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March 16th, 2009 5:06 AM

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Bryan Talbot on Cancertown!

Bulletin:

Legitimate comics legend and creator of the first British graphic novel, Bryan Talbot himself, has written Cancertown's foreword! The eye-opening experience of reading Luther Arkwright as a kid was one of the key reasons I wanted to start writing comics in the first place, so to have an introduction from its creator is simply unbelievable. In fact, I'm so excited about this development that I'm afraid I have no choice but to reproduce it in full below:

For a first graphic novel from a new creative team, Cancertown is remarkable. Cy Dethan’s concept alone is brilliant. Is the protagonist, Vincent Morley, a cynical knight in tarnished armour battling unspeakable monsters in a gonzoid Chapel Perilous or a dying sad bastard besieged by visions generated by his terminal brain tumour? Vince’s chosen role, that of maintaining the equilibrium between the “real” London and its parasitic, demonic mirror image and his ability to pass between the two, by grace of his illness, sharply differentiates his story from others in the wide-boy urban sorcerer genre, notably represented by Alan Moore’s John Constantine and Mike Carey’s Felix Castor prose novels. And, though your worst nightmares are his everyday reality, Morley kicks serious arse while maintaining a self-deprecating cascade of gallows humour.

Moreover (do people still say that?) Cancertown actively embraces horror, the genre of horror fiction. It’s not trigger-shy. It doesn’t **** around. It sets out to horrify, and it succeeds. Although Cancertown owes more to Clive Barker than Ramsey Campbell, it still, like Campbell, has its roots in H.P. Lovecraft and its evocation of genuine creepiness is undeniable. This is in no small part due to the visceral, hallucinogenic art of Stephen Downey working in tandem with the hard-bitten script, the atmospheric colours of Melanie Cook and inventive lettering of Nic Wilkinson. We’re seeing here the first outing of creators who will make their mark on the future comic industry.

Cancertown will disorientate you, suck you in, chew you up and spit you out and you might well be in need of a change of underwear by the end.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Bryan Talbot
Sunderland March 2009

Cancertown will be released in May, and is currently available to pre-order from Amazon. If you're going to be at the Bristol International Comic Expo and the Small Press Expo 2009, you'll be able to pick Cancertown up (along with its Insomnia brethren, Layer Zero 3 and Cages) at a special convention price as shown below:

Cancertown RRP = £14.99, Con Special = £10
Cages RRP = £10.99, Con Special = £7
Layer Zero Choices RRP = £9.99, Con Special = £7

Cancertown + Cages for £15
Cancertown + Layer Zero for £15
Cancertown + Cages + Layer Zero for £20

You can also take advantage of the special prices by pre-ordering directly from Insomnia before the 9th of May (either to pick up at the convention or to be posted to you if you can't make it). Just email Nic at nichola@insomniapublications.com and let her know what you need.

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