Warren Ellis's Blog, page 134
May 1, 2011
April 30, 2011
Making Things Done
Saw the last pages today. Matt Brooker is a genius. It is a gloriously gorgeous book: the sheer intelligence of his compositions never fails to knock me down.
FREAKANGELS is nearly done.
I have a document in front of me that is episodes 138 to 144. Within it are complete scripts for 143 and 144, and fractions of the rest of them. I'm working with them as a seven-episode spread to make sure that everything slips into place and nothing gets crushed out for lack of space at the last minute.
FELL #11 should be written in a couple more weeks.
It's partially done. But I'm going into four weeks of lockdown: GUN MACHINE and another, shorter project demand some very focussed time. I've switched Twitter off for four weeks: aside from posting notifications to it and RTing things I've been poked to RT off-Twitter, I won't be reading or using it at all. I'll be here, occasionally on the FREAKANGELS board, and nowhere else.
There is much to do. Perversely, there will probably be more posts here, because I need to unload my head somewhere or I will go mad.
I might, for instance, start going out in the garden to take photos of bluebells in the middle of the bloody night.
The monthlyish gathering for webcomickers to plug their w...
The monthlyish gathering for webcomickers to plug their wares at the FREAKANGELS message board has begun.
There's a similar thread for people making magazines, print or digital, too: link.
Bookmarks for 2011-04-29
"Howdy! I'm Dorian Wood. I am an independent artist in Los Angeles, and I am currently immersed in the recording of my second full-length studio album, Rattle Rattle, which is due for release this summer. Over 100 musicians are appearing on Rattle Rattle (aaah!). This is the biggest and loudest one so far. Think Tom Waits and Scott Walker re-working Brian Wilson's "Smile"(!)."
(tags:music )
Publishing, Power, and Print Purgatory: Inside the Tokyopop Rights Situation | The Comics Journal
"Tokyopop will not be reverting rights back to their creators of original content, and is in discussion with certain creators regarding contract buyouts, a source told the Comics Journal this week."
(tags:comics )
April 29, 2011
Bookmarks for 2011-04-29
"Ultimately, however, the biggest problem of the magazine doesn't come from its big-name designer, but its overall concept. I just don't understand what it's about, who it's for, or why it exists."
(tags:magazine )
Next-generation US space racers outline plans
"A handful of companies competing to make the spaceship to replace the iconic US shuttle said Thursday they are racing to shrink what will be a long gap in flying Americans into space aboard US craft."
(tags:space )
50 Watts
"…the late 60s–early 70s French magazine Plexus, a sexy offshoot of Planète. (John found it through DRTENGE.) It's an intriguing mix of surreal-fantastic-psychedelic art, interviews with writers (Jacques Sternberg was the literary editor), Playboy-style comics and the occasional Popeye comic, science fiction stories, Gilles de Rais profiles, philosophy, and—though there are few traditional photo spreads—lots and lots of boobs. Each early issue features a full-color "pin up": an erotic work by an artist like Leonor Fini."
(tags:covers )
April 28, 2011
GUEST INFORMANT: Ian Hodgson
Oh, I do so love a Phantom Wedding
'I long for mystery, with no explanation.' ~ A. J. Raffles
One of my very favourite pieces of tat, is the 1973 BBC 'Music for a Royal Wedding' from the marriage of H.R.H. The Princess Anne & Captain Mark Phillips. Many people who scavenge for grot will have seen this gatefold delight; a souvenir of a royal marriage that went slowly nowhere.
Souvenirs of regal failings are strange things. A historical moment is forever fixed, but all the pomp and glamour has ebbed away, replaced with something else… A reminder of unpredictability, and transience.
On the front cover the Brylcreemed Captain has a strange, sly look, sporting a confidence which was apparently at odds with his shy personality. My copy of the LP has '26p' scrawled on his forehead in biro. Princess Anne has scrubbed up a treat, and looks almost beautiful. The back cover features them all teeth, sitting in a soft-focus field with a black Labrador.
Inside you have a reasonably nauseous 'photo-album'. An abundance of horses and handbags. There is also a silver-framed 'order of ceremonies' insert-card, with every aspect of the undertaking listed. 'Printed on Wiggins Teape High Speed Board' is my favourite.
I can just about understand why someone might want to listen to such a thing in 1973, but in 2011 you'd have to be of very specific mind. There can't even be many people under the age of 30 who have more than a vague notion who Captain Mark Philips is. Nevertheless at the start of this year I began to see this commemorative object emerging more and more from within charity shops, in the same manner as the elderly Christmas LPs that glumly surface in late autumn. I thought it highly unlikely that the BBC would release a deluxe wedding souvenir vinyl LP this year.
At the same time I was reading various books of English folklore and legends. A passage about Phantom Weddings caught my mind:
Lights are seen there at night, the people say; and the bells ring; and just as the bells all set off ringing, a large dog is seen swimming across the lake. The plates and dishes clatter; and the table is spread by unseen hands. That is the preparation for the ghostly wedding feast of a murdered bride, who comes up from her watery bed in the lake to keep her terrible nuptials.
Terrible nuptials.
Around this moment I thought 'What I'd really like to see is a Souvenir LP of a Phantom Wedding'. Obviously the bride will be a phantom cat princess. And the groom? A duplicitous Cavalier fox, freshly escaped from 1644. And then after going to all the trouble of summoning a phantom bride, she turns out to be completely off her rocker. But fashionably dressed, you understand?
To compose a piece of music, in the Edwardian Reggae style, that endeavours to capture the mind of an insane (but eminently stylish) phantom cat princess? Oh! Such delight! Imagine a ghastly Vulpine family, performing a ceremonial square-dance within a partly-formed abbey, recently manifested out of a frozen hell-dimension. The music just writes itself!
With any Moon Wiring Club release I like to make it confusing. If you are kind enough to listen, you might enjoy it as lo-fi wonky ghost-pop. But the words 'musical riddle' are never far from my thoughts, and I'm in love with puzzles, tricks, magic and sly mischief. So fresh.
Terrible nuptials,
Ian Hodgson
This was a guestpost by Ian Hodgson, better known as the owner and operator of Moon Wiring Club, to explicate and commemorate Moon Wiring Club's new longplayer SOMEWHERE A FOX IS GETTING MARRIED, which you can learn more about here and here and pre-order on fine vinyl here.
Received Goods 28apr11
sent from [device: spacephone]
Posted via email from warrenellis's posterous
SVK Update: Introducing Bulmer
SVK Update at BERG, with art and treatment clips and stuff. If you look at the top of warrenellis.com, you should see a link to getsvk.com, where you can find out more and get on the mailing list for imminent release details.
Bookmarks for 2011-04-28
'If London Were Like New York: A Peek At The Metropolis After The American Invasion' From Harmsworth's Magazine (The London Magazine), February 1902
(tags:sf )
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