Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From script droid Al Ewing

Al Ewing

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Currently writing The Zaucer Of Zilk for 2000AD and Jennifer Blood and Ninjettes for Dynamite Entertainment. More 2000AD work is on the way, some of which I can talk about, some of which remains a secret. But 2012 is going to be yea big.

First memory of 2000AD?

I have a vague memory of seeing the 1985 Sci-Fi Special - 'I, Beast' sticks in my mind as the first thing I ever read of 2000AD, and that Cam Kennedy art freaked me out good and proper.

The first prog was 423 - 'Dark Judges In Crash Dorm 2!' - and it had one of the best introductions to the Dreddverse a growing boy could have, which was the story where the Judge goes mad. And the week after that you're into the Midnight Surfer.

Meanwhile, in those first few weeks... you've got Strontium Dog and the Slavers Of Drule. You've got Jose Ortiz on Rogue Trooper and he's rescuing a horse from some moths. Nemesis the Warlock gets a done-in-one with some perfect Kevin O'Neill art. You've got Ace Garp dying - the first 'death-and-rebirth' I ever experienced in comics. You've got Slaine getting cliffhangers like 'The Type 2 Battle Orgot killed ten guards getting it back in its cage - and you're fighting the TYPE 3!'

After a cliffhanger like that, there's no going back, is there? And it just got better and better. It's impossible to describe the energy radiating out of those times, when you're a kid and you're listening for the letterbox on a Saturday morning, waiting for your turn to read the prog. These days it's all Aquaman getting upset about internet memes from 1998.

Favourite Character or Story?

So hard to pick just one! Favourite character - Judge Dredd. Obviously. Because he's not quite a total bastard - there's a sliver of actual justice and fairness in there - but he's never, never the hero.

Douglas Wolk described him memorably in one of his blog entries as a 'useful monster'. I was lucky to get into writing him at a point where he was being put through the mill a bit in terms of the larger plot John Wagner was doing, so I got to write the continuing adventures of a tired old man who was keeping himself going through sheer bloody-mindedness.

Dredd's got an incredibly complex personality - if you don't get the nuances exactly right, you're buggered - but 'bloody-minded' is a good starting adjective. Another good tip is to never have him show an emotion when he can imply one. Or imply implying one. Even the omniscient narrator represses his emotions in Judge Dredd!

Favourite story though... it's a tough one, but I have a special fondness for the Strontium Dog story Mutie's Luck. It was a done-in-one in six pages, and is just... perfect in so many ways. The moment when Alpha tips the table over is one of my favourite moments in comics. It's available to read on BARNEY, the 2000AD database.

What do you like most about the 2000AD?

This is a hard one, because... it's the same as asking what I like most about comics. The two things are inextricably linked for me. 2000AD is the heart of comics, or the soul of them - it's everything comics can be. And at the heart of that is the concept of thrill-power, which people are still trying to define thirty-five years later. My brother's written articles on how it relates to pop music, and I mostly agree with his version - the additional kick, the buzz, the rocket-fuel infused into the comic, the way of looking at what a comic is, what it can do. Jack Kirby was thrill-powered. Kevin O'Neill was so thrill-powered the Comics Code had to ban him in case he made children explode. Irony is the enemy of thrill-power - that's why the word awesome doesn't quite mean the same thing. Brevity and density are thrill-power's friends. Thrill-power!

So I guess that's what I like most. The thrill-power. And the freedom.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?

I'd like to see it continue. I have no doubt it will - if anything it feels like it's in a healthier position than a lot of Marvel and DC, at least to me. I guess I'd also like more people to come on board, both lapsed readers and brand new ones, but I think any comic is wishing for that at the moment.

Do you have an anecdote you'd like to share about your experience of Tharg and his minions?

A lot of people think Tharg isn't real, but I remember having a chat with him recently which ended with Mek-Quake crashing through a wall, grabbing me with his metal tentacles and tearing great chunks of pseudo-flesh away from my metallic endo-skeleton while shouting about "BIG JOBS".

Which would have been fine - it's all part of the work-for-hire process - except Tharg had actually been loudly asking for a milkshake and didn't want Mek-Quake at all. Also, it happened in the middle of the New York Comic Con, and several convention-goers were mercilessly crushed to death beneath Mek-Quake's vicious treads.

You'd have probably heard all about it except Marvel happened to be releasing a special Wolverine pog that day which obviously dominated the news cycle.

David Lloyd's 'Kickback' set for digital release

Digital publisher Panel Nine will be releasing its second deluxe graphic novel in March for the iPad: Kickback by V for Vendetta co-creator David Lloyd.


First published in 2005 in French by Carabas and in English in 2006 by Dark Horse, Kickback is about a corrupt detective in a corrupt force and how and why he decides to change direction. 

"He's a tough cop, but in all other aspects a regular guy," David Lloyd explained in an interview for downthetubes in 2006, "and he's corrupt because everyone else around him is on the take. He's just going down the same road as everyone else because it's easier to do that than face up to his moral responsibilities. 
 

"It's something we all do in life, I'm sorry to say - in little ways or big ways. If we didn't, we'd have a much better world to live in."

The app has the full graphic novel as previously released by Dark Horse but supplements it with a host of unseen extras, including production sketches, thumbnails and cover roughs.

"There's also an explosive interview with David Lloyd exclusive to the app, in which he has some choice words on the comics industry and one publisher in particular," publisher Russell Willis tells us.

"As a special extra Lloyd has provided page-by-page commentaries on each page of Kickback -- providing a masterclass in the making a graphic novel."


Headquartered in Tokyo, Panel Nine publishes graphic novels exclusively for the iPad and has two lines: one which publishes some of the best comics work already existing as deluxe digital graphic novels for the iPad - they released Eddie Campbell's Dapper John last year -- and another which will publish new work that is created with the iPad in mind from the beginning.

Thought Bubble 2010

Hi Guys,

A little later than I had planned to publish this Blog, but I am having to fit everything around the production of the graphic novel nowadays, to enable me to finish it.

I have decided that the venue for the comic convention in Leeds is the best one on the UK, for actual ease of access. The site includes the car park, convention halls, and after party reception rooms, with the panels and workshops, just a short walk away.

The only thing that could now be added is hotels on the site, but as the buildings are already in existence then the short taxi journey to them has to be acceptable to everyone. As I haven’t stayed over, as it is a one day event up to this moment (next year’s event is set for two days of convention added to the week-long outer events) I don’t know how much of an inconvenience this is, but I haven’t heard anyone complain about the situation.

From the off for me it took around fifty eight minutes to get from home to the car park. The Sat Nav guided me along the way with complete ease. From the second floor of the car park and as I had no table and was only carrying my small A3 portfolio it took mere moments to descend from the second floor to the outside. From there it was around thirty seconds to a minute’s walk, so you can see what I mean about the convenience of the venue.

The organisation is great too, with one nice orderly queue of fans waiting for entrance and a more civilised bunch of folks in such a long queue you will find hard to beat. As a professional attending, despite not having my own table, my access could not have been smoother. I was allowed past the front doors and given my pass within moments and then I was through the reception foyer and inside the convention itself.

The first person I saw whom I knew was John Anderson of Soaring Penguin fame and we chatted for a while, whilst I perused his wares and he asked how the graphic novel was coming along and how Bentley was. He is a big fan of both, with Bentley easily edging his way to pole position with him.

As I turned to walk away and check out more tables I was instantly greeted by another comics buddy, Nigel Dobbyn, of 2000 AD and Billy the Cat fame. Again we stood for an age simply chatting about our families, the way of the world, the convention and our current work.

This was to be repeated many times though out the day.

As I covered the far left hand side aisle I ran across my longest known mate in comics, Al Davison, who was there with his brand new Hokusai – Demons graphic novel which looks absolutely superb.

I next crossed paths with my good buddy and fellow MaltaComicCon guest, Sean Azzopardi with whom I spent two long sessions during my time there idly chatting away about all sorts of things and who very kindly gave me a copy of his excellent ED Sketch Book, which now as pride of place amongst my other sketch books, from comics folks like, Bernie Wrightson and Alex Niño.

Then during my second chat session with Sean we were joined by firstly Lee Townsend, with whom I spent a good while discussing our mutual favourite prog rock band YES and then we were joined by Paul Gravett who kindly took me over to and introduced me to the guys at Blank Slate publishing. After a chat about printing we swapped cards and then I was off on my travels once more, whereupon I spied my good buddy, Barry Kitson, who as usual was sketching for the fans. It is almost unfair to call them that, in my humble opinion though, as his pictures he produces are nicely inked and sometimes coloured too, depending on the fans’ requests and further more they are still free in a new age whereby we see most comics creators charging for their sketches. Nothing wrong with either approach but nice to see such sterling work being produced at ever convention I have ever seen Barry attend.

It was whilst I was chatting with Barry that another mate of mine from the worlds of comics appraoched me, Mike Conroy, who very kindly showed me the dummy for his brand new project, his magazine, Multiverse, which looks fantastic!!!

Well, hidden behind John Romita Junior’s queue of fans and Barry’s who was to his left, lay the hidden treasure I had made the extra effort to attend Thought Bubble this year and that was in the form of French superstar writer/ artist/storyteller, Didier “CRISSE” Chrispeels, who was sat at his table next to his friend and colleague, Nicolas Kéramidas. I found it incredible that this marvellous talent did not have as huge a queue as his American counterpart. This shows for my money, just how much influence the US comics scene still hold sway over with the comics fans here in the UK.

Now I love John’s work as much as the next guy, but we do not often see any European comics creators here in the UK, much less someone of Crisse’s stellar achievements, but this made my introductions all the more easy and the first thing I did was buy a magnificent hard back book off him, which he very kindly sketched in and signed.

After the introductions, I told him I had first seen his work in the prestige format book, Tellos, Maiden Voyage, by Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo back in 2001 and had tried to get hold of him ever since to see if he would like to work with me on something, that something has since become, Worlds End, as you guys already know.

I also told him about the Malta Comics Conventions and that the organisers would love for him to go along to the next one and he was certainly up for that.

We spent some time chatting about the work he was doing at present and he was interested in seeing the Worlds End pages, which I had with me. He had gathered a queue again though and as the sketch was still wet I asked if I could leave it with him and I would return a little later and would show him the pages then.

I next came across my mate Bryan Talbot, or Doctor Talbot, as he is now known, since his honorary doctorate was given to him a few months ago now. Bryan as always was signing and sketching in both his Grandville volumes and chatting merrily away to his many fans, who were queued waiting for their books signing too. We chatted and Bryan asked how my graphic novel was coming along and I have to admit to feeling pleased that at least I can now say there is more than half the book completed.

At the end of that aisle I met and chatted to a couple of guys producing their own small press comics under the guise of Under Fire Comics, but sadly I did not manage to go back and get one of their anthologies, but have added them to my list of must sort out next time items.

I also chatted to Jason James, who produces a wonderful comic for Apple’s App Store entitled Ghost Boy, which also took my eye. I also picked up some other advertising literature for some of the other wonderful books on display there, but sadly there wasn’t enough time to chat to many others, so next year’s two day event may enable me to do this, although the plan is to have a table in 2011, to promote and sell the Worlds End graphic novel.

I chatted with Dean Ormston and his wife Fiona Stephenson at their table and arranged to meet up with them after the show. I couldn’t manage to get near to my other buddy from the Marvel UK days, Dougie Braithwaite, but did manage to catch up with fellow MaltaComicCon2 guest, Gary Erskine, who as usual was sketching away for the fans.

The sight which intrigued me most was the Cinebook tables which now have an incredible line up of books, some of which I have bought over the last few years. The plan was to buy some more, but again time ran out and I will either have to wait for another convention, or else place an order on line, which do you reckon will come first...I’ll leave you here with that thought.

I decided to make my way back to Crisse’s table and saw a queue on front of me in the aisle I was walking down and there behind it signing his many books on display with his colleague, Book Cook was none other than my good buddy and future Worlds End letterer, Rich Starkings, whom I had not seen in at least twenty years, or so, who was signing his Elephantmen books.

He caught my eye and made room for me to sit and chat with him at this table, where we discussed our families, comics, life in general and all manner of other subjects, as he continued to sign relentlessly. Once I was captured like this he asked when he was going to receive the script off me to letter the graphic novel and I explained I had only recently received the script back from James and I had to give it the once over and then he could have it.

The next week, or so will see me do this and then I can wing it off over the net to Rich’s studio in the USA for him to begin lettering. One of the fans asked if he was correct in assuming Rich was also a letterer and before he could answer I did so for him, saying this was THE best letterer in the business, which I know meant a lot to him and certainly made the fans smile too around him.

That is after all why I am employing him alone to do the honours with the lettering. I want this book to be the best thing I have ever worked on, so why not use the guy I hold in high esteem to place the literary side of things.

Well, after an absolute age, I parted company and although we were due to meet up at the after party that evening, sadly I never got to see him again, so hectic was the day and evening. I will be in touch soon though with the script.

Just before I reached Crisse again I met up Leah Moore (Alan Moore’s daughter) and her husband, John Reppion and their little son, Edward. This was the first time I had met the little fellow and he is definitely of comic blood, as when Darth Vader, yes the actual one out of Star Wars walked past with his Storm Troopers and Judge Dredd he did not bat an eyelid. I have to add here that there is always a large Cosplay contingent at Thought Bubble and this year was no different.

It was at their table that I met up with another buddy Michael Molcher, whom I first met here in Blackburn when he was still in school. His father was the minister at the time at the church in the centre of town, where I have parked my car now for over twenty odd years. Now somewhat older and much taller we chatted for a while with Leah and John, before I finally said my goodbyes and prised myself away to go back to Crisse’s table.

Eventually I got there and we chatted further and asked each other about our current and future projects and he asked to see the pages from the book. By now the sketch was dry that he had produced and I was now its very happy owner.

We arranged to meet up at the after party at some point and I then spent some time looking through Nicolas’ prints and having bought a couple of them had him produce a sketch for me too, which was part of the deal.

He had only just made a start on it when the stentorian voice of one of the organisers roared out that it was now time to leave the hall, before the first of the tables were folded up, or rather thrown to the ground (an attempt to get rid of the stragglers perhaps?). Regardless the sketch was finished and a fine one it is. I plan on framing it in the next week, or so, so I can display it here in the studio.

I met up with Dean and his wife, Fiona and we set off for the after party along with Dougie. Like I say the situation of the venue is perfect and within a minute we were inside the Casino, where the after party had been booked.

Eventually we found the room where we were meant to be for the after show party and we sat down, me with a coca cola, as I was driving and spent the rest of the evening chatting. We were soon joined by Sean Phillips and Duncan Fegredo, with whom I spent half the night chatting, Bryan Talbot, Gary Erskine, Paul Gravett, Adi Granov, his wife, Tamsin Isles, Didier Chrispeels and Nicolas Kéramidas, with whom I spent the second half of the evening chatting, and Peter Doherty, who told me that John Smith was also there at the bar, a fellow citizen of Blackburn and a writer for 2000AD amongst others. I hadn’t seen John since the early nineties, so we did a little catching up too.

Then eventually, around two fifteen, I decided to call it a night and head off home back across the Pennines. I arrived back around three thirty, or so and after unpacking, answering a few emails and spending a short time with my little mate, Bentley, who had obviously missed me during the day, I retired to bed with a cup of tea and my hard cover Crisse art book.

Below some photographs of the show:

Bryan Talbot signs Granville Mon Amour

Rich Starkings signs Elephant Men

Darth Vader meets Judge Dredd

Barry Kitson sketches for the fans

Barry Kitson hands his sketch over to fan, Karl

Leah Moore, John Reppion and Edward

Peter Doherty sketches for Nicolas

Nicolas sketches for Peter Doherty

I had an absolutely fantastic time this year and although the plan had first been to attend with a table the freedom not having one afforded me, meant I was able to catch up with a great many of my friends in the comic business, some of whom like Richard and John I had not seen in a long while.

Until next time, have fun!

Leah Moore and John Reppion go Scouting!

Writing couple Leah Moore and John Reppion are to make their debut for the publishers of legendary British comic 2000AD.

Leah’s father, the writer Alan Moore, first got his break in the pages of 2000AD in 1980 and went on to write classic stories such as The Ballad of Halo Jones for the title. Moore and Reppion have forged their own writing career with titles such as Albion, Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery, The Thrill Electric and adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and Dracula.

Their first work for 2000AD's publishers Rebellion, a Tales from the Black Museum story entitled 'Scouting for Bots', will appear in Judge Dredd Megazine issue 322, on sale in the UK on 28th March and in North America on 11th April.

Art on the nine-page tale has been supplied by another 2000AD fan favourite - D’Israeli, otherwise known as artist Matt Brooker.

“We are really excited to be finally working for the comic we have all grown up with (some of us more than others!),” said Leah. “I remember my dad taking me to the 2000AD office when I was small (maybe eight?) and meeting Tharg in the flesh!

“I said “Borag Thungg, O Mighty One”. He said “Borag Thungg, Earthlet Leah”. It was awesome. It’s nice to see that bit of early networking paid off over two decades later.

“I have to say I am more excited about getting a short story in the Judge Dredd Megazine than I have been about lots of our much bigger projects elsewhere. Not sure why. Some kind of loyalty-chip implated during my visit to Tharg maybe?

“2000AD has always been somewhere for British talent to cut their teeth, and learn their craft. Even though we have been in the business now for nearly ten years, I am certain that we have more to learn, and what better way to do it than at 2000AD?”

“Leah Moore and John Reppion are amongst the exciting new generation of comics writers,” said Matt Smith, editor of 2000AD, “and I’m delighted to have them contributing for the first time – hopefully, we’ll see more from their pen in the pages of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comics in the future!’

5 Minutes with Leah Moore and John Reppion

Leah Moore. Photo: DC Sterne.

Leah Moore was born in Northampton, England in 1978.

Her first ever attempt at comic book scripting was submitted anonymously to Scott Dunbier at Wildstorm in late 2002. The story was accepted, illustrated by Sergio Aragones and published as “King Solomon Pines”, in Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales #5. This was soon followed by another 8-pager; “Bad to the Bone”, with art by Shawn McManus, which appeared in Tom Strong #19.



In mid 2003 Leah and her husband (then fiancée) John Reppion began work on a proposal for a six-part mini entitled Wild Girl. The series was published in 2004/05, illustrated by Shawn McManus and J. H. Williams III.

Since then the duo have worked together on series such as Albion (with Alan Moore & Shane Oakley), Raise the Dead (with Hugo Petrus) and contributed to the likes of Popgun, Accent UK’s Zombies, Self Made Hero’s H. P. Lovecraft anthology and Tori Amos’ Comic Book Tattoo. Moore & Reppion are currently working together on The Thrill Electric (with Windflower Studio) – a ten part online motion comic set in Victorian Manchester.

In 2006 Leah was commissioned by the Royal Mail to write two short stories to accompany the release of their Christmas stamps.

In addition to her writing Leah enjoys drawing and painting and has provided illustrations for various articles and stories.




Q1. What was the first comic that you owned that really had a life changing effect on you?

LM: I think it was definitely Love and Rockets. I read it and just totally fell in love with the whole world. I wanted to be there, living it, being one of the characters so much. it was the first comic, probably the first book I read that just made me feel like "this is for me, these are people I care about". I have been near obsessed ever since.

Q2. How did you become a writer? What was your main inspiration?

LM: Well I've always made my own comics since I was little, so making up stories is something I have always enjoyed.
The problem used to be I'd have grandiose ideas and wouldn't be able to draw them properly, so now I get to script all these big elaborate scenes and get someone else to draw them for me. The actual decision came by a suggestion of my dads. i was doing a bar job after university, and he said " have you ever thought about writing comics" which I hadn't at all. I had a go at it, and produced a script for a little eight pager, which Scott Dunbier received anonymously, and accepted. When I saw it was possible to make the same money writing a comic as doing lots of hours behind the bar, I thought I'd have a go, see if it kept being fun, and kept paying the rent. so far it has so here's hoping it stays that way!



Q3. This is a two part question: What is the story behind the idea to revive classic IPC-owned British comic characters such as Captain Hurricane, Robot Archie, The Steel Claw and The Spider, into the acclaimed comic book series Albion? Which is your favorite character from the series?

LM: Well I can take no credit for the idea at all, it was the artist Shane Oakley's idea which he had been talking to my dad about for a bit. He wanted to bring back the characters, and remind people what a fun weird bunch of characters they were, but dad didn't have the time to write it with him. Dad suggested we could write it, with him doing the plot, and Shane drawing it, and he pitched it to Wildstorm that way. We kind of thought we were just going to be script monkeys, typing up from dads notes, but there was lots of space in it for us to play with ideas ourselves. between the lot of us, it got pulled in several directions at once, so it was an odd project creatively, but really enjoyable and something we are all proud of. My favourite character in it is Zip Nolan. I love his bumbling brashness and annoyance. I actually laughed out loud scripting him, several times, which is always nice.

Q4. As well as being a writer you are also an artist, producing illustrations for fanzines and magazines. You say that you are shy
about it, as it is your first love. However would you consider tackling a graphic novel at some point?

LM: I am shy about it also because I do not think i am very good! i have always found comics to be the hardest thing to do because you cant just draw someone and thats it, you have to draw them a hundred times from every conceivable angle and in all kinds of situations. My grasp of anatomy is certainly not good enough to tackle any serious comic art, and even with a more cartoony indie style, I think I'd struggle to get it looking uniform across the pages. I have done little strips here and there, and I do draw out all our pages in rough so we can type from them, so layouts aren't a problem, its just getting it all looking crisp and proper I'd have trouble with. I'd love to say I'd have a go at a project I drew too, but it would have to be a really specific project, and I'd have to practise a lot first!

Q5. I read that you are interested in writing radio plays or short pieces for television. What is it about radio that attracts you and would you consider a pod cast as a viable platform for you work?

LM: I would love to experiment with other forms of story telling just to see how they work. I think you learn most by really pushing yourself in a new direction. when we did The Thrill Electric recently, we learned loads of new stuff about pacing and page structure, not to mention plot and characterisation, just because it was a form we hadnt tried before. The horizontal layout meant our pacing had to change, the single pages instead of spreads meant our scenes were a different size and shape. It was really interesting. I think radio would be amazing because you'd learn how to fill your readers mind with a world, even without a picture or a massive bit of description. you'd learn how to create it with a couple of words, and some sounds, which I think would be fascinating. I'm attracted to writing a play purely because the magic in comics is when you get your pages back all drawn and amazing, and i think the sight of actual people creating your story physically in 3D would be even more magical than the comics art.



John Reppion. Photo: DC Sterne.

John Reppion was born in Liverpool, England in 1978.

His writing career began in 2003 when he collaborated with his wife Leah Moore on a proposal for a six issue mini series entitled Wild Girl. The proposal was accepted and the series was published by Wildstorm in 2004/05.

Since then the duo have worked together on series such as Albion (with Alan Moore & Shane Oakley), Raise the Dead (with Hugo Petrus) and contributed to the likes of Popgun, Accent UK’s Zombies Self Made Hero’s H. P. Lovecraft anthology and Tori Amos’ Comic Book Tattoo. Moore & Reppion are currently working together on The Thrill Electric (with Windflower Studio) – a ten part online motion comic set in Victorian Manchester.

John’s interests in fortean phenomena, esoterica, folklore, philosophy, theology and horror have led to his writing articles and reviews for numerous magazines and periodicals including Fortean Times, Strange Attractor, The End Is Nigh, Revenant Magazine and SteamPunk Magazine. 2008 saw the release of his first full length book 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool, published by The History Press.



Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast.

Q1. What was the first record that you owned that really had a life changing effect on you?

JR: The first album that I ever bought was Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast. It was a vinyl LP which I got from the supermarket at the bottom of the road where my mum and dad still live. This would have been around 1989 so it was already an "old" album having been released in 1982. To me at the
age of eleven it felt like it had come not just from another era but another world really. I was just discovering comics at the time - my uncle lending me The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke amongst others - and probably just plucking up the courage to begin reading a bit of horror, and Number of the Beast was very much the soundtrack to all of that. Each song on the album tells a story it was just pure imagination fuel for my pre-adolescent self. I'd even go to sleep listening to a cassette copy I'd made. Number of the Beast and the original Ghostbusters film were pretty much my pre-adolescent obsessions, and I think both helped to shape my mind quite dramatically.




Q2. Can you tell me the background to your book 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool?

JR: Ha, well, see my previous answer RE: childhood Ghostbusters obsession!

I've always been interested in folklore and weird history and it never ceases to amaze me how much of this stuff is still part of our everyday lives - people still tell these stories, places still have their odd reputations, despite us living in the 21st century. Having lived in Liverpool my entire life I already had a good knowledge of many of the local ghost stories and supposedly haunted places so it was really just a case of drawing all that together and doing the research. I also had flyers out around the city asking people to get in touch with me if they'd ever experienced anything they'd consider supernatural. I got a really good response and was lucky enough to even get an email from Ramsey Campbell offering an account of one of his own strange experiences. When the great supernatural author M. R. James was asked if he actually believed in ghosts he famously replied "I answer that I am prepared to consider evidence and accept it if it satisfies me". That is pretty much what I tried to do with 800 Years - make all the data I could find on each case available to the reader and allow them to "consider the evidence".

Q3. You have written a number of non-fiction articles for publications including The End Is Nigh, an annual British fanzine edited by Michael Molcher. Does your approach to non-fiction differ greatly to the way you work on a piece of fiction?

JR: The biggest difference between my article writing and the writing I do for comics is that I do the former on my own, whereas comics are always written in collaboration with Leah.

I love research. I love to have a big pile of books, photocopied papers I've written off to regional libraries for, etc in front of me and to be cross referencing all this stuff and coming up with a narrative that no one of the sources provides. That's really how most of my factual articles develop - I find an interesting subject, amass all the material I can on it, and then see what shape the article wants to take. Again, Fortean, folkloric, or weird history type subjects tend to be the things that attract me - most
recently I wrote a piece for Darklore Vol 6 (http://darklore.dailygrail.com/) about the remains of a prehistoric monument, older than the pyramids, which are kept in a greenhouse in a park just around the corner from my house.

I have written some prose fiction myself too (mainly for SteamPunk Magazine) and that's definitely something I'd love to find the time to do more of. It makes me feel very exposed compared to comics and articles though - there's no collaborators and no hard and fast facts to hide behind - it's just all my own words; my ideas laid bare.

Q4. You are currently working with Leah on The Thrill Electric, a ten part online motion comic set in Victorian Manchester. Can you tell me a little about that project?

JR: The Thrill Electric is essentially a 150 enhanced Graphic Novel (This means as well as the traditional comic pages full of panels and captions and word balloons, you also get background noise, sound effects, music, animations and pages where we try and find new ways to read a comic page) which is available to read entirely for free at www.thethrillelectric.com.

Years back, when we were adapting Bram Stoker's Dracula into a GN, we were doing a lot of research into the technology of the time and started to realise that, as much as we think of it as a period piece now, Stoker was being really cutting edge with all the tech that his characters employed. The telegraph plays quite a pivotal role in Dracula and the more we read about that the more started to realise that so many things we think of as being very much of the internet age were actually born of and possible via the telegraph.

Instant messaging, spam, online romances, gaming even - all these things were happening in offices across the world from the mid 1800s right up until the telephone took over at the beginning of the 20th century. The other thing that really caught our attention was that this point in history was a real turning point for women in the workforce. Telegrapher was a respectable white collar job which parents were happy to let their daughters go and do. Women could work somewhere less dirty and dangerous than a factory, and earn good money doing skilled work. Leah lay in bed one night ruminating on all of this, when the idea came to her of a story about a girl going into the world of the telegraph - a period drama with all the romance and scandal of any modern social network. The Thrill Electric was born.

An iPhone / iPad version of The Thrill Electric is set to come out very soon. Just like the online version it will be 100% free.

Q5. Do you think that online publishing will have a long term impact on traditional printed media and if so, is that a positive or a negative?

JR: Speaking as someone who spends all day every day staring at a computer screen I hate reading for leisure on screen, I'd always much rather read an actual book. That said, I do have a kindle app on my phone and I can see the appeal of instant access to any book via a device. I think that so far as books are concerned, the paperback market might change as a result of digital. Maybe that will translate to comics too with monthlies dying off and digi editions taking over. However, people will still buy books I think - I know I will - and I think many publishers are already upping their game as a result, making deluxe hardbacks that are more desirable than ever in order to compete. It's a period of change definitely but hopefully it'll be one for the better in many respects.



The Thrill Electric Promo.

With The Thrill Electric we were trying to take the first steps in creating something that wasn't just a paper comic book in digital form, we wanted to take advantage of all the things we had at our disposal but still focus on telling a story (not just end up with a firework display). I think that enhanced comics is an area that has a lot of potential for the future, a whole new medium adding an extra dimension to traditional comics. Will that kill comics as we know them? No more than cinema killed photography.

If I worked in a bigger office, this would be a great April Fool's Day Prank

Click for big

Run Bro

Old and New Hell's Kitchen

Was a gorgeous weekend here in Hell's Kitchen.

Low humidity was key. Blue skies helped, and the sun was bright...

2012 Ninth Ave Food Fest appeared to be a whopping success... My favorite? Fried calamari at Uncle Nicks.

Actually last year's Food Fest was the last time I remember eating meat (Pork sandwich at Dalton's Bar and Grill)... It's been a year since an animal had to die in order for me to have a meal... Sweet.

Good to catch up with a few friends over the weekend... As always... Not much energy for any of it during a work week...

Six more weeks til Summer Break...

I hope that each of my 678 Twitter Followers and 575 Facebook Friends all enjoyed their weekend as much as I did...

As for my Blog readers and Blogger Buddies... That goes without saying!

Picture, by me of Old and New Hell's Kitchen on my Flickr page.

Using bad yelp reviews for marketing

(source)

Friday Before Food Fest

The Ninth Avenue Food Fest is this weekend. And the NYC Tattoo Convention at Roseland... The weather is supposed to be exquisite... Enjoy the weekend in Hell's Kitchen and beyond!

Ghost Recon Future Soldier & Akai Katana Region Free Tests

We have PAL region free tested the XBOX 360 North American versions of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier (Preorder Bonus: 12x16" poster included) [Kinect hardware compatible] (Region Free) - 360 (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) SALE PRICE IS ONLINE ONLY  and Akai Katana - 360 (Region Free) (Preorder) on our PAL XBOX 360 console.

We can confirm that both games are region free.

Look for more PAL region free game tests soon

Last Dance

Rest in Peace Donna Summer, 1948-2012. Last Dance, 1978.

An interesting money-making scam. Why don't you ever hear about people pulling this?

Karen and I were playing Crack the Case yesterday during a walk around the neighborhood with Violet and I had to figure out what was happening in the following case (paraphrased)


One week a guy, Mr Basil, receives a phone call. The phone call just says "bet on Lucky Stallion in the horse race" and Mr Basil watches the horse race and sure enough, that horse wins. The next week, Mr Basil receives another phone call. It says "bet on Clover Fax in the horse race" and so he does, and he wins big. The third week, Mr Basil gets a call and says "I've given you the winning horse for the last two weeks for free, but if you want this week's winning horse, you'll need to first send me $10,000"


So the question here is, how does the caller know the winning horses?

I ruled out a lot of different theories.
1) It's not a pyramid scheme
2) Mr Basil was watching the actual live races, not recordings of past races
3) The caller didn't fix the races in any way

But what helped me figure out was when I figured out that
4) The caller didn't know who was going to win the races.

Here's the solution: 
The caller had no clue who was going to win at all. He just called a bunch of random numbers. Say that there were 10 horses in each race. He calls 100 people and tells groups of 10 people each a different horse that is going to win. Whatever horses lose, he never calls those people again. Whatever 10 had a winning horse, he calls next week and tells each of them a different horse. Whatever person he happens to have told the right horse, he calls the next week and asks for $10,000. Then he takes the money, picks a random horse, and disappears.

How common is my birthday / How many people have the same birthday as me?

Graph from Swissmiss

Game Of Thrones Pre-Order Contest Winner

Thanks to all who pre-ordered either Game of Thrones - PS3 (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) or Game of Thrones - 360 (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) with us.

Everyone who pre-ordered was entered into a draw to win a  Game Of Thrones Season 1 Blu-Ray Complete Set.

Congratulations to Sergio Medeiros from Portugal. Your Prize is on it's way!!

MAX PAYNE 3 REGION FREE TEST AND SPECIAL EDITIONS

We have PAL region free tested the North American version of Max Payne 3 - 360 (Region Free) (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) on our PAL XBOX 360 console and can confirm that it's region free.

We have also received a very limited amount of  Max Payne 3 Special Edition - 360 (Region Free) (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) and Max Payne 3 Special Edition - PS3 (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) .



Look for more XBOX 360 PAL Region Free tests soon!

What Makes You Beautiful?

This stars the Broadway cast of Anything Goes, including cameos of Oscar and Tony Winner Joel Grey and Julie Halston. What makes YOU beautiful?

Set the Tone: Fulfill

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself."

~ Khalil Gibran

Happy Mother's Day!

Saturday Morning Graffiti

"Know that every breath is a miracle and every moment a blessing". ~ Micheal Teal

Rest in Peace, Laura Vaile... 1957-2012 "... Don't be afraid... Take a sad song and make it better."

"In almost every case, nothing is stopping you, nothing is holding you back but your own thoughts about yourself and 'how life is.'" - Neale Donald Walsch

"May your life someday be exciting as you pretend for it to be on Facebook". - Shit Twinks Say on Twitter.

The Vampire Who Came Out in the Afternoon  Great piece on the first Barnabas Collins phenom by Jonathan Frid 1970's. Will surely see the Tim Burton film soon...

A doorman just told me that he is an inteRllectual. ... OK dokey then.

"If you end every sentence with 'at the end of the day it is what it is' I probably hate you". ~ Cazwell

"There are angels to your left and angels to your right; angels above you and angels below you; angels ahead of you and angels behind you. You are encapsulated in divine vibration, surrounded by love and eternally blessed. Go forth in confidence and go forth in peace... All is well". - Marianne Williamson

More Cindy Sherman

MoMA isn't the only place for Cindy Sherman these days. Metro Pictures Gallery in Chelsea is currently running a Cindy Sherman show. I slipped down to see it one day this week. I'm a fan.

no one looks at the blog anymore, apparently.

OK

Thanks to Nicomar for sending this!

Alan Wake Ridiculous Video Game Product Placement Examples

Ok so I've been playing Alan Wake. It's this story-heavy game where you run around and creepy dudes chase you and you try to solve a mystery of sorts. So far it's no Dead Space 2, but we'll see.

I got to the point in the game below, and for a split second I noticed, hey, is that some sort of Microsoft Sync ad or something? Then we drove away and I noticed we were specifically driving a Lincoln car.

The whole course of the game there are these dark shadowy guys chasing you, and you have to sort of break them out of their darkness by blinding them with your flashlight. Your Energizer flashlight that is.  The batteries are even called lithium batteries.

I know that this looks like a bad Photoshop job, but this is what they actually look like in game.

Alan also gets phone calls on his Verizon phone.

It would seem that later I will be trying to escape some sort of institution and come across a TV screen that actually plays a Verizon commercial

Diablo III (3) Store Promo Display Standee For Sale

We were lucky enough to receive an extra Diablo 3 Store Display Standee so we've decided to put it up for auction on Ebay. It's brand new never assembled. This is a rare opportunity for a die hard Diablo fan to get their hands on this incredible item.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AUCTION!

Game Of Thrones XBOX 360 Regon Free Test

We have tested the North American version of Game of Thrones (Season 1 Boxset Give-a-way) - 360 (Preorder) on our PAL XBOX 360 console and cab confirm it's not PAL region free.

Look for more region free tests soon.

New Work In Progress

Following on from my recent sculpture, Planetoid 210, I've decided to continue with the spherical theme and have started a new piece that will hopefully end up looking (if all goes well) like the love child of two of my other sculptures, The City and Cardboard Brain. Like Cardboard Brain, the new piece is going to be constructed primarily of interwoven periscopes and as with The City, I plan to use windows of magnified glass that will allow the viewer to peer into miniature environments, slotted in between the voids amongst the periscopes.
I say all this now but until the work starts to properly take shape its hard to tell how much space there will be for the miniature environments or if the overall shape will even be remotely spherical. These sculptures sometimes have a will of their own and refuse to conform – or is that just me anthropomorphising again?

 As you can see from this work in progress, it's early days yet. I've still not constructed enough periscopes to make the framework for even half of the sphere. I have a feeling that it's going to get trickier and trickier trying trying to fit all the internal sections together as the piece starts to take form but luckily I love that sort of thing.

This was the sketch that I made when I came up with the initial idea for the work. Admittedly it's not the most considered drawing in the world but I do have a habit of quickly forgetting ideas for artworks unless I jot something down on paper as soon as I think of it. So a lot of my drawings are little more than a few quick squiggles, but enough to act as a mental prompt.

Funny Penny Arcade Mother's Day Comic

In reference to that "international star registry" place (which doesn't really count but, ok)

Comic Source

Set the Tone: Let the Doubts Go

"When the doubts come, see them, feel them, laugh at them, and let them go. You can do it and you know it".

~ Ralph Marston

Giant sinkhole looks like it's photoshopped but isn't

From: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/photogalleries/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-pictures-world/

If you have glasses/contacts, you understand this

You might also need to have a basic handle on not sure if X or just Y Futurama Fry, but I think it still gets through even if you don't.

Not Feeling Particularly Bloggy Lately

Haven't really been in the mood to blog lately... Kinda got my eye on the Summer vacation light at the end of the tunnel... Meanwhile, does any one read blogs anymore?? With the raging success of Facebook and Twitter, comments have fallen by the wayside out here in Blogland... Well, I'm certainly not giving up blogging... Not now anyway... Just acknowledging we have a touch of Spring Fever (or something) at Postcards at Hell's Kitchen... And the beat goes on...

Latest Newsletter Now Live

 Our newsletter for Friday April 20, 2012 is now live CLICK HERE

SNIPER ELITE V2 XBOX 360 REGION FREE TEST

We have tested the North American version of Sniper Elite V2 - 360 (Region Free) (In stock usually ships within 24hrs) on our PAL XBOX 360 console and can confirm that it's region free.

Look for more region free tests soon!

Muppet Show Pitch

Jim Henson makes his pitch for The Muppet Show....

Persona 4 Golden PS VITA PRE-ORDERS OPEN!

Just Announced!! Atlus has just announced Persona 4 Golden - PS VITA (Preorder) and pre-orders are officially now open. Release Date: Oct 23, 2012

Following in the footsteps of Persona 3 Portable, the second highest rated PSP game of all time, and based on Persona 4, one of the most beloved ATLUS titles ever, P4G delivers an enhanced and expanded portable role playing experience. Visuals have been beautifully remastered to take advantage of the vibrant 5” OLED display. The game’s aural presentation is better than ever, with 1.5 times the voiced dialogue of the original release. A new online dungeon rescue feature allows users to call on other players for assistance when they are about to die in the TV world. P4G is also overflowing with new content: new Personas to collect; new story events along with an all new character; stunning new anime cut scenes, which include a new opening animation with a new song from master composer Shoji Meguro; a host of fan suggested tweaks and changes, and much, much more! Persona 4 Golden is far more than just a handheld version of an all‐time classic: it’s the best way to experience it yet!

Stairs are also wheelchair ramp

Student drops out of school, lives in the attic of an Ann Arbor church for 4 years before getting caught

Here's an excerpt:

One of the most bizarre stories in the city's history came to a conclusion in August of 1959. Cheng Lim was a foreign exchange student from Singapore and was sponsored by the Methodist Church, to study at the University in 1952. While in Ann Arbor he attended the First Methodist Church at State and Huron.

In 1955, Lim did not apply for the fall term as he was distressed due to low grades, feeling he had failed the people that had brought him to Ann Arbor. In an attempt to fake his suicide, Lim walked down to the Huron River and threw his passport into it. Later that night he went to the First Methodist Church and climbed a ladder that led to an attic on the north side of the church. For the next four years, Lim lived in this cramped attic space. During the night he would sneak down to the kitchen for food and water.

Read the whole story here: http://aapd.aadl.org/aapd/truecrimes/5-5

Found via the comments section on an AnnArbor.com story published today about a guy whose Mom expected him to graduate Saturday, but it turns out he vanished and hadn't been a student since 2011.