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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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!
D
x
(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).
It’s Demoncon 6 tomorrow! If you’ve not been to Kent’s loveliest comic con (I think it’s Kent’s only comic con but that’s besides the point) then you really should give it a go. This will be our fourth appearance at the event and it honestly gets more fun every time. A relaxed, family atmosphere; a wide range of enjoyable ways to spend a Sunday afternoon and, due to the shocking number of professional writers/artists that live in Kent, a surprisingly top end guest list.
This year will feature the likes of Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy), Cy Dethan (various books that give you nightmares) and a couple of idiots who do a book about the Moon. There are also several new indy book launches, demo games, a raffle where you can win comics and original artwork and an appearance by the mighty 501st legion. In case you need any more persuading, here are three things that we got up to last time out:
1) One of the other artists left early so we stole his table and created the largest Moon booth we’ve ever had which Steve had to staff by himself because I had to play Dr Who with some kids.
2) Somebody asked Steve to draw a sketch of one of the 7 deadly sins so we put our heads together and came up with this interpretation of “Pride” (the look on the lion’s face still cracks me up whenever I look at it).
3) Peter Mason learned the price of lending pens to the Bunker clan as Steve promptly made off with his sharpies, leading to this poster being circulated.
So come on. It’s a Sunday, it’s raining and you’re probably hung over. What else are you going to do today? Housework? Forget that! Your house hates you. Show it who’s boss and come hang out with us in Maidstone.
Demoncon runs from 11am – 5pm at the Royal Star Arcade in Maidstone. Full details here!
D
x
(Oh and did I mention that Steve and Timaree did the poster)
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!
D
x
Okay, we’re late with this but it’s been a busy few weeks since MCM. In particular taking into account the fact that it took a week to recover from. It was an enormous success for the pair of us. Better than we anticipated. MCM is always a boomer for us but we love it even more when we see the regulars and those we’ve met at MCM before.
One of the highlights for us at this stage is seeing new fans mixing with older fans coming back for a little more Moon action. Massive, genuine thanks to everyone who came back from Moon 1 or came to see us having read the first two and recommended us to others who had just arrived at the table. The fun we had this time out, a combination of the event and the reception means we now have big plans for the next MCM and we hope to see you there!
In a momentary lull I got a chance to head on out into the crowds and grab some shots of some suspicious looking Moon characters. The Princess Leia one was a little awkward as she was slightly offended that I wanted her head covered but it’d’ve been reverse sexist not to frankly and I’m standing (slightly uneasily) by that.
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.
Well the convention season is back on with a vengeance and the second London Super Comic Con more than lived up to expectations. After two months off, it was great to get back into the game and put some copies of Moon #2 in people’s hands.
Even without the draw of Stan Lee the Excel had a great buzz about it for the event and while it’s still not MCM, LSCC is more than managing to pull in the crowds. We met plenty of new fans as well as some familiar faces and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was especially good to catch up with other creators and see some of the awesome work they’ve been putting out since we last crossed paths (read Lightning Strike yet? You should). The impromptu pub trip on Saturday night added a nice social element to the event but it was a bit of a shame that there wasn’t an official after party like at Thought Bubble. It would be cruel to hammer this point too much in the cons second year, but with plenty of hotels and bars next to the convention hall it’s certainly something for the organisers to think about in the future.
There’s no rest for the wicked however. As we’re off on the road again this coming weekend (I say “we”) to attend the Cardiff International Comic Expo. Following a last minute booking, Steve will be grabbing a couple of boxes of Moons and heading to Wales in order to bring you more comics and more cool sketches like this:
After that we’ve only got one weekend off before we’re off to Demoncon 5 in Maidstone (f you’ve not checked out the wonderful posters for the event then have a look now)! It’s not all good news however. In something of a shocker, Thought Bubble sold out in under two hours this year, leaving us somewhat out in the cold. It’s a big disappointment for us as we were hoping to launch some new material and maybe even get in on a panel or two at the event but TB is the best con in the country so you can’t blame them for being popular. We’re working on solutions at the moment and hopefully we can still find a way for Moon to head north in 2013.
On a final note, Barry Nugent showed me some new artwork from Peter Mason and I’s upcoming comic “Ashfall” during a quiet moment at the event and good lord this is going to be a great book. I swear Peter’s work gets better with every stroke of the pen.
Thought Bubble or not, 2013 is going to be a busy year and I for one cannot wait.
D
x
Just in time for next week’s London Super Comic Con, the good folks at Geek Planet Online just posted a review of Moon #2. The good news is that they liked the book, the bad news is…well there isn’t any bad news really, they really did like the book. Here’s a little snippet:
“The wry, postmodern sense of humour is still intact and if anything seems to have more confidence this issue…It’s the best of British and I hope the audience continues to grow.”
You can read the full review here and if it peaks your interest then you can order the book from our online store or pick it up from us next week at the Super Comic Con (we’ll even sign it for you).
Thanks to Dave at Geek Planet for continuing to support the book. The site has been one of the great champions of our work and we really appreciate it.
D
x
It’s 11pm the day after Moon Launch and I’m just about getting over the hangover. Suffice it to say it was an amazing night and I feel very proud to have played a small part in it. We shall endeavour to post up some photos as soon as possible but in the mean time I thought I’d chuck up some details of the real stars of the show, the acts.
We opened the night with Patsy & Tim, also known as master puppeteer Laura Bacon and musician Tim Berryman. Their cover of the Pokemon theme was easily one of the highlights of the entire night and they had everyone in hysterics for their entire set.
You can find out more about Laura’s puppet work on her facebook fan page.
We kept the comedy going with a barnstorming performance by musical comedy duo, Cold Callers. Ryan and Paul played at the first Moon Launch and were good enough to dust off the official Moon theme song one more time.
You can follow the boys on twitter, listen to some of their songs again on myspace and you should most certainly check out their podcast on itunes.
For me one of the real highlights of the night turned out to be blues singer, JD Smith whose set caused me to dash outside and demand all the smokers drop their fags and come listen. If I can find a good quality youtube video then I’ll sling one up on the site but for now you can listen to some of his fantastic music on his myspace.
He likes Garth Ennis too which is always a plus.
The night was rounded off by the reggae sounds of John Blood and the Highlys. The band were good enough to step in on very short notice and were superb from start to finish. The perfect end to an eclectic night of music.
If you want to catch more of John Blood and the Highlys then you can do so on their website.
And just to round it off, here’s one of their videos:
Thanks again to everyone who came, we hope you had a fantastic time and that you enjoy the comic. If you weren’t able to make it then don’t fret, the book will be available to buy on line in the next few days.
D
x
LAURA BACON: MISTRESS OF PUPPETS!! COLDCALLERS!! JD SMITH!! LUNATRIX!! ALL CONFIRMED TO PLAY!!
It’s here!! Moon Launch 2 is on November 24th at The amazing Miller in London Bridge, SE1 3SS. There will be live music, free signed, numbered, limited edition copies of Moon 2 for everyone who attends – unless we run out! We are currently talking to some of the incredible acts that attended Moon Launch 1 to see if they’ll return. As soon as we know, you will know but we have musical and entertainment experts calling in every favour they know to make sure it’ll be a storming night!! Great venue, great company, great live acts, good prices and an exclusive comic book to boot. We will be taking bookings at MCM this weekend and we recommend that anyone coming from outside London book ahead as space is limited!! Look forward to seeing you there!!
Beyond the Bunker 