Saturday, 14 November 2026
The Hooper Interviews
A must-have for anyone interested in comic history?
From a huge selection of interviews covering the Small Press, Independent and mainstream Comics from the UK , Europe and US. Here are a few of the best interviews from 30 years.
Paperback
Perfect Bound
A4 (cms 20.98 wide x 29.69 tall)
B&W
365 pages
profusely illustrated with art and photographs.
£25.00
ISBN 9781326210113
Prints in 3-5 business days
Someone referred to it as “Comics 101” –background info on creators, how they got started, what tools and even paper/board they use. Damn near damaged my wrist because it is a BIG book. And Who exactly is interviewed in this book?
Karen Rubins -The Dark, The Witch and other books
Alan Class -the man behind the Class Comics series
Kate Glasheen -the incredibly talented artist on Hybrid Bastards, Bandages and other works
Tom Pinchuck -writer of Hybrid Bastards
Dave Ryan -the artist/writer behind War of The Independents
Jon Haward -UK artist who worked of Tales of the Buddha, Dan Dare and more
Ron Fortier -the man behind Mr Jig-Saw and Airstrip 27 books
Michael Cho -creator of Max Finder Mysteries and some really cool art
Then there are a bunch of interviews related to The Black Coat that was published by Ape Entertainment -Francavilla may be a name familiar to DC and Marvel comic fans these days:
Jeremy Colwell
Ben Lichius
Adam Cadogan
Franco Frankavilla
The comic character Gumby also returned to comics and that created another series of interviews titled: The Gumby Interviews (Gumby, himself, was never interviewed)
Mel Smith
Paul H. Birch
Rick Geary
Joe Martino -from Ripperman to Shadow Flame
Yishan Li -Seriously, do I have to explain who Yishan Li is? DCs Blue Beetle, the Buffy comic and much more!
Pekka Manninen -As far as I am concerned, Finland 's top comic creator and I'm not saying that because I am the UKs top Kapteeni Kuolio (Captain Gangrene) fan!
Lauren Watton -Pink Apple Jam and Sweatdrop Studios
Willie Hewes -Amaranth and Itch! Publishing
Emma Vieceli -come on. Star of stage and musicals not to mention one of the UKs top Manga artists -Manga Shakespeare, Dragon Heir and more.
Sonia Leong -another noted UK Manga artist whose credits include Romeo and Juliet for Manga Shakespeare.
Nick Defina -the man behind Septagon Studios and Scorn
Donna Barr -The Desert Peach and so much more that you can check up on at her Midnight Library blog. She's a comic book Goddess.
Roberta Gregory -The other comic book Goddess and pioneering female creator.
Roberta created Bitchy Bitch and many other characters.
Jeff Brooks -the man behind the UK editions of Classics Illustrated
Matt (D'Israeli) Brooker -from zines to "proper comics" including Deadline in the 1980s
Tania Del Rio -Sabrina the teenage Witch and more for Archie Comics
Holly Golightly -Broadsword Comics, Archie, Schoolbites and much more
Vanessa Wells -superb creator of a comic I loved titled Shrouded and much more these days -http://www.vanessa.withbits.com
Marv Wolfman -Yes. The Marv Wolfman.
Morag Lewis -another UK Manga artist who worked with Sweatdrop Studios
The Etherington Brothers -if you've ever been to a good UK event you will have seen the duo behind Malcolm Magic, The 8th Moon Sketchbook, Moon and more.
Nicole Damon -CBOs favourite fantasy art model. Nicole has worked with Ben Uriegas, Loprenzo Sperlonga, Greg Hildebrandt and others.
Olivier Cadic -the man who brought Franco-Belgian comics to the English language readers via Cinebook The 9th Art! Everything you need to know.
Mike Western -"The Guv'nor" of British comics with strips such as The Wild Wonders, The Leopard From Lime Street and so many more to his name they would need a book to list.
John Cooper -Again, a creator who worked on many UK comic strips from Judge Dredd, One-Eyed Jack, Johnny Red and many others.
Friday, 13 November 2026
Who Did What? The (NOT Marvel) Miracleman
It was during 1958 that Editorial Ferma asked Mick Anglo to produce a sup[er hero comic for the Spanish market. Anglo created El Super Hombre, a character with similar powers but a distinctly different origin to his then existing creation, Marvelman.
The series lasted 68 issues and in 1965, Top Sellers wanting apiece of the super hero craze, asked Anglo to produce a superhero title for them.
There were no flies on Anglo and he took some of El Super Hombre's stories and translated them into English. The character also had a name change to Miracle Man.
Now, as noted previously, there are claims that El Super Hombre's stories were redrawn Marvelman strips. Being an extremely sad person with no real life I have checked and double checked and I can find no "draw overs" (as when The Ghoist Rider Western character became The Bat) .
It is claimed that scripts were by Spanish writer Juan Llarch and art was by Spanish artist Giralt (Emilio Giralt Ferrando).
A couple of points here is that if Anglo created the character and origin story then it was written by him. Sadly, in comics there are too many under-the table deals and "don't tell the tax man" schemes. No one could really be bothered with Miracle Man enough to ask Anglo (interest now is only in overpricing copies because "Miracle Man is now in Avengers"!
The art it has to be said has at least two distinct stytles and one thing noticeable is that at one point Miracle Man wears goggles in the next he does not. So no real continuity there. Also, there is a very clear Anglo influence in the art and I have no idea whether he just provided pencils but his style is quite clear.
Drop (that'll make you curious)
Regulars will get the joke. Wewent over 11 million views and Blogger server changed (can't be bothered where to now) and we dropped back down to 10, 645, 175
What's wrong in staying in one place and paying your taxes😂
The Bat Triumphant!
A4
B&W
60pp
£8.18
https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-bat-triumphant/paperback/product-12046091.html
In 1941,The Bat sets about modernising the backward Duchy of Stahl,over which his dynasty has ruled since 1410 A.D..
The Bat is soon involved in experiments with the infamous Count Cogliostro. One of these experiments involves suspended animation;The Bat deciding he will be the test subject. When he wakes,The Bat finds that not days have gone by but 51 years!
Worse,his kingdom is in ruins and an enclave of Kamora.
The Bat tries politics to win back his homeland and when that fails he decides to fight for it!
However,he is unaware that some old,and new,enemies are lying in wait to stop him and all of them want one thing:The Bat dead!
Originally a back up strip in Black Tower Adventure in 1994,The Bat proved very popular as an anti-hero. The story was never completed. It is now. New edition -added art pages
Krakos: The Sands Of Terror
64pp
black and white
comic album (A4)
£8.21
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/krakos-sands-of-terror/paperback/product-1rg8ngqv.html
Created by William A. Ward for Swan Comics in the 1940s, Krakos was one of Ward’s supernatural anti-hero types.
First published in Black Tower Adventure strips in the 1980s/1990s, this is the character’s first solo outing.
But will Krakos fulfill the Goddess Isis’ dream and become the new pharoah of a New Egyptian Kingdom that will encompass all of the Middle East? Did anyone actually ask Krakos?
The book contains information on Ward and his work plus sample pages rescued after 60 years of neglect!
The Return of the Gods and Green Skies Invasion Earth Series
Paperback
A4
Black & White
331 Pages
Price: Reduced to £21.89
Prints in 3-5 business days
Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time.
Pretty mundane.
But psychics around the world have been sensing something. A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.
There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.
And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead? An attack by an old foe or foes -?
Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide.
Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth!
A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed!
Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day!
No one suspects the driving force behind the events. One single evil guiding events. Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.
Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end?
The Cross-Earths Caper: Part II of the Invasion Earth Trilogy
Paperback,
A4
Black & White
107 Pages
Price: £12.00
Prints in 3-5 business days
Following the events on Neo Olympus and the Boarman invasion of Earth, many heroes and crime-fighters have withdrawn from activity. Some are trying to recover from injuries while others are fighting the mental scars left by the events.
But things have to go on. As heroes from other parallels who helped during the recent events return home, members of the Special Globe Guard are shocked at the sudden appearance of Zom of the Zodiac. Never a sign of good things a-coming!
Very soon, a group of heroes mount a rescue mission and find that a quick rescue mission can turn sour equally quickly. As they overcome one challenge the the heroes become lost between parallel Earths and face new threats.
Sometimes one Earth just is not enough. The complete story published in issues 7-10 of Black Tower Adventure now in...one handy dandy book!
A4
B&W
124pp
£15.00
It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods.
Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted.
The Many Eyed One is finally coming.
The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help.
The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders
A4
B&W
126pp
£15.00
Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One.
The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him.
Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters.
In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet.
With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim
A4
B&W
208pp
£16.00
The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System.
Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win.
Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?
woven into The Green Skies is the story of the harbinger of destruction: the story of Varik Dann -The Man Who Walked Through a Door and Into Another World
Varik Dann is but one character as we follow the attempts of heroes and adventurers as well as the military as they try to confront the Clone Zone Boys with no idea of who or what is behind them. And in space the very existence of not just the Earth but the solar system rests on efforts to stop an alien invasion fleet and if it cannot be stopped them there will be no conquest: the entire solar system will be destroyed by a doomsday device.
The Much Sought After: The Iron Warrior Vs Big Bong: When Giants Fought!
A4
16pp
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-iron-warrior-vs-big-bong/paperback/product-12vr5r7n.html
In the 1940s, deep in the South American jungles, Rodney Dearth,inventor and adventurer, is searching for the lost explorer Percy H. Fawcett and City Z.
Then he hears the stories that terrify his native bearers. There is a city -guarded by Big Bong! But Dearth is not afraid -he has his own creation to protect him -THE IRON WARRIOR!
Ben Dilworth continues the adventures of the Iron Warrior, created by William A. Ward,presenting an action romp featuring one of the UKs most violent characters -tongue firmly in cheek. We think!
The Iron Warrior Collection
49pp
A4
Black and white
£10.09
In the 1940s, Rodney Dearth and his exploratory fighting machine known as the Iron Warrior left Africa to travel to South America in search of lost explorer Percy Fawcett. Crocodiles, giant snakes, hostile natives and..Big Bong -the terror of the Amazon! This collection presents a 1940s William A. Ward strip, Ben R. Dilworth's Big Bong, Amazon Adventure and a couple special pages, and Terry Hooper-Scharf's Black Tower Adventure strip The Iron Warrior: Jungle Terror plus text features!
Thursday, 12 November 2026
I Know, but I do keep trying
12th November, 2026 and so far this month world wide views total 289,368 and no one wants to take advantage of that large an audience?
Books for review, comic or other pop culture related material?
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
Gun Leaves DCMU Here We Go AGAIN
DC Studios is undergoing a shock shakeup as Peter Safran and James Gunn step down as co-presidents after four years.
Skydance, which is now in charge of DC Studios after acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, has appointed Marvel Studios veteran Jeremy Latcham as the new president and chief creative officer of DC Studios.
The exit comes as a surprise because Safran and Gunn were named as part of Skydance CEO David Ellison’s business leadership team just last month.
After four years as the studio heads, the duo will return to creative work full-time starting December 1. The collaborators reportedly had a decade’s worth of plans in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Four years ago, we set out to unite DC under one creative vision. In that time, we helped restore Superman to the heart of DC, while opening new doors and telling new stories in film and television with Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns and Clayface,” the duo said in a statement.
“We’re immensely proud of the team that turned that ambition into something real, including the actors, crews and executives we had the opportunity to collaborate with.”
Tuesday, 10 November 2026
Which Publishers Do I Recommend?
Who or which company would I recommend people with an interest in comics should seek out? Well, obviously, Black Tower Comics and Books of course but there are others.
Just carry out a search of this blog or go to the Comic Shop News blog for full details of BTC&Bs range. https://comicsshopsnews.blogspot.com/
Heagon Comics is recommended because the company covers various genres and has strong story telling and some great art Hexagon Comics
Cinebook, a British company, is also at the top of the list. It publishes high quality Franco-Belgian comic albums, again covering many genres and with top quality art and storytelling. https://www.cinebook.co.uk/
Kult Creations the publisher covering fantasy, horror sci fi and more with great humorous and serious stories (John Short's tongue is often planted firmly in his cheek) and some great art by artists such as Richard Anthony Pester, Gabrielle Noble and others
https://kultcreations.blogspot.com/
Paul Ashley Brown has to be mentioned or, rather, Paul Ashley Broiwn, BA (you got the degree use it!) does. From humour to his thought provoking Browner Knowle series the books are consistent and after a few decades in publishing he deserves something (a plate full of biscuits usually). https://www.paulashleybrownart.com/shop
Mike ScraSE and Zip Comics have impressed me and that is not easy to do these days! the story telling is very good and artists turn in some nice art. https://zipcomic.co.uk/
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