September 2009 Archives

Ahead of his appearance in Birmingham at BICS2009 there is an interview with Bryan Talbot in today's Birmingham Post.
He talks about his new book Grandville and the success of Alice in Sunderland.

THE UK'S Classic Comic Store is currently busy reissuing a number of classic comics from around the world.

Notable releases include English language versions of the Greek and Joint European Classics Illustrated and a special version of The Grapes of Wrath.

"This is an adapted version of the Philippines National Classic Comics series. A very good adaptation in Black and White," Jeff Brooks revealed.

In 2008 Papercutz, under license from Jacklakeproductions Inc., published The Wind in the Willows, the first new title with a Classics Illustrated logo for thirty years. That book and subsequent new releases are also available in the UK now.

It was also made known they are "Now selling the delightful new Classic adaptations from Marvel - as well as the mid-seventies graphic comics.

The company also has 750 issues available in the old UK Pocket Library series: Thriller Picture Library, Cowboy Picture Library and Super Detective Library, plus new new versions of the Holland and Ashford's reference guides

The company is listed as attending BICS 2009 in Birmingham this weekend (October 3rd - 4th) so visitors to the show can see for themselves the vast assortment of titles they have on offer.

For more information visit: classiccomicstore.com and www.classicsillustrated.co.uk

For more information on BICS 2009 visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

LEICESTER-BASED based Time Bomb Comics will once again be exhibiting at BICS this forthcoming weekend (3rd - 4th October).

Time Bomb Comics will be marking the occasion with the release of the 100-page original graphic novel The Furies, written by Steve Tanner with artwork by Andrew Dodd.

A release quite literally more than twenty years in the making, The Furies is a dark apocalyptic tale of the nature of belief and is one of the earliest stories the two creators worked on together and has been revised and expanded.

"Imagine a director's cut of a movie that was never properly released in the first place!" was Tanner's comparison.

The Furies is the first graphic novel to be released from the two year old company.

The first chapter of The Furies is available to view on Myebook via the following link: http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=11285

Time Bomb Comics will also have previews of their forthcoming projects, including:

Bomb Scares - An anthology that promises disturbing horror stories in a twisted vein, featuring work from brand new talent such as Katja Lindblom and Rachele Aragno to established creators Gary Crutchley (2000AD and Speech Balloon's very own Carter's Column serial) and Shane Oakley (Albion, Channel Evil).

London Calling - Ealing Studios meets Hammer Horror in a uniquely British one-shot featuring art by well-known Commando artist Keith Page.

Primetime - An outrageous murder mystery in a media-obsessed future city where everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame, written by Steve Tanner with art from talented newcomer Paul Thompson.

Time Bomb Comics' previous one-shot releases will be available at BICS 2009 too, including their full-colour one-shot The Sisterhood by Steve Tanner and Dan Barritt, that was described by respected British comics news site downthetubes.net as being "Easily on a par with some of the best of the early 2000AD stories."

Last but not least, Time Bomb Comics will also be looking for new talent for future projects and will be more than happy to speak with any aspiring writers and artists over the entire weekend.

For more information on Time Bomb Comics visit: www.timebombcomics.com

For more information on BICS 2009 visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

BRITISH comic publishers and creators will be showing the public what the indigenous industry has to offer at the Think Tank in Birmingham next weekend.

As well as well known overseas guests like Howard Chaykin and Pasqual Ferry visitors to the show will be able to meet some of the top British creators working in comics today.

Those such as DC and Marvel Writer Andy Diggle, Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo, the legendary Bryan Talbot, and a whole host of Independent creators and publishers at the cutting edge of UK Comics will be at hand to meet the fans and talk about new work in the pipeline.

New additions to the guest list include 2000ad superstar artist Clint Langley who will be signing copies of his acclaimed graphic novels "Volgan War" and "Slaine: Book Of Invasion" at the 2000ad booth.

Titan Books will also be appearing at the show to find new talent, and Editors will be conducting portfolio reviews on the Saturday joining DC Comics editor Michael Wright as they give up and coming artists the chance to receive feedback on the work and possibly a chance to land their first professional assignment in the industry.

"Many people out there think that British Comics are a thing of the past, but at BICS readers will discover, that it is anything but the truth, with publishers like Com.X, Markosia, and Insomnia innovating with fresh talent and ground breaking stories, expanding the medium in new directions and taking risks creatively," said show co- organiser Shane Chebsey

To find out more about BICS visit: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk

CLICK ON Episode 8 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 on next Sunday's episode and other Speech Balloons exclusives during the week by subscribing free via the RSS feed!

COVENTRY BASED comic book artist Al Davison has been drawing issues of the Dr Who comic book series published by IDW in America.

An exhibition of Al's art from the Dr Who comics he has worked on is running at the Lock Gallery until 3rd October.

The creator is also responsible for Trinity, a new film that is premiering as part of A Thing About Machines. This is an electronic arts festival, dedicated to Delia Derbyshire who composed the Doctor Who theme tune. It takes place at The Tin Angel in Coventry where several other films by local film-makers will also be screened.

The Birmingham Mail's sister newspaper, The Coventry Telegraph , ran a feature on Davison, and an internet link for it can still be found at: www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2009/05/25/artist-al-davison-chosen-for-new-doctor-who-comic-book-92746-23701845/2/

Speech Balloons intends to feature an interview with the comic book creator in the future.

For more information on Al Davison visit: www.astralgypsy.com

KEN HOOPER (Aquaman, Indiana Jones etc) revealed that he's currently drawing a number of comic books for Moonstone.

What's more they are a mixture of pulp and clasic fiction, alongside American Golden Age characters brought back in a modern setting.

First off, Hooper and writer Chuck Dixon are working on the fighter-ace action hero Airboy together.

The artist is also in the middle of drawing the good girl character Domino Lady in her own adventure story. A page from the book is premiered here exclusively at Speech Balloons.

After that he will be working on another Domino Lady comic book where she teams up with the famous Baker Street detective Sherlock Holmes. "They end up going to Egypt to solve a mystery," was all that the artist would currently reveal.

For more about Moonstone visit: www.moonstonebooks.com

Orbital by Sylvain Runberg & Serge Pelle
Published by Cinebook

ORBITAL IS a science fiction story set in the 23rd century as humans are finally allowed to join an 8,000 year old intergalactic confederation. Unfortunately, so are the Sandjarrs, who have warred with humanity in the past.

Book 1. Scars

The story starts when two children, Caleb and Kristina, are taken to a rooftop where they can view the dome where a convention to vote if humanity should join the confederation is being held.

Anti-confederationists blow the convention up and we soon become aware that not everyone wants the benefits interstellar travel can bring, and explains why most aliens consider humanity an underdeveloped race.

We fast forward some years where a grownup Caleb Swaney is in training to become an agent of the Interworld Diplomatic Office. He is partnered by Mezoke, one of the aforementioned Sandjarrs - they get on remarkably well, it's respect more than friendship, but it's incredibly refreshing to see characters get along professionally without any expected angst - that tends to come from outside forces; both their fellow agents and those with political motivations.

The pair are sent to Senestam, owned by Javlods, but lived on and mined by humans left there before Earth joined the federation. The agents are sent there to see if a peaceful settlement can be reached, find humans have died violently recently, and is filled with further expect troubles both treachery from within and some spiky tentacled monsters - whose real world it is when you think about it! - attacking indiscriminately.

It's published in that traditional European 48 page oversized album format many older UK and Americans first became familiar with. It is comic bookie science fiction, but accessible, with a slight modern edge, the art multi-panelled and French flavoured in style, slightly cartoony but without taking any of the action elements, and appears hand coloured rather than digitally.

Book 2. Ruptures

The pace quickens in the second 48 page collection of Orbital.

Treachery, shifting political motives, friendships and loving relationships not taken, big bang action fighting, and sleazy backroom torture all get their share on the page.

It's a positive affirmation of the confederation's choice in putting Mezoke and Caleb together - their bond no less and no more than it was in Book 1, it remains mature and thoughtful nonetheless.

Those who enjoyed classic 2000AD and Heavy Metal when it was story-led will enjoy both these Orbital books.

First published in 2006 and 2007 respectively for each book, Runberg and Pelle ably demonstrate their respect for European masters of the comics form who've gone before them while moving things on, not dramatically but subtly.

for further information view: www.cinebook.com

Insiders Book 1:
By Jean-Claude Bartoll & Renaud Garetta
Published by Cinebook

HIGH-OCTANE thriller action across the war zones of the world is the name of the game with Insiders!

Cinebook are putting out a number of books collections translated from some of the major European graphic novel publishers that feature strong female lead characters and this is one such.

Najah Cruz, or Isabel Mendoza as she was once known as a child in Colombia, is a skilled fighter. Some might call her a terrorist, but she happens to believe she's fighting on the right side, wherever it is she happens to be fighting; for when we first see her she's all guns blazing in Chechnya, some thirty plus pages later she's shoving her own bike helmet in the face of a would be knife-attacker in Paris. In between all that she's become an Insider, for all the world appearing to work for the worldwide mafia but in reality an undercover agent for the White House.

This all happens in Chechen Guerrilla, the first of two books in this collection. The other is Operation Offshore where Najah's activities mainly take place around the African Congo, leaving assassinations in Washington D.C. to fend for themselves.

Bartoll's an investigative TV journalist and filmmaker as well as a writer of fiction - he tends to let the former shade his comic book fiction, giving us a little more research and opinion than is needed at times, when he should let the characters express themselves a little more - they say a lot but we don't always get to know them as people we can care about.

That stated, the mystery might be revealed over time, and the idea of thriller-action, military mayhem, current affairs and high-roller shenanigans moves at such a pace over its 93 pages it might entice teenagers picking this up who'll then soak in the research as background information rather than old dogs like me being so aware of it.

Garetta's art is tightly choreographed, there's evidence of his own visual research, and some photo referencing, sketchy in places but at its best working favourably in a style something akin to Britain's Garry Leach.

He doesn't colour the interiors himself, a different person doing that for each of the two stories in this first collection, but I would imagine he does the covers completely himself - they're far more rendered works and a lot more time's spent on developing the feminine quality of the character without going for the sex kitten look, even when she's still totting a gun... although the cover for the forthcoming Missiles For Islamabad is decidedly sultry even from the little inch or so high sample art of it I've seen.

For further information visit: www.cinebook.com

Alderbaran: The Creature
By Leo, Published by Cinebook

SPEECH BALLOONs reviewed the first Cinebook collection of Alderbaran a while back, and it seems that Book 2: The Group slipped me by, causing me to play catch-up and amateur detective with this third collection.

And since my comment back then was that science fiction of this nature wasn't an automatic choice of reading material, it's pretty ironic that I was so interested in finding what had happened to the characters.

An awful lot it seems.

On the planet of Alderbaran Mark and Kim are no longer travelling alone, they're part of a whole troop of characters, some friends and acquaintances from the first collection, some enemies, and even Mr Pad's back to be as playfully mischievous as ever. No longer looking for just a safe place to stay and hoping for a bright new future they're now on a quest to meet with the mysterious alien creature known as the Mantrix.

As hinted at in the first collection, the Mantrix has been making some humans near-immortal, for reasons unknown, but with tests undertaken as the decades go by... Alas, the fascist authorities in charge of Alderbaran aren't happy for something they can't turn to their own cruel devices doing what it wants and the do their level best to prevent this happening.

There are new strange beasts and landscapes to be seen, fears and persecutions to be overcome, and the revelation that Mark and Kim's relationship has matured and bloomed.

Or at least that's how things end around Page 48, when the original Alderbaran epic by Leo ends. Then we're into a new saga, a continuation of the previous, with some characters and traits crossing over, but one where Leo's following Betelgeuse collection begins

Whereas in the Alderbaran story we had a race of humans who, on the whole, expected those from the planet Earth to reach them by spaceship again (and they did), the apparently more recently populated Betelgeuse looks to have given up on ever being found, and the people who do inhabit it now seem very much on their last legs - it's not an entirely savage world but the people are too few in number to develop civilization beyond a certain point, and are inhibited from doing because their military or scientific heritages appear to have stunted them emotionally in some areas, or at least that's the impression I'm getting.

The titular heroine for the outset of The Betelgeuse Planet is a young bald girl called Mai Lan. The military types want to take her from her parents, they claim it's for her own good, educationally, but there's a nasty whiff in the air that forced procreation is part of their scheme too. Fortunately, she escapes their clutches, saved in part by native creatures who combine characteristics of both the sloth and the panda - I think there's meant to be an analogy or comparison there with the humans but I'll wait to see how the story develops to see if that's true.

It seems it was a mistake the people landing as they did and being in the circumstances they are, for up above in the sky the spacecraft they came in is still hovering there, and a few remaining people are being reawakened from cryogenic sleep. Meanwhile, back on Alderban there's been quite a change: Kim's just returned there after living on Earth, and she's alone, no Mark. Politics, social networks and further developments with the Mantrix are all part of the mix.

Kim has grown from the teasing school girl we were introduced to in the very first story to an intelligent, thoughtful young woman, whether she can keep her calm as the story progresses I've no idea, for she's off to Betelgeuse!

The pace picks up with the Betelgeuse story, there's more mystery but the promise of its revelations aren't the true point of interest, it's the enthrallment of the threat, things not being quite what they seem, and something that might be waiting just around the corner.

Betelgeuse looks to me a more immediate and more accessible series to me, you'll get a deeper understanding if you read Alderbaran, but it won't hold you back, and there look to be at least another two volumes of 80 plus pages each due from Cinebooks in the future.

For further information visit: www.cinebook.com to purchase the books in English and even if you can't read French check out the rather cool: www.mondes-aldebaran.com and take a look at the following Youtube clip: