Strip!: The art of Marc Caro, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, podcast afterwards on Panel Borders

In the first of a month of shows looking at the crossover between comics and film, Alex Fitch talks to director Marc Caro about his experiences in both media, how working in bande dessinée led to animation, how animation led to live action film. Marc talks about his work appearing in Metal Hurlant with Enki Bilal and Moebius and how the work of Spiegelman and Satrapi made the form more respectable. Also, Alex and Marc talk about his work designing the comic book adaptation Blueberry, how his colleagues Jean Pierre Jeunet and Pitof fared in America making Alien Resurrection and Catwoman respectively and what it was like making his first film – Dante 01 – without his famous Delicatessen collaborator. The interview was recorded after a screening of The City of Lost Children at Sci-Fi London.

(cover to In Vitro by and (c) Marc Caro, published Hoëbeke)

Electric Sheep podcast: Body and souls

In the latest Electric Sheep podcast, we’re looking at two films by female directors that deal with issues of absence and loss. Alex Fitch talks to director Sophie Barthes about her film Cold Souls, a Kaufman-esque Science Fiction comedy about soul trafficking starring Paul Giamatti and to Mirjam Van Veelan about her documentary Megumi, about the kidnap of a Japanese girl – Megumi Yokota – in 1977 by North Korea (with thanks to The Barbican for arranging the interview with Mirjam).

Recent podcasts:

Panel Borders: The art of Brian Wildsmith

Concluding Children’s Book Month on the show, Alex Fitch talks to octogenarian illustrator Brian Wildsmith on the eve of a retrospective of his work at The Illustration Cupboard in Piccadilly. Brian is famous for his gouache paintings of animals in picture books and his narrative paintings depicting classic texts such as the Easter Story. Alex talks to Brian about his training at The Slade, breaking into illustration via the Oxford University Press and having a museum collection of his work opening in Japan.
Brian’s exhibtion at The Illustration Cupboard, 22 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AL runs from March 24th to April 24th 2010, with a chance to meet the artist on April 13th… More info at www.illustrationcupboard.com

Reality Check: The Problem of SF film making part two

In the second half of a panel discussion recorded live at last year’s London Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Alex Fitch discusses the challenges of creating engaging and convincing SF scenarios on film with a quintet of eminent low budget film directors – Marc Caro (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children), Cory McAbee (Stingray Sam), Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn), Stuart Hazeldine (Exam) and Richard Jobson (A Woman in Winter). The panel was sponsored by The Directors Guild of Great Britain and Mr Caro’s translator was Virginie Selavy. In this second part the panel discuss the importance of lighting and sound to low budget cinema and the need to double up crew members [part two of two]…

Clear Spot: Alternative press at Angoulême part 3, Friday 2nd at 8pm on Resonance FM, podcast afterwards on the Alternative Press site

The next Alternative Press Hour is Friday the 2nd of April at 8pm. Its the third and last of our Angoulême specials and features interviews with Stripburger, Britain’s very own B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S and the moment Jimi Gherkin met Robert Crumb!

News from Gareth Brookes of the Alternative Press Fair;

First there’s the Alternative Press Hour, a  new monthly radio show on Resonance FM which started yesterday -Friday 15th January 8pm (Gareth also updated us to say he’d been telling everyone it was at 9pm and he’s very sorry!). It will be archived with links from Gareth’s Appalling Nonsense site and the Alternative Press site. The first radio show features an eclectic first line-up including music from cartoonists Shug and Paul O’Connell, interviews with Edd Baldry (organiser of the London Zine Symposium) and Mike Lake (one of the founding fathers of comics in the UK).

And just in time for the first anniversary of the Alternative Press organisation, we have the next Alternative Press Fair taking place on Saturday 13th February. Full of comics, zines, poetry, and hand-made books of all kinds, and if that wasn’t enought there’s music, dancing, DJs and open mic sessions later on into the night.

Strip! – The art of Howard Chaykin, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, podcast afterwards on Panel Borders

Continuing our month looking at depictions of masculinity in American comics, Alex Fitch talks to veteran artist Howard Chaykin about his career from collaborating with masters of Science Fiction literature in the 1970s – such as Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber – to producing creator owned titles in the 80s and 90s such as American Flagg! and American Century and his most recent work drawing iconic Marvel characters such as Wolverine and Blade plus writing the origin of John McClane in Die Hard Year One.

(American Flagg by and (c) Howard Chaykin)

plus, a show I’m not involved in, but happy to promote:

The Alternative Press Hour episode 1, on Resonance FM on the 15th at 9pm, podcast afterwards at alternativepress.org.uk

The first Alternative Press Hour will go out on Resonance 104.4 FM this Friday 15th January at 9pm! Its a monthly show dedicated to comix, zines and DIY culture, presented by Jimi Gherkin and Gareth Brookes. The first show features interviews with Edd Baldry (of the Last Hours collective and organiser of the London Zine Symposium) and Mike Lake, (co-founder of Titan Distribution and Forbidden Planet), who chats to us about getting started in the early days of UK comic distribution. There’s also music by comix and zine creators Shug, Paul O Connell and our own Jimi Gherkin. So tune in!

Previous podcasts:

Panel Borders – Philosophers, Gods and Monsters

In the first of this month’s shows about the portrayal of masculinity in American comic books, Alex Fitch talks to writer Fred Van Lente about penning the adventures of undead superheroes in Marvel Zombies, bringing to light the exciting adventures of Action Philosophers from Aristotle to Derrida and co-writing tales of the Incredible Hercules which depict the travails of the Classical demi-god on modern day Earth and beyond. The interview was recorded at Gosh! comics in Great Russell Street, London following a signing by the writer…  Originally broadcast as an episode of ‘Strip!’, 07/01/10 on Resonance 104.4 FM

Panel Borders: Tales of Diversity

Sarah Lightman visits the Eastside Educational Trust in Hackney and talks to two of the tutors / mentors from the organisation – Rakhee Jasani and Truly Johnston – who have set up a project called ‘Graphic Truths’ as a way of engaging young people with comic book creation to tell stories that are personal to them. Sarah also talks to four of the young creators – Chantelle, Shantel, Leke and Nickita – who have worked on the project and are seeing their comics printed in an anthology called ‘Tales of Diversity’ being launched 16/01/10.

Strip!: The Art of Brendan McCarthy, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, podcast afterwards on Panel Borders

Starting ‘British Mavericks’ month on the show – a series of conversations with illustrators whose work is surprisingly avant-garde for mainstream comics – we have an interview with pop art surrealist Brendan McCarthy. Appropriately for Guy Fawkes’ Night, Brendan’s work is the comic strip equivalent of fireworks, mixing lurid colours with hallucinogenic rendering that he has managed to smuggle into British periodicals such as 2000AD and Crisis and more recently has led to work in the field of film and animation design, working on TV series such as Reboot and the new film ‘Mad Max 4: Fury Road’. Today’s interview was conducted by author and librarian Pedro Galvao in front of an audience of Graphic Novel fans at Minet Library in Camberwell as part of Lambeth Readers and Writers Festival during the summer. (The episode was recorded and edited by Alex Fitch)

(some fantastic art by Brendan McCarthy for Doctor Strange, due next year from Marvel; pic via Heidi at The Beat)

ELECTRIC SHEEP SUBTERRANEA: Marebito (2004) + The Phantom Empire: The Thunder Riders (1935)

Electric Sheep presents subterranean screenings of minor masterpieces, oddball B-movies and genre classics in the convivial surroundings of Cinéphilia West. Join us every second Sunday of the month for a feature film and a chat, preceded by an episode from a serial or series, which will be shown over a season of screenings. On Sunday 8th November, as part of our season of underground-related films, we will be screening Takashi Shimizu’s Marebito (Stranger from Afar, 2004), a deeply sinister exploration of fear, obsession and urban paranoia, set in the Tokyo netherworld. This will be preceded by the second episode from the sci-fi Western musical The Phantom Empire (1935), in which a cowboy, who is also a radio show host, stumbles upon an ancient but highly advanced civilisation living under his ranch… Has to be seen to be believed! If you missed last month’s instalment and want to catch up, you can do so here: http://www.archive.org/details/phantom_empire_chapter_1

Previous podcasts:

Reality Check: Time travelling Hobbits and other paradoxes

In a pair of Q & As recorded in front of a live cinema audience at this year’s Sci-Fi London Film Festival, Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two new low budget films: The Hunt for Gollum and Cryptic. Joining Alex and director Chris Bouchard on stage, members of the cast and crew of The Hunt for Gollum talk about making an extended short film that stands up to the quality of the official Lord of the Rings movies, in an adaptation of material by J.R.R. Tolkein that was a labour of love for all involved, even when recreating Middle Earth in Epping Forest on limited resources. Alex also talks to producer / co-director Danny Kuchuck about his film Cryptic which mixes teen therapy with tropes of murder mysteries, revenge thrillers and time paradoxes to create an intriguing Sci-Fi drama .

Panel Borders: Banal Pigs, borrowed toilets and other manly anthologies

Continuing ‘anthologies and collectives month’ on the show, in an interview recorded at this year’s Small Press Expo in Bristol, Dickon Harris talks to Steve Tillotson and Gareth Brookes about their self published comics, including The Manly Boys Annual, Can I borrow your toilet? and The Banal Pig Landscape anthology; Dickon then catches up with Gareth again at the Alternative Press Fair Collaborama! in Borough to talk about performing small press comics as poetry.

Panel Borders: Inside the Fleece Station

Concluding ‘anthologies and collectives month’ on the show, in an interview recorded on location at the Old Police Station The Fleece Station in Deptford, Alex Fitch talks to artists Sarah McIntyre and Viviane Schwartz about their work including books such as Morris the Mankiest Monster and There are Cats in this book plus the benefits of sharing a studio that has a web and public presence.

Strip! – Small press Sci-Fi and Fantasy, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, podcast after transmission on Panel Borders

Continuing Sci-Fi comics month on the show, we have a couple of interviews recorded at comic book conventions with small press creators who are working in the SF and Fantasy genres. In an interview recorded at this year’s Bristol Comics Expo, Dickon Harris talks to comic book creator and musician Dave Lander who contributes to the anthology comic Decadence which in the last couple of instalments has been heavily SF themed, Dave also produced a CD soundtrack to go with recent issues. Also, Alex Fitch talks to Rob Jackson about his fantasy comics Random Journeys and Bog Wizards (reviewed here by Richard) which combine unreliable narrators, humour and magical landscapes, in an interview recorded at a pub in the East End after the UK Web & Mini Comix Thing.

(panels from Bog Wizards, by and (c) Rob Jackson)

Previous podcasts:

Reality Check: Female action heroes, online at SciFi London

To coincide with the release of updates of the Terminator franchise and Blood: The last Vampire, Alex Fitch talks to actress Linda Hamilton about her career, working with Arnold Schwarzenegger and becoming a feminist icon. Alex also talks to anime expert Helen McCarthy about the various incarnations of Blood: The Last Vampire, the Japanese version of Buffy which has moved from TV animation to manga, video games and now live action cinema.

Panel Borders: There’s no time like the present

Starting Sci-Fi comics month on the show, Alex Fitch talks to small press creator Paul Rainey about his serialised graphic novel There’s no time like the present which he has been self publishing as individual comic books over the past five years. TNTLTP tells the story of a group of friends from Milton Keynes who suffer from the usual concerns of our generation – niche interests, unfulfilling jobs, difficulties with dating etc. – but in a world where time travel exists and the UK in the present day is a holiday vacation for patronising visitors from the future. Alex and Paul talk about the latter’s influences from Alan Bleasdale to Doctor Who, Kurt Vonnegut to Coronation Street, how the opening of a new memorial in Milton Keynes is best attended by a Dalek and the process of telling a long form narrative with an unusual structure.

Coming soon: Doctor Who spin off week

If five days of Torchwood gave you the urge for more…

Strip!: Doctor Who comics now, due at 5pm on Thursday 16th on Resonance FM

Alex Fitch talks to the creators of a couple of recent innovative Doctor Who comics about bringing a new angle to the popular franchise. Leah Moore and John Reppion wrote the recent one off comic “The Whispering Gallery” which sees the Doctor and Martha exploring a terrifying museum on an alien planet. Also, Alex talks to Richard Morris, creator of the popular and unauthorised web comic, “The Ten Doctors” – an epic serialised graphic novel which celebrates almost every aspect you can think of from 46 years of the Timelord’s adventures.

Reality Check: Torchwood in print, due on SciFi London on the 17th

In a panel discussion recorded live at a meeting of the British Fantasy Society, late 1980s Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel talks to a quartet of Torchwood novelists – Mark Morris, Sarah Pinborough,Guy Adams and Joe Lidster – about bringing the show to the printed page and expanding the adventures of Jack, Ianto and Gwen to the length of a hardback novel.

also:

I’m ready for my close-up: Fly me to the moon (Patrick Moore & Gerry Anderson)

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landings, Alex Fitch talks to two television pioneers who were inspired by the events of July 16th 1969. Sir Patrick Moore covered the events of the Apollo 11 mission live on TV and discusses the events of that day with Alex as well as the highlights of his six decades presenting The Sky at Night. Alex also talks to Gerry Anderson about the space race and technological innovations of the 1960s inspiring such shows as Fireball XL5 and Thunderbirds.

N.B. The interview with Sir Patrick is available to download now from at SciFi London while the Gerry Anderson piece will air on Resonance FM on Thursday 16th at 10.30pm