A Chronicle of Doom....

....alas it was all over too soon. Controls set for the standard 'leisurely' yesterday as Agent X27 and myself basked in the glow of the aforementioned job well done, taking the time to swell-headedly examine the results of our hard labour at Ice Station Zebra. "Are you nakt?" As such, there was nothing to stop the swill from flowing and we played countless records, stopping ourselves at times to discuss the conclusion to Evil Hollywood (1 page fully now inked), some minor "doctoring" to the back cover to allow for the naming of the characters and Our Man in Pester Whailes intention to see The Lone Ranger, having been impressed by The Wolverine at ye shoppy centre Odeon last week.

Sounds: Aoxomoxoa, Historic Dead and Vintage Dead by Grateful Dead:  Blows Against The Empire and Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra by Paul Kantner, Grace Slick et al.

Grateful Dead - Cosmic Charlie

The Big Book of Pudsy....

At last we're proud to present this long overdue collection of the very best work (we could find!) by the late Patrick "Pudsy" Morris, the fondly remembered adopted son of the Glasgow underground comic scene.

Containing strips from his early underground work (for International Times, Oz, COzmic and Nasty Tales, no less!)....

....right on through his commercial cartooning and caricatures....

.... to his final burst of frenetic drawings for the deliciously dopey Northern Lightz, the comic he helped found....

Jumble it all together and it makes for a weird, wired and simply wonderful trip, one that these pictures simply cannot do justice. See it! Believe it! Buy it (here)! (n.b. it will be available direct from the Braw Books site late August)

11.99 GBP (excl. shipping), 204 pages, A4 book format, b/w interiors throughout. Suggested for mature readers.

A Chronicle of Doom....

 

The long good Wednesday at Agent Johnny's this week, weightliftin' and shiftin' all manner of books and comics to satisfy the wolves at Ice Station's door. There was still time for a swill as over the course, and beers were duly downed by the exhausted as the day wore on. Seems it was a job well done and worth doing well as the gods have decided our Man in Pester Whailes is in the clear - there's smoke, but no chance of fire!

Inking continues apace on the final chapter of Evil Hollywood and the newly finished back cover inks - with a few tweaks that can be applied digitally - passed muster. An interestin' Superman illustration was discovered amidst the shifting debris and has been scanned, ready for inclusion in one of the big collections post-production.

Sounds: Byrds, Greatest Hits by The Byrds: Flying Doesn't Help and World Service by A. More: Echo and the Bunnymen by Echo and the Bunnymen: Kaleidoscope by Siouxsie and the Banshees: Treasure by Cocteau Twins: View from a Bridge by Kim Wilde (the "can't take any more" refrain perhaps giving an accurate insight into our Agent's mind as the day didn't end): The Flood by Blue Orchids....

Anthony More - Judy Get Down

A Chronicle of Doom....

Out of the frying pan.... Great to have a wee swill with Agent X27 yesterday, the first visit to Ice Station Zebra for over a month. Not too much 'weightliftin' to be done and further to the arrival of Red Atom the place was looking immeasurably tidier within the half hour. Hopefully this'll keep the wolf from the door until the 'Paymaster' funded shelving arrives next week. Agent Johnny himself on grand form, excited by the prospect of wrapping up Evil Hollywood, with 1 page nearly inked and another 3 already taking shape - looking to be quite the grande finale. Production Brawbot Miller also managed to get final approval on the back cover of the comic, thereby rounding off the day neatly. Fall of the house of Usher!

Sounds: Hang 'em High, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere: Zabriskie Point, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (various artists): Doll's House Darkness and Psychedelic Archives by The Pink Floyd: See Those Eyes by Altered Images (the grande finale!)

Jerry García - Zabriskie Point OST: Love Scene

Unconventional Convention corner....

In spite of the fact production Brawbot Rob Miller'd much rather stay in doors all day, every day (his "screen tan" is coming along nicely), there are occasions when even he must dare to leave the house and sell his books to the great washed. As such, if you're lucky enough to be caught in the gaze of the above 'space woman' that means you're in the vicinity of some of the very finest underground comics and books, er, his table has to offer....

So hopefully you'll see her and she'll see you at one or other of the following events....

July 13th & 14th, Glasgow Comic Con @ CCA, Glasgow

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24th & 25th August, Stripped  at the Edinburgh Book Festival @ Charlotte Sq. Edinburgh

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7th September, MCM Scotland Comic Con @ SECC, Glasgow

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28th September, Hero Conventions Toy and Comic Mart @ Counting House, Edinburgh

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18th - 20th October, The Lakes Comic Art Festival @ Comics Clock Tower, Kendal

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A Chronicle of Doom....

 

At last, a return to Ice Station Zebra - it's nearing the summer Convention season, hence the silence as the production wheels turn, but more about all that soon - to see how Agent Johnny is gettin' on. Just fine, as it happens, looking and sounding rejuvenated as he enters his 60th year on this wot is our planet. Furthermore he'd been at the weightlifting and the place was very clean and tidy throughout, much to Ghostman's satisfaction (if not the cooncil's). Sandie Shaw was presented complete - aside from a few ink tweaks that, later on it was decided were unnecessary - and the title of Manderston Street Madmen has been given the same treatment. The pencils on this particular page are 'loose as hell' and might need significant tightenin' up before detailed work progresses. There's also an A3 Backbeat Records poster on the go, but I didn't manage to catch a glimpse of it - colour washes yet to be mixed and applied to this no doubt corker! Evil Hollywood rumbles ever sideways(!), a 2 & 1/2 page outline for the conclusion (which sounds almost like another book in itself!) was read out, underlining all the high drama therein. Our Man in Pester Wails hopes to get started on this soon. 8 pages to go...? Finally, it was certainly a day for swillin' to the Floyd as "Joke" Miller picked up 5 "unofficial elpee releases" only last week, with the version of Interstellar Overdrive - see the link below - bein' a significant highlight (though each recording was notable for its vintage crisp quality).

Sounds: Let There Be More Light, Doll's House Darkness, Flowers and Vegetables, Light the Fuse and Psychedelic Archives (side one) by The Pink Floyd: See Those Eyes by Altered Images (the grande finale!)

Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive (BBC Archives)

A Chronicle of Doom....

Great visit to Ice Station Zebra yesterday, kicking back with Agent Miller, swilling the afternoon away in a leisurely fashion, delighting in the lack of 'processions'. Now recovered from his 'bronchial influenza' (self-diagnosed, naturally) our man in Pester Whailes has returned to his comic drawing and letter writing with gusto - the new Sandie Shaw page is pencilled in its entirety, with 5 panels inked in. Further to that it seems as if Agent of S.M.E.R.S.H. is now concluded, the 2 pages that I saw, subtitled Manderston Street Madmen (and, yes, we're once again advised to 'dodge this page!'), were, as I gather it, the end. The Tales of Unearthly Science Fiction collection was mooted yet again, and the dummy of all 36 complete pages of ASJ#2: Evil Hollywood Over Subterrania was handed over 'fer approval'. A complimentary copy of Jupiter's Legacy #1 was duly passed over in exchange for the recent 'Fast Gun' Commando comic - one Agent X27 remembers readin' way back in 1963!

Sounds: Workingman's Dead and American Beauty by Grateful Dead, Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane, Hang 'em High, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere, Superstition by Siouxsie and The Banshees, Johnny by Sheena Easton (lined up as the grand finale just upon leaving....)

Jefferson Airplane - Triad