Ahead of the release of his new film The Seasoning House, Alex Fitch talks to actor Kevin Howarth about his career so far, from his memorable lead role in The Last Horror Movie (2003) to his forthcoming zombie action movie GallowWalkers with Wesley Snipes. Kevin talks about resisting his typecasting as a horror film actor, working as a voice artist on video games and the experiences of working with make-up Paul Hyett on various projects before the latter turned director on The Seasoning House.

Kevin Howarth in The Last Horror Movie, The Seasoning House, GallowWalkers

The Seasoning House is released 21st June 2013 in UK cities by Kaleidoscope Entertainment, more info: www.theseasoninghouse.com

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Official film website
Profile on www.rottentomatoes.com

Recommended Events:

Typex at ELCAF

As part of this year’s East London Comics Art Fair, Alex Fitch talks to Dutch cartoonist Typex about his excellent graphic novel on the life and works of Rembrandt.

More info: hwww.elcaf.co.uk / www.better.org.uk/leisure/york-hall-leisure-centre

12.30pm, Saturday 22nd June, ELCAF, York Hall, 5 Old Ford Rd London E2 9PJ (nearest train: Cambridge Heath / nearest tube: Bethnal Green)

Rob Davis at The Cervantes Institute

As part of The Cervantes Institute’s Spanish Culture open day, Alex Fitch is talking to cartoonist Rob Davis about his two volume graphic novel adaptation of Don Quixote for Self Made Hero.

More info: http://londres.cervantes.es / download programme

4pm, The Cervantes Institute, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN (Nearest tube / train station: Victoria)

David Shenton Exhibition

These Foolish Things: Shenton’s cartoons are often camp but they’re not just camp, and they’re not that awful apolitical offensive camp, but a light, knowing, meaningful camp; their first task is to entertain and to make the audience laugh – and often they do much more because the liberation politics that informs his work means that with the laugh there is an acerbic point – a wry observation on how we live or a satirical comment about society and a wider political context, contained in the lives and musings of plausible and likeable characters. Or sometimes it’s just a silly joke.

1 June to 27 July 2013

Space Station 65 Gallery, Building One, 373 Kennington Road, London SE11 4PS

More info: www.spacestationsixtyfive.com

DrownTown Launch Party and Signing

2000AD alumni Robbie Morrison (Nikolai Dante) and Jim Murray (Batman / Judge Dredd) have embarked on a fully-painted epic set in a flooded futuristic London and are launching the first volume at Gosh with a party and art exhibition!

It’s all happening on Friday the 21st of June, from 7pm until 9pm at which point everything will probably move on to the pub down the road. There’s no need to RSVP but if you’d like to reserve a book feel free to ask. Published by Jonathan Cape, the book is a £12.99 hardcover and if you can’t make it on the night but would like a signed/dedicated copy anyway, send us an email to info@goshlondon.com

7pm, Friday 21st June
Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London, W10DR

More info: www.goshlondon.com

In a panel discussion recorded at SCI-FI-LONDON, Alex Fitch talks to producer Stephen Woolley, writer Moira Buffini and star Daniel Mays about the new British vampire movie Byzantium, directed by Neil Jordan, which depicts the back story and current lives of a pair of female vampires living in modern day Hastings. (Byzantium is released in the UK on 31st May). (Originally broadcast 24th May 2013 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

Still from Byzantium by Neil Jordan

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Official film website
Info about the screening at SCI-FI-LONDON

Recommended events:

Image Duplicator at Orbital Comics

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein currently has a show on at the Tate Modern. While the public is intimately familiar with his work, what they may be unaware of is that many of his images were directly “appropriated” from comic artists like Irv Novick, Russ Heath, Jack Kirby, John Romita and Joe Kubert, who received no fee or credit.

Is this an act of brilliant recontexturalisation? The elevation of commercial “low” art to “high” art? Art world snobbery? Artistic licence? Gallery shortsightedness? Cultural annexation? Or something else entirely? This show brings together real comic-book artists and other “commercial artists” – illustrators, designers, cartoonists – to ask these kinds of questions and share their views, via their work.

Each artist was asked to “re-reappropriate” one of the comic images Lichtenstein used: to go back to the source material and twist it into something interesting and original, and in the process to comment on the act of appropriation.

Money raised from selling prints and originals will be donated to the Hero Initiative, which helps down-on-their-luck comic book veterans.

Take Back the Art!

16th May – 31st May 2013, Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA
More info: http://www.orbitalcomics.com/image-duplicator16052013-to-31052013

Science Museum lates: Que(e)rying the hero’s journey

As part of this month’s Science Museum Lates event which tackles the subject of sexuality in science, Journalist Alex Fitch looks at representations of gays and lesbians in speculative fiction. SF is a genre often inclusive of LGBT characters amongst its depictions of the alien ‘other’, from Lucian of Samosata’sTrue History (2nd century AD) to the changing sexuality of pop culture icons – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Green Lantern – in the present day.

19.30, 20.15, 21.00pm, Science Museum, Exhibition Rd South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD
(Doors open 18.45)
More info at http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/events

Gosh! Comics Signings

Jaime Hernandez is coming to town to do a talk at BD and Comics Passion Festival (http://www.bdandcomicspassion.co.uk) — about comics, inspiration, creative process and his punk rock girls, Maggie and Hopey and the rest of them, from the very excellent, much-loved Love & Rockets — and Gosh! are feeling pretty lucky right now because he’s coming to the shop too.

For two hours on Wednesday the 29th of May (the day before the talk) Jaime will be signing comics including his latest graphic novel God and Science – Return of the Ti-Girls at our signing table. And you are invited, obviously.

Wednesday, 29th of May, 5pm – 7pm

Gary Northfield not only has a new book out, but he has a new book out about dinosaurs which is even better. You’ll know Gary’s work if you read Derek the Sheep back when he was in the Beano, or maybe you know his stuff from The Phoenix, or maybe you stared at him while he drew Rupert the Bear in Gosh!’s window on Free Comic Book Day. In any case, you are invited to drink beer (or juice if you’re wee) at the launch party of Gary Northfield’s Terrible Tales of the Teenytinysaurs!

Friday, 31st of May, 7pm -9pm

Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street
Soho, London. W1F 0DR

In a pair of Q and As recorded at the London Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival (SCI-FI-LONDON), Alex Fitch talks to the creators of two new low budget portrayals of the apocalypse on screen. Stars Alan Bagh and Thomas Favaloro, writer / director James Nguyen and producer Jeff Gross discuss the B movie spoof Birdemic II: The Resurrection and co-writer / star Vera Miao talks about her excellent mid-apocalyptic road movie Best Friends Forever. (Originally broadcast as an episode of I’m ready for my close-up on Resonance 104.4 FM, 3rd May 2013)

Posters for Birdemic II and Best Friends Forever

This year’s SCI-FI-LONDON festival takes place at various venues around London from 30th April – more info at www.sci-fi-london.com

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Websites: www.bestfriendsforeverfilm.com / www.birdemic.com

50 years of Doctor Who spin-offs, at SCI-FI-LONDON

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, SCI-FI-LONDON is proud to host an event looking at some of the under appreciated aspects of the franchise.

12.30pm: Novelists Paul Cornell (Scream of the Shalka), J.T. Colgan (Dark Horizons), Terrance Dicks (Players, Doctor Who and the Giant Robot) and Tommy Donbavand (Shroud of Sorrow) talk about continuing the Doctor’s trips in prose fiction and why they wanted to tell tales of the thousand-year-old time traveller…

1.15pm: Comic book writers Andrew Cartmel and Scott Gray, and artists Mark Buckingham and Adrian Salmon, discuss their serialised strip adventures of the TARDIS, printed in Doctor Who Magazine, the American Doctor Who comic and fanzines.

The need for Doctor Who spin-offs became increasingly important since the end of the original series in 1989, with both novels and comics filling the gap when the show was off air, with many writers of the modern TV show being strip and book alumni. Print stories have also been used as the inspiration for TV episodes in the 21st century, such as the memorable David Tennant dramatisations of Cornell’s novel Human Nature and Doctor Who Magazine comic, The Lodger.

2pm: Followed by a screening of the 1965 film DR WHO AND THE DALEKS, starring Peter Cushing in the lead role.

More info / book tickets at: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2013

Exhibitions at Orbital Comics

Andrew Hickinbottom

is a digital 3D illustrator who specialises in stylised pinups. His work has been showcased on the internet over 60 times, and has been featured in many international books and magazines, appearing on 4 covers. Some of his clients include EA, Tassimo, Seat, Intel and The international Olympic Committee.

This exhibition of his personal works features a wide range of his appealing female character illustrations, with signed prints, an artbook and even a VERY limited edition figurine for sale.

17th April – 10th May

Reappropriating Lichtenstein

Artists Jason Atomic and Rian Hughes are curating an exhibtion at Orbital Comics, on the subject of Reappropriating Lichtenstein to coincide with the final weeks of the exhibtion at Tate Modern in May. Any practising comic book artists who would like to trace back one of Lichtenstein’s images to its original source, crediting the original artist in the process, and produce a new version themselves are invited to submit proposal for exhibition by April 6th.
More info here: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03/19/a-call-for-comic-artists-to-respond-to-roy-lichtenstein

Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Help launch The Black Cloud

Support Charles Cutting’s new graphic short story compilation… If you think it’s the kind of thing you would be cool with posting about, liking and sharing on Facespace and Twitter, Charlie would be most grateful…

Over the last year and a half Charles has produced three short stories in graphic form for three different authors.

‘After The End’ is penned by Tauriq Moosa and deals with a secret scientific experiment.

‘Two Little Boys’ concerns an intriguing coincidence linking the lives of Adolf Hitler and Ludwig Wittgenstein and is written by Christian David. It first appeared in Issue 29 of The Illustrated Ape.

The final story ‘The Bleeding Horse’ is an adaptation of a macabre story by Brian J Showers about a haunted Irish pub.

Charlie needs $2000 to cover the printing and shipping costs. By pre-ordering a copy of Black Cloud via Indiegogo you will be entitled to various perks depending on how much you wish to chip in to the campaign. These cost between $15 and $200 and include sketches, advertising space and original artwork.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-cloud

Alex Fitch talks to graphic designer turned film-maker Sam Harris about his short silent film Arthur Sleep, a half hour Stygian odyssey that mixes elements of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Eraserhead, as a trip on the London Underground takes a traveller into more mysterious destinations than he envisioned. Also, in a Q and A recorded at last year’s SCI-FI-LONDON, Alex talks to the writers and producer of True Love, an SF thriller that tests a couple’s devotion to each other as a set of innocuous questions in a surrealist prison turn to torture.
(Originally broadcast Friday 26th April on Resonance 104.4 FM)

Arthur Sleep is premiering at Deptford Old Town Hall, New Cross, London SE14 6AF on 28 April at 4pm with a live score performed by members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and London art-rock bands – more info at www.freefilmfestivals.org / True Love is released in Japanese cinemas on 27th April and this year’s SCI-FI-LONDON festival takes place at various venues around London from 30th April – more info at www.sci-fi-london.com

Stills from Arthur Sleep and True Love

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Arthur Sleep website
Join the Arthur Sleep facebook group
True Love writers Fabio and Fabio facebook page / website
Info about the SCI-FI-LONDON screening

Recommended events:

Help fund COMIC BOOK BABYLON: A Cautionary Tale of Sex, Drugs & Comics on Kickstarter

Tim (Erotic Comics) Pilcher’s memoir about the years I spent working at DC Comics’ Vertigo office in the mid-Ninties. The book has reached its target of raising £3,850, but the printer has increased costs since the kickster campaign began – the new “Stretch Target” is now £5,500.

“…For a few glorious years only, before cost-cutting set in, there was Vertigo’s ‘British Office’ – the comics equivalent of the Loaded HQ in the ‘90s. Vodka, mushrooms, Es, sex, money, travel and the pure unleashed creativity of young people having a good time together.”—Grant Morrison, author of Supergods, All Star Superman, Batman Inc. and The Invisibles.

There are three versions of Comic Book Babylon available: eBook (with additional images), paperback, and 200 limited edition hardbacks, with covers created by design genius and comic book artist Rian Hughes. “Rian’s out done himself,” said an impressed Pilcher, “The punky/acid house colours perfectly reflect the rave mood of the times in the book.” Hughes has also designed a limited edition print and three “Sex, Drugs and Comic Books” badges as incentives.

Comic Book Babylon: A Cautionary Tale of Sex, Drugs & Comics ENDS on Kickstarter on Thursday 3 May, 2013. See it here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2016810024/comic-book-babylon-a-cautionary-tale-of-sex-drugs

Gosh Comics Signing

April 27th:

Ian Gibson signing copies of the new edition of HALO JONES.
http://www.goshlondon.com/2013/03/ian-gibson-signing-halo-jones

All of these are listed on the events page.
http://www.goshlondon.com/events

Gosh! comics, 1 Berwick Street, London

50 years of Doctor Who spin-offs, at SCI-FI-LONDON

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, SCI-FI-LONDON is proud to host an event looking at some of the under appreciated aspects of the franchise.

12.30pm: Novelists Paul Cornell (Scream of the Shalka), J.T. Colgan (Dark Horizons), Terrance Dicks (Players, Doctor Who and the Giant Robot) and Tommy Donbavand (Shroud of Sorrow) talk about continuing the Doctor’s trips in prose fiction and why they wanted to tell tales of the thousand-year-old time traveller…

1.15pm: Comic book writers Andrew Cartmel and Scott Gray, and artists Mark Buckingham and Adrian Salmon, discuss their serialised strip adventures of the TARDIS, printed in Doctor Who Magazine, the American Doctor Who comic and fanzines.

The need for Doctor Who spin-offs became increasingly important since the end of the original series in 1989, with both novels and comics filling the gap when the show was off air, with many writers of the modern TV show being strip and book alumni. Print stories have also been used as the inspiration for TV episodes in the 21st century, such as the memorable David Tennant dramatisations of Cornell’s novel Human Nature and Doctor Who Magazine comic, The Lodger.

2pm: Followed by a screening of the 1965 film DR WHO AND THE DALEKS, starring Peter Cushing in the lead role.

More info / book tickets at: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2013

Exhibitions at Orbital Comics

Andrew Hickinbottom

is a digital 3D illustrator who specialises in stylised pinups. His work has been showcased on the internet over 60 times, and has been featured in many international books and magazines, appearing on 4 covers. Some of his clients include EA, Tassimo, Seat, Intel and The international Olympic Committee.

This exhibition of his personal works features a wide range of his appealing female character illustrations, with signed prints, an artbook and even a VERY limited edition figurine for sale.

17th April – 10th May

Reappropriating Lichtenstein

Artists Jason Atomic and Rian Hughes are curating an exhibtion at Orbital Comics, on the subject of Reappropriating Lichtenstein to coincide with the final weeks of the exhibtion at Tate Modern in May. Any practising comic book artists who would like to trace back one of Lichtenstein’s images to its original source, crediting the original artist in the process, and produce a new version themselves are invited to submit proposal for exhibition by April 6th.
More info here: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03/19/a-call-for-comic-artists-to-respond-to-roy-lichtenstein

Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Help launch The Black Cloud

Support Charles Cutting’s new graphic short story compilation… If you think it’s the kind of thing you would be cool with posting about, liking and sharing on Facespace and Twitter, Charlie would be most grateful…

Over the last year and a half Charles has produced three short stories in graphic form for three different authors.

‘After The End’ is penned by Tauriq Moosa and deals with a secret scientific experiment.

‘Two Little Boys’ concerns an intriguing coincidence linking the lives of Adolf Hitler and Ludwig Wittgenstein and is written by Christian David. It first appeared in Issue 29 of The Illustrated Ape.

The final story ‘The Bleeding Horse’ is an adaptation of a macabre story by Brian J Showers about a haunted Irish pub.

Charlie needs $2000 to cover the printing and shipping costs. By pre-ordering a copy of Black Cloud via Indiegogo you will be entitled to various perks depending on how much you wish to chip in to the campaign. These cost between $15 and $200 and include sketches, advertising space and original artwork.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-cloud

Alex Fitch talks to the cast and crew of two new low budget British SF movies: director Sloane U’Ren, editor Adam Garstone and members of the cast of Dimensions discuss their ‘Merchant Ivory’ style time travel film which mixes a love triangle with a time loop that joins their pasts with their futures. Also, on the set of new alien abductee comedy drama The Search for Simon, director Martin Gooch and one of the stars – Doctor Who alumnus Sophie Aldred – talk about this crowd funded feature that mixes elements of travelogue with the X-Files.

Posters for Dimensions and The Search for Simon

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Film websites – www.thesearchforsimon.com / www.dimensionsthemovie.com
Info about the Dimensions‘ premiere at SCI-FI-LONDON
The Search for Simon‘s crowd funding campaign, which ends Wednesday 3rd April 2013

Listen to Simon Guerrier interview Sophie Aldred in a show about Doctor Who companion Professor Bernice Summerfield
Listen to Alex’s interview with Martin Gooch about his previous film, Death

Recommended events:

British SF Films need funding

If you’re a fan of SF films or SCI-FI-LONDON, you could help and find a moment to post some news to your friends/contacts about their crowd funding of new British Sci-Fi films…

To time its release with this year’s film festival they’re making a short film called “Ellipse” – co-written and directed by Ilana (We Are All Cylons) Rein. It’s a co-production with SCI-FI-LONDON and The Royal Observatory Greenwich. They have much incredible talent on board including Territory Studios – the group that did some of the FX for Prometheus….

The campaign page is here http://www.sponsume.com/project/ellipse

Also, SCI-FI-LONDON’s first feature has begun production – an askew look at Alien Abduction dramas called “The Search for Simon”, directed by Martin (Death) Gooch, which will included crowd sourced footage in its production. To quote the director: “Think Shaun of the Dead rubbing up against The X-Files, with a little Blair Witch Project, and UFOs thrown in for good measure.”

Perks include a chance to drive a WW2 tank! (Louis Savy, CEO of Sci-FI London says: “Really, a tank! You can be an oddball for the day in our homage to Kelly’s Heroes!”)

The campaign page is here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-search-for-simon

Tripwire 21st anniversary Kickstarter campaign

In 2013, Britain’s favourite comics and genre magazine celebrates its 21st birthday. To commemorate, we are doing a must-buy book.

TRIPWIRE has been Britain’s only features-driven comics and genre magazine which has published since 1992 and with 2013 being the magazine’s 21st anniversary, its coming of age if you like, we thought it would be remiss if we didn’t do something to commemorate this.

The book will come in regular paperback and in a limited hardcover edition. Between its covers will be a selection of new material, including art either never seen before or rarely seen from the likes of Drew Struzan (poster artist for Indiana Jones, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Phil Hale (award-winning portrait painter), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg, The Shadow, Blackhawk),Frank Quitely (Batman & Robin, All-Star Superman), Walter Simonson (Elric, Thor), Dave Taylor (Batman, Tongue Lash) and many more. Additionally, it will include features looking at the trends and issues that have played a major part in comics and genre over the past 21 years, including the best and worst comic and genre movies 1992-2013, the 21 most important creators to come to the fore in the last twenty-one years, the 21 best graphic novels (mainstream and independent) and much more. It will also include the best content from twenty-one years of TRIPWIRE, a magazine which covered the cream of comics and genre and will include the likes of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mignola, Joss Whedon, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner to name but a few. It will also include a selection of photos pulled from the magazine of genre movers and shakers. It will be a must-buy for fans and aficionados of comics and genre, approached with the same level of professionalism and quality that people have come to expect from the magazine.

“TRIPWIRE really is a breath of fresh air. Its layouts are superb, with great well-written features perfectly set off by the pictures, adding clarity and intelligence to every page. And it keeps on doing it. Amazing, Gratifying. A pleasure to look at, a pleasure to read…” MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Incentives run at prices between £1 and £500 including signed copies, PDFs, prints T-Shirts and more…

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/154246759/tripwire-21st-anniversary

Help launch The Black Cloud

Support Charles Cutting’s new graphic short story compilation… If you think it’s the kind of thing you would be cool with posting about, liking and sharing on Facespace and Twitter, Charlie would be most grateful…

Over the last year and a half Charles has produced three short stories in graphic form for three different authors.

‘After The End’ is penned by Tauriq Moosa and deals with a secret scientific experiment.

‘Two Little Boys’ concerns an intriguing coincidence linking the lives of Adolf Hitler and Ludwig Wittgenstein and is written by Christian David. It first appeared in Issue 29 of The Illustrated Ape.

The final story ‘The Bleeding Horse’ is an adaptation of a macabre story by Brian J Showers about a haunted Irish pub.

Charlie needs $2000 to cover the printing and shipping costs. By pre-ordering a copy of Black Cloud via Indiegogo you will be entitled to various perks depending on how much you wish to chip in to the campaign. These cost between $15 and $200 and include sketches, advertising space and original artwork.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-cloud

Also, British animator Paul Bush talks about his first feature film Babledom which looks into the layers of history and potential future that are unearthed by explorers of the modern city. Mixing a dialogue between two residents of a dystopian city in the style of Chris Marker’s La Jetée, with visuals that recall the architecture of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Babledom is an evocative look at mankind’s varied relationships with the crowded spaces we inhabit.

Still from Babledom and poster for Cycle

Cycle was released in Hungarian cinemas on 21st February 2013 following its London première at SCI-FI-LONDON in 2012 / Babledom is released in UK cinemas on 8th March 2013. (Expanded podcast of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up, broadcast 01/03/13 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

Links: Babledom website
Paul Bush’s website
Cycle clips on vimeo.com
Info about the film’s premiere at SCI-FI-LONDON

Recommended events:

Tripwire 21st anniversary Kickstarter campaign

In 2013, Britain’s favourite comics and genre magazine celebrates its 21st birthday. To commemorate, we are doing a must-buy book.

TRIPWIRE has been Britain’s only features-driven comics and genre magazine which has published since 1992 and with 2013 being the magazine’s 21st anniversary, its coming of age if you like, we thought it would be remiss if we didn’t do something to commemorate this.

The book will come in regular paperback and in a limited hardcover edition. Between its covers will be a selection of new material, including art either never seen before or rarely seen from the likes of Drew Struzan (poster artist for Indiana Jones, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Phil Hale (award-winning portrait painter), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg, The Shadow, Blackhawk),Frank Quitely (Batman & Robin, All-Star Superman), Walter Simonson (Elric, Thor), Dave Taylor (Batman, Tongue Lash) and many more. Additionally, it will include features looking at the trends and issues that have played a major part in comics and genre over the past 21 years, including the best and worst comic and genre movies 1992-2013, the 21 most important creators to come to the fore in the last twenty-one years, the 21 best graphic novels (mainstream and independent) and much more. It will also include the best content from twenty-one years of TRIPWIRE, a magazine which covered the cream of comics and genre and will include the likes of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mignola, Joss Whedon, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner to name but a few. It will also include a selection of photos pulled from the magazine of genre movers and shakers. It will be a must-buy for fans and aficionados of comics and genre, approached with the same level of professionalism and quality that people have come to expect from the magazine.

“TRIPWIRE really is a breath of fresh air. Its layouts are superb, with great well-written features perfectly set off by the pictures, adding clarity and intelligence to every page. And it keeps on doing it. Amazing, Gratifying. A pleasure to look at, a pleasure to read…” MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Incentives run at prices between £1 and £500 including signed copies, PDFs, prints T-Shirts and more…

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/154246759/tripwire-21st-anniversary

Help launch The Black Cloud

Support Charles Cutting’s new graphic short story compilation… If you think it’s the kind of thing you would be cool with posting about, liking and sharing on Facespace and Twitter, Charlie would be most grateful…

Over the last year and a half Charles has produced three short stories in graphic form for three different authors.

‘After The End’ is penned by Tauriq Moosa and deals with a secret scientific experiment.

‘Two Little Boys’ concerns an intriguing coincidence linking the lives of Adolf Hitler and Ludwig Wittgenstein and is written by Christian David. It first appeared in Issue 29 of The Illustrated Ape.

The final story ‘The Bleeding Horse’ is an adaptation of a macabre story by Brian J Showers about a haunted Irish pub.

Charlie needs $2000 to cover the printing and shipping costs. By pre-ordering a copy of Black Cloud via Indiegogo you will be entitled to various perks depending on how much you wish to chip in to the campaign. These cost between $15 and $200 and include sketches, advertising space and original artwork.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-cloud

British SF Films need funding

If you’re a fan of SF films or SCI-FI-LONDON, you could help and find a moment to post some news to your friends/contacts about their crowd funding of new British Sci-Fi films…

To time its release with this year’s film festival they’re making a short film called “Ellipse” – co-written and directed by Ilana (We Are All Cylons) Rein. It’s a co-production with SCI-FI-LONDON and The Royal Observatory Greenwich. They have much incredible talent on board including Territory Studios – the group that did some of the FX for Prometheus….

The campaign page is here http://www.sponsume.com/project/ellipse

Also, SCI-FI-LONDON’s first feature has begun production – an askew look at Alien Abduction dramas called “The Search for Simon”, directed by Martin (Death) Gooch, which will included crowd sourced footage in its production. To quote the director: “Think Shaun of the Dead rubbing up against The X-Files, with a little Blair Witch Project, and UFOs thrown in for good measure.”

Perks include a chance to drive a WW2 tank! (Louis Savy, CEO of Sci-FI London says: “Really, a tank! You can be an oddball for the day in our homage to Kelly’s Heroes!”)

The campaign page is here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-search-for-simon

Develop your graphic fiction ideas with Mike Carey

This one-day course will enable you to really build on and develop your own ideas, and to take some practical steps towards getting your graphic fiction work into shape for an agent or publisher. Mike will look at how to develop ideas for a series, and lead some discussion around the wider scope of the graphic form. There will also be plenty of time for you to craft your own work under Mike’s guidance.

This workshop is perfect for anyone who is already working on an idea for the graphic form, and is looking to develop their ideas further. You don’t need to have come to last season’s workshop to attend.

Saturday 16 March, 11am – 4.30pm
£60 / £45 concessions

Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6AB
Nearest Tube/Train: Aldgate East (Hammersmith and City, District)

More info: www.spreadtheword.org.uk

In a show looking at the possible consequences of computer technology and Artificial Intelligence on humanity, Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two new films that address these themes and how it might impact on peoples lives and after-lives. Kareem Gray discusses his movie Zero One, a cross between Knight Rider and The Terminator in which a couple of hackers discover a sentient intelligence on the internet with the power to download itself into robots and other machines; Martin Gooch and members of the cast of Death discuss this new British fantasy film starring Leslie Philips in which a pair of siblings return to their family manse after the death of their father and discover he had been working on a computer programme that allows people to converse with the dead…

Both interviews recorded in front of a live cinema audience at SCI-FI-LONDON, the London Science Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, April 2012.

Originally broadcast Friday 1st February 2013, on Resonance 104.4 FM (London)

Stills from Death and Zero One

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Zero One 3D is released in America cinemas this month, while Martin Gooch is launching an indiegogo campaign to fund his new SF movie The Search for Simon next week. More info: www.facebook.com/01movie / www.thesearchforsimon.com

Further links: Zero One 3D facebook page
More info about Zero One 3D at The Dallas Film Commission website
Info about Zero One and Death screenings at SCI-FI-LONDON
Martin Gooch’s website
The Search for Simon website

Recommended events:

Andy Diggle and Jock signing Snapshot

Writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock will be signing copies of the Forbidden Planet variant edition of their new comic, Snapshot, at 4:00pm on Saturday 9th February at our London Megastore.
Jake Dobson is your typical nerd; works at the Near-Mint Rhino comic-book store in San Francisco. But when he finds a lost cell phone, he’s horrified to discover it’s full of snapshots of a murder victim.

Suddenly he finds himself hunted by a vengeful hitman who wants his phone back. and Jake in a body bag! And then things start to get really complicated…

Andy Diggle and Jock have both worked separately for 2000AD, Marvel and DC but are best known for their collaborations – including Green Arrow: Year One and The Losers.

Saturday 09 February 2013 16:00 – 17:00

Forbidden Planet London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR

More info: www.forbiddenplanet.com/events

Mike Carey reading

Fantasy/Noir novelist Mike Carey reads from a selection of his work including the Felix Castor series.

Join him at one of London’s most well kept secrets, the glorious and slightly crumbling Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer in Clerkenwell, for an atmospheric evening of absorbing, candlelit storytelling. Mike will also be joined by Linda Carey to read from their new novel City of Silk and Steel.
Mike will also be reading excerpts from The Girl With All The Gifts, his brand new horror novel (published by Orbit in November).

Following the reading, you will have the chance to talk to these exciting authors about writing for Fantasy/Noir readers during a panel discussion and Q&A.

Tuesday 12 February, 7pm – 9pm
£10/£8 concessions

Holy Redeeer Church
24 Exmouth Market
Clerkenwell
London EC1R 4QE
Nearest Tube/Train: Farringdon

More info: www.spreadtheword.org.uk

Will Morris signing The Silver Darlings

Despite the snow coming down sideways and everyone outside looking like something out of The Thing we have not closed our doors like all those kids-on-my-bus-this-morning’s schools. Because learning can wait but comics can’t. Or something. Right?

If your socks and five jumpers are failing to warm you even remotely then perhaps the announcement of our very first event of 2013 will at least take your mind off the impending foot amputation. Although Will Morris’ The Silver Darlings came out about a month ago we’re throwing it a belated launch party (plus signing, plus exhibition) because nobody likes to have a birthday on Christmas Day. It’s on the 15th of February, from 7pm to 9pm, there will be booze and art and The City Shanty Band will be lending the evening a briny air.

Friday 15th February, 7-9pm

Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR

More info: www.goshlondon.com

Develop your graphic fiction ideas with Mike Carey

This one-day course will enable you to really build on and develop your own ideas, and to take some practical steps towards getting your graphic fiction work into shape for an agent or publisher. Mike will look at how to develop ideas for a series, and lead some discussion around the wider scope of the graphic form. There will also be plenty of time for you to craft your own work under Mike’s guidance.

This workshop is perfect for anyone who is already working on an idea for the graphic form, and is looking to develop their ideas further. You don’t need to have come to last season’s workshop to attend.

Saturday 16 March, 11am – 4.30pm
£60 / £45 concessions

Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6AB
Nearest Tube/Train: Aldgate East (Hammersmith & City, District)

More info: www.spreadtheword.org.uk

As we enter Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary year, Reality Check investigates a radio drama series tangentially connected to the franchise. The Scarifyers is a horror / black comedy series, with new instalments broadcast each year on BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC 7) and released on CD and concern the adventures of an elderly horror writer and his retired police sidekick as they investigate supernatural crimes and occurrences in 1950s Britain. Alex Fitch talks to series writer and producer Simon Barnard and CD cover artist Garen Ewing about the genre crossing narrative, their love of old SF and horror and the use of iconic actors in new serialised roles in a series whose cast includes Terry Molloy (Doctor Who‘s Davros), Nicholas Courtney (Doctor Who‘s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) and David Warner (Time Bandits et al.). The supporting cast includes actors famous for roles in Doctor Who and other Sci-Fi dramas such as Gabriel Woolf, Philip Madoc, Gareth David-Lloyd and Brian Blessed.

Promo material for The Thirteen Hallows, David Warner and Terry Molloy, cover of The Scarifyers comic no.1

(Expanded podcast of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up, broadcast 25/01/13 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Bafflegab productions website
Garen Ewing’s website
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Garen about The Rainbow Orchid

Alex Fitch talks to two directors about their projects which capture visions of childhood and how that progresses into adulthood. In a Q & A recorded at SCI-FI-LONDON: EAST, Alex chats to Cory McAbee, creator of SF musicals The American Astronaut and Stingray Sam, about his latest film Crazy and Thief – a semi improvised drama which documents the director’s children as they journey across New York looking for stars and come across characters inspired by The Odyssey – again scored by his band, ‘The Billy Nayer Show’. Cory discusses his change in direction for this project, the difficulties of directing children and performs a song from the soundtrack.

Also, Alex discusses 56Up with Michael Apted, the latest instalment of his 7Up series which has charted the lives of 14 children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds since the age of 7, with new episodes every 7 years; as well as exploring the history of this series, Alex and Michael discuss the latter’s involvement with another serial that’s reached its 50th anniversary as the director recalls his experience of directing the Bond movie, The World is not Enough.

DVD cover for 7-49Up, posters for 56Up, The world is not enough, Crazy and Thief, The American Astronaut

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Cory McAbee’s website
Buy 56Up from Network DVD
More info about SCI-FI-LONDON: EAST (9th-11th November) at www.scfilondon.com

Recommended events:

Dante’s Inferno Launch Party: Sinners & Demons

Celebrate Hunt Emerson & Kevin Jackson’s graphic adaptation of this diabolical literary classic!

Where: Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Sq, SW1X 8NX

When: November 30, 2012 6.30-8.30pm

Comic art exhibition: SCORE AND SCRIPT

Devised by John Miers, curated by Comica co-director Megan Donnolley, featuring 23 of Britain’s finest comics creators: Sean Azzopardi, Elliot Baggott, Dan Berry, Andy Bleck, Richy K. Chandler, John Cei Douglas, Daniel Fennings, Andrew Godfrey, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, James Hickman, Sally-Anne Hickman, Kripa Joshi, Mike Medaglia, Stuart Medley, Tanya Meditzky, John Miers, Douglas Noble, Gary Northfield, David O’Connell, Woodrow Phoenix, Andy Poyiadgi, John Riordan and Karen Rubins.

There will also be a “Santa’s Ghetto” fair day on Saturday December 8, where comics and other artwork by the exhibitors will be on sale.

Venue: Centre for Recent Drawing, 2-4 Highbury Station Road, London N1 1SB
Dates: Exhibition runs Nov 22 – Dec 15, fair day Saturday December 8.
Times: C4RD is open Thur-Sat, 1-6pm, admission free.

More info about all events at www.comicafestival.com

Forbidden Planet signings

Chicks Unravel Time – 05/12/12

Join Kaite Welsh, Juliet McKenna, Una McCormack, Iona Sharma, Elizabeth Bolton-Gabrielson and Laura Simpson unravelling time at Forbidden Planet London on Wednesday 5th December from 6 – 7pm!

Chicks Unravel Time is the sister book to the 2011 Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords and features a host of award-winning female writers, media professionals and scientists, examining each season of new and classic Doctor Who from their unique perspectives.

Join our guests as they celebrate female writers and all things Doctor Who. They’ll be free to talk about their writing, their love for science and for the show. This an evening to celebrate everything that chicks dig about Time Lords – and about Time itself!

Wednesday 05 December 2012 18:00 – 19:00

Paul Cornell, reading from and signing his first urban fantasy novel LONDON FALLING – 06/12/12

The dark is rising . . .

Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal.

Thursday 06 December 2012 18:00 – 19:00

London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR / more info at: http://forbiddenplanet.com/events/2012

Gosh! Comics: Bryan Lee O’Malley & Hope Larson Signing

The last time we had Bryan Lee O’Malley in our shop was just before he got all gussied up for the red carpet premiere of Scott Pilgrim. That was two years ago so it’s about time we had him back — he still hasn’t seen our fancy new shop! This time he’s joined at the signing table by his phenomenally talented wife, Hope Larson, so you’re getting two great creators for the price of one signing line. It’s all happening on Friday the 7th of December, from 5pm to 7pm and you are invited. Find out who borrowed your Scott Pilgrims, ring them up and demand them back. You need to bring these tea-spattered and much-loved volumes along to Gosh! Comics and you can tell them we said so. But! If you’re new to the world of Larson and O’Malley and have no need to make demanding phonecalls, perhaps you would like to purchase some of these on the day instead:

From the Larson shelf you can have Gray Horses, her first book after the web-syndicated Salamander Dream (which is sadly unavailable), Chiggers, and its spiritual successor Mercury. Her latest book is a comics adaptaion of Madeline L’Engle‘s 1962 science-fiction novel, A Wrinkle in Time.

And from O’Malley you can have Lost at Sea, a road trip story from 2003, and all six Scott Pilgrim volumes. And! If you already own all the Scott Pilgrim volumes you might also be tempted at the last minute when you see the new colour hardcover editions — volumes 1 and 2 for £18.99 a pop.

If you can’t make it on the day and would like to request a signed book then send us an email to info@goshlondon.com and we’ll sort it out for you.

Friday, December 7, 5pm to 7pm

Hope Larson & Bryan Lee O’Malley @ Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR

Graphic Novel Reading Group at North Finchley Library

Come along to this friendly monthly reading group for the finest in graphic literature, hosted by Karen Rubins (Blood Magic, Urban Beasts)

7 December 2012 – Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure by Hoshino Yukinobu
4 January 2013 – Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes by Mary Talbot and Bryan Talbot

North Finchley Library
Ravensdale Avenue
London
N12 9HP
020 8359 3845
Barnet Online: www.barnet.gov.uk

Laydeez do comics December 2012

NEXT MEETING…

MONDAY 10 DECEMBER 2012, 6.30-9.30pm
The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

Guests:

Lucy Dale, artist http://lucy-dale.blogspot.co.uk/
Dr Anna Madill, University of Leeds
Heather Wilson, artist

This will be the final meeting in Laydeez’ much beloved home in East London, so please come along for tea and cake before we reconvene in the new year in Central London…

More info: www.laydeezdocomics.com

Concluding a month of shows about writing superhero stories, Panel Borders moves its attention from the comic book page to the small screen as Alex Fitch talks to Howard Overman about Misfits, the E4 award winning drama about teenagers with superpowers doing community service. Alex and Howard talk about the genesis of the show, writing episodes that engage with other genres such as time travel and ‘zombie noir’, his experiences on other shows such as Dirk Gently and Vexed, the travails of having to write certain characters out and introduce new ones, and the latest news on the Misfits movie.

Misfits logo

(Originally broadcast 25th November 2012 on Resonance 104.4 FM)
Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Official E4 Misfits website including a comic book adaptation of the pilot episode
Wikipedia pages on Misfits and Howard Overman
Misfits fanpop page

Recommended events:

Comica Festival 2012 week three

recommended events:

Comica Festival 2012 week four

Teatime Launch for Recipes from The Kitchen Drawer
Helen Ashley makes & sells special Comica Cookies for a teatime launch of her book of graphic recipes – all welcome!
Where: Eggs Milk Butter, 192 Southgate Road, London, N1 3HU
When: November 25, 2012 2-5pm

Dante’s Inferno Launch Party: Sinners & Demons
Celebrate Hunt Emerson and Kevin Jackson’s graphic adaptation of this diabolical literary classic!
Where: Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Sq, SW1X 8NX
When: November 30, 2012 6.30-8.30pm

Comic art exhibition: SCORE AND SCRIPT

Devised by John Miers, curated by Comica co-director Megan Donnolley, featuring 23 of Britain’s finest comics creators: Sean Azzopardi, Elliot Baggott, Dan Berry, Andy Bleck, Richy K. Chandler, John Cei Douglas, Daniel Fennings, Andrew Godfrey, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, James Hickman, Sally-Anne Hickman, Kripa Joshi, Mike Medaglia, Stuart Medley, Tanya Meditzky, John Miers, Douglas Noble, Gary Northfield, David O’Connell, Woodrow Phoenix, Andy Poyiadgi, John Riordan and Karen Rubins.

There will also be a “Santa’s Ghetto” fair day on Saturday December 8, where comics and other artwork by the exhibitors will be on sale.

Venue: Centre for Recent Drawing, 2-4 Highbury Station Road, London N1 1SB
Dates: Exhibition runs Nov 22 – Dec 15, fair day Saturday December 8.
Times: C4RD is open Thur-Sat, 1-6pm, admission free.

More info about all events at www.comicafestival.com

Gosh! Comics events

Bryan Lee O’Malley and Hope Larson signing

The last time we had Bryan Lee O’Malley in our shop was just before he got all gussied up for the red carpet premiere of Scott Pilgrim. That was two years ago so it’s about time we had him back — he still hasn’t seen our fancy new shop! This time he’s joined at the signing table by his phenomenally talented wife, Hope Larson, so you’re getting two great creators for the price of one signing line. It’s all happening on Friday the 7th of December, from 5pm to 7pm and you are invited. Find out who borrowed your Scott Pilgrims, ring them up and demand them back.

If you can’t make it on the day and would like to request a signed book then send us an email to info@goshlondon.com and we’ll sort it out for you.

Friday, December 7, Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London, 5pm to 7pm

More info at www.goshlondon.com

Two events taking place this weekend are ideal places for fans of fantasy and science fiction to visit – SCI-FI-LONDON: EAST and Manhwa: Korean Story and Painting – each in venues not known for exploring those genres. Alex Fitch talks to director Chris Swanton about his adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, screening Sunday 11th November at Stratford Picturehouse and to comic book creator Min-Woo Hyung regarding the art he’s exhibiting at the Korean Creative Content Agency, 1-3 The Strand. Alex and Chris discuss why the director chose a hard to translate novel by Kafka as his directorial debut, following a career as an editor on such projects as the BBC’s Ghostwatch, and Min-Woo talks about his career as a Manhwa creator from his debut Chronicle of a Hot-blooded Judo King to his latest project Ghostface and his most famous series Priest, which was adapted as a Sci-Fi blockbuster in 2011.

Poster for Priest 3D, art from Priest and Ghostface by Min-Woo Hyung, poster for Metamorphosis, cover of Ghostwatch

(Expanded podcast of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up, broadcast 09/11/12 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

More info about SCI-FI-LONDON: EAST (9th-11th November) at www.scfilondon.com and Manhwa: Korean Story and Painting (1st-21st November) at www.manhwa101.com

Links: Min-Woo Hyung’s pages on lambiek and Comic Book Database
Wikipedia pages on Priest manhwa and movie
Chris Swanton’s filmography on IMDb
Wikipedia pages on The Metamorphosis film adaptation and novel
Metamorphosis official film website

Recommended events:

SCI-FI-LONDON: EAST

SCI-FI-LONDON movies its yearly satellite event (formerly Oktoberfest) a month later and a few miles East, as the Stratford Picturehouse hosts this post-apocolympic event… Premières include a new feature adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis starring Maureen Lipman and Cory McAbee’s latest SF musical comedy Crazy and Thief. There’s another chance for anyone who missed Brandon Cronenberg’s debut film Antiviral at the London Film festival to catch up with the this excellent body-horror thriller and the usual MST3K and Anime all-nighters.

9th-11th November 2012, Stratford Picturehouse, Theatre Square, Salway Road, Stratford, London E15 1BX

More info at www.scifilondon.com

Comica Festival 2012 week one

Grandville Bête Noire Premiere: Bryan and Mary Talbot
The Badger is back in the third of the phenomenal Grandville series of anthropomorphic steampunk romance thrillers!
Where: Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB
When: November 9, 2012 6.30-7.30pm

Launch Party: The Strumpet and Ink+Paper
Celebrate the release of these sparkling new issues with the publishers & contributors.
Where: Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2
When: November 9, 2012 7-9.30pm

Alois Nebel: Opening Gala Screening & Live Music Party
Jaromír 99 introduces a premiere screening of the animated movie & performs the original score.
Where: Riverside Studios Gallery, Crisp Rd, Hammersmith, W6 9R
When: November 9, 2012 8.15 Film 9.45 Party

Comica Comiket Fall 2012 Independent Comics Fair
Discover the very best in comics & enjoy the Drawing Parade of superstar artists, all for free!
Where: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4QH
When: November 10, 2012 11am to 7pm

Line Hoven: Scraperboard Workshop
Learn to make your own scraperboard illustrations from the acclaimed German graphic novelist.
Where: Goethe-Institut, 50 Princes Gate, London SW7 2PH
When: November 11, 2012 11am to 5pm

More info about all events at www.comicafestival.com

The Ballad of Halo Jones in Leeds

Lass O’Gowrie Productions and Scytheplays are incredibly excited to announce that their much-lauded adaptation of writer Alan Moore and artist Ian Gibson’s comic book series, The Ballad of Halo Jones, is to be re-staged as part of Thought Bubble, the week-long comic arts festival held in Leeds from Sunday 11th to Sunday 18th November.
The Production is officially sanctioned by the publishers of 2000AD, Rebellion and has the blessing of both original writer Alan Moore, and artist Ian Gibson who created the memorable 50th century landscapes in the strip.

Location: Leeds’ The Library Scream Pub
Dates: Sunday November 11th (7.30pm), Monday November 12th (7.30pm) and Saturday November 17th (12.30pm and 2.45pm).

Tickets are £10.00 each, 50% discount for concessions. Tickets are available online at www.wegottickets.com or on the door.

Idle Hands Comix indiegogo campaign

Short film maker and illustrator Paul Cheshire is launching a new annual British comics anthology for 2013 and needs your help to fund it. Examples of his SF / LSD inspired work can be found at http://www.idlehandscomix.com and ‘perks’ for funding the 100-150 page anthology can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/Idlehandscomixcampaign

In the second of two special hour long editions of I’m ready for my close-up, celebrating the 56th BFI London Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to film critic Sarah Cronin about films they’ve seen at this year’s LFF. Films reviewed include: restored German silent movie The Loves of Pharaoh, sex therapy drama The Sessions, Italian Big Brother satire Reality, new Thomas Vinterberg film The Hunt, restored Lee Van Cleef spaghetti western The Big Gundown, François Ozon’s In the House, Korean crime drama Nameless Gangsters and Helpless, an adaptation of Miyabe Miyuki’s novel Burning Train to Korea. Alex talks to retired film editor Ian Rakoff about hostage drama Argo and comedy SF film Robot and Frank. Also, director Chi Keung Fung, best known for co-writing Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer, discusses his directorial debut The Bounty, with translation by Wan Yee Wong, Australian director Amanda Jane talks about her family comedy drama The Wedding Party, and actor / director Ben Affleck discusses his new film Argo. (Originally broadcast in an edited version 18/10/12 on Resonance FM)

Poster for The Bounty, Argo (film within a film + actual), The Wedding Party, The Sessions

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Official London Film Festival website
Electric Sheep Magazine online
Ian Rakoff’s blog
Info about the real Argo incident
Australian official website for The Wedding Party
Info about HK15 and Terracotta film festivals

Recommended events:

Nobrow at Foyles – Hilda and the Bird Parade Graphic Novel Exhibition, by Luke Pearson

Come and see the amazingly intricate original drawings from Luke Pearson’s latest instalment in the Hilda Series, Hilda and the Bird Parade, only at Foyles on Charing Cross Road

Address: The Gallery at Foyles, Third Floor, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB

Admission: Free

Dates: 5th – 17th of October

Gallery Opening Times*: Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5pm, Sunday 11.30am – 5pm

*Please note that the Gallery may be closed when instore meetings and events are taking place

Who is Ana Mendieta? exhibition

Art from the graphic novel Who is Ana Mendieta? by Christine Redfern and Caro Caron is on display at Space Station Sixty Five gallery, Building One, 373 Kennington Road, London SE11 4PS

Exhibition runs until November 4th, more info at http://spacestationsixtyfive.com

Laydeez do comics, October 2012

Monday 22 October, 6.30 – 9.30pm
The Rag Factory 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

Guests:
Simon Grennan, artist http://kartoonkings.com
Lucy Lyons, artist http://www.lucylyons.org/
Fay Trier, writer http://www.facebook.com/fayt35

Idle Hands Comix indiegogo campaign

Short film maker and illustrator Paul Cheshire is launching a new annual British comics anthology for 2013 and needs your help to fund it. Examples of his SF / LSD inspired work can be found at http://www.idlehandscomix.com and ‘perks’ for funding the 100-150 page anthology can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/Idlehandscomixcampaign

In the first of two special hour long editions to celebrate the 56th BFI London Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to cartoonist and film critic Mark Stafford about films they’ve seen at this year’s LFF. Films reviewed include: the new Ralph Steadman documentary: For no good reason, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, The Shining documentary Room 237, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Sally Potter’s Ginger and Rosa, Hyde Park on Hudson, Good Vibrations, West of Memphis, Beware of Mr. Baker, Animated Monty Python reunion: A Liar’s Autobiography, French cartoon Ernest and Celestine, and Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie…
Also, Alex talks to director Richard Bates Jr. about his excellent new teen body horror movie Excision, which stars Traci Lords, Malcolm McDowell and John Waters and is best described as a cross between We need to talk about Kevin and I was a teenage Frankenstein! (Originally broadcast in an edited version 16/10/12 on Resonance FM)

Posters for Beasts of the Southern Wild, Excision, Antiviral

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Official London Film Festival website
Mark Stafford’s website
London Cartoon Museum
Electric Sheep Magazine online

Recommended events:

Nobrow at Foyles – Hilda and the Bird Parade Graphic Novel Exhibition, by Luke Pearson

Come and see the amazingly intricate original drawings from Luke Pearson’s latest instalment in the Hilda Series, Hilda and the Bird Parade, only at Foyles on Charing Cross Road

Address: The Gallery at Foyles, Third Floor, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB

Admission: Free

Dates: 5th – 17th of October

Gallery Opening Times*: Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5pm, Sunday 11.30am – 5pm

*Please note that the Gallery may be closed when instore meetings and events are taking place

Who is Ana Mendieta? exhibition

Art from the graphic novel Who is Ana Mendieta? by Christine Redfern and Caro Caron is on display at Space Station Sixty Five gallery, Building One, 373 Kennington Road, London SE11 4PS

Exhibition runs until November 4th, more info at http://spacestationsixtyfive.com

Laydeez do comics, October 2012

Monday 22 October, 6.30 – 9.30pm
The Rag Factory 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

Guests:
Simon Grennan, artist http://kartoonkings.com
Lucy Lyons, artist http://www.lucylyons.org/
Fay Trier, writer http://www.facebook.com/fayt35

Idle Hands Comix indiegogo campaign

Short film maker and illustrator Paul Cheshire is launching a new annual British comics anthology for 2013 and needs your help to fund it. Examples of his SF / LSD inspired work can be found at http://www.idlehandscomix.com and ‘perks’ for funding the 100-150 page anthology can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/Idlehandscomixcampaign

Alex Fitch interviews the directors of two new British horror films that deal with supernatural home invasions and their consequences. Oliver S. Milburn discusses his debut film The Harsh Light of Day which looks at a home owner’s Faustian deal with a vampire to get revenge on the thieves who murdered his wife, and Pat Holden talks about his new movie When the lights went out, starring Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead), produced by Bil Bungar (Moon), and dramatises the story of the 1966 haunting of a semi-detached house in Pontefract.

Posters for When the lights went out and The harsh light of day

(Expanded podcast of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up, broadcast 19/09/12 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

When the lights went out was released in cinemas on 14th September and The Harsh Light of Day is released on DVD on 1st October.

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Offical sites – whenthelightswentout.com / harshlightofday.com

Recommended events:

Northants International Comics Expo

Set in the historic Wicksteed Leisure Park, panels include:
Storytelling – A meeting of mind with Alan Davis, Stormdogs With David Hine & Doug Braithwaite, Panel to Screen with Greg Staples, Adi Granov & Charlie Adlard, Jack Kirby Influences in modern comics with John Watson, Doug Braithwaite, Shaky Kane and Russell Payne from the Jack Kirby Museum, Erotic Art and Censorship in Comics with Melinda Gebbie, Tony Bennett and Paul Gravett, Alan Moore on How to Write Comics (plus hour long Q&A), Owning the Page with Doug Braithwaite, David Hine, Ian Churchill and Shaky Kane and Frank Bellamy a Retropect, followed by a short film with Paul Holder.

Saturday 22nd September 9.30am – 5pm / Sunday 23rd September 11am – 5pm

http://www.northantsinternationalcomicsexpo.com

Alex Fitch talks to film critic and historian Kim Newman about The Edgar Wallace Mysteries, a series of British B movies made in the 1960s and subsequently rebranded as a TV series, based on novels by the co-creator of King Kong. Plus: in a Q and A recorded at the Raindance Film Festival, Alex talks to director M.A. Littler about his documentary The Kingdom of Survival, a road movie that explores the current state of scepticism and philosophy in modern America and features interviews with Noam Chomsky, Ramsey Kanaan and Joe Bageant.

Still from the opening credits of The Edgar Wallace Mysteries / Poster for The Kingdom of Survival

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Bloody Murder blog on The Edgar Wallace Mysteries
Wikipedia page on Edgar Wallace
Buy The Edgar Wallace Mysteries from Network DVD

Info about The Kingdom of Survival at showboatfilms.com
Watch clips from The Kingdom of Survival on youtube

Recommended events:

Support Tripwire 20th anniversary book

Over the last twenty years, TRIPWIRE has been covering comics, TV and film with interviews and columns by now-famous names like Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. Still running as an annual publication, it continues to run feature-length articles and one-off artwork cover commissions.

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of TRIPWIRE, and to commemorate this milestone, Unbound are working with editor-in-chief Joel Meadows to crowd-fund a beautifully bound hardback celebration of the publication. It will be filled with the sort of content that has garnered praise from many of the biggest and best names in genre over its twenty-year existence. Art from genre and comic geniuses Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Drew Struzan (Shawshank Redemption, Indiana Jones), Duncan Fegredo, Frank Quitely, Walter Simonson, Chris Weston, Howard Chaykin and many more. Classic interviews and features that have made TRIPWIRE’s reputation, including Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Peter Milligan and Guillermo Del Toro

This ultra limited hardcover edition will only available through the Unbound website. The more you pledge, the more collectibles you can get your hands on and remember – we can’t do it without your support.

More info at www.unbound.co.uk

In the second of a pair of podcasts about Doctor Who audio spin-offs, Alex Fitch talks to actor John Banks, producer David Richardson and director Ken Bentley about Counter Measures, a new Nigel Kneale influenced audio drama that continues the story of the supporting cast from Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks. Alex also talks to actress Pamela Salem about reprising her Daleks role for the new series as well as her history of appearing in British telefantasy such as Blake’s 7 and Into the Labyrinth plus her role of Miss Moneypenny in the Bond film Never Say Never Again.

Counter Measures poster and still from Remembrance of the Daleks featuring Pamela Salem and Simon Williams

(Expanded podcast of the second half of a ‘Clear Spot’, broadcast 17/08/12 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: More info on Counter Measures at bigfinish.com
Previous podcast on Doctor Who spin-offs The Minister of Chance and Kaldor City
Wikipedia pages on Doctor Who serials: Remembrance of the Daleks and Robots of Death featuring Pamela Salem

Listen to Alex’s shows on Doctor Who companion Professor Bernice Summerfield and Who convenions, featuring an interview with Sylvester McCoy

Recommended events:

Support Tripwire 20th anniversary book

Over the last twenty years, TRIPWIRE has been covering comics, TV and film with interviews and columns by now-famous names like Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. Still running as an annual publication, it continues to run feature-length articles and one-off artwork cover commissions.

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of TRIPWIRE, and to commemorate this milestone, Unbound are working with editor-in-chief Joel Meadows to crowd-fund a beautifully bound hardback celebration of the publication. It will be filled with the sort of content that has garnered praise from many of the biggest and best names in genre over its twenty-year existence. Art from genre and comic geniuses Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Drew Struzan (Shawshank Redemption, Indiana Jones), Duncan Fegredo, Frank Quitely, Walter Simonson, Chris Weston, Howard Chaykin and many more. Classic interviews and features that have made TRIPWIRE’s reputation, including Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Peter Milligan and Guillermo Del Toro

This ultra limited hardcover edition will only available through the Unbound website. The more you pledge, the more collectibles you can get your hands on and remember – we can’t do it without your support.

More info at www.unbound.co.uk