Demoncon 3

I spent a very pleasant day in Maidstone last Sunday for Demoncon 3. It was a really nice convention, not too big, but very well attended with plenty to see and do. I got to meet David Frankum in the flesh for the first time, and we had a great time hawking our various wares, including Walking Wounded, Futurequake, Doctor WTF?! and Zarjaz.

(David Frankum (Left) and Chris Denton. Picture by John Burdis - also check out his 2000AD forum post where the photo came from).

I wasn't just there to sell though - I bought Futurequake 16 from David, having missed it the first time around. It includes a great story by him and Russell Norris called Generations, several other really fine self-contained strips and a back cover 1-pager coloured by none other than "Steven Denton". I also purchased the very last copy ever (for now) of the West graphic novel Justice by Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable then swapped myself a copy of By The Book 1 by Peter Anckorn. Should keep me busy this weekend!

The Writing On The Wall

I'm increasingly convinced that comics are primarily an artists' medium.

Almost anyone can write, schools are pretty hot on that. Yet virtually no one can draw. This creates a disparity, at least on the indy/small press side of things, where writers are not much valued but artists are highly prized. In many ways this is only natural. Illustrating a comic strip takes a damn sight more time and effort than writing one, so even if there were just as many artists as writers - which there aren't - the artists would still be making by far the greater commitment in taking a job on.

My principal outlet for writing over the last few years has been Massacre For Boys, and when I've strayed outside of it I haven't had very much success. I've had ideas rejected, accepted but not published and various other mishaps. Even when something has appeared and been relatively well received, it hasn't led to anything else. I could of course put this down to being shit, but I more think it's because no one really needs comic writers. Indeed, if you look at the Futurequake and Something Wicked anthology titles, two of the jewels in the British comics crown, they've been closed to new scripts since the start of the year.

In my role as an editor I am equally guilty of this. I've pursued artists with some vigour, but never sought any help with the writing. Mea Culpa.

Progress on Massacre For Boys is pretty slow at the moment, mainly due to Steve's many other commitments (pro colouring work, lots of other indy strips to illustrate, full-time job and, selfishly I feel, a personal life). It's not that I write fast, or write much, but it's so much quicker to write than draw. I'm quite far ahead of the curve at the moment, so don't need to do any more on this front. Which is probably just as well.

This year, as may be apparent from the above, I've become pretty disillusioned with comic writing, and indeed would consider retiring completely except that would imply I'd ever done it professionally - which I haven't - and also would be nothing but a futile gesture. The reality is I haven't written anything for ages, and I suspect I won't write anything for a while , but I'm pretty sure I'll find some enthusiasm from somewhere and pick up the pen again at some point.

Maybe.

Doesn't Really Go Anywhere

There have been some interesting reactions to Zenith/Invasion! since it was released last week.

There was a *SPOILER HEAVY* positive review from the perspective of someone who knows Invasion! but hasn't much memory of Zenith. The Maximan stuff was inevitably lost on them but they still seemed to enjoy the strip, which was very pleasing.

However not everybody has been complimentary. This negative review features a phrase now burned into my memory, "doesn't really go anywhere." Although I think that's basically unfair - the strip fairly obviously does go somewhere - there's no point in arguing with someone if they didn't like it. That's their perogative. The reviewer does also praise the initial concept, which ties in with my feeling that maybe I came up with a really big, attention grabbing idea but then didn't make the script accessible enough to live up to the expectations generated.

I still love it, though!

Some people have asked if we're intending to do a follow up and the answer is, as of now: "Nope". If I were to do a sequel it would be somewhat longer and begin in the present day with Zenith and his girlfriend, Patsy Kensit, attending a Zenith tribute act gig in a pub. They would then be attacked by an unspecified superhuman foe. There would be no Volgans. I would refer back to the first story, but only slightly. *CAUTION, OBLIQUE SPOILER* The character I ressurected would definitely feature again. Possibly more than one of them.

However, I agree with the Zarjaz editorial policy of no continuing stories, and I also suspect that reader interest would diminish the further a series divurged from what had appeared in 2000AD. This is why I have to admire Constable Dredd, a really fantastic strip by Rich McAuliffe and Mark Chilcott that also appears in Zarjaz 12. The concept is a winner - Dredd as a Victorian Bobby - and the execution is dazzling. It's so self-contained that you wouldn't necessarily want a sequel, and that's probably the best way to do a Zarjaz strip. There's some great unlettered pages of Constable Dredd on Mark's blog if you want to see more. However, you should just buy Zarjaz 12, obviously.

For me a good fanzine strip (or at least, a fanzine strip I would particularly enjoy) should not be just a pastiche of the original but instead try do something the original would not do. For this reason I also very much admired my brother's collaboration with Chris Askham on the Friday strip from Zarjaz 08 because that came up with a new concept for an unloved character and made it work.

Oh and speaking of Steve, he has a new strip in the current issue of Futurequake. I've not seen it yet but I know he worked long and hard on this one so it should be worth picking up.

Futurequake 17

I find it almost impossible to walk past a comic shop and so, after a nice lunch in Covent Garden I recently found myself in Orbital Comics. It was heartening to see they stocked a healthy selection of small press offerings, including both Zarjaz! and Futurequake. Always keen to support my fellows - and always keener to have something to read on the train home - I purchased this:



It's a great cover by Richard Smith and leads straight into the first strip, Regrets, Rules and Jellied Eeels, scripted by Neil Merrett. The art is crisp and clear, Smith's background in computer games is evident and that's no bad thing at all. I really enjoyed the story too, the twist is pretty funny.

The highlight of this issue for me is Ex Libris by Eoghan Ahern and David Frankum. Regular readers of this blog will know I've worked with David on a forthcoming Zarjaz! strip and that I'm working with him again on a Massacre For Boys piece at the moment. Therefore I guess I am not entirely neutral when I say that I think David is extremely talented and that his work here is little short of genius. Some of the panel compositions are really powerful and you can see that technically he pretty much has everything. It's no surprise to me that one of the "Big Two" comics publishers have expressed an interest in his work. Ahern's sharp post-modern writing gives David the platform he needs to flourish.

The other strips in this issue all have something to recommend them. I particularly liked the last couple actually - the atmospheric Robo Sapiens by Mark Smith & Steve Howard and then the short and spikey Rugged Romper by Michael Deshane and BMB. Still, I have by no means mentioned everything in the comic that's worth reading.

The quality does vary, as you would expect from an anthology title, but the overall level has definitely improved markedly from a couple of years ago. I think this is down in part to the editorial prowess of Dave Evans and Richmond Clements, but also to the vast number of submissions they now receive. There's some fine art in this issue but I perhaps naturally like to focus on the writing, which can often be pretty bad even in quite high profile professional comics let alone the small press. However, in FQ 17 there's maybe one story that's difficult to follow and overall the standard is as good as I have seen outside the very highest echelons of the medium.

On this form, Futurequake is clearly an important breeding ground for UK comic talent and long may it continue.

In Perspective

Steve's currently working on a Futurequake strip called SAM, from a script by Mark Woodland.

Here are some preparatory sketches:







I trust the artists amongst you will understand.

Bristol 2010 Uncovered

Yesterday morning I embarked on a pleasant rail journey from Redhill to Bristol Temple Meads in order to attend the Comic Expo. I decided to go to this one as a punter rather than a puntee. Steve and his girlfriend Nikki met me there and together we three tackled the delights on offer across the two convention sites.

The Small Press part of the show was, as last year, hosted at the Mercure. I was pleased to see the visitor count seemed well up on last year. We made a beeline for the Futurequake & Zarjaz! stall where Steve was delighted to see lots of his work on display, including this by now pretty famous Rogue Trooper pinup:



Bolt-01 had brought along the inked version of his second Crusader story which Steve and I were extremely pleased with. The strip will be out next year in Massacre For Boys: Back In Action and promises to be something special. We also chatted with Richmond Clements about his upcoming work and also regarding the possibility of MFB making a debut at next year's Hi-Ex.

There was also time to swing by the Bearded Skull stand to see how our old table neighbours from last year have been getting on. Pretty well it seems judging by the two new issues of Dexter's Half Dozen, one of which I picked up to enjoy later.

Back at the Ramada for the mainstream stuff, my personal highlight was the Pat Mills panel session on Requiem: Vampire Knight:



Pat is a great speaker and I found his passionate enthusiasm for British comics in the European tradition to be highly persuasive. My own interest in working for Marvel or DC is zero, so I am totally on board for steering clear of the American market. It was especially great to see him as I'd missed his Unicon appearances, much to my own disappointment. I didn't know very much about Requiem before this event but I was sufficiently intrigued to buy the first two Panini volumes immediately afterwards, which Pat was kind enough to sign.

Curiously, despite all the SFX / Comic Heroes posters everywhere we didn't see hide nor hair of the magazines themselves... very odd and a shame as I am quite interested in the Alan Moore interview the are trailing for the new Comic Heroes. The poster for issue one did contain a thumbnail of the infamous Fridge Magnets, ensuring Steve was represented in both hotels:



Even more curiously, indy-kids Markosia proudly proclaimed themselves as "Britain's leading graphic novel publishers" which may have come as a surprise to Rebellion, three tables down.

On that bombshell it was time to give up and go home. Tremendous fun, will definitely be back next year, although as a punter or puntee I am not yet sure.

Unicon 2010 Uncovered

Saturday 24th April saw the Massacre bandwagon roll into Hatfield for Unicon:



The venue was, as you can see, pretty amazing. Not actually Nuremberg circa 1934 but in fact the de Havilland campus of the University of Hertfordshire.

Steve and I set our alarms for stupid o'clock, travelled by train then taxi and were all setup by the start of play at 10am:



We weren't based in the Atrium itself, but in a huge foyer next door. Still we were two tables up from Gary Erskine so in good company.

Excellent company, in fact. To our right there was Derek, owner of St Alban's comic shop Chaos City Comics and to our left we had George of Jambo fame. Derek stocked an array of marvellous graphic novels, and we were grateful he purchased Walking Wounded and then read it straight away:



He seemed to like it and that was the main thing! In fact, fingers crossed that Walking Wounded issues may be on the shelves at Chaos City soon...

My old university housemate Danny Graydon was one of the show organisers and it was great to see him there:



I was gutted to miss Danny's evening interview with Dave Gibbons, Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neil but transport timing basically made it impossible to attend :(

Along with the Massacre For Boys publications we usually hawk, Steve and I were also offering Futurequake, Zarjaz! and Dogbreath from our stall. This was no trouble at all as as the FQP team have been great to us and it was nice to be able to do something in return. Also, it gave our table an extra hook, causing visitors to pause a bit longer than maybe they usually would. Indeed, Zarjaz! in particular attracted the attention of one distinguished attendee:



So, in conclusion, it was a great show and I am very much hoping it does become an annual event and that we stay very much part of it!

Election 2010

The Eagle Awards seem to be back.

Nominations are now being sought, but as this only covers comics published in 2009 we are a bit screwed. Our 2009 publication was Massacre For Boys In Colour, and the "In Colour" suffix puts us up against the big British boys, such as 2000AD.

In my wildest dreams I don't anticipate us beating 2000AD.

Therefore this year I am not actively seeking nominations for Massacre For Boys, but instead backing Futurequake. It really is high time Futurequake won the British black and white category so please make full use of your democratic rights and Vote Futurequake.

Meanwhile, Unicon is just 6 days away.

On the Massacre table, as well as Eagle award nominated Walking Wounded and not Eagle award nominated Massacre For Boys in Colour we'll be carrying Zarjaz! and Dogbreath too. There's a pretty good case for Eagle awarding nominating these two as well, think of them as the Lib Dems of British black & white comics.

Worries

Here's a panel from page 8:



You will note the rather fine lettering, courtesy of Mr Bolt-01. We are delighted that Bolt has agreed to letter our comic once again.

FutureQuake

So the latest issue of FutureQuake is out. Steve has a strip in it called Armstrong, featuring the noted astronaut during his early days in the US Air Force. Plenty of The Right Stuff on display throughout.

The script is by Chris Steifvater Thomas and Steve has contributed the art. Here's a panel:



Buy it here.

A Pier to Remember

Those fine chaps at Futurequake Press have made a lot of their out of print issues available online.

These now include Steve's first FQP effort from Something Wicked #2.



The strip viewer is currently a little dicey but it's still very much worth a look, as indeed are many of the other strips, including many by comic pros.

Random Thoughts

Steve's lead strip for Futurequake issue 13 seems to have been well received. Bolt-01 recently blogged about the making of the strip here.

I just read a preview version of Steve's next work for Futurequake, again from a Chris Thomas script, detailing the Korean war experiences of a certain Neil Armstrong. It's arguably even better than Traumatised Astronauts and publication is definitely something to watch out for later in the year.

Bosher's Goal's fans will be pleased to know I've finished the script to a new adventure, Bosher For England. When it's ready for the world to see we'll probably post it here before collecting it on the main site.

2000AD artist Ron Smith, a favourite of mine, recently had some legal trouble which could have destroyed his substantial legacy. Fortunately he has won his court battle and judging from the reaction the British comics world is very relieved and pleased. I won't link to any details for fear of perpetuating unfounded allegations, but suffice to say they were bad enough to destroy his reputation had they been true.

And finally, I know I said I was done with mentioning the SP Expo, but then I found the Official Show Photos. We're in there somewhere!