Category Archives: Clear Spot

Panel Borders: Martin Rowson and Tristram Shandy

Panel Borders: Martin Rowson and Tristram Shandy

In the first of a trio of shows about and inspired by the Tate Britain exhibition ‘Rude Britannia’, Alex Fitch talks to newspaper cartoonist Martin Rowson about his rereleased graphic adaptation of the humorous and experimental Eighteenth century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Lawrence Sterne. Alex and Martin also talk about the latter’s interest in the history of cartooning from William Hogarth to George Herriman, the artist’s experiences in using different drawing media and his ways of overcoming boredom!

Images from Tristram Shandy and The Guardian newspaper by Martin Rowson

Images from Tristram Shandy and The Guardian newspaper by Martin Rowson

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: Guardian archive of Martin Rowson’s cartoons
Info about Tristram Shandy at publisher Self Made Hero’s website
Rude Britannia microsite

Reality Check: The Problem of SF film making part two

Reality Check: The Problem of SF film making part two

In the second half of a panel discussion recorded live at last year’s London Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Alex Fitch discusses the challenges of creating engaging and convincing SF scenarios on film with a quintet of eminent low budget film directors – Marc Caro (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children), Cory McAbee (Stingray Sam), Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn), Stuart Hazeldine (Exam) and Richard Jobson (A Woman in Winter). The panel was sponsored by The Directors Guild of Great Britain and Mr Caro’s translator was Virginie Selavy. In this second part, the panel discuss the importance of lighting and sound to low budget cinema and the need to double up crew members [part two of two]…

Stills from Franklyn, A woman in Winter, Exam, Stingray Sam and The City of Lost Children

Stills from Franklyn, A woman in Winter, Exam, Stingray Sam and The City of Lost Children

Originally broadcast as the second half of a ‘Clear Spot’, 17/03/10 on Resonance FM

For more info, please visit the home of the podcast at www.sci-fi-london.com

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

Reality Check: The Problem of SF film making part one

Reality Check: The Problem of SF film making part one

In a panel discussion recorded live at last year’s London Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film Festival, Alex Fitch discusses the many aspects of creating engaging and convincing SF scenarios on film with a quintet of eminent low budget film directors – Marc Caro (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children), Cory McAbee (Stingray Sam), Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn), Stuart Hazeldine (Exam) and Richard Jobson (A Woman in Winter). The panel was sponsored by The Directors Guild of Great Britain and Mr Caro’s translator was Virginie Selavy. [part one of two]

From left to right, Gerald McMorrow, Richard Jobson, Stuart Hazeldine, Cory McAbee and Marc Caro, photos by Chris Patmore

From left to right, Gerald McMorrow, Richard Jobson, Stuart Hazeldine, Cory McAbee and Marc Caro, photos by Chris Patmore

Originally broadcast as the first half of a ‘Clear Spot’, 17/03/10 on Resonance FM

For more info, please visit the home of the podcast at www.sci-fi-london.com

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

Sci-Fi London 9: Life in 2050, April 28th - May 3rd, 2010

Reality Check: Fall Out – The Prisoner in other media

Reality Check: Fall Out – The Prisoner in other media

Celebrating 42 years of the cult TV show The Prisoner – Alex Fitch talks to a couple of writers who have continued the adventures of Patrick McGoohan’s iconic character No.6 in other media. 1980s Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel has written a new Prisoner novel ‘Miss Freedom’ while Sophia Cacciola from the band ‘Do not forsake me, oh my darling’ has written an album of songs based on each episode of the TV show. Also, actress and comedienne Jessica Fostekew reads from the novel accompanied by sound effects and music from the show… (originally broadcast in an edited form as part of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM)

From left, cover of the novel Miss Freedom by Andrew Cartmel, Sophia Cacciola  and Michael Epstein a.k.a. Do not forsake me, oh my darling and No.6 painting by Simon Palmer

From left, cover of the novel Miss Freedom by Andrew Cartmel, Sophia Cacciola and Michael Epstein a.k.a. Do not forsake me, oh my darling and No.6 painting by Simon Palmer

Links: Info about Andrew Cartmel’s The Prisoner: Miss Freedom
Info about Do not forsake me, oh my darling
Info about The Prisoner on Blu-Ray

For more Sci-Fi London podcasts, please visit www.sci-fi-london.com

Listen to Alex’s interview with Ian Rakoff about writing Living in Harmony and co-editing It’s your funeral and The General

Recommended events:

Dante’s Inferno Premiere

Sci-Fi London are delighted to present the UK premiere of the brand new animated movie DANTE’S INFERNO which has been produced to coincide with the Electronic Arts game.

Crusader Dante returns home to discover that his beloved Beatrice has been murdered, and her soul dragged into Hell. Refusing to give her up, he steals Death’s scythe and chases after her… into the Inferno.

Featuring the voice talents of Mark Hamill, Victoria Tennant and Vanessa Branch, the movie is Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery!

There is a goody bag for all those attending! Book by calling 020 7451 9944 or www.apollocinemas.com Doors open 7pm and the screening starts at 7.30. Tickets are £13.00 and £9.00 concs. – If you quote “SCI-FI-LONDON” you can qualify for a 10% discount on each ticket!!!

7.30pm, Tuesday 2nd February, Apollo Piccadilly Cinema, Lower Regent Street, London

Ian Rakoff Lecture on 20th Century Comic Strips at the V & A

Former writer of cult TV show The Prisoner and the primary source of The Rakoff collection at the V and A, Ian Rakoff is giving a free talk about 20th Century Comic Strips at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London on February 3rd 2010. Ian will be discussing the impact comic strips such as Little Orphan Annie had on popular culture and the shaping of the American identity over the last 120 years.

FREE, 1.15pm, February 3rd 2010, The Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
More info at www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events
Continue reading

Electric Sheep podcast: Susannah York and War on screen

Electric Sheep podcast: Susannah York and War on screen

Alex Fitch interviews Oscar nominated actress Susannah York about her career, focusing on her performances in war related productions and her interest in peace activism. Alex and Susannah talk about the latter’s narration for the 1987 Channel Four TV series The Struggles for Poland, writing the war time drama Falling in love again, her iconic role in They shoot horses, don’t they? and using her reputation and theatre tours to promote the work of the Movement for the Abolition of War.
(Partially broadcast as part of a ‘Clear Spot’ on Resonance FM)

Susannah York on the set of The Battle of Britain in 1969

Susannah York on the set of The Battle of Britain in 1969

‘The Struggles for Poland’ screens at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ on January 16th (Episodes 1-4), 17th (Episodes 5-8) and 23rd (Episodes 3-5 and 9) as part of Polska! Year.

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: Film at Imperial War Museum Londondownload a pdf of the cinema schedule
Information about Polska! Year
IMDb pages on The Struggles for Poland and Susannah York
More info about Miracles at the Leicester Square Theatre
Info about the Movement for the Aobolition of War

Electric Sheep podcast: Living in Harmony with Ian Rakoff

Electric Sheep podcast: Living in Harmony with Ian Rakoff

Patrick McGoohan filming Living in Harmony / Ian Rakoff at Comica 2003

Patrick McGoohan filming Living in Harmony / Ian Rakoff at Comica 2003

To coincide with the 42nd anniversary of the broadcast of the episode he wrote the original script for, Alex Fitch talks to writer, editor and raconteur Ian Rakoff about his experiences working on The Prisoner and being an observer of British Film culture in the 1970s and beyond. Alex and Ian talk about the bowdlerisation of his script for ‘Living in Harmony’, the latter’s experiences with Lindsay Anderson on such films as If…. and O lucky man!, working with Nicolas Roeg, Stephen Frears and John Boorman and his lifetime interest in comic books.

For more info about the variety of formats you can download this podcast in / stream, please visit www.archive.org

Links: (Limited) info about Ian Rakoff at www.imdb.com
Interview with Ian at www.paulgravett.com
Info about the Victoria and Albert Museum‘s comic book collections
Buy The Prisoner on blu-ray from Network DVD
Buy Ian’s book Inside the “Prisoner”: Radical Television and Film in the 1960s from amazon.co.uk
Last month’s appreciation of The Prisoner at wired.com

Listen to / watch Alex’s interview with Malcolm McDowell and Mike Kaplan about working with Lindsay Anderson
Photo credits – Ian Rakoff courtesy of “Jinty” and Patrick McGoohan courtesy of www.amctv.com

For info on the latest issue of Electric Sheep magazine, please click here / read Prisoner inspired rock group Do not forsake me oh my darling‘s list of favourite films in Electric Sheep Magazine online

In association with
Continue reading

Panel Borders: The art of Paul Ashley Brown

Panel Borders: The art of Paul Ashley Brown

Image from Browner-Knowle by Paul Ashley Brown

Image from Browner-Knowle by Paul Ashley Brown


In the second of two interviews recorded during the Alternative Press Fair, Dickon Harris talks to comic book writer and artist Paul Ashley Brown about his work outside the St. Aloysius Social Club in Somers Town, London. Dickon and Paul discuss the latter’s latest small press comic – Browner Knowle – and the small press scene in London from Fast Fiction in the 1980s to the present day.
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: Official website
Blog at
the Concrete Hermit Network
Review of recent ‘zines
Info about Alternative Press fair events
Listen to the companion episode, recorded at the Alternative Press Fair Collaborama!, in which Dickon talks to comic book creator Paul Rainey and poet Ceri May

Recommended events:

Signings:

Orbital Comics, 8 Gt Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JA will be hosting an exhibition of various artists’ contributions to the Solipsistic Pop comics anthology from 14-19 November 2009.

Cameron Stewart / Karl Kerschl / Ramón Pérez at Orbital Comics
Cameron Stewart (Seaguy, Batman & Robin), Karl Kerschl (Wednesday Comics: Flash, Teen Titans: Year One) and Ramón Pérez (Resistance, NYX: No Way Home)
will be signing their wares on Thursday 19th November 2009 from 5:00 to 7:00.

Reinhard Kleist signing Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness Saturday 21 November 13:00 – 14:00
Reinhard Kleist will be signing his graphic novel Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 21st November 1- 2pm
Johnny Cash was a seventeen-time Grammy winner who sold more than 90 million albums in his lifetime and became an icon of American music. Already a bestseller and award-winner in Europe, JOHNNY CASH: I SEE DARKNESS vividly portrays the unpredictable, turbulent life of a loner, patriot, outlaw, and music business rebel with all the drama and character befitting the man who became a legend in his own lifetime.

—————————————————–

COMICA week two (all events at the ICA, The Mall, London unless noted otherwise):

Ctrl.Alt.Shift: Political Poster-Making Workshop
The young peoples charity and publishers of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption anthology present a workshop on making your own agit-pop posters.
The Book Club, 100 Leonard St, London, EC2A 4RH, November 18, 2009 – from 7pm

More info: http://www.comicafestival.com
Continue reading

Panel Borders: The Atom Style part 1 – Woodrow Phoenix and Garen Ewing

Panel Borders: The Atom Style part 1 – Woodrow Phoenix and Garen Ewing
Originally broadcast 06/08/09 as part of the 8pm Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM

Panels from The Rainbow Orchid by Garen Ewing and Rumble Strip by Woodrow Phoenix

Panels from The Rainbow Orchid by Garen Ewing and Rumble Strip by Woodrow Phoenix

The first of two special episodes of Panel Borders looking at the history and practice of ‘The Atom Style’, which is currently the focus of an exhibtion at The Atomium in Brussels. Alex Fitch talks to artists Woodrow Phoenix and Garen Ewing about their work, exemplified in their recent graphic novels Rumble Strip and The Rainbow Orchid volume one, respectively. (part 1 of 2)

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 / Listen to the companion episode in which Alex talks to Paul Gravett, curator of The Atom Style exhibtion at The Atomium

Links: Read an extract from Rumble Strip by Woodrow Phoenix in Creative Review
Rainbow Orchid pages at garenewing.co.uk
Info about the Atom Style exhibition at brusselscomics.com
Article on the Atom Style at www.paulgravett.com
Wikipedia pages on Paul Gravett, Woodrow Phoenix and Garen Ewing

Join our facebook group / follow Panel Borders on twitter

Panel Borders: The Atom Style part 2 – Paul Gravett, curating at The Atomium

Panel Borders: The Atom Style part 2 – Paul Gravett, curating at The Atomium

Cover of Escape magazine issue 2 by Rian Hughes, edited by Paul Gravett

Cover of Escape magazine issue 2 by Rian Hughes, edited by Paul Gravett

The second of two special episodes of Panel Borders looking at the history and practice of ‘The Atom Style’, which is currently the focus of an exhibtion at The Atomium in Brussels. Alex Fitch talks to comics historian and curator of the Atom Style exhibtion, Paul Gravett about the history of that aesthetic movement and its links with Clair Ligne / Clear Line comics made famous by Herge’s Adventures of Tintin. Paul championed the style and movement in his 1980s magazine Escape and Alex and Paul talk about the British artists he helped discover and the European artists he felt were being neglected by the public, then and now. (part 2 of 2)

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 / Listen to the companion episode, in which Alex talks to artists Garen Ewing and Woodrow Phoenix

Links: Info about the Atom Style exhibition at brusselscomics.com
Article on the Atom Style at www.paulgravett.com
Wikipedia pages on Paul Gravett, Rian Hughes and Hergé
Info about the Javier Mariscal exhibtion at The Design Museum in London
David O’Connell’s clair ligne webcomic Tozo

Join our facebook group / follow Panel Borders on twitter
Continue reading

London’s Burning

Malcolm Vache from Housmans Bookshop in discussion with Ken Worpole, Laura Oldfield-Ford, John Rogers and Merlin Coverley discussing London’s social history, literary London, the occult, deep topography, psychogeography, radicalism and much else besides.

This programme exists in parallel to a series a walks, talks, discussions and screenings hosted by Housmans Bookshop throughout July and August.

Originally broadcast Monday July 13th 2009.

Produced by Nick Hamilton.