Return to school, and random Facebook posts

 

This week saw my first appearance in an actual classroom since March, when Backwell school had me in to present the first of a series of after school classes. Just one hour sessions, with "bubbled" groups of 12 kids apiece, yr 7 on Wednesday and yr 8 on Thursday. And it was brilliant. The biggest difference between a live class and a Zoom class is the laughter. Hearing a dozen kids laugh in the places where they're supposed to is fantastic. And of course you can "feel" them laugh, you sort of see them moving out of the corner of your eye while working on the flipchart, and even the quietest titter is audible, none of which is the case with Zoom. 

Of course, after these two days of classes (the second of which took place as the new supposed 'lockdown' started), it was decided by the school that we have to move to virtual classes. And they don't use Zoom, so next week I will be learning the vagaries of Microsoft Teams. I have one 'actual' invite still outstanding, to a school in Coventry. We have a week and a bit to see if that happens. Meanwhile next week sees 4 days (or part days) of virtual classes. It's good to be working.

We're loving The Queen's Gambit (only up to ep 3, no spoilers). And top marks to David Leach who managed to spot and screen-grab this magazine rack from episode 2.

(Having been alerted to this in advance I could hardly see it in the episode itself, by the way). But, given how much praise is being lavished on TQG for getting its Chess so right, somebody really screwed up on getting these 1963 period comics wrong.

How can an art director manage to dress a set with anachronistic items - every one of which literally has THE DATE ON THE FRONT!

Who can explain this then? I'm trying to promote my graphic novels on Amazon. Two are approved no problem. But when it comes to Findlay Macbeth, I get:

"Your ad titled "Findlay Macbeth" no longer complies with our current Creative Acceptance Policies. Specifically for the following reasons: Your ad contains content that is prohibited from advertising. Please ensure your ad does not contain any excessive violence or gore."

Can anyone spot the problem? And anyone had this problem before?

Gore? In Macbeth? The very thought!

This year's pumpkin, a Pennyworth for your thoughts. Mwah ha ha haaaaa.

Here's a fun fact for comic fans. Kanye West has received more votes this year than Howard The Duck received in the 1976 US Election. At a rough guess, about twice as many.

Sad to lose the brilliant John Sessions, at just 67 years old. He gave us the phrase "waving my intellectual underpants" (in an NME interview, circa 1981) which I still use to this day.

The other quote I remember is from Whose Line Is It Anyway. In the round entitled Worst Person To Share A Lift With, Paul Merton said "hello, I'm John Sessions." I bet that doesn't make the obits.

Oct 27: Great Comics Zoom chat tonight with Hannah Berry et al on Zoom. Just went to get a cup of tea and found it had ended, so no post match chat. But it was good while it lasted.

Happiness is getting your new @EquityUK diary.

Hope it ends up with more in it than this year’s!

Emergency Replacement Zoom Gig Nov 7th

 As had been expected when I named it the Fingers Crossed Tour, half the shows I'd lined up have been cancelled by the latest lockdown. The first of which, November 7th's Old Joint Stock Theatre show in Birmingham, I've replaced with a Zoom show.

It'll be the first time we've performed ROLL UP online. And, though I doubt we'll get the same size audience as we did for Hallo Ian, with less than a week's notice, it'll be fun to do. And, having warmed it up and prepared it this week, I'll be able to wheel out another online performance of it in the Spring, which had been my original plan. (And we still have Minging Detectives and Superheroes to perform in full online, as well as all this new stuff we seem to be coming up with. Good to have such an archive to fall back on.)

Tickets are here, tell the world. Next stop after that, the Xmas Special.

Scottish Falsetto Socks Xmas Special - Friday December 11th, 8pm

Socks Hallo Ian Special - report

 Thanks to everyone who came along to the Socks' Hallo Ian Special on Zoom on Friday October 30th, it was our best attended show since the summer, and far and away the best received I think. It was so choc full of new material - much more than September's New Material Night for instance - that, including a special guest appearance by Dean Friedman, it ran to an hour and ten minutes, and was followed by the most enjoyable after-show chat yet.

The full running order is below, with links to the individual clips that I've posted since. The full show is up there to be found too, though I've only sent the link to ticket buyers, which seems fair. Our next show is the Xmas Special on December 11th, which I'm delighted to say Dean has agreed to guest on too.

HALLO IAN SPECIAL Running Order

Intro gags
I'M A SOCK song (on video, as are all songs. During this we found a problem with the video clip's sound not playing, I'm still unsure why. Luckily, during the course of the number, I fixed it, as the rest of the show was heavily reliant on its musical numbers)
Hitchock gags
ROCKY HORROR 2020 MEDLEY - Highpoint of the show, if an opening number can be that. It's been the most commented on, and watched online since. I must say I'm rather proud of it too.
LOVECRAFT - New sketch, quite fun. Could go in a live show, though hard to glean from a Zoom show where the laughs are coming.
4 HORSEMEN's HORROR CLICHE song - A classic from Boo Lingerie, reperformed for the night. Always good.
CARRIE - New sketch, first performed for a private request birthday party (for a Carrie in fact) last month. Good.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT song - Brand new, and one I love. Liked by the comics fans in the audience.
Shakespeare gags & TITUS ANDRONICUS - A bit from our Shakespeare show, good as always.
MONSTER MASH - Another brand new musical number, I was really pleased with this, could defo go in a live show.
DEAN FRIEDMAN guest slot - Dean played The Babysitting Song and Scratch & Bite, both obscure numbers with a Halloweeny vibe.
Friends routine - linking material building up to a later gag.
BRIGHTER SHADE OF MAKE UP - Brand new song, the least Halloween-themed of the night, another good un I think.
HALLO IAN - The classic sketch, that we've been doing our whole career, and that we'd been teasing throughout the show till now. The Socks fall out at the end of it, leaving only the Sock On The Right, who says "Where's Dean Friedman when you need him..?"
LUCKY STARS - The Socks duet with Dean Friedman, built up to by the earlier Friends material (about Lisa Kudrow, stumbling over Cliff out of Cheers. It makes sense in context)
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - The grand finale. Done as a video clip some years ago but never done live, I think it works and could find its way into a live show.


So, quite the new show, though I say so myself. It's certainly more complete than the set we took to the Leicester Comedy Festival back in February. With the exception of a few revivals (4 Horsemen, Titus Andronicus, and Hallo Ian) and two bits that had been tested before (Carrie and Phantom), that was all new material, written in the last month. If we can do that again for the Christmas show, and whatever we do over the coming months, we're going to have a lot of stuff to choose from and develop when it comes to working live again. (On which subject, the 2nd national lockdown was announced on the day after this show, suggesting our Fingers Crossed Tour this winter might not happen. Hence, of course, the name. Update: Immediately after posting this blog on Monday morning, I read that Nov 7th's Birmingham show is cancelled. 4 more to topple, in Bath, Clevedon, Lichfield & Barton).

Scottish Falsetto Socks Xmas Special - Friday December 11th, 8pm

ICECast interview with Shane Chebsey

 My thanks to the fabulous Shane Chebsey for inviting me onto his ICECast podcast and indulging me with an hour long interview where I got to talk about myself and my comics work. I have no doubt I missed tons, but we managed to cover lots from Oink and 2000AD to the comic festivals, to the new graphic novels, and many points inbetween. Many thanks Shane, do please click and enjoy everyone.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres - AND NOW ONLINE VIA ZOOM. email for details. His debut graphic novels Findlay Macbeth and The Prince Of Denmark Street are available on Amazon. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My 3 Shakespeare Graphic Novels on sale now

My trilogy of Shakespeare graphic novels is available now.

Findlay Macbeth, my debut graphic novel, its successor The Prince Of Denmark Street, and the most recent volume The Midsummer Night's Dream Team, are all on sale now on Amazon for just £5.99. Or, if you want a signed copy, you can order them direct from me.

Findlay Macbeth on Amazon

Prince of Denmark Street on Amazon

Midsummer Night's Dream Team on Amazon

Signed copies - just pay £6.99 per book at paypal.me/KevFSutherland, making sure to include your address, and letting me know which book(s) you want, and a signed copy will be yours.

You can also get signed copies from me via my new Etsy shop.

Libraries and schools can order copies from their usual supplier Askews and Holts. https://www.askewsandholts.com/

Findlay Macbeth - The debut graphic novel by Kev F Sutherland. Shakespeare's tragedy relocated to 1970s Scotland. Findlay Macbeth is top salesman at Alba Industries, but when he's denied promotion, things turn ugly.Abigail's Party meets Macbeth in a comic thriller by Beano & Marvel creator Kev F Sutherland. 125 pages of original comic strip, plus the full text of Shakespeare's play illustrated by Kev F.

The Prince Of Denmark Street - "Something's rotten, look at the state of Denmark Street" In the brand new graphic novel from Kev F Sutherland (Beano, Marvel), Hamlet is relocated to 1977, on London's Tin Pan Alley at the heart of the music business. A punk rock opera with a twist, when Prince Hamlet finds what happened to his dad, there's hell to pay. 120 pages of original comic strip drama, plus the full text of Shakespeare's Hamlet in one classic volume. The follow up to his debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth. "A hit, a palpable hit!"

The Midsummer Night's Dream Team - Quince gets the gang together for one last job in the third Shakespearian graphic novel from Kev F Sutherland (Beano, Marvel). Taking Midsummer Night's Dream and relocating it to 1977, the action takes place between Athens Restaurant, Woods Nightclub, and the local police station where the whole crazy story unfolds, in a comic adventure that adds brilliant and original twists to Shakespeare's work."Lord, what fools these mortals be!"120 pages of original comic strip drama, plus the full text of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream in one classic volume. 

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres - AND NOW ONLINE VIA ZOOM. email for details. His debut graphic novels Findlay Macbeth and The Prince Of Denmark Street are available on Amazon. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My Pirate Birthday Party

Thanks to Hev for throwing me a Pirate Birthday Party last night. It was my best birthday party in years, and all on Zoom. 

We had a small and select crowd, and what a brilliant turnout (from top left: Ally, Felicity & Tom, Jude & Doug, Polly & Chris, Annette & John, Tilly &James, Steve, and Peter & Cath). The idea was to have a games night, based around a Treasure Hunt, which was all Hev's idea. I then piled in with more games, and got carried away with the visuals.

I made a series of Answer Smash questions on Powerpoint, and a Guess The Pirate wall of faces:

Then we did a handful of Scavenger Hunts, for which I'd made animated countdown clock videos, Hev made a treasure map game board with pieces for everyone, and I played pop videos for people to talk over in the breaks. I really enjoyed my bit of putting it together and, a few technical hitches aside, I think we pulled it off. The party started at 7, games were over by 8.45, no-one left for at least an hour after that, and the last guests stayed till after 11. That's a proper party, and we didn't have to make food.

That (above) is the pineapple given, nominally, as the prize to the winners. Though I think it was an 8 way tie in the end. If you're interested, the music videos we played on the night were:

Toiler On The Sea by The Stranglers

Frigging In The Rigging by the Sex Pistols (& The Muppets) 

Captain Jack Sparrow by The Lonely Island with Michael Bolton 

& 6 Months In A Leaky Boat by Split Enz 

I want to do it again for Christmas!

Next Comic Art Masterclass Tues Oct 27: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/508228

Oct 30 - Hallo Ian Special. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/507145

Nov 7 - Old Joint Stock

Dec 18 - Lichfield Garrick

Dec 19 - Ropewalk, Barton On Humber

Agents update & other trivia

Way back on Tues Jun 9 I noted that I'd emailed these 8 agents (8 Literary Agents Seeking Graphic Novels Now) and most of these 15 agents (15 Graphic Novel Literary Agents Now Seeking Submissions), as well as most of these 65 agents (Manuscript Wishlist).

First reply came from Sam Hiyate, an RSVP, followed by polite Nos from Diana Fox, Bernadette Baker, Linda Camacho.

As of October I've received 9 replies, from Lauren Spieller (Triada), Linda Camacho (gallt & zacker), Andrea Somberg (Harvey Klinger), Elana Roth Parker (Laura Dail), Nicole Aragi, Hillary Jacobson (ICM), Diana Fox (Fox), Bernadette Baker-Baughman (Victoria Sanders), and Danielle Chiotti (Upstart Crow). Plus RSVPs of receipt from two more agencies.

Every single one of these agencies is in the States (7 in New York, one NJ, one PA). Not a single British agent replied, though to be fair most agents asking for graphic novels are in the States.

I have sent copies of Prince Of Denmark Street to the first 4 agents on that list, because their personal replies were the most encouraging and least robotic looking, and had one thankyou. The quest for an agent, and a publisher, continues.