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6 November 2024

Alan Moore & Susanna Clarke in conversation - tonight!

Just a reminder that this is happening tonight - have fun if you're dialling in for it...

Waterstones have announced (here) an online event with Susanna Clarke and Alan Moore in conversation with Alison Flood. The event takes place on Wednesday 6th November at 7pm. Let's see what they have to say about the event...

Join us for what promises to be an unmissable digital event with legendary writers Susanna Clarke and Alan Moore, as they speak to Alison Flood about their latest work.

From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, comes an enchanting and bewitching seasonal novella. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke introduces us to nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scott who, one snowy afternoon, enters the forest with her dogs and Apple the pig, for the path of her life to be changed forever as darkness falls.

From the bestselling master of modern fantasy comes a dark and beguiling tour through the streets of a magical London. The Great When by Alan Moore is the opening instalment in the Long London series, where history and myth collide in a story which sees hapless eighteen-year-old Dennis Knuckleyard – who works and lives above a second-hand bookshop - at the centre of an explosive series of events.

Susanna and Alan will be in conversation with Alison Flood, comment and culture editor at the New Scientist and previously the Guardian's books reporter.

The Ticket, The Wood at Midwinter (Signed Edition) & Print bundle includes a signed copy of The Wood at Midwinterby Susanna Clarke and a print, available while stocks last and for UK postage only.

The Ticket, The Great When (Exclusive Edition) & Map bundle includes the Waterstones exclusive edition of The Great When by Alan Moore and a map of Long London, available while stock last and for UK postage only.

The Ticket & Book options will require a UK postcode, please do not select this option if you do not have a valid UK postcode as you will not receive your package and may still be charged. Postage will be made after the event.

This event is on Zoom. Please make sure you have Zoom installed and up to date on the device of your choice. 

General admission tickets are £5, tickets that come with books are more expensive (£13 for Clarke's book; £23 for Moore's book)

5 November 2024

UPDATED: 'Battleground' fanzine

A new one for me is this covers gallery for Battleground ('The comics discussion fanzine') from back in the day. I'd love to know how many issues this lasted. I remember seeing adverts for this in the back of Comics International but I never ordered a copy, more fool me by the looks of it - this looks great!

Updated: now with cover for issue 6 - covers gallery completed!
Ewan Brownlow says 6 issues only

Battleground #1

available to download here - thanks to friend of the pod David Hathaway-Price

Battleground #2
available to download here - thanks to friend of the blog David Hathaway-Price
back cover to issue #2 by Ade / Adrian Hughes

Battleground #3, cover by Adrian Hughes

the original image that was used for the cover

contains this centrespread by Glenn Fabry

and there's an interview with him; and an interview with Paul Grist. In fact here's a look at the contents...


Battleground #4
c/o friend of the blog David McDonald

Battleground #5, cover by Adrian Hughes

Battleground #6
image c/o friend of the blog Reuben Willmott
cover by Chris Hogg

4 November 2024

UPDATED: Marvel UK's 'Casper' comic (volume 1)

Update for this blog post...cover for issue 3 has been identified. That just leaves covers for issues 5, 6 & 11 missing.

Always a delight to get a new covers gallery underway. Today is's Marvel UK and their Casper comic from 1995/6. All because of his movie that came out that year. Not done much digging yet to see how long this lasted, but there's a movie special and 11 regular issues to collect...

Casper, Marvel UK movie special, 16th August 1995, £1.75

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 1, 13th September 1995, 99p

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 2, 11th October 1995, 99p

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 3, 8th November 1995, 99p

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 4, 6th December 1995, 99p

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 5, 3rd January 1996
image not to hand - can you help?

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 6, 31st January 1996
image not to hand - can you help?

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 7, 28th February 1996, £1.10

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 8, 27th March 1996, £1.10

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 9, 24th April 1996, £1.10

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 10, 22nd May 1996, £1.10

Casper, Marvel UK, issue 11, 19th June 1996
image not to hand - can you help?

3 November 2024

Dan Dare draughts

I'm always happy to feature unusual bits of Eagle merchandise on the blog. 
There were...
Dan Dare roller skates here
Dan Dare hairbrush here
Dan Dare tie clip here
Eagle stationery here
Eagle club notebook here
With the compliments of the Eagle club here
Eagle / Girl table tennis medals here
Eagle club cycle pennant here
Dan Dare gyro jeep here
Dan Dare space shooting here
Dan Dare rocket ball here
Dan Dare beach ball here
Dan Dare bagatelle here
Eagle report to members (1951) here
Dan Dare field glasses here
Dan Dare interplanetary dominoes here
Dan Dare space-ship construction game here

and today it's the turn of 'Dan Dare draughts'

(all images swiped from an ebay listing)







2 November 2024

Into Battle! - the exhibition, part 7

It's just finished but for anyone who missed it, here's part 7 (the final part) of my look at the 'Into battle! - the art of British war comics' exhibition. 

Part 1 was here
Part 2 was here
Part 3 was here
Part 4 was here
Part 5 was here
Part 6 was here















1 November 2024

The Trigan empire volume 6 teased

Just spotted on Amazon is this cover for the 6th volume of The Trigan Empire reprints


The Amazon blurb says...
This penultimate omnibus collection of the original The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire stories, collecting all the strips originally published in Look & Learn from 1977 through to 1980. This book contains Oliver Frey and Mike Butterworth’s final work on the series, as they pass the baton to Ken Roscoe and Gerry Wood who will work on the remainder of the series.

This volume collects for the first time thirteen classic, fast-paced, yet beautifully painted, stories featuring the Emperor Trigo, ruler of the Trigan Empire, holding the line against monsters, alien threats, and internal usurpers, with the help of his nephew Janno, and the scientist Peric.

I like the use of the word penultimate there!

Publication date is given as 17th July 2025

31 October 2024

UPDATED: Etherington brothers comics - the early years

I've been interested in looking at the early comics works of the Etherington brothers for some time now and I've finally scooped up enough images to get me started. There's a lot of gaps here though so I'd be delighted for any help that anyone can give me.

THIS UPDATE: I've found a cover image for the 4th Malcolm Magic trade paperback so I've included it here.

Yore! 
This was (according to this link) was free with issue 6 of Dennis and Gnasher megazine #6. This was a collection of material that had previously appeared in The Dandy.



There's also Malcolm Magic. This appeared as single issues and then as collected editions. I don't have any images (yet!) of the single issues but I'm slightly better off with the collected editions. Here's volume 1...this has issues 1-3 collected




Malcolm Magic, trade paperback #2 (collects issues 4-6)

Malcolm Magic, trade paperback #3 (collects issues 7-9)

Malcolm Magic, trade paperback #4 (collects issues 10-12)

There was also a "consolidated" collected edition with all 12 issues & extra stuff.

When I tweeted about this search previously I was delighted to have some feedback from them with the following images...thanks again guys!

Tusk comic, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers

Moon! comic, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers

Malcolm Magic comic #1, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


Malcolm Magic comic #2, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


Malcolm Magic comic #3, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


Malcolm Magic comic #4, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers

Malcolm Magic comic #5, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


Malcolm Magic comic #6, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


Malcolm Magic comic #9, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


The Drawing board, Blink Twice publications, the Etherington Brothers


And here are the backs to some of those comics - top row is (I believe) issue 1, 2 and 3. I believe the bottom row is issues 4, 5 and 6