tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312406975797422612023-11-16T03:40:33.774-08:00The Beat Of His Own DrumDedicated to peculiar comic-book imaginings of the most delirious variety.Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-73402390296006641212020-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:002020-06-08T12:41:51.943-07:00Free Spencer Nero… In Every Pack!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOiy1NSbsNlHnCzG9l-dHa1m1LqzMPjvQ13g0RqDYQGgzwCPphIo91DnfUi5i4yfdsnQAkrI522ChvYWmxjQY_tKzr568RFAAZvO29cfGQ2HVR6ycJ7tpc8mvAe1p5y1nc1MZiwQmfbQ/s1600/smidgen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="684" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOiy1NSbsNlHnCzG9l-dHa1m1LqzMPjvQ13g0RqDYQGgzwCPphIo91DnfUi5i4yfdsnQAkrI522ChvYWmxjQY_tKzr568RFAAZvO29cfGQ2HVR6ycJ7tpc8mvAe1p5y1nc1MZiwQmfbQ/s640/smidgen.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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In a time of global crises, political uncertainty and civil
unrest, what everyone needs is a big man in a mask to punch things better!
Which is why Filippo, Scott Twells and I present A Smidgen of Spencer: Dwarfs,
Dames and Dopplegangers! Compiling stories from PARAGON #22-24 and PARAGON
Annual 2019, this FREE digital comic features the Civil Centurion having issues
with little men, girls and himself – in short, it’s ripe for psychoanalysis!
Or you could just read it and laugh at the usual spate of mild perversion and
boy’s own thrills!<br />
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Features a guest appearance by lettering pro Jim Campbell!</div>
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<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/wb5oknwnmwue0tb/Smidgen%20of%20Spencer.pdf?dl=0">Download it here.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-69174853501956021072020-06-08T12:26:00.001-07:002020-06-08T12:26:20.956-07:00It's a Spencer Nero Club world!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoB9B-XPYUyeCgZevvBkHE13YMZkNHPAXuhRYSULHRLpZbSgw1wJRXtwUcAfAqPYYR6hyphenhyphenpLcxwuI-VI2BDD9xGfYBg1j72otTqRS3UYMoK8fg0jEuuKJ3X-nS0neCmVByPidT2g4PqRo/s1600/FF1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="537" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoB9B-XPYUyeCgZevvBkHE13YMZkNHPAXuhRYSULHRLpZbSgw1wJRXtwUcAfAqPYYR6hyphenhyphenpLcxwuI-VI2BDD9xGfYBg1j72otTqRS3UYMoK8fg0jEuuKJ3X-nS0neCmVByPidT2g4PqRo/s320/FF1.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
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A quick post to document <a href="https://hcomicsworld.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-spencer-nero-club-folklore-and-fire.html">another positive review</a> for The Spencer Nero Club #1, this time from Howard Fuller of Howie's World of Comics. Howard is a recent convert to the small press, but gave us a five-star review, so he's clearly not lacking in taste. We've been down the tubes - now we're on top of the world! Thanks, Howard.Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-89000711618748851622020-06-07T08:25:00.002-07:002020-06-07T08:25:18.079-07:00Thumping Hearts Hold the Ravens In: 'Spencer Nero Versus Britain' in PARAGON #25<br />
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‘Spencer Nero Versus Britain’ has its origin in two somewhat
disparate individuals – Jason Cobley and Kate Bush. The former’s role is simple
– I’d hoped to read some new adventures of his well-seasoned small-press hero,
Winston Bulldog, but Jason was very busy with other commitments (a novel and paying
work for Commando comic.) That being the case, I wondered if he’d mind me
borrowing Bulldog to reunite him with Spencer Nero (they previously teamed up
as part of The Paragon Paradox) for a special story to celebrate PARAGON’s ‘silver
anniversary’ – issue #25. Jason graciously agreed. So what was the story to be?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm3CwuS0wiJrx6DllAtpBWhfgjQun6g8ZsdJwrztQxllzyKzYxcqtXjEL-U2J-p6FwOsFglO0gFyBchbrraAtWgMXQRARB7Ue5hRn8z9t26ILTa8RUtqh3Co2EI-O-pnBRRPTkZgMpKA/s1600/kt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="491" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm3CwuS0wiJrx6DllAtpBWhfgjQun6g8ZsdJwrztQxllzyKzYxcqtXjEL-U2J-p6FwOsFglO0gFyBchbrraAtWgMXQRARB7Ue5hRn8z9t26ILTa8RUtqh3Co2EI-O-pnBRRPTkZgMpKA/s200/kt.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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I’d made notes on possible sequels to the Paragon Paradox a
while back. One involved the cast all being turned into dogs (apart from
Bulldog, obviously) and going on some cosmic hound-quest, which started me down
the road of making the story canine-themed. At one point I had the idea that supernatural
dog-beings were converging on Spencer because his body had been transformed into
a tasty skeleton by an Aztec death-god – and they wanted the bones! I still
like this idea – I intend to use it as a separate story – but I decided the
dog-angle was a blind alley, as far as this crossover went. Instead, I decided
to look at what really connected Nero and Bulldog – and the answer was obvious.
Britain. Which is where Kate Bush comes in.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1So6ok542jA">‘Oh England My Lionheart’</a> is a song in which Bush nostalgically
contemplates a romanticised vision of her home country, complete with all
manner of iconic British references. But what if these symbols were turned
against the nation that had spawned them? What if all that was quintessentially
British went bad? Nero and Bulldog were both defined, in different ways, by
their nationality. How would they deal with its darker side?<o:p></o:p></div>
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This dark side was personified by Anthony Seyden, M.P. – a politician
and psychic fugitive from Bulldog’s world. Seyden – ‘Tony Satan’ to his friends
– was based visually on the wildly-ineffective ‘New Labour, New Danger’ campaign, staged by the
Conservative Party in the run-up to the ’97 election. The image of Tony Blair
with ‘demon eyes’ proved no deterrent to his landslide victory, but it provided a
memorable image I was keen to appropriate. As a ‘prosecco nationalist’, Seyden’s
politics lean in a different direction to Blair’s, but they both rejoice in the
idea of British icons and like to associate with celebrities – though Seyden’s
more likely to set fire to his.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Art on this was by Scott Twells, and lettering was by
Filippo – we had recently completed ‘The Spencer Nero Club #1’, and with ‘…Versus
Britain’, I felt we were firing on all cylinders as a three-man team. It almost
goes without saying that they both did a remarkable job, but I’ll say it: they
both did a remarkable job. This is the most visually-interesting Nero story
ever. I was particularly fond of the way Scott extended Seyden's mouth so that neither it nor his eyes fit properly on his face. It just makes him that little bit more disquieting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>A few comments on the individual pages:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Page 1: We start with what I like to think of as a ‘John
Smith’ page – in his 2000AD stories, the great writer made frequent use of
these little ‘catalogue of horror’ sections, where he gave multiple snapshots
of some unfolding atrocity. I don’t often get a chance to do these but thought
it would be a good way to set the stage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Page 2: This story follows immediately on from the leprechaun
yarn – Spencer’s still got the slash-mark from the leprechaun blade on his jacket.
I loved Scott’s bone Spitfires – the story is pre-WWII, but Spitfires did exist,
and are a reference to the ‘black Spitfire’ that drops Kate Bush to her funeral
barge in ‘Oh England…’ Originally there was a line that suggested Seyden’s weaponization
of iconography included a predictive element – he could even corrupt things that
would become iconic. I left it out for space reasons. Also of note here is Spencer’s
use of the Janus mask as an energy-sheathed weapon, opening doors into his foes
– this idea came about from an unfinished story in which Spencer tackles a mystical
Chinese tong gang, resulting in the creation of a Peckham weasel-god. The weasel-god
itself is occasionally alluded to in the strip as an ‘offscreen’ adventure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pages 3-4: Originally, Nero and Bulldog got in a fight with
the ants, but I thought this version was more elegant – and it followed on from
the idea in the leprechaun story that Spencer carries condiments. The downside
is that it robs Bulldog of some action by making Spencer the one to deal with
the transfigured businessman – this bothered me a bit, but I figured Bulldog
got enough to do later to let it go.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Page 5: Seyden’s secret origin. The Dalmation is Gooch from
the Paragon Paradox. I like Scott’s savage black cab – and you can’t beat a
good mole joke. Note that the scientists are indeed a mole, a toad, and a vole
(or water-rat) – the main characters from another iconic British tome, ‘The
Wind in the Willows’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Page 6-8: When people tell me I write weird stories, I never
get it – doesn’t everyone think about wicket-based wicker-men in the shape of W.G.
Grace? The implication is meant to be that there are darker and more sinister
icons beneath the nation’s psychic surface. I’m particularly fond of Scott’s
art on these pages – some grand-scale normalness (ok, madness then.) Seyden’s
helpers were referred to in the script as ‘Chaos Cricketers’ – my instruction
was to make them look as if Games Workshop had designed their uniform. The
wicket-masks give them a slightly ‘Judge Death’ vibe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dDNbjJd53iTZ3IbtloTAH0ykA-CXdO8ErWLqqma7kgr2PzpX_AIpZueOuY0vgXqUJUzf_yVBrnomDx1dKMfLePant7sVjsjKAd3PrDSKWxcKtkus5FUKtYjkOj7D05bJEWeJzdF14ts/s1600/snv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="741" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dDNbjJd53iTZ3IbtloTAH0ykA-CXdO8ErWLqqma7kgr2PzpX_AIpZueOuY0vgXqUJUzf_yVBrnomDx1dKMfLePant7sVjsjKAd3PrDSKWxcKtkus5FUKtYjkOj7D05bJEWeJzdF14ts/s320/snv.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Page 9-10: Scott added the idea that Bulldog would give a
parting gesture. Scott also pointed out that I’d subconsciously stolen the ‘plink’
sound effect from Zenith – it’s the noise an Einstein-Rosen bridge makes in
Phase III when they cross dimensions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Page 11-12: I decided that Seyden should cycle through iconic
British appearances to make the page more interesting for Scott to draw – note also
yet another George Formby reference. Is this leading up to something?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Page 13: A version of this was the first page I wrote – it was
going to feature alternating panels of Bulldog and Nero describing their
respective Britains, with Bulldog seeing the positives and Nero the negatives.
The joke was meant to be that their worlds were more similar than they
realised, but they both saw Blighty through different lenses, and so couldn’t
reconcile their mutual visions. In the end, it morphed into this. I did think
about giving the King a stutter for historical accuracy, but it seemed a bit petty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH2ZTQoOzjqaxEfB4KzQ-AxfMjuOzx6PU33VzKYUnkAQUNJgdp6DDOnw3xxDdRjF1HZOWtk5uU2uVI6OqARDR0Y7csyx0FWNQMA9E1K6Dj-QL3k76AEKr3eVhYpM0F-E4p73bZZmdOHM/s1600/seyden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="483" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH2ZTQoOzjqaxEfB4KzQ-AxfMjuOzx6PU33VzKYUnkAQUNJgdp6DDOnw3xxDdRjF1HZOWtk5uU2uVI6OqARDR0Y7csyx0FWNQMA9E1K6Dj-QL3k76AEKr3eVhYpM0F-E4p73bZZmdOHM/s320/seyden.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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Page 14-15: It’s now become a tradition that Bulldog makes a
profound statement on the last page of their crossovers. Note Seyden’s
ambiguous ‘death’ – I wanted this story to give me a new Nero villain to play
with. The intention was always to bring him back if Scott and I liked him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We liked him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I hope you liked the story. Downthetubes seemed to –
they declared it <a href="https://downthetubes.net/?p=117352">“utterly brilliant.”</a> I’ll take that!<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can obtain <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/paragoncomic/store/products/paragon-25/">a copy of PARAGON #25 here</a>.</div>
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<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-52022833691207922442020-06-07T07:11:00.000-07:002020-06-07T07:11:57.852-07:00The Spencer Nero Club Goes Down the Tubes<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W2bRjRb-zeLwZo5PTj_RpOJkmN_J1g8cNAV52ZyW4VvNNjhQejqIpq2dJNM1QwkqpVistmq0uIdyLl_2FhJhXWH60qAobLBqa0c4SFPX2WCPCKdTRrNblJa58aSMuDTQysitdkxifZw/s1600/excuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="803" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W2bRjRb-zeLwZo5PTj_RpOJkmN_J1g8cNAV52ZyW4VvNNjhQejqIpq2dJNM1QwkqpVistmq0uIdyLl_2FhJhXWH60qAobLBqa0c4SFPX2WCPCKdTRrNblJa58aSMuDTQysitdkxifZw/s400/excuse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Excuse me, sir - do you think our story is ever-so-slightly bawdy?"</td></tr>
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Earlier this year, myself, Scott Twells and Filippo Roncone released 'The Spencer Nero Club #1' - the spin-off adventures of Spencer Nero's fan-club. It has been well-received by those who've read it - maybe the most flattering comment was that it seemed like 'the Famous Five written by Alan Moore'. In <a href="https://downthetubes.net/?p=118650">this hugely insightful review by Peter Duncan from Downthetubes.net</a>, he also sees a bit of an Enid Blyton influence, which I can't really deny - my favourite books as a younger child were those concerning the magic Faraway Tree, in which young people step into mystical lands. However, my Blytonisms have gone a bit 'seaside postcard' and fallen prey to a mildly perverse interpretation. I blame Moonface and his Slippery-Slip.<br />
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You can <a href="https://www.comicsy.co.uk/martillo/">buy The Spencer Nero Club #1 here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F7IrMzNhhzQ1uyY3WLXp-nMwtlEeFVIE_Zs9N23YvKQPVlhMn5oDgXpTBlWOPlnGsGaKIbNsUtgghyGChly88zWKtLD5l0WGdSnF2esbueAYV5vkpGXbJRBF9wcX2O2CQGVBqcmQV1s/s1600/mindbend.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="710" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F7IrMzNhhzQ1uyY3WLXp-nMwtlEeFVIE_Zs9N23YvKQPVlhMn5oDgXpTBlWOPlnGsGaKIbNsUtgghyGChly88zWKtLD5l0WGdSnF2esbueAYV5vkpGXbJRBF9wcX2O2CQGVBqcmQV1s/s400/mindbend.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Mind-bending'? I thought it was one of my saner outings...</td></tr>
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<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-40112849309919776662020-01-02T03:37:00.002-08:002020-01-02T07:15:35.185-08:00Comics Wot I Did In 2019: Part Two - Das Boot’s on the Other Foot<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherr3hzvyIi1tGKUyxWdWwbYDTk-9P70ZptSM_Vflfkkhnbr0i-M6OitGZFIH5DbSmpkByY01nB_JGiqkzM4pYovo0Kq0Q2v0BxzeRmy03Ab2Tb7E9NeZWfaSsFqv8pHZ-IGmh5marc2M/s1600/lep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherr3hzvyIi1tGKUyxWdWwbYDTk-9P70ZptSM_Vflfkkhnbr0i-M6OitGZFIH5DbSmpkByY01nB_JGiqkzM4pYovo0Kq0Q2v0BxzeRmy03Ab2Tb7E9NeZWfaSsFqv8pHZ-IGmh5marc2M/s400/lep.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Concluding my commentary on stories from 2019, and providing previews of things to come this year in 2020.</div>
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Right – the leprechaun story in <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/paragoncomic/store/products/paragon-24/">PARAGON #24</a> was mostly
editor Davey Candlish’s fault (though I blame Jim Cameron too, for encouraging
/ provoking it, and coming up with the title, ‘Spencer Nero and the Leprechauns
of Doom’!) Davey had posted the front cover of the novel 'The Little People' on Facebook –
yep, it’s same John Christopher that wrote The Tripods - and immediately, it
seemed a major omission that Spencer Nero had never gone up against Nazi
leprechauns. Within minutes of realising this, I’d come up with the plot –
frankly, the story pretty much wrote itself. In many ways, it is the archetypal
Nero story – it features folklore, Roman mythology, Nazis, and a hefty dose of
silliness and satire. All in five pages!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sors – Roman luck god and instigator of the plot – was very
much on my mind, as I’d been trying to write a 20-page Nero prequel comic, set
prior to Spencer joining the Department of Contingency. The chief antagonist
was going to be the aforementioned deity, who had cruelly inflicted good luck
on Britain – something that turned out to be less fortunate than it appeared. I
eventually shelved the idea, but still wanted to see Sors in print. Luck and
leprechauns go together like bishops and being kicked up the arse, so he was a
natural fit. The first Nero text tale left Sors washing dishes in the
Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane – he’s finally finished!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Meanwhile, Sister Von Zero was last seen in County Kerry,
facing a beating from the similarly gender-swapped Veleda the druid(ess). I
thought about reverting Sister Von Zero back to a man after “…the Trouble with
Girls” but I realised that visually, she was much more interesting as a Nazi
nun (and probably a lot easier for Scott to draw too.) (Veleda, on the other
hand, probably will revert to her original female gender, as I think she worked
better as a woman – maybe, like Patsy from AbFab, it’ll fall off after a few
months.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Art on this was by Scott Twells - I'm running out of superlatives for this chap's work, but as ever, he pulled off a blinder. So much character in his... characters! Lettering was by consummate pro, Jim Campbell, a real friend to the small press - it's always a pleasure to have his touch on my Nero. As it were.</div>
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A few brief notes:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Spencer’s bath-time rendition of ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’
continues the strip’s ongoing flirtation with George Formby. We’ve seen Oswald
with one of Formby’s ukuleles (more of that this year) and a newspaper headline
pertaining to a Nero / Formby team-up (a reference to a hitherto unpublished musical
story, which needs a bit of revision before it appears.) More tangential Formby
to follow…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leprechauns aren’t the only supernatural beings compelled to
count grains – vampires seem to have a similar affliction. It seems Spencer
habitually carries granular items on his person to deal with said foes – but what else does he have in
his jacket? All will be revealed in his next outing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And speaking of which, it wasn’t planned at the time, but
Sors’s mention of British Bulldogs oddly foreshadows the guest star of the very
next Spencer Nero…</div>
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Yep, coming later this year in PARAGON – <b>Spencer Nero Versus Britain</b>,
in which our hero teams up with Jason Cobley’s storied creation, Captain Winston
Bulldog, for a 15-page fight against a nation gone bad! (Many thanks to Jason for his permission to bring Bulldog back to the series, after the pair first teamed up in The Paragon Paradox.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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But before that…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Spencer Nero Club #1: Folklore and Fire</b>! 28 pages of all-new
1930s fanboy antics, starring Oswald Gypsum and chums! Art by Scott Twells, cover colours, lettering and design by Filippo. <o:p></o:p>More on this ‘un soon! </div>
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<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-7516413388587951782019-12-31T03:28:00.001-08:002019-12-31T03:35:38.278-08:00Comics Wot I Did In 2019: Part One - Club Sandwich<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnPy4O3inHoZcC3BamrpwlK2GJjW6B663RaSrgTCyYpYMtyXJGAy4PLCLGcygr1qopjxtq2NsBjLftMfSzGmLkmK9OQcc5odf4jWcOwGz0HYAyRDhdNvVvv1mZLtNnh9WEa7Tb5I9Xz4/s1600/Club.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="1591" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnPy4O3inHoZcC3BamrpwlK2GJjW6B663RaSrgTCyYpYMtyXJGAy4PLCLGcygr1qopjxtq2NsBjLftMfSzGmLkmK9OQcc5odf4jWcOwGz0HYAyRDhdNvVvv1mZLtNnh9WEa7Tb5I9Xz4/s400/Club.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
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2019 was, as usual, a bit of a Spencer Nero year. Two
stories emerged into the wild.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first, ‘The Spencer Nero Club’ is probably the most
significant, and one of my absolute favourite yarns. It was written some time
ago – it was meant to follow on right after The Paragon Paradox crossover – but
was delayed due to a change of artist. The talented Alex Mines was originally
scheduled to pen this one, but paying work understandably took precedence, and
eventually, the spectacular Scott Twells was drafted into duty. This, as it
turned out, was a Very Good Thing, and led to Other Things – but more on those
next year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Spencer Nero Club pulls a number of different threads
together – it’s definitely one of my better bits of writing. The framing story
concerns Spencer Nero’s fan club, led by Mr. Alabaster’s nephew, Oswald Gypsum.
Oz (as he is henceforth to be known) features heavily in at least one
unpublished script, and was a key part of the first Spencer Nero text story
“…Chairman of the Board”, but had, until this point, only appeared briefly in a
couple of very short strips “…Ruthless Rhymer” and “…Elephant in the Room”
(plus a cameo in “…the Trouble With Girls”.) In “The Spencer Nero Club”, he
really comes into his own – he very much seems to have supplanted William Kitt
as the third main character of the series, after Spencer and Alabaster.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story also introduces his school, Blackabbots – no
prizes for guessing where that name comes from – and his chums, Tookey,
Smallpiece, Venables and Botts. All these boys derive their names from the
Palin / Jones comedy series, “Ripping Yarns”, specifically the episode
‘Tomkinson’s School Days’: the names are either mentioned in passing by the
Headmaster or seen written on-screen.<o:p></o:p><br />
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As well as the story of the boys, “The Spencer Nero Club” is
the one that gives Spencer the new regular ability to open Janus Arches as
teleportation portals. It also deliberately sets a limit on the power – he
can’t use it to go to other dimensions, or else the Roman god Terminus intervenes.
This is due to the damage that Janus-kin – Spencer’s alternative selves –
typically do to the multiverse. I know the idea of duplicate variations on the
protagonist is a total cliché, but what the hell – it’s fun! Sometimes you’ve
just got to go with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few other observations:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Pages 1-4:</b></div>
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The images of Spencer are supposed to be a bit
homoerotic! Everything on the shelves connects to a previous adventure – a Naztec
statuette from the first Spencer Nero story, a feather from the Black Caladrius,
the Ruthless Rhymer’s tongue - as does one of the newspaper headlines. The
other, the ‘weasel’ one, may yet be explored. However, Von Zero’s swastika eye
has never appeared before – the Fauna of Mirrors is from a Chinese tale about
an invasion by mirrorworld demons who’d hitherto pretended to be our
reflections!<o:p></o:p></div>
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In general, I really enjoyed crafting the (frequently bitchy)
dialogue between the boys. Venables, the group’s mandatory arsehole, was the
most fun to write. Note Tookey’s action figure – in the first Nero text story,
it was implied these don’t sell too well, but that someone had recently bought
one. Now we know who. Speaking of that story, Sors, Roman luck god and chief
antagonist of said yarn, makes his first appearance in comic form. Look for his
return…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Pages 5-7:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Welcome to Terminalis, a junkheap world of items that have
reached their limit and can go no further. Stranded here are a variety of
parallel universe Spencers: I thought the creepy mime, Spencer Pierrot, would
prove my favourite, but Scott Twells’s excellent design for Spencer Pharoah
made him the standout. Ironically, it’s Panzer Nero who has a life outside of
this story – but more on that next year. Spencer Noveau is based around the Art
Noveau movement – my instruction to Scott was to avoid straight lines and go
for sweeping curves. He’s done a cracking job.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Pages 8-9:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Spencer’s murder of Panzer is a bit vicious – but you know what
he’s like with Nazis. I don’t know if Scott did this deliberately – presumably
not – but the way the blood drips down Spencer’s face after the Glasgow kiss
from Terminus is in the same pattern as his Uncle Bonaventure’s ‘James Hetfield
/ My mate Graeme’ beard. If Spencer makes it into middle age – unlikely, I know
– he might just have to grow such a facial adornment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Back to Blackabbots for the final page, and we get a brief
appearance of ‘orrible ‘eadmaster Ol’ Bergeron – modelled loosely on Richard
Harris – whilst Oswald’s rebellious streak (and fetishisation of Nazi memorabilia)
come to the fore. And at this point I started to think “You know what? The
framing sequence was the best bit of the story – I could do more with these
characters…” and cogs started turning in my brain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To conclude, as well as Scott's typically brilliant art, it’s also worth mentioning the huge contribution of
letterer Filippo to this story – he’s come on in leaps and bounds in terms of
his (already perfectly good) lettering skills, and in this one he really lets
rip and shows what he can do when you give him some sound effects to play with.
Plus he was endlessly accommodating when it came to making changes. What a guy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> 'The Spencer Nero Club' appeared in PARAGON #23 - an extremely strong issue, if memory serves.</o:p></div>
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Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-13177037022956939082018-12-31T11:12:00.001-08:002018-12-31T13:20:19.768-08:00Spencer Nero and the Trouble with Blogs<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS0gAvhIIwJCwgJDNYdT2XyPic858rs9Sa9FPkIcXr5vAnJb0HIPL9zpZz174Vk81ScUCElAYnCR22n7J5Eiq_mlb7WJi9QR0VP3T3uDLKbt0V8Chbbvwnnq5IK4hhV6lj1vPhkSENdY/s1600/sis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyS0gAvhIIwJCwgJDNYdT2XyPic858rs9Sa9FPkIcXr5vAnJb0HIPL9zpZz174Vk81ScUCElAYnCR22n7J5Eiq_mlb7WJi9QR0VP3T3uDLKbt0V8Chbbvwnnq5IK4hhV6lj1vPhkSENdY/s640/sis.jpg" width="411" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ace of Cups. Art by Scott Twells, letters by Filippo.</td></tr>
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Is it true? Am I down to only one blog post per
year? Blimey! 2018 wasn’t a particularly productive year for me, from a
comics-related perspective: indeed, by no standards was it an ordinary year,
with too much else work-related going on, sapping time and energy for the
creative process. However, a few stories managed to escape into the wild – a
couple of Spencer Nero yarns and Something Else. Possibly. Here’s a few words
on ‘em:</div>
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<span lang="EN"><b>“I like men who have a future and women who
have a past.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><i> - </i></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN"><i>Oscar Wilde</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">In <b>‘Spencer Nero and the Trouble with Girls’</b>,
from PARAGON #22, an iconic British hero faces a gender-swap, and anyone who has
concerns about this is accused of being a Nazi (in one case by an actual Nazi.)
What, you may ask, could possibly have inspired this story? Who, I reply,
knows? The mind of the small-press writer is sometimes best left unexplored.
(As is the mind of his editor, who managed to schedule this story for September
2018, perfectly coinciding with a certain high-profile media event.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">But, this being a blog, we’d better at least
have a gentle rummage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The basic idea for this had been sitting
around for a while – to gather up some of Spencer’s former female foes into a
Sisterhood of Sirens, and derive some humour out of Spencer’s mistaken inability
to take them seriously. (As a nod of the head to the original title for ‘The
Pack’, and to suggest Spencer’s dismissive attitude, I’d considered calling it
‘A Few Bints and Spencer’, though I knew I’d never get away with it!) At one
point, there was going to be an entire page of Spencer just laughing at the
idea of women being a threat to him. In the end, the story went off in a
different direction, as a comment on contemporary pop-culture, though Spencer’s
off-hand sexism slipped through in a few panels. I’m not sure any of the
characters come out of the story particularly well – as is my wont, everyone’s
opinion and perspective, including my own, is thoroughly mocked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">It’s also a pretty continuity-heavy tale,
featuring, as it does, the skull of Ekhidna from ‘Spencer Nero Goes South’ and ‘The
Paragon Paradox’, Veleda the Druidess from ‘The Hour of the Heron’, Mrs.
Simpson from ‘Spencer Nero and Mrs. Simpson’ and Dr. Von Zero from ‘The Island
of the Naztecs’ and ‘The Hidden Olympics’. The story also features Spencer
making greater use of the Janus Mask’s abilities, first unveiled
in the aforementioned ‘Paragon Paradox’: technically, there should be a story
in between, ‘The Spencer Nero Club’, which really flags this up properly, but I
gather it’s still being drawn. Nonetheless, I like it when a series has been
running long enough that you’re able to include various callbacks and links to
previous continuity – hopefully this wasn’t too disorientating for any new
readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnGnlJokrBuUOvH-gYGbrqIi1zNbCWglgcYxGxO26zeLwga60Z4cMQf-8kqWx089UPR8mRQUUr71tGWxBSlIC694tbd4Q_HHyUnL2biLqg4UN8bH1crYCuircwe6jZPAtX3Ex-fDrrYs/s1600/simps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="760" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnGnlJokrBuUOvH-gYGbrqIi1zNbCWglgcYxGxO26zeLwga60Z4cMQf-8kqWx089UPR8mRQUUr71tGWxBSlIC694tbd4Q_HHyUnL2biLqg4UN8bH1crYCuircwe6jZPAtX3Ex-fDrrYs/s400/simps.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpson attack! Art by Scott Twells, letters by Filippo.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN">However, the story is a tour de force for Mr.
Scott Twells, a gentleman who, of late, has been saddled with the onerous chore
of rendering umpteen of my scripts into a wholly undeserved and vivid life.
Scott’s got it all, artistically-speaking – a unique and distinctive style, a
stunning grasp of action sequences and the uncanny ability to capture
characters’ mood, emotion and personality. I think this is probably his
strongest Spencer Nero work to date – I particularly love the contrast between
his finely-defined characters and his more impressionistic take on the Irish
landscape of County Kerry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">You can pick up PARAGON #22 here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EBAHA8S3HV2E8">https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EBAHA8S3HV2E8</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><b>A French ‘Phant! See?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><b>‘Spencer Nero and the Elephant in the Room’</b> was
written in a matter of hours to provide an elephant-themed story for this
year’s Ganesh-centric PARAGON Winter Special. As stories go, there’s not much
to it – editor Davey Candlish originally suggested Spencer and Oswald tangling
with a haunted African tribal mask, but somehow I ended up thinking about
fictional elephants from children’s books instead. A quick check, and yes – it
turned out Babar was indeed from the 1930s, and therefore the best fit.
Somehow, Scott Twells (there’s that man again) managed to use my pretty thin
premise to conjure up some typically glorious art. I don’t know if tarot cards
were involved. In retrospect, the title of this story bothers me – it needs to
work on another level, as well as being literal, and it doesn’t. Unless the
elephant in the room is the British class system, and Spencer’s subordinate
status to Alabaster. All right, that’ll have to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUQwSRDegnj4FRIFoBs-9a-JP30FkC9KhwIu7zJ61XTKmS_sHWgpfaqlC_3CvkYcZINRuZnxI_qiDFvp7dGZwOBlMN1rRiIu8HeooNOOuAB7htCKW8r4gg9RzqcwbiW9WpAVXegE6GT8/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1600" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUQwSRDegnj4FRIFoBs-9a-JP30FkC9KhwIu7zJ61XTKmS_sHWgpfaqlC_3CvkYcZINRuZnxI_qiDFvp7dGZwOBlMN1rRiIu8HeooNOOuAB7htCKW8r4gg9RzqcwbiW9WpAVXegE6GT8/s400/0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art by Scott Twells, letters by Filippo</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span>You can get your copy of annual here:</div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9M3DVT9FZUTP6">https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9M3DVT9FZUTP6</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><b>Rocket Man</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Now, the third thing this year has, improbably
enough, also featured Scott Twells, but I’m not sure if it’s been officially
released. The Psychedelic Journal, to which I’ve contributed in the past, has
done tales of Time Travel and the Wild West, but has subsequently moved on to the
theme of Wizardry. As such, I concocted a story about a real-life sorcerer, the
remarkable 1930s Thelemic sex-wizard and rocket engineer Jack Parsons. Now, I’ve
seen the completed comic, but I haven’t seen it for sale on Comicsy, so I don’t
know if 'Babalon Working' was fully unleashed to the general public. For the moment, here’s
a random panel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBkGaVugk_OdmJCKLx7bgI8VeiJG_GPIBDp1tw6KbyOm6DqEwUREoZWUcIndPhNmdBS-GxySOMjltDocwzDQDxnjr_oFnIR6xILfXu3wMx0LSiH_Si1jpHKnqHLmtQtFYps79Bd_mc-Q/s1600/Parsons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="1295" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBkGaVugk_OdmJCKLx7bgI8VeiJG_GPIBDp1tw6KbyOm6DqEwUREoZWUcIndPhNmdBS-GxySOMjltDocwzDQDxnjr_oFnIR6xILfXu3wMx0LSiH_Si1jpHKnqHLmtQtFYps79Bd_mc-Q/s400/Parsons.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit phallic, innit? Art by Scott Twells, letters by Chris Mole</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN">Happy new year!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-20979185220175154022017-12-31T10:33:00.001-08:002017-12-31T14:53:37.529-08:00Martillo: The Spanish Composition, Part Two:<div class="MsoNormal">
As I type, 2017 draws to a close, meaning it's time to do
likewise with my commentary on 'Martillo'. This post deals with the second half
of the story - and the future for the characters. (The first part is <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/martillo-spanish-composition-part-one.html">here</a>.)</div>
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<b>Cuatro: The Sharp and the Dull.</b> I really like the telephone
conversation that opens this chapter. It reveals a lot about the characters
involved and suggests a more complicated relationship than at first seemed
apparent between Martillo and Gallo - they clearly are, on some weird level,
friends. This is definitely the point in the story at which I'd decided to
do a bit more with Gallo, and I particularly enjoy his reaction to
Martillo's request for a weather update. (Of course, Gallo's completely wrong
to say a thunderstorm comes with low pressure - it's the opposite. I always get
these things confused.) However, the best thing about this chapter is the
notion that the Toledo priests have a rota for riding the bicycle, in order to
keep the Sharpener trapped. When I visited Madrid, hearing the distinctive trilling
whistle of real sharpeners was something that really stayed with me, hence I
knew I had to include a reference to it in 'Martillo'. (You can hear it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfNuIC3Ta4Y">here</a>.) As
for Nuberu - though he ended up looking a little more of a classical
mythology-style muscle-man than I expected (I was imagining something slightly
more abstract), he turned out to be a surprise survivor of 'Martillo' - he's
present in the first chapter of 'Gallo', though never directly referred to in dialogue,
only visually.</div>
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<b>Cinco: The Good Workman.</b> The truth of Martillo's
supernatural talent - that any workman's tool becomes a holy instrument in his
hands - came out of an idea I once had for a non-player character in a Marvel
Superheroes RPG campaign, set in the UK, focusing on distinctly British
archetypes. The character was going to be called 'Hammer Horror' - his
superpower was what the rules referred to as 'Ultimate Skill - Blunt Weapons'.
(I have a note somewhere of an idea for Martillo having an adventure at sea,
where he uses a hammerhead shark as a weapon - swinging it around by the tail,
presumably.)</div>
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This revelation out of the way, time to throw in as many
Spanish monsters as possible in a cavalcade of the grotesque. Time also to fry
David Broughton's brain by casually requesting he draw a giant winged serpent
in a photo-accurate Plaza Mayor, fighting historically on-model tanks. Oh, and
all this in a page with five other panels! When David says I made him work hard
drawing Martillo, I sometimes suspect this page (and the bank on the next) may
be the perfect example.</div>
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Speaking of the bank, the Ramidreju are, I believe, much
less 'An American Werewolf in London' in actual mythology, but the idea of bad
weasels on the rampage was irresistible. Martillo's cry of "Weasels!"
is a recycling of a war-cry uttered by a particularly infamous AD&D character
I played in my teenage years, whereas Martillo's mad drilling antics are
halfway between 'Driller Killer' and 'Bad Taste'. But the real triumph of this
chapter is the 'Home Del Nassos' - the Man of Noses. He's based on a Catalan
legend which suggests he has as many noses as there are days of the year
remaining - children are encouraged to look for him on December 31st, when he
has only one nose left (and could therefore be anyone.) Inevitably, I wanted to know what he looked
like when he had lots of noses - utterly horrific and disgustingly Freudian, as
it turned out. As such, David and I took a jolly folk tale and turned its star
into an absolutely horrible bogeyman, adding the idea that he also has nostrils
in the palm of his hand. I wish I'd done much more with him - he could have
carried a whole story himself, rather than receiving the short shrift we gave
him.</div>
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As for the over-riding plot of 'Martillo' - a fascist scheme
to engender terror in the populace, fear being the very root of fascism - I've
always been fascinated by the idea that the shadow of a hawk triggers an instinctive
fear in mice, even if they've never actually encountered said bird. Where does
it come from? Ancestral memory? Might there be creatures whose spiritual shadow
is so terrible that human beings subconsciously know it is upon them? For the
purposes of this story, the answer is a resounding "Si!"</div>
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<b>ABC #2: </b>The second ABC page is all tentacled-up, so two of
the stories can't be properly read. Until now, that is!</div>
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<b><i>Bank of
Madrid Closed For Refurbishment<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i>The
Bank of Madrid has announced the temporary closure of its central branch, in
order to complete a full redecoration. Whilst apologising for the inconvenience
this would cause the general public, a spokesman for the bank told ABC that the
refurbishment was necessary to improve the experience of customers. “We feel
it’s best to briefly shut the branch, as an extensive job of this nature is not
the kind of thing that can be accomplished weasily otherwise. I’d hate it if,
for instance, customers got paint on their stoat. I mean, coat. Coat.”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Swift Arm
of the Law<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i>A
member of the Higher Police Corps was involved in a high-speed road-chase
yesterday with a thief who had attempted to rob a local grocer. Detective
Andres Moles, 30, who was off-duty at the time and visiting a local churro
stand, was somehow able to close a significant gap between himself and the
thief, Alberto Garcia, 28, in order to get his man. When asked whether
Detective Moles was afraid of driving at such high speeds, he replied: “There’s
not much that frightens me, except the possibility of criminals getting away.
It’s just a case of focus and shutting out distractions. I like to think I’m
the sort who can keep it together when all around are going to pieces. Unless
there are churros involved, obviously. I can’t control myself around those!”</i></div>
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<b>Seis: Apocalipsis
Madrid<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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2000AD artist Ben Willsher, who very generously drew us an
illustration for the inside of the comic, asked why Martillo stays totally bald
in prison, even though his beard grows. Complex answer: it's something to do
with the shock his system received when he first discovered the existence of
the supernatural in the form of the Knave of Thorns - on witnessing that
being's horrible growth, Martillo's scalp elected to remain barren henceforth.
Short answer: male pattern baldness.</div>
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But the real question - why did I decide to make the sum
total of Spanish fears take the form of a big jellyfish (a Portuguese man o'
war, no less)? I have no idea. The final foe of the piece was always going to be
a gestalt entity - I love gestalt entities - but I'm not sure when it
specifically became an 'aguamala'. (Don't you love the fact that in Spanish, a
jellyfish is literally a "water baddie"?) The presence of Picasso's
'Guernica' as part of the aguamala is much more directly attributable to my
seeing the original painting in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid - it is both
huge and hugely powerful. Seeing a picture of it doesn't remotely compare to
the impact of experiencing it in person - but I bet seeing elements of it
incorporated into a Godzilla-sized jellyfish would have a greater impact still!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmajw96qZC5ey5peTpW1XPY6tmnToOs-UnT9x5GxupaA81WFb7EdtgLlso6EspqTOI_Qvh4I0cT0gVQLU0jSyMei0HDE0v2Mbg5nuDmHNxJQ2l5-lIAdAkySgi3GYmJwBCqJUCJA1BDg/s1600/guernica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmajw96qZC5ey5peTpW1XPY6tmnToOs-UnT9x5GxupaA81WFb7EdtgLlso6EspqTOI_Qvh4I0cT0gVQLU0jSyMei0HDE0v2Mbg5nuDmHNxJQ2l5-lIAdAkySgi3GYmJwBCqJUCJA1BDg/s400/guernica.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In this final chapter, I brought elements of every previous
chapter together. This was planned from the outset, particularly El Coco's role
in proceedings, though the precise details of how each chapter would contribute
developed as I was writing them - the use of Nuberu in Gallo's car, for
instance. I slightly regret killing off Detective Moles - I liked the
character, and he'd evolved organically to become a fun foil to the other two -
but I thought it appropriate that this more amiable, overtly comedic figure
received a darker fate than the two surviving cynics, Gallo and Martillo. That
said, Gallo nearly didn't make it out alive either - my original plan was that
the duende got him! However, it occurred that someone needed to be left behind
to know the full story - and besides, I always love stories that feature
leftover / supporting characters taking on lead roles. There's a reason the
Muir Island X-Men - #253-255 - are my favourite iteration of that team.
(Besides, I got a chance to return to Moles in 'Gallo', and in the process
explain why Gallo, given the choice, preferred an incompetent sidekick.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zRHjea5gH3WHRf-h39-ctBd9IsT0dN7oSgJNL2h9yrSX11dz3mtkGknaWEUAKBtSNHhvP8L5ihybzlieHSmHH200NW2mx-lzJ0U8y8Sa3Lah-w_GtWGZEtAHZ8hZu8e-hdU-DGThFTo/s1600/Gallo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zRHjea5gH3WHRf-h39-ctBd9IsT0dN7oSgJNL2h9yrSX11dz3mtkGknaWEUAKBtSNHhvP8L5ihybzlieHSmHH200NW2mx-lzJ0U8y8Sa3Lah-w_GtWGZEtAHZ8hZu8e-hdU-DGThFTo/s320/Gallo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And so, after the aguamala is dealt with, Martillo jacks it
all in. History dictated I couldn't give General Franco what he deserved, and
besides, I'd run out of book. Still, Franco getting away with it scot-free
bothered me, and became an impetus to write 'Gallo', in which I finally dish
out a lasting punishment to him. But why does a career as goat-herd beckon for
Martillo? Well, there's nothing too untoward here. On some level, I think
there's the weird influence of 2000AD's Tyranny Rex, who ends the story 'Soft
Bodies' by randomly becoming a nun. On another, there's my own oft-stated
exclamation "That's it! I'm going to go and work with goats!"
whenever I get fed up of my own day-to-day job. But really, it was to bookend the
whole collection with goats, and pose the reader a question. Is Martillo
choosing to keep an eye on goats, because he still believes they're Satan's
animals? Or does he regret lobbing them out of windows, and now wishes to
repent? You decide.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCQozNW49HocHZEtWU2kOsgtOsWQ_jY3FzUBvhjvZatbsJk9OfjpOXi0f8SwUG6pBkv222NzpiCR7oszM3RuMUoamj5bIzTLMXNQ4pVZhv98DM_4kiX41jEu1wvuAz_E7y7b4La5JPcs/s1600/goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="828" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCQozNW49HocHZEtWU2kOsgtOsWQ_jY3FzUBvhjvZatbsJk9OfjpOXi0f8SwUG6pBkv222NzpiCR7oszM3RuMUoamj5bIzTLMXNQ4pVZhv98DM_4kiX41jEu1wvuAz_E7y7b4La5JPcs/s400/goat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My own overall assessment of the story? Well, it's a bit too
long - some of the chapters are a bit similar - and it's too wordy (as usual)
but it's also got the best art I'd seen David draw up until that point, and as
a collaborator, he was tireless in his efforts. No ridiculous panel description
was too much for him (though he did have to expand Part Seis by a couple of
pages to properly fit in the El Coco vs. Aguamala scene.) But I do like both
Gallo and Martillo as characters - I quickly found a 'voice' for both of them, which made
them both very easy to write, and easy to return to. I feel 'Gallo' (the
spin-off) is the better-written story though.</div>
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So, what is the future for these characters? Well, as I've
said, Gallo stars in his own book, in which Martillo makes an appearance. Gallo
also gains a new partner, Toro - together, their names mean 'Cock and Bull',
which seems fitting. I would like to do a second Gallo story, but I do also
have an idea concerning what Martillo gets up to in the countryside - the smiting never
stops! However, David Broughton is a busy man, working on not only his popular
Shaman Kane sci-fi / horror stories (one of David's preferred genres) but also
a savage superhero saga, Slaughterhawk. So whether a gap will open up in his
schedule, and whether he'd want to draw the continuing adventures of either
Spaniard remains to be seen. (I'd keep the architecture to a minimum this time,
David!) Anyway, if you bought a copy of 'Martillo', you have my thanks, and I
hope you enjoyed it. And if you didn't buy one, well, we're probably going to do
electronic copies eventually, so the possibility remains open.</div>
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And with that, happy new year! May it bring much comicsy
goodness.</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-41681034197547577832017-12-17T08:56:00.001-08:002017-12-17T10:36:31.142-08:00Martillo: The Spanish Composition, Part One:<div class="MsoNormal">
'Martillo' is a sell-out!</div>
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I don't mean he's changed his sound to appeal to a
mainstream audience - he's as Manowar as ever. But the final copy of the first
print-run is gone, which gives me the opportunity to do one of my perennially
self-indulgent 'director's commentary' posts on the various chapters of the
story. So here we go:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0MecpnPWmXmDtOwDrFw_XD9hRKBkWANpa_xtB0xFOU_Y2BatTuKw83EHbZHNEESyk7h8E24OpbiTQzgiqCnoPonGv5en19eYZo9TfiN8ykNNuY5Jg4MeRpT0NLAFC3cj87R8K-RrPVE/s1600/Page2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="739" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0MecpnPWmXmDtOwDrFw_XD9hRKBkWANpa_xtB0xFOU_Y2BatTuKw83EHbZHNEESyk7h8E24OpbiTQzgiqCnoPonGv5en19eYZo9TfiN8ykNNuY5Jg4MeRpT0NLAFC3cj87R8K-RrPVE/s400/Page2.jpg" width="372" /></a></div>
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<b>Chapter Cero: Maneras De Vivir</b> (Ways of Living - the title
came from a song by the Spanish rock band, Leño) is a four-page prologue that
first appeared in Temple APA. I discuss it <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/vete-al-infierno.html">here</a>. The original description of
the character, from which artist David Broughton brought him to life, was as
follows:</div>
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<ul>
<li><i>Martillo is a powerfully built, imposing man in
his early 40s. He is fairly tall and exudes a sense of menace and solidity. He
has a broken nose, a shaved head and a permanent look of grim contempt. He may
have a few interesting facial scars if you so wish. However, he dresses in a
priest's dark robes, complete with dog-collar, wearing a black cassock that
makes him look like a shadow come to life. Around his neck hangs a huge
ornamental cross. He wears very specific headgear, a remnant of his days in the
Guardia - a black tricornio hat / helmet which gives him a distinctive and odd
silhouette.</i></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhcsFygFOCh-Z-AHsHjcPhTQ_iI5AB-AQ1uEbkHWKurk2BwdhATWs3-0JXWzpifq0s-EWSzFsfvSR3sz1ANsZlgtfyjM2pF3WEsnTfg62hRVdZVcNnomAHlOmP4rhwrfEK-AaeUPV45k/s1600/ABC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="676" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhcsFygFOCh-Z-AHsHjcPhTQ_iI5AB-AQ1uEbkHWKurk2BwdhATWs3-0JXWzpifq0s-EWSzFsfvSR3sz1ANsZlgtfyjM2pF3WEsnTfg62hRVdZVcNnomAHlOmP4rhwrfEK-AaeUPV45k/s640/ABC.jpg" width="435" /></a></div>
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<b>ABC #1:</b> Including the two pages from ABC, a pro-government
newspaper of Franco's era, was David's idea. I really liked how these came out
- the masthead is quite authentic. Most of the stories in the first ABC
frontispiece refer to later chapters of the book, but the 'Devil' story is all
that remains of an idea for an alternate chapter in which Martillo would
encounter Lucifer himself, ready to offer the priest some unwanted infernal
aid. The 'Saint Xabat' story, meanwhile, is the first mention of an individual
who would later feature in 'Gallo'.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyrMjdbGAXaVHqheDNE3RRX_IVp6_D3npxGe6G0j0Br36abYJ-zo73xkCC6J1sUaTb0TVftOt75-GlvTY7LCtDVwN2zBQ09frDF26mkGZthPFCmklrrsHbIK4pqivAf6mf6KvIHt7ppM/s1600/ElCoco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1154" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyrMjdbGAXaVHqheDNE3RRX_IVp6_D3npxGe6G0j0Br36abYJ-zo73xkCC6J1sUaTb0TVftOt75-GlvTY7LCtDVwN2zBQ09frDF26mkGZthPFCmklrrsHbIK4pqivAf6mf6KvIHt7ppM/s640/ElCoco.jpg" width="459" /></a></div>
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<b>Uno: Que Viene El Coco </b>(Here Comes The Bogeyman) is named
after a terrifying engraving by my favourite Spanish artist, Francisco Goya -
the engraving was indeed the basis for El Coco's appearance, and you can see a
rendering of it in the book Martillo holds on the second page of the story.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLaURr8BAWNmnLHdlqoU5feDSljViMrywHylTyMg6RWCz8Gpm6K8mAw0fdRv5k0F1AA16rA3ljLEzuvkPAakny7byNN3HbGOEMER-NrBRaGJm6jOj6z1GHeKF6_yS7Q0Nu9STLX07XNo/s1600/Page7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLaURr8BAWNmnLHdlqoU5feDSljViMrywHylTyMg6RWCz8Gpm6K8mAw0fdRv5k0F1AA16rA3ljLEzuvkPAakny7byNN3HbGOEMER-NrBRaGJm6jOj6z1GHeKF6_yS7Q0Nu9STLX07XNo/s400/Page7.jpg" width="382" /></a></div>
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I
think David did well to capture some of the ungodly horror of Goya's
sheet-sporting nightmare: from the very start, I always knew El Coco would
prove pivotal in resolving the overall plot of the book. This chapter also introduces
Detectives Gallo and Moles - Gallo was based on Donald Pleasence (probably my
favourite actor) in the film 'Death Line', and wasn't originally intended to
appear in 'Martillo' quite as much as he did. However, I loved David's design
for him and really began to enjoy writing the character's dialogue, hence his larger
presence later in the book. By the time I'd finished writing the whole thing, I
found I liked Gallo more than Martillo, which is why we gave him a spin-off
comic rather than doing a straight sequel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOulMx9ioP3TrT-FyDr8ITehZuHV1WLMAI8bve4e-HyLf5sFVi5yif_J1mSDVuBuWUvAqxNUY7szH2sCuJHG6sjNo63rbzl60_HOs5VtccLmRSOJD9uoFRIsxjqEDluoZLd_AiidA2WMM/s1600/Art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="639" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOulMx9ioP3TrT-FyDr8ITehZuHV1WLMAI8bve4e-HyLf5sFVi5yif_J1mSDVuBuWUvAqxNUY7szH2sCuJHG6sjNo63rbzl60_HOs5VtccLmRSOJD9uoFRIsxjqEDluoZLd_AiidA2WMM/s400/Art.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>
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<b>Dos: Martillo<sup>3</sup>. </b>This is my favourite part of the
story - I think this chapter is one of the best comics I've worked on,and a good example of the sort of thing I like to write. (Mad stuff, basically.) It's fun to see Martillo in
a different context, and there's lots of little character moments I enjoy - his
disguise (note El Coco on the shelf in the panel where he contemplates going
undercover), the fact he wears a hair shirt to curb the allure of the
prostitutes, and the fact he regards a couple of Frenchmen sitting in a cafe as
somehow depraved. I also like the fact Martillo feels compelled to use
Picasso's full (insanely lengthy) name - Picasso's response is an Eric
Morecambe line. But the main reason I love this chapter is David's art - the
way he handles Martillo's passage through increasingly abstract transformations
is absolutely superb, and one of the best pages in the collection. His design
for Dantalion is also excellent - I've toyed with the idea of the 71st Duke of
Hell returning in 'Gallo'. Dantalion is one of the 72 goetic demons from the
Lesser Key of Solomon - these fellas are a handy resource to plumb any time
supernatural wickedness is required in a story, and if the sequel to Brahms
& Liszt ever emerges, you may just see me returning to this source again...</div>
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<b>Tres: Agony in the Garden</b>. David had a free hand in
designing the Knave of Thorns - here's one of his earlier try-outs:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70LwCq48I0M7xd0QBr1vIsxrko7B9NSRdf9XF4xVf6wnsJw3U98A913yArwAeTHpTwRHHATXsPMgn7wh65EANKeS8Z2iEq3JKP_apEThWd34zLFqUhhGl_joNme8jRQXC1-MAdi6ujEY/s1600/img330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="554" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70LwCq48I0M7xd0QBr1vIsxrko7B9NSRdf9XF4xVf6wnsJw3U98A913yArwAeTHpTwRHHATXsPMgn7wh65EANKeS8Z2iEq3JKP_apEThWd34zLFqUhhGl_joNme8jRQXC1-MAdi6ujEY/s640/img330.jpg" width="418" /></a></div>
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This chapter is basically Martillo's origin story, and
reveals his real name - Lucero Martinez. I figured we had to have a story like
this, since I might never write the character again, and I wanted this book to
be a complete picture of him. (The origin is hinted at in the prologue, where
Martillo is shown battling a thorny, tendrilly thing.) I love the panel of
Martillo trying to machine gun the Knave - David's choice of perspective is
superb. I'm not actually so fond of my scripting in this one though - it feels
a bit overwritten, though I quite enjoy the Knave's off-kilter speech patterns.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG52ZQjPeDb96_sabvKojtoCNOynLSVsAWVJoH7psZ-sKGTNDoEuSiUpXgH4_DXX9-F_hHGVB60BtzHA6vnsLx3Eni1xosL6UfipCxXwHEo7mUU-_dxvqSrI1fzWCY9dukmKsPkfKHuh4/s1600/Page24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG52ZQjPeDb96_sabvKojtoCNOynLSVsAWVJoH7psZ-sKGTNDoEuSiUpXgH4_DXX9-F_hHGVB60BtzHA6vnsLx3Eni1xosL6UfipCxXwHEo7mUU-_dxvqSrI1fzWCY9dukmKsPkfKHuh4/s400/Page24.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
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Right. Before the year is out, I'll discuss chapters Cuatro,
Cinco and Seis, in Part Two of this post. That article will feature an unusual
rota, the sound of David Broughton's brain frying, the unexpected horror of
noses and why Martillo's beard grows when his other hair doesn't.</div>
</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-22790345797265341782017-12-02T07:23:00.000-08:002017-12-03T02:38:41.552-08:00Drunk Enough to Know No Fear: The Genesis of Brahms & Liszt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rk2xy3Q5nPHToLuNpaIKNE_Rpw0QV9NhCPnJECNVYXRryYPcDKWMAQCZS1KTr_5HyMdCxoWlg7dPYsg9Qr2rRWobCpArl_QVWTXiaf52sI5RjJu0OxLwhdcODh54sLrOaTWWwCdVqiU/s1600/BLDrunk.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="592" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rk2xy3Q5nPHToLuNpaIKNE_Rpw0QV9NhCPnJECNVYXRryYPcDKWMAQCZS1KTr_5HyMdCxoWlg7dPYsg9Qr2rRWobCpArl_QVWTXiaf52sI5RjJu0OxLwhdcODh54sLrOaTWWwCdVqiU/s400/BLDrunk.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Many years ago*, when I was young, I got an email from Davey
Candlish, editor of PARAGON. He had a number of projects he was interested in
instigating for his comic, and was wondering if any writers fancied pursuing them. To me, one idea leapt out immediately - and this was it:</div>
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<i>"A buddy movie / amateur detective type tale set in 1853 Weimar.
Two <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>professional musicians who actually dislike each other's work team up
to <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>solve... whatever, you choose. I want a light hearted tale with lots of
<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>quips and digs at each other. Their names? Brahms and Liszt. You don't <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>need to know their music, or indeed like it - it's just a hook to hang <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>the story on."</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brahms & Liszt,
the famed composers, as music-themed detectives? I liked it. And almost
immediately, I started to see how the double-act would work, and how it would
suit the kind of stories I like to write.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My first point of reference, oddly, was the Tom Hanks / Dan
Aykroyd comedy movie 'Dragnet', with the roles reversed. Liszt, the older man
would be the wilder one - the maverick 'rock 'n' roll' showman, almost a Keith
Richards of classical. He'd have the Tom Hanks 'Pep Streebek' role - the
easy-going good guy. The younger Brahms would be the more uptight, OCD
perfectionist of the pair, with an eye for detail - analogous to Dan Aykroyd's
'Friday' character.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Digging into Brahms & Liszt's first meeting in Weimar,
both Davey and I simultaneously discovered that the local Grand-Duke had
perished around the same time - could foul play be involved? I also discovered
that the duo had not got off to a good start - Brahms had fallen asleep during
one of Liszt's performances. With a little more research I was able to flesh
out their characters. Here's the notes from my original pitch: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Franz Liszt: </b>42-year-old Liszt is a pop star before the term
was invented, a somewhat Byronic ladies man who lives a Bohemian existence.
Worshipped across northern Germany, Liszt goes in for theatrics and a baroque
‘n’ roll aesthetic. Liszt lives with a married Polish princess, Princess
Carolyne, in Weimar. He has children from a previous relationship who live in
Paris. For all his celebrity status and quasi-mystical hold over his audiences,
Liszt is also a great humanitarian – he’s so wealthy he can afford to give away
huge sums to charity, and whilst he seems to have a maverick quality, he has a
strong moral core.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Johannes Brahms:</b> 20-year-old Brahms is Liszt’s opposite, a
young orderly, traditional man, of set routines and habits, and a notorious
perfectionist, with a strong eye for detail and a slightly obsessive streak. He
is a deeply sarcastic, taciturn figure, an old man before his time, who is
always ready with a put-down or an expression of scorn for Liszt’s extravagant
lifestyle. However, he gets on well with children, and enjoys nature. He is not
at all vain, and dresses rather cheaply: brought up as a Lutheran, he has the
classic Protestant work ethic and disdain for flamboyance.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With this in place, and an overarching plot whose nature
I'll not yet reveal, I had the ingredients for what I hoped what be an
enjoyable buddy comedy with a dose of murder, mystery and a slight touch of the
paranormal. And now, drawn by Davey, coloured by Jim Cameron and lettered by
Spencer Nero alumni Fillipo Roncone, 'Wotan Walks in Weimar' is finally about
to make its debut in PARAGON #21.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you enjoy it - it's been fermenting a long
time!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p>*2011, to be precise.</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-20930784401368933112017-03-26T11:10:00.000-07:002017-03-26T11:10:17.145-07:00Go Wilde in the Country<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp__nT2tKxPDHl_wNH_-jiJiTRRrWkmmMmOnBbZL5weUK24caHuR-HbwVip0tXPhByTQZLnzkBW32QNm3huOGRYfRCsIw4CEsub49HzMSOOtSJWOJm11DrMy2ZlQ4_8yJOnGRtteOktCA/s1600/ww4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp__nT2tKxPDHl_wNH_-jiJiTRRrWkmmMmOnBbZL5weUK24caHuR-HbwVip0tXPhByTQZLnzkBW32QNm3huOGRYfRCsIw4CEsub49HzMSOOtSJWOJm11DrMy2ZlQ4_8yJOnGRtteOktCA/s640/ww4.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love Oscar Wilde.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a student, I studied his works at university; as a
teacher, I've taught his works to senior pupils. My <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/doctor-wtf-2011-directors-commentary.html">first ever published comic</a> even
featured Wilde's lover, Bosie, as the time-travelling companion of a particularly
rum Doctor. I've always admired his insight, humanity and sometimes misguided
courage, not to mention, of course, his revelatory wit. But it wasn't until <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/thepsychedelicjournal/">The Psychedelic Journal of the Wild West</a> that I finally attempted to write the man
himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the Journal moved from being solely about time-travel
to focusing on a different genre per issue, I was intrigued. I hadn't written
anything for at least a couple of issues of the comic - I'm not sure I had
anything else to say about time travel at that point - but the Wild West
brought fresh inspiration. At the time, I was fully immersed in the world of
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (not as many middle names as Picasso from
'Martillo', but pretty memorable nonetheless) as I'd recently been teaching his
plays to an Advanced Higher class. I knew Wilde had toured America in 1882,
somewhat quixotically attempting to make the aesthetic movement the basis for
this fresh civilisation's development, so he seemed a perfect fit. Thus 'Wilde Wild West' - its name a nod, of course, to the 60s spy-fi show - was born.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the off, I wanted to get away from the idea of the
laconic Eastwood-y cowboy type: Wilde's verbose nature was a perfect fit for my
notoriously dialogue-heavy yarns. Indeed, much of Wilde's dialogue in the story
is either a direct quote from one of his works, or at least a modified version
thereof. I wasn't going to kid myself I could write with Wilde's incomparable talent,
so it seemed best to hew closely to his actual words if I were to do him any
justice.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7Lbm6qSDyd3oA4QzrnYeCFY37I6_seMCHduDawdGuAFZvu2lm0nArDvfkGru26P_BBEiccjW4ixGXP5KyQ75Uw81Vvr1XjdVuFt3YVLCveZ0gm2SqO3GHZZRMy-FBfSnWdfITXtcDm8/s1600/oscar_wilde.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7Lbm6qSDyd3oA4QzrnYeCFY37I6_seMCHduDawdGuAFZvu2lm0nArDvfkGru26P_BBEiccjW4ixGXP5KyQ75Uw81Vvr1XjdVuFt3YVLCveZ0gm2SqO3GHZZRMy-FBfSnWdfITXtcDm8/s400/oscar_wilde.png" width="227" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I of course wanted Wilde to deal with something derived from
Native American mythology - there's nothing I like more than delving into the
folklore of a specific region and borrowing its monstrous denizens for my
nefarious purposes. My first thought was to put Wilde up against the horrible
Baykok, a foul emaciated Chippewa demon, that shoots men with invisible arrows,
beats them to death with a club, and then eats their liver (not necessarily in
that order.) I've always wanted to get the Baykok into something, every since I
first read of the awful thing as a child, in Tom McGowen's 'Encyclopaedia of
Legendary Creatures'. (See <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/i-have-come-here-to-chew-pedigree-chum.html">similar remarks</a> on the phantom black dog from a
recent Spencer Nero tale.) But this wasn't the right place, and I didn't want
to diminish the creature's horror by having it fall victim to Wilde's wit.
Besides, as a man and a writer, Wilde was firmly on the side of redemption, and
the Baykok seemed rather hard to redeem.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike the Rolling Head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming upon this Cheyenne tale of a discombobulated fallen
woman (slain by her husband for an affair with a river spirit, served up to her
children for dinner, and then subsequently reanimated as a vengeful cranium),
it struck me how easy it would be to shape her into a Wildean figure. Wilde
loved women (well, to write about, anyway) and women with a past particularly fascinated
him. Mrs. Erlynne from 'Lady Windermere's Fan' and Mrs. Cheveley from the
brilliant 'An Ideal Husband' are two perfect examples of Wildean femmes who
successfully reinvent themselves and find different ways to regain a place in
the world of respectability. Therefore it struck me that Wilde's solution to
the problem of the Rolling Head had to follow similar lines - he had to find a
way to reintroduce her to society. In 'An Ideal Husband', Wilde wrote that "Sooner
or later, we shall all have to pay for what we do," but also noted that
"No one should be entirely judged by their past." I like to think my
story follows this logic to the letter.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMBxVgy2Kuzrmm7GogC-XIokDFRwHY8nuT81RuiX13wccel7hxqmS5483eKTwWsFcWCvzA5LKRyQiusZVyXvV6ciUiMkqewqUOFO532kNUzR-jPiCgybs8ZMUguVKbe64_KzsxfNNU5A/s1600/ww2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMBxVgy2Kuzrmm7GogC-XIokDFRwHY8nuT81RuiX13wccel7hxqmS5483eKTwWsFcWCvzA5LKRyQiusZVyXvV6ciUiMkqewqUOFO532kNUzR-jPiCgybs8ZMUguVKbe64_KzsxfNNU5A/s400/ww2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the first story of mine Scott Twells ever worked
on, and he was a revelation. I was immediately drawn to the way that his panels
are all framed within the expanse of a larger one. His art here is a mixture of
rustic and cartoonish, his scratchy linework and expert grasp of perspective making
him the perfect fit for the tale. Since then he's drawn many other stories I've
written, and there'll hopefully be more to come in the future. A shout-out goes also to Andrew Scaife for his sterling job on the lettering.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here's a few page-by-page comments:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Page 1:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Wilde is wearing an artificially-coloured verdigris carnation
throughout the story: he loved the idea of the artificial, and believed nature
should imitate art. When I wrote this story, I didn't know if it would be illustrated
in colour, but in retrospect, I'd have quite liked if the green carnation had
been the only piece of colour in the story.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3Sf9sS-YHOpHV_PQFyyCzMvAW46G1pr1d_KchkMAh4jLor3kRFS6LCxFaPjQlbFbSpCxXjo2MfMfKF3Mj1uD11-zt-mpN0kfZa_Gjul4mS14gUDyAJ1WR19iZZ-Pfvw3XNFGHTBbY4g/s1600/ww1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3Sf9sS-YHOpHV_PQFyyCzMvAW46G1pr1d_KchkMAh4jLor3kRFS6LCxFaPjQlbFbSpCxXjo2MfMfKF3Mj1uD11-zt-mpN0kfZa_Gjul4mS14gUDyAJ1WR19iZZ-Pfvw3XNFGHTBbY4g/s400/ww1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Page 2:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Wilde really did go to Leadville to lecture on the early
Florentines - this is memorably depicted in the film 'Wilde', starring Stephen
Fry, where he gets a very positive reception from the miners. In real life, Wilde
was particularly tickled when he saw a sign reading "Please don't shoot
the pianist" - he loved the idea of bad art meriting death!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>I'm not sure exactly what the Head lady does with that
snake, but Scott has certainly given it a smug look. Almost as characterful as
the profoundly demented gleam in the husband's eyes.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<b>Page 3: </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>I like the fact that Jerome, the younger cowboy, is remarkably ineffectual, and when the Head
arrives, he goes into a flap and runs around waving his arms about. You could
argue that while this subverts the stereotype of the capable cowboy, it plays
into another one about the effete gay man. (His behaviour's in a similar vein
to the chap who gets the spark in his hair in The Simpsons' gay steel mill.) The
thing is, I'm pretty sure Wilde would have liked to play the role of hero to
that sort of chap: he saw protecting the vulnerable but beautiful as his duty.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobFBZw3OeaSWzthTZMrdNd6bAHE_mNbjZc_jqEidRh5EtCXMymrUrwEbn1Nm8GiNCk4H8mfw5IPslOkZ8hilKr7uETrPHoMFLQlH8wu61viMW6QTM7fj0TUTbmeiN7A-hiuyhXQ_pqEM/s1600/ww3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobFBZw3OeaSWzthTZMrdNd6bAHE_mNbjZc_jqEidRh5EtCXMymrUrwEbn1Nm8GiNCk4H8mfw5IPslOkZ8hilKr7uETrPHoMFLQlH8wu61viMW6QTM7fj0TUTbmeiN7A-hiuyhXQ_pqEM/s400/ww3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Page 4:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>There's a fair bit of
'Pygmalion' in Wilde's attempts to re-educate the Rolling Head: fitting, as Wilde
was good friends with George Bernard Shaw (Shaw sensibly encouraged Wilde not to pursue a court case against the
Marquess of Queensberry: Wilde, of course, didn't listen, it all backfired, and
Wilde was jailed for homosexuality.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And with that, I shall leave you with the words of Oscar
himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Nothing that actually occurs is of the smallest
importance, apart from buying a print copy of the Journal <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/thepsychedelicjournal/store/products/the-psychedelic-journal-of-the-wild-west/">here</a>, or a digital one <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/thepsychedelicjournal/store/products/the-psychedelic-journal-of-the-wild-west-2/">here</a>."</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-36103999623774071512016-12-28T13:32:00.000-08:002016-12-28T13:51:24.759-08:00Gallo: Done and Done 'er.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWNC8OjR4MN_nTYIwji-3_eRG2ziZqEPNwsTwYiwD1vV9QUSGhnWt8op92EpIvLB8KruINju07VUaKLTCTmx0qWmg1kqXM5fXH05TphOen05Gqr7efxgcccA-Dt3tL8URlSlz10gN_8k/s1600/Stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWNC8OjR4MN_nTYIwji-3_eRG2ziZqEPNwsTwYiwD1vV9QUSGhnWt8op92EpIvLB8KruINju07VUaKLTCTmx0qWmg1kqXM5fXH05TphOen05Gqr7efxgcccA-Dt3tL8URlSlz10gN_8k/s400/Stairs.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch your step, young Toro - those stairs look treacherous.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">As 2016
careers towards the finish line, like a police car with a lightning god in the
engine, so too does 'Gallo'. Yep, David Broughton and I have finally completed
work on our 28-page tale, 'Detective Gallo and the Unholy Company' (to give it
its Sunday name) and are pleased to report that it'll soon be winging its way
to the printers. Spinning off from 'Martillo', 'Gallo' shows us how the tetchy
titular 'tec deals with the supernatural in the absence of his hammer-wielding ally.
But it also focuses on Gallo's relationships with three different colleagues -
relationships which turn out to be closely intertwined. The story therefore
consists of three separate sections, but all are linked by the mysterious
bullet-ridden Cross of St. John - and the legacy of Spain's fascist ruler General
Franco.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having now seen
'Gallo' in its final state, I'm pretty happy with it. The creative process
being what it is, inevitably that'll change at some point, and I'll find myself
bemoaning various flaws that only I can see (whilst remaining oblivious to
those that are screamingly obvious to others) but for now, I like it. It's a
much tighter story than 'Martillo' - it has to be, it's about half as long -
and there's a confidence and boldness in David's art that really pleases me. David currently hopes to debut the comic at the <a href="http://oktruebelievers.com/">True Believers Comic Convention</a> at Cheltenham Race Course, on February 4th 2017. After that, it'll also be sold online - more
details as we have them. For now, though, the 'Gallo' team wishes you season's
greetings - or as Gallo himself would say: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Feliz Ano Nuevo!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 16px;">(Actually, he probably wouldn't say that. I mean, all things considered, he's a bit of a dick. How much of one? Find out soon...)</span></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-69439516355116077392016-10-11T05:18:00.000-07:002016-10-11T05:23:10.473-07:00Mythconceptions - Spencer Nero in India<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62E9H3_ZS4WuyDf0d1mbhct9_hJryCWpvKvs-Feecv9a3kQnhIB2nP9s9X8R9LtJgd9Vke1-shOTmuhT4H_zbdoIS2DsQBLa07Dzg1O3O4ZBHFK4_3mJQEVaViro_yny1nyMiVL-_rNA/s1600/KarmaBlog.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62E9H3_ZS4WuyDf0d1mbhct9_hJryCWpvKvs-Feecv9a3kQnhIB2nP9s9X8R9LtJgd9Vke1-shOTmuhT4H_zbdoIS2DsQBLa07Dzg1O3O4ZBHFK4_3mJQEVaViro_yny1nyMiVL-_rNA/s400/KarmaBlog.tif" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And that's just for starters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some time ago, I wrote a story in which <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/dr-wtf-2012-page-by-page-commentary.html">the protagonist was a Nazi</a>. I was always worried that someone might think I approved of his beliefs
and behaviour, but he was a one-off character, and it was hopefully pretty
clear that I was mocking both him and his ideology fairly relentlessly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what happens when you do something similar with a
long-running character who's supposed to be the hero? 'Spencer Nero and the
Misapplication of Karma', as featured in <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/spencer-nero-digital-compendium-by-minervas-merkin/ebook/product-22895777.html">Spencer Nero Vol. 2</a>, poses that
question. It's always been pretty clear that Spencer is a mass of
contradictions - a cheerful, educated, heroic fellow, who can behave in the
most boorish, grotesque and petty manner imaginable. He is, in short, all that
is good about the British pulp hero, as well as all that is bad. Nonetheless,
despite his personality quirks, he is usually on the right side, and though his
means may be suspect, his end is generally laudable.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not in this story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was in fact the fifth Nero tale ever written, but it's
been a long time in gestation. At this point, Nero seemed to be hanging out in
a different country every issue (he seems to spend most of his time in Britain
these days) and it seemed inevitable he should at some stage end up in India.
But an agent of the British Empire enforcing colonial oppression in India is a
problematic figure, to say the least, so I decided not to hold back, and make Spencer flat-out
ridiculous in his self-superiority. However, the only way I could see it
working for the character is if his reasons for looking down on the locals
weren't what you'd expect. Spencer isn't a racial supremacist - he's a
mythological supremacist. India worries and confuses him because he doesn't
understand the various belief systems that exist there, and he thinks his own
belief - in incestuous Roman divinities - is more straightforward and
user-friendly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
True, there's a get-out clause for him - the runic magic
from way back in the Olympics story - and for a while I did consider this might
become Spencer's equivalent of Father Ted's "That money was just resting
in my account!" In the end, I didn't pursue this idea, though it does
feature in early drafts of 'The Pack', and is resurrected for Spencer's
introduction to the collected edition.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9rzhQgXKqYUSXa2-4ztqBW-eHsnq4M5jyNKCkzfJOVGBaYf9k3XO4cOUBRMj4nqTQ1WaDWtbIWJkq7rO1wS93ZXwZFWgUUL_EZNvdOEaRkQmN2OzwuvnoW6lGTUoycNVTQG0-gCAGf0/s1600/KarmaBlog2.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9rzhQgXKqYUSXa2-4ztqBW-eHsnq4M5jyNKCkzfJOVGBaYf9k3XO4cOUBRMj4nqTQ1WaDWtbIWJkq7rO1wS93ZXwZFWgUUL_EZNvdOEaRkQmN2OzwuvnoW6lGTUoycNVTQG0-gCAGf0/s400/KarmaBlog2.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Compass Mantis went on to front a quiz show with Richard Osman.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does the story work? In terms of script, I don't know - I'm not
convinced I properly resolved the tension between playing with the 'Indiana
Jones'-style representation of the subcontinent, and mocking the attitudes
associated with that representation. In retrospect, I feel the story tries to have its cake and
eat it, and there's a couple of panels that, if you took them out of context,
could give completely the wrong idea about where I was coming from. On the
other hand, I do like a couple of the jokes - Spencer's business card amuses me
- and I like the Compass Mantis, despite his cheerfully punning name and his dreadfully
stereotypical use of the phrase 'Infidel!' He is probably one of the most
capable opponents Spencer has faced, and were it not for karmic complications,
the fight might well have panned out differently. It's also interesting to see
Spencer taking orders from someone who isn't Mr. Alabaster - Governor Anderson
is a real historical figure, and the later namesake for WWII Anderson shelters. And finally, this is the story that establishes Spencer's talent for offending deities, something which becomes a recurring theme throughout the series. (See 'Spencer Nero Feels Your Pin', also by Scott Twells and Jim Campbell.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And speaking of those two gents, as far as art and lettering go though, there's no question -
both of them play a blinder. Scott delivers what may be
his finest work on a Nero story to date, handling humour, characterisation and
action sequences with the kind of aplomb that make him one of the most exciting
talents on the small-press scene. I'm particularly fond of some of the stylish
perspectives he adopts, which really make the characters leap off the page. Meanwhile,
Jim's font for Durga is sublime, and his ability to render my excessive
dialogue in a readable format is remarkable - plus, if anyone does a better
piano-falling-on-an-idiot KCHANNNGGG sound effect, I'd like to see it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, let's finish up, as is customary, with some random
observations:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>On page 3, Spencer's 'Oh... bother' is borrowed from
Winnie-the-Pooh, which is the best children's book ever written.</li>
<li>Edward VIII is on the wall in Governor Anderson's mansion
because this was originally written as a 1936 story - it was probably going to
slot in between "...Goes South" and "Mrs. Simpson."</li>
<li>Punching out big cats really is Spencer's speciality - it
was the first thing we ever saw him do in a comic strip.</li>
<li>The Compass Mantis's name was inspired by a line from an Ian
Gillan / Tony Iommi charity single, 'Out of My Mind', whereas Spencer's line
about 'Instant Karma' is a John Lennon reference, several decades before the
fact.</li>
<li>The Compass Mantis's South-South-East Strike occurs at (more
or less) a south-south-east angle. And Spencer's response, 'Pedicabo Ego Vos Et
Irrumabo' is the most unpleasant thing he's ever said, though I don't think he
intends to do it literally. And no, I'm still not translating it.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And on that refusal to co-operate (in the spirit of Ghandi,
I'd suggest) we end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH6Hl-bYmG117uXw0rXmKwMzbYpM4eXletC1jnBafWxseVe2U_xvE0l2lZw602IsUp6FzHGxxmuX8LWumw_KbdpzQDAUmjqjQDu8KdlWIcYO56Q_ovtYH6z5M9KDWlD6aC7UWLBuABJE/s1600/KarmaBlogPiano.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH6Hl-bYmG117uXw0rXmKwMzbYpM4eXletC1jnBafWxseVe2U_xvE0l2lZw602IsUp6FzHGxxmuX8LWumw_KbdpzQDAUmjqjQDu8KdlWIcYO56Q_ovtYH6z5M9KDWlD6aC7UWLBuABJE/s400/KarmaBlogPiano.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-82080218349458588112016-09-16T13:14:00.002-07:002016-09-16T13:50:41.355-07:00I have come here to chew Pedigree Chum and sniff ass... and I'm all out of Pedigree Chum.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksdpR7RaKePuJE5Kad3HPd0O4OhXcBA0lvKlMhVcCLPIyAMUWeLoUblEplywLDR8PB2MeQiYbExo5zFPSzo0x3AYazPDUivGiGKrzta-yvJI4x6Uuobe9WbEEhDoxXHt_S3YCaFJkAkc/s1600/Pack1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksdpR7RaKePuJE5Kad3HPd0O4OhXcBA0lvKlMhVcCLPIyAMUWeLoUblEplywLDR8PB2MeQiYbExo5zFPSzo0x3AYazPDUivGiGKrzta-yvJI4x6Uuobe9WbEEhDoxXHt_S3YCaFJkAkc/s400/Pack1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pious. And hairy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The recently-published Spencer Nero Compendium Vol. 2 has
some exclusive material in it - not least 'Spencer Nero and The Pack', with art
by Ben Rose. 'The Pack', which sees Spencer Nero enlisting the aid of
paranormal pooches to save Mr. Alabaster, has its origins in a 'Just William'
story called 'A Few Dogs and William' - indeed, the original title was 'A Few
Dogs and Spencer'. The stories aren't particularly similar - in Richmal
Crompton's one, young William Brown wrongly thinks he's accidentally poisoned a
dog and sets out to find the owner a new one - but both feature a quest for
dogs and moments of canine mayhem.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the dogs that appear in 'The Pack' are genuine creatures
of myth and legend, of course. Saint Guinefort, The Pack's co-ordinator, may
have first come to my attention in Fortean Times - his worship apparently
continued right into the 1930s, when the story is set. The very concept of a
Dog Saint is one that I wholeheartedly approve of - the pronouncement that "there
is more faith and love in the heart of a dog than any priest could ever muster'
is very much the voice of the author creeping into the story. On the other side
of the good dog / bad dog axis, the villain of the piece is Black Shuck, an
archetypal example of the 'Black Dog' phenomenon. The idea of phantom black
dogs is one that has interested me since childhood, when I got hold of a copy
of Tom McGowen's 'Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures'. The art therein, by one
Victor G. Ambrus, is the stuff of nightmares, and his red-eyed depiction of the
black dog both terrified and fascinated me. Apparently, East Anglian black dogs are the worst, hence the origin of the shinbone that lures Shuck in. However, in an unfortunate example
of random synchronicity, between my writing 'The Pack' and it getting
published, 2000AD published a story called 'Black Shuck' which even features
the fiery-eyed cyclopean version of the aforementioned haunt-hound. Just one of
those coincidences that are all-too common in comics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's also worth noting that The Pack has been through more
drafts than anyone realises. An early version, with Spencer's pal William Kitt
in a more prominent role, involves Spencer accidentally feeding an artefact of
the Sumerian dog deity Bau to his pet lion, Androcles. In this version, it's
Spencer who faces Bau's vengeance, and has to form The Pack to protect himself.
Another version, for which I have a complete script, substitutes Mr. Alabaster
for Mandeep Chowdray, the Indian civil servant who works in the office next
door, and gets a very brief mention in 'Spencer Nero and the Misapplication of
Karma'. In this iteration, Spencer undertakes the quest solely to prove he's
not a racist - unfortunately he ruins everything by being profoundly racist
about the French, Irish and Chinese dogs he's recruited. I decided against this
version - it was sounding a little too much like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zkL91LzCMc">Father Ted</a> - but I did like
the way I wrote Mandeep, who proved witheringly contemptuous of Spencer, but
charmingly so, to the extent Spencer failed to notice it. Maybe he'll turn up
properly sometime - I think he works for the Department of Oversight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now for a few words on the art of Ben Rose. One thing I
particularly enjoyed was the way in which Ben, like Louis Carter before him on <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/dr-wtf-2012-page-by-page-commentary.html">a certain Dr WTF?! story</a>, started slipping in his own visual gags, which both
improved the story and made it significantly ruder. (Oddly enough, Ben's cartoony
art and elongated, stylised figures actually remind me a little of Louis's work.) As I said to Ben at the
time, if the original impetus for the story was the notion that dogs were great,
the published version suggests that dogs are great, but also quite disgusting.
Which I suppose is true. Examples of Ben's perversity-amplification (it's a
super-power) include the source of St. Guinefort's distraction, the way Ben
frames the bone-gnawing scene, and Spencer's reaction to the dogs 'making
friends' off-panel. You are a sordid boy, Mr. Rose - I wholly approve, and am grateful you brought your own very apt ideas to the hairy proceedings! On a different note, Ben is the artist who's probably got
William Kitt closest to how I imagine him looking - a bit effete and rather like
a young Jude Law. It's all in the eyelashes. (Kitt has still never appeared looking
the same twice between any two stories - it's starting to become a character
trait that I may have to work into 'Spencer Nero' continuity.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hopefully 'The Pack' ends up making your tails wag - I like
it a lot, and it's probably the least violent 'Spencer Nero' story I've ever
written. Dogs clearly have a therapeutic effect.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arf!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeH740t6trAi1um0TL3K1gllW01fHBEEQ_VpFc-rQLs2Ilc5tUZPII-sMMFqWPIelbWnFadVzZj7UDvNGy3Rvflr4DzwqeebIE-_LxyvHxmUERgQZrHwxmezmsxXc4xhyZEK0EwLgh7Q/s1600/Pack2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeH740t6trAi1um0TL3K1gllW01fHBEEQ_VpFc-rQLs2Ilc5tUZPII-sMMFqWPIelbWnFadVzZj7UDvNGy3Rvflr4DzwqeebIE-_LxyvHxmUERgQZrHwxmezmsxXc4xhyZEK0EwLgh7Q/s400/Pack2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snrrfff!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-24535927103873434822016-09-09T08:51:00.000-07:002016-09-10T02:39:11.134-07:00Things Get Hairy - The Spencer Nero Compendium, Vol. 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghHLUYStnN5UQVmWx3HLBoKyzY4sdJYD4fZKBWoTVj_7bEO_heHsLZAubg0QS1NGj0P2NiV2RwrOtJLFlmBeAE2pxZsDisCo1jnbg1uYWj0sJpO8IUXxwJQsiV5dUDNqGS8PWWtClDv4/s1600/sn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghHLUYStnN5UQVmWx3HLBoKyzY4sdJYD4fZKBWoTVj_7bEO_heHsLZAubg0QS1NGj0P2NiV2RwrOtJLFlmBeAE2pxZsDisCo1jnbg1uYWj0sJpO8IUXxwJQsiV5dUDNqGS8PWWtClDv4/s640/sn2.jpg" width="465" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He's back! And this time he's screwing things up more
spectacularly than before, and refusing to accept the blame more vehemently
than ever! Yep, 'By Minerva's Merkin', Vol. 2 of The Spencer Nero Compendium,
is finally out, and the Civil Centurion punches some serious bottom therein!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wait, no, he kicks it. Kicks it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm really happy to get a second volume of Spencer's stories
out, not least because it makes my labelling the first collection as 'Volume 1'
a lot less presumptuous. Who would have thought we'd manage over 60 more pages
of 1930s shenanigans? Who could have imagined so many lovely artsy and lettersy
fellas would contribute their time and talents to bring my demented scribblings
to life and immeasurably improve them? Here's the complete contents and credits,
so that blame is properly assigned:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cover by Davey Candlish and Jim Cameron. Collection edited
and compiled by Davey Candlish. Introduction by the actual Spencer Nero. (Born
29/2/1904, died - wait, I'm not telling you that bit.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>1: The Paragon Paradox, Part 1 - (6 pages) - Scott Twells,
lettering by Jim Campbell</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In which Spencer teams up with Jikan, Battle Ganesh and
Bulldog to fight slavering beasts from another dimension.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2: Spencer Nero and the Dry Camel - (3 pages) - art and
letters by Jim Cameron</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In which Spencer actually does something nice.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3: Spencer Nero's Secret - (8-page prose story) - spot
illustrations by me and Filippo Roncone</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Crivvens! Jings! Help ma boab! Can it be true...?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>4: The Paragon Paradox, Part 2 - (6 pages) - Scott Twells,
lettering by Dave Metcalfe-Carr</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The return of Bonaventure Nero and a startling revelation!</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>5: Spencer Nero and the Reckless Return of the Ruthless
Rhymer - (8 pages) - Dave Snell, lettering by HdE. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>My personal favourite story in the whole thing. Spencer
strangles the ghost of Edward Lear with his own beard! Don't pretend you don't
want to read that.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>6: The Paragon Paradox, Part 3 - (8 pages) - Scott Twells,
lettering by Ken Reynolds</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The power of the Janus Mask unleashed against Spencer's
arch-nemesis, Ekhidna!</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>7: Spencer Nero and the Bicycle Tree - (2 pages) - James
Corcoran, lettering by John Caliber</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Spencer gets wood.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>8: Spencer Nero Feels Your Pin - (2 pages) - Scott Twells,
lettering by Jim Campbell</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The sort of thing the Two Ronnies would have written, if
they'd had less talent and punched each other more.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>9: Spencer Nero and The Pack - (8 pages) - art and letters
by Ben Rose</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Lots of nice dogs (and one bad dog.)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>10: Spencer Nero and the Misapplication of Karma - (9 pages)
- Scott Twells, lettering by Jim Campbell</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Spencer Nero in India, and as enlightened and sympathetic to
the people whose country it actually is as you'd expect an agent of the British
Empire to be...</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>11: Whatever Happened to Anton Klumpen? - (3-page prose
story) - spot illustration by me.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Find out what became of the animated mound of clay from the
1936 Olympics. I know you've all been wondering.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there you go. Don't wig out - <a href="http://www.comicsy.co.uk/paragoncomic/store/products/spencer-nero-by-minervas-merkin/">buy 'Minerva's Merkin' right here!</a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vale!</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-89800932743433168142016-08-07T09:17:00.000-07:002016-08-07T09:17:50.388-07:00Gimme Toro, Gimme Some More!<div class="MsoNormal">
Almost three years ago (has it really been that long?)
artist David Broughton and I unleashed 'Martillo' on the world - a hefty comic
about an angry priest with a sledgehammer, smiting evil in 1940s Spain. However,
when I was scripting 'Martillo', I found myself particularly enjoying the
dialogue and antics of one of the supporting cast, Detective Gallo of the
Higher Police Corp. In the grumbling Gallo, I had a character who seemed
permanently exasperated by everything around him - particularly the supernatural
- and whose caustic retorts proved enormous fun to write. As such, David and I
are currently working on a spin-off, which will see the loquacious lawman starring
in his own comic. Set in 1949, 'Gallo' sees the balding, smart-arsed sleuth
dealing once more with paranormal peril - peril intimately connected to his own
troubled past. But now that Martillo's no longer around, will Gallo have to
face it alone?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, no. Much as he might wish otherwise, Gallo has
a new partner, the energetic young Toro - a courageous cop, far more practical
than his predecessor, the notoriously incompetent Detective Moles. But why does
it often seem as if Gallo would prefer a more useless partner? The answer, as
ever, may lie in the psychic upheaval of the Spanish Civil War...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Gallo' will consist of three linked stories, and at time of
writing, looks likely to be a 32-page volume. The scripts are done and David has
completed the art for the first story, which looks smashing - he's using a slightly
different approach to light and shade from 'Martillo', which guarantees that
'Gallo' will be a striking-looking comic. More updates as we progress - for
now, here's a sneak peak at Toro, a man who needs no red rag to spur him into
action.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaubz3j_B0eab-8dlgeHgL0KZTwTzGlkRVLSkFQai1K9ICb_KL9JZPswxFXJwalBVAo3s3iZ_o7vtN0FT-ByuVCsY56quIzStG8dAH4GO3sLddcRx9WIcCvXeZGY37ObohvmMxH-zim8/s1600/Toro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaubz3j_B0eab-8dlgeHgL0KZTwTzGlkRVLSkFQai1K9ICb_KL9JZPswxFXJwalBVAo3s3iZ_o7vtN0FT-ByuVCsY56quIzStG8dAH4GO3sLddcRx9WIcCvXeZGY37ObohvmMxH-zim8/s400/Toro.png" width="387" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You think I ain't worth a peseta, but I feel like a millionaire!" Art by David Broughton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-4309518829029938022016-01-30T13:51:00.001-08:002016-01-30T13:51:24.839-08:00The Paragon Paradox Part Three (Final Part, Honest!): Eliminate 'Er!<div class="MsoNormal">
Welcome to the final part of my thoughts on 'The Paragon
Paradox' - and rest assured, it is the final part. (First part <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-paragon-paradox-part-one-master-of.html">here</a>, second
part <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-paragon-paradox-part-two-tres.html">here</a>.) First, a few words on the artist currently known as <b>Scott Twells</b> -
a remarkable talent. I first encountered
his work when he illustrated a yet-to-be-published story of mine for a
yet-to-be-disclosed comic. Discussing his work with the editor, it struck me
that though his style for that story was deliberately scratchy and cartoonish,
it was also blessed with a remarkable sense of composition and some sublime
posing. Oddly, Davey Candlish had also sent Scott a short Spencer Nero script
to illustrate, which meant he ended up drawing two of my stories in quick
succession - before being handed The Paragon Paradox on the strength of
'Spencer Nero Feels Your Pin'. The upshot is that only David Broughton has ever
drawn more pages of my scripts* - a gent with whom he shares a similar talent
for swiftness, without ever sacrificing quality.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now for a few random observations:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Part One:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWm-o9RtTHw6FGpE5NA28u_qkNPUcRlAxq2LgaD7R8JzI7EMmTEhK4ZAmLLBR-ULfpVqa6EA9NwJZOmtUuSH3wNMNiY-GDthDVxelKtpnM3wIEMRxkisThGaLXosMWMmPAKC6X4o_MqQQ/s1600/Gooch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWm-o9RtTHw6FGpE5NA28u_qkNPUcRlAxq2LgaD7R8JzI7EMmTEhK4ZAmLLBR-ULfpVqa6EA9NwJZOmtUuSH3wNMNiY-GDthDVxelKtpnM3wIEMRxkisThGaLXosMWMmPAKC6X4o_MqQQ/s320/Gooch.png" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettering by Jim Campbell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The Dalmatian hanging out with Bulldog at the start is
called Gooch - this is not a reference to any weird piercing (look it up! No,
wait, don't!) but in fact a nod of the head to a book I enjoyed as a child,
namely 'Mr. Gooch and the Penny-farthing', a story about some dogs that run a
bicycle shop. The lead dog is a Dalmation in a boiler suit.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Mr. Twells notably places the number '18' on Bulldog's
hangar - 'Hangar 18' is, of course, a key song on Megadeth's 'Rust In Peace',
one of the greatest albums in the history of the human species. Ergo, I posit
that Scott Twells is likely a thrasher of some description.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Ganesh's foe is a Promethean Eagle - the horrible thing that
used to pull Prometheus's regenerating liver out on daily basis. At one point I
was going to have Bulldog carried away by the eagle - until I remembered he'd
just been carried off by a pterodactyl in his own series a couple of episodes
ago!</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Part Two:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQMhho-yVDRxW_-duckIf7PIsQxRUxvXpef5k3sdWAb6oRsaTB0u8MGPipKIuKk0OVrP_E_SyznSH7tSOOMdL0j_T7ZQnvh7ILk0SuhEfx3GMpjngcopcATX8sbiZRXWYq43YvFNJfrM/s1600/jikan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQMhho-yVDRxW_-duckIf7PIsQxRUxvXpef5k3sdWAb6oRsaTB0u8MGPipKIuKk0OVrP_E_SyznSH7tSOOMdL0j_T7ZQnvh7ILk0SuhEfx3GMpjngcopcATX8sbiZRXWYq43YvFNJfrM/s400/jikan.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettering by Dave Metcalfe-Carr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Jikan's arrival line is paraphrased from 'Shogun Assassin',
in which Ogami Itto exclaims "They will pay... with rivers of blood!"
On reflection this sounded a bit Enoch Powell, so I changed it. It wouldn't
have been the most appropriate line for a story in which extradimensional immigrants
threaten Britain...</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Ekhidna's changed slightly from James Corcoran's depiction -
she's a bit better looking (still got nice cheekbones) and actually closer to
what I originally imagined she'd look like.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Part Three:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>It struck me as I reached the end that this story is a
Freudian nightmare - a gigantic archetypal mother-figure gets <s>gang-banged</s>
mauled by a bunch of macho men. Someone had to articulate it (but not excuse
it.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-flBKjoOQxwofF09aApteahI7i-09S06mG_8E8wCDQSvVQkN_KzAtDcCoUFGdP_7IHJMp2fft65q_8U_RXP_AS6x97OcGKahdkYXVAHHlwxtjoY1lMplNE1siiLypB0H3J1bojJbP1N8/s1600/Metaphor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-flBKjoOQxwofF09aApteahI7i-09S06mG_8E8wCDQSvVQkN_KzAtDcCoUFGdP_7IHJMp2fft65q_8U_RXP_AS6x97OcGKahdkYXVAHHlwxtjoY1lMplNE1siiLypB0H3J1bojJbP1N8/s400/Metaphor.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettering by Ken Reynolds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Bulldog and the big hairy metaphor: Wait a minute - didn't I
say in my last post that Bulldog was the most down to earth of the team? Why is
he going all metaphorical here? Well, given his lineage and pre-eminent status
as small-press icon, I decided he was the best person to articulate the subtext
of the story - namely that it's all about the difference between small-press
comics and the work of 'the big boys' (as Davey Candlish likes to call them) at
Marvel and DC. Ekhidna represents the
latter - constantly repeating herself, squirting out debased copies of myths
that once mattered, unable to do anything particularly original but always
ready with a new #1. She's finally floored by the PARAGON characters, who of
course represent the small-press: varied, versatile, hit-and-miss, off-the-wall
and representing the true spirit of their creators. All done in the context of
the crossover, that most quintessentially American of comics formats, filtered through
PARAGON's 70s/80s Brit sensibility.</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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And that, as they say, is your lot!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO9FlL9yUkVKefrw_DjZek4O_E_sbUkgbvNdeeM1lUtupheGCGoL8WRAstqVIkeTXX8kdLYOR19J8t2VZcLyfSP__0IcHD_Omi9bEVSbhb3WZoL1JTzcHeil8ckwI7g04B4t77_L-Fk8/s1600/Metaphor1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO9FlL9yUkVKefrw_DjZek4O_E_sbUkgbvNdeeM1lUtupheGCGoL8WRAstqVIkeTXX8kdLYOR19J8t2VZcLyfSP__0IcHD_Omi9bEVSbhb3WZoL1JTzcHeil8ckwI7g04B4t77_L-Fk8/s400/Metaphor1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*James Corcoran has drawn the same number as Scott.</span></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-77209805216738554762016-01-09T03:01:00.000-08:002016-01-09T08:35:36.457-08:00The Paragon Paradox Part Two: Tres Hombres (Plus One.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIOZoHHKAcFCtCtqRQn0hyphenhyphenTE3I1y9g-whkEzuCbYADamKN95byXCrch6zp55vdr7Ql-pSoVbSt94VVl0K7zIo-9L6VldSXrb7EE0AK6Y81signQSDLta_9-tvFVjt0PiZoPf-hKJ9pY4/s1600/PPB1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIOZoHHKAcFCtCtqRQn0hyphenhyphenTE3I1y9g-whkEzuCbYADamKN95byXCrch6zp55vdr7Ql-pSoVbSt94VVl0K7zIo-9L6VldSXrb7EE0AK6Y81signQSDLta_9-tvFVjt0PiZoPf-hKJ9pY4/s400/PPB1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art on Paragon Paradox by Scott Twells - more on him in the next part!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy new year, and welcome to the second instalment of my
rambling commentary on 'The Paragon Paradox' from PARAGON Annual 2016. (First part <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-paragon-paradox-part-one-master-of.html">here</a>.) In choosing my Paragon Patrol, I
had three characters in mind from the off. Obviously I'd use Spencer Nero - Ekhidna
was his nemesis, after all, and I figured his tendency to jump to conclusions
might cause a bit of friction with his peers. But although leaning heavily on
Spencer Nero continuity with the story, I wanted <b>Jikan</b> to take a leading role. He's the comic's flagship character -
PARAGON's equivalent of Judge Dredd -
and I deliberately held back his arrival till Part Two to give it more
impact. Jikan subsequently galvanises the team and is pivotal to all that
happens afterwards. I've never written Jikan before, and whilst he looks like
Toshiro Mifune, I originally thought he should probably come across like
Tomisaburo Wakayama - Ogami Itto from
the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' movies. (Yeah, I know they're based on some remarkable
comics - I have the first couple of volumes - but I saw the movies first and
they've had a lasting impact.) That notion
didn't really stick - Jikan seems more amiable than the gruff Lone Wolf - but
he does carry out some theatrically over-the-top blood-letting that is
hopefully in the spirit of the films.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHY7RCp42cDX7B8JBqKi39kjodchW5aBOFlMocUNQ8GcMTTKMNkjFxP4kAgBqLPyBclTwXmlao-qv6-YWEC7nkDZE8JNmW3SbGz0CPN4Yg_dfEZnVH8X82iLzqYbgM6iFVpmZQD7Tv_ng/s1600/PPB4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHY7RCp42cDX7B8JBqKi39kjodchW5aBOFlMocUNQ8GcMTTKMNkjFxP4kAgBqLPyBclTwXmlao-qv6-YWEC7nkDZE8JNmW3SbGz0CPN4Yg_dfEZnVH8X82iLzqYbgM6iFVpmZQD7Tv_ng/s400/PPB4.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettering by Jim Campbell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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Next up was <b>Ganesh</b>:
a mainstay of early issues of PARAGON, who these days only appears in his 'Li'l
Ganesh' or 'Oor Ganesh' incarnations (both of whom also make cameos.) I wanted
to bring him back in his full atomic-stomping glory. I wrote him as quite
knowing and slightly fed-up - he really just wants to get back to his celestial
garden, but the universe keeps conspiring against him, in ways whose outcome is
all too clear to him. I also gave him a slightly pompous side - he's a god
amongst mortals, after all.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiI1bShrTJUvfzpS5tW__cHFtqzjvkPGyc6lLKpPVJZqRWkmHWYlf4_YDSzDrlE7AILVk0RgES2k5YsSmrqqb7VA7Wkx6K2ym7AAWlb5h01e_cfkNzk4OWqkonMtPAkOsAvPF-3f2CAVQ/s1600/PPB2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiI1bShrTJUvfzpS5tW__cHFtqzjvkPGyc6lLKpPVJZqRWkmHWYlf4_YDSzDrlE7AILVk0RgES2k5YsSmrqqb7VA7Wkx6K2ym7AAWlb5h01e_cfkNzk4OWqkonMtPAkOsAvPF-3f2CAVQ/s320/PPB2.png" width="269" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Spencer Nero</b>'s
role in the story is basically to screw things up. Everything that happens is
his fault (dating right back to PARAGON #13) and he doesn't make things any
better by picking fights with his team-mates, getting his uncle into
difficulties, and breaking the entire multiverse.</div>
It's a running theme that
Spencer is often architect of his own troubles, or at least doesn't always make
things easier for himself, and that plays out in spades here. But what's really
significant is that this is the story that properly settles whether or not the
Janus Mask does actually have mystic powers, or whether it's all in Spencer's
head. It turns out it does indeed have remarkable, untapped powers - but
Spencer's spent fifteen years using it on its most basic 'setting'! Might we
now witness him trying to explore these powers in future stories? We shall see.
There's something of same conceit here that Arnold Rimmer faced in Red Dwarf:
Back to Reality - the suggestion that he was stuck playing the useless-gimp-cover-identity
of a vastly more capable secret agent.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, who would the fourth man be? Originally, I thought
Icarus Dangerous might be good, not least since he actually hails from Ancient
Greece, and would therefore be a logical fit with Ekhidna. I imagined Spencer
Nero would look at him with the same kind of star-struck awe in which teenage
girls view boy bands - a living, breathing person from classical mythology! But
that didn't prove possible, so Davey Candlish suggested I use Bulldog. <b>Bulldog</b> was created by Jason Cobley,
who very kindly agreed to let me write his character - for a brief history,
have a look at Jason's blog <a href="http://writingcobblers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/bulldog-returns.html">here</a>.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvd5tSDltKAeiZFNZC6DQfZ8gi8XTXOpcUlhzuuZoSGZtyxcJ59yVeMDxpzmAmqO4DDCawsVpA7JZ-Hwtg6dI1JcNDUJysnVlMhYviMSDrGnBr6nHN0n7VpTMyhRW6A9Zrkrrs130P9fA/s1600/PPB3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvd5tSDltKAeiZFNZC6DQfZ8gi8XTXOpcUlhzuuZoSGZtyxcJ59yVeMDxpzmAmqO4DDCawsVpA7JZ-Hwtg6dI1JcNDUJysnVlMhYviMSDrGnBr6nHN0n7VpTMyhRW6A9Zrkrrs130P9fA/s400/PPB3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Bulldog I saw as working-class (even though he's an officer),
effective and fairly blunt - the sort of chap who might prick the pomposity of
the more flamboyant members of the team, and undercut their pretensions with a
dry quip. Bulldog's role swiftly became the guy who gets things done - the reliable,
sensible backbone of the squad. Compared to the other three, he seemed a much
more straightforward, much less troubled character. In some strange way, it
felt to me like having Bulldog in the story somehow 'legitimised' it, helping
draw a clear line to some thirty years of small-press comics history (but more
on that in the next post.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, this was the team, with a few others pencilled in as
cameos, to show Ekhidna's impact on various parallel worlds. Except, in my
original synopsis, Ekhidna was only the first villain the heroes would face -
she'd swiftly be superseded by a related character (and, in even earlier
drafts, his minions too), out for revenge. I'm not going to name these fellas
here, as I still hope to bring them into 'Spencer Nero' in the future, but if
you know your Greek mythology, you'll know that Ekhidna didn't create most of
the monsters of antiquity on her own...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem was, of course, that this was wildly overambitious,
and as usual, I was trying to squeeze too much in. At one stage, I even wanted
some of the PARAGON heroes to end up stuck in the dimensions of the cameo
characters - I had a plan that they'd have to escape from Oor Ganesh's Dudley
Watkins dimension, in which Spencer Nero (secretly Scottish - see PARAGON
Annual 2015) might end up going native. Actually, I still like that idea -
might make for an interesting Nero two-or-three pager.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw5yJz5pwpOmX5Z9fTQ7vCMCDnhFoaPgoY1QhD6stEF9z2m6TtTZsF4bK19jhqw71Mr-_f3FTzfIy9a2wejnRK7OPwZ2R1OyyCWHcDNeZeZM_QP8XCR4xJ0PbjNlHzFoMANZcAomG6QE/s1600/OorGanesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw5yJz5pwpOmX5Z9fTQ7vCMCDnhFoaPgoY1QhD6stEF9z2m6TtTZsF4bK19jhqw71Mr-_f3FTzfIy9a2wejnRK7OPwZ2R1OyyCWHcDNeZeZM_QP8XCR4xJ0PbjNlHzFoMANZcAomG6QE/s640/OorGanesh.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oor Ganesh, by Davey Candlish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>Anyway, that's quite enough for now. In the next and final part of this series of posts, I'll provide commentary on the finished strip itself, speculate on whether Scott Twells likes thrash metal, and explain what the story's <i>really</i> all about...</o:p></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-63328472822825672782015-12-31T09:51:00.002-08:002015-12-31T09:51:41.647-08:00The Paragon Paradox Part One: Master of Sparks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChpd6i5zJLaBqqopS-iH96koua6GfZ8lnYTqdx7syle3A6Flw3DGGsEDcaKoFjXTdf0DmNVlqQe6qpbwBTuJJdX94T1Pgr1NWDFqblPAZXX6-J3CLFaMBmfbkOuQkZncrvJVK7P762H0/s1600/paragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChpd6i5zJLaBqqopS-iH96koua6GfZ8lnYTqdx7syle3A6Flw3DGGsEDcaKoFjXTdf0DmNVlqQe6qpbwBTuJJdX94T1Pgr1NWDFqblPAZXX6-J3CLFaMBmfbkOuQkZncrvJVK7P762H0/s640/paragon.jpg" width="466" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A homage to... something, not quite sure what. Pencils / inks by Davey Candlish, colours by Jim Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The PARAGON Annual 2016 is out, in more formats than you can
shake a rabid badger at. (Not that shaking tends to work - they just tighten
their monochromatic grip.) So, if you want to see Spencer Nero, Jikan, Bulldog
and Battle Ganesh team up to punch extradimensional evil (and each other) in
the face, here's your chance. And here's mine too, to indulge in a multi-part
blogging bout, in which I take a self-indulgent look at the genesis and
development of 'The Paragon Paradox', my story for the annual. But first -
here's how to get hold of the book in the incarnation of your choice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hardback:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-annual-2016/hardcover/product-22482758.html">http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-annual-2016/hardcover/product-22482758.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The paperback:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-winter-spectacular-2016/paperback/product-22486883.html">http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-winter-spectacular-2016/paperback/product-22486883.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The e-book:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-annual-2016-ebook/ebook/product-22484146.htm">http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-annual-2016-ebook/ebook/product-22484146.htm</a>l</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just 'The Paragon Paradox' itself:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1057853871"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-paradox/paperback/product-22482820.html">http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/the-paragon-paradox/paperback/product-22482820.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, let's turn the clock back to find out how the story
came into being. Feel free to wobble productively - this is a flashback after all...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>In the worlds before PARAGON, primal chaos reigned...</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'The Paragon Paradox' all began with Stephen Prestwood -
specifically, this smashing picture that he drew of various PARAGON heroes, standing around looking tough.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQk5QsX35IsR-ihzX5jLiHpmiEy1cxEBJI0NKtBwJlqnmDOrkbOq0jW9QjbRQZKT25tDt3R8p0qQ3X3whNQ2Ilr2szuk1170CdvRVwFnjVYsfqk4CsTEdE-FvrPIcTGHPM4CK3s3_3-k/s1600/The+Paragon+Gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQk5QsX35IsR-ihzX5jLiHpmiEy1cxEBJI0NKtBwJlqnmDOrkbOq0jW9QjbRQZKT25tDt3R8p0qQ3X3whNQ2Ilr2szuk1170CdvRVwFnjVYsfqk4CsTEdE-FvrPIcTGHPM4CK3s3_3-k/s640/The+Paragon+Gang.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossover candidates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Davey
Candlish stuck it up on the PARAGON blog in March 2015, and I happened to
mention we now needed a story where they all teamed-up and fought some
interdimensional menace. Of course, saying something like that in front of Dave
is like dipping yourself in gravy and dancing naked in front of a man-eating
tiger - you can't be surprised when he bites. So it was decided there and then
I was to script the multi-hero tale - a tale which the inspirational Mr. Prestwood
suggested be titled 'The Paragon Paradox'.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking back at my notes, it seems I almost immediately
decided to link the whole thing into Spencer Nero continuity by featuring
Ekhidna, the extradimensionally-exiled Mother of all Monsters from 'Spencer
Nero Goes South' in PARAGON #13. I could have come up with some other
interdimensional menace, but since I already had one waiting, why not use her?
I'd had plans to write a story called 'Spencer Nero's Army', in which he and
various characters from his adventures to-date all teamed up to travel to
Ekhidna's realm and rescue his uncle, so I thought I might use this basic
framework for the crossover.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1R-braDTv_QQSNW9ahkJTSDKWgpOefFQGqPxucrZlVIcgH-OFVFRkFxEt13VT_FSD2VeD2BpqHe8OXp0tmgU6YVuOteIj_lMHn7qV4S2_83iRlg5Q6J1XW3hCYW7Fa_eGt09bF2off6A/s1600/EkhidnaJCor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1R-braDTv_QQSNW9ahkJTSDKWgpOefFQGqPxucrZlVIcgH-OFVFRkFxEt13VT_FSD2VeD2BpqHe8OXp0tmgU6YVuOteIj_lMHn7qV4S2_83iRlg5Q6J1XW3hCYW7Fa_eGt09bF2off6A/s640/EkhidnaJCor.jpg" width="353" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panel from 'Spencer Nero Goes South', art by James Corcoran</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I definitely wanted this story to 'count', for
Spencer at least - I like crossovers that are very squarely part of a
character's continuity, rather than ones that are detached, and never mentioned
again. The <b>Judge Dredd / Batman</b> and <b>Judge Dredd / Alien</b> crossovers are perfect
examples of the former - both draw on existing continuity, have some impact on
Dredd's world, and are obliquely referenced further down the line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So with that in mind (and deciding also that if I used
Spencer's continuity, I had to make damn sure he didn't dominate the story), I
had to choose my cast. It wasn't realistic to feature all the characters
from Stephen's original drawing in major roles - this wasn't Crisis on Infinite
Earths - so I decided to boil it down to a squad of four... a Paragon Patrol.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the next post, I'll explain, who, why, and what they were
originally going to get up to...</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-76743757453480427562015-09-26T03:58:00.000-07:002015-11-09T00:33:06.416-08:00I'm #18 and I like it!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Well, give or take twenty-years. But I'm never one to let
the facts get in the way of an Alice Cooper-based pun, and <a href="http://paragoncomic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/paragon-18-out-now.html">the release of PARAGON #18</a> gives me that opportunity. Two Spencer Nero tales in this one <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- aside, of course, from another smashing
instalment of 'Bulldog and Panda' by Cobley / Prestwood / Campbell, and a
particularly notable episode of Jikan from Howard / El Chivo / Caliber. Here's
a few words on 'Spencer Nero and the Reckless Return of the Ruthless Rhymer'.</div>
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This story is a sequel to <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/nero-13-part-1-slay-em-with-graham.html">the original 'Ruthless Rhymer' two-pager</a> from PARAGON #13, back in the mists of 2013 (Yikes! Time moves fast
in the small-press world!) That tale was drawn by Neil 'Bhuna' Roche, and I
loved his design for the Rhymer so much that I was moved to write a lengthier
tale of the vicious versifier. The Rhymer is inspired by the cruel and
hilarious writings of poet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Graham_%28poet%29">Harry Graham</a>, but he's also very autobiographical -
the Rhymer is the impatient side of me that gets annoyed by selfishness, thoughtlessness,
bumbling, and general idiocy, the short-tempered side that wants to dish out
ridiculously disproportionate justice to the irritating. As such, writing his antics proves
very therapeutic - although his outrage inevitably makes things worse for him
in the long run. I particularly enjoy writing in rhyme - rhyming stories have become a bit of a PARAGON tradition - and it's always a welcome challenge trying to get the meter right.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Art is by Nero-newcomer Dave Snell, who does an intensely
characterful and atmospheric job - I absolutely love his scornful,
self-satisfied and yet rather hapless Rhymer - exactly how the character should
be</div>
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<br /></div>
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To finish up, here's a few random observations: </div>
<ul>
<li>Can you spot the signed picture of Aleister Crowley on Mr.
Alabaster's desk?</li>
<li>Also on page 1, the Rhymer's resurrection is a bit of a
tribute to the end of the movie 'Carrie'.</li>
<li>The large ladies in the elevator on page 3 are a tad Beryl
Cook - something which has <a href="http://hisowndrum.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/doctor-wtf-2011-directors-commentary.html">cropped up in my stories before.</a></li>
<li>That's William Kitt in the museum on page 4 - the most
chameleonic character in Spencer's supporting cast, he's like the David Bowie
of the strip, when it comes to changing his look all the time.</li>
<li>Spencer is borrowing Homer Simpson's 'think unsexy thoughts'
routine on page 5.</li>
<li>Page 6 sees Edward Lear in full fight - Davey Candlish is a
real fan of this poet (though I didn't know that when I wrote the story.) In fact,
Davey told me he'd had a recitation of The Owl and the Pussycat at his wedding!</li>
<li>Page 8 gives me the excuse to bring back the Rhymer any time
I want - but given the conclusion to the story, I'm not sure how much rhyming
he'll be doing!</li>
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Unfortunately, magic gremlins got into the works when the
story was published, and replicated a speech balloon from a previous page atop
the climatic panel - so here's said panel as it was meant to be seen. Cut it
out and stick it into your copy - or paste it onto the screen if you're reading
digitally!</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLbTYtesaaW8noGQUaqwcEiESoKclOR_bwksC7YrDJ1TQ0ms1pBVNbHID_ScMIyGRn9M5zIanfhar1LecFlwW0lMV2jFATn90tjW_aKiJjxsZ0i6WK16WQF741ETa3MtNDvGdLkRClXc/s1600/Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLbTYtesaaW8noGQUaqwcEiESoKclOR_bwksC7YrDJ1TQ0ms1pBVNbHID_ScMIyGRn9M5zIanfhar1LecFlwW0lMV2jFATn90tjW_aKiJjxsZ0i6WK16WQF741ETa3MtNDvGdLkRClXc/s1600/Panel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biff!</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<br />Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-47210019332184776292015-07-01T09:26:00.000-07:002015-07-01T09:56:05.870-07:00Spencer Nero's Secret - The Lost Chapter<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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The 2015 PARAGON annual (still on sale <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-annual-2015/hardcover/product-21939495.html">here </a>or <b>FREE</b> to download <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-annual-2015-ebook/ebook/product-22013838.html">here</a>!)
contains a prose Spencer Nero story revealing the Civil Centurion’s darkest
secret <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– he’s actually Scottish! Clearly,
this is a shameful state of affairs for such a bastion of civilised Englishness
(and murderous Romanosity), but it was always part of my plan for the
character. In fact, it’s even in the original pitch for the series I made to
PARAGON editor Dave Candlish, which is preserved for posterity at the back of
the Spencer Nero Compendium</div>
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However, what’s not<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>so well-documented is the fact that ‘Spencer Nero’s Secret’ was
originally a chapter longer, and featured a fight with an ungodly Orcadian
stoor-worm. I cut this chapter, because I felt the story was going off on too
much of a tangent, and taking too long to get to a key conflict, but on reading
it again, there are bits I quite enjoy, so I thought I’d stick it up here as a
piece of Nero apocrpyha. One aspect of the lost chapter is alluded to in the
published story, but sadly, there was no room for the stoor worm. Enjoy.</div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>[Afflicted with a spiritual virus which he’s keeping at bay
by wearing the Janus Mask, Spencer heads to Orkney, to fight the mythical beast
that’s infected him.]</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Part Four: The Flying
Scotsman</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Teddy Talbot had many unique qualities, but ‘tactful’ and ‘restrained’
were not amongst them. His blithe disregard for other people’s feelings or
personal comfort was made all the worse by his position as in-house pilot for
some of the more obscure civil service bodies, including the Department of
Collusion, the Department of Oversight, and the Department of Contingency. Not
only did Teddy frequently regale his passengers with the grisly details of what
might happen in the case of a catastrophic engine failure, he often had the
privilege of flying Spencer Nero to his latest destination, and would spend
most of the trip speculating cheerfully on ways the Civil Centurion might meet
his fate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When dropping him off over the
invisible Island of the Naztecs, for instance, he’d expressed his sincere wish
that Spencer wouldn’t drown. When taking him to the Alps to tackle the North
Face of the Eiger, he’d invited Spencer to consider the possible impact of
below-the-belt frostbite, and to decide in advance whether he’d “keep them in a
jar if they fell off from the cold.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Thankfully, however, Teddy wasn’t even slightly Scottish,
which made it safe enough for him to transport Janus. It was a rather like delivering
a temperamental and highly explosive bomb to its target. As such, Teddy was sure
to treat his cargo with the care and respect it deserved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Crikey, you’ve got a shiny face, haven’t you?” he asked,
once the plane – a sleek and single-winged Percival Gull - had taken off. “Haven’t
you, though? You have, haven’t you? What do you polish that with then?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The skin of the
fallen</b>,” replied Janus, who was seated directly behind Teddy, his
impossibly baritone voice redolent with menace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Oh, right. Do you ever use someone’s face to shine your
face?” asked Teddy. “That’d be funny, wouldn’t it? It’d be a bit like kissing
them, I suppose.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFXJ28LDtJPRJH-4oVNvWE2zV373mu5ZjFrZd1mFU43352H11lbblFGJrTU76s8wRzgG4F2l69yI9S2fwNJ7N60BxgQbIBfMLQmt1iET3Z20Upe3U3HYZdJEzsmH3b6DRnKGAeIw4Ccg/s1600/JanusAir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFXJ28LDtJPRJH-4oVNvWE2zV373mu5ZjFrZd1mFU43352H11lbblFGJrTU76s8wRzgG4F2l69yI9S2fwNJ7N60BxgQbIBfMLQmt1iET3Z20Upe3U3HYZdJEzsmH3b6DRnKGAeIw4Ccg/s400/JanusAir.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Janus’s fists clenched visibly. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tace</b>,” he intoned – a simple request for Teddy to cease talking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Was that Latin?” asked Teddy. “Of course, you’re Roman,
aren’t you? Reminds me of a joke: what’s behind Spencer Nero’s mask? Only a
Roman knows. Get it? Knows? Nose? Get it? Get it? It’s good, isn’t it?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Listen,</b>”
commanded Janus, his voice so deep the fuselage shook. “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Janus delights only in carnage or the promise of carnage. Survive by
silence.</b>”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Teddy’s eyes widened and he nodded his head, looking oddly
thoughtful for a moment. Janus did not relax – such a thing was virtually impossible
– but his fists became a measure less clenched.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“On the Good Ship Lollipop!” exclaimed Teddy suddenly,
apropos of nothing. Janus simply stared at him, a disturbing twitch visible in
his left eye.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“You know, the Shirley Temple song about the airplane?”
asked Teddy. “Go on, sing it! With your voice, it’d be bloomin’ hilarious! Go
on, sing it. Sing it! I’ll start you off. ‘On the good ship Lollipop, it’s a
sweet trip to the candy shop, where bon-bons play...’ Come on, join in!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Janus began to grind his teeth together, producing a noise
that sounded like tectonic plates shifting.</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">It was going to be a long flight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">They were headed for the northern cluster of islands which
comprised Orkney, near which the beast was known to lurk - a fact suggested by
folklore and confirmed by the tarot cards of Mr. Alabaster.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></span><span style="color: cyan;"></span><span style="color: cyan;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">It is probable that Teddy avoided dismemberment only because
the idea of dismembering the Nuckalavee (a much more interesting creature,
anatomically speaking, with multiple limbs, torsos and heads, all ready to be
ripped off) proved more tantalising. It was, however, a close-run thing. A
stop-off for fuel in Aberdeen provided Janus with merciful respite, and when a
vast Stoor Worm erupted from the sea near the isle of Hoy and nearly plucked
the plane from the sky, it came as a particularly welcome distraction.</span><span style="color: cyan;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">The Worm was a horrid, segmented, rubbery thing. It was almost
as tall as the Big Ben clock tower, though not nearly as thick, dripping with
brine and tipped with a monstrous gnashing maw. Its black, oily skin was
covered with projecting jelly-like fronds, which flapped unpleasantly as the
creature spiralled and writhed, lunging at the plane. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Blimey – does that thing work for the Knuckle bloke you’re
after?” asked Teddy, veering the Percival Gull sharply away from the snapping
worm. “Or did it just wake up on the wrong side of the reef?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Num importatis,</b>”
stated Janus flatly, and began to open the plane’s canopy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“If you say so,” replied Teddy. “This is the bit where you
hop out and I clear off, right?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rectus.</b>”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Well, chances are you’ll get eaten or crushed - or you
might just expire from that plague of yours first - but I’ll keep my fingers
crossed for you anyway,” Teddy told Janus, as the latter scrambled out, digging
his fingers into the very metal of the fuselage itself to maintain his
position. “Won’t put any money on you surviving, of course – I mean, I’m not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> stupid – but stranger things have
happened. Cheerio!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">And with a profound and all-consuming sense of relief, Janus
leapt from the plane and straight into the Stoor Worm’s mouth. As its warm, wet
gullet enveloped him, and its many rows of teeth began to tear into his flesh,
one thought resonated above all others in Janus’s mind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">His day was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">finally</i>
starting to get better.</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Part Five: The Rammy</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">At the foot of the merciless cliffs of Hoy, from which Jock
Numinous had plunged the previous night, an odd vessel eventually floated to
shore. Someone well-versed in both folk and nautical lore might have suggested it
looked like an impromptu dinghy, constructed from the insides of a Stoor Worm and
using its uvula as a sail, but no such person bore witness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Janus emerged from the fleshboat and clambered onto land.
His skin was cut, his clothes were torn, and he was covered in a thin,
semi-transparent layer of pharyngeal mucus, but if anything, there was a spring
in his step. Swiftly, he traversed the rocks and began gathering up flat blades
of mustard-coloured seaweed, heaping them together in a pile...</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-37913041956558660652015-06-26T10:14:00.000-07:002015-06-26T10:14:03.979-07:00David and Goliath<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Well, 'Goliath and Goliath' really, according to the press! For 'Martillo' has just got the loveliest review
imaginable over on <a href="http://downthetubes.net/">Down the Tubes</a>, courtesy of dear Owen Watts. Check it out <a href="http://downthetubes.net/?p=23431">here</a>.
What I particularly enjoyed about Owen’s sparkling prose was how bloomin’ insightful
the review was – it’s funny to think that I’ve now written enough small-press comics
that I’ve got an identifiable style or obvious area of interest. According to
Owen, I tend towards:<b><span style="color: lime;"> “Insane cultural & historical mash-ups – and
ludicrously ambitious set pieces”</span></b> – and you know what? It’s pretty hard to
argue with that. Thanks, Owen!</div>
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Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-79994573700203278552015-06-15T09:32:00.001-07:002015-06-15T09:36:10.602-07:00Hammer of Foxes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It’s been awful quiet on the ol’ blog of late. Too quiet.
Which of course means there’s doings a-transpiring / rumblings on the horizon /
axes being sharpened in the basement / a tube of green, sentient, Satanic liquid
taking control of worms, Alice Cooper and the low things of the Earth.</div>
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Sorry, went a bit ‘Prince of Darkness’ there. But speaking
of the forces of El Diablo, I wanted to share this smashing piece of ‘Martillo’
fan art I was sent by the lovely<b> Owen Watts</b> of <a href="http://thepsychedelicjournal.blogspot.co.uk/">Psychedelic Journal</a> fame –
knowing that your work has inspired a fellow small-presser to a spate of
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Looks like it was worth starting work on the ‘Martillo’
spin-off after all...</div>
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Enjoy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SPLURGGTHH!</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-68097413277759215532014-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:002014-12-01T13:35:53.952-08:00Annual Incoming!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFL34B6JfPOK80baiwP566EA92ayKo_VCHuw6CbmyhNHI7fZrUL9jtGFugAGn66SiRRoqZdSZpJoxVcKbbFp9mamZ463boIoQhaCir9dTqyKznWp81ocZS7-D5m6Vsxc08PXCZhTwDGtA/s1600/SN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFL34B6JfPOK80baiwP566EA92ayKo_VCHuw6CbmyhNHI7fZrUL9jtGFugAGn66SiRRoqZdSZpJoxVcKbbFp9mamZ463boIoQhaCir9dTqyKznWp81ocZS7-D5m6Vsxc08PXCZhTwDGtA/s1600/SN.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art by Dave Candlish </td></tr>
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As we speak (are we speaking? I am, anyway) Davey Candlish labours
on this year’s <a href="http://www.paragoncomic.blogspot.co.uk/">PARAGON Annual</a>, like Hephaestus at his forge, hammering panels
into shape and beating scripts to even out the blemishes. It is said that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this very week</i> the annual will be unleashed
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And that’s all true – except that there’s one bit I don’t
need to guess at, for my own contribution this year is another Spencer Nero
prose story. I enjoy writing these, particularly the conversations between
Spencer and Mr. Alabaster: necessity dictates that the latter doesn’t get a lot
of panel-time in the regular strip, so it’s always fun to flesh out their
increasingly fractious relationship. (The trick seems to be that one of the
pair is always trying to annoy the other – but who’s being irritating and who’s
being reasonable frequently alternates.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyway, more word on the annual itself once it’s out, but
for now, here’s a special sneak preview of my tale, Spencer Nero’s Secret, which
reveals a hitherto unknown* and extremely alarming fact about the Civil
Centurion – a fact which may lead to his downfall! What is Spencer’s secret? Oh,
all right, I’ll tell you. Read on:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">A strange and awkward silence fell as Spencer looked at his
hands. He was gripped by a piercing chill, as if buffeted by the icy winds of
the grim North Sea.</span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Are you all right?” Alabaster asked, noting the Civil
Centurion’s sudden pallor.</span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“I… have a confession,” stammered Spencer queasily.</span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">Alabaster smiled benignly, like a disapproving but not
entirely unsympathetic uncle. “Spencer,” he began. “Is this about your secret
collection of - ?”</span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
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<span style="color: cyan;">“No!” interrupted Spencer. “This is worse. Much worse.” He
paused, trying to collect himself. “It’s been my hidden shame for so long,” he
finally blurted out. “I’ve never been able to admit it. I just couldn’t accept
it was true. But the fact is…” He dropped suddenly to his knees, clutching his
head in his hands. He tried again to speak. “The fact is…”</span></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;">“Yes?” prompted Alabaster.</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, hold on. Turns out I’m not allowed to let it slip after
all. Buy the PARAGON Annual if you want to find out!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Well, unknown unless you bought the Spencer Nero
Compendium.</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-431240697579742261.post-12208487279946121972014-10-27T13:04:00.001-07:002014-10-27T13:06:31.696-07:00Judged Read<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H_iijItVgmIMUgwIEBXFfUrcHU-L0Q28ZKJReKF22PFyVCJFu_psKMoSdXa5LvBx5iPXfDFBBj91ojNYjoPjF9bF9HbifoBEX_rcB7cZAeoI67Bdy-3TYE1K2bW7NTWwZXs49VXUXsc/s1600/Mart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H_iijItVgmIMUgwIEBXFfUrcHU-L0Q28ZKJReKF22PFyVCJFu_psKMoSdXa5LvBx5iPXfDFBBj91ojNYjoPjF9bF9HbifoBEX_rcB7cZAeoI67Bdy-3TYE1K2bW7NTWwZXs49VXUXsc/s1600/Mart.jpg" height="320" width="195" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bet no-one’s ever done that pun before. (Cough.) Here’s a
couple of reviews from <a href="http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/"><b>Judge Tutor Semple</b></a> aka <b>Steve Hargett</b>, a true gent who
has cast his concise and critical eye over several things I’ve written in the
past. Thanks for these, Steve!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/martillo-devil-smiter-52-page-graphic-novel-spoiler-light/">Review for Martillo</a> - </b>"...a damn fine read", as Steve described it on the 2000AD forums.<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/paragon-issue-17-an-anthology-spoiler-light/"><b>Review for PARAGON #17</b></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And on the subject of <b>Martillo</b> - if you're at <a href="http://thoughtbubblefestival.com/"><b>Thought Bubble</b></a> in Leeds in a few weeks time, expect to see <b>David Broughton</b> with stories of Spanish smiting on sale!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Madre de Dios indeed!</div>
Greg Meldrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14653978155750935305noreply@blogger.com0