Sunday, 31 March 2024
Saturday, 30 March 2024
Friday, 29 March 2024
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Monday, 25 March 2024
50,985 Views
It is the 25th and so far this month CBO has had 50,985 views.
So THANK YOU for visiting and I hope you enjoy the content as there is 14 years worth here! 😄
Oh...and I have an online book store if you want to support an old comic fart.
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/hoopercomicsuk/
Never EVER Ask Me To Advertise Your Business or Events For Free. Here Is Why
Here are some examples of what I mean by everyone wanting to get something from CBO (me) but return no favours. No names because that gives them free publicity. I got a Face Book message from the owner of a comic store.
Oddly it was one I tried about 5 years ago to get some of my books into but was told (rather bluntly) that if it isn't from the main distributor it is not getting in their shop. If you have no idea I should point out that comic shop distribution in the UK is a monopoly and even though a business monopoly is supposedly illegal after 30 years no one does anything.
The fella wanted me to give his store a mention as quite a few of his regulars mention CBO. He asked whether I would put up one of his store flyers. That is a free ad to a world wide audience of 2500-3000 visitors a day. So I asked about a reciprocal deal where I posted the flyer and he take some of my books to sell. "No. I can't do that or everyone would be asking me for that" and after that I responded: "About your free advert on CBO: No. I can't do that or everyone would be asking me for that."
He never responded. This fella was not the first store owner to ask this "favour" because paying for an advert where so many people would see it is expensive and I mean expensive. They want that free publicity because they want more customers. I want to sell my books because I want to earn money(they get a reduction in book price) but, no.
One way deals. The same applies to shops who say they will take the books but five I think are the best. Free of charge and they will see how they sell at a price they set and then if they sell will order some at a price they want to pay. If you ask for that kind of deal go 😡off. It is me paying for printing and postage so a shop has something to sell and I doubt very much they will order books and "at a price we like" is pure crap. Again, books cost money to print and post out so, no I am not ever going to do that. No wonder these people need more advertising because their business sense is non-existent or they are just "rip him off" minded.
The same applies to UK comic events where for the last decade I have been blocked from having a table to sell my books (because of bully pressure put on spineless organisers) but they want their event organised. I think it was almost 10 years ago now that I said enough was enough and I would no longer publicise UK comic events -why should I when they were stopping me from selling at the events.
The UK is dead when it comes to comics and I have no interest in helping comic shop owners keeping their businesses going or giving them £50 worth of free stuff.
Cinebook Ltd: YAKARI 21 - FURY FROM THE SKIES
Authors: Derib & Job
Age: 6 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
£8.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441194
Publication: November 2023
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/yakari-21-fury-from-the-skies-p-4534.html
It’s summer on the prairie, a hot, oppressive summer that has everyone’s temper flaring. While Yakari’s family, eager to find the buffalo they are tracking, has moved some distance from the other Sioux, nature suddenly unleashes its rage, and a tornado tears through the main camp. Tipis torn, supplies scattered, the tribe must now rebuild … but there are also several people missing, blown away by the twister and perhaps injured or trapped. Yakari sets out to look for them …
Aside from the spy thrillers, science fiction, pirate and other genres Cinebook publishes they also cater for youngsters. Lucky Luke, Iznogoud, Gomer Goof and...Yakari.
Don't be fooled into thinking this is a silly kids series because there have been a few darker moments but nothing that kids (young or old) should not see. This was meant for a young audience after all.
Things do start jolly and comedic and then, suddenly, the tornado! Things get serious but still with a light side -and some info on tornadoes. The story is enjoyable and the art as always colourful and well drawn.
Sunday, 24 March 2024
Cinebook Ltd: XIII 26 - CUBA, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Authors: Yves Sente & Youri Jigounov
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages
£7.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441187
Publication: October 2023
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/xiii-26-cuba-where-it-all-began-p-4530.html
After the terrible attack on the Capitol, the Mayflower Foundation, now under the sole leadership of Janet Fitzsimmons, succeeded in taking over the US government. As for Jason McLane, he has become a puppet controlled electronically by Janet – and is now also her husband, as well as one of the new president’s closest advisors.
When XIII goes to Cuba in order to covertly spring a Russian hacker from prison, he has no idea his past will once again come back to haunt him …
I waited and waited for the original series to conclude. It was something I started reading in Germany decades ago but never knew what happened. Cinebook gave me the full story! Then, out of the blue a second series!
Well, I was not happy. As you get older longer series you have to wait for the next volume of tends to make you wonder whether you'll live long enough to see the end 😂
No more Vance or Van Hamme but do Jigounov and Sente make adequate replacements? The story has plenty of twists and turns and action the double and triple betrayals all work well and I found it best not to think of this as XIII that I knew but a younger fella learning his trade. The artwork is detailed and that means everything from apartments, aircraft, etc. The details of military gear ...there is nothing to fault here and the superb colour work by Bruno Tatti sets the atmosphere for each of the scenes.
So, yes, this is a good read especially if you are into action spy genres and I know that there are a lot of you out there. Yeah, good read.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Back in the late 1980s I watched Ben Dilworth draw out the musculature and detail on the figure for this promo ad. I recall then asking him; "What the hell are you doing?!" as he covered it all in solid black inks.
I know this was in late 1987 on one of his visits to Bristol because the ad refers to Comic Zone coming in early 1988.
Saturday, 23 March 2024
Friday, 22 March 2024
Thursday, 21 March 2024
Mayfly and the Cougar
I opened a box and found another piece of 1980s artwork. I am sure another page may be in a box somewhere!
At the end of Black Tower Adventure no. 1 (1984) we saw a mysterious figure watching Mayfly and in the next issue she was to encounter a man who identified himself as The Cougar (no laughing!). I ended up drawing that story after the artist (Phil Horton?) pulled out. Just went totally silent on me and that left me in a lurch.
Pretty battered up page but not unexpected. The Cougar was, of course, featured in The Return of the Gods in which he was badly injured and after a bout of alcoholism/PTSD he is returning in the third volume of Adventure but it is nice to see how the characters started decades ago.
artwork (c)2024 Black Tower Comics and Books
Cinebook Ltd: COSSACKS 2 - INTO THE WOLF’S DEN
Author: Vincent Brugeas, Yoann Guillo and Ronan Toulhoat
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
£10.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441163
Publication: September 2023
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/cossacks-2-into-the-wolfs-den-p-4527.html
Having defeated his former brothers-in-arms of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania, the Winged Hussars, Karlis accompanies his new companions to the Sich, the Cossack parliament. Before long, he is faced with the harsh reality that not all Cossacks want him to join their people. Indeed, while his exploits have made him a hero to many, they have also made him into a prime target for jealousy, frustration and ambition …
Nope. I just cannot get into this. I read through it and put it to one side then read again after a few days and again about an hour ago. The art is okay and there is some great colour work going on here but even though well written it isn't grabbing me. It's not as if I do not know the history of that period or about Cossacks in general but...
I may read book 1 and 2 again to see if that helps. I was slightly more positive in my review of the first book https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinebook-ltd-cossacks-1-winged-hussar.html so maybe I am just "going through a phase" -I have no idea. It's a decent read.
I Absolutely DO NOT Use A Script -Imagine The Wasted Paper!
I was asked by someone why I said I never use a script and yet produced Return of the Gods -Twilight of the Super Heroes (300+pp) and The Green Skies (about 300+pp)?
Well, I wrote that because...I don't use a script!
When I was doing work for Fleetway/Egmont I obviously wrote scripts because that is what those companies wanted. I would talk to an editor and they would say (roughly) what they were looking for. This vagueness meant that you thought you knew what they wanted but then they would say "Hmm. Maybe if--" and they would talk about a new angle to the idea. Therefore, if I spoke to an editor on Friday and arranged to meet them on the Monday I would have the script that they outlined -and at l;east four other variations of the story. Even then you might get "I wonder whether a twist can be added?" and I would add that twist there and then in person.
The secret is to not hold back on your imagination. I used to like playing "get a story out of that!" with other comic folk. Basically they would come up with something like "blades of grass blowing in a wind" and I would then have to come up with a brief story surrounding the moving blades of grass. In that case it started with an aircraft and ended up with petrol stations blowing up, and a huge disaster scenario that I ended with "and the grass barely moved".
Above the last minute cover to the "trade and below the A5 cover to the small press comic (1 of 3 in the Dr Morg Trilogy) incorporated into the Green Skies
Even photos or drawings are a good way to get your story telling mind working. For instance; what story can you create based on the photograph of a green cricket? How about a an image of a single shoe on a pavement (been there and done that with 6 story ideas from it) or even an oddly shaped water puddle? Exercise your imagination playing "get a story out of that!" or "See and create a story".
The other problem, as already mentioned, is second guessing a publisher/editor. "Okay, he wants a story involving a nun being followed by a mysterious figure at night". From that, having just typed it, I can get a gothic romance, horror or even a funny ending story. How many ideas can you come up with -and think the stories through! This thinking in multiple layers works for all sorts of things.
PTSD means that even a short trip somewhere has all sorts of scenarios popping up in your head and for each you then create something that counters each. Back in 1987 when we were putting together Previews Comic : New Talent Showcase Ben Dilworth got into a grumpy mood (oh yes you did!) and I was discussing a project and he asked "What happens if that falls through?" So I took him through my back-up plan at which point he asked "And what happens if that one falls through?" so I explained another back-up plan and by the time we got to his asking what would happen if the 5th idea fell through I simply responded: "Now you are being deliberately silly. If the 5th plan falls through then I will come up with a 6th plan -and don't even ask because I will have a 7th plan!"
You will find that things like that help you think on your feet and on more than one occasion it helped me as when an editor said "Yeah...I was looking for a more---" and I had at least four differently packaged comics in my bag that covered most possible configurations and I was even known to split up those mock-ups to make a wholly new one.
Oh, man -and bluffing your way in to see senior editors may not be possible today but back in the 1980s-early 1990s it was possible. Most companies are so tight arsed and corporate today that I doubt getting a face-to-face with an editor would be possible but if you can go for it.
Now, when it came to Return it had started out as a proposal for a book titled Invasion Earth back in 1986. I had a rough idea what was going to happen and in the 1990s I changed things slightly so it became The Cosmic Fulcrum and then things went wrong withe the artist simply not wanting to do the work (after I had sold the idea to a publisher based on his art pages) and so, eventually, I decided to get the story out of my system and in the mid 2000s published a newer version in Black Tower Adventure vol. 2 number 1-6 and that came to 96pp. The original scripts were for a six issue mini series and fully written but I threw those out because for various reasons I wasn't sure I'd get to finish it and so sat down and drew those 96pp and after releasing it as a "trade" I felt so much was left out and I took a deep breath and turned it into a full 300+pp and re-lettered every page.`
Someone liked the idea that when heroes thought back on Neo Olympus not all of them had super powers and were simple crime-fighters and one panel seemed to be a favourite. In it Hornet crept up behind a "god" and whacked him out with a piece of lead piping. And, yes, I did have a back story in case anyone asked where the lead pipe came from! Lead piping to bludgeon someone is very old school villain practice and as Hornet dealt with crooks rather than super menaces I just automatically drew him using the lead piping.
I did hand write loads of notes about what would happen in The Green Skies and the conclusion but then I changed that as well as the ending. I literally put a sheet of blank paper on a board and draw and have no real idea where the story goes. At one point I drew the death of a hero and stopped. I didn't want the character to die -he had been with me since the 1970s! So I tried again and nothing would work or flow unless he died. Even now I wish I had not killed off two more of my oldest characters from the early 1970s but it happened and for me if a character dies he dies. No re-boot or returning from the dead otherwise the whole concept of heroes fighting evil and putting their lives on the line is a flop.
We have seen it with Marvel and DC where every comic universe and character has been destroyed/killed off so many times that the characters are no longer relatable to readers so there is no shock when they 'die'.
The sub-plot and even the ending to Green Skies was made up as I went along and the final ending for me was a tad depressing. There was some humour and so many twists and turns that by the end I had to put everything down and re-read it all then re-read it again and again (I hate reading and looking at my own work -ask Mr Dilworth!) until I realised it worked but was completely different to the original story idea.
Everything came together including stories from 40 years ago that linked into this final big one and luckily it all worked or I'd be in a psychiatric hospital mumbling "Look at all the little people in colourful costumes!" One thing I seriously was not expecting was how a minor character, Jack Flash, became pivotal to the whole thing.
For my own work I never use scripts -I did try to draw using one of my scripts but having to be told what the page set up and panels had to be never worked! And, no, I do not pre sketch pages or follow a thumbnail storyboard -everything is drawn straight from brain to paper.
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Not Long Now. He Shall Return....The Angel of the Burning Death.
Oh yes, he may be on holiday but a tour of Europe seemed to be a good idea. A rest from the constant attempts to kill him. So Krakos's loyal servant Ahmed bought tickets to a nice quiet old style country called the Grand Duchy of Stahl.
What could possibly go wrong?
Keep an eye open for any Bat-like monarchs.
It'll be fun. 😏
Black Tower Comics Would YOU Hail...The Hellfire Cab??
I did give the origin of both the Phantom Detective and The Ghost...back in...1984. Hmm. Maybe time to re-tell the story?
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Ben R Dilworth
A4
B&W
14pp
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/phantom-detective-the-hellfire-cab/paperback/product-166jne8e.html
There are times you REALLY want to see the sight of a cab coming along the road.
Then there are times that you REALLY do not want to see a cab...especially the Hellfire Cab and its passenger.
For the Phantom Detective it could all just be another supernatural scuffle before tea and scones. Or it could be DEATH
Cinebook Ltd: REDBEARD 2 - THE SEA WOLVES
Authors: Jean-Charles Kraehn & Stefano Carloni
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
£10.99 incl VAT
ISBN: 9781800441095
Publication: August 2023
https://www.cinebook.co.uk/redbeard-2-the-sea-wolves-p-4524.html
Redbeard’s mission has turned into a disaster. He and his ship, the Black Hawk, are now in Spanish hands … His son and his lieutenants have been captured by the mysterious Spectre, who turned out to be none other than his nemesis Morgan, eager to get his hands on Redbeard’s treasure … It will take all of the old pirate’s courage and cunning to
Redbeard goes against the usual movie pirate trope of going to rescue his men and instead shrugs their loss off -noting that some had once mutinied against him. Fair enough. That gives the impression that our red-bearded 'hero' is cold-blooded and only in the pirating business for the rewards. The ending to his confrontation with Morgan was where we see that he is far from mercenary and cold-blooded.
Yeah, cannons do their work in ship-to-ship fighting and there is plenty of sword-action and a few surprises and for something someone once told me "It's just a regular pirate series" Red Beard has turned out to be very enjoyable and after the Red Beard hanging of the last story (that really did catch me off guard) it's fair to say that this is anything but a "regular pirate series". What Red Beard gives up £800 for (a fortune at that time).
Robert Newton eat your heart out -young 'uns may have to look that one up!