And I loved Chesheyre’s “Come Fly With Me” poster with a grinning Kaylee astride a Firefly class ship. Ah, a little hit for those of us who loved the show and still miss it never being allowed to flower fully…

(Simpsons (c) Fox)

For some unknown reason I had a song from the Simpsons stuck in my head all day yesterday – Mister Burns singing “see my vest” (in a pastiche of a classic musical scene whose name escapes me at the moment) as he shows off his wardrobe full of handmade garments fashioned from animals “see my vest, made from real gorilla chest… Like my loafers? Former gophers, it was that or skin my chauffers…” As with many folks when I get an earworm lodged in the brain like that I had a look online for it to play it out my system and instead I came across this – a ‘dramatic’ reading of the See My Vest song, which is just pure, cracked genius…

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?

Maura: It’s difficult to present a top three list across a variety of media because there are so many excellent works in the shops and on the screens at the moment. I’ve focused on indie/low budget/unusual titles that captured my attention during 2011, and are deserving of a larger audience.

Comics:

1. Luchadoras by Peggy Adam from Blank Slate Books

A grim, compelling graphic novel set in Mexico and featuring Alma, a woman attempting to escape the trap of violence that permeates her life. Adam doesn’t flinch from the story and attempts to unpick the complexities of the effect on people of living in an unpredictable, often-hostile environment.

Not a story that’s going to make you feel better about the world, but it might help you understand some of it a bit better.

2. Shadoweyes in Love by Ross Campbell from SLG Publishing

The sequel to Campbell’s previous title, Shadoweyes, the story continues the adventures of Scout Montana, who has been inexplicably transformed into a large, powerful creature that gives her the power to fight against crime in the futuristic city of Dranac.

The pleasure of this work is following a truly diverse set of character, who are both funny and complex, set in a traditional coming-of-age superhero story.

3. Nelson edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix from Blank Slate Books

If you want a snapshot of the existing and emerging talent in the UK comic book scene then this comic book anthology is the perfect seasonal gift. Nelson is a series of short vignettes from the life of the heroine of the story, Nel.

It was conceived of as an experiment in the exquisite corpse format where each artist/writer must react to the piece that preceded it. A triumph in both form and content, and a showcase for the UK indie comic book industry.

FPI: Can you pick three TV shows and/or movies which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out?

Maura: Television

1 Wilfrid, created by Jason Gann and Adam Zwar

It’s rare that a truly oddball story appears on our screens that is both poignant and darkly funny. The protagonist Ryan (Elijah Wood) is a suicidal, depressed lawyer who is asked by his neighbour Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann) to take care of her dog Wilfrid for an afternoon. To Ryan’s surprise, he sees Wilfrid as an Australian man (Jason Gann, reprising his role from the Aussie original version) in a dog suit.

They embark on a strange friendship that sometimes seems to be a voyage into the darker impulses of Ryan’s psyche. The fun of watching it is trying to piece together just what is going on with Ryan and what has brought about this fracture in his reality, while enjoying the wit and banter of the show.

2. American Horror Story, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk

The premise of this series is the standard haunted house story. A couple attempting to save their marriage move to L.A. with their daughter and unknowingly purchase “the Murder House”. Quite soon the ghosts turn up and rather bold-facedly start interacting with the family. At times this series has exasperated me, but ultimately I enjoy the stand-out performances, and the cocktail of horror influences from David Lynch, Dario Argento and Stanley Kubrick.

It’s a series that’s all about the women, and the actresses are fabulous featuring a range in age that is rare in American television. The triumvirate of wife Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton), creepy next-door neighbour Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) and daughter Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga) keep me watching this show.

3. Lost Girl, created by Michelle Lovretta

Technically this was first broadcast in 2010, but it was only aired in the UK/Ireland in 2011 on SyFy. Honestly, I came to this show expecting to dislike it, but was pleasantly surprised by the range of characters and the writing. The story centres around Bo (Anna Silk), who grew up as an orphan in a human family only to discover she is actually a succubus, and part of the Fae world that co-exists, with its own rules, next to the human world.

The lure of this show is Bo’s best friend, a thief and con-artist call Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), who helps Bo set up a neutral detective agency to investigate crimes in both the Light and Dark factions of the Fae. Bo also has relationship with both a wolf-shifting police detective Dyson (Kristen Holden-Ried) and a human forensics expert Lauren (Zoie Palmer). This series confounded my expectations and turned out to be a well-written, entertaining series with enough twists and points of departure to keep me happy.

Film

1. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, written and directed by Madeline Olnek

Created on a tiny budget and shot in black in white New York, this story emulates a 1950s B-movie science fiction tone from the beginning, with its baking tin spaceship and outlandish concept. In it aliens are shipped away from their home planet to Earth for having ‘big feelings’, and have to live in Manhattan as exiles, attempting to eschew relationships (but never succeeding).

At its centre is the romance between human stationary clerk Jane (Lisa Haas) and her alien girlfriend Zoinx (Susan Ziegler), which is both awkward, funny and heart-warming. This endearing film doesn’t outstay its welcome, and proves what can be done with a good comedy script and the right cast.

2. The Devil’s Business, written and directed by Sean Hogan

This British horror film is the perfect example of what horror writers/directors should emulate when attempting to make a film on a low-budget: put the work in on the story. The film centres on two London gangsters Pinner (Billy Clarke) and Cully (Jack Gordon) who break into the house of a man their superior has told them to kill. As they sit, waiting and talking, it becomes clear that their target is involved in the occult and their boss has a Faustian bargain that he’s attempting to break.

There are only four actors in this film and most of it takes place in a couple of rooms in the house, but the writing and the actors’ delivery means it is never boring.

THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS trailer from Sean Hogan on Vimeo.

3. The Innkeepers written and directed by Ti West.

West has already proven himself a capable and innovative horror writer/director with House of the Devil, and with The Innkeepers he keeps on trend and delivers a gripping, low-boil horror film. The story revolves around the last couple of days in an old Inn that is being closed down and is almost devoid of guests. The last shifts are being handled by Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), who are the kind of quirky, funny people nearly everyone has worked with at some point in their lives, and who help you get through deadbeat jobs. The Inn has a reputation for being haunted, and Luke has been filming sections of it for his web site.

As the duo’s last nights in the Inn unfurl the scares slowly ratchet up for a chilling climax. It’s great to watch a horror film with characters you actually care about, and which takes its time building up the atmosphere.

FPI: How did 2011 go for you as a creator? Are you happy with the way you got your work out this year?

Maura: I’ve been delighted at the reception to both of the comic book series I’m writing Atomic Diner: Róisín Dubh (reviewed here by James) and Jennifer Wilde (reviewed here). Issue two of Róisín Dubh hit the shelves just before Christmas and issue two of Jennifer Wilde should be out in February.

(sketching in Paris in Jennifer Wilde by Maura McHugh, Rob Curley and Stephen Downey, published Atomic Diner)

FPI: What can we look forward to from you in 2012?

Maura: The collected graphic novel of the first volume of Róisín Dubh  and Jennifer Wilde should be out by the end of the year, and before that the third issue of both of them. I’ve also a script in the Womanthology comic book anthology, which should be in the shops by January.

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?

Rich: Long John Silver from Cinebooks. I’m a huge Treasure Island fan and usually despair of people getting the character of Silver wrong when they do spin offs, but he’s written perfectly here. It’s the best comic I have read in a few years.

Bryan Talbot’s Grandville Mon Amour (Jonathan Cape) – the art is (obviously)gorgeous to look at, brilliant package and superb story.

2000AD – I am constantly astounded that there are British comic fans who don’t read this. They’ll spend all their money on comics about people in brightly coloured leotards punching each other, but not this?

Their loss, I suppose! But they’re missing out on things like Low Life and the magnificent return of John Smith’s Indigo Prime.

FPI: Can you pick three books which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out?

Rich: (I don’t think I’ve read as many as three non-review books this year, but I’ll give it a go!)

The Ascension by Michael Carroll:  I shall declare an interest and admit that Mike is a friend of ours, but nevertheless, this is an astoundingly good book. What makes it so good is the villain – not only is he well written and believable, he is so charismatic that even the reader finds themselves thinking ‘mmmm, maybe he has a point,’ when he’s explaining why he’s being Very Bad.

Surface Detail by Iain M Banks. Space Opera of the very grandest scale! Banks’s vision is astounding, and the plot here is pleasingly complex For the Banks fan, and particular for fans of the Culture novels, the epilogue is worth the price of admission alone.

How I escaped My Certain Fate by Stewart Lee. Lee is an utterly brilliant comedian. Probably the nest this country has ever produced (although I am aware there will be masses of people out there who disagree with me and think he is Not Funny at All, but they are wrong). In this book he reprints three of his recent stand up shows and provides copious footnotes for them, as well as a few sections that could be described as memoir. Very interesting stuff if you’re a comedy fan or a writer wanting an insight into the mind of another writer.

FPI: Can you pick three TV shows and/or movies which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out?

Rich: The Wire. Yes, I know, I know. We’re very late to this party. As I write this, we’re eight episodes into season two. It really is as good as everyone says, isn’t it? There are times when watching it I feel like giving up trying to write anything. You feel me?

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Love this show. Just love it. Behind the wonderfully over the top Grand Guignol, there is some brilliant writing, and John Hanna is clearly having the time of his life! Well, you would, being married to Xena…

Game of Thrones. Apart from being filmed a few miles from where I spent the first 40 years of my life (I know! It’s amazing, I don’t look that old), it is also a great adaptation of a great book. All my favourite scenes made it in there, so I was happy.

FPI: How did 2011 go for you as a creator? Are you happy with the way you got your work out this year?

Rich: Very well, I think.

I’m in a weird hinterland at the moment where I’ve been very busy writing a number of books for Markosia and Com.X but have had only a few things released this year.

Although the main couple of pieces – Operation: Solomon in the Unseen Shadows anthology and a strip called The Ship in Spirit of Hope, are things I’m very proud of.

I’ve also written a 30 page book that Vicky and I hope to self publish in the coming year…

FPI: What can we look forward to from you in 2012?

Rich: Turning Tiger will get a long awaited (by me at least!) release in April.  With Vicky is one we hope to have out later in the year.

I’m returning to the Unseen Shadows universe again soon, too.

Of course, as is the way. The most exciting this is something I can’t talk about at the moment, but if it comes to pass, it will be that literal dream come true project!

Oh yeah, and Hi-Ex! is back on the 30th March and 1st April in Eden Court, Inverness. If anybody wants to come, please do. And if you want to sponsor us, please do that too!

FPI: Anyone you think is a name we should be watching out for next year?

Rich: Daniel Clifford, who produces the lovely Sugar Glider comic. He’s one of these ‘young people’ they have nowadays, and seems to be possessed of all the energy and enthusiasm that this entails.

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?

Paul: I think I’d pick: Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder (who’s the new genius writer of comics, with a run on Detective immediately before the New 52 that blew me away).

(cover to DC New 52′s relaunched Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette)

Batgirl by Gail Simone (who’s always worth reading, one of the true greats).

(Batgirl #1 from the DC New 52 relaunch, written by Gail Simone, art by Ardian Syaf, cover by Adam Hughes)

And, okay, I should do a Marvel one, Kieron Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men (that brand feels so invigorated now, and he’s a writer who loves delivering actual endings, always my favourite thing in comics).

(cover to Uncanny X-Men #2 by Kieron Gillen, cover art by Billy Tan and Carlos Pacheco, (c) Marvel)

FPI: Can you pick three books which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out?

Paul: Reamde by Neal Stephenson (as one blog put it, the great American novel, born out of geek culture while not being SF, showing that geek culture *is* mainstream culture now).

The Islanders by Christopher Priest (it’s the new Priest, so I’m bound to love it, but this one starts the playing with levels of reality on page one).

And Heaven’s Shadow by Michael Cassutt and David S. Goyer (a JK Abrams-style reinvention of the Arthur C. Clarke near future SF novel, pitched to please the mainstream in ‘airport novel’ mode).

FPI: Can you pick three TV shows and/or movies which you especially enjoyed over the last twelve months and tell us why you singled them out?

Paul: Doctor Who is not a show, more a lifestyle choice, so: Fringe (just the most intelligent show on American TV, with multiple layers of reality and an interest in how we react to them, pure SF).

Warehouse 13 – great fun, great plotting, great characters (good, it’s not just me hooked on Warehouse 13 then! – Joe).

Game of Thrones – an epic rebuttal of fantasy cliche, deeply satisfying.

FPI: How did 2011 go for you as a creator? Are you happy with the way you got your work out this year?

Paul: I am!  Two comics in the New 52 from DC that are actually *increasing* in sales, a radio play and lots of short stories.  Very pleasing.

(Paul signing in the Edinburgh Forbidden Planet this autumn, pic from my Flickr)

FPI: What can we look forward to from you in 2012?

Paul: My first urban fantasy novel, Cops and Monsters, out from Tor in October.  It’s my single best work, I think, emotional and action packed, funny and really serious, all in one.  I feel like I’ve finally worked out how to be a novelist.  If you liked my Doctor Who or comics work, I think you might love this.  And Saucer Country, an ongoing comic series from Vertigo about UFO mythology, as a Presidential candidate gets… well, let’s call it ‘abducted by aliens’.  There are grey areas to that, as we’ll see.

(promotional artwork for Paul’s Saucer Country coming from DC’s Vertigo next year, art by Ryan Kelly)

FPI: Anyone you think is a name we should be watching out for next year?

Paul: Lauren Beukes has now conquered the world, so I’ll say Adam Christopher, with his new superhero universe in the novel Empire State (NB due out early January from Angry Robot & next on my tottering must-read pile – Joe).