Lazy Blogger...

Well, it's been substantially over a week since I posted anything, so I guess it's time for an update.

I've received my complementary copies of Starship Troopers #6, which means the issue ought to be on shelves this coming week. Those people to whom I've promised freebies, you'll be receiving them shortly.

Also, I'm in print again - this time in the Layer Zero #2 anthology book available now-ish from Insomnia Publications. My story is a nine-pager entitled Remember This Moment, and is basically an attempt to construct a story using the principles, timing and misdirection of a magic trick. Yes, it's one of those "concept stories" you've heard about, and once again my shameful secret past as a magician rears up its ghastly head. Still, if Alan Moore and Grant Morrison can ponce around squirting their bollocks-magic gibberish all over the medium, there's no reason why I can't work a little bit of the real stuff in there.

Anyway, Remember This Moment is drawn by my Extinction Protocol co-conspirator, Nic Wilkinson. The anthology's cover is provided by Bad Blood artist, Paul Green and one of the best stories in the book is lettered by Thomas Mauer, so the whole thing is like one big Starship Troopers reunion.

I've got some other stuff cooking with Insomnia that I hope to be able to announce soon. For now, though, Layer Zero should give you a rough idea of what they're about.

More soon, including possible news of a whole website dedicated to yours truly - which is, for reasons that escape me, apparently the very thing the internet is crying out for right now.

Industrial Revolution

I have been alerted to the fact that 12 Ton Method, the world's only 1920s metal band, has now been signed by Copro Records. This is of particular interest to me since the vocalist, Duncan Wilkinson (formerly of London's own Needleye), is my girlfriend's brother and fairly high up on the short list of people to whom I wish no particular harm.

Yes, that's right - I said 1920s metal.

Here's how it works. Metal at its best derives from two primary factors: dissonance and extremity. These two factors, the band argues, reached a peak in the 1920s with the work of Arnold Schoenberg - deviser of the dodecaphonic "12 Tone Method".

12 Ton Method's debut EP, "The Art of Not Falling" is released on the 18th of February. If you're the least bit interested in the future of metal, then I strongly suggest you order your copy now.

For the Love of God...

...will someone please explain this to me?

Taken from Jim Starlin's Comics Code Authority approved "Strange Tales Featuring Warlock #181" from 1975:



Am I missing some perfectly innocent interpretation here, or were comics in the 70s way cooler than I remember?

...and a Second Opinion

Another review for Starship Troopers #5 - this time from Whatever Comics.

It turns out the book is composed entirely of crystallised awesomeness.

The Verdict is In!

Well, with Starship Troopers #5 on the shelves I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody read it and formed an opinion as to its quality. Here's Glenn Carter's review on Comics Village. Go ahead and read it. I'll wait here until you're done.

Finished? Cool. I have to say, I'm pretty much blown away by that review. If you could see through my screen right now, you'd see my happy face.

While we're on the subject of nice people saying nice things, Regie Rigby caught me off-guard with his latest column, which raises some interesting questions about the way comics are thought of in comparison to other art forms. He also gives Bad Blood a much appreciated mention.

All in all, I'm in a good mood today.

Criminal Damage

So, this weekend, I went down to Canterbury. It's something Nic and I do a couple of times a year to clear the London soot out of our lungs and visit the few people we still know down there. This time, we had an additional reason; we were celebrating the long-anticipated release of Starship Troopers #5. It made sense to mark the occasion with a Canterbury visit since, despite having moved to London in '95, Nic and I still buy our comics from the same shop we did back then, the exceptional Whatever Comics.

Long story short, I got bushwhacked.

It turns out that Nic had conspired with Manny, the owner of Whatever Comics, to set up a sort of covert signing/launch party in honour of my first comic's release. She'd even arranged for some of my oldest friends to meet us down there. Had an excellent day, met some new people and ruined a number of Troopers comics with my illegible scrawl. There was cake.

It's a disturbing thing, signing a comic for the first time. I actually had considerable difficulty putting pen to paper. For one thing, scratching a signature over Paul Green's gorgeous artwork just seems deeply wrong. It felt like I was drawing a funny moustache on the Mona Lisa. It felt like vandalism, and I loved it. Thanks to everyone who showed up.

While I was there, I also received an invitation to a quilting exhibition from star quilter and old friend, Ferret. If you're WTF-ing all over the place right now, try visiting Ferret's website this very minute to see why her work is worth sitting up and paying attention to. I guarantee you'll be amazed at what she's doing with the medium.