Time For A Change.

The BICS 2010 show was a good one. Not only did we launch London Calling successfully it also marked our 3rd birthday - we're three years old! It doesn't seem that long since we nervously sat at BICS 2007 with freshly printed copies of Ragamuffins laid out optimistically on our table, thinking we had far too much table space to utilise. Now, with six titles available that 1 table is starting to seem not big enough!

However a mere 3 years publishing experience under the belt is no excuse for complacency, so as we entered our fourth year at least one change seemed well overdue. Click on over to the website http://www.timebombcomics.com/ and you'll see it's had a complete overhaul in design, thanks to website designer/comics publisher/all round good guy Hal Laren of Reaper Comics fame. I think Hal's done a great job, making the site a lot more visually interesting and easier to navigate than the old version. The site at time of writing is 80% done, so Hal will be continuing to tweak it over the next few weeks but if you have any comments on it so far please let us know - ideally using the new contact us form embedded in the site itself.

The other change is that Andy Dodd (who co-founded Time Bomb Comics with me back in September 2007) has decided the time has come for him to move on from Time Bomb and strike out on his own. Andy was closely involved with many of the original conceptual ideas behind Time Bomb Comics and was of course the artist on three of our releases, so I wish him well for the future and look forward to seeing what he does next - assuming his Douglas Adams-esque approach to deadlines doesn't hamper that too much!

A final snippet I want to share relates to the fine piece of artwork above from Alex Wilmore and beautifully coloured by Lauren Sharp. Some of you may recognise it from Kronos City, the graphic novel written by Andrew Croskery that had been announced by the late Insomnia Publications. The great news is that Kronos City has found a new home with Time Bomb Comics. and will now be one of our future releases. Expect more details to come very shortly!

London Calling

56 pages, A4 Graphic Album, perfect bound, full colour cover, black and white interior.
Retail price £7.00/$12.00

Time Bomb Comics is pleased to announce that their next release, London Calling, will be launched at the British International Comics Show in October 2010.

Written by screen-writer Stephen Walsh with stunning artwork by renowned “Commando” artist Keith Page London Calling is a complete thrilling adventure, told in a style that hearkens back to classic British comic strips of yesteryear.

Set in a 1950’s London one-step sideways to our own, secret agent Charlotte Corday encounters invading Martians, talking puppets, unexpected cameos, and the vampire-hunting coppers of the Metropolitan “V” Squad as they deal with an outbreak of vampires at Highgate Cemetery.

Both Stephen and Keith will be attending a signing session at the Time Bomb Comics table during the BICS weekend.

Survival Stories

For a change this blog post isn't about a Time Bomb Comic. But it is about the efforts of a group of mainly British comic creators (including Time Bomb's Steve Tanner and Andy Dodd) to prove that nothing, not even the collapse of the publisher they were working for, is insurmountable:

"On June 30, 2010, Insomnia publisher Crawford Coutts filed to cease trading with the UK companies house. Though Coutts never officially informed his creators (or anyone) of this decision, all signs pointed to the end of Insomnia. And the creators, well, we were supposed to move on, chalk up a loss, and let all our hard work and dedication become a memory—lesson learned.

But we came up with a different plan. In the days following the news of Insomnia’s seeming end, one thing became clear: that all the creators involved believed in each other’s work. A mutual admiration was shared for the short comics that appear in this anthology, and we are determined to see it get the release it deserves.

And that’s how The Sleepless Phoenix—a collective of up-and-coming comics talent from both the UK and the US—was born. While the Comic Book Alliance works to settle the conflict of our publishing contracts, we took the only content that still belongs to us—this anthology.
The book is 192 pages long, black and white, and features all-new content. Creators include Martin Conaghan (Burke & Hare), Ben Bates (Sonic the Hedgehog), Jim Boswell (KiCk!), Peter Forbes (Oz: Fall of the Scarecrow King), and more (including Time Bomb's Steve Tanner and Andy Dodd). It will be released in October, 2010.

Mike Carey (Lucifer, The Unwritten, X-Men Legacy) says the book is "a kaleidoscope of graphic stories - mostly in the darker colours of the horror palette, but all the better for that."
All the profit raised, after printing and shipping, will go straight to the Comic Book Alliance—an organization that fights for the rights of comic creators everywhere. Hopefully, what has happened to the creators of Insomnia publications doesn’t happen again."

Please click on the link below, and support the publication of Survival Stories in October.

http://kck.st/cnQTwh

A Taste Of Henry Holden...

With a temporary lull in the convention circuit and final touches being put onto our London Calling release for October, it seemed a good idea to share some of Giorgio Ianotti's classically pencilled pages that are coming through for our recently announced The Last Ride Of Henry Holden one-shot.

Pages three and four are above, while below are a few of Giorgio's character designs for the book - enjoy!

Excel-ent!

It's been a frantic fortnight. Hot on the heels of the Bristol Expo was the London MCM Expo held at the Excel Centre in the heart of London Docklands, and our experience of both couldn't have been more different.

Expanded into a two-day event over the weekend, this year's Small/Indie Press aspect of the Bristol Expo in the Mercure had much more going on. More exhibitors, more talks, more attendees - and more of an opportunity to relish being in a spacious, well-lit, air-conditioned room rather than the Ramada sweatbox! As usual, Bristol had a cap on ticket sales and there were the same issues with poor signage as last year - including worrying reports that a fair few came and left the Mercure not realising that the huge main exhibiting room existed, just the smaller sized room - and grumbles about the event being split between two venues.

It's clearly impossible to have everything under one hotel roof in Bristol - there isn't a hotel big enough to accommodate the entire thing - but there were still a fair few conference rooms free at the Mercure that could have been utilised I reckon. My option would be to use the Ramada solely for panels and the Mercure solely for signings and exhibitors, but what do I know? Niggles aside, Bristol remains one of the highlights of the UK comics industry and it was great to be a part of it.

The UK comics industry is a very small part of the MCM Expo, a show dominated by gaming, anime and hollywood stars. We really weren't sure what to expect. We certainly didn't expect to see 41,000 people turn up, about a quarter of them in costume! MCM is being referred to by many as the British San Diego - it's a good analogy given the numbers attending and how comics are such a small aspect of both. However, that's not to say we felt marginalised - the comics village was a wonderful place to be and the Time Bomb table received constant attention! Some of our fellow villagers we'd seen at Bristol the week before, but there were a good number of fresh faces too, and a fascinating display of steampunk paraphernalia just across from us.

This was the first time we'd been to any London event, so many of those we spoke to hadn't had the opportunity to check out our comics before - not every London comic fan shops at Orbital and Gosh it seems! We took a lot of comics to the show, but we didn't take that many back. Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead was our most popular purchase - we returned from London with just 3 copies - but all our titles seemed to be well-received, and we also met a few very talented artists interested in working with us.

It was a great weekend, and we've decided to make future MCM Expo's one of our regular events. There are two MCM shows a year and the next one falls on Halloween weekend, between BICS and Thoughtbubble. It's going to be a busy Autumn...

All Aboard The Brum-Brissle Express

This weekend is the 2010 Bristol Comics Expo and as I write this we're just finishing off packing our suitcases before catching the Brum-Brissle express. All being well, we should have checked in to the Mercure by 3.00pm and have had ample time to freshen up before hitting the Ramada bar this evening and kicking off this year's Bristol show with a bang.
Our table at the Mercure this year will have our new 56-page Bomb Scares anthology as the centrepiece, as well as all our other titles including The Furies graphic novel which is making its first Bristol appearance since being published last October. We'll also have a really good deal on for any Time Bomb Comics newbies as well, with all our four one-shots (Ragamuffins, Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead, The Sisterhood and Bomb Scares) available as a set for just £10 - a true Bristol Expo bargain!
This year the Small Press Expo takes place over both days so hopefully there'll be a much better flow through between the two Expo hotels this year, and much more awareness that the convention is not just limited to whatever's in the Ramada. Hopefully we'll be able to pop in to see what's going on at the Ramada during the day as well, but if you're attending the Expo as well please come over and say hello!

Back With A Bang!

With the Bristol Expo mere weeks away and our move from Leicester to Birmingham finally complete it's great to be able to finally be able to bring some more news about what you can expect to see from Time Bomb Comics in the not too distant future!

I'm delighted to be able to announce another two new graphic novels in development, adding to London Calling and Skylark announced earlier in the year. First up is Angels Of The Somme, a well-researched World War One story by Alec Robertson and Bruce McLaren. Alec featured in our Bomb Scares horror anthology and Bruce has been a regular artist on the Futurequake titles. Bruce's excellent promo image for AOTS can be seen below.

The equally stunning picture below that is our promotional piece for our other graphic novel - The Last Ride Of Henry Holden. No prizes for guessing it's a western! Written by Derby-based Alex De-Gruchy and drawn by Italian artist Giorgio Ianotti, Henry Holden will appeal to fans of Deadwood, Jonah Hex and great comics storytelling. The promo art has been coloured by Rebecca Labor, a terrific artist we met at last year's Thoughtbubble.

With all these new titles in the pipeline (and between you and me a couple more we're currently sorting the details on with their creative teams) we'll be sending out the following press release this week to all the major comics news websites, including those who've given us some great coverage in the past:

Following their recent move from Leicester to Birmingham and in advance of the forthcoming Bristol Comics Expo, Time Bomb Comics are delighted to be able to announce a number of forthcoming one-shots and graphic novels currently in development:

LONDON CALLING Graphic Novel
Written by Stephen Walsh, Artwork by Keith Page
There’s vampires afoot in London’s Highgate Cemetery – and only secret agent Charlotte Corday and the garlic-toting, stake-swinging coppers of the Metropolitan Police’s V-Squad can stop them! Channelling the spirit of traditional British adventure comics from yesteryear, with a dose of Hammer horror and Ealing Studios thrown in, London Calling features classic black and white storytelling from respected “Commando” artist Keith Page.

London Calling is due for release October 2010.


SKYLARK Graphic Novel
Written by Jonathon Darque, Artwork by Katja Lindblom
In the realms of supernatural investigations in the 19th Century Skylark is legendary. A true adventurer from a bygone age, a Man's Man and somebody who left more mysteries behind when he disappeared without a trace. In the aftermath of The Great War his son Gabriel has enjoyed a less than stellar reputation - labelled a fraud by the press and a disappointment by his father's peers. Yet it is Gabriel who on a routine investigation finds himself suffering for his father's sins and only he can turn back a threat older than time itself. Skylark - It's only Heaven for some...


ANGELS OF THE SOMME Graphic Novel
Written by Alec Robertson, Artwork by Bruce McLaren
When the Great War began Private Doherty joined the Seaforth Highlanders wanting to do his bit for King and Country, just like any other ordinary man. But ordinary men shouldn’t have to face to horrors of the trenches and the grim battlefields of the Somme. Fed up with fighting but with nowhere to go, Private Doherty joins a deserter regiment – a rag-tag unit of men from all sides just trying to survive. Based on historical facts, Angels Of The Somme features the fascinating story of the forgotten deserter regiments of World War One.


THE LAST RIDE OF HENRY HOLDEN Graphic Novel
Written by Alex De-Gruchy, Artwork by Giorgio Ianotti, Colour Artwork by Rebecca Labor
Glory, Nevada. 1871. When Henry Holden took what was rightfully his from the corrupt and ruthless landowner named John Kelly, Sheriff David Samuels was sent after him. Three weeks later, Samuels rides back into Glory with a dead man on his horse and a weight on his soul he knows he can never shake off. Kelly is happy that all is once again as it should be in his town. But he’s wrong. Sheriff Samuels knows he has damned himself – he isn’t looking for any kind of redemption. But with innocent blood on his hands and a tin star on his chest he no longer deserves to wear, Samuels knows that one way or another, a reckoning is coming. And if it’s one that costs him his life, well, that’s just fine with him…


DICK TURPIN AND THE CRIMSON PLAGUE One-Shot
Written by Steve Tanner, Artwork by Andrew Dodd
The long-awaited follow up to the popular and critically acclaimed Dick Turpin and the Restless Dead one-shot released from Time Bomb Comics in 2008!
Notorious highwayman Dick Turpin and his associate Tom King the gentleman thief are living the high-life in nineteenth century London. But Turpin’s getting itchy feet and their coin is getting low, so there’s just time for one last job before hitting the roads again. Who would have known that the upmarket brothel they decide to rob is infested with the curse of the Crimson Plague?

I've sent the promo pieces along with that as well, so hopefully we'll get some visibility before the Bristol show and the London MCM Expo that we're attending just a week later.

Finally one more thing I want to share - below is the first promo piece for Dick Turpin and the Crimson Plague! Another Andy Dodd masterpiece, I'm sure you'll agree!

Brum, Brum, Here We Come!

Thanks to Selina Lock of Factor Fiction, here's me caught waxing lyrical about comics at the recent Leicester Independent Press Day. "Waxing lyrical" pretty much sums up the day itself, with lots of people who hadn't read comics since they were kids genuinely surprised that Britain still has a thriving (albeit underground) comics industry. It was just us and Factor Fiction there to bang the comics drum, as most of the East Midlands Indie Press seems to consist of poetry and literary criticism. Usually surrounded by like-minded folk at comics conventions this was a definite step into alien territory for us; it was obvious that most people attending the event were regarding us with curiosity and some with suspicion. Despite that we still sold some comics and enjoyed having lots of conversations about comics - especially with writers who had never considered writing for comics before and who we've since received some sample scripts through from a couple of them. Given it was on our doorstep (literally a 10 minute walk) and there was no exhibiting costs nor any need for hotels, planes, trains and automobiles it made an interesting change from the usual. Not sure we'd do it again though, mainly due to the title of this post...

After two and a half years being based in Leicester, Time Bomb Comics is this week moving across to Birmingham! If I wanted to put some spin on the move it would be to say that the home of the British International Comics Show is an ideal place for us to move to. The reality is the move is down to the day job and nothing whatsoever to do with comics - although the home of the British International Comics Show is still an ideal place for us to move to! We're actually going to be just a couple of miles or so from the Millennium Point BICS-venue which is a nice bonus.

We're also looking forward to be able to regard the brilliant Nostalgia & Comics as our local comic shop as they're doing such a sterling job stocking (and repeatedly selling out) of our titles!

Hot Off The (Indy) Press!

Given that due to us having to pull out of Hi-Ex we were expecting our 2010 show schedule not to kick off until May, we're delighted to announce that we've just been invited to have a stall at the inaugural Independent Press Day taking place here in Leicester on 20th March - the weekend before we were originally to be up in Inverness. Taking place at De Montfort University and perhaps 10 minutes away from Time Bomb HQ, this is the first time we'll have the pleasure of exhibiting at a show right on our doorstep.

There seems to be quite a lot going on throughout the day judging by the official website http://www.statesofindependence.co.uk with more than forty writers giving talks and readings between 10.30am - 16.30pm and a large exhibitors hall featuring independent book publishers mainly from across the East Midlands. It looks like we'll be the only comics publishers there too, so we're really looking forward to seeing what reaction our diverse one-shots will receive from a decidedly literary crowd, and it will be interesting to see what the indie press book scene is like - as friendly and welcoming as the indie press comic scene we hope!

It's Only Heaven For Some...

Hot on the heels of London Calling I'm delighted to be able to announce details of another up and coming graphic novel. Skylark is written by Jonathan Darque with artwork by Katja Lindblom, two creators who feature in the current Bomb Scares anthology. Both Jonathan and Katja did a fanastic job on their respective Bomb Scares short stories, and it's going to be terrific to see what wonders they do on their first graphic novel!

I asked Mr Darque to provide a few lines of what Skylark is all about, so over to you Jonathan:

"In the realms of supernatural investigations in the 19th Century Skylark is legendary. A true adventurer from a bygone age, a Man's Man and somebody who left more mysteries behind when he disappeared without a trace. In the aftermath of The Great War his son Gabriel has enjoyed a less than stellar reputation - labelled a fraud by the press and a disappointment by his father's peers. Yet it is Gabriel who on a routine investigation finds himself suffering for his father's sins and only he can turn back a threat older than time itself.

Skylark - It's only Heaven for some..."

Sounds good? I can assure you the script is a cracker and that Katja's style is a perfect fit for the story. Obviously it's too early to give a publication date for Skylark just yet but please keep an eye out for updates and art samples from now on, either here on the blog or at our convention tables. Skylark has been in development for a few months, and it's great to finally be at the stage where I can officially announce it!

So that's Bomb Scares, London Calling and now Skylark, making 2010 a pretty good year for Time Bomb Comics already. There's a couple of other things slowly coming together too, but I don't want to jinx things by jumping the gun so I won't say too much just yet!

Other news: We've unfortunately had to pull out of the Hi-Ex convention next month, which is a huge disappointment and not a decision we took lightly. We had a blast at Hi-Ex 2009, but the logistics of getting there and back with a 6 week old this year have scuppered us. However we are confirmed for both the Bristol Expo and the London MCM Expo in May, so will still manage to do 4 appearances this year with the usual Birmingham and Leeds events.

Finally on a Time Bomb Comics related note be sure to get your hands on a copy of Murky Depths #11 as the just published issue features an 8 page short story by one Steve Tanner - a familiar name to any readers of Time Bomb Comics!

You can order a copy online here: http://murkydepths.com

Our Latest Release...

Meet Sasha Joyce Tanner, the latest addition to the Time Bomb Comics line-up! Released on Sunday 31st January 2010, Sasha could be considered our latest one-shot, but unlike any of our previous titles won't be available for purchase in any format as she comes in an extremely limited edition of just one copy, and is of course considered by her creative team of Steve and Suzanne Tanner to be priceless!

Those of you who encounter us on the convention trail can expect to meet up with Sasha before too long, although she probably won't be running the table on her own this year, or for a few more years to come!

Disturbing Horror Stories In A Twisted Vein...

Bomb Scares, our long-awaited horror anthology one-shot, is the first big 2010 release from Time Bomb Comics!

Those of you who follow such things will know that Bomb Scares was originally slated for October 2009, but a catalogue of mishaps and problems ensured that the finished copies arrived back to us one day after Thoughtbubble - thus ensuring it had missed the 2009 convention season completely - and will therefore kick off our 2010 convention season at Hi-Ex in March.

(Of course, the ingrained curse that Bomb Scares seems to have come with isn't quite finished with us just yet - at time of writing Time Bomb's appearance at Hi-Ex is till a bit up in the air, due to my wife Suzanne's imminent onset of labour! Should things all go smoothly over the next 10 days all three of us will be travelling to Scotland as planned, should things get more complicated then none of us may be fit to travel. So we're crossing our fingers at the moment!)

I know it's traditional for publishers to big their own releases up, but Bomb Scares is a pretty special piece of work and at 56 pages for £4.00/$5.50. Ten stories, eighteen creators, and one anthology that contains as wide a range of styles and horror themes as you would want. I reckon there's pretty much something for every horror fan inside - from psychological terror to gruesome body horror and of course a liberal sprinkling of zombies - and the finished package lives up to the book's strapline: disturbing horror stories in a twisted vein.

The eighteen creators that are featured in Bomb Scares are equally diverse. We have a story by respected comics creators Gary Crutchley and Shane Oakley, and rapidly up and coming writer Richmond Clements. Then there's the rest of the creators - John Cahill, Katja Lindblom, GM Jordan, Alec Robertson, Chis Young, Rachele Aragno, MC Carper, Montos, Anglada Kamarasa, Andy Dodd, Gordon Robertson, Scott Mitchell, Jonathan Darque, Dino Caruso and Steve Tanner. Some of those you may recognise already, but all are names to watch out for in the future.

The good news is that nobody has to wait until convention season starts up again to own a copy. Bomb Scares is already available through the online shop at http://www.timebombcomics.com/ from anywhere in the world and we will be looking to get the anthology into some of the more indie-friendly comic shops before March. Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham has already sold out of their first batch!

Another Couple Of Bites!

Following on from Keith Page's wonderful colour promo for London Calling last time, here's a couple of Keith's quite wonderful interior pages from the upcoming one-shot. One thing that was a pleasant surprise was Keith's traditional approach to lettering - all carefully written onto the pages themselves. In this day and age of computer generated lettering fonts and captions it really stands out as something special, don't you agree?

A LITTLE NEW YEAR TASTER!

So welcome to 2010!

To hopefully whet your appetites for what could be Time Bomb Comics' biggest year yet here's a little taster about our big 2010 release: More details coming very soon!