Insomnia Publications
The Word is coming to Cardiff Comic Con!
211 months ago
Coming in maybe slightly too late is the news that the guys at Com.X will have the first official previews of Babble – albeit in digital form – at Cardiff Comic Con!
This is, obviously, a pretty big deal for us, considering we had hoped to show off the first previews at last years now infamous Bristol Comic Expo, when we were still with Insomnia Publications, so, as you can imagine, there’s a slight trepidation about what – if any – the reaction to the pages will be. Fingers crossed you like what you see…
Remember, too, Com.X will also be unveiling their Blue Spear limited edition ashcan, by Andi Ewington, Eddie Deighton and Cosmo White:
So, when you’re grabbing yourself a copy of that, ask – nay, demand a look at the Babble preview pages they have in all their work-in-progress glory.
That was the year that was…
11 year ago
Well, I think it’s fair to say that 2010 has been a pretty tumultuous year for us…
The troubles with our previous publisher have been well documented, and there’s no point in going to go over them again here, but a lot of good things have actually come out of it, hard as it is to believe.
We’ve got some new projects on the boil – both together and independently – some of which will be finally seeing the light in 2011, and, of course, there’s the fact that we’ve landed Babble with probably the coolest UK publisher around, Com.X.
It’s been said before, but it feels like a natural fit, like Babble as finally come home. The guys at Com.X have been brilliant; we’ve had nothing but 100% of their support since they agreed to take us on, and it’s re-fired our passion for the project. Having seen the quality of the books they publish (in terms of printing, paper stock, design etc.), we know that we’re going to end up with something pretty special on the shelves.
There’s still some work to do on Babble, but the reactions we’ve had from, other publishers, friends and collaborators on the work we’ve done so far has been pretty positive, and it’s generated some buzz that we can hopefully build on.
For now, though, this is us signing off for Christmas, but, rest assured, we’ll be back in 2011, ready to spread the word…
Back in the saddle…
11 year ago
Well, it’s November and it’s time to kick this thing into gear…
There’s still a way to go before we’re ready to let Babble loose into the world, but, after a chat with the guys at Com.X, we know exactly where we are and what our next step is.
After everything that happened with Insomnia Publications, it’s a little strange to be picking up the reigns on this again, but the time away from it has allowed us to look at it with fresh eyes and see ways that we can improve it. So, while Bryan finishes up a piece for Omnivistascope (and struggles manfully with Vista), I’m about to get stuck back into the scripting and finally put this to bed.
As I said over on my blog, I’ve resolved to put the whole Insomnia debacle behind me, so, as a final word on the subject, I want to say, on behalf of myself and Bryan, a big thank you to all of the ex-Insomnia people for helping get Babble this far along the production line. We appreciate it, guys. And, also, we want to thank everyone for all the well wishes and support we got when we announced the new deal.
We’ll try not to let you down.
Babble finds a new home – with Com.X!
11 year ago
Yes, it’s true! As reported over at Comics Bulletin Babble has found a new home with Com.X, publishers of Cla$$war and Forty-Five!
After all the ups and downs with Insomnia Publications, we can’t even begin to tell you how pleased we are to finally have a new publisher in place. There was never any doubt in our minds that Babble would find someone willing to take it under their wing, but landing it with someone as respected and as passionate about the medium as Com.X is more than we could ever have hoped for. Hopefully, this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship.
Now that everything is going ahead again, expect this blog to pick up and be updated more regularly. Remember, too, you can stay up to date will all the latest developments by following the official Babble Twitter account at: http://www.twitter.com/Babble_GN.
And…we’re back! Kind of…
01 year ago
Wow. Seems like an age since this site was last updated…
Anyway, after all the nonsense with Insomnia, we now know where we stand legally after we were released from our contracts in the way we were, and we’re ready to move on and get Babble out there. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll have a formal announcement later this month, but that’s all we can say at the minute.
In the meantime, both Bryan and Lee have been hard at work, with two completed projects in the bag, ABC Warriors: Broken Dreams for Zarjaz:
A panel from ABC Warriors: Broken Dreams
And Just Like You for Accent UK‘s upcoming anthology Predators:
From "Just Like You" - click to read
Unfortunately, Predators has been pushed back until 2011.
However, Bryan is currently working on a Judge Joyce strip for Zarjaz:
A work in progress from an upcoming Judge Joyce strip
A work in progress from an upcoming Judge Joyce strip
While Lee (working with Dunk Nimmo and Bolt-01) is set to make his Zarjaz debut with a very special story called Death To The Future that marks the first ever crossover between the 2000AD fanzines Zarjaz and Dogbreath:
A panel from Death To The Future. Art by Dunk! Nimmo
Death To The Future will be in Zarjaz #10 and Dogbreath #23, both of which will be getting their official launch at The British International Comic Show later this month. But, if you can’t wait that long, they’re both available now from the FutureQuake Shop.
Check back for more on Babble, or follow the official Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/Babble_GN.
The Sleepless Phoenix Anthology
01 year ago
As anyone who follows this kind of stuff will know, Insomnia Publications filed with Companies House to stop trading, and left about sixty or so people with graphic novels in legal limbo. As the wheels begin to slowly turn in a bid to get the situation resolved and get the creators out of their contracts, several Insomniacs have banded together to get a brand new anthology, Survival Stories, out there. This new book is made up of work that wasn’t under contract with Insomnia, and due to appear in what would’ve been the next issue of Layer Zero, and all of the proceeds raised from the sale of Survival Stories will be donated to the Comic Book Alliance.
However, to make this book happen, they need your support.
Over on Kickstarter, a page has been set up where you can pre-order yourself a copy – digital or printed – or otherwise help out by pledging some money to help them hit their target amount. The book is around 192 pages long, and there’s a bunch of special offers there, too, depending on how much you donate.
So, you know, go and order yourself a copy!
Babbling all the way into Limbo…
01 year ago
As everyone is no doubt aware, stories have been circulating around the Internet about Insomnia Publications and them ceasing to, well, publish. Unfortunately, this isn’t as clear cut a situation as you’d expect and no one’s sure how quickly – or even if – it’s going to be resolved.
So, it is with a heavy heart that we have to formally announce Babble is being put into limbo for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully, things will be worked out one way or another and we’ll be able to back to work on Babble and get it out there on the shelves and into your hands. We’ve poured a lot of work into the project, and we’re desperately hoping that we don’t have to watch it be shelved forever. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind words and support for Babble. It means a lot to us that we had something people were genuinely looking forward to reading.
Never fear, though, because it’s not the last you’ve heard of us!
Coming soon[ish], we’ve got an appearance lined up for a future issue of Zarjaz, with a story called Broken Dreams, featuring a certain war robot…
A WIP panel from Broken Dreams
Later this year, we’ll be appearing in Accent UK‘s 2010 anthology Predators, with a story called Just Like You. With kind permission from the Accent UK team, here’s a sneak preview of that strip…
From "Just Like You" - click to read
We also have a slew of fresh projects in the pipeline that we’ll no doubt ram down your throats in a blaze of shameless self-publicity, both here (while we still have the hosting) and on our respective blogs.
Needless to say, as soon as we have any more information on the future of Babble, we’ll be shouting it from the rooftops. And posting it here.
Insomnia Goes Digital
02 years ago
Completely forgot to post this the other week, and by now, pretty much everyone already knows, but in case you missed it… Insomnia Publications ever growing library of graphic novels are coming to the PSP (PlayStation®Portable) as digital comics!
All of the books will be released as monthly digital chapters from the Digital Comics Store on the PlayStation®Network, starting this December when the service launches, and, yes, Babble will be there, too, when it’s complete.
The PSP digital comics store has the support of Marvel and IDW, so it’s all looking good so far.
You can find out more about all of this over at The Red Eye, Insomnia’s official blog.
TempleAPA #5 out now!
02 years ago
The latest issue of Temple APA is available to download now – and features a huge section on Insomnia Publications. And yes, Babble gets a brief mention…
TempleAPA #4
You can download Temple APA #5 from the Temple APA Ning group.
Welcome…
02 years ago
Hello, and welcome to the official blog for Babble!
What is Babble, you ask? Well, it’s an original graphic novel by Lee Robson and Bryan Coyle that’s due to be published by Insomnia Publications. You can check out the Overview on the right of the screen to get an idea of what the book is all about, but over the next few weeks and months, we’ll be posting various and sundry items to whet your appetite and try and build a following for the books release.
In the meantime, you can check out some of the other work from myself, Lee, and Bryan in the Accent UK anthologies ROBOTS (Previews order code: MAR083379), WESTERN (Previews order code: JUN090671) and the upcoming PREDATORS (due for release in 2010):
Robots, Western and Predators from Accent UK
You can also see our very first collaboration in FutureQuake #9:
FutureQuake #9
There’s not really much more to add at this stage, so, for now remember to befriend us on MySpace and ComicSpace and follow our Twitter feed for updates and possibly even the odd exclusive item.
So, all that’s left now is to spread The Word…
