REVIEW: Thunder Child book one - plus Kickstarter details for book two

Thunder Child book one

by Matt Hardy (writer), Rob Jones (writer/letters/design), Kevin Castaniero (artist), Simon Gough (colourist) and Fred McNamara (editor)

From Mad Robot Comics and Madius

Note: This article also provided below as jpg images and an embedded pdf. Read in whichever fashion suits you best!

To say I've been obsessed with HG Wells at points in my life would be an understatement - especially The War of the Worlds.

I can flashback in my life to when I was a child, headphones pressed closely over my ears, gatefold vinyl opened in front of me with pullout booklet full of artwork as I listened to Jeff Wayne's album, memorising every word. Years later I'm watching the stage version of the same album, punching the air and joining the audience shouting "Come on, Thunder Child!"

Another flashback, I'm crouched on my heels in the local library as I pull the book from a bottom shelf and find myself turning the pages, transfixed as I read, the walls of the library falling away and replaced by a mental landscape of Victorian England and the magnificent chapter featuring the Thunder Child as it surges into the fray. 

Flash through to recent years and my own story The Secret War - a secret history of the *real* story behind Wells' magnum opus... or at least my interpretation of what might have been, published in Tales From Alternate Earths by Inklings Press. (PS You can listen to that here)

And yet despite my love for the story, I've found previous adaptations to be frustrating at best, insulting at worst. Too often, those adapting the work seem to think they know better - from George Pal's 1953 movie version with fighting machines that barely resemble the tripods of the book to Spielberg's version that decided to set it in the modern day and (spoiler) have no major harm befall the central family despite the mass destruction of humanity all around them. Then there was the BBC adaptation that decided to focus on the love story and derail the ending entirely, or the weird late 80s series that tried to be a sequel to a movie from 35 years before. 

What many seem to miss is the strength of the setting itself - that Victorian era where England thought it could conquer everything. The indomitable about to be dominated.

Upgrading the setting gives humanity bigger, fancier toys, sure, but it's like the weapons pages of a Call of Cthulhu rulebook - it doesn't matter because your guns are never going to be enough. 

And so we come to Thunder Child, taking us on board the ship that features in the novel, and created by the crew of Matt Hardy, Rob Jones, Kevin Castaniero, Simon Gough and Fred McNamara. 

Thunder Child's moment in the book is a striking piece of action, a ray of hope in the darkness of the onslaught of the Martian tripods. 

You might think a comic adaptation would plunge straight into the action - but no, this is cleverer than that. 

In fact, it reminded me somewhat of a very smart piece of writing and direction in the Iovie Serenity - the film that capped off the all-too-brief existence of Firefly. Early in that movie, the characters walk and talk their way through the ship, Serenity, and before you know it you realise that the camera has mapped out the north, south, east and west of these characters' existence, at the same time as propelling the plot along. 

The first issue of Thunder Child doesn't take us through the hold and the gunnery emplacements, but it does start us in a moment of quiet, with the telescope on the deck, owned by the late husband of the ship's captain, as two more scientifically minded characters wonder about the reports from Mars, and clash with the stiff military upper lip of a fellow crewmate. 

As the ship responds to a need to return to London, it is not the ship that is mapped out but the relationships of the characters to one another - so that by the time danger appears, we know who stands with who, we know why they make the choices they make. 

One of the splendid things about the original novel is how ominous everything was, and the same holds true here. Disaster is on the horizon, but for now, the creative team holds its thunder, or lets it be seen in between flurries of smoke or amid flames along the waterside. 

For a first issue, it hits the mark and then more. It bests adaptations that have made me rankle. It feels like it fits Wells' story like a glove. 

The artwork is great too - landing somewhere between Tintin and Hellboy. Intrepid investigators and ancient enemies. There is room for quieter moments and room for seas awash with flame, garish flickering and the grim sight of the dead. 

Book one was launched on Kickstarter (which I backed, and especially loved the Tim Dowler variant cover). Book two has just launched there now - and you can get in on the story at the link here.

For comic readers, it's recommended. For Wells fans, it's essential. All aboard the Thunder Child!

Kickstarter Spotlight: Thunder Child, by Mad Robot Comics and Madius Comics

Bloody Martians. Every time you think the chances of them showing up are a million to one, there they are!

In this case, the return of the Tripod Tearaways is particularly welcome, in a three-part reimagining of HG Wells' classic novel The War of the Worlds, telling the story of that most marvellous of ships - the HMS Thunder Child. 

Mad Robot Comics and Madius Comics have teamed up for this Kickstarter offering - which given my love of all things Wells made me an easy target as a backer! (Some of you may be familiar with my own wander in Wells territory with my story The Secret War).

The team behind this offering describe it as follows:

The crew of the HMS Thunder Child venture into a discovery unlike anything that's ever been witnessed on this planet. Their investigations of suspected meteoric debris that's fallen into the ocean reveals something vastly more terrifying. 

From out of the oceans, the alien Tripod rises. A harbinger of destruction from another world. The Thunder Child's crew, a motely band of humanist scientists, war-hungry militants and jaded ship leaders, find themselves scrambling to salvage and defend what they can from the marauding machines. 

Thunder Child: The Spectre of a Dying Planet is a tensely enthralling sci-fi steampunk adventure drama. Its ferocious, dynamic art and vibrant colours match the energy of its powerful, complex characters in the first issue of this three-part reimagining of HG Wells' classic novel The War of the Worlds. 

The creative team behind the project sees Rob Jones and Matthew Hardy team up on writer duties, while Kevin Castaniero is the artist for the series. Simon Gough provides colouring duties, while Rob Jones is on lettering. Fred McNamara is the editor.

That's not the end of the creative forces involved in the project, however, with a variety of variant covers and more as part of the stretch goals. 

Variant cover by Tim Dowler

Interior art from Thunder Child

To back the project, visit Kickstarter here - oh, and you could do far worse than follow Mad Robot Comics and Madius Comics on Twitter. Nice folks. 

There are more variant covers to discover over at the Kickstarter - so go take a peek. Or else the Martians will come for us!

KICKSTARTER: Discover Bete Noir - a comic of morality, corruption and redemption.

Mad Robot Comics is a happy crew of creators, not one of whom is a robot (as far as we're aware) but all could conceivably called mad. They've dropped by the blog before - you may well remember their previous appearances - and here they are again to promote Bete Noir, a new comic from Andrew Clemson, Kris Wantowhy and the ever hard-working Matt Hardy.

Bete Noir is something different from the Mad Robot Comics crew. Something new.

The eagle-eyed French speakers will raise a circumflex-shaped eyebrow at that title, of course - but Mad Robot supremo Matt Hardy is on that case.

"Bête noire is a French term that means something or someone that causes fear or dread. Essentially, your bête noire is the bane of your existence. 

"Why we called our new book Bete Noir will become apparent - but the different spelling is intentional. Got to get up early to catch us out!"

Different indeed - for Bete Noir is set in a world where the age of heroes has been long forgotten. 

The story is by Andrew Clemson - the man who forced Star Bastard (Scout Comics) on the world - and with art by Kris Wantowhy (Red Letter Day). 

Matt Hardy tells us a little more. 

"The most feared vigilante of days past, The Djinn, is back from supposed death to exact revenge on his betrayers," he said. "But is the man in the costume the same as he was all those years ago - or is he something altogether….different?"

BETE NOIR #1 is the 28-page opening chapter of a gripping six part series, described as a story about morality, corruption and redemption in the vein of PAYBACK, RED and JOHN WICK.

BETE NOIR is current funding on Kickstarter -https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/153289885/bete-noir-1 - follow the link for more preview art from the book. 

Maybe the world does still need superheroes - even screwed-up ones. 

You can keep up to date with Mad Robot Comics on Twitter at @MadRobotComics or on Facebook here. 

BOOK REVIEW: Fulcrum of Odysseus, by Eric Michael Craig; Star Liner, by Scott Branchfield; Glimpses anthology; Broadswords and Blasters issue 1; Murder Most Mundane, by Mad Robot Comics

Welcome back, all - I've been struck by a little post-Christmas bug the past few days, which wasn't so good for cracking on with work, but sure helped me zip through some of my current reading. We have sci-fi, fantasy - and another graphic novel to review this week. 

Star Liner, by Scott Branchfield

There's a classic feel to this deep space tale from Scott Branchfield. It's like one of those smashing 70s or 80s sci-fi tales I used to devour from the library such as Andre Norton or Alan Dean Foster.
The premise is fairly simple - Jan is an entertainer recruited to help guests aboard a luxury space liner pass the time as they face a journey of months between stars.
It's a fairly slow start, as Jan meets his fellow crew members, learns the layout of the ship... and then things unravel quickly, with a murder on board. Suspicion points Jan's way, but that murder is just the beginning as events spiral out of control. Jan starts out having to clear his name, but soon will be faced with a fight for his life itself.
Branchfield really ratchets up the tension as the book goes along, with the tale moving at a real pace after that initial start.
By the end, you're really rooting for the characters... well, most of them. One or two you're happy to see come to a gruesome fate!

AI Rating: 4/5

Star Liner is available on Amazon here. 

Fulcrum of Odysseus, by Eric Michael Craig

If you're thinking the author's name is familiar, you're right - I reviewed the first book in this series just a week ago. The second book is out already, and the third book coming soon - so I expect you'll see another review soon too! 

Fulcrum of Odysseus picks up where the first book, Legacy of Pandora, left off - with Chancellor Kathryn Roja on the run from the Union fleet and the crew of the Jakob Waltz perched on the edge of a mystery that may be bigger than the conflicts tearing apart human society elsewhere in the solar system. The Jakob Waltz section of the story more and more reminds me of epics such as Greg Bear's Eon - but it's just part of the whole picture. 

You really need to read book one rather than drop into the middle of events here, but the story is all the better for doing so, as characters that seemed to be minor players in the first book come into their own, stepping up into the limelight and the battle for political supremacy engulfing mankind. 

There's a lot to love here - but one thing I particularly have to note is the dialogue, filled with altered future dialect and phrasing that seems odd at first but enriches the setting. 

Roja drops a little into the background of the saga in this book as events elsewhere dominate, but ends up... well, that would be telling. What I will tell you is that I'm very much looking forward to book three. 

AI Rating: 5/5

Fulcrum of Odysseus is available on Amazon here.

Glimpses: 16 Short Fantasy Stories

I do love reading short story anthologies - but I'm afraid this one felt a little undercooked. 

From the start, it hit a stumble - the opening story, The Killing Fields, by Sarah KL Wilson, is little more than a vignette set in her larger universe. Throw in a bit of weirdness in that the empire in the story is very much Oriental in nature but is headed by a woman with a Scottish-sounding name (without any explanation of how the two come together) and it's an awkward read. 

The anthology stays awkward throughout - the fantasy focus isn't always very tight (one story even diving off into Lovecraftian lore), resolutions are a bit too quick and easy, and a few too many are footnotes to a larger universe without really giving us a grasp of the setting in the story itself. 

Some are plain silly - The Wolf of Wool Street starts with a parody of having unwanted religious guests coming knocking at the door before introducing us to a werewolf by the name of... Woger. Who has a grandfather called Wandolph. It's a bit heavy-handed. 

My favourite story from the anthology came quite late on - Dance of Swords by JC Kang is another encounter with Eastern fantasy, but done far better, as a dancer turns would-be assassin, losing herself in the power of her music even as she edges closer to vanquishing a dictator. It's without doubt the highlight of an overall disappointing collection. 

AI Rating: 2/5

Glimpses is available on Amazon here.

Broadswords and Blasters Issue 1

Broadswords and Blasters is a blast from the past in many ways - a two-fisted return to pulp fantasy and sci-fi, and it's jolly good fun. 

As ever with anthologies, some tales find favour more than others, and one or two definitely missed the spot for me. A bit too much wish-fulfilling sex here and there, and one story that if it was adapted into a roleplaying game would plausibly have the title Pincers & Penises. But hey. 

One of the stories is a two-parter, the second part being in issue 2, which was probably a bit of a mistake to include but such are the lessons one learns when trying something new.

I really enjoyed the story The Executioner's Daughter, about a young woman trying to take on the hood of her father, while Dead Men Tell Tales was a clever little sci-fi tale by Dave D'Alessio. 

Perhaps the best tale of all though was the sparkling Saturday Night Science, by Michael M Jones, a full-on interdimensional romp of a first date between two women geniuses with occasional teasing about light bondage included. It's witty, it's joyful and it's really quite touching by the end. 

I like the joie de vivre and all out fun in this magazine - and the team's philosophy as spelled out in the foreword. At the time of writing, I think they are eight issues in - I'll certainly be back for more. 

AI Rating: 4/5

Broadswords and Blasters Issue 1 is available on Amazon here. 

Graphic novels and comics

Murder Most Mundane, by Ash Deadman, Matt Hardy, Clark Bint, Edward Bentley and Robin Jones

I picked up Murder Most Mundane from the Kickstarter run by its publisher, Mad Robot Comics - and it's a corker of a read. 

Take a dash of Wicker Man, a sprinkling of Midsomer Murders and the slightest smidge of Hot Fuzz and you have the story, in which a big-town police officer fallen on hard times winds up in a tiny, sleepy village. 

And then the killings start. 

Gruesome and witty by turn, the deaths that stalk the streets of the village of Fadfield get progressively more inventive, and come faster and faster. There are hints too that something strange is going on - is this the work of just one killer? Or is everyone in the village in on it? 

The artwork by Clark Bint is great too - and one particular shot of the detective and his sidekick walking up the street while every curtain twitches sets the mood perfectly. 

This is the best I've read yet from Mad Robot Comics - and deservedly gets five stars. 

AI Rating 5/5

Murder Most Mundane is available on the Mad Robot Comics website. 

PREVIEW: Murder Most Mundane, a glimpse into the dark heart of the English countryside

Leo McBride takes a look at the preview pages of Murder Most Mundane - a gruesome tale of murder most horrid in the English countryside...

Murder Most Mundane is the latest project from Mad Robot Comics – and while I’ve only had a preview so far, there’s nothing mundane about it. 

Rather, this is about the seething, skin-crawling nature of what goes on underneath the mundane. There’s murder, of course, but even from the preview, it’s clear there’s more going on here. It’s Midsomer writ with grand guignol, it’s the collision of Ealing and Hammer studios. 

It starts with a big city detective bored in his new post in a quiet village – a sure tip of the hat to Hot Fuzz – but things unravel. It’s not just the murder, it’s the villagers. There’s something eerie about their reactions, and there’s clearly more going on. It’s not just scratching away the surface, it feels like it’s scrabbling at the surface with twisted, broken fingernails, trying desperately to reveal… well, I guess we’ll find out what gets revealed when the full project is out there. 

I look forward to it – it has the same kind of feel of the old Village of the Damned movie, that eerie Wolf Rilla version from 1960, or perhaps something with a dash of Quatermass. That’s the joy of a preview – you never know quite which way it’s going to go. But I’m tantalized! Bring it on.

The Kickstarter launch event is being held on Tuesday, July 11. I'll doubtless be there to chat with the Mad Robot crew, and as it's all being held on Facebook, so can you be. Stop by and say hello, and see if you fancy popping a few notes into the Kickstarter jar.

The event is here.

COMICS REVIEW: Cadavers issue 1, Squirrel Girl Vol 1 & Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol 1

Taking a look away from the pages of books, Altered Instinct dives into the pages of a few comic books of recent times, starting with Cadavers, from Mad Robot Comics.

Cadavers, Issue 1

Cadavers is the new comic from Mad Robot Comics, whose Madhouse comic I so thoroughly enjoyed last year.

The Cadavers crew - the cast, not the creators - are a bunch of spooks and spectres and critters with paranormal powers, and the first issue focuses on the one who feels of least use to the crowd, Doppleganger.

When not lurking in the pub or discussing politics, the crew moves to take action against those who would subjugate them now that they are a part of functioning society. Yup, this is a world where grabbing a drink at the pub might just make you cautious about asking for spirits.

With cracking art by Ed Bentley, the story unfolds in two parts really - one part where the team swings into action intercut with discussions back at the bar. Their plan is a little ill thought through, though, as things begin to unravel.

It's a thoughtful read, and kudos to Matt Hardy for interweaving politics which sadly resonate with current events without being too heavy handed. The action zips by - although with one stray moment where I wasn't entirely clear what was going on. That didn't hold the comic back, though, or derail the storytelling, and Doppleganger's face shifting powers are a source of confusion aplenty for his opponents anyway.

It's a strong start for the comic and I'll be keen to read issue two - for which a Kickstarter is running.

AI Rating: 4/5

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, volume 1

I used to love Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur - so when Marvel had a bargain offer recently on the first volumes of a selection of their recent titles, I was tickled pink to see the big beastie had been given a reboot.

This time, he has a new companion - Lunella Lafayette, a pre-teen genius stuck in school and fretting about the Terrigen mists of the Inhumans until time travel weirdness lands her hanging from the teeth of Big, Red and Roary.

Tumbling through the timewarp along with Devil Dinosaur are a bunch of Moon Boy's rival little furry humanoids, who proceed to cause havoc while moving in on the territory of the Yancy Street Gang and anything shiny they happen to find along the way.

The trouble is, it all feels so thrown together. Lunella isn't convincing at her supposed age, and the scrapes she gets into feel manufactured - while somehow she has a secret lab stashed away too. The time travelling humanoids come across as being stuffed in there because Lunella needs some source of conflict, but it's all very unconvincing. Throw in an obligatory guest appearance from another title - Hulk, in this case, picking a fight for no apparent reason other than to feature in the comic - and it's all a bit weak. Which is a shame, because there's potential here.

AI Rating: 2/5

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, vol 1

I've long loved Squirrel Girl as a splendid slice of sillyness in the Marvel Universe, and Ryan North really hits the ground running with the first volume of this series. Singing the Spider-Man song but with Squirrel Girl lyrics, our erstwhile heroine quickly takes care of some minor ne'er-do-wells as she takes centre stage.

Our delightful Doreen is off to college, and the misadventures in roommates and in love are balanced nicely alongside the occasional need to save the world from Galactus. Yes, Galactus, the guy who chomps planets. What can a hapless girl with squirrel powers do in the face of overwhelming power? Hey, this is Squirrel Girl, she's unbeatable.

Light and fun in all the right ways, and yet with moments of surprising thoughtfulness and substance, this is a smashing read. If ever Squirrel Girl has been on your radar, then to miss out on this would be... nuts?

AI Rating: 4/5

Matt Hardy talks Cadavers. The comic, not the actual bodies.

Matt Hardy is the evil cackling genius behind Mad Robot Comics. Well, one of the evil cackling geniuses (genii?) alongside Edward Bentley. He's been in these parts before, but he stops by as the team is midway through its latest Kickstarter, for the Cadavers series.

Welcome back, Matt! For those who haven't caught your previous visits, a quick recap – you're one of the founders of Mad Robot Comics and busily starting to make a presence thanks to your Madhouse comic and now, you're midway through a Kickstarter for your new project Cadavers. Tell us a bit about the new project. 

Cadavers is a 5 part series - each issue focusing on one of the 5 main characters - these are outcasts, misfits…. but like the best comic-books these outsiders have superpowers. Mystical cool superpowers. 

Our first issue, Cadavers: Doppelgänger, concentrates on the attempt by the Cadavers to hunt down and confront Marckus North - the head of the media empire that exploits the public's fear of the Cadavers for profit and power.

I know I keep re-using the tag line Smokin’ Aces (the film) meets X-Men (the comic - not the film)  - but it does the trick and kinda sums up what we are aiming for. 

So you've hit full funding on Cadavers and are into the stretch goals – what kind of bonuses can people investing see?

Well I blinked and we smashed the first stretch goal - a copy of the Mad Robot Comics Digital Sketchbook - all the short stories and concept art we have produced over the years in one handy place. Some amazing stuff and some stuff that I hoped would never see the light of day…..

Stretch Goal 2 is when we reach £3,000 - it’s a special 3-page introductory Cadavers tale staring Bogeyman that we will release digitally to ALL backers. 

Stretch Goal 3 is for £3,500 so we can include the extra 3-page story in the physical edition of Cadavers 1: Doppelgänger (adding extra pages at no extra cost).

I think the main Kickstarter rewards that are getting the attention this time fall into 2 categories. Firstly the personal stuff - a chance to appear in the comic or the chance to design a monster for one of our spin-off comics. Secondly the money can’t buy stuff - Edward’s original art, his postcard sketches, the Trading Cards and a Pop! Vinyl version of the first issues’s focal character -Doppelgänger - not available in any shop!

Mad Robot is broadening its scope, I understand, and featuring new titles by new writer and artist teams rather than just you and Edward Bentley now, is that right? Who's coming aboard and how many new titles are there?

Well Cadavers is our main focus, but we have several other projects in development. Edward has decided that he can do a much better job than me and so is both writing and drawing his own solo project ‘Skate or Die’ - considering I can’t draw I have to agree with him. We also have a 50 page One-Shot/Graphic Novel called ‘Murder Most Mundane’ and a planned 5 issue series called ‘Night Terrors’. 

Did the creators come to you or did you approach them? How did that come about?

As I’m sure you know, there are just too many stories you want to tell and never enough time to tell them, so I roped in some help. ‘Night Terrors’ came from an idea Ed and I were knocking around about little kids fighting back against the monster under the bed. I roped in a script-writer I knew called Jordan Thomas and we put together this Stephen King/gang of kids rescuing their friend from an otherworldly monster story. Yeah I kicked over some furniture when ‘Stranger Things’ came out - but although the themes are the same our story is thankfully different. Jordan took our concept and created an amazing world of fully fleshed out characters that everyone should recognise and relate to. 

I knew an artist from a few years back - Dan Earey - he is amazingly talented, his work is simply stunning - he is fairly new to comic stuff - but wanting to break in, to learn. He knocked the ‘Night Terrors’ character designs out of the park so all 3 of us are currently working on putting a first issue together. 

For ‘Murder Most Mundane’, the co-writer, Ash Deadman, came to me. I loved his pitch of explaining why so many small villages (in programmes like ‘Midsummer Murders’ and ‘Miss Marple’) have such a high murder rate - and yet no-one seems to notice! I helped Ash develop the concept into a graphic novel plot and I’m sharing scripting duties. Ash brought with him Clark Bint as an artist - Clark’s work is subtle, detailed and eerie - his character work and story telling instincts are spot on as well - so perfect for the story and the book is going to look amazing. 

I've really enjoyed Madhouse – will there be a return to that world at some point? Or is that adventure done? 

‘Madhouse’ was such an intense project that Ed and I basically swore off ever doing it again - after every issue! But we kept coming back to Andy and his mental adventures. I have a bunch of unused ideas that didn’t make it into the first arc that we may revisit - so I expect you’ll see Andy down the line sooner or later. It’s always fun to spend a little time in the Madhouse :)

The previous Kickstarter obviously went well – but in terms of response to the finished product, what kind of feedback and reviews have you received?

It felt like dropping down the rabbit hole… and then dropping down it again…. and then again - that was one of my favourite quotes on ‘Madhouse’. We are never going to say no to a Lewis Carroll comparison. People feeling that it was more like a novel than a comic (I’m still musing over that one), some people saying they felt a little confused (I’m happy with that - that was part of the plan) - but even those who felt bamboozled by the ideas and concepts still say they loved the story and adored the art. 

One of the scenes from Cadavers, the latest project. 

Who's your favourite character from the new Cadavers team?

Generally, the one I’m currently writing. There is a lot of me in the personality of Doppelgänger (issue 1) but I suppose Bogeyman (issue 3) is the character whose backstory I was most pleased with coming up with. The idea of an unstoppable engine of destruction who isn’t comfortable in their own skin is great to write. So is Poltergeist as well - his total mayhem and destruction is so fun to script. And wait till you see the stuff that Revenant can do. Anima’s plot ties it all up, so that will be superb to write. What was the question again ;)

What's your convention schedule? Where can we expect to see the Cadavers popping up? 

Myself, artist Edward Bentley and our web designer Dan Gruitt will be manning the MRC stand at the Bournemouth Film and Comic Con on the 3rd and 4th September 2016, and we’ll be at the Eastbourne Wynter Con on the 1st and 2nd October 2016.

The Mad Robot Comics team on tour, with a table full of material at convention.

Looking back on the past year, you've developed a range of characters and titles now – what's been the most satisfying thing to come out of that process? 

Of course I’m delighted with the response Cadavers has received. The Kickstarter is running away from us and people are loving the concept and the art. It’s getting the response we hoped for and very much putting us on the map. But from a personal point of view, just having the opportunity to work with other creators - help develop their ideas - they’ve been some of the most rewarding experiences of the last year. 

And after this, what next? What's your plan? 

Sleep. Lots of it. Kickstarters are exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. So maybe two or three hours sleep and then onto the next thing. I believe I have a sci-fi spaceship pitch coming my way from one of the Inklings Press guys. I have a very different taste in comics to this guy, but we both love The Legion of Superheroes - so he gets the benefit of the doubt based solely on that. 

And then it’s onto the Cadavers major motion picture. Aim big they tell me!

Thanks, Matt, and looking forward to your next visit to the blog! 

Thanks again for having me!

You can chip in to the Cadavers Kickstarter here. The Mad Robot Comics team is also on Twitter here. 

BOOK REVIEW: Madhouse issues #2 and #3, by Matt Hardy and Edward Bentley

The team over at Mad Robot Comics have hit their Kickstarter total for their first graphic novel collection of their Madhouse series - incorporating the first four issues. Here, we take a look at issues two and three. There's still time to hop on board the Mad Robot Kickstarter - find out more details here. The project will be funded on March 17. 

Sometimes, there are sentences you can write as a reviewer that completely lose your readers. I'm about to write one of them. Are you ready? Good.

One of my favourite films of recent years is Sucker Punch. There, I said it. Still with me? Excellent. It's not without flaws, I wouldn't even begin to argue that one - its pastiche of pandering male fantasies is frankly too obviously pandering to male fantasy. But what is remarkable about it is the layering of realities. It is a movie you can sit and watch for nearly two hours and still end up debating who the lead character actually is - and which part of the movie was real.

Madhouse, too, peels back the layers on the onion skin of the lead character's reality. Andy Mountbank, fresh from discovering he is imbued with powers that allow him to combat demons in issue one, is on the lamb, out and free from the asylum and being pursued by two wardens in a bus. Cue a car chase that allows artist Edward Bentley to showcase his talents.

But just as Andy thinks he is getting away, up pops a voice in his head, a vision in his back seat and spiders that itch and skritch at his brain filling him with doubts and questions.

I won't get into spoiler territory here but the second issue deals with that chase and the consequences of its finale - which we delve into further in issue three. The third issue is the real harrowing of the soul for our poor hero, forced to face up to the choices he's made, and make a decision as to which reality he should trust. By the end, we are set up for the final confrontation in issue 4. But this is Andy's world, where we don't even know what is real - so who knows what we can trust as we venture into the final segment. One character, for example, has a sudden change of direction that looks suspiciously too good to be true.

I'm looking forward to that last issue, and seeing where we wind up. This has been a bravura piece of storytelling by the Mad Robot team - and you can see they are learning as they go. The lettering, for example, is much clearer than in issue one, while there is still plenty of room to experiment. One sequence of panels is connected by flowchart arrows that - it has to be said - look rubbish on the pdf version as you flip between pages but should look rather spiffy on the printed page.

Will Andy defeat his antagonist in issue 4? Or will we learn that there is no antagonist and it's still all in Andy's head? That we don't know the answer with any clarity makes this story a true joy - I'll be tuning in for issue 4.

You can find out more about Mad Robot Comics on their website, www.madrobotcomics.com, or follow them on Twitter, @madrobotcomics. 

How you can help Kickstart Mad Robot Comics

The good folks over at Mad Robot Comics have gone all in with the launch of a Kickstarter for their first graphic novel collection of their Madhouse comic. We reviewed the first issue of Madhouse here and it's very much worth a look. Without further ado, here's writer Matt Hardy to tell you more. 

Madhouse is the story of a bewildered asylum patient fighting his way through a world of obscene science experiments. 

Madhouse is different each time. Each issue a new backdrop - experimental hospital wards, car chases, post-apocalyptic futures, even a spaceship. Madhouse is a labour of love. 

Writer Matt Hardy and artist Edward Bentley have poured their souls into this work. The nasty, twisted, scary parts of their souls, of course. 

Madhouse is a 120-page full colour Graphic Novel that has just launched on Kickstarter. Madhouse is just a £5 pledge for a digital copy of a 120 page Graphic Novel. A £10 pledge for a physical copy - and there are some higher tiers for those who fancy tons of extra stuff or getting an artist to draw you in a comic.

Madhouse is waiting…..

To find out more about the Kickstarter, click here. At the time of writing, the team is already 1/6 of the way there! 

You can also read more about the team in a Q&A we did with them here. And you'll find them on Twitter as @MadRobotComics. Go say hi. Wish them well. You know it makes sense. 

A Q&A with Matt Hardy and Edward Bentley of Mad Robot Comics

Matt Hardy and Edward Bentley are the team behind Mad Robot Comics, whose first three issues of Madhouse are now available. In addition, they are starting out on the convention circuit - with an appearance in Brighton this weekend. They stopped by the blog for a chat. 

A scene from The Gulls, another production from the team. 

Hi Matt, Edward, and congratulations on the first three issues of Madhouse. How has the reaction been to the comic?

Edward: It’s been surprisingly good. Considering it is our first venture in the printed form, I am really happy with the reaction from everyone. It’s a hard road when self-publishing and promoting a piece of work like this. You initially have only a certain local/friend base to work from and then slowly you feel it start to snowball as you produce more and show it more. And that's where we are now. just starting to get it into more public spaces and conventions and getting a more unbiased view of our work. 

Matt: Positive, but cautious - Madhouse is a little different from most books out there. Structure, style, colour even. It's is written as a showcase for Ed’s art so each issue radically shifts the perspective and the landscape. It’s an adjustment for some. 

To complement Ed's bold, aggressive art I try to write some big moments and shocks into each issue so our hope is that it’s challenging but still a thrill ride. 

Things get messy for the hero in Madhouse...

What's your pitch for Madhouse? What's your one-liner to hook people in?

Matt: Hmmm - “Do you really trust the word around you? - What if it all just fell away?” 
Or “You don’t need to be insane to get Super-powers, but it helps!"

Edward: I'm really liking ‘Complete insanity, its just a state of mind’ at the moment. It's Matt's tagline for the poster and sums up the work pretty well. 

I get the sense that you two have known each other a long while – how long is that, have you always talked comics or has Mad Robot brought you together?

Matt: Hah. We’re both gamers. I got tired of Ed beating me all the time so I suggested we do a comic. Ed’s an artist, animator, painter. I spend my days scribbling story ideas on the back of rail cards and beer mats. Synergy? 

Edward: Matt and I have been friends for a long time now… I’m gonna guess about 12 years but I’m sure he knows the exact date. Matt has always talked comics and I can blag my way through it sometimes. We have spent a lot of time before Mad Robot coming up with stories and small comic strips and stuff before we got serious. Last Exit [Editor's note: Last Exit To Brighton, another project from the team] was the first full-time project we did and i have a real soft spot for it as it really showed the commitment that we both had for making comics.

So what are the comics that you talk about? Which are the ones you're passionate about? And what is it about those comics that you love? 

Edward: This is a pretty sore point for us as Matt is a huge comic fan and I have a few that I love but I am mainly influenced by films and street art. so we do find ourselves crossing swords on comics a lot. But as a writer and artist, I think that works as we are both looking for different things and when they come together they make something that I hope is a little different.

Matt: I read comics across all genres and publishers. I prefer character-driven works, but I admire writers who have the ability to weave multiple plot-lines. Good recent stuff - Paper Girls (‘Goonies' with Girls as I’m calling it), Jason Aarron’s Dr Strange relaunch (a template for the movie I’d say), Airboy (don’t let your wife read it), The Dead and the Dying, Slott/Aldred’s Silver Surfer, Soule’s Lando book, We Stand on Guard, I could go on. I adore comics as a format and there is so much great stuff currently being published. 

I bought Ed a copy of Scottie Young's I Hate Fairyland as I liked the concept and I knew the art would appeal to him. I’m also pushing him to read Fraction’s Sex Criminals. 
I nag Ed to read comics. He tells me to watch more TV and films. We are both right.  

One for you, Matt, on the writing side of things – what are your influences there? Whose comic writing is it you admire and what draws you to their work? 

Matt: Always looking for a way of storytelling never attempted before. Using the written word to expand personal reality. Awed by James Robert’s ability to have a throw away line from a character three years past suddenly take on new meaning and feed back pivotally to the main story. Such dense plotting. Charles Soule has hit the ground running (loved his She-Hulk). Currently I can’t pick up a book by Jason Aaron without having some level of emotional response (in particular Southern Bastards). I’m love the work of Peter David, Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, Jonathan Hickman, Dan Slott, Scott Synder, Mark Waid, Keiron Gillen. How much room do I have here? 

Hah! Think we'll cut you off here before you start organising them into alphabetical order too! Edward, there's hints of Frank Quitely and Jamie Hewlett by my reckoning in your work so I imagine they might be influences. Am I right, and who am I missing from your hit list? 

Edward: You are defiantly right on Hewlett, Tank Girl and the Gorillaz really influence my colour palette and my over-exaggeration quite a bit. As for Quietly, I don’t know masses of his work but I remember the day I read his Batman and Robin books and just being in awe of his use of sound effects… I definitely need to read some more. As for other influences, Ramos’s ‘out there’ had a big impact on my work, his bold lines and crazy mouth shapes really helped my style progress and I hope as time goes on I can marry these all together into something just as special. I can’t really talk about influences without mentioning Terry Gilliam. He has always had a huge impact on me and my work and even when I look at madhouse now, I can see Bruce from 12 Monkeys in the main character, Andy.

The work of Jamie Hewlett is an inspiration to Edward Bentley

Sticking with Edward a moment, I come at things from a writer's angle (and have a tremendous envy of people with artistic skill such as yours!). As a writer, I read other people's work and think wow, love how this person writes, and try to figure out how to incorporate some of the better things they do in what I do. Does the same process hold true from an artist's point of view when looking at how other artists draw their work? And if so, what is it that you've tried to bring in from others, and what was it that wowed you about them? Clearly, by the way I've phrased that, this may be a question you may tell me I don't know what I'm talking about... 

You are correct. I may have answered a lot of this already, but my art is a collage of all the bits and pieces of ideas that I like from others' work, and by doing that you then add to them and if they work they become part of your style and thats how I evolve. Like before with Quitely’s sound effects, when I attempt effects, I will look back over the really good ones that I found for ideas and hopefully pull off something that has the influence but looks like me. As a current example, I am currently using a Hewlett image that i love to help try and help me bring depth to upcoming projects. When I look at the piece, I am blown away by the sheer depth to the image.

I like that. As an aside, my favourite ever sound effect in comics came from an artist's visit to a convention in Japan. As a hero punched his opponent, he snuck in the name of the city hosting the convention, "Sapporo!" as a sound effect! Back to Matt, have you done more writing for comics or in other story formats? How do you find the difference between the two?  

Matt: I have laptops full of short stories - I just don’t have the attention span for an actual novel. Comic-books are not restricted by movie budgets, format restrictions or even that many rules. Comics have the potential to deliver so much information in such a short attention window, to drive home a concept in it's purist form. 

So I find myself drawn to writing in that format.

This is the first publication for Mad Robot Comics, yes? How did the creation of the new imprint come about?

Edward: Madhouse is our first printed comic under the company Mad Robot, yes.When we started making Madhouse, we had to make social media links for it and we already had ones for Last Exit and so it was just a natural decision to have something to pull all our works together under one heading, and Mad Robot Comics was born.

Matt: We’d put out a bunch of comics but needed a marketing identity. We got tired of fighting over a name when drinking. We were nearly Torchlight Comics or Axoim Publications. Ed suggested Madhouse Comics (after our main title), I love giant transforming Robots and somehow Mad Robot turned up. As soon he is done with Star Wars, JJ Abrams is going to sue the pants off us. 

I won't tell JJ, your secret is safe with me and Twitter. You also have a project called Last Exit To Brighton – tell us a little about that and how it came about?

Matt: If I remember correctly, Ed drew this great picture of two oddball detectives on Brighton Pier. I had this heaven/hell/serial killer story all plotted out and I really wanted to write characters with snappy back-and-forth dialogue. Things just clicked. 

Edward: Up until Last Exit, we were just mucking about with small projects and short titles that never really achieved anything. I don’t remember exactly how it came about but I think we had both reached a point where we needed to do something more… something more substantial and I think I said how about a post-apocalyptic Brighton and Matt ran with it and created something quite magical. Last Exit is one of those pieces where Matt's writing is loose and exciting and really fun to read and my art is a little too rough to keep up in places but like I said before, I have a real soft spot for this piece.

Matt: Last Exit was a learning experience for both of us. There is a lot to love and a lot to cringe about - but as a fully realised story with a beginning, middle and end, I’m proud of it. 

And future plans?

Edward: Lots of secret ones…. seriously though we have got to finish Madhouse with a big finale in issue 4. We have just released a new small Hitchcockian comic called The Gulls which may lead to something exciting, and we also are working on reimagining an old and loved idea from our past… very excited about this one.

Matt: I wrote an 12-page introductory comic called “The Gulls” for the upcoming Brighton Film and Comic Con. We plan to follow that up. I also dug up a old story pitch called Cadavers that I put a lot of work into about five years back - I don’t think my writing or Ed’s art at that time would have done it justice, but Ed is experimenting with new technology and new ways to approach his art which I think would suit the type of frenetic, action based story I fancy doing.  

I also have eight pages of notes about Madhouse 4 tying-up all the unanswered questions and likely driving both me and Andy further into insanity . 

I think Matt just spilled the secrets there, Edward! OK, end of the long questions! Last two questions. First, what's the best response you've had from people to Madhouse?

Matt: I’ve a friend who's a teacher and runs a comic-book club for the kids in his class. Their kids review was "weird and gory and not like anything we've read before”. Taking that to the bank. 

Edward: I get a lot of good responses about my art but I love it when someone who doesn’t usually read comics enjoys the story we are trying to tell… Matt's work doesn’t get enough credit and I love to hear nice things about it.

And last question – though I'm kind of cheating because it's two – what are you reading at the moment, and what's the best thing you've read this year?

Edward: I am currently reading (it didn’t take long) the first issue of I Hate Fairyland by Scottie Young. Absolutely love it… completely throw away but it is just jam packed full of exciting little bits and style. I could tell you what the best thing I have read this year is but I won’t… the best thing I have experienced this year and the one thing that has blown my imagination more than anything else has got to be Mad Max Fury Road… a masterpiece on all levels.

Matt: I firmly believe that the most groundbreaking, innovative work is coming out of the comics field at present. Again I could fill your website with a list of great comics. The best thing for me at present is IDW’s More Than Meets the Eye - but if I tell you what it's about, I suspect reader prejudice may stop people from picking up a clever, beautiful, brilliant piece of work. 

Instead,  I’ll steer away from comics and just say that currently I’m wading through some Tales From The Mists [Editor's note: Awww, bless you for mentioning our anthology!] and sitting on my desk waiting to be read is The Shepherd’s Crown. I might stop before the last page just so I’ll always have something left of Pratchett's to read. 

I admire your willpower if you can resist! A lovely note to end on. Matt, Edward – many thanks, and best of luck with Mad Robot. 

You can read our review of Madhouse issue one here. You can find out more about Madhouse and its publisher, Mad Robot Comics, at www.madrobotcomics.com. The team is also on Twitter as @madrobotcomics and on Facebook.