70707, 2000AD, Zazous, & other notes

As ever I write more on Facebook than in my blog. Here's some recent trivia & dross.

Feb 22: On this day 40 years ago a new comic went on sale called 2000AD. I didn't buy it, because I was more impressed by the glossy covers of the weekly Marvel reprint comics, and thought The Defenders, written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Sal Buscema, was the height of comic strip storytelling and that this 2000AD comic looked a bit old fashioned in comparison. I was also enjoying the serialisation of Steve Gerber's Man Thing in Planet Of The Apes comic, and had started getting Steve Gerber's Howard The Duck comics in the local newsagent. Basically Steve Gerber is the reason I don't have a first edition of 2000AD number one, with the space spinner. He owes me fifty quid. (NB: I got to interview him on stage at Glascac in the early 90s and, yes, I am well aware he's dead). (PPS: Howard The Duck is still way better than 2000AD number 1, though the Brit upstart did get pretty good after a few months).

Feb 21: Can I just say, as a childhood David Cassidy fan, that today's news is quite sad. (He has dementia). Also makes his song titles sound weird - Didn't We Have Ourselves Some Kind Of A Summer, How Can I Be Sure? Could It Be Forever etc

Here's me posing with a flyer I designed for David & Carole Chapple, for their charity fundraising 70707 bid, which you can read about here.

Feb 14: Happy Valentines Day. A strip by me from Gas comic, back in the day.

Feb 19: Well, we've happily given up on SSGB after one episode, thanks to its risible dialogue, but mostly Sam Riley's whispering. Why do people think it's dramatic to not use your Outside Voice? Seriously, if you're in a confrontation situation, it would be way helpful if the person on the other side of the room could hear you. #SSGB #SpeakUp

Feb 9: Far be it from me to defend The Daily Mail, it's its politics with which I disagree, not any awareness of its factual unreliability. If the second biggest selling newspaper in the country, with the second biggest online presence, can't be cited on Wikipedia, where does this leave other UK papers? They cite "sensationalism" as a reason? Surely The Express and the Star have to be worse than the mail, and the Mirror not far behind. And I've seen a lot of criticism of Metro and "i" for being lightweight and possibly unreliable on occasions. The article says they still allow Fox News to be cited. This is what happens when you leave decisions in the hands of the public, I guess.

Just been watching Grossflix. It's like Netflix but before tax.



Feb 17: A very good piece (by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame) looking at the selling techniques, and even hypnosis, that Donald Trump uses. Have you ever wondered why he talks like that, repeating certain phrases, certain phrases? http://blog.dilbert.com/post/126589300371/clown-genius (Thanks to Phil Chippendale for this)



Feb 24: Good news kids, when the war comes you don't have to fight, you can do what these French kids did. So we need to update the phrase Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys to Cheese-Eating Ironic Badge Wearing Fannying About Like Steve Strange At Blitz and Not Giving A Toss About The Resistance Surrender Monkeys.

Comic Art Masterclasses coming up:

Mar 18 - Prema Arts, Gloucestershire

April 5 - Rickmansworth Library

May 7 - Dorchester Festival

Jun 4 - Martlets Hall Burgess Hill

2017 TOUR
Feb 15 - Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre Studio 
Feb 17 & 18 6.50pm - Kayal, Leicester Comedy Fest
March 9 - Aberystwyth Arts Centre
March 15 & 16 - Dram! Glasgow Com Fest
March 23 - The Bill Murray, London
Apr 1 - Rotherham Comedy Festival
Apr 6 - Victoria Theatre Halifax
Apr 8 - Rondo Bath
Apr 13 - Hexham Queen's Hall
Apr 22 - Swindon Arts
Apr 27 - Stroud Subscription Rooms
Apr 28 - Merlin Theatre Frome
Apr 29 - Perth Concert Hall
May 1 - Chiddingstone Castle Kent
May 5 - Artrix Bromsgrove
May 6 - Stafford Gatehouse
May 13 (4.30pm) & May 14 (5.30pm) Komedia Brighton
May 19 - Carriageworks Leeds
May 26 - Aberdeen May Fest
June 2 - Eden Ct Inverness
June 15 - Crescent Arts, Belfast
June 17 - Dalkey Festival, Dublin
June 23 - Hertford Comedy Festival
June 24 - Ludlow Fringe