The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Virgin Comics

29. November 2006

Moneycontrol.com discusses the growth of Richard Branson’s Virgin Comics, perhaps inevitably remarking that “After Harry Potter, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, it now appears that Indian mythology and characters based on Indian mystics”. While I plead guilty to reviewing the first of Ashok Banker’s fantasy novels based upon the ancient Sanskrit myth [...]

CLAMP in the NYT

28. November 2006

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The New York Times continues to show an interest in the comics biz with an article on one of the most globally popular creative teams, the all-female manga collective CLAMP. The group – responsible for such diverse hits as Tsubasa (Del Rey have a new Tsubasa character guide about to be published), Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits [...]

Eddie Campbell joins the blogosphere

27. November 2006

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Via Heidi at the The Beat comes a link to one of the latest comics creators to start a blog, Mister Eddie Campbell. In what looks to be only his second post he explains just why the new edition of From Hell too such a Hell of a long time (but at least it is [...]

African comics

27. November 2006

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The New York Times reports on a subject we don’t read much about, African comics. The NYT piece has a short slideshow of some of the work (which shows an influence from Western comics) from artists who have work appearing at the Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125th Street, with the Africa Comics exhibition [...]

Graphic novels make the best of spiritual books list

27. November 2006

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David Crumm on the Detroit Free Press picks his top ten spiritual books of the year and, for the first time since the list started ten years ago, graphic novels feature in it: “This year’s list is the first to honor graphic novels, a publishing form that might seem like glorified comics until one looks at [...]

Political cartooning

27. November 2006

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Via Drawn comes a link to this site, Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonist Index, which contains information on and cartoons by a large range of illustrators – well worth bookmarking for those of us who enjoy a good fix of Steve Bell or Ted Rall.

Dave Cockrum passes away

27. November 2006

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Tom at Comics Reporter carries the sad news that artist Dave Cockrum passed away at the far too early age of 63 after some years of serious illness. Dave was a very active artist from the fanzines through to some of the best-known comics in the business, famously working with Len Wein in the 70s, [...]

Wallace and Gromit pick up BAFTA

27. November 2006

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Wallace and Gromit’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit has picked up the best film award at the BAFTA Children’s Awards, while the British animated duo’s creators Nick Park and Aardman were the subject of a South Bank Show with Mevlyn Bragg last night on British TV. Since the show and Bragg are generally considered a very [...]

Graphic novel An Táin wins major Irish Gaelic language prize

27. November 2006

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Further news via Pádraig and Irish SF News: writer and publisher Colmán Ó Raghallaigh, of Cló Mhaigh Eo has won The Oireachtas na Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the Year Award for Young People for 2006 for his graphic novel An Táin. Pádraig describes the work as being a re-telling of the Táin Bó [...]

Moore signs for charity

27. November 2006

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Thanks to my friend Pádraig Ó Méalóid, comics fiend, reviewer, con organiser and editor of Irish SF News (as well as contributing to this blog too) for telling me about a very exclusive sale on Leah Moore and John Reppion’s site. A case of the old AARGH! anthology from 1988 has turned up in a [...]

From comics to television – Kellie Strøm talks with FPI’s Kenny Penman

27. November 2006

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Kellie Strøm is one of those cartoonists you maybe wish had just a little less talent – then he might stay doing comics. Kellie was born in Copenhagen (1967) but was raised in Ireland where he first came to attention with work for local papers and magazines like “The Yellow Press”. In 1992 he and [...]

Shades

24. November 2006

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John at the revamped Down The Tubes put me on to this intriguing online graphic novel, Shades, from Broken Voice Comics. Starting with a break-in at the British Museum and the kidnapping of a seemingly ordinary old tailor who may – or may not – have worked for superheroes it seems fits somewhere between Albion [...]

Thunderbirds art sold

24. November 2006

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One concept drawing from Thunderbirds reach a value of £6, 000 at the Bonham’s auction mentioned here earlier this week. Strangely a head and shoulders model of Captain Scarlet failed to meet its reserve price; spectrum was obviously not green that day…

Stephen King on the BBC

24. November 2006

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Stephen King, pretty much the king of horror fiction, talks to Mark Lawson in a video interview on the BBC’s website, discussing his new book and how the two occassions where he came close to death have effected him and his writing. Stephen’s fantasy tale, The Dark Tower, is finally coming in comics form after [...]

Fountain movie reviewed

24. November 2006

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A.O. Scott in the New York Times has a mixed reaction to finally seeing Darren Aronofsky’s much-delayed film version of the Fountain. He seems a bit disappointed in terms of narrative and character, but in terms of sheer experience he seems quite impressed: “The three stories are not told in linear order, but in a circular, [...]

Archive | November, 2006

Virgin Comics

CLAMP in the NYT

Eddie Campbell joins the blogosphere

African comics

Graphic novels make the best of spiritual books list

Political cartooning

Dave Cockrum passes away

Wallace and Gromit pick up BAFTA

Graphic novel An Táin wins major Irish Gaelic language prize

Moore signs for charity

From comics to television – Kellie Strøm talks with FPI’s Kenny Penman

Shades

Thunderbirds art sold

Stephen King on the BBC

Fountain movie reviewed

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