Well another year done and another John Smith work of genius.
When I started reading 'Leatherjack' I had this horrible feeling John Smith's work was suffering from what I call 'Stereolab syndrome'. Let me explain, I love Stereolab they are a fantastic band and amazing live if you ever get the chance, I digress. When I heard 'Cobra and Phases' however, their 6th studio album for those who don't know the band, I was just so done with them. Its not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination, if it'd been the first, second or even fifth Stereolab album I'd heard I'd probably have loved it but as it was I was just done with Stereolab, I'd heard just about enough Stereolab albums to last me a life time and have never got back into any of their newer stuff. They are still creative, different and brillant, just my head is as full of Stereolab stuff as it can get.
This is how I felt starting out reading 'Leatherjack', it was so very very John Smith. It had all the John Smith things in it, all his stuff. Crazy imagination, wonderful word play, a gazillion idea's a second, strong complex central themes, great characters, a real sense of a world at a slight angle to our own yet utterly compelling and believable. BUT I wasn't getting into it and a cold chill struck me. Was I done with John Smith, had my head got full of as much of John Smith's writing as it could take. Had John Smith jumped the moog (Stereolab reference for those that know).
No.
Thank christ for that.
As I got into the story I was so utterly pulled in, so entirely engrossed in the world he'd created and the creature's he's populated it with that my head just grew more space for John Smith and embraced this utterly brillant story. Really this has everything you'd expect from a John Smith story and its brillant. So much so that when I read the comment by Tharg suggesting that you read Paul Auster's 'New York Trilogy' and compare the themes and ideas I wanted to go back and read it again to do just that being a big fan of Paul Auster too.
John Smith is immune to Stereolab Syndrome, John Smith just makes your brain grow more space. And that is why he's a chuffing genius. I've waxed lyrical about the man before and was a bit self conscious about doing so again knowing that he's been around these parts of late but what he heck the man deserves it, he's chuffing brillant.
I've gone on to this extent and not yet even mentioned the fantastic Paul Marshal art... well there you go its fantastic. I get hints of Cam Kennedy from this work of late and I think this is the first strip (chronologically not by my reading) where that is apparent. Not in a way that takes away from his own unique style but just enough to enhance it even more. Great stuff.
In summary I liked this
Word/lab
I had a nose through Leatherjack the other and it struck me I should really buy the trade as it really deserves to be read as a whole where you can take it all on as ideas are arriving so fast you need to take it slow to get everything.
I am also surprised that, while Paul Marshall, has had steady work in 2000 AD (and quite a good run on Dredd) he has never broken out into being a big name, despite his work on Leatherjack being excellent.
Picked up the trade for £2 last year, and only just got round to reading it.
Was pretty good.
I do hope the Review guys will join in your flagship reviewing Colin. It may perk them up a little.
Leatherjack came up on the Wednesday chat this week - it was originally going to have been a Vertigo series with Chris Weston on art. Now that would have been something.
Quote from: Emperor on 12 August, 2010, 09:15:56 PM
Leatherjack came up on the Wednesday chat this week - it was originally going to have been a Vertigo series with Chris Weston on art. Now that would have been something.
Almost. It was originally commissioned by Stuart Moore for DC's short lived SF imprint Helix.
Being the original home for
Transmetropolitan.
They also published Lucius Shepard's wonderful
Vermillon, as well as the first
Bloody Mary mini, a piece of tosh by Howard Chaykin & some others has reached mimetic escape velocity completely.
Aha, here we go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_(comics) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_(comics))
Addendum: Looks like Helix lasted long enough to publish both of series of Garth & Carlos's Bloody Mary. Guess Stevie was thinking of the eventual trade which was under the Vertigo imprint.
Going through the list he can't remember anything of Pollack & Weston's Time Breakers bar the art was bloody gorg on nice paper so can't comment on the story itself.
He can't help but wonder if the long gestation for Leatherjack was actually in it's favour; allow the concepts to marinate further in the pressure cooker of John Smith mind plus Paul Marshal is just faultless.
Quote from: Krombasher on 11 August, 2010, 06:03:56 PM
I do hope the Review guys will join in your flagship reviewing Colin. It may perk them up a little.
Hear hear, even if Stevie does disagree with Colin's comments re: Stereolab, eloquently put as they are.
The original plans for the story are certainly interesting and go some way to explaining why its as long as it is, which seemed strange in a time of stories normally lasting what maybe 8-12 episodes. Made it all the more powerful for me that it had this extra room.
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 13 August, 2010, 02:34:39 AM
Quote from: Emperor on 12 August, 2010, 09:15:56 PM
Leatherjack came up on the Wednesday chat this week - it was originally going to have been a Vertigo series with Chris Weston on art. Now that would have been something.
Almost. It was originally commissioned by Stuart Moore for DC's short lived SF imprint Helix.
Ah I can see where the Vertigo mix up could come from as series still ongoing segued to Vertigo, like Transmetropolitan so it makes sense Leatherjack would have been initially moved there.
I had a look for more information on the background of the series and Chris Weston has a blog post on it with his interpretation of the lead character:
http://chrisweston.blogspot.com/2006/09/leatherjack.html
Are all John Smith's ventures across the Pond cursed? Discuss. ;)
Quote from: Emperor on 13 August, 2010, 05:19:44 PM
Are all John Smith's ventures across the Pond cursed? Discuss. ;)
Aha! This may shed some light onto why.
Speaking to the seemingly ubiquitous Grant Goggans (man, is that boy
keen?) for Class of 79, John has the following to say about DC:
Future Helix editor Stuart Moore says, "I'll have some of that":
Quote
I'd actually been one of the writers (along with Garth and I think Warren Ellis) who pitched to take over the book after Jamie Delano left. I'd already met Karen Berger by then and I submitted this huge sprawling outline with the next 2 or 3 years worth of stories laid out but I never got the job. DC probably just remembered my stuff from there and Stuart Moore asked me to do a fill-in while I was developing 'Scarab' (which was Doctor Fate at that time). He asked me to pick one of the single issue storylines from that original 'Hellblazer' proposal so I chose "Counting to Ten"...
Karen Berger says, "I'd rather not, actually":
QuoteI think Vertigo had overestimated their own selling power and a lot of their new titles just didn't get the advanced orders they expected and from what I understand Karen Berger just said: "No. Chop it down to a miniseries." Which, you know, considering it started off as a monthly 'Doctor Fate' comic...
I've since heard she hates my stuff anyway. There were lots of censorship problems and strange directives issued by Karen Berger and all my enthusiasm kind of fizzled away the more I was forced to change stuff. I mean, ditching all these supporting characters, ditching the continuing subplot that tied all the storylines together – it was just doomed to failure from the start.
From http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/website.htm (http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/website.htm)
DC's loss is most decidely 2000ad's gain says Stevie.
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 15 August, 2010, 06:17:03 AM
DC's loss is most decidely 2000ad's gain says Stevie.
I'll say. Thats very interesting stuff. Particularly the idea that Karen Berger might not like John Smith's stuff. From the outside that seems so strange he seems so perfect for the type of stuff she and Vertigo do so well but you never know what thought processes go into Karen Berger's decision making or indeed personal tastes.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 15 August, 2010, 07:47:23 AM
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 15 August, 2010, 06:17:03 AM
DC's loss is most decidely 2000ad's gain says Stevie.
I'll say. Thats very interesting stuff. Particularly the idea that Karen Berger might not like John Smith's stuff. From the outside that seems so strange he seems so perfect for the type of stuff she and Vertigo do so well but you never know what thought processes go into Karen Berger's decision making or indeed personal tastes.
Indeed - Vertigo would seem the ideal venue for him to really expand his US profile, as so many other British creators have. Granted
we win in that he gets to stay at 2000AD but it also means we didn't get high-profile creator-owned series or even a John Smith run on a more mainstream American comic book character - Warren Ellis has made a name for himself rebooting characters and something like his Druid series seems like the kind of thing John would have excelled. In fact Marvel's horror line is in need of a reboot and surely some titles would benefit from a sprinkle of Smithean magic, and, yes I am thinking what you're thinking - who wouldn't want to see John Smith's Man-Thing? ;)
Oh, I have more horror stories about Karen Berger than you could shake a shamanic stick at but am sworn to secrecy.
John Smith: he really is the one writer who's made 2000AD his natural home. Pretty much every other major scripter on Tooth has had a comfortable time finding big projects from other titles and companies, but John Smith is the only one whose core work has appeared almost exclusively in Tooth and her sister titles. Which is not to disrespect him, but to marvel at the weird fecundity of a comic that can nurture and sustain such a talent.
Vertigo was built on Gaiman's Sandman, but that was always going to be a finite thing and so there was a tussle between the direction it might take once Sandman was done. On the one hand you have the Gaimans and the Milligans who I regard as 'The Mad Mod Poet Gods', and then there were 'The Lads' - the Morrisons and the Ennises and the Millars. And the Lads won, but I do wonder what might have happened if Smith had got a foot in the door, given that he kind of straddles both camps (who else could write a story about serial killers fighting each other with dinosaurs as a competitive sport then bookend it with 'Firekind' and 'Deus Ex Machina'?) Maybe this year's big comix flick from Matthew Thingy or Edgar Wright would have had fewer superheroes and more radioactive nuns (their masks oozing light and meat) rewriting palimpsestual reality as a nameless hero battles both obese gay sadist-aesthetes and the ineffable alien spiders who've laid their metal eggs in his brain? It would totally pwn 'The Expendables' anyway.
P.S. I also like Leatherjack.
We do need more radioactive nuns, it is a shallow and beige cultural landscape without them.
Quote from: The Corinthian on 17 August, 2010, 08:51:22 PM
Oh, I have more horror stories about Karen Berger than you could shake a shamanic stick at but am sworn to secrecy.
Well bugger.
Could we perhaps tempt you onto Wednesday Chat with the offer of a biscuit?
Sorry, but I have sources to protect!
Quote from: The Corinthian on 17 August, 2010, 09:43:52 PM
Sorry, but I have sources to protect!
Yes, but... biscuits...
What sort of biscuits?
Jammie Dodgers.
Ginger nuts
I'd even raise the stakes to cake!
I'll stump up for a packet of Chocolate Hob Nobs, if it'll help.
I am now immune to biscuit bribery.
A terribly disappointing turn of affairs.
Quote from: The Corinthian on 17 August, 2010, 08:51:22 PMVertigo was built on Gaiman's Sandman, but that was always going to be a finite thing and so there was a tussle between the direction it might take once Sandman was done. On the one hand you have the Gaimans and the Milligans who I regard as 'The Mad Mod Poet Gods', and then there were 'The Lads' - the Morrisons and the Ennises and the Millars. And the Lads won, but I do wonder what might have happened if Smith had got a foot in the door, given that he kind of straddles both camps (who else could write a story about serial killers fighting each other with dinosaurs as a competitive sport then bookend it with 'Firekind' and 'Deus Ex Machina'?)
The way I see it Vertigo started with two camps:
- The Over-writers Guild - who wrote their prose hard and put it away wet, like Gaiman and Delano
- The Neo-Weirdoes - who stopped you worrying what they'd taken when they wrote it and made you start worrying what you might have taken, partly your Mad Mod Poet Gods but also including early Morrison (like Doom Patrol but also Animal Man and The Invisibles to some extent)
In some way The Lads were a backlash to both (although you can see Ennis tinkering with Neo-Weirdism in that Hellblazer story where he goes to American) or perhaps a backlash on what they became - everyone thinking they had to massively over-write their text (even though it often came across as angsty scribblings in school notebooks) or scatter in some trippiness (although it often felt like they were trying too hard, like the kid who thinks he is tripping when older boys have just palmed him off with a square of blotting paper). I imagine this happened in the same way Watchmen helped lead to the Dark Age of Comics - a shallow reading of the story lead people to think the key to its success was the grim and gritty take on superheroes, which was then implemented by writers with only a fraction of Moore's ability.
As you say, Smith did seem to have a foot in each camp but his prose was lighter and his weirdness both more focused but also less in your face (it is often not vital for... exposition or driving the story forward but evokes... moods, so that it adds to the depth of the story - so in Fetish and Cradlegrave you can almost taste the heat and in Herod/Frogs/Sirius it is like Fortean white noise/mood music. I think the most telling thing is the fact that quite a few people didn't notice the missing captions from the second Devlin Waugh trade paperback). This does seem to mean his writing is not so easy to classify and may take a bit of work to get into, less so than a lumpen chunk of over-written prose that isn't that challenging but makes the reader feel that the comic they are reading is almost like a "proper book."
The falling out with Vertigo is a real pity, as it does seem like a natural home-away-from-home which would also expose his work to a different audience. After all I can't see him getting a gig on a mainstream superhero title at the Big Two, although, as I mention above there are corners of even their core universes that would benefit from a bit of Smithing. As it seems things are a little frosty at Vertigo, I do wonder if there might be other avenues worth exploring - Avatar spring to mind and I do seem to recall him saying he has an idea for a horror story that might be too much even for 2000 AD. As Avatar publish Crossed they are clearly not ones to shy away from comics that might be a little controversial.
What's the title of those comics Matt Timson is producing art in?
Are they strong enough to hold a bold horror?
Great posts, Corinthian and Emperor! The Over-Writers, the Neo-Weirdos and the Lads, and Smiffy between three stools (in many senses) - love it.
Editorial politics aside, why Smith and Bagwell don't have their own ongoing title at Vertigo is a complete mystery to me. A stable that can accommodate ambitious material like Ba's Daytripper should also have a place for John Smith.
I'd like to think Avatar could be a good home, but it seems to be lurching ever further into outrageous gore and depravity rather than the subtler more skin-crawling sicknesses Smith excels at.
Quote from: Krombasher on 19 August, 2010, 05:56:31 PM
What's the title of those comics Matt Timson is producing art in?
Impaler.
Quote from: Krombasher on 19 August, 2010, 05:56:31 PMAre they strong enough to hold a bold horror?
They being... the publisher or the art? Respectively, I'd say: possibly (I don't know of Top Cow knocking anything back for being too... bold but then again I can't think of anything they've done being controversial or extreme) and yes (but Matt is slow, but then again so is John so it might be a match made in heaven - I'd definitely like to see them on a story together).
Argh, Gads.
Yes that really tore up the grammar. "Is that company", would have served the sentence better.
Saying that, the idea of Matt doing the artwork was floating around the noggin whilst writing the question.
As Tordle says, top post Emperor.
Quote from: Emperor on 19 August, 2010, 05:47:26 PM
After all I can't see him getting a gig on a mainstream superhero title at the Big Two, although, as I mention above there are corners of even their core universes that would benefit from a bit of Smithing.
This particular bit of your fantastic post has been rattling around my head since I read it. I have no idea whether John Smith has any interest in writing for DC (He has said he drafted Doctor Fate so)he would be blooming glorious if he got hold on some of their characters. Imagine his take on Fourth World (well Fifth World after Final Crisis) the very thought sends me giddy.
I'm so rubbish a wonderful set of post and all I can think of is uhh what if he wrote my favourite this or that. Shame on me!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 19 August, 2010, 07:14:05 PM
Quote from: Emperor on 19 August, 2010, 05:47:26 PM
After all I can't see him getting a gig on a mainstream superhero title at the Big Two, although, as I mention above there are corners of even their core universes that would benefit from a bit of Smithing.
This particular bit of your fantastic post has been rattling around my head since I read it. I have no idea whether John Smith has any interest in writing for DC (He has said he drafted Doctor Fate so)he would be blooming glorious if he got hold on some of their characters. Imagine his take on Fourth World (well Fifth World after Final Crisis) the very thought sends me giddy.
There are always corners of a big fictional universe one can tinker with, even if you don't want to write capes. DC is trickier as it split its horror off to Vertigo but some of that is coming back and I'd love to see him on Swamp Thing. There are also organisations that would be ripe for pushing the envelope - the Human Defense Corps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Defense_Corps) is a non-superpowered group trying to ward of alien invasions and seems to be making a comeback, while the Department of Extranormal Operations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Extranormal_Operations) is the DC equivalent of the Men in Black. Or you can push on into sci-fi where there is a tonne of potential, you mentioned the Fourth World (although we are now in the Fifth World and no one is 100% sure what that all means ;) ) but there are also the Omega Men (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Men) and more shifty aliens that you can shake a moon at, the Khunds and Durlans stick in my mind. Pity Elseworlds has been pruned down and jammed into the 52 as there was always room there for an odd take on the characters.
Marvel have a lot of horror/weirdness sewn into the fabric of their multiverse. As I said above I'd love to see what he could do with Man-Thing, as I mentioned elsewhere I really enjoyed the Essential Man-Thing (having first read the stories in Marvel UK's Savage Action) - the mix of creepy tales and multiverse hopping weirdness would be an idea fit and the character is back to prominence thanks to Marvel Zombies, which led to his key role in the Thunderbolts. However, as I say there is a lot at Marvel that could work - from Dr Strange to Marvel Cosmic (and the Microverse is making a bit of a comeback), plus they seem happier with dimension-hopping than DC are at the moment. It is a pity his one try-out at Marvel never seems to have gone anywhere.
So yes, plenty there.
The Over-Writer in Chief is Alan Moore. He abandons the technique later on (and part of his 'How to Write for Comics' is an elongated mea culpa for spawning a generation of writers who think that's it) but some of the text for Swamp Thing and (especially) Miracleman look like clogged arteries in prose. This is a good thing, as he gets better when he takes the opposite tack, and because the talented writers who follow him know how to avoid his mistakes (e.g. Gaiman, whose prose style is a lot suppler and more considered than Moore's by a mile).
Interesting, Our Man Smith takes the prose-poetry caption to a kind of logical extreme, so that the text doesn't just counterpoint the image but acts as a kind of synaesthesia, conveying in words images that can't be drawn. 'Leatherjack' is probably the most literate thing Tooth has ever published, not in the sense of being "well read" but more "acutely conscious of the power of the word".
Quote from: The Corinthian on 19 August, 2010, 10:54:51 PMInteresting, Our Man Smith takes the prose-poetry caption to a kind of logical extreme, so that the text doesn't just counterpoint the image but acts as a kind of synaesthesia, conveying in words images that can't be drawn.
Indeed - I'm leaning towards calling it... Impressionist, as you need to step back to see the bigger picture (why his stories work very well in collected form, and why some of it missing doesn't cause major problems ;) ). I've also noticed that he is happy to not include captions during quieter moments or action sequences (where the over-writers would see an empty space in a panel as a challenge to jam more text in) and then brings them in to add layers mood on top (I'll dig out and example but I am thinking a good one may be in "Deus Ex Machina, Book 1". Impressionistic synaesthesia? I've been struggling to put my finger on it but that is getting close ;)
Interestingly in chat the other night he said it was less technobabble and more poetry and while it might make him wince slightly in the col light of day it is a good analogy as the caption text often comes in short chunks with a certain rhythm to it.
...except that calling it "poetry" rather than "technobabble" makes me sound like a right pretentious wanker!
Just discovered this thread, so thanks for all the kind words... It's flattering and embarrassing in equal measure! ;-)
Technoglossolic?
Quote from: Emperor on 20 August, 2010, 02:53:53 AM
... as the caption text often comes in short chunks with a certain rhythm to it.
That gets it to me there's a real rhythm to his writing. In the subtle way there is with say Kurt Vonnegut - and no I'm not saying John's as good a writer as Mr Vonnegut so I'll spare both him and myself that embarrassment. There is a real flow to both their writing that means even though you are dealing with fairly complex ideas at times reading them is still a breeze.
Quote from: TordelBack on 20 August, 2010, 07:25:03 PM
Technoglossolic?
Give that man a coconut! Suscint to the point of lethality, that's Tordelback.
Alrighty, while we have you here a couple of questions for you John. As Vertigo seems off the cards for the moment:
- Did anything come of your try out for Marvel (X-Men Unlimited #35, fact fans)? As it is in 2002 had you had informal talks with them before and is there a chance you could get your foot in the door there?
- While Vertigo seems your natural home have your thought about trying elsewhere? As I said above Avatar seems a good home for odder material from Ennis' Crossed to Moore's Courtyard and beyond.
Quote from: john_s on 20 August, 2010, 07:18:10 PM
...except that calling it "poetry" rather than "technobabble" makes me sound like a right pretentious wanker!
Told you he'd wince ;) Although someone else did bring it up first and it is handy analogy, as it isn't really poetry (in the strict sense, as I want to avoid going down the road of defining what is and isn't poetry - not only is my uncle a poet but my mum was an English Literature teacher, so these debates never end well, if they end at all). What it does demonstrate that it is hard to pin down and may not be as instantly accessible as the large lumps of captions the over-writers like to deploy like Tiger tanks, so his work might be an acquired taste which is why it works well at 2000AD where the readership has grown up with his work. Or it might not - we haven't really had much opportunity to test the theory beyond Scarab.
Quote from: Emperor on 11 August, 2010, 03:32:43 PM
I had a nose through Leatherjack the other and it struck me I should really buy the trade as it really deserves to be read as a whole where you can take it all on as ideas are arriving so fast you need to take it slow to get everything.
And right The Emperor was indeed (oh mighty one return to use with your all seeing tendrals of Internet presence, the leap from Facebook (I believe) will be like returning home after a visit to a wonder filled but exhausting trip to Havana) right. After almost exactly three years as it goes while sat in the car awaiting my daughter to complete her ballet dress rehearsal I said with the trade of Leatherjack and read it in one luxary sitting.
Having read much Paul Auster, having just read Al Ewing's Fictional Man the story touches on ideas used in both and wraps them all in a sci-fi ripping yarn. I can think of no better compliment than to say it stand easily a long side John Smith's other classics.
One day when I'm very bored I'm going to do a list, in the way of High Fidelity and make myself rank New Statemen, Cradlegrave, Leatherjack, Swimming in Blood, Dragonkind in order of utter brilliance... it'll give me an excuse to read them again and probably make my head explode.
This is due a re-read for me too, a very good 2000AD epic.
Although if memory serves it didn't resonate with me as strongly as Firekind did (perhaps due to the superior detail in Marshall's artwork on Firekind).
As an aside, Dale recently hinted that he's thinking about selling the artwork for it (I think the lucky f*cker has all of it!)
Quote from: Link Prime on 24 July, 2013, 10:17:22 AM
Dale recently hinted that he's thinking about selling the artwork for it (I think the lucky f*cker has all of it!)
Where do I start queuing? :D
Yeah, that's my understanding too - Dale has the lot (unless he sold some of it on already...)
Quote from: SimeonB on 24 July, 2013, 11:09:27 AM
Quote from: Link Prime on 24 July, 2013, 10:17:22 AM
Dale recently hinted that he's thinking about selling the artwork for it (I think the lucky f*cker has all of it!)
Where do I start queuing? :D
Behind me!
Yeah I was aware that Dale has the art (hope you don't mind that being out there Dale) and I'm waiting with batted breathe for it to be released into the wilds as there's a number of pages I'd dearly love to get my hands on!
Hang on. Are we talking about Leatherjack or Firekind here?
Art for Leatherjack.
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the Dragonkind stuff. One day he'll retire and be forced to sell his precious goods to survive and like a vulture I'll be hovering around that too!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 July, 2013, 09:28:21 PM
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the Dragonkind stuff.
That's usually my cue to say - "Apart from this one piece":
(http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad84/ronniecraven/FkMod_zps95365cf7.jpg)
Wow, what's that from? Is that the postcard and or slot it had on the montage cover?
Answered my own question.
http://www.2000ad.org/functions/cover.php?choice=828&Comic=2000ad (http://www.2000ad.org/functions/cover.php?choice=828&Comic=2000ad)
Only leaving me with wow!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 July, 2013, 09:28:21 PM
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the FireDragonkind stuff. One day he'll retire and be forced to sell his precious goods to survive and like a vulture I'll be hovering around that too!
Hmm. Well, there's one page of Firekind that I think I'd pay just about any amount for.
Quote from: Greg M. on 24 July, 2013, 09:34:37 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 July, 2013, 09:28:21 PM
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the Dragonkind stuff.
That's usually my cue to say - "Apart from this one piece"
I was just waiting for Greg to pop up with that! I'd love to know the story behind how you acquired this piece, Greg?
And if its the DPS from the first episode you'd pay any amount for, Cosh, you will have to fight me for it :D
Quote from: SimeonB on 24 July, 2013, 09:54:39 PM
And if its the DPS from the first episode you'd pay any amount for, Cosh, you will have to fight me for it :D
No. That's amazing too, but it's the weird aboriginal influenced creation myth page I'd have on my living room wall if I could.
Quote from: The Cosh on 24 July, 2013, 09:47:32 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 July, 2013, 09:28:21 PM
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the FireDragonkind stuff. One day he'll retire and be forced to sell his precious goods to survive and like a vulture I'll be hovering around that too!
Hmm. Well, there's one page of Firekind that I think I'd pay just about any amount for.
Hmmm can I get away with pretending that particularly embarrassing mistake (well in the context of this forum, of course 99.9% of people wouldn't know, to me its a bloody mortal error... anyway, meladrama aside) is a typo not me being a numbnut. I mean my typos are pretty bad, I reckon I can pull that off... look D is right next to F...
You lot can scrap it out for the glorious splash pages - I want the one where Mr. Cheetl makes his debut! Bloomin' quick identification of my pic though, Colin - the YNWA brain is an encyclopedic organ indeed!
Simeon - I'd like to tell you that I acquired it through some ritual involving alien narcotics and tantric magic, but sadly the truth is more mundane. I got hold of it through ungodly dealings with a notorious and shadowy art-dealer well-known for his ability to simply "find" esoteric pieces, i.e: I bought it off Dale back when I was getting a lot of my other Paul Marshall stuff.
Quote from: The Cosh on 24 July, 2013, 09:58:21 PM
Quote from: SimeonB on 24 July, 2013, 09:54:39 PM
And if its the DPS from the first episode you'd pay any amount for, Cosh, you will have to fight me for it :D
No. That's amazing too, but it's the weird aboriginal influenced creation myth page I'd have on my living room wall if I could.
I know the page, and it's a lovely piece of art. Could stand completely on its own...
Quote from: Greg M. on 24 July, 2013, 10:02:12 PM
Simeon - I'd like to tell you that I acquired it through some ritual involving alien narcotics and tantric magic, but sadly the truth is more mundane. I got hold of it through ungodly dealings with a notorious and shadowy art-dealer well-known for his ability to simply "find" esoteric pieces, i.e: I bought it off Dale back when I was getting a lot of my other Paul Marshall stuff.
No, that can't be right, Greg. Clearly the cosmic gods to whom you sacrificed your earthly offerings have replaced those memories with giving Dale a wad of cash...
Oh Greg, will you ever tire of trotting out that Firekind piece? (curse you)
And Colin, if you wish to join our Flying Hellfish-esque Tontine regarding the 'liberation' of Marshall's Firekind artwork, report to Sergeant Greg M.
I would, be I should warn you I had to look up what tontine meant...
Quote from: SimeonB on 24 July, 2013, 09:54:39 PM
Quote from: Greg M. on 24 July, 2013, 09:34:37 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 24 July, 2013, 09:28:21 PM
I believe that Paul Marshal has held onto the Dragonkind stuff.
That's usually my cue to say - "Apart from this one piece"
I was just waiting for Greg to pop up with that! I'd love to know the story behind how you acquired this piece, Greg?
And if its the DPS from the first episode you'd pay any amount for, Cosh, you will have to fight me for it :D
Ahem! I think I rank before you! You would not have read it if not for me!
Picked Leatherjack up recently and just finished reading. John Smith on full throttle is a joy to behold, and Paul Marshall's vibrant artwork brings it to life perfectly. Great stuff.