Preview: Doctor Who Magazine No.526

There's a new issue of the official Doctor Who Magazine out this Thursday, 31st May, and it includes an exclusive interview with Tom Baker as he revisits his first series as the Fourth Doctor. Plus interviews with Roger Murray-Leach, Georgia Tennant and actor/singer/comic creator Jessica Martin.

There are comic strips too of course, with part 3 of The Clockwise War by Scott Gray, John Ross, and James Offredi which has a very unexpected and pleasing cliffhanger...

...plus a new Daft Dimension strip by me. Here's a preview of one panel...

All in Doctor Who Magazine No.526, available from newsagents, supermarkets, and comic shops this Thursday!

A Star Is Drawn!

Most of you will be familiar with the work of Jessica Martin by now; a talented actress, singer, and impressionist, Jessica added creating comics to her repertoire a few years ago with It Girl, Vivacity, Elisie Harris Picture Palace and more. 

Jessica's latest work is A Star Is Drawn, an A4 sized softback book which moves away from comic strip into illustrated portraits of movie stars from the past to the present. Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, Brigette Bardot, James Mason, Gal Gadot and many more are all here, scanned from original pencilled and inked artwork, with each portrait given a full page. 

It's a really nicely produced showcase of Jessica's talents and her clear affection for the subject matter. The book is one that should appeal to collectors of Hollywood memorabilia and would make an ideal Christmas present.

Order your copy today, to make sure you receive it before Christmas! Pricing info and more details at Jessica's website:
http://www.artymisspublishing.com/a-star-is-drawn

UPDATE: You can see Jessica Martin on your TV screens on 23rd December, Channel 5, 5pm when they'll be screening Elf - The Musical, filmed from the stageplay of the show at the Lowry in Salford. It's repeated on Christmas DAy at 6.00pm, also on Channel 5. 

Latest news on ICE 2017

The latest announcement for the International Comics Expo (ICE2017) in Birmingham on 9th September is that Jessica Martin will be there to exclusively launch her new book. Here's the full info from the convention's Facebook page...

We are thrilled to announce that Jessica Martin’s latest book, A Star Is Drawn, will be launching exclusively at ICE 2017!


A collection of Jessica’s distinctive portraits and sketches, featuring some of the brightest stars in entertainment from the last 100 years, put together for the first time in one volume.


As well as some never-before-seen artwork, this special limited Christmas edition for 2017 includes several bonus festive pieces.

Join Jessica on a journey through her influences and inspirations, from Bette Davis to Bowie, and experience the ArtyMiss collection as you’ve never seen it before.

Jessica Martin has spent over thirty years in entertainment, performing in theatre, comedy, television and radio. She is now a critically acclaimed comic creator and artist, and glad to be at ICE 2017!

As well as ’A Star Is Drawn’, you’ll be able to pick up her previous works (including comics ‘It Girl’ and ‘Vivacity’, and graphic novel ‘Elsie Harris Picture Palace’), and get a first look at some of the art for her upcoming memoir ‘Life Drawing – a life under lights’, which has recently achieved 100% crowdfunding and will be published next year with Unbound.


Find out more about Jessica and ArtyMiss on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (search ‘ArtyMissPublishing’), or visit 
www.artymisspublishing.com

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ICE2017 is shaping up to be a great day, with the following guests also confirmed:

CHARLIE ADLARD
JOHN BOLTON
GLENN FABRY
STAZ JOHNSON 
SIMON MYERS
IAN RICHARDSON
DAVID ROACH
WILL SLINEY
DAN SLOTT
LEW STRINGER
DYLAN TEAGUE
JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER 

FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II

It's an honour once again to be on the bill, as ICE is one of my favourite events and is 100% about comics. This year, the new venue is the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, part of the Holiday Inn. An excellent choice, as not only is it right next door to Nostalgia and Comics (one of the best and longest-established comic shops in the UK) it's also only a couple of minutes walk from New Street Station. 

So... come along and meet us all on Saturday 9th September! Here's the website with all the info...
https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com

A Life Under Lights

I'm not usually that interested in autobiographical comics but one I'm definitely looking forward to is Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights, the memoir of Jessica Martin. 

I'm sure many of you will also be interested because Jessica's had (and is still having) a fascinating and busy life that's covered stage, screen, and comics. A gifted impressionist, singer, and actress, Jessica is also a talented comics creator, with her comics It Girl and Vivacity, and her debut graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace proving to be popular amongst her readers. 

Any one aspect of Jessica's busy career would make a great comics story in itself but her memoir will cover her work on television (Copycats, Spitting Image, Doctor Who), musical theatre (Me and My Girl, Elf), comics, and much more.

Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights is a crowdfunded project, which means the more you pledge, the more you'll receive in bonus items etc. To find out more, visit the following link and please support this exciting venture:
https://unbound.com/books/life-drawing

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Jessica Martin is also appearing in the leading role in Ballroom, at the Waterloo East Theatre from May 12th to June 4th. To find out more see here:
http://britishtheatre.com/jessica-martin-to-star-in-ballroom-european-premier/

To book your tickets, visit here:
http://www.waterlooeast.co.uk

Reviews: New British comics out now

I'm behind with my reviews but I didn't want to wait until after Christmas when some of you might be spent out so I've condensed several plugs for various comics into one posting. I hope that helps to draw your attention to these worthy titles and to encourage you to support them.

First up are two comics from independent UK publisher Zebra. Midwinter No.1 is based on the classic video game created by the late Mike Singleton about a future coping with the aftermath of an asteroid striking the Earth. The story by Dan Whitehead and art by 2000AD's P.J. Holden is a cracking opening issue and I'm eagerly looking forward to future issues. It has a great cover by Steve Pugh too, so this is an essential buy!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/midwinter/store/products/midwinter-1/

The other title from Zebra Comics is Hex Loader, with a script by Dan Whitehead and art by Conor Boyle. An intriguing mystery with fantasy elements and an unpredictable cliffhanger. Again, one to definitely follow!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hexloader/

An indie publisher who has been around for a while now is Kult Creations, and their latest new comic is Reverend Cross, "first ever female vicar action hero" assigned by the church to take down supernatural threats! Issue 1 is a reprint of an earlier solo edition but this time it has a colour cover. With story by professional comics creator John Short and art by Jason Dennis it's a fast paced blast of fun and fear. 

Reverend Cross No.2 tweaks the creative team by having Gabrielle Noble as the artist but her version of Cross is as cool as ever. 

Issue No.3 of Reverend Cross has just been published and there's a creative shake up again as this time the comic contains four short stories instead of one full-length story, and each one has a different artist. It's good to see each creator's version of the character, and with John A. Short writing all the strips they still maintain the right character and tone. 

The Reverend Cross comics are fast, fun and self-contained, and can be ordered from the Kult Creations website where you'll find more info:
http://kultcreations.blogspot.co.uk

Not exactly a comic (although it does contain some strips) is It's Ghastly, an excellent 72 page publication from Hibernia Comics recounting the history of the short-lived but well-remembered Scream! weekly. It's the definitive story of the comic, containing interviews, features, unused art, and 16 pages of The Nightcomers, a series that was never published due to Scream's sudden cancelation. A must-buy for anyone interested in comics history!
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hibernia/store/products/its-ghastly-the-untimely-demise-of-scream/

It wouldn't be Christmas without a ghost story, and a new book by Self Made Hero has several. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a collection of short stories by M.R. James (1862 to 1936) adapted into comics form by Leah Moore and John Reppion. Artists are Aneke, Kit Buss, Fouad Mezher, and Alisdair Wood. It's a fantastic book at a reasonable price and belongs on the bookshelves of every comics reader.
http://www.selfmadehero.com/news/2016/10/leah-moore-and-john-reppion-ghost-stories-of-an-antiquary-vol-1/

I couldn't let this set of reviews pass in December without another shout out to Joe Matthews and Dave McCluskey for their superb comics adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A slick 80 page production in full colour, and a perfect stocking filler for children of all ages. Only £10.00 too!
ISBN 978-0-9934490-2-4

...and last but not least, while I'm here, I'd like to give another plug to Jessica Martin's graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace, the fictional story of Elsie Harris who starts out as a waitress before circumstances and her talent lead her to greater things. It's the sort of story that would make a perfect movie to be shown on TV over the festive period so it's an ideal read for this time of year. Order your copy directly from Jessica at her website:
http://www.artymisspublishing.com/new-products/

I hope there's at least one title there that will take your fancy to treat yourselves or someone for Christmas. I'll be plugging more new comics next year.

Recommended Reading

If you're going to ICE 20016 this Saturday (the International Comic Expo in Birmingham on 10th September) here are two original British graphic novels I thoroughly recommend. I'll be giving both books a full review each soon but for now here's a quick plug so you'll know what to look out for.

Elsie Harris Picture Palace is Jessica Martin's debut graphic novel, published by Miwk. Beginning in 1936 it tells the story of Elsie Harris, who starts out as a waitress before happenstance and her own self drive propels her to work in movie production. It's an engaging tale and elsie is a likeable character. The story itself feels like a classic movie biopic and Jessica Martin has clearly done plenty of research to capture the detail and attitudes of the times. Wonderful stuff, and I'll review it in more detail in a later blog post. 

Jessica will be exhibiting at ICE 2016 so you'll be able to purchase a copy of her book there. She will also have some new prints for sale, and her previous comics It Girl and Vivacity. If you're unable to attend the convention, the items are available from Jessica's online shop here:
http://www.artymisspublishing.com/new-products/

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Another exhibitor at ICE will be Joe Matthews, who will be promoting his superb new book, a comics adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. There have been comics adaptations of Dickens' story before of course but each artist interprets it uniquely. This is a very impressive book, and the best work of Joe's long career in my opinion. While Joe provides the excellent comic art, the story is told in rhyme by Dave McCluskey. A perfect Christmas present, so drop by Joe's table on Saturday and buy a copy. (It also features some guest art in the back by top artists such as Nigel Parkinson, Ron Tiner, Phil Elliott, and Hunt Emerson.)

As I said, I'll be reviewing these graphic novels in more detail later, but I hope this has whetted your appetite. They really are great books and fine additions to anyone's bookcase.

International Women's Day

It's International Women's Day and although I don't have much time for blogging today I didn't want it to pass without a shout out to some of my female friends and colleagues currently working in the industry. There was a time when comics were almost exclusively male dominated but over the years there's been a refreshing increase in women creators working in the business, although there's still a way to go for a proper balance. Bizarre at it seems to any rational person, not so long ago there was an attitude by shortsighted men that "women can't draw comics". (I've actually heard blokes say that.) The few examples here blow that prejudice right out the water.

Here's a quick gallery of the diverse styles of just a few of the women artists currently in the business... 

Art by EMMA VIECELI (From the CBR website)

Art by LYNNE TRIPLETT

Art by LORNA MILLER

Art by YISHAN LI

Art by JESSICA MARTIN

Art by RACHAEL SMITH

Art by LAURA HOWELL

Art by RACHAEL STOTT

Art by KAREN RUBINS

Art by LISE MYHRE

Art by PAULINA VASSILEVA

Art by EMMA CHINNERY

This is just a sample of course. There are other female comic creators such as writers Leah Moore and Alex De Campi, Beano colourist Nika Nartova, editor Deborah Tate and more. And with the rising number of women attending comic shows who are clearly into comics and sci-fi it's evident that the number of women entering the comics profession will increase, and rightly so. 

Orbital event this Saturday

If you live in London, or are visiting this Saturday, drop into Orbital Comics in the late afternoon as comics creator Jessica Martin will be signing copies of her new graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace. 

I'll be reviewing the book on my blog as soon as I have more time but I can tell you now that I thoroughly recommend it and it's a fine addition to the ever-growing line of new UK graphic novels.

Jessica will be at Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H, from 5.30 to 6.30 on Saturday 12th December. 

Shop website: http://www.orbitalcomics.com

Publisher's website: http://www.miwkpublishing.com

Jessica Martin's website:
http://www.officialjessicamartin.com

Jessica is also a professional actress and singer and is currently appearing in the musical Elf at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End:
http://www.dominiontheatre.com/theatre/elf/

Elsie Harris Picture Palace: ready to pre-order

Just a quick plug for Jessica Martin's debut graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace which is now ready to pre-order at a special discounted price from Miwk Publishing, and your copy will be signed by Jessica too. Having seen several of the pages I'm really looking forward to this, and it sounds like it'll be a classy production. 

You can order it from the publisher's website here:
http://www.miwkpublishing.com/store/

Jessica Martin art exhibition

Artist / writer Jessica Martin has an exhibition of her comics work launching at Orbital Comics this Saturday, 29th August. The creator of It Girl, Vivacity, and the upcoming Elsie Harris Picture Palace graphic novel will be presenting a short guided tour of her work and a talk / Q and A session, at 7pm at Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA.

It's been fascinating seeing Jessica's style develop over the past few years and I'm sure the exhibition will be a great success. I can't make it there myself unfortunately but if you're in London on Saturday night, Orbital Comics is the place to be. The exhibition runs until early October. 

For more info, see the excellent Broken Frontier website here:
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/jessica-martin-elsie-harris-picture-palace-orbital-comics-it-girl-clara-bow/

A new art exhibition from Jessica Martin

Multi-talented actress/singer/impressionist Jessica Martin has had an impressive start to her comics career. Bursting onto the scene in 2014 with the very well received It Girl, contributing to the anthologies To End All Wars and To Arms! and then publishing her second comic Vivacity. It's been a noteworthy debut and Jessica is also now a familiar face within the UK comics community at various shows and events around the country. The artist is currently hard at work on her graphic novel Elsie Harris Picture Palace to be published by Miwk later in 2015 and this month has an exhibition of her work at the Radlett Centre's Althorp Gallery in North London.

Entitled Jessica Martin's Picture Palace the exhibition opened yesterday (March 2nd) and runs throughout the month until March 31st. On her blog, Jessica describes the exhibition as "my very own hall of fame dedicated to all the Hollywood and British film icons who have enthralled me for a lifetime." There is a private viewing night on Thursday 12th March from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. 

For more information visit Jessica's website here:

http://officialjessicamartin.com/blog/?p=1501

...and the Radlett Centre website here:

http://www.radlettcentre.co.uk/Art-Exhibitions

My review of It Girl:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/review-it-girl.html

My review of Vivacity:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/review-vivacity.html