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Kev Harper the Talent Behind Scheme Comix
11.20.2010
05:27 pm
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Glasgow has a wealth of graphic artists who illustrate for Marvel or DC or their own imprints, like the Hope Street Studios or Kev Harper, the major talent behind Scheme Comix. The reason Glasgow has such an array of artistic talent, so the story goes, stems from the influx of American comics during the fifties, sixties and seventies, which were carried as ballast in the cargo ships that unloaded their goods along the docks of the River Clyde. The ballast was unpacked and then split into packages of comics sold across the city in kiosks and book stalls to eager kids.

For me, it Spiderman halfway-up a skyscraper fighting the Lizard, aka Dr Curt Connors (issue 76, fact fans) that turned me on to the power of graphic art. A few words can easily create a fictional world - ‘The cellar in the castle was dark and gauzed with cobwebs, the only light came from a flickering candelabra that limned the shape of a coffin, on the flagstone floor, its lid askew, and the white of old flesh glimmering inside.’  But to illustrate such a world takes time, dedication, patience and considerable talent. When I first bought these comics, I’d often skip the words just to pore over the fantastic illustrations, frame-by-frame, by the likes of Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. The excitement and sheer bloody joy these artists inspired is akin to that achieved by Kev Harper with Scheme Comix.

Just a few years ago, when still a student at Glasgow’s College of Building and Printing, Kev Harper put out the first Scheme Comix:

My original idea was to do a ‘zine which was purely for the love of doing it so the first issue featured two strips, one by myself and the other by a classmate who I sort of pressured into contributing, I printed them up on a photo copier and then left them in pubs, record shops, comic shops basically anywhere they’d have the best chance of being picked up.

I’m lucky enough to know some very talented people so Scheme quickly became a show case for our comics & illustrations. My main strip at the time was Deadbeat74 which was a shameless attempt at trying to be the Glasgow Harvey Pekar and that’s how it carried on for I think it was 6 issues and then it just kind of got sidelined until this year when I decided to re work the idea and put out a new issue (numbered issue #1) as part of my degree in digital art.

Scheme Comic # 1 contained several different strips: Joe King, Future Detective which plants a Chandleresque P.I. in a sci-fi landscape, reviews have described Joe King as “excellent” and “an enjoyable pulpy read.”  Next up is, Space Kittens 1,2,3,4! follows the adventures of an all-female space crew, which has been parised for its “great artwork and witty lines.” While Dining with St Peter, is “a delightful” stand off between two beings with super powers and Break on Through: A Journey Beyond the 4th Dimension! has been described by Comic Bookbin as:

...a story with a fantastic twist that wouldn’t be out of place on The Outer limits or Armchair Theatre. Once again, Kev Harper gives us inspired visuals to feast on and T. Bye gives us a story to give us goose bumps.

The final tale, Tijuana Bible co. is the adventures of two drifters on the road. Scheme Comix takes the form of a traditional UK comic, with many different story lines; but it does in the style and with the ease of the very best US comic.

What are your influences?

I’ve always loved comics but recently the whole medium seems obsessed with being “dark” and ultra violent which in my opinion is a hangover from people trying to emulate Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns for the last 20 years. For me unless it’s in books such as Hard Boiled or Preacher it’s just boring so with Scheme Comix I wanted to try and make it a Sci-Fi anthology that was fun like the early issues of 2000 AD used to be. So I started looking at things like the original Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy comics and trying to come up with ideas that would be adventurous and entertaining so out of that came the Joe King: Future Detective strip.

The biggest problem for me is that even though I can just about string a simple story together I’m in no way a writer but like I’ve already said luckily I know some very talented people so with some gentle persuasion I got the excellent Cramps inspired Tijuana Bible Co. by the equally excellent Sharon Irvine and Dining with St.Peter by David Walker, who came highly recommended to me and did not disappoint. Along side them I managed to get some top editorial work from Louise C. Davis (then Gordon) and some help from the guys at Root Creative, that’s when it all really came together

What sort of response has Scheme Comix had?

So far, touch wood we’ve had nothing but excellent feedback from all our reviews particularly from a personal point of view for the Space Kittens 1234 strip which was inspired by a Glasgow based punk band I used to go see (I have to shout out a big thank you to Penny and Shona for getting behind it) but I’m pleased most by the response from everyone who has bought a copy of Scheme Comix.

Kev has proven he is a major talent, who can draw with the best of them, and with such talent at the helm, Scheme Comix has a great future ahead.
 
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More from Kev Harper’s ‘Scheme Comix’ after the jump…
 

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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11.20.2010
05:27 pm
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Faux indie rock music in commercials: Killing us softly with their song
11.20.2010
12:52 pm
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A song of mine was used in a car commercial. At first, I refused to sell the rights to it. I hate when rock music pimps for big corporations. The ad agency who wanted to use the song told me, in so many words, that they’d create a sound-a-like version if I didn’t relent and let them use the tune. I relented. I made money. It’s the only real money I’ve ever made from my music. Do I feel unclean? No.

Despite what’s said in the ‘Music House’ video, it’s not illegal for an ad agency to create a song that sounds exactly like someone else’s. A slight change in structure is all it takes, a change most people wouldn’t even notice.

The Wojahn brothers, composers of TV jingles/music for Taco Bell, AT&T and Home Depot, made this video and I give them credit for satirizing with merciless honesty the bullshit within their own industry. Hipster commercials make me gag.
 

 
Here’s a perfect example of the faux indie band at its absolute skincrawling worst. They’re ripping off Moldy Peaches. The Freecreditscore.com Band rockin’ out:
 

 
One of the commercials that started it all after the jump…

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Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.20.2010
12:52 pm
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Harry Smith smokes a joint and gets you high: A double dose of alchemy
11.20.2010
03:53 am
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A Harry Smith double bill.

The first video is Harry smoking a joint while talking with Patrick Hulsey in New York City in 1999.

In the second video, East Village raconteur, animator, videographer and pop culture archivist M. Henry Jones of Snakemonkey TV recalls and recreates the initial thrill of discovering Harry Smith’s work.
 

 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.20.2010
03:53 am
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Terrific documentary on punk rock: Watch it now
11.20.2010
01:33 am
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Far better than average documentary on punk rock and the punk/reggae connection. Researched and written by the very fine rock journalist Robert Palmer (r.i.p.), this is smart and comprehensive. Broadcast on PBS in 1995 and currently unavailable on video or DVD. Enjoy.
 

 

 
Parts 3 - 6 after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.20.2010
01:33 am
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Bath towel for the genital phobic: The horrors that lurk down under
11.19.2010
11:55 pm
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If you got a problem with the smell of your own nutsack or somebody else’s, here’s the towel for you.

The True Clean Towel is screen printed with a diagram that specifies what sections are for cleaning certain parts of your body so, gawd forbid, you don’t accidentally wipe your face with residual sex juice or whatever.

Body loathers rejoice!

Step out of the shower and have the confidence of knowing that you are drying your freshly cleaned face with a section of the towel which has not been used to dry ‘other’ places. Reusing towels makes sense, so why not be smarter and healthier about how you use your towel.

 


Via copyranter

Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.19.2010
11:55 pm
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Christopher Hitchens staring down death: Interview on Australian TV
11.19.2010
10:35 pm
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I’ve always thought highly of Christopher Hitchens even when I’ve disagreed with him. As he deals with his own mortality, I now find him not only brilliant and witty, I find him inspirational. In this interview broadcast the other night on Australian TV, Hitchens discusses living (and perhaps dying) with cancer and his evolution as a thinker. Even with death lurking over his shoulder, Hitchens displays an amazing clarity of mind and fearlessness - a warrior.
 

 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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11.19.2010
10:35 pm
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William Burroughs: A Man WIthin: Special screenings in New York this weekend
11.19.2010
08:15 pm
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William Burroughs: A Man WIthin, Yony Leyser’s new documentary, five years in the making, is screening this weekend at the IFC Center in New York with special guests, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Hal Willner, Eileen Myles and Penny Arcade appearing, along with the director, himself.

The film, which features music from Patti Smith and Sonic Youth, is getting a limited theatrical release during the holiday season and will be screened as part of PBS series “Independent Lens” next year.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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11.19.2010
08:15 pm
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Briefs Encounter - The Ah Men Super Summer Catalog 1972
11.19.2010
08:04 pm
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From the decade that fashion forgot, a men’s style catalog that reflects more innocent times with some questionable dress sense and a bizarre advert for “New Adam Scented & Flavored Genital Towelettes.”

The Ah Men Super Summer Catalog 1972 can be viewed here.
 
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With thanks to Robert Conroy

More from the Ah Men Catalog after the jump…
 

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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11.19.2010
08:04 pm
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Radiohead at Glastonbury, 2003
11.19.2010
05:46 pm
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Radiohead performing at Glastonbury, 2003. The entire 90-minute set in excellent quality. An amazing Hail to the Thief-era show.

The gig of a lifetime.”—The Guardian
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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11.19.2010
05:46 pm
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Save the 100 Club - The Fight Continues
11.19.2010
04:45 pm
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The campaign to Save the 100 Club continues apace with support from a host of rock musicians including Mick Jagger, who came out in support of the campaign earlier this month saying:

There’s a real need for these places - they have a connection with the past. And what is important is that you have places where bands can cut their teeth and places of a certain intimacy and size, that new bands can experiment in. There aren’t that many great places in London, or indeed any city, that you can say that about.

Jagger isn’t the only legend offering his support, Ray Davies of The Kinks has said:

Simon Cowell should underwrite the money needed to save the 100 Club, that would be a real payback. The amount of money he takes out of pop music he could put some back in. I’‘m very concerned about the 100 Club, The Kinks played there and it’s such an iconic venue we shouldn’t allow things like that to close down. Everything is being overrun by the chain stores and the conglomerates and it such a pity that the 100 Club has to suffer like that.

Other musicians including Mick Jones and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie have also spoken out against the possible closure, while Brian Travers from UB40 said:

It feels like live music is being pushed out of our cities to make way for car parks and duplex apartments. You are not on your own, all over the UK small live venues are being closed down. Just last November in Birmingham, the city’s premier live music venue The Rainbow was threatened with closure as well as noise abatement orders because a private property company had built downtown duplex apartments for the upwardly mobile who now don’t like the sound of downtown and wanted to turn it into a haven of peace and tranquility, live music being the first noise they wanted to mute.

This is a much bigger issue than just a noisy musicians being told to turn down the volume, this an all out attack on the UK’s finest export, music. If we are not careful our culture will be irreversibly damaged. As you have quite rightly said pretty soon there will be no where left for young bands to learn their craft.

Steve Diggle from The Buzzcocks said:

The 100 Club is as important as St Paul’s Cathedral!

While Frank Black from The Pixies has pledged £100,000 to the campaign and Liam Gallagher wrote a letter in support saying the 100 Club is “very rock n roll” and that its a shame as he “fancied playing there with the mighty Beady Eye.”

Save the 100 Club organizer, Jim Piddington tells Dangerous Minds that £150k has already been raised, but more is needed if they are to reach the target of £500k. A fund-raising gig is to be held at the venue on Thursday, 25 November, headlined by Specials guitarist Roddy Radiation and the Skabilly Rebels, and a line-up that also includes Chas Hodges, and a selection of “very special guests” who “are also expected to join the bill”.

If interested in attending the gig or in Saving the 100 Club please check details here.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds
 

Save the 100 Club


 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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11.19.2010
04:45 pm
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