Thursday, March 01, 2012

Recent Releases: January - April 2012

JANUARY 2012 

Ampney Crucis Investigates: Vile Bodies by Ian Edginton & Simon Davis. 
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907992940, 19 January 2012, 96pp, £11.99. [£9.59 from Amazon]
England, 1928. Lord Ampney Crucis was a dashing, smart and charming young man, tipped to rise to the top of high society. But then the Great War happened, and a close encounter with an otherworldly entity in no man's land drove Crucis temporarily insane. Upon recovery, he discovered that he had the ability to sense the presence of entities that exist beyond our reality. Now Ampney, aided by his loyal butler Eddie Cromwell, investigates the rum goings-on that have begun to plague our green and pleasant land...
Order from Amazon.

Auntie's Charlie by Charles Chilton.
Fantom Books ISBN 978-1906263768, 6 February 2012 [available from January 2012], £13.99. Softcover edition.
Described by the Sunday Telegraph as ‘the one genius the BBC ever had on its staff’, Charles Chilton MBE joined the Corporation at fifteen as a messenger boy and went on to carve out a 46-year career as a presenter, writer and producer.
__Auntie’s Charlie discusses his life from growing up on the streets of 1920s St Pancras, via early years at the BBC working for the Gramophone Library, to writing the infamous production Oh What a Lovely War for Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop.
__While with the BBC Charles was sent to the United States to research, write and produce a number of series based on American western history. One of these, Riders of the Range, lasted for five years until 1953. However, major international recognition came with his science fiction trilogy Journey into Space which he wrote and produced between 1953 and 1958.
__Here, for the first time, is Charles Chilton’s story in his own words – an autobiography that is frank, vivid, wry and engaging.
Buy from Amazon.

Frontier: Dealing with Demons by Jason Cobley & Andrew Wildman
Print Media Productions ISBN 978-0956712134, 28 January 2012, 64pp, £14.99.
The Wild West... and Daisy Adams is suddenly all alone, living on the plains, left with her father's old coat and a catapult. Then Mitch Seeker, the son of a sheriff, runs into her life. And they've been running ever since, chasing werewolves, ghosts and demons, on a quest to track down the man who turned them both into orphans and unleashed weirdness into the Wild West.
__In 1866, out on the Frontier, things got Weird. History failed to record everything that happened, but Daisy wrote it all down in her diaries. In Frontier, we follow Mitch and Daisy as they seek justice but end up finding more adventure and danger than they counted on. It's weird. It's wild. It happened out west!
__First published in the acclaimed Random House weekly comic The DFC, Print Media Productions is delighted to bring you this collection of Britain's weirdest western comic – Frontier: Dealing with Demons. Weaving an engaging, adventure-filled tale of derring-do in the American West, this collected edition of Frontier from Jason Cobley and Andrew Wildman includes additional feature material, including pages from Daisy's secret diary and reveals just how the story was created.
Order from Amazon.

Johnny Red: Red Devil Rising by Tom Tully & Joe Colquhoun. 
Titan Books ISBN 978-1848560345, 27 January 2012, 96pp, £14.99. [£8.79 on Amazon]
Britain’s best-loved aerial combat comic returns in a gorgeous library edition! Continuing the adventures of Johnny Redburn, discharged from the RAF for striking an officer. Taking to the skies in a stolen Hurricane, he meets the Falcon Squadron of the 5th Soviet Air Brigade, and begins his fight against Germany from the other side of the Iron Curtain!
__The classic series by Tom Tully (Roy of the Rovers) and Joe Colquhoun (Charley’s War) includes a feature by comics legend Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher, War Stories).
Order from Amazon.

Judge Anderson: The Psychic Crime Files by Alan Grant, Carlos Ezquerra, Trevor Hairsine & Boo Cook.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907992544, 17 January 2012, 192pp, $20.99. [£11.88 on Amazon]
Mega-City One, a futuristic metropolis sprawling across the east coast of North America. This hostile urban nightmare is policed by the Judges; tough lawmen with the ability to act as judge, jury and executioner. Within the Justice department is a section known as Psi-Division which specialises in Judges gifted with extraordinary psychic abilities. Cassandra Anderson is one such Judge; a powerful telepath with a rebellious streak and a talent for getting into trouble...
Order from Amazon.

The Pictorial Guide to British 1950s Sci-Fi & Horror Comic Books by Mike Morley
Ugly Duckling Press (no ISBN), January 2012, 288pp, £14.95.
Spaceships! Monsters! Superheroes! You could find them in abundance within the action packed pages of comic books filling the bottom shelves of British newsagents' shops back in the 1950s. Some were homegrown productions and some were reprints of American material but all of them helped to brighten up a rather drab decade suffering from various forms of post-war austerity.
Order from Blasé Books, Hazelwood, Birchfield Road, Redditch B97 6PU.

Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising by Alan Martin & Rufus Dayglo. 
Titan Books ISBN 978-0857681188, 27 January 2012, 104pp, £14.99. [£9.89 on Amazon]
A brand new graphic novel collecting all four issues of the latest Tank Girl comics series, featuring the return of a much-loved secondary character, the break up of TG and Booga and a crazed gang of killer kangaroos. It’s wild, it’s off the wall, and it’s the greatest story yet. Don't miss Tank Girl’s latest twisted action adventure! Note: Listed due 27 January 2012 on Titan website but 25 January 2013 on Amazon.
Order from Amazon.

February 2012

Dotter of Her Father's Eyes by Mary M. Talbot & Bryan Talbot.
Jonathan Cape ISBN 978-0224096089, 2 February 2012, 96pp, £14.99 [£9.99 from Amazon]
Part personal history, part biography, Dotter of Her Father's Eyes contrasts two coming-of-age narratives: that of Lucia, the daughter of James Joyce, and that of author Mary Talbot, daughter of the eminent Joycean scholar James S. Atherton. Social expectations and gender politics, thwarted ambitions and personal tragedy are played out against two contrasting historical backgrounds, poignantly evoked by the atmospheric visual storytelling of award winning comic artist and graphic novel pioneer Bryan Talbot. Produced through an intense collaboration seldom seen between writers and artists, Dotter of Her Father's Eyes is intelligent, funny and sad - a fine addition to the evolving genre of graphic memoir.
Order from Amazon.

Judge Anderson: Psi Files Vol. 2 by Alan Grant, Arthur Ranson & Kevin Walker.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907992957, 16 February 2012, 304pp, £19.99. [£13.19 on Amazon]
An impending psychic apocalypse, mutant vampires, an alien threat on Mars...it's enough to make a seasoned PSI Judge disillusioned with the job. From the streets of Mega-City One to the outer fringes of the galaxy wherever she goes, Cassandra Anderson is sure to find trouble! Features stories never reprinted before including rare annual one-off strip. Full colour throughout.
Order from Amazon.

Judge Dredd: Crusade & Frankenstein Division by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Carlos Ezquerra & Mick Austin.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907992674 ,14 February 2012, 96pp, £10.85 [£8.24 on Amazon]
In Crusade, when a scientist returns from a 15-year deep space mission claiming to have a message from God, judges from all of the world's Mega-Cities race to Antarctica to try and claim the Almighty's secrets for themselves.
__Among them is the toughest future lawman of them all - Judge Dredd - but in the scramble to secure the scientist and his information, the judges all brutally turn on the other as the prize proves too much to resist!
__Meanwhile, a deadly agent from one of the world's superpowers stalks through the warzone, hoping that the confusion will ease his path to securing the secrets of the cosmos!
__In The Frankenstein Division, the sinister judges of East Meg create the ultimate judge by stitching together pieces of their best - but when it goes on the rampage it heads for Mega-City One and the one man responsible for the death of its many 'donors' - Judge Dredd!
Order from Amazon.

Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Saga by John Wagner, Pat Mills, Mike McMahon & Brian Bolland.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1781080085, 2 February 2012, 160pp, £6.99. [£5.31 at Amazon]
A ROAD TRIP THROUGH HELL! Mega-City One, 2100. A deadly plague developed during the brutal 'Great Germ War' has reached the futuristic metropolis of Mega-City Two, located on the West Coast of the USA. Charged with delivering a life-saving vaccine to the citizens of the disease-ridden city, Judge Dredd and a small crew of Judges, war droids and the lawbreaking biker, Spikes Harvey Rotten, must travel a thousand miles across the radioactive wasteland known as 'the Cursed Earth.' It is a near-impossible journey hate-filled mutants, rampaging monsters and crazed war robots populate the hellish stretch of terrain. Many men have attempted to cross it and most have failed. But Judge Dredd is the best there is! 
Order from Amazon.

Modesty Blaise: Live Bait by Peter O'Donnell & Enric Badia Romero.
Titan Books ISBN 978-0857686688, 24 February 2012, 104pp, £11.99. [£7.19 from Amazon]
This title features classic stories by popular British crime writer Peter O'Donnell. The tag-team of Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin battle with the darkest elements of the underworld once again, beautifully illustrated by Enric Badia Romero! With story introductions taking the reader behind the scenes of Modesty's world, plus a tribute to Peter O'Donnell, this outstanding collection is not to be missed.
Order from Amazon.

Pages from History, Illustrated by C. L. Doughty, ed. Steve Holland.
Bear Alley Books ISBN 978-1907081590, 6 February 2012, 176pp, £17.99.
The latest publication from Bear Alley Books is our most ambitious yet, a bumper 172 page collection of art and comics by one of Britain's finest historical illustrators. Pages from History contains four classic comic strips, over 100 illustrations and, as a bonus, two episodes of an unpublished strip, all from the masterful pen (and brush) of C. L. Doughty.
__Over half the comic strip art and all the illustrations have been scanned from original art boards and, thanks to modern digital printing, these pages have never looked so good. Lettering has been restored and, in the case of one strip, edited pages have also been restored.
__The four strips, taken from the pages of Look and Learn, include the often grim tale of "Potts' Progress", the story of Prestor John retold in "The Crusader", the action-packed "A Sword for the Stadtholder" and a story of revenge as Richard Fairfax becomes "The Black Pirate". The book also includes a detailed introduction charting Doughty's career as a comic strip artist and illustrator in the pages of Thriller Picture Library, Sun, Express Weekly, Top Spot, Swift, Lion, Girl, Eagle, Knockout, School Friend, June and other papers. A gallery of over 100 illustrations reveals Doughty's skill as a chronicler of history from portraits of Britain's monarchy to the adventures of explorers, highwaymen and pirates.
Order from Bear Alley Books.


MARCH 2012

An Inspector Calls (Original Text) by Jason Cobley & Will Volley.
Classical Comics ISBN 978-1906332327, March 2012, 144pp, £9.99.
An Inspector Calls (Quick Text) by Jason Cobley & Will Volley.
Classical Comics ISBN 978-1906332334, March 2012, 144pp, £9.99.
A respectable household is shocked when a strange police inspector visits them shortly after dinner... and proceeds to unravel their prejudices and lies. Through this almost surreal murder-mystery, Priestley interweaves social comment with a gripping story that twists and turns every few pages.
Order from Amazon [Original Text, Quick Text].

The Broons and Oor Wullie Holiday Sticker Annual.
D. C. Thomson ISBN 978-1845354794, 17 March 2012, 112pp, £5.99. [£5.39 from Amazon]
Order from Amazon.

The James Bond Omnibus Vol.3 by Jim Lawrence & Yaraslav Horak.
Titan Books ISBN 978-0857685889, 23 March 2012, 272pp, £14.99. [£8.79 from Amazon]
The daring James Bond is back in a definitive bumper edition collecting the first period of Jim Lawrence's celebrated run in comic strip form!
__Includes seven of Bond's most thrilling and dangerous missions: The Harpies, River of Death, The Golden Ghost, Fear Face, Double Jeopardy, Starfire and Kingley Amis' controversial post-Fleming story, Colonel Sun.
Order from Amazon.

Kingdom: Call of the Wild by Dan Abnett & Richard Elson.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907992988, 15 Mar 2012, 144pp, £14.99. [£7.99 from Amazon]
Earth, the far-future. With the planet now overrun by gigantic alien insects, Mankind is all but extinct. Genetically engineered dog-soldier, Gene the Hackman, now protects one of the last remaining human beings a young girl named Leezee Sower and the two of them have travelled to the land of Auxtralia, straight into the territory of a new pack...
Order from Amazon.

Sweeney Todd (Original Text) by Sean M. Wilson & Declan Shalvey.
Classical Comics ISBN 978-1906332792, March 2012, 168pp, £9.99. [£7.09 on Amazon]
Sweeney Todd (Quick Text) by Sean M. Wilson & Declan Shalvey.
Classical Comics ISBN 978-1906332808, March 2012, 168pp, £9.99. [£8.99 on Amazon]
No one knows for sure if Sweeney Todd actually existed - but this story, taken from a serialisation in a Penny Dreadful that ran from 1846-7, put the Demon Barber of Fleet Street on the map.
__Gory? No! What's particularly good about this adaptation is that none of the horror is to be seen — making this a truly wonderful version of a brilliant book.
Order from Amazon (Original Text, Quick Text).


APRIL 2012

Mega-City Undercover Vol.2 by Rob Williams, Simon Coleby, D'Israeli, Rufus Dayglo.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1907519284, 12 April 2012, 144pp, £14.99. [£9.74 from Amazon]
It takes a special kind of judge to go undercover on the mean streets of Mega-City One – especially in the crime infested Low Life; the nastiest part of the ‘Big Meg.’ This division of the Justice Department known as the ‘Wally Squad’ contains some of the bravest individuals working the streets – and also some of the most unhinged!
__Join Judges Aimee Nixon, Thora, ‘baby Judge’ Mortal and Dirty Frank as they encounter some of the biggest threats ever to appear in the Low Life, including a new reality-altering drug called ‘Creation’ and a war on the streets between the Justice department and the Yakuza!
Order from Amazon.

The Oor Wullie Notebook.
Waverley Books ISBN 978-1849342582, 2 April 2012, 144pp, £6.99. [£5.17 from Amazon]
Oor Wullie is Scotland's favourite boy, with his trademark spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he often uses as a seat. As his fans know, Wullie has been with us for the past 75 years, and Wullie normally finishes each strip with him sitting on his upturned bucket, imparting a thought or wisdom to his readers on his day or story. The frequent tagline on the strip is "Oor Wullie! Your Wullie! A'body's Wullie!" (Our Willie! Your Willie! Everybody's Willie!). Created by D C Thomson editor R D Low and drawn by cartoonist Dudley D Watkins, today he is drawn by Peter Davidson. This notebook contains some of Oor Wullie's favourite sayings and thoughts and is illustrated with single cells taken from the strip. Notebook pages are printed pale cream with light blue lines. The perfect notebook for any fan of Oor Wullie. "Oor Wullie" was launched in 1936 in The Sunday Post in Scotland, and is still going strong. The Sunday Post's readership covers all generations.
Order from Amazon.

The Rainbow Orchid Vol. 3 by Garen Ewing.
Egmont ISBN 978-1405255998, 2 April 2012, 48pp, £6.99. [£5.17 from Amazon]
At the beginning of Volume Three, Julius and Lily are recovering from the electrifying end of Volume Two. What does the future hold for Evelyn Crow and her gang of desperate villains? Do Julius and Lily have the strength to prevent Urkaz Grope from enacting his evil plans? Don't miss the stunning conclusion to the biggest adventure in comics! The Rainbow Orchid is an ambitious blend of classic storytelling, and cinematic artwork, in which adventure, historical drama and legend are seamlessly intertwined. 
Order from Amazon.

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