Over at comicsbulletin.com
Available to buy here.
Or pick up copies at Gosh! Comics in London or Orbital Comics in London.
There’s a lot of furore at the moment over the announced Watchmen prequels.
Whichever side of the argument you take, it’s nice to see a comic book provoking a strong debate among both fans and Forbes magazine, who covered the story.
The only real shame is that it’s a debate over a comic book that’s 25 years old.
The final panel in Watchmen ends with the words: “I’ll leave it entirely in your hands.”
It’s as if Moore, have debunked superheroes, has now cleared the way for other stories to be told in the medium.
The image of a fanboy, his hand poised over the journal of Rorschach, faces a choice: dip back into the exploits of a costumed vigilante and potentially allow the world to unravel, or simply move on and pick something else.
When coupled with the re-launch earlier in the year of DC’s 52 titles, the Watchmen gambit does appear like the publisher is trying to recapture what made it special, but understanding only the aesthetics and not the beating heart of what made it thrive in the Eighties.
It was creators of vision who were prepared to move beyond superheroes that gave rise to the Vertigo imprint. Even on the Superhero front you had creators like John Byrne delivering thrilling art and words on Superman.
It’s ironic that a book aimed at moving readers and publishers past the dominance of super heroes, now itself gives rise to more superhero books.
As someone who publishes their own comic book, I take pride in trying to present something new and hopefully unseen in my work.
I’d like to think that to varying degrees I am somewhat successful in this endeavour, but reagardless I’ll always keep trying to do something new first and foremost.
Now if I can think like that, why can’t DC?
I’ll leave the answer entirely in your hands.
The comic so good they stocked it twice:
London Horror Comic 4 is now back in stock at Gosh! London.
It’s on their small press wall so be quick before they run out again.
Right, with business out of the way, it’s time to take stock.
December and January have been furiously busy months. Getting a book printed, reviews, distribution, new site; there’s nothing like a bit of MO-men-TUM to keep the bite of the winter months at bay.
I hit the trail with the first convention of the year in Wales at the end of this month and I am looking forward to it. Never been to Wales, so it’ll be a new experience. I’m aware that there’s a convention in London that same week, but I’m keen to take London Horror Comic to new readers.
I’m not sure how many comic shops there are spread across the UK. Forbidden Planet tend to have one in major cities, but if you’re slightly to the left of them, just what do you do for comics?
After that, things go quiet for a bit as I get my head down for London Horror Comic #5. With each issue I want to do something different, so at this stage I’m toying with the idea of making number five one complete story. We’ll see.
After that it’s April and I hit waters international for MoccA in Nooooo Yaaaaaaawk. Really looking forward to flying the flag for the UK along with my fellow travelers.
Then the marathon of events in May with Kapow, Bristol and MCM. I doubt there will be much left of me.
Just a quick note today to say that Gosh! Comics in London has sold out of its initial stock of London Horror Comic 4.
But fear not! Because they will have more copies in stock on Wednesday 1st February.
Look out for it in its small press section, which is on the first floor near the top right of the store just as you face the start of the stairs leading down.
In other news, Orbital Comics are now carrying a limited edition 3-pack of issues 1,2 and 4 of London Horror Comic, so you can kill your journey home for a steal or get a friend hooked on it, like drugs, only with more vivid colours.
For the uninitiated, Urban Gothic was a 30 minute British horror show shown in the UK on Channel Five past the watershed.
In that sentence alone there are thirty good reasons why the odds were stacked against it right from the get go.
The show premièred in 2000 and was riding the crest of the wave of a resurgence of hip-horror (Scream 1-3 came about between 1996 and 2000 as did I Know What You Did Last Summer and Buffy was well into its fourth season).
What made Urban Gothic unique was that it was a horror show without morals. There isn’t any horror as a metaphor here. This lent the show a bit of an edge in that nothing needed to be tied to an anxiety resolved or a lesson for living.
The series was uniquely London, from its opening credits and punk title music, to using a cast of then unknowns and up and coming actors (Robert Webb makes an appearance in one epsiode) which lent the series a freshness.
Not all the shows were perfect although there were some hidden gems such as “Ritual Slaughter” and dark piss-takes on Friends and Dawson’s Creek with “The One Where…” and “Necromance”.
All the episodes were original plays on traditional horror tropes. Truly new stuff was going on here. This was also five years before Dr Who brought back science fiction to the fore and before geek-chic was recognised as a force to be reckoned with.
I don’t think you could get a show like Urban Gothic on network TV today. Even if you did, stories would have to conform to some bloody over-arching theme which would overshadow the stories told in individual episodes and shows would have to promise not to give the censors anything major to worry about.
Which is a bit arse-backward when you think of it: self-contained, episodic and original programming lends itself well to platforms like iTunes and YouTube. Whether the show is a hit or not on network TV is likely to become neither here or there. Critical mass and following can be gained on the web now.
Food for thought.
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Would you like to stock copies of London Horror Comic?
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A quick one for all the Londoners out there:
Orbital Comics have just re-stocked their supply of London Horror Comic #4, so if you had trouble finding a copy, do go seek it out.
It’s on sale on the main wall of comics, second shelf from the bottom and under “Last Week’s Comics” banner. Or ask for it by name and someone should be able to point you in the right direction.
Orbital Comics
8 Great Newport Street
London WC2H 7JA
info@orbitalcomics.com
0207 240 0591
Over at Ain’t it Cool News
(Hit the link and then scroll down to near the bottom. Under the “Indie Jones” banner.)
Available to buy Online here.
Or pop down to Orbital Comics or Gosh! Comics in London and ask for London Horror Comic by name.
Orbital Comics
8 Great Newport Street
London WC2H 7JA
info@orbitalcomics.com
0207 240 0591
Gosh London
1 Berwick Street
London W1F 0DR
View on map
info@goshlondon.com
020 7636 1011
Nearing the end of the month of January and there’s still a hell of a lot to do.
In February I’m off to Wales (never been before) and then in April it’s New York (first international con).
In between that I’m spreading the good word about the London Horror Comic to new readers and putting together the start of issue 5.
A key part of putting together the next issue is reviewing your own previous work. When you’re self-publishing there’s a danger that the process of making and distributing the comic distract you at the expense of reviewing your own output.
Creatively, you also need to set yourself new challenges, to keep the process of writing fresh.
Dream of hurdles you’d like to jump.
Over at noratings.net
Available to buy here.