The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

As another Thursday comes around, peeking out from behind blankets of sodden, gray clouds, here’s Alex Fitch to bring a good reason to stay in and, when we’re sitting comfortable he’ll begin. As ever for more details and links to podcasts of previous shows check the Panel Borders site. Alex is still available to perform during the panto season.

Strip! – Apostolos Doxiadis’ Logicomix, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, podcast afterwards on Panel Borders

The first of this month’s series of shows looking at links between “education and comic books”. Alex Fitch talks to to author Apostolos Doxiadis about the graphic novel Logicomix- An epic search for truth which he co-wrote with computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou. The graphic novel centres around the life of Bertrand Russell and explores the history of mathematics in the 20th century, intertwined with the story of the authors grappling with the project’s creation. Alex and Apostolos are looking at the interesting structure of the graphic novel and how this relates to its subject matter as well as the nature of modern biographical comic books.

Reality Check: Sci-Fi comics part two, due on Sci-Fi London on the 9th

In the second of two podcasts recorded in front of a live audience at this year’s London International Science-Fiction and Fantasy Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to four practitioners of Science-Fiction comic books about their work; these include Paul Cornell (Doctor Who), Bryan Talbot (The Adventures of Luther Arkwright), Daniel Merlin Goodbrey (Iron Man 2020) and Paul Duffield (Freakangels). This second podcast includes the panel answering questions from the audience as well as a discussion of authors rights in a world where google are threatening to digitise every book that’s seen print, the rise of various sub genres such as steam punk and cyber punk in British comics and what examples of SF literature influenced the panel

Recent podcasts:

Panel Borders: The art of Rian Hughes

Concluding our month of shows about ‘British Mavericks’, artists whose work is surprisingly avant-garde for the mainstream, Alex Fitch talks to comic book artist and graphic designer Rian Hughes about his work, from his early days in the small press and discovering European comics through Escape magazine to working on 2000AD and its spin off title, Revolver. Alex and Rian also talk about the latter’s reasons for becoming a full time graphic designer in the mid 90s and leaving comics for over a decade, before becoming interested in the medium once again over the last couple of years.

Reality Check: Sci-Fi comics part one

In first half of a two part podcast recorded in front of a live audience at this year’s London International Science-Fiction and Fantasy Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to four practitioners of Science-Fiction comic books about their work; these include Paul Cornell (Captain Britain and MI-13 / Dark X-Men), Bryan Talbot (Grandville / The Adventures of Luther Arkwright), Daniel Merlin Goodbrey (Iron Man 2020 / All Knowledge is Strange) and Paul Duffield (Freakangels / The Tempest). Alex discusses with the panel the use of comics as an underated way of telling SF stories and the probable future of the medium via the internet.

In print:

‘I Fought the Law’ – The winter 09 print issue of Electric Sheep looks at what makes a cinematic outlaw: read about the misdeeds of low-life gangsters, gentlemen thieves, deadly females, modern terrorists, cop killers and vigilantes, bikers and banned filmmakers. Also in this issue: an interview with John Hillcoat about his adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, acclaimed Polish poster designer Andrzej Klimowski talks about designing for Jim Jarmusch and Andrew Cartmel (Doctor Who script editor 1987-89) discusses The Prisoner! Illustrators include James Stringer and Daniel Locke, with words (review of Stingray Sam) and a picture (Day Night Day Night) by “We are words and Pictures” – Julia Scheele and Matt Sheret – plus comic strip reviews of Otto Preminger’s film noir by Mark Stafford and Hannah Berry, her first new comic strip since the publication of her acclaimed graphic novel “Britten and Brulightly”…