The Graphic Novel Man: The Comics of Bryan Talbot (DVD)

[Dash Decent]

DVD documentary being released in May, according to this: Digital Story Engine press release

The contributors include a variety of 2000AD luminaries:

Neil Gaiman, Joe Sacco, Warren Ellis, Gilbert Shelton, Ian Rankin, Kim Newman, David Lloyd, Pat Mills, John Wagner, Charlie Adlard, Carlos Ezquerra, D'Israeli, Doug Braithwaite, Andy Diggle, Simon Fraser, Al Davison, Mary Talbot, Hunt Emerson, Paul Gravett, Mark Stafford, Professor Henry Jenkins, Dr. Mel Gibson, Lee Harris, Dan Charnley, Richard 'Chester' West, Jordan Smith, Pete Wells.

Okay, I added that last one.

[Ancient Otter]

Neat.

[dweezil2]

Cool! 

[judda fett]

Tidy!

[Dash Decent]

Trailer now up on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWMq4DsUezg#t=28

[Hawkmumbler]

Excellent!

[Colin YNWA]

Gear.

[Fungus]

Looks grand - ta for the info.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Will keep an eye out for this I LOVE BRYAN TALBOT. Also was some of this filmed at last year's Kendal?

[The Bissler]

I absolutely loved Bryan Talbot's work on Nemesis, every page was fantastic and beautiful to look at.  He was also the first artist I met.  I've still got my Nemesis book 5 signed by him where he also wrote "Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave!" in the dedication (I was about 12 at the time)!

[Dash Decent]

Since we're talking Talbot, Grandville Noel is out in early November. Click!

With his trusty adjunct, Detective Sergeant Ratzi, away for Christmas, there's no holiday for Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard as he embarks on an investigation into the disappearance of his housekeeper's niece, Bunty Spall. The trail leads to a growing religious cult, where a charismatic unicorn messiah and his con men cronies, already responsible for mass murder in the United States, are about to lead a crusade for the ethnic cleansing of the French Empire's doughfaces - the derogatory nickname for humans used by the majority, animal-headed population. Teaming up with Chance Lucas, a gun-slinging operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and reigniting his steamy love affair with the voluptuous Parisian badger prostitute Billie, LeBrock clashes with both cult fanatics and doughface terrorists, uncovering in the process a centuries-old religious conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into bloody civil war.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Won this in a competition on Down the Tubes (before I started writing for them - not as nepotistic as it sounds!) and really it's a very impressive and inspiring doc.

I was worried it might be a bit like other well-meaning small docs with awkwardly amateur sound and camerawork but Digital Story Engine have produced something very slick here that'll hold up well. They've got a good array of relevant and eloquent talking heads involved including a twee-but-likeable bit o' Gaiman, a TERRIFYING Warren Ellis who looks like he could kill ANY SECOND, the intimidatingly authoritative Pat Mills, the gloriously melancholic Wagnerbot, the brilliantly open D'Israeli (a doc about him would be a must-buy...), the super squirrel in full moustache mode, the intensely knowledgeable and worthwhile Paul Gravett, the friendly Charlie Adlard looking like a 70s TV cop (and being interviewed above Lakes con last year and YOU CAN SEE MY FAT SWEATY FACE IN THE BACKGROUND), the charismatic and chatty David Lloyd who for some reason keeps switched sides on the screen which makes his segments look a bit like Gollum arguing with himself and so on and so on. Amazing to see all these familiar faces from cons and comics talking about Talbot's career. Also I was quietly impressed that whenever Mary Talbot pops up they consistently refer to her as "writer - Dotter of Her Father's Eyes" rather than the factual-but-reductive "wife of" or anything similar.

Really though the highlight is seeing the process and hearing the words of Bryan himself who seems unable to be anything but deeply enthusiastic but reassuringly Northern about everything (Northern (adj): "Straightforward and endearingly honest") which helps diffuse any possible overhype from all the gushing. It's amazing to see his influences and his intricate art up on the screen there - and hear how things were and things are - and see Grandville being drawn. It's a fantastic piece of work and a very energizing one. Worth owning.

[Dash Decent]

The trailer is here.

The DVD can be bought here.

[Dash Decent]

My copy of this finally arrived today and I'm just going to say ditto to everything CFM says above (except the bit about my face appearing at the Lakes con).  I only meant to watch a bit of the start to see what it was like and ended up having to drag myself away from it.  There's a feature on drawing a page of Grandville Bete Noire that looks sweet too.