Ahoy Adventurers!
I hinted in my previous blog post that some special news was brewing for MULP, and so it has! Thats right, MULP: Sceptre of the Sun issue #5 is finally finished and avaliable for all you to buy and read!
I'm hoping that with this post I can collect every scrap of news together to make this your one stop shop for all things concerning the finale of our epic mousey adventure!
Back in October, in the run up to Nottingham Comic Con which took place on Saturday 19th, we revealed the cover for our final issue!
It was touch and go whether we would have the fifth issue ready or not for the convention so we kinda kept progress under wraps till it was confirmed.
And a tight call it was too! I took a trip to our excellent Bristol based printers in the week preceding the convention to look over and colour check the proofs, an insightful look into the litho process that makes the final step in creating our comic! Giving the thumbs up on printing the run, we collected a box of Issue #5 hot off the press on our way up to Nottingham the day before the convention!
Breathing a slight sigh of relief we set ourselves up at Nottingham Comic Con with the complete MULP saga!
We had an absolute blast! I've always enjoyed Nottingham Comic Con and it was fantastic to the back. MULP was set up on table U35, in good company right next to the NoBrow tables and ACP's (Awesome Comics Podcast) Tony Esmond, with whom we shared many a chuckle.
Yours truly also appeared on a panel that day! Hosted by another of the ACP'ers Vince Hunt (they get everywhere!) Top gents Nick Prolix, Neil Slorence and I answered questions from Vince about doing comics yourself. That canny Vincenzo recorded us all chatting about the comic's making process and the versatility that the current age allows to get your work out there. You can hear the panel in full, along with interviews from other creators on the convention floor, recordings from other panels on the day and the lads thoughts on the convention as a whole on Episode 224 of their podcast. Click the picture below to check it out!
Nottingham Comic Con overall was, as before, fantastic! It is always so lovely to see such a family friendly comic's focussed event. There were loads of kids who came by to start or to continue their collection of our books, as well as plenty of adults who did the same. Massive thank yous to everyone who stopped by, whether you were starting your adventure with issue #1 or had been a long term follower of our story looking to read the next chapter.
Huge thanks also to organisers Kev and Kel Brett for making us welcome and putting together such an awesome convention, I hope we can make it again next year!
On a slight side note, muggins here also appeared on The Nerds Who Haunted Themselves' podcast. Have a listen to me chat to that fab Stuart Mulrain about my personal comics origin story, the process for creating MULP and thoughts on the anthropomorphic comics genre on his "Why Comics?" segment!
Click the picture above to have a listen!
As we enter November the Thought Bubble hype has started!
Last week marked the reveal of the excellent pin-up art for our final issue by the lovely Steve Sims of Beast Hunting Battle Badgers fame.
I was psyched to have fellow anthropomorphic comic creator working on this for us and am totally thrilled with his rendition of our characters.
Check out more of Steve's work and Battle Badgers here:
www.battlebadgers.co.uk
MULP #5 has also seen it's first couple of reviews!
The mighty Geek Syndicate's Barry Nugent was first to share his thoughts on the final issue of our story;
"Matt’s writing may bring the story to life but it’s Sara’s art that makes it fly. Her art throughout the series and in this issue is sublime. Not a drop of ink is wasted or a panel rushed. Every expression the mice exhibit is painstakingly recreated within every panel."
Thank you very much Barry for your kind words! Find the full review
HERE
Long term supporter of our rodent escapades and all round lovely chap, Jeremy Briggs also chipped in his thoughts on the conclusion to our story;
"Sara’s artwork has become progressively more cinematic over the five issues but for me it is the facial close-ups that are the standout as her art conveys the emotions of our furry little heroes and villains making these anthropomorphic animals all the more human."
Once again thank you for all your support and encouragement throughout the series Jeremy! Read the full review
HERE
This round up almost brings us up to date with some final bits of exciting news remaining...
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| Photo courtesy of our friends as Page 45! |
Today is new comic book day, and you can now add MULP: Sceptre of the Sun issue #5 to your pull list!
Yes! The final issue of MULP is available at all our supporting UK comic shops, so if you missed us at Nottingham Comic Con or if you're not able to catch us as at conventions, you don't have to miss out!
However, if you happen to be heading to Harrowgate this weekend for Thought Bubble then come on over to the ComiXology Originals Hall and find all 5 issues of MULP: Sceptre of the Sun with Improper Books at tables 155-156.
I'll be there both days, signing and sketching along with the rest of the Improper Books clan. Looking forward to seeing you all there!
