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THE BLOG AT THE CROSSROADS
Gosh! Comics Is Moving
Posted: July 2, 2011
After 25 years one of London’s best comics shops, Gosh! Comics, is moving from their current premises opposite the British Museum to a brand spanking new location at 1 Berwick Street, Soho W1F 0DR as from 6 August 2011. All the details can be found in the nifty flyer below, designed by rising Brit Comics star Luke Pearson.
Gene Colan Obituary in The Guardian
Posted: July 1, 2011
American comic book artist Gene Colan died last Thursday. Colan is a great loss, one of the most truly distinctive and illustrative of comic book artists, he brought mood, class and humanity to whatever he drew. Remember that sequence he added of Captain America wandering the streets that forced Stan the Man to come up with a powerful reflective soliloquy? Or those amazing experimental new-look Doctor Strange issues with Roy Thomas and Tom Palmer? And of course the glorious run on Tomb of Dracula? And those wash stories in the early issues of Creepy and Eerie? He was also a master on short horror, romance and war and western stories of course. Being able to share his vision of the world through his artistry will always stay with me.
And as Clifford Meth writes: “Following earlier discussions with Gene, and this morning with his daughter Nanci, I am setting up the Gene Colan Scholarship at the Joe Kubert School. In lieu of flowers and such, you can contribute to this scholarship in Gene’s memory.”
Lots to celebrate and remember him by - if you’re not familiar with his work, be sure to explore it. My obituary of ‘Gentleman’ Gene has been published this Wednesday in The Guardian.
Interview in Today’s Metro
Posted: June 29, 2011
Genius Godfather of British comics Pat Mills and I have been interviewed by David Jenkins in today’s free Metro newspaper about the digitization of comics. Under the headline ‘Comics leap into the digital age’, this feature turned out as an actually interesting discussion. It was built around the hyping of Playstation’s new Infamous 2 game, commissioning Pat and a gaggle of super-talented artists to craft some rather cool all-new satirical webcomics as promos, and dear ol’ DC providing a great jump-on and jump-OFF point by rebooting their entire spandex cavalcade all over again, this time as digital co-editions this Sept. You can read the piece online too (excluding the DC news) here and below are two panels from the Infamous comics with credit details.
Justin - Animal Saviour illustrated by Luke Pearson
The UK public are animal crazy and what better
way to raise your profile than with some pet loving!
Luke’s work has appeared in seminal comic book anthology Nobrow alongside work for a range of magazines.
Gaga: Down with the kids, illustrated by JAKe
When is too far too far?
JAKe is one of the UK’s leading illustrators having worked with the likes of Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy and Star Wars. His recent projects include illustrating The Mighty Book of Boosh.
This Week’s Article: Previews For August 2011
Posted: June 26, 2011
We all know there is way too much stuff being published right now, it’s becoming impossible to keep up. How do you find those glistening, gold-plated needles in such a giant haystack? Each month I help you to discriminate, in a good way, by shortlisting the comics, manga and graphic novels I’m most looking forward to based on publisher advance listings. In this week’s article I take a look at the new releases for August 2011, which includes books by Craig Thompson, Adrian Tomine and Roger Langridge. Read the full article here…
This Week’s Article: Jerry Moriarty
Posted: June 19, 2011
Back in 1988 I had the good fortune of visiting the studio of Jerry Moriarty to interview him for the special New York issue of Escape Magazine, issue thirteen. Little did I realise then that this was one of the earliest interviews carried out with the remarkable creator of Jack Survives. He was very welcoming to this eager British comics aficionado, and refreshingly open and candid with me. Here’s a chance to experience this special encounter again. Read the full article here…
This Week’s Article: Winshluss
Posted: June 12, 2011
Winshluss is the pen-name of Frenchman Vincent Paronnaud, which comes from childhood garblings of his first name. Though forbidden to watch television by his Communist father, little Vincent would sneak into the living room at night to watch late movies with the sound turned off. Growing up as an avid comics reader in Pau, near the Spanish border in southwest France, he never went to art school, but at age 18 he was an energetic, self-motivated painter, singer, guitarist and cartoonist. Winshluss has come a long way since, creating and editing comics, mounting stunning exhibitions, making gallery art and movies. As well as writing and directing his own productions, he has also collaborated with Iranian-born Marjane Satrapi on the Oscar-nominated cartoon adaptation of her graphic novel Persepolis and the imminent live-action version of her Chicken With Plums. His rising acclaim in the bande dessinée world was topped in 2008, when his deliciously disturbing reinterpretation of Pinocchio won the prestigious Essential Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France. Read the full article here…
Comics & Medicine: The Sequential Art of Illness
Posted: June 7, 2011
It’s an honour and a buzz to be invited to Comics & Medicine: The Sequential Art of Illness, a conference at Northwestern University, Chicago on June 9th to 11th, to give the opening Keynote Introduction and to chair one session of papers on Epileptic by David B. (who I am interviewing in person in London on June 30th). This American conference is the sequel to the first ever conference on this flourishing sector of graphic novels which was organised in London last year by Ian Williams of Graphic Medicine. Joining me this year will be special guest speakers Phoebe Gloeckner, brilliant author of A Child’s Life, Scott McCloud, guru theorist famed for Understanding Comics, and David Small, children’s book illustrator turned graphic novelist whose Stitches was one of the most unforgettable autobiographical comics of the last few years. The good news is that Scott McCloud’s lecture is open to the public on Saturday June 11th from 3-5pm. The Conference is holding a closing reception and book signing, to which all are welcome, at the sequential art emporium Quimby’s Comics, 1854 W. North Avenue, Chicago. I’m looking forward to meeting and making friends on my first trip to that “Free and easy town, brassy, breezy town”, Chicago. Comics really are the best medicine!
This Week’s Article: Kapow! Comic Con
Posted: June 5, 2011
Kapow!, the new London comics convention, was held on 9 to 10 April 2011 and drew over 5,100 visitors for its first weekend with a canny mix of genre TV, film and games-related celebrities and attractions. Read the full article here…
Alternative Press Takeover: The Swedish Collection
Posted: May 30, 2011
There’s a comics party going on! I’m heading off tonight to The New Gallery, 92 Peckham Road, London SE15 5PY to see the opening, 7-10pm, of The Swedish Collection, an exhibition curated by Sarah Kläpp, artist and editor at Sweden’s cutting-edge global comics anthology C’est Bon Magazine. It’s a rare chance in London to see work by students and graduates from the Malmö Serieskolan or Comic Art School. I’ve been over to the school three times to lecture and give individual tutorials, invited courtesy of my pal Fredrik Strömberg, an indefatigable mover of Swedish comics (I helped him a bit with his latest study on sequential art, Comic Art Propaganda: A Graphic History which came out last year from Ilex Press).
On my every trip to Malmö, I’ve always been impressed by the individuality and quality of the students, with usually fifty-fifty female-to-male, if not more. Since its foundation in 1999, the school’s provision of full-time comics education has hugely energised the talent pool and diversity in comics in Sweden. Check out the comics by these students in the exhibition: Sarah Kläpp, Bo Ashi, Lisa Edwald, Stina Johnson, Anna Ahlén, Joakim Derlow, Henri Gylander, Anton Krull, Hanna Stenman and Sofia Lindh. The show runs till Sunday June 5th and is part of The International Alternative Press Festival‘s buzzing programme of exhibits and events.
This Week’s Article: PG Previews for July 2011
Posted: May 29, 2011
With new releases from Nate Powell, David B, and Grant Morrison, July looks to bring a bumper crop of quality comics to comic-store shelves near you. In this month’s installment of my regular monthly Previews series, I pick out the highlights of the new comic releases for July 2011. Read the full article here…
