London Loves Comics Contraband Review

Given Contraband is mainly set in London, we figured we'd 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 Feature & Interview at HDVideoPro

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."

Contraband Review at Comics Bulletin

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 at France Comics

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

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

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

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.

Contraband Reviewed in Financial Times

We're quite pleased to see that Contraband has been given a short but favourable review by James Lovegrove in this weekend's edition of the London Financial Times. You can read the review at FT.com


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

Grovel UK Contraband Review

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

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

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 from Oakland Tribune

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

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

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

Graphic Novel Featured at Wired.com

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

Gutter Geek Reviews Contraband

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."

Grab Contraband Graphic Novel at SlaveLabor.com

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

Angouleme and Contraband

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..."

Bringing Contraband into Belgium

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

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...