Friday 12 April 2013

PORCELAIN available from Diamond.



Unless something incredible happens (glances at Cy Dethan out the corner of my eye) Improper BooksPorcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale by Benjamin Read & Chris Wildgoose is on track to be my favourite graphic novel of the year (though having said they we've still got Butterfly Gate and Night Post yet to come from the Improper folk soooo...) so its without hesitation that we recommend you read the press release below and and haul your peachy buttocks towards your local comic shop to order yourself a copy. 

Or you could get yourself one right now from one of these fine establishments who may still have copies left from the advance indie release. Even if you don't live near any of those shops most of them will have a mail order service and you can have it delivered to your door! Man, are we living in the future or what?


Now, true SPBMers will have done this already on the strength of Stace's recent review, haven't you? But I digress. Do your duty, read the press release, buy the book, tell your friends. Peace, out.

*****


PORCELAIN: A GOTHIC FAIRY TALE, NOW AVAILABLE VIA DIAMOND

“Porcelain is a gorgeous and haunting steampunkesque fairy tale. 
Creepy, compelling and beautifully realised.”
Kurt Busiek 
(Astro City, Avengers, Conan, Marvels)

“A haunting, umbral, and surprisingly charming story, told with confidence and great skill. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.”
Antony Johnston 
(Wasteland, The Coldest City, Alex Rider graphic novels)


PORCELAIN: A GOTHIC FAIRY TALE is set for a July 2013 release courtesy of DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS, and is now available to pre-order (Diamond Code: MAY131178).

Porcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale is the first graphic novel from the new creative team of Benjamin Read (writer) and Chris Wildgoose (illustrator), and the first title from publisher Improper Books. It has received exceptional and overwhelmingly positive reviews, and a limited indie release of Porcelain in the United Kingdom has sold out to fantastic public response.

“Absolutely remarkable. Never in over two decades have I witnessed such a zealous reaction to a new creative team and a publisher’s first-ever graphic novel in advance of publication.”
Stephen L. Holland (Page 45)

“Porcelain is a bona fide hit at Travelling Man, appealing to lovers of exquisite storytelling, and only held off the top spot in sales by the latest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!”
Simon Campey (Travelling Man)


Thanks to the support of independent retailers and fellow comic creators spreading the word, our stock of the limited UK indie release sold out in a little over a month, with some retailers taking over 150 copies based on customer interest and pre-orders.

Written by Benjamin Read, illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, coloured by AndrĂ© May, and lettered by Jim Campbell, Porcelain is set within a world that’s a darkly magical echo of our own. It follows the story of a street urchin, known as Child, who leaves the cold streets of a snowy city behind when she climbs the high wall into the Porcelain Maker’s secret garden in a bid to steal whatever she can.

The Porcelain Maker discovers Child trespassing but, amused by her audacity, he offers her the chance to stay. He’s a lonely man, kept company only by his alchemically-powered automata, and he and Child form an unlikely friendship.

Shut off from the world beyond the wall, Child wants or needs for nothing as the Porcelain Maker heaps affection and luxury upon her, indulging her like a daughter. In return, she can do as she pleases, except for one command, one rule that must never be broken, she must not look behind the workshop door.

Twitter @ImproperBooks



Product Title: PORCELAIN: A Gothic Fairy Tale

Creators’ Names: Benjamin Read & Chris Wildgoose

Format: full colour; 96 pages; soft cover, perfect bound 178mm width x 245mm height (7” x 10”)

Retail Price: USD $19.99 / CAD $21.99 / GBP £12.99

On Sale Month/Date: July 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4474-6131-9

Diamond Code: MAY131178


Improper Books is a comic and graphic novel imprint focusing on creator owned stories that have a touch of the fairy tale, the Gothic or the macabre.

Benjamin Read writes comics and makes films. He wrote the TRUE GRIT and SUPER 8 comic adaptations, and also wrote and produced the films WARHOUSE and 500 MILES NORTH. 
http://www.benjaminread.co.uk/

Chris Wildgoose is an illustrator, and conceptual and storyboard artist. Northern born, but London based, Chris made his comic debut with the official TRUE GRIT and SUPER 8 comics. 
http://christianwildgoose.blogspot.co.uk/

Monday 8 April 2013

ROK Comics' MASTER MERLINI

New Cy Deathan comic! New Cy Dethan comic! *claps hands* Yes yes yes now shurrup and read the press release!

*****


ROK COMICS RELEASE ‘MASTER MERLINI’ INTERACTIVE AUDIO COMIC

ROK Comics announces the release of Master Merlini, its latest interactive audio comic featuring an all-new incarnation of the real-life, world famous escape artist David Merlini.

Escape artist, crime fighter, adventurer, Master Merlini is all of these things and more, as he battles the villainous Caligari while a mysterious woman helps him discover an incredible truth about his world and his existence!

Written by Cy Dethan, author of the acclaimed Cancertown series and Starship Troopers, with art from Giancarlo Caracuzzo (artist on Marvel'’s Formic Wars and Gorilla Man), the debut Master Merlini audio comic plunges the hero into a strange world beyond our own, linked to a real world event in New York on April 18th 2013!

With full audio 'play' to accompany the comic and escape artist tricks revealed in exclusive videos as well as animations and extra background information on some of the characters, Master Merlini will leave you wondering... where does fiction end and reality begin?

Based on a concept by ROK Comics founder Jonathan Kendrick and David Merlini himself, who also voices his comic alter ego, Master Merlini merges the real world with a fiction that is all too real for its hero!




MASTER MERLINI ONLINE
• Master Merlini Online at www.mastermerlini.com

DON'T JUST READ THIS COMIC - HEAR IT!
• Full length comic strip adventure starring Master Merlini
• Full length accompanying soundtrack
• Exclusive escape artist trick videos
• Animated sequences offering alternate storytelling (selected pages)
• Background feature on escape artist Merlini

MASTER MERLINI: CREATOR CREDITS
Script: Cy Dethan based on a concept by Jonathan Kendrick & David Merlini 
Art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo
Colour by Kirsty Swan
Letters and Digital Mastering by Jim Campbell

Voice Artists: David Merlini, Shawn Curran, Kirstin Reitter and George Sanders

Available now for iPad, iPhone and Android
• From Google Play for Android: 

• Visit Books That ROK at: www.booksthatrok.com


DESIGNED TO BRING COMICS TO LIFE, OTHER ‘BOOKS THAT ROK’ INTERACTIVE AUDIO 

COMICS INCLUDE:
For iPhone and iPad

•The Beatles Story

•Team MOBILE #1
Also available for Android

•Team MOBILE #2
Also available for Android

•Houdini Adevntures #1
Also available for Android

MUSIC COMICS

•Rick Fury
Also available for Android

OG Niki

•ZeZi
Also available for Android

•Joe Whelan
Also available for Android

CDComics' ROBIN HOOD 2020 linkapalooza!

Heads-up, SPBMers! We've received a linktastic press release from CDComics so give it a read and then click any link in green. Link in green, Lincoln green, Robin Hood! Gettit? Shut yer face I'm a comedy genius, me. If you have a better blogpost pun please write it on a £20 note and send it to the usual address.

*****


ROBIN HOOD 2020

ISSUE ONE: THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY

This is something different again from CDComics, after publishing three Surreal Murder Mysteries (Meadowhell, Spring Heeled Jack and Football Crazy), the hard boiled nourish detective narrative of Manhattan 1930, War Nurse, a homage to Golden Age Comics and an alien abduction story from the 1960’s in Carnacki & Hannay.

This time, CDComics have moved into political action thriller territory with their modernisation of the classic Robin Hood legend.

How would Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men respond to the current political and economic climate in the UK ? How will they react when placed just seven years into future and the dystopian nightmare of 2020?

‘It just felt like the right time to write a story like this…” said the writer and artist Craig Daley

The first issue includes the usual humour expected from CDComics, but this time against the backdrop of a society that is divided across old class boundaries. On one side the plebs and on the other those who were born into privilege, the ruling elite class.

Along with a revamped Robin Hood, the comic has many of the characters you would expect to see, Little John, Marion , Tuck, Much and Scarlet who has been through the most blatant transformation and is now a female. Along with the characters, even Sherwood Forest gets a surprising make over as the action moves from the traditional forest locations to the cities of London and Sheffield in 2020.

There isn’t a bow and arrow in sight, but the politics is close enough to the truth that the comic keeps the appearance of reality that flows through CDComics’ output. The comic says ‘THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY’ and unlike political thrills of the X-Files, Robin Hood 2020 doesn’t create one, the narrative uses current and historical events, facts and figures and just takes the reader seven years into the future.

“Id like to think it owed more to ‘A Very British Coup’ with action piled on top, rather than the ‘X-Files’, that was the reasoning behind the title of this first issue.’

The action is full on and takes centre stage throughout this 32 page first issue that introduces all the main characters and the comic also asks enough questions to make you want to read Issue Two.

Issue One of ‘Robin Hood: There is No Conspiracy’, will be available to download from the following sites, priced around £1.25/$1.99 or the Euro equivalent

Available now on
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CraigDaley/e/B0070OKNKQ/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Drive Thru Comics: http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?&manufacturers_id=4440
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CDComics

And after processing by Smashwords will be distributed on…
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=Craig+Daley
Diesel: http://search.diesel-ebooks.com/author/Daley,%20Craig/results/1.html
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/craig-daley?keyword=craig+daley&store=ebook&iehack=%E2%98%A0
Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/author/craig-daley_369148
Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/craig-daley/id528912381?mt=11

The CDrom version of the comic packaged in a slim line DVD case with wrap around cover will also be on sale at several Sheffield shops, priced £2.50, when the snow clears...

Sheffield Space Centre on the Wicker, Broomhill’s Galaxy 4 and Record Collector, Rare and Racy on Devonshire Green and Blackwells on Carver Street . 

-----

You can find more about CDComics at http://cdgraphicnovels.blogspot.co.uk

CDComics Video Trailers on You Tube
Manhattan Part One: http://youtu.be/imPqCarU_Is
Manhattan Part Two: http://youtu.be/ZeoNc6p6A34
Meadowhell: http://youtu.be/2zITZ-CWOKI
Spring Heeled Jack:  http://youtu.be/2Pa-aNb8C20
Carnacki & Hannay: http://youtu.be/F9gNljTnHM0

Independent Comic Reviews
Manhattan 1930 Reviews
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/11/manhattan-1930-issue-one-the-man-in-the-white-suit/
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2013/02/manhattan-1930-issue-two-the-man-in-the-white-suit-part-two-new-yorker/
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2013/02/manhattan-1930-issue-three-the-man-in-the-white-suit-part-three-harlem/
http://www.omnicomic.com/2012/05/manhattan-1930-about-man-in-white-suit.html#more

Meadowhell
http://www.comicbastards.com/homepage/2013/1/30/review-meadow-hell-1-2.html#
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/08/meadowhell-the-true-horror-of-shopping-parts-12/
http://www.omnicomic.com/2012/04/review-meadowhell-true-horror-of.html#more
http://therottingzombie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/medowhell-by-craig-daley-surreal-murder.html

Spring Heeled Jack
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/09/spring-heeled-jack-from-the-tunnels-of-hell/ 
http://therottingzombie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/spring-heeled-jack-from-tunnels-of-hell.html
http://www.omnicomic.com/2012/05/review-spring-heeled-jack.html

Football Crazy
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/07/comic-review-football-crazy-part-one/
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/07/hcf-comic-review-football-crazy-part-two/
http://therottingzombie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cd-comics-surreal-murder-mystery.html
http://www.omnicomic.com/2012/05/review-football-crazy-theater-of.html#more

Robin Hood 2020
http://www.comicbastards.com/homepage/2013/2/15/review-robin-hood-2020-there-is-no-conspiracy-1.html
http://www.3millionyears.co.uk/2013/02/review-robin-hood-2020/
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2013/03/robin-hood-2020-issue-one-there-is-no-conspiracy/

Carnacki & Hannay
http://www.3millionyears.co.uk/2013/02/review-carnacki-and-hannay/
http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2013/03/carnacki-hannay-issue-one-eyam-the-plague-village/

CDComics are available form the following download websites
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Craig-Daley/e/B0070OKNKQ/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Drive Thru Comics: http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?&manufacturers_id=4440
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CDComics
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=Craig+Daley
Diesel: http://search.diesel-ebooks.com/author/Daley,%20Craig/results/1.html
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/craig-daley?keyword=craig+daley&store=ebook&iehack=%E2%98%A0
Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/author/craig-daley_369148
Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/craig-daley/id528912381?mt=11