Post a Comment

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I am very pleased to write that we are now taking pre-orders for the the special edition of my forthcoming book 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool (limited to 26 lettered and 24 numbered copies) featuring an exclusive bookplate by artist Mo Ali, signed by myself (I'm John Reppion by the way - you knew that didn't you?).

Also included is a special bonus article “The Underground Empire of Joseph Williamson” in the form of a handmade booklet signed by me and its illustrator Leah Moore.

Click on the banner above to reserve your copy (books will ship in early July 2008).

-----------------------------

If you would like to add a banner to your own website, weblog or message board you can find the code below (please email me and let me know so that I can return the favour and link back to you on the Haunted Liverpool Blog).

HTML code (for webpages, Blogger, etc)

Labels: advert, banner, book, folklore, ghosts, haunted, limited edition, link, Liverpool, pre-order, signed

Posted by John Reppion :: 4:26 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Monday, April 07, 2008

Tori Amos' Comic Book Tattoo - first press

Comic Book Tattoo cover by Jason Levesque AKA Stuntkid.

Comic Book Resources has a nice big feature/interview with writer/editor Rantz Hoseley over at http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15838 which also has some really nice full page previews (not one of our pages sadly but you can't have everything).

Apart from our good selves, collaborating with Pia Guerra on Hey Jupiter, the book features work from mega talented folks such as Elizabeth Genco, Carla Speed McNeil, Mike Dringenberg and many, many more. With more than 50 stories in the book, all based upon/inspired by different Tori Amos songs, this is obviously going to be an amazing and diverse volume.

We're certainly looking forward to seeing it.

Labels: comic book, comic book resources, comic book tattoo, Image Comics, music, Tori Amos

Posted by John Reppion :: 12:08 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Darkness Vs. Eva #1 OUT NOW!

Issue #1 of our new Dynamite Entertainment/Top Cow crossover series The Darkness Vs. Eva - Daughter of Dracula arrived in comic shops Wednesday/Thursday last week.

To celebrate we've been yakking on in a load of interviews which can be viewed online at http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=150642 and
http://www.wizarduniverse.com/031908darkeva.html


Lots more preview images accompanying the interviews too.

Hope you enjoy the new series.

Labels: comic book, Dynamite, Eva, The Darkness, Top Cow

Posted by John Reppion :: 2:42 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Bleeding Horse and other ghost stories

I've been a fan of Mr. Brian J. Showers' Swan River Press chapbooks ever since I first got hold of them at a Dublin convention a couple of years ago this time last year.

Brian is currently getting ready to launch his new book The Bleeding Horse and other ghost stories at the Phoenix Convention (Dublin) at the end of the month. After the launch, the Moonlight Theatre Company will present two tales from Edgar Allan Poe, "The Cask Of Amontillado" performed by Vincent Fegan and "The Black Cat" performed by Paul Kealyn, directed by Gary Egan.
Sadly, we won't be attending P-Con due to our heavy workload and lack of funds but we encourage anyone with the time and means to visit the con; it's always a good one and this year looks to be one of the best ever.


In the spirit of Le Fanu's classic trio of tales, Brian J. Showers' The Bleeding Horse and Other Ghost Stories infests his own Dublin neighbourhood with an authentic population of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. Showers has filled each story with fascinating regional history, local atmosphere, and architectural details that are clearly visible today. While this gives the stories a factual flavour, the supernatural elements are entirely fictional. The result is a realistic and shadow-filled portrait of a modern neighbourhood, written in the traditional style of the classic literary ghost story.

Each story features a recognisable Dublin setting and infuses it with a spectral history. Among the mysteries you will be invited to unravel are: the origins of The Bleeding Horse pub's gruesome name ('The Bleeding Horse'); the mysterious events leading to the discovery of Jack B. Yeats' final painting ('Oil on Canvas'); the eerie and persistent repercussions of a tragic omnibus accident in 1861 ('Favourite No. 7 Omnibus'); the possible resting place of the stolen Irish Crown Jewels and what guards it ('Quis Separabit'); the identify of the strange entity that plagued a 19th c. curate ('Father Corrigan's Diary'); and more. The Bleeding Horse and Other Ghost Stories features black and white illustrations throughout by Duane Spurlock, an introduction by Le Fanu scholar Jim Rockhill, and a cover by Harvey Award winner Scott Hampton.

Read more and order your copy now at www.brianjshowers.com

Labels: book, brian j showers, Dublin, E A Poe, fiction, ghost stories, ghosts, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, P-Con, signing

Posted by John Reppion :: 3:17 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I've Written A Book!

Remember back in September last year when I said I was writing a book called Haunted Liverpool for Tempus Publishing? Well, as of tonight (technically tomorrow morning I suppose), the manuscript and a disk containing all the images are on their way to the publishers. I have finished!

Thank you very, very, very much to everyone who has helped me with stories, reference and artwork. Leah has been slaving away checking my spelling, preparing maps and generally slogging her guts out for me these last few days and I'm so grateful for her help; no idea how I'd have done any of it without her.

Anyway, I've started a Haunted Liverpool Blog over at www.hauntedliverpool.blogspot.com.

It's pretty basic at the moment but I hope to get more stuff like links to the artists involved, etc soon-ish. There's an abridged piece from the book on there as a taster of what's to come. Hope you like it.

Cheers.

Labels: articles, blog, book, ghosts, haunted, Liverpool, Tempus, writing

Posted by John Reppion :: 10:36 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Dakness Vs. Eva interview and previews

With issue #1 of our new four part Dynamite/Top Cow crossover scheduled to arrive in stores in a few weeks we spoke to Shaun Manning over at Comic Book Resources about the upcoming series.

In this corner, Top Cow’s tortured mobster-turned-hero Jackie Estacado, wielder of The Darkness; and in that corner, the challenger, from the pages of “Army of Darkness” and her own Dynamite Entertainment one-shot, Eva, Daughter of Dracula! Refereeing this Edgar Salazar-illustrated match-up are writers Leah Moore & John Reppion, who spoke with CBR News about March's Dynamite miniseries “Darkness vs. Eva” and the dangerous subject of what’s up next. [read on and see preview pages here]

Labels: comic book, comic book resources, Dynamite, Eva, The Darkness, Top Cow

Posted by John Reppion :: 8:40 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

SteamPunk Magazine #4 available now

#4 - Our Lives As Fantastic As Any Fiction

Contents

Narratives:
A Fabulous Junkyard. by David X. Wiggin
Doppler and the Madness Engine (Part One of Three). by John Reppion
The Duel. by Nicholas Cowley
Antonio’s Answer. by the Catastraphone Orchestra
An Unfortunate Engagement (Part Four). by G.D. Falksen

Interviews:
Donna Lynch & Steve Archer. a pair of remarkable creators
Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. power couple of speculative fiction

Features
Letters.
For Freedom. being the remarkable life of one Isabelle Eberhardt
Build Yourself A Jacob’s Ladder. mad science for the sake of mad science
An Unexpected Hat. an introduction to DIY millinery
Green Fairies, Witch-Cradles, and Angel Tongues. victorian approaches to altered states
Paint it Brass. the intersection of goth and steam
Brass Monkeying. how to turn copper into brass

Hire Our / About Our Contributors.
Publishing Schedule, Submissions, Etc.
The Future.
---------------------------------------

Download in PDF format for free >>HERE<<

Or purchase a paper copy for 3 USD (+ P&P) >>HERE<<

All previous issues are also still available for download or purchase.

Happy reading.

Labels: creative commons, fiction, free download, magazine, steampunk, writing

Posted by John Reppion :: 2:24 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Raise the Dead - it really, really is out now!

The Raise the Dead Hardcover edition is definitely, positively, absolutely arriving in shops in the USA on the 27th of February, 2008 (28th in the UK & Europe... I think) which, if I'm not mistaken, is today! Hooray!

If you haven't already reserved your copy (and you like ordering stuff online) you can get a copy from...

>>Forbidden Planet International<< (UK and Europe)
or
>>Amazon.com<< (USA & Canada)

And, just in case you need a bit of encouragement, here are the first 11 pages!!! *drool*

Labels: Dynamite, preview, Raise The Dead, zombies

Posted by John Reppion :: 2:11 AM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Monday, February 11, 2008

George A. Romero Interview

As some of you might already know, the multi talented chap that is George Khoury is now writing a column for Comic Book Resources entitled POP!

George has a fantastic interview just up with the legendary George A. Romero which he was kind enough let me help out with (a little). With Diary of the Dead soon to be released it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pick the great man's brains.

Visit http://comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=pop&article=2992 to read the interview.

Labels: comic book resources, diary of the dead, interview, khoury, romero, zombies

Posted by John Reppion :: 7:03 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Raise the Dead hardcover out now! [edit]

"[Raise the Dead] thrilled me, captivated me, angered
me in places, and left me thinking, knowing, that as I switched off the light,
and lay alone in the dark, that somewhere out there, was a pair of red glowing
eyes."

-- Max Brooks (author of World War Z and
The Zombie Survival Guide) in his introduction to the Hardcover
edition of Raise the Dead.

Order now from Forbidden Planet International

Also, my 20 questions are now up on "Our Worlds at War". check it out.

L.

Labels: Dynamite, Hardback, interview, Leah Moore, Raise The Dead, zombies

Posted by John Reppion :: 3:24 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Monday, January 28, 2008

Buy Space Doubles #1 online Now!

Ain't It Cool News calls Space Doubles "A treat to read and a must-see for sci fi/horror fans."

Order online now at th3rdworld.com/store, $2.99 an issue.

Labels: comic book, order online, space doubles, th3rd world, zombies

Posted by John Reppion :: 10:44 AM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Friday, December 21, 2007

All the best and looking forward to 2008.

Just a quick message to wish you all the very best for the holiday season and a happy new year for 2008.

As well as Space Doubles #1, which is out next week, and the Raise the Dead hardback, which should be coming early in '08, we can now reveal a couple of other projects we'll be involved with over the coming months.

The Darkness/Eva - Daughter of Dracula 4 issue mini.
"Dynamite has confirmed for Newsarama that it will continue its “Eva” property (though now re-named “Eva: Daughter of Dracula”) in March, when the character will crossover with Top Cow’s the Darkness, marking the two company’s second such collaboration.

The project will be written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, with art by Edgar Salazar, and covers by Brett Booth, Salazar and Paul Renaud."

Comic Book Tattoo - A Tori Amos anthology
"... according to several blog posts that popped up last night it announces a new Image Comics anthology, Comic Book Tattoo, which will feature stories inspired by Tori Amos songs. Rantz Hosley is editing and the book will be out in time for Comic-Con International next year."
(We're going to be collaborating with Y the Last Man artist Pia Guerra on a story for this mega huge book!)

Thanks for all your help and support; thanks for buying our comics and being interested in what we do. Hopefully, next year will be even better for us all.

Cheers

J&L

Labels: christmas, Dynamite, Eva, holidays, Image Comics, mid winter, new year, The Darkness, Tori Amos, winter solstice

Posted by John Reppion :: 7:30 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Moore & Reppion: "Blah, blah, blah"

For those of you interested in such things, there are a couple of new interviews with ourselves online now.

The first is over on Valhalla Comics Mug O Mead Blog where Kevin Bush very patiently quizzed us about our methods, the industry and our upcoming work.

Then over on Comicon's Pulse Jennifer M. Contino got us talking about Popgun Vol 1 and Deadeye - our horror/sci-fi/detective world which we has finally debuted in the book.

We're currently slogging away at the second script for a huge Dynamite Series which should see print in 2008 and have a healthy list of projects in progress and to be getting on with. It occurred to us recently that we've been writing comic together for almost five years now. Does that mean we have to stop saying "Well, we're still quite new to the industry" soon?

Labels: Deadeye, image, interviews, popgun

Posted by John Reppion :: 1:43 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Saturday, November 17, 2007

John in Fortean Times #230

www.forteantimes.com

This month's Fortean Times (#230) contains a two page article by yours truly on the subject of the annual celebration held in Market Weighton, Yorkshire known as "Giant Bradley Day". I'm very, very, very happy to be in FT again (my first ever piece of published writing was in #187, in 2004) as it's one of my favourite mags and, in fact, the only magazine I've ever subscribed to in my life. Of course, there are lots of other marvelous articles in there, such as...

In this issue we follow an explorer into the Siberian taiga as he seeks to uncover the truth behind local tales of olguis, or 'upturned cauldrons', dangerous to all living things, and round-up some other examples of Siberian weirdness.

Also this month we learn that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, ask whether writing about your own crime might be a bit of a give away, wonder how you can not notice being shot in the head, mourn the death of an intelligent parrot, and applaud Daisy the dachshund's discovery of a mammoth bone at the seaside.

Well worth the price of admission surely?

J.

Labels: articles, fortean times, forteana, giants

Posted by John Reppion :: 1:04 AM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Nevermore Anthology yet to come

www.selfmadehero.com/classical_eye/nevermore.html

Now then, we believed that the book was officially released on Halloween but it turns out that it was just a launch; the book will be on sale from the 22nd of November.

Self Made Hero have drummed up some fantastic press fro the book too...
"Nevermore and Richard III, new titles published by manga and graphic novel imprint SelfMadeHero, have been selected as two of three 'recommended reads' by The Book Show, presented by Mariella Frostrup on Sky Arts. A special programme on comics and graphic novels goes out on 22nd November, featuring the books."

and...
"[...]the Guardian are running a standalone review of Nevermore this Saturday by Canongate author Michel Faber, so do try and pick up a copy."

We have received our comp copies and it's a great little book. Hope you all enjoy it.

Labels: anthology, comics, E A Poe, horror, nevermore

Posted by John Reppion :: 12:51 AM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Signing times for Leeds on Saturday

Just to let everyone know that we'll be signing at the Leeds Thought Bubble festival this weekend between 2:30 and 4 PM.

Full schedule:

Kieron Gillen:: 10am - 5.30pm
Jamie McKelvie:: 10am - 5.30pm
Barry Kitson:: 12pm - 1pm, then 4pm - 5.30pm
Peter Doherty:: 12pm - 1.30pm signing, then 'Hellboy' panel from 2.30pm - 3.15pm @ Leeds
Art Gallery Reading Room
Dean Ormston:: 12pm - 1.30pm
Duncan Fegredo:: 12pm - 2pm, then 'Hellboy' panel from 2.30pm - 3.15pm @ Leeds Art Gallery Reading Room
Sean Phillips:: 12pm - 2pm
Bryan Talbot:: 1pm - 3pm, then 'Alice in Sunderland' talk from 3.30pm - 4.30pm @ The Carriageworks
Jordan Smith:: 1pm - 2.30pm
Staz Johnson:: 1pm - 2pm @ Travelling Man 'Heroes' shop signing, then 3pm - 4pm @ Thought Bubble
Leah Moore:: 2.30pm - 4pm
John Reppion:: 2.30pm - 4pm
Antony Johnston:: 2.30pm - 4pm
Adi Granov:: 3pm - 5.30pm, then 'From Panel to Motion Picture' Q&A from 6pm - 6.45pm @ The Carriageworks
Tony Lee:: 4pm - 5.30pm
Mel Gibson:: 10am - 12.30pm workshop @ Travelling Man.

Labels: comics, leeds, signing, thought bubble

Posted by John Reppion :: 8:36 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Thought Bubble Leeds this weekend

www.thoughtbubblefestival.com

We'll be in Leeds this Saturday signing and generally hanging around at the Thought Bubble Festival.

Other guests at the event include:

Peter Doherty Judge Dredd / Batman Superman Al Ewing 2000 AD / Strontium Dog Duncan Fegredo Jay & Silent Bob / Hellboy Kieron Gillen Phonogram Adi Granov Iron Man Extremis / Iron Man Movie Staz Johnson Heroes / Civil War Antony Johnston Wasteland / Yuggoth Cultures Barry Kitson Transformers / Legion / The Order Tony Lee X-Men / Doctor Who Jamie Mckelvie Phonogram / Suburban Glamour Dean Ormston Lucifer / Sandman Sean Phillips Criminal / Marvel Zombies Jordan Smith Alice in Sunderland / Darkview Bryan Talbot Fables / Alice in Sunderland

The con will take place in the crypt of Leeds Town Hall on Saturday 10th November 2007, from 10am - 5.30pm.

Tickets are £3.50 advance and £4 on the door. Children under 12 get in FREE.

See the website for more info on how to get there and everything.

Hope to see you there.

Labels: comic book, convention, leeds, signing, thought bubble

Posted by John Reppion :: 9:27 AM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Anomalist #13 - Intermediate States OUT NOW

In this issue…

In a mix of the comic and the tragic, John Reppion searches for the truth behind an 1845 bridge collapse said to be caused when spectators rushed to see a clown in a tub drawn by six white geese in the river below.

Cliff Willett wonders why UFO aliens would traverse deep space to borrow salt, sample our pizza, or offer us pancakes in his delightful examination of alien eating habits.

What does U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney think of the Nephites? Fortean researcher Loren Coleman examines the Mormon belief in this race of beings who live in a world between the known and unknown, who once existed and may still walk among us, saving lives and doing good deeds.

Technology buffs in the afterlife? Mark Macy traces his involvement in our half-century long history of attempts to use technology to communicate directly with the dead – and them with us.

Researcher Ulrich Magin tracks down the oft-repeated story of “the first ever sea serpent sighting” by the Assyrian King Sargon nearly three millennia ago and gets to the slimy truth of it all.

As protosciences proliferate, David Hricenak makes the case for a new interdisciplinary field of study called bioanomalistics that overlaps with cryptozoology, UFOlogy, and parapsychology.

Pennsylvania geologist Sharon Hill tackles the reports of anomalous lights, sounds, weather, and animal behavior that are said to occur before earthquakes, explains why science has been reluctant to accept them as useful precursors, and suggests a possible mechanism to explain such phenomena.

Modern science may finally be shedding light on the paranormal. Biologist Dwight Smith and researcher Gary Mangiacopra look at how recent developments in neuroscience may help unravel the physical and physiological mechanisms that lead to out-of-body experiences.

With an obvious passion for her subject, Victoria Alexander reviews the extreme ecstatic practices of medieval saints and mystics and finds a close relationship to the modern use of ayahuasca as a visionary tool.

Researcher Theo Paijmans makes use of digital newspaper archives to get to the truth about the Black Flash – not the 1990s fictional comic book character from DC Comics but the phantomlike creature that plagued Provincetown in the 1930s and held its inhabitants in an ice-cold grip of fear.

Bad sci-fi movies are a dime a dozen, but there’s something special about The Flying Saucer. Nick Redfern wonders if there is any substance to the claims of its star/director, who spread the word that the movie would feature footage of a real flying saucer over Alaska. The U.S. Air Force was certainly interested…

For more info visit www.anomalist.com or www.anomalistbooks.com/ta13.html

Labels: anomalist, anthology, articles, forteana, non-fiction

Posted by John Reppion :: 12:43 PM :: 0 comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Happy Halloween 2007

Compliments of the season to you all from ourselves and Mister Jeff "Blood" Zornow. (Above image taken from our collaboration "Into the Woods" from Gene Simmons' House of Horrors #1).

If you fancy a bit of seasonal listening then we recommend the Halloween edition of our favorite web radio show The Retro Cocktail Hour (October 27, 2007)

Have a good one!

Labels: bear, blood, death, Gene Simmons, guts, halloween, Jeff Zornow, mauled

Posted by John Reppion :: 7:48 PM :: 0 comments