I Can Do That! The Jonathan Cape/Observer/Comica Graphic Short Story Award 2013

Sequential illustrators hear me! It's time again to show the world what you're made of because the Jonathan Cape/Observer/Comica graphic short story competition up and running again for 2013; surely the biggest competition of its type in the UK. If you need any incentive, just look to the new release table in the shop which features previous winner Stephen Collins' The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil (Jonathan Cape - see here for our blog post). Or 2009 competition runner-up Joff Winterheart's Costa book award nominated Days of Bangold Summer (Jonathan Cape). Or the excellent work of 2008 winner Julian Hanshaw (see here).

Drawing process by Jessica Abel - see here

Stephen Collins will be on the panel assessing the entries but for a list of all the judges and examples of past entries flick over to TheGuardian website (see here) and for entry details see here.

Weekly Treats! Regular Show, Ponies, Authority, Aquaman

Let's inject some colour and bare-faced jauntiness into the week by sticking Regular Show #1 (Kaboom) and My Little Pony vol 1 (IDW) at the top of the Weekly Treats post. Regular Show's subversiveness makes it an uncomfortable bedfellow for the "uncomplicated" sunniness of My Little Pony but I call them different sides of the same animated coin. Let's see if Regular Show can emulate anywhere near the sames success as the all-conquering Adventure Time (#1 is currently on its 4th print). As for My Little Pony, it's got a sparkly cover for crying out loud!!

Sticking with the colour theme Scott Pilgrim vol 3 (Oni) continues the colourised re-prints of Bryan Lee O'Mally's series and once again includes sketches and deleted scenes. These editions really do add a new dimension to the original (I'm sorry, I'm sorry if you've already got the original) and have thoroughly justified the venture into plush hardcover. 

On its original publication Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch's Authority was what is referred to as a 'game changer' - big, wide screen, violent action featuring mass destruction, huge armies and world-weary superheroes, barely holding themselves together and it was all done with a sense of sci-fi intelligence. Even now it's clear to see the influence it had on superhero comics. Authority vol. 1 (DC) collects #1-12 of the now out-of-print series that, in later volumes, saw a then little-known Mark Millar take over writing duties. Cracking stuff.









And finally for the books, Aquaman vol 2 The Others (DC) arrives in hardcover along with the first volume in paperback and Crossed: Wish You Were Here vol 2 (Avatar) which is the next volume printing the web-comic series, slightly tamer than the regular comic series.

Marvel recently confirmed the appearance of Neil Gaiman's Angela in the final issue (see here for a look-see) but for now we have the reality-warped Age of Ultron #8 of 10 and Captain Marvel appears to be unravelling in Avengers: The Enemy Within #1. Also out: a young man hunted for dreaming about a forgotten past in Dream Merchant #1 of 6 (Image) and the man himself has dropped in more mad-dog English-ness in Professor Elemental Comics #2.

The full list of this weeks releases can be found under the tab at the top of the page...

Swoon Now! The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil

"Beneath the skin of everything, is something nobody can know. The job of the skin is to keep it all in and never let anything show."

Smart, clear, playful but carefully designed pencil-work from Observer/Jonathan Cape short story winner Stephen Collins (see here for his website) in his rather enormous new graphic novel out now entitled The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil (Jonathan Cape); an hypnotic book that explores the nature of neat, knowable order and unpredictable, "evil" chaos lurking just beneath the surface (of the skin). UPDATE: See here for TheGuardian's glowing review.

Weekly Treats! Batman, Thieves & Detectives

Remember the old farmers saying: Bank Holiday fun, wait an extra couple of hours for your comics! Should all be done by lunchtime but keep an eye on Twitter updates for the real time progress.

So, this week sees Matt Kindt make more hay whilst the sun shines. Hot on the heels of Mind MGMT comes Red Handed Fine Art Strange Crimes (First second), a crime story that promises to be as fractured as the title. Detective Gould is a super-sleuth who gets into difficulty trying to solve crimes that appear too odd and random to conform to regular profiling. Also, Zombie king Robert Kirkman lends some writing time to Thief of Thieves vol 2: Help Me (Image), co-written by James Asmus and illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough.

There's also Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 vol 3: Guarded (Dark Horse) and one of the most famous of the early Constantine story lines in the slow chronological reprinting of the series - Hellblazer vol 5 Dangerous Habit (Vertigo) finds the Johnny dying from his nicotine addiction.

Two Batman books dominate the superhero releases: First is  Batman Incorporated vol. 1 Demon Star(DC). Grant Morrison's take on Batman will be wrapping up soon leaving behind a huge body of work and carving his name on a large chunk of Batman history for years to come. This volume is the beginning of the end marking a healthy collaboration with illustrator Chris Burnham. Also out is the paper back edition of original graphic novel Batman: Death By Design (DC) written by legendary designer Chip Kidd with striking pencil illustrations by Dave Taylor. 

Batman makes himself space on the comic shelves as well this week with both the Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo regular series and Batman Incorporated, both on #20 (DC). From Marvel it's a very Avengers-centric week (and if you picked up a copy of the Infinity prelude on FCBD then you'll be keeping an eye on Jonathan Hickman's titles) but I'll spotlight Thor: God of Thunder #8 because I think Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic have been working some magic there. After one of those sneaky #0's last month the first issue proper of Kieron Gillen and Caanan White's Uber #1 (Avatar) arrives - just your usual regular tale of very nasty Nazi super soldiers and a woman at the heart of it all trying to get her secret out to the allied forces. And finally, based on the tv show Grimm #1 (Dynamite).

Full list of releases under the tab at the top of the page...

Weekly Treats! Bedlam, Great Pacific, Aliens, Superman

Two books from Image Comics this week - more collections of hot new series' (following the likes of Saga and Prophet) and both arriving with those magic words: introductory price. The first is Bedlam vol. 1 which collects the first six issues of the series about criminal kingpin/homicidal manic who's apparently been cured of his mania and is now attempting to not only go straight but become the city's protector. It's by Morning Glories scribe Nick Spencer and Riley Rossmo and if you thought The Joker has been pretty extreme of late then wait until you get a loud of the nasty in this one; Bedlam has one foot in the crime category and one firmly in the horror.

The second Image newbie is Great Pacific vol 1: Trashed by Joe Harris and Martin Morazzo. Perhaps making more comfortable reading than Bedlam though no less engaging it tells the story of the familiar-named Chaz Worthington who, through guile, stubbornness and a strong survival instinct claims the great pacific garbage patch as his own sovereign nation. Obviously there's an eco-message here but the focus is on the danger he faces to protect his new homeland against pirates, neighbours and the US Navy.

 
Collecting from the Dark Horse Presents anthology, we have Aliens: Inhuman Condition (Dark Horse). The story - set on a world where "artificial persons" are created and then tested against captured Aliens - is from the writer of Chew, John Layman and is illustrated by industry veteran Sam Keith.

And finally, hot off the back of the new Superman movie trailer there's Grant Morrison's Superman Action Comics vol 2: Bulletproof new in hardcover plus softcover releases for both Superman Action Comics vol. 1: Men of Steel and the phenomenally popular original graphic novel Superman: Earth One vol. 1 (all from DC).

If you want more Supes then there's Action Comics #20 and there's a new title from DC: The Movement #1 by Gail Simone and Freddie E Williams II. There's no less than a new Marvel universe in Age of Ultron #7, a cops and super villains yarn from Mike Carey in Suicide Risk #1 (BOOM) and from the rather interesting pairing of J. Michael Straczynski and Ben Templesmith comes Ten Grand #1 about a mob killer who strikes a deal in the afterlife (published by Image - rounding things off nicely!)

As ever, the full list of releases can be studied under the tab at the top of the page...

Free Comic Book Day May 4th 2013

Free Comic Book Day is almost upon us and once again it nicely coincides with the Brighton Children's Parade just for an added party atmosphere (and reduced parking!).  This year the date is set for May 4th and, as previously, we'll be putting together bags of a mixed selection of comics: one pack for kids and one for big kids at heart (yes, that's adults).

This year though, we're excited to announce that the creator of one of the all ages titles will be here signing his comic Endangered Weapon B.  So if you'd like to meet a comic artist, or if you know of a youngster that would, Bob Molesworth will be here (see here for his website).  I do hope you can make it.

Something (other than Jupiter's Legacy) For The Weekend! Vader's Little Princess

It's a simple concept: what if Luke and Leia had grown up with their Dad...?

And it's proved to be a massive success. It's all done with the affectionate charm that has served creator Jeffrey Brown well through his confessional comics days. Kids love them because they're cute & parents love them because it mixes parental-truisms with beloved lines from the original series. Darth Vader and Son (see here) is now the followed-up with Vader's Little Princess (both from Chronicle Books).