After Thoughts

This weekend we were at the Thought Bubble Convention in Leeds and a great time was had by all!

Comics folk defeated both the severe weather, and the Leeds one way system, and the event was incredibly busy all day. I didn't get a chance to go over to the conference side with everything that was going on, but talking to Paul Gravett later in the day it sounded like it was going very well.

As always it was great to catch up with old friends and make lots of new ones.

Plenty of Insomnia folk were around the table throughout the event, singing, talking about their books, making great plans for lots of things that we can't reveal just yet - and Kev Crossley's live sketching wowed the crowds, while his portfolio left them speechless!

Highlight of the event had to be the Geek Syndicate panel. The boys were on top form as usual, and Dave's impromtu rendition of Rawhide was fantastic, as was the mystifying, and really slightly unnerving revelation of the existence of the "glue man" who haunts comic cons asking artists for pictures of superheroines stuck in glue! All the panel seemed to have encountered him, and at various different shows! Frank Quitely and Cameron Stewart's tales of having to draw the mad things that live in Grant Morrisson's brain were wonderful, too.

Congratulations to Alex and Lauren of Kronos City who both won prizes at the Dr Sketchy's Burlesque drawing competition on the Saturday night. Their "How Do You See Karl" non competition has been very successful and you can see the results on the blog.

Thanks also to Martin Conaghan, Cy Dethan, Ollie Masters, Steven Stone, Roy Huteson and Christopher Barker for helping hold the fort on the day.

We got to meet Ian Cullen from Sci-Fi Pulse in person for the first time, having spoken to him online and even on the radio before now!

Fallen Heroes News

Barry Nugent, Martin Conaghan and I had arranged to meet up to talk about Fallen Heroes plans this weekend as scripting is now well underway.

With an astounding piece of timing, though, we discovered, and signed up, the perfect artist only hours before the show :)

Ladies and Gentlement, please allow me to present Steve Penfold - and his initial character sketches that just blew us all away:

Martin's got brilliant plans for how this is all going to come together. I wish I could tell you more, but for now will just have to leave you with that tantalising little hint of things to come.












Burke and Hare: Getting Into The Guts

Last week Burke and Hare creators Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering had an in-depth interview over on the Forbidden Planet Blog with lots of beautiful artwork from later on in the book that has not been seen before.

For those north of the border, In Scotland, there will be a Burke and Hare signing event at Forbidden Planet Edinburgh in January, followed by a gallery event. More on that as we get closer to the time.

The excitement and interest in this book from many non traditional comics sources with an interest in history and literature is really fantastic, and shows the power and very high quality of the art and storytelling that it can cross what often seems an unbridgable divide between comics and the rest of printed literature. More in this in the coming weeks.

Shock Theory

Celeste Sharp, writer of Shock Theory, is all over the news this week. Bournemouth University, where she studied until very recently, has been writing about her success in being signed to Insomnia for her very first graphic novel.

Jersey radio have also been in touch with Celeste to request an interview about the book next week.

Imagine FX

This month's ImagineFX magazine has two pieces on Insomnia, one with a picture of Crawford Coutts, if you haven't met him and wanted to know what he looks like!

Crawford is in there talking about the launch of the Digital Comics service for the PlayStationNetwork in December. For those with PSPs the reader software is now available to download from the Sony site.

Average Joe artist Kelvin Chan also has an interview in the magazine, and there is a preview of some of the artwork.

Working With Artists

Just a small mention of the odd world of comics production and the kinds of things you find yourself discussing.

Previously I had thought the weirdest thing I had discussed by email was either the shape of the sounds sheep make with Simon Wyatt when lettering Unbelievable, or maybe the one about how it would effect the perception of Emer's character, in Sidhe, if the underwear visible over her waistband was boxer shorts or lacy knickers.

However this week, working on The Indifference Engine Rob Carey sent me an email that included the following line:

"Does anyone object to seeing a penis in this shot?"

Followed a few days later by:

"New Engine, now with added penis" and a beautifully drawn page that delivered just that very thing!

And on that note, I'll leave it for this week.

Introducing Melanie Cook: Queen of Colours

Mel Cook was the first ever artist signed by Insomnia, for the cult teen sci-fi book Cages, described by horror master Ben Templesmith, no less, as "Lovely...lovely and disturbing".

Mel's soft, illustration style artwork set against the very adult issues of identity, power and freedom at the centre of the story, bring a haunting poignancy to the events of the book and, as good art should, add a deeper emotional complexity to the questions explored.

Appealing equally to readers of classic thought-provoking sci-fi and watchers of high concept anime the book was a fantastic first launch for Insomnia and was described as “Mother of a compelling read.” by Comics News.

It was this ability to bring out the psychological and emotional aspects of a script that made Mel the perfect choice for her next Insomia project, Cancertown, where the place is in many ways as much a character as the people that inhabit it. Bryan Talbot, in his foreword to the book, picks out the "atmospheric colouring" for a particular mention - and that is a man who knows his colour work.

Of course we weren't about to let Mel escape once Cancertown was done, and she is currently colouring Average Joe (by Thomas Romeo and Kelvin Chan) and has just begun work on The Indifference Engine (by Cy Dethan and Rob Carey).

And here it is, the very first peek at a panel from The Indifference Engine itself:


Then it will be back to Cancertown for Mel next year for Volume 2: Blasphemous Tumours.

And finally, at the risk of making her blush, it needs to be said how much Mel has also brought to the Insomnia family behind the scenes. Although incredibly busy with her books for us, work for other publishers, and projects in a whole variety of other media Mel has always been happy to take the time to offer help and advice to newer artists . She is pretty perfect, really, and a demon on Rockband, so I hear.

So, buckle your seatbelts for a trip inside the head of the talented Miss Melanie Cook...

Q:Tell us a bit about your artistic background (self taught, art education, experience etc) and how you got into working in comics.

A:I've always loved drawing and being creative. I was passionate about my art studies throughout highschool, but never managed to take my formal art education any further. Most of what I have learned post- highschool has been thanks to the bevy of wonderful resources available in print and online these days. That said, I also couldn't be where I was without the time spent studying cinematography and lighting at film school. It was actually thanks to film school that I first began working in comics. Cages writer Xander Bennett had seen the storyboarding I was doing for my cinematography projects and invited me to work on a comic pitch with him. I took him up on the offer and the rest was history.

Average Joe

Q:What does the job of a colourist involve?

A: At its most essential, the job of colourist involves working with colour and tone to create an atmosphere and mood that parallels the narrative. Practically speaking, this usually requires a fair amount of collaboration with the writer and artist, as well as a thorough breakdown of the script and some trial and error exploring various styles and techniques.

Q:How /where does a colourist fit into the team and what does the colouring bring to the finished pages and how do you accomplish this?

A:The colourist joins the production line once the pencils have been prepped for printing, either via traditional inking, digital inking, or a digital darkening of the pencils in a program like Photoshop. The colourist then works traditionally, or digitally in Photoshop or Painter, to build upon the guidelines established by the artist/inker.

Q:What is the process for colouring a page in technical terms, how long does it take, what tools or programs do you use?

A:When I first receive a page, I open it up in Photoshop to make sure it's saved in the right resolution and page size for printing. For comics printed in the US, those specs would be 6.875" by 10.438", and for the UK, 6.537” by 9.883”, both at 300dpi. If I'm working on an uninked page, my next step is to then clear up any pencil smudges or unwanted marks that might have been accidentally picked up by the scanner, and then digitally ink it if necessary. I find this process works best if I'm operating in grayscale mode, where I use a combination of Levels and manual selecting-cutting to eradicate unwanted lines. If inking is also required, I darken the pencil lines as best I can and fill solid areas of black with a simple lasso-select and fill technique.

Once the linework is ready and secure on its own channel, and the colourspace has been set up, it's time to start with the Flatting. I would liken Flatting to laying down the foundations for your soon-to-be coloured page. It basically involves manually selecting the different parts of the artwork and filling them with their solid base colours. Though an essential part of the process, it can be rather tedious and time-consuming and take between half an hour to an hour and a half or more depending on how detailed and busy the page is.



After the flats are in place it's finally time to commence colouring. The actual colouring of the page, where you go in and work out your tones and textures, can take anywhere from about two and a half hours to five or six, again depending on how involved the page is, and how much trial and error is needed. I usually commence colouring a page by roughing in my light and shadow in each panel, then building in the detail, adding textures and finally putting in any special effects or colour holds needed. Once the colouring is complete, all that's left is to separate the blacks, double-check your printing specs and upload it to the ftp server.



Q:How do you go about deciding on colour schemes, palettes etc ? I've heard it said that colourists are the cinematographers of the comics industry adding lots of additional information regarding context, feel, moods, psychological tone and setting, what do you think about that?

A:I would agree that there are elements of cinematography shared with colouring. But I believe the artist/inker to be as much a cinematographer as the colourist. Not only that, but it could be said that they share similarities with the position of production designer on a film set as well. Like a cinematographer, the artist/inker sets up the composition of the frame and provides guidlines for the mood and lighting. And in the role of production designer, the artist/inker creates the design of the mise-en-scene within each panel.

The colourist then works with the artist/inker's guidlines and uses colour to create the illusion of light within a panel. It's the role of the colourist to think practically about natural and artificial lighting, key-lighting and back-lighting, and the colour temperature of different light sources, as well as the emotional and psychological effects these colour choices might have on the reader. In addition to these cinematographical aspects, the colourist, like a production designer, makes conscious decisions about the colour of objects, places and people within the frame. He or she must ascertain how these components might work to influence the mood of the page and how they might detract or draw attention to key story elements within the panels.

Cages

Q: There are many pre-existing colouring conventions in comics (eg primary colours for 'good' characters), do you find you use these at all, are they helpful or restrictive?

A: Having entered into this field with very little prior knowledge of pre-existing conventions or norms, I'd have to say that they haven't really had much of a conscious effect on my work. Most of my colouring decisions and approaches have stemmed from colour theory in general and inspiration from the works of other artists.

Q: Has colouring become an entire art in itself now, rather than just a part of the production process, allowing the development of personal techniques and styles?

A:Indeed. And I think that it's largely thanks to the improvements and advancements being made with digital painting software, and the ease at which artists from any background and media can communicate via the internet. Colourists are able to work much more efficiently in programs such as Photoshop and Painter, giving them time to explore the vast array of tools, techniques and ideas at their disposal.


Q: What are the differences in doing 'full art' and colouring someone else's work? How do you deal with the different styles of underlying pencils, different tones of scripts etc?

A: Although I enjoy doing 'full art', it's been a wonderful learning experience working with someone else's work. There is less of an emotional investment when working with the linework of another artist, and I think that this frees the colourist up to take risks and really explore a page's potential.

It's also not uncommon for a colourist to receive the script around the same time as the penciller, so to be able to have access to the written visual cues from the beginning, and witness another artist's approach never fails to inspire me. It gives you an opportunity to get inside the head of another artist, to explore and examine their decision making, and should their style be considerably different from your own, you have a chance to approach colouring in a way you may not normally consider.

Cages

Q: What advice would you give for people wanting to become colourists?

Aside from just 'practice, practice, practice', there are a lot of wonderful books and forums out there to explore, which will certainly give any prospective colourist a better understanding of what the job entails.

The most helpful book for me so far has been Hi-Fi Color for Comics by Brian and Kristy Miller. It has some invaluable information about the technical side of colouring comics, such as page and printing specs, how to set up an efficient workflow, and creating cuts, grads and colour holds. Plus there's a bonus CD of goodies with things like lineart samples for you to start working on. Brian and Kristy Miller also have a second book coming out at the beginning of 2010 which takes colouring comics to the next level, and looks at different colouring styles for Manga, Superhero comics, covers etc.

In addition to this there are a number of forums you can go to where I'd recommend posting your work, getting feedback and finding advice from fellow colourists. The two main ones I can think of are Gutterzombie and Huedoo. The former is often frequented by colourist veterans Laura Martin and Dave McCaig, and the latter is run by Brian and Kristy Miller.

Q: Which artists and colourists do you admire and inspire you?

Laura Martin is certainly a colourist that stands out in my mind. Her work on Warren Ellis' Planetary was the first time I was ever consciously drawn to the colouring of a comic as much as, if not more than the artwork itself. Which is saying something, because John Cassaday is an amazing artist.

I also love Dave McCaig's work on Mark Waid's Birthright. You have to be a real master at cuts and grads to be able to use them in such a distinctive yet suitably understated way as he does. That particular colouring style stands up on its own, yet never draws so much attention to itself as to detract from the rather fine linework.

Outside of comic book colourists, I find I'm currently drawn to the amazingly hyper-real paintings of matte painters Dylan Cole, Dusso and Dan Wheaton, and a number of storyboard/concept artists and character designers, like Adrien Van Viersen, Dawood Marion, Brett Bean and James Paick.



Q: You also do work for film and television as a digital artist and storyboarder. Tell us about some of the projects you've worked on, and a bit about what is the same / different about working in these various media.

My film work has fallen more and more to the wayside as I've become more involved with illustrating and colouring comics, but I do still create the odd concept art and character designs here and there for various pitch projects. Probably the most notable project I've worked on was an Australian feature film called Crooked Business, where I was responsible for churning out storyboards for the 95 minute film. Aside from this I've also worked as storyboard artist on a number of short films, music videos and commercials, and created concept and character art for feature and television pitches. Nothing overly fancy, but it helps to pay the bills.

I think that the biggest similarity between my roles in film/tv and comics is the use of sequential imagery to tell a story. However, that's possibly where the similarities end.

With comics, the artwork is the end product, there is little else to consider other than the limitations of the page, and there is a great deal of freedom awarded to the artist because of this. With storyboarding on the other hand, the artwork is merely a small cog in a very large and complex machine.

When storyboarding a project, attempting to get story across quickly and visually is not your only major concern. You've also got to take into consideration how your shots might influence or be influenced by the production of the film. A storyboard artist needs to be aware of things like film lenses, camera limitations, budget limitations (most everything that's drawn needs to be recreated somehow on screen), and communicating necessary visual information to the various departments. It's a rewarding if not stressful process, but I much prefer the creative freedom offered while working in comics.



Q: Colours often look different on the printed page, to how they look on screen. How do you work around that?

A: Send hate mail to the Printers? No. That's a lie ... mostly. It is a big issue, and it's been said that you almost need a background working with commercial printers in order to really understand the mechanics behind the printing process. I can't say that it's something I've managed to satisfactorily work around yet, but I'm learning more about it as I witness more of my work being translated from monitor to printed page. At present I'm experimenting with working in Photoshop in RGB mode with WorkingCMYK (under View >> Proof Setup) turned on. Previously I merely worked in CMYK mode, but after doing some research and reading up on what a couple of veteren colourists have said, this current method seems to provide the most accurate depiction of what your colours will look like once printed. Or at least that's the plan. I'll let you know how it turns out when the next book comes out.


Q: What is the hardest thing about being a colourist?
A: Flatting? It's mind-numbing and I hate it. Seriously. No, but honestly, I'd probably say that all the technical learning involved with colouring digitally has been my biggest hurdle. I was never previously all that technically inclined, but I must admit, that once it's under your belt and you can get back to focussing on the creative aspect, the rewards are astronomical.

Cancertown Double Page Spread with Initial Colours

Cancertown Double Page Spread with Full Final Colours

Q: The story is now well known that when Xander Bennet asked you to do the art for Cages it was the first time you'd done a comics project of that length. How did you go about jumping into that, what did you learn from it, and was having the freedom to start from scratch and develop your own method liberating or terrifying?

A: It wasn't a small jump, I can say that. I think from memory I spent two months during my last year at university being force-fed comics by Xander. It was his way of introducing me to the medium. This was closely followed by an insane number of technical books on making comics and creating art digitally.

The whole process ended up being quite long and drawn out. I was trying to learn about the medium I was working in from scratch, as well as the tools I was working with, whilst simultaneously attempting to produce as professional a looking product as my meagre art skills would allow. Up until this point, all I'd really done was draw quick, crude storyboards in pencil which I didn't even ink.

So yeah, definitely more terrifying than liberating.

• Buy Cages from Amazon or use Diamond Order Code NOV085310
• Buy Cancertown from Amazon or use Diamond Order Code JUL091827.

You'll be able to find out more behind the scenes info on Mel's work in The Insomniac's Guide To Cancertown next year.

Who Wants To Be A Zombie?

Rich McAuliffe and Mark Chilcott, the slight unhinged creators of Damaged Goods, are currently on the prowl for victims...umm...I mean willing volunteers...to immortalise within the pages of the dark and twisted story The Bride.

All you need to do is send a photo of yourself doing your best zombie or victim expression.

Should you be one of the 3 that makes the cut (sorry, I tried to resist doing that, but I was weak) and be chosen as the model for either a zombie or a wedding guest then you'll appear in the story, get a full name credit in the book, have your original photo appear in the back matter and receive a free copy of the book.

Full details of how to enter can be found over on Rich McAuliffe's blog.

You can read Tea Party from Damaged Goods as a free preview on MyeBook to get an idea what you might be in for:

Sharing The Love

The next but one Accent UK anthology, Victoriana, will include a story from yet another Insomnia Supergroup. At this rate we're going to be able to play "Rock Family Trees" for the comics industry in no time!

Michael "Quarantine" Moreci has penned "Wolf Like Me" and art is in the capable hands of the Kronos Citizens Alex Willmore and Lauren Anne Sharp.

You can see a sample page over at Michael's blog.

Things are starting to gear up for BICS 2009 now...more news very soon.

Warning: Insomnia On The Rise

It's going to be a big news post this week, there is so much to say I don't know how I'm going to fit it all in, so I'll just get started:

New Signings:

As word gets around the number of submissions we are receiving is increasing weekly, and the quality is very high. The wealth of talent out there is incredible and we are extremely gratified that people believe in our approach and want to work with us . This makes choosing what to sign ever more difficult, but the latest are:

• Kronos City by Andrew Croskery
  
  In Kronos City it's not water running through the canals - it's time. It's possible to submerge your head to see visions of the past and future, although it’s risky. If you know how you can even manipulate future events, not just watch them unfold. Some say you can even change not only time, but fate..Finnegan Vedant, being an enterprising individual, sees here a business opportunity like no other, but when a mysterious client puts him on a case with bizarre consequences, he’s forced to face harsh truths about himself and the world around him. The game he’s playing is for much higher stakes than it at first appeared.
  
  
• Midnight On The Mind's Highway by Craig I. Gilmore
  
  The, dramatic, hallucinogenic tale of Carl Sark, a man frequently plagued by horrific, vivid nightmares involving disparate parts of a repressed, long forgotten memory. In desperation Carl volunteers to undergo a brand new form of regression therapy - The Mind’s Highway originally created to let people to re-live their fondest memories like they were happening for the very first time. But as Carl delves back into his past, piecing together fractured memories one-by-one, he’s pursued by a horrific, monstrous force apparently seeking to punish him for something he can’t recall.
  
  Craig adds:
  "Midnight on the Mind’s Highway is a deep, dark, character-driven tale about lost loves, repressed memories, nightmarish dreamscapes and enormous, unthinkable monsters. Oh yes, there will be monsters. It draws on many things – specifically the works of director Guillermo del Toro and Michel Gondry, as well as my absolute love and adoration for Konami’s seminal Silent Hill series of videogames. Comics are also the only medium I could ever imagine doing this kind of tale justice, so I can’t thank the good people Insomnia Publications enough for giving me the opportunity"
  
  Which is very nice of him to say. But really we are the ones thanking him for submitting such a fantastic idea.
  
  
• Cancertown Volume Two: Blasphemous Tumours
  
  Yes, the whole gang has been signed up and will be back for this. Stephen is already missing the monsters (I think we may have broken him a little bit...ssshhhh).
  
  For those wanting more Cancertown news look out for upcoming pieces in ImagineFX and Comics International. There is also some internal art up in the Eye Candy section of Comics Village this week.
  
  

Art Updates:

• We now have it confirmed that Keith Burns will be providing the cover art for Quarantine by Michael Moreci. Keith is currently working with Garth Ennis, and you may also know his name from Blood PSI (currently optioned for a film adaptation) by Andy Winter.
  
  
• Melanie Cook, newly escaped from Cancertown, will be joining the Average Joe team next to provide the colours for Kelvin Chan's gorgeous pencils. Keep an eye out for previews of the first pages very soon.
  
  
• Larry Watts has been signed up for art duties on The Ion Monger's Daughter. If you want to catch a glimpse of Larry's work before that, though he drew Red Wire, Blue Wire by Alexi Conman in Layer Zero: Choices
  
  

The Management

We are very pleased to announce that we have two new members of the Insomnia Management team:

• Richard Johnson, who will be joining us as Art Director,
  
• Martin Conaghan who will be taking up the editorial reins for the new Vigil imprint (more on this below)
  

Richard and Martin both have fantastic experience to bring to the management team, both in comics, and from their work in other media.

About Richard

Richard comes to us from the world of Graphic Design and Illustration, where he was was a recipient of the prestigious D&AD (Design & Art Directors) First Award in the 'Most
Outstanding Mixed Media Advertising Campaign for a Motion Picture' category.

Richard, who also writes under his middle name James, is the creator of Erth Chronicles, an online community of talented artists from around the world who have been inspired by his first novel in the series, The Enemy's Son, from Mam Tor Publishing.

Richard Says:

'The British Independent comic book scene is a close knit family - everyone knows each other, in their many guises and the talents they have to offer. Families support one another and share an important ethos. I'm looking forward in helping to elevate things a little further through the design of these publications and help support all of our own projects in the process.'

About Martin

Martin Conaghan's first published writing work appeared in Aceville Publications' Comic World in 1992, in the form of interviews and reviews with writers and artists such as Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell. This was followed by a one-off Tharg's Terror Tale in the 1995 2000AD Yearbook and several short stories for the American publisher CaliberPress, including an issue of their popular Raven Chronicles title. In 1997, he produced a weekly internet column for The Big Issue in Scotland, in addition to writing feature articles for The Herald and other Scottish broadsheet newspapers. He now works for the BBC.

New Vigil Imprint from Insomnia

As many of you will know last year we signed the historical graphic novel Burke and Hare by Martin and Will Pickering.

The response we have already had on this book has been great, with people and magazines, not to mention libraries, museums and educational establishments, already emailing me to ask when it will be out. I've seen the first finished pages, though, which is a great perk of the job, and I'm not surprised people can't wait - they are outstanding!

Anyway this got us to thinking and chatting with Martin about the idea of an imprint for more of this kind of book - fact-based stories of a biographical nature with supporting notes and research. As the conversation progressed it was obvious he would be perfect as editor, so we invited him to the party.

Martin Says:

"History is ripe for the plundering - not just classical history or ancient history, but the history of the 18th, 19th and 20th Century - history is being written all around us every day, in the news, on the web - from politics to war, to celebrity life and the ordinary stories of every person on the planet. It's all there, waiting to be plundered - and comics are the ideal format for telling broad, grand stories about people's lives, global events and shocking controversies.

"What we're aiming for here it the comic-book/graphic novel equivalent of a biopic; Nixon, JFK, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Ali, Missisipi Burning, Let Him Have It, Frost/Nixon, In the Name of the Father, Michael Collins, The Damned United.

What we want to do is tell similar stories, and back them up with facts and quality research - even if parts of the stories are fictionalised or the creators take an original slant on their approach to the story. What we want is more than just a comic-book or a graphic novel - this is the comic-book equivalent of the director's cut of the biopic movie crammed full with all the DVD extras, the facts, the research and every scrap of paper that creators leave scattered around their office floor when the work is done.

There are thousands of stories out there about real-life events that can be woven into fascinating tales. Stories about murder, political scandal, military cover-ups, controversy, disasters, war.You just need to look.

We really feel a line of books like this can help lift the comics medium beyond the realm of fantasy and science-fiction, offering material that is entertaining first, but also educational at its heart."

Martin and I will be working on specific submission guidelines for the imprint over the next couple of weeks - so if you have any ideas for this kind of book, start to gather them now.

Final Word

So to sum all that up, Crawford Coutts takes a few minutes away from his master plan and says:

"With the rapid growth of Insomnia in recent months, the development of our new imprint, Vigil, and with the ever increasing list of books we're producing for the coming years, there was going to be a time when we needed more people to manage everything.

Richard and Martin started out, like Nic Wilkinson our Creative Director, as creators. I can't think of two better people to be a part of the management team. Their experience and expertise in the industry is extremely valuable and I would like to take this opportunity to give them a warm welcome them to the Insomnia Publications management team.

I cannot emphasize enough that the creators are what makes this venture possible. Not only do they create the products, but they are willing to devote their time to assisting in the promotion of their products and all the others in the Insomnia lines. The feeling of seeing this all come together is incredible."

And now off to plan for Bristol...Oh My God It's only 3 weeks away!..look out for the Big Bristol update here next week with details of everything that will be going on at the stand.

Happy New Year

So here we are in 2009. Only 5 days in and it is already looking like this is going to be a storming year for Insomnia.

So, to kick things off here is a list of what we are going to be working on in 2009, and so what we will be talking about here.

First, here are the books with 2009 publication dates already set:

• Cages by Xander Bennett and Melanie Cook (available to order from amazon)
• Cancertown by Cy Dethan, Stephen Downey, Melanie Cook and Nic Wilkinson (available to pre-order from amazon)
• MILK by Stref
• Unbelievable by Simon Wyatt
• Burke and Hare by Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering
• Shaman by Xander Bennett and David Montoro
  
• Layer Zero: Choices (anthology)
  

Secondly, here are the books "in progress" which are signed and underway. Some of these will be out this year, some next:

• Damaged Goods by Richard McAuliffe and Mark Chilcott
• Daemon by Alasdair Duncan, Daniel Lopez, Yel Zamor and Nic Wilkinson
• Average Joe by Thomas Romeo and Kelvin Chan
  
• Death Hunter: Dead Man's Gold by James Johnson, Georgios Dimitriou, Thanos Tsilis and Leonardo M. Giron
• Six Months by Jim O'Hara
• The Ragged Man by Cy Dethan
• Shiver by Christopher Barker
• Oz: The Fall of The Scarecrow King by Peter Forbes
• Cancertown 2 by Cy Dethan, Stephen Downey, Melanie Cook and Nic Wilkinson
• Layer Zero: Survival (anthology)
• Fallen Heroes by Barry Nugent
  

And these are the events we will be at if you want to drop by and say hello:

• New York Comic Con (February)
  
• Bristol Comics Expo (May)
• San Diego Comic Con (July, Hopefully)
  
• Cymru Con (August)
• BICS - Birmingham International Comics Show (October)
  
• Leeds Thought Bubble (this is more of a fingers crossed, hope they do another one but if they do we will be there!)

Sounds like we are going to be very busy.

Good busy, though...