Podcasts, radio shows, writing and more by Alex Fitch
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Panel Borders: Daredevil by Maleev and Irvine
March 27, 2009 — 4 Comments
Panel Borders:
Daredevil by Maleev and Irvine
Originally broadcast 26/03/09 as an episode of Strip! on Resonance 104.4 FM
Daredevil by Alex Maleev
Classic heroes month continues on Panel Borders with a look at the red-suited vigilante Daredevil – blind lawyer by day and superhero by night. Trying to break the record for the largest number of people called Alex in any one episode of the show, Alex Fitch talks to the Bulgarian artist Alex Maleev who with writer Brian Bendis brought the periodical back to the forefront of Marvel Comics’ line in an award winning four year run on the title in the mid 2000s. Alex also talks to novelist Alex Irvine whose anachronistic reimagining of the comic – Dardevil Noir – starts next month and combines the Chandleresque storytelling of Frank Miller’s iconic run on the title with the look and feel of classic Film Noir, relocating the adventures of Matt Murdock to Hell’s Kitchen in the 1930s…
For more info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org
Links: Wikipedia pages on Daredevil, Alex Maleev and Alex Irvine
Daredevil and Alex Maleev fansites
Alex Irvine’s blog and website
Read the first five pages of Daredevil Noir at www.comicbookresources.com
Buy Alex Irvine’s graphic novel: Hellstorm, Son of Satan – Equinox
Comics / Sci-Fi News:
At the Memorabilia cult TV weekend, you can meet stars of classic television such as Robert Vaughn (Hustle, The Man from UNCLE), Craig Charles and Robert Llewllyn (Red Dwarf), Richard Briars (The Good Life), Linda Blair (The Exorcist) and Colin Baker (Doctor Who).
9am – 5pm, 28th & 29th March, The NEC, Birmingham
More info at www.memorabilia.co.uk
also:
This Saturday 28th March sees rival small press comics events in Mile End, London
The U.K. Web and Mini Comix Thing happens in Queen Mary University’s Great Hall on Mile End Road. Guests include Sarah McIntyre and Roger Langridge… Admission is £4 at the door
www.ukwebcomixthing.co.uk
Schmurgen Con takes place at the New Globe on Mile End Road, around 1PM, provided that they can get the pub open in time. Guests include Dan Lester and David Baillie… Admission is free.
www.schmurgenjonerhaffs.blogspot.com
and…
Strength from Adversity: A Contemporary Japanese Cinema and Art Festival – 15-17 April 2009
The National Gallery is pleased to be hosting this celebration of contemporary Japanese cinema. Includes screenings of Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen), Fudeko: Sono Ai – Tenshi no Piano (Fudeko and the Angel’s Piano), Takeshi Kitano’s Kikujiro and Okuribito (Departures)
Today’s shows: Daredevil by Maleev & Irvine / New World Cinema
March 26, 2009 — 5 Comments
Today on Resonance FM:
Strip!: Daredevil by Alex Maleev and Alex Irvine
Daredevil by Alex Maleev
Classic heroes month continues on Strip! with a look at the red-suited vigilante Daredevil – blind lawyer by day and superhero by night. Trying to break the record for the largest number of people called Alex in any one episode of the show, Alex Fitch talks to the Bulgarian artist Alex Maleev who with writer Brian Bendis brought the periodical back to the forefront of Marvel Comics’ line in an award winning four year run on the title in the mid 2000s. Alex also talks to novelist Alex Irvine whose anachronistic reimagining of the comic – Dardevil Noir – starts next month and combines the Chandleresque storytelling of Frank Miller’s iconic run on the title with the look and feel of classic Film Noir, relocating the adventures of Matt Murdock to Hell’s Kitchen in the 1930s…
5pm 26/03/09, repeated 11.30pm 29/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com
Links: Wikipedia pages on Daredevil, Alex Maleev and Alex Irvine
Daredevil and Alex Maleev fansites
Alex Irvine’s blog and website
Read the first five pages of Daredevil Noir at www.comicbookresources.com
also:
I’m ready for my close-up extra: New World Cinema
Paolo Sorrentino directs Il Divo
In a special extra edition of I’m ready for my close-up, heralding the start of Spring, Alex Fitch and Jessica Fostekew look at two new critically acclaimed World Cinema releases. Alex interviews the director (Christophe Van Rompaey) and star (Jurgen Delnaet) of the new Belgian rom-com “Moscow, Belgium / Aanrijding in Moscou“, while Jess talks to director Paolo Sorrentino about his new film “Il Divo“, which chronicles the life of former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti who has been tried for murder and ties to the Mafia, but acquitted due to the 24 year gap of getting the case before the courts.
(N.B. this is an extra edition of IRFMCU in addition to the regular 10.30pm show)
6pm 26/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast 31/03/09 at www. electricsheepmagazine.wordpress.com
Links: IMDb pages on Il Divo and Moscow, Belgium
Il Divo and Moscow, Belgium official websites
Wikipedia pages on Giulio Andreotti, Il Divo and Moscow, Belgium
European Cinema info site
Londonnet’s guide to all the times and locations of all films currently showing in the Capital’s cinemas
Listen to Jess’ previous appearance on IRFMCU: delivering a Sweeney Todd monologue
Jess’ pages at spotlight.com, castingcallpro.com and comedycv.co.uk
Jess’s film reviews: in (electronic) print and podcast
Reality Check: Have you heard the one about the vampire, the ghost and the werewolf…?
March 25, 2009 — 1 Comment
Reality Check:
Have you heard the one about the vampire, the ghost and the werewolf…?
The main cast of Being Human
Alex Fitch talks to Toby Whithouse, writer of BBC3′s excellent horror / dramedy series Being Human about his writing and acting career, the slow process of turning an ordinary series about a flatshare into a supernatural drama and writing the episode of Doctor Who (School Reunion) which brought back Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 to the series…
For more info, please visit the home of this podcast at Sci-Fi London
Links: For more info about Being Human, please visit the BBC’s microsite at bbc.co.uk/beinghuman
Info about future showings at www.radiotimes.com
Wikipedia pages on Toby Whithouse, Being Human and Doctor Who: School Reunion
For more podcasts about Doctor Who writers, please click here
Sci-Fi News
Renaissance man Oli Smith has just written his first video game review for Sci-Fi London about the excellent free running game Mirror’s Edge, which you can read here
In association with: 
Panel Borders: The Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson
March 18, 2009 — 3 Comments
Panel Borders:
The Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson
Originally broadcast 12/03/09 as an episode of Strip! on Resonance 104.4 FM
Beta Ray Bill, the alien Thor by Walter Simonson (The Mighty Thor #337)
Continuing ‘classic heroes’ month on Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to artist and writer Walter Simonson, whose exceptional 4 year run on the Marvel comic The Mighty Thor in the early 80s remains the most appreciated version of the character since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought the Viking hero to Marvel comics a generation before. Alex and Walt talk about combining European mythology and space opera, esoteric character design (why does Beta Ray Bill have a face like a horse’s skull?), turning the Norse god of war into a talking frog and the joy of revisiting classic heroes.
For more info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org
Links: Wikipedia pages on Walter Simonson and The Mighty Thor
lambiek.net entry on Walt
Extract from The Mighty Thor #361, in which our hero is turned into a frog!
Comics / Sci-Fi News:
At the Memorabilia cult TV weekend, you can meet stars of classic television such as Robert Vaughn (Hustle, The Man from UNCLE), Craig Charles and Robert Llewllyn (Red Dwarf), Richard Briars (The Good Life), Linda Blair (The Exorcist) and Colin Baker (Doctor Who).
9am – 5pm, 28th & 29th March, The NEC, Birmingham
More info at www.memorabilia.co.uk
Electric Sheep / Wheel Me Out magazines Spring 2009
March 18, 2009 — 2 Comments
Electric Sheep Magazine Winter Spring cover
In good bookshops now and available online (with a 15% discount) at www.wallflowerpress.co.uk and features illustrations by Oli Smith, Emma Price and Tom Humberstone and a new comic strip by Mark Stafford.
It’s a measly £3.25 in shops / £12 for 4 issues on subscription.
Click here for more details of the current issue, or here for the previous one…
Let the right one in illustration by Tom Humberstone
WALL-E and EVE on the Planet of the Apes illustration by Oli Smith
Watchmen article illustration by Mark Stafford
ESM continues online as a monthly magazine between print issues including exclusive content such as Alex Fitch’s article on the West London Fantastic Film society and Virginie Selavy’s interview with Kim Ji Woon
Also:
Cover of Wheel Me Out magazine #3
The third issue of the new online magazine Wheel Me Out has just been released and features transcripts of Alex Fitch’s interviews with comic book creators Dave Gibbons and Bryan Talbot plus audio drama scribe Mark Wright. WMO also features Ananda Pellerin’s interviews with Ocean’s Eleven director Steven Soderbergh and DJ Max Tundra…
Today on Resonance FM: Lucky Cat – Live Action Manga
March 17, 2009
Today on Resonance FM:
Lucky Cat: Live Action Manga
Poster for the live action adaptation of the manga Twentieth Century Boys
In this week’s episode of Resonance FM’s weekly show about Asian Culture, regular host Zoe Baxter invites Alex Fitch (Electric Sheep Magazine) and Helen McCarthy (The Animé Encyclopedia) into the studio to discuss live action manga adaptations such as 20th Century Boys and Death Note and how these compare to animé versions and adaptations of Western comic books such as Watchmen. The show includes Zoe’s regular eclectic mix of Asian music from the last half century and live tastings from the Dim Sum Lunchbox…
9pm 17/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM
Links: Zoe’s Lucky Cat blog which includes podcasts and info about the show including her
November special about Byron Lee, who contributed music to the soundtrack of Dr. No
Wikipedia page on 20th Century Boys
Listen to a 2006 episode of I’m ready for my close-up in which Zoe talks to Asian film expert Annie Kwan
Info about Helen’s panel on Tezuka at The Bristol Comics expo earlier this year (under “2pm Ramada Suite”)
Buy Helen’s books from amazon.co.uk
Listen to Alex’s interviews with Helen McCarthy
Panel Borders: The art of Philip Spence
March 12, 2009 — 4 Comments
Panel Borders:
The art of Philip Spence
Originally broadcast 26/02/09 as an episode of Strip! on Resonance 104.4 FM
Ninja Bunnies by Philip Spence
Concluding Indie comics month (a little bit late due to technical issues) on Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to artist Philip Spence about his self published mini-comics / web comic The Adventures of Ninja Bunny. Mini-comics are an offshoot of the zine and small press comics scene, measuring approx 9cm square and have a more collectible appearance for causal comics browsers who may pick up the titles in art fairs and markets. Philip has recently branched out from his minis into regular sized autobiographical titles and talks about his interest in fine art prints and the production process.
For more info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org
Links: Phil’s website
Interview with Phil at Forbidden Planet International‘s blog
Info about the UK Web and Mini Comix Thing where Phil will next be selling his wares on 28th March
Today’s show: Strip! – The Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson
March 12, 2009
Today on Resonance FM:
Strip!: The Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson
Beta Ray Bill, the alien Thor by Walter Simonson (The Mighty Thor #337)
Continuing ‘classic heroes’ month on Strip!, Alex Fitch talks to artist and writer Walter Simonson, whose exceptional 4 year run on the Marvel comic The Mighty Thor in the early 80s remains the most appreciated version of the character since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought the Viking hero to Marvel comics a generation before. Alex and Walt talk about combining European mythology and space opera, esoteric character design (why does Beta Ray Bill have a face like a horse’s skull?), turning the Norse god of war into a talking frog and the joy of revisiting classic heroes.
5pm 12/03/09, repeated 11.30pm 15/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com
Links: Wikipedia pages on Walter Simonson and The Mighty Thor
lambiek.net entry on Walt
Extract from The Mighty Thor #361, in which our hero is turned into a frog!
Sunday Shock Therapy: Revisiting the Superhero Apocalypse!
March 10, 2009 — 1 Comment
Evil Brain from Outer Space (from Something Weird Video)
This Sunday (15/03/09) at “Vibe Live” above the Vibe Bar at 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, Electric Sheep Magazine is proud to present our FREE quarterly screening event to help promote the new print issue of the magazine. To compliment and offer alternate programming to the apocalyptic superhero movie currently in UK cinemas, Electric Sheep Magazine offers diverting afternoon entertainment, which includes an offbeat superhero movie and an apocalyptic short!
Evil Brain from Outer Space [Sūpā Jaiantsu - Uchū Kaijin Shutsugen]…features the final exploits of Japanese Superhero Starman in a mission to save the Earth from a marauding brainlike alien creature created by a mad scientist with the help of an alien army!
78 mins, black and white, 1964
(with thanks to Something Weird for permission to show the film)
The End is Cow…is a new short comedy film about mankind being threatened by an invasion of cephalopods cows who want to destroy us with their evil lactation!
[Cast and crew will be in attendance]
30 min, colour, 2008
Doors open at 2pm with music from DJ Lucky Cat and a stall selling London Underground Comics (featuring the work of Oli Smith and Emma Price) + comics by Tom Humberstone and Mark Stafford…
What else are you going to do on a cold Sunday afternoon in East London?
The first 10 people in get a free copy of the new issue of Electric Sheep! You will also have the possibility of winning a year’s subscription to the magazine!
In association with: 
Reality Check: The Invisible art of acting for radio
March 10, 2009 — 1 Comment
Reality Check:
The Invisible art of acting for radio
Rupert Degas at the recording of Cry Babies by Kim Newman, photo by Moira Degas (c) 2009
Alex Fitch talks to actor Rupert Degas about his various roles in genre radio and audio dramas such as playing David Warner’s sidekick “Rizla” in the BBC7 adaptation of Robert Rankin’s The Brightonomicon and playing the father of a cyrogenically preserved child in Kim Newman’s Cry-Babies which was recently broadcast on Radio 4. Alex and Rupert also talk about his roles in Dan Dare, Dirk Gently and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy plus his uncredited role voicing the devil in Exorcist: The Beginning…
For more info, please visit the home of this podcast at Sci-Fi London
Links: For more info about BBC radio’s SF season, please click here
bbc.co.uk pages on Kim Newman’s Cry Babies (including “listen again” until 15/03/09) and
Robert Rankin’s The Brightonomicon (including “listen again” until a week after broadcast)
Rupert’s wikipedia and IMDb pages
Buy audio books (including Dan Dare) read by Rupert from orionbooks.co.uk
Buy The Brightonomicon and The Long dark tea-time of the soul from bbcshop.com
The Brightonomicon podcast blog
For more podcasts about radio and audio dramas, please click here
In association with:
Hectic Peelers Screening: Cronos
March 9, 2009
Hectic Peelers screening: Guillermo Del Toro’s Cronos
Still from the film Cronos directed by Guillermo Del Toro
MONDAY 9 MARCH, Roxy Bar and Screen, 7:30pm, FREE: For this month’s Electric Sheep / Resonance FM film screening, we are very proud to present Guillermo del Toro’s first feature Cronos (1993), a sumptuously filmed, atmospheric vampire tale, which, just like Pan’s Labyrinth, has at its heart a little girl faced with horrors of a real and supernatural kind. An imaginative re-invention of the vampire myth and the first collaboration between Del Toro and actor Ron Perlman before Hellboy, it is also a moving love story as well as an oblique take on the USA’s predatory relationship to Mexico.
The film will be introduced by Electric Sheep Magazine editor Virginie Selavy.
With thanks to Optimum Releasing.
7.30pm, 09/03/09, Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street London SE1 1LB
To find out more about other Electric Sheep Screenings, please click here and for the magazine, please visit www.electricsheepmagazine.com
In association with:
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons on Panel Borders
March 8, 2009 — 6 Comments
Panel Borders:
Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and his other collaborators
Doctor Manhattan by Dave Gibbons
If you’ve just watched the Watchmen in the cinema and would like to hear interviews with the creators, here’s a list of my interviews with Alan Moore and various artists who have illustrated his scripts including Dave Gibbons and David Lloyd…
Alan Moore
… talks about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the highs (Kev O’Neill) and lows (Rob Liefeld) of collaborating with comic book artists, his notions of magic and ideaspace and just what giant bald men in nappies had to do with American paranoia in 1950s movies! (Originally broadcast Jan 25th 2007 on Resonance FM)
… talks about magic, Swamp Thing, movies and saving the comics industry.
(Originally broadcast 7pm, Jan 30th 2007 on Resonance FM)
… talks about animation, history and DNA….
(Originally broadcast 7.30pm, Jan 30th 2007 on Resonance FM)
Click on the image to watch the video, which was filmed by Oli Smith
… talks about his epic graphic novel Lost Girls, from its beginnings – serialised in the horror anthology Taboo – to its final printing 16 years later as a beautiful three volume slipcased hardback published by Top Shelf.
(Originally broadcast 5pm, Feb 14th 2008 on Resonance FM)
… talks about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier and depictions of procreation in Swamp Thing and Miracleman.
(Originally broadcast 5.30pm, Feb 14th 2008 on Resonance FM)
… talks about collaborating with Eddie Campbell on his masterpiece From Hell and the two comic book adaptations of his performances Snakes and Ladders and The Birth Caul..
(Originally broadcast Oct 23rd 2008 on Resonance FM)
Alan Moore and Pat Mills talk about their favourite cartoonist, the late Ken Reid who drew Roger the Dodger in the 1950s Beano and a variety of underrated strips in children’s comics such as Wham! and Whoopee! including the creepy classics Faceache and Frankie Stein, up to the 1980s…..
(Originally broadcast Jan 29th 2009 on Resonance FM)
Click on the image to watch a video of the interview, which was filmed by Oli Smith
Dave Gibbons talks about his career so far, working on more personal projects such as The Originals and his thoughts on the current Hollywood adaptation of Watchmen…
(Originally broadcast at 5pm, June 10th 2008 on Resonance FM)
Read an abridged transcript of the interview in Wheel Me Out magazine
Alex Fitch talks to David Lloyd
David Lloyd talks about working on V for Vendetta and about the challenges of illustrating graphic novels such as The Horrorist and Kickback….
(Originally broadcast at 5.30pm, June 10th 2008 on Resonance FM)
Captain Britain by Alan Davis and Alan Moore
Alan Davis and Paul Cornell talk about writing and in Alan’s case, also drawing Captain Britain, a character whose appearance in comics in the early 1980s by Alans Davis and Moore gave the strip a lasting appeal that endures to the current day. Paul Cornell talks about his recent revamp of the character in the new comic Captain Britain and MI:13 which sees the Captain get a 21st Century make-over while encountering such nefarious characters as Count Dracula and Gordon Brown!
(Originally broadcast March 5th 2009 on Resonance FM)
Panel Borders: Captain Britain
March 5, 2009 — 12 Comments
Panel Borders:
Captain Britain by Alan Davis and Paul Cornell
Originally broadcast 05/03/09 as an episode of Strip! on Resonance 104.4 FM
Excalibur by Alan Davis featuring Captain Britain and X-Men
It’s the start of ‘classic heroes’ month on Panel Borders and to kick off, Alex Fitch is talking to two of the creators of the UK’s very own superhero – Captain Britain. Alex talks to Alan Davis, the artist and writer of the strip in the early 80s, who together with help from writers Alan Moore and Jamie Delano rescued the character from oblivion with esoteric storylines, a great supporting cast and a terrific new costume. Alex also talks to author Paul Cornell about his recent revamp of the character in the new comic Captain Britain and MI:13 which sees the Captain get a 21st Century make-over while encountering such nefarious characters as Count Dracula and Gordon Brown!
For mopre info about this podcast and a variety of formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.org
Links: Wikipedia pages on Captain Britain, Alan Davis and Paul Cornell
For Paul’s blog, please click here
Buy Captain Britain and MI:13 from Forbidden Planet International
More info about The Bristol International Comics Expo (May 9th / 10th 2009) and D.R. and Quinch
Alan Davis’ website
Star Wars: the comic book by Alan Davis and Alan Moore
Today / Tomorrow’s shows: Captain Britain by Paul Cornell & Alan Davis / State of the art adaptation
March 5, 2009
Today on Resonance FM:
Strip!: Captain Britain by Alan Davis and Paul Cornell
Excalibur by Alan Davis featuring Captain Britain and X-Men
It’s the start of ‘classic heroes’ month on Strip! and to kick off, Alex Fitch is talking to two of the creators of Britain’s very own superhero – Captain Britain. Alex talks to Alan Davis, the artist and writer of the strip in the earlier 80s, who together with help from writers Alan Moore and Jamie Delano rescued the character from oblivion with esoteric storylines, a great supporting cast and a terrific new costume. Alex also talks to author Paul Cornell about his recent revamp of the character in the new comic “Captain Britain and MI13″ which sees the Captain get a 21st Century make-over while encountering such nefarious characters as Count Dracula and Gordon Brown!
5pm 05/03/09, repeated 11.30pm 08/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com
Links: Wikipedia pages on Captain Britain, Alan Davis and Paul Cornell
For Paul’s blog, please click here
More info about The Bristol International Comics Expo and D.R. and Quinch
Alan’s website
Tomorrow on Resonance FM:
Micro Clear Spot: State of the Art adaptation
Iain Banks and Paul Cornell at Newcon 4
Alex Fitch talks to writer Paul Cornell about dramatising Iain M Banks’ novella “The State of the Art” for the afternoon play on Radio 4 (to be broadcast 2.15pm 05/03/09) with a cast including such luminaries as Anthony Sher and Patterson Joseph…
7.30pm 06/03/09, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / / extended podcast online now at www.sci-fi-london.com/audio
Links: For more info about BBC radio’s SF season, please click here
For Paul’s blog, please click here
Wikipedia pages on Paul Cornell, Iain Banks and The Culture
For more podcasts with Paul Cornell, as guest and interviewer, please click here
