Geoff Senior @ Orbital comics, July 2019 - part 2

Some more of Geoff Senior's amazing art - great to see those Dragon's Claws covers in real life

A (7th) Doctor Who signing tonight

This is tonight folks, don't forget!

Over here on the Forbidden Planet website a Doctor Who signing has been announced for the London megastore on the evening of Wednesday 20th June, from 6-7pm.

A the website says...

BEN AARONOVITCH, ANDREW CARTMEL and LEE SULLIVAN will be signing DOCTOR WHO SEVENTH DOCTOR #1 and RIVERS OF LONDON WATER WEED #1 at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Wednesday 20th June from 6 – 7pm!

From the writers of the fan-favourite episode Remembrance of the Daleks, Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch, Doctor Who Seventh Doctor #1 brings us a brand new comic adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy, and Ace as played by Sophie Aldred. Also includes a short back-up strip, written by Richard Dinnick, with art by Jessica Martin.

And in Water Weed #1, the digital and bookstore smash-hit series returns with an all-new miniseries. When two of the less well-behaved river goddesses, Chelsea and Olympia, decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter Grant and Bev find themselves drawn into a sordid cannabis smuggling operation, controlled by London’s new queenpin of crime, the brutal and beautiful Hoodette.

Doctor Who Weekly #0

Dez Skinn continues his one man effort to bring '70s comic strips back to the present day with this little beauty...

As he says on that facebook…
Talking about dummies (no jokes, please!) a while back I produced a special commemorative Doctor Who Weekly #0 - a printing of the original mock-up that I took along to the BBC to secure the license in 1979. Only 100 copies printed, which disappeared pronto. So, as a guest of the forthcoming Vworp convention and feeling I couldn't turn up empty-handed, I produced another limited edition of DWW #0 (a slight variant and without the s+n certificate so as not to devalue the original 100 but still with the explanatory "Letter from the Dezter").

Anybody not attending or impatient can actually get it from me now. It's £24.95 inc postage (UK; plus £4.00 Europe, £5.50 rest of world). Just Paypal the amount to Dezskinn1@yahoo.co.uk and we'll mail it out pronto.

A (7th) Doctor Who signing is announced

Over here on the Forbidden Planet website a Doctor Who signing has been announced for the London megastore on the evening of Wednesday 20th June, from 6-7pm.

A the website says...
BEN AARONOVITCH, ANDREW CARTMEL and LEE SULLIVAN will be signing DOCTOR WHO SEVENTH DOCTOR #1 and RIVERS OF LONDON WATER WEED #1 at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Wednesday 20th June from 6 – 7pm!

From the writers of the fan-favourite episode Remembrance of the Daleks, Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch, Doctor Who Seventh Doctor #1 brings us a brand new comic adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy, and Ace as played by Sophie Aldred. Also includes a short back-up strip, written by Richard Dinnick, with art by Jessica Martin.

And in Water Weed #1, the digital and bookstore smash-hit series returns with an all-new miniseries. When two of the less well-behaved river goddesses, Chelsea and Olympia, decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter Grant and Bev find themselves drawn into a sordid cannabis smuggling operation, controlled by London’s new queenpin of crime, the brutal and beautiful Hoodette.

Ron Smith advertises Action Man

From 'Doctor Who Weekly' issue #41 (23/07/80) comes this great combination of my childhood - yes, it's Ron Smith helping to advertise Action Man - what a start to the '80s!

What I found on my holidays...

More about where I've recently been on my holidays (think it wins the award for Britain's geekiest high street!) but until then, this is what I picked up in my week away

Foreign reprints in this obscure title - only 6 issues published and this is #5 in my collection, very pleased to acquire this for £2 

After this issue there isn't another edition on sale until 24th August so savour this one while you can

I love newspaper strips and I love Modesty Blaise butt here are so many reprint volumes out there in this series that I only pick them up when they are cheap, slightly knocked about, £3

I'm an Eagle magazine kind of Guy first and foremost but I've slowly been picking up the spin-off novels published by Girl and Swift - I nearly bought this 12 months ago but put it back on the shelf, 12 months later and I succumb to temptation (for £4.50)  

Bank holiday reading sorted - part 2

Oh, I got more than just those 4 comics shown yesterday, I also got...

New issue of Tales from the Tardis is now out, I find this impossible to get anywhere apart from WH Smith's, and I don't live near any branches of WH Smith's, so I was delighted that the Forbidden Planet megastore seemed to have a few copies in early....

Reading Asterix and Tintin books from the library was one of my earliest comics reading experiences, I've slowly (by which I mean acquiring copies only when I seem them for sale, I'm not trawling the net for copies - where would the fun be in that?) been collecting  this series by Rene Goscinny for a while now. The books have been published in English before but I'm focussing on this set by Phaidon. There are hardback and softback versions available. There are 5 volumes in all - Nicholas; Nicholas again; Nicholas on holiday; Nicholas and the gang; Nicholas in trouble.

And just popped through the letterbox today - review in full coming soon, in the meantime just enjoy that Ian Kennedy cover

Doctor Who - part 2

And here's my other Doctor Who item, this is a reprint of the 10th anniversary Radio Times special (can't recall quite when it was reprinted, late noughties). I collected it because of the Frank Hampson illustration for the 'How to build a Dalek' feature. Having last worked on Dan Dare in the late '50s, the 1970s represented a fallow period for Hampson. The magazine also features work by Frank Bellamy and by Peter Brookes (who went on to become a political cartoonist for The Times).

Doctor Who - part 1

To celebrate the launch of the new series of Doctor Who this evening I thought I'd see what Who type stuff I've acquired over the years...right, I've had a look and the answer's not much...enough for one 'new' Who post today and a 'classic' Who post tomorrow.

First up then is Where's the doctor? a Where's Wally type of book but with the added bonus that the pictures are all by ace cartoonist Jamie Smart (whose work I mainly know from the DFC and the Phoenix comic but he's done loads of stuff (http://www.fumboo.com/))

Front cover

Rear cover

Who are we looking for

 How hard can it be to find them? Oh, I see...

Comics update 2

After yesterday's post I realised I'd missed a few things out, so don't forget about the following...

1). Rok of the Reds - part 6 (the last part, sob!) is out at the end of the month and it's already available for pre-ordering

https://tictail.com/s/bhpcomics/rok-of-the-reds-6-pre-order-released-late-april-2017

2. The latest issue of 'Tales from the Tardis' came out on Thursday...copies already available on ebay and in those few branches of WHSmith that stock it

3). last one's a bit different...but for those of you who loved Smash Hits...

It's gone but it's clearly not forgotten so we're about to reboot the world of the disco lungsmith, the cut-out-and-keep song lyric, the fright-haired video and the liberal application of Pan Stik, a sacred swingorilliant place where Jed out of Howard Jones forever discards his mental chains.

On Monday April 24 we’ll be celebrating the magazine that bestrode the ‘80s like a big bestriding colossus, the irreplaceable Smash Hits, the Party On Paper™ unafraid to ask pop stars like Alan Ant, Madge, Ver Bros and Lord Lucan of Mercury if they’ve ever been sick in a gumboot or warn Beyoncé never to marry a man called Mister Castle. “Next issue – a duck, some tractors and a pound of lard!”

David Hepworth and Mark Ellen both edited this magnificent pop bible and will be joined by friends and fellow workers for an unmissable evening of tear-stained reminiscence.

Kicks off at 7.15pm in the usual place, the Islington pub in N1. Who knows, we may give away a Johnny Hates Jazz promotional t-shirt.

Keep the dream alive! etc. Tickets are available here - currently priced at £10

http://www.wiyelondon.com/events/wiye-presents-memories-of-smash-hits/