The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Another Thursday rolls around and that means it is time for Alex Fitch to update us on his latest comics and SF related meedja appearances and as is usually the case there’s some great new stuff, some excellent recent broadcast/pocast/videocasts to catch up on if you missed them (love that web) and some great guests who will be doing the Strip! for Alex (titter ye not); as ever check the Panel Borders site for more details and links:

“Strip!: The Tale of One Bad Rat. Thursday 4th September on Resonance 104.4 FM at 5pm

After a two week hiatus, Resonance’s weekly show about comic books – Strip! – is back for a 2nd series, starting with an interview by Alex Fitch with graphic novelist Bryan Talbot about the new printing of his classic book The Tale of One Bad Rat which tells the story of an abused homeless girl who finds solace in the works of Beatrix Potter.

Alex will also be talking to Dan Franklin, the head of Jonathan Cape, about their reprinting of the book as a ‘Classic British Graphic Novel’ and their past and future plans for printing albums of sequential art. Alex’s chat with Bryan will be available shortly after broadcast as an audio and video podcast (like some of the earlier episodes) at the Panel Borders site.

Strip! is now a half hour show, though the Panel Borders podcasts of Alex’s interviews will continue to vary in length. Forthcoming interviews include Garth Ennis (Dan Dare, Preacher), Raymond Briggs (When the wind blows, The Snowman), Eddie Campbell (From Hell, Bacchus), Charles Burns (Black Hole, Fear[s] of the dark) and many more…

On line video:

Panel Borders’ YouTube channel now includes the complete video interviews by Alex with Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and David Lloyd… More to come, subscribe now!

Previous podcasts

Electric Sheep podcast: (Re)visiting Dark City

Alex Fitch talks to Eagle Award winning comic book artist Tom Humberstone about Dark City – the underrated 1998 sci-fi film noir which has been recently rereleased in an extended director’s cut.

Panel Borders: The state of Gay Comics (2008) part 2, originally broadcast 07/08/08 on Resonance FM

The second part of a panel recorded live at this year’s Bristol International Comics Expo, Alex Fitch hosts a panel of creators and experts on Gay comics and Yaoi manga. Accompanying Alex on the panel are comics expert Paul Gravett, manga artist Yishan Li (Yaoi press) and graphic novelist / Guardian strip illustrator David Shenton (Get Her! / The Shentons). Audience members asking questions include Oli Smith (London Underground Comics / Weekend Friends), Richy Chandler (a.k.a. Tempo Lush) and Bevis Musson (Queen of Diamonds). This is an extended version of the panel recording as broadcast on Resonance FM.

Reality Check: John Reppion’s Haunted Liverpool

Alex Fitch talks to author John Reppion, about his book 800 years of Haunted Liverpool and the many issues it raises. Alex and John talk about the nature of hauntings, the variety of other phantasms seen in Merseyside from Witches to Mermaids and the phenomenon of “Time Slips” observed in various parts of the city.”

(some critics claimed that Pimp My Ride had gone too far with their new ‘congestion-buster’ modifications; pic from Death Race, (c) Universal)

Alex also tells me that the new autumn edition of Electric Sheep boasts a look at the new cut of the brilliant Dark City movie by Crow director Alex Proyas, written by Alex and Tom Humberstone and a double-vision look by Alex at both versions of Death Race (extra points for pedestrians!). Electric Sheep’s print edition also boasts illustrations from Tom Humberstone, Oli Smith and Sean Azzopardi, plus a comic strip by Mark Stafford, who recently collaborated with this evening’s interview guest Bryan Talbot on the hilarious Cherubs (see how it all comes together so seamlessly?!?!).