The Strangeness of Brendan McCarthy

[Phuz]

Phuz, you'd seem to be the man to ask whether Brendan's got any plans to publish another edition of his visual autobiography, Swimini Purpose?

Brendan said a couple of days ago that an updated version would be out in a year or two at the soonest. It's something he's always thinking about and working on. Like the first edition it'll happen when it happens, suddenly and unexpectedly. Watch for any news on my site, and when it goes on sale act quickly the last one sold out in under a week.

[Frank]

Phuz, you'd seem to be the man to ask whether Brendan's got any plans to publish another edition of his visual autobiography, Swimini Purpose?

Brendan said a couple of days ago that an updated version would be out in a year or two at the soonest. It's something he's always thinking about and working on. Like the first edition it'll happen when it happens, suddenly and unexpectedly. Watch for any news on my site, and when it goes on sale act quickly the last one sold out in under a week.

Will do, but I'd appreciate any alert you might be able to give us here. I've been looking in on your site and Brendan's blog, but I'm normally too slow out the blocks for stuff like this.

[Colin YNWA]

Well bugger me, sorry to drag this back but I'm astonished to hear Sooner or Later has never been reprinted, how wonky is that. After all the Best of, Extremes and the Meg 'trades' I was stunned to learn that minor classic has never found a home!

[ming]

Swimini Purpose does pop up from time to time; unfortunately it usually comes with a price tag like this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Swimini-Purpose-Brendan-McCarthy-/251067503582?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3a74ca13de

Still, worth keeping an eye open.

[Frank]

Swimini Purpose does pop up from time to time; unfortunately it usually comes with a price tag like this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Swimini-Purpose-Brendan-McCarthy-/251067503582?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item3a74ca13de

Still, worth keeping an eye open.

I was tempted until I saw the £3 postage.

[Phuz]

I'm putting together a new bibliography for 'The Strangeness of.." site.

If you've got any magazines or fanzines which contain any of Brendan's work or feature an interview, could you let me know. I just need the name of the publication and the issue number, no need to scan the article, unless you want to .

You can contact me via this forum or email: judgephuz@live.co.uk

All help with be greatly appreciated

[ming]

I've got a few old interviews kicking around - ARK, Fantasy Advertiser, plus at least one or two more.  Will dig 'em out this evening and drop you a line.  The scanner's on the fritz for now but I'll sort scans out when it's back up (for the Bad Bob art as well).

[Phuz]

Tar Ming

Although I may have the interviews from Ark and Fantasy Advertiser (see below). Probably best if everyone checks with me before scanning pages, as I may already have them. It's the smaller articles I'm after, mainly from Speakeasy and Comics International, and the issues of Ark/Arken Sword that aren't below. Plus any of the smaller fanzines.

[ming]

I've got those three, plus a Speakeasy one.  Will dig that one out shortly; a nice Milligan & McCarthy piece...

[Frank]

Keep up the sterling work, Phuz. Our records show we are in receipt of the following:

Deadline, no.3, Deadline Publications, December 1989:
Interview by 'Frankie Stein'. A very silly interview, at that; illustrated with a great full page B/W line drawing, Merry Xmas: the King is in the all-together. Seemingly features every character he's ever created having a festive piss-up (including Mickey Swift, wearing a '© Fleetway' T shirt) , with speech bubbles reading 'YAROO!', 'Look Ma', and 'Sing it, Jack, Sing the empty song'. Small reproduction of pointilist rotring pen illustration of Ziggy-era Bowie (and explanation of why he doesn't use that style more often). Photograph of McCarthy in front of a sphinx, throwing his sets in the air in a manner which I interpreted as mystical at the time, but which I now recognise as the Spidey web slinging action. I'm sure that, to Brendan, that is a mystical gesture.

Talks of early love of The Beano, holding an Art School party with huge mounds of mash potato with sausages stuck in as "having a Beano", drinking 20 cups of stewed tea per day ("the kind the chimps drink"), playing The Smiths to his plants, designing Paradax, drawing in a trance-like state, Mirkin's origins (Martin Amis!), tabloid journalism, running up a step ladder (held by Brett Ewins) dressed as Superman at The Albert Hall as part of his modeling for Vidal Sassoon, fucking and tripping at Stonehenge, ghosts, U.F.Os, drawing vs painting, Thatcher, Dadaism, Hippies & Skinheads, "Peter Milligan is my equal in every way... the fusion of me and Pete forms something we could not do on our own", I Ching, dreams ('The Hat on the Brink'), recording dogs, method acting "I really was Mirkin, sauntering around saying Darling, how charming. More Bollinger? Ought we to be drunk every day, Sebastian?", Christmas, and his desire to possess the cover artwork for a Sixties Batman story, The House The Joker Built.

Deadline, no. 20, Deadline Publishing, July 1990:
One page Artoon, All Is Remembered All Is Forgiven. Pyramid head guy hangs upside down from Stingray-patterned gibbet. Signed 'Brendin Muck'.

Speakeasy, no. 115, (the XXX cert issue), John Brown Publishing, November 1990:
Cover only ('Eat My Life' says rubber sex doll lover of green fellow with female fetish legs for hair).

Comic World, no. 22, Aceville Publications, December 1993:
Interview only. Title, Brendan McCarthy: Hollywood Remix. Talks about Skin, Rogan Gosh, how he got the Coneheads gig, working in Hollywood, turning down The Shadow movie, Horrorville movie being optioned and scripted, pitching Doctor Dream for TV, being on standby for the Judge Dredd film, Prince Charming with Steve Barron, creator owned comic King Weird, and is breathlessly enthusiastic about his design work for the forthcoming Reboot.

He's particularly funny about Sebastian O and Zenith, "Grant Morrison's made a good living out of my work, but what can you do about it?". He also mentions his desire to do a Spiderman book with the weirdness of Dr Strange added to the mix, "I think it's within my power to come up with a new angle on it". Wonder whatever happened to that idea? The introductory paragraph references an interview (in issue 5) which I don't have. Steve Holland was the interviewer and the Editor, so that might be an angle to explore. Accompanied by some amazing B/W Coneheads concept work.

I also remember an interview from a Fleetway publication where Brendan riffs on the (loosely defined) concept of 'Pandy'. I can't remember if that was just one of those short, self-indulgent droid profiles Goldkind ran on the front-inside page of 2000ad during the mid-Nineties or something more substantial, but I'll try to find a reference for that too. My spare room now looks like a fuckin' bomb's hit it.

[Phuz]

I know how you feel, Bikini Kill. My front room frequency looks like terrorist have paid a visit due to searching for stuff. I appreciate the sterling effort, old chap.

I've got the Deadline stuff/Speakeasy cover. Didn't know about the Comic World ones, so I'll add those to the list.

[Phuz]

A few things I've found...

Got these:
- Ark 24, 33, 34
- Deadline 03
- Previews (Rogan Gosh interview around 1994)
- Video Guide (1991ish Highlander 2 interview)
- Time Out 20/20: Mick Jagger illustration


Haven't got these and would love some scans
- Bizarre Magazine 147 (March 2009): salute to the heroes of British comics
- Fan-fan-zene (2001)
- CUT (July 1989) Brendan McCarthy interview
- Black and White Magazine issue 67



Also has anyone got a decent scan of this Dredd pic by Brendan. It appeared in a 1986 Australian Comics Convention booklet:

[ming]

I've made enquiries about that Oz pic - will let you know if anything turns up.

Meanwhile, Speakeasy #71 (February 1987): pages 7 and 9.  Paradax-related piece; can scan it if you need it (but I'll be away until the end of next week).

"...Milligan and McCarthy are the Quentin Crisp and Aubrey Beardsley of comics."

[Phuz]

Thanks Ming

I was outbid for Speakeasy 71 on eBay a few days ago, so scans would be grand. Especially the cover, you can never have too much Mirkin

[Phuz]

Does anyone know which issue of Rock Power contained the Dredd story 'The Ballad of Toad MacFarlane' (art by Brendan) which was later reprinted in the Megazine