Remember, remember... one of the greatest comics ever

As it's now November 5th it's an appropriate time to remember one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. Or the less pretentious "fat comics" as its author once called such books. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd made its debut in Des Skinn's anthology comic Warrior No.1 back in 1982, and made an immediate impact on its readers. 

Nothing quite like it had appeared in British comics before, or since. A political thriller with an anarchist as its hero, fighting a corrupted Britain of the (then) near future of 1997. Oh sure, there had been many anti-heroes in UK comics before, and there had been many scenarios of a Britain under a corrupt government (usually via a hostile takeover by a foreign power)... but V for Vendetta was about our own government becoming fascistic, and its treatment of its people. Shades of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, certainly, but a new concept for a British adventure comic. 

The protagonist had the perfect disguise; inspired by Guy Fawkes and wearing a mask to suit, he succeeded where Fawkes had failed, and blew up the Houses of Parliament in episode one. A few issues later, the Old Bailey copped it too, after V gave a stirring speech about Madam Justice not being the lover he once knew. 

It wasn't all about buildings exploding though. The vendetta was dealt to individuals too, who had abused their power and their people. All conveyed with Alan Moore's eloquent writing and David Lloyd's dark, perfectly atmospheric artwork. 

There's more to the story than that... but those of you who have read it won't be interested in me writing a synopsis (I hate reviews that are just synopses) and those of you who haven't read it (if you've reached this far) won't want any spoilers. Perhaps your only knowledge of V for Vendetta is from the movie version of 2005? As movie adaptations go, it had its moments (I felt that Hugo Weaving's voice and delivery was perfect for V) but also had too many changes and not the right tone or depth. To experience V for Vendetta at it's best, read the graphic novel. 

The original comic strips were published in black and white when it appeared in Warrior, but when DC Comics reprinted it, they wanted it in colour to appeal to American collectors who were more used to colour comics. I still prefer the black and white version, but it has to be said that the subtle use of colours under the guideship of David Lloyd works well. 

No article on V for Vendetta today would be complete if I ignored the item of merchandise seen across the world. The 'V' masks, bought in huge quantities and now worn by demonstrators on protests against real life governments. Life has imitated art.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November then... and be safe on Bonfire Night. Why not curl up with a good book instead? And there are few better than V for Vendetta! Check if your local bookshop or library has a copy. 

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TV Comic with Target (1978)

TV Comic underwent quite a few changes over its 33 year run. It started out as a comic for very young readers in 1951, aged itself up a bit in the 1960s to compete with Dandy and Beano, changed to a tabloid sized comic (as Mighty TV Comic) for a while, and by 1978 its emphasis was more on adventure strips due to absorbing the failed Target comic. (Target had lasted just 18 weeks and you can read more about that here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/this-week-in-1978-target.html )

Here's a few pages from TV Comic with Target No.1397, dated 22nd September 1978. The cover strip rotated its characters and this week it was the turn of Kojak, drawn by David Lloyd early in his career before he went on to find fame with V for Vendetta. (Today, David is the publisher of digital comic Aces Weekly. http://www.acesweekly.co.uk )

TV Comic had been printed in the slick photogravure format for years, until changing to web offset in 1971. However, by 1978 it had downgraded to cheap newsprint and, as you'll see, a very limited approach to colouring. Charlie's Angels was illustrated by John Canning...

The Doctor Who strip in TV Comic by this time was a reprint from earlier issues. In the case of this story, it originally appeared in 1974 featuring the third Doctor, with art by Gerry Haylock. For this 1978 reprint, John Canning redrew some of the figurework to replace Jon Pertwee's Doctor with Tom Baker's! 

The Kicktail Kid wasn't related to any TV show but was instead publisher Polystyle's attempt at a superhero strip. (Perhaps trying to compete with the numerous Marvel UK weeklies around at the time.) David Lloyd had been the original artist on the strip but this work is by someone else and I don't recognise the style. 

TV Comic with Target also featured several humour strips of course, as the comic always did, mostly based on cartoon characters. One of the longest running in the weekly was Tom and Jerry, drawn by Bill Titcombe, which was on the back page of the comic that week. 

With only 20 pages, TV Comic was relatively expensive at 10p, but it was still popular enough to survive for a few more years (when its print quality would improve again). 

Night-Raven collected

Before V for Vendetta, artist David Lloyd was illustrating another masked vigilante; Night-Raven. The short, three-page episodes ran in Marvel UK's Hulk Comic and attracted a lot of interest. Next week, those stories (and appearances in other comics) are to be collected in a bumper trade paperback published by Marvel Comics. Here's the PR...

Who is Night Raven? Find out in this complete collection of classic tales from the Marvel UK archives! Join the mysterious masked vigilante in his pulp-era war on crime as this lone man of justice stealthily stalks his villainous prey on the streets of New York City - and brands criminals with the mark of the deadly Night Raven! Follow this dark avenger into battle with mob bosses, murderers and miscreants like the Taxman, the Assassin, Dragonfire and more - in rarely seen stories by some of Marvel UK's finest talents, including David Lloyd (V for Vendetta)! Where brooding darkness spreads its evil wings, the Night Raven stings!
Parental Advisory

Hang on... Parental Advisory?!? For stories that originally appeared in a children's weekly in 1979? How times change. 

Night-Raven was created by Dez Skinn and Richard Burton and originally written by Steve Parkhouse and drawn by David Lloyd (although John Bolton replaced David later). The character was very much in the vein of the old pulp heroes such as The Shadow. (The strips were even set in the 1930s.) He later returned in a series of text stories written by Alan McKenzie, Alan Moore, and Jamie Delano, and illustrated by Alan Davis. 

A slim trade paperback of reprints appeared in 1990, published by Marvel UK, but it's expected that the new collection will run to 280 pages and collect all of his appearances from over the years. 

Night-Raven will be on sale in comic speciality shops on Wednesday 22nd March in the USA and UK. 

The PULL LIST

The name derives from the fan phrase for listing the comics they ask retailers to "pull" and reserve from the delivery that week, but The Pull List is no nerd fest. It's an intelligently written, nicely designed digital magazine focusing on independent and small press comics in the paper and digital realms. 

The latest issue, No.4, is available now for just 99p (+ V.A.T.) to download to your device from this address:

https://gumroad.com/l/thepulllist04

This issue covers a number of topics and comics, and includes an interview with David Lloyd on his successful digital anthology Aces Weekly (home of brand new Combat Colin strips and much more). Don't miss it!

(And if you're not already subscribing to Aces Weekly, you'll find that here:

http://www.acesweekly.co.uk )

The DAREDEVILS (1983)

By the early 1980s Marvel UK had progressed considerably since the company's early days of reprint weeklies edited from New York and packaged by a London office. Now based in Kentish Town Road, Marvel UK had expanded its staff and its commitment to producing home-grown material. In January 1983 they launched The Daredevils, a 52 page monthly with a mixture of reprint and brand new material.

It's often thought that The Daredevils was intended to rival Dez Skinn's Warrior, which was likely to be the case. (Dez, an ex-Marvel UK editor, had set up Warrior the previous year.) I remember Alan Moore remarking that he and Alan Davis were in the strange position of competing with themselves, as they were doing Marvelman for Warrior at the very same time they were producing new Captain Britain stories for The Daredevils.

The Daredevils No.1 kicked off with a new cover by Paul Neary, and, inside, a new 8 page Captain Britain episode (which would increase to 12 pages in later issues). 

The comic's editor was Bernie Jaye, although Alan had a large influence in suggesting feature ideas which Bernie was happy to accommodate. For example, for the first issue Alan also wrote a six page article on Frank Miller's Daredevil (being a perfect accompaniment to the reprints of Miller's Daredevil strip in the comic), and a regular Fanzine Reviews column. 

I get a little annoyed when I hear some fans today claiming that Alan Moore hates fandom. In fact it's complete bol... well, to put it politely, nothing could be further from the truth, as proven in the pages of The Daredevils. Alan had his roots in comics fandom and was always encouraging new creators. With his Fanzine Reviews pages he went out of his way to promote fanzines he'd often paid for himself. This was a big deal for those of us starting out back then. No other British comic was promoting 'zines in this way, but here was Alan Moore giving us free publicity in a comic sold on the High Street. 

Another regular feature in The Daredevils was Frank Plowright's News Feature, looking at upcoming American comics. It even promoted those published by Marvel's rivals.

Humour was provided in the form of the Earth 33 1/3rd mini-strip by the ever-brilliant Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett.

There was also an Early Artwork feature, with each issue showing the very early work of top creators such as Dave Gibbons, Garry Leach, and David Lloyd...

The first few issues of The Daredevils also featured serialized Spider-Man reprints by Stan Lee and John Romita, although these were dropped after issue 4 to make room for more British material. The comic was rapidly developing into something unique and unmissable; a publication that not only featured comic strips but embraced them with well written articles and features. 

Every issue (except No.3) featured a full colour centrefold poster with new artwork by UK talent. I'll be showing these in more detail in a few days time. 

Issue 6 saw the start of a series of Night Raven text stories written by Alan Moore, with art by David Lloyd on the first chapter and Alan Davis in following issues.

The Daredevils No.7 (July 1983) has a personal significance for me because it's where my first professional comics work appeared. Again, this was due to encouragement from Alan Moore who introduced me to Bernie Jaye at a Westminster Comic Mart. Alan bigged me up, Bernie asked me to submit some ideas to her, I sent off a bunch of What If cartoons and they started appearing from issue 7. I'll always be grateful to Alan and Bernie for giving me my first break. Here's that very first one...

Issue 8 saw the publication of a great Daredevil spoof by Alan Moore, Mike Collins, and Mark Farmer. Grit brazenly parodied the Frank Miller Daredevil strips that were appearing in the same comic. This was Mike Collins' first professional work, again thanks to Alan Moore's input. Here it is...

Sadly, despite The Daredevils being one of the most unique and entertaining comics in the UK, it wasn't to last. With sales lower than hoped, Marvel UK pulled the plug with issue 11, merging it with The Mighty World of Marvel the following month. Disappointed, Bernie Jaye and Alan Moore quit, although some new material did continue for a while in MWOM. Other writers took over Captain Britain, Night Raven, and the comics/fanzine reviews. 

The Daredevils lasted just under a year, but what a year! If you've never seen it, the issues are worth collecting. Marvel UK went on to produce more new material of course (and I went on to do Captain Wally, Robo-Capers, Combat Colin, and more for the company) but they never did another publication with such a great mixture of strips and comics features. 

A good week to buy ACES WEEKLY!

If you still haven't tried Aces Weekly yet there's never been a better time! As a special offer this week, publisher David Lloyd is offering Aces Weekly Volume 1 at half price! That's seven digital issues of all-new material for just £3.49! Who can argue against 50p a comic? Go Aces! 

Here's the info David sent me....

Friends,
We love you! Yes we do! And because of that, on this Valentine's Day, and until 12 midnight UK-time on Feb 20th, you can get Aces Weekly Volume One for half-price! JUST £3.49/$4.99/€3.99 for the one where it all began - with the stupendous Mark Wheatley, Phil Hester, John McCrea, David Lloyd, Jeff Vaughan, David Hitchcock, Alain Mauricet, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lew Stringer, Dave Jackson, Esteban Hernandez, Carl Critchlow, David Leach, Bambos Georgiou, Mychailo Kazybrid, Phil Elliott, and Rory Walker, in over 200 amazing pages!
Go to www.acesweekly.co.uk/shop to buy Volume One, fill in the form, but then DON'T click the full-price pay button. Instead pay half-price directly via Paypal to lforlloyd@aol.com!
If you're a current subscriber who just missed getting Volume One, then it's yours half-price, too, by just purchasing through your usual account.
And then... you get all this and more... with our love... : )

New comic! ACES WEEKLY is here!

Remember, remember the 30th of September... because this Sunday sees the launch of an all-new anthology comic, Aces Weekly, - and you won't even have to leave the house to buy it! 

Aces Weekly is a brand new comic that is exclusively online, not in paper form, not requiring trudging around newsagents, not needing to wait for the postman to deliver it. It's a comic that you subscribe to and that you can access from your computer, - all for a very reasonable price.

And, as revealed on this blog back in May, issue 1 includes an all-new Combat Colin three-pager in full colour. Yes, the buffoon in a bobble hat is back!

Here's all the info from the official press release...

David Lloyd (V for Vendetta, Kickback) empowered the world
with his iconoclastic Guy Fawkes mask in V for Vendetta. Today, comic
conspirator Lloyd is changing the world with his publishing launch of an ambitious new online magazine called Aces Weekly.

Aces Weekly is a sequential art magazine, available exclusively through on-line subscription which will be released as seven weekly issues which form a volume. Each issue will have 3 landscape pages from 6 teams of contributors, plus many pages of extras such as artists sketches etc. Readers subscribe to volumes which cost £6.99/$9.99 per seven issue volume. 

Aces Weekly will be available exclusively on-line and feature all-new material.
Stored online, readers have access to their magazine wherever they have
web access. The website goes live September 30, 2012. 

What makes Aces Weekly special? The creators have more control then ever before. Lloyd explained the origin of the magazine, “The aim was to create something very much like a traditional weekly comic but without limiting the subject matter. We asked a range of creators who we knew to be excellent - the reason for the ' aces ' of our name - to do whatever they liked within certain bounds of taste, and they just came up with a great mix of stories. Creators in this business rarely get asked to do whatever they like, so that's part of the pull of the project for them. And they're enthused by the newness of the project and its potential for growth.”

Bambos Georgiou is the managing editor; “Most comic companies use creators to make money for the company, this company has been set up to make money for the creators. This time readers will know their money is going direct to the creators." All strips are creator owned.

Progenitor by Phil Hester & John McCrea

Lloyd, who along with writer Dave Jackson has created Valley Of Shadows for Acesweekly.co.uk, has gathered together some of the top names in the comic industry to appear in Aces Weekly, such as Kyle Baker, Steve Bissette, Colleen Doran, Bill Sienkiewicz, Billy Tucci and Herb Trimpe, including, alongside him in the first volume ; Phil Hester & John McCrea (Progenitor), JC Vaughn & Mark Wheatley (Return Of The Human) Alain Mauricet & Alexandre Tefenkgi (Shoot For The Moon) and David Hitchcock (Paradise Mechanism) who all contribute twenty-one page stories serialized over the first seven issue run. Also included in the first volume are stand alone three page strips by Lew Stringer (Combat Colin), Carl Critchlow (Thrud The Barbarian), David Leach (Psycho Gran), Esteban Hernández(Harmony), Phil Elliott (Gimbley)Rory Walker (Chloroform) and Mychailo Kazybrid & Bambos (Dr Queer).

Check out www.acesweekly.co.uk 
Goes on sale September 30, 2012, a seven
issue subscription costs £6.99/$9.99/€7.99
 
For updates email info@acesweekly.co.uk

Visit www.acesweekly.co.uk to see the best that comics have to offer!

Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/acesweekly
Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/acesweekly
 
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Obviously we're all hoping this project is going to succeed. Vested interest aside, it sounds like an exciting new comic and I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing what my fellow "Aces" have produced. (And very pleased that Oink's Psycho Gran is returning in an upcoming issue!) I really hope comic enthusiasts (and people new to comics) will support this because with the problems with distribution and retail in the UK the digital format is definitely one way forward. Aces Weekly is all-comic, no filler, no pandering to TV/toy brands, and definitely not bagged with a plastic toy!

Are You Ready?

As I reported back in May, there's a brand new weekly comic heading your way soon from David (V for Vendetta) Lloyd and an all-star line up of comic creators, with all-new full colour content at an affordable price. Aces Weekly makes its digital debut on September 30th!

More news here:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/combat-colin-back-in-action-this-summer.html

And don't forget to bookmark the official website:
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk/

Combat Colin - back in action this summer!

 As announced at the Kapow! Comic Convention in London yesterday, Combat Colin will make his long awaited return this summer in a brand new digital comic anthology! 

The bobble-hatted buffoon will appear in a new three page full colour one-off strip in the first issue of the new comic, alongside several other new strips from various creators. 

Combat Colin was a strip I used to produce for Marvel UK's Action Force and Transformers comics back in the late 1980s. After Transformers ended in 1991, the rights to Combat Colin were returned to me. In the Nineties I self published a couple of Combat Colin specials and three-issues of Yampy Tales featuring the character mostly in reprints. In 2006 - 2009 Combat Colin appeared occasionally as a guest star in the Brickman series running in the back of Elephantmen published by Image Comics. 

Since then I've been intending to revive him in his own strip and the opportunity recently arose when David Lloyd (V for Vendetta, Kickback) asked me if I'd be interested in contributing to a new digital comic he's publishing. When I heard more details about the comic I jumped at the chance. Stay tuned for Combat Colin and his sidekick Semi-Automatic Steve battling an all-new monster!

Copyright ©2012 John McCrea

Yesterday at Kapow! David Lloyd chaired a panel to reveal more details about this great new comic. Apart from myself, the creators involved will include Kyle Baker, John McCrea, Yishan Li, Mark Wheatley, David Hitchcock, Billy Tucci, Colleen Doran and many more. David Leach will also be reviving one of his old characters, - Psycho Gran from Oink!
  
In the style of the traditional UK anthology comics, the new venture will feature several three page serials plus complete three page humour strips. (Which is how Combat Colin figures into issue 1.) There will also be bonus features such as character sketches, penciled pages, and suchlike. The aim of the comic is to be suitable for all-ages, so no nudity, bad language, excessive gore and suchlike. However that doesn't mean it'll be twee kiddie stuff. This will be a solid comic that adults can enjoy that hopefully kids will enjoy too. Basically the sort of comic that used to be published but with a modern look.

The comic will be exclusively digital and online, not print, to cut out the middlemen and produce the sort of stories creators want to do. That means no stories based on toys or TV shows. No licensed properties at all in fact. Just brand new originated comics, at a great price, and with the creators retaining the rights. Each volume of the comic will run to seven issues and readers will be able to subscribe to each volume for just £6.99 / $10 (therefore working out at a mere £1 an issue!) to read online.

Selected panels from some of the strips

I feel privileged to be in issue one and I hope I'll be able to contribute again to a future issue. More details of this great new comic will surface soon, including the title. There will also be a website, Facebook page and so on, and hopefully the usual comic news sites will help spread the news. Stay tuned!

Bambos Georgiou is the editor of the project and you can contact him for more info at bambos.georgiou@yahoo.co.uk 

UPDATE: The name of the new comic has now been revealed... ACES WEEKLY, - and it debuts on September 30th! 

Brush logo is the trademark of David Lloyd

   

David Lloyd's Kickback now on the iPad

I recently received the press release regarding David Lloyd's Kickback graphic novel being available on the iPad. I don't have an iPad myself but from what I've heard the conversion to digital format is excellent. Here's the full details...

Graphic novelist David Lloyd, co-creator with Alan Moore of V for Vendetta and designer of the stylized Guy Fawkes mask used by the Occupy movement addresses corruption in the deluxe digital version of crime-noir thriller Kickback. The iPad version includes an exclusive interview, audio commentary, and production notes and images.

TOKYO March 28th, 2012  It's the mask protesting about corruption and greed around the world, and its creator David Lloyd, the artist behind V for Vendetta, has just released an interactive graphic novel for the iPad addressing those very issues: "V for Vendetta was concerned with how a society becomes corrupt and how it frees itself from corruption. My graphic novel, Kickback, resonates with this theme, but it is about how one man frees himself from the shackles of his own corruption." 

Kickback follows the story of Joe Canelli, a corrupt cop in a tough city, haunted by his dreams and confused by his past. When his partner is murdered and his colleagues betray him, Canelli must confront his past and question the direction of his life. "Kickback is a fast-paced thriller that explores themes of corruption, consciousness, society, and self-respect against a big-city backdrop," says Lloyd.
The iPad app (which takes advantage of the new retina screen) presents Kickback in a stunning high-quality digital format, with a specially-designed user interface that gives the reader smooth swiping from page to page, flawless pixel-per-second movement, and effortless transition to Panel Mode to view enlarged panels one by one in beautiful detail. The app also includes an audio commentary by the artist, an exclusive interview, and production notes and sketches.
In the exclusive interview Lloyd discusses a range of issues and details his experience of launching the print version of Kickback just after the V for Vendetta movie was released and is scathing about former publisher Dark Horse and their lack of promotion of his work.
In relation to the decision to release the work in iPad format, Lloyd commented, "Intelligent graphic novels for adults have rarely been able to find the readership they deserve. With this iPad version of Kickback, we're making something I'm very proud of available to millions of people who wouldn't think of scanning the graphic novel section of a bookstore, or entering a comic shop. The format also allows us to add features that would either not be possible or be too expensive in a printed book. The whole thing looks fantastic and I'm very excited to see my work in this form."

The artist worked with Tokyo-based digital publisher Panel Nine Publishing who specialize in fully-featured software for digital graphic novels. Publisher Russell Willis, a Brit, commented: "Not all digital comics are created equal. The 'lean back' nature of the iPad allows immersion into the material and we have created software which sweats the small stuff to exploit the features of the device and create the optimal reader experience. This is a world away from reading a dodgy PDF on a computer monitor. There is no doubt that in the next few years most people will be reading graphic novels on tablets of some sort: Kickback is the future of the graphic novel."

Kickback is available for all versions of the iPad and can be purchased from iTunes for £6.99. Click here to purchase and download your copy.

APP DESCRIPTION
This app presents Kickback in stunning high-quality digital format, with a specially-designed user interface that gives the reader smooth swiping from page to page, flawless pixel-per-second movement, and effortless transition to Panel Mode to view enlarged panels one by one in beautiful detail. 
Special features include:• Audio commentary for selected pages, recorded by David Lloyd exclusively for this app

• A host of extra material including a selection of previously unpublished sketches, thumbnails, and cover roughs from the development of Kickback

• A brand-new interview with David Lloyd conducted exclusively for this app

• Visual contents and bookmarks that let the reader view thumbnails of all pages and navigate quickly and easily

David Lloyd is one of the comics industry's foremost talents. He has worked with many top graphic novel writers including Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, and Grant Morrison.