PEOPLE WITH ISSUES Episode 27

I'm guesting on the latest episode of People with Issues, discussing comics with Mr. McGroovy. Amongst the topics are Blade Runner by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, Fantastic Four Pocket Book and Hulk Pocket book by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Hate by Peter Bagge, Justice League by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, Spleenal by Nigel Auchterlounie, and Star Wars Weekly! Have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QezxzLHCZ8k

NEVER IRON ANYTHING - Peter Bagge

 

Delighted to be on Tony Esmond's podcast again, this time talking about Peter Bagge's comics.

Have a listen here.

THAT COMIC SMELL 52: 90s comics

The latest episode is online now.
From the web:

“Get ready to see some serious shit”
Well, well. We hit the 90s. What folks term as the absolute dregs of comics. The decade that killed comics, but is it that simple? Of course not. We wouldn’t have almost 2 hours worth of chat if that was the case. We go to show you that the 90s was filled with absolute gems and that, that nostalgia hit is going to come at you thick and fast.
So strap yourself in and get ready. There is going to be some blasts from the past hurtling their way towards you.
This and all the usual comics (and snacks) chat on the only comics podcast to come live from the Liefeld space ship…
That Comic Smell!
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300 (Frank Miller, Lynn Varley)
Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo)
Aliens: Hive (Jerry Prosser, Kelley Jones)
Amazing Spider-man #388 (David Michelinie, Mark Bagley)
Batman (Doug Moench, Kelley Jones)
Batman Adventures (Various)
Battle Angel Alita (Yukito Kishiro)
Bone (Jeff Smith)
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: Time in Overdrive (Mark Schultz)
Captain America (Mark Gruenwald, Rik Levins)
Concrete (Paul Chadwick)
Daredevil: Guardian Devil (Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada)
Deadpool (Fabian Nicieza, Mark Waid, Joe Madureira, Lee Weeks)
Death Of Superman (Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson)
Dragon Lives (Peter Quinones, Ron Lim)
Fleener (Mary Fleener)
Frank: Real Pa (Jim Woodring)
From Hell (Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell)
Give Me Liberty (Frank Miller Dave Gibbons)
Hate (Peter Bagge)
Hellblazer (Garth Ennis, William Simpson)
Hellboy (Mike Mignola)
Hulk #474 (Joe Casey, Javier Pulido)
Hulk: Future Imperfect (Peter David, George Pérez)
Infinity Gauntlet (Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim)
Kingdom Come (Alex Ross, Mark Waid)
Long Halloween (Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale)
Madman (Mike Allred, Laura Allred)
Manga Mania (Magazine)
Marvels (Alex Ross, Kurt Busiek)
The Mask (John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke)
Sin City (Frank Miller)
Spider-man 2099 (Peter David, Rick Leonardi)
Spider-man (Todd Macfarlane)
Spider-man: Carnage & Venom (David Mechelinie, Mark Bagley)
Star Wars: Dark Empire (Cam Kennedy, Tom Veitch)
X-Force (Rob Liefeld)
X-Men (Jim Lee, Chris Claremont)
X-men Unlimited (John Francis Moore, Paul Smith)
Yeah! (Gilbert Hernandez, Peter Bagge)"

COVERS ALBUM

I was delighted to take part in the Covers Album series over at Broken Frontier.

Have a read here. As well as the three artists listed above, there is also a classic Kirby cover!

PETER BAGGE IN SCOTLAND

This is the fourth in a series of guest posts I'm running over the summer. I asked folk to write on any topic at any length - as long as it's comics related. Next up is Damon Herd...

In 1992 I was majorly getting into North American independent comics, Los Bros Hernandez, Dan Clowes, Dennis Eichorn, Fiona Smyth, Mary Fleener, Roberta Gregory and many others were putting out great comics that I would snap up. If it was on Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly or Vortex it would be in my bag when I left the shop. This all started around 1989 when I discovered a copy of Dan Clowes’ Lloyd Llewellyn Special in a box in a comics shop in Battersea. I had no idea what to make of it but quickly decided it was the best thing ever. Clowes jagged art and 1950s beatnik inspired detective was a revelation.

Around the same time I was given a few copies of Peter Bagge’s Neat Stuff, again I was dazzled. It was like reading some warped profane version of Looney Tunes cartoons, but Studs Kirby, Girly Girl and The Bradleys became must reads. I was now a big fan of Bagge’s twisted world. Both Lloyd Llewellyn and Neat Stuff came to an end just as I discovered them, but  Clowes’ and Bagge’s next comics, Eightball and Hate would make them ‘90s comics stars. They even went on a promotional tour together in 1993, the Hateball tour, I wish I’d seen that!

Up until then I had mainly been reading British comics, I read 2000AD as a teenager. Comics were still in the bubble caused by the successes of Watchmen, Maus and The Dark Knight Returns, but it was starting to deflate. Alan Moore’s Big Numbers had ground to a halt in 1990, and 2000AD’s publishers Fleetway had tried and failed to launch several new titles including Revolver and Crisis, both of which ended in 1991.

One comic that seemed to be bucking the trend was Deadline, launched in 1988 by two 2000AD alumni Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins. The success of Deadline had been one of the inspirations behind the launch of Crisis. One of the great things about Deadline was that it tapped into the small press comics scene and helped to launch that talent to a wider audience. Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin’s Tank Girl was huge news, and the very poor Hollywood film version was still a few years away.

Although attracted by the ex-2000AD contributing editors and the punky attitude of Tank Girl, I quickly realised that there were many other gems to be found in Deadline’s pages. A favourite still is Hugo Tate by Nick Abadzis, and other strips I loved included Philip Bond’s Wired World and Timulo by  D'Israeli D'Emon Draughtsman (Matt Brooker). I’d been reading Deadline since it launched but by 1992 my interest had waned in favour of these new American comics. Deadline must have seen the writing on the wall though as they began serialising Xaime Hernandez’ Love & Rockets story The Death of Speedy.

In March 1992 my two comics worlds came together in the 3rd annual GlasCAC (Glasgow Comic Art Convention). Many of the Deadline crew were attending as part of a promotional Mini-Tour. But the bigger news for me was the appearance of Peter Bagge promoting Hate. I don’t really remember meeting the Deadline folks but I did manage to get drawings by Philip Bond and Jamie Hewlett in my sketchbook. My main target though, was Bagge.

I was pretty shy and the convention as a whole was a weird experience. It was mostly superhero creators that were there and I had no interest in them, so I felt a bit like an outsider at an outsiders’ convention. I found Peter sitting at a table in a quiet room but took a while to muster up the courage to talk to him, I was in awe. He was there with his wife Joanne and they were both the absolute sweetest folks. We chatted a little about comics and about how their trip was going and they put me at ease. I felt a bit weird asking for a sketch, asking an artist for free work always seems strange but it’s accepted at conventions apparently. Peter obliged though and drew me a quick sketch of Girly Girl. I don’t have the drawing today though, I immediately gave it to the friend who introduced me to Neat Stuff.

PETER BAGGE RESET
I’m obviously not scanning the internet as often as I should. It took opening up the latest Previews catalogue to see that Peter Bagge has a new series out soon. A new comic from Bagge is always a cause for celebration. I previously did a lengthy interview with him in 2008, you can have a look here if you so wish. Since his big series Hate and Neat Stuff, he seems to be following a pattern of releasing a new graphic novel every 2 or 3 years, which is just fine by me.

His new comic is called Reset and is published by Dark Horse. This summary is from their website:

If you could relive major events in your life, would you take a stab at making things better—and would your best attempts only make things worse? Or would you use your second chance to put your most twisted, perverted fantasies in motion? These are questions washed-up actor and comedian Guy Krause asks himself after he signs up to be the main research subject for a virtual-reality experiment.

Excited about this series, I asked Peter to tell me some more about it…

DR: You're quoted as saying "I originally envisioned Reset mostly taking place in the virtual fantasy world of protagonist Guy Krause’s imagination". Are there similarities between this story and Other Lives?
PB: Yes, in that they both touch on the use of computer technology as an escapist tool, while also revealing much about someone's character by the way he or she uses it.
DR: Krause is a willing guinea pig in this story. Does he give informed consent? In the cover image he seems perturbed.
PB: Yes, he signs a contract, though as you'll find out when you read it NO ONE is "fully informed" re: this technology. I'd be giving away too much if I explain why, though!
DR: That image reminds me of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Were you influenced by that movie in creating this comic? Or is that way off?
PB: Not influenced, but not way off either. Again, I'm trying not to give too much away!
DR: Ha ha! OK, what can you say? Why should I buy this comic, Peter?
PB: To answer all these questions you've been asking, David! This book contains the KEY TO LIFE!
DR: Ha ha! Brilliant! I don’t doubt it! What else can we look forward to from you in the future? Do you have any other comics lined up after this one?
PB: Yes, a biography of Margaret Sanger. Go figure!
DR: Have you actually finished Reset?
PB: I'm almost done with issue 4, the final issue.



I’m looking forward to reading this. The first issue will be in the shops April 18, 2012.