U.S. News: Action Comics reaches issue 1000 today!

It's been 80 years since Superman first appeared and it's a double celebration as his original long running title Action Comics reaches issue 1000 today! On sale in comic shops across the USA and UK, Action Comics No.1000 is an 80 page giant and features a choice of variant covers designed in the style of each decade. The UK's own Dave Gibbons has drawn the cover representing the 1950s issues. I'm sure Dave's younger self back in the late '50s could never have imagined he'd one day be drawing the cover for the 1000th edition! 

Here's the info on this issue:

Celebrate 1000 issues of Action Comics with an all-star lineup of top talent as they pay tribute to the comic that started it all! From today's explosive action to a previously unpublished tale illustrated by the legendary Curt Swan to the Man of Tomorrow's future-this very special, oversized issue presents the best of the best in Superman stories! 

FEATURING ALL-NEW ART AND STORIES BY:

•  BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS 

•  JOHN CASSADAY

•  OLIVIER COIPEL 

•  PAUL DINI 

•  JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ 

•  PATRICK GLEASON 

•  BUTCH GUICE 

•  GEOFF JOHNS 

•  DAN JURGENS 

•  TOM KING 

•  JIM LEE 

•  CLAY MANN 

•  BRAD MELTZER

•  JERRY ORDWAY 

•  TIM SALE 

•  LOUISE SIMONSON 

•  SCOTT SNYDER 

•  CURT SWAN 

•  PETER J. TOMASI

•  MARV WOLFMAN

...AND MORE! 

DECADES-SPANNING OPEN-TO-ORDER VARIANT COVERS BY:

•  STEVE RUDE (1930s) 

•  MICHAEL CHO (1940s) 

•  DAVE GIBBONS (1950s)

•  MICHAEL ALLRED (1960s) 

•  JIM STERANKO (1970s) 

•  JOSHUA MIDDLETON (1980s) 

•  DAN JURGENS (1990s)

•  LEE BERMEJO (2000s) 

...PLUS A BLANK VARIANT COVER!

In Shops: Apr 18, 2018

SRP: $7.99

You can see the rest of the variant covers here:

https://www.previewsworld.com/NewReleases

Review: HOW COMICS WORK

If you're in a mad rush to get your pre-Christmas plans sorted, I'll sum up this review in seven words: If you like comics, buy this book!

Here's a slightly more in-depth analysis for those of you already roasting your chestnuts by an open fire...

How Comics Work is an 192 page softback book by Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher detailing the whole process of comics creation in a very relaxed and absorbing way. Under lesser hands, such a book could be tedious and dry, but Dave and Tim are articulate and affable chaps whose personalities shine through to make this a very accessible read for all. 

Dave Gibbons has always been an all-rounder in comics, having mastered all the skills such as writing, pencilling, inking, colouring, and lettering, and he takes us through each process with helpful tips and anecdotes. A great advantage is that Dave has saved so much material over the years that he's able to illustrate each chapter with numerous previously-unseen sketches, roughs, page breakdowns etc, and a good helping of finished art too. 

There are also chapters on the creators who inspired Dave, and those whose techniques he respects, to aid in the demonstrations of comics creation. 

Tim Pilcher, a writer and editor of long standing, also knows his stuff, and supplies his own commentary alongside Dave's teachings. This approach works considerably well, and adds to the enjoyment of the book. 

This is a book that should be an essential read for everyone working in comics, or with ambitions to be a comics creator, and also for any fan with an interest in the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts of comics. Even if you might not use all the techniques yourself, it's important to know what goes into constructing the finished product.

An absolutely fantastic book that everyone reading this blog needs on their bookshelf. Click here to order a copy. 

Want to know How Comics Work?

If you're in or around London on Wednesday 20th September, drop into Orbital Comics for the book launch and signing of How Comics Work by Tim Pilcher and Dave Gibbons!

Here's the info:

Orbital is proud to present the launch of How Comics Work, the exciting new book from Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher. Pulling back the curtain of comic book creation, the iconic artist behind Watchmen and Green Lantern reveals insider hints, tips and tricks in his own words. Covering both traditional and digital techniques, this “how it’s done” book will prove essential to any aspiring comic creator.

Gibbons and Pilcher will be signing copies of their new book from 5:30 – 7:30pm, and the evening will conclude with a free-to-attend after-hours panel discussion. If ever you wanted to get comic book industry knowledge first-hand, this will be the event you can’t afford to miss!

More info here:

http://www.orbitalcomics.com/how-comics-work-book-launch-signing-after-hours-discussion-weds-20th-sept-530pm-til-late/

More early work by Dave Gibbons (1976)

Concluding my look back at strips from 40 years ago, here are some examples of strips drawn by Dave Gibbons for the D.C. Thomson comics. The visual storytelling skills and dynamism of Dave's work was evident even then, and it was inevitable that he'd go far, as indeed he did. 

The Spy in the Sputnik was a typical D.C. Thomson yarn, improved considerably by having Dave Gibbons as the artist. It ran in Hotspur from the issues dated September 11th 1976 to October 30th 1976. Although it only a very short-lived series (8 episodes) it was awarded the cover slot from the first episode. 

During this period, Hotspur's editor implemented the baffling practice of moving the toplines (that traditionally ran across the top of each story page) to big flashes slapped in the middle of the artwork. This strange idea was very distracting and took the reader out of the story. (It was one reason I stopped buying Hotspur in the mid-1970s so I never saw these strips until I bought the comics on eBay recently.)

After The Spy in the Sputnik, Dave's next published serial for D.C. Thomson was The Flying Tripehound for The Wizard. Thankfully, a comic that kept the toplines at the top. Here are the first two episodes from December 1976. (A "tripehound" was aviation slang, and not the abusive term it is today.)

A while back, on the Comics UK Forum, comic historian Ray Moore kindly provided a list of Dave's strips for these comics. I've shown examples of the Simon Gaunt stories and Year of the Shark Men on this blog in the past (check out the links after this list). 


"Dave Gibbons full list of work for Wizard is as follows:

The Wriggling Wrecker 20/7/74 - 21/9/74

The Year of the Shark Men 24/4/76 - 10/7/76

The Deathless Army (Simon Gaunt mystery story) 14/8/76

The Last Torpedo (Simon Gaunt mystery story) 28/8/76

The Flying Tripehound 18/12/76 - 12/2/77

Cat and Mouse 13/8/77 - 8/10/77

Cat and Mouse 3/12/77, 17/12/77, 24/12/77

He also did occasional work for Hotspur inc

The Spy in the Sputnik 882(11/9/76) - 889(30/10/76)"

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/year-of-shark-men-1976.html

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/wizard-work-by-bolland-gibbons-and.html

Ten years after these strips were published, Dave would be at the top of his game illustrating Watchmen, one of the greatest graphic novels in the history of comics.


NOTE: Interestingly, The Spy in the Sputnik was actually a redrawn / revised version of a strip that Ian Kennedy had drawn several years earlier. Colin Noble has the details on his blog:
https://nothingbutafan.wordpress.com/2015/12/09/the-spy-in-the-sputnik/

Wizard work by Bolland, Gibbons, and Ezquerra

Before 2000AD exploded onto the scene, some of its greatest artists had drawn strips for rival publisher D.C. Thomson. I showed The Year of the Shark Men on this blog in a previous post (see here) and today I'd like to show a few more forgotten treasures.

All of these strips are from The Wizard in 1976. Simon Gaunt was the fictional narrator of short, self-contained supernatural stories that were mainly used as filler material in the comic. Useful, therefore, to give work to the newer generation of artists such as Carlos Ezquerra, Dave Gibbons, and Brian Bolland. Their distinctive styles and talent were evident even then, and it was inevitable they'd become three of the top comics artists in the industry. 

Click on the pages to see them much larger. 

Who Killed Kane? drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, from Wizard dated January 31st, 1976...

Eye of the Tiger drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, from Wizard dated February 14th 1976...

The Black Monk, drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, from Wizard dated April 3rd, 1976...

The Black Horse of Vengeance, drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, from Wizard dated May 22nd, 1976...

The Deathless Army, drawn by Dave Gibbons, from Wizard dated August 14th, 1976...

The Last Torpedo, drawn by Dave Gibbons, from Wizard dated August 28th, 1976...

The Box, drawn by Brian Bolland, from Wizard dated September 25, 1976...

Roundhead's Revenge, drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, from Wizard dated November 13th, 1976...

Carlos Ezquerra also drew a serial called Chained to his Sword during this period too, and I'll show some examples of that in a future post.

The First Christmas 2000AD (1977)

In its early days, 2000AD was full of raw energy and action, with direct, no-nonsense scripts aimed at 8 to 12 year old boys. It's a more sophisticated and mature publication today, having grown with its audience, but it still has the same attitude and it's still a good buy. 

Prog 44 in December 1977 was 2000AD's first Christmas issue. No extra pages for the occasion like it's had for the last 15 years, this one was in the regular 32 page format. Unlike the festive-filled humour comics, UK adventure comics were not usually full of seasonal themes. However, this issue did sport a great Santa cover by Kevin O'Neill, related to the Christmas Judge Dredd strip by John Wagner and Mike McMahon...

Back then, Dredd had moments of being more easy going, as the following page demonstrates. It's a far bleaker world in Mega City One these days...

The rest of the strips didn't feature a Christmas theme but they're worth noting. In recent years, Bill Savage has been revived in 2000AD but here he is back in his first series, Invasion, with gritty art by Mike Dorey...

It may be hard for some to imagine a time when Star Wars was new, but 1977 saw its first release. (I remember going with a bunch of mates to see it at The Palace cinema in Nuneaton when I was 18. A picture place long since demolished.) Here, 2000AD gives it a brief 'review'. The photos aren't great, due to the cheap newsprint the comic used back then, but I'm sure it's of interest to Star  Wars collectors...

2000AD had a regular humour page in those days, ably filled with Bonjo From Beyond the Stars by the brilliant Kevin O'Neill...

M.A.C.H. 1 was 2000AD's version of TV's The Six Million Dollar Man, but proved to be far more interesting than its inspiration. Art by Ramon Sola...

Colour was limited to the covers and centrespread back then, with Dan Dare taking up residence (soon to be replaced in that position by Judge Dredd). Stunning art from Dave Gibbons...

1977 also saw the first 2000AD Annual published. Here's an ad for it, along with an ad for other IPC comics. The annual ceased publication years ago but these days there's the 100 page Christmas issue instead which makes up for it.

IPC's adventure comics were expected to have a sports strip back in those days and Inferno fitted the bill. This is the back page, with art by Massimo Bellardinelli.

2000AD is still around today of course, published every Wednesday. This year's Christmas issue will be out on December 16th.