The 2016 cover-dated annuals are starting to appear now and The Dandy Annual 2016 and The Beano Annual 2016 were published just over a week ago. Let's take a brief look inside them.
I always find there's mixed emotions these days when The Dandy Annual appears; joy that there's 112 pages of all-new Dandy material, but sadness that it's a reminder that the weekly is no longer around. However, let's focus on the positive, and once again the book delivers a nice package of classic Dandy characters by contemporary creators.
Fans of Ken Harrison will be pleased to know that there's plenty of pages by him in here as he illustrates several Desperate Dan stories and a couple of puzzle pages.
I was pleased to see Desperate Dawg in the book too; the 1970s canine version of Dan. Originally by George Martin, the new version is drawn by Alexander Matthews.
Much-missed 1960s Ken Reid characters Big Head and Thick Head are back in a couple of new strips drawn by Mike Donaldson.
Jack Silver returns too, drawn by Wilbur Dawburn...
...while Nigel Auchterlounie once again draws Corporal Clott...
...and I tackle The Smasher and Keyhole Kate...
Other strips in this packed annual include Greedy Pigg by Nigel Parkinson, The Jocks and the Geordies by Paul Palmer, Brassneck by Steve Beckett, and the return of George vs Dragon by Andy Fanton, plus much more.
Like its sister publication, The Beano Annual 2016 kicks off with a cover by Nigel Parkinson. Nigel also draws several pages inside featuring top favourites Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx.
It was good to see an adventure strip in the book, in the form of classic hero General Jumbo. I don't know who's illustrated it but the artwork is excellent.
Great to see work by Hunt Emerson in the annual, drawing Little Plum...
...and Laura Howell doing fine work on Les Pretend...
The annual features all the usual favourites such as Roger the Dodger, Biffo the Bear, Ball Boy, The Numskulls, the Bash Street Kids, Billy Whizz, Pup Parade, and of course Bananaman...
There's also three pages of Lord Snooty by me...
The Dandy Annual 2016 and The Beano Annual 2016 are out now at a R.R.P. of £7.99 each, but you're bound to find them discounted, or cheaper online. These are the only traditional British comic annuals left now so don't wait until they're remaindered after Christmas. Give them your support now, to help them continue for years to come.
This graphic novel was published last year but I only got around to buying a copy last weekend at the London con, directly from the author Rachael Smith. In fact it was the only thing I bought that weekend and it's a purchase I'm glad I made.
House Party tells the story of three ex-university students who share a house; the likable Michelle and her boyfriend Neil, and their friend Siobhan. Feeling somewhat lost and frustrated with life in the 'real world', the friends are feeling nostalgic for their heady days of uni, so Neil suggests they throw a big house party to recapture the fun times.
Of course, trying to recapture the past doesn't always work out as expected and there are consequences that the characters have to deal with.
Although Rachael Smith has been creating comics for a while this is her first graphic novel and it's an impressive debut. The story is immediately engaging and moves along at a brisk pace. Rachael's art style is modern and distinctive and displays a solid understanding of sequential techniques. She also has a good ear for dialogue, which helps to make the characters feel real and alive.
I'm a firm believer that if comics are going to survive in the UK it's going to be through graphic novels like this; ones that have a wider appeal than 'traditional comics' and which resonate with the public not just with comic fans. House Party reminded me of the sort of self-contained Play for Today that television used to do so well. It's a fine example of the modern British comic book and if you're open to character-driven stories rather than just slapstick, sci-fi, or superheroes then this is for you.
House Party is published by Great Beast Comics and you can buy copies directly from Rachael Smith's online shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlimsyKitten
That maestro of the drawing board Hunt Emerson is bringing his brilliant Max Zillion character back into print, and he's started a Kickstarter campaign to help him do it.
Max Zillion (and Alto Ego) appeared in a book called Jazz Funnies many years ago published by Knockabout, but the book is now long out of print. Hunt aims to publish the strips in a brand new collection called Hot Jazz which will feature some strips in colour for the first time and a new gallery of pages by guest artists.
As is the norm with Kickstarter campaigns, the more you pledge, the more you get, including a stunningly illustrated plate like this...
I've been a fan of Hunt's work since I first saw it in the 1970s and the cool cat that is Max Zillion deserves to be back in print. Only 25 days to go so let's make it happen. To find out more, visit this link and click on the video, where Hunt himself will tell you all about it...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1436027074/hot-jazz
Rich Johnston's Bleeding Cool website is reporting that the next issue of Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out will not be available in Canada due to concerns over its sexual content.
The eight issue mini-series, which runs new stories split over two issues, wraps up with Nebulina in issues 7 and 8. Written by Alex De Campi and illustrated by John Lucas and Ryan Hill the story will no doubt be fun, provocative, with a good dose of horror. It'll also be labeled for Adult Readers and will be polybagged to prevent innocent eyes beholding its content.
However, even those precautions are not enough for Canada apparently, and the comic will not be on sale in the country. Canadian readers will still be able to download the digital edition from the Dark Horse app, or, presumably, buy it from eBay or other online sellers.
Some days it's hard to believe we live in the 21st Century when one hears of such prudish attitudes. What exactly is the danger of Canadian adults seeing drawings of consenting adults doing what consenting adults do? Obviously such material won't be to everyone's taste and that's fine; just don't buy it. But to stop everyone else from buying it is just censorship.
As an aside, I was commissioned to produce a back up humour page for that issue and, knowing the comic would have a sexual theme, I created Sex Pest, the misogynistic pubic louse. However, to solve a scheduling problem the strip appeared an issue earlier instead, in Grindhouse No.6, which is available in Canada. In yer face, censors! (Er, not literally. That'd be messy.)
Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.7 featuring Nebulina will be on sale in comic stores (except Canada) next Wednesday, 29th July. To see some preview pages, visit the Bleeding Cool site here:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/07/23/exactly-why-grindhouse-was-banned-from-being-sold-in-canada/
My next strip for the comic will appear in issue 8.
Today sees the publication of the latest Doctor Who Magazine, which contains the start of a new Doctor Who comic strip, Spirits of the Jungle. The 12 page strip stars the twelfth Doctor and Clara and is written by Jonathan Morris with excellent artwork by John Ross and colours by James Olfredi.
There's also another Daft Dimension strip by me (and I've just this morning emailed the one for the next issue to the editor).
The rest of the magazine is of course packed with features, including a new interview with Colin Baker on performing the final days of the sixth Doctor for an upcoming Big Finish audio, the life story of scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke, The Fact of Fiction on the third Doctor story The Monster of Peladon, and much more. For full info, see the DWM website:
http://www.doctorwhomagazine.com/doctor-who-magazine-489/
Doctor Who Magazine No.489, 84 pages, published by Panini. In shops today, priced £4.99.
