Here's a breathtaking picture by the ridiculously talented Mr Martin McKenna showing what a day out on the English south coast looks like once Brighton's carnival folk have got hold of a few (more-or-less) tame dragons. This painting is the alternative cover for issue #3, which you won't see on the Mirabilis iPad app but you will get with our forthcoming release on Comics+ and Graphic.ly.Martin is still at work on his hush-hush children's book project, which is shaping up to be something truly wondrous. I've seen the storyboards for this and I know it's destined to be the kind of magical classic kids will love, grow up and then give to their kids. We'll bring you news or a sneak peek as soon as he'll allow. And of course we hope to get some more Mirabilis cover art from him before too long, as we're now gearing up for the third graphic novel (the first half of Spring). Meanwhile, if you pop over to Martin's site you can take a look at some of his awesome character concept drawings of Estelle, Jack and the Kind Gentleman.
In case you thought that fiction was stranger than fact, take a look below at Magnus Volk's Electric Overland and Submarine Railway, which began running up and down the Brighton seafront in 1883. Volk took it all the way out to Rottingdean, by way of the sea, in 1896. And he didn't have a magical green comet to back him, either - it was all pure, unassisted British eccentricity. God save Queen Titania!
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Absolutely beautiful. That's one of the bonuses of projects like Mirabilis - not only are you guys providing a fantastic journey for readers but you are also providing a fantastic platform for artistry such Mr McKenna's.
ReplyDeleteWhich means - dammit - that I'm going to have to equip myself with multiple editions of Mirabilis.
Have you no mercy Dave???
I do have mercy, Peter :) So much so that I promise you a couple of signed copies of the hardcover editions to ease the strain on your credit card. I've been processing the pages for the publisher this week and I have to say the layout and design they are doing on the cover, endpapers, etc, is just beautiful. Much as I love our iPad version, I can't wait to get my hands on these printed copies.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! Many Thanks Dave - what a kind thought!
ReplyDeleteI guess we're just a couple of unrepentant bibliophiles.
Mind you an iPad with the smell of fifty year old newsprint.
Hmmmmmmmm - now there's another thought.
You could have come up there with a winning idea for an app, Peter: e-bookscent! I was digging out some of issues of Magazine of Horror last night to re-read David Keller's Tales of Cornwall (I might do a post about those soon) and the musty scent of old '60s pulp is a big part of the appeal, there's no denying it.
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