UK COMICS NATION

KEANU MEETS TOZZERS!



Almost. Report from Rob Dunlop on the Tozzer Borders signing here: http://www.tozzer.com/report/borders05.htm.

To celebrate the release of Tozzer 2: Special Edition, Rob and Pete will be at Borders, signing stuff, drawing stuff, looking at portfolios, making jokes, causing a disturbance, using foul language, entertaining the assembled masses and well, you've seen the poster, you get the gist. Bring a friend, or an enemy, and see them corrupted right in front of you.
If you can't go and see them on the 24th, then you can Meet the Tozzers at these other events:
Memorabilia: Birmingham 26-27th November, at the NEC.
Come along, or they'll track you down and tie your shoelaces together, or something.

ABOUT ABLAZE MEDIA:
Originally from Yorkshire, TOZZER artist Peter Lumby is now living in north London. He is a freelance storyboard artist and illustrator, and has worked on feature films, music videos and commercials. He also has extensive experience as a concept artist in the videogame development industry. Rob Dunlop, TOZZER writer, lives in south London. He's also trained illustrator, and for several years worked as a freelance writer and editor. He is now writing comics full time. Rob and Peter met at art school in north London, where they studied illustration from 1994-97. In 2000, they joined forces to create the Carmageddon comic series for videogames company SCi. After success with that project, the newly-formed writer/artist team founded their own comics publishing company, Ablaze Media Limited.

LINKS:
www.tozzer.com
www.borderstores.co.uk

WORDS & PICTURES WORKSHOP
Saturday, October 15, 2005 at Leicester Secular Hall, Humberstone Gate, Leicester LE1 1WB
12 noon to 5pm £2/ £1 concessions

Leicester based small press publisher Factor Fiction introduce you to the world of creating your own comics. Come along if you're a budding writer, artist, or just curious about this hybrid artform.

Also in attendence will be Shane Chebsey, whose SMALLZONE distribution company has been supplying underground, independent and small press comics to discerning readers for several years.

There will be a selection of comics available to peruse and purchase, and free handouts with tips on making your own comics.

WORDS & PICTURES is part of the Second Anniversary celebrations of the independent Leicester bookshop FRONTLINE BOOKS (www.frontlinebooks.co.uk) and COMICS NATION year long event.

ABOUT FACTOR FICTION PRESS:

Factor Fiction is Jay Eales and Selina Lock. Their first project under the Factor Fiction imprint was the highly acclaimed unofficial Doctor Who fanthology Walking In Eternity, published in 2001 in order to raise funds for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death (FSID), it was a perfect bound book with 366 pages, 44 stories and 40 illustrations; a heady mix of professionals from film, television, novels and comics, alongside the very best unpublished talents, many of whom have since gone on to great success. At the Comic Festival in Bristol in 2002, they launched the critically acclaimed ongoing anthology title The Girly Comic, edited by Selina Lock, followed by Violent! edited by Mike Sivier, incorporated under the FactorFiction Press banner in 2004.



LINKS:
www.factorfictionpress.co.uk
www.smallzone.co.uk
www.frontlinebooks.co.uk

Creators of hit UK comic BRODIES LAW, Daley Osiyemi and David Bircham, will be signing at FORBIDDEN PLANET, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Friday 28th October, from 5-6pm.

Following their success of the original six issue miniseries and TPB both in the UK and abroad, Pulp Theatre Entertainment have announced partnering with NHO Entertainment and director Renny Harlin to produce a live action feature film based on the comic.

ABOUT BRODIES LAW:
Jack Brodie, expert thief and professional killer, was on a routine assignment. He was paid well to break into a high tech lab and steal a disc that contained a top-secret experiment. His contractor is the CEO and shareholder of the research company, Eugene Della Cruz. A third party gets wind of the job; everything goes horribly wrong. It was a set up. He escapes - barely alive.

ABOUT THE CREATORS:
DALEY OSIYEMI creator of BRODIE'S LAW and co-founder of Pulp Theatre Entertainment where he works as producer and creator on various new media and comic projects. He worked on a successful online animated comic series NONE BUT US as writer and producer which is being sort after as a TV show. In 2003 he developed a character to help promote broadband for Blueyonder Telewest Broadband customers, which has been very successful. He is currently working on a new comic series URBAN HUSTLE out late 2005.

DAVID BIRCHAM co-creator & artist on BRODIE'S LAW and co-founder of Pulp Theatre Entertainment began his career in comics in the early 90's, where he quickly became a regular artist at 2000 AD on titles such as JUDGE DREDD and recreated the look for the popular SLAINE. He has also worked on well-known properties as diverse as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Sooty & Sweep comics, as well as stints with Hasbro on concept artwork for new toys and RPG cards. He is currently working on commissioned artwork and also developing the story and characters for the up and coming new comic series URBAN HUSTLE.

More events to come.



LINKS:
http://www.pulptheatre.com
http://www.brodieslaw.com
www.2000adonline.com

They were so popular people want their SOCKS signed!





More photos posted from other events when recieved.

And more events soon to be announced...

The next Comics Nation tie in event takes place next Saturday 17th September at ACE Comics stores at Southend and Colchester as award winning writer and artist Gary Spencer Millidge signs his third trade paper back of the critically acclaimed Strangehaven series, alongside Chronic Fatigue, creator behind the hit indie titles Wilderemere and Mixy.

GARY SPENCER MILLIDGE:
Born in London in 1961, Millidge attended Southend Art School and was extensively involved in UK comics fandom in the late 1970's and early 1980's, including the titles Amon*Spek and Comics News Monthly. In 1985 he published Food for Thought, an anthology to raise funds for Ethiopia whose contributors included Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Bryan Talbot and Warren Ellis. He owned a comic shop for two years, played in various rock bands and finally began professional publishing with Strangehaven in 1995. His other work includes contributions to the anthologies Negative Burn, Meanwhile and The Simpsons, as well as writing the Alan Moore tribute book, Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman. He supports Chelsea, and resides in Leigh-on-Sea in the south east of England with his girlfriend, their Whippet and their Macaw. For more info go to millidge.com.


CHRONIC FATIGUE (C.F.)
C.F is a graphic artist who has drawing abominations for a few years now, which have resulted in tales of zombie infested carnage, skinless rabbits, angst ridden cannibalistic teenagers and many other less blood fuelled digressions. He also likes to paint and draw a lot in many differing styles, for personal projects and for those who wish him to inflict his art upon them in the form of album sleeves and other such... stuff. His comics include among others:

MIXY, about a 10 year old boy called Joe, who just wanted a pet who wouldn’t get run over and die. He chose a rather rotten looking rabbit, named Mixy. Unfortunately for Joe, Mixy wasn't exactly your normal pet rabbit... and so the misadventure begins, in a world that has forgotten the dead once rose from their graves, where zombie rabbits desire world domination, and little boys crave human flesh...

and...

WILDEREMERE, the tale of a small seaside town thrown into madness when a strange device falls on its shores. Melding 24 seperate universes together, the town is reborn - a frankenstienesque reality of many odd and ecentric inhabitants...

For more info go to his site at manydeadthings.com.



LINKS:
www.millidge.com
www.manydeadthings.com
www.topshelfcomix.com
www.acecomics.co.uk

The bank holiday weekend came and went and, with it, the first of the Comics Nation events. Though organised in a relatively short space of time, they have appeared to gone well, thanks to the dedication of the creators taking part and their hosts. It was an experiment in guerilla marketing, proving how the UK comics community can start to reach out to the general public without having to spend a crippling amount of money on advertising or marketing, and should pave the way for similar events in the near future. A full report will appear in REDEYE 5 out on 1st November, but for now some comments from the creators themselves:


BLINK TWICE ad courtesy Bob Etherington

ROBIN ETHERINGTON, BLINK TWICE STUDIOS, BRISTOL
My brother and I were lucky enough to be invited to hold a signing session with the great Paul Grist, at Area 51 Comics in Bristol. Mike "Mr Expo" Allwood (who needs no introduction I'm sure) was really keen to promote Indy and British titles in the store (just as he is at the cons) and set up a cool raised area for the tables. With a bit of Jack Staff and Malcolm Magic... er... magic, the store looked great! Paul and my brother spent the day chatting to customers about creating Independent comics, and signing anything we could get our hands on (if I remember correctly Paul even tried to pass himself off as Jim Lee, and one bemused customer walked out thinking the price of his Batman comic had risen considerably!). We were so chuffed when the last of our limited edition signing sketchbooks walked out the shop in the arms of a happy punter. Our new range of Art Products also got the creative types buzzing and we sold a few packs of our own comic book board, and a few sketchbooks. The day WAS quite quiet, but we were expecting this as Area 51 is a little out of town. We've been asked if we'd like to do a signing later in the year in the Bristol Travelling Man, which would be a much more congenial location to catch intrigued passers-by, and we'll naturally tie it into the 365 event.

I want to state for the record that Paul Grist is one of the nicest guys I've met in this business. Not only is he irritatingly talented but he seemed genuinely happy to chat away to us all day about the ins and outs of making a living from comics, how he writes his stories (a strange approach I can tell you!) and a plethora of anecdotes regarding his convention experiences. Top bloke. Well done to all the other creators who made this weekend such a positive start to the promotion of the little guys and girls writing and drawing everywhere."

COLIN DINNIE, UNDERFIRE COMICS, BRIGHTON
"I really enjoyed UK Independants Day at David's Comics in Brighton but whether it was a success or not depends on how you want to measure it. In terms of raising public awareness I don't think we achieved that much - there was no advertising other than in the shop itself and although we were hopeful of some media coverage it failed to materialise. But for the customers of David's who were shopping there anyway (a fair few over a Saturday) most looked at, and some even bought, independent comics when they wouldn't normally! In more commercial terms however the day was a big success. The takings for the small press section were well above average, Steve consquently agreed to keep the comics in their new position by the door rather than at the side round the back - which means higher sales all round are pretty much guaranteed. I personally turned over more Underfire comics in the last week than I would normally expect to in a four week period. It also cemented the relationship between David's and the local small press community. The amount of work and dedication the staff put in was tremendous and I would like to thank Steve who worked past his normal hours the night before arranging the displays and Ginny who enthused about indy comics to all the customers all day long (including making one guy who spent a over a hundred pounds on a Thor statue buy a small press comic with his change!). Ginny's dedication went as far as booking the top room of a pub for a small press party on the Sunday night which unfortunately I couldn't attend but I'm sure went well. I think in Brighton this could well become an annual event. Roll on next year!"


DIY Comics panel courtesy David Goodman

DAVID GOODMAN, BAHALA-NA, LIVERPOOL:
"This was the first time I'd ever tried to arrange something like this, so I had no idea of how it would turn out. There were some things that, on reflection, could have been better organised, but in the end we managed to get things together. A table and a display was set up in the foyer of the library. The talk took place in one of the conference rooms at the Library. As it was, only a few people turned up but we managed to get a cosy little chat going. It might have been a bit more daunting if there were more people there! Hopefully, we'll see some of them again when the Comics Workshop starts up again.The panel consisted of Carl Critchlow, Dave Willacy and myself. Arthur Goodman was our photographer and the photos can be found at http://img217.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=comicsnation20050010zb.jpg. Thanks also to Iain Thomas and to Janet Goodwin for arranging things at the library.
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5325/comicsnation20050102il.jpg. Behind the desk - Carl Critchlow, David Goodman, Dave Willacy (sitting on table)


ALBION Signed LtdEdition Print (courtesy moorereppion.blogspot.com)

LEAH MOORE, ALBION, MANCHESTER:
"We had a good turnout, sold quite a few comics and had a very nice afternoon hanging about and chatting to the boys [at Travelling Man]. Thanks to Dan, Tom, Adam, and Haroum for making us welcome, and for the drawings! ;) We gave away twenty of the signed limited edition 'prints' which Shane sent along in his absence. This means we have a few left, so we'll ask Shane what he wants us to do...watch this space! The Travelling Man got us to sign a few copies to send out to their other branches in Newcastle, Nottingham, Leeds and... somewhere else i forgot. No need to miss out! if you have a comic shop in the country and you'd like us to do a signing get in touch and we'll see if we can do it."

D.I.Y. Comics:

A talk on the How, Where and Why of Self-publishing comics in the UK with local creators Carl Critchlow, David Goodman and Dave Willacy, will be taking place from 2:00pm Saturday 27th August at the Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street. The talk will be accompanied by a small exhibition, also held at the library, of several local creators including members of the Ian Hering Comics Workshop. The library is central to the city and literally minutes away from Lime Street train station, bus routes, and the landmark St Georges Hall.



CARL CRITCHLOW: Is a veteran Brit comics artist who has worked with DC, 2000AD and MAGIC THE GATHERING. His current work includes THRUD THE BARBARIAN, which was originally created in 1981 while Carl was at art college under the expert eye of graphics tutor and comics legend Bryan Talbot. After several fanzine appearances Thrud reached a wider audience when he appeared in Games Workshop's WHITE DWARF magazine, where it was voted as the most popular feature three years in a row in a readers poll. Since self publishing Thrud as a US format full colour comic, Carl has won the prestigious 2004 Eagle Award for Best British Small Press Title. For further information on his work go to www.thrudthebarbarian.com.



DAVID GOODMAN: A prolific creator, Liverpool based David Goodman has produced the anthologies Pulp Kitchen, Square Eyed Stories, and Zip Gun Presents, as well as a number of popular mini comics, with brother and sometime collaborator Arthur Goodman. David's work has also appeared in COMMERCIAL SUICIDE, JUST 1 PAGE, OMNIVISTASCOPE, and PAPER TIGER. He gets about a bit. He is also a strong presence in the indie comics community and is a regular on convention panels and at the Ian Hering Cartoon Workshop. Go to http://www.bahala-na.co.uk/ for more info.



DAVID WILLACY: Creator of THE OUTER REALMS, David is another regular attendee of the Ian Hering Cartoon Workshop and is an otherwise man of mystery. A list of his likes, dislikes and inspirations, as well as preview art of his work, can be found at http://www.kuro-ink.i8.com.

For more info on the Ian HeringCartoon Workshop go to: http://www.liv-coll.ac.uk/

For more on the Liverpool Central Library, go to: http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Libraries/How_to_find_us/Central_Library/index.asp