Florence the superhero: the comics giving pop stars superpowers

The comic-writing duo behind Marvel’s Young Avengers are giving pop stars the superhero treatment. Enter the gorgeous, fantastical worlds of Phonogram and WicDiv“We often say Phonogram is music criticism,” says Kieron Gillen, shaking off jetlag, having just flown back from San Diego Comic Convention. “It does come from the same part of me that was a critic.” Phonogram is a comic series that imagines a world in which the magic of music is a literal power, controlled by “phonomancers”: pop priests who turn songs into sacred rituals. It’s written by Gillen, a former games and music journalist (who happily admits that “a lot of the stories are really arguments”) and drawn by Jamie McKelvie, an artist who captures pop epiphanies in clean, gorgeous lines. His work can also be seen on Glaswegian synthpop act Chvrches’ tour posters. The pair met in 2003 at a convention where Gillen was selling his first photocopied comics. The first Phonogram series, Rue Britannia, came out three years later. It stars David Kohl, a thinly disguised portrait of Gillen, and follows his quest to extricate himself from the demons of Britpop. The follow-up series, Singles Club, came out between 2008 and 2010, and tracks seven characters through one night at a club in Bristol. Its meticulous plotting derives from McKelvie having pages pinned up across his bedroom walls. “It just got too oppressive,” he says. “After a few months, I had to tear them all down.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Comics Industry Unites Against Headwinds at ComicsPro 2024

Comics retailers, publishers, and distributors discussed a changing distribution landscape, a new metadata system for publishers and retailers, and more at the annual retailer meeting, held February 22–24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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EC Comics Returns from the Crypt at Oni Press

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James Tynion IV’s Tiny Onion Blooms Into an Indie Comics Production Company

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From the Stage to the Page: 10 Years In, Z2 Comics Rocks On

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‘We didn’t expect this phenomenon to last’: France’s comic-book tradition is hitting new heights

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Graphic novelist Posy Simmonds wins prestigious French comics award

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A Boom in Comics Drawn From Fact

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This L.A. flash-fiction star thinks novels are 'saggy.' Her own debut proves her wrong

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The Archie Comics of the Future

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End Notes: 'Wandering Stars' by Tommy Orange

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‘Historical reparation’: new bookshops in Europe give voice to female authors

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The Top 10 Comics Stories of 2023

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China Literature Buys Tencent Animation and Comics

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Nostalgia in Comics: Can It Be Done Right?

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The 12 Best Comic Book Holiday Specials

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A Spider-Man comic that cost 12 cents in 1962 is now selling for nearly $60K in Moncton

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