Tuesday 22 February 2011

That's a nice surprise


So, go out to by the Daily Mirror - and its a never before reprinted Frank Bellamy tale!
Excellent stuff, although it does mean i've got to buy the paper every day now 8/
And will be collecting them together and glueing them into an A4 binder in case this is the only time they'll resurface

Monday 21 February 2011

GREAT NEWS CHUMS!


Oh, happy day today - Garth returns in print in the Daily Mirror.
I've waxed lyrical before here about the fella and am chuffed to bits that he's returning in the actual paper rather than that Web only project a couple of years back. It looks like they'll be reprints, which raises the question: If they're stories that have never been collected before, will there be any sort of graphic novel collection? or should i start cutting them out and collecting them, like i did in the late 70's?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/02/18/comic-hero-garth-returns-to-the-daily-mirror-115875-22930756/

Sunday 20 February 2011

A nice Ian Kennedy interview




A HUGELY, shamefully, overlooked artist, one who contributed so many fantastic combat images in the likes of Battle and Warlord, gets a nice interview via the link below.
As well as the above, i always admired his very clean, beautifully coloured work in Starlord of Timescape and, especially, Robusters. His Praying Mantis, along with all the other hardware in the strip, never were bettered, evoking strong parallels with Derek Meddings' modelwork on Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Arts-and-Literature/article/10785/at-home-with-legendary-comics-artist-ian-kennedy.html

Tuesday 8 February 2011

This Is What We Want - Action #2





Ahhhhh, such a classic example of why this title is so fondly remembered, why it's a classic, and why it was SO much better than anything the American publishers were putting out at the time.
Its great enough to have rollicking romps from the likes of Dredger and Hellman - this beautiful Mike Dorey page is worth the price of admission alone - but we also get two of the most iconic panels ever from Hookjaw. This colour one i used to study for hours, revelling in its gory greatness.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Oddly, despite all the ultra-violence on offer, just a pained "Aieee!" from a bad guy getting hot coals in his mush courtesy of Dredger.

Friday 4 February 2011

Johnny Red - finished



Well, that was a treat of a read and no mistake.Been struck by how similiar it is to Charlies War, with the many instances of hideous cruelty depicted to the regular soldiers by the powers that be.
And also what Garth Ennis noted in the forward - Johnny's Hurricane don't 'arf get knocked about. Seems every other episode has it having a chunk blown off or being pranged yet again. Can't be much of it that's original by the end of the book.
Another thing to note is how Joe's realism in his art didn't just go into hardware, uniforms and battle scenes. Take a look at Johnny at the start, then 6 months later at the end of the book and there on his face is all that's endured, an adult and not a boy.
Stunning stuff.