Electric Sheep Magazine Podcast: Reinventing the portmanteau film

Alex Fitch talks to two directors of short films – Lee Hardcastle and Mitch Jenkins – about contributing to longer portmanteau works. Lee discusses his seminal short “Pingu’s The Thing” and “T is for Toilet”, his contribution to the new horror movie The ABCs of Death. Mitch talks about his collaborations with Alan Moore on the photo novella Unearthing and series of short films Jimmy’s End which he’s currently using a kickstarter campaign to fund its concluding chapter “His Heavy Heart”. (Originally broadcast 12th July 2013 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

The ABCs of Death is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 22nd July / the His Heavy Heart fundraising campaign ends on 17th July

Visit www.archive.org, for more info and formats you can stream / download.

Links: Director websites – www.leehardcastle.com / www.mitchjenkins.com
His Heavy Heart fundraising campaign
The ABCs of Death website
Wired article on “Pingu’s The Thing”
Buy Unearthing from Knockabout Comics in paperback / limited edition hardback formats

Recommended Events:

This is Scalarama!

In September, Scalarama will fill the land with cinemas.

More than a festival, Scalarama is an inclusive film season, a movement for movie lovers and a celebration of cinema in all its forms.

We invite you to join a community of enthusiasts from across the UK; a range of film organisations, programmers, curators, collectives, academics, journalists and film fans – all will come together for one month to share their belief that watching a film as part of an audience is something important, valuable and worth championing. Scalarama is not just about film, it’s about the experience, and the people and the passion behind the projector.

We are seeking public support this year to help further the message, reach out to new partners and make it as easy as possible for audiences to find events and organisations near them. Because we have decided to not take a cut of the box office nor charge an entry fee, and as we do not receive public money, we are looking to crowdfund the season.

Incentives include postcards, books, DVDs and much more…
www.kickstarter.com/projects/scalarama (Ends July 29th)

David Shenton Exhibition

These Foolish Things: Shenton’s cartoons are often camp but they’re not just camp, and they’re not that awful apolitical offensive camp, but a light, knowing, meaningful camp; their first task is to entertain and to make the audience laugh – and often they do much more because the liberation politics that informs his work means that with the laugh there is an acerbic point – a wry observation on how we live or a satirical comment about society and a wider political context, contained in the lives and musings of plausible and likeable characters. Or sometimes it’s just a silly joke.

1 June to 27 July 2013

Space Station 65 Gallery, Building One, 373 Kennington Road, London SE11 4PS

More info: www.spacestationsixtyfive.com

Orbital comics exhibition:

Cats and comics

Some at Orbital claim this forthcoming exhibition is a combination of two of the best things ever (cats and comics!). The exhibition features some of the top names in alternative comics with a whole lot of kitties too.

The show includes work by: Jeffrey Brown, Lucy Knisley, James Kochalka, Liz Prince, Sara McHenry, Gemma Correll, John Porcellino, Lizz Lunney, Dan Berry, Rus Hudda, Sara Lindo, Yasmine Surovec, Seo Kim, and Martin Tomsky.

July 13th – August 12th 2013

Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

More info: www.orbitalcomics.com

Steadman @77 exhibition

The Cartoon Museum is proud to present a selection of Ralp Steadman’s iconic cartoons to celebrate his 77th birthday. To accompany the exhibition there is a programme of events and talks, these include:

Brian Sibley talks about steadman’s adaptations of classic texts such as Alice in Wonderland – 27th June, 6.30pm

Anita O’Brien discusses the use of the weird in Steadman’s work – 4th July / 3rd September, 6.30pm

Exhibition continues until Autumn 2013, more info at http://cartoonmuseum.org

The Cartoon Museum, 35 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HH

Tripwire 21 now available to order

TRIPWIRE 21 is a must-buy for all fans and aficionados of comics and genre. Clocking in at 180 pages and oversized trade paperback format, the book includes classic TRIPWIRE interviews with creators like Mike (Hellboy) Mignola, Alan (Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) Moore, Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman, Batman & Robin), Grant Morrison (Batman Inc., Joe The Barbarian), Peter Milligan (Hellblazer, Justice League Dark), James (Starman, The Shade) Robinson and more. It also includes an introduction from renowned writer Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies).

It also includes a gallery of images, a selection of rarely seen and new for the book, from a stellar line-up of the best comic artists and illustrators in the business including: Tim Bradstreet, Howard Chaykin, Dave Dorman, Garen Ewing, Duncan Fegredo, Henry Flint, Phil Hale, Michael Kaluta, Joe Kubert, Roger Langridge, Mike (Hellboy) Mignola, Mike Perkins, Sean Phillips, Frank Quitely, Walter Simonson, Drew Struzan (Indiana Jones, Shawshank Redemption posters), Ben Templesmith and Chris Weston

TRIPWIRE 21 is available to order through the direct market to comic shops through Previews June 2013 on page 378 in the book section, item number JUN131448.

More info at www.facebook.com/TripwireMag