We’re really excited about some of the things Beyond the Bunker are doing in 2014 so Dan decided to go enlist the help of the only man jolly enough to convey how awesome it’s going to be. This is the absolute truth and we most definitely did not sneak into a grotto after closing time and sit in the chair.
Thanks to everyone who bought the book over the last year, we hope you dig some of the stuff that we’ll be brining out in 2014.
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone!
Dan & Steve
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If you read a lot of British comics then you’re probably familiar with the work of Ant Jones. He’s a lovely chap, a fine writer and a regular at the Bunker convention table. Well, Ant has a new graphic novel project on the go and he needs some funding (via Kickstarter) to get the project off the ground. To assist him in this, he has assembled some of the brightest and best creators of the indy comics scene and then added in two idiots who do a comic about the Moon.
The book in question is called Hood and is a dark, modern retelling of the classic Robin Hood story. It might sound like you’ve heard it before but if you take a look at the team’s wonderful pitch video then you’ll start to get an inkling that they’re doing something a bit different this time.
The deal is simple. You pledge some money towards the completion of the book and you get a variety of goodies in return, one of which is a humble indy bundle containing comics from the likes of Jon Lock, Richard Worth and yes Beyond The Bunker. It’s a collection of books that any self respecting comic fan would love to own anyway but now you can do it in a way that helps another awesome book to come to life.
If you feel like checking it out then head over to the Hood’s Kickstarter page and see which of the rewards take your fancy. At the very least you should take a look at the t-shirts. They pretty.
I’ll leave you with some of the preview pages. Enjoy!
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With all the work that we’ve been doing on Moon 3 as of late (seriously these biscuits don’t eat themselves) it’s sometimes easy to forget that lots of people are still picking up Moons 1 & 2 for the first time. Reviews are difficult to come by once your first issue is out but in this case the lovely Michael Georgiou took some time on the latest MOMBcast to chat about Moon 2 a wee bit.
It’s great to know that new people are still picking up the book and digging what they find in there and in Michael’s case it’s especially pleasant as he’s a heck of a talented creator in his own right.
You can listen to the review by going here and you won’t even have to do any shuffling as Moon’s the first thing on the menu.
Thanks MOMB!
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(P.S. Iv’s surname is pronounced Matilla, not Matilda. Matilda was the telekinetic devil child of children’s fiction. Iv does have telekinetic powers but this is purely coincidental).
So, it’s that time again. The third instalment of Moon is beginning to hove into view. With it is the introduction of a very special kind of evil. Revealed briefly in Moon 2, BunBun Warmheart is a villain that had everything going for him. Now his crimes against humanity mean not even his cute little face can get him off. Our hero, Moon and Shades will be facing this little bleeder directly. What will they find out? What will they glean from this little furry bastard?
This is very much the start of the first story arc for Moon. The introduction is over – now it’s all about the investigation! Moon and his new partner, Shades Rodriguez are about to start dog paddling in dangerous waters, and there be sharks there. Heavily armed, laser guided, furry faced sharks that want to bite their legs off. With guns. And things. Threats will come from directions you’d never expect. You have been warned.
Evil is back. And it’s sitting on a raised chair in an interrogation room at the heart of the Agency.
DAH-DAH-DAAAAAAAAAH!
We love Thought Bubble. For about a million reasons it is one of the finest convention experiences you can have in the UK both as a fan and a creator. You can imagine how disappointed we were then when tables for this year’s TB sold out in an astonishing two hours leaving many indy creators suddenly out in the cold.
In retrospect, this is entirely surprising. The UK indy scene has exploded in the last couple of years as print costs come down, self publishers get more serious and a lot of incredible people go out of their way to support UK creators. With even the likes of the might MCM struggling to find space for the growing comic village it stands to reason that competition for tables is going to start heating up. Even so, TB 2012 sold out in a matter of weeks rather than hours so to open twitter on the first day of sales and see that we’d already missed out was something of a shock.
Fortunately for us (and fans of all of the nearly absent creators), Thought Bubble have once again stepped up to prove why they are every creator’s favourite place to hang a table cloth. Through some careful negotiating they have managed to secure the use of a third exhibition hall! It’s right next to the existing halls so you won’t have to walk far and it’s going to be packed to the rafters with talented yet tardy artists like us!
We shall be there with a whole table of big Moony goodness. So if you were worried that you would get through the whole event without Steve accosting you in the street like a sexy caveman or laughing at my Sunday face as I once again fail to cope with how cheap beer is outside of London, you may now set your fears aside.
Huge thanks must go to the entire Thought Bubble team for pulling this off. If any of you pay for a drink all weekend, it will be a crime.
Moon is coming back to Leeds and we couldn’t be more excited!
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On September 15th, we will be in attendance at Royal Star Arcade, in Maidstone with Moon. A new venue for the Grinning Demon’s charity event that attracts both the indy and the professional. Confirmed guests so far are Lloyd and the Bear’s Gibson Grey, Moon print designer Grant Perkins, Tinpot Hobo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle artist Jack Lawrence, Grainne McEntee and Matt Rooke with Apes n’ Capes and Bertie Bear’s Andy Clift. We also know that Cy Dethan and Nic Wilkinson (Cancertown, Reverend: Wrath of God) and Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy, Legion of Superheroes, the Hypernaturals) are confirmed and friend to the Bunker and DJ to the stars Keiron Gillen (Uncanny X-men, Iron Man) may be in attendance.
After 5 Demoncons and 5 very distinct posters, Graham Beadle, Demoncon organiser and owner of Grinning Demon comic shop came to the Beyond the Bunker table and was nice enough to ask me to design the new poster for Demoncon VI. Because of the nature of the convention as a charity event, the posters themselves are more lively and varied than anywhere else. Right from the beginning, Demoncon posters have mashed up mainstream and indy in a visual bash up. Dredd stands beside Frostica, Wonderwoman by the Moose. That lack of limitation is irresistable for an upstart comic book artist like me so I was honoured to be asked frankly. The end mix as you see above.
But i couldn’t do it on my own so I was aided by the incredible talent of Timaree Zadel (who also coloured the new prints that were available at MCM). With Ivanna Matilla currently waylaid by teaching English in 20 different schools, Timaree was her chosen colourist. As you can see, no reason not to be over the Moon with this work.
I’ve been a big fan of Peter Mason’s art for a while now. You’ve probably seen his preview art for Ashfall on the site and while Pete’s no longer involved with that book he did manage to find the time to do this fantastic drawing of ol’ crater face himself. Honestly, I think it’s the mismatched socks that are really winning it for me.
Remember we have a brand new Moon print by Grant Perkins to unveil soon as well as some original Penfold ones too. If you like Moon then MCM is gonna rock.
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At Supercomicon it was decided that we’d like to see some alternative views of Moon from other artists with styles vastly different to what we’ve already seen. These are going to be available as prints at MCM, along with some new artwork completed by myself and Ivanna Matilla. It’s always best to keep things fresh.
This is the first example of these alternatives from the irrepressible Grant Perkins. No one lays down an alternative view of a character better than Grant Perkins. It gives you lines and framing you never imagined from your own work and gives you new ideas for all the Moons still to come.
We’re also expecting work from Boom’s Steed and Mrs Peel’s Yasmin Liang. For now that’s your lot but based on the response to those there’s a very real chance that we may well recruit more of the best from the small press – maybe one or two of the big guns to bring you new and alternative versions of our favourite law enforcing satellite.
There’s far more news on it’s way – it’s our feeling that everything needs a complete refresh every 2 years and we’re moving very quickly towards that point so expect news regarding exactly that in the next few months.
I did an interview for TGS a little while back and I just noticed that it’s online so I thought I’d throw it up. TGS are an FM radio station that specialise on nerd friendly faire and they were kind enough to let me ramble about Moon, Indy Publishing and how Steve and I met.
I’m not totally sure what I was going on about in the last minute as I seem to have gotten my issue numbers confused but given that the interview took place the morning after the Saturday night of Thought Bubble, I’m just glad I didn’t fall over.
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Two years ago(isn) I attended my first ever convention in Cardiff. We had a stand all day but we sold out in less than 1 hour. I still don’t know how that happened as the books were selling at a rate of more than one a minute. That was Fallen Heroes, my first complete issue, and boy, did it give me the wrong impression of world in indy comics. But it remains a very cool memory of my first drop into indy comics. Folks were friendly, both in front and behind the tabletops.
This time it’s Moon heading to Cardiff, on a table that became spare at the last minute. Dan’s lovely wife, Fi, is having her birthday this weekend and it was decided that Dan should fulfill his husbandly duties and spend it with her.
So it is me, Lonely warrior of the South East who will make the trek to the highlands of the countries great principality. I look forward to close harmony singing and I don’t look forward the inevitability of rain – as I understand it, if it’s a nice weekend it will be the first in 3000 years and will be believed to be an omen of the apocalypse by the local gentry. I may have misunderstood much of what I claim to understand of Cardiff. But it was raining last time….
In all seriousness, we look forward to bringing our Defender of the British Isles to meet our brothers in Wales. Despite spending many years in England, Moon is a great fan of consistent, passionate rugby and so has never known who to back in the 6 Nations. Just not the French.
Beyond the Bunker 