We know! We know! Just take a few moments to recover from the startling "everything but the kitchen sink" cover and then we'll begin, er....
Of course, as Luvvable 'lex - later to become the star of Life In the Buckfast Lane - knows only too well, behind this modest cover lurks 130 complete pages of Rob Miller's Khaki Shorts-era strips (and beyond). Witness the modest gestation of future Braw Books stalwart Kounter Kultyur Kevn....
....and the basic brown beginnings of Big Moff....
Also features classic upbeat/downbeat adventures of the (dis)likes of Dour Wullie, SuperScott, Jonathan 'The Cape', Briggsy and Redtop, as well as 'interim' strips (tarted up and rejigged in parts) and previously unpublished material (including the most depressing 2 page finale yet!).... On sale this weekend at the Glasgow Comic Con!
In at number 5 it's Atomic Society of Justice #2: Evil Hollywood Over Subterrania! We know this title was much trumpeted around 'X-mass', but all good things eventually come to those who wait (er, 9 years....) and it's finally actually here - we have physical copies within sight. That said, quite how it will be recieved we cannot rightly say. However, if the following panel floats your boat you're in for one hell of a ride!
Regular readers, er, will be somewhat (over)familiar with this book - check out November and December 2014's blanket blogging for more info. - so we'll skip the basics and cut to the chase....
9 Superheroes!
50 big bad pages!
9 years (in the making)!
This rule-breaking, mind-expanding, brain-busting, boot-quaking epic reunites cult underground writer/artist John G. Miller with artists Adam J. Smith and Rob Miller - the team behind The Atomic Society of Justice #1 - for a 48 page superhero bonanza, clocking in at a paltry £3.99! On sale this Saturday at the Glasgow Comic Con!
Agents Rob and Adam certainly didn't expect their early morning cuppa (as they poured swellheadedly over the recently arrived Khollected Khaki Shorts books) to be interrupted by the news that Agent Johnny had descended upon Hope Street Studios in Glasgore. One quick walk into town later and the creative team behind Evil Wee Comics were assembled, settling down to a spot of lunch (as they poured swellheadedly over the recently arrived Evil Hollywood Over Subterrania books). Tales of Unearthly Science Fiction, which looks set to be the team's next venture, was discussed in depth, Agent Johnny confessing that his proposed short story contributions (Shunker 5 and The Deep Fix) werenae up to much. It wasn't long before we were all 'sent home to think again', Our Man in Pester Wails bound for the Plaza in order to sort out some business....
It's done! It's all over! Kaput! Finished! Nope, we're not talking about Agent Rob's drawing, er, career (both definitions apply here, we reckon), but The Atomic Society of Justice #2: Evil Hollywood Over Subterrania! Agent Johnny (willingly) handed over the final 3 completed pages to Rob yesterday afternoon - certainly made for a smooth visit to Ice Station Zebra with no 'brainstorms' to derail proceedings. So as of this morning it's been production all the way as the art is scanned and prepped for print. Don't doubt this book'll be ready for the Glasgow Comic Con in 2 weeks time....
And so, basking in the glory of a job well done, our 2 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D settled down to a small swill, discussing everything and anything that came to hand in 'ze smoking room'. The Sanctum Press reprints of Maxwell Grant's The Shadow, Spaceship Away (New Dan Dare Adventures) and Kaleidoscope magazine were all on topic while a 'rekkid' played quietly in the background. Inevitably, silence fell as the telly-visor was fired up for The Horror Channel's screening of a classic Pertwee-era Doctor Who. Both Agents remarked on the unusually powerful and downbeat ending, the guid Doctor driving off in Bessie as Jo Grant celebrated her engagement....
Sounds: I Crudeli/The Hellbenders Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone....
Visions: Doctor Who: The Green Death, episodes 5 & 6
Amazing! It only seems a matter of days since we blogged about the closure of Deadhead Comics and - like a Dark Phoenix saga from the ashes - it has risen again! Agent Rob visited on Monday, dropping off a substantial amount of beautiful Braw stock, some of which is available exclusively to DHC (for now). You can just about make out The John G. Miller Scrapbook dead centre as well as The Collected Rob Miller top left, while a somewhat startled but obviously thrilled Agent Austin proudly shows off copies of The Big Book of Pudsy and the (unstoppable won't stop top-selling) Collected Mad Mentol MacBam Brothers....
As you can see the new shop looks just fantastic, acres of space with a cool, fresh, white finish! What a considerable bounce back to life - I'm sure this Agent wasn't alone in thinking the days of the Deadhead were well and truly over - and a hearty congrats to Agent Austin and all his "Kru" is undeniably due. With more comics arriving every single day - the excellent and sizeable back issue selection is still filtering in longbox by longbox - it definitely looks like the unfinished finished article. Pop up to 30, West Nicolson St. to see what all the fuss is about. See this handy reboot of Graham Manley's groovy shop ad fer details....
However. In spite of being slap bang in the middle of Agent Johnny's patrol zone - Backbeat Records is 2 minutes up the road - there was no sign of Our Man from Pester Wails with the final 3 pages of The Atomic Society #2.As such Agent Rob returned to Glasgore empty handed, pretty much resigned to the fact that it looks like the release of Evil Hollywood will just have to wait until all things Comic Con Crunch are concluded. Phone reports the following morning suggest Agent Johnny has extended his deadline by 2 weeks(!?), almost making that a certainty. Ah well, it's not like I'm a stranger to comics with protracted gestations.... Maybe next year....
