I don’t think I’ve mentioned this.

Once again the premier free indie-comics thing is happening. And I’m sharing a table with Marc Ellerby. Not Jamie, as he’s up against a deadline, but my comrade in CBGB-crime. It’s at the Pumphouse Gallery in Battersea Park (SW11 4NJ) between 12 and 6. There’s also a hypercomics exhibition, artists talks and lots of stuff. Oh, just look at the site. Do come and say hello.

And while we’re talking, Marc’s Ellerbisms drew to a close today. You can go and read the last episode here. Finishing any long term project like this is an enormous achievement, and he deserves a round of applause. Sadly, the universe is cruel, so he’ll have to make do with a few clicks. Go catch up here.

Features McKelvie and I about 9 minutes into it. Slightly hysterical. Also, mocking of Marc Ellerby - who is doing his final story in Ellerbisms this week, so go see him for that - and the phrase “word womb”.

Out today in the US/Canada, out tomorrow in the UK. It’s….

Thor 610 rounds off the whole Siege arc, and has us finally getting around for the long teased Thor Vs Thor fight. Who will win? Lots of surprises and Doug Braithwaite art. No reviews yet, but a preview is here at CBR.

Secondly, for those who were waiting for the trade…

As well as Billy Tan and my Latverian Prometheus arc, this includes the splendid Sif one-shot by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Stan Lee’s story from Thor 600. If you haven’t read it, Kelly Supersonic’s story was great - I’ve done very little with Sif in my run, but she picks up on exactly the issues that should be dealt with her. Also, features Beta Ray Bill and Ti-Asha-Ra, who was introduced in my Godhunter.

Latverian Prometheus? As the title may suggest, it’s infusing a whole load of Mary Shelly into a Thor/Doctor Doom confrontation. There’s a preview of its opening here.

The first press for Siege: Loki has just appeared on CBR. I have a talk about what McKelvie and I are doing with the God of Mischief in our special, and the first four pages of McKelvie’s art are lobbed up. As well as the above image, which makes me smile to imagine McKelvie crying with some ornate array of perspective rulers or other arcane devices of the trade, I draw you to the attention to the scene with Loki and Norman Osborn. The final panel just makes me smirk. Oh - and love the guyliner, Loki. It suits you a lot.

The issue will be a lot of fun. Dark fun, but it is Loki, after all.

Five page preview. Last issue out next week. Wednesday in the US, Thursday in the UK. Features back-up strips from Becky Cloonan, Nikki Cook, Andy Bloor and Sean Azzopardi. Going out with a party of an issue, frankly. Hope you enjoy it.

Also, news broke last night over at IGN that Jamie McKelvie and myself would be doing the SIEGE: LOKI tie-in. I’m having Jamie bring all sorts of gleeful science to the Asgardians. Worth following the link if only to see the splendid 5-piece cover by Marko Djurdjevic, which is a thing of glory.

Just to see if something works or not…

(Don’t worry - this is so Alec has something hotlinked elsewhere for his experiments with blocking hotlinking)

From Comics Daily…

More here.

Gran Dale passed this morning. She was 89.

She passed with uncharacteristically quietness, peacefully, surrounded by her family. I wasn’t there. Not being able to get back at times like this was the one one thing I hate about living away from Stafford. I saw her a couple of weeks back, and I knew it’d be the last time. It was as sad as you may think it. She lived 100m from my parents’ house in Stafford, and - understandably - was the Grandparent most involved in raising my brother and I. I always try to cook my sausages like she did. I’ve never tried to make soup like her, as I know my limits. She came over to Ireland to work when she was still in the fresh half of her teens. She survived the war - where she claimed she was a suspected terrorist - married twice and raised a proper catholic brood. She died in the hospital-part of my primary school, where she worked as a nurse for some years. She was troublesome, outspoken, ever-impressively sharp, ever-awkward and full of so many stories. Any time we were together, she gave advice. The advice could be simmered down to “live”. It’s the best of advice.

She always claimed she was descended from Irish royalty. She was.

You will only spend it on comics/games/booze. She will spend it on art. And art involving sex workers, which is the finest kind of art in my book.