Monday, 25 November 2024
Return of the Gods and The Green Skies -The Best Ever British Graphic Novel Series?
"I read the original quote from that German blogger and thought it was a lot of hot air. When Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes arrived I thought "thick book" and knew you'd taken it from 96 pages to 360+...it looked impressive. I read through it in two days and -robots, aliens, "gods", super heroes, sorcerers, alien invasions and more and world-wide. And you tell me this was done without a script?! It's the only one I can think of so, yeah, the greatest British super hero graphic novel fits as a description." Pete Clark
"You say this is your final big story? The Green Skies was fantastic and everything laid out into chapters was a great touch!"
David Stephens, Comic Reviews
" 'Holy ******* ****!' was all I could say. I even tried counting the number of characters and how the **** you produced all of this without a script beats me. Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies could only have been better if George Perez had drawn it!"
Dan's Comics
"I have no idea why you are not pushing this even harder. The books Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies I would love to see in German or at least get German fans to read since it has a good number of German heroes in it. Next big comic event over here send me copies and I'll sell them on my table!"
Gerd Hammer, German comics historian and trader
Selected comic readers were also chosen to review copies and, obviously, two of these were people from Hong Kong who I corresponded with on Manhua over the years.
"I just wish someone like Tong Li would publish this in Chinese -I mean there are Chinese heroes in this so why not?"
Wang Xiuying
"There HAS to have been a script and more than one person working on this! Brilliant!"
Mike Wayne, Australian comic dealer
Generally, these comments were all similar and I only quote these as any more would be very egotistical. The books should speak for themselves.
Paperback
A4
Black & White
331 Pages
Price: Reduced to £21.89
Prints in 3-5 business days
Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time.
Pretty mundane.
But psychics around the world have been sensing something. A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.
There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.
And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead? An attack by an old foe or foes -?
Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide.
Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth!
A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed!
Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day!
No one suspects the driving force behind the events. One single evil guiding events. Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.
Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end?
The Cross-Earths Caper: Part II of the Invasion Earth Trilogy
Paperback,
A4
Black & White
107 Pages
Price: £12.00
Prints in 3-5 business days
Following the events on Neo Olympus and the Boarman invasion of Earth, many heroes and crime-fighters have withdrawn from activity. Some are trying to recover from injuries while others are fighting the mental scars left by the events.
But things have to go on. As heroes from other parallels who helped during the recent events return home, members of the Special Globe Guard are shocked at the sudden appearance of Zom of the Zodiac. Never a sign of good things a-coming!
Very soon, a group of heroes mount a rescue mission and find that a quick rescue mission can turn sour equally quickly. As they overcome one challenge the the heroes become lost between parallel Earths and face new threats.
Sometimes one Earth just is not enough. The complete story published in issues 7-10 of Black Tower Adventure now in...one handy dandy book!
A4
B&W
124pp
£15.00
It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods.
Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted.
The Many Eyed One is finally coming.
The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help.
The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders
A4
B&W
126pp
£15.00
Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One.
The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him.
Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters.
In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet.
With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim
A4
B&W
208pp
£16.00
The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System.
Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win.
Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?
Saturday, 8 June 2024
Black Tower Comics and Books Ordering -NO International Shipping
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To make it clear:
1. if you order a book from the online store it does not involve international shipping. Books are printed in your region -that's how print on demand works.
2. The price of the book should be shown in your own currency.
3. Obviously your local postal rates apply and there are options for tracked, special delivery and untracked (the least expensive) postage from within your region.
Ordered in your region, printed in your region and delivered by the postal system in your region. It could not be more simple.
One important thing to note is that third party sellers will state "post free" and that is a lie. You often pay 30-75% more on a book ordered through a third party seller than from the online store. The reason is because the third party seller HAS to buy from the online store and the selling price usually covers two postal payments -0from store to them and then to you.
People have purchased from third party sellers and not gotten their books or have had to wait over a month for them to arrive. At that point they contact me and it is all very simple: they tried to rob me of a sale and bought a book at a far more expensive price because they read "post free". That is important because if you buy from a third party seller you are removing the small profit I make on a book. Also, ordering from the online store is not just cheaper but, even though it has never happened since I started selling in 2009, I can actually look into why you have not had your book delivered. Third party seller -your tough luck.
Support the creator and publisher not third party scammers.
I have asked to clarify which countries books can be ordered from as I know someone in Hong Kong and China were interested and it looks like you can order from there. According to the print company:
We do NOT ship to the following countries/territories:
- Belarus
- Region of Crimea
- Cuba
- Iran
- Johnston Island
- North Korea
- Russia
- Saint Pierre Et Miquelon
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Republic Of Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- Wake Islands
- Yemen Arab Republic
- Venezuela
Hope that helps!
Friday, 24 May 2024
Thursday, 16 May 2024
Saturday, 6 April 2024
Whatever Happened To The Iron Warrior?
The search leads her to Africa but then South America. Her she, and her companions, find Dearth. But Dearth looks to be in his forties at the oldest. Dearth is carrying out maintenance on the Iron Warrior in front of which is a severed dinosaur head. Antonia is stumped but Dearth explains that he and the Warrior are somehow pulled through time and space...at this point the adventurer and Warrior are sucked back into time.
Shoot ahead some 12 years or so and we learn that Zom of the Zodiac had recruited Dearth and the Warrior to intervene at a very specific point outside time and space (The Green Skies) to bring a plan to fruition. As a reward Zom grants Dearth a life of adventure in time and space which explains what was going on in Adventure.
Although The Iron Warrior has appeared in various adventures -as in Black Tower Super Heroes- the quest6ion remains as to the character's future. Something is planned but as almost a one man show now it depends on time and cranky hands. But you can be guaranteed that right now he is either crashing through an ancient Sumerian city state or busting through a forest in pursuit of a Frankenstein-like monster that is also being chased by Iroquois warriors...
Oh those stories are there...
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Thursday, 21 March 2024
The Cougar Meets Mayfly
I opened a box and found another piece of 1980s artwork. I am sure another page may be in a box somewhere!
At the end of Black Tower Adventure no. 1 (1984) we saw a mysterious figure watching Mayfly and in the next issue she was to encounter a man who identified himself as The Cougar (no laughing!). I ended up drawing that story after the artist (Phil Horton?) pulled out. Just went totally silent on me and that left me in a lurch.
Pretty battered up page but not unexpected. The Cougar was, of course, featured in The Return of the Gods in which he was badly injured and after a bout of alcoholism/PTSD he is returning in the third volume of Adventure but it is nice to see how the characters started decades ago.
artwork (c)2024 Black Tower Comics and Books
DO I Need A Script?
I was asked by someone why I said I never use a script and yet produced Return of the Gods -Twilight of the Super Heroes (300+pp) and The Green Skies (about 300+pp)?
Well, I wrote that because...I don't use a script!
When I was doing work for Fleetway/Egmont I obviously wrote scripts because that is what those companies wanted. I would talk to an editor and they would say (roughly) what they were looking for. This vagueness meant that you thought you knew what they wanted but then they would say "Hmm. Maybe if--" and they would talk about a new angle to the idea. Therefore, if I spoke to an editor on Friday and arranged to meet them on the Monday I would have the script that they outlined -and at l;east four other variations of the story. Even then you might get "I wonder whether a twist can be added?" and I would add that twist there and then in person.
The secret is to not hold back on your imagination. I used to like playing "get a story out of that!" with other comic folk. Basically they would come up with something like "blades of grass blowing in a wind" and I would then have to come up with a brief story surrounding the moving blades of grass. In that case it started with an aircraft and ended up with petrol stations blowing up, and a huge disaster scenario that I ended with "and the grass barely moved".
Above the last minute cover to the "trade and below the A5 cover to the small press comic (1 of 3 in the Dr Morg Trilogy) incorporated into the Green Skies
Even photos or drawings are a good way to get your story telling mind working. For instance; what story can you create based on the photograph of a green cricket? How about a an image of a single shoe on a pavement (been there and done that with 6 story ideas from it) or even an oddly shaped water puddle? Exercise your imagination playing "get a story out of that!" or "See and create a story".
The other problem, as already mentioned, is second guessing a publisher/editor. "Okay, he wants a story involving a nun being followed by a mysterious figure at night". From that, having just typed it, I can get a gothic romance, horror or even a funny ending story. How many ideas can you come up with -and think the stories through! This thinking in multiple layers works for all sorts of things.
PTSD means that even a short trip somewhere has all sorts of scenarios popping up in your head and for each you then create something that counters each. Back in 1987 when we were putting together Previews Comic : New Talent Showcase Ben Dilworth got into a grumpy mood (oh yes you did!) and I was discussing a project and he asked "What happens if that falls through?" So I took him through my back-up plan at which point he asked "And what happens if that one falls through?" so I explained another back-up plan and by the time we got to his asking what would happen if the 5th idea fell through I simply responded: "Now you are being deliberately silly. If the 5th plan falls through then I will come up with a 6th plan -and don't even ask because I will have a 7th plan!"
You will find that things like that help you think on your feet and on more than one occasion it helped me as when an editor said "Yeah...I was looking for a more---" and I had at least four differently packaged comics in my bag that covered most possible configurations and I was even known to split up those mock-ups to make a wholly new one.
Oh, man -and bluffing your way in to see senior editors may not be possible today but back in the 1980s-early 1990s it was possible. Most companies are so tight arsed and corporate today that I doubt getting a face-to-face with an editor would be possible but if you can go for it.
Now, when it came to Return it had started out as a proposal for a book titled Invasion Earth back in 1986. I had a rough idea what was going to happen and in the 1990s I changed things slightly so it became The Cosmic Fulcrum and then things went wrong withe the artist simply not wanting to do the work (after I had sold the idea to a publisher based on his art pages) and so, eventually, I decided to get the story out of my system and in the mid 2000s published a newer version in Black Tower Adventure vol. 2 number 1-6 and that came to 96pp. The original scripts were for a six issue mini series and fully written but I threw those out because for various reasons I wasn't sure I'd get to finish it and so sat down and drew those 96pp and after releasing it as a "trade" I felt so much was left out and I took a deep breath and turned it into a full 300+pp and re-lettered every page.`
Someone liked the idea that when heroes thought back on Neo Olympus not all of them had super powers and were simple crime-fighters and one panel seemed to be a favourite. In it Hornet crept up behind a "god" and whacked him out with a piece of lead piping. And, yes, I did have a back story in case anyone asked where the lead pipe came from! Lead piping to bludgeon someone is very old school villain practice and as Hornet dealt with crooks rather than super menaces I just automatically drew him using the lead piping.
I did hand write loads of notes about what would happen in The Green Skies and the conclusion but then I changed that as well as the ending. I literally put a sheet of blank paper on a board and draw and have no real idea where the story goes. At one point I drew the death of a hero and stopped. I didn't want the character to die -he had been with me since the 1970s! So I tried again and nothing would work or flow unless he died. Even now I wish I had not killed off two more of my oldest characters from the early 1970s but it happened and for me if a character dies he dies. No re-boot or returning from the dead otherwise the whole concept of heroes fighting evil and putting their lives on the line is a flop.
We have seen it with Marvel and DC where every comic universe and character has been destroyed/killed off so many times that the characters are no longer relatable to readers so there is no shock when they 'die'.
The sub-plot and even the ending to Green Skies was made up as I went along and the final ending for me was a tad depressing. There was some humour and so many twists and turns that by the end I had to put everything down and re-read it all then re-read it again and again (I hate reading and looking at my own work -ask Mr Dilworth!) until I realised it worked but was completely different to the original story idea.
Everything came together including stories from 40 years ago that linked into this final big one and luckily it all worked or I'd be in a psychiatric hospital mumbling "Look at all the little people in colourful costumes!" One thing I seriously was not expecting was how a minor character, Jack Flash, became pivotal to the whole thing.
For my own work I never use scripts -I did try to draw using one of my scripts but having to be told what the page set up and panels had to be never worked! And, no, I do not pre sketch pages or follow a thumbnail storyboard -everything is drawn straight from brain to paper.
all artwork is (c)2024 Terry Hooper-Scharf and Black Tower Comics and Books
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Oh Yes. It's Coming!
Oh yes, he may be on holiday but a tour of Europe seemed to be a good idea. A rest from the constant attempts to kill him. So Krakos's loyal servant Ahmed bought tickets to a nice quiet old style country called the Grand Duchy of Stahl.
What could possibly go wrong?
Keep an eye open for any Bat-like monarchs.
It'll be fun. 😏
In case you need the hint; in 2010 I promised William A. Ward's The Bat versus Krakos the Angel of the Burning Death and guess what? I intend to make it happen and work is already in the planning stages even though the story has been in my head for over 15 years.
Now so long as I do not get Covid part 3 2024 ought to be interesting.
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