More and more…

20th October, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Just an update on more press on 2012: Final Prayer.

INTERVIEWS:

http://www.comicmonsters.com/features-1060-2012__Final_Prayer_interview_with_Robert_Heske.html

http://www.superheronation.com/2009/10/10/15-questions-with-bob-heske/

WEB/PRESS COVERAGE:

http://www.secretidentitypodcast.com/

http://movieblips.dailyradar.com/blog/horror_movies_stuff_com_latest_horror_news/ (NOTE: Sign up and vote it up!)

http://www.havendistro.com/newsletters/RWHavenNL_Oct09.html

It’s coming thick and fast!

Cheers,
Chris

‘The Ends’ is near!

16th October, 2009 - Posted by Chris

The press release for ‘2012 : Final Prayer’ is doing the rounds and with the E-Book preview up at myebook.com it seems to be getting some decent attention.

Below I am including a link to the E-Book preview and links to the places where the press release has appeared so far :

COMICMONSTERS.COM
http://www.comicmonsters.com/ftopict-12442.html
HORROR MOVIES & STUFF
http://www3.webng.com/horrormoviesandstuff/2012Preview.html
THE OUTHOUSE
http://www.theouthousers.com/content/view/4810/228/
COMIC BITS ONLINE
http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2009/10/15/2012-final-days/
PROJECT FANBOY
http://www.projectfanboy.com/
INVESTCOMICS
http://www.investcomics.com/

More to come hopefully,
Cheers,
Chris

A BELATED BICS ROUND UP

16th October, 2009 - Posted by Chris

well folks, BICS (British International Comics Show) came and went, leaving a trail of destruction in my liver and my wallet. It was a great weekend filled with meeting both old and new friends.

I did a bit of self promotion, handed out some ‘”business cards” and although I didn’t lug my portfolio around I managed to sort out a few things I had intended to and hopefully sow some seeds for some future comics work whatever form it may take.

I wont dwell on the specifics of the con, I’ll just post these three pictures and then some links to some other blogs and coverage of the convention.  

(Paul Richardson, Luke Foster, Myself and Victoria Charvill at the Launch Party on the Friday night)

(Larking about in Birmingham Saturday morning, surprisingly hangover free)

(Saturday night drinks in the company of too man awesome people to list. Me and Hannah doing classic ‘thumbs up’)

LINKAGE :

http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/bics-2009-a-convention-worthy-of-its-british-international-comics-show-name-part-1-the-weekend/

http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/241021.html

http://theraggedman.blogspot.com/2009/10/citadel-of-comics-fantasy-convention-in.html

Cheers,
Chris

Shiver to hit PSP

16th October, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Below is a press release that is GREAT news for everyone associated with Insomnia (including myself with ‘Shiver’).

Insomnia On Demand: Catch the RedEye on PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable)

In the blackest hours before dawn, when all good comic readers were tucked up in bed, the Insomniacs crawled into their dreams.

What were they whispering into the darkness? What did they wish for, lost in the sleep of the innocent?

No less than:

· To be able read Insomnia comics anywhere, at any time

· Take their entire comics collections wherever they went

· To listen to their own music while reading

· To navigate pages their own way

· To find and buy comics easily and access content instantly from the PlayStation®Store

All this will be on offer for PSP owners in December 2009, with the opening of the Digital Comics Store on the PlayStation®Network.

Red Eyed and bushy tailed, Insomnia Publications will be standing proud on launch day as our critically acclaimed books take their place on the virtual shelves, next to world famous names in comic book publishing.

Insomnia Publications’ graphic novels will be presented in the store as single-issue length chapters, following the publication of the book. The first chapter of every book will be offered free to readers as a “taster” of the story.

Crawford Coutts, Managing Director of Insomnia Publications, says:

“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Sony in the launch of the Digital Comics Service.

Insomnia is committed to nurturing the very best new art, new writing and new concepts in its original graphic novels and the unprecedented scope of this Comics Store will connect independent publishers and readers around the globe.

The help and guidance we have received from Sony throughout truly demonstrates their commitment to support the medium, the publishers, the readers and the comics industry itself.

Many of our creators are gamers themselves and so were delighted to hear that their work will be offered through PlayStation Network.”

With the first Insomnia titles available right from the December launch, you will be able to:

· Unlock Cages (http://www.insomniapublications.com/cages)

· Fall into Cancertown (http://www.insomniapublications.com/cancertown/)

· Dissect the bloody history of the notorious Burke and Hare (http://www.insomniapublications.com/burke-and-hare/)

With a growing range of titles to choose from and the phenomenal scope of the Digital Comics Store, this is just the beginning..

Notes:

1. The Comics Store will launch on the PlayStation Network for PSP in December 2009

2. Official Sony Press Release
http://uk.playstation.com/games-media/news/articles/detail/item229628/Take-comics-everywhere-you-go/

3. For further information, interviews and comments please contact Crawford Coutts, MD, at info@insomniapublications.com

Insomnia Publications can be found online at:
Website: www.insomniapublications.com
Blog: www.theredeye.co.uk

Certain doom.

15th September, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Just wanted to share some news that was made official today.

Robert Heske (of "Cold Blooded Chillers" and "The Night Projectionist" fame) has kindly included "The Ends" (written and lettered by Myself – Art by my boy Marc Jameson) in the forthcoming "2012: Final Prayer" Anthology.

Scope it out here: 2012: Final Prayer

To quote Marc

“As you can see there’s an ass-load of quality content that’s gonna be in the book. It’s also cool to see a few familiar names on the list alongside me and Chris, such as Rita Gorgoni and Stefano Cardoselli of Azurek Studio as well as Shawn Gabborin of Angry Gnome Comics.”

There’s also a few names I recognise from the Insomnia crew (Stephen Downey, Martin Hayes, Ollie Masters and Dino Caruso, Xander Bennett and Melanie Cook).
Looks like we’re in good company.

Tentative release date: 15th November 2009… Should be good!

In other news I NEED to share this awesome picture of me drawn/coloured by the amazing Rob Jackson :

That’s all for now folks!!!

Cheers,
Chris

Dredd Rides!!

24th August, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Just wanted to post a recent piece I coloured on request of a friend. Gargoyle (DaveW) from the ‘Waiting for the Trade’ commissioned this Dredd sketch from the awesome Jimmy Bott and I haphazardly slapped some tones on it.

I’ve also just finished with the last of the Hometown Heroes #0 issue pages leaving me some time now to sink my teeth into some more projects, more on those soon though.

Cheers,
Chris

Credit due… and more Baby Boomers.

9th August, 2009 - Posted by Chris

I wanted to let people know that Page 5 of ‘Inner Turmoil’ has been posted over at Markosia. ‘Inner Turmoil’ and ‘The Dark Tyke’ are both chapters of the comic which I coloured… seemingly a long time ago, I’m still fond of them though.

Also Murky Depths #9 was just released, although I don’t have a story in this mine and my artists (Marc Jameson) bio for my story in #8 is in there along with my ugly mug.

Murky Depths just keeps getting better and better, if you haven’t already read it but are a fan of Dark Speculative fiction in prose OR Comic form then you should try it.

Cheers,
Chris

Looking ahead…

7th August, 2009 - Posted by Chris

So B.I.C.S is rapidly approaching, early October sees what should be my first real con of the year with Bristol being smaller than usual and me having to dash off early.

I will hopefully be going there with samples of my work in progress and ideas to show to anyone who is interested but I will also be very interested in one particular Graphic Novel that is due for release thereabouts, Burke and Hare.

Yes it’s from Insomnia but regardless of any ties I have when i first saw pages from the book i knew I had to get it, there should be more graphic novels like this.

The book also has a foreword from the awesome Alan Grant, further proof (as if it were needed) that this book is going to be something special. I’ve quoted the below from the Insomnia site.

"There’s a moment in life that I savour: that delicious, perplexing instant when you realise that something you’ve ‘known’ for years is actually a crock of nonsense. Like discovering there’s no Santa Claus. Or realising your parents can’t read your mind when you think about sex. The Universe ripples like Predator shimmying through the jungle…and when it rights itself, reality has taken on a slightly different hue.
I had just such a mini-epiphany the first time I read Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering’s ‘Burke & Hare’. At school in the 1950s and ’60s I was taught almost no Scottish history, and I spent the next 50 years believing Burke and Hare were ‘resurrection men’, graverobbers who dug up freshly buried corpses and sold them for cash. It was a revelation to discover they were actually serial killers, vile brutes who measured the price of human life in pounds, shillings and pence, monsters for whom alcohol and smothering were the tools of their trade.
And yet… Burke and Hare were men, too. They were human beings who – superficially at least – weren’t all that different from their Edinburgh contemporaries. The major difference between them and most of the human race is that they saw murder for financial gain as an acceptable way to earn a living.
Revealing their story in generally short, concise chapters, Martin Conaghan’s script is sparing and very much to the point. Indeed, he takes great care not to over-embellish the story with fiction, sticking almost religiously to the facts as presented to us by history. It is an approach which works well, presenting the killers’ heart-chilling evil deeds as being almost mundane in their execution.
Will Pickering’s art fits the story – and the times – perfectly. Facial expressions are beautifully captured, as are the dress and general atmosphere of the period. The detail on many pages – especially those external shots of Edinburgh in the early 19th Century – is priceless. And Rian Hughes’ cover design is exactly what the story inside demands.
Together, Martin and Will have produced something of which they and their publisher – the relative newcomer, Insomnia – can be very proud. As well as being educational and entertaining, they’ve gone one better and given us something important.
Hopefully, the Universe will ripple and change for a great many of their readers. "
Alan Grant, Moniaive,
July 2009

• You can pre-order Burke and Hare from Amazon
• Martin on how he came to write the story.

Exciting times..
Chris

Sketch card FTW!

25th July, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Just got the aforementioned sketch card through the post from Chad Cicconi, it came nicely laminated which I didn’t expect.

Now I just have do find a nice place to put it so i can see it all the time.

Chris