Mark West's Blog, page 14
February 3, 2020
Ten Favourite Covers: Golden Age 2000AD
According to Steve MacManus’ thoroughly entertaining
autobiography, The Mighty One: My Life Inside the Nerve Centre, the key age-range for comic readers in the late 70s was
the 8-12’s (putting my own ‘golden period’ from 1977 to 1981). As I’ve been re-discovering 2000AD over the
last few years - through Steve’s book, The Judge Dredd Case files and Future
Shocks - I thought the comic would make
autobiography, The Mighty One: My Life Inside the Nerve Centre, the key age-range for comic readers in the late 70s was
the 8-12’s (putting my own ‘golden period’ from 1977 to 1981). As I’ve been re-discovering 2000AD over the
last few years - through Steve’s book, The Judge Dredd Case files and Future
Shocks - I thought the comic would make
January 27, 2020
Making A Monster, by Al Taylor and Sue Roy - a review
I have a list in my head, of books that I would love to read (that goes back decades) and I never seem to forget the entries on it. Sometimes I'll prowl online sites, to see if I can spot a bargain (one of the issues of wanting to read old books is that sometimes they're very expensive), but mostly I frequent 2nd hand bookshops and keep my eyes open. A few weeks back, I met my good friend Steve
January 20, 2020
Mick & Sarah At The Pictures
I can’t remember now which Con Andrew David Barker & I first met at - though I’m going to assume it was an Edge-Lit - but I was already aware of him. Thanks to Ross Warren and James Everington raving about it, I picked up The Electric (which I’ve been putting off reading, oddly enough, because I want to have time to properly savour it) and then Dead Leaves (which I wrote extensively about here).
January 13, 2020
Nostalgic For My Childhood - A Formative Read
I’ve written on the blog before about books that had a major impact on my formative reading years (from The Restless Bones, which I wrote about here to my enduring love for The Three Investigators series) and one of them, which I hadn’t seen in ages, was re-published last year.
This book is for anyone who has shivered at shadowy figures in the dark, heard strange sounds in the night, or felt
This book is for anyone who has shivered at shadowy figures in the dark, heard strange sounds in the night, or felt
January 6, 2020
The King For A Year Project, 5 Years On...
It's now five years since I started what I thought was going to be a little project. It didn't end up quite like that, of course but as Stephen King says in The Mist, "this is what happened..."
I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since my Dad took me into a second hand bookshop in Wellingborough in the early 80s and I picked up a battered copy of Salem’s Lot, which still sits proudly on my shelf.
I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since my Dad took me into a second hand bookshop in Wellingborough in the early 80s and I picked up a battered copy of Salem’s Lot, which still sits proudly on my shelf.
December 23, 2019
My Creative Year 2019
Continuing a tradition (the seventh occasion!), here's my annual look back at the year from a creative standpoint.
During the year I wrote two short stories (one of which Phil Sloman was kind enough to ask me for, see below for details) and a lot of essays for this blog (which is always enjoyable). Most of my creative time was focussed on novels and all the attendant work to do with the admin
During the year I wrote two short stories (one of which Phil Sloman was kind enough to ask me for, see below for details) and a lot of essays for this blog (which is always enjoyable). Most of my creative time was focussed on novels and all the attendant work to do with the admin
December 16, 2019
The Eleventh Annual Westies - review of the year 2019
Well, here we are again (seriously, where does the time go, eh?), gearing up for Christmas and all things festive, which means it's time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2019.
Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels, a few books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (
Once again, it's been a great reading year for me with a nice mixture of brand new novels, a few books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (
December 9, 2019
Nostalgic For My Childhood - Christmas Annuals (part 3)
"Christmas is coming!"
Me, Christmas 1981. The book I'm writing in was the first diary I received and kept up with (I still write a daily diary) and the uppermost annual, by my right arm, is the 2000AD 1982 edition
As I've written about over the past two years (you can see 2017 here and 2018 here), one of the Christmas highlights when I was a kid (beyond the catalogues I wrote about in 2016
Me, Christmas 1981. The book I'm writing in was the first diary I received and kept up with (I still write a daily diary) and the uppermost annual, by my right arm, is the 2000AD 1982 edition
As I've written about over the past two years (you can see 2017 here and 2018 here), one of the Christmas highlights when I was a kid (beyond the catalogues I wrote about in 2016
December 2, 2019
Live Baby Live: INXS on the big screen!
Last week, Alison & I were lucky enough to revisit the excellent INXS concert film Live Baby Live at the cinema, when it showed ‘for one night only’.
Live Baby Live is the film of the iconic 1991 Wembley Concert (the gig itself was called Summer XS and I wrote extensively about it here). As Tim Peacock on udiscovermusic put it, “Six years to the day after Live Aid, London’s famous Wembley
Live Baby Live is the film of the iconic 1991 Wembley Concert (the gig itself was called Summer XS and I wrote extensively about it here). As Tim Peacock on udiscovermusic put it, “Six years to the day after Live Aid, London’s famous Wembley
November 25, 2019
Mr Stix returns...
I'm pleased to announce that my short story, Mr Stix, has now been published in standalone ebook form by PenMan Press.
When Sam Murphy's seven-year-old daughter Janey starts to suffer night terrors, he does his best to assure her that Mr Stix - a voice from the shadows who says "mean things" to her - can't hurt her.
Sam later finds the grotesque Mr Stix in the family bathroom and then his
When Sam Murphy's seven-year-old daughter Janey starts to suffer night terrors, he does his best to assure her that Mr Stix - a voice from the shadows who says "mean things" to her - can't hurt her.
Sam later finds the grotesque Mr Stix in the family bathroom and then his
