Posts
Summer Loveliness
And amongst all that, I have been fecund! Two thousand words of prose a day, keeping up with the comic work, all sorts of side projects taken care of, cricket on the telly (Usman Afzaal yesterday!) and then out in the evening to sit in the courtyard of the Crown and stay up late talking nonsense about music with my friends in town. Apart from the continual background worry that keeps freelancers, like young prey animals, on their toes, this is about as good as it gets.
Plus, some great TV at the moment. I thought ‘The Sontaran Stratagem’/’The Poison Sky’ was about as good a new Who as ever was, a great script from Helen Raynor. What I liked most about it was that it did a thing typical of Russell’s moral perspective: it didn’t settle on ‘the military is bad’, which it looked like it might for a while, horribly, but interrogated that point, and visited the pride and attraction of brave soldiery, and concluded that there was something worthwhile on both sides. The Doctor’s not the final authority on what’s right, but is a person with an opinion, albeit one he’s thoroughly considered, and that can change. Terrific stuff, and very much part of something I’ve noted here before, Russell’s ‘anti agenda agenda’: that a fixed belief system, no matter how heroic the character who holds it, the Doctor included, is a worrying thing. And that amongst such stonking old school action. Great stuff. Battlestar Galactica is also being imperiously great at the moment, delivering big dramatic character deaths in ironic and painful ways, and working fastidiously towards an ending that’s obviously been planned in detail. Fantastic work from Jane Espenson on the last episode, especially. Like the above Who, it’s an exercise in grey areas.
I am again obliged to point out various things that are happening in the next few days. First off, I’m the guest on BBC Radio Wales’ All Things Considered this coming Sunday at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/allthingsconsidered/
Or as a podcast:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/atc/
Roy Jenkins is a very tough interviewer, in the best possible way. I think we get to some revealing stuff.
I didn’t want to mention it before, because it seemed slightly presumptuous, but I’m told it’s fine to say that Iain Banks has now taken a look at the recording script of my BBC Radio 4 adaptation of his novella ‘The State of the Art’ and pronounces himself pleased. Any awfulness, of course, remains my own, and is not his responsibility. We’re now into the exciting process of casting, news of which I shall share with you when I can, and will be recording in a few weeks, for broadcast early next year. I’m really psyched by how rewarding a process this has been so far, and getting Iain’s approval just adds to that.
The first issue of Captain Britain and MI-13 is out next Wednesday/Thursday depending on whether you’re in the US or UK. I’m going to be doing a signing of it on Thursday evening, the 15th, at the Proud Lion comic shop in
I popped in to officially open the shop the other weekend (my second plaque!) and found myself part of a warm sitcom about selling comics and actually talking to your customers. There’s already quite a social life developing around that shop, as with all the best comic retailers. Long may it continue.
On the evening of Tuesday, the 13th, I have the honour of addressing
http://lewisinoxford.googlepages.com/
On the subject of ‘Who and I’, which is just basically an excuse for me to witter.
I’m off to the Bristol International Comics Expo tonight, a yearly treat with loads of bar time with old friends. I’m on a panel at
Thanks to Grant Morrison for expressing a preference in terms of the Hugo Awards during a fascinating interview:
http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/04/29/interview-grant-morrison-on-final-crisis-and-doctor-who/
Loads of finished Captain
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=92159514&blogID=389229861
I’m very proud to have provided the introduction to How The Doctor Changed My Life, the new Big Finish short story anthology, edited by Simon Guerrier, that’s devoted entirely to the winners of their recent writing competition:
http://www.bigfinish.com/news/How-The-Doctor-Changed-My-Life
I’ve run into several of this lot in the last few months, and they’re wonderfully enthusiastic and up for it. These are the next generation. Do support them when the book comes out in September.
My mate and new Indiana Jones comics scribe Rob Williams has a blog, with a page of gorgeous Indy pencils:
http://www.robwilliamscomics.co.uk/
And finally, if you fancy adding a bit of Captain Britain support to your blog, website or forum posting, here are some gorgeous icons, designed by leading Marvel UK fan Mark Roberts (you know him as The Sword is Drawn). Aren’t they groovy?
Labels:
All Things Considered,
Battlestar Galactica,
C.S.Lewis,
Captain Britain,
Doctor Who,
Iain Banks
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Say hi to Laurence Campbell for me. It shows how out of touch I am, but I didn't know he was still doing comics. He drew my only ever published comic, about a decade ago now, and he did a lovely job on it. He was a real pleasure to work with.
Scott Andrews
Nice to hear things are going well and that you're being fecund as all hell.
I'll be sure to check out the podcast on iTunes when it's released.
And don't go too feral. My uncle went a little too far with his "Holiday beard" and ended up spending all summer being chased by Bigfoot hunters.
We probably should have explained the situation to the hunters, but the reward was just sooo big....
Which BSG episode are you on? if it's the one I'm thinking of, it was a good episode. (Don't want to give away spoilers!)
I'm enjoying season 4 so far of Doctor Who. It's more like the classic Who than anything so far.
[GAPE]
You're coming to Proud Lion? In Cheltenham? As in... *JUST DOWN THE END OF THIS ROAD HERE AND AROUND THE CORNER AND ALONG A BIT AND STOP WHEN YOU'RE MENACED BY THE DALEK IN THE WINDOW?!?!?!?*
=8o>
[STARES IN STUPEFACTION AT THE SCREEN FOR SEVERAL SECONDS]
*WAHOOOOOO!!!!*
[BOUNCES ENTHUSIASTICALLY AROUND THE GROUND FLOOR OF "SHERBORNE TOWERS" (as I've dubbed it), DOUBTLESS INVOKING THE WRATH OF 'ER DOWNSTAIRS. (WELL IT IS 00:36 a.m.)]
It appears that I am not completely and utterly isolated from all of fandom here, after all. =:o}
What time?
Laurence is a really good guy. I'm always pleased to hear tales from the Furious household. The one you're thinking of, Garpu. We're less than a week behind the US transmission. And yes, P, that is indeed where I'll be. From around teatime I should think. Thanks for that!
I enjoyed the Sontaran episodes, too. I liked them better than The Doctor's Daughter. TDD should've been a 2-parter. It felt too rushed. As for BSG, I love it, too. Here in the US, DW & BSG are on the same network, on the same night!
Didn't know Laurence was the new Punisher artist. Brilliant for him. He's a cracking artist (and we've got his stuff up on the walls next to some Helicopter/Knight page).
Hope you enjoyed Bristol.
Oh, rushed, smushed. Etc.. I may now read the Punisher to see Laurence's work. I had a lovely time, thank you.
He also worked on a great little book called Disciples from Image.
Ah, I must have a look.
I can lend it to you next time I see you. Don't think there were any collections.
He also did the art on Rob's Wolverine story last year as well.
Oooh yeah. That was a good episode. Seems like that poor writer gets saddled with a lot of character death. That was the first episode of the current season that I liked, I think. The first 2-3 episodes felt like they were trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends quickly before the writer's strike.
I'm way into it right now, Garpu. Not many episodes to go!
Just had a listen to the All Things Considered Podcast. I too am greatly annoyed by the "Christian as villain" meme that's in most TV these days.
It's not only bigoted, it's also lazy writing, so it offends me on every level.
Do you ever watch an American show call Law & Order and it's associated spin-offs? My family has a game called "Spot the Cross," if a character has any sort of Christian token in their home, we know they're the guilty one. Since 9-11-01 it's expanded to include patriotic symbols as a sign of guilt, and anything Islamic as a sign of innocence. It makes the shows extremely predictable, & I just had to tune out.
It's become so bad on American TV that a couple of years ago a TV writer actually used it as a red herring on a show called The Inside. They had your stereotypical "creepy Christian" set up as the main suspect, but then in the last segment they reveal that all he was doing was helping drug addicts get into rehab. The real killer was someone else entirely.
Now I got to go and get my uncle out of the zoo.
Hey Mr Cornell,
Read Captain Britain and MI-13 today (more than once) and I gotta say, haven't been looking forward to a next issue so much since...well, since the Black Knight got me into collecting comics regularly in 1993 (when I was 9!!!).
It's great to see characters such as Brian and Dane be focused on as people, rather than ciphers to base mystical stories around, which I have often seen (not that I expected anything else after your other work).
Really impressive stuff!!!
Captain Britain and MI-13 1 review I've been posting round the net cos I'm that kind of fella
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Hey look kids, it's a great Secret Invasion tie-in. Writer Paul Cornell (Doctor Who, Primeval, Marvel's Wisdom mini-series), penciller Leonard Kirk (Supergirl,JSA)and colleagues present a tale of Britain's greatest heroes in a time of trial.
Said heroes are Cap aka Brian Braddock, 'hot knife'-throwing spy Pete Wisdom, speedster-vampire Spitfire, John the good Skrull Beatle, Dr Faiza Hussain and ex-pat Yank the Black Knight, happily working together to prevent the Skrulls gaining a magical foothold in Blighty (as no one has called Britain since about 1930). 'Efficient' isn't the sexiest of words but that just what this issue is in terms of scene and character-setting, and wonderfully so. Characters are introduced on the fly, their personalities and powers sketched in with economy (with the exception of new character, reader POV person Faiza - I guess we'll see what she can do outside of triage next issue) as super Skrulls are beaten up left, right and centre.
Cornell's dialogue makes the characters sound British without being 'jolly hockey sticks' caricatures. Captain Britain comes across better than he has in years - no more the oaf or alcoholic - while Dane Whitman gets a well-motivated character tweak.
Leonard Kirk and inker Jesse Delperdang tell the story well, with attractive figures in motion against nicely rendered backgrounds. What's more, they give great hair. Forget good girl art, this is great hair art - look at Pete's flying forelock, gaze in awe at Dane's new do!
There's also a jolly nice (oops, I DO talk like that) Brian Hitch cover and a smart logo harking back to The Avengers (Sixties TV show, not the comic Marvel once published). If you've room for an extra buy this week, try this comic.
Furious, you know I agree. I think it started as just the writers' desire to reverse expectation: when all Christians were seen as upstanding, them as villains was a refreshing shock. But now the reverse is the case. The failure to reverse that again is where the bigotry lies. (But of course this problem is shared by all theists. Except Buddhists, who are still the good guys. And I'm sure we don't begrudge them that.) Alex and Mart, thank you very much for those very kind reviews. I've been so pleased by the reception the issue has got. That lovely logo is by Rian Hughes.
Just finished Captain Britain and MI:13 1, and I can't begin to say how good it was.
Absolutely brilliant, and I can't wait till the next one.
And move over Wolverine and Mystique, I think Spitfire is officially the newest hardest pensioner around!
Dane was written fantastically, John the Skrull is still awesome, Brian came across way better than he's been written recently. I'm intrigued to see what will develop with Faiza's character, and your Pete is, as always, the best.
Great art too, I loved the cover, the logo, and the spread with Spitfire and the skrulls is brilliant
I've never heard of All Things Considered but I just listened to your episode and really enjoyed it. It was great to hear you talk about religious themes in Dr Who and Russell T Davis' attitude to christian themes despite his own atheism. Your comments on The Second Coming were especially interesting. As an atheist, I found the most interesting thing about that series was that it had an atheistic sensibility, ending with a world now free of religion (if I remember it correctly), but RTD based it in a world where God 'reveals' himself, thus proving his existence. Talk about an ideological dichotomy! A testament to Russell's genius, and his 'anti-agenda' style of writing.
At university I was friends with the head of the Christian Union, and used to go to one of those meetings where people talk about their contact experiences. It was really interesting to fully believe such things aren't real, but then hear people talk with such passion about these experiences. Hearing you talk about yours took me right back to those Monday nights. Thanks!
Regarding that ending... looks like Gordon Brown really IS a Jonah! :(
(His reputation must be even worse in the Marvel Universe - not only economic collapse and the highest taxation burden in history, but also allowing the country to be invaded by Skrulls...)
Thank you very much, Hot. There's also Captain Midlands to be considered in the hardest pensioner contest. And I distance myself from Tom's political statements, while welcoming his interest in all things Skrull.
The ads look great and I'm looking forward to the series. Good to see you very briefly at Bristol…
Thanks, and well done on winning that contest in Bristol.
PBristow, I'm sorry to say I never made it, but will soon, please keep that lovely enthusiasm going. Tristram: good to hear, you sound very sane about such things. Cheers.