jovazone

At the weekend, I discovered my work commitments would prevent me from attending Hi-Ex 2009. Shame.

Next year, I’ll be there.

I wish Rich and Vicky all the best with their comic con. They have a large set of auction items whose proceeds will go to charity, Children 1st.

it is an amazing set of items up for auction which includes:

• Walking Dead Vol. 3 (Hardback) - Autographed by Charlie Adlard
• Walking Dead Page Art - Autographed by Charlie Adlard
• Wrath of the Lich King (Box set) - World of Warcraft
• Savage Tales - 3 sets of comics autographed by John Reppion and Leah Moore
• and many more

Check out their auction webpage.

http://www.hi-ex.co.uk/auction.htm

Hi-Ex 2009 is taking place in a few weeks time. It is run by Richmond Clements and Vicky Stonebridge.

Last year, the event was affected by the severe weather. The heavy snow prevented some guests and visitors from attending Hi-Ex. However, a lot of people attended and it was a success.

This year, Hi-Ex will be held at Eden Court, Inverness on the 14th-15th February. I still need to organise booking arrangements. I noted that Frank Quitely will be attending and I would love for him to autograph my copy of All Star Superman GN. A truly impressive piece of work. I’ll be first in the queue!

Check their website.

http://www.hi-ex.co.uk/

Hi again.

That’s another year gone and I’m left wondering what do I want to do this year? I’ll be 30 in a few months time. *Gasp* So I made up my mind what my achievements will be in my 30s.

• Be a writer (comics, scripts or novel). I’m an amateur at the moment.
• Run an internet business with a friend. This is currently in the works.
• Get my own property

I haven’t wrote a script/story for a few months now. I’m worried I have lost the craft. I need to get back in shape. So I’ll start a small writing exercise. Work it from there.

I plan to write a new horror script for another small press publisher by the end of first week.

John

Recently, FutureQuakePress turned down a script of mine. They felt it didn’t do anything for them and that it read like a action movie and it would be difficult to work it out artistically. They also felt it was half finished.

Yeah, I was disappointed but they did have a point. It was half finished. I rushed the script and the results just wasn’t right. It made me re-assess the way I write comic scripts and not to rush it.

I think it’s good now and then, scripts get turned down so the creator can see where they went wrong. It’s a good learning expierence.

The script was a scifi comedy about a space invasion in British city. I did think whether I can write a sci-fi story. I don’t read many sci-fi stuff so I wouldn’t know if something worked in the script or not. In future, I might re-write it. For now, it’s on the back burner.

I had a good time in Birmingham, although I did feel a wee bit alone. I was due to meet up with an old friend but he had other commitments.

I stayed at the Britannia Hotel. It was ok. My view from the window was rubbish. I could see a hotel room across my window. So no wonder many of the windows had curtains drawn across.

The Party

I went to Bennett’s, where the Monster Launch party were being held. I had to give my name to prove I was on Guest List. Given I have a thick Scottish accent and I’m deaf, it made communications a wee bit difficult. I was speaking to James Hodgkins.

He was trying to find my name on the list and I was starting to think “Shit, I’m not listed” I did get an email to confirm this. More people started to crowd the doorway, and James advised me to go in anyway.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people at Bennetts thought I gatecrashed the party because A) No-one knows who I am B) My name wasn’t properly confirmed.

A lot of ‘famous’ people came into the party, only faces that I recognised.

Hunt Emerson, Kevin F. Sutherland, John Reppion, Leah Moore, Dave Evans, Richmond Clements, Lew Stringer, Shane Chebsey and D’Israeli.

I want to say sorry to those I failed to recognise but only found out later; Al Ewing and Wakefield Carter. I knew Al’s face from somewhere but I wasn’t too sure from where. Apparently, he wrote a couple of scripts for 2000AD. I misinterpreted Wakefield Carter’s name as Quinn. (Don’t know how I got that name. Blame the loud music for that!)

Wakefield Carter is responsible for running the website: http://www.2000adonline.com/

Whoops. Sorry, Al and Wakefield for not recognising you. I had no idea.

I saw John Reppion at the bar and said Hi. I think he just wanted his pint and go back to Leah and friends.

Anyway, the party got into swing. I made small talk with Dave Evans and met Richmond for the first time. I just wandered around until I met Steve Tanner and Andy Dodd of Timebomb Comics. I got talking to them about small things like comics. Steve has fond memories of Scream! the horror comic. He loved The Dracula File.

I got to talking about my writing some more scripts. I’m considering submitting a horror script to Timebomb Comics and see how that goes. If it’s not to be, it’s not to be.

It was midnight I decided to go back to the hotel. It was getting too loud and I had enough beer. I always quit while I’m ahead (which is easier said than done).

BICs

I decided to go to the Comic Con to beat the queue. 100 other people had the same idea!

I picked up my copy of Something Wicked and sat down. It was brillant. Cheers all for your hard work, Neil!

I managed to meet Dave Gibbons and had my Watchmen GN autographed. I was lucky to have queued up in time, because Dave had advised everyone he will be stopping in the next 15 mins and cannot autograph anymore. Dave had a schedule to keep.

I got talking to Dave and asked him for an autograph. Dave suggested he could draw Rorschach in the book. I asked how did he know I was going to ask him?! He laughed and said it was a popular request. Very well spoken and friendly man. I thanked him and moved on.

I bought a few comics and hung around the area for a few hours.

I’m glad I went to Birmingham Con. I had a great time.

When I first saw The Cure way back in the mid 1980s, I must have been have about 6 or 7 years old, I thought they were weird and I didn’t like them at all.

Fast forward 20-odd years later, I can’t stop listening to their song ‘Close To Me’. It started when I was watching Son of Rambow. ‘Close To Me’ was playing over the closing credits. A good film and I loved the music. I’ve become a new fan!

Here’s a link to The Cure’s website.

Now I have been to Birmingham International Comics Show, I might be heading off to Hi-Ex 2009! Well,  not until February 14th.

The other day, I mentioned that I loved the art of All Star Superman which was drawn by Frank Quitely. And he is making an appearance at Hi-Ex 2009. I must get my GN autographed by the very man.

Early this year, I did try to go to Hi-Ex 2008 but the poor weather blighted my plans. Most of the UK suffered heavy snowfall so much that some of the guests had to cancel their slot. Traveling arrangements were made impossible by the weather.

At this time of writing, Hi-Ex has already confirmed 14 guests and they will add more guests to the list in the next few months.

Hi-Ex is organised by Richmond Clements and Vicky Stonebridge.

As you may know, I’m a regular poster at the Scream dedication website BackFromTheDepths. In my previous blog, I mentioned that the website has re-installed the new message board. Now that board is scrapped.

Many months ago, we have set up a new messageboard this time with Ning.com. You can find the new message board at:

http://backfromthedepths.ning.com/

We no longer get the spam crap. The good thing about Ning groups is that you can use the same account details to join other Ning groups that would appeal to your interests i.e. Small Press Comics, computers or music. So far our BackFromTheDepths ning group is up  to 31 members.

Please join us and talk about the old days of Scream and maybe join in a discussion in creating a tribute comic to Scream!.

This post contains spoilers about my short horror script ‘Beaten Path’ for Something Wicked #4.

I thought I write a small post how the script for ‘Beaten Path’ came about. Beaten Path was drawn by Neil Roberts

A New Script

It was around January or February 2007, a friend of mine suggested I try sending a horror script to FutureQuake Press and see if they would be interested.

I thought of a monster stalking the woods, but I wasn’t too sure what kind of monster it would be. I pictured an evil leprechaun trying to protect his magic woodland or something ridiculous like it. At the time, horror comics were all about zombies. I wanted my horror script to stand out.

So I took a walk to the Glennifier Braes taking my digital camera hoping I would get fresh ideas. I walked up the hills, taking pictures of the woods. I got to a halfway point where I was able to take a wide shot picture of my home town. As I was taking my pictures, I felt there was something behind me. I turned around and saw a Highland cow, a couple of feet away. It was chewing grass and as soon it saw me, it stopped chewing.

There was no fence between the cow and I. He had massive curved horns and was staring at me. I’m thinking “Shit, he is going to charge at me”. I had no idea whether Highland cows are docile or aggressive by nature. I stepped back quietly not wanting to find out.

It walked away, grunting. I finally found the monster for my horror script. A Highland cow.

Characters and Setting

I wrote the script within a few weeks and sent it off to Futurequake. My favourite part of the story is where King Denim announces himself, naked below the waist (save for underwear and shoes). I was King Denim a long time ago. I did a lot of daft things when I had one drink too many. That was when I was in my early 20s.

During my research into Beaten Path, I wanted to take more pictures of the area. I came back weekend after weekend.

The setting was based on Glennifier Braes and I knew for a fact that teenagers go up there to have boozing sessions. I see beer cans thrown around the landscape. Something that annoys me, but that’s another story.

In the opening scene, you’ll see there is a large bush on the right hand side. This exists on the Braes. I was taking a picture of this bush and I found a burst balloon hanging off a branch. I’m thinking this is a remote place to have a party.

You will recall there were characters hiding from the monster, in a burnt shell of a car. This car did exist at Glennifer Braes before it got towed away some time later. This was on the hillside and it was steep.

After taking pictures of the car, I tried to get back up but the ground was marshy. So marshy, my legs plunged through it. I lost my balance and got mud on me. Yes, I had to walk home with mud up to my knees. It was also sloshing around in my boots. Not a pleasant feeling, I tells ya!

When I was about to write Beaten Path, I wanted to keep it simple. Funny and scary. I do not know how the Highland cow came to be a monster or how the Farmer managed to keep the cow as a ‘pet’. I wanted the script to be over the top horror. And I think I’ve managed that.

I am pleased as punch seeing how Neil Roberts drew out the strip. He did an excellent job. I wish him all best with his future comic projects. I’m sure he will go far.

I’m pleased to announce ‘Something Wicked #4′ is now available to buy. This is my debut into comics writing. Please drop an email and let us know what you think of ‘Beaten Path’. Good or bad. The cover was created by Mini-Bolt (son of Bolt-01). Very talented by the looks of this cover.