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...."

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.

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 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...

Promotion Video for Contraband GN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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..

Contraband Cell Phone Gun

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

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

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).

Slave Labor Press Release for Contraband

...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 Chapter One Preview

Here's a quick preview of final version of Contraband Issue I we just sent off to SLG for posting onto their Eyemelt site. Simply click on the page for a larger image. We hope you enjoy! TJ & Phil