Cyber Hellfire Club

Marvel Chronology - Fantastic Four v1 #5

2010-04-30T19:38:00.002+01:00

I should have lots to say about this issue; after all it contains the first appearance of arguably the single most significant and enduring villain in the Marvel Universe – Dr Doom. However, I’m having trouble getting past the fact that Doom throws a large electrified net over the Fantastic Four’s skyscraper headquarters and so they just give up. Seriously, what? Rather than fight back or try to escape they just give him Sue Storm.

Okay, once you get past that there’s actually a decent little time travel story here. Dr Doom sends the Fantastic Four (well, three of them, Sue’s busy being held hostage) back in time to retrieve Black Beard’s treasure for him…only it turns out that The Thing was actually Black Beard! So…if Dr Doom hadn’t sent them back in time, there would have been no Black Beard, so this had to happen and always happened. It’s the use of time travel which most makes sense, and I tend to like stories like this. Of course, Marvel have since had to establish an elaborate explanation for time travel in the Marvel Universe which includes the existence of multiple alternate timelines, but, hey, it’s early days yet.

Sue saves the day in the end, but only because Dr Doom has forgotten about her, rather than, you know, through her actually being any good at anything.

Doom’s origin is covered briefly, of course, and is infinitely more satisfying than the one in the recent Fantastic Four movie. Personally I hate when movie adaptations of comics feel the need to tie the hero and villains origins together (I’m looking at you, Batman). Instead Dr Doom’s origin introduces an occult dimension to what has been a firmly science fiction story until now. Yes, Reed and Von Doom are tied together in a way, they were at college together, but unlike Reed, Von Doom couldn’t find the answers he was looking for in science, and so combined his scientific genius with research into occult lore. The results, quite literally, blew up in his face. The question of what Von Doom was looking to achieve is left hanging here, which is a nice touch.

Okay, the last thing I’m going to touch on here is another of those nice little in-jokes. At one point The Human Torch teases The Thing, telling him he looks like the monster in a comic he’s reading, that comic being The Incredible Hulk. The Fantastic Four are clearly unaware of the fact that the Hulk is real…and one is left wondering if they know that there’s a comic about them too?

Marvel Chronology - Journey Into Mystery #83

2010-04-29T17:49:00.002+01:00

And now, to Norway!

When Marvel unleashed the Fantastic Four onto an unsuspecting world they had already been publishing several monster/sci-fi comics for some years. These included such titles as Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales and Tales To Astonish. After the success of the Fantastic Four it simply made sense to publish more super-hero stories, and so the focus of the monster books gradually started to shift to include super heroes. The first title to get this treatment was Journey Into Mystery, which, with issue eighty-three, gave us the debut of Thor!

Well, I have to confess that I’ve not read very many Thor comics, and as far as I was aware he’s actually supposed to be the genuine Norse god of thunder, Thor. Not here though, here he’s Doctor Donald Blake who discovers a gnarled stick while hiding from stone men from the planet Saturn when holidaying in Norway. When he strikes the stick against a rock the stick turns into the hammer of Thor and he gains the appearance and powers of the Norse thunder god. He’s still got the mind of Dr Blake though. He’s not talking in Shakespearean English, he doesn’t actually think he’s Thor…he just looks like him, and has his powers.

I’m pretty sure that Stan Lee changes this over time, but I’m starting to get the feeling that Stan is just making stuff up as he goes along…to meet some kind of publishing schedule… Surely not?!

There’s not really much I have to say about this, it’s a fun little story, but most of its fourteen pages are taken up with Dr Blake figuring out what’s happened to him and what his powers are.

Marvel Chronology - Fantastic Four v1 #4

2010-04-28T17:24:00.003+01:00

Hey, the FF better listen to the Human Torch and not let the Sub-Mariner reach the water…oh, unless it’s actually the Human Torch who deliberately drops Subby in the ocean inside the comic. Oh…it is? Nevermind…

I’ve already referenced that the Human Torch owes his name and his initial appearance to the character of the same name who first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 in 1939. That comic was, essentially, published by Marvel Comics, although at the time the publishing company run by Martin Goodman was known as Timely. I won’t get into a lengthy debate on the canonicity of stories published by Goodman’s Timely and Atlas Comics prior to Fantastic Four #1, but it’s clear from Fantastic Four #4 that those comics were not only published within the fictional Marvel Universe, but they were regarded as being based on actual events. Now, by including the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four, Stan and Jack hinted at a longer history for what was to become the Marvel Universe, it imbued this new and very different kind of super-hero comic with a connection to the Golden Age of super heroes. However, this was very subtle, Johnny Storm is a fundamentally different character to the android Human Torch of the thirties and forties. With the introduction of the Sub-Mariner we see a direct connection to the Golden Age, and in case we’re left in any doubt, we have the Human Torch essentially point to the comics from the forties and say “Look, it’s the same guy!” It’s no coincidence that it’s the Human Torch who finds the Sub-Mariner, either, nor is it a coincidence that at the end of the issue it comes down to a fight between the two of them. Stan and Jack are clearly referencing the many, many fights that the two characters had in the forties, fights which would often see New York consumed by tidal waves as the two titans clashed.

Oh, wait, did I say New York? That’s right, with Fantastic Four #4 it’s finally revealed that we’re not in some vague “Central City,” but, instead, we are in the real world city of New York. This is one of the fundamental creative decisions that has, since Fantastic Four #4, set Marvel apart from DC. Where DC has always used fictional cities such as Metropolis and Gotham, Stan Lee chose to set his stories in real cities, in the real world. It’s hard to explain why this makes such a big difference, especially writing from a British perspective, as I am. I’m sure that for American readers it was thrilling to see their heroes battling against a back drop of real world landmarks that they could see every day. I guess from my point of view I’ve just always liked the idea that I could visit these places, whereas I could never go to Gotham City.

The issue itself follows what is already becoming something of a formula in these early issues – the Fantastic Four bicker and fight amongst themselves before having to come together to fight an external foe who has commanded an enormous monster to attack them. That said, it’s hugely ramped up here, the bickering is taken to such a degree that Johnny has actually quit the team and the rest of the group split up to find him. It is, of course, The Thing who finds him, and the two inevitably end up in a full on fight. The monster, too, has been taken to the Nth degree, as he’s not just big, he dwarfs New York, and is only defeated when The Thing straps a nuclear bomb to his back and walks deep inside the beast to set it off. Not only that, but The Thing has to fight huge sea monsters that are living inside the main monster. This is storytelling on an epic scale, and as absurd as it may be, nearly fifty years on it’s still quite thrilling.

Marvel Chronology - Incredible Hulk v1 #1

2010-04-27T14:02:00.002+01:00

We all know this one, right? Dr Bruce Banner gets caught in the explosion when testing his Gamma Bomb, and subsequently transforms into a giant, unthinking, green beast whenever he becomes angry. Except, none of that is right, except the bit about the Gamma Bomb. Not only is the Hulk not green in his first appearance (which is fairly common knowledge amongst comic fans), but his transformation is not triggered by anger. Instead, Banner transforms into a hulking grey beast at sunset, returning to his human form at sunrise. Oh, and the Hulk isn’t really an unthinking beast, either, he’s actually quite articulate.

Indeed, this is a far more interesting tale then the traditional “Hulk Smash!” narrative. Stan and Jack combine elements from a number of classic monster stories…the Werewolf, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Frankenstein’s Monster…to create a character that has proven to be just as enduring as them. I can also see an influence from classic 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet here. The arrogant use of technology releases a monster from the scientist’s Id in both stories. For that is what the Hulk is here, not simply Banner’s inner rage unleashed, he is the personification of his Id, as Freud put it, “the dark inaccessible part of our personality.” Banner’s very repressed and subtle attraction to Betty is revealed, when his Id is unleashed in the form of the Hulk, who is irresistibly drawn to her.

Less interesting is the “it’s all a dastardly Red Commie plot” aspect of the story. “The Reds” were, of course, a common villain in 1960’s Marvel Comics, but read from a 21st Century perspective, this stuff is a little painful. Would a man named “Igor” with a clearly Russian accent have been employed by the US Military to work on a Top Secret weapons project? I suspect not. He’s possibly the worst spy ever, and it’s interesting to note that we never learn his surname…I suspect his full name was Igor Iamaspyski. Later on it’s clear that Stan and Jack are trying to say something clever about Banner releasing the human inside the monstrous Gremlin, after he had released the monster within his human self, but it’s all very rushed. The entire confrontation with the Gremlin in Russia, turning him back into a human, and him then rebelling against his evil Communist overlords (including him ranting to a picture of Khrushchev, or Comrade K as he’s referred to in the comic) takes place in the last two pages! Can you imagine that much story being packed into two pages in a modern comic? Anyway, subtle this is not, and it really doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story.

I guess I should mention that this comic also introduces eternal sidekick Rick Jones to the Marvel Universe. Rick is extremely irritating and, I’m sad to say, this is by no means the last we’ll be seeing of him. Indeed, he will later play a big part in the founding of The Avengers, will play a pivotal role in the Kree/Skrull War and has continued to be the Marvel Universe’s prime hanger on right up until the present day. It’s possible I may grow to love Rick Jones as I read more comics that feature him. It’s also possible that I won’t.

Lastly, I have to mention the art, which is simply breathtaking in places. The three panels at the end of Chapter One, showing the Hulk walking off into the distance are incredibly atmospheric, and showcase Jack Kirby at his best.

Marvel Chronology - Fantastic Four v1 #3

2010-04-27T00:56:00.003+01:00

Hey, wow, look at that cover! How exciting is that? We have the Fantastic Four in their distinctive costumes at last, we have the Human Torch looking like the Human Torch (and not his Golden Age equivalent), and we even have the Fantasti-Car. From a design perspective, this is great; the red and yellow Human Torch simply leaps out at us when compared with that striking, blue background.

There’s something missing from this cover, though, and that the villain of the month. There’s a good reason for that, the villain in this story is the Miracle-Man and he is, quite simply, rubbish. Indeed, he’s little more than an excuse to get the Fantastic Four fighting a giant monster again!

Not only is the Miracle-Man rubbish, but this story really makes little or no sense. At the risk of spoiling this nearly fifty year old comic, it turns out that the Miracle-Man isn’t capable of performing miracles at all, but is just a very talented hypnotist…so talented that he can hypnotise television cameras into broadcasting images of events that aren’t really happening? Also, apparently, the police in this still unidentified city regularly carry bazookas in case of giant monster attack.

I got excited at one point as Stan and Jack have the Invisible Girl go off to take on the Miracle Man by herself after the men on the team have resolutely failed to defeat him. She even thinks to herself, “One Invisible Girl can sometimes accomplish more than a battalion.” For a moment I thought we were going to see something really progressive, that we were going to see Sue Storm strike an early blow in the battle of the sexes and prove herself to me a feminist icon. But, alas, no, all she does is get easily captured and allows herself to be manipulated into luring the men of the team into a trap…who then have to save her. I’m not the first commentator to lament the obvious subtext of making the team’s female character the “invisible” one.

It’s not all bad though. As I said, we see the debut of the team’s distinctive blue costumes, and Stan and Jack have some fun the absurd idea of putting The Thing in a costume. The Human Torch also gets his now familiar traditional look, setting him apart, visually speaking, from the Golden Age character of the same name who first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 in 1939. Interestingly this new look is not explained within the comic. For example, it’s not suggested that this is the result of him gaining greater control of his powers. Indeed, in a flashback recounting the groups origins we see that the Human Torch has always looked like that. What we have here, people, is the Marvel Universe’s very first retcon. (Note: for those of you who maybe don’t know what a “retcon” is, the term is shorthand for “retroactive continuity.” Basically, a retcon is when you revise the established back story of a character).

So, not a classic issue, but still a lot of interesting stuff going on here.

Marvel Chronology - Fantastic Four v1 #2

2010-04-26T02:41:00.001+01:00

Wow, things really kick off in this issue, which has continued to have ramifications right up until the present day in the Marvel Universe, tying in to such epic Marvel moments as the Kree/Skrull War and, of course, Secret Invasion.

Stan and Jack show a nice flash of genius by opening up the issue with the Fantastic Four on something of a criminal rampage. From the point of view of reading this in 2010 it’s obvious that something is up…doppelgangers or maybe mind control…but this was only the second issue, and for all the readers at the time knew, this was the direction the characters were going to go in. However, of course, it’s quickly revealed that this isn’t the FF at all; it’s a group of shape shifting aliens called Skrulls. The Skrulls have possibly been the most significant alien race in the Marvel Universe, with only the Kree and the Shi’ar coming close to matching their importance.

This issue also reveals that the Fantastic Four have a flagrant disregard for the rule of law. When wrongly arrested for the crimes that the Skrulls have committed in their name, our four heroes think nothing of immediately breaking free, rather than trusting in the justice system to clear their name. Of course, it would make for a rubbish story if they were just content to remain in their cells, but it’s interesting that this moral quandary doesn’t trouble any of them for even a moment.

So, you like Deadpool? You like all that quirky meta-textual stuff? Well, Stan and Jack were doing that right here in the second issue of Fantastic Four. Mr Fantastic uses panels clipped from contemporary Marvel monster titles, Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery to trick the leader of the Skrull invasion force, establishing that Marvel Comics exists within its own fictional universe. This is an in-joke that we’ll see returned to again and again, and which was used to great effect by Peter David in the recent She-Hulk series.

This issue also sees the bond between the four main characters begin to deepen. While The Thing continues to express anger and frustration at his transformation, which leads to conflict within the group, we do see both Reed and Johnny express a deeper level of understanding when it comes to the emotional pain that Ben is feeling. Jack Kirby’s art really shines in the issues most poignant moment – after a second trip through the cosmic rays that bombard the Earth, Ben reverts temporarily to his human form. Kirby’s portrayal of his transformation back into The Thing is incredibly touching, and there is a very tangible sense of sadness and pathos, particularly in the final panel of the sequence, where Ben looks utterly defeated.

Still no costumes, and Johnny still looks like the golden age Human Torch, but this issue shows a big step towards that special formula that made Marvel such a revolutionary force in comics.

Marvel Chronology- Fantastic Four v1 #1

2010-04-25T18:42:00.004+01:00

Well, I thought it would be interesting to read through every Marvel comic in chronological order and record my thoughts on each issue, starting with the comic that heralded the beginning of the Marvel Age of comics, Fantastic Four #1, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

These won’t be reviews, this isn’t scholarly analysis, this is simply my musings as I read through Marvel history.

Fantastic Four #1 is a fairly fascinating read, the view is generally that Stan and Jack completely reinvented comics with Fantastic Four #1, and the Marvel style of comics was fully born with this issue, but that’s simply not true. For example, one of the things that has always set Marvel apart from their Distinguished Competition is that Marvel’s comics are set in real world cities, unlike DC’s fictional cities, like Gotham and Metropolis. However, Fantastic Four #1 seems to take place not in New York but in “Central City.” It’ll be interesting to see how quickly in the run the setting changes to New York.

It’s also fascinating to see how much everyone hates each other at first. Marvel’s “first family” are truly a dysfunctional family to begin with. Reed and Ben are quite literally at each other’s throats, and it’s clear that the animosity between them has been brewing for some time. Ben feels that Sue is in love with the wrong man, and the fact that he holds Reed responsible for his transformation into The Thing only fuels his hatred for him.

It’s also interesting to note that our heroes at no point appear in costume throughout the entire issue. They are either in regular, civilian clothes, or in purple jump suits. The look and feel of the Fantastic Four is incredibly different to that which we’ve become accustomed to. The Thing looks very different to his classic orange, rocky form…he’s rounder, softer, almost as if he hasn’t quite set yet. The Human Torch, of course, is also very different, looking more like the original Human Torch from the thirties, then the later, more stylised version that we’re used to.

Another interesting point is that the scene that adorns the now legendary cover to Fantastic Four #1 simply doesn’t take place in the story at all. The fight with the Mole Man’s monster happens deep under the earth in the Mole Man’s lair, and not on a city street.

The structure of the story itself is also worth noting. Lee and Kirby introduce each character and their powers before going back and telling us their origin in a flash back. Personally, I feel this is where most movie adaptations of super hero comics go wrong, including the Fantastic Four movie itself. We don’t usually get to see the characters in action until well into the movie, suffering through an interminably long explanation of their origins. Wow me first, show me the heroes in action, then go back and tell me how they gained their powers (if you must), don’t make me sit through an interminable origin story before showing me the hero in action (I’m looking at you, Batman Begins). Stan and Jack get it bang on here.

Interestingly, rather than being a clean break from what had come before, Fantastic Four clearly shows itself to be a progression from the monster books that Stand and Jack has been working on before. We’re treated to a succession of giant monsters crawling out of holes to terrorise people. In many ways it is the monsters and not the drably dressed heroes who provide the visual entertainment here.

Another thing worth noting is the battle with the Mole Man and his monsters itself, which, one has to concede, is incredibly unfulfilling. To summarize, the Fantastic Four track the Mole Man to his base of operations on Monster Island, fall down a hole, are then attacked my one of the Mole Man’s monsters, and then run away. The Mole Man then, for some reason, decides to blow up his island as they flee. The team don’t use their powers to cleverly defeat the Mole Man, they simply use them to flee.

Overall there’s a real feeling that Stan and Jack are finding their feet her, they’re finding their voice. There’s a clear desire to do something new and different here, but they haven’t quite got the formula worked out yet. They’re playing it safe by including what they know works – the monsters – but they’re also trying to do super-heroes in a different way. It hasn’t quite clicked yet…but they’re on their way…

The Eagle Awards

2010-04-09T21:57:00.002+01:00

So, after their lamentable absence last year, it would seem that The Eagle Awards are back! For those of you who don't know, The Eagle Awards are the British comic book awards, which have been running (off and on) since 1976 (that's the year I was born, people!).

They have, lately, been the subject of some controversy, but let's not get into that here, the important thing is that awards are shiny, and if there's one thing that people like, it's shiny things!

Now, for the moment, they're just in the first round of nominations. This is the point where you, the comic loving public, can nominate anyone and anything in the 30+ different categories, those people/comics/whatever getting the most votes will then go through to the second round, gaining an official nomination. For the moment, in this first round, you can either write in your own nominations, or choose from a drop down list of people/comics/whatever that have already been nominated in that category. You are not limited to only nominating from the drop down list though.

Anyway, awards, woohoo!

I've already voted, as have lots of people it would seem...please, go vote, and vote for whoever you want to!

It's nice to see that people have already voted for Orang Utan Comics personnel and publications in eight categories though... I've already had votes for Favourite Newcomer Writer, Favourite Letterer and Favourite Editor. Azim Akberali (OUC's longest serving artist) shows up in the Favourite Artist: Fully Painted Artwork category (an award he received a proper nomination for in 2008, the last time the awards were held). Peter Rogers pops up in the Favourite Writer category. FTL has received votes in two categories, Favourite Cover Published During 2009 (for John Charles' fantastic cover to FTL #1) and Favourite British Black and White Comicbook. Alpha Gods shows up in the list for Favourite Graphic Novel Published During 2009 and Favourite British Colour Comicbook; and Orang Utan Comics shows up in Favourite Publisher.

I doubt we'll win anything, but it would be nice to see us get through to the second round in some of these categories.

So, go vote, have fun, vote for who you want to vote for...but if you like what Orang Utan Comics did during 2009 then it would be awesome if you'd vote for us and our comics!

To vote, visit The Eagle Awards site here.

Comics Aren't Just For Adults

2010-02-22T20:13:00.003Z

The title of this piece seems almost absurd, doesn’t it? I mean, we shouldn’t need to say that “comics aren’t just for adults” because nobody thinks that, do they? After all, I remember in my youth the big debate being that comics aren’t just for kids, as scores of men approaching middle age tried to justify their four colour habit as the world looked on and merely assumed that they were trying to cling on to their childhood. The message was picked up and echoed by many comic creators too, who wanted the freedom to tell more mature stories in a medium that had been traditionally viewed as being just for kids. DC’s Vertigo line, and the slew of independent publishers and studios that spring up in the nineties made great strides in convincing a sceptical world that comics don’t have to be just for kids; and now, I believe, we’ve reached a point where most people are fairly accepting of the fact that adults read comics too. Indeed, when most people think of a stereotypical comic book reader, they don’t think of a kid, they think of someone like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

There’s a problem with this though, a very big problem. We seem to have moved from the position that comics aren’t just for kids, to the position that comics aren’t for kids at all. Now, I’m going to kick off with a bit of personal, anecdotal evidence here, which I know is bad form, but it illustrates my point well, so bear with me. Yesterday I took my eight year old son into our local book store. They have a big display of graphic novels and trade paperbacks, which is mostly dominated by Marvel, and as we were looking at it I simply said to him, “If you could have just one thing from this section, what would you want?” He looked over the shelves, groaning with the latest volumes in Marvel’s Dark Reign saga, the adventures of the new Red Hulk, and the current exploits of the X-Men, and he simply replied, “I wouldn’t want anything.” He’s eight…he’s a boy…he loves sci-fi and fantasy…and he didn’t want anything that the leading comic book company has to offer. Am I wrong in thinking there’s something wrong with this?

How can it makes sense that comics which have Saturday morning cartoons, toy lines and blockbuster movies based on them are carrying a “T+” rating? I’m not suggesting that mainstream comics need to be dumbed down, kids are smart and we don’t need to dumb anything down for them. I’m not saying that mainstream comics shouldn’t be written in such a way that they can appeal to adults. I’m merely saying that they shouldn’t be written in such a way that they only appeal to adults. I can go back and read the comics I was reading at my son’s age…stuff like The Armor Wars in Iron Man, or Fall of the Mutants in the X-Men books, and still enjoy them just as much as I enjoyed them when I was a kid. They’re well written, they’re engaging, they’re certainly not patronising or “just for kids”…but they’re also written with an awareness that a younger readership was going to be reading them too, and so the adult themes were dealt with in a more subtle way.

The problem, as I see it, comes back to the Direct Market, once again. With the switch from the newsstand to the comic shops, comics moved from being a mass market product with mass appeal, attracting a readership from a wide and diverse range of ages, to being a niche product, aimed squarely at the single men in their thirties and forties who make up the bulk of comic shop customers. As an aside, I’d also say that this is part of the reason for the rising tide of misogyny in comics…the increasing tendency to present women in comics wearing next to nothing and standing in “porn poses.” Remember back to the comics of the eighties, back when they were appearing on newsstands and primarily trying to attract kids. The women were generally fully clothed (within the “skin-tight super-suit” conventions of the genre) and would generally be standing in regular poses, maybe in the midst of some kind of dynamic action. They would not be wearing little more than underwear and thrusting various parts of their anatomy at the reader. It disturbs me a little that we’ve come to see this as normal, and defend it as being “just comics.” We shake our heads at people who accuse us of sexism and misogyny and say that they “just don’t understand comics.” I’ve been guilty of that myself, and it’s generally not until you talk to people outside of the comics bubble that you realise just how bad it looks from the outside looking in. We fetishize each and every major female comic book character and then wonder why more women aren’t reading comics.

But I digress…the simple fact is that the comic book industry is haemorrhaging readers. The top selling comic book in 1991 sold 8 million copies, and I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of those 8 million copies were sold to people under the age of sixteen. Fast forward to the end of 2008, and the top selling comic for the month of December sold around 150,000 copies. If that’s not alarming enough, skip forward another year, to December 2009 and the top selling comic only sold around 100,000 copies…and I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of those copies were sold to people over thirty. The readership has dropped by a third in just a year, comic shops are closing at an alarming rate…the Direct Market is dying because we’ve been aiming comics at an ever shrinking market of existing fans. This has got to stop.

The frustrating thing is that this can’t be done at a grass roots level. I know a lot of creators who feel that the key to the future survival of the comic book industry is in producing more all-ages comics. However, there’s no point in an indie comic book company producing a comic that will appeal to kids. Indie comics are only ever going to be available in speciality stores and at conventions. Kids don’t go to these. They go to their local stores, where mum and dad buy their newspapers and their magazines, and the only comic companies who can get their comics into those stores are the likes of Marvel and DC. This change in attitude has to come from the top or the readership will simply keep shrinking until it’s gone. God forbid we should get to December 2010 and see that the top selling comic only sold 50,000 comics, because by the end of 2011 it will be over for comics as we know them.

Alpha Gods & BWS - A Public Statement

2009-10-12T16:48:00.002+01:00

As some of you may be aware, my comic book, Alpha Gods, was originally entitled Young Gods. The title was inspired by the 1991 album of the same name by British hard rock band the Little Angels. You may also be aware that not long before we went to print with the Alpha Gods graphic novel I received an email from one Alex Bialy, apparently "Windsor-Smith Studio Manager", informing me that Barry Windsor-Smith holds the trademark on the name "Young Gods" and asking me to cease using it.

Now, at the time I was a little surprised. I was aware that both Marvel and DC have for many years had groups called the Young Gods, although they've not appeared very often. Despite being a fan of Mr Smith's work on both Iron Man and Machine Man for Marvel Comics, I was not aware of his own comic of the same name. However, out of respect for Mr Smith and his claim of ownership of the name I was quite content to change the title of my comic. To be honest, I'm far happier with the name "Alpha Gods"...it makes more sense from an in story point of view...and my only disappointment is that it no longer serves quite so well as a tribute to what I firmly believe to be one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.

So, that, I believed, was that...

...until someone directed me to the latest issue of RPG Review.

It would seem that one of RPG Review's writers had the audacity to use the term "Young Gods" in the title of one of their articles, and so drew the attention of Alex Bialy. RPG Review chose to point out that there was no possible case for trademark infringement here...which was when Mr Bialy, apparently, felt the need to bring my name, and the name of Orang Utan Comics into things...implying that my ideas are unoriginal and implying that, essentially, I had taken the title of my comic from that of Mr Smith's.

This is untrue. I want to make that abundantly clear, and the fact that Mr Bialy feels it necessary to imply such unsubstantiated accusations to an unrelated third party quite simply shocks me.

The actions of Mr Bialy here are deeply unprofessional, and I would hope that Mr Smith would consider disassociating himself from them. They show a deep and fundamental lack of respect for others in what is a very, very small industry. We're all in this together, we all love comics, and should be working together to build a better comics industry.

That said, now I have your attention, I'd like to point out that the first issue of the new Alpha Gods series, Alpha Gods: Betrayal #1 is now available to order from IndyPlanet and as a digital download on DriveThru Comics. Please check it out!

Ian Sharman

Managing Editor

Orang Utan Comics

The Mouse of Ideas

2009-08-31T19:16:00.007+01:00

So…Disney are apparently buying Marvel for $4 billion.

I doubt that there’s anyone reading this who hasn’t already heard the news, and who hasn’t already spent the day reading tweets and blog articles speculating as to what this will mean. The news coming from Marvel editorial seems to be that, in terms of the comics themselves, this will mean nothing. Disney will have no input into the editorial direction and publishing policies of Marvel Comics. The general consensus of opinion seems to be that this is a good thing, and I’d probably tend to agree with that.

That said, I would love it if Disney actively tried to make comics a mass market product again.

Stop and think about it for a minute… Marvel publishes comics featuring some of the most recognizable characters in pop culture. Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man…all three have starred in major blockbuster films in recent years, grossing millions, if not billions of dollars worldwide. You’d be hard pressed to find a young boy in the developed world who doesn’t own an item of clothing with one of these characters on it. And yet looking at the sales figures for July 2009 we see that Amazing Spider-Man sells around 72,000 copies an issue…Incredible Hulk sells 92,000 copies an issue…and Invincible Iron Man sells just 50,000 copies an issue. These figures are tiny! These are not the sales of a mass market publication…these are the sales of a niche market publication for a shrinking audience of obsessive collectors.

I'd love to see Marvel's top books selling in the millions again, like they should be. At the very least I'd love to see the big main titles turning up in Disney stores in shopping malls across the world. Even if it was just one spinner rack in every store. I do think that would require a return to the more "all ages" approach of Jim Shooter's Marvel though...but I don’t think that's necessarily a bad thing. I'm just currently reading through New X-Men: Academy X (so that I can the read Young X-Men...and then read X-Infernus...and then read the new New Mutants series...so much catching up!) and I think the tone of that series would be perfect for the mass market. I think that comics can be literate and appealing to adults and...at the same time...appeal to a younger audience. Chris Claremont was a master at that. (And I think comparing Claremont's use of the Hellfire Club...where the sexual undertones were incredibly subtle and would have been missed by most younger readers...with Fraction and Land's over the top overtly fetishistic Red Queen illustrates perfectly the difference between making comics for kids that can be enjoyed by older readers...and making comics for an older audience which are completely inappropriate for kids).

I think it would also need a streamlining of the core books...so you would just have a small number of core titles...one X-Men book...one Avengers book...one Spider-Man book...one Iron Man book...one Wolverine book...for the mass market...and then you could have a range of other books that could possibly be direct market only (or even digital only, with adds in the mass market core books for the online digital comics service…and maybe even discount codes in the print comics, or something), that could still tie-in to those core books, and reference what was going on in them...but you'd have to be careful that the core books didn't rely on events in the other books too much (although you'd work in subtle references to encourage your new mass market audience to seek out the other books...effectively drawing new customers to the comic shops…or to your digital comics).

But imagine if you had five core books, for example, and they were all $2 each...so you could pick up all the core Marvel books for $10 each month...suddenly comics are a pocket money purchase again! Not only that but you schedule them so that one book comes out a week...so that there's a new book or two each time the family visits the mall...

Cost is a huge factor in this. When I was a kid an American import comic was 70p…and, yes, I know that the price of everything has gone up since the Dark Ages when I was young…but let’s be serious, at £3 and over per comic, comics are not an impulse buy for most kids. They really don’t have that kind of money just floating about in their pockets. I remember going to the newsagent and getting a stack of comic to read whenever we had a long car journey to go on…no kid can do that when they’re £3 each.

I’m in the industry…not just the comic book industry, but I’ve worked in print and publications for over ten years…I know it’s possibly to print a 24 page comic book cheaply enough to get the cover price down below $2 a comic (and if you’re Disney and you’re using your own retail outlets and pre-existing distribution network then it should be even easier). And that’s without getting into economies of scale (basically that if you’re printing and selling in the millions rather than the thousands then your cost per unit inevitably goes down). And, hey, if you have to go back to lower quality paper, like newsprint, to do that, then do it! The world is not going to end if our comics aren’t printed on high gsm glossy stock! (I was tempted to go on a rant about the people who suggest that we need to cut out the “expensive photoshop colouring” to reduce the cost of comics…but let’s just all agree that those people don’t know what they’re talking about, eh?).

So…anyway…yes…in summary…in my little game of fantasy comic publisher…I’d love to see a small core of maybe five main books, produced cheaply and in large numbers, and distributed widely…to places kids already go. Those books would have the BEST writers and the BEST artists and would be a way of getting kids reading comics again. Rather than replacing the direct market, they would be a gateway to it, and also a gateway to the digital comics. The non-core books would still be viable…and, if anything, they’d end up being read by a LOT more people (and, if they went digital only, the cost of producing them would be drastically cut). For those of us who like our comics on high quality glossy paper, there would still be trade paperback collections. But the important thing is that comics would be available to millions of kids.

Of course...none of this will happen...but it's fun to dream...

FTL #2 REVIEW

2009-07-07T00:59:00.012+01:00

Cover for FTL #2, art by John Charles

I enjoy anthologies immensely. Collections of short stories, poetry, or graphic fiction are exciting and satisfying. The reader's curve of expectation, of rising tension, is resolved by the end of each tale, and he or she can move on to the next experience.

Of course, how good the anthology is depends on how rewarding the individual stories turn out to be. Was the reader hooked right away, did he or she want to read more, were there surprises, new ideas, interesting twists and turns? Was the conclusion, the finale of the story, emotionally and/or intellectually satisfying? Was the reader left with a hunger for more?

I'm happy to say, that the second issue of Oran Utan Comics new anthology series FTL (Faster Than Light), contains five stories that answer the above questions with a resounding YES!

From the opening introduction, featuring editor in chief Ian Sharman a la Stan Lee, or maybe the Crypt Keeper, welcoming us to his "strange new world," to the closing panel featuring "the Schoolgirl Squad" , FTL #2 delivers.

The first piece is a nice variation on the mad scientist theme, called "Morgan McFee and the End of Tomorrow." Written by Ian Sharman, with art by Melissa Hudson, the story is deceptively simple, hiding some deep real-world truths behind stereotypical comic book action and adventure.

The second tale is Part 1 of a serial called "The Secret Cross." It is written by Steven Saunders and Stephen Lindsey, with pencils by Dominic Vivona. The opening panel takes us back to World War I, to the trenches of Flanders in 1914. The art is historically accurate and evocative, capturing a mood and projecting a sense of threat that follows the action.

The third story is a sharp little piece called "One Last Ballad" by Itai Rosenbaum, with pencils by Gary Heany, inks by Matt Santorelli and gray tones by Nick Dismas.

The fourth entry is an unusual and unique short called "Karachun," by Trey Wickwire, with pencils by Olli Hihnala. This is based on Slavic folktales, ancient beliefs once practiced by the pagan Slavs and still secretly whispered about to this day. It is a welcome change to the usual Celtic and Druid lore found so readily in fantasy, science fiction, and horror these days. The panels look like wood-cuts, and the art is entirely appropriate for the subject.

The fifth presentation is back to the more traditional super hero style, or more like, "Kill Bill" meets "The New Mutants." Written by Ian Sharman, with art by Donnie Punzalen, this is a simply fun. Replete with the usual cheesecake butt shots and crotch shots, even bodice-ripping, the art is Western realistic but the action is actually reminiscent of classic Japanese manga. While this reviewer could use less of the gratuitous sexual poses, I'm well aware that my assessment above is nothing less than a come-hither to potential male readers.

FTL #2 is equal to and in some ways exceeds FTL #1. Both are great reads, and all creators involved should be very proud of their contributions. Moreover, in this era where the big two -- Marvel and DC -- seem to rule the graphic fiction world, it is highly inspirational and gratifying to see an Indy company like Oran Utan Comics producing such sophisticated and enjoyable comic books as ALPHA GODS and FTL.

I highly recommend this anthology series, and this is coming from someone who is a hopeless fangirl of Marvel mutants and super heroes. Sometimes it takes an extra shake of the tree to make us look outside the little treehouse we've been living in!

Reviewed by Rivka Jacobs

Me on the radio....

2009-05-14T21:48:00.002+01:00

While in Bristol for the Bristol International Comic Expo, I had the pleasure of being invited into the BCfm studio to be interviewed by Mark Le-Leivre for his Movies and Music Programme.

In case you missed the show, broadcast live on 9th May, I've got the interview with me right here to download for your listening pleasure.

http://www.orangutancomics.co.uk/audio/09-may-2009-14-00-00.mp3

Gratuitous Self Promotion

2009-05-11T13:37:00.000+01:00

So, it's that Eagle Awards time of year again, with any comic book published in 2008 being eligible for nomination. Now, 2008 was quite a while ago now so I thought it might be usueful for me to...heh....remind you of certain comics that were published during 2008...

Such as Contraband...the Eleventh Hour Collector's Edition...Eleventh Hour Vol 1...Marvel Heroes...

You can nominated by visiting here - http://www.eagleawards.co.uk

So, obviously, go vote for whoever you want to vote for, but, um, here are some suggestions (to be honest, the only ones I'm REALLY bothered about are Favourite Inker, Favourite British Black and White Comicbook and Favourite Artist: Fully-Painted Artwork)...

Favourite Newcomer Writer: Ian Sharman

Favourite Newcomer Artist: Azim Alberali

Favourite Artist: Azim Akberali

Favourite Writer: Cy Dethan

Favourite Writer/Artist: Ian Sharman

Favourite Artist: Pencils: John Charles

Favourite Artist: Inks: Ian Sharman

Favourite Artist: Fully-Painted Artwork: Azim Akberali

Favourite Colourist: John Charles

Favourite Letterer: Ian Sharman

Favourite Editor: Ian Sharman

Favourite Publisher: Orang Utan Comics

Favourite American Colour Comicbook: Dynamo 5

Favourite British Colour Comicbook: Marvel Heroes

Favourite American Black and White Comicbook: ??

Favourite British Black and White Comicbook: Eleventh Hour

Favourite New Comicbook: Eleventh Hour

Favourite Manga: ??

Favourite European Comicbook: ??

Favourite Single Story Publisher During 2008: "Rise And Shine" from Eleventh Hour Vol 1

Favourite Continued Story Published During 2008: Secret Invasion

Favourite Cover Published During 2008: Eleventh Hour Collector's Edition

Favourite Original Graphic Novel Published During 2008: Contraband (Slave Labor)

Favourite Reprint Compilation: Eleventh Hour Collector's Edition

Favourite Magazine about Comics: Comics International

Favourite Comics-Related Book: ??

Favourite Comics-Related Movie or TV Show: Iron Man

Favourite Comics Related Website: Down The Tubes

Favourite Web-Based Comic: Shortpacked

Roll of Honour: Mike Collins

Into The Light & The Once And Future King

2009-05-02T22:06:00.005+01:00

So I have two Elephant Words stories to talk about in this post because I’m a terribly slack blogger…

First up is Into The Light, which is a short tale about the forbidden love between an angel and a demon who meet one day when Jerusalem is changing hands during one of the crusad

es. They can’t be together, despite their love, and, indeed, the very touch of the angel burns the demon’s skin.

Of course, it’s about a lot more than that, it’s about how one can endure the pain of separation for brief moments spent together when that’s all you have. Why? Because the love that you share makes the pain bearable, and the pain of being utterly without each other would be unbearable.

The relationship that the angel and demon have in this story is the ultimate long distance relationship, a subject which is rather close to my heart.

The picture of the dark corridor with the light pouring in at the end was very inspiring. It led me to think about this meeting place between light and dark, and that’s how I started thinking about an angel and a demon meeting there, with the demon watching the angel walk away, back into the light. That led me to the last line…and from there it was a matter of filling in the story in between.

Secondly, we have The Once And Future King. It was my turn to post the picture this week and, I’m afraid, I’ve been rather preoccupied with all sorts of stuff, and so I almost completely forgot to find a picture. So I headed over to one of my favourite stock photo sites from when I was working as a graphic designer (http://www.sxc.hu) and, for some reason, entered “sword” into the search field, which led me to this rather interesting picture. Fast forward a week to today and, you guessed it, I almost completely forgot that I actually had to write a story about it!

Thankfully, for once, the idea came quickly to me. I’ve always been interested in Arthurian legend, and so the idea of the warrior king returning to Britain to save us in our darkest hour sprang to mind. And then it hit me…what use would he be? If he turned up in the middle of a modern day battlefield, he’d be shot in an instant.

It’s a simple twist, little more than a pun, really, but I had fun writing it and, hopefully, people will enjoy reading it.

ORANG UTAN EVOLVES IN 2009!

2009-04-25T15:03:00.000+01:00

British indie publisher releases two new titles!

Orang Utan Comics are pleased to announce the release of two new comics which are available to order online right now.

FTL#1 is the first issue of their brand new black and white anthology. Featuring thirty-two pages of beautifully greyscaled art, and new stories by Orang Utan Comics veterans Ian Sharman, Peter Rogers and Trey Wickwire, along with a brand new story from the exceptionally talented Dwight L. MacPherson (The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo), FTL is sure to be a hit with comic fans everywhere.

Click here to order FTL #1.

Also released today is the Alpha Gods graphic novel. Previously available to read online in ebook form, in excess of 8,000 views in the three months since its release have persuaded Orang Utan Comics to release the entire 48 page, full colour graphic novel in print.

Click here to order Alpha Gods.

Both titles will be available at the Orang Utan Comics stand at next month’s Bristol International Comic Expo, and also at the London MCM Expo later in the month. You can also order both titles online via the print on demand service, IndyPlanet.

Orang Utan Comics Managing Editor, Ian Sharman, added, “May is going to be a big month for Orang Utan Comics, not only do we have two great new titles to promote, but we’re also looking forward to getting out and meeting our fans.” Indeed, fans will get a chance to put their questions to the Orang Utan Comics crew during their panel at the Bristol International Comic Expo next month. The panel will be held at 4pm in the Park Suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Bristol and the OUC team will be celebrating their second anniversary of creating “comics for a strange new world.”

To find out more about Alpha Gods, read character bios and creator profiles, please visit www.alphagods.co.uk

For more information on Orang Utan Comics visit them online atwww.orangutancomics.co.uk

The Road Less Travelled - Video Blog!

2009-04-18T17:10:00.005+01:00

So, rather than write about this week's Elephant Words story I thought it might be fun to try video blogging for a change. You should probably read the story first, you can read The Road Less Travelled here.

Broken Wings

2009-04-10T14:52:00.003+01:00

Take these broken wings
Learn to fly again
Learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in

This week’s Elephant Words story, Broken Wings, was something a little new for me. It’s a first person story that moves from being quite stark and realistic at the start, into a very symbolic and internal piece.

I’ll admit, I was struggling for what to write. I pretty much knew where I wanted to start, a man alone, waking up, the effects of the vodka having worn off, and his attempts to smother his returning pain with more of the stuff. I think the Russian dolls in the picture sparked something too, as it encouraged me to peel back the layers of this character and examine what was going on underneath.

Beyond that, I really had nothing, and so I decided to take a walk, and as I was walking the story pretty much played itself out in my mind. To be honest, it was partly a way for me to work some stuff out that was going on with me too. I was hurting at the time, but as I went on this strange journey with the character in my story it led me back to what was important, and helped me to realise that it’s where life leads us that’s what really matters, and not necessarily how we get there. At the end of the story we see two people making a fresh start, putting the pain of the past behind them, and understanding that they both have something that is incredibly precious and wonderful – each other’s hearts.

I hope the story manages to be hopeful and uplifting without being overly sentimental.

Little Girl

2009-04-02T14:42:00.005+01:00

Okay, I’ll admit it, I took one look at this week’s photo on Elephant Words and thought “cannibals.” I know, I know, I should have looked at it and been inspired to write a story about good, hardy people forging a new life for themselves in a new world, with nothing but their wits and some plain old fashioned gumption to help them. But, instead, I just thought, “Oh my god, they’re going to eat that child!”

So, my story this week, Little Girl, is about a man who leaves Liverpool with his family to start a new life on America’s new frontier. However, he’s ill prepared, the family end up near starving to death, their initial hope for a new start turns to despair and they’re forced to eat the child to survive.

Tragic.

Of course…in my head it went a little differently… In my head, they came from Liverpool and were scousers… For the Americans reading this, a scouser is like a red neck, only with a more annoying accent. I’m sure Liverpool has given the world many great things, like The Beatles…and…um…yeah…there was…no, that was rubbish…and so was Bread, The Liver Birds, Brookside, both Liverpool and Everton FC…and…well…everything else ever to come out of Liverpool. I know, I’m being grossly unfair…but I ended up stuck at University with a scouser who thought I was “brilliant” and insisted on talking to me at length about…something….every time I saw him (who knows what he was actually saying with that accent…probably something about nicking the wheels off a car…).

I can so never go to Liverpool after writing that…

So, originally, “Little Girl” was going to be called “They Do Do That Down There Though Don’t They” and was going to read something like this.

“’Ere, Ken, we ain’t got no food, like!”

“Calm down, ma, calm down, we can always nick us some of dat dere food like.”

“Nick some? From where? Dere ain’t no shops or nothin’ like, where yous gonna nick some food from, like?”

“Well, like, I know, we could always, like, eat the baybi.”

“Eat the baybi? Eat the baybi?!”

“Calm, down, calm down, it’s what dey do down in dat dere London, like.”

“Dey do do dat down dere dough, don’t dey?”

“Dey do do dat down dere. Now drink yer milk.”

“Milk? Yuck.”

“It’s what Ian Rush drinks…”

I really wish it was yesterday and I could just claim this post was an April Fools Day prank…

Between The Lines

2009-03-27T16:32:00.003Z

For once, this week, I didn’t have any real struggle to come up with something, This week’s picture immediately reminded me of the Mr Big song “Alive and Kickin’” and I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of a girl writing a goodbye letter to her mother as she ran away with her boyfriend.

So, before I go on, pop over to Elephant Words and read Between The Lines.

It was as I started to think about what the girl would write that I realised that there was a lot more going on here. Reading between the lines there was a lot not being said, and this made me ponder how often what we write is very different to what we actually mean.

So I struck upon the idea of writing two letters. One would be the actual letter that the girl was sending to her mother, and the other would be the letter that she’d write if she was truly being 100% honest and saying what was on her mind.

Yes, I know, the actual situation is really a hideous cliché, but it served well enough for the experiment. I’m not sure that I really pulled it off though. I think, perhaps, I should have spent more time on it, made it more originally, and perhaps more subtle. I don’t know.

I’m afraid I’ve found myself going back to one of my greatest frustrations in life with this story – why do girls date @$$holes? It’s something I doubt I’ll ever fully understand.

Dissecting Alpha Gods: Part Two: Prologue: Slash & Burn

2009-03-26T23:51:00.003Z

As we discussed in Part One, the Prologue was actually one of the last parts to be written. Well, actually, that’s not entirely accurate. The six issue series, now known as Alpha Gods: Betrayal was plotted first, and an early draft of issue one was written, then the main chapters of the graphic novel were plotted…and then the prologue was written.

The task before me was to write a six page introduction to the world of the Alpha Gods, so I decided to go back one step further to find out how they first learn that Grigori Industries might be experimenting on Extra Humans. At first it seems like a routine, very easy mission…and then they run into opposition.

Let’s start at the very beginning, with the date that the prologue takes place on – 12^th July, 2086. There are no random dates in Alpha Gods, and this is no exception. Those of you that know me well will know that 12^th July is my birthday…but why 2086? This is a small homage to one of my favourite cartoons when I was a kid, Thunderbirds 2086. The show was awesome (in my memory…it was probably awful).

Originally the prologue didn’t start with a briefing scene. My first draft opened with a splash page of Paladin and Impact deflecting a hail of bullets during the fire fight from page 3. The narrative for the page essentially ended up with “How did we get ourselves into this mess?” and then we’d flash back to the briefing. At the time the book was with VCS and the editorial advice I had from there was that in a six page story I shouldn’t waste a page on a splash, and should instead start with the briefing scene, and Paladin’s duel with Agent Omega was extended by a page. I’ve written quite a few six page stories since then and, well, let’s just say that with hind sight I disagree with that advice. I feel the story would have felt a lot more dynamic if it had started in media res. At the time I was just starting out and so took the advice I was given and rewrite it. Maybe for the collected edition we’re planning to do once Alpha Gods: Betrayal is complete I’ll ask Ezequiel to redraw the prologue from my original script. (Which would actually be the third time that this story has been drawn, as it was originally illustrated by Randy Valiente in an early version that appeared in Eleventh Hour #1).

Anyway, as it worked out the Prologue proved to be a great way for me to establish Paladin and Impact’s characters, and the relationship between them. In the briefing scene we see that Paladin is alert and attentive, whereas Impact is clearly bored and disinterested. On page two we begin to get a sense of the friction between them…and that the friction isn’t necessarily caused by them disliking each other. I wanted to establish that these characters are teenagers first and foremost, and super heroes secondly. Impact is by far my favourite character in Alpha Gods to write, she’s probably the most like me.

So, finally, on page three, we get to the action. Personally I think that Ezequiel’s done a great job here of cramming a fight between Impact and Paladin and an entire room full of guards into such a small space. Page three ends with a mysterious foot…and we start to get the sense that this mission is a lot less straightforward then it first seemed.

There are obvious questions thrown up here. Why was Agent Omega waiting for them? Did he know they were coming? Was he there by chance? All I can say at this point is that there are answers to these questions, but you won’t find them out until well into Alpha Gods: Betrayal. Sorry.

And so to the duel between Paladin and Agent Omega. Originally, as I said, this took place over a single page, but when the splash page at the start was removed it was extended to two. It was at that point that the little homage to my favourite screen duel wound its way into the script. There’s actually a deeper reason for using this quote than just “Hey, Star Wars is awesome! Let’s throw in a geeky quote for people!” Some people have complained that it takes them out of the story. This is actually quite deliberate. I’m not going to spoil future plot twists, and it’s almost certainly not what you’re thinking it is…but those lines are there for a very good reason.

On the final page, we see that Paladin now has Agent Omega at his mercy, but he lets him live. Why? Um….sorry….but yet again…I can’t say… The point of this was to give you an insight into the writing process and some of the thinking behind the story…but with so many plot twists yet to come, it’s very hard to go into too much depth without spoiling everything.

Of course, that was the point of this story, to tease, to sow seeds and provide pretty much no answers. It was designed to draw you in, intrigue you, make you want to find out more. For a long time this story was the only bit of Alpha Gods out there, originally in Eleventh Hour and later on via myebook. It did it’s job, it got people interested, it made people want to read more.

Originally this story wasn’t going to be in the graphic novel at all. It was meant to just be a little teaser that stood on its own. It was only later that I realised that it was silly to not use it as a Prologue to the book. Personally, I think it works quite well…the book would have a very different feel if it started off with Chapter One. Instead the Prologue allowed me to establish certain core concepts of the Alpha Gods universe before going on to introduce the villains and take a closer look at the individual characters.

Next time we’ll look at Chapter One and explore the influences behind the creation of one of the main villains, Lester Cravely and some of the mythology behind the series.

Rebel Without A Clue

2009-03-09T14:47:00.005Z

Typically, just as I decide to use this blog to explore the thinking behind what I'm writing, both in my comics and on Elephant Words, I'm the Monday man at EW, and have almost no time to actually put any thought at all into what I'm writing there!

This week's story was particulalry hard to write, partly because the pic' went up very late Sunday night due to some technical problems, and partly due to the fact that I haven't really been in the frame of mind to write as I was assaulted by my ex-wife's boyfriend last night. But, yeah, let's not go into that, eh?

So, let's at least try and talk about my Elephant Words story this week - Rebel Without A Clue. The pic' either is, or looks incredibly like, the observatory from the film Rebel Without A Cause. It's been a looooong time since I saw the film, so I could be completely wrong there, but that was the immediate association that sprung to mind. I remember thinking the film was excellent, but, I also seem to recall watching it with my grandparents, while my gran struggled to decide who were the goodies and who were the baddies. Bless her. I guess it's hard for someone who sees everything in black and white to appreciate a film which is all about shades of grey.

I've always been amused by the subtle pun version of the film's title, Rebel Without A Clue, which, I think, might have been used in a song or something...I don't know...heh... But my mind immediately turned to those damn middle class emo kids who are depressed about having nothing to be depressed about. Who resent their parents for giving them a stable, loving home, because, you know, it's preventing them from being properly troubled and angst ridden like their ultimate idol, Kurt Cobain. I think for most of my generation, who were teenagers when Cobain was alive, and Nirvana were at their height...the idolisation of Kurt Cobain by today's youth is a complete mystery.

And that's about it, really, that's as much thought as went into writing it. The ending was a bit tricky, I knew I wanted to riff off the classic line from the film "What are you rebelling against?" "What have you got?" but finding the right way to do that wasn't easy. Originally I just had the kid stare blankly at his mum, lost for words, but I didn't feel that was satisfying. So, instead I went for the vague, noncommital, "Just...stuff..." which, for me, kinds of sums up the vague, unfocused rebellion of a generation that seems to think that dressing the same as all of their friends is rebelling.

Kids, stop watching Death Note and watch some James Dean movies, you might learn a thing or two about rebellion...

Dissecting Alpha Gods: Part One: Origins & Influences

2009-03-07T16:18:00.005Z

[Note: Part One was written before the name of the series was changed from Young Gods to Alpha Gods]

So, the plan is to start going in depth into some of the thinking behind my writing, so I struck upon the idea of doing a chapter by chapter discussion of the Young Gods OGN which you can now read for free online. Oh, and check out this awesome review of the book here.

But I digress…yes, the plan was to go chapter by chapter, but in thinking about writing about the thinking behind the Prologue, I realised that I really need to start a lot earlier than that, and if I’m really going to explain the thinking behind Young Gods, I need to talk about the very genesis of the idea. I need to go back to the start, and explain how the idea first came about, and how I got from “Hey, I’ve got an idea…” to actually sitting down and writing a comic. Basically, I need to talk about the influences on the creation of Young Gods, before I can talk about Young Gods itself.

The Music

Back in 1991 my dad decided to join one of those mail order music clubs, and he let me pick the four tapes (yes, tapes…it was 1991…I didn’t get a CD player for another few years) for the introductory discount offer. I was fourteen going on fifteen and knew I wanted to get into hard rock and metal, but my music collection was…well…a little thin, shall we say. All I had to go on in picking my four tapes were tiny little pictures of the covers, and so, knowing nothing about them, what their music sounded like, where they were from, or anything, I picked out a tape that, to my eyes, looked like it might be my kinda’ thing…it was an album by a band I’d never heard of, Little Angels, and the album was called “Young Gods”.

It’s hard to explain just why the album conjured up images in my mind of a super hero team raiding an enemy facility to rescue one of their own, but nevertheless it did. The feel of the album as a whole has deeply influenced the creation of the comic, with the rousing anthem of “Young Gods” itself serving as a backdrop in my mind to the action scenes, and more intimate tracks such as “Feels Like The World Has Come Undone” naturally leading me to write more downbeat moments. The villain of the piece was ultimately hinted at by “Boneyard”, the idea that we should all just have fun while we’re alive because we’re all going to die eventually anyway, naturally led me to create a villain who embodied that kind of hedonistic approach to life.

Those readers who are Little Angels fans may have noticed that the title of each chapter of the OGN is also the title of a track from the album. Sometimes the links between the track titles and the actual content of the chapters are fairly tenuous, and sometimes the thematic links are much closer. Of course, the observant among you may have also noticed that the title of the Prologue is not a track from Young Gods, but is, rather, the title of a Manic Street Preachers song. The fast paced feel of Slash n’ Burn just seemed to fit with the feel of the Prologue for me.

The Comics

Well, as much as one recent review commended Young Gods for being “fresh and original”, like any work of fiction, it’s heavily influenced by what has come before it. Early influences came from the original Gen 13 mini series from Image. I recently found some old notes I’d written about the characters when I first started playing around with ideas for the series in my teens, and one of the characters was a complete rip off of Grunge from Gen 13. My original story ideas were, well, to be honest, pretty much a retelling of that mini series but with my own characters. I was young, and thankfully the ensuing decade and a half saw me move beyond such immature plagiarism. Young Gods has been far more heavily influenced by the many comics I’ve read since. Most notably the Simonson/Blevins run on New Mutants, which I always felt was far more about the relationships between the characters than the action. Also, the early Lobdell/Bachalo issues of Generation X were a big influence. I’ve always been drawn to those kinds of teen books, and in many ways you can see the Paladin/Impact dynamic as being similar to the Sam/Dani dynamic in New Mutants, or the Jono/Paige dynamic in Generation X. Also, every teenage team needs their mysterious dark outsider, in New Mutants that’s Ilyanna, in Generation X it was, to an extent, Penance. In Young Gods it’s Eclipse who, of course, owes more to Ilyanna than Penance, but they all fill the role of exploring those teenage feelings of alienation and the uncertainties surrounding one’s own morality that surface around that time. There are further parallels that can be drawn, of course, but I’ll leave them up to the reader to explore further.

The Claremont/Byrne/Cockrum era of Uncanny X-Men has, of course, been a huge influence. Arguably, it’s been a huge influence on every team super-hero comic to follow it. The theme of a group of heroes protecting a world that fears and hates them is, of course, lifted wholesale from the X-Men. I don’t think I could possibly get away with claiming otherwise. One thing I have done away with is the artificial distinction between mutants and heroes whose powers come from other sources. It makes little sense that the general public in the Marvel Universe would see any difference between the mutant Pyro and the altered human The Human Torch. Instead I imagined a world where mutants, cyborgs, aliens and supernatural beings were a fairly common occurrence, and the inevitable reaction to that by “ordinary” humans is one of fear, mistrust and hatred. The other big deviation from the X-Men model is, of course, that the Young Gods are not a privately funded group of vigilantes; they’re a government sanctioned strike force, set up specifically to police their own kind. In that sense, the team are as much reviled by the extra human community as they are by regular humans. Of course, even that’s not original; having been pretty much the theme of X-Factor from Peter David’s run onwards.

Books and Research

One thing that, I feel, harms the writing of a lot of aspiring comic book writers is that they read a lot of comics, and that’s it. Now, I read a lot of comics, I love comics, but I also read other things. Personally, I feel that if you want to write, and write well, the best thing you can do is start reading non-fiction. If all you read is fiction then all you’re ever going to do is recycle other people’s ideas. Start reading non-fiction and you’ll find yourself having ideas of your own.

A number of books have had a big influence on Young Gods. Obviously, there’s a Biblical influence in there, although, of course, whether the Bible falls into the category of Fiction or Non-Fiction is rather open to debate. In any case, it certainly fits the category of mythology…and that’s something that I’d recommend any aspiring writer (and I class myself as an aspiring writer myself…until someone actually pays me to write something I’m not going to claim otherwise) to explore. It’s very much worth exploring the archetypal stories that the human race has been telling for thousands of years. This is especially true if you’re writing super-heroes, which have, on many occasions, been likened to modern day gods. The Biblical influence on Young Gods is, really, fairly minimal though, obviously we have the Nephilim and the Flood, but the use of the Nephilim led me on to researching the extra-Biblical legends surrounding them. This is where the internet is invaluable as a research tool. Whatever you’re writing, it’s worth doing a Google search for all of the key terms and ideas, research your subject, it will result in your writing being a lot richer, and it will also lead your stories in new directions you might not have otherwise considered. I could have made Malak just some random demonic entity, but making him a Nephilim, and actually researching the subject has, I feel, made him a much more interesting and rounded character. He has motivations beyond just “being evil” and that’s something that will lead to your readers being far more engaged in your story. I hope.

The works of Graham Hancock have also been a big influence on my writing, and that can be found in Young Gods too (although for a clearer example of this, check out my short story The Last Days of Cydonia, from Eleventh Hour Vol 1). There are suggestions in Malak’s backstory of an ancient, advanced civilisation that was destroyed in a great catastrophe. It was also reading Hancock’s work that led me into reading about the Freemasons and the Illuminati, and so another dimension to the Nephilim was added. That they are the secret masters of an underground conspiracy that clandestinely controls everything. We’re very early in the story at the moment, but as we go on you’ll discover that the Nephilim are working in the background, controlling everything that happens. The name of Malak’s base of operations, the Bohemian Club, is a nod to Bohemian Grove…Google it if you’ve never heard of it. Of course, to return to comics, the Bohemian Club also owes a lot to the Hellfire Club from the X-Men, and a quick glance at the title of this blog will indicate my fondness for that idea.

The Structure

When I seriously started work on Young Gods back in 2005, it was originally conceived as a six issue series (with, hopefully, more series to follow). That original six issue series is essentially what will form Young Gods: Betrayal, the six issue series that follows on from the OGN. So…why write the OGN? In early 2006 I joined up with Visionary Comics Studio and took Young Gods there. At the time, their policy was that every series they were developing should begin with an oversized one-shot, a graphic novel. So, it was suggested that I condense the six issue series down into one volume. This was something I really wasn’t keen to do. I hope that once Young Gods: Betrayal is complete you’ll see what an impossible task that would have been. The whole point of Young Gods is that the focus is on the characters and their relationships with one another. Condense the story down too much and those characters have no room to breathe. So, the only option was to write something else… But what? Ultimately I realised that I had all this backstory in my head about how the characters had got to the point that they’re at in the first issue. I decided to riff off of Giant-Size X-Men issue one, and have a series of vignettes introducing all of the major characters, so you’ll see that there’s a chapter focusing on each team member, and each of the major villains. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when I had the idea of making each chapter title one of the tracks from “Young Gods”. So, while it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell, it was, I felt, an interesting way to introduce the characters and set the plot in motion. Then Visionary asked for a six page story that would work as a teaser for the series as a whole. So I decided to take one step back, and to show the events that led up to the events in the OGN, and that six page story was added to the front of the OGN as the Prologue. Ultimately I left Visionary and took Young Gods with me when we formed orang Utan Comics, but the OGn was already written by then. So, as proud of the OGN as I am…none of that story was ever meant to have been told. Some of it might have been used in flash backs, but it was mostly just in my head to inform the writing of the series. For example, the fact the Alpha had rescued Outrage from an angry mob was something that I’d planned to hint at, as a reason why Outrage stayed with the team despite having an obvious dislike for rigid authority, but I’d never planned to actually show that scene. In the end, it meant I could work in a nice little homage to Dave Cockrum, one of my heroes, so I’m not complaining.

This is why I’m excited now I’m starting to see pages for Young Gods: Betrayal #1 come through from Ezequiel and Mauro, because this is the story I started imagining back in 1991 when I first listened to that Little Angels album.

So, that’s the background stuff out of the way. In the next part I’ll look at the Prologue in more detail.

Every Cloud

2009-03-03T14:18:00.002Z

I want to give this blog more of a purpose, and I think one of the ways I'm going to do that is to go a little more in depth with everything. Give you all a little more of an insight into the thought process behind what I'm writing, to give you an idea what goes on behind the scenes of my comic work, that sort of thing.

So, that bring me to this week's Elephant Words contribution. For those of you not familiar with Elephant Words, it's a burst fiction website, inpired by the old story of the blind men and the elephant. It explores how we all intepret and are inspired by the same image in different ways. At any one time there are six people contributing to the site, each week we take it in turns to post a new image on a Sunday, and then through the week we all post a short story, poem, or whatever, inspired by that image.

This week's image was photograph of a woman in a pub. Soemtimes I'll struggle to find inspiration in an image, or it will strongly suggest one story and one story only, but this week I found several ideas came to mind. For a while I considered doing a first person piece based on my experiences of being drunk, and the extreme mood swings that one experiences during inebration (from "I love you, you're all wonderful" to "my life's a piece of shit and I want to die" often in a matter of seconds...or maybe that's just me...heh...). I considered, and quickly rejected, some autobiographical tales of drinking experiences from various comic book conventions. Ultimately, though, once the first line "Yes...yes, officer, I have been drinking..." popped into my head, I was fairly locked in on what I was going to write...that kind of led me inevitably to the last line (I'm not going to spoil that for you though), and, although I feel the whole thing is a little predictable, I hope it's still effective.

Anyway, let me link you to this week's story now, before I discuss it a little further - Every Cloud.

The story, really, sprung from a recent conversation about drinking and driving that I had with my girlfriend. It's something that I feel quite strongly about, and really don't undeerstand why people do it. I suppose the challenge for me in writing this story was to try and get into the head of someone who'd do it, and try to understand why. The only time I've ever got behind the wheel of a car with alcohol in my system was after I'd had one small bottle of beer. I was still well under the legal limit and was merely moving my car around the corner to make sure I didn't get a parking fine, but I would NEVER do it again. Despite having had so little to drink, I found that my judgement was already clearly impaired and that so many of the little things one does automatically while driving suddenly needed my full concentration to achieve.

So, that's the story behind this week's story. Feel free to leave me feedback, either here or on the Elephant Words site.

Young Gods OGN: Part Two!

2009-03-02T14:07:00.000Z

Read it now!

With A Silent Scream

2009-02-25T11:31:00.001Z

I actually hesitated for once before hitting "publish" before submitting this week's Elephant Words contribution.

The photo this week was of a hotel room.

I couldn't help but be reminded of one of the lowest moments in my life. I'm not going to talk about it here, but those who know me well will probably know what I'm talking about.

And, so I found myself writing this poem.

The experience was a fairly cathartic one, but I found myself hesitant to share the results with the world at large. Still, I guess that's what being a writer is all about, bearing a part of your soul.

Viva Nu-Vegas!

2009-02-19T14:38:00.001Z

I had no intention of writing a Slam Ridley story...

I had loads of ideas...a poem...a song...something sweet and romantic about wanting to run off with the woman I love and maybe get married in Vegas...

But Slam had other ideas.

He's just one of those characters who'll muscle his way into your imagination and insist that you write about him.

So, this week's picture was of Las Vegas.

And, yeah, Slam insisted that this week's story be about him.

Don't blame me, blame Slam.

Young Gods OGN Part One!

2009-02-13T17:21:00.002Z

Just realised I haven't posted this on here. Not sure how many people are reading this that don't read my LJ, dA, myspace or whatever as well, but just in case you've missed it, I recently released the first part of my Young Gods OGN to read for FREE online. Just click the ebook below to read it...

The Bunker

2009-02-13T17:19:00.001Z

Okay, it's been a busy week here at Sharman Towers, somehow I managed to letter 49 comic book pages in three days. Not bad going really. However, it did kinda' result in this week's Elephant Words rather sneaking up on me again

Still, better late than never, although this was probably the toughest week for me yet, as this week's picture really didn't spark much inspiration in me at all. Nevertheless, as usual, sitting down to write saw me somehow coming up with something, and so you can read this week's story, The Bunker, here.

Also, I'm running a colouring contest over on my deviantArt if anyone's interested! Details here.

The New World

2009-02-07T18:25:00.002Z

You'd think, when it's your turn to post the pic' on Elephant Words on a Sunday, that would make things easier. You're the first person to know what the picture is, and you don't have to post your story until the following Saturday. Plenty of time to work on something, right?

Well, yeah, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that...

This week's story was, therefore, written a good couple of hours after I'd usually post my contribution, and as I started typing I really had no idea where I was going with it. That it actually ended up having some kind of form and structure...and a point...is really rather a minor miracle.

So far both pieces I've written based on my own photographs have ended up being autobiographical. I think it's just hard for me to separate the pictures from what was going on in my life when I took them. In fact, I'd said to someone that there were no really strong emotions attached to this week's picture but I discovered in writing this piece that I was wrong. In many ways it follows on directly from the last piece I wrote based on my own photograph, Four Words, which was very much about the ending of one chapter of my life. This week's piece, The New World, is about the beginning of the next chapter, and my first steps into a much larger world (learning the ways of the Force...heh...no...becoming a professional writer and artist).

As always, your comments are welcome.

I Am Ninja

2009-01-26T13:10:00.001Z

It's Elephant Words time again, and I find myself the Monday man for the second time, which leads to a very real "Write the first thing that comes into your head" moment.

Anyway, here's my story this week - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/26/i-am-ninja/

And here's this week's picture - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/25/1300/

As always, comments are welcome.

My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms

2009-01-20T13:39:00.002Z

Has it really come to this? That I'm using Bon Jovi song titles as the titles of my stories? Yes, yes it has...

Oh well...

Yes, it's that Elephant Words time of the weeks again. This week's picture , while brilliant, had me really drawing a blank until...well...until I just sat down and started to write this morning. I'm really not sure what to make of what I wrote myself, so I'll be interested to see people's response to it.

You can find it here: http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/20/my-guitar-lies-bleeding-in-my-arms/

The Dragon's Heart

2009-01-14T13:53:00.001Z

And so that time of the week rolls around again... This one kinda' crept on me, I have to say. I liked this week's picture (here) and it should have inspired a thousand stories in me...but I really struggled this week...and then last night little bits and pieces started to come together, and somehow formed themselves into a whole today.

So, here's my latest Elephant Words piece - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/14/the-dragons-heart/ Enjoy! And please let me know what you think...either by commenting here or on the site.

CBG Fan Awards Nominations

2009-01-09T17:48:00.001Z

Hmmm....you know...it's so long since Eleventh Hour Vol 1 came out...sometimes I forget that it came out on 2008...

Hmmm...wha? Oh, yes...the CBG Fan Awards are asking for nominations... This from their site....

"Between now and February 28, 2009, you, the fans, have the chance to nominate your favorites of the past year for the Comics Buyer's Guide's annual Fan Awards. Any comics material with a 2008 cover date or copyright is eligible for consideration. Creators are eligible only if they had work published with a 2009 cover date or copyright.

Again this year, we're offering a nominating round with the survey below.

The final ballot with the top nominees from each category will be available online in mid-March

Only vote in the categories you want, leaving blank the ones you don't. Please, only one nominee per category.

Feel free to mention this nominating ballot on other websites, but we ask those websites or posters to not give potential voters a list of what creators and projects they should vote for and which they should avoid. Such detailed listings amount to a request for ballot box stuffing. As ever, ballot box stuffing will result in discarding the ballots in question. This is a democratic process with everyone free to pick their favorites, not ones that they're told to vote for. Soliciting votes is allowed, but filling in the blanks for potential voters is not."

So, obviously, I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, but do go here and vote.

Marvel Heroes #4 and Motivation

2009-01-08T12:19:00.001Z

For those of you that haven't looked at the latest additions to my deviantArt - Marvel Heroes #4 is OUT NOW across the UK.

It features a seven page Iron Man story penciled by the awesome Neil Edwards and inked by yours truly.

It's only £2.50 and you get a free Hawkeye bow and arrow set with it! Woohoo! Go buy it now! Oh...and don't forget to check out the uncoloured inks which I've posted on my deviantArt and let me know what you think.

In other news...it's that Elephant Words time of the week again (I know, it seems like only a week since the last one...).

I went for something a little different this week, mainly due to the fact that I am working like a mad man right now on a seven page Spider-Man story for a future issue of Marvel Heroes.

Chech it out here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/08/motivation/

And this week's picture is here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/04/bed/

"Elephant Words are the ways in which we describe or interpret the same thing in different ways.

Elephant Words is a burst-culture website, featuring daily flash-fiction.
Each Sunday, an image is posted.
Over the following week, each of six authors takes their turn to write something inspired by that image. "

I've just agreed to stay on for another six weeks of Elephant Words!

How the War Began

2009-01-02T14:08:00.000Z

Well, it's the Elephant Words time of the week again...

This week sees a return to my more usual style, after last week's foray into the more personal, autobiographical realm.

So, you can find my contribution for this week here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2009/01/02/how-the-war-began/

And the picture we had to use for inspiration this week is here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/28/the-king-of-wishful-thinking/

Comments are, as always, welcome, either her or on the site, and if you like it please take a moment to rate it on the Elephant Words site.

I got a bit of a mixed reaction to last week's story, which is pretty much what I expected.

Four Words

2008-12-27T13:16:00.000Z

Well, on Sunday I posted this picture of Aaron -

http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/21/a-boy-and-his-balloon/

- on Elephant Words. I was hoping it would inspire me to write something happy and upbeat this week, after three weeks of doom and gloom. However, as the week wore on, and I looked at the picture more, I found myself thinking more and more about when it was taken, and what was going on in my life, and so the end result ended up far from being happy and upbeat.

So, you can read my latest contribution here:

http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/27/four-words/

It's cold in here...

2008-12-15T12:37:00.000Z

For those of you that are interested...

My contribution to Elephant Words for this week has just gone up, here: http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/15/its-cold-in-here/

You can find this week's picture here: http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/14/the-cryo-van/

This week was a bit rushed. It was my first time being the Monday man, and the picture didn't go up until fairly late last night. I'd intended to get up reasonably early this morning so that I'd have plenty of time to work on it before posting it up at lunch time. Suffice it to say that plan failed...

A New Dawn

2008-12-09T13:45:00.001Z

Hi all!

My latest contribution to Elephant Words is now up here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/09/a-new-dawn/

The image that we're all using for inspiration this week is here - http://elephantwords.co.uk/2008/12/07/image-07122008-sunset-galway-bay/

Comments welcome, either here or on the site.

Elephant Words

2008-12-03T18:09:00.001Z

For a writer, I don't write nearly enough, so when a spot opened up to join the team of regular contributors over at Elephant Words I jumped at the chance, knowing it would force me to write something every week.

The idea behind Elephant Words is that every Saturday one of the six contributors posts up a new picture on the site, and over the ensuing six days the group take it in turns to write a short piece of fiction inspired by the picture.

You can find this week's picture here...

...and you can find my contribution here.

I was really quite nervous about doing this as it's an age since I've actually written any prose, it's all been script work for me over the last couple of years.

Joe Quesada Explains the Marvel Knights Mission Statement

2008-10-10T23:44:00.005+01:00

Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics, Joe Quesada, answered my question about the Marvel Knights line of books, and X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT in his latest CUP OF JOE column, #27:

CUP OF JOE #27

Here's the text:

Rivka writes:

Hi, Joe,

I think there's some confusion about the mission statement of the Marvel Knights line, and which books are Marvel Knights books. It seems that Marvel Knights today is different from yesteryear. Some of the MK books are outside continuity, such as Silver Surfer: Requiem, and some are in-continuity books, such as Angel: Revelations and Magneto: Testament. There is also the Ghost Rider: Trail Of Tears which is not out of continuity so much as pre-continuity.

Could you please clarify that Marvel Knights today publishes some books that are out-of-continuity such as Sub-Mariner: The Depths, and some that are in continuity? That today, the MK category encompasses both kinds of books?"

All the Best,

Rivka

JQ: Rivka, this is a great question and you've kind of nailed the answer. There are some MK books that are out of continuity, while some are definitely in. I would consider Battlin' Jack Murdock and Magneto: Testament as stories that are absolutely in continuity, as was Daredevil: Father.

Here's a little background info on Magneto: Testament. When the project was originally being planned, it was going to be an X-Men solo character mini-series. Then the script started to come in, which was extraordinary, and we started to see the art, which is beautiful beyond belief, and then we started to rethink the marketing and launch of the project.

We thought to ourselves that we really wanted to give this story more of a "boutique" look, and the MK imprint has become our boutique imprint for special stories. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's "spectrum" mini-series were a good road map for this. So, this is why Magneto: Testament has the MK imprint, but imprint aside, it is definitely in continuity and was always planned to be that way.

X-Men: Magneto Testament #1 REVIEW

2008-09-27T22:50:00.017+01:00

Title: X-Men: Magneto Testament Part 1 of 5

Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Lettering: Artmonkeys’ Natalie
Production: Paul Acerios
Asst. Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Editor: Warren Simons
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Cover Art: Mark Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Special Thanks: Mark Weitzman and the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Reviewed by: Rivka Jacobs

X-MEN: MAGNETO TESTAMENT is the definitive origin story of the comic book character Magneto. Judging by issue #1, this might be one of the most significant, impressive and heartfelt limited series Marvel has ever published.

As many know, but some may not, Magneto is a character created in 1963 by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. He was introduced as the villain, the foil, the adversary for the team of teen-age super heroes known as the X-Men, led by X-Men founder Charles Xavier.

From the start, the X-Men were not the usual band of super hero vigilantes chasing criminals. They were a new race, a new offshoot of the human species, called mutants. They not only fought the "bad guys," but they had to fight prejudice, hatred, and cruel bigotry as well. With the introduction of the sentinels, mutant-hunting robots, in issue #14, Stan Lee inserted the possibility of a Holocaust, of genocide against mutants, into the Marvel Universe.

The X-MEN comic book was canceled in the late 1960s, but revived in 1975 by Len Wein, Dave Cockrum, and Chris Claremont. Chris Claremont then helmed the X-Men books from 1975 to 1991, one of the longest, most imaginative and productive runs in the history of comic books. One of Claremont's most important and creative decisions was to give the character Magneto, who before was a typical one-dimensional Silver Age antagonist, a back-story. In UNCANNY X-MEN #150, Claremont introduced the fact that Magneto had lost his entire family during the Holocaust, and had been a Jewish prisoner in the death camp of Auschwitz.

In later years, Chris Claremont would reveal that Magneto had served in the Auschwitz Sonderkommando (UNCANNY X-MEN #274, EXCALIBUR vol. 3 #14). And that his family had been driven from their homeland and hunted to their deaths, with no one coming to their aid (UNCANNY X-MEN #199).

Three years ago, editor Warren Simons began planning a series about Magneto's origin. He pitched his idea to current Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, and Mr. Quesada was completely supportive. It took three years to get the project off the ground, put together a creative team, do the research, and find a window of opportunity in the publishing schedule.

The result, X-Men: Magneto Testament, is not only the definitive account of Magneto's origins, but a sincere and careful attempt by the creative team to portray Magneto's Jewish youth and the Holocaust with accuracy and respect. Typed in white on black, on the last page of issue #1, is an essay titled: "Afterward: A Few Words About History," by series writer, Greg Pak.

Mr. Pak says: "We've done our best to remain true to these elements while fleshing out the rest of our hero's experiences based on research into the actual historical record. Longtime readers will notice a wealth of surprising new details -- for example, for the first time we're revealing Magneto's birth name. And sometimes, because the comics record is contradictory or conflicts with historical fact, we've had to choose one detail over another. But at every step, we've done our best to remain true to the key moments that have contributed so much towards making Magneto the deeply compelling character we know today."

Magneto Testament #1 opens in the city of Nuremberg, in the year 1935. The young Magneto's family is trying to live as normal a life as possible, in this Bavarian city that was so central to Nazi ideology and propaganda. The young hero is only nine years old, and still attending school, when we first meet him. We see a brief glimpse of what it's like to be the outsider, the alien, a physically average boy who is emotionally abused by his teachers as well as his fellow students.

We also see a young girl, a Gypsy girl, named Magda, forced to clean the trash off the streets with her mother. Since the Gypsies of Germany were overwhelmingly Sinti, we now know that Magda was a Sinti. The young Magneto becomes smitten with this girl, and she with him.

But the dark clouds of the Nazi storm are rolling in, engulfing the young Magneto and his family, and by the end of this book, issue #1, the boy's world has already changed forever.

The story is not a memory, or told by Magneto, but is about Magneto, and always we see things from the young hero's point of view. It is a remarkable achievement.

Greg Pak, in particular, has done an outstanding job. He spent long hours reading about and researching the historical era, and the comic book canon, and as a result, Magneto Testament feels authentic and honest. Mr. Pak brings his cinematic sensibilities to this story. With some of his previous Marvel work, it seemed like he was a comic book writer who happened to be an award-winning film maker. With Magneto Testament, Mr. Pak is a film maker writing a graphic novel told in five parts, and has successfully integrated his entire creative and academic background for this project.

Carmine De Giandomenico's art is refined yet dynamic. There is a purity of purpose and clarity in each panel. The characters live and breathe, their faces full of emotion.

Matt Hollingsworth has done an exceptional job on the coloring, using colors as another narrative device that expands or sometimes counterpoints the action. I suspect that the colors will continue to play a big role in the story, as we get closer and closer to Auschwitz.

The art and writing, the pace, the stylistic choices made, elevate this series beyond the usual origins saga. Issue #1 is a moving and powerful book that never forgets, not only is this a Holocaust story, but the story of Magneto, and the man the boy will become.

I highly recommend issue #1. I highly recommend this entire series.

X-Men: Magneto Testament is, in all respects, a history-making achievement.

Below are some links to interviews with the creative team of X-Men: Magneto Testament:

newsarama.com

comicbookresources.com1

wizarduniverse.com

comics.ign.com

comicbookresources.com2

My Inking Portfolio

2008-07-28T12:55:00.000+01:00

More inking...

2008-07-28T12:23:00.000+01:00

Red Sonja inks page 2 by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

The Beast Within

2008-07-16T02:36:00.000+01:00

The Beast Within by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

Red Sonja

2008-07-11T23:39:00.002+01:00

Another inking sample, this time over the excellent pencils of Ariel Padilla.

Red Sonja page 1 inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

Red Sonja!

2008-06-30T23:43:00.000+01:00

Red Sonja inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

More inking...

2008-06-20T14:10:00.000+01:00

Cyborg with guns by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

Pure Serenity

2008-06-19T19:41:00.002+01:00

Nothing to do with the Firefly movie. This piece was based on a picture entitled "Pure Innocence" by the deviantart user SerenitySteph, hence the title, "Pure Serenity."

Pure Serenity by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

New Inking Sample

2008-06-19T02:41:00.000+01:00

Annihilation Conquest inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

Latest Inking Sample

2008-06-15T20:31:00.003+01:00

What If Annihilation Inks by *CrazyEnglishGuy on deviant ART

Eleventh Hour

2008-06-11T12:01:00.003+01:00

Eleventh Hour Vol 1 is out this week, and in case you've missed it, here's the promotional video we produced for it. Sadly you might find it hard to track down a copy in your local comic shop as I suspect very few will have ordered a copy just to sit on the shelf, but rather they will have ordered copies for specific customers who requested a copy.

Never fear, however, you can still get hold of a copy direct from the publisher, AAM/Markosia by visiting their website. Also, the book's available to order from Amazon, you can find the listing here.

Welcome back...

2008-06-07T00:38:00.003+01:00

Yes, yes, I know, I'm a bad blogger, no updates for six months is not really on, is it? I can only apologise to the three men and a cat that actually read this blog. I could make the obligatory pledge to update more often but it probably won't happen. If anyone out there wants some more regular updates from my crazy, fun packed life, you can check out my LiveJournal (which I actually do update regularly), or if you prefer random, meaningless crap, no longer than 140 characters, then subscribe to my Twitter feed.

Now, on to the business of actually updating you all...how do I cram six months into one blog post? You know, I recently caught up with some old school friends on Facebook who I hadn't spoken to for thirteen years, and it amazed me how easy they found it to sum up the last thirteen years of their lives in just two sentences. I didn't think I'd had that eventfull a life until I had to try and sum up everything I'd done since leaving school. I thought it was just normal for people to do the things I've done, but I guess it isn't. I know I can't be happy in life unless I'm striving to achieve something bigger and better with my life.

So, what's been happening?

Orang Utan Comics Studio

The last six months have been fairly huge for the Orang Utans, with a huge amount of growth in just about every area. To a certain extent, too much growth, too soon. For a group of friends who essentially got together just to put out an antholgy of our own stories to get our names out there we suddenly found ourselves hailed as an up and coming new indie publisher, the bright new hope of the British comics industry. All a little overwhelming, really, and not something we ever wanted to be. Pete and I both found ourselves quickly bogged down in the process of "running things" rather than creating things. So, the last few months have seen us restructuring and refocusing and ultimately rebranding ourselves as a studio. I think the main reason we didn't call ourselves a studio from the start is that we wanted to differentiate ourselves from Visionary Comics Studio after we split from them. However, I think we've established our own identity to the point now that we don't need to worry about people comparing us to them.

On the studio side of things, we've been really successful. One of our artists, Diego Simone, has recently taken over the artistic duties on Starship Troopers, and by the end of its run, Kong: King of Skull Island was an Orang Utan Comics Studio production, artistically speaking. Recently, I've contributed colours to Kong, Starship Troopers, Lazarus: Immortal Coils and Johnny Saturn, and I've been inking a book called Legendary. Contraband has received some great reviews, even if they didn't mention my inks, and my colour work on The Flying Friar received a fantastic review in The Guardian. The recent Bristol International Comic Expo was a big success studio wise, and it was particularly satisfying to have editors approach us about working on new projects.

On the publishing side, we picked up Baby Boomers, which hasn't sold bucket loads (yet), but has been picked up by AAM/Markosia as a regular web comic and they have plans for a 100 page tradepaperback. Not only that, but there's some Baby Boomers animation in the works and Markosia's Hollywood agent is particularly excited about the property.

Which brings me to Eleventh Hour. What can I say? I would hope that anyone reading this will know that the book got picked up AAM/Markosia, and that an 80 page tradepaperback featuring twelve new stories (okay...okay...technically ten new stories...) is due out from them this week. On one hand the book has been a huge success. It's had rave reviews, been nominated for an Eagle Award, and I've spoken to a ton of fans and creators who have all said that Eleventh Hour is exactly what the industry needs right now. We've had some amazingly talented writers express an interest in contributing to further volumes of Eleventh Hour, including Cy Dethan, Dwight L MacPherson and Scott Lobdell (yes...Scott Lobdell...fingers crossed that he actually sends me a script). On the other hand, one sector of the industry clearly hasn't caught the vision with Eleventh Hour, and that's the retailers. At this point I should say that there are some amazing retailers out there who have been extremely supportive. The good people at Comic Guru in Cardiff have hosted signings, Mario and his pals at Apocalypse Comics are not only some of the best people you'll ever meet but have aslso bigged up Eleventh Hour at every opportunity. That's just two examples, others include Mike Sterling, who I know ordered the book for his store, and there are many others. Okay, well, "many" probably isn't the right word. The order numbers were very disappointing, maybe that's because there isn't a market for the book. Well...maybe not...after all, at the recent London MCM Expo, Eleventh Hour was the best selling book on Markosia's stand over the weekend. It sold well at Bristol too. The market is there...I know it...the fans know it...it's just a matter of persuading the retailers too. That's our job, I fully accept that, and hopefully with more glowing reviews and a few "name" writers on board, we'll win a few more of them over next time.

Both Young Gods and Slam Ridley continue to tick over. It's frustrating that neither of them are out there yet, but that's the reality of the indie comics business. These things take time, and I hope that people will agree that they're worth waiting for when they finally arrive. The Young Gods OGN is very nearly completed and we're starting to look for a publisher for the book.

There's a ton of other stuff, I'm sure, but I think that'll do for now.

Go order Eleventh Hour Vol 1 to keep yourself amused until the next update.

Ian.

Young Gods: Sneak Peak

2007-12-03T01:51:00.000Z

Just to whet your appetite, here's a sneak peak of Paladin's new costume, which will debut in the second part of Young Gods: Birth Pains.

Costume design by Ezequiel Pineda.

What I'm Doing and Something Worrying from the news...

2007-11-15T23:23:00.000Z

Well, it's been a while, I know, but I thought it was time that I posted a quick round up of everything I'm working on at the moment, just so you all know I'm not spending my days watching Power Rangers and Charmed (Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano in one show together...it's so hard to resist...).

ELEVENTH HOUR #'s 1 & 2

Both issues of Eleventh Hour have been spectacularly well received. We've had some great reviews online, particularly from Geek Syndicate. However, I think my favourite review has to have been Doctor Who and Wisdom writer, Paul Cornell's comment on #1, "It was lovely." In fact, he thought that it was so lovely that he was the first person to buy a copy of #2 when we released it at the Birmingham show a few weeks back. He was walking past our stand, just after we'd set up and did a double take. "Eleventh Hour!" he exclaimed. "I loved the first issue, I have to have the second." Considering the fact that he's become a bit of an idol for me and Pete, you can imagine what a boost that was to both of our egos. We're pretty much sold out of both issues now (although if you're in the Cardiff area you can still pick up a copy of #2 from Comic Guru, and I'm planning on dropping off my last few copies of #2 at The Grinning Demon in Maidstone this weekend). We'll be ordering more copies of both issues soon, so we can keep up with demand. So, not only were we able to pay for the printing of #2 with the money we made from sales of #1, but we've also been able to pay for our tables at next year's Birmingham show with the money we made from sales of #2, and we still have money left to pay for reprints! We're still a long way off from becoming a global publishing empire, but it's a good start.

ELEVENTH HOUR #3

Would you believe we've already started work on #3? Well, yes, you probably would. I don't want to give too much away at the moment, but you can expect stories from myself, Pete and Cherie, in collaboration with an array of talented artist from around the world. Not only that but #3 will also feature a story by our good friend James Redington, who we all sorely miss. I'm so glad that I got to work with James before he passed away, and it's just a shame that he won't get to see the results in print. My own contribution to #3 will hopefully see the return of an artist who was associated with Orang Utan Comics in our early days, plus the return of the first ever comic book character I published - watch this space. Issue Three will be released at the Bristol Comic Expo in May.

YOUNG GODS

I've decided to split the Young Gods OGN into a two part mini-series entitled Young Gods: Birth Pains. As such, issue one is now completely pencilled and inked and just awaiting colouring and lettering. I've also asked several artists to produce cover art for the book, and once they're all done, and we've got a few pages finished, we'll start looking for a publisher for the book. It's looking fantastic, Ezequiel Pineda is a star in the making.

THE INTERGALACTIC ADVENTURES OF SLAM RIDLEY

The pencils for # 1 have been complete for a while, and, indeed, so have the inks. However, after discussions with our publisher (yes, we have a publisher for Slam Ridley - surely that's the worst kept secret in the world by now? For those of you that don't know, we'll hopefully be making an official announcement about that soon) we've decided to redo the inking for a cleaner, brighter look. I've actually decided to digitally ink the book in Illustrator, and the results so far have been fantastic. We're also planning to use the traditional DC colouring palette to ensure that the colours have a bright and vibrant feel to them.

We've also just released this promo video to whet people's appetite for the book:

Let me know what you think!

IRAQ: OPERATION CORPORATE TAKEOVER

I did the pre-press work for this OGN from the charity War On Want which, I believe, has just been released. I know that it was mentioned recently in the Guardian's "Guide", but I haven't heard too much about people's response to it yet. Obviously, my own involvement in the book was fairly limited, but hopefully it will do well.

THE FLYING FRIAR

The Flying Friar was recently released to much critical acclaim. The nice thing for me being that, as it has previously been released in black and white, every review has commented on the colouring, and those comments have been very favourable. I really enjoyed working on The Flying Friar, and outside of OUC, it's probably the single piece of work I'm most proud of to date. If you haven;t picked up a copy yet, shame on you!

CONTRABAND

Contraband by TJ Behe & Phil Elliott - a multi-issue graphic novel hitting the shelves February 27 2008 from Slave Labor Graphics.

Caught filming an illegal violent content transaction, a self-styled “citizen journalist” is bullied into finding the female activist who's sabotaging the world's most controversial cellphone video channel - Contraband. His search leads him into voyeur underground where profit-hungry youths prowl city street filming violent events to satisfy society’s accelerating demand for sensational content.

A rich character-driven thriller, Contraband vividly highlights our near-future use (and abuse) of wireless technology by incorporating modern elements of mobile communication throughout the story including text messaging, online blogging, avatars, alerts and live video broadcast.

Canadian writer TJ Behe has over ten years experience developing wireless content for global entertainment companies including BBC, Playboy, MTV and T-Mobile.

UK Artist Phil Elliott’s graphic novels include Illegal Alien (Dark Horse) and Tupelo (Slave Labor) and he has over 20 years experience providing illustrations for international publishers including Marvel, DC, Image and Fantagraphics.

Ian Sharman (Inks) and Cherie Donovan (Tones) are active professionals in the UK comic scene currently developing sequential titles at Orangutan Comics.

"Contraband is a great sci-fi thriller…" - Comics International

"Cool stuff!" - Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night)

“Contraband is as visionary as the technology Behe writes about.” (Broken Frontiers)

"Phil Elliott's work is optimistic and loving and fine...he makes it look so easy.." (Neil Gaiman)

Issue #1 Available @ www.Eyemelt.com.
Free Preview @ www.contrabandcomic.com.
Pre-order Contraband @ www.Amazon.com.

OTHER STUFF

As many of you will know, I'm now working full time in comics, which is a little scary. Thankfully I picked up a couple of new paid inking jobs this week, which should keep the wolves at bay for a little longer.

Check out the website for one of them, there's not much there yet but it looks interesting enough: www.ginaaxiom.com

AND FINALLY...

I was reading The Guardian Weekly today when I came across this little passage which I found rather disturbing, I won't editorialise too much here, just read it and draw you own conclusions. The one thing I will ask, however, is what is this woman's crime?

"Consider the case of a 23-year-old Muslim woman who was found guilty last week under new anti-terror laws. Samina Malik worked for WH Smith at Heathrow, but was given to writing poetry about beheading non-believers and martyrdom. Not long after she had begun visiting chatrooms, calling herself the "lyrical terrorist" - she thought the name "cool" - the knock at the door came. Examination of her computer revealed she had downloaded something called "How to win in hand-to-hand combat". She lives in Southall, and she now awaits sentencing."

Orang Utan Comics Unveil New Look Website!

2007-10-27T00:17:00.000+01:00

Orang Utan Comics are pleased to announce the launch of their new look website at www.orangutancomics.co.uk

Surf on over to enjoy exclusive art and info about their upcoming projects.

While you're there, why not pop in to the online store and order your copy of the critically acclaimed Eleventh Hour #2.

CHC Podcast: Pilot

2007-09-29T16:37:00.000+01:00

It is finally here!
We have decided to join the ranks of Podcasters everywhere to bring you a weekly update in audio form, discussing the latest film releases, games, comic - anything geeky, really.

Click here to download the Pilot episode (WMA format).

Be warned, however... This is complete and unedited. Two hours in length.

Eleventh Hour #1 Touches Down On IndyPlanet!

2007-08-13T11:29:00.000+01:00

Finally, the wait is over!

Eleventh Hour #1 is now available from IndyPlanet.

"Vampires, executions, post apocalyptic fish suppers and Extra Humans - just some of the surprises in store in the debut issues of Eleventh Hour. Featuring "Bloodstain", "Brothers in Arms", "Purgatory Blues" and an exclusive preview of "Young Gods". All wrapped in an exquisite cover from 2000AD's John Charles and featuring gorgeous pin ups by Azim Akberali. With a rosta of talent from around the World, this all new anthology is not to be missed.

"Eleventh Hour is a new and exciting black and white anthology series from a collective of writers and artists from around the World. It features exciting stand-alone short stories with a sting in the tale, as well as exclusive previews of upcoming Orang Utan Comics projects."

Get your hands on 36 pages of high quality comic book for just $3.99 from IndyPlanet.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-20T20:09:00.000+01:00

It almost seems a little pointless reviewing this
film. After all, if you haven't already seen the first
four Harry Potter films then you almost certainly
aren't going to go and see this one, and, indeed,
you'd be foolish to do so as it would make little or
no sense to you. If, however, you have seen the first
four films, then you're going to go and see this
regardless of what any review says because you're most
likely a Harry Potter fan (like me). Indeed, I'd go as
far as to suggest you've probably already read the
book upon which this film is based, so you know
exactly what's going to happen anyway.

Indeed, the main purposes of any review of a Harry
Potter film seem to be to let fans of the books know
which bits have been left out, and to say if the
people playing the new characters are any good.

The most glaring omission is the visit to St Mungo's,
which means that Neville's backstory must be told in
another way, and so it makes far less of a real impact
upon us. We're also left with very little information
about the origins of the prophecy, and how they relate
to professor Trelawny, which is a shame. Both Luna and
Tonks have much smaller roles in the movie too, which
is understandable as the focus would naturally have to
be on our main trio of heroes, but it also robs us of
some of the novel's highlights.

Of the new additions to the cast, it's Imelda Staunton
as Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry of Magic appointed
Defence Against the Dark Arts mistress, who gets the
most screentime. She is suitably horrid, and every bit
as sadistic and evil as she was in the book. Other new
additions include, as mentioned above, Luna, who is
excellent but underused, and Tonks, who is just as
cool as she is in the books, but sadly hardly present
in the film at all. Helena Bonham-Carter also finally
makes the cast of a Harry Potter film (it was kind of
inevitable...still waiting for Richard E. Grant and
Bill Nighy to make their debuts) as Sirius Black's
deranged Death Eater cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.
She's good, as is everyone else. The established cast
also put in first rate performances, and all the
younger members of the cast (those playing the
students) prove that if you spend that much of your
time working with the creme de la creme of the British
acting elite then something is bound to rub off.

My only real criticism of Order of the Phoenix would
be the same problem I have with the book - it really
has no real plot. It serves two main purposes,
firstly, it gives us pause to consider what effect the
events of the first four films/books have had on
Harry, and secondly, it sets things up for the last
two books, where everything finally comes to a head.
As such, in and of itself, it's rather unsatisfying,
but, of course, more than any of the rest of the
films/books, this is part of a much larger story, and
should be seen as thus.

Ultimately, this is an excellent film, the spectacular
special effects never overshadow the most important
element of Order of the Phoenix - the growing and
deepening bond between our three main heroes, Harry,
Ron and Hermione. This film is far more about
character development than it is about magic and the
fight between good and evil, and, for me, it's all the
more better for it.

Production has already begun on the sixth film, Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince, with the same
director as this film, which is a good sign. With the
final chapter of this saga due to be released in book
form at midnight tonight, Harry Potter fever is at an
all time high. However, don't let talk of
"over-hyping" and rampant commercialism (neither of
which I can see any real evidence of anyway) put you
off. Harry Potter is popular for one reason and one
reason only - it's really very good.

Rating: 9/10

Movie Review: Die Hard 4.0

2007-07-13T11:45:00.000+01:00

John McClane is back! He's older and wiser now, and so, of course, realises that even if you are being hunted by terrorists and shot at from every angle - that's simply no reason for bad language.

Seriously, I'm baffled by the decision to go for a PG-13 rating for this film, and thankful that in this country they got a 15 rating, enabling them to retain McClane's trademark catchphrase (you know the one, the one that ITV has been dubbing over as "Yipee-ki-yay Kemosabe" for years). That said, I have to admit that I'd rather have the film relatively swear word free, rather than find myself watching it on ITV in a few years and having to suffer hearing someone called a "gal dang melonfarmer."

However, the lack of a wee swearie or two hardly makes this film family friendly, with a whole multitude of violent and painful deaths filling the movie from start to finish. Why our society is ok with our young teens seeing acts of gratuitous violence, but doesn't want them to hear a few bad words, I'll never understand.

The language is nor the only thing that's different about the UK version of this film, it has also received a name change on its way across the atlantic. Billed in the US as "Live Free or Die Hard", it's received the simpler and less imaginitive title of "Die Hard 4.0" over here. One suspects that this has something to do with not wanting to produce multiple language versions of the poster artwork for the international release. Once again Hollywood seems to fail to understand that we do not speak a different language in this country. This attitude is what often leads to us having to wait for all the foreign language dubs and subs to be done on a movie before it's released in the UK, a policy which has sometimes lead to a film not receiving a theatrical release here in the UK until after the DVD release in the USA. And yet they wonder why there is such a big problem with pirate DVDs here?? I know I've mentioned this before here, but isn't it time that Hollywood got its act together and started releasing films over here at the same time as the US? If they were serious about fighting piracy they would.

Okay, so, time to get off my high horse and get back to the subject of the film! Is it any good, you ask? Well, actually, yes, it's great fun. That is, assuming you like your action movies larger than life, full of giant explosions and preposterous set pieces and you're happy to leave your brain at the door on the way in. Rest assured, you can happily give your brain the night off if you go and see this movie as whenever anything gets a bit technical or complicated, McClane is there for you, scratching his head and asking people to explain everything in words of one syllable just in case you've never heard of the internet or computers or something.

The main purpose of the plot in this movie is to lead you from one giant explosion to the next while firing off as many rounds of ammunition as is humanly possible. At one point, McClane takes out a helicopter by essentially firing a car at it and you think to yourself, "That is by far the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen"...trust me, you'll be revising that opinion by the end of the movie (probably during the "truck vs fighter plane" sequence).

Solid performances are delivered by everyone involved. Willis is, as ever, brilliant in the role he was made to play, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Justin Long also shine as McClane's chip-off-the-old-block daughter and his new hacker side kick respectively. Kevin Smith pops up in his now obligatory cameo role, and if like me you're a Kevin Smith fan, you'll enjoy it. I'm sure these cameos must really grate on those people that can't stand him though. Heh. What this film does lack is a really memorable villain, Timothy Olyphant is no Alan Rickman and the film suffers for it.

So far, in the year of the threequel, Die Hard is proving that four is the magic number.

Rating: 7/10

Star Wars & Me - Part 2

2007-07-06T16:56:00.000+01:00

I used to have a picture of Jar Jar Binks up in my living room. There, I've admitted it. I'm not sure if I'm wholly ashamed of that fact or not, but, returning to the subject of Star Wars influence and impact on my life, it would be simply wrong of me to cover the Prequel ere without confessing that deep, dark secret.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself here. In the run up to next weekends Star Wars Celebration Europe I thought it might be interesting to talk about my experiences of Lucas' return to the Saga. As I discussed in part one, the Original Trilogy had a very profound and far reaching effect on my youth, and in many ways the Prequel Trilogy has formed something of a backdrop to my adult life as well.

It's hard to know exactly where to start with a discussion of the Prequels. My Star Wars fanatic sister had made sure that I knew from an early age that the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, was in fact episode four, and that Lucas intended to make three films set before it and three films set after it. I know that Mr Lucas has more recently claimed that the plan was always to only make six films, and that he'd never said he had plans to make episodes seven, eight and nine...but....well... I've watched interviews with him where he's not only said that he was planning nine films, but that the entire saga could possibly be twelve. So, like many of my generation, I'm sure, I spent much time contemplating what events might transpire in these as yet unmade films.

I think it's unlikely we'll ever see Lucas himself produce Episodes 7-9. For one thing, the time period they would likely have originally been planned to take place in has been thoroughly covered by the many novels, comics and video games that have been released over the last thirty years. It's not impossible that Lucas might come out and declare that none of that is canon and make three films that flatly contradict it all, but I'm sure he makes a lot of money from the sales of those "Expanded Universe" products, and I can't see him shooting the goose that lays the golden egg. I've often imagined the sequel trilogy as charting the fall of the New Republic, Luke's eventual turn to the Dark Side and the establishment of a new Sith Order opposed by the last remaining Jedi, Leia Organa. Thus demonstrating the cyclical and somewhat futile nature of history. But, you know, that would be kind of dark.

Speculation about the Prequel Trilogy, however, was always a little more fun. After all, where this was concerned, we actually had some clues to work on. We knew that the Clone Wars were likely to take place at some point during the films, though we had no idea what they were, other than that a Jedi such as Obi-Wan was able to attain the rank of General during them. We also knew that at some point during the Prequels Anakin would turn on his master Obi-Wan and embrace the dark side of the Force. We also knew that the final showdown between the two woudl take place beside a pool of lava, and that Obi-Wan would ultimately emerge victorious, and that Anakin would be left hideously disfigured. Lastly, we knew that at some point Anakin would father twins, but we didn't know who their mother would be (although we suspected that Luke would be taken from her at birth while Leia would stay with her for a short time).

That's all anyone had to go on for about fifteen years, but even with such a small amount of information, the early internet was still full of websites, newsgroups and forums dedicated to discussing exactly what was going to happen in episodes 1-3 and 7-9. Of course, it was all wild speculation and nothing else, and then...

...and then, in the wake of the huge success of the release of the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy in cinemas worldwide, George Lucas finally did what so many Star Wars fans had by now given up almost all hope of him ever doing...

...he announced the continuation of the Star Wars Saga on the big screen.

More specifically, he announced that production had started on Star Wars: Episode I. At that time it had no subtitle, that was it, he kept everyone guessing about the title for a long time.

Eventually, the first trailer was released on the internet, and I can remember patiently sitting for hours while my dial-up connection slowly downloaded the trailer. Ever so slowly the first new shots of a Star Wars film to be seen since the credits rolled on Return of the Jedi played across my PC's monitor. It looked amazing. This was going to be the greatest film ever. It was going to have been worth the wait.

My first inkling that this assumption may not have been entirely correct came when the title was finally announced - The Phantom Menace. I was convinced it was a joke. I thought it was a play one words, as in "The Fandom Menace" but I guess I was wrong. The title's grown on me since.

Soon after, the Duel of the Fates video was released, and it wasn't long before my then fiance and I knew every line of dialogue in that video off by heart. Now, when my then fiance and now ex first got together, she had never seen a single Star Wars film. I had the joy of introducing her to the Original Trilogy (in their Special Edition forms), which she instantly fell in love with. She had willingly joined me in my Star Wars fandom and we were both incredibly excited about the new film.

I deliberately tried to avoid any and all plot spoilers in the run up to the film's release, and given that I was such a heavy internet user (and active on a few Star Wars forums back then too) that was no mean feat. Thus, I was a little disappointed when a casual glance at the back of the soundtrack CD, released a few weeks before the film hit cinemas, resulted me reading the track title "The Funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn." Doh!

It was the summer of 1999, I had a good job, I was engaged to be married, traveling the world doing good, and there was a new Star Wars at the cinema. Life was good. Was it the greatest film ever? Well, no, I guess not. It was very good, but a little heavy on the politics, a little heavy on the annoying gungan and a little light on the Han Solo front. In the Original Trilogy, the Jedi's rampant idealism had been counterbalanced by Solo's world weary cynicism. There was none of that here, and the film suffered for it.

Reading a lot of people's views on The Phantom Menace today you'd be forgiven for thinking that's it's two hours of Jar Jar Binks in boring senate meetings about midichlorians. To be fair, the senate meetings, Jar Jar's antics and the mention of midichlorians are a very small part of what is, on the whole, a thrilling action/adventure movie. The podrace and the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Darth Maul lightsabre duel are two of the high points of the entire six film saga. It has a strong cast, with Liam Neeson particularly standing out as Qui-Gon, whose presence is sorely missed from episodes 2 and 3. Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor are both fine actors on fine form here and, yes, indeed, Jake Lloyd is actually very good as the young Anakin Skywalker. The script, at times, lacks much of the wit of Original Trilogy and there are a few jarring cuts in the film which the DVD release later revealed were due to the removal of several scenes. I can't help but feel that had those scenes remained the film would have flowed more smoothly and I'm hoping that a future DVD (or perhaps BlueRay or HD) release will see these scenes fully restored to the film. Yes, Jar Jar got to be a little too much at times but...small children loved him, and my then fiance loved him too (that's why we had his picture up in our living room), she even carried around a Jar Jar back pack everywhere she went for quite some time. So, I don't hate Jar Jar, in fact, I'm rather fond of him. He reminds me of that simple, happy summer, when Star Wars was back in the cinema at long last (and I saw it four times).

The Original Trilogy had inspired such groundbreaking, classic PC games as Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, X-Wing and TIE Fighter, so when The Phantom Menace was released, LucasArts knew they'd set themselves up with a very high benchmark to meet. The official game of the film was a fairly uninspiring if fun platform affair, certainly not the type of game to almost take over your life, as the previous games I mentioned did. However, all was not lost, as there followed the extremely unimaginitively titled Episode I: Racer. I suspect that the guys at LucasArts had poured so much of their collective genius into making this game that they simply had none left when it was time to choose a title. I remember installing the game with eager anticipation, loading it up, navigating through the menu screens, clicking on "play" and being met by nothing but grey fog and what I assumed were the sounds of a pod race. A quick bit of online research later and I broke the sad news to my dad - he needed a new graphics card. My dad, bless him, splashed out on a brand new top of the range card, and before I knew it I was off racing across the deserts of Tatooine, across Malastare, Ando Prime, and the rest of the Galactic Podracing Circuit. This game was pretty much perfect, easily the best racing game I've ever played. Not only were the controls and the game play superb, but there was a veritable smorgasbord of tracks and pods to choose from, as well as a seemingly endless supply of upgrades which could be purchased with your race winnings. My only real complaint about the game being that the final few special races (unlocked by winning every other race) finally proved too hard for me. Still, if you've never played it, then hunt this one down in the bargain bins or on eBay. I seem to recall in needs a patch to run on XP, but don't let that put you off.

Now we move on to Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The summer of 2002, with my Podracer alarm clock firmly consigned to the dustbin (due to its providing the single most unpleasant way to be woken up in the morning), I was now a much oldr and wiser man, not only married, but also the father of one small but perfectly formed little boy, Zak (Han, Luke and Anakin having been rejected as names by his mother - although she would have happily called a girl Padme!?!).

I was, obviously, very busy with other things at the time, and Attack of the Clones kind of snuck up on me, and I only managed to see it once at the cinema. I remember being blown away when I first saw, and hugely disappointed when I later returned to it on DVD. It has some amazing parts, such as the introduction of the Kaminoans and the cloning facility, and Jango Fett was a very welcome addition to Star Wars universe. However, a lot of the action falls a little flat on further viewings due to either a complete lack of dialogue (the big end battle) or some appalling dialogue (the speeder chase at the beginning). The biggest problem with this film however, is Hayden Christensen's wooden performance. While I completely understand that he was trying to play a troubled character who was trying to keep his very powerful emotions in check, he instead comes across as an uncharismatic, whiny bore. The few times that he does let himself go, and truly emotes, he really shines (for example, when he confess to Padme about his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders). However, it's in the romance that his performance really falters, and it's just impossible to buy any kind of connection between Anakin and Padme. I've heard since that Christensen and Portman loathed each other, and if this is the case then it's a real shame as it really hurts the movie. I can't help but think that it would have been much more in keeping with the feel of Star Wars to have them fall in love while fighting side by side in the Clone Wars, rather than have them in such a stiff, formal situation light years away from the action.

All that aside, Star Wars films are a lot like pizza, when they're good, they're great, but when they're bad...well...they're still pretty good. This film still has some excellent moments, such as the showdown between Jango Fett and Mace Windu, or the ultimate fanboy moment - Yoda vs Count Dooku. Some people hate Yoda's fight scene in this movie and think it's laughable. Those people are idiots. It's damn cool. Yoda rocks!

My wife didn't enjoy Attack of the Clones, however. Hayden's acting was just too wooden, and she thought Yoda's fight scene was silly. She was falling out of love with Star Wars. It was no longer the care free summer of '99, things had started to turn sour at the church where I worked, which then dominated just about every part of our lives. Just as the victory celebrations at the end of Attack of the Clones are tempered with Yoda's warnings of impending doom, so things had started to go very wrong in my own life, and I was ultimately to find myself entering my own dark times, just as that galaxy far, far away was.

So we skip forward a bit to 2005, the Saga was reaching a close, and it's darkest moment, and my life was mirroring it in many ways. 2004 had seen me quit the church where I'd been working for five years as I discovered that my boss, the pastor there, was every bit as corrupt and morally bankrupt as Chancellor Palpatine. That had cost me a lot, my job, my house, the band I was bass player in and most of my friends. Then in 2005 it began to become clear that it was, ultimately, going to cost me my marriage as well. We were heading to the London Expo when she told me she was leaving me and while we ultimately decided to try and work things out for the sake of our now two children, it was clearly the beginning of the end. It may sound completely absurd, but it became most clear to me that we really weren't going to be able to work it out when, having pre-booked tickets for the opening night of Revenge of the Sith, she announced to me just before we were about to leave for the cinema that she didn't want to go and that my dad could have her ticket instead. Her love for Star Wars was well and truly dead, and with it yet another thing that we shared was gone. It took us another year to finally agree that it was over.

Still, you don't want to hear about that dark time in my life, not when there's still the final chapter in the Saga to talk about!

So, what of Revenge of the Sith? Was it any good? Of course it was! By far the best of the prequel trilogy, and probably the third best film in the entire Saga. Action, adventure, excitement, this film had it all. Incredibly dark at times, thankfully, and only slightly marred by Hayden's still quite wooden acting (oh, and that awful "Nooooooooooo" from Darth Vader at the end...ugh.... ). At last, here were those moments we'd been speculating about for all those years. General Kenobi fighting in the Clone Wars. Anakin... Obi-Wan... A river of lava... The finest lightsaber fight in the Saga. The twins are born (and generate the oddest, most pointless continuity error... how does Leia remember her mother?). Vader and Tarkin oversee the construction of the first dreaded Death Star and C3P0 and R2D2 find themselves on the Tantive IV under the command of Captain Antilles. The circle is complete! Now George Lucas is the master!

Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers a young boy to his aunt and uncle on Tatooine and...despite everything that's going horribly wrong in my life...I have a new hope. I start working on a comic called "Young Gods' and...well...if you want to know what that led to, then you'll have to go back to the first post on this blog, and keep reading...

Movie Review: Shrek The Third

2007-07-05T18:36:00.001+01:00

I think a return of my regular movie reviews is way overdue, and so from now on I'm going to make an effort to post reviews of all the movies that I see. To add a little variety I'm going to aim to review films I watch on TV (either broadcast or on DVD) as well as films I see at the cinema.

So, let's get the ball rolling with Dreamworks latest CGI animated offering, starring the vocal talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz - Shrek The Third.

The law of diminishing returns, in regards to movie sequels, has never been truer than with the Shrek series. The first film was a work of genius, with a sharp and witty script (many of the best parts improvised by Myers and Murphy during recording) and groundbreaking computer generated animation. In my opinion, Shrek was the first CGI film that wasn't made by Pixar which was actually any good. It was a huge hit with both parents and children, and, having a five year old and a three year old myself, I've watched it more times now than I'd care to mention - but it hasn't lost its charm.

The second film was more of the same, although the script was slightly less sharp, it managed to avoid the feeling of just treading over old ground by adding new characters, such as the excellent Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), and a fairly amusing plot (although this lacked the simple, iconic brilliance of the original).

And so we come to this, the third installment, and, I'm afraid the well is running dry. The spark is gone from the Donkey/Shrek relationship, and Shrek and Fiona's "baby" issues prove that fairy tales really do need to end at "and they all lived happily ever after." Justin Timberlake is okay as Arthur (yet another character added to an already bloated cast), but is given precious little to do as the writers struggle to decide if he or Shrek should be the main focus of the story. Eric Idle is introduced to little effect, the producers committing the cardinal sin of forgetting that an ex-Python is only funny if you give him something funny to say or do.

There are amusing moments here and there, but they're too few and far between to really make this movie worthwhile. If you're going to make a sequel - please do it because you have a story to tell, not just to make money (which this film will no doubt do).

Hopefully this will be Shrek's final cinematic outing, and the producers won't return to the well a fourth time, to find that it's well and truly run dry.

Rating: 4/10

Ian.

Eleventh Hour #1 - Out Now!!!!!

2007-06-21T21:20:00.001+01:00

The waiting is over!

The comic book event of the century has finally arrived!

Eleventh Hour #1 is now available to buy both on and offline.

Don't miss this opportunity to own a piece of comic book history - the first ever comic book from Orang Utan Comics!

Featuring tales of vampire hunters and their prey, condemned prisoners returned from the afterlife, apocalyptic fish suppers and superhuman teenagers kicking @$$! Lovingly scripted by Peter Rogers and Ian Sharman, painstakingly etched by awe inspiring artists from across the globe - including Nuno Nobre, Azim Akberali, Tom Walsh and Randy Valiente. Lovingly wrapped in the sublime cover art stylings of 2000AD's very own John Charles.

Head on over to the brand new Orang Utan Comics online store and order your copy now!

Alternatively, if you live in the Maidstone area, you can pop into The Grinning Demon comic shop on the high street and pick up a copy.

Slam Ridley Welcomes Simon Wyatt!

2007-06-16T12:09:00.000+01:00

Well, there's good news and bad news for Slam Ridley fans today.

The bad news is that after much deliberation between Pete and myself, we've decided to let Paul Ridgon go from the Slam Ridley team. Paul is an amazing artist, and we're sorry to see him go, but we both felt that it was time to find someone more reliable to work on the book. We both wish Paul the best and recognise that, without him, the book simply wouldn't be what it is today (several months late...kidding...couldn't resist that one...heh...).

The good news is that we're very pleased to announce new series artist Simon Wyatt!

Simon first got in touch with us via comicspace, and we met up with him at Bristol this year. He's currently working on a six page story for Eleventh Hour #2. Danick and the Dragon is a short fantasy story written by myself, and, as you can see above, his work in this is outstanding:

Simon's recent pin-up of Ethal Nuargi from The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley initially started us thinking that he might be right for the book but his gorgeous pencils for Danick and the Dragon sealed the deal for Pete and I and we both immediately concluded that we'd found the perfect replacement for Paul.
Simon will be finishing up on Danick and the Dragon in the next few days, and then he'll be moving on to work on Slam, so hopefully we'll have something to show you soon!

Star Wars and Me.

2007-05-25T18:43:00.000+01:00

Thirty years ago today, while I had just mastered solid food and was embarking on the tricky business of learning to walk, a tiny little independent movie was released in a small number of cinemas in the USA. It was distruibuted by 20th Century Fox, who were the only studio willing to distribute what seemed to everyone else to be an obvious turkey.

At that point in time the movie in question was simply titles "Star Wars", and had yet to gain it's subtitle of "Episode IV: A New Hope", and while I was far too young to go to the cinema to see it (being still in nappies), when it finally made it to this side of the Atlantic (early in 1978, I believe) it captured the imagination of a generation of children - my sister's generation. I think she only got to see the film at the cinema once, but she read the novel and the Marvel UK reprint of the comic book adaptation and commiteed them to memory. She was, in her school playground, THE Star Wars expert. She knew EVERYTHING.

Now, my big sister is fab, and I've always wanted to be just like her (apart from the whole having breasts and being a girl part) and so it's no great shock that I inherited her love...no...her reverence of Star Wars. In 1980 a sequel was released, The Empire Strikes Back, and despite turning four in the year of its release, I can still recall being taken to the cinema to see it. I don't recall actually watching it as I fell asleep (hey, I was, like, three!), all I remember is a lot of white and then...a lot of black as I was asleep. Ah well...

Despite being a girl, my sister had, I seem to recall, built up a collection of Star wars toys, and as she grew older and moved onto being interested in Tears for Fears, dressing as a "futurist" and sitting in her room being miserable about the boy of the week, these were passed on to me, and I still vividly recall the birthday that I received the Millennium Falcon on, and the Christmas that saw the Empire strike back (sorry) with their very own AT-AT. I remember sending off for the accessory kit which meant that my Luke Skywalker figure could finally use a grappling line to attack the AT-AT, and receiving Nein-Numb through the post. (Oh, and I...ahem...inherited my sister's copies of the novelisation of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Splinter of the Mind's Eye - she's welcome to try and retrieve these from my cold, dead hands someday...).

And I recall being in a small newsagent/post office kind of shop and seeing a paperback version of the comic book adaptation of the new film, just two weeks before its release. I couldn't resist, and begged my mum to buy it for me, thus ruining every surprise that Return of the Jedi had in store for me, but I didn't care - this was MY Star wars film, that I could finally see on the big screen. I was seven years old, and Star Wars was my world. I think that I got to go and see it for my birthday, with my best friend from down the road. It was about the same time we moved to our new house.

My father must have drawn some kind of short straw, because I clearly remember him taking me to see BOTH Ewok films at the cinema. I can't think what he did to deserve this. Presumably my mother had to endure some kind of shopping trip with my sisters (I have two, the other one never really caught the Star Wars bug like we did).

Something interesting happened shortly after this, the video rental revolution. The release of the Star Wars trilogy to rent on video helped to spur this on, and the release of the Empire Strikes Back to rent, just happened to coincide with my being off school for a week, aged 8, while I recovered from, ahem, a popular Jewish operation. The store said that my mum was the second person to rent ESB, she'd had to put her name down on a waiting list. I'd seen A New Hope on TV, of course, and Jedi at the cinema the year before...but now I could finally hear those chilling words "No, Luke....I am your father..."

Gradually the toys started to disappear from the shelves...but I still loved Star Wars. I joined the Fan Club, and devoured every issue of Bantha Tracks, hoping for news of the rumoured Sequels and Prequels (this was looong before we had the internet to discuss such things). I begged my parents to buy me a replica Luke Skywalker Dagobah fatigues jacket...they did...I looked so cool in that....heh...

Then the films were released to own on VHS, and my mum ordered them specially from the video store for my Christmas present, all three films (looking back, that can't have been cheap...thanks mum and dad!), unfortunately only A New Hope arrived in time for Christmas day, and it had no sound! I don't remember being too disappointed though - I knew that i was going to own all three films and could watch them as much as I wanted.

And then came the dark times...the fan club had to close down because there simply wasn't enough interest in Star Wars to keep it going. They promised to let me know when and if it started up again (they didn't). It's strange, most histories of the last thirty years of Star Wars seem to forget this time existed. I always get frustrated when I hear some celeb saying how they've ALWAYS loved Star Wars and have ALWAYS been a huge fan. But there was a time when no-one, save us faithful few, loved Star Wars. It was old news, forgotten, people simply moved on. I picked up the Han Solo trilogy of novels for next to nothing at a car boot sale, but there was nothing new coming out.

Then Star Wars started to come back. Again, most histories of Star Wars go a little wrong here too, as they cite Timothy Zahn's excellent trilogy of Star Wars novels as being what resurrected Star Wars, but it started before that. To my recollection, there were two things that seriously brought about the rebirth of Star Wars, one was the advent of "Widescreen" and the re-release of the original trilogy in this new format (again, another Christmas present from my mother, and, again, only A New Hope on Christmas Day...but the joy of watching the WHOLE trilogy, with nothing shaved off the sides - it was like watching all three films for the first time again - even if we did onyl have a tiny 15" TV to watch them on at the time!). The second thing that resurrected Star Wars, in my view, was the West End Games roleplaying game. OK, so I had no-one to play it with, but I devoure dthe rule book and the source books, immersing myself in my favourite fictional universe. Oh, and, in the back of the roleplaying game rule book - there was an application form to join the NEW fan club...

And so I was introduced to the joys of Star Wars Insider, and the catalogue that filled its centre pages. Oh, and for some reason, my dad had forgotten to give me any pocket money for, like, a year, and so owed me big time...and there, in the catalogue, was a shiny Don Post replica Darth Vader helmet. If only Tony had nominated me for a "You Look Like a Dark Lord of the Sith" award...

It's hard to get everything in chronological order, but, at some point, LucasArts brought out two of the greatest PC games ever....X-Wing and Dark Forces (OK, Dark Forces wasn't one of the greatest games ever, but its sequel, Jedi Knight, was). I fully emersed myself in these digital version of that galaxy far, far away...but there was one thing I steadfastly resisted - those darn Timothy Zahn novels. They weren't by Lucas, they weren' canon, and I didn't want to read them (feel free to imagine me huffing and crossing my arms here).

Then, when I was eighteen, I was called up to do jury duty, and rightly anticipating a lot of sitting around and waiting, I decided to buy a book to occupy my time...and....yes...I caved and bought Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. Roughly 100 books later, and my bookshelf is groaning under the weight of my Star Wars novel collection. It's had it's high point and lowpoints, and I'm still trying to regain my enthusiasm for the series in the wake of the disappointing New Jedi Order, but it's certainly help keep my love of the Saga alive.

This is going on a bit, isn't it? Suffice it to say that Star Wars was back, and following the success of the Expanded Universe, the roleplaying game, and the rerelease of Star Wars in Widescreen on VHS, Lucas decided to rerelease the trilogy in 1997 on the big screen for teh series' 20th anniversary. Somewhat controversially, he used the assocaited restoration project to return to the movies and, in his view, finish what he'd begun. Advances in sfx in the ensuing twenty years meant that scenes and effects that were well beyond the technology available to him in 1977 could now be fully realised according to his original vision. Now, arguments about who shot first aside, I personally loved the '97 special editions, although I'm less sure about some of the changes made to the recent DVD releases.

Little did we know at the time, but the work on the special editions was just a warm up for the big event - Lucas was finally ready to take the plunge and make a film that had to live up to over twenty years worth of fan expectations, a film that needed to surpass the dreams and imaginings of millions of people who were now well into adulthood, and had spent their life wondering about thing only hinted at in the original trilogy. The clone wars. The Dark Lords of the Sith. Could Lucas possibly make a film that could satisfy these people. Of course not...that would have been on a par with producing documentary footage that prooved that Father Christmas was alive and well and living at the North Pole with a small army of elves. The Phantom Menace could do nothing but disappoint. Despite breathtaking ligthsaber fights, and one of the most spectacular action sequences in movie history - the podrace - we simply weren't eight anymore.

That's not to say that Lucas doesn't take any of the blame - perhaps bringing some other people in to help with the script would have helped him see that Jar Jar Binks was...ah...possibly annoying...and that the Neimodians seemed to be a little too Japanese for modern sensitivities. But, nevertheless, this was Star Wars, and I'm still reserving judgement on all of the prequels until I've lived with them for at least a decade.

Attack of the Clones was a step in the right direction - although no-one was buying the "chemistry" between Anakin and Padme...and Revenge of the Sith perhaps saw the series return to, at the very least, Return of the Jedi levels. But for me, the feel of the original series has been more kept alive in the expanded universe. I have more of a fondness for the likes of Mara Jade, Kyle Katarn and Corran Horn than I do for Qui Gon jinn, Padme Amidala and Mace Windu.

So...Star Wars is thirty. Thank you George Lucas, for firing my imagination for three decades. Without Star Wars there'd be no Battlestar Galactica, no Star Trek Movies...Next Generation, DS9, Voyager or Enterprise, there'd be no Firefly or Serenity...there'd be no Spaceballs, Hardware Wars, Revelations or Threads of Destiny...and...of course...there'd be no Slam Ridley.

There are rumours of a new film, set in the time of the Knights of the Old Republic, but I don't believe a word of it. Rather, Star Wars is set to return to the place where it's enjoyed the most success...in the form of videos and dvds...Star Wars is coming to television, in the form of a live action series, and a CGI series. We can only hope that Lucas will solely function as executive producer on these and, like the expanded universe, hand the reigns over to a new generation of writers, who have a real feel for what Star Wars IS, rather than what he always wanted it to be. Less Jedi....more scruffy looking nerf-herders and their beaten up tramp freighters that have got it where it counts...

Online Portfolio

2007-05-22T19:54:00.000+01:00

Further to my hightened search for paying freelance work, you can now peruse a gallery of samples of my colouring and inking work on my deviantArt here.

The lovely Cher has also combed Digital Webbing for me and I've emailed a ton of people offering paid inking and lettering jobs...so we'll see.

Make Mine Slam!

2007-05-20T10:59:00.000+01:00

Well, I've had a bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things, post-Bristol, but thankfully the talented array of artists we have at OUC have been a bit more on the ball. So, without further ado, from the red hot pencil of Mr Paul Ridgon, your first look at Mr Slam Ridley's final look (after going through Paul's original design, and Garth's redesign, we now have Paul's new design):

Not only that, but our hot new pin-up artist, Marco Guaglione, has started work on a Kyouri pin-up, and here are the rough pencils to whet your appetite:

I haven't been completely slacking myself, though. I've finished up the plot to Hero: 9-5 #1, which I'll be passing on to an artist we hooked up with in Bristol as soon as it's typed up, and I've also written a short story entitled "Ghost Boy" for Eleventh Hour #2, which I just need to add panel descriptions to before sending off to an artist that I'm hoping will agree to pencil it.

I'm also more actively seeking freelance inking, colouring and lettering work (as in, for a page rate), and will be altering some of my websites over the next week to reflect this (posting my page rates and the like). Of course, my PC is still non-functioning, which doesn't help matters, but I can at least letter on my dad's PC, and thankfully my inking brush doesn't need an operating system to function properly. I can colour on here as well, although it's not ideal (not least because the monitor simply isn't as good as mine), and I have the problem that the various colouring projects that I have on the go at the moment are all on the non-functioning PC (on my secondary drive, which if push comes to shove I can always remove and plug into this PC, but I'd rather not). Hopefully my PC will be fixed sometime this week, if not then I'm going to have to start thinking about what I'm going to do (if only I had the money to just buy a new PC, and strip out the hard drives from my old one and put them in the new one, that would solve everything, as the old PC was getting increasingly buggy anyway, and has, for some reason, always refused to update to XP Service Pack 2, which is a pain). I would ultimately like to upgrade to a much more powerful PC anyway so that I can get back into the 3D stuff, which I've kinda' let slide as the rendering times got so long.

The Massively Multi-Con Super Report!

2007-05-18T10:56:00.000+01:00

Zak meets a Stormtrooper while Aaron cowers in fear in Cher's arms...

Well, I guess I should apologise once againfor not updating for so long. My non-comic life has gone a bit wonky recently, and my initial relief at walking straight into a new job after being made redundant three months ago has turned into a strange disbelieving bemusement as my new employers found that they didn't have enough work to justify an extra designer after all. So I'm jobless. I'm also PC-less as my trusty machine seems to have given up the ghost, so I'm having to use my dad's PC to write this.

Memorabilia

But, I digress, back to business! I have lots of great pics to share of the last three conventions we've attended, starting with Memorabilia. As you can see above, Zak got to meet a stormtrooper, but Aaron wasn't entirely convinced that this was a good thing. It turns out that both my children are actually afraid of people dressed as stormtroopers, jedi, X-Men, aliens and daleks.

Even the presence of a certain brown-suited visitor from gallifrey couldn't persuade the boys that the Dalek posed no threat to them.

The convention overall was great fun, although the drive there and back proved a little too long for both boys (and me, to be honest). We met up with fellow OUC staff member Derek hartley though, which was good.

As always at these events there was so much STUFF that we wanted to buy, but we were very self controlled and just picked up a couple of Marvel Legends figures to add to our collection (which has recently been swelled by great special offers at both ASDA and Woolworths).

Zak got a couple of Power Rangers toys, as they are his ultimate heroes. He adores the Power Rangers. Aaron's Thomas The Tank Engine radar was fully operational and in the vast convention hall he managed to find a couple of engines to add to his vast collection.

The main purpose of our trip to Memorabilia though was so that Zak could meet these guys - the Power Rangers! Sadly there was no Pink Ranger present, but Zak was still very excited to meet his heroes.

We eventually arrived back in Medway much later than we should have (their mum wasn't hugely happy about that) but a great day had been had by all. I wouldn't hugely recommend Memorabilia as a family day out though, as the sheer size of the exhibition hall means that you'll be less than half way round before the children are asking to be carried, and the people in costume can be quite scary for the little ones.

Collectormania
Collectormania at Milton Keynes proved a lot more reasonable drive to and from than Birmingham's Memorabilia. However, Collectormania proved to eb even less child friendly. While the exhibition hall is a lot smaller, everything is a lot more cramped and there were vast numbers of people. Small children and crowds in enclosed spaces don't really mix well, and the boys were soon tired and irritable. Plus, there was a lot more cool stuff for the boys to look at at Memorabilia, whereas Collectormania is just about buying stuff. We ended up spending most of our time in Pizza Hut, so we still had a good time, but we could have done that locally and saved on petrol! Although Collectormania does score over Memorabilia by being free to get in! Considering there's little to do at Memorabilia other than buy stuff, charging to get in seems a little unreasonable. It's like having an entry fee at your local shopping centre!

We headed back the next day without the boys, although the crowds still made it very hard to look round all the stalls. The real highlight of the weekend was at the party on the Sunday night, where we got to bear witness to Anthony Head (Giles from Buffy) singing Sweet Transvestite, among other things.

I also got to meet Peter Mayhew, and got my photo taken with him with the intention of it aiding my campaign to win the "You Look Like A Wookie" award at the Two Drunk Guys In A Bar Golden Champagne Glass Awards, but due to them messing up I ended up without my picture. Still, the mess up did result in me walking through John Lewis with James Marsters. Something Cher still hasn't forgiven me for.

We left Collectormania early so that me could race to London for a screening of the classic animated Transformers: The Movie. Suffice it to say that Cher left the cinema transformed (sorry) into a rabid Transfan!

And now onto the big one - The Bristol International Comic Expo!

Friday
Pretty much everything that could go wrong in the week before BICE, did go wrong. I lost my job, my PC died, and our comics failed to arrive (and we're still waiting for them now, thank Ka-Blam!). I'd been working on a promo video for OUC for a few weeks, and the PC died as I clicked "Burn", leaving me a morning to redo it with images downloaded from our myspace page on my dad's PC.

As you can see from the picture, getting everything ready to take to the event took the form of organised chaos, with goodie bags and audio/video equipment spread all over the floor. For some reason we'd decided that it would be a good idea to organise the film night at BICE, for some reason the organisers of BICE had agreed, and God only knows what had possessed us to decide to make up goodie bags for the first fifty people through the door. As Derek kept pointing out, based on the attendance from rpevious years, fifty people coming through the door on the night was really wishful thinking.

We'd originally intended to leave early and get to Bristol at 2pm at the very latest. However, we had no comics and were clinging to the hope that they'd arrive at the eleventh hour (pun intended). That, combined with some other stuff going spectacularly wrong, meant that we didn't leave Medway until 2pm, and an accident on the M25, combined with roadworks on the M4, and hitting the outskirts of Bristol at rush hour, meant that we didn't get to the Ramada Plaza Hotel until around 7.30pm (and we still had to find our hotel!).

Still, from here on in things started to run smoothly. We set up our banner stands in the room where we were holding the Film Night and tested all the DVDs, which all worked perfectly. To our great relief, the DVD for Highlander: Search for Vengeance was indeed waiting for us when we arrived and as you can see from the photo, people actually turned up. Indeed, so many people turned up that we ran out of goodie bags. The film night was a huge success and we've been asked to host it again next year. We've already been brainstorming ideas to make the event even bigger and better.

Saturday
Proceedings finally came to a close at 3am, and we had to be up at 7am to set up our stand in the main exhibition hall! Despite not having any comics out table was somehow overflowing with stuff, and I can't help but think that we'll need a bigger table next time. The convention got off to a fairly slow start for us, as people semeed to be wandering around looking at stuff before buying at first. Things picked up in the afternoon, however, and we sold over half of our preview copies of Eleventh Hour on the first day. People also gave generously to the Orang Utan Foundation. The 32" LCD HD TV was hugely successful at drawing people to our stand (even if the Tokyopop people opposite us did have a bigger TV!).

Throughout the day we showed a selection of fan films, including Star Wars: Revelations, a teaser trailer for forthcoming Firefly fanfilm Bellflower, Batman: Dead End, AMV Hell 3, and many more. We managed to completely block the aisle we were on while we showed World's Finest (a team up between Batman and Superman) and Batman: Dead End (Batman vs Alien vs Predator). AMV Hell 3 also drew big crowds, with people standing at our stall for the full hour and a half running time (during which we waved our products in their general direction and enticed them to buy our wares). The big screen TV will definitely continue to be a feature of our stand at future conventions.

While most of the Saturday was spent at the stand, I did manage to get away for the Markosia panel, which was much better attended than last year's. Markosia have got a lot of big things in the pipeline and I'm particularly looking forward to their adaptation of Beowulf.

Saturday night saw us head to the Ramada bar for the infamous Two Drunk Guys In A Bar Golden Champagne Awards where our evry own Derek Hartley picked up the "Most Likely To Commit Murder In Our Name" awards, Cher picked up the "Scariest Fan" award and I completed OUC's award winning hat-trick with tyhe "You Look Like A Wookie" award. The ceremony was great fun and I can't wait for next year's awards. While everyone else seemed determined to drink well into the wee small hours, Cher and myself knew our limits and headed back to our apartment for some much needed sleep.

Sunday

The heaven's opened and created a much more subdued atmosphere on the Sunday (either that or everyone was really hung over). We sold less comics, saw less people, and there was generally an atmosphere of tired dampness about the whole convention. It rained so hard that one of the roads linking the main convention hall and the Ramada had to be closed due to a giant puddle (which I believe had developed its own tidal system).

The high point of Sunday was, of course, Hypotheticals, which went incredibly well, despite being moved to the Sunday. Cher somehow managed to get involved, being pulled from the audience by dave Gibbons to ask him a question (as he'd heard her interview with Budgie on Area-51 and knew she was good at that sort of thing). Budgie claims that it wasn't planned in advance and went to the lengths of producing the script in the bar later to prove this. I don't think Cher's 100% convinced that she wasn't set up. The panel wasn't quite as crazy as last years (mainly due to everyone being hung over rather than drunk, and the absence of Jamie Boardman), but it was still excellent.

After Hypotheticals we all headed back to the stand to find that everyone in the main hall was packing up, so, like the sheep we are, we joined in and packed up too! All that remained was to head back to the Ramada bar for a couple of hours to chill out and say goodbye to everyone. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to give the last two copies of the Eleventh Hour preview comic to Kurt Busiek and Alan Davis (who I gushed to about being such an inspiration to me...how embarassing). Then we crawled back into the car and headed back home. Thanks to everyone who made it such a great weekend, we'll see you all at Brumcon!

And for those of you that missed it, here's the OUC promo video:

I Am The Wookie-est!

2007-05-02T03:31:00.000+01:00

It's a proud honour to be nominated for a prestigious Two Drunk Guys In A Bar Golden Champagne Glass Award in the hotly contested "You Look Like A Wookie" category.

I'm up against stiff competition in the form of top comic book writing legend Alan Moore, so I need all the votes that I can get.

So, please, vote Sharman...it is your destiny...it is....the only way...

Go here to find out more.

I'd like to thank Tony and Dan and the makers of fine alcoholic beverages everywhere for making this nomination possible...

Useless Generation

2007-04-18T17:12:00.000+01:00

What is the point of my generation? Really?

How quickly have we abandoned any dream of a revolution? Any notion that maybe we could forge some kind of brave new world for ourselves? How truly pathetic and apathetic are we?

We're content to work the longest hours in Europe, while we get the fewest public holidays in Europe. We just sit back and lap up crap like Big Brother, venting outrage about pointless stage managed so-called "reality TV" rather than getting off our rears and actually doing something to affect change. We've become completely blind to the real issues that are faced by our society - unacceptable levels of child poverty, escalating levels of general ignorance and apathetic acceptance of our elected representatives sanctioning illegal war on the grounds of fictitious military intelligence.

Any previous generation would have taken to the streets, would have been up in arms....we're too busy sharing videos of people falling over on YouTube to really care.

What are we going to be remembered for? YouTube? MySpace? PlayStation? iPod? Useless ephemera.
We are a decadent, fat, lazy generation. The kind of generation that brings about the end of empires.

We've accepted that the world is crap and there's nothing we as individuals can do about it because the state and big corporations are too powerful. But ordinary people have changed things in the past, and they can do so again.

We're one of the richest generations to have lived. So why are we all working ourselves to death? Why are we so stressed? Why can't we relax? Why do we pump ourselves full of stimulants - coke, coffee, red bull - in order to squeeze every last possible productive moment from our lives?

I'm tired of meaningless, pointless crap. I'm tired of working for a paycheck and nothing else. I'm tired of having to care about the relationships of over-privileged rich people I will never meet. I want to do something worthwhile. I have something to say and dammit I want to be heard.

I guess, ultimately, the whole point of this is to explain why it is I'm willing to go out on a limb with my good friend Peter Rogers and start up a publishing venture against all sense. You can't make money in comics. I know this, if I hear it one more time I'll scream. I have something to say, and my music was taken away, so I can't say it that way, the only way I can say it is through comics.

So, over the coming months, we'll be releasing some comics. Take a moment, pick them up, sit back and read them. Yeah, sure, on the surface Young Gods is just a rehash of the X-Men and Slam Ridley, that's just Star Wars, right? Maybe...maybe not... Have a read, you might just be surprised.

Now, repeat after me...

Absurdly Busy!

2007-04-02T11:46:00.000+01:00

Where to start? Well, firstly, perhaps, an apology for not updating in so long, but there's just so much going on.

On the colouring front, busy with Heretic, another project that I'm not sure if I can mention yet, a remake of the Headlocked 6 pager, a CD cover for the Modern Monstrosity guys and a couple of pages for the Approbation guys. And I wanted to cut back on the colouring...sigh... That said, Cher and I are now colouring as a team, so expect to see future colouring jobs by us credited to "Orang Utan."

Speaking of Cher and I working as a team, we recorded our first show for Area 51 at the weekend. It needs a bit of polishing up, but hopefully the Area 51 people will like it and we can get it online soon.

The big news, though, is everything that's happening with Orang Utan, which continues to grow at pace. The official Orang Utan website hasn't been online for two months yet and we've already clocked up 20,000 hits! That's fairly mind blowing. (Oh, and congrats to Cher, whose comic review page on the Area 51 website clocked up over 9000 hits last month).

The first draft scripts for all four issues of the debut Slam Ridley mini series are now complete, and Paul Ridgon is hard at work on the artwork as I type.

Alessio is also hard at work on Young Gods, and I've recently received some great pin-up and cover artwork for Young Gods from Azim Akberali and John Charles (which you can see here).

Eleventh Hour is now, essentially complete. With all internal art both inked and lettered. I just have to prepare all the pages for printing, plus put together the blurb pages. Also, we're still waiting for the cover from Franke.

All in all, the preparations for Bristol are going well. We've just received our banners for the stand, and they look fantastic. Azim's art looks amazing blown up that big. We also have pretty much everything we need for the goodie bags now as well.

So much to do and so little time, but everything seems to be coming together now!

Bristol International Comic Expo Film Night!

2007-03-14T23:47:00.000Z

Orang Utan Comics are proud to present the official Bristol International Comic Expo Film Night 2007.

Held on May 11th at 10pm at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Bristol, this year's Film Night will be bigger and better than ever.

We have a thrilling selection of visual delights to offer you, including the UK premier of the new Highlander anime, Search For Vengeance; a rare chance to see award wining Star Wars fan film Revelations on a big screen; off the wall Superman fan film Losing Lois Lane; and the anarachic, feature length send up of "anime music videos", AMV Hell 3. Plus an exclusive first look at upcoming blockbuster hit, VZE!

There will be a collection during the evening for charity in aid of the Orangutan Foundation UK.

Entry is FREE, and the first 50 people through the door on the night will also receive a goodie bag from hosts Orang Utan Comics!

The Future's Bright...

2007-02-27T13:26:00.000Z

...the Future's Orang Utan!

I thought it was probably a good time for another update on everything that I'm working on at the moment. However, rather than just talk about what's currently in production I'm also going to share a little about one or two projects that are in the very early stages of development at the moment.

First off though, I want to draw your attention to a very talented artist, Pat Carlucci, who will hopefully be producing a pin-up or a cover for Orang Utan at the very least (and, if I get my way, much, much more).

Eleventh Hour 1 is nearing completion, with a mere five pages of inking needing to be done before all the artwork is complete. Much of the lettering has already been done as well. That leaves us just waiting on the highly talented Franke to complete the cover and we're ready to go to print. Now, those of you who've been following the development of Eleventh Hour may be aware that we were intending to use comixpress to print our comics. You may also be aware that comixpress have, for the time being, stopped taking orders due to technical difficulties. However, what could have become a real headache for us has actually been a blessing in disguise, as it's led us to Ka-Blam who seem to offer a far better service than comixpress anyway. Plus, Ka-Blam no longer charge set-up fees, which opens up a whole world of possibilities for us in the area of variant covers! So, hopefully, Eleventh Hour 1 should be available to order online in the next few weeks, and then we'll be officially launching the book at the Bristol Expo in May.

Not a huge amount of news on the Young Gods front, other than that we've droped the "The" from the title. I should be receiving some artwork from Alessio in the next few days and I'll be sharing some of that as soon as I have it.

Paul Ridgon reports that the new character designs for Slam Ridley are done, and he's completed the layouts for the first couple of pages of the script. So, once again, i should have some artwork to post in a few days.

Now for a quick look at some things a bit further down the line:

Hero: 9-5
Hero: 9-5 is a humorous look at a world where being a super hero is just another nine to five job that pays the bills. It's hard to save the world when your live-in girlfriend is also your arch-enemy, and she's jealous of your cute, young sidekick. Following the adventures of Flame-O, an employee of Heroes for Zeros, as he dreams of working for the world's premier super hero agency, POW! This series includes a colourful supporting cast, including Flame-O's sidekick Pink Girl (who has...pink powers...you know...power over...uh...pink), his girlfriend/arch-nemesis Frostica, and fellow Heroes for Zeros employees - The Rocket, Thunder Woman , The Loner and his sidekick Budgie.

Shine
Shine was my first ever attempt at making a comic. I originally produced three issues of Shine, which was written, pencilled, inked and lettered by me, and when I get around to scanning them all in, I'll put those old issues (done when I was about 18-19) up on comicspace. Ultimately I want to completely rewrite this and find someone with some actual artistic skills to draw it. It's probably a wee way off, but it's something I've wanted to return to for a long time.

Elephants From Norway Go Mad In Winter
I wrote this short novel about ten years ago. Some of you poor, unfortunate souls have actually read it. It's available in four parts on my deviantArt. It's my intention, after the encouragement of several friends, to adapt this into a comic book. So...um...anyone know someone who's good at drawing elephants?

The Young Gods Come To Life!

2007-02-15T13:35:00.000Z

Seriously, how hard does this rock? This is totally awesome!

This pin up of The Young Gods was painted by Azim Akberali and will be appearing in the first issue of Eleventh Hour.

So...very...cool...

Orang Utan Comics Swings Into Action!

2007-02-13T13:14:00.000Z

I may have been a little quiet over the past couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, On the contrary, I've been incredibly busy preparing for the launch of Orang Utan Comics at the Bristol Comic Expo in May.

Firstly, we're pleased to announce the creation of the official Orang Utan Comics website, which you will find here. Not only can you find out more about Orang Utan Comics, the creative staff and the projects that we're working on, but you can also join our Forum and talk to us! Yay!

Secondly, we're making great progress on all three of our current projects; Eleventh Hour, The Young Gods and The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley.

The pencils for Eleventh Hour are now complete, and so are most of the inks, and we're making good progress on the lettering too. This means that the book is well on schedule to be ready for the launch at the Bristol Expo. Eleventh Hour showcases the talents of many of the talented people currently working with Orang Utan Comics. The anthology includes stories written by both Peter Rogers and Ian Sharman, and illustrted by Azim Akberali, Randy Valiente, Nuno Nobre and Tom Walsh.

The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley has gained a new penciler...or, rather, an old one! We're excited to be able to announce the return of Paul Ridgon to the penciling duties on Slam Ridley. Paul recently took a short break from working on comics but now he's back and more fired up than ever. His new character designs look stunning and we'll be previewing the art at the Bristol Expo.

On the subject of pencilers, the long search for a penciller for The Young Gods seems to finally be over. Italian artist Alessio Nocerino has just agreed to take on the both the penciling and inking duties on the book. Again, we're hoping to be able to preview the art at the Bristol Expo.

Lastly, but by no means leastly, it gives me very great pleasure to announce that Orang Utan Comics will be hosting the film night at this year's Bristol Comic Expo. We'll hopefully be announcing the programme for the evning soon, but I can tell you that we've got some pretty cool things lined up!

The Young Gods hit the web!

2007-02-02T15:37:00.000Z

Check out the Orang Utan Comics page on comicspace, here.

You can now view a six page preview of The Young Gods.

Also, keep an eye on my own comicspace page, here, as I'll be uploading a little blast from my past in a few days.

Life, The Universe and Comics!

2007-01-29T13:28:00.000Z

In contemplating what to write in this update, it occured to me that the first paragraph of my autobiography is likely to include the words "four foot nine, Glasweigan lesbian", which I've always found to be a bit of an attention grabber.

Anyway, I thought it was time I put fingers to keyboard again and updated everyone on where I am with the various projects I've been working on (assuming anyone out there's actually interested...). So, here we go...

Shadowmancer
I have just completed forty-four of the sixty-six pages I have to colour for Shadowmancer. This has proved to be something of a mammoth task, bear in mind that my published colouring work so far has only been Smoke & Mirror vol 1 #5, and Smoke & Mirror vol 2 #1...that's only forty-four pages, so my work on Shadowmancer will more than double the amount of published colouring pages I have out there. I've encountered a fiar few obstacles along the way, not least of which have been my PC crashing over the Christmas break, a rather nasty stomach bug and being made redundant. However, the home stretch is now in sight and I've started work on #10. Unfortunately, these three issues will only be available in tradepaperback form, and only in the US.

Smoke & Mirror
As many of you will know, Smoke & Mirror vol 2 was sadly cancelled after #1. This was a shame because not only was it great fun to colour, it was also very, very quick to colour (unlike Shadowmancer!). Smoke & Mirror will always have a special place in my heart as it provided the first instance of my name appearing on the cover of a comic book - something I've wanted for as long as I can remember. It was also great to be involved in both series, and it was deeply unsatisfying that the second series only lasted for one issue. The first series got great reviews, and I know that many people were eagerly anticiapting the events of Vol 2 #2.

Well, the good news is that Smoke & Mirror is set to return later in the year! I don't know too many of the details but, Dan Bradford will be returning to pick up where he left off with the art, and I will also be returning to colour it. I'll post more information when it becomes available.

The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley
I'm sure you won't have failed to have missed the adverts we recently put up everywhere advertising for an artist on The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley. So...who's the new artist? Well, after receiving dozens of applications, and trawling through hundreds of sample pages, deliberating, cogitating and flipping several coins...Garth Graham returned from the wilderness, apologising for losing touch, and promising to have the six pager done by the end of the month! For those not familiar with the awesome art styling of Mr Graham, you can see them on his regular web-comic at www.comedity.com. Now, it strikes me that the end of the month is on Wednesday, so hopefully I'll have some more Slam goodies for you very, very soon. Having the six pager complete will mean that we can start shopping the book around to publishers, so hopefully things are about to go into hyperdrive for Slam. Another interesting development on the Slam Ridley front is that, after talking with Garth, we've decided to change the format. Slam Ridley's debut was originally conceived as a 48 page one-shot, but we've decided that Slam's story is just too big to squeeze it into one giant-sized issue, and we're busy re-writing it as a four part mini series.

The Young Gods
So...what to do with all those very, very talented artists who expressed an interest in ullistrating the Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley. Well, as fate would have it, just as Garth Graham returned from the wilderness, the artist who was attached to The Young Gods had to depart due to a schedule chock full of other goodies. So, the creme de la creme of the artists who applied were contacted and asked if they'd be interested in working on Young Gods, and we are currently in talks with two artists who are interested in taking on the artistic chores on the book. In other The Young Gods news, I can now confirm that the series will be making its debut in print in the pages of Eleventh Hour #1, which will be published by Orang Utan Comics and will be launched at the Bristol Comics Expo in May. We may also produce a Young Gods mini-comic, featuring those same six pages, with a full colour cover by 2000AD cover artist, John Charles. This may or may not be a free give away, we haven't decided yet. This cover is currently in production and I hope to be able to post up the pencils for you to admire later in the week.

Orang Utan Comics
I've mentioned Orang Utan a few times already, but I thought I should give them a section of their own, heh. Basically, things are progressing nicely with the production of Eleventh Hour, our debut anthology title. This will be on sale at our stand at the Bristol Comic Expo in May. This is sure to be a future collector's item as it will not only see the print debut of The Young Gods but, assuming that Garth actually comes through for us now, it will also see the print debut of The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley. Featuring a cover by jaw droppingly amazing Austrain artist Franke, Eleventh Hour is sure to be the surprise talking point of the Bristol Expo (unless Tony Lee steals all our thunder by climbing more trees). Plans are well underway to make the Orang Utan Comics stand a cut above the rest, and we hope that everyone will leave Bristol talking about the new kids on the block (as in us...not the rubbish boy band from years ago...). While it would be great to have boththe first issue of Slam and the Young Gods graphic novel ready by Bristol, it's highly unlikely. It would be great if we could announce publishing deals for both books by then though (and interested publishers should contact either myself or Pete by email via info@orangutancomics.com).

Other Stuff
Yes, there's tons of random other stuff, of course. For example, I've just done some digital edits on a few pages of a Headlocked six page story which will hopefully be seeing print somewhere at sometime, I'll let you know. I've also been working closely with the new editorial team at Markosia on a few things, but I'll keep those under my hat for now until I know if they're definitely going ahead or not. I've also been busy doing a few logo designs for Tony Lee. Tony's great fun to work with as he has no qualms about telling you that he hates something, which I personally find rather refreshing. I've also just agreed to provide sequential CG art for Cher's comic book, Project: Raven, but it's very early days on that right now.

Well, that's enough of my waffle for now. Hopefully I'll have more to post on both Slam Ridley and The Young Gods later in the week, so don't forget to check back for updates!

The Eagle Awards

2007-01-22T14:12:00.000Z

Go here.

Scroll down to "Favourite Colourist" and write in "Ian Sharman."

Clearly some kind of clerical error has led to my name being left off the list of options, but, thankfully, they're accepting write-in entries, so embarassment at their error will be reduced.

Obviously, I shall be missing the actual ceremony, instead waiting with baited breath to see if I win an award in Tony and Dan's ceremony. Maybe..."Best Colourist on a book published by Markosia with a title beginning with "S" who is called Ian."

Or pehaps "Best Inker to have never been published."

In fact, I believe that Derek put me down as "Best Inker" for the Eagle Awards (thanks mate), which is mildly absurd but nice.

Slam Ridley Needs YOU!

2007-01-16T10:04:00.000Z

OrangUtan Comics are looking for a talented and dependable artist to illustrate their forthcoming 48 page original graphic novel “The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley: In Space No-One Can Hear You Dream.”

Created by Ian Sharman (Smoke & Mirror, Shadowmancer) and scripted by Peter Rogers (Mysterious Visions After Hours), The Intergalactic Adventures of Slam Ridley is a sci-fi action adventure in the tradition of Star Wars and Firefly.

If you would like to join the Slam Ridley team please send samples of your sequential art or a link to your online portfolio to slamartist@orangutancomics.com

The Cher Report - Brumcon 2006 - version 1.0 (written with photographs)

2006-12-26T19:43:00.000Z

Oh, and by the way, I included some random personal notes, especially to annoy you. They are in Italic.
Another note: this is my clean version... I could SO have done soooo many bad, bad things with some of these photographs... Which I probably will when I'm not in such a hurry to get these photos up for people to see, the Entry for which will be Friends Only (just... 'Cause).

FRIDAY
Me and Ian were in Birmingham at around 3pm on Friday afternoon, and proceeded to get very, very lost, when Derek sent us to the wrong train station.
On the way to the hotel, we found a rather interesting road sign, which taught us a very, very important lesson about not cheating on your significant other.

The hotel itself was a four star establishment, and although rather comfortable (we made it look rather homey, don't you think?), the view from our room left much to be desired... But it is Birmingham, after all.

After settling down, we proceeded to venture towards the Radison Hotel, the official temporary residence for attendees.
On the way to we met up with Derek, who bares a striking resemblance to Kyle Gass from Tenacious D, and James Reddington, who seemed convinced that he belonged in the Full Monty movie.

The bar was absolutely full of people, but they were so full of alchohol that they were running around at the speed of blurs.

The guests of honour for the evening, were Dan Boultwood and the ghost of Tony Lee.

The prices for our nourishment were not cheap, so Ian thought that he would do the worst impression of Clark Kent known to man to lighten the mood.

SATURDAY
We awaken at the crack of dawn (if by dawn you mean 10ish), and head straight for the venue. Surprisingly we didn't get lost, but that may be something to do with the fact that we had a map that the hotel gave us, with a nice big arrow pointing us towards it, instead of our (now fired) PS, Derek.

We walk around a corner to find ourselves confused, feeling drunk and/or stoned, surrounded by multicoloured, candy covered buildings, and were then quite shocked to find the Custard Factory being attacked by a giant (the Green Man, technically, but bare with me, I'm attempting comedy, here), and dragons!
Some people, however, just didn't seem at all amused, and slept through the entire thing. Either that, or he was dead*... We didn't quite check. ... Our bad.

There were, quite surprisingly, comic creators present at the event... We couldn't quite figure out why.
Some examples of this rare, and annoying (I'm jealous, so I'm aloud to say that) breed were the Brodie's Law guys, and a few blokes who were so convinced of their self importance, and their superhuman abilities, that they made a comic about themselves (yes, I know that it is a long link, but I thought that you might be blind :-p). The resemblance, however, is quite uncanny, don't you think? Minus the facial hair. This same member of their tribe was so utterly enveloped within this fantasy that he insisted he audition for the new remake of The Matrix... But instead seemed more suited to the live action adaptation of Watership Down.

After conversing with fellow fans, and creators, we were informed that there was an unmissible Panel. So we decieded to miss it.
Or not.
The panel was a strange, but rather genious mix of Never Mind The Buzzcocks/Have I Got News For You/QI-styled humour. But with geeks. Lots and lots of geeks. Two of these geeks were Tony Lee on The Writers Team and Budgie who was a (rather brilliant) Presenter.
Here are the Presenters, Batman and Robin, hard at work, The Writers Team, and The Artists Team. ... Although apparently there was some confusion, because then these were the Writers, these were the Artists... Who we don't have a photograph of... And these were the Presenters... Or rather Presenter.
Highlights of the Panel, entitled The Kryptonite Factor, were, (and this one is quite ironic) Keiron revealing his true identity and then teaching Tony how to swim, Budgie growing extra limbs, and Tony's impression of... Something. Whatever it was, it amused us.

The event then ended for the evening, and we went for Pizza with the guys from Brodie's Law, James from Portent Comics, and various geeks, including Derek and his minion, Lloyd, where I created yet another masterpiece, in record time of seven minutes. I was, by the way, the only female (nothing new there, then) in a group of eleven hungry dudes.
We then ventured to our Hotel to dump all our random crud (formally known as comics, and in Ian's case, posters of X-23 in a school uniform), after which came a Party which Tony discovered was run by the Birmingham University Goth Society. I gothed-up as much as I could (which isn't actually that difficult for me, since virtually all of my clothes are black), but Ian was unfortunately lacking in that department, so I insisted that he wear my Dog Collar (it glew in the dark and everything - lolz). The result was him being leashed, and attached to a rather excitable Tony Lee, and being his b*tch for a little of the evening. The most disturbing part of this, however, was what now seems to be Tony offering Ian to Dan Boultwood.**
After a night of fundome, we headed back for some much needed rest.

SUNDAY
It rained, and it poured... And I decide now is a good time to come in costume (I was in civvies the previous day, and felt very un-Cher-like)... Er... Whoops? Lolz.
Anyway, that random fact asside, today was quiet... Almost silent. Nothing much to do but spend more money. ... So we did.
Ian also felt the need to pretend to be important, and had a "Signing" (the witness has chosen to remain enonemous, and must therefore be blurred to pretect their identity)... If by that you mean grab a book, sign it, and run away - lolz. He also took a souvineer.
Most of the Dealers packed up early, but it was still a good day, with amusing socialising with the rather hungover Dan, forgetful Tony, and cheerful Budgie.
The event itself ended on a good note, in reflection, considering the lack of attendees during the day because of the weather. The final Panel was based around the topic of making comics out of television and film, with Tony Lee providing the comedy value, and others following in his footsteps, dealving into the world of Star Trek and Star Wars, even considering that noone present on the Panel was related to either.*** The organisers of the event then went on stage and thanked everyone for coming, which was very nice of them.
Oh, and did I mention that Tony asked the audience what me and Ian percieved to be the easiest Doctor Who question in history in order to win an Inflattable Dalek, which apparently cannot be used as a life saving device (I should certainly think not; it's a Dalek, it would rather exterminate you - lol), and although I kept quiet for fear of winning (and admittedly, embarrassment), Ian did not.
Low and behold, the Inflattable Dalek! And Ian... Who seemed a little TOO cosey with it...
I then spent the next two hours battling its evil! I finally defeated it, and bocked it... And then we gave it to Budgie for his children, since Ian's would probably break it - lolz, who we then spent most of the rest of the evening with, hanging out in the cafe at the venue, and then grabbing some grub after.
Then we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways, parting with Budgie and Derek, crashing at the Hotel.

MONDAY
Monday comes around, and there is no Convention to attend, and everyone that we could bother *cough* visit is at work, so we thought, instead, that we might take a pilgrimage to Geeksville, formally known as Forbidden Planet.
We checked a public map to show us where the local cinema was, but were quite surprised, instead, to find out where Derek's friend Lloyd was really hiding for most of the weekend.
Walking in the direction of Someplace Else, we found that the Tozzers, who pretended that they couldn't make it this weekend, were actually here all along! We also found out how James funds his comics, how polite 'Birminghamites' can be, why the children are always so hyper (they're drunk!), and that the coffee is revolting!
We never actually found Forbidden Planet. We did venture into Nostalgia and Comics, however, and, quite ironically, bought some more comics.
We then went to the station and caught the train, heading home.
We hope to come back to Birmingham soon!

P.S.
Birmingham is actually a lot smaller than it looks, you know.

Video Report coming soon.

*Ps. Yeah, I made that part up. He was sleeping. I personally didn't check, but others did.
**We unfortunately had to leave early, around 2ish, because I was suffering from Stalker Symdrome, with a rather creepy Party-goer continuously hitting on me. Harrah - lolz.
***Oh, and I would also like to point out, for those that attended, that the subject refferenced in the Star Trek debate, of the timeline in Enterprise where "the crew go into the past and find the ship from the original series", is a little, shall we say, off... It was an alternative universe where Captain Archer and the rest of the crew are nasty gits, and they came across a time-space-dimensional portal which contained the ship from the original series, from the version of the future that we know.

Brumcon - Ian's Report

2006-12-18T02:13:00.000Z

Well, it's been a week since the first ever Birmingham International Comic Show and it's way past time that I put up a report on the weekend.

Cher and I set out from Medway fairly early on the Friday morning as we had to catch a train from Marylebone to Birmingham at around mid-day. We left with what we thought would be plenty of time to get there, but as we hit London the traffic slowed to a crawl and our driver for the morning (thanks Dad!) announced that there was no way that we could catch our train if we continued by road. So, when we reached the Oval, we jumped out of the car and embarked upon a mad dash across London by tube, making it to Marylebone with scant minutes to spare before the train left.

As we neared Birmingham it became apparent that we had a choice of two stations that we could disembark from the train at. Not wanting to just randomly guess, I hit upon the cunning plan of texting native Birminghamite and good chum, Derek Hartley, and asking him which of the two stations would be nearest our ultimate destination, The Thistle Hotel. In a classic move, perhaps on a par with his telling Alan Davis that Alan Davis wouldn't be attending a certain panel at the Bristol Comic Expo, Derek did, in fact, advise us to leave the train at the wrong station. Thus, rather then leaving the train at the station which is almost directly next to the Thistle Hotel, we instead left the train at the station which is, indeed, on the other side of Birmingham. Still, my fault for not looking at a map before we left, I guess.

Still, what's a convention trip without a little adventure on the way, eh? So, after a short hike across the centre of Birmingham (familiarising ourselves with the various sights, sounds and smells of Brum) we finally arrived at our luxury four star hotel, threw open the bedroom curtains and were greeted by the truly impiring view of a multi-storey car park. Welcome to Birmingham! Okay, sure, we did get a great deal on the room, and, really, I wasn't expecting a breathtaking vista in the centre of what is generally regarded as one of the grimmest cities on earth...but....really....a car park? Add to this the main lights deciding not to work on the second night, and the loud music to the wee small hours due to it being Christmas Party season and...well...let's just say I don't think we'll be enjoying the hospitality of the Thistle Hotel again.

Once we'd settled into the hotel and asked at recpetion for a map of the city centre (so we were no longer reliant on Derek's oh-so-accurate directions) we headed towards the Radisson Hotel, home of the "official hotel bar" of the Birmingham International Comics Show. With enough space to seat four underweight midgets, and Coke at £3 a glass, one has to assume that the convention organisers had never set foot inside the Radisson Bar before the event. Suddenly I found myself appreciating the wide open spaces and morely unreasonably high priced drinks of the Ramada bar at Bristol. Nevertheless, we were joined for the evening by a host of charming and delightful people, and Dan Boultwood. Seriosuly, though, we met up with James Reddington of Portent Comics fame and were shortly thereafter joined by the dodgy-direction-giving Derek Hartley while we drooled over the goodies in the window of Nostalgia and Comics which was pretty much next to the hotel. Upon entering the bar we found a rather lost and lonely looking Budgie, whose finely honed accounting instincts were clearly rebelling at the bar's innovative pricing structure. We didn't have to wait long for the dapper Mr Tony Lee to appear and amuse us all by reading out the increasingly nonsensical texts he was receiving from artistic genius and general cad and bounder, Dan Boultwood, who was slowly making his way towards London in the company of a bottle of something sweet and evil, and an increasingly large retinue of elves, pixies and gnomes. Oh, and Alan Davis was sitting directly behind Derek at one point...and he didn't notice...which caused us all much amusement...hee hee....

And so to Saturday morning, and the convention itself! As you can see from the accompanying picture, some people were so overwhelmed by the smallest convention dealer's room on earth that they could do nothing but dose gently on the convention floor, while the "madness" resolutely failed to happen around them. To be fair, that's a little harsh. There was a genuine buzz about the room all day, but attendance was poor and at times it felt like the creators and dealers outnumbered the general punters two to one. As such, the weekend had a really nice "get together" kind of vibe. People were just generally hanging out and chatting, and I got to meet up with several people that, so far, I've only encountered online. Great folk like Mick Trimble and Jim Bott. Hi guys! It was also great to catch up with the guys from Markosia!

The highlight of the day and, indeed, the entire convention, was The Kyptonite Factor. Hosted by the legendary Budgie, The Kryptonite factor was a comic book quiz in the style of Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You. No obvious joke was left uncracked with such howlers as "Rob Liefeld really can't draw very well" and "Alan Moore's a bit of an odd hairy bloke, isn't he?" keeping the audience laughing throughout. Just like the TV shows that inspired it, however, The Kryptonite Factor didn't shy away from such controversial and potentially inflammatory joeks as "John Byrne really can't draw very well." It's funny because it's true...

Saturday evening saw more fun and frolics as we went out for pizza with the Brodie's Law guys, James Reddington, Jim Bott, Derek and his friend Lloyd, and an assortment of hangers on and fanboys (just kidding, guys!). Cher took the opportunity to create one of her innovative pieces of salad art, something which is becoming a bit of a convention tradition for us. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but it gives me an excuse to post this fairly random picture of her salad, which I thought might amuse people. Personally, I'm always slightly confused by her inclusion of apple in these salads as, quite frankly, I feel that apple has no business being in a salad, but I digress.

After a short trip back to our hotel room to dump the hoards a swag that we'd had thrust upon us during the day's activities, we headed towards a local bar where the enigmatic Mr Tony Lee had learned the Birmingham University Goth Society were hosting a bash. Ironically, just two weeks before, I'd been in Birmingham for Memorabilia, dressed from head to toe in black PVC...with not a Goth club in site. Now I found myself in baggy beige trousers and a very, very white Slam Ridley T-shirt, talk about feeling like a pork sausage at a bar mitvah! However, Cher came to the rescue with her handy dog-collar-with-blue-spikes, which, oddly enough, made me feel slightly less stupid...which is probably a first. As you can see from the picture, the mischievous Mr Tony Lee couldn't resist fashioning a makeshift lead for me out of his tie. The fact that he appears to be offering the lead to the pixie hallucinating Dan Boutlwood is, frankly, mildly disturbing. All in all, it was a great evening. The highlights being singing "Sweet Transvestite" with Cher, Budgie and Tony, and just generally dancing 'till 2am with the delightful Miss Cher.

Sunday saw the heavens open and the already fairly poorly attended convention became almost entirely devoid of people. Although...it's possible that they were actually all eaten by this dragon. I suppose I should say a little about the Custard Factory, the venue for the weekend's events. The Custard Factory is undoubtedly a nice place. That said, it was entirely unsuited to the needs of a comic book convention. There being no central large hall, the dealer's room was split into two tiny rooms. This created the effect of people entiring the convention, going to the first room and thinking "Oh, is this it?"...discovering the second room...getting their hopes up...and then thinking "Oh, is this it?" And this time, yes, that was it. It was possible to see everything in about 30 minutes. That's assuming you paused to talk to a couple of people on the way. All this for the same price as Bristol? Ummm...ok... I can't complain to much as I got in for free, but had I been paying, I think that I would have felt slightly ripped off. I'd love to see the event return next year, but for it to work, I think that the organisers need to seriously consider an alternative venue. They also need to promote the event more in the city centre too.

One of the high points of the convention for me was getting to meet Phonogram creators Keiron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. I may not have mentioned it on this site before but Phonogram is, quite simply, the best comic you will ever read. I'm afraid I probably gushed like a rabid fanboy, and to add insult to injury, it turns out that Cher had chatted to Kieron for ages at the Bristol Expo and she'd had absolutely no idea who he was. Of course, I wonder how many people would be sad like me and get excited about meeting their favourite PC Gamer columnist? Nevertheless, I guess I must have managed to remain a modicum of self respect as I did get to take this rather nifty pic' of Keiron modelling his very own Slam Ridley badge. Although, as Cher has pointed out, he's not so much pointing towards the Slam badge here as his own nipple, but I guess you can't have everything...

And, that was Brumcon...two days of fun and frolics...

All there was left to do after all that was...

...this...

By the way, I've just realised that I forgot to draw attention to the fact that we've reached 3000 hits! Woohoo!

Comics review - Ellis in the New Universe

2006-12-17T13:02:00.000Z

New Universal #1 (Marvel) - Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca join forces to present a revamping of the 80s New Universe line. I haven't read any of the New Universe books so came to this completely cold, but with Ellis' name on the cover I knew it would be a good read. As an opener this book works perfectly, giving you enough information to make you interested but not so much that you are spoonfed he story. Larocca's art is beautiful and teamed with Ellis' writing you get a comic of cinematic propositions which still manages to present a small and personal tale. Ellis has always created excellent work regardless of the publisher, genre or audience involved and this is no exception. Yet another chance to wish I was Warren Ellis.

Comics Review - Festive Punishment

2006-12-17T12:32:00.000Z

Punisher Xmas Special one shot (Marvel)- Wolverine #41 writer Stuart Moore and artist C.P Smith are reunited for this bumper festive one shot. Personally I love one-shots, especially as a sporadic comic buyer, a creator and someone who is not a slave to continuity. At first the central conceit behind this book felt rather contrived. The prospect of Frank Castle making a naughty and nice list at Christmas did not ring true for me and it made the book lose credibility. But as the book continued, with it's moody artwork, taut scripting and exceptional colouring I found myself being really drawn in. This is the kind of one off book that stays with you after you have read it, the story really grips you and you feel like you are living every moment with Frank. It is also a textbook example of pacing as Moore and Smith manage to slow the book down without losing any of the drama. One of the best comics I've read this year, highly recommended.

9/10

Pete (Black King)

DVD Review - My Super Ex-Girlfriend

2006-12-17T09:56:00.000Z

The idea behind this movie had me intrigued, what would it be like to try and break up with someone with super powers? Sadly the finished film is a major let down. Rather than starting at the point of the break up the movie takes you from the meeting all the way to the split. This makes it a long, drawn out process that really does not work. The main problem with My Super Ex-Girlfriend is that it doesn't know what kind of film it really wants to be. Is it a superhero movie, a rom com, a sex comedy? In the end it is a melting pot of various influences that combine to make a mess of a movie. Luke Wilson does ok in a thankless lead role, and Uma Thurman looks the part but is essentially a neurotic female Clark Kent that you can't connect to. The best performances are from the support, and both Eddie Izzard and Anna Faris come out of it with their reputations in tact. Director Ivan Reitman should really know better. File this one with that other Uma Thurman movie where Eddie Izzard made an appearance "The Avengers". An interesting idea is let down in the execution, a film with no direction and with no idea who is supposed to like it. A comedy that makes you cringe rather than laugh, this really was a missed opportunity. 2/10

Pete (Black King.)

Film Review - The Holiday

2006-12-10T17:33:00.000Z

While other members of the Royal Family are enjoying the wonders of Brumcon it falls to me to keep things moving on here. And seeing as I went to see "The Holiday" yesterday I thought I'd review it here.

If the opening titles to "The Holiday" were removed, most people would assume this romantic comedy was written by English stalwart Richard Curtis. Writer/Director Nancy Meyers (What Women Wants, Something's gotta give) does seem to be borrowing heavily from Notting Hill and Love Actually, especially for the scenes based in the UK. What lifts this above the average romantic comedy is the performances and the casting. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swaps homes for Christmas, leaving the quintissentially English Winslet (she would have made a perfect Bridget Jones) and the very L.A Diaz as two heartbroken fish out of water. Jude Law and Jack Black (playing a musician yet again) are the men who take the respective women under their wing, and it is clear from the onset where the story is going. The supporting cast is exemplary too with Eli Wallach stealing all his scenes and Ed Burn and Rufus Sewell making the most of pretty small parts. Where Curtis tends to have world poverty, politics, or social commentary as his secondary story Meyers instead explores the changes in Hollywood. There are some unexpected turns along the way, some relatively funny moments, a few tearjerking scenes and some very sharply written dialogue which makes it far better than the average rom com. The only drawback, much like Curtis' own work, is that everyone looks perfect, they all have highly paid media jobs and England is portrayed as something from the top of a fudge box. This gives a story with a heart an uneccessary sheen that makes it a little too pristine. All this considered, if you like Richard Curtis' films then you will love this too.

7/10

Pete - Black King.

Expansion!

2006-12-07T11:18:00.000Z

As you may have noticed, this week has been one of expansion at the Cyber Hellfire Club.

Not only did we welcome Cher, the new Red Queen of the Cyber Hellfire Club as a contibutor to this web site, but as you can see, Peter Rogers has also joined us as the new Black King of the Cyber Hellfire Club. He'll be adding his wit and wisdom to the site on a regular basis.

(The titles are fairly meaningless, just a bit of fun, and a tradition held over from the early days of the Cyber Hellfire Club on AOL's Comics and Anime Forum).

Rounding out the new team is Rivka Jacobs, a fellow founding member and the wise and all-knowing Oracle of the Cyber Hellfire Club.

So, say hello to our new members and enjoy their contributions over the coming months and years!

Ian - The Red King

Comics Review - Red Menace

2006-12-06T23:48:00.000Z

Red Menace #1 (Wildstorm) I heard about this book when writers Bilson and DeMeo were interviewed by Word Balloon. Set around the McCarthy witch hunts and featuring a costumed hero having to reveal his identity, the concept really appealed to me. The story is well written and interesting and as expected Jerry Ordway's art is exemplary. The 50s setting is very executed ans Al Vey's inking and Johnny Rench's colouring add to the period feel. The muted tones do make it a slightly repetitive book visually but the story is enough to make reading the rest of the mini series worthwhile.

6/10

Pete

Comics Review - Fraction's first punishment

2006-12-06T23:46:00.000Z

Punisher War Journal #1 (Marvel) On the one hand this is a Civil War tie in, on the other it's written by Matt Fraction so I was not sure what to expect. At first the mix of painted art with photo realism courtesy of Ariel Olivetti did not feel right. Frank Castle took on Hulkesque proportions and everything felt off kilter. But once I got into the swing of the book I realised the art really did compliment Fraction's writing. By the close of this super sized book I was loving Olivetti's artistic approach (look out for an iconic full moon shot) and really getting into Fraction's way of approaching the character. Looking forward to the next ish.

8/10

Pete

Comics Review -Wisdom

2006-12-06T23:40:00.000Z

Wisdom #1 (Marvel/Max) I have been looking forward to this book for some time, mainly because Dr Who writer Paul Cornell is involved. I don't know the Pete Wisdom character all that well, so I am coming to this series with no baggage of expectation. The concept and characters work well, Trevor Hairsine's art is superb and Cornell's plotting and playful dialogue make you think he's been a comics regular for decades. Well worth picking up.

8/10

Pete .

Brumcon and The Cyber Hellfire Club Grows!

2006-12-05T01:18:00.000Z

Well, as it says in the good book (that being the Bible, folks, not The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy), the first shall be last and the last shall be first. As such, I'll be dealing with the second topic in this post's title first.

As the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed, my happy little face has disappeared from the top right hand corner of this blog to be replaced by an intriguing new feature - a list of contributors. Yes, the Cyber Hellfire Club has grown, we now have a "team" of contibutors. You see, I've missed the movie reviews that I used to post waaay back in the dim and distant past when I had more time and less comic related goodness to waffle on about. Thus I have invited the delightful Miss Cher to join us in the happy world of blog-dom and bestow upon us her mighty reviewing skills.

Right then, time for first things to be last - to Brumcon!

For those of you who are unaware, Brumcon is the "nick name" for the first ever Brimingham International Comics Show, to be held at the Custard Factory in Birmingham this weekend (8th-9th December). I'll resist mis-quoting Groucho Marx and saying that I wouldn't want to attend any convention that would have me as a guest (okay, so, technically I didn't resist it)...and instead encourage any and all of you that will be in the area this weekend to pop in and say "Hi." You should be able to find me in and around the Markosia booth for much of the weekend, where I will be signing copies of Smoke & Mirror #1 for anyone fool enough to covet the signature of a lowly colourist.

I've been looking forward to this convention for months now, and, after a long and, at times, very rough year, I'm using it as the perfect excuse to unwind and making a long weekend of it. Thus, the entire Cyber Hellfire Club team (see what I did there?) will be boarding a train to Birmingham around lunchtime on Friday and we should be checking into our four star accommodation in Brum in the early afternoon. This leaves Friday evening free to relax and unwind with our celebrity, showbiz comic book creator pals (or, to put it another way, to seek out Tony Lee and force him to drink vast quantities of alcohol for our amusement). Saturday and Sunday will be chock full of conventiony goodness, and hopefully meeting up with all those many, many people who've promised to buy me a drink since the Bristol Expo. We then have Monday morning to unwind and explore Brum before taking a relatively late train back to civilisation (the South) and grabbing a few hours kip before it's time for work on Tuesday morning.

Ian.

Memorabilia

2006-11-27T08:51:00.000Z

Well, yesterday saw us make the long drive to Birmingham for Memorabilia. A long drive which, unfortunately, proved to be too much for my humble Nissan Micra, which decided to pack up somewhere between junctions 27 and 28 on the M25...at one o'clock in the morning. Not fun. Especially as it was on a stretch of motorway with no hard shoulder, forcing us to have to stand in the freezing cold behind the crash barrier, as various lorries sped by. Thankfully I'm with the AA and someone arrived to tow us back to Gillingham within an hour. But it was a fairly unpleasant end to what was a very pleasant day. And...now I don't have a car!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, Memorabilia! This was my first visit to this event and I have to say that I was fairly impressed, not only by the size of the hall and the variety of the dealers, but also by the quality of the guest. Highlights of the day including brushing past the legend that is Leslie Philips and, at one point, looking down to find none other than David Carradine kneeling at my feet (what can I say? The man worships me...).

I didn't buy much, but I was able to add to my collection of Kevin Smith DVDs, with region one copies of Clerks 2 and the second Evening With Kevin Smith.

It was also great to run into Markosia EIC Rich Emms, who was hanging out at the Tales of Midnight booth. We also had fun teasing the Tozzers.
------------------

Unfortunately today there is also some very sad news. I'm sure many of you will have already heard that legendary X-Men artist Dave Cockrum has passed away. The industry has not only lost a great artist, but also a genuinely wonderful man. He will be sorely missed.

Shadowmancer, The Young Gods and girls....

2006-11-17T11:33:00.000Z

Well, I know I promised pics of the London Expo...but...I forgot my camera...sorry... Still, if anyone out there does have any pictures of me from the Expo, please feel free to burn them and never let anyone see them...ever....

Apolgies for not updating in a while, but things have been kinda' hectic since the Expo. Not only did I return from the show with lots of lovely goodies, including a signed copy of The Tizzle Sisters (the latest masterpiece from the masterminds at Markosia), both Tozzer graphic novels and numerous other fun bits and pieces, but I also brought home one of these...

I'm reliably informed that this is a "girl" and her primary functions seem to be cluttering up the place with DVDs, punching me for thinking too loudly and just generally looking gorgeous at any and every opportunity.

We've been doing fun things like going to the opera, watching possibly unhealthy amounts of science fiction and falling asleep during Kevin Smith movies (okay...it was Jersey Girl after all...not that it's a bad film...just not his best...and I was tired...and it was late....well, technically early...I wouldn't normally fall asleep during Kevin Smith films....honest...).

So, anyway, what else is going on? If you scroll to the top of the page you'll see a new preview pic' from the Young Gods. I'm currently waiting for the six page preview story to be coloured and lettered and then hopefully it will be published. I'll post here as soon as I know when and where that's going to happen.

In other news, the London Expo wasn't all fun and hijinks (and resisting the urge to run someone through with my sword...)...I also received the sad news that Smoke & Mirror is to go the way of the dodo. It's not for me to go into the details of how and why this has happened, but please treasure your copies of #1, and let's hope that one day we do indeed see Smoke & Mirror #2 on the shelves of comic shops everywhere.

So, does this herald the end of my association with those mighty titans of British comic book publishing, the mighty Markosia? Well...no, as it happens. I'm pleased to announce that as of #8, I am taking over the colouring duties on Shadowmancer (which has been adapted from G.P. Taylor's novel by the amazing Mr Tony Lee). Unfortunately, Shadowmancer will no longer be published as single issues, so if you want to check out my work on the title you will have to pick up a copy of the next tradepaperback. More details on when and where to find it when they become available.

On the Slam Ridley front, Pete is still hard at work on the script for the one shot, and I'm currently waiting to hear back from the new artist. As soon as I have something concrete to share with the world on this then I'll post it here.

That's all for now...I'll try not to leave it so long before my next update!

Expo Bound!

2006-10-27T13:13:00.000+01:00

This weekend sees me heading off to ExCel in London's Docklands for the twice yearly London MCM Expo (that's Movies Comics and Media, if you were wondering). As you can probably tell from the logos below the banner above, the main focus of the event, comics wise, is really the whole Japanese Manga scene, but Markosia will be in attendance, and it'll be the perfect opportunity for anyone who hasn't got their mits on one to pick up a copy of Smoke & Mirror #1. They should also have copies of the Smoke & Mirror and Of Bitter Souls tradepaperbacks for any Sharman completists out there (hah!).

So, while there is a work link to the event, this will mainly be a social thing for me. I will, sort of, be dressing up for the event too (yes, I know, shocking, ain't it?). Frustratingly, my Sephiroth costume hasn't arrived from China in time for the event, but I've got enough to cobble something together....including a wig.... (yes...I know...).

Saturday night is the big Expo Party, which I'm looking forward to as there's a live band, and it's been waaaaaay too long since I've seen any live music.

In the meantime, everything else seems to be gradually moving along. I'm a few brush strokes away from finally finishing the Young Gods six pager and Pete is hard at work on the Slam Ridley script. What I've seen of the script so far has really impressed me, and I think that, assuming we find a publisher and get the marketing right, there's the potential for Slam to be a big hit.

Well, that's all for now, look out for a post-Expo report and hopefully some pictures early next week.