It had to happen eventually. After months, even years, of snubbing us in favour of unknowns like Paul Cornell and Tony Lee, Comic Racks have finally bitten the bullet and called down the thunder that is … the Monkeys with Machineguns Interview.

Thrill … as we talk about ourselves. Gasp … as we find out about Iz’s toilet habits. Be amazed … at our choice of favourite biscuits. Shrug and say “I thought as much” … when I call Stuart a “French Duke”.

Sadly, despite our best efforts, Iz and Stace have salvaged an almost sensible sounding interview out of our tomfoolery. Listen for the outtakes though (after that Cornell guy again), where you get a true taste of the pain that Iz and Stace went through to bring you this interview.

Happy 50th guys … you don’t look a day over 45!

Click here to listen to Comic Racks, Episode 50 … Part Deux!

Not satisfied with the hearty dose of monkey-love they received at the Bristol Comic Con, the punishment gluttons of Sidekick Cast have been at it again!

This time, they’ve “gone all intimate” with my fellow monkey Stu.Art as a guest Sidekick in their regular podcast. There are some wise words spoken, some shameless pimping committed, and my name is taken in vain at least three times.

So, if you want to hear what Stu is like without me there to restrain him … Click here to listen to Sidekick Cast Episode #21

The Birmingham International Comics Show (BICS) is back, bigger and better than ever before for 2009! And, as usual, Monkeys with Machineguns will be there!

After our exhibiting hiatus at last year’s BICS, we will be proudly sharing a double sized exhibitor space with the fine fellows of Orang Utan Comics and David Wynne at the 2009 show. Having seen life on both sides of the table at last year’s Birmingham International Comics Show, the first convention I have ever attended as anything other than an exhibitor, I think it is a fantastic show and one worthy of pride of place in the autumn/winter convention schedule.

As well as exhibiting our wares at the table I am single handledly trying to have dubbed “Monkeypalooza”, Stu and I will also be spending some time at the Markosia stand where you will be able to talk to us about our upcoming projects The Magpye and The Dark, and at the Insomnia Publications table where I will be talking about my new project The Fictionalists. We will also be at the pre-show party on Friday night. At present, however, we have no plans (despite encouragement from quite a few people) to repeat the monumental feat of Monkeys with Machineguns Live! (Although, anyone who wants to see if they can goad Pete Rogers and I into finally having our “write off/face off” …)

Overall, BICS is shaping up to be a fantastic show and if you haven’t already booked tickets, a table, or registered as a professional, I heartily advise the application of skates to feet … pronto.

The last, I think, of our podcast appearances from the Bristol Con 2009 is featured in Comic Book Outsiders Episode 46.

Chaired by Scott, from Comic Book Outsiders, the Orang Utan panel metamorphosed in a round table discussion on indie comics that also features Stu and I, and the guys from Geek Syndicate.

It’s somewhere in the region of 45 minutes of unplanned, unscripted, but hopefully insightful and amusing banter between the two studios as we share war stories from the world of small press comics.

Particularly worth listening out for are the moment where I blantantly repeat myself and then shamlessly deny it, and the moment that Pete Rogers confesses that the biggest hurdle Orang Utan Comics face is Monkeys with Machineguns .

For the benefit of the tape, I think he just means that we’re both tall.

Many thanks to Scott for chairing the panel and special thanks to Peter Rogers and Ian Sharman for sharing their panel with us … absolute gentlemen as always.

Barry and Dave, the Geek Syndicate, very kindly made mention of Monkeys with Machinegun’s MWM Live! mini-event at the Bristol Small Press Expo in Geek Syndicate – Episode 119.

I must admit, I was a bit concerned about words in these guy’s mouths when I wrote “Scott vs. Geek Syndicate” for Scott from Comic Book Outsiders, but it seems to have gone down well. Writing dialogue for fictional people is much easier, as they rarely come back to you and want to talk about it …

The excellent fellows of SideKickCast have posted our unedited, unexpurgated, mildly humorous, and erratically rambling interview from Saturday Night in the Mercure Bar at Bristol Comic Expo 2009.

It’s not quite The Panel of Legend, but we drop our fair share of “f-bombs”.

If you have the time, why not enjoy …
An Evening with Monkeys with Machineguns

PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release

MONKEYS WITH MACHINEGUNS OFFER A VISION OF THE FUTURE AT BRISTOL COMIC CON

Monkeys with Machineguns are producing an extremely limited number of promotional comic books to accompany the Monkeys with Machineguns Live event at the Small Press Expo in Bristol on May 9th.

While stocks last anyone buying a unique, one off illustrated short story from Chris and Stu will receive it mounted inside a copy of the limited edition twenty page book. Featuring not only an eight page preview of their upcoming book “The Magpye”, being published by Markosia, but also a full colour eight page preview of a brand new secret project, this is an opportunity for those taking part in Monkeys with Machineguns Live to own a small part of the future of comic book history.

For those not in the know, the Magpye is a “supernatural superhero psychological horror story”, a genre-bending tale of an amnesiac vigilante charged with defending mankind from monsters, creatures, and things that lurk in the dark whilst being haunted, and sometimes hounded, by the ghosts of his fallen predecessors. When the Magpye’s identity is finally revealed however, he may have to face the worst monster of all … himself.

As for the secret project … the details of that will be revealed at the show!

Monkeys with Machineguns … Live! is on the front page of the updated website for the Small Press Expo 2009

No pressure.

Myself and Stu.Art, more commonly known as “Monkeys with Machineguns”, are booked to exhibit at this year’s Bristol Comic Expo.

This year we are exhibiting with a twist however, as all our hard work on The Magpye for Markosia has left us without a brand new issue of our eponymous horror anthology to debut at the show. With the release of the latest MWM being somewhat of a Bristol tradition, at least for Stu and I, were left somewhat stumped this year as to what exactly to do …

Thankfully, the answer is obvious. We would just write and draw a new issue of Monkeys with Machineguns at the Bristol Comic Expo!

Any of you who have attended one of my signings will be familiar with the setup – woefully unable to cede the limelight to artists and jealous of the constant requests they receive for sketches and shows and signings, I have gotten into the habit of writing flash fiction & short stories at shows, often based on random words, phrases, objects etc. thrown at me (figuratively) by whoever is around. It’s a sort of “Whose Line is it Anyway”, but with horror fiction.

So, this year, visitors to the Small Press Expo will be cordially invited to challenge the creativity of the Monkeys with Machineguns team with some random objects, places, people, and points in time from which to create a short story. Once I’ve written the short, Stu will be providing a sketch illustration or two and, after we’ve scanned the result to go into the new book, you will be able to buy the original artwork.

By the end of the day we are hoping to have enough content to complete the upload to our POD publisher of all the stories and artwork, resulting in a brand new issue of Monkeys with Machineguns on sale at the end of the show.

So, if you have ever wondered exactly how we make Monkeys with Machineguns … this is your chance to find out. Or watch us crash and burn horribly, which will probably be equally entertaining.

How to Find Yourself some MWM Goodness

For those who don’t know, the expo this year is a special one off version of the event that will be spread across two venues. The “Bristol International Comic Expo”, which will be held exclusively in the Ramada Plaza hotel this year, and the the “Small Press Expo”, which will be held in the Mercure Hotel. If you have been to the Bristol Expo before then you may well know the Ramada as the hotel that has hosted many of the talks and panels for previous shows, as well as being where most of the comic book fraternity do their socialising after the event.

The Monkeys with Machineguns table will be the Mercure, hopefully with a loud crowd around it and limited screaming from Stu and myself.

Please note that the Small Press Expo is a one day event only. Stu and I will be lurking around in the Ramada based Expo on Sunday, but don’t expect us to write and draw anything unless you come with gifts. Or cash.