AND NOW, THE END IS HERE...

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

Have just finished The Valley of Fear!! The last of the Sherlock Holmes novels!

I started out on this awfully big adventure back in August 2008!! And in a little over 2 years and 505 pages later (excluding the 119 page sub-expedition to Antarctica for At the Mountains of Madness earlier this year) here we are!! DONE! Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support along the way! It's been quite a journey. And as old blue eyes would croon... "I did it my way".

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

THOUGHT BUBBLE!!!

Okay - I will be at the SelfMadeHero tables at Thought Bubble - the Leeds Sequential Art Festival, signing copies of my latest graphic novel, an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. There will be also sketches for sale - a selection of creatures from a Mythos Menu which I'll be drawing throughout the day.

Gug

“It was a paw, fully two feet and a half across, and equipped with formidable talons. After it came another paw, and after that a great black-furred arm to which both of the paws were attached by short forearms. Then two pink eyes shone, and the head… large as a barrel… eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse hairs… That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally.” (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath)

THOUGHT BUBBLE THOUGHTS

I will be attending Thought Bubble this Saturday and will be shackled to the SelfMadeHero tables like Kong. People may approach (with caution) and would be best advised not to use flash photography. If you pick up a copy of At the Mountains of Madness I will sign it for you and scribble in it too (a Mythos entity of your choosing or character from the book). And I will be doing that pretty much all day.

Rob Davis (keep an eye out for his upcoming adaptation of Don Quixote - its an incredible comics opus) has written his recommendations on what to buy at Thought Bubble this coming weekend (as he too will be attending and will be promoting Solipsistic Pop3 to which he's contributed the excellent Torturer's Garden) and he's also written a review of At the Mountains of Madness:

Ian's adaptation is perhaps the best of his SelfMadeHero books. Here "Britain's answer to Darwyn Cooke" works in double page spreads and uses the broader space to give us snowy vistas, frozen oceans, alien cityscapes and vast mountain ranges. The writing is stripped down and the book zips by, in stark contrast to the heavy going Lovecraft texts. All is rendered in Ian's trademark style, a kind of Yves Chaland/Frank Robbins lovechild.

As I know from struggling through my adaptation of The Dunwich Horror (which Ian has drawn and, in my opinion, is his best strip work yet!), voice overs are pretty inevitable in Lovecraft comic adaptations. Here the best sequences are where Ian shakes off the voice over and lets the characters play off one another or the action move seamlessly. If I have any criticism of the book, it's really a criticism of the source material - and that's the characterisation. I didn't really care about them. Lovecraft's characters are flat; he's all about ideas and the characters too often become cyphers. What Lovecraft excels at is spiking the imagination with his poison and enveloping the reader with a sense of menace beyond our ken. Ian's version loses non of that. You won't buy a better Graphic Novel or comic at Thought Bubble, don't hesitate to get it.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS!!! GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH!!!

Just picked up a copy of The Observer and Rachel Cooke has picked my adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness as GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH!!!!

It is not only that Culbard has so cunningly boiled down Lovecraft's rather weighty novel, leaving its exciting plot free to breathe; it's also that his superb ligne claire drawings so effortlessly evoke both the world of Tintin, and the Edwardian science fiction of HG Wells and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you are a fan of the golden age of polar exploration – if you still hanker after Boy's Own stories of derring-do – I promise that this is the graphic novel for you.

Here's the online version of the article.

WRITING ABOUT WRITING AND DRAWING AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS - OH, AND A DOC FATHOM UPDATE!!

Just finished writing three blog pieces for SelfMadeHero - the first is about the inspiration for some of the .... design work for At the Mountains of Madness.

The second article is with regard to some of the architecture in the book.

And lastly there's a reasonably lengthy article about the actual process of adapting, which compared to the other two is relatively spoiler lite. But that said - these articles are otherwise spoiler heavy - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

In other news: I was pleasantly surprised by some of the response that DOC FATHOM* has been getting! Now, if only I could find a way to make it so....
*For those only just tuning in....

DOC FATHOM!!

(Doc Fathom ©2010 I.N.J. Culbard)

Yet another pitch never pitched for Zuda - this time Doc Fathom which supposes quite simply that Atlantis never sank (and that it existed in the first place naturally). Very much a pulp adventure story of rather ridiculous proportions. These pages here are sans dialogue - the first page did at one point sport a Doc Fathom logo with the sub heading of Chapter 1. The Beast of '33.

MONSTROUS

(Monstrous ©2010 I.N.J. Culbard)

This is a really old never pitched Zuda Pitch I was trying to get together. One of many. I'd work up a few pages/panels and then get sidetracked with the day job drawing Holmes. Eventually Zuda closed its doors and I missed my shot. Time waits for no man.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS NOW AVAILABLE!!

This is the bookplate I produced for Gosh! A portrait of H.P. Lovecraft sitting in Miskatonic Library. You can get the bookplate edition in the next couple of days. They do have copies of At the Mountains of Madness in stock and if you want a bookplate edition I am reliably informed they will put one aside for you.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVIEWS!!

My adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness is out this Thursday and here's the first three reviews to come in.

The first comes from Ernesto Priego's blog, Butterfly Hunt.

The second comes from Barry Nugent and Geek Syndicate.

And the third from Richard Bruton and the Forbidden Planet International blog.

Additionally there will be a bookplate edition from Gosh! in London.

COCKED, LOCKED AND READY TO ROCK!!

The chap in the middle of this pick, Professor Armitage, has a starring role in The Dunwich Horror (adapted by Rob Davis with art by me), which will appear in Volume 1 of the Lovecraft Anthology coming out next April from SelfMadeHero. He has a cameo in At the Mountains of Madness too, as does the Miskatonic library. I chose to do Dunwich Horror for the Anthology because I wanted to do more with Armitage - Lovecraft's stories are so wonderfully interconnected so my interpretation of Armitage and the Miskatonic library remain consistent.

THE HORROR, THE HORROR!!

Just some of what I've been coloring today from pages I drew for the upcoming Lovecraft Anthology...

In other news, At the Mountains of Madness will be in all good book shops on October the 28th!!

ONE HUNDRED BROKEN FIGHTING MEN

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

Round up the usual suspects.

I have been drawing a lot of criminals today. The Valley of Fear certainly does have its fair share, including head bad guy number 1, the greatest fictional villain of them all, Moriarty!

I do quite enjoy drawing extras - characters that won't likely appear again in the story. Here we have a line up of unsavory associates of that Napoleon of Crime. Pickpockets, blackmailers, cardsharps... each and every one a ne'er-do-well of some description or other.

MORE VALLEY

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

ANOTHER PANEL FROM VALLEY OF FEAR

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

DOWN IN THE VALLEY

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

I have been drawing a lot of square panels lately for our latest Sherlock Holmes adaptation, The Valley of Fear. Here's one.

CERTIFIED MADNESS!!

My advance copies of At the Mountains of Madness arrived today!! Very excited!! Must calm down!! Maybe later!!

Rather pleased with the gate fold cover which means you get pretty much all of that cover I did ON THE COVER!! and not just on the outside but on reverse side too!!

The book is out in just a few weeks time and you can order your copy here!!

KALEIDOSCOPIC & A SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

I'll be attending Kaleidoscopic this Friday where Edginton and I will be talking about Sherlock Holmes.

Have also been in discussion this week with SelfMadeHero about future projects... exciting times! Also I noticed quite a few people have cottoned on to this MEME that's spreading... called an Influence Map. So, without further ado, here's my seven-per-cent solution.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEAK 5

(At the Mountains of Madness © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

This is the full wraparound art for the At The Mountains of Madness cover. Finished the interior art today. Yay!

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 4

(At the Mountains of Madness © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

A double page spread (with ample bleed I might add). Pages 28 and 29 to be precise. When I set about working on this book I wanted it to be significantly different to the Sherlock Holmes books I've been working on. This book was my first opportunity to work in full splash double page spreads and the process has been one I'm certainly keen to adopt for future projects. The scene as centrefold. I've left off the text here because it is a bit 'spoilery' - that said, I've always liked seeing pages with empty balloons. Reminds me of what reading comics was like before I could read.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 3

(At the Mountains of Madness © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE POWYS

I got back yesterday from the Guardian Hay festival in Hay-on-Wye where Edginton and I did a talk about the Holmes books we've been working on for SelfMadeHero to a packed out tent of 200 people (it was originally supposed to be 50!)

And I have to say, the festival organisers and our publishers, SelfMadeHero, looked after us tremendously well.

Hay-on Wye is a book town. The first of its kind. Richard Booth (the King of Hay-on-Wye) changed Hay from a small market town into a book town for book lovers and it's full of second-hand bookshops. Had I died and gone to heaven? It was an almost surreal experience. And Booth's own bookshop itself is absolutely wonderful. I was stood in the theology section when I was approached by the bookshop cat. I was so giddy with the idea of being in a small town with millions of books it wouldn't really have been such an unusual occurrance if the cat had asked me if I would have liked a glass of red wine!

Glorious bliss. I hope to return one day.

LAUGHTER IS NOT THE BEST MEDICINE

So.

I attended the Bristol Comic convention this year. Just 10 days after another hernia operation. I thought I was fine. No heavy lifting - had kept myself sensible for a good few days and not raced back to work - I had rested! Little did I know that meeting up with HUZZAH!! squadies at the con (the likes of my dearest brethren, Colin Fawcett, Dave Taylor and Rob Davis) would result in me ending up in Bristol A&E on Friday night. And why? All because Rob Davis cracked a joke that made me laugh SO hard I actually did quite literally bust a stitch. We were sat in the bar in the Mercure Hotel and after an evening of raucous laughter I got up and noticed a flowering circle of red blood appearing on my t-shirt that signaled I was bleeding and quite badly. So Col, gawd bless him, ensured I got to hospital and got sorted. The night ended with me at one in the morning getting patched up proper and sent back.

But this of course meant that on the Saturday I could not lean over a desk in the traditional hunched manner of an artist and do sketches for people. And for that I apologize. I only wish I'd had the presense of mind to those who asked to say 'but if you find me at the bar do say 'hey, how about that sketch' because the bar counter is higher up = no leaning involved I could quite easily do a sketch - but alas no.

Anyway. More now on who I met:

Simon Gane. The illustriously illustrated illustrator. Lovely chap. Helped me narrow down my choices of tattoos as he has many and they are marvelous.

Garen Ewing. Equally lovely chap. Flattered he thought I would look like Holmes (I suspect he was disappointed).

(The Sign of the Four © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

Interesting conversation regarding goofs! Fair play. Managed to nab a copy of Rainbow Orchid vol.2. Just beautiful.

Overall a lovely time was had even if Friday night was a bit of a horror. Bought a lot of books from Cinebook as has become traditionally the case. They're set to start publishing Valerian & Laureline in July and I cannot wait!!! Only wish I'd got to speak to Geek Syndicate. Damn!! Maybe next time, gadget!!!

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 2

(At the Mountains of Madness © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK

(At the Mountains of Madness © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2010 SelfMadeHero)

AND WITH STRANGE AEONS...

FROM THE CRYPTIC REALMS OF ICE AND DEATH...

A STUDY IN SCARLET - GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH

A review of A Study in Scarlet appeared in The Observer last Sunday, declaring it Graphic Novel of the month!

"Culbard and Edginton are adept at concision... I relished every page”
- Rachel Cooke, The Observer

Also, Richard Bruton over at the Forbidden Planet International blogged upon the books release:

"SelfMadeHero’s Sherlock Holmes is turning out, thanks to the combined brilliance of Mssrs Conan Doyle, Edginton and Culbard, to be a wonderfully entertaining series of books. I can heartily recommend them and I’m already finding myself lamenting the fact that there are just two more in the series after this."

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (cover)

Sneak peek of the cover for At the Mountains of Madness from SelfMadeHero which you can find over at their brand new site.

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERLOCK HOLMES

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

(The Sign of the Four © 2009 SelfMadeHero)

HUZZAH NEW YEAR!!

And now 2009 is the year that was. 2010 is upon us. And Arthur C. Clarke's wrong yet again.

And its been a blast. I thought 2008 was all about big changes?!?! Wow. Hit the ground running at the turn of 2009 with a chunk of the as-yet-to-be-published Hound of the Baskervilles under my belt but with a good solid month and a half of really hard work ahead of me before I turned it in. By this point my wife and I had discovered much to our delight that another baby was on the way and then almost as quickly as work on Baskervilles had ended then work on A Study in Scarlet was underway. In the middle of it all I got to work with Rob Davis on a Doctor Who story for the 2010 Doctor Who Storybook. I had my studio built/converted and I moved in to finish Study in Scarlet. Then just as I finished the book the baby (a boy!) was born!! Not too long after that I learned I'd be doing my first solo book (At the Mountains of Madness) as work began on The Sign of the Four. And right at the tail end of the year CBBC called me in to help with the visual development of a new TV show - So there you have it. 2009 in a nutshell. My feet have barely touched the ground.

And during all this two HUZZAH!! blogs have been rumbling along. There's the main HUZZAH!! which this year has evolved into HUZZAH!! Part 2 (or rather HUZZAH!! VENGEANCE OF VOLDAR) and there's HUZZAH!! NOIR which started back in April and concludes this April. So.... busy busy busy!

New Years resolutions: Well I don't smoke, and I'm a moderate drinker (I enjoy a glass of red wine with a meal and rarely drink beer now... not having hangovers when you've got two kids is a plus), but I do need more fresh air, more exercise. I sit at a desk all day so that'd be the first one. We live a stones throw from a choice of country parks (we even overlook a large recreation ground) so I'm going to be getting those shoes on more often and going out with an audiobook on the ipod and a notepad of course ;-) Also, I cook but I'm not an amazing cook. I want to learn three dishes and learn to cook them amazingly well. Oh and blog more frequently. Naturally.

Roll on 2061.