Welcome, New Readers!
So many of you have signed up in the last week that I just thought I’d better say hello at the top. This Newsletter always comes out on Fridays at 11.45am UK time. News first, then what some friends are making (if there’s anything I want to mention), then how my week went. Welcome!
I’m a Guest at To Be Continued Tomorrow!
Tomorrow, Saturday, 14th September, I’ll be a guest at To Be Continued, a comic art expo in Bedford. At 11am I’ll be on a Doctor Who panel with Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and Mike Collins. At 1pm I’ll be signing (though if you find me elsewhen I’m always willing to sign things), and at 3.30pm I’ll be running the game show Just A Minute, with Esmie, Alison Sampson, Rob Williams, Ian Churchill, Meghan Fitzmartin and Chris Wildgoose as my guests! (With the help of Sarah Miles, who’ll be keeping score.) I’m looking forward to hanging out at this lovely event.
The Complete(d) Saucer Country Comes to Amazon Next Week!
The Syzygy/Image edition of The Complete(d) Saucer Country, which has an entirely different design from the Zoop crowdfunded edition, is now in comic and book stores worldwide, and is still available for pre-order from Amazon! (Which has it in stock on September 17th.) This wonderfully-designed volume includes all 20 issues of Saucer Country and Saucer State, plus the new Finale from me and artist Ryan Kelly, completing the story of a Presidential candidate who believes she’s been abducted by aliens, and her search for the truth. It’s a political thriller that explores the rich tapestry of UFO mythology.
London MCM Comic Con
On Saturday, 26th October, I’ll be a guest at the London MCM Comic Con, doing panels and signings!
We’re Going Back to Thought Bubble!
Lizbeth Myles and I will once more be running at table at the great Thought Bubble comics convention in Harrogate on 16th-17th November! I’m looking forward to meeting once again so many lovely comics fans.
The Death of Wolverine
As announced here on ICv2, on 27th November Marvel will be releasing an omnibus edition of the Death of Wolverine storyline, featuring not only the miniseries of that name, but also my entire run on the comic. I’m very pleased that all this material will now be available in one volume.
There are going to be two covers, this regular one from Alex Ross…
And this direct market exclusive version from Joe Quesada.
It’s available to pre-order on Amazon, and at all good bookstores and comic shops.
My Ko-fi and eBay Stores
I’ve re-stocked my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised, and now I’ve set up shipping to a range of international destinations.
Similarly, I’ve now re-stocked my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices.
The Future of Hammer House of Podcast
Hammer House of Podcast, in which myself and Lizbeth Myles watch the Hammer horror movies in UK release order, is out on the 13th of every month, with our September episode being about The Woman in Black: Angel of Death.
You can get these episodes free wherever you normally get your podcasts, as well as on our site, but if you sign up to our Patreon, for any sum of money from £1/$1, you get an extra episode every month too, on the 27th, in which we watch Patron requested movies and films from other horror studios of the same era.
In November we reach our final movie, so in our October episode we’ll be announcing the title and theme of our sequel podcast, which will begin in January. (We’ll have a special HHoP episode in December.) Patrons will be automatically subscribed to the new podcast at their current level, but if you are one of our Patrons you should of course feel free to opt out if you don’t like our new subject matter. We hope you’ll be quite pleased, though!
When HHoP finishes we’ll be leaving X and establishing accounts for the new podcast on Bluesky and Instagram. And of course I’ll be announcing all the news here.
(This was much better than we’d heard it was.)
Find my Books at Bookshop.Org and Help Out Indie Booksellers!
Bookshop.org is a collective selling tool that sets up a marketplace for all indie bookstores in the UK, functioning exactly like Amazon, except you’re supporting your local bookshop. You can find a selection of my books here, and I get a little cut of the proceeds too if you order from here!
My Linktree
You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree!
The Work of Friends
My friend the urban fantasy novelist Melissa F. Olson is now a comics writer! Her first series for Ahoy, Archaic, will be in your comic stores on December 4th, with art by the great Sally Cantirino (who I was lucky enough to work with on I Walk With Monsters) and colour art by Gab Contreras. It’s about a single Mum raising a family who inherits an island where the old gods go after they’ve stopped being worshipped. I’ve read the first issue and it’s a fantastic blend of mythology and high adventure. Do check it out, and get in at the start of something amazing. (And remember, comic stores only tend to get titles like this in if people order them beforehand. If you go looking for it on December 4th, you might well be disappointed. So order!)
You can read all about it here on The Mary Sue.
(Main cover by Sally Cantirino.)
(Emma Vieceli variant.)
(Liana Kangas variant.)
Meanwhile, my friend Peter Bebergal has an expanded edition of his short story anthology Appendix N out now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. This is a collection of the fiction that shaped the game, now with additional content, illustrations by some of the greats of weird fiction art, a foreword by Adrian Tchaikovsky and an afterword by Ann Vandermeer. It includes work by Poul Anderson, Frank Brunner, Ramsey Campbell, Lin Carter, Lord Dunsany, Gardner Fox & John Giunta, Robert E. Howard, Tanith Lee, Fritz Leiber, H. P. Lovecraft, David Madison, A. Merritt, Michael Moorcock, C. L. Moore, Andre Norton, Fred Saberhagen, Clark Ashton Smith, Margaret St. Clair, Jack Vance and Manly Wade Wellman.
Check it out and order the revised or deluxe edition here at Strange Attractor.
And finally, my friend Ian Winterton has a new audio drama out, starring Christopher Eccleston! Scuttled is a a full-cast, 5 episode audio drama following the Ashworths, a family living and working on the Rochdale Canal between 1840 and 1922. Inspired by the scuttled boats unearthed in Rochdale by real-life archaeological excavations, and drawing on detailed research, this poignant and moving saga brings to life the lost world of Northern England’s bargees.
You can listen to the first episode for free here.
My Week
All in all, it’s been a lovely week, with mostly very bright, very autumnal days here in the Cotswolds, and unfortunately a deep chill setting in alongside that. The source of this positive vibe is of course my son Thomas, who has settled into his new specialist school, and is happily riding in with me in the mornings and laughing as he waits to go in. The school has told Caroline and I that they’re pleased with his ‘cheeky laugh’ and that he always reacts with delight at being told Maths is the next lesson. His pleasure was only dented this week when he was told that beloved Nanny Louise had found another job, and would now only be seeing him on two days a week, but on being told they would still have soft play together he recovered. Louise moving on is a huge change, but it feels like now is a good time for such changes, with Thomas growing up, and I’m delighted for her. She’s been amazing. My only regret is that I didn’t need to compose the amazing set of references I was planning for her.
I got to hang out with my lovely little cricket club on Saturday, enjoying the last beer and barbecue of summer as two invitational elevens played. Cricket this year, both playing and watching, has been a joy. Somerset’s literally last-minute win over Surrey yesterday, giving them a shot at winning the County Championship for their first time ever… but this is one of those areas I know bore my audience if I talk about it very much, so I save it for the pavillion. The natural process of the end of the season has me feeling better about autumn. (Honestly, it’s just winter in a nice hat.)
Work-wise, I’ve been pushing word count on the new novel, which has now reached about the third-of-the-way-through point, and is pleasing me a great deal. It’s a fantasy romance with a lot of comedy. Also, on Tuesday, I had an amazing Zoom meeting about a TV project, the details of which I shall keep to myself, thank you, but if this happens it would be life-changing. This being TV, of course, it almost certainly won’t, but the hope is nice.
And I’m back to my fitness regime, running, walking and even doing the plank. That also underpins this week of good mental health and good work. (It’s not always so positive around here, new readers, be warned.) I hope you’ve all found something good in the turn of the seasons. All to play for.
To Be Continued
Is tomorrow! (I’ve been waiting weeks to say that!) If you’re going, do say hello, and I hope to see everyone again here next week!
That all sounds great Paul. I have taught many mildly autistic children and am proud having helped them achieve amazing things, indeed one is currently at Oxford studying Geography. Of course other young people require more specialist help. Glad your young man has settled. We met some years ago ago and you seemed a lovely person. More cricket please! A cricket comic - image. Billy’s Boots in Tiger & Scorcher had a summer cricket set of stories! My great life passions cricket and comics. Still mourning the cancellation of your Captain Britain comic which I loved. Have you evaluated why it didn’t attract readers. Personally I loved it. Also, is the Bedford event connected to the NICE Con?