The Strangeness of Brendan McCarthy

The End my Friends

2013-07-12T12:53:00.001+01:00

It’s been nearly a year since the last update, so maybe it’s time to officially close the door on the Strangeness of Brendan McCarthy. I think websites have a certain lifespan and the Strangeness has run longer than most. But priorities change, life’s road get bumpy and changes in directions you never expected, so time and enthusiasm to run a blog become hard things to find. But the site will remain online as an archive.

With the site gone you can still get your fix of McCarthysim in the upcoming ‘Best of Milligan and McCarthy’ from Dark Horse Comics, all of Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy’s finest work retrofitted and expanded for the 21st Century.

US Zaucer of Zilk - issue two

2012-08-20T15:08:00.000+01:00

Below you'll find the cover to the second and final issue of the Zaucer of Zilk American edition. Zaucer of Zilk issue one will be in stores October 2012 published by IDW.

As Mad Max 4: Fury Road is finally in production lots of Brendan's design have leaked out all over the internet. Here are a couple...

Zaucer of Zilk USA

2012-07-16T20:12:00.000+01:00

Announced at this year's San Diego Comic Convention: Zaucer of Zilk will get an American reprint courtesy of IDW

Paradax: Strip Aids

2012-06-18T17:14:00.001+01:00

You've recently seen Paradax in his fat Elvis years, below is a little seen appearance from his heyday. This 1987 Milligan/McCarthy story appeared in Strip Aids, a charity comic for London Lighthouse (England's first day-care centre for people affected by AIDS)

100 Drawings - Part Four (final lot)

2012-06-12T16:38:00.002+01:00

100 Drawings - Part Three

2012-06-09T12:12:00.000+01:00

100 Drawings - Part Two

2012-06-07T18:07:00.001+01:00

100 Drawings - Part One

2012-06-05T16:17:00.002+01:00

100 Drawings was a planned book by Brendan. Unfortunately due to a faulty hard drive most of the hi-res scans were lost. Fortunately the artwork that survived will be appearing over the next couple of posts.

Whatever happened to Paradax?

2012-06-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

Brendan: "A little while ago, I was looking at some Paradax! comics and wondered where he'd be now."

Feed update

2012-05-29T00:10:00.001+01:00

I'll be changing the site's RSS feed in the next couple of days. The new address is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/dkwU?format=xml

Feedburner page: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/dkwU

Let me know if you have any problems (my email) or use the comments section below

SOLO:Slouch World

2012-05-25T12:43:00.000+01:00

Brendan: "These two pages are from my issue of SOLO. The original idea for the short story had two teenage wasters dressed as Batman and Superman for a fancy dress party. DC wasn't too keen on seeing their characters - or even other characters dressed as them - using the Worlds Finest title watching old porn videos and drinking beer, so changes were asked for. I was happy to oblige as I had been given a total free hand on the book, which is one of my favourite pieces of work, and it didn't seem like that big a deal."

Zaucer of Zilk - Final Episode

2012-05-23T09:58:00.000+01:00

The final part of Zaucer of Zilk (episode ten) goes on sale today (2000AD prog 1784)

SOLO:Jelly Night

2012-05-21T20:21:00.001+01:00

SOLO:Voguluth

2012-05-18T11:57:00.002+01:00

Sketchbook work for Brendan's issue of SOLO

Bizarro the Later Years

2012-05-17T14:55:00.000+01:00

I've never had a great passion for the DC/Marvel characters. Maybe it has to do with childhood nostalgia, before I read The Dark Knight Returns aged eighteen my only other exposure to US comics were a few Jack Kirby stories in an old British annual. Then there's Bizarro... for some reason he is the only superhero character I find interesting maybe because I can't fathom how a character than odd popped into creation in the first place but then goes on to inhabit the world of the DC characters all these years later.

How does this relate to Brendan? Well below is one of my favourite images from his issue of SOLO, (DC's oddest superhero rebooted into an Alan Bennett play) and the next few posts will feature some previously unseen artwork and sketches from Brendan's issue of SOLO.

Brendan and Brett

2012-05-17T10:41:00.002+01:00

Brendan and Brett Ewins. Taken in the late seventies while working on the Dan Dare TV series

Zaucer of Zilk Episode 9 Out Now

2012-05-16T12:09:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned yesterday the latest episode of Zaucer of Zilk goes on sale today (2000AD prog 1783). Below are some pages from episode one, minus the text. Enjoy...

Zilk Part Nine on sale tomorrow

2012-05-15T19:11:00.001+01:00

2000AD prog 1783 goes on sale tomorrow, featuring the penultimate episode of The Zaucer of Zilk. Below you'll find some of Brendan's early Zaucer sketches/ideas and if you stroll over to the Forbidden Planet Blog (link) you'll find a directory's commentary of the first episode by Brendan and Al Ewing

Paradax/Mirkin Wallpaper

2012-05-15T17:17:00.003+01:00

Some wallpaper I knocked together. They are 1920 x 1080 but if you want a different size or colour let me know in the comments below.

(with an added Windows 7 sidebar)

Strontium Dog Movie coming in 2014

2012-05-15T10:41:00.002+01:00

I'm not sure when Brendan's latest film work was announced. I think it was the very beginning of April

Colin Smith on Zilk

2012-05-14T15:48:00.000+01:00

Marvellous 'Zaucer of Zilk' article by Q Magazine's Colin Smith (link)

Strange Days Reunited

2012-05-14T15:28:00.000+01:00

Fellow McCarthy adherent. David Rees recently commissioned Brendan to draw the characters from Strange Days (guest appearance from Skin's Martin Atchet). This is the glorious result. Unbelievably this is Brendan's fist ever piece of commissioned artwork.

click here for a hi-res version (Warning! Large file)

Bugger shades, the future's so bright I need one of those welding mask type things

2012-05-14T11:08:00.001+01:00

Over the next couple of months I'm planning on some major site renovations, new design, new direction and even more new content. Unfortunately things may get a little rough round the edges as I find time to finish everything. The site has a new host so some of the old links may not work. But the main addresses will stay the same...

Blog: strangenessofbrendanmccarthy.blogspot.co.uk

Main site: bendanmccarthy.co.uk

The Wolvernator

2012-05-14T02:41:00.002+01:00

Brendan: Tried this one out with Jason Aaron on script. He liked it and christened it “Wolverine’s Venom!

A faulty, old prototype adamantium skeleton/sentient nervous system is stolen from a Black Ops lab and rolled up into a suitcase and forgotten about. The skeleton is inadvertently re-activated by an old hobo and it has one mission only: To find a compatible body… Logan’s.

I was trying to get a ‘Swamp Thing made out of garbage’ look to the beast. I wasn’t stuck on the “Wolvernator” title, it was just a name that expressed the core idea of a relentless machine hunting for a particular person. The adamantium structures were dysfunctional, so instead of weaponised blades, ‘horns’ erupted from the creature’s head and body – hence the name PANDROID.

Anyway, this series pitch didn’t make it. File under Comics Curios.

Reboot Concept Art on Sale

2012-05-13T11:28:00.000+01:00

Several pieces of Reboot concept artwork drawn by Brendan are up for sale on Ebay (link). Two from the Mad Max inspired episode 'Bad Bob' ...