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Hello and welcome to the first instalment of Talk Panels to Me. This is my corner of the world to shine a light on those putting their collective heart and souls into the world of creator-owned/self-published comics. The aim is to focus on the best of British, with the occasional venture across the pond and maybe further afield. Maybe my line of questions will gain online notoriety and a well-established name will throw their hat into the ring…

First up, we have writer John Lees, who is about to unleash Orla! from Mad Cave Studios onto comic shop shelves. In recent years, he has had success with Hotell! from Awa. As well as The Nasty from Vault Comics, which was a love letter of sorts to his Scottish youth. Another series set in Scotland is Sink, which has finished its third successful Kickstarter campaign in recent months. So on with the questioning…...

The highly acclaimed podcast The Funny Comics Fan Club is returning for a second season in January and starts by looking at one of Britain's most inventive comic books.

In each episode of The Funny Comics Fan Club the hosts - comedian John Dredge and academic Doctor Mark Hibbett - read through an issue of an old British weekly comic. The first season was named as Podcast Of The Week by The Radio Times and was one of its Top Ten recommended shows, between George Clooney's new series and "Threads"! It was also featured in The Sunday Times, BBC Radio London and topped the UK's Comedy Fiction podcast charts.

So far Mark and John have talked about The Beano, Krazy Comic, Whizzer & Chips, Topper, The Dandy, TV Comic and more. As well as dipping into the history of these series they've also ended up discussing Basil Brush's career as a landlord,...

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers’ 1966 album, Beano, catapulted the band to critical acclaim, with music critics lauding them as the most influential blues outfit in the Western world. This documentary explores John Mayall’s illustrious and impactful career, including his role in launching the careers of several rock icons. The film examines how Mayall not […]

John Mayall: 40 Years of the Blues...

Welcome to the quaint northern town of Barnsworth. Nestled in the English countryside, this community is filled with colorful characters, both kind and cantankerous. You’ll meet them all during your brief but eventful stay.

You arrive as a traveling salesman, sent by your company to meet with the mayor. But on the day of your visit, the mayor has more pressing matters to attend to. Not one to wait idly, you venture into town to get acquainted with the locals. And what an assorted bunch they are! From big-pie maker Big Ron to hot-headed greengrocer Rog, each resident has their own quirks and qualities.

This is where indie gaming studio Coal Supper, founded in nearby Barnsley, aims to transport you. Its members have crafted Barnsworth and its people with care, humor, and attention to regional detail. Voice actors bring the townsfolk to life with authentic Yorkshire accents and mannerisms.

This post contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of "Ted Lasso."

"Ted Lasso" was adept at delivering the thrills of a sports drama, with the fall and rise of an underground English football team, while also telling a beautiful story about community, mental health, self-improvement, and being open about emotions.

After three seasons, "Ted Lasso" is seemingly, apparently, as far as we know, done and over. After two very strong seasons, the final season was a very mixed bag, with a lack of focus thanks to longer episodes that dragged on, a sermon-of-the-week format that seemed to take away from the joy of earlier seasons, and a misguided football story that was too obsessed with winning — until it wasn't.

This is (kind of) a football show, of course, meaning the characters' careers and stories carry on after the end of the finale. We know Ted Lasso's career at AFC Richmond is over,...

Exclusive: Ricky Gervais has directed his first BBC project for a decade as the corporation’s Comedy Director Jon Petrie unveils his debut batch of 11 Short Films since taking on the role last year.

Deadline can reveal that The Office and After Life creator Gervais has directed 7 Minutes, a show about two people awkwardly contemplating suicide from his own Derek Productions.

Penned by Harry Carlile and Jonathan Parramint and starring Joe Wilkinson and Seroca Davis, 7 Minutes’ logline reads: “A desolate train track seems the perfect spot to end it all, until someone else turns up with the same idea. Awkward.”

Gervais’ last BBC project was the Warwick Davis-starring Life’s Too Short, which ran from 2011 to 2013 and was co-written with long-time writing partner Stephen Merchant. Since then, he has mostly made shows for Netflix such as global smash After Life.

Petrie’s Comedy Shorts are comprised of 10-15 minute one-offs,...

Stars: John McCafferty, Robyn Blythe, Darwyn Carson, Beano, Debra Lamb, Mark Lasky, Bill Whitehead, Kent Butler | Written and Directed by Mark Pirro

I have an a long history with Deathrow Gameshow, just not a history that actually involves seeing the film however! You see, when I was in college I used to spend all my free time at a local flea market scouring the stalls for ex-rental VHS tapes. And I stocked up big time. However there was one film I never bought but one that seemed to follow me everywhere I went… Deathrow Gameshow. Every stall seemed to have a copy of the old VHS tape but each and Every tape had issues: mold, damage, torn cover, etc. So I never bought it; and – unless I missed it – the film never made the transition to DVD here in England…

But now comes the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray which features...