No Bar Codes

This Saturday, I, along with some of the best small press cartoonists currently around, will be appearing in Camden Town at the No Bar Codes event. We will be displaying our work and trying to coax visitors into sampling our wears. Full details of the event can be found here. To help promote it, David Baillie has been conducting interviews with some of the exhibitors. One he did with me can be read here. If you're in the area, why not pop in and have a look? I know you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Mini Reviews of TNTLTP 7

A couple of mini reviews for There's No Time Like The Present part 7 have started to appear. Rol Hirst has one on his blog and Factor Fiction Press on theirs.

I'm still in the process of rolling out Part 7 and Dear Robert and Partner to retailers. In the meantime, you can order copies directly from here by visiting the Shop or by other methods. Contact me directly for details.

pbrainey

2000 AD Prog Slog mentioned in The Guardian Film blog

For the Guardian Film blog, Mark Hooper raises the question that any person with at least a partial knowledge of 2000 AD has will have asked themselves; Why Are There No Decent 2000 AD Films? He deals with the subject with aplomb, but I mention it here because he finishes his entry mentioning my 2000 AD Prog Slog. “In the meantime, if you're experiencing Scrotnig withdrawal, Paul Rainey's excellent Prog Slog blog does exactly what it says on the tin: an exhaustive review of every issue (or "Prog") of the comic. So far he's up to 1986. Hollywood producers take note.” That’s pretty cool, isn’t it; having your blog mentioned in The Guardian Film Blog. Although, I’m sure at the very end there, Mark is telling Hollywood to take note of 2000 AD and not necessarily my blog. Although, Hollywood, if you’re reading this and need some help sorting out potential movie franchises from 2000 AD then I’m your man.

pbrainey

The Girly Comic 17

What I feel is the most impressive thing about The Girly Comic is that it has been running for as long as it has and still maintains a high quality. I picked up a copy of number 17 at Bristol, as usual, and, after reading it last night, enjoyed it a lot, as usual. Its only downfall might be that we all start taking it for granted.

If anything, issue 17 is an improvement. Regular features Spacegirl by Motodraconis and the strips by Lee Kennedy seem to be getting better. However, one off Sisters of The Head written by Daniel O'Mahoney and illustrated by Terry Wiley is a particular stand out. Seeing Terry back in The Girly Comic anthology feels a bit like when a Brian Bolland Judge Dredd story used to appear in 2000 AD; It didn't happen as often as you would have liked but you knew that 2000 AD was the only place that you could guarantee this was going to happen.

Publishers Selina Lock and Jay Eales are rolling out all the strips that have appeared in The Girly Comic and guy equivalent, Violent, onto their website. There is some good stuff there. I recommend that you take a look.

Lost Shoe 4

Something else I've mentioned here before is Lost Shoe Comics by Alex Potts. Over the weekend I met Alex for the first time and got a copy of issue four. Unlike issue three which features a long and self contained narrative, four has a collection of shorter, punchier and entertaining strips hanging from the lead, Turd Party, Alex's entry into the Graphic Short Story Prize of last summer. For me, Alex is the small press find of the last year. His art is appealing, his sense of humour strong and his timing faultless.

pbrainey

Buffalo Roots

Buffalo Roots by John Cei Douglas was published a couple of years ago but I at last got to pick up a copy after being seduced into it by a chocolate brownie. Buffalo Roots is a beautifully illustrated tale of the love affair between an artist and his muse. (Don't panic, Real Cliff, if you're reading this; it's only a story). A very affecting tale that takes full story telling advantage of the landscape format and mixes full colour work with black and white illustration in an innovate way.

Crazy Pants 1

Five minutes walk from the Comics Expo’s main hall at the Ramada hotel sat a small group of self pressers. Amongst them were Peet Clack and Pete Rajski, the creators responsible for Crazy Pants. I've mentioned Crazy Pants here before, when I talked about the substantial and free promotional edition they did over a year ago, so it's great to see the comic officially released at last... along with another substantial and free promotional comic (?!).

Undoubtedly, Crazy Pants is a lovely looking comic containing great artwork, excellently reproduced, usually with some toning at least and often in colour. How they managed to do all of this, along with the free editions, and charge just £2.50, I would love to know. Some strips, such as Wong-Tong work as intriguing and visually impressive openers to longer stories whilst others, such as Over-Reacto, are entertaining tales in their own right. What I find particularly compelling is the dynamic between the two Peters. At least one strip is obviously a jam but others look to me like they've helped each other out with the art, the story or both. The result is a comic greater than the sum of its parts by two very accomplished writers and artists.

Space Babe 113 4

Continuing my run down of cool comics I purchased at this years Comics Expo, I picked up a copy of Space Babe 113 no. 4 by John Maybury. Space Babe 113 is described as a young woman's erotic adventures in space but this doesn't really do it justice particularly if this conjures in your mind images of jaded old cartoonists without the stomach for pornography rendering their sexual fantasies in comic strip. Instead, Space Babe 113 is a flirtatious, funny strip which oozes energy. Undoubtedly, the art is both simple and excellent at the same time, but the strip also contains sharp dialogue and the story a strong momentum. As far as I am aware, all four issues are still available. Visit the dedicated website for details.

West 5

Thanks to everyone who bought stuff from me or just came over and said hello at The Comics Expo in Bristol over the weekend. I had a very enjoyable if shattering time. Over the next few days I intend to use this space to mention many of the cool comics I picked up starting with West No.5: The Last Bounty.

As regular visitors to this website will know, West creators Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable have been my convention-table buddies for the last few years. However, just because we are friends it doesn’t mean that I am only just saying what a good comic West always is. Its considered dialogue, beautiful pacing and classic artwork make it not just a necessity for those with an inclination towards good westerns but also for anyone who likes good comics. Highly recommend by everyone here at pbrainey.

pbrainey at Bristol Comic Expo

I am exhibiting at the annual Comic Expo in Bristol this weekend with my friends Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable, the writer and artist team responsible for West. If you're attending, then please feel free to stop by and say hello. I will be selling, amongst other comics by me, There's No Time Like The Present, including the recently released Part 7, and Dear Robert and Partner. I will also be struggling to provide adequate sketches and giving away free copies of Memory Man and Love Bomb to customers, whilst stocks last.

pbrainey

Dear Robert and Partner is GO!

The printed or, as I like to call it, the "actual" version of Dear Robert and Partner is now GO! Dear Robert and Partner is a self contained one off publication telling the story of one man's trouble with noisy neighbours. It also contains extras explaining and elaborating on the circumstances behind the strip.

You can buy a copy directly from me using the Paypal button at pbrainey (non UK residents, please visit The Shop for your button). The price includes postage to the UK. Alternatively, you can contact me directly for details on how to order a copy via the post. It will be rolled out to retailers, such as OK Comics in Leeds and GOSH in London, over the next fortnight or so. I will also be selling copies at this year's Comics Expo event in Bristol on May 10th and 11th.

pbrainey

Part 7 of There's No Time Like The Present is GO!

Eighteen months in the making, Part 7 of There's No Time Like The Present is now GO! You can buy a copy directly from me using the Paypal button at pbrainey (non UK residents, please visit The Shop for your button). Alternatively, you can contact me directly for details on how to order a copy via the post. It will be rolled out to retailers, such as OK Comics in Leeds and GOSH in London, over the next fortnight or so. I will also be selling copies at this year's Comics Expo event in Bristol on May 10th and 11th.

If you're new to There's No Time Like The Present and feel a little bit interested then you can sample the opening pages for free here. If you like what you see then parts 1 to 6 are kept in print and can be ordered from The Shop. You can even subscribe if you want to ensure that you don't miss an issue (the free copy of Dear Robert and Partner offer is now closed, I'm afraid.)