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30 January 2018

Ian Gibson's lost children's book illustrations - part 3

Just returning to Ian Gibson's lost illustrations for a children's book
This is part 3

Part 2 is here

Part 1 is here

29 January 2018

The art of 'Star Wars - the Last Jedi' signing & talk

If you haven't acquired your tickets to the "Art of Star wars - the last Jedi" event at Gosh comics on Thursday 15th February then, as you'll see from the notes below, you may yet be able to get in...
As they say here....
We have an incredible line-up of costume designers and concept artists from Star Wars: The Last Jedi here for a signing and Q&A on Thursday, 15th of February, featuring Kim Frederiksen, Jake, Lunt Davies, Jock, Chris Weston, Adam Brockbank and Kevin Jenkins.

Running from 7:30 through until 9 PM. The event is ticketed and is now sold out. However people are welcome to queue on the evening for return tickets, these will be allocated on a first come first basis with no waiting list in place. 

Can't make it along? Or don't fancy the returns queue? You can pre-order a signed copy here. Postage to any UK address is a flat rate of £5 and quotes for international shipping are available on request or you can select to collect in store at a later date. Our last Star Wars talk was a fascinating and insightful evening and we're excited about more. 

28 January 2018

Bryan & Mary Talbot - talking at Oxford

Bryan and Mary Talbot have been announced as speakers in the "Comics and graphic novels - the politics of form" in Oxford this Spring....
As you can see they're talking about their specialist subjects, "Grandville and the anthropomorphic tradition" (Bryan) and "The Red virgin and the vision of Utopia" (Mary).

Here are some pictures of Bryan (and his art) at his recent appearance at Orbital comics





27 January 2018

Improper books @ Orbital comics

Orbital comics have announced a signing on Saturday 24th February of a selection of Improper Books creators...
Benjamin Read and Christian Wildgoose are the people behind the incredible Porcelain comic  and Matt Gibbs is the writer of the anthropomorphic title Mulp. See you there?

26 January 2018

Kickstarter - Flintlock book 3

Just a quick shout-out this morning for the just launched Kickstarter campaign for Flintlock - book 3. It's already full funded, a mere 12 hours after launch but Steve Tanner is still interested in your money :)

For anyone not familiar with the Flintlock world this is what Steve has to say...

Flintlock is a regular comics anthology series with a difference - each book tells stories featuring a unique range of genuinely diverse characters in an Eighteenth Century shared historical timeline. The Eighteenth Century (1701 to 1800) was the era of highwaymen, pirates, samurai and thief-takers, and encompassed some of the most tumultuous changes in world history involving some of the richest personalities - and this is one of the inspirations for the stories and characters that feature in Flintlock.

This volume sees Steve ramp the page count up to 64 pages - that means you get 4 complete stories. I've backed issues one and two (issue 2 featured a great cover by Ian Kennedy, here)

Steve Tanner is a great advocate for small press comics and you can find the Kickstarter here


 First announced stretch goal - artwork print by Sarah Millman!
Lady Flintlock - Artwork by Anthony Summey

25 January 2018

Misty reprints in French

So, as we know, here are what Misty reprints look like in English, nothing wrong with them, there's just nothing particularly, y'know, scary about them




And then there's the French cover to the reprint of Moonchild, Roots, Four Faces of Eve, Shadow of a Doubt and The Sentinels


So much more scary, arrgghh.

https://www.facebook.com/DeliriumBD/

24 January 2018

Best signatures ever in an Eagle annual?

So here's something you don't see every day, yes it's the Eagle annual 1985 signed (bizarrely) by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, Kev O'Neill and John Wagner.


What a signing that must have been!
You can bid on it here - it ends this evening, good luck!


Full disclosure - I'm the seller

Orbital 2 - more Kirby Consciousness

The final selection of images from the Kirby Consciousness exhibition from Orbital Comics...





23 January 2018

Orbital - Kirby Consciousness exhibition - part 1

For anyone who couldn't get to the "Kirby Consciousness" exhibition at Orbital comics here are a few hurried snaps I took the other evening. Plenty of examples of Kirby comics and artists taking their own spin on his work, more pictures tomorrow!






22 January 2018

Postscript Books - bargains ahoy - part 3

Final selection of bargains from Postscript books

Here's a huge selection of Thunderbirds comics reduced from £25 to £9.99
Soon after Thunderbirds blasted onto British television screens in 1965, fans could read the adventures of International Rescue in TV Century 21, a weekly comic devoted to science fiction television series. This compilation presents around 30 strips and 'Technical Data' cutaways from the 1960s and 1970s, with the original Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope artwork created by leading British comic artists including Frank Bellamy, John Cooper and Graham Bleathman.

Here's another selction of Gerry Anderson comicy goodness reduced from £25 to £9.99
Gerry Anderson (1929-2012) is fondly remembered for the 'Supermarionation' puppet series of the 1960s including Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and, of course, Thunderbirds. The vintage strips reprinted in this lavish collection capture all of the excitement of the original programmes, and make full use of the unlimited special-effects budgets provided by acclaimed artists such as Frank Bellamy and Keith Watson, both known for Dan Dare, and Wulf the Briton's Ron Embleton.

Here's the sumptuous art of Denis McLoughlin reduced to £19.99 from £45

Here's the very limited edition (500 copies) of Kidnapped, illustrated by Cam Kennedy - reduced to £20 from £50
Over on the Book Palace website it says....

Robert Louis Stevenson's spellbinding tale of adventure, murder and revenge has all the elements of a great graphic novel, so it is no surprise that Edinburgh's Unesco City of Literature Trust turned to veterans of the strip Judge Dredd to effect this translation. Tight, dramatic, atmospherically coloured panels and terse dialogue bring the action vividly to life. The handsome, slip-cased two-volume set includes both the graphic novel and a fascinating account of its creation, including original scripts and storyboards.

A two volume slip cased edition individually SIGNED and NUMBERED by Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy from a strictly limited edition of 500 copies.

Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped is an epic story of adventure, friendship, murder and revenge! Adapted by world-famous comicbook veterans Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy to vividly bring to life the thrilling story of David Balfour's dramatic journey across Scotland to claim his rightful inheritance.

This two-volume slipcased set contains the titles Kidnapped and Creating the Graphic Novel and is produced as a limited print run of 500 copies.

Volume 1 is a new hardback edition of the Kidnapped graphic novel which was first published in 2007. This special edition has a frontispiece numbered and signed by Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy, printed endpapers, a ribbon bookmark and is quarter-bound in cloth.

Volume 2 is a hardback specially created for this set 'Creating the Graphic Novel', is illustrated throughout, and reveals the process of the creation of Grant and Kennedy's Kidnapped, with interviews, commentary, pencil drawings, preparatory sketches and detailed studies of individual elements. Alan Grant reveals how he painstakingly distilled Stevenson's classic tale into just 64 pages. This volume also shows how Cam Kennedy works, from his first visions of a scene, experiments with colour, historical and costume research and first pencil sketches, through to final inking and colouring. You'll also find exclusive pictures and never-before-seen material in this desirable collectors' edition. Each volume 64 pages.


21 January 2018

Early Kevin O'Neill artwork - Comicon 1976

If you've been following this blog recently you'll now that I've been highlighting a number of images from the Comicon 1976 brochure, anyway, saving the rarest until last... here is this early piece of work by Kev O'Neill


More details on Mek Memoirs here and here



20 January 2018

Monster artwork by Jesus Redondo

Over (here) on ebay there's currently a listing which is described thus...
Jesus Redondo did a commission of Monster for me in 2015. As part of that he made some beautiful preliminary drawings. This is one of them. A full cover style image A4 size and in pencil, signed by Redondo.

Looks lovely

Here's Jesus himself at the 2000ad con in February 2017 (Carlos Ezquerra is pictured to his left)

19 January 2018

Postscript Books - bargains ahoy - part 2

More back issues of Illustrators magazine available at knockdown prices

Here's issue 12

was £18; is £4.99
The work of digital artist Android Jones adorns the cover of issue 12, and is examined in the lead article, while controversial comics veteran Howard Chaykin and fantasy artist Sidney Sime (1865-1941) are also under the spotlight.

Here's issue 13
The 'king of kitsch' Mitch O'Connell and the illustrator of children's books Brooke Boynton Hughes are interviewed in issue 13, and painter and illustrator Sep E Scott (1879-1965) is celebrated.
Was £18; is £4.99

 Here's issue 14
Perhaps best known for his comics work, fantasy painter Joe Jusko is profiled in issue 14 together with the idiosyncratic Tara McPherson, while Adam Stower, who writes and illustrates children's books, is interviewed.
Was £18; is £4.99

Here's  issue 15
The extraordinary art of Dave McKean, who often collaborates with Neil Gaiman, is the lead article in issue 15, while painter Andy Thomas is interviewed and Sam Peffer's vintage covers for Pan Books are examined.
Was £18; is £4.99

Here's  issue 16
Neal Adams revolutionized American comics in the 1960s and 1970s, and is still working today. He is profiled in issue 16, along with the illustrator Paul Slater and legendary commercial artist Will Davies.
Was £18; is £4.99

I got copies of all 5 of these magazines - they arrived quickly and postage was £3 for all of them.

18 January 2018

Brian Lewis - Comicon 76

Since my post the other days of Brian Lewis artwork went down well I thought you might all be interested to see the enclosed piece of Brian Lewis artwork from the Comicon 1976 brochure

and here it is...

17 January 2018

Postscript books - bargains ahoy - part 1

Not my employer, not an advertorial but they have got a heap of comics related stuff going on, so here's a quick plug for what you can find over on the Postscript Books website...

Here is a copy of Illustrators magazine issue #4 - contains an article of cutaway artist Ashwell Wood and the Pan Book(s) of Horror (published price £15; is £3.99)
 


Here is issue 5 which features an article on comics artists Derek Eyles and Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone (published price £15; is £3.99)


Here is issue 6 - main interest is probably comics war artist Graham Cotton (published price £15; is £3.99)



If you've never read a copy of Illustrators magazine I can tell you that the quality is superb, usually around 100 pages of full colour art on thick paper. It's a journal more than a magazine.

16 January 2018

Comicon brochure 1976 - no signatures - part 2

Here's my final selection from the Comicon 1976 brochure (my special signed copy is now for sale here)...

First up is Bryan Talbot

Then we have Hunt Emerson

Ron Embleton was king of the comics in the 1970s, and here's his artistic effort

Brian Lewis also contributes a piece