Taking law to the lawless

How awesome is this? Greg Staples as Judge Dredd? He makes for a perfect young Joe dredd. These costume tests were made for a Judge Dredd Based fan film "Judge Minty" currently in production. Amazing costume props. I would wear that to work everyday.
Also check out the 'Minty' sketch by Mick McMahon back in February

It was 2000AD that originally got me into comics but it was Judge Dredd that made me a fan. I can't help but be excited to see this getting made. I think they have picked the perfect story to work on. 'Judge Minty' from 2000Ad 147 by John Wagner and Mick McMahon (Complete case files vol.3). Read more about it and follow the updates on the Judge Minty Blogspot and The official web page Judgeminty.com

Judge J.

Presuming On His Senses! Pope Hats

In September last year, a young lady came into the shop with a small press publication. Not unusual, but on this occasion she was offering the title on behalf of the creator who was American. She was very enthusiastic and told me that the author was going to be worth watching. The title was Pope Hats and the author was Ethan Rilly.

How I wish we still had some copies left. One year, one Xeric Foundation grant and a shortlist for the 2008 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent later and the Pope Hats official #1 arrived in store today. Easily the best comic out this week, it's engaging, just the right side of kooky and beautifully drawn. Fans of Daniel Clowes shouldn't pass this up. Only £2.80.


Want more? There's a podcast interview with the Ethan Rilly at Comixology.

Fabulous Furry Gilbert Shelton

Thank you to all who showed up for the signing last sunday. It was great to see Gilbert Shelton again and he stayed all day to sign and sketch every ones copies of Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus and the new Fat Freddy's Cat Omnibus.
A huge thank you to Gilbert and Tony for coming over to Dave's. Even after 2 days of signing, he was in great spirits and even left us with lots of signed copies, if you are looking for a great gift idea for Christmas :)



And the general consensus is, the incident with the headphones is everyone's favourite Fat Freddy's Cat moment

J

Presuming on his Senses! Insomnia Cafe

Insomnia Cafe tells the story of Peter Kolinsky, a former expert on rare books, whose previous run-in with black marketeers is about to catch up with him.

The book is mostly a familiar ordinary-man-on-the-run mystery novel but it's played off nicely by hinting at the confusions of an unhinged mind. Within the first few pages, after being chased by identikit villains in black suits (see above) the protagonist finds that the book in his bag appears to be bleeding. We are then shown Kolinsky's life at home where we discover that he suffers from insomnia which of course has connotations of untrustworthy perceptions of reality. To serve as a reminder, Klonsky wears round-rimmed glasses that accentuate his haunted, sleep-deprived eyes.

Once the hint of the un-real has been introduced, the writer can be playful such as with the introduction of the secret, underground library of books called The Archives which holds all the novels that are forever unfinished or still currently being written. Once a book is finished by the author, it disappears from the collection - as if the library is a holding place for the imaginary. As a result, The Archives not only becomes important to the plot, but it also represents the theme of fiction and reality. Just as the the polite but odd man in Kolinsky's office is dismissed as a crack-pot for his stories about the secret services, there is an element of doubt over what to believe within the story.

Insomnia Cafe is set in New York but it has the intimacy and quirkiness often associated with European work. Indeed the creator M.K. Perker is not a native and originates from from Turkey where he has been working professionally since 1990 when he was only 17 years old. Upon moving to America he was introduced to the writer G. Willow Wilson and together they produced the graphic novel Cairo and the Vertigo series Air which has earned an Eisner nomination and a favorable cover quote from Neil Gaiman.

A low key but impressive debut that displays a gift for storytelling and an understanding of the importance of balancing reality and myth. Out now from Dark Horse for £11.

Gilbert Shelton Signing 15th Nov

Dave's Comics is lucky enough to have Gilbert Shelton back for another signing. I think most fans of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are probably even bigger fans of Fat Freddy's cat. We have the new Fat Freddy's Cat Omnibus in stock, and now you will the chance to get them signed by the man himself. On Sunday 15th of November. From 12.30 to 3pm
Look forward to seeing you here.

Swoon Now! Bob Dylan Revisited

When you put together a book of artistic interpretations of songs you're always going to be in danger of falling between two stools: the fan of the song sees it as an intrusion on their own reading of the song and the non-fan passes over the book for not being interested in the source. Hopefully this won't be the case with Bob Dylan Revisited as the mix of artists (all European) is interesting and eclectic enough to make the project worthwhile regardless of your opinion of Dylan's music. In some cases, such as with Dave Mckean and Lorenzo Mattotti, it represents some of the creators strongest works.

Click on the picture to turn the pages of the preview.
Bob Dylan Revisited Out now in hardcover. Published by WW Norton, £19.

Swoonful News! Learn to read with Galactus.

“If reading is to lead to any meaningful knowledge or comprehension, readers must approach a text with an understanding of the relevant social, linguistic and cultural conventions. And if you really consider how the pictures and words work together in consonance to tell a story, you can make the case that comics are just as complex as any other kind of literature.”

Carol L. Tilley, a professor of Library & Information Science based in America has come to the conclusion that in terms of literacy, comics are as good for children as traditional reading books. It's worth taking a look at her summery which touches on the stigma attached to the word comics and (shock) criticism of publishers.

Image taken from Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith (Toon Books £10).

Death Day

Amazing artist Sam Hiti is working on a new book, "Death Day" which is being made available online for free as it is created. Check out the prologue and episode 1 already shared online and keep up to date with the Death Day blog in-between episodes. Exciting stuff.

Presuming on his Senses! Abecederia

Nobrow are making a noise publishing the abstract and one title that particularly caught our eye is Abecederia (try saying that five times). Written and drawn by the French artist Blexbolex (Bernard Granger to his friends) it tells the surreal story of two bank-robbing brothers who, whilst on the run, end up in the jungles of Katagonia in a penal colony called Abecederia. The story then becomes a twisted version of 1984 and The Island of Doctor Moreau as the brothers are forced to endure surreal, oppressive duties at the command of the mysterious Doctor Praxis.

It has a hypnotically engaging narrative told in blocks of text under the wonderfully surreal, sometimes violent visuals. The use of three spot coloring strangely brings to mind old Hitchcock movie posters but with somewhat alien silhouettes. As for the title? Each page features a letter of the alphabet. And yes, I did miss that on the first reading. Only £9.

Here's some more from Blexbolex:

Swoon Now! Haunt #1

Do you wish you'd been there for the beginning of Walking Dead? How about Invincible? Heck, even Astounding Wolf-man? What about Spawn? Oh you were there at the beginning for Spawn. Well anyway, here's your final warning call for Haunt #1 co-created by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman and written by Mr Kirkman. It's McFarlane so think horror, ex-army and avenging demons but Kirkman will undoubtedly bring numerous slow burn pay-offs down the line.

Boo! McFarlane's characters are just as supple as ever. Only £2.10