Contraband - TJ Behe and Phil Elliott

Contraband Review in Financial Times

2009-11-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

We're quite pleased to see that Contraband has been given a short but favourable review by James Lovegrove in the London Financial Times.

Contraband is now in the shops and available to order online from the likes of Amazon, Play, Tesco and Slg's own online store.

Playback:STL Reviews Contraband

2009-06-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

A few complimentary comments from Sarah Boslaugh at Playback STL:

"All in all, Contraband is an interesting exploration of the influence of technology on a society not too different from our own, and well worth the effort sometimes required to decode the characters' slang and to keep track of what's going on in the story..."

Check out the review here at Playback:STL.

A Few New Views from Shiny Shelf

2008-10-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

A recent review from Mark Clapham from Shiny Shelf who's comics writer himself (gonna track down his piece from Accent UK while taking care of junior this weekend.)

"It’s all very nasty and disturbingly plausible, tied together with the ‘Fight Club’ style, multi-layered narrative, skipping backwards and forward a couple of months between lead everyman Toby’s violent introduction to Contraband’s founders, and his subsequent attempts to get himself, and kidnapped ex-marine Charlotte, out again. Behe’s script is dense and didactic, but this is justified by the self-obsessed, traumatised egotists in his story, keen to blab and broadcast their every impulse to mobile users the world over, always in search of an audience, never interested in the fate of those used to up their hit counts. To his credit, Behe keeps the voices of all his characters distinct. It’s a very talky script, but as with the comics of Jonathan Hickman (‘The Nightly News’ etc) at least the characters have something interesting to say, without ever nailing down easy answers. Elliott’s art suits the story, and is reminiscent of Steve Yeowell’s clear characterisation and open lines. In a story this talky, following the emotions of the various characters is key, and Elliott, aided by inks from Ian Sharman and tones from Cherie Donovan , delivers clear storytelling both in terms of character and plot."

Booklist Review of Contraband

2008-09-17T02:11:00.000-07:00

This popped up into our inbox yesterday - keep an eye open over the next week or so for some new concept artwork to show for an upcoming project.

"Virtually tomorrow in England and Belgium (and one presumes the rest of the West), real sex and violence rule the media. The mayhem on Contraband, which broadcasts via mobile phones, is so popular that to meet the demand it pays for new content, which has made even, perhaps especially, young kids (their small size helps them video unobtrusively) entrepreneurs of sleaze. Older young (22) “citizen journalist” Toby is discovered videographing Contraband proprietor Tucker doing something (never specified) illegal and is coerced into finding Charlotte, star of Contraband’s top-ranked video, recording her capture by terrorists in Afghanistan. A complicated chase ensues, which Behe and Elliott relate in chapters alternating between London in May and Belgium in June. The talk is nonstop, fraught with tech speak, Tucker’s terminally cynical take on everything, and extreme-entertainment protester Jarvis’ tough propagandizing. Toby digs his own grave deeper by not divulging that he has met (heck, slept with) Charlotte until just before the showdown. At times barely comprehensible, Contraband is a disturbingly plausible vision of future media heading toward wall-to-wall snuff films." - Booklist 2008

Contraband Feature & Interview at HDVideoPro

2008-08-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in Los Angeles, I sat down with HDVideoPro Chief Editor Simon Wakelin to discuss the development of Contraband, working with Phil Elliott and some of my thoughts that went into creating the graphic novel.

Check out an early preview of the three-page feature in the upcoming August Issue, by clicking on the images that follow:

"Q - Do you think snuff videos are the wave of the future “Tyrell Corporations” to foster to a public lobotomized by overt Americana big-dick-look-at-my-gun tv/movie violence?

A - There will always be market for sensationalized violence. People love a buzz – and having the sh*t scared out of them - so this type of content’s qualtity and quality levels will vary according to the number of people paying for it. When creating this story, I imagined this sort of “urban theatre”, where youths prowl city streets secretly film strangers then post these sensational, erotic and violent mobile videos. Men can no longer shower in gyms. Women in dresses avoid seats on trains. Teens run daily exhibitionist mobile blogs featuring candid clips of close friends and family members. But no matter how cool/weird/radical the videos are, Contraband only becomes big business because society demands more and more."

Paul Gravett on David Enker's Neshuma in Transition

2008-07-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

Very cool to see a piece about my good friend David Enker and his graphic novel "Neshuma in Transition" on Paul Gravett's site. David was trapped in an underground train during the 7/7 London bombings back in 2005 and wisely decided to capture his experience in sequential art format.

It's definitely worth checking out Paul's meaty article - folks can grab a copy at Lulu.

London Loves Comics Contraband Review

2008-06-30T02:28:00.000-07:00

Given Contraband is mainly set in the capital, so it's cool to see what Dom Sutton from London Loves Comics thought about Contraband...

"Behe has some interesting things to say about the world we live in and the one we’re heading for and Contraband contains enough good ideas to suggest that he could be a name to watch. His cause is aided by artist Phil Elliott whose clean style is reminiscent of Julien Opie’s work. Elliott's pictures are beautifully simple and provide a refreshing counterpoint to the complicated story...."

Contraband Review at France Comics

2008-06-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a short review from Christophe Colin from France Comics a clever comics lad I met a few months back around the time of Angouleme.

Toby travaille dans un cyber-café et filme par hasard Tucker, un cynique malhonnête à la tête de Contraband, une chaîne de contenus violents relayés par la téléphonie mobile. Sur une trame classique, une personne au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment, TJ Behe promène son lecteur et ses personnages dans un thriller où on ne peut savoir à l’avance ce qui va bien pouvoir arriver. Le lecteur que je suis est resté en haleine tout au long de cette lecture et n’a pas voulu abandonner avant la fin. Le dessin de Phil Elliott ajoute cette touche de réalisme nécessaire à Contraband et complète parfaitement le propos de TJ Behe. Le personnage principal, Toby, évolue même de manière naturelle tout au long du récit, passant de naif à calculateur et Tucker dans le rôle du beau salaud manipulateur décroche facilement la palme d’or, ce qui amplifie les relations entre ces deux personnages et donne beaucoup de densité à cet excellent ouvrage.

BugPowder Reviews Contraband

2008-06-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

A nice bit of ruthless, constructive feedback from John Robbins at BugPowder.

"The antithesis of po-faced comics with inferred depth – which sidestep the writing process courtesy of the tolerance and inherent appeal of this seductive medium – Contraband insistently exhibits meaning and aspires to provide a substantial reading experience..."

John reviews all sorts of Irish/UK small press comics which can found on his blog here.

ComixFan Reviews Contraband

2008-06-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

A recent review from Kevin Sutton at ComixFan. He's from Sudbury, a small city just west of where I was born - and it's really cool to see the GN make it up to Northen Ontario (for reference, it's that vast barren space you see on the Canada map directly above Toronto).

"The whole story is very provoking and is put together well as a straight thriller in addition to the broader morality play. If you have any interest in tech thrillers or thinking men’s stories, this is worth a read...3.5 /5"

Contraband Review at Forbidden Planet

2008-06-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

A recent review from Richard Bruton at ForbiddenPlanet.co.uk.

"For a début fiction writer, Contraband is certainly an inspired book. It’s clear that Behe has written extensively about the facts behind the future tech on display throughout Contraband and his knowledge and passion for the subject shows on every page. Of course, if you hadn’t heard of Thomas Behe before, I’d be prepared to wager you may have heard of Phil Elliott; veteran of the Euro-Brit comics scene. And the art is unmistakeably Elliott’s with that beautifully clean and clear style he’s always drawn in."

Folks keen to read top insights/reviews/news into the UK/global comic scene should also check out Richard's popular blog here.

Grovel UK Contraband Review

2008-05-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Andy Shaw from UK graphic novel review site Grovel pulls out some pros & cons about Contraband giving Phil's slick art a solid 4 out of 5 score.

"Most good science fiction is based on an extrapolation of the future, which has a plausible basis in current society. Contraband’s basic premise does this quite well, starting with internet video sites like YouTube and looking at how they could, eventually, become a nightmare."

Comixology's Peter Jaffe Reviews Contraband

2008-05-08T02:53:00.000-07:00

Peter Jaffe from Comixology recently checked out Contraband and had a few things to say about the GN's artwork and narrative.

"The artwork by Phil Elliott (with inks by Ian Sharman and gray tones by Cherie Donovan) has a cartoony feel that consciously focuses attention on the foreground image; faces of characters standing behind the speaker become progressively less detailed as they move farther back in the panel, while important moments are emphasized by a startling realism....the dialogue is nicely written and entertaining, if unremittingly cynical. It does have the effect of making everyone sound like a philosopher, though."

Contraband Review at Newsarama

2008-05-02T01:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a few words from Michael May regarding the comic...

"There are rewards for those willing to stick with the book. For one thing, Behe has a great voice in all that text. People in Contraband don’t talk the way real people do, but that’s just fine. They talk better than real people do. They tend to go on and on (Tucker especially loves to speechify and given that he’s usually threatening people at the same time, there were several instances when I wondered why someone didn’t just jump him mid-lecture), but they sure are entertaining as they’re doing it."

Contraband Review at Comics Bulletin

2008-04-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

A big fan of Phil's art work, Steven Bari throws a few cooler phrases to describe the script of Contraband at Comics Bulletin.

"Comic artist since 1981, Elliot has incredible skill at capturing placid humanity--the vulnerable, common person--which works very well given the subject matter of Contraband. Elliot’s previous works are similarly humanistic, such as Illegal Alien for Dark Horse Comics. He has a clean line work that is defined by thick inking--giving the page a sketchy look. It’s his storytelling, the intricate detail of a scene and fluidity of the panels that hold this book together. As Tucker, Plugger, and Toby drive across a London intersection, Elliot captures the readers’ interest with elaborate rows of homes that line the thoroughfare--showcasing ordinary life juxtaposed to the three turgid characters whose lives are consumed by mobile video sharing...."

Contraband Review from Oakland Tribune

2008-04-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Randy Myers from the Oakland Tribune threw a few fine words our way in his monthly comics column:

“Cautionary tales about our insatiable appetite to download the misery and humiliation of others have turned into a telling genre unto itself. Behe's twisty take stands out because it's laden with surprises and has an urgent immediacy to it.”

Contraband Review at The Crack

2008-03-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Very cool to see Contraband picked up a recommendation from Newcastle indie mag the Crack this week.

"There aren’t too many graphic novels around that successfully engage with modern anxieties but Contraband is one such work...the real focus - the foreground white noise of a society raised on cheap thrills."

Graphic Novel Review at The Pulse

2008-03-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

Jen Contino at The Pulse dropped us a line a few weeks back regarding Contraband.

Contraband Podcast Interview at CGS

2008-03-06T02:28:00.000-08:00

Last week, the guys at ComicGeekSpeak touched base to discuss Contraband's themes, background and general stuff about how it all came together.

A bit of background into Contraband's dialogue development:

"TB - I wanted the dialogue to mimic the behaviour of youths posting bits of conversation on mobile social networking channels. Looking through these mobile forums, I’m amazed how many users kind of “step up onto their soapbox” - offering up rather raw and lengthy opinions on how they feel about a specific topic. These meaty (and often passionate) digressions are accompanied with personal signatures, banners - perhaps some sort of animated icon or other digital representation of themselves. The characters in Contraband (active, ambitious, mobile savvy) fit into this category of forum users so it seemed appropriate to bring this across into the comic narrative.”

Graphic Novel Featured at Wired.com

2008-02-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

Just had an email letting us know Contraband picked up a recommendaton in the latest issue of Wired online:

"Cell phone geeks will want to pick up Thomas Behe’s new graphic novel Contraband, in which a band of mercenaries return home from war only to get entangled in an underground mobile video network that pays out jackpot-sized fees to sabotage-minded citizen journalists who capture and upload the most twisted, violent footage. The sci-fi thriller unfolds amidst vengeful relationships, insatiable desire, public outrage and mobiles that pack 1,000-volt electric nodes, pepper spray capability and best of all a fully functioning pistol with detachable silencer. Steve Jobs: take note." Todd Jatras

France Comics Interview

2008-02-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

Met this top chap Christophe Colin from France Comics a few months back at Angouleme who scribed a quick interview of Contraband's development. Folks keen to see a french version of a Contraband sample can drop us a line and we'll get a free pdf off to you asap...

Contraband Preview at The First Post

2008-02-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

Here's another short review of Contraband at The First Post...

This is an extract from Danny Graydon's review:

"Eschewing the dark, moody artwork that typically accompanies such stories, Elliott adopts an engaging clear-line style which slickly captures the fast-paced netherworld of phone-video..."

Gutter Geek Reviews Contraband

2008-02-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Contraband will officially be hitting the streets in a matter of days but we are starting to get some advance reviews and here's one that has appeared on guttergeek.com

We're pleased that the reviewer has really got to the heart of our book... here's a little bit of what he's said...

"(Contraband) actually takes us into some murky ethical territory, refusing the easy glamorization of the rawest energies of internet culture. Downloading pirated music isn’t ethically suspect here because of the infringement on record company property rights, but because of the off-shore sites that have set up troubling partnerships with mercenary forces and despotic governments. At its most daring, the book even draws some sharp lines between the Blackwaters of W’s “new” wars and the exploitation of violence and spectacle for entertainment and profit. “People,” folk-hero Jarvis declares to a teaming rally, “we can now confirm that a number of these hired guns are directly responsible for the surge in mobile abuse we are seeing today.” Like the best works in the genre of speculative fiction, Contraband is less interested in the “What If” that frames its narrative, than in approaching the present at an acute angle. And whichever side of the new culture wars shaping up in this 21st century you might find yourself, Behe will provide you little comfort."

Contraband Interview at Comixology

2008-02-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

Peter Jaffe from the comics news and review site Comixology has an interview with us HERE.

Here's is an extract from the interview:

Comixology: In reading Contraband, one of the first comparisons that comes to mind is "A Clockwork Orange". It's a world where kids have taken to committing random acts of violence in order to entertain themselves. Could you tell us about the influences that went into Contraband? And, what inspired you to tell this story?

Thomas: The idea came about while working on a user-generated project at a UK mobile operator. Some sneaky kid had upskirting a woman on an underground train and posted the clip on our network. So while top management were blowing their nut and the tech team began implementing an age-verification layer, I was thinking how some nasty bloke could probably offer a good revenue share to motivate sh*t-disturbing kids to send in more.
I thought up this violent channel called Contraband, a sort of "urban theatre", where youths prowl city streets secretly film strangers then post sensational, erotic and violent mobile videos. So men can no longer shower in gyms. Women in dresses avoid seats on trains. Teens run daily exhibitionist mobile blogs featuring candid clips of close friends and family members. User-generated mobile spy-cam content becomes big business as society demands increasingly radical videos.
But it's also tough to police corrupt individuals like Tucker because it's not in the mobile operator's best interest to do so. They've beaten the government (ID card), internet community portals and banks in the race to create robust personal profile to track people, sell them products, invade their privacy for commercial gain. So it all kind of spirals out of control...

Strip for Me Interviews Phil

2008-01-31T01:12:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to know what films and books Phil has recently been enjoying, then head to Douglas Noble's strip-for-me.com where there's an informal chat with him

Home from Angouleme

2008-01-29T05:24:00.000-08:00

We're back from Angouleme where we met up with a number of European publishers, with an eye to releasing some translated versions of Contraband.

If you ever get the chance you must visit this festival. It was unlike any comics convention we'd been to - Phil will be posting some of his recollections soon.

In the meantime here's a snapshot from the festival:

Contraband is now available to buy from the Slg shop and will be in shops very soon. You can also order from Amazon and many other online stores.

Grab Contraband Graphic Novel at SlaveLabor.com

2008-01-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note from France to let folks know the first few Contraband books are now available at SLG's online book store.

18 Hours...

2008-01-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

That's how long it is until we're in Angouleme. Its been a long-term ambition of mine to attend this festival and I can't believe that its taken me this long to achieve it, considering how close I live to France.

I haven't been able to find out exactly who'll be there but I know that Paul Gravett is going for sure. I haven't met Paul in a while and I'm looking forward to seeing him again and showing him Contraband. I've known Paul since I was a young teenager and we used to visit the monthly Comic Marts in London together - over 30 years ago! - and it was Paul who published some of my early comic strips in Escape magazine, that he edited with Peter Stanbury. Escape was an influential magazine in the 80's and published early work by, and interviews with, many influential artists, including Dave McKean and Eddie Campbell...and José Muñoz, who is the President of this year's Angouleme committee.

This is the front cover of Escape 1 (c.1982), drawn by yours truly and hand-separated by Peter Stanbury (no computers to do that task back then!)...

And here's a link to an article by Paul on the history of Escape

We hope to be able to regularly post observations and pics from Angouleme so drop by again soon. Phil

Phil's in France

2008-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Phil flew to France on Saturday and is staying with his in-laws in the Midi Pyrenees - Lot region before driving North to Angouleme on Wednesday. Here's a photo of him standing outside Restaurant Morgues in the nearby village of Peyrilles, which he used as reference for a scene in Contraband. The scene is actually set in Belgium and Phil also used some artistic licence to introduce trees in the foreground.

It turns out that the owner of Le Morgues, Jean-Claude is a big BD fan and was well-pleased to have his restaurant featured in a comic book. Phil would like to point out that Jean-Claude is no where near as grumpy as the barman featured in Contraband: "We eat at Le Morgues everytime we visit Fiona's parents, and they've been living in France for over 15 years now. If you're in the region, call in for a meal or a beer and tell them that "L'artiste de la Contrebande m'a envoyé"".

Contraband Hitting the Shops

2008-01-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

We're proud to say that Contraband is now printed and heading to shops. The official release date is 6th February, and that's when copies will be turning up in your local store, but we've got some advance copies to take to Angouleme next week. So if you're attending the festival and want to have a look then simply come up and ask - Thomas will be wearing his ubiquitous paisley tie and Phil will be in red.

Angouleme and Contraband

2008-01-14T12:38:00.000-08:00

We've been laying low knocking out a few early interviews for Contraband while finalizing our schedule for meeting French and Belgian publishers at Angouleme next week. We're excited with the response so far as 1/2 dozen publishers have set up a time to chat after liking our blog sample. Phil heads off Saturday to spend a few days visiting relatives south of the city (the SLG folks had our first few dozen copies sent there directly from the publisher!) I fly in Wednesday and after picking Phil up at the hotel, we'll tear straight off to the event. I have to say it's been a tad tough contacting a few of the right people at these publishing houses so we'll start hunting them down in the festival halls the moment we arrive.

Here's a snippet of an upcoming interview conducted with Peter Jaffe from top comic site Comixology talking about our trip to the continent:

PJ - A lot of the story takes place in Belgium, which has a great comics tradition closely connected to the French bande desinnée. Is Contraband being distributed (translated or otherwise) in France and Belgium?

TB - I’d love to get Contraband into non-english-speaking markets. I think the comic’s art and storyline could attract a fairly strong readership in plenty of North European countries. Phil recommended we attend France’s Angouleme BD festival in late January so we’ve picked up some pro passes for the trade exhibition. And couple of nice folks from a social networking site were kind enough to translate our first chapter and synopsis into French & Flemish - so we’ll have something to hand these guys. It’s funny but being a kid growing up in North Bay (near the Quebec border) I studied French until I was 13. And there were lots of European publishers’ BDs floating around in classroom. Casterman, Delcourt, Glenat. Here we are 25 years later and we’re going to show some of these same companies Contraband..."

Phil Elliott Q&A at Comics Village

2008-01-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

In his latest Village Gossip column, UK comics guru Craig Johnson asks Phil 20 rapid-fire questions about his latest work, tastes, the cleanliness of his hands (!?) and this rather nervy encounter with some Watchmen artwork:

"The scariest package I ever received contained a piece of original artwork by Dave Gibbons - a painting of The Comedian from Watchmen for the cover of a UK magazine, Arkensword 22 that I had to do the lettering separations for. I'd never done anything like this before and was shit-scared that I was going to ruin it all. Turned out okay though."

Check out the whole interview at Comics Village - where its Page 45 column has also made Contraband one of the top preview titles for Feburary.

Bringing Contraband into Belgium

2008-01-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

Scanning through the bdangloume.fr site I can see that this is indeed one monster show - it is said to be 2nd largest comic event in the world with nearly 1/2 million fans invading this tiny french town east of Bordeaux. And I'm amazed how many small indy Belgian pubishers say they'll show up looking for unique albums of sequential art. So we've created a Flemish/Dutch version with the help of a solid chap I met on comicspace.com: Rembrand Le Compte - who was nice enough to translate the first few pages into Flemish for us last Fall. He's currently working on his own sequential art and reporting on the latest and greatest of the thriving Belgian market - so when you get a sec, go check him out here.

Contraband Interview at Newsarama

2008-01-01T02:36:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back we spoke with Chris Arrant from Newsarama about Contraband's key themes, the unique experience of working together and some insights around character development and tone. You can read this interview over on Newsarama. Here's a quick excerpt:

NEWSARAMA: Contraband premiered on SLG's Eyemelt.com digital comics website, and the print edition is coming out in February. What led you two to working with SLG, and what are your thoughts of going online first prior to print?

TB: Contraband was originally a 130-min film screenplay but I wanted to touch base with a few professional artists about developing the story into a multi-issue comic. There were many innovative manga and cyber-punk styles coming out today - but I was really attracted to Phil’s work. I guess his Euro-style it’s a bit like the “ligne clair” art many French and Belgian creators focus on.

PE: I’ve got a lot of respect for Slave Labor. They’re one of the few independent publishers that have weathered the various storms that have buffeted the comics industry. I’ve worked with them on other projects and was pleased that they wanted to publish Contraband.

TB: I was very excited when SLG picked up Contraband. Our intention was to release a 140+ page graphic novel in the New Year but when Dan Vado told us about his growing SLG digital site Eyemelt.com we were dead keen to get an issue out there for folks to read online. Click here for more...

Promotion Video for Contraband GN

2007-12-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

We've been in touch with one of the UK's top 3D animation artists to create some promotial video material for Contraband. A preview sample of some early results can be seen on the side panel (INTRO). We're really pleased with what's arrived so far. The artist Koutsoliotas Kostas created nearly all animation material for the BBC in 2007 (Match of the Day, 2012 Olympic promos and heaps of reality TV bits). And he also did some solid work on that Red Star graphic novel/ PS2 video game a few years back. Check out his stuff at www.koutsoliotas.com.

Contraband Featured on ReadYourselfRaw

2007-12-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to discover ReadYourselfRaw has selected Contraband as it's profile preview GN on it's monthly cover. RYR is a favourite site of ours so to have such a top billing is fantastic indeed! Check out www.readyourselfraw.com to see all of Feb '08's upcoming GN & comic titles along with critical reviews and top artist bios.

Final Back Cover Art for Contraband GN

2007-12-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

We finally wrapped up the final touches on the graphic novel and skipped it all off to Slave Labor Graphics over the weekend. Man, what a insane amount of work (but so rewarding!) In the end, Phil came up with this new back cover which I believe does a top job reflecting the mood and tone of the story. Guess that big promotion bit kicks off this week...

Issue One is now available at www.eyemelt.com.

Interview with Canadian comic critic Tyson Durst

2007-12-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, Tyson Durst interviewed Phil & I where we kicked around a few issues relating to mobile phone abuse. Here's how it turned out:

"When people think of contraband, they typically picture illegal goods such as street drugs or guns. But in today’s society, where portable digital technology is commonplace, the distribution of explicit, violent reality content is the new contraband of the 21st century. Writer Thomas Behe and artist Phil Elliott explore this emerging and disturbing underground world in a new graphic novel of the same name." Click here for more...

Contraband Available in Dec' 07 Diamond Previews

2007-12-01T01:37:00.000-08:00

Contraband is now available for order in the December issue of Diamond Preview magazine. It's a fairly meaty pack this month so head into the middle bit to page 197 onto the AMAZE INK/ SLG section, and you'll see our order number: DEC07 3339

Review of Contraband Issue 1 at Paperback Reader

2007-11-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

Avid comic fangirl Moya from Oz dropped me a quick line to say she took some time to review (a very early version) of Contraband. Unfortunately she was working from a raw version we first sent out to a few folks last May to gauge early feedback - we've since sorted out those "rough bits" she picked out in the original sample. That being said, we're pleased she liked what she saw on the whole. Check it out at Paperback Reader.

Contraband Issue #2 Arriving in December

2007-11-13T04:39:00.001-08:00

Issue 2 of Contraband will be appearing on Eyemelt in a few weeks. Watch for some upcoming promo/review stuff with Publishers Weekly and an interview for a cool Canada University rag. And here's a preview page from Issue #3 showing why you might think twice about stashing your mobile into your front pocket.

Persepolis and Promoting Contraband

2007-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

What a top night out - the ICA's final night of Comica in London was one of the best eves I've had in months. Meeting the chaps who created the top webcomic (& now graphic novel collection) Shooting War - followed by a bit of Contraband promo chat over beers with some of the UK's coolest comic types - concluded with the premiere screening of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (this is one fantastic movie). Even got in a quick chat reflecting on the Toronto Comic Arts Festival with Paul Gravett - who was one of the guys heading up this year's Comica event (his site www.paulgravett.com has plenty of info on this and other upcoming festivals).

It looks like the Angloueme festival won't be just fun and games after all. Our pro pass aps were approved so we're heading into the trade fair early to seek out out some foreign publishers for Contraband. Already we've had an interesting chat with a company in the Philippines who's keen to get a trade edition out bookshops/newstands in that country - perhaps sometime in the summer (have to get the english version finished first) In any case, watch for Contraband 6-pages previews in Dutch, Japanese and French popping up here at www.contrabandcomic.com over the next few weeks..

Going to Angouleme

2007-11-04T01:12:00.000-07:00

We've decided that we're going to attend the big comics festival in Angouleme, France next January. This is one of the biggest conventions in the world with over 300,000 people attending over the 4 days and we're really looking forward to going, especially as our book will have been published by then.

Here's a new page. Poor Toby's getting himself roughed up by Jarvis:

Click on the image to see larger version.

Talking Cabs & Contraband with Dave Sim

2007-10-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

A few months back while visiting the folks in my hometown of North Bay, I blasted 350kms down the 400 to check out the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. It was well worth the trip - along with meeting some cool SLG and other comic artists, after (more than) a few pints I managed to get babbling about my old uni town, my part time cabbie job and this funny/cheesy/giant bar called Lulu's with Dave Sim. It was very cool to meet Dave but the truth is I vaguely remember our chat. Thankfully, Dave's decided to recap this rather blurry conversation on his blog (www.davesim.blogspot.com.). Kinda' happy I wasn't that much of a mess!...T

"T.J. Behe who had had a few by that point came up and struck up a conversation and gave me his business card. He's doing a title with Phil Elliott (there's a blast from the U.K. past) called Contraband which will be coming out from Slave Labor "in early `08".

Turned out he used to drive a cab here in town and we started reminiscing about Lulu's. Used to be a K Mart and they gutted the place and turned it into a bar. That's right, a K Mart-sized bar so you know it was the 80s. It was in the Guiness Book of World Records for The World's Longest Bar. I saw Jerry Lee Lewis there, James Brown…a very unhappy Bay City Rollers revival (missed that one did you?), Elvis, Elvis, Elvis (three impersonators). It was absolute heaven for cab drivers since it was way out on the highway so, as he said, wherever the customer was going it was going to cost at least $20 to get there. It wasn't unusual to have 50 cabs lined up at closing time.

The thing that really bothered me was that the place was so huge (how huge was it, Dave?) it was SO huge that if you downed a drink and just walked from one side to the other, you had sobered up by the time you got there. The thing I liked about it was it was mostly civilians who didn't get out much so you could usually get pretty close to the stage without having to step on anyone. I was about ten feet away for Jerry Lee Lewis and James Brown.

Anyway, T.J. is probably hoping that I've completely forgotten him (as you always do when you meet someone when you've had a few) and lost his business card, but no such luck, mate. Check out the work in progress at www.contrabandcomic.com."

Contraband Cell Phone Gun

2007-10-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

We've had a few mails come in regarding the phone gun design on our front cover (the artwork highlights some key features and functionality of a mobile device owned by the story's antagonist Tucker Scott.) Here's the background:

About 8 months, I had a chat with my collegue Marcus Hohl, O2 UK's Device Specification guru about some cops who caught a few drug dealers with a .22 calibre mobile hand gun. I knew he could do better so I asked Marcus to cook up ideas for your worst nightmare mobile weapon.

A week later, he came back with a layout so clever, we kept his orginal design for the cover and even scripted a few extra panels into the story describing how the weapon's functionality.

Here's how the page came out (#29 of Contraband Issue I which you can now download over on Slave Labor's digital comic site http://www.eyemelt.com/.)

Kicking off Contraband Issue # 3

2007-10-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

Some manic page-development action happening over the past few weeks means we've tied-off the second issue and have started developing Issue # III (you can grab Issue # I at http://www.eyemelt.com/ now) It also means we'll have the graphic novel ready for comic retailers to order from their Diamond December Preview magazine (very cool indeed!)

Here's a neat little action sequence Phil drafted up a few days back from the upcoming final Issue...

Review of Contraband Issue #1 from AICN Comics

2007-10-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

A few months back, Ambush Bug from AICN Comics offered up his insights an early draft of Contraband Issue #1...

"Sometimes a book comes along and just knocks you in the gut. IN a good way, mind you. CONTRABAND is a story set in the very near future. Reality TV has grown to massive proportions and technology has advanced to match it. Everything can be recorded with camera phones and immediately uploaded to websites for all to access. Privacy is an obsolete concept and the public has grown hungry for the next shocking thing and their fifteen minutes of fame. This story is a smart and scary vision of where we all may be headed.

At times, the story can get a bit techy, but it only disrupts the momentum of the story slightly. I found the tech-speak to be extremely interesting because it is such a major part of the story. This Orwellian tale is not to be taken lightly. You can tell the writer has done his research. According to writer TJ Behe’s bio, he’s a digital creator who has worked for the BBC, Playboy, and MTV, so it looks like he knows what he is talking about.

The art is equally powerful in its simplicity. Artist Phil Elliot does a great job of evoking powerful imagery with very few lines. Despite the attention to technology, this story has a lot of heart. There is a passion for the material and a moral lesson beneath it all. This is the type of story that will make you think about yourself and the direction humanity is going with its addiction to technology, voyeurism, and fame. - Ambush Bug"
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32680

You can download Issue #1 now at http://www.eyemelt.com/ or pre-order the 144-page graphic novel at Amazon (ISBN number 978-1593621018).

Heading to the Birmingham Comics Show

2007-10-11T02:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we're trekking up from London to Birmingham to attend the International Comics Show. The line-up look super with some massive heavy-hitting global and UK pros/artists (ie...Mike Mignola, Adi Granov and Dave Gibbons) hosting seminars and signing their stuff.

We'll be giving a few previews of Contraband away to folks keen to hear more about our Feb '08 graphic novel release from SLG (you can currently find Issue #1 at http://www.eyemelt.com/). Ian Sharman, the artist completing the inking work for our book is going too and will be showcasing a few of his new titles from his very indie Orangutan Comic label. Hope to see you there!

Slave Labor Press Release for Contraband

2007-10-05T03:07:00.000-07:00

...includes a somewhat twisted but true recap of Phil & I discussing the project for the 1st time...

The Underworld on Your Cell Phone ScreenContraband, SLG's Newest Digital Comic, Debuts

"Some months ago, cartoonist Phil Elliott was approached on the street by a teenage girl asking for money. It's a sad but common enough occurrence in cities, but when Elliott refused, the situation became something much different from anything he'd experienced. "A younger kid -- he must have only been about ten -- started swearing at me, 'Give us some ******* money!'" he recalled. "I was then aware that there was another girl filming all this on her mobile phone. What was going on here? Were they trying to provoke me? What happened to the video?"

The incident took on a greater significance for Elliott when writer Thomas Behe contacted him to see if he were interested in drawing a comic he'd written, which explores a voyeuristic underground where profit-hungry youths prowl the streets secretly filming violence and catastrophes with mobile devices. That comic became Contraband, the new digital comic from SLG Publishing, distributed on their online comics site Eyemelt.com. The four-issue series will begin its serialization in October 2007, and a print collection of Contraband will be published in February 2008. (http://www.slavelabor.com/pages/slgblog.php) "

Contraband Issue #1 now available

2007-10-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Starting today, you can get the first Issue of Contraband at Slave Labor Graphic's digital comic store called Eyemelt (http://www.eyemelt.com/). The 42-page issue can be downloaded for $0.89 using all the standard payment methods. Click on the banner below to go straight to Contraband issue 1...

Actually, you'll find all sorts of cool comics from Christopher (Ghouly Boys), Evan Dorkin (Dork), James Turner (Rex Libris) and heaps of other Slave Labor folks (I was fortunate to meet a few of these fantastic artists last summer during Toronto's Comic Arts Festival).

If you'd like to check out a few sample pages first, go to www.comicspace.com/tjbehe. Best, T

Contraband Chapter I Preview

2007-09-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick preview of Contraband - hope you enjoy! TJ & Phil

Contraband Available for Pre-Order Online

2007-09-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

You can now advance order Contraband at Amazon.com. If you want to order the book from your regular book or comic shop then just quote our unique ISBN number - 978-1593621018 and our names, Thomas Behe and Phil Elliott.

The pencilling continues and here's a new scene where Toby meets Jarvis Stevens for the first time:

Contraband Preview in Comics International

2007-09-20T00:59:00.000-07:00

Caught this cool preview of Contraband a few weeks back. Around May, we skipped off as much script and artwork as we had to a few comic folks to get some feedback on the story, characters and key themes of the project. We see the reviewer Leonie's an artist herself (http://www.lomoore.com/) who's created her own graphic novel - always great to get feedback from someone who's hammering away in this market herself...

"Contraband has a great underlying premise, based around the use/misuse of camera phones, loss of privacy and the boom in the spy cam industry that this generates. That's probably enough for a story, but TJ Behe goes further, weaving an interesting plot around an abducted girl. This is a great sci-fi thriller, written by someone who knows a lot about mobile technology. However, the real stroke of genius was to enlist Phil Elliott as the artist. This adds another twist to the story, giving it a clean and unique feel. Rather than being another dark cyberpunk comic, the style is quite European and very inviting. The first chapter is currently free online and you can also view sketches and development work online too. LO 8/10"

A Bar in Ghent

2007-09-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

Ian came over last night and collected a few more pages to ink. Amongst the pages is this panel:

Toby has managed to escape the den of iniquity that is the XXX Mobile Emporium and has found his way to Ghent. I'm sure Ian is relishing the prospect of inking the bar and WW1 details.

Ian handed over another batch of inked pages last night and we have to say that we're really pleased with the work he's producing, especially as we know he also working hard on colouring books for Markosia, as well as producing his own comics under the banner of Orang Utan Comics. We know that Phil's style of drawing is not what Ian is used to inking and he was a bit hesitant about taking on the task at first, but he has not let us down. We look forward to showing you more pages as we count down to Contraband's release next year.

Belgium Red Light District

2007-09-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a new page from Contraband, featuring Toby about to enter a rather dodgy club in Belgium.

I don't want to give anything away about the story, but save to say you wouldn't want to take your mother here, unless you're mother happens to be Circe, who'd no doubt turn the depraved men inside into beasts for their sins.

*******

In Search of Steve Ditko

Here's a chance to see some excerpts from BBC 4's programme about Steve Ditko, part of their Comics Britannia season. You may be able to see a repeat on TV if you've got cable. Maybe it'll turn up on YouTube.

Its a pity that they never actually get to speak to Ditko himself (sorry about the spoiler there!) but its interesting to hear Stan Lee's slant on the events.

The programme also features Alan Moore reciting lyrics from a song he wrote about Ditko's Mr A - excellent stuff!

Ian's First Inks...

2007-09-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we brought Ian Sharman on board to ink for Contraband and I can say we're super-pleased with the first results:

This chaps' a top inker and we're chuffed he's joined the project. Check out some of his other stuff at comicspace.com/iansharman and his review blog Cyber Hellfire Club at chclub.blogspot.com. T

Classic Snap of Phil and Friends....

2007-09-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

After trawling though reams of online stuff about Phil's past work, I came across this terribly cool pic of him at a convention with Alan Moore, Will Eisner and others.

Not only do I dig this photo for the super-cool "who's-who" factor but also 'cause it seems to show how low-key laid-back UK comic conferences were back in the 80's.

The photo features in an interview that Phil did a few years back at comicreaders.com where he talks about the UK comics scene in the early 80's. T