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Underground > Comic Books >

Phonogram: Rue Brittania

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uncle retrospective

16:23 / 22.08.06

Anyway, I fucking loved this book! I will come back later and explain myself but for now HURRA!

19:22 / 22.08.06

Dun Santiago was my 'nick of choice too.

1. Issue 2? The Masculine Principle doesn't actually turn up at all in the mini-series (Though there's not actually *one* masculine principle in my little cosmology). In fact, that there's Gods of philosophical stances opposing or even antagonistic to the Goddess is very much left alone for another day.

We do get some more Goddess action though. In the first page even:

nedrichards is confused

19:28 / 22.08.06

So, I'm going to be a bit of a fool here and ask, where exactly can you get this goodness? I've never actually bought a genuine actual comic (outside of trades, of which I have loads and which come though amazon). I'm in London and spent my time searching through Forbidden Planet Croydon (amnongst other dubiousness) last weekend trying to find it without success. The internet only wants to sell me issue 3 or 4 which is great and all, but not exactly what I'm after.

Hope me webmaster!

(oh and if jarvis cocker isn't in this somewhere I may cry and/or petition for future series)

19:33 / 22.08.06

Any shop in London should be able to get a copy for you. They hopefully will be reordering some more anyway, but if you ask them they will. GOSH certainly will.

If not, Page45.com in Nottingham does a good mail order.

Re: Cocker. Yeah, there's some Cocker. Not as much as I'd like - I probably better not say why there's not more - but some. Hell, I'd like to do a whole comic on Pulp.

Cowboy Scientist

20:29 / 22.08.06

I actually studied theban script in my thypography class, and I'm looking issue one's cover... does it say "Give De Revenge" up there on the wall?
(p.s.: It's upside down, it took me a while to realize that.)

06:50 / 23.08.06

so, what, flyboy used to fancy the drummer? or the dark one? she pinched my bum once at a david devant gig (ouch - don't put them in the comic), impressed perhaps because my dye job and fake fur coat were even nastier than hers.

oh, and 'fuck off' on the body types thing - i'll take em big and small, but there was some real chinny grimacing going on in kenickie's rhythm section.

14:03 / 26.08.06

Finally set up a proper collection of all the reviews of PG over on the site, which links to all manner of people's takes.

20:51 / 27.08.06

Kieron, finally got around to reading it. very good stuff. a body of Ellis, a heart of Morrison, ambience and themes I'm a bit familiar with. nice! [my girlfriend says I'm almost like Larry David in that CURB episode when the girls see him as a "friend of lez", as he hangs with them so much... until he screws up]

cheers to Mckelvie as well. those grays, the Goddess... loved *loved* Emily, hope she gets to appear more. or get a spin-off, all very welcome.

i was intrigued to see the conflict also centered around in themes of Masculinity / Femininity, DK being the übber... prick. there's a great novel [in Portuguese only, I suposse] called THE LILITH STRATEGY in which the main character is haunted by a large cast of all kinds of girls, most of them reflecting aspects of his own anima, the Lilith spirit, manifested in ayahuasca experiments.

until he learns how to come to terms with it and embrace that voice. pretty cool stuff, and I can see maybe a similar direction here.

never thought Kenickie had such a name; the things you mention about them always kind of attributed to Lush; I'm probably off again or Kenickie wasn't as big here as it was in he UK.

yesterday I started to put together a mixtape from the musical refferences in #01 to spin at my next DJ night and see how it goes on the dancefloor. some cool tunes. "Nightlife", so powerful. you fancy My Bloody Valentine? no exactly from the BritPop period, but it's always been magickal to me.

11:27 / 28.08.06

"loved *loved* Emily, hope she gets to appear more. or get a spin-off, all very welcome."

If we get to do a second series, one of the current shortlist has Emily as the lead character. Working title: "The Word 'Girl'".

Re: Kenickie/Lush: I think one of the interesting things is how bands mean different things in different places, and those ground level readings of things can really matter in terms of how they change people's lives. It's another reason why I try and make the story more about the effect of music in a specific place to specific people rather than a top-down "Pop Stars Are Magicians" approach. I think, anyway.

My Bloody Valentine are, as you say, fucking awesome.

Hope the set goes well. Will be interested to hear its effects.

KG

09:55 / 30.08.06

stolen from Fraction's forum:

Regrettable Juvenilia

13:49 / 30.08.06

Auuwwww. The nuclear urban youth pigs will be running through the city toni-hight.

I wonder if that cover will set the cat among the pidgeons at the local Android's Dungeon.

14:33 / 30.08.06

One can but hope (that each cerebellum is stabbed with a curious quill.)

p.s. In case anyone was as stuck as I, that's Suede 'Suede' referenced this time.

14:48 / 30.08.06

"I wonder if that cover will set the cat among the pidgeons at the local Android's Dungeon."

Almost certainly. We expect our sales in the mid-west america to just... drop.

It's a courage of our convictions thing. It was either do it like that, or not at all.

(I laughed myself sick when Kitten showed me the inks for it, and had to immediately open a bottle of wine)

23:23 / 13.09.06

apparently #2 is out today.

01:26 / 14.09.06

Not for me. Arrrse.

08:26 / 14.09.06

You in the UK or the US?

KG

09:25 / 14.09.06

US, California. Previous issue was also delayed a week from proper release, so it could just be the shop I go to.

13:17 / 15.09.06

Is the new issue out in the UK? It wasn't on display today, and I did mean to ask in the shop, but ... well I don't really like to talk to those people, you know?

13:31 / 15.09.06

It seems that one minute you'd be passing the time of day about the new 'Civil War' or 'Red Sonja', and then the next it'd be Four in the morning, you'd be in Clapton or somewhere, and Captain Jean Luc Picard would be 'making it so' through a thin veil of something that looked a bit like wallpaper paste, but actually ... wasn't.

But perhaps it's irrational to fear the guys in the shop so - With hindsight, I should have said something.

Essential Dazzler

15:27 / 16.09.06

I love this book. I came for McKelvie but I'm staying for the magic.

Hitting my teens just as Brit-Pop died, I assumed that I wouldn't be in a position to "get" this book, and to a certain extent I don't. I only catch about half the references, and I'm still yet to hear a kenickie song. But Phonogram makes me FEEL things, every single page evokes joy, or shame, or excitement, or.....lots of things.

The historical musical context is there for those who'll get something personal from it, but it seems Phonogram, at it's heart, REALLY IS about Music as Magic.

Sorry, still giddy from #2

22:13 / 16.09.06

I didn't see #2 in NYC this week...could it be that it the above-discussed delay affected a lot of US shops?

A beautiful tunnel of ghosts

18:01 / 17.09.06

I've been trying to buy issues of this since they came out, but my LCS in Glasgow told me yesterday that they only had one copy of Phonogram 2 on the shelves on Thursday and would have to reorder it. I've also had problems buying Fell and Casanova.

00:15 / 18.09.06

Yup, both my Glasgow locals were sold out when I checked today. Have to get in with the reorder.

Sounds like it's doing quite well then.

07:26 / 18.09.06

Our orders aren't bad at all, but since issue 2's orders are always down on issue 1, since people had problems getting hold of issue 1, it's only going to be worse with 2.

Issue 3's orders are back up to just beneath issue 1, which is really exciting. Standard curve with a mini would be another small drop then stabilisation, so we're definitely doing well.

(Which implies that they'll be reordering 2 fairly heavily. Hopefully anyway.)

The frustrating thing is knowing how much better we could be doing if only shops actually ordered enough copies in to begin with. Story I tell is two shops in Bristol (and the comic's set in Bristol, so it's a relatively easy sale). One ordered 40 and the other ordered 4 (And 3 were for one person who asked specifically). Both sold out but... man!

(I also am quite touched by someone calling GOSH asking after it and being told "Oh God! Not Another one")

Good luck in finding a copy anyone searching. I think it's a step up from the first one, so hopefully it'll be worthwhile.

01:28 / 20.09.06

Is there a plan for a trade in place, in case issue 2 doesn't ever surface for some of us...?

09:14 / 20.09.06

Yup, there's a planned for March next year. Which is exciting.

We also suspect Image are going to reprint the first two issues.

KG

14:53 / 21.09.06

got it at goddam last, from those nice chaps at GOSH and have in fact joined the fatbeard fraternity and got a comic on order, with a little bag and name and everything.

very good too, well worth the wait, particularly enjoyed the pithyness and focus of it.

now as i was reading it i thought 'i bet anne marie from amp would love this' and there at the back was a thanks to to her. made me feelwarm and weird.

only criticism was...suede? i would put them next to kula shaker on the spectrum of bad things that happened to guitar music in england. the very worse of suburban wannabe bohemiams from an aesthetic point of view and hollow whiney bowie knock offs musically. still, got to be one fly in the ointment. loved it though, would buy copies for all my friends but that was the last in the shop...at least i got one this time.

18:19 / 21.09.06

you can't deny that, no matter what anybody makes of them, Suede have marked the subconscious minds when you think of Britpop...

10:22 / 25.09.06

Suede don't touch the main narrative that much, though there are a handful of nods. The cover, we thought, worked particularly well for at least six reasons, some related to the story, others on a meta level and others on a meta to meta level. And there's a simple joy to lobbing a make gay (narcisstic) kiss on the cover of a comic too.

That said, on Suede, there's a rambling essay in the back of Issue 3 which argues how relevant they were when talking about Britpop, in providing a couple of key pieces of the sort of philosophy of the whole thing. Which isnn't, of course, necessarily a good thing.

And Amp's meant to be interviewing me for Plan B actually, which I'm looking forward too. She was the inspiration for the missing Lady Vox in Issue 1 actually...

13:57 / 09.10.06

And the B-side for the forthcoming Issue 3. Free sequential narrative!

01:11 / 10.10.06

ooooooooo hehehehehe

and for fans of the comic, some interesting bit in today's LITG at ComicBookResources.

lonely as a cloud...

08:00 / 11.10.06

Just saw the cover of #6 on ComicBook Resources. My very favourite album of the 90's. Nice one, KG!

09:42 / 11.10.06

For about 5 years, The Holy Bible *was* my bible.

lonely as a cloud...

09:51 / 11.10.06

I know exactly what you mean.

20:09 / 24.10.06

You know, it's an odd one. I don't mind actually posting what's basically hype stuff in most other places with a thread about Phonogram, but for some reason it rings wrong with the Barbelith. Hmmm.

Anyway, swallowing my distaste for being a monster...

The reprints of 1 and 2 are out this week, with Issue 3's actually out next. As a teaser, McKelvie's posted six pages for people to consider.

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