Monday 27 April 2009
Brendan: I was clearing out some old cupboards and a few old copies of 2000AD fell out. I'd kept them because there were episodes of SOONER OR LATER on the back covers. This was a one-page strip that I did with writer Pete Milligan over 23 years ago. When I saw the dateline on the cover, I had a hard time believing it was so long ago.

Unemployment was the big social theme back then... and Swifty is feeling like a contemporary character again. I guess things really do go around in a circle.

Pete Milligan wrote S&L. We just knocked it up one afternoon on a phone call. We had the title first, but no idea of what it would be about. Pete named the hero after one of his favourite writers, Jonathan Swift. Tony Riot drew about a third of the strips with me and was the unofficial "other artist".

That reminds me, I must go and revisit Tony's one and only solo strip for 2000AD, "Tribal Memories", which also written by Pete. Wonder if anybody remembers it!

It's astonishing to think of the variety of strips that Pete was writing around that (white-hot) time in British Comics: Bad Company, Paradax!, Johnny Nemo, Mirkin The Mystic, Sooner or later, Skreemer, Shade The Changing man, Rudcliffe and Williams, The Extremist, Rogan Gosh, Skin... That's an amazing slab o' stuff! A very wide difference in tone and mood, from very dark violence to a surreal and foppish wit.

And, whatever happened to that 'Bizarre Boys' comic thing written with Grant Morrison and to be drawn by Jamie Hewlett? I saw one weird bit of art and that was about it...

Interestingly, it was Jamie Hewlett who took over Sooner or Later for a sequel, which was also written by Pete.

Saturday 18 April 2009
JohnMK: An new exhibition of the art of Brendan McCarthy is being shown at London's newest comic book store, ORBITAL COMICS. The show features images of Brendan's comic book work for both UK and US publishers from over the last twenty years. Featuring a lost image from the graphic novel SKIN, some drawings from a new comic project, DREAMTREES, a number of published ARTOONS from the CRISIS period of the early 90's and more pictures from Brendan's archive of unpublished art.

Brendan is currently working on a new Spider-Man/Dr Strange mini series for Marvel Comics, out later this year.

ORBITAL COMICS is the UK's newest major comic book store, located just off London's famous Leicester Square.

Orbital Comics & Collectibles
8 Great Newport Street,
London, England
WC2H 7JA

Phone: 0207 240 0591
eMail: comics@orbitalcomics.com

Saturday 11 April 2009
The last two...

Saturday 4 April 2009

More next week...
Brendan McCarthy is one of Britain's most talented comic book creators and designers. His unique and distinctive style has influenced a generation of artists and writers. He has produced some classic UK graphic novels, written and designed some ground-breaking TV series and worked on many successful Hollywood movies

The Strangeness of Brendan McCarthy site was created in 1999 by John Kirkham and aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the work of Brendan McCarthy. This website is the official fansite and is put together with the cooperation of Brendan. So we will be bringing you the latest news, exclusive artwork and all things McCarthy related

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