1 December 2007
[comics] Watchmen Movie Blog — a blog of the film production of Moore and Gibbon’s classic comic series.
30 November 2007
[comics] The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings — I try to keep it positive about comics but let me be clear here – Rob Liefeld is utterly shit. … ‘The most important thing you need to know before reading about all the terrible things Rob Liefeld has drawn is that he has never seen or talked to a woman in his life and has no idea what they look like or how their bodies operate. If you asked Rob Liefeld to draw a diagram of the uterus he’d put on a pair of gauntlets and punch the shit out of your chalkboard. This is how the man operates…’ [via Do You Feel Loved]
29 November 2007
[comics] Rare Viz comic auctioned for £950 … ‘The mint-condition “number one” edition from December 1979 had a guide price of £350-£400, and is one of only about 500 printed. But it went for double its estimate under the hammer at Anderson & Garland auctioneers in Newcastle.’
26 November 2007
23 November 2007
[comics] Kevin O’Neill Interview — O’Neill discusses the LoEG: The Black Dossier … On Alan Moore’s scripts: ‘…when I tidied up my studio, it was the first time I’d put all the scripts into one place, because it’d been written over a number of years. And the finished “Dossier” was bigger than a telephone directory, it was a monster of a thing. If that had all arrived at the same time, I doubt if I could’ve started the book, it would have been so formidable.’
22 November 2007
[evil] Ask Mefi: What fictional evil has great corporate branding? … ‘OCP, Omni Consumer Products. From Robocop.’
20 November 2007
[comics] More from Scans_Daily: The Haunt of Fear: Foul Play, EC’s most controversial story.
19 November 2007
[comics] League of Extraordinary Freelancers – Activate! — Screencaps from Alan Moore’s Appearance on the Simpsons … ‘Milhouse asks [Alan Moore] to sign his DVD of “Watchmen Babies” and asks which of the babies is his favorite.’
15 November 2007
[comics] Inside the Black Dossier — Alan Moore interview on the League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier …
…there was always an interesting thing where Frank Richards, the author of the ‘Billy Bunter’ stories, was having to turn out so many Bunter stories because of his gambling addiction. These were mentioned in an essay that George Orwell wrote, that were basically talking about how the Billy Bunter stories were just holding up the traditional British Empire values of racism and class consciousness in an approving light with the author apparently finding all foreigners amusing, and being very patronizing towards foreigners and women. Orwell wrote a very capable essay decrying all this, and foolishly, Frank Richards, stung by this review, decided to retaliate in a little letter where, in very wounded terms, went through all of Orwell’s points and tried his best to dismiss them. But he said, ‘As for Mr. Orwell’s point about me depicting foreigners as being comical, well, they are!’
6 November 2007
5 November 2007
30 October 2007
[comics] Excerpts from Posy Simmonds Comics Journal Interview — she’s interviewed by Paul Gravett. Posy on the genesis of Gemma Bovery: ‘…she was treating her lover in such a disgraceful way and she was surrounded by Prada bags and expensive shoe bags. She looked so bored and so miserable and she just exuded a kind of “Alas, what might have been.” This Italian friend, said, “Oh, look. There’s Madame Bovary.” So, later I said to The Guardian, “All right, it’s this.” And they said, “Fire away.”‘
27 October 2007
[comics] When did you last see your tutor? — fabulous ‘affectionate recollection’ from Eddie Campbell on Posy Simmonds … ‘I had a lady friend in 1981, just before the book under discussion appeared, who followed Posy in the Guardian (as she checked in on Feiffer in the Observer Sunday magazine and Claire Bretecher in the Times Sunday magazine whenever those other papers fell within reach) who had no idea what the hell I was talking about when I showed her the cartoon novel I was working upon. She saw no possible connect between what Posy was doing and what I intended. I mention this to show how far outside of comic book culture Posy is and was.’
23 October 2007
[comics] Partying with the ‘Dickster’ — Peter Bagge meets Dick Cheney.
21 October 2007
[comics] Travels in Toon Town Part 1 | Part 2 — first two parts of an on-going blog column on the architecture of cities such as Mega City One in comics … ‘Without Mega City One, Judge Dredd [..] would be a rather dull read. Dredd is a tiresome, unemotional leather-clad fascist who beats, shoots, and locks up ‘perps’ in tiny cells called ‘iso-cubes’. His emotional range is minimal, his dedication to upholding the law, unswerving. Yawn. Thank ‘Grud’ then – as Dredd himself might say – for the city and its buildings, its people and robots and the endless freeways and ‘pedways’ that spiral upwards for miles into the sky. Put simply without Mega City One, there would be no story to tell.’
17 October 2007
[comics] Orbital Comics Top 10 Lists — amusing lists posted in Orbital Comics in Central London … [via Kottke]
16 October 2007
[comics] Preview of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier — the latest from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill … ‘The story is set in an alternative-history England roughly 50 years after the Martian invasion of 1898. Quatermain and Murray, both strangely younger than when we saw them previous (and they were quite old back then – like, liver-spotted and wrinkled-prune old), are trying to track down a mysterious book that contains secrets about their League adventures and revelations about other League teams throughout history. Natch, there are some baddies who are desperate to make sure the dynamic duo fail in their quest.’
13 October 2007
[comics] Rob Liefeld on Alan Moore … ‘He once called us up to tell us that he had just been in the dream realm and talking to Socrates and Shakespeare, and to Moses, dead serious, and that they talked for what seemed to be months, but when he woke up, only an evening had passed, and he came up with these great ideas. And I’m tellin’ ya, I think it’s shtick, dude. I think it’s all shtick. I’m gonna start saying that stuff. Cuz you know what? It makes you instantly interesting. Like ‘O yeah, last night I was hanging out with Socrates. Came to me in a dream. We played poker. We dropped acid.’ That’s the kinda stuff Alan would say all the time…’ [via BeaucoupKevin]
10 October 2007
[comics] Brendan McCarthy Showreel on Youtube … ‘I recently found this old VHS showreel inside a cobwebbed cardboard box in a storage room. It features art and designs from over a decade ago. Some of what’s there looks a bit dated, as you’d expect, but it’s a fun little romp nonetheless. So I thought I’d post it up for your viewing pleasure…’ [via Barbelith]
9 October 2007
[comics] Alan Moore: the wonderful wizard of… Northampton — another interview with you-know-who … ‘People have asked me why I made the first chapter of my first novel so long, and in an invented English. The only answer I can come up with that satisfies me is, to keep out the scum.’
2 October 2007
26 September 2007
[japan] The Internet Cafe Refugees — a brief snapshot of life for the homeless in Japan from the Times … ‘Twenty-four-hour establishments, including allnight “family” restaurants and fast-food outlets, have always attracted the homeless, especially during the coldest and hottest months. Internet cafés, often combined with manga (comic) lounges, started to become popular in Japan about five years ago, and at night they are dominated increasingly by people with nowhere else to go.’
25 September 2007
[comics] The Evolution of Aaron Stack … ‘I have feelings, too!’
22 September 2007
[comics] The Game of Extraordinary Gentlemen — fun stuff from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. ‘Oh, Dear God, Bot-fly Larvae!’
17 September 2007
[comics] The Comic Lives On — BBC News Magazine on the state of British comics … ‘As for the comics themselves, have they really gone the way of the Dodo? The industry has simply evolved. Look closer at your newsagents’ shelving and you’ll find a number of fun strips now contained in the aforementioned Toxic and the confectionery collection that is Lucky Bag Comic. Where comic strips used to inspire TV tie-ins, the reverse is now true. The standout title, to my mind, is Titan’s Wallace & Gromit comic. And some of those familiar names have even survived: Judge Dredd and 2000AD, Commando, The Broons and Oor Wullie to name a few…’
14 September 2007
[comics] The Unsung Hero behind Spider-Man — Jonathan Ross on meeting Steve Ditko … ”I’m in New York, standing outside the office of my greatest hero. I know he’s inside because I called ahead and spoke to the great man. Now in his 80s, he was polite but firm. “Don’t come by,” he said. “I’m too busy. I don’t have anything to say to you. But thank you.” I have decided, perhaps unwisely and rudely, to ignore him. I need to know! So there I stand, on the final days of shooting my love-letter to and investigation into the strange life and work of the great Steve Ditko. And my hero has told me not to knock. But I owe it to comic fans the world over who want to hear, at last, from Ditko himself. I owe it the BBC, who have kindly allowed me to take a crew over to New York to see this thing through. Perhaps most importantly, I owe it to my 14-year-old self. So, of course, I knock … ‘
11 September 2007
[comics] Learn how to caricature… Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Mussolini and other war-time leaders. [via Forbidden Planet’s Blog]
10 September 2007
[comics] Charlie Brooker on BBC4’s Comics Britannia … ‘British kid’s comics have finally been swallowed up by this hideously plastic modern age in which almost any creative work is described as “content” – and demographically-targeted content at that. When I read about Dandy Xtreme, I feel like Victor Meldrew, sighing while a robot prepares his dinner. And I never used to read the Dandy anyway. As a child of the 1970s, I grew up on Whizzer And Chips, and the rest of the IPC/Fleetway comics stable…’
4 September 2007
[comics] Marching to his own Toon — Profile of the Guardian’s Steve Bell … ‘Bell got the idea for depicting him with Y-fronts over his trousers following rumours that he tucked his shirt into his underpants, and although he never phoned Bell to complain personally, it was well known he hated the cartoons. “Prescott was the other one who gave a shit. A journalist I know had been talking to him and said he had been complaining about being depicted as a dog. I am not a f***ing dog’,” he laughs, mimicking Prescott’s northern accent. “So of course I decided to carry on doing it.”‘ [via The Comics Reporter]
[comics] The Truth about Alan Moore … Finally revealed – from Rick Veitch.
3 September 2007
[comics] Bax The Burner … Early Alan Moore with art by Steve Dillon, starring my two favourite robots – Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein.
1 September 2007
[comics] Edgar Allan Poe — Allergic to alcohol? — nicely done short comic biography posted on Scans Daily …
28 August 2007
[comics] BBC Four’s Comics Britannia Season — website covering BBC Four’s upcoming season on comics. Forbidden Planet’s blog has all the details.
21 August 2007
[comics] Mike Mick McMahon’s Website — official website for the artist best known for his work on Judge Dredd. [via Chris Weston]
20 August 2007
[comics] Day One: It Begins… Finally! 
… ‘Your eyes do not deceive you: For the next seven days, it’s all-out war on the Dire Wraiths, because… IT’S ROM WEEK ON THE ISB!!’
… ‘Your eyes do not deceive you: For the next seven days, it’s all-out war on the Dire Wraiths, because… IT’S ROM WEEK ON THE ISB!!’
[comics] Legend Horror Classics! Frankenstein!! — Scans of a pre-2000AD comic from Kevin O’Neill … [via Forbidden Planet’s Blog]
19 August 2007
[comics] Comic and Story Paper Family Trees — a website exploring the publishing histories of old British comics. [via Phil Gyford]
17 August 2007
[comics] Incredibly disappointing news: ‘WildStorm/DC Comics regrets to announce that “The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier,” by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill, will only be published in the United States due to international copyright concerns and related issues.’ (DC Press Release)
7 August 2007
[comics] I Am Punisher (Black) — Chris’s Invincible Super Blog looks at the one of the odder moments during Frank Castle’s adventures in the Nineties … ‘Thus, wanted by the law, hunted by the Kingpin, and being, y’know, black, the Punisher decides it’s time for a little road trip, and hits the open road for a trip to Chicago in order to take the most appropriate course of action. He starts hanging out with Luke Cage…’
1 August 2007
[comics] For Sale on eBay: Jimmy Olsen Adventures by Jack Kirby – Volumes 1 & 2.
31 July 2007
[comics] Doonesbury: ‘Nah.Some things are just unknowable…’
29 July 2007
[comics] 2000AD still the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! — Brief Review of Recent 2000AD’s from Chris Weston … ‘It’s a portrait of a man who has led a life devoid of emotion slowly discovering his humanity… a man who is awakening to the fact that his whole life may have been spent in the wrong cause… but has this knowledge come too late? Melancholy and menace hover above this strip like carrion… it really feels like The Tale of Judge Joseph Dredd has entered its final act.’ [via blackbeltjones]
26 July 2007
[comics] Simpsons create Episode for all you Comic Geeks — More on the Episode of the Simpsons with Alan Moore. ‘…the episode, “Husbands and Knives,” will air on October 7 and will feature not only [Alan] Moore, but two other big comic book names: Art Spiegelman (Maus, Maus II, In the Shadow of No Towers) and Daniel Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World, David Boring). The three men figure into a subplot centered on Comic Book Guy, who finds himself in direct competition with a new comic book shop called “Coolsville Comics & Toys,” run by a fella named Milo (Jack Black).’ [via Blah Blah Flowers]
22 July 2007
[comics] Old Interview with Alan Moore, Pat Mills, Steve Moore, Alan Parkhouse and Angus Allan — from the Society of Strip Illustration Newsletter in May 1981. Alan Moore: ‘My greatest personal hope is that someone will revive Marvelman and I’ll get to write it. KIMOTA!!’
20 July 2007
[comics] For Sale on eBay: Batman: Hush Volume 2 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee.
11 July 2007
[interesting]
33 Names of Things You Never Knew had Names … ‘Jarns, Nittles, Grawlix and Quimp – Various squiggles used to denote cussing in comic books.’ [via Torrez]
10 July 2007
[movies] The Veidt Method — viral marketing campaign for the Watchmen movie … ‘Latest News: President and C.E.O. Adrian Veidt interviewed in latest edition of Nova Express – on newsstands now!’ [via plasticbag.org]