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

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

‘Through the keyhole…’

13th January, 2009 - Posted by Chris

Just a quick update, last time the Insomnia Publications blog (theredeye) was update Shiver was mentioned as an upcoming title along with a number of other great looking projects due from them.

Recently I’ve been working on getting a bunch of short scripts done as well as working on Shiver and finishing off the colours I had promised Chad Cicconi (Baby Boomers) which along with my starting a new job means I’ve been busy, busy, busy.

for now here’s a peek through the keyhole at a page I’ve just finished of Baby Boomers.

Expect more updates soon as I start making headway on some of the projects I’m working on.

Cheers,
Chris