Jamie McKelvie’s Workblog

PWCW: In his Bad Signal e-mail newsletter, Warren Ellis described you as one of the major new talents of the decade. How does such high praise impact you?

JM: I tell the old man to stop talking such rubbish.

Stephanie Mangold at PW asks me some questions.

Oh, also Suburban Glamour #1 has officially sold out. Which is nice.

Just updated the Prints page to include the design used in the header above.

Sold a few of these at the Birmingham show a few weeks back and they really are excellent quality.

Janelle Seigel at Newsarama: Holy crap, I want to marry Jamie McKelvie. Well, truthfully, I want to marry his comic, but… whatever. I think it would be safe to say that Suburban Glamour blew me away. I had seen it initially in Previews and had been intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for just how good of a comic this really is.

James Hunt at Noise To Signal: As his debut “solo” effort, it shows that he’s as excellent a writer as he is an illustrator – McKelvie brings to his dialogue the same kind of fashionable, personality-filled sensibility that his pencilling is famed for. The kids look like kids (excessively trendy, beautiful kids, but kids nonetheless) and the adults look like adults, without looking cliche. McKelvie’s character artistry is undoubtedly some of the best in comics, and that stands whether you’re talking about his trademark Hot Punk Girls, or an imaginary…pokemon…thing.

Paul O’Brien at X-Axis: Granted, the story is fairly familiar, as are most of the elements of teenage life. But it’s very well done, and if the story hasn’t quite hooked me with the plot mechanics, it’s made me care about Astrid enough to see where this is going.

Thanks to everyone who came to the signing last night. It was great to meet everyone, except maybe the guy who thought I was staff and wanted to know where the 10-sided dice were.

Anyway, reviews!

Brian Cronin at Comic Book Resources – Jamie McKelvie’s debut solo comic from Image (McKelvie was the artist on Phonogram) came out this week, and it opens strongly, with some very nice characterization building and an amusing/interesting premise.

Greg Burgas at Comic Book Resources – Jamie McKelvie, the artist and co-creator of Phonogram, one of this year’s best mini-series, finally gets around to Suburban Glamour #1, which I’ve been looking forward to for a while. McKelvie’s art is tremendous – it looks simple, but he gives his characters such expressive and unique looks that you’re just drawn into the story easily.

Graeme McMillan at Savage Critic – This comic isn’t for everyone; it may even just be for people who grew up in small towns with a sense of “There’s got to be more than this.” But as one of those people, and as someone who picked up this week’s books looking for something unexpected and upbeat, I have to tell you that I thought this was really Very Good. (You’ll have to scroll a bit, the direct link to the post isn’t working.)

Kirk Warren at Weekly Crisis – This was a pleasant surprise. Some of the best and most realistic teenage dialogue I’ve ever read combined with a unique and interesting story.

First of all, I am doing a last minute signing at Forbidden Planet, Shaftesbury Ave, London, next Thuesday (18th October) to coincide with the launch of Suburban Glamour #1. I’ll be there from about 5.30pm. Come along and say hi!

Secondly, I was holding off until I got my samples back, and I did just this morning. I have to say, the print quality (and packaging!) is fantastic, and even the basic paper type is good, thick quality. So without further ado:

$25 for a Medium (16″ by 20″) Print

The above print is now available! I designed it at 16 by 20 inches (the Medium option on Imagekind), but the resolution is high enough that you can order one at least double that size and it will print nicely. The price for the Medium size is just under $25, with smaller sizes being cheaper and larger being more expensive.

I can report that the service at Imagekind is excellent, and the delivery speedy.

Thirdly, I’m at Birmingham Comics Show this weekend, along with Kieron.

According to everybody, SG 1 will be in stores next week. So that’s the 17th in the colonies and the 18th in good old Blighty.

I *should* have a few copies at Birmingham Comics Show this weekend but please: if you have pre-ordered your copy from your local comic shop, please honour that and don’t buy it from me.

Suburban Glamour is a 4 issue mini-series, published by Image, that tells the story of two 17 year olds living in a small Worcestershire town, desperate to finish their final year of school and escape to the wider world. I’m not sure if McKelvie was nervous about going it alone for the first time, but if he was then he shouldn’t have been because this first issue is everything a first issue should be and more.

An advance review of issue 1. Hurrah!

In other news, I am appearing at two conventions in the near future. Firstly, the Birmingham Comics Show on 13th-14th October, and then the Dublin Comic Con on November 17th-18th.

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