2012 ... WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU

Ed Murphy, Publisher of Rough Cut Comics, writes:

I NEVER ever believed I’d be in line for any big awards after publishing comic-books for ten years in 2011 … so it came as a total surprise when I discovered I’d be receiving the honour of the ELEVENTH YEAR trophy for completing the decade successfully.

And I’ll certainly be accepting this prestigious statuette and running with it for the duration of 2012.

At this stage, I’d like to thank the writers and artists I worked with in 2011 (Joel Carpenter, Derek Dow, Dom Regan, James Ferris, Colin Barr and Jane Docherty); the designers and printers who pulled our books together with ruthless efficiency; and most importantly, our legion of readers who gave us a substantial foundation for this coming year.

So, what’s going to be happening in this eleventh year?

Well, I HAD hoped to be producing all 2012’s titles in 3D IMAX … but I’ll just have to make do with the technologies currently available.

As a well-known technophobe who point-blank refused to pander to any kind of digital release, Rough Cut Comics will FINALLY have a presence on your smartphone or tablet in the coming months.

We have been successfully re-printing our main titles over the past two years; and now, that back catalogue will be made available to download. There will also be a number of special projects from newcomer writers and artists which will be sold exclusively in the digital medium.

But don’t for one minute run away with the idea we’re giving up on print.

Our first major release of the year will be our big-budget, mega-run return to the 32 page format – AMANDA SWAN: THE HELLFIRE LEGACY, a gothic adventure title produced in conjunction with the British model/actress who featured in The Don of 42^nd Street.

This is just the kind of high-profile project Rough Cut Comics was established to produce … and for this; we will be collaborating with Amanda and her specialist team of photographers and stylists to create a huge range of photographs and posters to tie-in with the comic-book.

With the help of her promoters and publicists, I hope you’ll be picking up Rough Cut Comics on your electric razors and hairdryers in the morning … and this certainly will be another key change for the company in 2012.

Our new investors are keen that we grow substantially during this coming year, working with more established writers and artists and building our public prominence.

And this is where YOU can help.

Next time, you’re “talking” about comics to someone you know, simply mention Rough Cut Comics and ask them to go look us up on the web; on Facebook and on Twitter. Encourage them to “follow” us on the social networks.

And they’ll be given the opportunity to see what we’ve contributed to the comics market over the past decade.

Right now, I’m finalising copy for a new-look to our official website and number of press releases which should be going out over the next few weeks.

It’s hard not be excited about the goings-on in the British comic-book industry at the present time. There are a myriad of newcomer publishers joining the medium this year; and the most ambitious new development is the work of UK Comics’ Stuart Gould who is expanding his printing repertoire into a distribution network in 2012.

This year, I’m looking forward to Hi-EX, KAPOW, Glasgow Comic Con, Thought Bubble and the Canny Comic Con (where I may continue to appear as ‘a punter’).

I won’t be giving too much more away at this first blog of the year. But I will tempt you all by promising that they’ll be more tributes to The Man and The King this year … Nuff said for now my friends.

10TH BIRTHDAY: JAESON FINN

Publisher Ed Murphy on the key artists who worked with Rough Cut Comics over the last decade.
JAESON Finn was the first artist who joined the fledging Rough Cut Comics team at the beginning of the new millenium.
He was assigned to perform the art duties on the adaptation of THE SURGEON film script ... originally an attempt to gather another £150,000 to complete the budget for production.
I had known Jaeson as an avid horror-film buff who attended the Black Sunday Film Festivals in Manchester and Edinburgh. I became involved with an event in Glasgow; and eventually mini-bused the small batch of ticket-buyers to the massive Manchester event.
Years later, we met to discuss THE SURGEON and re-ignited our passion for horror. Jaeson was instrumental in visualising many of designs for Neil Marshall's apocalypse thriller Doomsday ... and it is here that Jaeson's innovatively gruesome ideas come into their own. He's great at bringing to life an Adam Hughes-style 'babe' ... as he did for ROSE BLACK. When he starts, he's a fast worker; able to devise accurate figure work in dynamics postures on 'first-take'.
His pencils on THE SURGEON were inked by Colin Barr and he provided the art for one later story in the series.
But it was his ROSE BLACK series and GN which his style was truly developed; and consolidated that great 2000AD style. Again, his work was inked by Colin Barr, but his comic-book set-pieces (like the helicopter battle and the final denounment) were brilliantly executed.
Jaeson also worked on a number of caricatures and designs for our comic-book music publication GREEN PAGES; and produced some early art and designs for the ROSE BLACK: DEMON SEED (originally subtitled ELOISE).
But Jaeson's passion was always in film and TV. He worked closely on a number of short-films projects (including innovative Scottish team Once Were Farmers; and their crawling horror The Midge) before creating a working relationship with Newcastle film-maker Neil Marshall; and moving on to collaborate on many international film productions (Your Highness, Unknown). But check out Doomsday and Centurion to see some of his classic design work.
Or if you haven't yet, pick up ROSE BLACK GN available to purchase again this winter from all good comic and bookshops in the UK or direct from the publishers at http://www.roughcut-comics.com/

10TH BIRTHDAY: NEILL CAMERON

FORMER Rough Cut Comics Marketing Manager Johnny McKie recalls his favourite artist from the company’s 10 year history.

ROUGH CUT COMICS acquired the comic-book rights to Brian Yuzna’s cult horror satire Society in 2002 and produced stories which combined to be an official sequel to the 1989 film.

British artist NEILL CAMERON produced the artwork for the second issue of SOCIETY: PARTY ANIMAL in 2003.

Neill had developed a substantial reputation in the small press of the day. Publisher Ed Murphy was a huge fan of his Dumbass comic label and his work in British Bulldog. The Oxford-born artist, who studied at university in Glasgow, had a style which the team at Rough Cut Comics reckoned was truly dynamic … with potent strains of early Frank Quitely in design and presentation.

For the SOCIETY series, the artist had captured the Dali-esque caricatures of the story’s main protagonists: a race of upper-class deviants who ritualistically devour the poor.  His visualisation of the “Mega-Shunt”  –  the monumental melding of a hundred naked deviants engaged in a sexual orgy while oozing after hero Billy Whitney  – was fantastically grotesque. Thanks Neill.

Neill has since provided the art for the Classic Comics’ award-winning adaptation of Henry V, for which he won a Silver Medal Independent Publisher Book Award in 2008. His webcomic Thumpculture was also shortlisted for an IMAF (International Manga and Anime Festival) award.

He has also provided artwork for such licensed series as Transformers, Doctor Who and Marvel Heroes.

His latest work is Mo-Bot High, a brand new graphic novel series from David Fickling Books in the DFC Library. We are led to believe Neil is currently working on new projects which “combine dinosaurs, pirates and monkeys” for the new children’s comic The Phoenix, launching January 2012.

For more information on Neill, check out www.neillcameron.com. Check out some of Neill’s art from SOCIETY: PARTY ANIMAL on www.roughcut-comics.com  … or on the Facebook page link: www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rough-Cut-Comics/142598199129432. We'll be reproducing more artwork over the next few weeks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROUGH CUT COMICS

ROUGH CUT COMICS released its first comic in November 2001 ... so celebrations are in order, right?
Well, after a decade creating and producing a range of popular titles which have attracted overwhelming credibility in the international comic-book marketplace, we’re far more interested in just getting started on the next 10.
In the past, we’ve organised parties to promote our key titles: from our launch night at Bristol Comic Con in 2001; our SURGEON showcase at San Diego Comic Con; a fifth birthday party at Glasgow’s Baby Grand; and a FREEDOM COLLECTIVE re-release cheese and wine in Berlin.
That’s excluding the myriad of late-night drinking sessions at Bristol and Birmingham.
While it’s always good to celebrate reaching another milestone, the real celebration in this day and age is quite simply … the NEXT milestone.
We never really imagined we’d ever go even one year.
Our first comic-book was devised solely to help raise the last piece of finance for the film production of THE SURGEON.
What was the inspiration behind that idea?
Back in the 1980s, film producer Milton Subotsky had approached Dez Skinn to produce a comic-book version of The Monster Club, the movie project based on R. Chetwynd-Haye’s horror stories. Subotsky was trying to create for vehicle for horror film legends Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and John Carradine.
Artist John Bolton had been producing comic-book versions of Hammer horror movies for Skinn’s inimitable House of Hammer publication and he was roped in to the produce the movie adaptation, which eventually brought in the final phase of cash at the Cannes and green-lit the film to be directed by Roy Ward Baker.
Twenty years later, our future Publisher Ed Murphy was working with the Film Development Corporation in pre-production with THE SURGEON feature film.
The project had attracted Richard E Grant (who stepped in after Harvey Keitel pulled out) and The Thick of It’s Peter Capaldi. The horror-thriller would be the debut feature film of Adrian Wright, an original member of the Human League who was then directing pop videos.
As a former contributor to NME, Murphy had long promoted the comic-book industry with his features on Alan Moore, Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison. A huge fan of 2000AD from Prog One and a collector of the aforementioned House of Hammer, Murphy felt a comic-book adaptation could help promote the project for international pre-sales.
Murphy’s early friendships with writer-artist Rob Moran and some of the Electric Soup team gave him a solid ground in putting the comic-book together … and it was planned and budgeted as a two-issue mini-series. The 32-page title had its editorial pages “typeset and pasted-up” the old-fashioned way and printed on web off-set press.
Jaeson Finn provided the artwork and his cinematic imaginations forged his career as one of Britain’s much sought-after storyboard visualisers for feature films such as Doomsday and Centurion.
Thanks to the tremendous team, Rough Cut Comics’ debut title was a monster success … with orders of 8500 copies through Diamond Comic Distributors.
It may be somewhat ironic that the marketing tool for the film didn’t prove effective, but it sparked a huge readership as a comic-book. Over the years, it has attracted interest from directors Sam Raimi and Russell Mulcahy; as well as British author Ramsay Campbell, who provides an introduction to the new trade paperback of THE SURGEON.
It’s these little facts and figures which lead us to the conclusion that Rough Cut Comics is an important British comic-book company.
Sure, the last few years have been quiet for us … but we’ve stayed in business by constantly re-printing our popular titles, while working on a series of original graphic novels (unfortunately, we don’t reckon the 32-page mini-series is a viable option for an indie outfit anymore).
Those include ROSE BLACK: DEMON SEED, the innovative reworking of vampire mythology mixed with spy-girl comic style; and AMANDA SWAN: THE HELLFIRE LEGACY, a supernatural adventure based around the British model who features in the comedy thriller The Don of 42nd Street.
We’re also paving the way for a new FREEDOM COLLECTIVE project, our unique tribute to Stan the Man and King Kirby which has attracted a huge following of fans … including Alex Ross and Grant Morrison.
So I think we’ve got good reason to go on for another 10 years.
Hey, that’s right … we’re ten years old next month. No need for any extravagant gifts.
But if you do want to give us something, then go tell a friend about Rough Cut Comics. If they’re on Facebook, ask them to look us up … and “like” us.
Then like you, they’ll be part of the next 10 years.

DEMON "SEEDS"

OUR newest title ROSE BLACK: DEMON SEED was given its biggest public outing since its official release through Diamond Comics earlier this month.
The graphic novel was on show at the Glasgow Comic and Toy Mart - and this was our first opportunity to engage with its potential readership; exchange notes and gain a temperature reading of its popularity in the market (We've spent the last month doing PR at comic shops around the UK).
Without any doubt, Joel Carpenter's startling cover design is an instant attraction. You'll surely have noticed it on our Facebook page and may have seen it has attracted plaudits from industry professionals all over the globe. It's quasi-religious design depicts the titular heroine being dominated by the celestrial, winged figure of the story's 'big bad' ... the Amazonian she-devil Eloise, all pale-skinned and dead-eyed.
We found many new readers who hadn't seen the first book and became intrigued by this dynamic cover attraction. So far ... so good.
Everyone who enquired, it seemed, were intrigued by our story concept of vampires NEVER existing.
That's the underlying premise of the Rose Black saga.
It outlines the idea of Rose being the last of these celestrial beings who 'drank from the body of man' to rid them of disease.
These creatures have been written out of biblical records by a sinister cabal who are now housed in the Vatican, and have been influencing folklore over the centuries; rewriting history with their own nefarious ideas of bloodthirsty demons preying on mankind.
I light-heartedly offered the notion of shadowy figures visiting FW Murnau, Bram Stoker and Joss Whedon in our alternative storyline ... and was relieved when one true Bram Stoker afficiando didn't sprinkle the idea with garlic.
For the second book, we tried to develop a new scientific break-through in theology: and introduced our concept of 'Organic Divinity'. In a nut-shell, we basically throw out the bible ... and replaced it with pure science. Not weird science. Just the notion of god being a collection of molocules in one big test-tube.
I wouldn't imagine we'd get any strong debate about this at the Glasgow Comic Mart, but we're expecting the Mark of Cain from a section of the American Right.
There was some healthy debate in Glasgow ... and I'm glad to see many of our West of Scotland readership still retain their sense of humour.
Joel's interior artwork follows on fitting from Book One's Jaeson Finn. Jaeson, I've told you in previous posts, now works solely in the film industry; designing the storyboards for films such as the Liam Neeson thriller Unknown and the outrageous comedy opus Your Highness.
DEMON SEED's art, which is coloured by Glaswegian Derek Dow, maintains Jaeson's cinematic style ... especially in the climatic battle between Rose and Eloise. But I'm not going into ANYMORE about the conclusion ... there's a definite cliffhanger.
I'm looking forward to promoting the new book around the rest of the UK, including a big event at our big 10th birthday showcase at Thought Bubble in November. Keep your eyes on the Rough Cut Comics Facebook page for more events in 2011.
If anyone wants to buy a copy direct, you can do by checking out
www.roughcut-comics.com/pages/frames.html
and clicking on STORE.

ROUGH CUT COMICS' NEW TERM

IT strikes me that sending your new book off to the printers is a little like your young child's first day of school.
The little offspring ROSE BLACK: DEMON SEED was conceived by Tom Campbell and I about five years ago ... and we had all the usual late night "feeds" of ideas; creative "nappy changes"; its first steps and first words; leading all the way through various "design nursery" misdemeanors before finally being ready to be unleashed into the big-wide world without its parents.
We've been able to pick the best school (printers) for our child's needs; and after choosing the right uniform (cover and design) and sorting out transport (delivery), we settled down for an early night and an earlier rise.
While I'm pretty sure I've taken broad liberties with this metaphor, there is absolutely no doubt independent comic-book publishers view their books more like "children" than the huge mainstream outfits do.
If you're a parent, I'm sure you'll understand if your child's being excluded from the current curriculum or find the young one being picked on or bullied by the establishment, you'd be none too pleased.
This is the position that we find our young "children" in every term ... facing up against the 'Big Two' who all the young retailers crowd around to curry favour.
No one knows whether our kid is a tremendous football player or a fantastic athlete because he's stuck on the bench behind the 'popular elite' of the class.
I know many retailers who don't have much faith in independent product ... and, like school bullying, that's just wrong.
But here's a true story.
When we first solicited The Freedom Collective - one of our older children - to Diamond back in 2005, we were rejected by Previews' editorial committee as being 'poor quality'. We howked the youngster around the UK comic festivals that year and the well-turned-out infant achieved an instant following, gathering 3000 fans (Go look at http://www.roughcut-comics.com/ if you HAVEN'T seen our little jewel).
When it was resubmitted to Diamond a few years later, it was accepted ... and attracted more than 1,000 invitations from retailers. It was applauded by Prefect Alex Ross and a head boy called Grant Morrison.  I guess, the 'poor quality' pupil had some merit after all.
I'm thankful our big family gets some kind of worldwide support, but I always think about our Freedom Collective child's first school outing .. punted to the back of the class only to become a star pupil as the term moved on.
I'm glad there are new moves afoot to promote these young stars in British retailer outfits. And I look forward to promoting that in a future blog.
Right now, I ask all comic-book retailers to invite any new indie-product into their gang. There are a healthy array of talent in this year's class which are packed with 'hidden depths'; and it would be a good idea to let them florish.
As for little Rose and her DEMON SEED, I have high hopes for the term ahead.
I think she's be a popular girl with a great personality and a fantastic dress sense. Oh God, before I know it ... she'll been married off and living in Hollywood.
She's available to order from www.roughcut-comics.com/pages/frames.html and click on STORE.

THE WONDERS OF SAN DIEGO

SAN DIEGO has always been the Mecca for comic-book publishers and their fans.

Every year, thousands upon thousands make the pilgrimage towards the Pacific Coastal city – the eighth largest in the United States – which is immediately adjacent to the Mexican border.

Your entry into the San Diego Convention Center gives you a tablet which enables you to climb this Mount Sinai of the media world: a quasi-religious domain where every comic-book company will bring their biggest names and biggest products to “sell” to a loyal congregation.

The religious metaphors are apt … because like many religions, comic-book fans have varying degrees and choices of faith (I remember many years ago as a genre-writer, I publicised my ‘illogical’ dislike of ‘Trekkers’, and received the Starfleet equivalent of a Fatwa. For years, I expected a red-shirted assassin to emerge from the darkness to stab me with a pair of ‘Spock’ ears … but it never came!).

Like mass religion, the congregations queuing to see the comic-book messiahs are legion.

Even as a small independent publisher pushing to preach their word, it is difficult to concentrate on the business at hand without being mesmerized by the parting sea of artists and personalities from the world of comics, television and film.

You’re dazed. You’re confused. You’re talent struck.

When you emerge from the venue after the first evening, you’ll believe that Edward James Olmos is driving your taxi; Ryan Reynolds is the bus-boy; Natalie Portman is the desk-clerk at your hotel; and Carrie Fisher is in the room next door (Oh, Carrie Fisher is in the room next door!).

Now, you may notice comic-book writer Robert Kirkman or artist Adam Hughes don’t merit a show in this dream-like daze.

That’s because San Diego DOES concentrate all its preaching power on the Hollywood bible.

This year, critics of SDCC have accused the organizers of neglecting its comic-book publishing origins.

I reckon this isn’t a valid argument because I don’t know one comic-book publisher who wouldn’t sell their product for film or television adaptation.

Rough Cut Comics’ biggest success was The Surgeon, launched in the wake of a big-screen treatment with Richard E Grant and Peter Capaldi. As the film project slipped into ‘development hell’ sales of this monthly title fell sharply. That was no coincidence.

Most of the biggest comic-book booths at San Diego are from publishers whose titles have been licensed by film or television producers.

Last year, Robert Kirkman and Image ruled the roost – not for the huge success of their Walking Dead series, but for Frank Darabont’s television adaptation. This year, Marvel went big-guns on Joss Whedon’s big-screen adaptation of The Avengers (due to released on the big-screen in 2012).

Both these comic-book titles are pushed further into the heavens while their big/small screen equivalents are on view on TV and cinema screens.

Who know what interest Rough Cut Comics’ newest title Rose Black: Demon Seed will get from next year’s San Diego?

The option on the original book recently expired, but some interest followed on from Jean Claude Van Damme (Whaaaaa!) … as well as representatives of the Italian model actress Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded, Prince of Persia) who figured she’d be a shoe-in for the title character.

When all’s signed, sealed and delivered, all roads eventually lead to San Diego. There are a myriad of great comic-book festivals in the UK and the States, but when you’re book finally reaches Tinsel Town, there’s only ONE pulpit you’ll be preaching from … and you won’t be reading that in Sci-fi Now.