The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Best of the Year – Kenny Penman

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Today’s Best of the Year selection comes from long-time comics reader, retailer, FPI director, colleague and now publisher of the fine Blank Slate Books, Kenny Penman: FPI: Can you pick three comics/webcomics/graphic novels which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out? Kenny: A good year all [...]

Peace on Earth good links from all men

Saturday, December 25, 2010

25 Comments

I hope you are all having a happy indulgent Christmas and at some point I imagine, like me, you’ll nip away from the festivities and catch up with a few of your favourite internet sites – at least those updating over the holidays. I hope that many of you come to our blog regularly – [...]

Comical Animal Launches: an Interview with Jim Medway

Friday, December 3, 2010

2 Comments

Jim Medway is a well known name in the UK comics field, with his own work (his Crab Lane Crew in the DFC was a particular favourite of our own Richard and Molly), comics workshops and now a new project, an online, bi-monthly comic drawing on a range of contributing talents and aimed squarely at [...]

Solipsistic Pop – Twittering a review…..

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

4 Comments

Richard here – As I was putting my own review of Solipsistic Pop to bed the other day, Kenny Penman (Blank Slate publisher) was putting his own Solipsistic Pop 3 review together during his tea break – except he decided that he’d do it via Twitter. More than anything else, it’s fascinating to see two different readings [...]

Strapazin hits 100

Thursday, September 16, 2010

1 Comment

The Swiss German-language comics magazine Strapazin has just hit it’s 100th issue, which fell through my door on Monday. They haven’t tried to quietly nurdle a single to hit their ton either – more like smashed it in the direction of long off and heading for the stands – with a huge double issue on [...]

Small Press – we’ll sell your stuff FREE

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

8 Comments

We’ve flirted a little with small press comics in a few of our shops and truthfully it hasn’t quite worked out as we’d like. They got stuck in corners, people forgot to invoice us, parcels got lost (or sometimes arrived and got left downstairs), we took ages to pay people (sometimes because they hadn’t invoiced [...]

Old legends, A new storyteller.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

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Flesh and Bone by Julia Gfrörer Sparkplug Comics I’m not sure what the author has produced before, if anything, but this was the first time I had seen Julia Gfrörer’s work, I want more. Basically this is a cross horror/love story revolving around a three way, love daisy-chain – boy loves girl, she dies, boy [...]

Joshua Cotter explores why Indy comics might be considered depressing

Thursday, May 6, 2010

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There is a long piece up on a Comic Book Resources with comic creator Joshua Cotter where he talks about his bipolar disorder and puts forward that why Indie comics might be depressing, is that many of the creators are themselves depressed. It’s a very honest but very interesting interview covering not just his illness [...]

Back Issues coming back – big time

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

3 Comments

Over the years the Forbidden Planet Int stores have lost, as have many others, their back issues. A couple of our stores still carry little sections but for the most part they’re gone. It all seemed so obvious, when they faded away, that their time had come as something you could profitably display and sell [...]

Long ago and far away – comics fandom begins

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

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In all the comics material I read month on month I think I derive as much pleasure reading about comics as actually working through the words and pictures. Somehow seeing other people’s opinions in review form or reading interviews with creators adds greatly to my enjoyment of most comics. Reading up on the background of [...]

Blog 5 years old last week, shops much older

Monday, March 1, 2010

5 Comments

I found this advert for the business which grew into FPI when I was looking back through a pile of old Escapes (Paul Gravett’s pivotal 80′s comics mag – soon to return we hear). This is from 1985 and beautifully drawn by Phil Elliot and shows our mostly robot clientele streaming into the shop. At [...]

Best of the year – Kenny’s faves

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

3 Comments

Today’s Best of the Year selection comes from FPI’s own Kenny Penman, also turned gentleman publisher with Blank Slate Books which has been bringing us new talent from the UK and translating some great work from the European comics scene: FPI: Can you pick three comics/webcomics/graphic novels which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve [...]

The only thing I’ve bought more often than Los Bros Comics

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

1 Comment

That’s the Beatles re-mastered box sets sitting on my desk. I’m not working today but mad anticipation has brought me dashing in to grab them. I’m excited to see them, although this is something I’m now buying for the ninth or tenth time. Albums, cassettes, CD’s I’ve bought them all over the years – and [...]

2009 Ignatz Awards

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

2 Comments

Everyone has posted the nominees now – so you should know what’s what. At the danger of putting my head above the trench I’ll give you my idea of who may, or who I think should, win. Outstanding Artist Tim Hensley, Mome (Fantagraphics), Kramer’s Ergot #7 (Buenaventura) Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf) Richard [...]

It was 20 years ago today….

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

7 Comments

Well 21. I was recently home clearing out a load of stuff my dad left when he died early in the year and amongst the things he had kept was a little insert magazine I had written with my business partner Jim Hamilton. It was called ‘Cut Comics 88′ and we produced it for the [...]

The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Author Archives | Kenny

Best of the Year – Kenny Penman

Peace on Earth good links from all men

Comical Animal Launches: an Interview with Jim Medway

Solipsistic Pop – Twittering a review…..

Strapazin hits 100

Small Press – we’ll sell your stuff FREE

Old legends, A new storyteller.

Joshua Cotter explores why Indy comics might be considered depressing

Back Issues coming back – big time

Long ago and far away – comics fandom begins

Blog 5 years old last week, shops much older

Best of the year – Kenny’s faves

The only thing I’ve bought more often than Los Bros Comics

2009 Ignatz Awards

It was 20 years ago today….

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