Outlander-Vikings,Aliens and Dragons

As an age old battle rages amongst the stars, Kainan’s ship burns brightly as it crashes into the Nordic coast. As his space craft comes to rest in the fjords of ancient Norway, it’s with dismay that Kainan realizes that he wasn’t the only survivor. A second passenger, a Moorwen also emerges from the wreckage. A Fierce and animal-like creature, the Moorwen is intent on causing harm to those it perceives have wronged it. As the Moorwen kills everything in its path, Kainan must work together with the Vikings to destroy the beast before it destroys them all.

and the link to see the trailer is below

http://outlander.solsector.net/index.htm

Max Payne

Is it just me or does Mark Wahlberg look perfect for Max.

Cymru Con Resurrection in talks

For those that know Cymru-Con was a legendary Welsh Con held in the Central Hotel in Cardiff. Fastforward twenty years and talks are ongoing to resurrect the Welsh Con onto the scene.

As more develops I will let you know as Crafty Butchers Events have an in at the back door

Book Reviews

Well I have been reading like crazy this week.

First up is.

Rogue Trader Lucian Gerrit learns the true meaning of profit and loss! Andy Hoare presents an epic adventure in his debut novel for the Black Library. Lucian Gerrit is a rogue trader - a starship captain granted ancient trading rights along the Eastern Fringe of Imperial space. But his family’s fortunes have been steadily declining for many generations and his inheritance amounts to little more than a pile of debt and misery. In a final desperate gamble to restore his family’s former glory, Gerrit strikes a deal on a forgotten Imperial world to aid its commander in a long-standing war with his rival. As Gerrit commits his family’s assets to the escalating conflict, he may lose more than his livelihood.

I Really like space opera, I especially like space opera set in the 40k Universe. This is a good book that even if you don’t know the 40k universe it is still accesable.

Rogue trader patriarch Lucian Gerrit and his family get swept up in an Imperial Crusade to track down and exterminate the alien tau. Having crossed the desolate area of space known as the Damocles Gulf, the fleet arrives on the borders of the tau empire. Can Gerrit’s resourcefulness save the day when the Imperial forces find themselves outnumbered and outgunned, thousands of light years from home?

This being the followup, works well. Now comes my problem with the Black Library. Try contacting them you get a stock answer. These books are popular but they won’t commit the writers to finish series. OK that may be harsh but thats my observation, you may have years between books.

First Officer Ward of the Imperial Navy cruiser Relentless, on patrol in the Eastern Fringe, is less than pleased when a new commander, hardliner Captain Becket, is appointed above him. To protect his own corrupt schemes and ambitions, the first officer arranges to have the new captain assassinated.

Unbeknown to him, though, Becket survives and embarks on a ruthless campaign to fight his way up through the ranks to seize back control of his ship.

This is Richard Williams first work and foray into the Warhammer 40K universe and as such I was surprised at how the characters unfold and how effortlessly he jumped into the subject matter.

First let me just say that I love books about Rome, And I really loved this book. However after reading Simon Scarrows series I did kind of feel that I had been here and seen it before. That being said, this is a first rate book and one I would recommend anyone who is a fan of Rome to read.

Mutant Chronicles

Thomas Jane is back, and this is looking good, for all those that actually enjoyed the punisher (and i am one) this is looking good. The premise is:

Set in a dystopic future where corporations battle for the world’s depleted resources and mercenaries do their bidding, the film sees a horde of deadly, well-nigh unstoppable mutants released from under the Earth, forcing the evacuation of the planet to begin. Mercenary Jane, along with a few brave souls and a mysterious monk, has to save the world.

The film also stars Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki, Benno Furmann, Sean Pertwee and John Malkovich, with Simon Hunter directing. And of course Thomas Jane

http://www.thomasjane.com/mutantChronicles/

Chadabourn signs major new Deal

CHADBOURN SIGNS MAJOR DEAL FOR NEW ELIZABETHAN FANTASY

Two-time British Fantasy Award-winning author Mark Chadbourn has signed a major three-book

deal with UK publisher Transworld for an epic Elizabethan fantasy.

‘The Swords of Albion’ will be published annually from 2010, in the UK and Commonwealth.

The sequence has also been acquired by a US publisher (announcement forthcoming).

Chadbourn says, “This is an epic story filled with intrigue, mystery, adventure and romance,

set against the rich backdrop of the Elizabethan era, that I hope will appeal to readers of both

fantasy and historical fiction. I’m very excited to be working with Transworld for the first time on

the launch of this new series.”

About ‘The Swords of Albion’:

‘Spies are men of doubtful credit, who make a show of one thing and speak another.’ ~ Mary, Queen of Scots

A devilish plot to assassinate the Queen, a Cold War enemy hell-bent on destroying the nation, incredible gadgets, a race against time around the world to stop the ultimate doomsday device…and Elizabethan England’s greatest spy!

Meet Will Swyfte – adventurer, swordsman, rake, swashbuckler, wit, scholar and the greatest of Walsingham’s new band of spies. His exploits against the forces of Philip of Spain have made him a national hero, lauded from Carlisle to Kent. Yet his associates can barely disguise their incredulity – what is the point of a spy whose face and name is known across Europe?

But Swyfte’s public image is a carefully-crafted façade to give the people of England something to believe in, and to allow them to sleep peacefully at night. It deflects attention from his real work – and the true reason why Walsingham’s spy network was established.

A Cold War seethes, and England remains under a state of threat. The forces of Faerie have been preying on humanity for millennia. Responsible for our myths and legends, of gods and fairies, dragons, griffins, devils, imps and every other supernatural menace that has haunted our dreams, this power in the darkness has seen humans as playthings to be tormented, hunted or eradicated.

But now England is fighting back!

Magical defences have been put in place by the Queen’s sorcerer Dr John Dee, who is also a senior member of Walsingham’s secret service and provides many of the bizarre gadgets utilised by the spies. Finally there is a balance of power. But the Cold War is threatening to turn hot at any moment…

Will now plays a constant game of deceit and death, holding back the Enemy’s repeated incursions, dealing in a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots, deceptions, secrets, murder, where no one… and no thing…is quite what it seems.

The entire world is the battleground – from Russia, across Europe, to the Caribbean and the New World. And while great events play out in the public eye, the true struggle takes place behind the scenes: the Spanish Armada, the Throckmorton Plot, the colonisation of the Americas, the Court intrigues, the battles in Ireland and against Spain, the death of Marlowe, the plagues, the art, the music, the piracy, the great discoveries…all are simply window-dressing as the great sweep of recorded history is peeled back to show the truth behind.

Interview with Harry Markos of Markosia Entertainment

For those of you who have never met Harry I’d suggest tracking him down at the next con and pumping him. I mean for information, the guy speaks so passionately and doesn’t speak down to you. He is really enthusiastic about the industry and also comics. It’s a pity I have to transcribe this rather than putting the conversation up on the net as the enthusiasm comes across.

Interview with Harry Markos Bristol Comic Convention

CB: We’re here with Harry Markos of Markosia Entertainment, We’re going to have a little chat about Markosia, what he’s noticed this weekend and any forthcoming events and new titles coming out, Thanks for taking the time out this morning Harry I know that Markosia is busy this morning going through portfolio’s with people. Your stall’s been pretty busy this morning. What have you thought of the con in general this weekend?

Harry: Well it’s a bit busier than last year, Yesterday was incredible and they were locking people out it was so busy.

CB: I didn’t know that, I just thought that it was full again

Harry: They did, twice in fact, something to do with fire regulations and it being too busy in there. And as a side effect we were very busy yesterday which was great, todays a little quieter but still quite busy. We decided to do the portfolio sessions today as it’s a little quieter but we have still had 25 artists come today with portfolios. We’ve already worked through eight

CB: Already this morning?

Harry: Yeah, so I got plenty more to do. Some are also going to be sent in via email, as some of the artists couldn’t make it today. Markosia are always on the lookout for bright young talent, particularly from the UK, we want to encourage that talent as I know there’s a lot out there. We’re still using European and global talent as well but I want to introduce more British talent. We’ve been quite successful recently with the success of Paul Green who this time last year at Bristol, he came along and was introduced to me, his art blew me away. I asked him to do some concept art, which he did and it was amazing. Within a couple of weeks I’d offered him a four issue mini-series on Starship Troopers, which he was absolutely amazing on. He’s now been signed up to do Flash Gordon and is being looked at by everyone.

CB: This is the Flash Gordon that’s being shown at the convention.

Harry: Yeah, Actually I am quite fortunate, I made a bet with him, and I said that within a month of the first Starship Troopers coming out, if he wasn’t signed up by someone else, I would run down my road naked. So it was quite fortunate that in week three, he’d called me to say that he’d been signed up to do Flash Gordon. He’s got an amazing future ahead of him. I’m hoping that we’ll have some big players if the next few months pan out. He’s the kind of talent that I want to meet and I want to publish because there’s a lot of talent out there and I want to introduce them to the world as we feel we have a good platform to be able to do that.

CB: Going off the back of what you are saying there Harry, You’ve got the Big two Dc and Marvel obviously and then just underneath that you’ve got your Image your Dark Horse, which I personally don’t put down myself as I collect a lot of indie titles and Indie titles is where I started and where I will also show a lot of loyalty to. What’s Markosia’s main principle on the marketplace? DC and Marvel are all about the big bang the big buck. Some great writers and some great artists but it is the big product.

Harry: It is, it’s a really tough brutal market out there at the moment. And it’s only really the top five publishers that are actually achieving anything in my opinion. There’s a lot of controversy regarding the comic format itself, is it going to last? Is it going to be replaced? I personally think that it will always be there. Though I do think that it will be in a limited form and probably only those that can afford to do it will be able to do it in the future. As you know it’s not a cheap business. We’ve been going for four years now which is a miracle in itself. We were told by Diamond that 75% of new publishers don’t last five months. So four years is a big achievement for us and particularly for a British publisher as well. There are lots of small one title publishers about and they are doing a great job but unfortunately because of the way the market is at the moment they are not getting the recognition or the exposure that they deserve that they would have got 20-30 years ago when it was a different market. When there were millions of copies being sold around the world. It’s completely changed now, the internet has made a lot of inroads into the way the industry is being presented in the future, which we are going to be a part of, and we’ve got some talent lined up to do that. Mainly as a publisher and we’ve published Starship Troopers and Kong a couple of licensed properties, we moved into novels and when we started no other publisher was doing it. Now everyone seems to be doing it now but when we announced it people thought we were crazy as no one else would contemplate it. But back then we thought it would be big and we’ve been proved right. Where I am very keen to explore is new concepts new property’s new creators as well as established creators who want their own creations to be published, we enter into a partnership with them, where we take the risk on the publishing and marketing side and pitching it out there to the Hollywood’s and the European markets. We’re very well placed with that now and we see that for us that is the way forward. Acquiring these partnerships and new property’s because there’s a need for it, a need for new fresh blood, which is becoming more and more difficult for people to get into and what people don’t realize is that despite the success of Marvel and DC and maybe a couple of others the market is tightening up in terms of creator owned stuff, In terms of artists getting well paid jobs with the publishers, it’s getting harder and harder there’s more and more talent and less and less work paid work that is. And it’s stifling the market a bit, with all the problems with distribution and low sales more and more company’s are being forced out. What people don’t realize is that when the small press guys go and then the indie company’s go the rest of the industry will collapse as well. Most of the big guys at Marvel, DC, Dark Horse etc all started at the bottom of the ladder.

CB: Of course in the indie market.

Harry: Yes, so you take that away and they are going to suffer quite badly as well. I realize that every business has to evolve I think that at the moment we’re going through a transitional period where no one seems to know which way to turn other than internet related. Digital stuff. It’s very unclear where it’s going to go, so we’re determined that we’re going to be around for many years anyway. We’ve got a very good business plan laid out and we know where we are headed. We’ll struggle through it because we need to keep ourselves in the mind of people. Everyone needs the exposure and awareness out there. And when eventually the market sorts itself out with whatever direction it’s chosen we’ll be well placed to take advantage of that. I am very confident that within a year or two we’ll be very well placed.

CB: So going back to last night, The Butcher understands that Markosia was nominated for several awards at the eagles. Is that correct?

Harry: (smiling) I think it was seven yeah, it was originally more than that but it got whittled down to seven.

CB: Not being a fan of any awards as I find them very open to nepotism and I tend to smell a rat, were there any controversies at the awards last night

Harry: Hmmm there may have been, In fact there was yes. In fact the controversy started many weeks ago with some rumors spreading about some potential vote rigging and cheating, which was very unpleasant at the time. We kept well out of that as a company, we refused to have anything to do with that and were not involved. The creators who were involved were given an apology last night which was very good to hear and very big of the person who gave the apology. That was it as far as we were concerned we were actually nominated as far as I was aware. We made it into the top five as best publisher.

CB: Nice achievement.

Harry: Then we were removed, and were replaced by vertigo apparently. Which is quite interesting as DC were one of the five as well, it was interesting to see how that worked. But you know we’re not bothered about things like that, we keep out of it, and we get on with our own business. For us Bristol is a very important show it’s one of our home town shows and it keeps us flying the flag as it were. Which I think we’re doing reasonably well.

CB: It’s certainly a good stand this year, and in such a prime spot.

Harry: Thank you, we try our best, and there’s a good collection of work there to see as well, Over the last four years we’ve built up approximately 25 titles which is quite an achievement. We’re just experimenting with something and we went online and live on Thursday night before Bristol, We put three web comics up. Completely different formats and property’s than we’ve ever published before including a manga web comic which we’re quite excited about. We’ve got a lot of different avenues that we are pursuing.

CB: You’ve mentioned your big titles being Kong and Starship Troopers, here’s your chance to give us the lowdown on your other titles and guys

Harry: Oh most definitely, we’re very excited we’ve got some gorgeous new property’s coming out this year. One is at the printer this week Lazarus Immortal Coils by Joseph Gauthier who is based in SanFrancisco. The Man is amazing  his story coupled with the amazing artworkworks brilliantly he does so much work. It has Lazarus as the good guy and fighting demons. In July we have another completely different direction in a new series called N-Guard by Canadian Creator John Bryans,it’s an anthromorporthic all ages adventure that is in four parts that we’re very excited about and it’s just been given a staff pick in Previews which is quite an achievement for us. Also later on this year we have The Magpye, which  I understand that you know a bit about and the boys behind it

CB: Sure do, and have been pimping it well for you.

Harry (laughs) Yep, the Magpye is a much darker tale. Then December time we have a five-issue mini called Serpent Wars. It’s set in the 19th Century and is about a young apprentice, He Stows away on a British Lord’s ship to prove the existence of sea serpents. We’re really behind this title as we’ve pitched it to Hollywood and they are quite excited about it. Also we signed Mr. Regie Rigby’s Sunset, which Paul green is currently illustrating. And Paul is busy next year with another title Contagion which is written by Chris Jones.

CB: So going back to what you were saying earlier, has anyone taken the Harry seal of approval.

Harry: Yes, there’s been a couple actually. I’ll be holding further talks with them later. The two I met yesterday are both British Lads and some Spanish lads today. So we’ll see how it pans out but I am sure we’ll be seeing them under the Markosia label in the coming months. Our guys seem to do so well and move on to bigger things, we had Ryan Stegman who worked on Midnight Kiss. Now he’s drawing Spider man for Marvel. And that makes us proud to know that we helped those guys on the way. They are like part of the family and we stay close to them. That’s they way I like to work where it’s small contained like a small family unit and I believe that works.

CB: Anything you’d like to say to the fans?

Harry: Thank you very much for your support and we couldn’t do it without you, it’d be great if you continued your support and spread the word that we’re a young ambitious enterprising British company. We want to succeed, we need to succeed. We’re always open to comments if you want to get in touch, get in touch with me personally I will always respond. Markosia couldn’t have done it without you, thank you

CB: The Question from Stu.Art is what is your favorite cheese and why?

Harry: Dutch Edam, I have always loved that cheese, It’s the first cheese I remember as a kid and it’s just stayed with me, gorgeous tasting.

CB: And on that note thank you Harry .

Dark Knight Photo’s

Heath Ledger as Joker

Gary Oldman as Gordon

Guess Heath didn’t get Christians “punch” line

Scary Eh

Book Reviews

As I have recently been on a spending spree the next couple of weeks will see me going through 14 books. The first two up are

Horus Heresy-Legion by Dan Abnett

Angels of Darkness- Gav Thorpe

This is a departure from the normal Horus series, this is actually a very sympathetic book, without giving anything away and it would spoil the entire story if i did. This is one book full of turn and counter turn and chock full of suprises. Dan Abnett at his best

I was really looking forward to this as Gav Thorpe is a solid writer. Boy was I let down, this is by far his weakest book and did nothing at all to expand the mythos of the dark angels

Brave Wales show guts and earn respect

Despite playing their socks off Wales just couldn’t put the boks to the sword. Warren Gatland must have been more impressed seeing the Welsh team play with fire in their bellys and fronting up to the Boks. Shane Williams once again showed why he is the best winger in the world and made the boks look foolish for trying to tackle him. Thanks to the BBC for the match report

Wales’ hopes of claiming their first win in South Africa were dashed in the second Test in Pretoria.

First-half tries from Gareth Cooper and a superb effort from Shane Williams had given the Grand Slam champions hope as they pushed their hosts.

But the Springboks proved too strong for Wales with Jean de Villiers going over for two of the world champions’ four tries.

The reliable boot of Butch James was key in securing a 2-0 Test victory.

Coach Warren Gatland was looking for redemption following last week’s 43-17 defeat and they certainly made some amends.

James Hook was placed at full-back and Jamie Roberts at centre for the first time, neither having played there at senior level.

The hosts made four changes, including returns for lock Victor Matfield and scrum-half Ricky Januarie.

And it was Wales who looked much more the lively in the opening stages and got off to the perfect start three minutes in with Stephen Jones kicking the first points.

South Africa responded by camping the Welsh on their own try-line forcing them to defend desperately.

James just narrowly missed going over at the corner after Matfield took out three Welsh defenders with a thunderous charge.

But they got the breakthrough when de Villiers slipped past the visitors’ defence when they failed to clear a line-out. James converted.

That lead was extended on 17 minutes as South Africa looked to take charge.

Juan Smith found space on the right and off-loaded to scrum-half Januarie to claim the second try, which James converted.

Wales immediately cut the 14-3 deficit when Jonathan Thomas cleverly laid off to Gloucester scrum-half Cooper at the front of a line-out and he broke free to race over.

Jones’ conversion put them four points behind, but James had the chance to open up the gap again with a penalty only to miss, ending his run of 10 successful kicks over the two Tests.

And it proved costly as Ospreys wing Williams produced another moment of brilliance with his 43rd Wales try.

The Springboks lost possession just inside their own half, Williams picked up the loose ball and raced past five players to go over near the corner.

Williams was then called into action at the other end just before the break when he intercepted James’ pass.

But James made sure South Africa went in ahead at the break when Blues centre Jamie Roberts was penalised at the line.

Jones did have the chance to change that in overtime, but sent his long-range penalty wide.

Wales came out on the attack in the second half enjoying more time on the ball, but it was the hosts who secured the first points.

Roberts infringed at the ruck allowing James to kick South Africa into a 20-15 lead.

But Wales were not ready to give up and Jones clawed back another three points after Mtawarira failed to roll away at a ruck.

And they went ahead with 20 minutes to go when Jones successfully kicked again.

The Springboks brought on all of their big-guns and regained the lead through another James kick.

It seemed to give them some more impetus and Percy Montgomery was halted at the line before de Villiers made sure diving over with James converting.

They continued to press and finally got their fourth score through Bismarck Du Plessis after a quick penalty.

On paper, the win looked far more convincing for South Africa but Wales showed that they do still have the fight that made them champions of the northern hemisphere.

Comics pick of the week

This week there were some good comics and some bad comics. But the pick of the bunch were the following

Greg Pak continues his meteoric rise with this follow on from Planet Hulk. If Marvel had more writers like him and Dan Abnett then they wouldn’t get so much bad press. For a first issue this is paced nicely, The artwork follows in the same vein as Planet Hulk and the first issue is a good story.

Trinity 2. Apart from the second string story being moved into the mainstream story, this is a strong second issue. Really intrigued to see where this goes. DC has a 50/50 with weekly comics and I for one hope that with the talent on this title that they put this firmly in the hit.

Now that brings me to something I don’t like to do. I appreciate that every ones comic pounds are hard earned (or dollars) But I am going to recommend a Trade (as long as DC brings it out) GET Gotham Underground. Frank Tieri has proved once again that he can hold the big titles, keep a story flowing and make you feel something for the characters. There is one scene in the last issue where you read with heart in your mouth, thinking OMG Is he gonna……

Trust me this is a definite plus for anyones collection.

Which almost brings me to a close. Apart from one of my favourite characters and also my biggest gripes with any comic house. Firstly to the gripe. Don’t have a title where a) the characters name is in it and said character isn’t b) kill of an iconic character in the very first issue. I loved Wisdom and am a long time fan of Captain Britain. All I can hope is that Marvel haven’t decided to shaft us Brits yet again. This is a good comic, it could have been a exceptional read apart from No Captain Britain. I only got this title to read Captain Britain (rant over)

Halt Lisbon Treaty-Tories speak sense labour once again ignores the people

William Hague speaks sense, speaks for the majority of people in Britain. But our Labour government the supposed party of the people once again shows how out of touch it is with the voters. What is it with the EU and the Labour Party in particular that they show such contempt for the people they are supposed to represent.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague has said the Government should now halt the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty after it was thrown out by voters in Ireland.

“Alone in Europe they have had the chance to make their views known. If democracy in the EU is to mean anything their decision must be respected,” he said.

“The British Government must respect the Irish people’s verdict. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in Parliament must be stopped immediately.”

He said that if Government still wanted to go ahead with ratification, it must now give people in Britain a say through a referendum.

The final referendum result showed 53.4% voted No, while 46.6% voted Yes. There were 862,415 No votes to 752,451 Yes votes, a majority of 109,964.

Critics said the “No” vote in Ireland represents the same fatal blow to the Lisbon Treaty as was dealt to the EU Constitution by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Downing Street declined to comment on reports that the Prime Minister had called French president Nicolas Sarkozy to assure him that British ratification would continue.

The House of Lords this week cleared the way for Parliament to ratify the treaty when it rejected a Conservative bid to force a referendum.

But prominent eurosceptic David Heathcoat-Amory insisted the Government must “go back to the drawing board” and respect the voters of Holland, France and Ireland.

“The Bill before the British Parliament must be withdrawn because under the European Union’s own laws this cannot proceed now. The Lisbon Treaty is dead,” the Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One.

Anti-Smoking Facists start on comic books and films

the following is taken from newsarama

If The Hulk thought Abomination was tough, how will he handle 27,000 anti-smoking advocates?

In a press release issued yesterday, the American Medical Association Alliance — the volunteer arm of the AMA — took Universal Pictures to task for the depiction of a cigar-chomping Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) in The Incredible Hulk.

“Shame on The Incredible Hulk for unnecessarily adding smoking to a sequel that would have been just as exciting and believable without it,” alliance president Dianne Fenyk says in the statement. “Universal Studios and the other Hollywood studios should be especially embarrassed for using comic book movies, which they market to children and know youth will want to see, to promote tobacco.”

The release points out that the Gen. Ross in Ang Lee’s 2003 film didn’t smoke. The group also cites the elimination of smoking from Marvel comics by Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada after his father died from smoking-related lung disease.

The AMA Alliance is encouraging its members to spread the word about the smoking in The Incredible Hulk, and to pressure Motion Picture Association of America and Universal to remove smoking from youth-rated films.

So the butcher asks, what next for the anti-smoking facists who decide what libertys we can and cannot have, nick fury with out a cigar, wolverine with out a cigar. Hero’s who can’t drink, Iron Man watch out they are coming for you

“Sorry Sir, It’s irresponsible for you to be serving in any capacity as a hero seeing as you drink”

Bah bunch of do-gooders

Comic Related news supplied By Lord Ruthven

The First Avenger: Captain America” set in WW2, ending with his fall into the sea (oops, . sorry for that spoiler) Released 2011.

“The Avengers” movie released 2011, two months after the Captain America movie - both films being shot back to back.

Interestingly, Mathew Vaughn (sic) has walked away from the Thor movie, thus no longer directing it.

He did exactly the same with the X-Men 3 movie, that due to a clash with the studio about the script. Seems he has no faith in the plans Marvel/Paramount have for Thor…

Comics Week in Review part two

Ok, the first part was the ones I read yesterday and recommend, these are the ones I read today and give a big thumbs up to.

Now some of you know that apart from a certain few titles I find Marvel very humdrum, very much of a muchness. That may be about to change as a) my favourite artist Barry Kitson is on this title. b) that the scripting is snappy and spideys jokes are popping quite nicely, thanks to Bob Gale for this.

Trinity: Another weekly comic from DC I sighed. Then realised that Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley were gonna be picking up the ball. This has two stories in it, The first is about the first trio of hero’s and plays out nicely, The second story is very …… Whats happening here?

Don’t want to diss a good book but First half amazing second half should be a marvel title.

And Finally

Mark Millar & Tommy Lee Edwards 1985. I tried so hard to dislike this, After all after the civil war and ultimates endings I thought Millar had sold out. 1985 is actually a damn good read, Can Millar keep it up, maybe, but if i hear a iron man speech about how many ways he could have won this then you won’t see my arse for dust

Christian Who?

In the recent Hay festival Christian Bale was approached by a young lady director thrust a script into his hand

“I am so glad to see you, Have a read of this”

Christian starts thumbing the script

“I am so glad that I managed to get Christian Slater to read my movie script”

Christina looks up bemused

“Sorry I’m Christian Bale, not Christian Slater”

The lady mouths “Oh” takes the script back and fades out

Classic pure classic

Comics week in review

The title is a bit of a misnomer as I didn’t pick my comics up last week so two weeks will be amalgamated into one.

This comic keeps getting better and better,Garth Writing is totally respectful of the Dan Dare Legacy and Garry Erskine’s art is truelly a joy to look at. This is like a boys own adventure with something for everyone that checks all the boxes. Long may it continue.

Teen Titans 59, This book just goes from strength to strength, Ties in nicely with the final crisis series and I really Enjoy Sean McKeevers writing. The art from Eddy Barrows is strong and crisp. Can’t wait for the next part.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ok I was starting to go off this series. But like a true buffy episode there were laugh moments and also sad moment. Highlights were Draculas speech to the new blood and Dawn taking on Dawnzilla the mech (trust me you have to see it)

This is the fight that I was waiting for, It kinda worked, but as with most things marvel these days I felt let down. My pull list gets smaller and smaller with Marvel. And I think I see a fat zero coming up in the future. Which when you think about the talent on this comic is criminal. Alex Ross & Jim Krueger. This should have had the Invaders cleaning clock but strangely no. Tony and his team of nazi’s ( and cap calls them that) layeth the smack down. There was one genuine good bit ” And Ironman has been axed” I wish.

And they were the pick of the crop, others were average, stale, head scratching.

What hit the bin this week

Brit No 6 from Image: All I can Say is no comment

Update

Ok people tomorrow, I will be doing an interview with Chris Lynch and Stu.art about the Magpye, Markosia and cheese. These guys are hot Welsh comic talent and I think it will make for interesting reading. Also there are a shed load of comics to go through so If i get time I will do a review for you guys

New Hellboy Poster

This is the offical Movie poster for Hellboy 2: The Golden Horde. Looks good to me

Long Awaited:James Barclay

Thanks for taking the time to drop by and have a chat. What first got you started as a writer. It couldn’t have been for fame and fortune as so many try and fail.
I’ve just always loved writing stories. Ever since I can remember. I wrote my first recognisable piece of prose at the age of seven and by age eleven was writing plenty of little bits and pieces in my spare time. I had an English teacher at secondary school who really encouraged me (and one who actively discouraged me like the prat he was) and I wrote a couple of novella length stories as a result. Both awful but great practice.

So I’ve always wanted to be a writer. The fame and fortune were never important so long as I could make a living. I just about do that so I have to consider myself happy.

What was your first published work?
It was a short story called ‘Goldstone’ and it was published in a Sheffield literary magazine called ‘Sheaf’ in 1985. The story was about birds cavorting around the walls and roofs of houses. I was delighted to see my work in print though I was paid not a penny for it. A special moment only bettered in writing terms by seeing Dawnthief on the shelves of Waterstone’s for the first time.

When did you realise that you had something real special with the Raven series. As a father did your literary child come easily, or did you have to drag it screaming into the world.

I always knew it was a good concept and that I’d executed it pretty well but that doesn’t guarantee a publishing deal. I knew it was special when it shot up the amazon bestseller charts shortly after it was published. It reached no18 or something in the Hot 100 at one stage which was amazing for a first time author of a fantasy novel. I was just so pleased that readers were getting out of it what I wanted them to.

But no, it didn’t come easily. Actually, The Raven began life as comedy fantasy years and years before it was actually published. I’m glad I changed tack because it would have been rubbish. I worked on the serious action fantasy version for five years before I got a publishing deal. Rewrite on rewrite, deletion, addition… but I knew I’d get there in the end. As the rejections came in, it occasionally became a tough thing to do but somewhere inside, I knew it would be worth it in the end. I’m glad I listened and kept on going.

I have to admit that I got upset several times in the books, and i judge that the mark of a good storyteller when you are totally immersed within their world and living with the characters, Does it get emotional for you when such and such happens to a character?

Yes, it certainly does. I’ve cried while writing the deaths of some characters and feel physically very low after writing such scenes. I guess when that happens, it means I’ve got them right. I’ve never taken a decision to injure, kill or write-out a character without a huge amount of thought as to the consequences further down the line. I can’t let it become a gratuitous thing to do or the emotional force is lost.

I’m glad you’ve been upset too – for me that’s a huge compliment because it tells me I’ve put across that emotional force correctly and that you loved my characters enough to feel sad when tragedy strikes.

Which of the Raven members are your favourites? Mine are Sol and Denser. Two complete opposites, but I also like the character journey that Denser undergoes to become a better man.

Hirad is my favourite. No surprise as he was my character way back in my role playing days. I love him for his passion, his belief and his unquenchable drive and desire for The Raven to succeed. And Ilkar too, because he’s sharp-witted and his banter with Hirad is something I loved to write. I love what he does for The Raven. He’s their techie, if you like, but impatient with it.

Your second series was a slight departure and while as you know I was critical of the first book, the second book allowed me to gel with the characters, any plans to revisit any of the characters again?
I have no current plans to return to Estorea though there are plenty of stories to tell there. I never say never but I can’t see anything happening for a good long while, if at all.

I understand from our communication that you have a new raven book coming out, what can you tell us about it?
It’s called Ravensoul and it comes out in November this year. It is set a decade after the end of the wars depicted in Demonstorm. It deals with an enemy that has cast the dead from rest and threatens the entire world. An enemy that barely even recognises the Balaians as sentient, let alone a threat. It is a chance for The Raven to ride one more time (metaphorically speaking) and is a story of how belief can turn the tide and how the pursuit of power can poison the minds of men.

Several great books have been picked up to turn into comics, how would you feel if the raven was picked up bringing it to a whole new series of fans.
I’d love it. I think the Raven would translate very well into graphic novel or comic format. And onto the small or big screen come to that.

How are you managing being a new(ish) father and successful author.
Well, it’s a tough balance to strike at times. I look after Oscar two days a week and that leaves just three for writing. It means I have to work a few evenings but that’s OK. What I find difficult at the moment is doing too much beyond my current project. That’s very frustrating as I have a million and one ideas sloshing about and precious little time to flesh them out to see if they have legs. But I can’t complain. I have a wonderful son and I get paid to do the thing I love best. Anytime I feel low, I remind myself of that…I’m a lucky man when all is said and done.

What do you have planned for the future?
Well, I’ve just agreed a trilogy of books based around the elves of Calaius. Can’t say too much at present but suffice to say that they will cover a couple of thousand years of history before The Raven began but will still have familiar names for fans to read about. The idea is that raven fans will love them for their history and new readers will love them just because they’re great books about cool elves J.

Any plans for a signing tour of Wales as so many of the big names tend to ignore us guys when the tours are announced. I know it’s down to agents but Welsh fans do deserve to meet their hero’s and people who take so much of their lives with their books.

I’ve no plans for a tour of anywhere at the moment. Whether there’ll be one around the launch of Ravensoul, I don’t know yet. Best to check my website for details nearer the time. But I do make as many appearances at conventions as I can. I’m at Fantasycon in Nottingham this September and also at Gamesfest in Tring this October. Neither is Wales, I admit but I’m happy to travel anywhere where I’ll get a warm welcome, can meet fans and have a good pint of ale!