George Carlin R.I.P.

This video, as you may expect, contains some rude words, so be careful if you're at work or near children. If you're within earshot of a Christian fundamentalist, please play at maximum volume.
The world's a much poorer place now George Carlin's gone.

Previews.

To your left, there, is the ad for Septic Isle that will be in August's edition of Previews. (Click on it to embiggen.)

What the (nice) critics have said so far:

"Septic Isle, written by Winter and illustrated by Mick Trimble is that rarest of things – a modern spy story that doesn’t rip off James Bond and isn’t shit. Seriously, it’s right up there with Oni’s Queen and Country and TV’s The Sandbaggers, which in this genre is about the highest praise I could give. Winter’s pacey script is worthy of John le Carré, and Trimble’s moody black and white art is a fine compliment to the noir feel of the book. I can’t claim to be an expert, but I strongly suspect that the world of the modern spy is very much like that of Jacob Marley – tense, dirty, desperate and utterly unglamorous. Winter captures something of modern Britain, our fears and our paranoia in these fifty two pages. Had me gripped from the very first page, and I literally couldn’t put it down."

-Regie Rigby, Comics Bulletin.


"... this story has elements of the TV series/books featuring the character Callan [starring Edward Woodward] and even The Professionals.... I enjoyed the story and art and if you get a chance to buy a copy – DO!"

-Terry Hooper, ComicBitsOnline.

"The plotline is kind of James Bond mixed with Spooks, so plenty of brutality and terrorism, mixed with whimsy and one-liners. The writer and artist are clearly having a lot of fun with the genre....Gripping, but brutal stuff. Worthwhile spy thriller. 9 out of 10"

-Glenn Carter, Comics Village.

"A dark-edged, modern-day spy story for the War On Terror era Britain ...it does it very well, with a nice twist and lack of sentimentality or relying on Bond-style fantasy...Andy and Mick do something remarkable – they make you feel sympathy for a suicide bomber. And no, I don’t mean in a bleeding hearted liberal kind of way as in ‘oh it is an awful act but we should try to understand what desperation drives a person to do such a thing.’ No, this is a horrible, brutal act – not just the actual bombings themselves, but the reasons behind them...Spy versus rogue spy is always going to be entertaining as a thriller (especially arrogant young turk versus seasoned old school player), but Andy and Mick invest it with some realism in the Harry Palmer mould so it never becomes too ridiculous...Mick’s black and white art suits Andy’s story well – he doesn’t try to do ‘superhuman’ poses, going for a more realistic styling, while even large action scenes like a fight or a desperate escape from an exploding block of flats, while satisfying our guilty action desires still don’t cross the line into being too cartoony or over the top, showing commendable restraint because it would have been too easy to go down that route...
I can see fans of Queen & Country or even Shooting War picking this up and enjoying a story which eschews gee-whizz gadgets and heroics for a more realistic tale which avoids the stereotypical plot traps of many of its fellows.

-Joe Gordon, Forbidden Planet Blog Log

"Septic Isle is a masterful espionage thriller...Taut, topical and terrifying"

-Mike Carey, writer, Crossing Midnight, Hellblazer.

"Where's my copy, you fat, four-eyed git?"

-Marc Trimble, Crimewatch.

Poorly Shoulder, Episode VII

Guess what I've been playing with all afternoon! It's true though, my shoulder does hurt. I think I might've mentioned it to all and sundry at least eleventeen times...

Septic in the shops.

After initially being told it wasn't, we found out this week that Septic Isle is being picked up by Diamond distribution after all. This means that it'll be in discerning stores around October time. To say I'm chuffed about this is an understatement. When, at first, I was told that it wasn't being picked up, I was gutted, it seemed a shame that, despite good reviews, a book I'd been working on for such a long time was only going to be seen by relatively few people. Now, it's going to be in shops here and in the States, and hopefully it'll do well.
Also, now it's going to have a second print, it's given me a chance to draw a new inside cover for the book. The original one was done quickly (saying that, though, the new one was done in less time, funnily enough, and it's miles better) and I grew to hate it more and more each time I saw it. The new one is the picture at the top of this post. Good, eh? Click on it to make it bigger. If only that worked for everything.
I've also done some character pictures this weekend for the website that'll be up and running soon to promote the book. I'll post those soon.

Auntie's Bloomer.

There's been a lot of moaning lately about the publicly-funded BBC and how much it is paying presenters like Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton. I can't say I'm that bothered, but what does strike me as a total insult is the fact that Auntie Beeb has seen fit to give Steve McClaren a job as a pundit on their coverage of Euro 2008.
This man is the main reason England aren't taking part in the finals, yet the Beeb in its infinite wisdom has decided to give him a fat cheque for giving his opinions to an audience that has no-one to support. A situation that is his fault! I see this as a waste of my licence payer's money, probably more so than giving Graham Norton money for hosting endless shite talent shows.
And while we're at it, the BBC's 'Who Will You Support' ad campaign for the event really annoys me. No Englishman I've ever met would say 'Come on Germany!' And that Scouse kid who is supporting Spain because Fernando Torres is 'elastic' really bugs me.
I'm just bitter, I suppose, because England aren't playing, and that's a shame. Saying that though, from what I've seen of the tournament so far, I reckon we'd have struggled anyway!

Horse-faced Lies.

I have to get something off my chest. It's been bugging me for a while now. The other day, whilst at the cinema, I was watching the trailers. As you do. One was for Hancock, a Will Smith movie. Now, Will might be a good actor, but I reckon he'll just look stupid in the black coat and homburg, and he'll have to go some to get the timing right of the classic line: 'A Pint? That's very nearly an armful!' Who have they got to play Sid James? Will Ferrell?
That wasn't what was bothering me, though. The next trailer was for the Sex And The City movie. Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!!! I'm sick of seeing ads for this film. I'm sick of hearing about it, and I'm sick of flicking past articles about it in newspapers and magazines. They go on about this movie like it's the Second Coming. It's not. It's just a film about a horsey-faced skeleton and her four ropey mates sitting around a table and talking about men's cocks.
Now, I'm not claiming to have seen a lot of the original TV show. I did see a few episodes, though (the reasons why escape me, now) and they were all basically the same. Shergar or one of her mates gets a new boyfriend, or has problems with an old one. One of their boyfriends has a weird sexual kink, which they all have a good laugh about in a coffee shop.(They are all supposed to be successful career women, yet they all have employers that don't mind them fucking off for three-hour lunches every day.) They all buy shoes. Desert Orchid wears something that makes her look bleedin' ridiculous, the old one has a sex scene, and Red Rum sums it all up in a voiceover at the end.
This is not the great leap forward for feminism it thinks it is. I'm not claiming to be an expert on feminism either, but I have had my ear bent by a few of them in my time. SATC claims it shows modern women and relationships as they really are, but it basically tells us all women are interested in is shopping for shoes and big cocks. I suppose some are, but not the ones I know. (Just as well, really, considering my knowledge of shoes begins and ends with Doctor Marten. Can't really say I have a massive cock, either!) Also, in the episodes I saw, the men in it were either perverted or just useless. Or both. I find this offensive. Every bloke they met had something weird about them sexually, be it foul-tasting semen, or a prediliction for analingus or calling someone a bitch when they reached climax. And the four gorgons all found it a big laugh to share this intimate info about their boyfriends with their mates in a restaurant. I'd hate to be on the next table to them, about to tuck into a chocolate mousse when Trigger starts banging on about rimming. Lovely.
Can you imagine the furore if there was a TV show about four blokes sitting around a table in a cafe talking about how their girlfriend's fanny tasted disgusting? It would be criticised for being sexist. And so it should. Also, it should be noted that the SATC movie is written and directed by a man. Girl Power!
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't get it because I have a 'Y' chromosome. Maybe women like being stereotyped as cock-hungry fashion victims on telly and films. Or maybe it's because I've (hopefully) got a bit of intelligence and see this shit for what it is.