The Emperor

jontaylor-artwork: Some work I started with the Emperor for a...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 03:12:31 +0100

Some work I started with the Emperor for a competition, and sadly ran out of time on. Will try to finish it at some point in the future.

The challenge for the 2000AD forum competition was to show more of Dredd’s world in the style of the Dredd film. So I went with the obvious idea - the Dark Judges. Jon did a damn fine job, as you can see from the Judge Death and Judge Fire concept work, and the finished first page. I look forward to seeing the finished 3 pages (as I was happy with the way the script came together), but real life (and paid work) beats such free work. Plus we are also working on something else, so plenty to look forward to.

Anyway you can see all the entries on the voting thread.

frazerirving: Zombies! Yes, for a while I was very popular when...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:09:44 +0100

frazerirving:

Zombies! Yes, for a while I was very popular when it came to drawing zombies…they are pretty easy to draw I must admit, and it’s always fun making up grisly stuff, but lately I’ve swerved away from such subject matter to avoid being pigeon-holed as the Zombie Guy. This was a cover (and T-shirt) for an indy magazine called “The End Is Nigh” which focussed on a different apocalyptic scenario with each issue. This one was obviously to do with Zombies, and was a fine read indeed. I still have a T-shirt with the image on, and I had heard that some dude wanted it as a tattoo on his back…O_O

I stumbled across this while nosing through Frazer’s Tumblr archives and it was a pleasant blast from the (recent) past. I not only wrote a decent percentage of that issue of The End is Nigh (and future ones) but I have the T-shirt and I got the specific page signed too (it wasn’t the cover, one Matt “I’m nicer than I pretend to be” Timson, it was the main illustration for a text story by Richmond Clements).

Granted this isn’t quite comics-related but it had comics in it and my very first sequential story would appear in a later issue. They were all available for download from the official website but that is now down and I can’t find an archived version. Ah well, it’ll all be over at the Winter Solstice anyway ;)

An actual panel from the story “Foxfire Over...

Tue, 29 May 2012 01:29:35 +0100

An actual panel from the story “Foxfire Over Fuschia” drawn by Chris Askham.

A teaser image from a short comic strip - fresh from the drawing board - featuring zombies and samurai. What’s not to like? The whole strip is finished with a halftone effect, and coloured with a single spot colour throughout. Something quite different for me.

I now have all the art in front of me and it looks damn fine. Now for the final finishing touches, as it is a silent story we are focusing on the sound effects and I didn’t want to try and finalise them before seeing the whole thing.

jontaylor-artwork: The Emperor and I’s entry to the 2000AD...

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:50:58 +0100

jontaylor-artwork:

The Emperor and I’s entry to the 2000AD forum May art competition, themed around the olympics.

Jon did an amazing job on this, I couldn’t be happier.

The competition thread is here if anyone wants to enter, there is still the weekend. Thanks to CrazyFoxMachine for running it.

Sorry it’s been a bit quiet here. I am working on an...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:53:41 +0100

Sorry it’s been a bit quiet here. I am working on an update post, but in the meantime some character sketches from Chris Askham. He is currently rocketing through the pages, so we are well on track for getting this done in time for the Halloween publication date.

More soon.

The Daft Judge Returns* Yep my upcoming Dirty Frank story for...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 02:38:00 +0100

The Daft Judge Returns*

Yep my upcoming Dirty Frank story for Zarjaz, the 2000 AD fanzine:

Coming soon to Zarjaz, and just in time- Dirty Frank’s Holy Wrong. Join The Emperor and Bruno Stahl as they show us a glimpse of just how wrong some things can be. Available in Zarjaz 14, on sale from November.

Special thanks to Bruno for going the extra mile and producing this image purely for promotion purposes (and because I thought it’d be funny) and to the FQP editors for letting me run even if I’ve had to sign a waiver exempting them from all blame.

* Returns in time to kill a certain comic creator

Well, pickle my eggs, if this isn’t a glowing review of...

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:23:00 +0100

Well, pickle my eggs, if this isn’t a glowing review of Vampire Vixens from the Horror Cult Films site and I’m also glad they spotted some of the subtext as it isn’t all about scantily-clad dead women:

Not alienating the female species, this comic empowers women with the Vampire Vixens in question being powerful, strong women. When the comic landed in my lap I squealed with utter delight. I am a huge fan of Ilsa She Wolf of the SS and this comic seemed to capture the same black humour that was so successful in the Ilsa film franchise.

One of the things that annoys me about mixed sex duos is that the male is almost always an off-the-wall character, while the female half has a stick up her butt - across the series he is usually more knowledgeable about the fictional universe they inhabit and introduces her to it, helps her come out of her shell and enjoy life more, while she has to partially tame him and keep him focused on solving the problem at hand (examples include: Moonlighting, The X-Files, Warehouse 13, Fringe and many others I’m sure). You can almost hear the generic trailer voiceover: “he is a rule-bending Secret Service agent, she is his by-the-book partner” - that is a reworking of the Warehouse 13 character précis but you don’t have to change much to make it fit a dozen series.

What I’m trying to do here (and elsewhere, as it is theme I return to a number of times) is stand relationship on its head using Nazisploitation because, as the reviewer, notes there are strong and dominant female characters in the genre like Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS, which tends to subvert the more common genre trope of the damsel in distress that you see in Nazisploitation and other “women in prison” stories, whilst still being an exploitation film (see also the Japanese “pinky violence” films like Lady Snowblood, Female Yakuza Tale and Sex & Fury, which I’m drawing on for a totally different story). So this, gives us the chance to have a strong female lead character and, as you’ll see when we get the chance to tell future stories, we’ll also try and drain some of the venom that could involuntarily come from drawing inspiration from the Ilsa character (being based some of the truly appalling female war criminals like Ilse Koch) by showing that our lead is herself a victim of the Nazis. On the other hand the Vicar counterpoints the Vixen in the duo by being less knowledgeable then her and having a caber rammed up his jacksie especially when it comes to the supernatural (and quite possibly the sexual), also for reasons that we will reveal later.

Now I might not be able to properly pull this off, either through a lack of ability or the sundry compromises you have to make (often with yourself - I don’t want it to be so “on the nose” that it spoils what is a comedy, action-adventure story) between the idea and the page, but I am heartened to see that even at this early stage, only 8 pages in, some of that is getting through, both through the writing and the art.

Anyway, enough of this musing. Onwards:

Reading the comic was a blast, a naughty flashback to the camp Carry On films and exploitation era of the 70s, full of innuendo and black humour which we seem to be lacking these days. It’s Uncle Rotter-esque mischief mixed with dark humour, mythology and non-politically correct attitude is just the sort of thing many people in today’s society long for. With it’s inspiring, enjoyable story and bold, vibrant artwork, it’s not surprising that the strip won an award for Best Art at the Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards in June earlier this year.

They also touch on the future:

To date, only two episodes of Vampires Vixens of the Wehrmacht have been published with the first selling out. They were featured in an anthology magazine called Wasted which has since closed down, but there are talks to unleash the Vixens in a dedicated mag of their own. I for one would be quite excited to see such a publication with this comic being the freshest and down right coolest thing I have seen in a long time.

This is an angle we are working on as I type, nothing to report yet but it is early days and we believe in the characters and the story we have to tell, so will keep plugging away until something comes together.

OK here is the video mentioned in the last post, you get a brief...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:52:14 +0100

OK here is the video mentioned in the last post, you get a brief view of Vampire Vixens at 7:35.

Blimey: The original painted Vixens cover made a surprise...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:49:54 +0100

Blimey:

The original painted Vixens cover made a surprise appearance on BBC ArtWorks programme last month.

This is the episode, I believe, but being South of the Border I can’t see it. However, I might be able to get someone to grab the snippet. More on that when it happens.

A sample of Undertow: This issue includes the finale to the...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:01:05 +0100

A sample of Undertow:

This issue includes the finale to the weird and wonderful Undertow, by The Emperor and daveycandlish.

The Vatican hitman is determined to kill the goblin Messiah, and has the mystical weapon to do so, but the Underworld aren’t finished just yet…

2000adonline: ECBT 2000AD review the latest offerings from the...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:00:06 +0100

2000adonline:

ECBT 2000AD review the latest offerings from the 2000AD fanzines:

Flint is joined by Luke Foster to have a look at the latest offerings from team Futurequake : Zarjaz 12 and Dogbreath 24.

As with the regular 2000AD reviews the strips in question are gone into in detail so expect heavy spoilers.

More info on Zarjaz and Dogbreath including details on how you can get copies are here : http://thequaequamblog.blogspot.com/

Please note : These reviews were done with digital copies the gents at Futurequake were good enough to provide. As such some stories were read in a different order to that which was in the printed edition. Not that it really matters, just in case anyone is reading along. That said the one longer Dredd story was broken down into three parts in the print version.

Includes a review of my Sun & Moon story, not exactly glowing but the make some good points.

Out now with the final instalment of Undertow: Finally,...

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:01:05 +0100

Out now with the final instalment of Undertow:

Finally, there’s the long awaited finale to Undertow - the Vatican hitman is determined to kill the goblin Messiah - but the underworld aren’t finished yet… This is the last chapter of a weird and wonderful tale by the regular team of The Emperor and Davey Candlish.

It has been a while but we are talking about a collected edition and I think the story will make more sense when read as a complete piece. I was possibly a little over-ambitious trying to fit a longer ongoing story into a well-spaced out anthology.

Also Ganesh will return, possibly in Paragon #10.

kevlevell: The rebirth of King Arthur - a page from the...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:42:49 +0100

kevlevell:

The rebirth of King Arthur - a page from the collaborative webcomic Fractal Friction.

A fantastic page from Kev.

FutureQuake Press have just announced the release of Dogbreath...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:09:00 +0100

FutureQuake Press have just announced the release of Dogbreath #24 which includes the sixth Sun and Moon story “Reservation Dogs” that I wrote and the sublimey talented James Feist drew. The spectacular Gronk cover is courtesy of Nigel Dobbyn who also writes and draws a Gronk story inside, it brings the days of the Gronkinator flooding back.

Zarjaz #12 is also out with a cracking cover from my Vampire Vixens collaborator Alex Ronald (his big return to drawing Dredd for a comic in 10 years and, despite his years working on the title in 2000 AD, his first cover for the character):

These are the Strontium Dog and 2000AD fanzines (respectively) and are jam-packed with thrills, I can guarantee it as I worked as script consultant on both of these comics, although not every story had my beady eye cast over them (as the FQP chaps try and work quite a way in hand) enough of them have my mucky metaphorical fingerprints on them for me to feel especially pleased at the results (I did get a script consultant credit for Zarjaz #11 but really I arrived after most of the scripts had been greenlit, so I feel these two are really the first ones I had a lot of input into and I’m suitably proud of the results).

Don’t forget that in the latest batches of releases there is also FutureQuake #18, an anthology of Future Shock-style stories with this blinding cover by Neil Ford:

So you should pop over to the FQP shop and get the chaps to bundle up all three of them for you into one envelope to save on shipping, or keep an eye out for them at any number of cons throughout the rest of the year (I believe Birmingham and ThoughtBubble will be two big ones they like to attend).

Down The Tubes have a report on the Glasgow Comic Con with some...

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:28:56 +0100

Down The Tubes have a report on the Glasgow Comic Con with some kind words to say about Vampire Vixens:

The separately ticketed evening event was built around the presentation of the inaugural Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards (SICBAs). These were voted on by attendees to the Con based on creator nominations shortlisted by a group of professionals and fans. On the night the Best Publication was Burke and Hare, originally published by Insomnia, written by Martin Conaghan and illustrated by Will Pickering, Best Writer was Martin Conaghan for the aforementioned Burke and Hare, while Best Artist was Alex Ronald for Vampire Vixens of the Wehrmacht in Wasted. The Achievement In Comics award went to Alan Grant.

It does have to be said that the SICBA organisers need to get their awards more widely known and publicised beforehand for them to be considered Scottish rather than merely Glaswegian, however all were deserving winners with Vampire Vixens more than good enough to have its own publication

Well the Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards were announced...

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:54:59 +0100

Well the Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards were announced last night and Alex won the “Best Artist” award (sponsored by Orang Utan Comics, thanks Ian) for his work on our Vampire Vixens, and I got a mention in his acceptance speech too. Over to Alex:

Scooped the Best artist award for Vampire Vixens at the Scottish Independant Comic Book Awards last night. The brilliant Glasgow Con was hosted by Sha Nazir and John Farman and was a great event held in a stunning Rennie Mackintosh building.

…

Cheers to all who voted.
Well chuffed.

Me too :)

Those results:

Best Writer: Martin Conaghan, for Burke and Hare
Best Artist: Alex Ronald, for Vampire Vixens
Best Graphic Novel: Burke and Hare
Life Time Achievement: Alan Grant

Alex previously won the 1997 “Best Newcomer” Eagle Award and it is good to see his return to comics, after a decade in the film and video game industry, has been acknowledged too.

Yes, more S&M: What would an issue of DOGBREATH be without...

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:56:24 +0100

Yes, more S&M:

What would an issue of DOGBREATH be without another outing for Mr Sun & Mr Moon. This episode sees them working yet again with familiar faces from S/D history. Who is it this time? Why are they Crying? And why is this episode called ‘Reservation Dogs’? You will need to get Dogbreath 24 to find out!

I’m just finishing off the next story, so everything is ticking along nicely.

crazyfoxmachine: Drawn for The Emperor of FILTH More Dirty...

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:26:21 +0100

crazyfoxmachine:

Drawn for The Emperor of FILTH

More Dirty Frank mayhem. No helmet jokes.

The nominations have been revealed for The Scottish Independent...

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:15:00 +0100

The nominations have been revealed for The Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards, to be announced at the Glasgow Comic Con and Alex is nominated for the “Best Artsit” Award for his work on our story Vampire Vixens (sponsored by Orang Utan Comics, thanks to Ian for the reminder):

Nominations for the first ever SICBA’s (Scottish Indy Comic Book Awards) are as follows thanks to all who entered.
Commiserations to all those who didn’t make the shortlists and congratulations to those that did.
Thank you all for contributing.

The Nominees are as follows:

…

Best Artist

Alex Ronald - Vampire Vixens

…

You can read and vote for your favourites from Monday 13 - Sat 18 June at the Mackintosh Church, Arts & Heritage Centre all week.

It’d be great if Alex could win this one as it is his art that has really raised the story to another level, so I have my fingers crossed (as popping onto the train to Glasgow would be a tad excessive to vote for an award).

The Forbidden Planet blog gives the Vampire Vixens a fantastic...

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:31:00 +0100

The Forbidden Planet blog gives the Vampire Vixens a fantastic write up:

Artist Alex Roland gives us the low down; ‘I pitched the idea of a Nazi Vampire babe to the editorial team and they said to give it a blast. As I was working on this cover I had all sorts of ideas going through my head about her and how she could fit into a war comic scenario. Prior to this I’d been working on visuals for the combat/horror film Outpost 2 and knew there was a market out there for this type of genre.’

This insight from Ronald is indeed inspired, as the comic and prints of The Vampire Vixens sold out at Kapow!, and it rapidly became a comic that was highly sought after in quick order.

The story itself, drawn by a small press writer only known as Emperor, is quintessential British humour mixed with a classic war adventure. The two episodes so far published tell of how The Evil Germans have found a new weapon, Vampire Vixens, but one of them happens to have been turned to fight against Jerry and so heads off on a mission with a Chaplin to capture a spherical piece of human tissue, of legend and soldiers songs. This hilarity means the story is not too serious and is reminiscent of the likes of the Goons or Monty Python lampooning the subject of the second war.

The creative team is complemented by Jim Campbell who not only letters the strip but also brings some editorial input, and one can see that this team take serious care in their efforts at telling a good story.

The comic is beautifully drawn, the artwork fully painted in style and tremendously accurate, and of course, the Vampire Vixens are immediately iconic in their look. Ronald admits that he is drawing on many different sources of inspiration, ‘exploitation cinema of the late 70s and early 80s… Rock album covers, war comics like Battle and Warlord and Italian exploitation mags like Terror Blu and Hessa. Episode two has a panel that echoes the Bond poster, For Your Eyes Only and some of the promo images take their cues from the movie title sequences.’

The detail here is indicative of the calibre of the story, and one hopes that the final part and further stories will be picked up, if ever there was a marketable product this is it, although Ronald does say he is in negotiations – we can only hope for more.

There will indeed be more - Alex is working another project at the moment, but has the script for the third instalment and will start on that as soon as he is free. Stay tuned for more news as we are discussing perhaps going for expanded instalments which might, eventually, lend itself to a solid little collected volume. More news when it happens.