The PARAGON Annual - what's in it?

LEGACY of the STAR GODS by Stephen Prestwood Read the full tale in the PARAGON Annual - free P&P if you quote SHIPSHAPE14 when ordering from http://www.lulu.com/shop/paragon-comic/paragon-annual-2014/hardcover/product-21363552.html

FREE POSTAGE & PACKING!

FREE postage and packing on all Lulu publications! 

Just quote SHIPSHAPE14 and stock up on what you've missed!

Click that link  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The PARAGON Annual

As a thank you to all those who have bought a hardback version of the Annual, you can now find the horror comic AAIIEEE!!! free to download from lulu.com

Merry Christmas!

The PARAGON Annual - what's in it?

4D - an astonishing short story by Sean Brink and Jim Cameron

Download your copy for only 99p!!!

Or buy a traditional hardback from lulu.com - be sure to use the discount code 

#decktheshelf to get 30% off!!!

The PARAGON annual - what's in it?

A new adventure for L'il Ganesh and chums by Davey Candlish and Jim Cameron!

Have you got your copy yet? The digital version is only 99p!

The PARAGON Annual - what's in it?

What else do we have?

Spencer Nero - the 1930s British adventurer - comes up against the Chairman of the Board in a nine page tale by Greg Meldrum (with illustrations by Davey Candlish)





Remember the old hardback annuals you used to get at Christmas back in the 70s and 80s? It's that vibe I'm going for here, with a touch of reprint, new contributors and regulars with some of the regular characters, new one off stories, a text story and even a board game! So put your feet up, crack open a selection box and bring back those childhood memories.

Of course, if you don't want to fork out for the hardback you can always go for the digital option - only 99p!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=785432

The PARAGON Annual - out now!

Remember the old hardback annuals you used to get at Christmas back in the 70s and 80s? It's that vibe I'm going for here, with a touch of reprint, new contributors and regulars with some of the regular characters, new one off stories, a text story and even a board game! So put your feet up, crack open a selection box and bring back those childhood memories.

The brilliant has Archie Mcc illustrated a new episode of Jikan, written by Locustofdeath (writer of El Bigote in #15 of regular PARAGON) and lettered by Filip Roncone.

Just one of the new tales in the PARAGON Annual! 

Buy your copy now and use the discount code #decktheshelf to get 30% off

Click the link on the right >>>>>>>>>

The PARAGON Annual

A first look at the cover for the 2014 annual.

Are you excited? I know I am!

Coming VERY soon!

Inside PARAGON #15

A brand new thrill (and cover story) from writer Mark Howard and artist Tom Newell, Bludd & Xandi; celestial agents sent down to Earth to solve crimes!

Get your copy now! Click the link to the right>>>>>>>>

Jikan Board Game

And the final two Jikan character pieces produced especially for the board game - coming VERY soon in the PARAGON annual!!

Jikan Board Game

Oh you thought I'd forgotten these in all the excitement of getting out the latest issue of PARAGON?

(And believe me, the latest issue is fantastic - download it for FREE - or buy a copy by clicking the appropriate link on the right.)

Here's two more of the character pieces for the Jikan board game, by Archie and SKD

Coming VERY soon!!

Buy PARAGON #15 direct from me

Yup, that's right, now you can buy direct from me 

and get your hands on the new episode of Spencer Nero by Greg Meldrum and Stephen Prestwood.

Just click the link to the right!

PARAGON #15 digital edition now available - for FREE!!!

El Bigote - by Locust, EL Chivo & Bolt

Read this - and more - for free! Available from

http://t.co/fYHeKnCcTR

Inside PARAGON#15

Jikan lands on the Demeter in #15 of PARAGON, and if you know your Bram Stoker, you'll know who he meets on there in this tale by Mark Howard and Chris Askham!
Buy your copy from http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/paragon-%2315/14201254

PARAGON#15 out now!!!

Issue 15 of one of the best British anthologies around is out now! Read further adventures of Jikan the time-travelling demon-hunter, Spencer Nero the British agent fighting the evil Mrs Simpson (yes, THAT one!), a one-shot sci-fi tale, more from the undead Mexican Bandit El Bigote and a story from the creator of Cushing & Sons, Mark Howard, of celestial enforcers here on Earth. Buy your copy NOW!! Click the lulu.com link on the right - only £2.50!!

Jikan Board Game

Work continues apace on the PARAGON annual, inside which will be a Jikan board game - here are two of the character pieces from it! Be sure to keep an eye out for it - coming very soon!

PARAGON #15 - nearly there!

Two thirds loaded onto Lulu.com already - just waiting on a touch of lettering to hit my inbox and #15 is ready to launch!
Be sure to get yours in time for Christmas!

I may be a Doctor Who fan but

The launch of Doctor Who isn't the only thing to have happened 50 years ago

PARAGON update

I did have a wee bit of a panic on for a bit there when I thought I wasn't going to be able to get a new issue out in time for Christmas but thankfully the lettering is all going to fall into place after all

*breathes sigh if relief*

so here's a look at that cover again - Mignola inspired art by Dave Candlish, coloured by Jim Cameron.

And inside the comic? We have 44 pages of fantastic art and stories;

Greg Meldrum and Stephen Prestwood combine their talents to bring you a new Spencer Nero tale, 

Mark Howard and Chris Askham have a Jikan story set on a famous sailing ship, Demeter,

El Bigote returns by the original creators, Matt McLoughlin and El Chivo,

HdE and Jim Cameron give us a one off tale with a twist called The Biggest Stick

and our cover story is a new serial, Bludd & Xandi, by Mark Howard and Tom Newell

Be sure to  buy yourself a copy for Christmas!

Do You Prefer US Lite? Or Hearty UK Fare?

So I just read the Shadow Now #2 which was 22 glossy pages of glossy decompressed story interspersed with 10 pages of adverts plus covers. It took less than 15 minutes to read and cost £2.80 from Forbidden Planet. Throw in the option of variant covers and you've got everything that is wrong with US comics in a nutshell.

You could spend that much on an unsatisfyingly milky coffee from Costabucks and it would last as long.

This is why I prefer small press comics;

Zarjaz have just released their latest issue. It may be A5 in size but at least it has no adverts in.

Martillo is a one character book of short stories featuring a priest fighting evil in Franco's Spain.

The new PARAGON (out next month) has 44 pages (plus covers), A4 in size, 5 separate complete stories and no adverts - and all for £2.50

So tell me, what's your preference? US comics you can skim through?

Or a a hearty UK product to see you through the Winter months?

I've got mine...

...have you got yours?

'tis a thing of beauty!

Order your copy of the collected Icarus Dangerous now!

Icarus Dangerous - the digital collection - now available!

Held captive his whole life, young Icarus finally escaped Crete on the wings his father made for him, only to destroy them - and his one chance at freedom - by flying too close to the sun. His plunge into the icy embrace of a merciless sea brought his story to an abrupt, untimely end...or so everyone thought. In fact, it was only the first in a series of events that would take Icarus further from Crete than he ever thought possible, setting him on the path to an incredible adventure. The story of Icarus is only just beginning...

The digital version is now available - only 99p!

Only through the lulu.com shop

Icarus collected!

As advertised in the latest PARAGON, the collected edition of Icarus Dangerous is now available to order from the lulu.com shop.

Originally published in PARAGON #7-14, the 72 page book - at only £2.99 - is a must have for your bookshelf!

Which sketch card will you get with your copy?

All orders have now been sent out! I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to know what you think.

Leave your comments here or on the 2000AD forum and I'll be sure to read them.

E-edition now available! And it's FREE!!!

Hot on the heels of the printed book comes the e-edition for all those techno dudes who like to read their comics onscreen. So convinced am I that this is a bloody good comic that the download is FREE!
Get yourself a copy! Tell your friends! Spread the word!

Click the link to the lulu.com shop and download your copy NOW!!

CLiNT is dead. STRIP is M.I.A. So where now?

CLiNT is dead. Strip is missing in action and there is a whole thread over on the 2000AD forum lamenting what is wrong with that comic at the moment. So where do you go for an action anthology these days?

Cover by Matt Soffe

PARAGON has 36 pages of action packed self contained stories featuring recurring characters. And one serial.
#14 sees the extra length finale of the Icarus Dangerous serial by Dirk Van Dom and Stephen Prestwood

Saved from drowning, transformed into a true winged hero by alien Artist Meriope, and catapulted into a universe far from home, the legendary Icarus joins Meriope and a crew of fellow 'mythically-enhanced' beings on a mission to wrest an entire planet from the clutches of Artist-gone-bad Callista. Reaching the surface, the gang find themselves hopelessly outnumbered by the hoard of creatures Callista has created to defend herself, and lose their battles one-by-one. With Meriope taken by Callista for purposes unknown, it now falls to a grievously-injured, wingless Icarus, together with pixie-sized companion Pickaxe and stick-girl Mynx, to complete the mission and put a stop to Callista's nefarious scheme. But what exactly IS her scheme? And how will its revelation impact on our fledgling boy-turned-hero? Who lives, who dies, who flies - find out in the concluding chapter of "Icarus Dangerous"!

The Jikan Chronicles continue with the time travelling demon hunting samurai returning to Japan to find futuristic anthropomorphic alligator aliens with laser whips have invaded!

Check out the Mignola inspired art of Davey Candlish in this adventure penned by Dirk Van Dom

Tom Proudfoot and George Coleman have agreed to continue the adventures of The Major within the pages of PARAGON and here we have the first episode reprinted from last years amazing Halloween comic AAIIEEE!!!

Expect more from the Ambassador from Hell soon!

Spencer Nero - the British adventurer and Government agent who finds inhuman strength whenever he dons the Janus mask has two stories this time round;

The light hearted Hour of the Heron by the original team of Greg Meldrum and Dave Candlish

and the altogether darker tale of the Locked Door - what happens when Spencer takes a step to the dark side? Who can stop the inhuman power of the Janus mask? By Greg Meldrum and James Corcoran

36 A4 pages of all action adventure, this issue comes with a free sketch card by one of the artists - whose will you get?

A great comic and a piece of original art for £2.50 plus p+p?

It's too good to miss!

Black Hawk

For the 2000AD forum art comp

OH MY DOG! Bulldog is back!

30 years after creating the iconic small press character, Jason Cobley is bringing Bulldog back to print in PARAGON comic!

I have to admit to being extremely excited by this. Jason published BAM! (Bulldog Adventure Magazine) and it was this that got me interested in the idea of publishing my own comic, so to have his character added to the contents of PARAGON is huge for me. If you haven't read these stories, you should, and they can be downloaded from lulu.com for FREE - 3 collections worth!

http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type&keyWords=captain+winston+bulldog&x=-959&y=-8&sitesearch=lulu.com&q

With Jikan, Spencer Nero, the upcoming Major taking the slot vacated by Icarus (which ends in #14), forthcoming stories such as a murder mystery set in the 18th century Weimar and 50s retro British X-files in Tommy Rocket and now Bulldog, we have a line up to die for!

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON

Which cards will you get?

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON

Which will you get? Find out next month!

Major character in PARAGON

Those of you who read our horror comic last year may be excited to know that its' cover star, The Major, will be joining the regular list of strips in future PARAGON, starting in issue 15!
Another great character added to one of the best anthologies around!

Slaine & 2000AD

Take a good look at that art. Now if you frequent the 2000AD forums or buy the Prog then you know who this is by. But honestly, if you didn't know it was by one of the founding artists of that great comic would you be impressed by it? It's flat. The anatomy is cartoonish at best. There's no grounding for the characters, no backgrounds to give a sense of placement - a cardinal sin in B&W comics - you can get away with this in coloured stuff by giving a striking palette to the frame, but here? No it doesn't work for me.
I was relieved to hear Slaine was to be drawn again instead of the photo-manipulated art of Clint Langley which we have had in recent years and which my eye slides off, but I was disappointed in this weeks art; if it had been sent in anonymously, on spec, I believe it would have been rejected - I know I would have turned it down for PARAGON. It's only because it's by Mick McMahon that people are loving it.

What say you?

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON

Which will you get? Order your copy next month!

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON!

Which ones will you get?

CLiNT R.I.P.

CLiNT is dead. STRIP struggles. The two great hopes for Brit comics have disappointed for different reasons.
I did buy the first few issues of CLiNT but decided soon after that reprints of Turf (which I had already bought) and Millar's shock comics did not really appeal to me (rape baby bomb? Really?). It's positioning as a lad's mag comic wasn't for me.
STRIP was much more my style - to the point where I almost gave up producing PARAGON as a mainstream comic was now doing (pretty much) what I wanted to read. Then it relaunched in WHSmiths and in that time I've produced more issues than they have! Now that can't be right, when a small press comic is more regular than the big(gish) boys!



Someone suggested elsewhere that perhaps CLiNT would benefit from one complete story per issue to combat it's erratic publishing schedule. A reviewer of PARAGON has previously suggested I should do the same, but is that fair on those who write eight pagers for me? I could print Wotan Walks in Weimar as a one shot, or Bludd & Xandi , or even the Jikan 3 parter (all stories I have lined up to appear in future issues!) but where would that leave Spencer Nero, Tommy Rocket and The Major? No, I think serialising and one off shorts is best - I LIKE anthologies; I grew up reading them and like the mix of action, adventure, sci-fi and horror. PARAGON may not be mainstream or available in Smiths but it's bloody good and worth investing your time - and a couple of quid - in every few months!



Issue 14 of PARAGON wraps up the Icarus Dangerous story in an extra length episode, sees another adventure for Jikan the time travelling demon hunting samurai - this time he returns to Japan but something isn't quite right; croc-aliens have invaded - and Spencer Nero, the British empirical adventurer who finds inhuman strength whenever he dons the ancient Janus mask reveals a darker side to his powers.

Out Next Month!

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON

Which will you get?

Cleaning Up

http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/cleaning-up-download-957

I'm a big fan of the work of Big Finish and they've branched out into this film short. It's rather good.

Free sketch cards with the next issue of PARAGON

Which characters will you get?

Dial M for Murder

I don't normally use this blog to talk about anything other than my art and comics but sometimes, just sometimes, something grabs me and I want to shout about it.

I went to see the re-issue of Dial M for Murder yesterday at the cinema and I truly recommend it, especially as the re-issue is in 3D. The film was originally released in that format but as I'm sure you are aware, things have improved within the format in the last sixty years (no red and green lensed cardboard glasses these days!) so it was ripe for a re-release.

I've seen the film a number of times on TV (I'm a huge Hitchcock fan) but hadn't seen it in a long time, to the point where I couldn't remember the intricacies of the plot and the only 3D moment I could really remember was the attempted murder scene;
where poor Margot reaches out behind her head (and out to the audience) to find something to fend off her attacker, scrabbling around for a pair of scissors on the desk. But that's not the only bit that works; as she answers the phone, and the would be murderer steps from behind the curtain tightening the scarf he intends to strangle her with, the depth of image as she almost hangs up the phone and he moves his hands forward, pulls back and tries again is just astonishing. Hitchcock really knew what he was doing with this format. When you see it flat on TV it works, and works well, but see it on the big screen in 3D with no distractions in the room and the suspense is palpable.

From the very first image when the M looms out of the telephone dial in the title of the movie, you just know you are in for a treat. Seeing it on the silver screen in 3D also helps explain some of the low camera shots as the viewpoint prowls around the room; there always seems to be a lamp, a table edge, a bottle, an arm-rest in the foreground adding depth to the image.
If you've seen it before you will know it is based on a stage play and as such is indeed very stagey and the investigation and denouement is unrealistic - it would never happen in the real world, but for all that, it is a wonderful piece of entertainment. Milland as the urbane criminal cuckold and Kelly as the cheating wife, framed for murder; your support swings from one to the other depending who is onscreen - you don't want Kelly to hang for the death of a man who attacked her but you also want Milland to get away with it... perfect casting.

A final word on the casting - John Williams who played the inspector would have been perfect as Sir Gerald Tarrant in a Modesty Blaise movie. If only!





But who would play Modesty? Suggestions?