GRAPHIC CLASSICS: Louisa May Allcott is the eighteenth volume in the Eureka Productions American series of comics adaptations of great literature.

The book features Little Women, adapted for comics by Trina Robbins and illustrated by Anne Timmons. Plus lesser-known gothic mysteries and horror stories including A Whisper in the Dark by Antonella Caputo and Arnold Arre, The Rival Prima Donnas by Rod Lott and Molly Crabapple, and Lost in a Pyramid by Alex Burrows and Pedro Lopez. Also two poems and two strange children's stories, Buzz and The Piggy Girl, illustrated by Mary Fleener, Shary Flenniken, Toni Pawlowsky and Lisa K. Weber.

Graphic Classics: Louisa May Allcott is 144 pages in full colour and is availalbe are available in US bookstores, all good comics shops, or direct from the publisher at: www.graphicclassics.com.

CLICK ON Episode 1 of Seek & You Will Find below and it will expand to fill your screen.

For further information on the creators visit:

For Paul H Birch: www.myspace.com/paulhbirch

For Mats Engesten: www.go.to/engesten

For Donald Jackson: www.cognitivecomics.webs.com, www.freewebs.com/goldencomics & www.comicspace.com/dontec

For Andrew Dodd: www.timebombcomics.com

Make sure you don't miss out on next Sunday's episode of this Carter's Column saga and other Speech Balloons exclusives during the week by subscribing free via the RSS feed!

CRIKEY! the great British comics magazine is now on its twelfth issue.

Out now, Crikey #12 includes interviews with Pat Mills, Frank McDiarmid, Leah Moore and John Reppion, plus features on Dr Who and The Persuaders.

There are also some exclusive comic strip excerts. Among them Birmingham's own Peter Maddocks whose work appeared in several national newspapers before he retired.

Crikey is available in all good book stores and comic shops or you can subscribe via: www.crikeyuk.co.uk

OUR friends at Nostalgia and Comics are hosting a signing session by American cartoonist and underground comix artist Gilbert Shelton on Friday.

Knockabout Comics have just published The Fat Freddy's Cat Omnibus and they also have The Freak Brothers Omnibus available.

On Friday November 13th Nostalgia & Comics is proud to welcome Gilbert as a guest to sign both books between 4.00 & 5.30

Gilbert was born on May 31, 1940 in Houston, Texas. In the mid 60's he became art director for the Vulcan Gas Company, a rock music venue in Austin, Texas, where he created a number of posters in the style of contemporary California poster artists such as Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin.

After a year of this, he moved to San Francisco in the summer of 1968, hopeful that being closer to the action would enable him to do more poster work; as it turned out, he finally got his break in the alternative comix business. It was here in 1968 that he created

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (which is being made into a stop motion film), and a year later came the spin off series Fat Freddy's Cat. He has also contributed to Wonder Wart-Hog, Not Quite Dead, and is also well known in some circles for his cover art to The Grateful Dead's 1978 album Shakedown Street.

For further details call 0121 643 0143 or e-mail noscomic@noscomic.plus.com

SEEK & YOU Will Find is the title of the new Carter's Column series debuting exclusively next Sunday at Speech Balloons.

It is a short six part story but it has taken a long time for it to see the light of day, for alas, the original artist, Joe Ahern, passed away a few years ago.

Joe was an extremely talented individual, intelligent too, but he never boasted about either fact. Certainly in the art area he should have done, because he would have had a career that left us with more published work. The trouble was, he didn't push himself or put himself forward.

He also had a problem with time - He could never understand why you might be screaming blue murder when you'd got him some small freelance commission or set him an appointment with someone to get some work and he strolled up an hour or even a day late! It wasn't because he was slow; he could churn the work out and it still looked good. I blame it on him being left-handed; the brain apparently works differently and left-handed people have no concept of time.

I know an awful lot of left-handed people, and they're either all like that or over-compensate by being obsessively punctual. I fall into the latter category, because I'm left-handed too, and that's probably why I understood Joe's psyche pretty well. However, those of you who saw me interview Howard Chaykin at BICS 2009 last month, might recall me asking his opinion on it, because he's a left-hander too, and he thought it was a crock of *%!& or symbols to that affect, he did agree that statistically we did younger than you right-handers though.

I don't know why, as if there's a rhyme or reason to these things, but Joe left this mortal coil. It's not fair, but that's the ways the cards got dealt.

It happened just as things were looking good for him. Typically.

He had been assisting James Hodgkins on work for both Marvel and DC, and had been securing a number of prestigious freelance art commissions for himself; the results of which could be seen advertised over the West Midlands, and it really seemed he was gearing up to talk to some major comics publishers on his own.

But it didn't happen. His heart packed in.

We went to the funeral following the hearse with his coffin in. James and I laughed that he'd actually made it somewhere ahead of us. Then we probably shed a tear. We certainly shed some memories and continue to do so.

What's more, on his mother's request, I got to take care of all his art. At times it has proved more intimate than a diary as one looks at the many worlds he imagined in his head and had the talent to put down on paper. One day, I'll make sure more people see them.

Among the art I found the incomplete pencils for the first episode of Carter's Column: Seek & You Will Find. He'd gone suitably retro sci-fi in style for me but typically left it unfinished, as you can see above.

From time to time I would look at it, and a little voice in the back of my head would say: "Get someone else in to finish it off". I wasn't sure for a long time, but then I realised that Joe always loved the collaborative idea of various people pitching in to complete something. It's how he'd come to be involved in previous Carter's Column strips. He was never precious about his own work.

So I asked Mats Engesten if he would step up to the plate, draw the last pencilled panel of Episode 1 (as you can see here), ink it all, and then illustrate the remaining storyline.

Mats lives in Sweden. Viking blood runs in his veins: He's prepared to meet challenges head-on and he is also an honourable being; and so he understood implicitly what it meant for all concerned to have a little piece of Joe's work see the light of day worldwide over the internet.

Frankly, Mats has been invaluable on so many levels with the remastered series of Carter's Column appearing at Speech Balloons.

To continue our international flavour we invited Donald Jackson from the USA to letter the series, and closer to home Andrew Dodd has digitally coloured the forthcoming story.

My thanks go out to all those who've been involved in putting Seek & You Will Find together.

But enough of these maudlin feelings, I know Joe Ahern would have no truck with them, he never wanted to draw po-faced serious stuff - Something that had adventure and was a bit of a laugh was much more his cup of tea - and so that's what you'll be getting next week!

For more information on the creators visit:

For Paul H Birch: www.myspace.com/paulhbirch

For Mats Engesten: www.go.to/engesten

Make sure you don't miss out next Sunday as we feature some behind-the-scenes information on our new Carter's Column saga and other Speech Balloons exclusives during the week by subscribing free via the RSS feed!

Lady S: Here's to Suzie!
By Jean Van Hamme
& Phillipe Aymonde
Cinebook

ESPIONAGE THRILLER and broken-hearted schoolgirl crushes? Only Jean Van Hamme could make such a book work!

Lady S. is an intriguing comic book to present to an English speaking readership.

On the one hand its lead character has an origin akin to Peter O'Donnell's classic Modesty Blaise newspaper strip re-engineered for the modern era.

Whereas, on the other there's curious feeling that if British publishers hadn't preferred to profit to by producing cheap magazine fodder and hadn't given up on producing comics for girls that they might of evolved into something similar to this.

Suzanne is the adopted daughter of American diplomat James Fitzroy - She has a gift for languages and a way of helping her father out of assorted crises, minor and otherwise. But there's a lot more to her than meets the eye.

In the early 90s the Russsian KGB's power is at its lowest ebb, and to stave those who will rise to power pointing the finger at their misdeeds they kill them before they can talk.

A young Jewess is witness to her own parents' brutal murder but she escapes, saved by a youth hardly much older than her. Anton Sergeyevich escaped from an orphanage, in the two years he's been free he's learned to become a thief, and he's become rather good at his chosen profession.

The girl joins him and for a time all goes well until the man who ordered her parents' death finds them, and sees them as his new personal gravy train to getting by now that the lower echelons of the KGB are out on their ear. His plan doesn't work and Anton manages to kill him, but the young pair decide they have no choice but to flee the former USSR. In so doing, the pair part company.

Using a stolen passport the girl takes on the identity of a New Zealander known as Susan McKenzie, and works her way around Europe becoming an international thief and cat burglar.

Into her life, on a speeding train, arrive the Fitzroys, or rather she enters their live, for she steals from them, later feeling remorse and returning what was taken. Likewise, their compassion for her partly revealed past history is genuine and in time there is true love between them all and she becomes part of their lives.

That is until Helen Fitzroy dies at far too young an age of 41. Suzie aware what people says decides she must leave, but Fitzroy decides to put such idle gossip suitably in the trashcan where it belongs by formerly adopting her. Thus she becomes his Girl Friday throughout his subsequent diplomatic activities. And all goes well, for a time.

All these past events are weaved in and out of more contemporary events as figures move from the shadows to take a foothold in the present and Anton reappears preparing to blow her cover, for in revealing her true identity it will bring disgrace to her adopted father and a diplomatic faux pas that won't be hushed up. That is unless he helps her break into an embassy safe during a party.

From there on in danger and excitement never leave the page, with each shifting scenes offering new threats or allegiances, and an emotional rollercoaster caught up in the middle of it as Susie and Anton's affections turn from brother and sister in all but name to lovers who will never quite be.

I really hope a large number of the female teenagers onwards take a look at this; I believe it will appeal to them. It's a more mature version of the tense adventure strips that were prevalent in British girls comics so a worthy read.

I also trust such a statement will not prevents lads and grown-ups picking this up; it's a carefully plotted adventure filled with human drama from Jean Van Hamme and features studious but not over-posed figure drawing from Phillipe Aymonde who also draws some great car and motorbike scenes throughout.

For more about Lady S. visit: www.cinebook.com

CARTER'S COLUMN The Princess of Tsyzac storyline concluded last Sunday but not everything about the series had been revealed.

Before the series began John Royle did several character designs, that were featured here prior to the series commencing.

However, one particular page was left out and one had been slightly edited to avoid giving the plot away completely.

Here they are exclusvely revealed to the public for the first time after countless years gathering dust in an old envelope.

We trust you enjoy this little behind-the-scenes interval before the next saga begins.

For more information on the creators visit:

For Paul H Birch: www.myspace.com/paulhbirch

For John Royle: www.johnroyleart.com

Make sure you don't miss out next Sunday as we feature some behind-the-scenes information on our new Carter's Column saga and other Speech Balloons exclusives during the week by subscribing free via the RSS feed!

Thorgal: City of the Lost God
By Gzregorz Rosinski & Jean Van Hamme
Published by Cinebook

Cinebook's sixth Thorgal collection moves at a frantic pace, with events unfolding every couple of pages and tripping the unsuspecting reader into a false sense of security, but pleasantly so because the story is more often than not quite riveting.

Again Cinebook has collected two previous Thorgal books together, this time City of the Lost God and Between Earth and Sun.

They conclude the story began in the previous The Land of Qa collection, but this time each of the two books reaches its own satisfactory conclusion, while still being part of the greater saga.

City of the Lost God pulls few punches as it reveals the harrowing sacrifices made in honour of Ogotai. But not all of his worshippers embrace his bloodlust, and Hog, commander in chief of the Mayaxatl flying squadron is soon plotting with Thorgal and Kriss.

A plan is hatched and although things do not all go according to plan and Tjal pays with his life for his folly in the last book with, at least Aaricia doesn't end up having her heart cut out! While all, this going on, with Thorgal leaping into action here there and everywhere, he's also having flashbacks to his childhood and visitations by the nameless goddess.

Kriss tries to take a knife to the bloodied man-god that is Ogotai but his powers age her into an old woman. He then grabs Aaricia to take her into his flying vessel as witness for him conquering the world but Thorgal stops him, and the fact that they are space-travelling father and son is met with Ogotai, born Varth, going even more insane in his utter disbelief.

The aged man is finally defeated by an older looking Kriss, and the three survivors escape on the flying vessel intended for world domination.

An incredibly action-packed adventure, that slows down slightly where you might expect it to fail during the, not-too-unexpected, revelations concerning Ogotai and Thorgal's relationship, but still works exceedingly well. A pretty satisfying read to say the least.

Events continue to shift in the Between Earth and Sun book in this collection, but at a slower more philosophical though not leisurely pace.

Their deed now complete, Thorgal wishes to return home. Unfortunately with Tanatloc also now dead the Xinjin want to replace Thorgal's son, Jolan, as their own living god.

Backstabbing inner politics are found to have always been present in what at first seemed something of a South American Eden, our heroes are made to suffer a slow death under the burning sun and little Jolan is deceived into thinking his parents have left him.

An angered magic helmet thrown at a wall, a dark cave and an aged Kriss counting her gold prove to be the unexpected cavalry that help turn about fortunes, albeit only for a while. Still, the evil are vanquished and the good survive, and it makes a fitting extended epilogue to the previous book, while adding subtle subplots that I'm sure further books will expound upon.

In all, the Thorgal series feels like the epic adventures that were so popular in American and the occasional English strip in comics during the 70s, Rosinski's art certainly has some of that great flavor, and there's many who will enjoy seeing such work in print that they can read again.

For more on Thorgal visit: www.cinebook.com

CLICK ON Episode 12 of The Princess of Tsyzac below and it will expand to fill your screen.

For further information on the creators visit:

For Paul H Birch: www.myspace.com/paulhbirch

For John Robbins: www.mylifeinshorts.blogspot.com

For John Royle: www.johnroyleart.com

For Mats Engesten: www.go.to/engesten

Make sure you don't miss out next Sunday as we feature some behind-the-scenes information on our new Carter's Column saga and other Speech Balloons exclusives during the week by subscribing free via the RSS feed!

Created by a Belgian writer and a Polish artist, Thorgal is one of the most popular comic book stories published in Europe, with some thirty albums published.

A few collections were previously been translated and published in English a few years back, but it's only recently with Cinebook that a concentrated effort is being made to make them more accessible to the general book purchaser.

Thorgal is the title character of the series, one that initially appears to be set squarely in Viking territory, then our Scandinavian cousins' legends come to life, science fiction rears its head in a curious new age way alien visitation way, but always seems to keep its feet squarely on the ground.

To give him his full name, and hint at some of the aspects behind the story, Thorgal Aegirsson has been raised as a Viking but is out of sorts with many of their ideals. He wants only peace and quiet for himself and his family, but fate works against him, as if the gods themselves have cursed him. Not good for Thorgal, but reason enough to keep his adventures entertaining literally thousands for the last couple of decades.

As one can imagine, with a series that's gone as long as the term saga is more than appropriate to describe it, it has its soap opera characteristics too with long gone characters returning, but whereas with UFOs taking Colbeys up into space or a supposedly dead Bobby Ewing stepping lively out of a shower, in Thorgal the antics tend to strike true. That stated, I admit to being a relative novice to the series, and even armed with my research, I'm wondering where we're heading, but, hey, that's part of the adventure!

Cinebook recently published their fifth Thorgal collection, titled The Land of Qa it collects both that original publication and The Eyes of Tanatloc.

The Land of Qa opens with Thorgal, his wife Aaricia and their friend, the archer Tjall merrily attending to roof repairs in their winter cabin, unaware of the danger but a short walk away. While this is going on, Tjall's uncle, the aged warrior Tree Foot, is teaching Thorgal and Aaricia's son Jolan how to fire an arrow from a bow only for them to be kidnapped by pirates.

It transpires that Kriss of Valnor is responsible for this, and she is a female mercenary who's had run-ins with Thogal previously.

Kriss promises to release her captives on the condition that Thorgal and his party join her on a mission whose concerns she will not as yet reveal but lets it be known that gold is involved. For the sake of Jolan, they reluctantly follow where she leads.

Then their journey begins, via a longboat affixed with hot air balloons to carry them through the sky. Once on board they receive telepathic messages new aged style from the high regent of the Xinjin people who they are told they are going to save.

It's discovered that long ago in the land of Qa a white-skinned sun-helmeted naked man came to their shores from out of the sea and the Chaam were the first people to worship him as a god due to powers he displayed. His worship required sacrifice and the city of Mayaxtl many were the throats slit to pacify him, and only the Xinjin stood against the might of the living god that was Ogotai.

The Xinjin found a god for themselves though, albeit an elderly one, by the name of Tanatloc, who told them that if they could find a way to relieve Ogotai of his headwear peace might again be known among their peoples. This is what lead them to having somehow contacted and hired Kriss, and it was the Xinjin that Tree Foot, Jolan, and his dog Miff are held in hostage.

The location of this particular saga takes us from the frozen north to the sun-baked lands of the South American continent, although one where ship battles take place in mid-air as Ogotai's followers attack Kriss's flying craft! Our heroes manage to land safely, but when confronted by a great statue of a goddess Thorgal has the most curious of feelings that she is familiar to him, and there that book concludes.

Fortunately we're not left wondering what fate lies in store, for The Eyes of Tanatloc offers quite a few answers... That, plus a few more mysteries and perhaps a red herring or two.

This book in the collection begins by exploring the various emotions the cast is feeling, and mainly towards each other. Kriss knows Tjall is infatuated with her, he hates himself for doing so, but she uses him coyly or cruelly as the mood takes her, and we also begin to note that she may have secret feelings herself, but for Thorgal. The hero remains devoted to his wife.

Meanwhile, new readers learn the reason for Tree Foot's name - he has a false wooden one and the Xinjin have taken it so he won't escape, but fortunately he finds two willing lovers to placate him.

We also find that Tanatloc is nearing the end of his own supposed immortal life, but on learning Thorgal is involved he reveals to Jolan that he knows his father from long ago, and now teaches the youth how to use the power of the mind, the presumed magic that these gods display.

Thereafter it is revealed that these gods are in fact astronauts who crash landed down onto the planet Earth, and one by the name of Varth went mad when his wife and died, and then took the name of Ogotai. All but Tanatloc are unaware that the child survived, and grew up to Thorgal!

Between all that we get alligator attacks, ambushes by natives, swords drawn and arrows pulled and action aplenty, but our northern freedom fighters almost split up along the way when Kriss nearly convinces Tjall to leave Thorgal and Aaricia for dead, and well they might have if not for the fact that their son has learnt to use the power of his mind, and is able to come to their aid. But all's far from well, and this is still the set-up before the main event that will begin to take place in yet another book!

Some great drawing by Grzegorz Rosinki, and I do mean drawing, you can literally feel the pencil lines sketched out as he's composed these pages, there's lively action and considered emotion in his work, and Jean Van Hamme bends genres and mixes themes digging us deeper into mystery, making us begin to care seriously about the outcome of these characters.

For more about Thorgal visit: www.cinebook.com