Tuesday, December 31, 2019

FRED EGG COMICS REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2019



My annual round up of what I've been up to throughout the year.


In January, my weekly webcomic Bell Time continued with pages 28-31.


John Freeman interviewed me over at Down the Tubes.


That Comic Smell podcast presented two episodes. In the first we discussed our Top 3 Bronze Age comics, the second covered Justice League International Volume 2.


My other webcomic concerns the Tay Bridge disaster. Here is the 22nd strip.


Copy That! #59 featured my comic, Down to a Tea.

In February I presented Bell Time pages 32-35.


I took part in Hourly Comic Day.

We enthused about our favourite comic shops and comic shop memories in That Comic Smell.

I posted my 23rd Tay Bridge Disaster comic strip.

Bell Time pages 36-40 were posted in March.

In April, That Comic Smell discussed Batman and Fantagraphics.

Bell Time 41-44 and Dundee Shmundee #24 were posted.

Bell Time continued in May with pages 45-48.


I put together a collection of comics I did in the 1990s and released them as But a Dream!

That Comic Smell did our third Justice League International episode, and a show where we each picked three random comics to Review, Recommend. Highly Rate.


I guested on the Comic Scene podcast, discussing Hulk Annual 1980 and Soldier’s Heart by Carol Tyler.

In June Bell Time was approaching the end with episodes 49-53.


Star Jaws 3 of 3 from Barnstormer Comics featured two of my comics, Was There Always a Bigger Fish? and Training Days.

That Comic Smell discussed Slice of Life comics and Film and TV tie-ins.


I wrote a guest blog for Daddy Duder Comics.

Bell Time came to a conclusion in July with the posting online of 54-56. I decided to colour the pages digitally before collecting them for print.

In August That Comic Smell discussed British Super-Heroes, and Tom did his first Creator Conversation; starting with me!


August was also the 10th anniversary of this blog and I did a competition to giveaway the entire Fred Egg Comics back catalogue.


A Place to Hang Your Cape interviewed me.


I wrote an article on the Walt Simonson Star Wars Artist Edition, and conducted an interview with Death Wish writer Barrie Tomlinson.


In September Good Comics ran my comic God Bless the Posties.

1990s comics were the topic for That Comic Smell.


I did a couple of Hulk panels for Adam Falp's 102: Tribute to Jack Kirby.


In October I was guest on Samuel George London's Comics for the Apocalypse podcast - a kind of Desert Island Discs for comics.


I had a comic called Coming of Age in Bloom; the latest anthology from Big Brown Eyes.

That Comic Smell did a second episode on horror comics for Halloween.


In November I posted online my Blade Runner tribute comic Los Angeles, November 2019.


In the run up to attending Thought Bubble to launch Bell Time, I appeared on An Englishman in San Diego.


The print edition of Bell Time was released, with coloured pages, guest writers' stories drawn by me, and making of section.


I had a couple of comics in Funtime Comics Anthology #32.

My comic Water (Load of Rubbish) was published in the Water Worlds anthology.

That Comic Smell visited Thought Bubble and recorded a show whilst there.


Star Jaws began publishing my Blade Runner comic with #29.

In December That Comic Smell did a show on Books about comics, a show on Annuals and 2019 favourites, and then faced off with The Awesome Comics Podcast in an end of year quiz.

Have a great 2020, everyone!

Monday, December 30, 2019

AWESOME COMICS QUIZ OF THE YEAR



The Awesome Comics Podcast Quiz of the Year has gone online.

This time they went head to head against That Comic Smell.

Not since Duran Duran battled Spandau Ballet on Pop Quiz has there been a media square-off like this!


Have a listen here.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

THAT COMIC SMELL: Christmas Dinner



The new episode is now online. This is a goodie - you are invited along to our Christmas dinner, wherein we enthuse over our Christmas annuals, and talk about comics we've loved in 2019!

From the web:

“Come, they told me, Pah-rum-papumpum”
Before we get into things, we just want to take a second to thank all of you for listening. The stream of support we have received for the podcast this year has been beyond overwhelming. We tried a couple of different things these past 12 months and you folks have been so open to listening to them and have came along with us on our comics chat journey. Thank you!
In this episode, the folks here sit down to their Christmas meal and chat about that good old British tradition of Annuals! We also take a look at our picks of what we read in 2019.
This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast who’s made a list and most certainly is checking it twice…
That Comic Smell!
Merry Christmas and A Very Happy New Year Everyone!
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2000AD
Batman
Battlestar Galactica
Conan the Destroyer
The Dandy
Danger Mouse
Eagle
Fantastic 4
Flash Gordon
Garfield
Marvel Super Heroes Omnibus
Mighty Heroes
Monster Fun
Moschops
Oor Wullie
Raiders of the Lost ark
The Real Ghostbusters
Sparky
Spider-Man
Star Wars
Superboy
The Super Heroes
Thundercats
X-men

Star Jaws (Robin Barnard)
Long John Silver (Xavier Dorison, Matthieu Lauffray)
In Waves (AJ Dungo)
The Whore Chronicles (Tony Esmond)
The Immortal Hulk Omnibus (Al Ewing, Joe Bennet)
Satan's Library (Adam Falp)
The Intercorstal (Gareth Hopkins)
Batman #66 (Tom King, Jorges Fornes)
Sky in Stereo (Sasha Mardu)
Green Lantern Vol 1: Intergalactic Lawman (Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp)
Death Inc. vol 3 (Charles H Raymond)
Ell Tesoro del Cisne Negro (Paco Roca, Guillermo Corral)
Stand in your Power (Rachael Smith)
DeadEndia (Hamish Steele)
Death Wish (Barrie Tomlinson, Vanyo)
CYDO (John Tucker)
Solipsistic (Various)


CHRISTMAS COMICS: Archie's Classic Christmas Stories Volume 1



This is the cover to a really nice collection from 2002.

One story features Archie on an out of control reindeer sleigh!

It's a fun read. Pick it up if you come across it.

Have a great Christmas!

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

STAR WARS: EPISODE 9: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER



Because Star Wars is a money making franchise which has to continually be kept running, Disney has been busy training everyone to understand that Episode 9, rather than being the end of Star Wars, is more accurately the end of “the Skywalker Saga” - a subset of Star Wars which sits alongside all the other shows like The Madalorian and spin-off movies like Rogue One. However I understand it in the context presented to me in 1979 - it's the final episode of the 9 movie Star Wars saga.


Here's an excerpt from the very enjoyable book "Once Upon a Galaxy" by Alan A.Arnold:

"Alan A. Arnold: Tell me more about the overall concept of the Star Wars saga.
George Lucas: There are essentially nine films in a series of three trilogies. The first trilogy is about the young Ben Kenobi and the early life of Luke's father when Luke was a little boy. This trilogy takes place some twenty years before the second trilogy which includes Star Wars and Empire. About a year or two passes between each story of the trilogy and about twenty years pass between the trilogies. The entire saga spans about fifty five years."


The Star Wars adaptation comics have been a mixed bag. The first three have sterling work from Roy Thomas / Howard Chaykin, and Archie Goodwin / Al Williamson. By the time we got to the comic of The Last Jedi last year, I found I enjoyed that more than the movie. I was able to swallow the events of that story more when presented as a comic (which I could pretend was an expanded universe type of thing).


As far as I’m aware a comic for The Rise of Skywalker hasn’t been announced, but with this last trilogy, the adaptations have been coming out a year after the movies, so we’ll see.


In any case, tomorrow sees the culmination of the promised 9 part saga. Obviously a lot of things have changed along the way (Lucas’ non-involvement is a deal-breaker, truth be told). But it is what it is, and it feels like a momentous occasion to me.

Goodbye, Star Wars p2 from Break the Cake, 2018.

Monday, December 16, 2019

MOUNT A RESCUE at A PLACE TO HANG YOUR CAPE



A Place to Hang Your Cape has published its 2020 Indie Comics Preview by Fred McNamara, and included my upcoming Mount a Rescue.

Have a read here.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

THAT COMIC SMELL: Books about Comics



The new episode is now online.

From the web:

“Get some culture! READ A F*****G BOOK”
Tis the season to be jolly! Hello and welcome to our second Christmas present to you all and the gang is back together. Something a little different this time as well. We are discussing books that are about comics. Bloody Books! Don’t worry though. This hasn’t become some after school book club get together. The folks still get their comics on and in full swing adoration. There’s Alan Moore, Tim Pilcher, Marvel, Tom Spurgeon, Pat Mills, Penguin books, Will Eisner, you name it! There are soooo many books and we had a ton of fun. We hope you do too. Grab a mulled wine, some mince pies and hell of a lot of Christmas cheer.

This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast to make a list, check it twice…

That Comic Smell!

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @thatcomicsmell
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and most places you find podcasts.

Don’t forget to Like, Share, Subscribe, Rate & Review.

Thanks again for listening and supporting the podcast

Graphic Borders: Latino comic books past, present and future (Frederick Luis Aldama, Christopher Gonzalez)
Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of writing comics and graphic novels (Brian Michael Bendis)
Eisner/Miller (Interview Conducted by Charles Brownstein)
Will Eisner's Shop Talk (Will Eisner)
Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books (Jean-Paul Galbilliet)
How Comics Work (Dave Gibbons, Tim Pilcher)
The International Book of comics (Denis Gifford)
1001 Comics you must read before you Die (Paul Gravett, ed.)
The New Comics (Gary Groth, Robert Flore, eds.)
Marvel Museum: The Story of the Comics (Ned Hartley)
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (Sean Howe)
Understanding Comics (Scott McCloud)
The Supergirl: Fashion Feminism, Fantasty and the History of Comic Book Heroines (Mike Madrid)
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes (Nevin Martell)
Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! (Pat Mills)
From Hell Companion (Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell)
Super Gods (Grant Morrison)
Art out of time: Unknown comic visionaries, 1900-1969 (Dan Nadel, ed.)
The Penguin book of Comics (George Perry, Alan Alridge)
Stan Lee: The Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (Jordan Raphael, Tom Spurgeon)
Tales to Astonish (Ronin Ro)
Adult Comics: An Introduction (Roger Sabin)
Comic Book Hero (Barrie Tomlinson)
McSweeneys 13: The Comics issue (Chris Ware, ed.)
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the rise of Nerd Culture (Glen Weldon)
Peter Bagge Conversations (Kent Worcester)


Saturday, November 30, 2019

STAR JAWS #29



The new issue from Barnstormer Comics is out now, featuring work from Robin Barnard and Martin Hand.

They've also began running my Blade Runner tribute comic, "Los Angeles, November 2019."

More information on Barnstormer Comics can be found here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

THAT COMIC SMELL SPECIAL: Thought Bubble 2019



The latest episode is now online.

Documenting our trip to Thought Bubble!

From the web:

“I’VE BEEN BLOWING BUBBLES!”
Welcome to this very special episode of TCSPod in which our heroes, David, Mike and Tom, take a trip to Harrogate to visit the 2019 Thought Bubble Comic Festival. We document from when we arrive to just before we leave. There is some sleep deprivation, some purchases talk, some creator interviews with the likes of Olivia Hicks (@missoliviahicks) Charles H Raymond (@not_so_tiny) Pete Taylor (@thismanthispete) & Vince Hunt (@jesterdiablo) , what our accommodation is like, how we were setting up, what went wrong over the weekend and so much more. CAUTION! Must be given though as we record bit at the festival and at a pub after when we got food, so there is A LOT of background noise at points. You have been warned.
This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast to survive on coffee and a wish for the best part of 3 days…
That Comic Smell!
Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @thatcomicsmell
Get us on…
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thatcomicsmell/that-comic-smell-special-thought-bubble-2019
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Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/hwbqxab
Podbean: tinyurl.com/yxvecykj
and most places you find podcasts.



Saturday, November 23, 2019

Thursday, November 21, 2019

WATER WORLDS


Cover by Julie Campbell.

A new comic is out from Universe Publications. It features work from Mark Brown, Julie Campbell, Mark Cruncher, Tori Hage, Damon Herd, Olivia Hicks, Garry Mac, Harper McBride, C. McClue, Hannah McGann, Metaphrog, Chris Murray, Jenna Roberts, and Vicky Stonebridge.

I have a comic in there, too. Here's a wee preview:


More detail on the launch event for the comic can be found here.

Monday, November 18, 2019

BELL TIME COMIC BOOK AVAILABLE NOW



Bell Time is available now at the Fred Egg Comics shop here.

A kind of body swap / time travel tale written and drawn by me. Also, one page school tales from my family.

"This book is absolutely as fun as it sounds and manages to cross all those great school comics and tv series we remember with the world of time travel. David has a simple and iconically British style and he understands how a comic should flow.
Highly recommended."
Tony Esmond, Never Iron Anything

"The art style of Bell Time has clear echoes of Bash Street, fitting for a comic that is straight out of Dundee – the real Beanotown. The legacy of Leo Baxendale and David Sutherland seeps through British comics and is a welcome element of Belltime. One kid looks like an older version of Oor Wullie…Wullie with a bumfluff moustache and an attitude."
Alister Black, Daredevils & Warriors

“This comic is a very unique comic! It’s also a very psychological comic. The concept is very smart. The characters overall are very well developed. The story has good pacing, and the storytelling was also good.”
Alkyone, Exploring Comics

80 pages. Colour.