Links n Shiz

Wotcha folks

Here is a link to a nice blog written by that Lee with all the links to all the comics we talk about on the latest episode of Small Press Big Mouth - out now for your listening pleasure

Small Press Big Mouth Ep 42 - The Meaning of Grice

Here is the link to a short blog piece what I wrote like for wondrous SFX magazine website

Blog - The British Comic Awards

And a slightly older blog I wrote because I forget to link it here and it's one of my most favourites that I've written

Blog - Supergirl

Also I really recommend listening to this fantastic interview with amazing artist Ron Smith over on the ECBT2000AD website - It's fantastic

Ron Smith Interview



Ok, that's it for now. Please remember if you are submitting for Into The Woods 2 the deadline is Sunday 31st March.

cheers me dears

Podcasting is Brilliant!

I shall be recording a new episode of the Megacast tonight with the Wife Iz and FINALLY a new ep of Small Press Big Mouth with the other Wife Lee on Monday. In some sort of weird celebration here's some pics of me and my podcasting brethren - all photos nicked offa Facebook so if you tagged me I take that as permission to steal - just sayin! :-D

Into The Woods ...AGAIN

The time has come people; I’m finally ready – are you? Let’s make another book!

What I’m doing

After some real deliberation I have decided to stick with the Fairytale/Folklore theme for book two but this will be the last time I think (don’t hold me to that).  There is a definite atmosphere I am looking for in the stories, I will refer you to Into the Woods book one for an example. Prose examples I mentioned last time are anything at all by Angela Carter, Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman and any of Roald Dahl’s short stories, I think these are perfect examples of the tone I am hoping for, also see Porcelain and Unbelievable The Man Who Ate Daffodils in comic form.  And I do want it to have a similar “feel” to the last book. It will be entirely comic - not prose again this time. 

The brass tacks

•  Money – there is none. I can make sure you get a contributor copy of the book and that’s about it I’m afraid. I will tell you that the first book had amazing reviews (a selection can be found HERE )  and I’m very proud of it, as are all of the creators and contributors who were involved last time around.  Any profit (hahahhahah) that is made will be put towards the printing costs of the next book
•  This book will be set up almost exactly like the last one so I'm looking at about nine 5- page stories with some room for negotiation. You do not have to pitch as a team – I am happy to pair up writers and artists and letterers.  If you do pitch as a team and I like one of you more than the other please don’t be offended if I say so 
•  The biggest difference this time around is that I am hoping to do this in colour. Oh yes, colour people - cool eh?
• You can pitch from now or if you’re an artist let me know you’re interested from now and I’ll leave it open until the end of the month and I’ll make all my decisions then. This is a free for all pitch open to everybody so take a chance!
•  You do not have to pitch a full script – you can if you want that is fine, but a decent synopsis is good too.
• The magnificent Andy Bloor has already agreed to design the book again this time around and as he did such an amazing job last time (as well as having to hold my hand a lot!) I couldn't be more pleased.

I think that’s everything but if I have left anything out or you want to ask me anything at all please do get in touch stacewhittle@gmail.com

Strictly Semi Final

This is going to be quicker than usual - this time of year gets busy doesn't it I'm finding it hard to keep up with my Strictly obsession. I have 2 weeks worth of It Takes Two backed up and doubt I'll get to them. Still, here are my quick views on Saturday's Semi's

1) Dani and Vincent - American Smooth/Argentine Tango - Overall Judges Score - 78

The AS was sweet, elegant, pretty and bordering, though never tipping over into sickly. They followed this up with a sexy, sultry and exciting Argentine Tango.  This was very clever, showing two sides of the same coin, sweetness without sickliness and sultry but not sleazy. Well done Vincent, seriously fantastic choreography.The opening was incredible - just starting while the applause was going and before the music, this really set the sexy tone, it was a fantastic decision. I have always adored Vincent for you know Vincent but this year he has outdone himself in his routines and I have loved watching him. He's rocketed up my Pro leaderboard, great stuff.

2) Louis and Flavia - Jive/American Smooth - Overall Judges Score - 69

I did not like this jive. I thought it a bit ...dull. However, I think Louis has totally upped his gameface and his performance was great, I think his pro let him down in this dance, it was not up to scratch and I was somewhat glad that Len (sort of) pulled Flavia up on it. I don't think this is her favourite dance and it showed - and it really shouldn't have. Luckily their American Smooth was incredibly interesting, a great routine with a really quirky choice of music which worked really well, I liked the ending very much - and though Louis had a hint of his 'ballroom face' of earlier in the series his performance was still all there - finally, finally making him a contender.

3) Denise and James - Tango/Rumba - Overall Judges Score - 77

Their Tango was outstanding, full of attack and the gorgeous staccato that is the Tango. I loved it, I loved the music choice again and the passion in the dance was so good. Their Rumba though, oh it was heartbreaking, her acting in that dance and her storytelling was gobsmacking. It may not have been technically perfect, the dress may have covered a multitude of sins but I was with Bruno here, it moved my cold northern heart, it was spellbinding and beautiful.

4) Kimberly and Pasha - American Smooth/Charleston - Overall Judges Score - 78

The first dance was beautiful, Kimberley's musicality is such an asset to her, she didn't miss a beat and in this dance that was vital. It was a teasing, sultry gorgeous - almost showdance. I really enjoyed the smoking sexiness and like Vincent I like how Pasha chose a lovely opposite for the second dance. The cheeky, quirky charleston was fantastic, I loved it (I really loved Pasha's outfit too, big socks yo! All about the big socks) I think it's no secret that Pasha is a big favourite of mine (probably because I watched him throughout his time on So You Think You Can Dance US) but his choreography is always interesting and fun - he makes sure his partner is the star (he did the same thing for Chelsea last year) and he's gorgeous to watch. I also think he's responsible somewhat for the choreography of the other male dancers improving, he's raised the bar. And Kimberley is so reaking adorable it's ridiculous, she's so likeable and sweet I really think the very final should come down to Kimberley vs Denise and I've got my fingers crossed for that.

5) Lisa and Robin - Salsa/American Smooth - 63

This is the first week where Lisa has looked out of place in this competition. She was shown up entirely by the quality of the other dances, I found all the OTT praises of her 'performance' excessive and somewhat annoying - her performance seems to be having her gob open! I wondered if I was missing something. This is nothing to do with her weight and all to do with mistakes, timing issues and level of complexity. Speaking as a chubby chubster cake bandit myself I have been very proud of her but lets not have positive discrimination, she's been wonderful but it's time for her to leave now.

Results Show

Opening Dance - Hmmmmm was alreet like. I think for the semi final a bit more spectacle could occur - especially as so many of the pros have been knocked out - surely something, I don't know...more? It was ok though but some of the Pro dances this series have been amazing but this was ok.

Winkleman Love - her mad trotting on to stage like a crazy women, she's not sane that women I freaking love her - fact.

Catherine Jenkins - Santa Baby, mmmm yeah alreet nothing special.

Lens Lens - Watching this round up of Lens Lens for the series made me realise that I have actually fallen for Darcey. I was very unsure week one yar, but she's done it, she's adorable, she has a great sense of humour but takes the marking seriously. The judges seem really happy with each other this year, they're lovely with each other, I hope all four are back next time.

Results - a quick aside to say that Vincent's reaction to getting through to the final made me well up a little bit but reet if you say owt aboot that like I'll knack you up like.

Dance Off - Lisa &Robin and Denise & James. I feel so sorry for Denise, second dance off and soo not fair it must be a little soul destroying. You kick arse girl!

Sooo it's time to say goodbye to Lisa, I will say that I think this was utterly the correct decision but we will miss Lisa and Robin. Lisa has rocked on behalf of all of us chubbers and we salute you with pint and pie held aloft. You did good girl, we are proud. Rock on!

Strictly - Finally!

A "Friends" style opening, I have to be honest I didn't think it was that great but Alice (nearly 12) thought it was hilarious and chortled so I have to approve.

1) Dani and Vincent - Samba
I really loved the routine with the hints of Beyonce in there. Her musicality is really good and I thought this a gorgeous sexy samba to start off proceedings. Dani also looked fabulous, I loved the frock.
Me - 9
Judges - 9,9,9,9,
Alice - 8

2) Kimberly and Pasha - Tango
LOVED it, insert Stacey's normal ravings about Pasha's brilliance at choreography and letting his partner shine. I loved the story, the routine, the music, the mood - everything. I thought it was shit hot!
Me  - 9
Judges - 8,9,8,9
Alice Revel Horwood - 8

*oh another racist remark by Bruce towards Pasha, I'm really finding that annoying - does anyone actually find the moron funny? Shuddap Lee.

3) Victoria and Brendan - Salsa
I think that the lifts were really, really good, but her hip action was woeful, she looks so stiff and awkward that it's almost uncomfortable to watch her. I think this may be the end of the race for our Vicky. Bless.
Me - 6
Judges - 4,6,6,5
Alice - 6

4) Louis and Flavia - Paso
The routine was beautiful and Louis is very elegant so this routine should have been on fire. It was a bit of a damp squib really though. They have absolutely no chemistry, no fire and no passion. Just a sort of robot blankness. It's so sad because they really should be jaw dropping!
Me - 7
Judges - 6,7,7,7
Alice - 7

5) Lisa and Robin - Rumba
Huuummmmm, ok I suppose. A very quiet dance but the Rumba is supposed to be quite sexy and romantic and though they tried with the romantic the sexy was totally missing. Not her dance at all, not awful but just ok.
Me - 7
Judges - 7,6,7,7
Alice - 7
*I loved the Bruno/Len giggle meltdown here with them actually hanging on to each other laughing, it was so cute

6) Michael and Natalie - Argentine Tango
Natalie appeared to be wearing Fern's Killer Queen outfit that had been through the shredder! I think Michael handled the lifts brilliantly, but the routine lacked the fire needed. I think both Louis and Michael need to go and watch Vincent shaking his tango butt and see how it's done!
Me - 7
Judges - 6,7,7,6
Alice - 8

7) Nicky and Karen - Charleston
Well, I thought his frame was quite wobbly and his shoulders were up once again masking his neck BUT it was really, really good. He kept lapsing into sort of boyband hiphop posture but for this dance it really worked. His performance was incredible as was his characterisation and the whole routine was gorgeously funny and cheeky and the lifts were fantastic. Really, really good job!
Me- 9
Judges - 9,9,9,9
Alice  - 9

8) Denise and James - American Smooth
My favourite dance of the evening, I actually welled up a little bit (shut yer face's or I'll knack yers up!) so elegant, smooth and romantic. I thought it exquisite. I have no bad things to say about any tiny wobble - sod that malarkey it was beautiful
me - 10
Judges - 9,9,9,10
Alice - 9

RESULTS SHOW

Opening Dance - I freaking loved it, those boys were amazing - there was no real need to bring in the female pros to be honest, they were great on their own. Really fantastic

Result 1 - Michael and Natalie (awwww)

Lens Lens - highlights for me were Bruno doing Beyonce and one again Len and Bruno's fit of giggling

Result 2 - Victoria and Brendan (expected but still awwww)

The Script - meh, but Pasha and Karen rocked the big one with bells on and no mistake. I loved them.

Dance Off - Michael severely upped his game here, he was great, he should win it. V&B let go of it, lots of mistakes.

Result - Victoria and Brendan are going, totally fair result, she did so, so well getting this far and she seems so sweet. Buh Bye Vicky we'll miss you.

Strictly Wembley

Wembley Week, wooohooo but booo are we here already? It's going too, too fast! So, I loved the judges intro and the pro's opening dance through the ages. The celebs in 80's stylee could've done a much better dance at this point surely? But the feeling of a "show" and spectacle were there and I totally enjoyed it.

But then sorrow of sorrows - Bruce is back with (oh for fucks sake!) more Gangnam Style? Really? Probably went down better with the live audience then it did with MY FACE!

1) Lisa and Robin - Samba
((perv alert))Well, I personally think Robin should wear this outfit all the time, and be all smeared in oil, it is a look which works very well for him! Also BLOODY HELL with the splits! I thought it could have been much sharper and was a little sloppy in places but the entertainment value was high. The camerawork was annoying again and remained so throughtout the entire show - grrrr
Me - 8
Judges - 8,8,8,8 (Tess did a funny joke, I forget what it was, but I'm sure she used the word "blimey" to great effect - Tess after how many years? has finally won me over, just a little bit - she's not Winkleman though but she's kind of alreet like)

2) Nicky and Karen - Jive
In parts he looked so comfortable that this dance looked almost naturalistic or ad libbed, then at other times his neck once again disappeared and he was stiff and awkward. There didn't seem much jiving to me but he really gave a good performance and I thought it was quite good.
Me - 7
Judges - 6,8,8,8

3) Denise and James - Charleston
Absolutely bloody wonderful! I loved this so much, it was joyous, fast, funny and perfectly syncronised. I loved the pared down version of the song, they were perfectly in time and it was just freaking marvellous! ((perv alert)) I also found James somewhat appealing in his BIG socks!
Me - 10
Judges - 9,10,10,10

4) Louis and Flavia  - American Smooth (mebbe)
I had to rewind this twice to make sure I had the right dance written down. I really think that dance looked like a quickstep. It was really fun and I enjoyed it very much the tricks and lifts. And I think Flavia choreographed that for maximum audience enjoyment rather than aiming it toward the judges. It was a dance that broke the rules really but it made for a good dance.
Me - 8
Judges - 7,8,8,7

 For an even better example of this I present you with this recent work of wonder. Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough from Dancing With The Stars dealing with the challenge of having an extra dancer. I put it here as Shawn is also an Olympic champion and our Louis could stand watching her kicking bottom. This is a "samba" which Len marked as a 7 for breaking the rules!

((MAJOR PERV ALERT, I'M NOT EVEN JOKING, CHECK OUT THE HOUGH AWOOOOGA PERV ALERT))

 

 

 

5) Richard and Erin - Salsa

The lighting effects were amazing during this routine, and somewhat of a blessed distraction. I don't want to use the word awful, but it was awful! And quite frankly the less said the better. I think it's time for Richard to go, as much as I love him, this just wasn't good enough

Me - 5

Judges - 5,6,7,6

 

6) Victoria and Brendan - Paso Double

Fooking loved Victoria's Freddie inspired outfit, she looked amazing! The dancing was ok, not geet totally awful but not great. A bit nowt or summat to be honest with you. Not even ((perv alert)) .Brendans bum could really save it. Poor Brendan, fell over last week and took a cape to the face this week. Surely next week has to go right for both of them? Fingers crossed

Me - 6

Judges - 5,6,7,6

 

7) Dani and Vincent - Quickstep

Dani did such a good job of keeping her top line (ooooh get me!) nice and quiet and letting her feet do all the work. This was elegant and poised and not even a hint of butch. Beautiful, light and fast I really loved this. I do think the wardobe ladies must hate Vincent though, that pink suit - urgh!

Me - 9

Judges - 9,9,9,9

 

8) Kimberly and((ooer really big perv alert)) Pasha - (I was furious about the Bruce's really rather racist comments but will give him not a jot more of my attention here) Samba

Best samba of the series so far bar none. The worst bit of this dance was realising it happened five days ago therefore I coouldn't vote for her. The minx! FAB-U-LOUS!

Me - 9

Judges - 8,8,9,9

 

9) Michael and Natalie - American Smooth

A more traditional American Smooth here, a real sense of glamour and finale. I liked the chorus girls which helped with that too. I really didn't agree with Bruno, I thought those lifts looked beautiful and effortless and I really love watching Michael do ballroom. Fantastic

Me - 9

Judges - 9,9,9,8

 

 

 

The Results

 

Opening dance was brilliant - I loved it. Also I loved Tess' dress, it was more relaxed and Winklemanny. I approve.

 

Result 1 - Richard and Erin - Unsurprising really, their dance was a bit poo.

 

Girls Aloud - well I really rather enjoyed that, usually I am far more rock chick than pop princess usually but I did enjoy watching the girls back together again.

 

Lens Lens - Bruno's bumper car face was comedy genius as indeed was Louis doing the robot - I loved that! Bruno and Craig in their harness' made me snort my wine in a manner unbecoming an Strictly blogger. Such fun

 

Result 2 - Nicky and Karen - I think this is a very fair bottom two to be honest with you.

 

Winklemanisms  - "Awww I really want to see you cry" to Louis

 

Kylie - really dull, moving on

 

Leaving us now is - Richard and Erin. Sad and I love him but I think it was time. Buhbye Richard we have loved you.

 

( in my notebook I seem to have written in my unintelligible scrawl "Big fish - that was awesome" and can any of you deny that eh? Eh?) See you back here in a matter of HOURS.

 

 Again sorry for extreme lateness due to THOUGHTBUBBLE awesomeness. You can hear what I got up to here - no here

 

 

and read about the British Comic Awards (I was honoured to be a judge for this inaugral year) over on my blog for SFX Magazine here

 

 

 





 

Erm

I'm afraid this weeks Strictly blog will be very late. With Thought Bubble and fantastic company all weekend I have not had an opportunity to even watch Strictly yet (I'm so terrified of spoilers I can't even tell you).

We had an amazing weekend and I do have several deadlines before I can even get to watching the thing so it will be done and it will be here but probably not before Thursday. Sorry to all that love the Strictly commentating.

To go in some way to make it up to you all here's some Dick Van Dkye for ya!