Simon Spurrier

Official homepage & blog of Si Spurrier: comics writer and novelist.

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THOUGHT BUBBLE 2018 WHERE-I-AMMING

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I’ll be appearing at the inaugural MARGATE COMIC CONVENTION this coming weekend. I’ve been a very happy resident of my new seaside home since the Autumn, and couldn’t be prouder to welcome all of geekdom for a wonderful weekend in The Margz. Whether you’re a committed comicker seeking signatures, a wouldbe artist or writer seeking advice, or a local geek interested in a great day out for you and your family, this’ll be a cracking show.

Enclickfy the following links for more info on THE GUESTS and THE PANELS, with ticketing information right HERE.

Most importantly for me, besides panelling and chatting about new projects (like Neil Gaiman’s New Sandman Universe) and selling all manner of my proudest publications (like The Spire, and Godshaper) I’ll have a large stock of exclusive discount-bundles of the newly-concluded first arc of ANGELIC, our young-adult adventure series! Don’t miss out! 

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Here’s some more of Bill Sienkiewicz’s incredible illustrations of The Endless from Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” series.

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Ssshhhhhh....

(Art by the ever-astonishing Brian Froud, from The Goblin Companion.)

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New Vertigo book. Interior art by Rachael Stott, cover art by Eric Canete, logo design by Emma Price. Wordy plot guff by yours truly.

Issue #1 drops January 31st.

It’s essentially a toxic family love story told through a 2000AD filter. My sorta comics.

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NYCC 2017: Where and When And Why I’ll Be.

THURSDAY OCT 5

11.15-12.15 - Panel!  Wizards and Fairies and Spells - Oh My! - Room 1A05 Description: What makes a fantasy comic more than just another Tolkien knockoff? The answer: worldbuilding. Join comics' top and rising fantasy writers as they discuss everything from monsters to magic systems and share their insight on how to make fantastical settings make sense. From the candy-colored carnage of Skottie Young's "I Hate Fairyland" to the political maneuverings of Si Spurrier's "The Spire", learn what it takes to make a unique fantasy world that feels like somewhere you could actually visit. [NB: Appearing on this panel subject to Being Alive And Awake, having landed the evening before. Will do my best. Oh!, and I don’t think Skottie can make it, alas.]

4.00-4.50 - Signing! Boom! Studios - Booth #1828 (MAP here.) Signing copies of Godshaper, The Spire, Six-Gun Gorilla and - alongside my most excellent co-writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson - The Power of the Dark Crystal. And anything else you want me to scribble on. Like, within reason. And a bit of unreason.

6.45-7.45 - Panel! BOOM!​ ​Studios:​ ​Discover​ ​YOURS  - Room 1A05 Description: There’s something at BOOM! Studios for everyone—if you have a passion, we’ve got a comic book that speaks to it and this is the panel to Discover Your New Obsession! Join Greg Pak (​Mech Cadet Yu), Pamela Ribon (​SLAM!), Simon Spurrier (​Jim Henson’s The Power of the Dark Crystal, ​Godshaper), Lisa DuBois (​Rugrats), David F. Walker (​War for the Planet of the Apes), Sean Rubin (​Bolivar), and novelist Saladin Ahmed as they explore the diverse imprints of BOOM! Studios, BOOM! Box, KaBOOM!, and Archaia with exclusive previews, news, and more surprises.

FRIDAY OCT 6

4.30-5.30 - Panel! Writing God(s): The Creation of Modern Mythologies and Post-Modern Theologies in Comics - Room 1A02 Description: Superheroes are Gods. We read stories of their glory and revel. We bear witness to their losses and mourn. We viciously defend the sanctity of their character against any who would misrepresent them. We attend gatherings with the fellow devoted. We pore over every word that has been written about them so that we may preserve an accurate account of our shared history. We look to their examples for guidance on living better lives. Superheroes are Gods. And we worship them. [Feat. Hussein Rashid, Marjorie Liu, Louise Simonson, Karen Green, Simon Spurrier.]

SATURDAY OCT 7

12.15-1.15 - Panel! Vertigo/Young Animal! Comics For Dangerous Humans - Room 1A24 Comics’ most innovative imprint are here to melt our brains at NYCC!  Come witness the next stage in the (r)evolution of Vertigo and DC’s Young Animal, as we look forward to some of the incredible things to come. The auspicious lineup features Riley Rossmo, Tim Seeley, Si Spurrier, Magdalene Visaggio, Joshua Williamson and others! [Wherein: big news. Obviously.]

4.00-5.00 - Panel! Image: The Future of Fantasy - Room 1A24 Fantasy has long been a genre where we discuss our deepest fears, express our quietest hopes, or even just enjoy a rollicking story of swords and magic. Justin Jordan, Meredith Finch, Sebastian Girner, and W. Maxwell Prince have more than proven that they know their way around a fantasy tale, and they're here to talk about telling stories about fantastic places while living on our mundane Earth, avoiding common pitfalls of the genre, and making the unbelievable beloved.

SUNDAY OCT 8

12.00-1.00 - Signing! Image Comics Booth - #1444 My colleague Caspar Wijngaard and I will be signing - and selling! - copies of ANGELIC #1, our YA Flying Monkey comic. Huzzah! 

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Thought Bubble Festival 2017: Where I’ll Be, What I’ve got.

It’s that most wonderful time of year again, when the kooliest of the kool komix kids gather to geek out and celebrate our splendid medium. Iiiiiit’s--

...in a new shiny home in the centre of Leeds. Huzzah!

This year’s festival falls two short days after the official publication of ANGELIC, my new all ages comic, with Caspar Wijngaard on art, so you better believe we’re treating the show as our personal and exclusive launch convention.

So here’s where I’ll be, and when, and why. COME AND SEE ME.

SATURDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER

11.30-12.30: Exclusive ANGELIC LAUNCH SIGNING SESSION at the Travelling Man booth; Table 65-82 in the Comixology Marquee.

All Day: at Table 31 in the Leeds Town Hall Marquee.  Seek ye the sign of the hovering fart-goblin.

As well as selling copies of Angelic #1 (obvs) we’ll be giving away all sorts of exclusive freebies: colouring sheets, stickers and delicious dolphin-shaped sweets. I’ll also be selling a bunch of exclusive signed scripts for Angelic #1 to aspiring writers and artists, as well as a load of prints and trades from my other books: The Spire, Six Gun Gorilla, X-Men Legacy and so forth. 

I’m also - fingers crossed - hoping to have full runs of Godshaper - issues 1-6 - if the comp-copy fairy delivers on time.

Later: pub, curry, party, pub. In that order. 

SUNDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER

All Day: at Table 31 in the Leeds Town Hall Marquee - as above! 

12 noon: PANEL! Creating Worlds, in Leeds Town Hall; Victoria Hall Stage.

Come find me! Come talk to me! I am only slightly terrifying.

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Think of your basic cyberdolphin as a feverish foxhunter itching to go and kill something small and helpless. Except with a blowhole and a rocketpack.

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Delighted to announce (most of) TEAM ANGELIC will be celebrating the launch, and furiously scribbling on copies, at Orbital, on Thursday 21st September.

Full Event Details Here

Remember that Angelic truly is an all-ages experience. Grownups get layered sci-fi with depth, youngsters get awesome adventure and wonderful animals.

So, srsly, BRING YOUR KIDS. You won’t regret it. 

And, obviously: then, pub.

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Dear Simon, I organise a number of events called Ex Libris LIVE! with Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford, where authors and word-smiths bluff as they write fake but plausible lines for genuine books in the form of a panel show. I would love to have you on the show on the 25th Sept. The shows are recorded in front of a live audience, produced as a podcast and are broad. If you could email at Freddie@oxfordgames. co. uk I can give you more info. Looking forwards to hearing from you. Freddie

Hi Freddie - delighted by the offer, thank you. Sadly I’ll still be in Leeds after the Thought Bubble festival, so won’t be able to make it. 

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ANGELIC #1 hits comic shops on Wednesday, September 20th. The final order cutoff for retailers is Monday, August 28th (Diamond Code JUL170699). Eisner nominee SIMON SPURRIER (The Spire, CRY HAVOC, X-Men Legacy) and rising-star CASPAR WIJNGAARD (LIMBO, Dark Souls, Assassin’s Creed) present your new bittersweet adventure obsession: teenage rebellion and animal antics amidst the ruins of civilization!—Think WALL-E by way of Watership Down. Fly, my pretties! “Angelic is beautifully illustrated, pure imagination from one of the best writers in comics. Plus monkeys. I love it.” —Brian K. Vaughan 

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Just a little taster of the lovely things reaching our ears about ANGELIC #1. 

Final orders are due at your local comic store by Monday 28th.  Don’t miss out, yo.

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A quickie re: the recent furore over the cover to Divided States Of Hysteria #4. Not going into detail - if you’re reading this you already know the wider industry story. Let the record show that I made my thoughts on the topic extremely clear when the story first broke.

I awake this morning to find Chaykin has responded to the criticism. It’s certainly worth reading, whether one agrees with his position (I do not).

One seemingly minor thing sticks out to me, which becomes enormously relevant in context. (Context, btw, being the throbbing heart of why something that can at least be argued to have value as part of a story doesn’t/can’t work as a cover.) 

The detail is something HC doesn’t touch on at all in this interview. 

It’s the inclusion on the offending cover of a name-badge on the lapel of the lynching victim (whose skin-tone would suggest a man of South-Asian descent). The name badge reads - apologies - “Paki.” Which, and I really shouldn’t need to explain this, is a slur; arguably up there with the best known and most horrible terms of all, in all their gross reductive longevity.

I guess I’d be extremely interested to hear HC’s thinking behind the inclusion of this little detail.

To be clear: without that name badge on the cover, his argument (that he's presenting a frighteningly plausible scene from the US's near future) is at least worthy of discussion, whether one agrees that it justifies the use of this image as a cover or not. I don't, personally. 

But with that name badge included? He's immediately making fun of the victim in his purportedly cautionary scenario. 

Imagine writing a story about the horrors of bullying but choosing to name the victim-character "Pansy McFeebleface". It shreds any trace of value in the piece. All that's left is shock and provocation for shock and provocation's sake. Which, yeah. Is kinda right back where we started. 

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A little something for you to forward to your friendly local comicbook seller. Print it, deface it, scribble on, just BY THE MAKERS please hand it over.

MORE INFO ON ANGELIC HERE.

Listen: the lifeblood of any comic - the key to whether it flies or falls - is the advocacy of retailers. But those exceptionally hard-working wonderfolk live in a perpetual shouting-match of competing attentions, with unbelievable pressures to get their ordering decisions right.

The one, single, ONLY way to move the dial - to make sure you get a copy of something you’re itching to read - is to register your interest WAAAAAAY in advance.

Like today. Now. GO GO GO. 

And thanks. 

x

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ANGELIC: the story of Earth, after us.

Couldn’t be prouder to announce the project that’s been keeping me busy all spring.

Behold ANGELIC, a new all-ages-friendly sci-fi adventure fable from Image Comics, with Caspar Wijngaard art, Emma Price design and Jim Campbell letters. A story about - among other things - flying monkeys in the ruins of the far-future.  

It drops in September, but OMG YOU KNOW THE DRILL you need need need to let your retailer know you’re hyped to ensure they order enough. Diamond ordering Code is JUL170699.

Here’s the solicit:

ANGELIC #1

STORY: SIMON SPURRIER ART / COVER: CASPAR WIJNGAARD

SEPTEMBER 20 / 32 PAGES / FC / T / $3.99

NEW ONGOING SERIES PREMIERE! -WINGED MONKEYS! TECHNO-DOLPHINS! QUANTUM ALLEYCATS! - Humanity’s long gone. Its memory lingers only as misunderstood rituals among mankind’s leftovers: the genetically modified animals they used and abused for aeons. - But for one young flying monkey, QORA, the routines are unbearable. All she wants is to explore. Instead she’s expected to settle down, to become a mother...to lose her wings. - Eisner nominee SIMON SPURRIER (The Spire, CRY HAVOC, X-Men Legacy) and rising-star CASPAR WIJNGAARD (LIMBO, Dark Souls, Assassin's Creed) present your new bittersweet adventure obsession: teenage rebellion and animal antics amidst the ruins of civilization! - Think WALL-E by way of Watership Down. Fly, my pretties!

For a fully lettered four page preview, ENCLICKIFY HERE.

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WONDERCON 2017: ANAHEIM, CA

Here’s where and when I’ll be, m’dears. Specific panels and signing slots below. All other times you’ll probably find me either at the BOOM! STUDIOS booth (#1301) or in the bar. I’m particularly psyched by the SPOTLIGHT ON MEEEEEE panel on Satuday afternoon. If you only attend one cosmic mindblowing formalist pub-rant this year, etc etc.

Friday, March 31 - 1:00pm - 1:50pm, BOOTH #1301 SIGNING, BOOM! STUDIOS.

Friday, March 31 - 2:00p.m. - 3:00p.m., Room: 211  PANEL: BOOM! STUDIOS: DISCOVER YOURS Discover YOUR new favorite comic book series in the panel designed for everyone, from new fans to long time readers to anyone who loves comics! Join BOOM!’s top editors and creators as they explore the diverse imprints of BOOM! Studios, BOOM! Box, KaBOOM!, and Archaia with exclusive previews, news, and the information you need to discover your next obsession.

Saturday, April 1 - 10:30a.m. - 11:30a.m., Room: 208 PANEL: DISCOVER THE SECRET TO REINVENTING POP CULTURE There’s never been a better time to discover new visions of your life-long favorite characters in comic books, but what’s the secret to modernizing and diversifying beloved mythology without losing fans? Find out just what it takes to turn your favorite TV show, movie, and more into a successful comic book that balances entertaining long-time fans and bringing in new readers with an eye to the future of entertainment. Moderator: Bryce Carlson (Managing Editor, BOOM! Studios) Panelists: Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman), Sarah Kuhn (Clueless), Simon Spurrier (The Power of the Dark Crystal), Christina Strain (Generation X), Ryan Parrott (Saban’s Power Rangers: Aftershock), David Walker (Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes), Christos Gage (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 11) 

Saturday, April 1 - 1:00pm - 1:50pm, BOOTH #1301 SIGNING, BOOM! STUDIOS.

Saturday, April 1 - 2:00p.m. - 3:00p.m., Room: 211  PANEL: DISCOVER THE MUSIC OF COMICS The hottest new bands are all in…COMIC BOOKS? Music and comics have always been intertwined but 2017 is bringing even more of a musical influence to your favorite graphic fiction. Join Patrick Reed from Comics Alliance and top creators to discuss the unique relationship between musicians, comic creators and how to authentically combine two of the most powerful forms of entertainment.

Saturday April 1 - 5:00p.m. - 6:00pm., Room 211 PANEL: SPOTLIGHT ON SIMON SPURRIER Everyone's favorite tea-chugging Eisner loser Si Spurrier (X-Men Legacy, The Power of the Dark Crystal, Doctor Who) will be presenting his acclaimed lecture/essay/presentation thingamabob, confusingly titled "The Pluripotent Panel." Gasp as he reveals the cosmic potential of the comic book form! Self-congratulate as you learn the sophisticated secrets of your chosen medium! Puke with laughter as he gets his slides muddled and has a breakdown on stage! Live-tweet your awkward questions about crumpets, Brexit, and fractal narratives in a bonus Q&A session! (N.B.-Probable sweariness. N.B.#2-Then, pub.) 

Sunday April 2 - 1:00pm - 1:50pm, BOOTH #1301 SIGNING, BOOM! STUDIOS.

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GODSHAPER #1

A new ongoing comic about drifters and deities, based in a rockabilly world where Wealth equals Worship. 

Final orders are due at your local comic store by Monday 20th March. 

In the beginning was the word, and I totally need your help spreading it.

More details - and an insane David Aja variant cover - below the jump.

GODSHAPER #1

Retail Price: $3.99 Writer: Simon Spurrier Artist: Jonas Goonface Cover Artists: Main Cover: Jonas Goonface Main Cover: Sonny Liew

Written by Eisner Award-nominated writer Simon Spurrier (The Spire, X-Men Legacy) and illustrated by breakout talent Jonas Goonface, Godshaper introduces a vast world where there's a god for every person and a person for every god...though for Ennay, unfortunately exceptions may apply.

People like him are Godshapers, godless social pariahs with the ability to mold and shape the gods of others. Paired with Bud, an off-kilter but affectionate god without a human, the two travel from town to town looking for shelter, a hot meal, and the next paying rock'n'roll gig.

Behold the David Aja beauty: