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Topics - Van Dom

#2
Hi guys

Just thought Id throw out a little mention that Edition Three of our anthology comic Vanguard is now available, both in print and digital format. I know a bunch of you guys here picked up the last two issues (thank you!) and may have been wondering what happened to 3. Short, boring answer - a few of us involved had 'personal issues' that simply got in the way of fun comic-making. Stupid personal issues!

Anyway, we got there in the end and we have a cool comic to show for it, 32 pages this time, all-new comic material featuring the continuation of all (bar one) of the stories that appeared in issues 1 and 2, and a few new stories kicking off as well.

The comic features artistic contributions from forum regulars Bhuna, El Chivo and the artist currently known as Prof T. Bear (I think!), as well as some other incredibly talented 'pencil-monkeys'.

In true anthology fashion, there is 'something for everyone' - gothic horror, action/adventure,  sci-fi noir, time-travel shenanigans, black comedy, supernatural heroics and zombies. Well, no, there's not actually any zombies, but there probably should be, because everybody always seems to want zombies. We DO have a 'back from the dead' serial killer though, does that count? :)

Plenty more info, including sample pages of ALL the stories in the mag, can be found on our blog here -
http://vanguardcomic.blogspot.ie/

The comic is available on comicsy and lulu (info on the blog) but if you order from me you get a set of 4 free postcards, featuring some of the comics characters by guest artists (including other fellow forumers Chris Askham and Tony Rothwell.) You can check out the artwork for these on the blog. I only have a handful of issues and cards left myself, and I am leaving for Japan in a couple of weeks, so if you'd like to get your hands on a set you'd need to contact me asap. Once they're gone, they're gone, and they really look good. I also have some copies of the previous set of cards (that went out with issue 2) that I can throw in, for anyone who didn't get them first time round.

Anyway thats enough shameless pimping from me! As you were! :)
#3
Hi guys

Some of you already know about this but I've set up an FB page for the anthology comic I have been producing with some fellow boarders (to wit, Bhuna, El Chivo, Chaingunchimp, Professor Byah, Cthulouis, Crazyfoxmachine and conceptboy). If you haven't already, please do pop along and give us a wee like.

I'll be posting all sorts of behind-the-scenes stuff, preview images of the next issue's stories, concept sketches, special one-off images by guest artists and even an ongoing prose adventure which I am currently working on and which will be posted in bite-size chunks. So give us a go and check it out here

http://www.facebook.com/vandomonium

Cheers!

#4
Off Topic / Leaving, on a jet plane...
20 March, 2012, 09:07:51 PM
So the time has come for me to head off for my new life in Japan. We fly out at 9am tomorrow morning, via Copenhagen. So next time I post here it will be in a distinctly more oriental manner!

Wish me luck! All told its about a 20 hr journey from the time we head off - with 4 kids in tow, one of them a hyperactive nearly-2 year old and two others who are already a little bit poorly , I'm going to need it!!!

Talk to you all soon!
#5
What it says in the subject. It's a bit later than scheduled due to various shit things happening (read all about them on my blog post!) but it's here at last.

24 pages of cover to cover action, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, alien creatures, ass-kicking babes, angry donkeys, demons and deceased serial killers. Contributions by plenty of folk from this here parrish, including crazyfoxmachine, el chivo, chaingunchimp, cthulouis, conceptboy and Jim Campbell. Honestly, what more do you want from a comic? What's that? Free gifts? Oh alright then, there's some of them too, but only when you buy an actual paper-and-ink copy that gets posted to you, in an envelope, with your name on it, and a stamp.

However, if you are not of the small-press comic buying persuasion (which would be the majority of you reading this I'd imagine) you can still read the comic, completely free, by viewing it online. Can't say fairer than that. All you have to do is read my blog post HERE here - to find out how.

And if you don't even want to read the blog post you can go directly to the comic right this second by clicking HERE (can I make this any easier??!)

To those of you who like to support the small-press - would love you to buy one.
To those of you who aren't in to that - would love you to read the online version.
To all of you, whatever you choose to do - would love you to leave some feedback, somewhere. That's really more important to us than your money!

Thanks guys, hope you enjoy the comic.
#6
Anyone know much about Book Valuation. In clearing out the attic I have stumbled upon a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, without its dust jacket. I have no idea where this book came from, don't remember ever buying it. However, having done some research, it seems to be a first edition, as it is exactly as described in this posting here :

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=6197162520&searchurl=an%3Droald%2Bdahl%26sgnd%3Don%26tn%3Dcharlie%2Bchocolate%2Bfactory

Its published by Knopf, 1964 edition, red cover, blind embossed title, gilt wording on spine. Its also signed by Dahl on the inside front cover -(Ive checked Dahls signature online and its the same). The book is in perfect condition except for the lack of its dustjacket. According to that listing, a dustjacketed copy is selling for 13,500 USD.... Would the lack of a dustjacket take away massively from the books value does anybody know?
#7
Film & TV / American Horror Story
15 October, 2011, 09:46:14 PM
Anybody watching this?
Two episodes in to the series and its my new favourite thing on tv. Freaky and atmospheric and doesn't pull any punches. Some genuine scares in this too, and not of the Hollywood teen-slasher flick kind. A lot of good old fashioned mind games and paranoia. The characters are a flawed, delibarately unlikeable bunch of possibly iredeemable people, but somehow it works in this context. And the supernatural elements are very well done. There's a real sense of doom that pervades the whole thing, puts me in mind of movies like Rosemary's Baby. Jessica Lange as the psycho from next door is great. Definately worth a watch for anybody who is into this kind of thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDb4SqqiQag
#8
I'm trying to track down a film version of Agatha Christies "And then there were none"/"Ten little indians". This particular version had a kind of intermission thing, right at the end just before the killer was revealed. In the intermission, a voice over asked the viewer who they thought the killer was and then went through a recap of all the characters, dropping possible hints. There was then like a clock countdown thing (I think) marking time before the film came back on, so you could think about it and make a guess.

Anyone know which version of the movie this is?
thanks
#9
Well guys, its finally here!

The culmination of several months work is back from the printers, and it looks absolutely awesome, if I do say so myself. :) My collaborators on this project have put their all into turning in some fantastic-looking pages, and the whole thing sits together really well. The only thing to do now is attempt to sell a few copies to you fine fellow comics fans, so we can share the results of all our hard work with you. 

Click <a href="http://vanguardcomic.blogspot.com">here</a>
for ordering information (and some previews if you haven't already seen them).

I've tried to keep the price as low as possible whilst also attempting to garner back some of the printing costs. And just so you know, here's what you get for your money:

24 pages of  shiny comic goodness!
8 noir- styled pages of femme fatale action by David Blankley!
7 mind-tripping pages of fantasy action featuring Gryphons and Smoke Angels by Cthulouis!
6 wonderful panels of dark humour by El Chivo!
5 greyscale-tastic pages of donkey-packed mayhem by Crazyfoxmachine!
4 stories featuring a mix of sci-fi, fantasy, humour and horror!
3 preview panels from the next installments of our stories!
2 pages of atmospheric  gothic art by Chaingunchimp!
and 1 arsom, full colour cover by the one and only Ghostpockets!

How do you like them apples?? :)

Go on, give us a try folks! There's something in here for everyone  and I honestly don't think you'll be disappointed! We need your support and feedback to make sure the next issue is even better!

Cheers!

#10
Hi guys

Not sure if its been mentioned on here before but David McDonald is putting together a second issue of Tales from The Emerald Isle for the 2d festival in Derry next month. This one won't be based on 2000ad characters. I've done a 3 page script featuring Fionn Mac Cumhaill which WAS in production...but sadly the artist has just contacted David to say he can't get it finished in time. We've lost a couple of weeks on this as a result.

The deadline is....pretty soon! Just wondering if there's anyone out there who reckons they could have a shot at it. As I say, 3 pages, black and white, and its set in a forest.

This is for a print publication.

Probably a long shot at this stage but just have to ask anyway!

DvD
#11
Off Topic / Where's Roger?
13 May, 2011, 03:44:36 PM
Just noticed today that I haven't seen Roger Godpleton posting around these parts for a while. Looking up his profile it seems he hasnt been online since early March --- has anyone heard from him? Hope he's okay? I have to say I miss the crazy bastard!! Come back Roger!!!
#12
Books & Comics / "Vanguard" comic - an experiment
12 May, 2011, 09:44:18 PM
Some of you may have seen the comic page Crazyfoxmachine posted in the "Does my Art look big in this" thread. That's the first page of a strip called Mammoth-Jack, which appears in a wee comic I've been putting together these last few months. It's called "Vanguard" and I've been collaborating with Crazyfoxmachine, Cthulouis, David Blankley and Professor Byah on it for a few months now.

This came about following a discussion I had with locustsofdeath over the New Year about how to get some of our own series out there. We were looking into the idea of self-publishing, and having done some homework and figured out it wasn't that expensive for a small print run of a 24pp black and white comic, I decided to have a go at it, as a little personal project. I've been working on a few series ideas for quite some time and this seemed like the only way any of them were ever going to get a chance at seeing the light of day.

The project is now in its final stages. Nearly all of the artwork is in and I have our very own Ghostpockets lined up to do a front cover in his trademark, uber-colourful style. With a bit of luck I should be getting the first issue (optimistic, I know, but that's me!) printed next month and then I will offer it for sale at a very, very, VERY low price (probably only enough to cover the P&P, as I really want to get this out there and am conscious that people are reluctant to part with even a small amount of cash these days for something they aren't completely certain they will get their moneys-worth from.)

Before all that though - you can check out a synopsis of the stories and a sample page from each at this blog.

Please do have a look.
Please do click the little "Follow" button.
Please do try to give us some support us on this. The guys have done some tremendous work on the art and turned in stunning pages: David Blankley's work on Atomic Call is crisp and clean and he draws some very cool looking heroines; Cthlouis' art on Halo and the Gryphon is the best he's ever done (I'm sure he'd agree!); and Crazyfoxmachine has created something special in Duncan Mammoth-Jack, the most unlikely savage 'hero' you've seen in a long time. They definately deserve some recognition for their work, and I'm sure you'll agree when you see what they've done.

One unfortunate thing. You will notice on the blog a preview for a story called "The Sluagh". This was to be the 4th strip in the comic and Professor Byah was blowing me away with his work on it - just look at the first page on the blog. Sadly, some personal issues have meant he is unable to complete the art for the first installment at this time and so "The Sluagh" will NOT appear in Issue 1. It hasn't been abandoned by any means however, and should this project be reasonably successful (I mean in terms of people liking it) then it WILL debut in Issue 2. Let's just see how it goes! In the meantime, I am currently working on filling the gap with a surprise story featuring a different character...but more on that later!

Check out the blog guys - hope you like what you see! We're all doing our very best to put together a comic you will enjoy!

Dirk

http://vanguardcomic.blogspot.com/
#13
Film & TV / The Defenders
10 April, 2011, 09:53:46 PM
Caught the first ep of this on FX the other night. Knew nothing about it except that it sounded like a superhero show. I'm not really big into courtroom drama shows, so when I realised that's what it was, I nearly switched off again. What kept my hanging around was first of all wondering if the male lead I was initially introduced to was Jerry O'Connell....looked like him....but kind of not, at the same time, so I wanted to find out. He was certainly acting a lot better than I remembered Jerry O'Connell used to act. Then the second male lead came on and I was like "Is that James Belushhi?" So that was two things I needed confirmed which kept me waiting for the titles to come up. As seems to be the case these days, a good ten minutes of showtime had elapsed before the titles showed up so by the time I was able to confirm that, yes, it was Jerry O'Connell and James Belushi...I was kind of into it!

It's not bad. The two leads work well together, good chemistry, Belushi's character in particular is a lot of fun.

Not really a courtroom drama person (I couldnt make it through a single episode of Fairly Legal despite the cuteness factor of the female lead in that one) but reckon I'll be checking The Defenders out again.


#14
Film & TV / Hi no Tori/Space Firebird
15 January, 2011, 01:22:36 PM
Hey guys

Just wondering if anyone has or knows how to get a copy of this animated movie from the early 80s. Used to love it when I was a kid and continually rented it from the video shop, week after week. A few years ago I bought a copy from ebay but it had both chinese and english audio running on it in tandem, no way to switch one or the other off, so, eh, pretty much useless. Looking on amazon, there is a DVD collection of similar stories also featuring the Phoenix, but this collection seems to be of a tv series of the time and doesn't include the movie.

Anyway, bit of a long shot but just thought I'd ask.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079293/
#15
Film & TV / Hancock...any good or a load of (han)cock?
14 January, 2011, 12:06:14 PM
This has just started here on Television Tokyo. Its dubbed into Japanese but thats alright, I need the practice. Is it any good though? I think it sank without trace at the cinemas.
#16
General / Classic (read - 80's) kids movies
15 November, 2010, 12:36:04 PM
Now that my two eldest kids are at an age when they can sit still for 90 minutes and concentrate on watching an entire movie, I'm putting together a DVD library for them, and as well as all the new, recent movies that they love, I'm trying to mix in some old classics that I used to love when I was a kid (in the wonderful 80s!). So far I've picked up The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Gremlins, The Princess Bride, ET, and The Monster Squad. (The Monster Squad was a bit of a push, watched it last night with my 8 year old daughter and it was a bit more mature then I remembered, a good bit of swearing in it, talk of tits and virgins etc. Very good though, even got me all choked up at the end!)

Can anyone recommend anything else in a similar vein that I should try and round up? I've been told Dark Crystal is great, though I've never seen it in its entirety. Remember loving Krull as well - is that along the lines of Princess Bride or was that aimed more at teenagers? I seem to remember there being some pretty scary monsters in that one?

All suggestions welcome!
#17
Hi guys.
So a little comic script I've written is being adapted into a short film by a new production company some colleagues have set up. There is next to no budget and they are using various contacts they have in the film industry to put this together more or less for free. Production is coming along nicely. However, we are looking for a nice title logo, and though we know what we are trying to achieve, none of us have the necessary Photoshopping skills required to put it together. It's actually a very simple design. Two words, the idea being that the second word will have blood splatter appearing across the five letters, minimal on the first letter but getting gradually heavier until the last letter is nearly completely covered. I'm sure some of you Photoshopping wizards out there could throw something together in about ten minutes. If anybody would be able to help me out on this I would really appreciate it (and as reward for your efforts I will make sure you get a credit for title design in the closing credits :) If anybody wants to have a go, just drop me a PM and I will send you on the rough drawing of what we are after.

Thanks !
#18
Film & TV / Resident Evil : Afterlife
14 June, 2010, 10:03:15 PM
This came as a surprise to me. After the pretty poor 3rd installment I'd heard that neither Paul W Anderson or Milla Jovovich were going to be involved in any further episodes. Then all of a sudden today I come across this - in which they both are!  I loved the first 2 but the last one was a mess.....hopefully this will put things right again. Looks pretty cool...and in 3D too (although isnt everything these days). Anyway, its got Milla in it, so instant win for me!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=038AYTugFsA&feature=player_embedded#!
#19
Books & Comics / Redfox
23 March, 2010, 09:39:14 PM
Does anybody remember this 80s comic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfox_(comics)

(EDIT - FOR SOME REASON THE CLOSING BRACKET ON COMICS DOESN'T POST INTO THE BROWSER WHEN YOU CLICK THE LINK, ON MY COMPUTER ANYWAY, SO YOU HAVE TO TYPE IT IN YOURSELF TO MAKE THE PAGE COME UP)

It popped into my head a few nights ago and I've been racking my brains trying to remember what it was called these last few days. Finally hit me tonight. What a blast from the past, as soon as I found that wikipedia page and saw the cover it displays, it all came back to me. I had that book and I'm pretty sure I had volume 2 as well. From what I remember it was great stuff. Of course, I would have only been 13 or something when I read it and as we all know, whats good to a 13 year old is not necessarily good to a 30-something year old!!!

Anybody have these? Do they stand the test of time? I'm going to have to go hunting for them on ebay now!!!

(Also just noticed thats a Brian Bolland cover. Sweet!)
#20
Games / Superhero City on Facebook
20 March, 2010, 09:55:16 PM
Is anybody doing this?
Man. Having successfully avoided hundreds and hundreds of requests to join Mafia Wars, Viking Clan, and countless other Facebook games over the last year, I stupidly fell for this one with its "superhero" in the title - and now I'm addicted to the damn thing. Its kinda fun, building up your hero's powers and having these little animated battles with other people's avatars.
Anyway, just wondered if anybody else had got sucked in. If so -wanna team up!?! :)