Sunday 23 November 2014

In a Silent Way

...we often use time travel as a framing device here on the Psychedelic Journal blog but never has it been more relevant than on this, our first blog post after SEVERAL BITS OF TIME ...

Now - we're an anthology and we crave variety so we will give you THREE possible reasons for our months of silence:

Reason the First

Psychedelic HQ was ravaged by plasma badgers.

Reason the Second

Our archives have been enveloped by a mysterious ham-scented vortex.

Reason the Third

Editor O has been doing archaeology and editor Geoffery is doing a masters.


ANY ONE OF THESE ARE LIKELY - but either way we've allowed the submissions pile to get larger than we'd like (all pending scripts will be dealt with ASAP).  We've not updated this ol' blog for a big long while and we've not been coming out with regular teasers and noises as much as we normally would do. With a shaky wobbly half-confidence we snigger nervously and say "we're now at a point where we probably might be able to get moving again" as we dust off our Psychedelic rakes and prepare to clean away the leaves. The ... time leaves.

What have we been doing since we last hollered? Well - we were at the frosty ICE in Birmingham...


We launched Issue 4 at a very fun Melksham at the end of August which coincided with Editor Geoffery's birthday. THERE WAS MUCH CAKE. 


And Issue 4 went on sale over at Comicsy and you can buy it RIGHT THIS SECOND BY CLICKING ON THIS SENTENCE!


We then brought Issue 4 to the gloriously indie Bristol Comic and Zine Fair at the beginning of October...


...and then rounded off our con year at the ever glorious Thought Bubble!


We were sat next to the fabulous folk of the Treehouse Comic - an indie anthology from Dundee and Facebook wizard Berkeley Mews who was super smashing and as charming as a bespectacled dog. Editor O will be writing up the experience for his regular column at Down the Tubes so keep your heads peeled for that one...


Finally above there we have another taster of Issue 4, "Assassin" by David Black and Paul Ridgon - a partially coloured sci-fi hitman story WITH A MASSIVE TWIST.... 


Keep your ear to the ground - things are afoot!


Sunday 6 July 2014

Forever Changes

Cosmonauts!

Well it's all change here at Psychedelic HQ - a Future O from 2016 emerged from our bathroom sink and told us that the theme of the first non-time travel issue would be THE WILD WEST he then left the way he came mumbling at how annoying it was to write blogs without the time travel framing device. Pesky varmint.

Behold our deliciously vague new logo...

WELL THAT'S FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

Photo: Save the date and be sure to come along!

One of our most recent events was the Independent Creators Day in Melksham - it took the form of a sunny outdoor market that was very enjoyable. Small press kings Jon Lock & Nich Angell were there flogging goods and generally looking damned handsome. Our next convention as the Journal will be ICE Expo in Birmingham although I (Editor O) will be a guest with John Lloyd's Aces Weekly at LFCC next weekend.

Also a big shout to 2000 AD artking PJ Holden who gave us a mention on his blog of Small Press Anthology titles to submit to. We're proud to always being open to submissions - there are still some places for scripts in the final time travel issue but get those weird western tales a'brewin for the first Psychedelic Wild West issue! Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter (links on the right there) for announcements!


Meanwhile back to the nearer future - here's a teaser for a very silly story in Issue 4 entitled "Meaty Love" written by Journal regular and small press journeyman Oscar Maltby and brilliantly drawn by Carcass & Slime lord Neil Williams. Oh and on the subject of Issue 4 - still on course to debut at Melksham Comic Con on August 30th - here's the amazing cover by 2000 AD legend and Vampire Vixen creator Alex Ronald....



...pretty smashing, eh? Keep your eyes glued to our social media wotsits for further Issue 4 teases and more wild west developments!



Tuesday 3 June 2014

Teaser Cavalcade & Finality

Cosmonauts!

It's been a fairly quiet few weeks after convention overload but things at Psychedelic HQ are still suitably hectic as we pull together Issue 4 for its August debut at Melksham Comic Con. Also word from our future selves has reached us through the toilet of all places that Issue 6 due autumn 2015 is due to be our last so get those submissions coming in as we have already filled Issue 5! ...Also future me has a laser eye which is a worry.

Submission details and guidelines here!!

Photo: "Tony: The Last Man" by Gavin Johnston & George Coleman

Our penultimate teaser for Issue 3 (available here) is a very silly story involving a lovely mix of fish and the end of the world as written by the brilliant Gavin Johnston ("The Private Life of James Munro" in PJOTT2) and illustrated by the indefatigable George Coleman ("History Lesson" in PJOTT1 as well as many Futurequake Press titles).

Photo: "The Undying City" by Chris Mole & Nich Angell
Our final teaser for Issue 3 (still available here!) is a cautionary tale of the damage caused by time travel stretched to its furthest excesses... written by Chris Mole the metallic master-mind behind Professor Elemental Comics and Northern Oak - soon to be showing up in David Lloyd's Aces Weekly.
We're very lucky to have it beautifully illustrated by that one-man titan of self-publishing Nich Angell known for 7String, Cat & Meringue and crossing-over with Jon Lock's Afterlife Inc in The Heavenly Chord. He's also soon to be appearing in the almighty Phoenix Comic.

Photo: First teaser! "Ask Not" by Andi Ewington and Seb Antoniou!

At last here is the first teaser for the upcoming Issue 4... "Ask Not" is a dark tale of entwined time travel and politics - written by Andi Ewington the man behind Com.X's Forty-Five and co-writer of the Dark Souls II comic! Stunningly drawn by artking Seb Antoniou - keep an eye out for more teasers coming over the coming weeks - !

Finally cartoon lord Ghostpockets uploaded the entire of the story he illustrated for Issue 2 "Baba 2 the Future" over on his Tumblr recently. If that's whetted your apetite for our former volumes and you've never seen 'em you can buy a PDF of the physically sold-out vol.2 for only £2 here! It's reassuringly weird...


Tuesday 13 May 2014

Lawgiver & Bristol Expo

Cosmonauts - !

After a con double whammy this past week you find your editorial team so knackered we barely even noticed the 18th century ship crashed in the grounds of our landlocked HQ. All the crew were gone, save for an alarmingly anachronistic 1950s-style bulky robot singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme ad infinitum in the hold. Just one of those things I suppose.


Above is our table at Lawgiver a small convention primarily celebrating Judge Dredd in Birmingham. We were fortunately endowed by Bolt-01 with some copies of the latest brilliant issue of 2000ad fanzine Zarjaz so had some relevance in those thickly Dreddy waters. It was an amazing day actually - and those curious about exactly what went on need look no further than a gloriously written piece by the friendliest judge of them all Judge Pal on Everything Comes Back to 2000ad. In the photo above surrounding co-editor O you have the brightly-shirted and phenomenally talented (seated) Barry Renshaw who was sketching all day and the brightly-shirted and phenomenally talented (standing) SKD who was helping Forbidden Planet flog Dredd-based merch and whose work on El Bigote has to be seen to be believed.


...and here is what happened at Bristol, we were unfortunately in Loki's way and the Asgardian chap was quite perturbed. Co-editor Geoffery (behind right) barely escaped where as Bristolian comic chap Mike Scrase (behind left) was not so lucky. It was a positive two days and much hugs and whoops should be given to fellow conventioneers Andrew Scaife & David Collings (New York Park & That Whole Buffy Thing) , Dani Abram & Ian Matthews (Razarhawk), Jess Bradley, James Stayte, Mark Pearce, Richard Worth & Jordan Collver (Ladies & Gentlemen), Jon Lock & Lucy Brown (Afterlife Inc.), Aldous Russell of the ever-glorious Cinebooks, Conor & Liz Boyle (Disconnected Press), Nich Angell & Alice White (7String, Cat & Meringue etc), Michael Stock (Dead Roots & lettering king), John A. Short (Kult Creations), Mike Garley (Eponymous), Adam & Hilary Steel (Darkmook Paper Miniatures), Bolt-01 (Futurequake Press), David Broughton (Martillo & Shaman Kane), the two chaps behind The Red Mask From Mars, the always-chapping Professor Elemental and the many friends and new folk who came and saw us and made it a lovely weekend. Click on all them links there - show 'em you care! Our next thing will be a pre-Melksham indie comics day in Melksham at the end of June. Time to hop in the capsule and go there forthwith!


Finally here is our most recent teaser from Issue 3 - "Time Piece" is written by small press journeyman Shaun Avery and is a noiry tale of the darker side of time travel, beautifully illustrated by the endlessly talented Roland Bird. All our other Issue 3 teasers can be seen in one place here!


Monday 21 April 2014

April Events

Cosmonauts - !

It's been a quiet few weeks at Psychedelic HQ as we've been painstakingly scraping the algae off the back of a giant sea creature that emerged quite suddenly in our dining room the other week. We're not sure whether he's from the far future or the dim and distant past but he has a taste for port and has a laugh uncannily similar to that of Sandi Toksvig. Beside this occurrence we've been steeling ourselves for two future con appearances in early may the first at Lawgiver Con on May 5th and the second at Bristol Con the weekend following. Hopefully the seabeast will have departed before then....


'Lockjaw's Coming' graces the back page of Issue 3 (now available here) and is written by co-editor Geoffery Crescent who, when not fetching port for the seabeast, writes a lot of poetry and writes on-going fantasy novel Holem Vav. The art is provided by international comics whirlwind Gibson Quarter who regular draws up stuff for Ryan Sohmer's The Gutters and has graced books from Alan Grant's Wasted to legendary small press publications like Futurequake. Also if you look closely in Lockjaw's Coming there is a tiny reference to 7th Wave Comics' Undertow in which Quarter draws 'The Organ Grinder' :D


Yes - despite a swift banning by our respected law enforcers - we will be selling copies of the Journal alongside premier 2000ad fanzine Zarjaz. It promises to be quite an exciting event with appearances from top Dredd scribes & artists (including co-creator John Wagner!) as well as the cast & crew of fantastic fan film Judge Minty and actual judges in ACTUAL UNIFORMS DEALING OUT ACTUAL JUSTICE.


'Turn Back the Clock' also features in Issue 3 (still now available here) with a star-studded script from newcomer Mark Keenan - celebrity survival shows were never this deadly! Illustrated by small press journeyman Nathan Webb who has also recently drawn a Dredd tale for Zarjaz.


Our final teaser comes from 'Timeholes & Teaspoons' written by Comicsy mastermind and script DERVISH Tim West (who also wrote Issue 1's 'Not Everyone Deserves a Second Chance') and drawn by long-time Journalfriend and Bristolian artman Andrew Scaife - whose first witty 'n weird sci-fi solo comic New York Park is very much worth a look!


Sunday 30 March 2014

Issue 3 Arrives!

Cosmonauts!

It has been a busy while since our last blog and things here at Psychedelic HQ have been decidedly hectic. For one, some manner of futuristic dog has laid digital eggs in our foyer and we're not sure what to do about it. We've decided to just cordon the area off and not think about too hard about it.

Photo: Spotted in the wild - a single copy of Issue 2 sitting lonely in Orbital Comics London - ! It's a quid cheaper than we sell it online and conventions, which London cat will snap it up?

What you see here is one of the last copies of Issue 2 available sitting in Orbital Comics in London - not sure if it's still there since this photo was taken last month but visitors to this time period may find this an opportune moment to go and seek it out!


The biggest news since the last blog has to be the LAUNCH OF ISSUE 3 - with a beautiful cover by illustrator Carl Pearce it is crammed full of the uncanny and extraordinary. We'll be doing a few conventions this year, keep an eye on our FB page or Twitter for the first announcement VERY SOON but if can't wait or can't attend any the physical issue can be bought online over on Comicsy here: http://www.comicsy.co.uk/crazyfoxmachine/ 

We've already got our first review from the wonderful Steve Hargett over on his review blog - which gives you a full run-down of exactly what's in there and who's done what! If any reviewers fancy a PDF to peruse give us a shout via the magic of e-mail.


Here's the first of three new(ish) teasers for the third issue - "Event Horizon" is a dark psychological tale written by Bristolian and Journal newcomer Mike Scrase who has been regularly putting out his Adventures of Zip webcomic (also ask him about curious Pokemon-Marvel mashup "Thorlax") and illustrated by the brilliant Matt Herbert (Journal #1 - "Thinking Outside the Box" written by Rich McAuliffe) who has been blowing the socks of Zarjaz readers for the past few years with his fantastic takes on 2000ad regulars. His Shakara from Issue 17 is EXTRAORDINARY.


"The Film Theory" is written by Argentinian script machine Blas Bigatti (Journal#1 - "Karma Traveller" illustrated by Andrew Scaife) who also has a story coming up the next issue and illustrated by the mysterious Mark Herstal who is new to the Journal....


Finally "The Terminal Solution of Alan Smith" by writer and musician J.S. Adams (Journal #2 "The Clockwork Queen" illustrated by Dave Thomson) and brilliantly drawn by Journal newcomer Jim Lavery who seems to be more comics than man and caught our eye doing a succession of very good Futurequake stories.


Looking much further ahead to next year's issue 5 we seemed to have started a creative fire between Chris Redfern (writer on Issue 3's "Primitive Possibilities" illustrated by JT Pegg) and Trystan Mitchell (previously seen in the second Dr WTF) - above is an early concept image. Keep an eye on their respective twitter feeds for more soon I expect. 2015 is looking brighter by the day!



Tuesday 14 January 2014

2014

Cosmonauts!

Welcome to the future. Here at Psychedelic HQ we celebrated the new year with a quick jaunt back to 1014 and let me say... it was quite depressing. Sweyn Forkbeard the Danish king of England was dying and nobody was really in the mood to party. Oh well! Here's a round-up of the latest Journal news...

Photo: "Call Time" by Jim Woodall & Bob Molesworth

Here is the latest teaser from our next issue... "Call Time" written by the brilliant Jim Woodall who, when not submitting brilliantly witty scripts to the Journal  (our one Hitler story "Why Hasn't Anyone Killed Hitler?" PJOTT #1 drawn by Andrew Scaife) self-publishes some great genre short stories. Call Time is drawn by Journal newcomer and Brightonian magic-handed art wizard Bob Molesworth who has drawn Star Wars for Titan, Ninja Turtles for Panini and most recently the brilliantly vibrant Endangered Weapon B from Markosia (written by David Tallerman).


A new anthology has submerged seemingly since our last blog entry that is worth shouting about: 100% Biodegradable is a digital-only sci fi thing that is bi-monthly. They're looking for submissions - particularly artists, so click on the link back there and hurl them things. NOT BRICKS THOUGH. The first issue features Journal contributor Dave Thomson (PJOTT #1 - "The Clockwork Queen" written by J.S. Adams and another glorious story coming in PJOTT#3) - look at his cover. JUST LOOK AT IT.

You will have already seen this Issue 3 "Primitive Possibilities" teaser but I'm hauling back out for a stunning new point-of-interest - artist JT Pegg is now a bonafide 2000ad droid having created a Future Shock with writer Eddie Robson that appeared in Prog 1862 :D Blimey - ! 

BUT WHEN WILL YOU BE ABLE TO GET HOLD OF ISSUE 3?!

Unfortunately with our vast collection of time-moving devices here at Psychedelic HQ we were still unable to book any spring conventions in time so for the near-completed Issue 3 there is going to be a rather special variation from our con-centric routine - A LAUNCH NIGHT IN BRISTOL ON MARCH 15th. So ... put that date in your diaries and keep an eye out for venue confirmation over on our Facebook page! :O Crikey it really is the future...


Talking of - what's more futuristic than DIGITAL COMICS?! 3D printing you say? Yes that's fairly futuristic. Anyway *ahem* ignoring that - ISSUE 2 is now available digitally for your mobile devices and Google glasses and tablets and projector hats. You can buy it on Comicsy for only £2 here