Swansea Comics Collective

RIP Stan Lee

noreply@blogger.com (MWPete) — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:38:00 +0000

Charismatic Champion of Comics

#stanlee #ripstanlee #nuffsaid #marvel #comics #sketch #t

Copperopolis #3 OUT NOW

noreply@blogger.com (MWPete) — Fri, 04 May 2018 09:48:00 +0000

Yep, finally!

The long awaited Copperopolis #3 is available to buy now!

The newly empowered heroes spend a night out at a pub quiz to get to know one another...

Copperopolis is a comic created, written and drawn by The Swansea Comics Collective.

Print version
Issue #1, #2 and 3 are available now for only £3.50 each!

No interior ads, all story and art!
Buy at BigCartel.com

Postage and Packing charges will apply.

Digital copies (CBR format) are available below

Copperopolis #1
Buy a digital version of #1 now

Copperopolis #2

Buy a digital version of #2 now
Copperopolis #3
Coming soon

PDF versions available from Sellfy.com/sccassemble

Available from The Comix Shoppe,
(Issue #3 From 9th May 2018)

13 Shoppers Walk Swansea SA1 3AY

01792 642097

WHO’S YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH? - This Man, This Pete!

noreply@blogger.com (MWPete) — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 15:16:00 +0000

WHO’S YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

Small press comic writer & artist, co-founder of the Swansea Comics Collective, co-creator of Monster Kids, contributor to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast, Pete Taylor loves comics and has since forever.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST COMIC AND DO YOU STILL HAVE IT?

Well, yes and no. My first comic would have been bought for me by someone else, it would have been a Disney comic, I haven’t got that. I do have the first comic I remember buying. It was in a motorway services, there was a stack of comics behind a big basket of beach balls. Captain America #222, on the cover Cap is fighting the Lincoln Memorial, this big stone President smashing against his shield, awesome cover by Ernie Chan, then when you open it up, the first page has a VW Beetle crashing through the wall of an apartment building, art by Sal Buscema. Cracking stuff. Yep, still got it, still treasure it.

DO YOU BUY COMICS REGULARLY?

Oh yeah...

WHEN YOU BUY A TITLE IS IT FOR THE STORY, CHARACTERS OR THE CREATIVE TEAM?

Used to be characters, now it’s the creative team. It was probably John Byrne & Frank Miller that made me switch, I would read whatever they did regardless of who was in it.

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMIC YOU BOUGHT?

Last batch was Head Lopper, Harrow County, Black Hammer, BPRD. Dark Horse has been my favourite publisher for a years now, Image is a close second.

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ, DIGITAL OR PRINT?

Both. Some books I want on paper but when you’ve been reading as long as I have it’s a real hassle to store so many comics which is why I have been really enjoying digital comics recently and if you’re OK waiting a month they’re much cheaper too.

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST(S)?

Alex Toth
Jaime Hernandez
Howard Chaykin
Mike Mignola
Eduardo Risso
Gabriel Ba
Steranko
Walt Kelly
Jack Kirby
Eric Powell
Frank Robbins
Will Eisner
Darwyn Cooke
Sean Phillips
John Buscema
Andrew Maclean

Duncan Fegrado
Tyler Crook
Jason Latour
Stuart Immonen
Frank Miller
Butch Guice
Art Adams
Frank Espinosa
Bruce Timm
Jordi Bernet
Jose Luis Garcia Marquez
James Harren
Nick Dragotta
Scott Morse
Rob Davis

YOUR FAVOURITE WRITER(S)?

Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker, Mike Mignola, Greg Rucka, Cullen Bunn, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Darwyn Cooke, Jon Arcudi, Jaime Hernandez

WHAT COMIC(S) HAVE PROVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL?

The Legend imprint from Dark Horse, early 90s? Hellboy, Sin City, Monkeyman & O’Brien, Concrete. Lovely and pulpy. Chaykin’s 80s work like American Flagg, Time Squared, Blackhawk. David LLoyd’s Nightraven. The Mignolaverse.

EARTH IS DYING! BUT YOU’VE WON A SPOT ON THE SPACE ARK LEAVING EARTH!

YOU’RE ONLY ALLOWED TO TAKE 5 COMICS. WHICH ONES DO YOU TAKE?

5?! Ridiculous! I’m going to assume this includes collected trades & graphic novels.

Hellboy: Strange Places by Mike Mignola

Two Brothers by Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon

Cerebus, High Society by Dave Sim

New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke

Any 100 Bullets by Azzarello & Risso

YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE COVER?

Apart from the aforementioned Captain America #222, Marvel Two-In-One #51 is a nostalgic old favourite. Rian Hughes’s logo and cover designs for DC’s Tangent books in the 90s really stood out on the shelves, love those.

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER?

Back in the day, it would have been Ben Grimm, The Ever Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing! Now it would be one of my own characters, Monster Kids, Squid Eye Guy, Celia Phate, Silverbeard. I have a folder with over 200 sketch cards of my own heroes and villains that I want to see in my strips soon.

ARE YOU READING ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT?

LAPD ‘53 by James Ellroy and Murder is my Business by Brett Halliday. Got an awesome book on Maurice Nobel that I can’t wait to get to get into as well.

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO CREATE COMICS?

Putting a page together is a puzzle and a challenge and pushing yourself to do a better job than the last time is rewarding. And drawing stuff is fun.

DO YOU HAVE A CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP WORK? DO YOU DEVELOP STORIES WITH SOMEONE ELSE?

I’ve write for myself a lot, I’ve written stories for other artists and I work a lot with Ricky Webber and Adam Wilmot. I work up ideas with them and we go back and forth with scripts if it’s a shared idea. I also act more like an editor with them if it’s something they’re developing, I read the scripts and then give ‘em my twopenn'orth.

DO YOU WRITE A FULL SCRIPT? OR WORK FROM A PLOT?

If it’s one of my stories I tend to draw thumbnails alongside the plot, but I like to have a full script ready for the pencils stage so I can letter the strip before inking.

HOW IS YOUR ARTWORK PRODUCED? DO YOU USE TRADITIONAL TOOLS OR DIGITAL OR A MIX OF BOTH?

Bit of both, all my roughs and pencils are drawn on paper but I then scan everything in and work my pages up as Photoshop files, moving things around and editing before printing them back out as blueline (or more recently pink line) on Bristol and inking by hand.

WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING METHODS: DO YOU SET YOURSELF DEADLINES? OR DO YOU WORK WHEN THE MOOD TAKES YOU?

Different projects bring different deadlines, personal work is movable but if you’ve committed to a project involving other people you have to deliver when it was promised...

HOW DO YOU DIVIDE THE ADDITIONAL TASKS THAT INDEPENDENT CREATORS HAVE?

I’m a bit of a control freak with my stuff so I’ll tend to do all the production work myself.

DO YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS? DO YOU ENJOY THEM? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

Yeah, I enjoy ‘em when they’re busy and if I’m staying over and can go out drinking with the other creators. My favourite is The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal, I’ve made lots of friends through that con. It’s great fun, it takes over the town, everyone gets involved.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO INDEPENDENT CREATORS?

Geez, making money? Finding the time to do the work? Getting your work in front of the right audience? All of these but managing my social media properly is probably my biggest challenge...

WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT BETWEEN IVOR THE ENGINE AND THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE?

Good grief! That’s an easy one! One punch in the shuntings from the stocky Welsh dynamo and it’s all over for Thomas.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS?

Produce more books with my characters in them.

TELL US ONE THING WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU:

I’m very secretive...

WHICH COMIC CHARACTER DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

Nick Fury. From the Steranko period.

AND WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOW?

Fury still works for me.

WHO IS YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine.

Pete trades online as This Man, This Pete!
@thismanthispete Twitter & instagram
Thismanthispete.com

The SCC is 9 Years Old!

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 18:12:00 +0000

This week marks the ninth anniversary of the formation of the SCC, we thought it might be fun to have a wander down memory lane and revisit the celebratory images (by logomeister Pete) of years con by.

Year 1 before Peter Maggs decided to add the James to his name and leave us for Ghost Jones

Year 2 Now with added Adam and Lee!

Year 3 was so Special It got two 'cards'

Year 4 saw the arrival of Copperopolis #1

Half a decade old and we were eager show off how far we had come.

Year six was the... year of... the robots?

Haig was our cake bearer for year seven.

Year 8 amazing we fought the Legion of Doom and the Masters of Evil until Galactus showed up

That brings us bang up to date 9 years old and unning our First Kickstarter to raise the funds to print Copperopolis #3! The Support has been amazing so far, but you still have a chance of appearing in the comic or even owning some original art and every Pledge of £3 or more gets a copy of Copperopolis #3 (digital copy for £3 pledge physical copy from £5). Don't miss out!

Copperopolis 3 Kickstarter

Who is Your Comic Book Crush With Mark 'Son of Ken' Hughes.

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 14:33:00 +0000

We have a busy few weeks coming up! First up some really exciting news, Copperopolis issue 3 is almost ready however we are going to need a hand to get it printed, so we have put together a Kickstarter project and sent it for review and will launch sometime this week. Next, Pete has a table at Thought Bubble just look for This Man This Pete on table 121 of the Comixology Marquee, you'll also find SoK and Ricky tagging along with Pete too. We are also going to be doing something at the Swansea Fringe Festival although we can't give any further details yet so watch this space. With so much going on we thought it'd be a great time for you all to get to know SCC artist Mark 'Son of Ken' Hughes a bit more with his 'Comic Book Crush' questionnaire.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST COMIC AND DO YOU STILL HAVE IT?

I don’t really recall what my first comic was, but I should imagine I still have it, comics aren’t something I’ve ever really traded or thrown away.

 DO YOU BUY COMICS REGULARLY?

I used to buy every week when I was working in the local Comix Shoppe, now I’m illustrating full time I still buy weekly titles, but sometimes only manage to pick them up monthly.

WHEN YOU BUY A TITLE IS IT FOR THE STORY, CHARACTERS OR THE CREATIVE TEAM?

If I’m totally honest, I have always been a buyer for the art, if I don’t like the artwork on a title I don’t usually pick it up, even if it’s highly recommended.

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMIC YOU BOUGHT?

My last pick up was a few titles, so can’t really pinpoint the last comic. Here are the latest issues I picked up at the same time.

Black Cloud #5

I Hate Fairyland #15

Rocket Girl #9

Saga #46

Outcast #30

Grrl Scouts #4

MAD’s Original Idiots ‘Jack Davis’ TPB

Also picked up

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #8

Bitch Planet Triple Feature #3 for the Mrs.

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ, DIGITAL OR PRINT?

Definitely print, but I do read digitally, I’m only fussy when it comes to collecting them, got to have the paper on the shelf.

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST(S)?

So many to list, I’ll have a crack though.

Darwyn Cooke

Bill Watterson Jeff Smith

Matteo Scalera

Mike Mignola

Jack Kirby

Michael Lark

Charles M Schulz

John Cassaday

Geoff Darrow

Bruce Timm

Brian Bolland

Frank Quitley

Brian Lee O’Malley

Nick Dragotta

Katsuhiro Otomo

Jonathan Edwards

Fiona Staples

Sara Pichelli

Skottie Young

Pete Fowler

Andrew Robinson

Jim Mahfood

Lorenzo Etherington

Mort Drucker

Jack Davis

Sergio Aragones

Jay Myers

Andrew Maclean

Ashley Wood

Gabriel Ba

Ian McQue

Jay Fosgitt

Jamie Hewlett

Sean Galloway

Loish

Tradd Moore

Michael Cho

James Harren

Humberto Ramos

Al Jaffee

Angelo Torres

Albert Uderzo

Alessandro Barbucci

Herge

John Severin

David Lapham

Stuart Immonen

Juanjo Guardino

Will Eisner

So many others but I won’t keep going and going and going……

YOUR FAVOURITE WRITER(S)?

Brian K Vaughn

Garth Ennis

Brian Bendis

Robert Kirkman

Alan Moore

Grant Morrison

Matt Fraction

Rick Remender

David Lapham

Warren Ellis

Charles M Schulz

Bill Watterson

Darwyn Cooke

Jonathan Hickman

Mark Millar

Ed Brubaker

Jeff Smith

Katsuhiro Otomo

Again this list could go on and on and on…..

WHAT COMIC(S) HAVE PROVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL?

When I was a kid I had comics, but the first title I remember buying myself and actually going out and hunting down, was MAD magazine, I would painstakingly copy the works of Drucker, Aragones, Torres along with the endless list of amazing artists they had working for them. The European titles like Asterix, Tin Tin, Lucky Luke etc had a massive impact on my influences, I read those books until my eyes hurt, I will still sometimes draw a hand and think ‘Yes! Looks like I copied it straight out of an Asterix book’ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. Later on Tank Girl would have a big influence, I would attempt to lock away anything Hewlett drew to be recalled at a later date, when scribbling away. Although I loved reading the staple superhero comics like Spiderman, FF, X-Men etc, I was always more into cartoon strip style work.

EARTH IS DYING! BUT YOU’VE WON A SPOT ON THE SPACE ARK LEAVING EARTH!

WHICH 5 COMICS or COMIC SERIES DO YOU TAKE? THESE WILL BE THE LAST COMIC BOOKS IN THE UNIVERSE!

Watchmen

New Frontier

Bone

Asterix in Switzerland

Calvin and Hobbes (Complete)

 YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE COVER?

I’d like to say New Frontier Book Two of Six, but it’s more like Green Lantern #85

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER?

Tough one, not sure I can pin it to just one, Hellboy, maybe?

 ARE YOU READING ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT?

As in books, not comics? Just finished ‘The Return of Tarzan’ after reading ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I drew a picture of Tarzan and wondered how come he never had a beard, a friend told me it was explained in the book, sure enough it was. I’m not really much of a book reader, there’s no pictures in them!

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO CREATE COMICS?

I have always loved to draw, and comics are my favourite form of art, plus I get to collaborate with king nerd Pete Taylor and the other SCC clowns, why wouldn’t you want to do that?

DO YOU WRITE YOURSELF OR YOUR WORK WITH A REGULAR WRITING PARTNER?

Never really been a writer, always been too busy drawing to write, if there’s paper and pen in front of me, my natural instinct is to draw something, not write words, I leave that to the clever people, you have to know your limits, right? I would like to try it someday, create a strip all by myself from scratch.

WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING METHODS: DO YOU SET YOURSELF DEADLINES? OR DO YOU WORK WHEN THE MOOD TAKES YOU?

In my day to day work I have incredible bosses, I have work to complete but freedom to manage my own time, sometimes we have illustrations with deadlines but I’m always given enough time to complete the tasks. When it comes to working for the comics collective, we have deadlines, I’m pretty sure I’ve never hit one! Hahaha

Art fromThe Island issue 2

HOW IS YOUR ARTWORK PRODUCED? DO YOU USE TRADITIONAL TOOLS OR DIGITAL OR A MIX OF BOTH?

A mix of both, depending on what it’s for, but mostly digital now. I use a Wacom Cintiq 22HD Touch with Manga Studio for my day to day, and for creating comics.

FAVOURITE THING TO DRAW?

Anything but backgrounds!

WHAT’S THE WORST BIT ABOUT DRAWING COMICS?

Drawing backgrounds hahaha. Also repetition, along with trying to get the likenesses of the same character right, over and over.

DO YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS? DO YOU ENJOY THEM? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

I do, I can’t always manage to commit to going, due to family commitments and the grind of life, getting in the way. Last year I got to go to Thoughtbubble with Ricky Webber to represent the SCC, that was a blast and luckily I’m going to get to do it again this year. Weirdly after 8 years of being a part of the SCC, I’ll get to attend a con with Pete Taylor, where we don’t have to drive home at the end of the day, it’s going to be a full weekend of debauchery hahaha.

I have also been lucky enough to become good friends with the amazing Justin Stewart (Colourist who has worked for the likes of Marvel and Image, with creators like Jim Mahfood and Skottie Young), who invited us out to stay with him and his wonderful family and attend the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention. I only attended the convention as a muggle, I’d like to go back one day and attend as a wizard. It’s a brilliantly run convention full of super friendly people and great guests, Steranko has a bone crushing handshake! We got to spend time with Skottie Young, Jim Mahfood, Nathan Fox, Rico Renzi and so many more great folk, proper meet your heroes event for me. We had such a great time we went back two years later, if flights weren’t a bazillion dollars I’d go back every year, I love it there.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO SMALL PRESS/INDEPENDENT CREATORS?

As it’s more hobby like then a full time job, the hardest part is finding the time to get work completed, along with finding the funds to get the work produced. We are lucky to have dedicated members like Ricky who travel all over the UK, even as far as Europe, pushing and promoting our wares.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS?

Hopefully to carry on working in my pants through the summer months and not have to get soaked walking to a job, that doesn’t involve me drawing. To be a good partner and father to my girlfriend and daughters. To improve my craft to a point where I don’t want to put a brick through my Cintiq. To create a body of work I can look back at and think ‘fair effort, that doesn’t look half bad’

WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT, HOWARD THE DUCK VS. DONALD DUCK?

Clearly Donald Duck, anybody with the confidence to spend their whole life walking around with no pants on, must be absolutely nails!

WHICH COMIC CHARACTER DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

Asterix the Gaul

AND WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOW?

I’ll stick with my first answer, eating wild boar with your best mate, punching Romans out of their shoes, why wouldn’t you want to be Asterix?

AND FINALLY...

WHO IS YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

Jean Grey, it’s always Jean Grey.

The Continuing Adventures of Joe Stickman

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 16:30:00 +0000

While we were at Cardiff Independent Comic Expo a few weeks back we gat two new Joes to add to the Joe Stickman gallery. The first is by SCC artist Mark ’Son of Ken’ Hughes who has reimagined Joe as himself complete with a stick man belly.

The Second is by Lorenzo Etherington, who, along with his brother Robin, are currently best known for their works Long Gone Don and The Dangerous Adventures of Von Doogan which appear regularly in The Phoenix Comic. Lorenzo has given Joe a fetching pair of Y front to protect his modesty.

2017 So Far...

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 14:07:00 +0000

Sorry we've been a bit quiet around here lately. April was a pretty busy month for us, we took a trip to Denmark, to take part in the Art Bubble Festival at DOKK1 in Aarhus. This was our first convention outside of Britain, and an excuse to visit our artist Mark Tranter at the same time. The convention took place in a massive library and there was free entry to the public which meant that we got to interact with a constant stream of people throughout the day. It was an interesting event, we got to experience a European convention and see how it differed to the ones that we are used to attending at home and see the difference in comic tastes. Instead of the wall to wall superheroes and US style comic books, the majority of stalls were focused on European comics such as Tintin and Asterix and (to my surprise at least) lots of Carl Barks and Disney comics. There was also a distinct lack of cosplay; with the Power Girl pictured below the only cosplayer we saw all day. Another thing that was lacking was money; the Danish don't usually carry actual physical money, choosing to use Mobilepay instead. Luckily, as Tranter lives in Denmark, we had access to this otherwise the day could have been tricky. I also kept forgetting to add a zero to the Danish Krone prices, which made things a little interesting. The day overall was really fun and gave us an insight into a different kind of convention than we were used to. We learned that stickers are a universal language. Tranter also managed to pick up a copy of New Mutants 98 (which Kieran is very jealous about). As well as Art Bubble being our first foreign convention, it was also Knitted Wilmont and Weebers first trip abroad and they enjoyed riding wooly rhinos and the convention and a trip to Legoland too.

Art Bubble and Legoland

Our next Con was Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention at the Brangywn Hall Swansea on the 27th of May. SCGC2017 was the first con in quite some time where all the members of the Collective were in attendance with Tranter making the trip from Denmark to be there too (and bring the main raffle prize with him too). Unfortunately, we were all too busy on the day so haven't got photo's from the day to share, we had a great time and our famous wall comic proved to be very popular again. This is a Convention that we highly recommend with a great selection of stalls for gamers and comic fans of all ages.

Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention

The only other convention we have attended this year is the Cardiff Independent Comic Expo (CICE). Whilst CICE isn’t the busiest show that we attend, it is one of the hidden gems of the UK con circuit attracting a wide array of independent comic creators and a good list of comic pros as well (such as Dylan Teague, Jon Davis-Hunt, The Etherington Brothers and in previous years Charlie Adlard and Al Ewing). CICE has always been a special show for us as it is the first convention outside of swansea that we attended and where we launched Copperopolis 1. This year the con took over more of the Masonic hall in Cardiff with another room added to fit even more comic creators. If you are interested in the independent comic scene CICE is really worth a visit as the friendly atmosphere allows you to pick up books from a variety of genres and interact with the creators. We had a lot of fun at this years show adding a few more entries to the Joe Stickman gallery, chatting to the other exhibitors, and buying some great comics too.

Cardiff Independent Comic Expo

At the moment we’re busy working on Copperopolis 3, so all the people asking at conventions can rejoice and start asking where is issue 4. As a result we haven’t had time to go to as many cons as we usually do, but it’ll be worth it when the issue comes out, watch this space for further announcements regarding issue 3.

Joe Stickman: The Legend Continues...

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 18:32:00 +0000

Cast your minds back to the 10th and 11th of September 2016. What were you doing? Huh? Something boring? Thought so...

Ricky, Pete and Adam were attending the ICE/Comics Uncovered double whammy in Birmingham.

Saturday saw them doing the things they do best: selling issues of Copperopolis, and talking to people.

Adam and Ricky also set about approaching the fine men and women who were guests at the convention on Saturday; in hope of expanding the library of Joe Stickman art, and as always these professionals were happy to have a go at doing a Joe.

First up we have legendary 2000AD writer John Wagner's Joe.

Here is 'Limbo' artist Caspar Wijngaard's interpretation of Joe.

And here is 'Limbo' writer Dan Watters' top-hatted Joe.

Here we have the talented Anastasia Catris and her stick-wielding Joe Stickman.

Marvel-ous artist Declan Shalvey (who also works for the Distinguished Competition too) gives his Joe Stickman a little humour-filled 'Injection'... ahem... we're done with the puns now.

That 'Dark Horse' Laurence Campbell (sorry, we couldn't resist) decided to get to the bare bones of our beloved Joe.

One of comics' hottest artists, Sean Phillips, here with a dynamically drawn Joe.

Superstar artist Duncan Fegredo decided to transform our simple mascot into the porcine 'Joe Pigman'. What a swine! (Joe, not Duncan!)

Marine diving fanatic and fantastic artist, Ian Churchill, has our Joe really packing a punch.

We have our first 'repeat offender'! The stellar writer, Rob Williams, and his second Ghost Rider Joe.

Rob is currently writing 'Unfollow' for Vertigo Comics. This title is a particular favourite of Adam's and both he and Rob would love for you to pick up a copy from you local comic shop.

If you want to see which comic greats we get to draw a stickman next make sure you stay tuned, same stick-time, same stick-channel!

What's So Civil About War Anyway: Team Cap Vs Team Iron Man

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 20:37:00 +0000

I wrote this earlier in the year before Captain America: Civil War was released but never got round to posting, so with the recent release of the home video version it seemed like a good time to post it.

Whilst at the Geek Gathering in Llanelli a few weeks back me and Pete were talking about Captain America: Civil War, Pete mentioned that coming from a comic book reading house his daughters were frustrated that all their friends are Team Iron Man. I found this interesting but didn’t think too much more about it, that was until earlier in the week when I was invited to the cinema with some of the guy’s I work with to watch Captain America: Civil War. This invitation got me thinking about it again, and I asked out of curiosity if they were Team Cap or Team Iron Man, and all of them were Team Iron Man. This is where I got a bit more interesting as I am firmly Team Cap because of the comics I read; so I decided to conduct a quick poll amongst my friends and found that this trend for the most part continued with comic book fans saying that they were Team Cap and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans siding with Team Iron Man (there were a few exceptions either way).

WARNING FROM THIS POINT ON I WILL BE GOING INTO DETAILS OF EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN THE CIVIL WAR COMIC BOOK SO THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT!

The big marketing ploy for Civil War asked the question “Whose side are you on?” and from the outset there were claims that it was an impartial look at the question and readers could decide who was more right. I will admit that I do have a bias towards Team Cap as I used this series as part of my dissertation and felt that the depiction of the anti-registration team and their actions in the name of freedom were more justified. However, knowing this bias existed I decided to revisit the series for the first time in a few years and note what I considered to be questionable actions by both sides, and found some interesting points that I hadn’t considered before.

For the pro registration side led by Iron Man, I found eleven acts that I felt were morally wrong and damaged the validity of their argument. I also found that Iron Man isn’t as complicit in some of the actions as I remembered; but as figurehead of the movement he has to shoulder some of the blame. For example: whilst Stark isn’t directly involved in acts such as the ‘Capekillers’ shooting and bombing of Patriot, a Young Avenger who styles himself on Captain America, by letting these actions be done in his name does ultimately make him responsible. However, Iron Man is directly involved in most of the worst actions of pro registration campaign. The worst transgression of the series being the cloning of Thor to create the cyborg Ragnarok; an act that directly leads to the death of Bill Foster/Goliath as the clone does not follow his programming and uses lethal force on Goliath, before attempting the same with the rest of the anti registration forces. Following this event we learn that the Thor clone was a product of Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and Hank Pym but brings to light some disturbing thing about Tony when Hank tells the Wasp;

“Did you know Tony had been holding onto that strand of Thor’s hair since the first meeting of the Avengers? What kind of man combs his furniture for hair follicles and skin cells?”

For me this highlights how calculated every action that Tony Stark takes is; whilst the death might have been a mistake, the fact that he kept Thor’s hair -for years- just incase shows the type of guy Tony is. If these types of actions were driving Tony from the start did he give the mansion to the Avengers for the sole purpose of experimenting on them? He also uses his influence to manipulate Peter Parker into revealing his identity to the world to further legitimise his cause; yet when Parker objects to the extrajudicial imprisonment of anti registration heroes, Iron Man attacks him, uses his Iron-Spider suit against him, and even sets a group of villains on him all despite Parker being a registered and legal superhero at this point. The extrajudicial imprisonment also highlights the extent that Iron Man is prepared to go despite the ramifications, as his forces employ the use of a prison in another dimension. The prison dubbed 42 is situated in the Negative Zone and it is used to hold any Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) violators, without any legal proceedings and whilst imprisoning heroes the pro registration forces were bolstered by villains including killers such as Bullseye, Venom (Mac Gargan), and Lady Deathstrike.

With the opposing side of the conflict it is a lot harder to find these types of faults, outside of they were breaking the law by not complying with the SHRA, but even this seems quite petty as some of the most prominent members such as Captain America and Luke Cage don’t have secret identities and were still fighting for the right to privacy. I wanted to keep as impartial as possible and judge both sides as evenly as possible, as a result of this I think I ended up judging Team Cap more harshly and most of my list seemed petty in comparison to the Team Iron Man list. There are a few standout points though, the first is that Captain America throws the first punch in the conflict that ends in the death of Bill Foster. However, leading up to Iron Man claiming that he only wants to talk, the anti registration forces have been drawn into a trap, their teleporters are taken out and they are surrounded by the opposition. This leaves Cap with very limited options and although he could have tried to talk to Iron Man, but (apart from making the comic boring) Cap chooses to fight. The only other major incident is when the Punisher guns down two villains who are trying to join the anti-registration forces. Whilst this act results in two deaths at the hands of a member of Cap's team Captain America doesn't condone the actions and beats up the Punisher and expels him from the team.

All the other things I picked up for questionable acts by Cap were actions like throwing a 'capekiller' from a moving van whilst rescuing the Young Avenger, or taking advantage of Sue Storm's relationship with Namor in an attempt to recruit him and Atlantis to the anti-registration cause. These actions are questionable but in comparison to Iron Man using nanites to enlist an army of villains, or his attempt to blackmail the X-men into joining the pro registration side they still come across as a lesser evil.

So whilst I did pick up on a few examples of transgressions by Team Cap I still firmly believe that the anti-registration argument is stronger. Even though Team Cap are the outlaws of the story they act more like heroes in their actions than Team Iron Man despite them having the law on their side. Therefore I am still firmly Team Cap, but "Whose Side Are You On?"

Kierans Pokemon Challenge Part 3: Between a Roark and a Hard Place

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 19:14:00 +0000

I’ve taken a bit longer to post this than I was hoping it would but the loss of the shiny Starly really hurt me. I contemplated stopping after the last entry, but then I watched other shiney fails on YouTube and realised that losing a shiny Starly isn’t the end of the world as the many videos show it could have been a legendary that has only 1HP, that gets hit with recoil. Another reason for the delay is how little time I’ve had to actually play the game over the last few weeks. I did try to play a bit whilst at Cardiff Anime Con a few weekends ago, if you were there you might have seen me sneaking a few minutes here and there (and may have even criticised my 2DS, I prefer it so no excuses needed), but my battery didn’t have enough charge to properly play.

I picked back up on route 203 and not wanting to risk another encounter with a stupid Starly I headed straight for Oreburgh Gate. On entering the cave a hiker gives you the HM for Rock Smash, but as I still only have BA Baracus I decide not to use it yet, instead I decided to wait until I could use it after getting the badge needed to use it outside of battle. The trainers in the cave aren’t a match for BA: as he is my only Pokemon, he is close to being three times the level; so even the Psyduck isn’t a match despite the type advantage, the wild Pokemon don’t fair much better either.

On arriving in Oreburgh City a Youngster shows you to the gym, where despite probably being video gaming’s most impatient character ever, The Boss seems to have waited around just to tell me that he has won a badge and the gym leader has gone to the Oreburgh Mine, then runs off. I was both glad and annoyed that I didn’t get to battle him as I’d be at a disadvantage without a trip to the Pokemon Centre but I could do with the XP and Money (having to buy potions is expensive). Instead of heading straight for the mine I decided to head North to explore the long grass, on taking my first step into the grass it initiates an encounter and I can’t believe my luck: it’s a Machop! My luck in this game was finally changing! I hit it with ember to weaken it, only to get a critical hit and make it faint... I try to ignore this; after all I encountered it on my first step, they probably have a high encounter rate here. So, I carried on running around only to encounter Geodude after Geodude with an occasional Kricketot thrown in. This game had decided to toy with me it just seems to know what I’m doing and throwing as many Geodude shaped blocks in my way, and just as I conceded defeat and decided to head to the mine I finally encounter another Machop. Taking no risks I decide to throw Pokeball after Pokeball at it until it gave up and ‘decided’ to join my team after about ten balls. I named him ‘HM Murdock’, taught him Rock Smash, and I was halfway to completing my A-Team! Feeling pleased with myself I headed out of the long grass only to encounter another Machop, using my newly acquired HM Murdock I weakened the wild Machop, and ‘Face’ Joined the team almost completing the A-Team lineup and as a benefit from all the Geodude encounters BA Baracus knows Mach Punch which will be handy in the gym.

I healed up and headed for the mine, putting Face as my lead Pokemon to try and even up the level a little bit. On entering the mine I learnt two massive things about this challenge I’ve taken on, 1) Geodude’s are great for leveling up fighting Pokemon and 2) Zubat’s are the vilest creature known to man! They are super effective, can poison, can confuse, and they don’t let you run away. Even switching in BA has become a risk as the Zubat’s get a free hit to confuse or poison you. Zubat deserves every meme ever aimed at it!

Other than being shown Rock Smash, and the endless Zubat’s trying to kill my Pokemon, the Mine is pretty much pointless for me in this challenge; I don’t really need to be shown Rock Smash; to be honest the name is pretty much self explanatory. Colin and Mason do offer some XP for my new team members but they aren’t really a challenge, so I dispatch these guys and head back to the gym trying to avoid Zubat encounters, repels are going to be another necessary purchase.

The Oreburgh Gym has two trainers, Roark the gym leader, and a useless long path that allows you to avoid the trainer battles. By this point in the game the avoidance option seems redundant as any starter should be able to easily dispatch the trainers rock type pokemon for easy XP and Pokedollars, if not you’re doing something wrong (like stupidly playing through the game with one type of Pokemon like me). Even Roark and his terrible pun name isn’t really a challenge; using HM Murdock and Face I take out his Geodude and Onyx without him using Stealth Rock. Then I switch in BA Baracus who Mach Punches Craidos back to the stone age and getting me a Coal Badge and the ability to use Rock Smash outside of battle, I guess it’s lucky he showed me how to use it after all.

Check back soon for the next installment, where I try to complete my A-Team line up

Graphic Novels are big in US libraries and schools

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 09:22:00 +0000

Read the report over at The Beat:

http://www.comicsbeat.com/report-graphic-novels-are-big-in-libraries-and-schools/

Swansea Comics Cast 002 - Tranter's Leaving

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 19:12:00 +0000

This is the podcast we recorded as a leaving tribute to Tranter before left for a new life. Some of the pop culture references might be a little out of date but the jokes are still fresh so for those who keep asking for it (Laura and Haydn) the wait is over...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B88AB-N3ick0ZzNhMHktR01rOWc

SCC seek artist for new strip

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 17:34:00 +0000

The SCC is launching a new web strip called DRAGON THUNDER CLIFFS, a parody of an RPG world. The online comic will focus on what the non playable characters (NPCs) do when adventurers aren’t around to bother them and what they really think of them. The majority of the strips will take place in the town giving a humourous look on the day to day lives of this multicultural town of magical and non magical beings and the gags will either be straight up jokes or a satire of real life.
Now here's the thing, we don't have anyone to draw it yet...
Do you fancy a go or know someone who would? Take a look at the 3 scripts the SCC Brain Trust has put together and show us what you can do. You can submit one, two or all of 'em it's up to you. Just make sure you supply them as required in the Format and Template document and read the T&Cs below.

Script # 1 - A Taxing Situation
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PLGiCmbsE0ZZwWmJ_wr127EaJAqhPmxOVx-C0CgZTso/edit?usp=sharing

Script #2 - Dock & Cover
https://docs.google.com/document/d/169two7p73mZzLq-ecuZ25Gv4r9R131nXJQSrb8r1XGE/edit?usp=sharing

Iron & Steal Business
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uE9R_T_llf0miNB3j0bXG0FsjY1IozkAZ5mNdY87THg/edit?usp=sharing

Format & Template document available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B88AB-N3ick0OTBDcm40eWFzTm8/view?usp=sharing

T&Cs
1. REGULAR DELIVERY
The SCC wants to start regular online publishing of Dragon Thunder Cliffs on their blog 'SCCAssemble.co.uk' Please only enter if you want to collaborate with our writers to produce a regular weekly web strip.

2. PAYMENT & OWNERSHIP
There is no payment… to begin with. It’s a web strip, we’re a non-profit organisation. However, we hope to generate enough strips to fill a book. The SCC will pay print costs and con table expenses, if there’s any money left to share after these costs, it will be split across the team.
It’s a collaboration and hopefully the beginning of a partnership, we would have full and exclusive use of your artwork in the strip.

3. TEAMS
We are happy to accept submissions off creative teams. We aren't looking for writers at this time just artists.

4. FORMATTING
Supplied templates must be used for each strip You can produce your artwork in any form at any size but it must be in proportion to the supplied panels and use the strip header provided. We want a completed strip, so you need to letter and colour your artwork. You can supply greyscale or line art if that’s how you see it.

The finished artwork must be supplied as specified in the Format & Template document.

5. SUPPLY OF ENTRIES
Only strips sent to sccassemble@gmail.com will be considered.

Please DO NOT post to our FB page or tag us on social media.

Kierans Pokemon Challenge: Episodes two

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 13:19:00 +0000

Having completed the trainers school at the end of my previous session I was ready to continue my challenge and was trying to be a bit more positive, thinking the tediousness was behind me. However, I was mistaken as following healing BA Baracus at the Pokemon Center I was approached by the owner of the Poketch Company telling me about their offer for anyone who can find the three clowns in Jubilife City, I was going to skip this as I only ever use it as a step counter for eggs but thought I could manage without it this time. So I headed east to leave the city and head to Orburgh City and my first gym battle, instead I was confronted by a man who insisted that I take part in the offer. Trying my best to get out of this I headed North to route 204, which turned out to be quite handy for levelling up my Chimchar BA Baracus in the long grass as ember made quick work of the Budew and the trainers there. Whilst in this area I was a bit nervous of the long grass as I wasn’t sure if I’d encounter a Machop which wouldn’t be Ideal before evolving BA as it’d mean I’d have to give up using him. I finally got to the Ravaged Path only to find that I couldn’t advance any further in that direction until I could use Rock Smash. I didn’t let this dishearten me in my attempt to avoid the clowns (even if this was taking longer than actually finding them), so I headed West only to find another dead end, an old rod that would be useless because of my challenge, and defeat in my attempt to avoid the clowns.

I reluctantly spoke to the clowns who fortunately all had the correct answer in the right place that my frantic tapping the B button didn’t result in an endless loop, and I could finally head East toward Orburgh City. this time the man didn’t stop me and I headed out onto route 203 and my first battle with my rival The Boss (I named my character Big Boss after the Metal Gear character so it made sense). His Starly wasn’t a problem only managing to hit one quick attack before my ember took it out, but I was a bit worried about his Piplup although I had four levels on him my attacks of scratch and ember weren’t going to be great against it and it would know bubble. I was pretty lucky though as The Boss only seemed to want to growl at me, and I was able to chip away with my attack to the point where he throws out an awesome Star Wars reference with, “Don’t get cocky Kid!” and then hitting me with pound which took me uncomfortably low in hit points. So I resorted to using a potion just in case but found that he went back to growling which was fine with me as i scratched my way to victory.

I continued on to route 203 and encountered my first Shinx and Kricketot, the four trainers were easy enough and the XP I gained brought me tantalisingly close to level 14 and the evolution. I headed into the tall grass to grind out the last bit of XP to get BA to evolve into a Monferno, the encounter music starts and disaster… I found my very first shiny Pokemon! There it was all sparkles and everything a shiny Starly, it might as well have been taunting me. I tried to console myself with the knowledge that at least it wasn’t a Machop and the end of me using BA but it wasn’t working. I stared at it and thought would it really matter if I caught it I mean who would know right? I could just not write about it and ignore the encounter, but if I caught it in those circumstances I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about it either. I knew what had to be done, I hovered over the command for ember trying to think of a work around, and then I pressed the attack and watched as the critical hit wiped away my new dream of owning a shiny Staraptor. I tried to be content when I saw that at least it had tipped the XP meter over to Level 14 and my Chimchar became a Monferno but in my grief I managed to bungle again as I rushed through the text only to accidentally forget scratch instead of leer when learning mach punch. I contemplated switching off without saving, that’d mean that the shiny Starly had never really existed and BA would still know scratch, but remembered those damn clowns…

The Continuing Adventures of Joe Stickman

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 21:16:00 +0000

Over the last few weekends we have been at comic conventions and have been up to our old tricks of getting artists and writers to contribute to the Joe Stickman gallery. First up we were at Heroes and Legends 14 on July 23rd and 24th, where we managed to get contributions from Simon Wyatt, Simon Williams, Simon Bisley and his friend Sildy (who added the first ever Josephine Stickman).

Simon Wyatt drew a Deadpool Joe.

Simon Williams decided to scare Joe with the Hulk

Simon Bisley Contributed with this Joe

And Here is the Very First Josephine Stickwoman By Sildy

on Saturday 6th August we attended Bristol Comic Expo where we managed to get Paul Grist, Rob Williams, Lee Garbett, and Alan Davis to add to our ever growing collection of Joe's.

Joe Stickman by Paul Grist

Lee Garbett drew a Lucifer Joe

Rob Williams introduced us to Ghost Rider Joe

and to top off Joe's Bristol adventure Alan Davis made him Captain Britain Joe

Overtime we approach a new artist or writer it is always a mixture of nervousness that maybe they'll turn us down, but this is usually followed by the excitement of seeing where it will lead. If you see that we have been to a con make sure to check here to see what adventures Joe goes on next.

Kieran's Pokemon Challenge: Episode One

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 11:30:00 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while but I misplaced my notes, and didn’t rush to find them. However, the launch of Pokemon Go and more specifically the server crash got me back in the mood for Pokemon and I decided to find my notes. Before I start here’s a bit of background, I’ve been a fan of Pokemon since it came out about twenty years ago, I was a little too old to actually show this in public as a year seven trying to fit in with the crowd. So I didn’t dare collect the cards no matter how much I wanted to, I would watch the cartoon before I left for school but didn’t talk about it, and I would play the games but had no one to trade with, I was living a secret Pokemon life (it’s also worth noting that I hid my love of comics at this time too). I carried on Playing the games despite always claiming that everyone I played was my last as they’re just glorified remakes after all, but I’d always give in and buy the next one just to see what the new Pokemon were like. I’ve never played competitively and have no idea about all the IV’s, EV’s, or items held for battle, I play because I enjoy playing through them and trying to complete the Pokedex so if you are looking for an in-depth analysis this probably isn’t for you. When I play a Pokemon game I tend to use Pokemon I like rather than what is the most powerful etc but they get me through the game all out attack with rarely a status move in sight.

So a few months ago I was looking to play something and my nephew had found his long lost copy of Pokemon Pearl and suggested I play through that. I was a bit reluctant as it was probably my least favourite of all of the games and I wasn't really fond of the starters either, so I didn’t really see a reason to revisit it, until he set me a challenge. It was similar to a nuzlocke but modified his rules;

Only one type of Pokemon chosen from Bug, Electric, Ground//Rock, or Fighting.
If a Pokemon faints it must be released.

Just two simple rules and it was enough to pique my interest and i accepted the challenge and chose to take fighting type as my single Pokemon type. As you can’t start with a fighting type the rule we agreed upon was that i could use my starter until I caught a fighting type. So with this rule in mind I chose to start with a Chimchar, as I thought as long as I didn’t encounter a fighting type too early I’d be able to evolve it into a Monferno which gains fighting as a secondary type and would allow me to continue using it. I also decided to nickname my Pokemon which is something I don’t usually do but thought it might help me differentiate between the multiples easier and also not want them to faint.

After the long and tedious introduction where rather than let you pick a Pokemon and get on your way like usual you have to do a load of story stuff to introduce you the Professor, Dawn, and your rival you finally get your Pokemon and head off. So off I went with a Chimchar named BA Baracus, and praying I wouldn’t find a fighting type too soon but not too late either because with only one Pokemon a faint would be a quick game over. I found it a bit weird not catching every new Pokemon I met like I’d usually do, but I did find that this helped in leveling up BA Baracus pretty quickly getting close to evolving before even getting to Jubilife City and the joys of the Trainers School, at least it gave a TM (Hidden Power) and XP from the two Abra trainers, I have to say I’m really finding the start a bit tedious but the challenge is keeping me playing as it is a totally different way to how I usually play having to spend money on potions and antidotes just in case as I can’t risk a faint at least until I have more than one Pokemon in my party....

I am going try to post instalments on a weekly basis so make sure to come back and keep track of me as I try to make my way through the Sinnoh Region with my team of Fighting Type Pokemon. Also if anyone can think of a better name than Kieran’s Pokemon Challenge leave it in the comments below and I will pick the best suggestion.

Ricky

Cancer Research Comic Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 16:59:00 +0000

The Cancer Research Shop on Union Street in Swansea is having a comic sale on Saturday 30th July. Over 2000 comics will be available.

Head on down, support a great cause and grab a good read!

Wall Comic 4: The Final Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 10:21:00 +0000

Another short instalment, but fear not we have a load of individual sketches to show in the coming weeks.

Wall Comic 3

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 17:38:00 +0000

Wall Comic 3 was a short one but still as zany as all the others, enjoy and stay tuned for Wall Comic 4 and all the individual sketches later in the week!

Wall Comic 2

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 14:58:00 +0000

As promised here is wall comic 2 from Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention 2016, check back later in the week for parts 3, 4, and the random sketches!

Swansea Evening Post features Copperopolis Comic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 12:52:00 +0000

Copperopolis writer Ricky Webber gets interviewed in the Swansea Evening Post

Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention: Wall Comic 1

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 20:35:00 +0000

Last month, as you know, we were at Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention's first gig, down in Volcano. The event itself was a brilliant success; raising well over £3000 for Maggie's Cancer Charity.

We were there, selling our comic and offering sketch cards and prints as usual. Also making its triumphant return: the legendary SCC wall comic. It was so popular this time around that we had not one, two or even three, but four comics on the go. Mostly because our participants couldn't decide on which way the story should go! This did, however, allow for some... interesting results.

We also, this time, allowed our participants to do sketches that were apart from the comics. Look out for these pieces, and the other three comics, in a later post. For now, here is the catchily titled 'Wall Comic #1':

WHO’S YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH? With Frank T. Allen

noreply@blogger.com (SCC Assemble!) — Wed, 11 May 2016 20:44:00 +0000

Frank T. Allen

Frank was born in the 80s and hasn't learned how to let go of that. He spends most of his time watching the first two Terminator films, (the others don't count), Robocop, Aliens, Die Hard... the list goes on. The rest of the time, he writes and drinks cheap whiskey, all the while lamenting the fact that his dream of ridding the city of crime Streets of Rage-style as a kung-fu cyborg, with Ronda Rousey will never come true. Frank lives in Liverpool, with a long-suffering woman who loves him, a selfish cat who hates him and a hedgehog who doesn't really care either way, as long as he gets fed and left alone.

Bastard Son: Murderborn Kickstarter Page

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST COMIC AND DO YOU STILL HAVE IT?

I can’t recall what the specific issue was, but I started reading comics with the Transformers series from Marvel UK when I was very young, I think I was about four or five. I seem to remember collecting well over 200 issues of that one. I don’t have any of them anymore, as my mum chucked them all out one day. You know, like mothers do.

DO YOU BUY COMICS REGULARLY?

Yes, but I end up buying more digital copies now and then buying the trades in physical form to save on space. I’m a bit behind on a few titles as I’ve been really busy for a while now.

WHEN YOU BUY A TITLE IS IT FOR THE STORY, CHARACTERS OR THE CREATIVE TEAM?

It really depends. Obviously, there are certain creators that I know I love from years of reading their books. That said, I’m always game to pick up a title from someone new if the concept grabs me. I think that’s the problem with most of the creative industries and some fans today, people are rarely willing to give something new a chance.

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMIC YOU BOUGHT?

Well, since today is new comic day, it’s Southern Bastards #14. Fantastic series. In fact, it’s a good example of the best of all worlds for me. It’s a creative team I love, making a book in a genre I love.

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ, DIGITAL OR PRINT?

I prefer print, it’s just that I’m running out of space in my flat for all the single issues.

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST(S)?

Picking a favourite artist(s) is a real tough one for me because there are just so many people I admire. Also, I think it really depends on how their work marries up with the particular genre they are drawing for. For example, I’ve had an idea in my head for a book for years now and I simply can’t imagine anyone but Amanda Conner drawing it, (so it’s probably just going to stay in my head!) Here’s a few artists off the top of my head that I particularly like, (in no particular order):

Jock, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Walt Simonson, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Simon Coleby, Colton Worley, Steve Dillon, Jason Latour, Brian Bolland, Carlos Ezquerra, Glenn Fabry, Lee Bermejo, Alberto Ponticelli, Simon Bisley, Tom Mandrake, Lewis LaRosa, Goran Parlov, Steve McNiven, Emma Rios, Nicola Scott, Sean Phillips, Sean Gordon Murphy, Sanford Greene, Mike Mignola, Esad Ribic, Rob Guillory, Brian Stelfreeze, Tradd Moore, Emanuela Lupacchino… I could go on for ages.

P.S. Obviously, Marco ‘Sbrillo’ Fontanili is up there for me, as is Asela De Silva, (a hugely talented artist, with whom I’m also working on a project with).

YOUR FAVOURITE WRITER(S)?

Again, I could go on for ages, but instead I’m going to subvert the question a little by listing the writers whose work I really enjoy and have also been my biggest influences. Those would be:

Garth Ennis, Jason Aaron, Gail Simone, John Wagner, Mark Waid, Joshua Dysart

WHAT COMIC(S) HAVE PROVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL?

Preacher, The Boys, Mark Waid’s run on The Flash, Simon Furman’s run on Transformers, Wagner, Ezquerra and Grant’s Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Gail Simone’s Secret Six, Chew, Kingdom Come

EARTH IS DYING! BUT YOU’VE WON A SPOT ON THE SPACE ARK LEAVING EARTH!

WHICH 5 COMICS or COMIC SERIES DO YOU TAKE? THESE WILL BE THE LAST COMIC BOOKS IN THE UNIVERSE!

Preacher, Chew, Secret Six, The Boys, Southern Bastards

YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE COVER?

I’m not sure if I could pick just one, but the first one that springs to mind is Preacher #66. It’s just that shot of the Saint of Killers standing before a host of attacking angels, ready to draw his gun. Absolutely badass. I’ve always loved Westerns and ‘The Saint’ is just the epitome of the stoic anti-hero to me. Also, it’s Glenn Fabry. His art is always stunning.

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER?

I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but it’s really hard to pick just one! As I alluded to previously, I tend to lean more towards anti-heroes. So, here’s a few: The Punisher, Jesse Custer from ‘Preacher’, Billy Butcher from ‘The Boys’.

ARE YOU READING ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT?

Southern Bastards, Power Man and Iron Fist, Surviving Megalopolis, Black Panther, Copperhead, Dreaming Eagles.

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO CREATE COMICS?

I’ve loved comics ever since I was four years old. Honestly, I’m in my 30s now and I know I wouldn’t be content doing anything else.

I was a very unhappy and lonely kid growing up. Comics provided me with some temporary escapism that inspired me and helped me feel more positive. If any of my books could do the same for even one person, that would make all the effort worthwhile.

WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING METHODS: DO YOU SET YOURSELF DEADLINES? OR DO YOU WORK WHEN THE MOOD TAKES YOU?

Honestly, my methods are pretty chaotic. I try to set myself a general deadline, but I find that if I try and be too rigid, my work suffers. I’ve definitely got better over the years, though.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE? DO YOU USE TRADITIONAL TOOLS OR DIGITAL OR A MIX OF BOTH?

I used to scribble in a notepad as my first draft, the re-draft it when I typed it up, then do a final draft after that. Now, I just tend to type it all. My Notes apps on my Mac and phone are full of random bits of dialogue that I’ve thought of at 3am.

FAVOURITE THING TO WRITE?

Horror, Sci-Fi, War, Action, Pulp.

WHAT’S THE WORST BIT ABOUT WRITING COMICS?

Editing! Hammering out reams of dialogue is far easier and quicker than making it all fit concisely and smoothly over 22 pages.

DO YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS? DO YOU ENJOY THEM? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

I’ve gone to a few conventions in my time. I enjoy them, but I probably don’t get as much out of them as I could due to my social awkwardness. N.I.C.E, Thought Bubble and I.C.E. are great cons and are better for people who are more interested in comics than meeting a TV actor. I’ve got a table at Horror Con in Rotherham this year, which is pretty cool. It’ll be my first time as a vendor and they’ve got some awesome guests lined up.

DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA? IF SO WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU?

Yep. Here’s me:

https://www.facebook.com/bastardsoncomic/

https://twitter.com/franktallen

https://www.instagram.com/bastard_son_comic/

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO SMALL PRESS/INDEPENDENT CREATORS?

Well, I’d say it’s getting noticed, by fans and publishers alike. Lets face it, we don’t have nearly the reach of the bigger publishers and a lot of people simply won’t take you seriously if you don’t have a major title under your belt. This is my sixth year of trying to ‘break-in’, so to speak. It’s ridiculously difficult. It’s a catch 22, really. Once you’ve established a moderate hit, it’s that much easier to get further work. So, yeah, I’d say it’s getting noticed and attracting strangers to read a book by people they’ve never heard of.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS?

I’ve got a ton more ideas in my head and a few things in the pipeline. I’m writing a screenplay, a fairy tale set in space, a sci-fi action comic. Lots. Right now, I just want to get ‘Bastard Son: Murderborn’ printed and read by people. Marco and I are very proud of it.

WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT _The Borg_ versus _The Thing from ‘The Thing’_?

I’m not sure who would assimilate who.

WHICH COMIC CHARACTER DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

Spider-Man.

AND WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOW?

Dr. Manhattan. I like the idea of being able to sit on Mars for a bit of peace and quiet.

AND FINALLY...
WHO IS YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

Wonder Woman, because I think she understands society about as well as I do. Also, I’ve always admired a woman who can fight. Also… Come on, it’s Wonder Woman.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 17:36:00 +0000

Monster Kids Volume 20 Aces Weekly

The complete Monster Kids story 'Show & Yell' is now available to buy for only £6.99 from acesweekly.co.uk. Follow the little creatures as they try to find the perfect thing for Show 'n' Tell told in 7 fiendishly funny digital comic strips for less than £1 each. No subscription needed.

Meet the Monster Kids

C'Thoo
New thing in the class, does he make a good first impression?

Ivy & Luna
Troublesome twins up to no good

Peat
Who's he looking for in the forest?

Eugene
What's got Eugene so hot under the collar?

Rey
Poor ol' Rey, nothing goes his way...

Get access to our first feature-length tale of the little horrors NOW with no subscription necessary at acesweekly.co.uk.

If you do enjoy Monster Kids, please consider supporting Aces Weekly and subscribing to their weekly comics. Previous strips published on Aces Weekly icludes work by comics greats such as John Mccrea, Phil Hester, Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel, Shaky Kane, Herb Trimpe, Val Mayerik,and many more. Huge thanks to David Lloyd and all at Aces Weekly for letting us join the fun and become contributors.

*While stocks last

OxCon 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 17:33:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who visited us at OxCon this weekend. Great Venue and wonderful range of Small Press vendors.