Hi-Ex poster art for 2012

This week sees the unveiling of the Hi-Ex! poster artwork, featuring our local superhero Nessie, created for the 2012 event by Edinburgh born artist and previous guest Tanya Roberts.
Tanya studied Animation in Dublin and later went on to work in comics. She has worked recently on Toy Story and Strawberry Shortcake and continues to work on Star Wars: Clone Wars. Hi-Ex! are delighted to have her back as a guest in 2012.

 Dennis and Gnasher ®©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. 2011

Judge Dredd©2011 Rebellion A/S. All rights reserved.
Tank Girl©2011 Alan C Martin and Jamie Hewlett. A/S All rights reserved.

Electric Man at Hi-Ex!

" An amusing hybrid of romantic comedy and hectic chase thriller. In it's brightest moments, Electric Man captures the intended vide of The Maltese Falcon meets The IT Crowd " - Allan Hunter, Screen

" A wonderfully twisty-turny comic caper, made and played with warmth, wit and genuine affection." - All Star Superman, Batman & Robin artist, Frank Quitely

At Hi-Ex in 2009, David Barras and Scott Mackay were here selling t-shirts, prints and artwork to finance their micro budget film Electric Man. We're happy to announce that to coincide with Hi-Ex 2012, Dave and Scott are back with the finished film. BAFTA nominated for it's screenplay, the film had it's world premiere in the US in September 2010 and this will represent one of the first chances for you to see the film in Scottish cinemas.  Electric Man is a new low budget Scottish film set in the world of comic books.  Jazz and Wolf own a run down comic shop in need of cash and when the ultra rare and valuable Electric Man Issue 1 , worth a hundred grand, turns up in their shop, they think it's the answer to their prayers. But they're not the only ones who want to get their hands on it. Enter crazed American comic collector Edison Bolt, psychotic Scotsman Uncle Jimmy and the strange, mysterious and beautiful Lauren McCall. Add Wolf's ex girlfriend to the mix and you've got a twisty turner comic caper that'll keep everyone guessing until the end. 

Eden Court - 30th and 31st March - with intro from Dave and Scott and Q & A after each screening. 

Dave and Scott will also be at Hi-Ex with all new merchandise from the film. 

Opening The Throttle: A First Look At White Knuckle

Cy Dethan and Valia Kapadai have created a killer.

Forty years ago, Seth Rigal was a man to be feared – a serial strangler with a string of victims. Now nearly seventy and tormented by a lifetime of monstrous violence, Rigal lives on the verge of poverty and quietly waits for the death he knows he deserves. Tortured and confused, still tormented by the drives that made him a killer in his youth, Rigal finds himself almost unconsciously stalking the daughter of his final victim – only to have his precious anonymity snatched from him when he accidentally saves her son’s life. Seth Rigal, formerly known as the Gripper, just became a local celebrity.

The bodies won’t stay buried any longer.

Due for release in May 2012 White Knuckle is Cy Dethan’s latest graphic novel to be published by Markosia , and sees him teamed with internationally acclaimed Greek artist Valia Kapadai to create a complex and intense psychological thriller, distorting the ever-popular “retired gunslinger” motif into a rain-slick urban fantasy of murderous men and the needs that drive them.

Described as  "Unforgiven meets Harry Brown - and strangles him," you can read a preview of the first eleven pages at MyEbook.com

http://tinyurl.com/cdc6yu6

Pre-orders will officially open next year but if you want to put your name down on the list now (no payment required until they open) then email cy[AT]cydethan.com.

Why would you do this? Well, the first 20 people to do so will have the opportunity to be drawn into the book as part of the Gripper's case files, and everyone who pre-orders will have the chance to win a piece of original art by Valia Kapadai of the characters in the book.

All pre-orders get their copies signed by the whole team, of course.

We are hoping to be able to get some more goodies for those who pre-order as well - so watch this space for news!

Pre-order price will be £10 instead of £12.99 (+ postage of £2 UK, £4 rest of world or free to collect from the launch at Bristol Comics Convention in May 2012)

You can keep up to date on the latest news about the book at the White Knuckle Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Knuckle-Comic/  or at the creators’ websites www.cydethan.com or http://neurotic-elf.deviantart.com.

For review copies, artwork samples, more information or interview requests for any of the team, please contact cy[AT]cydethan.com in the first instance.

Darwin's Diaries Vol1-The Eye of the Celts review

Well, I think we can safely say with no fear of contradiction that this book was almost totally the opposite of what I was expecting it to be.
It’s about Darwin, I figured, so Cinebook will give us an entertaining and informative biography of the great man. Maybe show us him travelling the world and looking at finches and tortoises and the like.
Boy was I ever wrong!
This is (I assume!) an alternate history of Darwin.
We join him a short time after the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species…’ just as he is met by a mysterious chap who asks for his scientific help on something extraordinary.
It seems that a strange creature is killing of the men who are building the railroad lines in XX, and would Darwin, with all his expertise on evolution, investigate?
This book is an eye opener on almost every level.
First off is the story, which is visceral and violent and full of intrigue.
I was thinking while reading that this was not going to be a monster tale, and that Darwin was going to figure out some kind of ‘real life’ explanation of what is happening, but this doesn't come. In fact no explanation does, as the book ends on an infuriating (in a good way) cliff-hanger.

Another eye popping plot element is the behaviour of Darwin himself. If you have read this book, then you’ll know what I mean here, if not, well… hold onto you hat! This is not the old man with the big white beard we always see him depicted as.
I have mentioned the story already, and it is great stuff. The plot and script, by Sylvian Runberg unfolds nicely as mystery is laid on mystery, leaving the reader gagging for more.
Eduardo Ocana on art duties is also at the top of his game, providing as he does magnificently atmospheric colours and manages to pull of a remarkable trick of depicting some very violent scenes without the reader seeing what is causing them.

All in all, this is straight out of left field and all the better for it. I can’t wait for volume two!

Strip Magazine issue 1

We really should have mentioned this before,.

 but with things like power cuts and storms, we've been unable to get to the blog for a while. 

There is a brand new British anthology comic on the shelves!

It is called, as I am sure you all know, Strip Magazine, and we can tell you that it is well worth your time seeking out.

The variety of strips in there is great – there’s everything from contemporary war stories to ancient tales of daring do, by way of futuristic super spies and  everything inbetween.

But I suppose the ‘big’ news about this book, and I suspect the thing that will cause most dads of a certain age to pick it up for their children is the return of the classic Action strip Hookjaw.

This isn’t a new strip, but a reprint of the original series, which has been recoloured by Gary Caldwell and had a brand spanking new lettering job from Jim Campbell. Hookjaw certainly holds up well against the new strips, helped in no small part by the sheer lunacy of the premise!

I tried the book out on my two boys, and they both liked it. The stand out strips for them were the aforementioned Hookjaw and war series Black Ops Extreme. Because there is nothing young boys like more than explosions and giant man eating sharks.

Strip Magazine is available at your local comic shop. If they don’t have it then ask them to get it in for you, because this is a cracking new book and deserving of your support!