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COMICS- - - - - - - - - -GRAPHIC NOVELS- - - - - - - - - -MUSIC- - - - - - - - - -ECOLOGY
Chris is the editor (and sometime writer) of Starscape webcomic. He is also the publisher of Spitfire Comics and editor of Collected Hook Jaw vol.1 and Dead/Ouija.
Chris is the main influence behind indie/alternative/electronica outfit, Simon's Ghost.
Chris also holds a doctorate in Environmental Science and works professionally as a freelance ecologist with EnvironmentalConsultancy.co.uk. He can advise on botanical and other wildlife surveys. He has a research interest in metal-contaminated environments and organism-environment interactions.
Chris has written articles for AllMusic.com, SilverBulletComics.com (now defunct) and others.
Current publications:
COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
SpitfireComics.co.uk (Graphic Novels and Comic Books) - Collected Hook Jaw vol.1 (graphic novel)
- Planetfall (graphic novel)
- Dead (comic)
- Ouija: Heartstrings (comic)
StarscapeComic.co.uk (Webcomic) - Free adventure comics, movies, cartoons and articles featuring classic and all-new stories
MUSIC
Archaean Records (Indie Music)
Soundscape (Indie/New Wave Music) - Free downloads of deleted hard-to-find albums and sampler tracks.
ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
EnvironmentalConsultancy.co.uk (Ecology)
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Print: $12.09 From the pages of the million sales-per-month Action comic (UK) comes the first collected edition of the man-eating great white shark, Hook Jaw! Eventually banned for its graphic violence after a media outcry, this forerunner of 2000 AD sees blood-n-guts and limbs-a-flying mix with environmental issues. This collection comprises the two pre- ban storylines: "The Oil Rig" -- where Hook Jaw unwittingly becomes an eco-terrorist, as he eats his way through the staff of a greed-obsessed oil magnet; "Paradise Island" -- at first glance, an idyllic island for the wealthy but at what cost to the indigenous shark-worshippers? By Pat Mills (2000AD, Charley's War, Slaine, Marshall Law etc etc) and Ken Armstrong (Flesh, Dan Dare and other uncredited stories), Ramon Sola (Action, 2000AD, Battle etc) and Felix Carrion. The horrific nature and young audience of Action weekly led to prohibition campaigns by the Evening Standard, the Sun and the BBC.
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Print: $3.22 Download: $1.07 The Living Dead have invaded the Wild West and only one kick-ass beautiful female sheriff stands between the frightened townsfolk and zombie hell!
Preview DEAD at Clickwheel http://www.clickwheel.net/features/311
or MyEbook http://www.myebook.com/starscape/
Animated comic at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhKPqpwbYAI
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Print: $14.34 Download: $3.97 A selection of original stories from Starscape comic, featuring Guard Dogs written by Jason Quinn (Spider-Man, Commando, Power Rangers), the Deterrent ('reminiscent of [Alan] Moore's Marvelman), the silly superheroine of Monosense Girl, futuristic droid wars in Damage Circus, plus sci-fi horror in the Hitcher by 2000AD's Gary Wilkinson.
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Print: $3.33 Download: $1.12 Born with a mysterious tattoo of a Ouija board on his breast, Sebastian is able to call forth demons and speak to the dead. Will his desire for vengeance and battle against the supernatural lead to salvation or doom? Written by Gary Simpson (Dead, O Men, 2000AD) with art by Tim Youlden.
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Download: FREE Free sample track from the album by
Simon's Ghost 'A Sea of Stars'
"How's Life", I asked her. She said
"Why's he such a bastard?"
...but lying in bed and wishing you dead,
I find myself thinking,
"What's the point of it all?"  Download for Free |
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Disc: $9.17 After listening to Factory Records, new wave music and Sarah Records, Chris Smillie bought his first Casiotone - an MT45, which was dated even then - and set about playing with no musical tuition. All the songs from the first album, 'A Sea of Stars' were written on that ancient little keyboard with its' 8 drum patterns and its' 8 tones with that cheap distorted guitar on an outmoded 4-track.
The music swoons and crashes, reminiscent of, say, Pulp, Scott Walker or the Trembling Blue Stars. There are comparisons with lo-fi bands such as The Decemberists, Band of Holy Joy, Tindersticks or Casiotone For The Painfully Alone but there's a far darker side to these tracks, maybe more connected to Joy Division, the Durutti Column and the Organ. The lyrics convey a sense of yearning and loss, none more so than the conversation taking place in 'A Moth Around A Candle', where our protangonist realises that when 'lying in bed and wishing you dead' the only conclusion can be 'what's the point of it all?'
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Sea of StarsSea of Stars (multimedia download)
Download: $3.99 After listening to Factory Records, new wave music and Sarah Records, Chris Smillie bought his first Casiotone - an MT46, which was dated even then - and set about playing with no musical tuition. All the songs from the first album, 'A Sea of Stars' were written on that ancient little keyboard with its' 8 drum patterns and its' 8 tones with that cheap distorted guitar on an outmoded 4-track. The music swoons and crashes, reminiscent of, say, Pulp, Scott Walker or the Trembling Blue Stars. There are comparisons with lo-fi bands such as The Decemberists, Band of Holy Joy, Tindersticks or Casiotone For The Painfully Alone but there's a far darker side to these tracks, maybe more connected to Joy Division, the Durutti Column and the Organ. The lyrics convey a sense of yearning and loss, none more so than the conversation taking place in 'A Moth Around A Candle', where our protangonist realises that when 'lying in bed and wishing you dead' the only conclusion can be 'what's the point of it all?'
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Print: $30.05 Cornwall is a land defined by it's coastline and the mining industry that supported it's people for so long. As such, the estuaries of Cornwall have become highly contaminated, resulting in an ecology specialised to metal enriched environments.
In this edition, we look at the environment of the Camel, Fal, Gannel and Hayle estuaries, focussing on the Amble Marshes (Camel), Newquay (Gannel), Copperhouse and Lelant (Hayle) and Restronguet Creek (Fal).
The book discusses the mining history, the underlying solid rock geology, the geochemistry and mineralogy of sediments, landscape and environmental designations, before, finally, the ecology of each estuary.
The results of an extensive National Vegetation Classification survey are displayed, along with geochemical maps of major and trace metals, nutrients and other environmental factors, such as moisture and pH levels.
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Download: $3.99 Cornwall is a land defined by it's coastline and the mining industry that supported it's people for so long. As such, the estuaries of Cornwall have become highly contaminated, resulting in an ecology specialised to metal enriched environments. In this edition, we look at the environment of the Camel, Fal, Gannel and Hayle estuaries, focussing on the Amble Marshes (Camel), Newquay (Gannel), Copperhouse and Lelant (Hayle) and Restronguet Creek (Fal). The book discusses the mining history, the underlying solid rock geology, the geochemistry and mineralogy of sediments, landscape and environmental designations, before, finally, the ecology of each estuary. The results of an extensive National Vegetation Classification survey are displayed, along with geochemical maps of major and trace metals, nutrients and other environmental factors, such as moisture and pH levels.
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Download: $1.13 The Living Dead have invaded the Wild West and only one kick-ass beautiful female sheriff stands between the frightened townsfolk and zombie hell!
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