Rebellion Releases — 8 May 2024

It’s truly going to be the summer of love – Rebellion is delighted to announce its forthcoming brand new romance comic, Roxy!Launching on Kickstarter on Monday 3 June with a host of exclusive rewards, merch, and surprises for backers, Roxy is guaranteed to leave you gasping for air! Available in digital, paperback or hardback editions, with covers from superstar artists Tula Lotay, Hannah Templer and Marguerite Sauvage, Roxy will feature four unexpected and dynamic stories of fun and flirty love and lust from some of the best storytellers in comics today:

Shipping for fans old and new worldwide. Whatever your level of spice, Roxy has something for you as it revives the spirit of classic British romance comics for the 21st century.

Originally launched in 1958, the original Roxy ran for 288 weekly issues which caught the imagination of young readers across Britain. Now, the title returns for an all-new anthology featuring four modern romance stories bound to inspire a whole new generation.To get onboard the Roxy revolution, sign up to our Pre-Campaign now! You'll be the first to get notified when the Kickstarter Campaign begins, and get hold of our exclusive Day One Backer Rewards - they'll get your heart racing!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2381
Cover: R. M. Guera.

JUDGE DREDD // REND & TEAR WITH TOOTH & CLAW by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Julia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
INDIGO PRIME // BLACK MONDAY by Kek-W (w) Lee Carter (a) Jim Campbell (l)
AQUILA // THE RIVERS OF HADES by Gordon Rennie (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
PROTEUS VEX // DEVIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Jake Lynch (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Essential Judge Anderson: Satan by Alan Grant (w) Arthur Ranson, Mick Austin (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786185-9, 8 May 2024, 144pp, £21.99. Available via Amazon.

Judge Cassandra Anderson of Psi Division is one of the greatest minds on the Judges' roster. As a precognitive telepath and empath, her quirks, such as her sense of humour, are tolerated by the otherwise oppressively strict Justice Department.
    In the second volume of her Essential line, Anderson grapples with matters of faith and damnation, as a chance at eternal life comes at the cost of losing her mind forever, while her pursuit of a just system leads her to investigate a religious cult, and ultimately to engage in a battle of the minds with the most formidable of foes: Satan himself!

Judge Dredd Complete Case Files 44 by John Wagner, Gordon Rennie, Rob Williams, Ian Edginton, Robbie Morrison (w) Carlos Ezquerra, Ian Gibson, Colin MacNeil, Mike McMahon, Jock, Henry Flint, Rufus Dayglo, Vince Locke, PJ Holden, Patrick Goddard, Boo Cook, Richard Elson, Paul Marshall, Cliff Robinson, Len O'Grady, D'Israeli, Lee Garbett, Anthony Williams, Peter Doherty (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786167-5, 8 May 2024, 304pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.

NO CITY FOR OLD MEN!
The best-selling series collecting The Law in order continues. This action-packed volume contains the finale of the epic Origins saga, which sets Dredd on a new quest for justice as he begins to question Mega-City One’s treatment of the mutant population and the laws that keep them down. But what happens when the man upholding the law no longer believes in it?

• 7 May. There have been a couple—here and here—of articles lately asking why nobody seems to be excited by the arrival, thirty years late, of the conclusion to the Miracleman story 'The Silver Age' by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham and the announcement of a new upcoming series, 'The Dark Age'.
  
• 7 May. The Beano is launching its first ever comic strip supporting visually impaired children featuring a guide dog named Chance in a special edition to be published tomorrow (Wednesday, 8th May). 'A Buddy for Life' was created in partnership with the Guide Dog charity to highlight the role guide dogs can play in people's lives. The article quotes Beano Studios' Editorial Director, Craig Grham (sic), presumably pronounced "Grrrr"ham.
  
• 5 May. The touring Raymond Briggs exhibition has reached the end of its journey and will now rest for five months at Ditchling Museum, two miles from Briggs's home in East Sussex. Because of its proximity, the estate has allowed some personal items to be shown that haven't appeared elsewhere. Roughly a third of the exhibits are new for Ditchling. You can see a little of the exhibition in this ITV news report.
  
• 14 Apr. Mark Millar has said that he intends writing Superman stories that he will then publish when Superman enters the public domain in 2033. As Rich Johnson points out, Millar is well known for headline-grabbing announcements and this might just be one more. "In a decade, DC Comics will lose the copyright on those first issues of Action Comics which established so much about the character. So yes, Mark Millar could absolutely publish Superman comics, though it would have to be under a different name, as DC/Warner Bros still owns the trademark."
  
• 7 Apr. The BBC celebrates the work of Bryan Talbot. "Making up the story is the fun bit, the best bit really," Bryan says, adding: "Drawing it is the hard part."
• 5 Apr. Steve Bell discusses getting fired from The Guardian in epsiode 41 of Caglecast with Daryl Cagle. "We get the whole story from Steve, at a time when more cartoonists who are critical of Israel or Netanyahu are being accused of drawing anti-Semitic cartoons. We also have two of Israel's top editorial cartoonists to discuss Steve's cartoon." (video, 20m)
  

Comic Cuts — 3 May 2024

Look behind you!

First up, no blathering on about the garden this week. We've had too much rain, so I have only been tinkering around the edges of the patio and stripped some ivy that was growing over the back garden gate, which we have never used as it simply leads into the estate beyond out fence which hasn't anything useful like a second-hand bookshop or a chippie.

So how have I been keeping myself busy? Well, I've somehow managed to sign myself up to write a bunch of introductions, so I thought I'd get some of the preparatory work out of the way. I already had quite a few notes for a piece on Jeffery Farnol, plus a full-length biography to read; I split my time between that and a shorter piece on a comic strip which I see has now been announced. It's 'Slave of the Screamer' by Tom Tully with artwork by Jesus Blasco, which just happens to have been a favourite of mine when I was reading Valiant at the tender age of eight. I was still eight when it finished, and I only kept reading because Janus Stark and Simon Test joined, thanks to a merger with Smash!.

Anyway, I'll leave any other reminiscences to the introduction, which is now done. So is the first draft of the Jeffery Farnol, although the idea is to cut it back and run it alongside a biographical piece about H. Rider Haggard at the back of the upcoming Blasco collection. I'll probably write an introduction to the book, too, as I like to offer plenty of value for money in my collections (I think the Frontline UK book had four articles: an introduction and biographical sketches of Bill Corderoy, Ian Kennedy and Clemente Rezzonico, the writer and artists).

The other introduction is to a German Don Lawrence collection, although I've only started jotting down notes at the moment. I did spot a historical blunder in the opening panel, and our column header, which made me grin, so I thought I'd share it, so I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the strip.

Another thing that made me grin... we have a lot of roadworks going on at the moment, so there are loads of road signs popping up everywhere. I liked this one because, in order, they tell you the diversion has ended, then they divert traffic to the left, and finally, reveal that the road ahead is closed, and wants to send traffic to the right.

Like many, we have our local election today (I'm writing  this Thursday afternoon so we can get out this evening to vote and get our traditional Election Fish 'n' Chips) and I do have one question. We're expected to vote for a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for the Essex area, and the four choices each have a named political affiliation. Surely a person who oversees the fire and police services MUST be independent of any politics to have a fair and unbiased view of the services? I don't want someone in charge whose politics may sway any decision they make.

I seem to have had a bit of a political week, having brought up a long-standing annoyance to one of our local councilors the other day. The drain just down the road has collapsed and doesn't drain away any water. So when it rains, we end up with a lake across the the road that blocks off the pathway, fills our opposite neighbour's driveway, and – after heavy rain – washes across the road and down our driveway whenever a car drives through it.

There are also other dangers: I mentioned above the estate at the back of us.... well, it's full of kids trying to get to school every morning and they either cross and re-cross the road or walk down the road to avoid getting their shoes soaked. And in full flood, drivers cannot see there are double yellow lines on the blind corner and they will park.

I've mentioned this previously to council members but nothing has been done. So this time I went public and posted photos on a local Facebook group asking specifically who needed to be contacted to get something done. Within 24 hours, we had not only had a response from our councilor, but he had contacted the relevant section of Essex County Council and reported the problem to Essex Highways and we now have a case number so we can follow any progress.

I'm not expecting anything to happen soon as there are so many traffic diversions around at the moment, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on things.

That's enough politics. I'm off to read a comic strip!

Rebellion Releases — 1 May 2024

SUPERNOVA STORIES FROM A SIDEWAYS UNIVERSE!

It's the summer of true nuclear fusion as 2000 AD mashes and smashes its most popular strips together in the return of its pulsating Sci-Fi Special!
 
Exploding into shelves on 3 July in a 48-page supernova, the 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special will feature an all-thriller AND killer line-up of creators including Ian Edginton, Dan Abnett, Ben Willsher, Nicolò Assirelli... and the return to 2000 AD of the mighty Al Ewing!
 

This all-new Sci-Fi Special comes beamed from an alternate dimension – one in which familiar characters from the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic have been given a different twist. The Thrill-powered characters you thought you knew have been amalgamated into one other in strange and unpredictable ways, creating an all new version of the Galaxy's Greatest!
 
In this sideways universe there is only one person who has the strength to enforce the law in Mega-City One... and he's a high-powered mutant! With eyes which can emit piercing Alpha waves, JUDGE ALPHA makes sure that nobody messes with the Justice Department!
 
When robots go rogue and start causing chaos in the neighbourhood, who're you gonna call? Sinister and Dexter, of course, the ROBO-SHARKS! Hired to track down and terminate troublesome droids, this pair of robo... hunters? never miss their targets!
 
The Search/Destroy Agency have a number of highly-trained bounty hunters on their intergalactic roster: but none were as skilled as Friday! Framed for a crime he didn't commit, this ROGUE/DOG is now being hunted by his fellow bounty hunters!
 
Ahoy! When you're out on the wild seas of the world, flag flying in the wind and your team of scurvy dogs on deck, no bounty goes unclaimed! But the Red Wench's captain is a rather strange chap: who is STICKLEBACK?
 
And if you're a fan of high-octane thrill-sports, there's only one place to enjoy extreme and enervating combat! The most violent sport of the future features undead, flesh-eating teams... welcome THE HARLEM ZOMBOS to 2000 AD!
 
Priced at £4.99 for 48 pages of interstellar action, the 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2024 is out on 3 July from all good newsagents and comic book stores, as well as the 2000 AD app and webshop!

And now, this week's release...

2000AD Prog 2380
Cover: John McCrea

JUDGE DREDD // REND & TEAR WITH TOOTH & CLAW by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Julia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
INDIGO PRIME // BLACK MONDAY by Kek-W (w) Lee Carter (a) Jim Campbell (l)
AQUILA // THE RIVERS OF HADES by Gordon Rennie (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
PROTEUS VEX // DEVIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Jake Lynch (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Comic Cuts — 26 April 2024

I have been slacking on the Bear Alley Books front for a few weeks following the release of BEYOND THE VOID: THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF BADGER BOOKS, which is selling reasonably well. It's the eternal frustration of all small publishers that they can never get reviewed in any major media: I've sent books to newspapers and magazines in the past and its like throwing books into a black hole.

Privately and in person—at the recent Paperback & Pulp Book Fair, for instance—I hear from people who enjoy my books; I even get repeat customers. But that doesn't translate into reviews. No wonder a lot of self-published authors can be tempted into paying dodgy operations to post positive reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and elsewhere.

Bear Alley Books doesn't earn me a living. If I could get more books out I might get closer to it being a full-time job, but I also have to pay the rent. And that means taking on other jobs (a recent short run of writing for The Guardian, for instance), which pushes back book projects that I'd be happy to be working on. For a change of pace, I managed to write something for what will hopefully be the follow-up to the above mentioned Badger book; but now I'm back to work.

At the Book Fair I had a chat with someone about doing a new comic strip reprint and I'm pleased to say that it is now in the works—a collection of three historical strips by Jesus Blasco from the pages of Look and Learn. I have been wanting to reprint two of them for donkey's years, but had to wait until the original books they were based came out of copyright. That happened on January 1st last year, so I'm already a year late getting this together. (See my comment above about Bear Alley Books not earning me a living!)

It will take me a couple of weeks to put the whole thing together. I need to re-letter some of the artwork and there are introductions to be written, but it's in active production—I did a whole lot of scanning this week and reminded myself how tedious it is cleaning up artwork, however much you love the artist.

I've also committed myself to writing the introduction to another comic strip reprint. Not sure I should say what it is as I don't think it has been announced yet. But it's amazing!

The rest of my life is pretty dull by comparison. The brighter weather (I won't say warmer, 'cos it hasn't been) has meant I've had a chance to attack the garden; I'm on phase two of my efforts to re-seed areas of the lawn that were left to their own devices by a previous tenant and which, frankly, I didn't do anything about for some years when maybe I should. We try to be bee-friendly, so leaving weeds to grow at the far end of the back garden we thought was a positive thing. Unfortunately, it allowed a plant called green alkanet to run riot. Yes, the bees love it's tiny blue flowers, but it has these large spreading leaves that mean nothing else survives where it has taken root.

I started uprooting this menace last year and put grass seed down in a number of areas, and I'm pleased to say that it has worked, to a degree. Back of a fag-packet maths tells me I've reclaimed about twelve square feet of lawn, so this year I'm starting earlier (although delayed by the constant rain we've been having), and taking on the bottom end of the garden, which is stonier ground surrounding a pond, partly covered in ivy. The plan is to dig out the alkanet, clear a lot of the stones, strip away the ivy and put down a mix of grass seeds and wild flowers.

Let's hope that the garden doesn't suffer the same fate as one or two of my Bear Alley Books' projects, which are years late. I don't want to be discussing alkanet in the year 2030. Back to my re-lettering!

Commando 5743-5746

Tanks, Mosquitos, Legionnaires and a grenade-wielding British Officer, all in Commando issues 5743-5746! On sale from today, Thursday 25th April, 2024.

5743: Frank the Tank

The M4 Sherman Firefly named Frank was a beast of a machine. Tough, stubborn, and a heck of a thing to drive. Corporal Ken Roberts, Frank’s driver, soon found out that if you upset Frank he would go nowhere and you would end up a sitting duck for the Germans!
    But there was a secret inside Frank, one that would save the lives of his entire crew — if you showed him some respect!
    The first of Brent Towns issues this Commando set, and it’s a super-supernatural issue featuring a ghost in the tank machine! With artwork by veteran Jaume Forns and newcomer Marco Bianchini.

Story: Brent Towns
Art: Jaume Forns
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5744: Valley of Flame

Sergeant Bull Moore, a tough veteran who’d been in more tight corners than he could remember, had never met an officer like Lieutenant Stephen Wylie before. Stephen wore glasses, was timid as a mouse, and wasn’t even sure how to fire his own revolver! He’d even been known to chuck grenades at Nazis without taking the pin out! Bull could never have imagined a guy like that would save a whole battalion from total disaster!
    Gentry weaves together all the elements that make up a fantastic classic Commando in issue #5744 ‘Valley of Flame’: a hapless officer turned hero with a capable sergeant by his side! With art by Franch and Penalva, what more could you want?

Story: Gentry
Art: Franch
Cover: Penalva
First Published 1970 as Issue 548

5745: Recon Hoodoo!

Pilot Officer Bob Carter had a hoodoo on him — that’s what everyone said. Any navigator that climbed into the unarmed De Havilland Mosquito reconnaissance plane with that jinxed pilot was marked for death! First, it had been Flight Sergeant Jim Morris, then Riley Nash, and by Mike Croft, it was confirmed. Bob had a hoodoo — one that was deadly for anyone who flew with him!
    What’s more classic in a Commando than a hoodoo on the main character? Well, that’s exactly what Brent Town evokes in his story about the jinxed Aussie pilot of an unarmed recon plane during World War Two. With moody interiors by Alberto Saichann, with a lush cover by Neil Roberts.
 
Story: Brent Towns
Art: Alberto Saichann
Cover: Neil Roberts

5746: Legion Vendetta

A first-class soldier in the French Foreign Legion and a crack pilot in the RAF – Jeff Daly had been both during his exciting, hectic life. He’d been to many places and met many people, but the one man he would never forget was his brutal Legion sergeant. If their paths crossed ever again, one of them would die!
    Issue 5746 features everything that makes a really good Commando — an Ian Kennedy cover, Gordon C Livingstone interior artwork, and a tale of revenge written by Gentry!

Story: Gentry
Art: Gordon C Livingstone
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First Published 1981 as Issue 1573

Rebellion Releases — 24 April 2024

Constanza’s Vampiric War Continues! Pre-Order Fiends of the Eastern Front Vol 2 Today!

The second omnibus in the Fiends of the Eastern Front series, collecting Ian Edginton and Tiernen Trevallion’s thrilling horror tales into a new, definitive edition!

Fiends of the Eastern Front is one of the bloodthirsty crowns in 2000 AD history, a vampiric epic which spans multiple eras and travels across bloody battlefields as it follows the enigmatic Captain Constanza: vampire, leader, and warrior! Created by Gerry Finley-Day and Carlos Ezquerra, the acclaimed series continues on into a second volume which brings the Fiends into the modern era of The Galaxy’s Greatest!

In 1970, Lieutenant Tim Wilson is haunted by the memories of war – not just the bloodshed of the battlefield, but the horrors witnessed at the hand of Captain Constanta, who rescued him after a gruesome encounter with the King-Bats of Maximilian Von Klorr – the Black Max himself!

Years later, Lt. Wilson sets on a journey to hunt down Constanta in his native Romania, and uncovers his origins among beasts and creatures of magic. Who is Constanza really, and what is the long game he’s playing?

Collecting the work of Ian Edginton and Tiernen Trevallion, the second omnibus of Fiends of the Eastern Front follows Constanta’s bloody trail across history, and brings monstrous terror from the skies of wartime France to the streets of 1960s London. Pre-order either the Standard Edition or Webshop-Exclusive cover from superstar artist DaNi today!

2000AD Prog 2379
Cover: INJ Culbard

JUDGE DREDD // REND & TEAR WITH TOOTH & CLAW by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Julia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
INDIGO PRIME // BLACK MONDAY by Kek-W (w) Lee Carter (a) Jim Campbell (l)
AQUILA // THE RIVERS OF HADES by Gordon Rennie (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
PROTEUS VEX // DEVIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Jake Lynch (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Lowborn High by David Barnett (w), Anna Morozova, Mike Walters (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786109-5, 24 April 2024, 112pp, £12.99. Available via Amazon.

For as long as anyone can remember, Wychdusk Manor has been the school to which all the top magical novices are sent, where they are trained to become the world’s greatest wizards. Androgeus Frost, part of one of the wizarding worlds’ most esteemed families, always thought it was a sure thing he’d get in, but somehow finds himself dumped at Lowborn High.
    A struggling inner-city comprehensive school for those with mediocre magical talent, Androgeus finds himself with all the other duds, drop-outs, and those who don’t have the upper-class wizarding family background. Making friends with Maisy, Ali and Dril, soon the group of friends find there are mysteries to solve and the pupils of Lowborn High can still be capable of some truly amazing feats!

Eagle Times v37 no1 (Spring 2024)

Another year, another volume of Eagle Times, the remarkable magazine dedicated to the original Eagle.  Remarkable because the original lasted 19 years (1950-69) and ET is heading towards double that in 2025 but still has new things to say about the paper that inspired its launch back in 1988.

Truth be told, much of this issue is only related to Eagle glancingly, although there are enough features that tie directly to the classic comic for hardcore fans who want their Fifties fix. Things kick off with a look at the copyright battles of Captain Marvel and how this affected the British reprints by Len Miller – famously the origin of our own Marvelman, who became entangled with his own lengthy series of legal battles forty years later that dragged on for another 25 years.

David Britton covers another American comic named Eagle (having covered one last issue), this one featuring a character named Richard Eagle whose adventures Britton found difficult to follow. Hopefully he took solace in writing about Lily Renée, an artist I coincidentally discovered two days before Eagle Times dropped through my letterbox. She had a fascinating story: born in Vienna to a privileged Jewish family, who escaped the Nazis via the Kindertransport that brought her to England in 1939., working as a nursing assistant during the Blitz.

Her parents had escaped to America and Lily joined them in New York. She found work with an advertising agency and then in comics, at Fiction House, where she drew for Wings Comics, Rangers Comics, Planet Comics, Fight Comics and others, and later for St Johns Publications. Later she wrote children's books and plays and lived to 101, dying on 22 August 2022.

I learned of Lily while writing about Trina Robbins, who wrote a graphic novel biography of her exploits in 2011.

Lily is the second artist associated with American comics covered this issue, following part 2 of Adam Goodman's look at Milton Caniff. This episode covers the end of his time on 'Terry and the Pirates' and his creation of 'Steve Canyon'.

Other features that glance on Eagle include Eric Fernie's thoughts on thinking in comics and an obituary for Margaret Walker, Frank Hampson's youger sister, who attended various Eagle-related events.

Definitely centred on Eagle are articles by Jim Duckett on the 1960s strip 'Knights of the Road', Alan J. Palmer's discussing his favourite Dan Dare story, and a P.C.49 tale by Steve Winders.

The year is off to a good start.

The quarterly Eagle Times is the journal of the Eagle Society, with membership costing £30 in the UK, £45 (in sterling) overseas. You can send subscriptions to Bob Corn, Mayfield Lodge, Llanbadoc, Usk, Monmouthshire NP15 1SY; subs can also be submitted via PayPal to membership@eagle-society.org.uk. Back issues are available for newcomers to the magazine and they have even issued binders to keep those issues nice and neat.

Comic Cuts – 19 April 2024

I have been keeping busy with a third commission from The Guardian, this one on the late Trina Robbins, which took me four days to complete: Sunday gathering information, Monday listening to some audio interviews and making notes, Tuesday reading her autobiography and various interviews. During this period of information gathering, I was also writing notes that I eventually pulled together into something I hoped was coherent.

On Tuesday night I had a draft that was 1,900 words. The commission  was for 900 or so, which meant Wednesday was spent slashing, rewriting and rewording until I had something I could submit.

Thursday was definitely more relaxing: I read Eagle Times (a review will appear on Saturday), got started on a little essay about Joan the Wad (the lucky Cornish Piskey) and... well, if you're reading this, I must have written it.

It hasn't been a mad rush all week: we managed to get a little gardening done on Sunday morning and I've started on a new book (The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, which was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the British Fantasy Award a few years ago; and was the first in a 4-book series that won a Hugo in 2019. Mel has already read them and recommended them and what I've read so far has been enjoyable. I'm still being introduced to the mixed-species crew of the Waylander, which made me think not of Star Trek as most people would, but of Eric Frank Russell's Jay Score stories, with its human / Martian crew.

It's a very popular series and, digging around, I discovered that it has its own Wayfarers Wiki website. That's where the cartoon of the crew is from, drawn by Elsa Varland; there are plenty of other images of aliens, of the Wayfarer ship... I'm a little wary of exploring too far, just in case the site begins to infect how I see the characters, but it's certainly something I'll explore once I've read the book(s).

We watched 3 Body Problem, which ended too quickly and there will now be a long wait until the next tiny batch of episodes. Apple have done one series right: Slow Horses has had seasons filmed one after the other in pairs, so release dates have been relatively close together: three seasons broadcast in two years, season four already filmed and the fifth already commissioned.

I appreciate it would be impossible to do this with all shows, but I do find the waits between seasons frustrating, especially as I have a lousy memory for faces and plots. Great for rewatching Poirot and other detective shows, but not so for Foundation where it was twenty months between seasons. (And as I like to save up a show until we have all the episodes, it was another three months waiting for the finale before we got started.) I think our longest wait was for the second season of Carnival Row, which we watched 43 months after season 1.

Of course, my other frustration is shows that end without a proper ending... so good news that Snowpiercer season 4, its last, which was filmed and ready for broadcast by TNT, has been picked up by another channel and will be available from early next year. Now I can watch season 3, which I have been sitting on for a year or two, safe in the knowledge that at some point I'll have the opportunity to try and figure out how to watch season 4 as it's gone to AMC, which was on Sky until 2019 when it became a BT TV exclusive before disappearing from there last year. Didn't bother me at the time (I'm not a Walking Dead fan), but now...

Now I need a lucky Cornish piskey...

Rebellion Releases – 17 April 2024

The latest episode of the 2000AD Thrill-Cast is not for the nervous! At least that’s what Ghastly McNasty, the editor of Scream! might claim! With a brand new hardcover collection publishing all the stories from the 1980s horror comic in order out in May, the Thrill-Cast talkes to its editor Ian Rimmer, sub-editor and writer Simon Furman, and SFX editor and Scream! reader Darren Scott about the history of the short-lived title and its enduring influence.

And if Hogwarts is the posh magical school, where do the comprehensive pupils go? We gain an education in conjuration with Lowborn High writer David Barnett and artist Mike Walters, talking about the all-ages series that’s getting its first collection.

You can find the 2000AD Thrill-Cast at your regular podcast provider and is also available on Soundcloud.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2378
Cover: Patrick Goddard / Dylan Teague (cols).

JUDGE DREDD // REND & TEAR WITH TOOTH & CLAW by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Julia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
INDIGO PRIME // BLACK MONDAY by Kek-W (w) Lee Carter (a) Jim Campbell (l)
AQUILA // THE RIVERS OF HADES by Gordon Rennie (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
New! BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
PROTEUS VEX // DEVIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Jake Lynch (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Judge Dredd Megazine #467
Cover: John McCrea / Mike Spicer.

JUDGE DREDD: ESCALATION by Mike Carroll (w) Paul Marshall (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DEMARCO, PI: NO SMOKE by Laura Bailey (w) Rob Richardson (a) Simon Bowland (l)
New! ARMITAGE: BULLETS FOR AN OLD MAN by Liam Johnson (w) Warren Pleece (a) Jim Campbell (l)
SCREAM: LIBRARY OF DEATH by Barrie Tomlinson (w) Cam Kennedy (a) Mike Peters (l)
HOOKJAW by Si Spurrier (w) Conor Boyle (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Rob Steen (l)
JUDGE DREDD: UNDER SIEGE by Mark Russell (w) Max Dunbar (a) Jose Luis Rio (c) Simon Bowland (l)
DEVLIN WAUGH: HOME AWAY FROM HOME by Aleš Kot (w) PJ Holden (a) Jack Davies (c) Simon Bowland (l)
HARROWER SQUAD: CALHAB COUNTRY by David Baillie (w) Steve Yeowell (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Weird Planet audiobook

If you're read BEYOND THE VOID: THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF BADGER BOOKS, you'll know that I've nominated Barney Ward as probably the worst science fiction writer of all time. I reprinted an extract of his story 'Weird Planet' in the book to give you a taste of his writing style... now here's the whole story in audiobook form, presented in three 15-minute-or-so episodes. It's the most bizarre story you'll ever hear... and possibly the ultimate way to enjoy/endure some of this publisher's terrible output.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy episode one of 'Weird Planet'...

 

Comic Cuts - 12 April 2024

After last week's late-running Comic Cuts column, I was convinced I wouldn't have any similar problems this week. Of course, I wasn't taking into account trying to hit a deadline with a piece I'm writing for The Guardian that I want to get out of the way before my birthday. So yesterday was dedicated to getting a first draft finished rather than my usual sit back, feet up Comic Cuts ramblings.

I won't mention the subject, as I'm writing a file obituary, which will be held on file by the paper so they can get it into print promptly when this person dies. It's a bit ghoulish, but this is how I earn a living.

Sales of BEYOND THE VOID are going OK at the moment, and I've finally managed to put together a bit of information about the book that has gone up on the Bear Alley Books page. For various reasons, I wasn't able to post this earlier — basically it boils down to how quickly Amazon and Ebay want you to supply books when an order comes in. All my orders have to be filled within three days and sent out using a service that allows tracking. If I was to wait for Lulu to print the book every time one was ordered (which can take up to five days), I'd be thrown off both platforms.

Following a successful trip to the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair, I had sold out, so I had to wait until I got another batch of books in, and as they were running late, I put in a second order so that they could be working their way through the system while I was waiting on the first batch.

So I had a couple of boxes of books land at chez Bear Alley during the week, so I'm stocked up to the max and I'm doing a stock take this weekend so that I'm not short of any other books. This is what writing obituaries pays for!

The pre-publication special offer on BEYOND THE VOID has come to an end now that the books are more widely available — you can now get copies through Ebay (you can see all my books at my Ebay store) and on Amazon. The varied price reflects how much those two platforms take out of every payment. Amazon also underpays postage and then takes a percentage of it, so that has to be added to the cover price: Amazon swallows up almost 30% of the cover price + postage, and I'm left to pay the true postage & packaging, printing costs and the costs of getting the book to me here; I also have to print out a postage label, which costs 4p but takes ages, because I have to do it on my old PC, which is old and cranky, like me.

Look at me and my middle-class problems!

That's it... I've got to get back to filing this obituary.

Commando 5739-5742

Commando issues 5739-5742 are on sale from today, Thursday 11th April, 2024, featuring aerial hi-jinks and jeep hijacks!

5739: King and Aces

All Maude Graham wanted was to help the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War. She was tired of the ammunition factories and knew she could make a difference.
But when she arrives at the airfield with glowing references, all she is met with is laughter and prejudice. Well, she might be limited on the ground, but Maude knows the
sky’s the limit!
    Commando welcomes brand-new writer Petri Hanninen with his first tale in Issue 5739. With a little help from newcomer interior artist, Marc Viure, Hanninen weaves a wonder of a World War One story with a twist!

Story: Petri Hanninen
Art: Marc Viure
Cover: Neil Roberts

5740: The Bamboo Cage

To the crump of grenades and rattle of machine guns that echoed through the Burmese jungle in World War Two, a new sound was added... the twang of bow strings and the hiss of arrows flying through the air. And to the Japanese that sound brought terror. It meant Captain David Heywood and his fierce Kachin tribesmen were on the warpath!
    Classic Commando incoming! CG Walker’s great yarn is deep in the thick jungle in Burma, with magnificent artwork from Victor de la Fuente and Jordi Penalva.

Story: CG Walker
Art: V Fuente
Cover: Penalva
First Published 1970 as Issue 503

5741: Ramsey’s Raiders: Hijacked Jeeps!

Ramsey’s Raiders: the ragtag group of mavericks on wheels! The mounted Special Raiding Force were carnage on a chassis but what are the Raiders without their jeeps?
    Well they were about to find out as they returned from an ambush to find their jeeps missing in action!
    Ferg Handley’s rag-tag group of high-risk mavericks return in a brand-new adventure! This time the wheeled menaces are taken off the road when their jeeps are hijacked! Will the raiders recover — or will they be infantry from now on?!

Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Carlos Pino

5742: Butterfield’s Battle

An easy-going manner and interest in history, plus a name like Claude Butterfield... they don’t seem to add up to the stuff that heroes are made of, do they?
But Claude could be as fierce as a tiger if something made him angry — and then whoever was responsible had better look out!
    Don't be fooled by this light and calm Ian Kennedy cover — for inside this Commando is a tiger of a story by CG Walker, full of hot-blooded action and adventure brought to life by Gordon C Livingstone!

Story: CG Walker
Art: Gordon C Livingstone
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First Published 1981 as Issue 1568

Rebellion Releases — 10 April 2024

Battle Action Force Treasury Editions.

Battle Action Force was published weekly from October 1983 to November 1986 by IPC Magazines limited, and brought together some of the greatest talents in the British comics industry of that time, both on the editorial and illustrative fronts including names like Gerry Finley-Day, Geoff Campion and Cam Kennedy. Included within its pages were the adventures of “Action Force”, created by British toy manufacturer, Palitoy.

Four heroic Action Force teams: infantry specialists Z Force, ocean based Q Force, infiltration specialists the SAS and orbital guardians Space Force protected the world against the evil machinations of Baron Ironblood, The Black Major and their army of brainwashed Red Shadows.

Now, for the first time in over forty years, Total Toy Books, with kind permission from Hasbro and in collaboration with Rebellion Publishing and Skeletron, are proud to announce an officially licensed reprint of the Action Force tales from Battle Action Force collected in a series of deluxe sized ‘treasury editions.’

With original issues difficult to find and expensive to purchase in full, this is a collection not to be missed by fans of the original series or for those who only discovered the existence of the comic in more recent times.

More details about this exciting series will be revealed in the coming weeks. Sign up to Total Toy Books' mailing list to be the first to find out more about this forthcoming series.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2377
Cover: Cliff Robinson / Dylan Teague (cols).

JUDGE DREDD // REND & TEAR WITH TOOTH & CLAW by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Julia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
INDIGO PRIME // BLACK MONDAY by Kek-W (w) Lee Carter (a) Jim Campbell (l)
NEW: AQUILA // THE RIVERS OF HADES by Gordon Rennie (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE FALL OF DEADWORLD // RETRIBUTION by Kek-W (w) Dave Kendall (a) Simon Bowland (l)
FULL TILT BOOGIE // BOOK TWO by Alex de Campi (w) Eduardo Ocana (a) Eva De La Cruz (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Joe Pineapples: Tin Man by Pat Mills (w), Simon Bisley & Clint Langley (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-178618493-1, 10 April 2024, 96pp, £16.99. Available via Amazon.

Stranded for millions of years on an asteroid is hard work – especially when you only have a sewage droid for company! Joe Pineapples, the hotshot robotic sniper who never misses and former member of the A.B.C. Warriors - a team of war robots sent to first conquer and then protect Mars - looks back over his life as he seeks to unravel the mystery behind an I.D. plate that he has carried around since his days as an X-terminator fighting in the Volgan War.
    This brand-new, stand-alone A.B.C. Warriors story marks the return of Simon Bisley (Lobo, Batman/Dredd: Judgement on Gotham) to the characters for the first time with 1988's classic Black Hole story, which kickstarted his comic career, but now in glorious painted colour reminiscent of Bisley's work on Slaine: The Horned God. Clint Langley, who has drawn A.B.C. Warriors stories for the last 15 years, completes this final tale of Joe Pineapples in his own unique style.