at various points in their short existence. The owner, Benson Herbert, had an interesting career outside of the firm, a physics teacher before and later the founder of the Paraphysical Laboratory, where he investigated telekinesis, telepathy and various other paranormal phenomena.
A story of a second publisher, Lloyd Cole, is also woven through as he was heavily involved with Herbert during the war and immediate post-war years, 'till he ended up in jail.
It's quite a story. I finished the main essay on Monday, although I've still got to carefully go through the whole thing—all 16,000 words—and work up a couple of additional pieces before I start putting it together. I spent Tuesday scanning some images, although I need quite a few more as I have only a limited number of those wartime publications. Not sure what I can do about that. I've said many times that I have dozens of stories to tell, if only I had the cover scans. I'd rather write these things up with a heavily-illustrated book in mind rather than doing it for Substack or as an e-book. You need the images to really understand what was going on.
I haven't forgotten the Scion book. I'm still tinkering with the text, and I have a lot of scans already, but a lot of thhe copies I own are in very poor condition and I want them to look as good as possible, so I have been doing a lot of Photoshop work whenever I have my old PC open. Unfortunately, that "lot of work" is spread over only a handful of covers as they each require so much work.
That's why I embarked on the Utopian book, which will be shorter and hopefully easier to put together... maybe in time for the next book fair, which I have a feeling is in November. If it isn't, and I've got my dates completely mixed up, it gives me a deadline anyway.
I've also written a short introduction to an upcoming Rebellion reprint which I need to read through and get sent in to the editor.
That leaves Friday free for what I'm hoping is a bit of excitement as I gather the first single off the new Frost* album is due to drop at around 11 o'clock [the video did on YouTube, but audio dropped at midnight on some platforms]. This is the first new music since... well, there was a bonus CD you could get with the Island Live blu-ray, which had two new tracks which came out in 2023 and before that the Day and Age album, which came out in May 2021.
There's a saying in Prog Rock circles "As patient as a Frost* fan". We will wait and wait and our patience will be rewarded, eventually, with a staggered and stuttering countdown already underway to the release of the new album on 18 October. All we've heard to date is a 10-second clip of a track on a mysterious radio that's tied to Spotify at a new website, and a few seconds of a Thread... it's a tricksy way of building up some tension amongst fans, but I'm getting old these days and sometimes it would just be nice if someone said "The single's coming out on Friday," rather than this trail of breadcrumbs that we're all trying to follow.
There's a whole bunch of goodies due out in the next couple of months: David Gilmour has a new album, as do Pure Reason Revolution, Big Big Train – a live album & blu ray (already ordered) – and Lesoir in September alone.
It's going to be a musical later summer!
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Commando 5775-5778
Commando issues 5775-5778 go on sale from today, Thursday 15th August 2024! With amazing aircraft artwork in Issues 5775 and 5776 alongside armoured action in Issues 5777 and 5778!
5775: Twenty-Five Flights
The B-17 Flying Fortress bomber ‘High Guard’ had the best crew in the whole outfit. Through the brutal anti-aircraft flak in the cold light of day they had flown twenty-four missions into the heart of Germany together.
If they could complete their twenty-fifth flight it would end their tour of duty… But would they survive it?
Marco Biachini’s stunning artwork graces the cover of this magnificent issue from the talents of Andrew Knighton and Alberto Saichann!
Story: Andrew Knighton
Art: Alberto Saichann
Cover: Marco Bianchini
5776: The Night the Tow Rope Broke
The night the tow rope broke was the worst in Lieutenant Mike Hasting’s life. For when his glider crash-landed off target in Sicily, he was captured by a Sicilian brigand called Il Castello who dragged him off to a cave on the side of Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe.
There, Il Castello already held an Italian, a German, a Canadian and an American — one man from each of the armies on Sicily who had ruined the brigand’s old way of life. Now he was ready to punish them... in his own cruel way.
Another superb aircraft cover for this set of Commandos, this time from the master Ian Kennedy! With a strange yarn by Skentlebery and artwork from L Rosell to boot!
Story: Skentlebery
Art: L Rosell
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First Published 1971 as Issue 524
5777: No Pasaran!
This is the story of the heroic Spanish volunteers who fought for the Allies in World War Two.
After fighting for their homeland against Franco’s fascist Nationalists, the defeated Republicans, including young anarchist Juan Lopez, fled to North Africa where they eventually joined the Free French Forces.
Together with the French, the Spaniards were valiant in action — determined to fight the Nazi fascists wherever they went!
Issue 5777 is a passion project collaboration between the dream team Carlos Pino and Ferg Handley! A story not often told about the Spanish contribution to World War Two - what a story and what an issue!
Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Carlos Pino
5778: Escape to Freedom
Sergeant Stan Boden and Private Ernie Briggs were caught behind the advancing German armies in France during 1940.
Stan reckoned that if they could fight their way through to Dunkirk they would manage to escape to England. But not Ernie — all he wanted to do was surrender!
From one dream team to another, this time from the 1980s with the trio of hard hitters being McDevitt, Philpott and Ian Kennedy!
Story: McDevitt
Art: Philpott
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First Published 1982 as Issue 1621
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Rebellion Releases — 14 August 2024
One of 2000 AD’s most unpredictable, visceral and impressive stories, the complete tale of Shakara is now coming to collection into a single incredible volume!
The galaxy is in turmoil. Once a place of peace and order, now a time of terror has descended upon it, with races waging war upon one another unchecked by any authority. Planets, civilizations, even entire star systems face total annihilation or enslavement. But a vengeful figure has emerged from the chaos, striking at targets with a ruthless determination. This alien being calls itself Shakara and it is seemingly bent on wreaking revenge on those responsible for the destruction of its people.
Shakara is the most feared entity in the universe, the living embodiment of a murdered species and an unstoppable killing machine determined to bring vengeance upon those responsible for annihilating a whole species – and not a single entity in the whole of known universe will be able to stop it! The Shakara were thought to be long dead – but retribution is coming from beyond the grave!
Written by Robbie Morrison (The Authority, Nikolai Dante) and featuring the incredible art of Henry Flint (Zombo, Judge Dredd), Shakara is a modern 2000 AD saga, a visually outrageous and impossibly epic tale of shocking violence and destruction!
Out on 19 March 2025, this complete collection of Shakara is available to pre-order from all good book stores and online retailers, as well as direct from the 2000 AD webshop.
And now, this week's releases...
2000 AD Prog 2395
Cover: Frazer Irving.
JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // RECON by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
The Spider's Syndicate of Crime vs The Crime Genie by Jerry Siegel & Reg Bunn
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786173-6, 16 August 2024, 112pp, £16.99. Available via Amazon.
The Spider is a fabulous intellectual adventurer who straddles both sides of the law and uses a whole host of super equipment to stay one step ahead of his enemies.
When small-time hoodlum Steve Gurko unwittingly releases a magical entity from captivity, he quickly gains the kind of power he could only ever dream about. Embarking on a crime spree, Gurko soon finds himself on the Spider's radar. But the astounding crime fighter is about to face his toughest opponent to date because the Crime Genie won't be enslaved by a fool like Gurko for long. Once unleashed, this mystical menace possesses enough might to enslave the human race forever!
Friday, August 09, 2024
Comic Cuts — 9 August 2024
Sorry to say that there is still no news on THE PHANTOM PATROL other than I have it all ready to go. I'm still waiting on the paperwork, although I'm not in the position I was fifteen years ago: we've agreed a print run and a price and all I need is something to sign and somewhere to send the advance payment.
In the meantime I have been writing about 'spicy' stories in magazines published shortly after the end of the Second World War, and more specifically about the relationship between two publishers, Lloyd Cole and Benson Herbert, and the dozens of interconnected companies they created, often with other people named as directors.
My main focus was to write a piece about a company called Utopian Publications and how and why that morphed into Utopia Press before imploding. However, I've spent most of the week writing the build-up to Utopia's magazine output and only reached them on Wednesday. Mind you, it's an interesting journey, involving dodgy practices, jail time, 'art studies' in saucy magazines, police raids and... Bob Monkhouse.
I've had a fun time trying to piece that lot together; moving various chapters around like the faces of a Rubik's Cube to try and get the story straight. I think I've managed to knock it into shape so that anyone reading it should now be able to follow the various twists and turns. One of the best things about writing this piece has been discovering a lot of new details that I'd never known before. I've written up a number of publishers since the heady days of The Mushroom Jungle, but I'm tackling Utopia and its suburbs for the first time.
I'm pleased to say that HIGH SEAS AND HIGH ADVENTURES is selling steadily and I've just had to order myself a few more copies to keep my stock levels up. When I dreamed up Bear Alley Books, the model was always for print-on-demand publishing, chiefly because I was unemployed and broke; moving house and having to set everything up from scratch again, and spend time putting together some books, didn't help my bank balance much.
But the idea was that POD meant I didn't have to carry much in the way of stock. However, now that a lot of the forty or so books I've published are sold through eBay and Amazon, the turnaround times they demand means I need to have copies to hand to fulfill orders immediately—and each new book adds another £100+ or so of stock that I have to find space for.
Better get back to my smutty magazines... and I need to think about how many copies of the various books I'll need to take to Colchester's very own comic swap meet on 12 October. I won't be able to bring copies of everything, as I did last time, so if there's a specific book you want me to bring, let me know so I can make sure I have a copy/copies in stock.
Wednesday, August 07, 2024
Rebellion Releases — 7 August 2024
When Steve Dillon passed away unexpectedly in 2016, comics lost one of its greatest talents. This episode, marking the release of The 2000 AD Art of Steve Dillon Apex Edition, we discuss his legacy and talk to those keeping his memory alive.
Tanya Celine is Steve’s daughter-in-law and organises The Steve Dillon Exhibition. Since its launch at the Panel Gallery in Northampton, the exhibition of fifty of Steve’s most iconic and beloved works has been shown at comic book conventions in the UK and Italy. Molch-R talks to Tanya about Steve, his work and his life.
We are then joined by writer, editor and critic David Brothers to deep dive into one of Steve’s greatest stories – ‘Judge Dredd: Cry of the Werewolf’, from 2000 AD Progs 322–328 in 1983.
The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic with creator interviews, panels, and more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on your favourite podcast app, whether that is Apple, Google, Stitcher, or Spotify. You can also listen now at 2000AD.com/podcast or you can watch at www.youtube.com/2000adonline
And now, this week's release...
2000 AD Prog 2394
Cover: Simon Harrison.
JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // RECON by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Saturday, August 03, 2024
Eagle Times v37 no2 (Summer 2024)
Eagle Times arrives with it's always-welcome thud on the doormat. Cheerfully written and colourfully produced, every issue has something that entertains or informs me. Not bad for a publication that has been running for 37 years!
This issue concentrates of the annual Eagle Dinner, which was held in Cardiff in April, with guests David Roach, Mike Collins and Faye Tanner of the Welsh Tourist Board. An address was given by Steve Winders entitled 'Keep Young and Beautiful', which is printed in full as the lead article here. A mixture of Eagle-related sports strips chatter and Winders' humorous memories of his own sporting misadventures. It makes for a light-hearted and entertaining opening gambit.
Winders also closes this issue with a trio of features: a look at the Dan Dare play performed in London' Half Moon Theatre in 1972; part two of a PC49 story, 'The Case of the Shivering Samaritan', that involves Archie Berkeley-Willoughby meeting Chad Varah, Eagle scriptwriter and founder of the Sarmaritans; he also pens a brief line or two of obituary notices for those that have recently passed on, including Roy Cross, Harry Linfield, Jon Howard and Alastair Crompton.
The Eagle Society's annual gathering is also celebrated by Reg Hoare, who covers the whole weekend in a well-illustrated piece that takes readers from the opening day's talks by Steve Winders, David Gould and Faye Tanner. The following day included visits to BBC Wales and a walk around Cardiff and Cardiff Castle. The evening dinner was followed by a talk by David Roach on British Comic Art.
The next morning saw another talk, this time by Mike Collins who discussed his career and his work storyboarding Doctor Who, and a look back through the Eagle Archives by Darren Evans, including footage from previous Eagle days and weekends. (I think I've only attended one, not a Society weekend, but a smaller, 'comic mart' style event in Margaretting. Blowed if I can remember when it was, but I was there with John Allen-Clark, so it might date back to the 1990s or even the 1980s.)
David Gould provides the magazine with a look at a few of his favourite things, ranging from his favourite Dan Dare yarn to his favourite non-fiction series in Eagle, while David Britton has a couple of features, one looking at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway, and a second exploring the artwork of Giorgio Bellavitis and Richard Jennings for Storm Nelson.
The quarterly Eagle Times is the journal of the Eagle Society, with membership costing £30 in the UK, £50 (in sterling) overseas. You can send subscriptions to Bob Corn, Mayfield Lodge, Llanbadoc, Usk, Monmouthshire NP15 1SY; 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.
Friday, August 02, 2024
Comic Cuts — 2 August 2024
After all the excitement last week, this week has felt fairly quiet by comparison. I spent a good chunk of the week — Friday through Tuesday — writing a sprawling essay on the career of Victor Norwood, which will probably turn up in a Forgotten Authors volume, or maybe the Scion book in a cut-down version (the text is 10,300 words, including the bibliography).
On Monday we took a break, met up with two of Mel's workmates and took a wander around Wivenhoe to show them the sights. It was a bit of a shame that so many places are closed on a Monday ... and I've just realised that the book shop, the secondhand bookshop and the library are all closed on Mondays. Thankfully I have enough unread books to see me through this desert of book selling and borrowing.
But back to the story, which involves wandering around for a couple of hours and then having a nice break sat in the park.
On Wednesday we did a big shop down at Tescos... but I think you get the idea. It hasn't been a particularly exciting week as far as news is concerned. Yes, I know I should be talking about THE PHANTOM PATROL, but I'm still waiting on paperwork before I make decisions about when the book will be released. It takes time when you're a company the size of Rebellion. I must confess that I do like the fact that — although it takes time to complete a project because I'm a one-man band — once a book is ready, it's out almost the next day.
So... rather than drag this out, I have a review to write, so I'll do that and you'll have something else to read over the weekend.
(* The header features two covers by the mysterious 'Gilmore'. I wonder if this is a pen-name, as 'Gilmore' turns up nowhere else.)
Thursday, August 01, 2024
Commando 5771-5774
We’ve got snipers vs V2 rockets, criminals turned into unlikely heroes, renegade paratroopers during D-Day and time travelling British soldiers! All in Commando issues 5771-5774, which go on sale from today, Thursday 1st August 2024!
5771: The Shape-shifter Returns!
After a terrible case of mistaken identity, Private Ron Cope is catapulted into the future to stand trial for crimes he didn’t commit! Stuck in 3023, the hapless Brit has to prove not only that he can’t shape-shift but that he is from 1940! But his problems don’t end there because when he gets back to his own time, he’ll have to hunt down the shape-shifter that stole his place — if he manages to get back to the right time that is!
Science fiction meets Commando war action in Issue 5771, the sequel to Commando issue 5623! With wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey time travel capers that will send your head spinning!
Story: Georgia Standen Battle
Art: Vicente Alcazar
Cover: Neil Roberts
5772: Sniper!
It must have been the strangest duel in the Second World War – a rifle matched against a giant V2 rocket, the Nazis’ most fearful terror weapon.
But the man carefully sighting along that rifle barrel was dead-shot Captain Gordon Baxter. He wasn’t likely to miss, even when he knew he’d probably be blown to kingdom come if he hit the target...
Classic Commando from the 1970s incoming! Two brothers are pitted against a fanatical Nazi in this raucous romp from writer Allan. With amazing artwork from Collado and Jordi Penalva on cover!
Story: Allan
Art: Collado
Cover: Penalva
First Published 1971 as Issue 523
5773: Renegade Raiders: The Windmill
The Renegade Raiders return in more paratrooper action after D-Day!
Sergeant Joe Shatner and his group of mavericks have more than just Nazis to contend with, as his brown-nosing lieutenant has it out for them! That is until a surprising radio call has the Renegade Raiders hightailing it to a windmill in enemy territory on an all-out rescue mission!
Ferg Handley’s rag-tag group of American Paratroopers return in the second instalment of their D-Day adventures. This time with artwork from Vicente Alcazar and artwork from brand-new cover artist Simon Pritchard on board for this second Commando cover.
Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Vicente Alcazar
Cover: Simon Pritchard
5774: Some Kind of Hero
In a desperate race against time, Arnold Ragley dragged the unconscious driver from the burning truck and began stumbling to safety with him. Why the hurry? Because he knew that the truck was filled with high explosive!
It was a heroic action... which was strange, because Arnold Ragley had never been a hero and never wanted to be one.
A criminal turned hero is a traditional Commando character storyline which features in CG Walker’s issue ‘Some Kind of Hero’ – and if it ain’t broke! With explosive artwork from both Blasco and Jeff Bevan to boot!
Story: CG Walker
Art: Blasco
Cover: Jeff Bevan
First Published 1982 as Issue 1616
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