The Fun Lovin’ Criminals formed in 1993 when Huey Morgan and Fast (AKA Brian Leiser) worked together in the Limelight Nightclub in New York City. Recruiting their flatmate Steve O as a drummer, they released a self-titled debut EP in 1995, and released their debut studio album , Come Find Yourself, the following year. Since then, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals have enjoyed a series of drummers; although Huey jokes that none had spontaneously combusted as in Spinal Tap. Steve O left the band, following the release of their 1998 second album, 100% Columbian, and was replaced by Mackie who stayed with the Criminals until 2003, when he has replaced by Frankie (AKA Mark Reid) who was formerly Mackie’s drum technician.

The Fun Lovin’ Criminals first came to my attention in 1997, and what struck me most about them was their unique identity. Their songs revolved around New York City, but one that everyone could identify with, as it was the New York portrayed in hundreds of TV shows and films. Despite the central core location of the tracks, the themes of their songs demonstrated an impressive breadth of lyrical narrative: from robbing banks while high on diazepam, to soulful introspection on love. The Fun Lovin’ Criminals are nothing if not diverse.

Not only is Huey Morgan the lead singer of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, he is also an actor (starring in Head Rush, Souled Out, and Maui Homicide 2000, the latter a Fun Lovin’ Criminals film parodying Miami Vice), he has written a regular column for Mondo, hosts a radio-show for BBC6, and co-owns the Voodoo Lounge, the Dice Bar and DiFontaine’s Pizza Place (all of which are in Dublin).

Unlike many other musicians, Huey Morgan is disinterested in the celebrity culture that permeates society, often dismissing those said musicians as being more interested in money and fame than in the art of music. One suspects his disinterest in celebrities comes from the fact that Huey never set out to be a musician, having been formerly being a marine after getting to trouble with the law when he was younger. Nonetheless, Huey is an incredibly charming and charismatic individual, renowned for his warmth and deadpan humour.

Partly because of Huey’s disdain of his status as a celebrity, it was only recently that I learnt he had become married. Thus it seemed only fitting that I should congratulate him on his found status when I caught up with him preparing for the Fun Lovin’ Criminals appearance at the Nottingham Splendour Festival in July.

Pete: Good afternoon, Huey, and firstly congratulations on your recent marriage to Rebecca.

Huey: Thanks, man. It’s been a couple of years now, but I appreciate it. She’s treating me very well and is a lovely lady. I am blessed.

Pete I believe the Fun Lovin’ Criminals formed through you working with Fast at the Limelight, but what inspired you to become a musician?

Huey: Fast was more of a musician than I was at that point. But just being around the Limelight there so many different kinds of music coming in and out of there. Every room in the place, and we had seven or eight rooms in the club, had different types of music playing. So we were exposed to a lot of music, and that motivated us to make our own kind of sound.

Pete: Listening to your albums I have noticed a broad scope of musical genres, from reggae to hip-hop. Is this from your time at the Limelight, or is it something you do intentionally when creating music?

Huey: I think we are like most people where we like different types of music anyway, and that kind of filters down into the music we make. We do try to include a lot of different styles that we like, for a lot of reasons. Number one is that we like that kind of music. Number two is that it is interesting to play as a musician, and,if you have a story to tell, you have to give a good background to that story, something that suits jazz style, a hip-hop style, a blues style, a rock style, or a metal style even.

Pete: It is refreshing to listen to a band that reinvents itself each time.

Huey: Yeah, well we are kind of interested in how the new record is going to be received. We really don’t have anything to compare ourselves to, but ourselves. People say we are a modern rock band, but we’re not really, you know? It’s one of those things where people say “it sounds like the Fun Lovin’ Criminals”, and that’s good, because there is one else that sounds like us, and we should sound like ourselves, which is kind of redundant. But it is one of those things, you know, where we are so unique that it kind of gives us a little more incentive to try different things.

Pete: I have heard rumours that a new Fun Lovin’ Criminals album will be forthcoming? Can you tell me more about it?

Huey: Well it is called Classic Fantastic, and it is pretty much as far as it goes, and I don’t want to dismiss it and say “it is just another Fun Lovin’ Criminals record”, as it is a real good one, and our best in a long time. It has a flavour which we think is very, how to say it, accessible to those who do not know the Fun Lovin Criminals, and people that do know the Fun Lovin Criminals will kind of nod their heads and smile, and go “okay, the boys are back”

Pete: As you have said previously, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals are very unique musically. Do you believe that stems from your childhood influences when growing up?

Huey: Growing up where I grew up, I had all kinds of different music going on, and when Fast and I got together and started the band, we didn’t want to sound like anybody else. We figured what was the point? Why would you want to sound like the Foo Fighters, and I didn’t want to sound like Led Zeppelin, or I didn’t want to sound like Kid Rock. It just didn’t seem like anything to make sense to us. If we were going to do it, we were going to do it different. So that was on the forefront of our minds, and luckily Fast and I have a broad musical taste that lends itself to what we do.
But keep in mind that I wasn’t the singer at the beginning. We were auditioning some guys, and I wasn’t a vocalist until Fast decided we couldn’t find someone who told good stories. I was always the guy at the bar who always had these great stories, and I’d tell everyone all these stories, so Fast said one time, “Hey, man, why don’t you just write these stories down, try to rhyme a couple of words, and then you got a song?” So that’s what I do.

Pete: Speaking of the stories in your songs, what was the inspiration for Swashbucklin’ in Brooklyn? It seems to echo the tale of John Manniel.*

Huey: That’s very cool. I guess I can go after him for plagiarism, or they can go after me. It’s the chicken and the egg, you know. It was written at the times when vigilantism in New York was prominent and neighbourhoods would take care of themselves. I thought it was kind of funny that a guy wouldn’t use guns, and would go out and swashbuckle in Brooklyn.

Pete: It seems the music blends itself to the lyrics, is this true, or do you form the music first and then weave the lyrics into the music?

Huey: We really don’t have a formula. It is one of those things where I might come up with an idea for a story, and I write a lot. I am in the middle of writing a book right now. But I come up with a story, and Fast will come up with a song, and we’ll all strum some chords on a guitar, then Fast will put something to it. It never happens the same way twice. I really wish we did have a formula as it would be easier.

Pete: Can you say more about the book are you writing?

Huey: Well, it is an espionage thriller, and I can’t really say much more than that, as I’m only half way through it. It is a story about a guy who’s a secret agent, and he makes Jason Bourne look like a punk, and makes James Bond look like civvy – like he shouldn’t even be in the business.

Pete: The Fun Lovin Criminals have had a series of drummers. Can you tell me how Frank was recruited?

Huey: Frank’s been in the band the longest actually. He’s been in for eight years. Steve O was our room mate who we kind of forced to be in the band, but wouldn’t sing with us afterwards as he didn’t like what we were doing. He was a doff**, and those doffs don’t like the Fun Lovin Criminals. Well, maybe I don’t know, but he didn’t. Then we hired Mackie for a couple of years, and now Frank is a full member of the band, so he has been with us for eight years. So we kind of worked our way to find Frank, and we knew Frank from bands in England, and he has been a friend of ours way before he was in the band. So when Mackie left, he was the logical choice. He was the guy that we knew, and he plays other instruments as well.
He is not just a drummer. He sings quite well, and he is just a really good addition to the three people. Because a three piece band is kind of difficult, because you have to rely on your friends, these two other guys whoever they may be, to help you out doing whatever you do. So Frank helps Fast out and me out, and for Frank and Fast I help them out. Fast has me and Frank help him out. So it is like the axis of rock, you know?

Pete: You have been an outspoken critic against manufactured and corporate music. What is your main criticism against this?

Huey: Well, there has always been Kasabians and all those teen idols you know, and I don’t have a problem with that as twelve year old girls have got to do something. But it gets to the point where you see all these TV shows about The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, and it just seems to be that the cult of personality has got to the extent where it is not important how you are famous, just that you are famous.
I’ve always thought when you manufacture music and think it is an artistic endeavour, when in reality all it is a commercial enterprise, it kind of takes away the art of it all, Music is at its best when it written and performed by people who have interesting things to say, interesting comments on society, and talk about things normal people in a way don’t always hear. Oscar Wilde for instance, he was a pretty strange guy, I don’t think he could get a book deal nowadays. If you look back on the bands that I like, many of these bands didn’t look pretty, so they probably wouldn’t have got a record deal these days.
In this day and age record companies are having less and less control over what music is being put out in the world through the internet. It is starting to turn to the artists favour to a certain degree, where if someone likes something they tell their friends, go to websites, they can download it, and it’s free.
I’ve always believed that music should be free. I am a big supporter of file sharing, and all that kind of stuff. It has got to the point of why fight it? It is like trying to fight a tsunami. It’s going to happen. The waves are coming, so just let the waves go. And then if you want to see the band live, that is where the band can make a little cash to pay their rent. If you like a band, like their music, play it all the time in the house, and they are in your neighbourhood and playing on Friday night, go down and pay £10 to go see them, so those guys can pay their rent, and keep making music that you like. Support your local artist in other words, you know. Rather than support your big conglomerate Sony record company!

Pete: When I first heard the Fun Lovin’ Criminals were playing the Nottingham Splendour Festival, I immediately ordered my tickets to go.

Huey: Well, we have always had that impact on people, despite the fact that the last two records we were with a record company. People have always come to see us play. We do play live well, and that is something we have always aspired to. It is what we have always wanted to do. When we play for people, we are the least important part of the equation. The people are the biggest part of the equation, and they come to have fun, and we supply the tunes, and a couple of jokes, you know, and that is how we look at being in a band. We’re not building rockets, we’re not curing cancer, we’re just playing music.

Pete: The Fun Lovin’ Criminals seem to have a larger audience in UK and Europe than in your homeland. Is this true?

Huey: Absolutely. When we first started, initially, the response to the band was in Europe. So strike while the iron’s hot, and we decided to go to Europe and play, go to Australia, Asia, Eastern Europe, and all those kind of places. Then when we were offered to play gigs in America it was through the graces of a band – like U2. They were fantastic, and we toured the United States with them. There are parts in the United States, cities I think like New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and you get down south a little bit like Phili; The bigger cities kind of know of us, and they do come out to see us when we play. We didn’t really canvas it, as it is such a big country to play, and the radio stations are still very formatted out there. We don’t play the same thing twice, so it is kind of hard to put us in a niche, but we have created our own niche in Europe, where people understand that the Fun Lovin’ Criminals aren’t something that you see every day.

Pete: Not only are you famous for being in the Fun Lovin Criminals, you have also starred in a series of films. Is acting taking a greater interest for you?

Huey: Well, you know, Headrush was by Shimmy Marcus, an Irish film maker, who’s been a friend of mine for twelve years, and he asked me to play this part in a movie, and I said, “Yeah sure, as long as you put more of the band’s music in the movie”, and he said, “Okay”. So I turn up at the studio on the set, and I play a transvestite. I had no idea I was going to do that, so I just went with it.
He’s just made a new film that’s coming out called Souled Out, and it takes place in the Northern Soul movement of Stoke on Trent, in the early seventies, and I play an English record store owner.
So I like to do things that challenge me like that, and to work with friends. Be they film makers, or writers, or musicians, or anything; I just really like being around people that are like minded, and that is kind of how I got into doing that stuff.
You see me once in a while on TV, because people think I’m going to say something crazy, which I probably do most of the time, especially if it is live television, and I’ve been doing that for a while, and it’s been fun. I’ve started this radio show in October on the BBC, and I got a Sony Award after I’d only been doing it for five months.

Pete: Yeah, I’d read that. Congratulations!

Huey: Thanks man! I was just surprised as hell! I was like “You what? I got an award for this?”. But the show is very similar to how I look at the world. I play old fifties jazz from stuff that I like, to modern music, and everything in between. I think it is important for people to broaden their horizons, and if you are given an opportunity – like I have – to be in a film or do a radio show, or be in a band, then you roll with it; because I am a kid from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, you know. I do not aspirations other than to make a living, pay my rent and take care for my family. Anything beyond that is a gravy.

Pete: I am really glad to hear that, and I love your show. It is really cool.

Huey: Thank you, man.Tune in every Sunday! You can also listen to it during the week on the iPlayer, which is how I normally listen to it, as I do it live in one take, and I do not know how it comes out until they broadcast it. But the BBC, they are really cool, and if they let me do a show, they’re pretty cool.

Pete: I read in a previous interview that one of your favourite TV programs is EastEnders. What is your fascination with this series?

Huey: Yeah, I am starting to fall off that a bit. I keep dropping hints in every interview I do, to let me be an extra in the god-damn show, and I would do it for free, and I’d make my own way to Elm Street, or wherever they tape it, and no one says anything to me. So now it’s, “Yeah, whatever”. I mean I like the show. They used to play it on TV in New York, and I used to watch it as a kid, and then I came over here and I got into it. And my wife and I, we don’t watch it too much anymore, because we got other shit going on, but you know I’d still like to be in it. But they keep yanking my chain. Like if they want a free extra,that means I am saving them a couple of hundred quid. I just don’t know why they don’t say, “Just get that kid up here, cos he’s free, and sit him in the bar”, or whatever, you know. I look at this way. They can get a little press out of it. I can fulfil a life-long dream, and there is no money spent.

Pete: I recall a few years ago how you previously collaborated with Garbage. How did that come about?

Huey: Yeah, we did a whole bunch of stuff with them. We’re friends with them. Early on in our career, we toured with them in Germany. In fact we toured around Europe with them for quite some time; and Butch Vig and Duke (Erikson), and all those guys in the band, and Steve Manson, all those guys were really cool, especially Shirley. We did a remix for them for You Look So Fine, which was on one of their records, and then they did a remix for us of Korean Bodega, on one of our remixes from 100% Columbian. They are a great bunch of guys. We love them.

Pete: I found hearing Shirley Manson’s voice on a Fun Lovin’ Criminals track brought a very different flavour to the song.

Huey: Yeah, she’s got one of the best voices ever. I mean Shirley has got so much texture and emotion to it that you cannot help but like it, you know. She’s a sound girl too. She’s a really good girl.

Pete: Shirley has got into acting as well, hasn’t she, a recurring TV role in the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?

Huey: Oh cool! I’d be interested to see her, as she has got a lot of emotion.

Pete: Do you have any similar collaborations lined up, with Garbage or otherwise?

Huey: Well, on the new record we worked with a couple of artists that we like that were friends. Like I was saying before, we like working with friends. There was this guy called G-Love, from G-Love and Special Sauce, who’s from Philadephia, and he’s kind of like a blues-rock dude, and we worked with him on a song on the new record called Classic Fantastic.
We also worked with the Routes Manoeuvre, an MC from Britain, and he’s a friend of ours, so we did some tracks with him. We’ve worked with Ian McCulloch from Echo and the Bunnymen in the past, and Shaday, people that we really like and respect. Jools Holland was another guy that I worked with. So like I said, if you find these people in a bar somewhere, and you get talking, you end up in the studio with them.

Pete: I assume you have you moved to the UK permanently now?

Huey: Well, I am back and forth, and I did get my residency, so I am allowed to stay here. I’m not like ducking and dodging. But I’m back and forth as New York is always going to be my home. Actually wherever my dog is where I consider home. I brought my dog from Brooklyn all the way over here. She was born in Brooklyn, and now she lives in England. She likes it here.

Pete: What made you want to stay?

Huey: Well, my wife had something to do with it, yeah. But I like the British, and my wife spent two years in New York with me. So we go back and forth. We’re going to be here for a while, and then we’ll go back there for a while. It’s cool you know, an easygoing thing.

Pete: One final question: What does the future hold for both the Fun Lovin Criminals and yourself?

Huey: Well, I think we are going to be working a lot, coming up to the end of the year. Getting the record out, and all that kind of stuff. Playing a couple of festivals and let the people know what we can still rock the house you know. It should be some interesting stuff, for we’ve got some secret weapons planned to bring to the people. So stay tuned, and listen to the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, because we’ve going to have some cool stuff coming around.

PB: Huey Morgan, thank you very much.

* Doff (according to the Urban Dictionary): Originally used in reference to those who aren’t up to the common norms of intelligence, it is now used for those who not only do not have the intelligence to assess certain matters of import, but also do not have the correct information or wherewithal to do so.

** John Manniel was a New York police officer, who in the 1980s took on New York street gangs using martial arts and intimidation.

Huey Morgan was interviewed for Pennyblackmusic, and published in June 2009.

Being a film connoisseur, Nick owns a gargantuan DVD collection that vies for territory with his books and graphic novels.  Nick can often be found pounding away on the keyboard to the latest indie bands or film soundtracks.  I was surprised to learn that when not writing or gaming, Nick is also a keen runner.

In April I was fortunate to have a drink with Nick Kyme at Con-Quest gaming convention in Derby. Games Workshop had been a key part of my introduction to gaming over twenty years ago. I was keen to find out more about Nick’s role in Games Workshop, writing, and his thoughts on gaming.

Pete: Firstly, can you tell me what first brought you into gaming?

Nick: I am originally from a little village called Humberston, which is quite near to Grimsby. It’s a bit like Mordheim minus several comets, but with mutants still roaming the streets (he says in jest…). There was a tiny little hobby shop in Grimsby called “D Hewings” that my brother used to go to, and one afternoon he brought home a copy of Middle Earth Role Play. I became intrigued by all the dice and rulebooks and wondered what it was all about. So, I started doing a bit of Middle Earth Role-playing and the Games Workshop stuff evolved from there.
A little later on, my brother also bought a copy of Rogue Trader, and once they’d figured out the rules, he and his mates would have a game. I remember elaborately appointed gaming tables (the downstairs dining table, to be precise) literally full of improvised scenery taken from home-ware stores and pet shops. Let’s just say there were A LOT of aquarium plants and other assorted mad stuff.
Having been exposed to this gaming phenomenon, it didn’t take me long to start making up my own game rules. Mine, however, were based on the old Citadel Combat Cards – essentially fantasy miniature Top Trumps – which I used for statistics, and then built a game system around them with the miniatures I had collected.
My first blister pack was a set of warrior knights, which cost £2.00 for five knights, and were multi-part models with separate limbs and separate bodies – they were fantastic. From that point I was buying all sorts of random stuff, such as giant scorpions, dwarfs, or a griffon. I suspect that a lot of my miniature choices were dictated by what I had on my Combat Cards too. It wasn’t until later on that I really got into collecting Dwarfs, as they are my favourite Warhammer army. I bought some Hammerers and Longbeards, which were five in a pack again, and it was because I liked these miniatures that I decided to build an army. It wasn’t until the first Warhammer Box came out – the one with the Elves and the Goblins – that I started to build proper armies and play proper games.

Pete: Have your tastes changed since you first got into gaming?

Nick: I don’t get to game as much as I used to. The last game I played was the new Space Hulk, which was brilliant, as it was just like the old Space Hulk but with new miniatures. I like the adventure stuff too, and after role-playing I got into Heroquest and Space Crusade, and later Advanced Heroquest, so I suppose they were my apprenticeship. I was always a fan of dungeon-bashing, because they had a story and you had characters which you could develop, and the characters could go on these quests. These games are an ongoing narrative, and the game doesn’t end when the mission ends, as you go onto the next quest, which is probably why online role-playing is as popular as it is.

Pete: What spurred you to find a career within the Gaming industry?

Nick: I had aspirations to be an illustrator, but realised very quickly that I wasn’t good enough as I had a GCSE ‘B’ in Art, and even that was generous. I was never sure what I was going to do, except maybe teaching or write. Ever since I was eleven I wanted to write.

Pete: How did you begin working for Games Workshop?

Nick: I was due to start my degree at university, when Andy Jones, Legal and Licensing Head for Games Workshop, phoned me up and offered a job, as my name had come up. I turned his offer down and explained I was very flattered, but wanted to have a degree so I had something to fall back on. I still worked in the Games Workshop stores during my degree, but three months after my degree had finished I had a job as a layout designer. I didn’t want to do that, but at least it was a foot in the door. I do not think that being a part-timer at Games Workshop: Grimsby necessarily paved the way for me to join White Dwarf. The only reason I applied was Paul Sawyer, White Dwarf editor between 1997 and 2005, asked me to. As Paul explained, he knew I had no layout design skills, but felt I had the right mentality for Games Workshop. If you have the right attitude and are the right person for Games Workshop, they will find you a role where your talents are best employed, which is what happened with me.

Pete: What did you do on White Dwarf?

Nick: I did loads of things while I was with White Dwarf, which is a great primer as you meet a lot of people and mix with a lot of different departments.

Pete: What have been your highlights working for Games Workshop?

Nick: I don’t really have a defining moment at Games Workshop. I have fond memories, such as my first Necromunda novel which was great. My first published article in Citadel Journal, before I worked for Games Workshop, was a piece for Warhammer Quest called “Escape from Hag Graef”, which was a scenario based on a short story by Chris Pramas called Mormacar’s Lament. I even received a certificate for that – ha, ha. Becoming involved in Mordheim at the early stage of its development was really cool. The experience of working on White Dwarf with the writing staff as the creative dynamic was amazing. I have a lot to be thankful to Paul Sawyer for giving me a job in the first place and believing in me, as cheesy as that may sound. I will always appreciate Paul for what he did. In fact my time with White Dwarf was during a period where Games Workshop was going through a silver age and that was fantastic. The first time I interviewed Dan Abnett has got to be one of my highlights as this man was, and still is, a legend to me.

Pete: How did you meet Dan Abnett?

Nick: Guy Haley, then the editor of White Dwarf, explained they were having Dan Abnett visit for a milestone issue which would involve a feature on him, and that I would be the one to interview him. At the time I had a digital Dictaphone, and kept the interview on my Dictaphone for years afterwards.

Pete: You now work for Black Library don’t you?

Nick: Working with the Black Library is great, and is probably the best time I have ever experienced at Games Workshop. I genuinely do love working for Black Library, especially now that I’m working with the authors and being an author myself. It’s great when you have that feeling at the start of a project and are both excited and have that mutual creative spark.

Pete: Has Games Workshop changed over time since you’ve been there?

Nick: Black Library has changed a lot since I started working there. We used to do everything and it is only quite recently that we decided that Black Library is about publishing stories and not making swords, belt buckles, cards, or role-playing games. Black Library is about novels and telling stories in different mediums. This is why Black Library is not just novels, but audio books too. I think Games Workshop has become more business minded, and perhaps in the past four years it has even returned to its original values. This is a niche business, focused on steady growth for sustained longevity.

Pete: Has this focus on story-telling seen a growth in Black Library?

Nick: I believe the popularity of the Horus Heresy series has seen us break new ground and slip into the mainstream. The core readership of Black Library has always been a large Games Workshop fan base, but we have met a lot of folks who just read our books; they don’t game or paint, but are still involved in the universe through our books. Despite breaking this new ground Black Library is still focussed on Games Workshop, and there is a lot of strength in the purity of that.

Pete: Where does your inspiration come from?

Nick: Inspiration comes from everywhere and everything you’re exposed to. You definitely need to have a commercial head upon your shoulders whenever you are writing, there is always going to be that commercial consideration. What you have to do is to discover in your remit what you have a passion for; otherwise whatever you write is going to suffer because of that.

Pete: Last question, what do you see in the future for both yourself and for gaming?

Nick: I’m quite happy doing what I am at the moment, so it will be more of the same in working for Black Library and developing new authors. I’ll do a bit more writing as well, although not as many as four books a year, and seeing where the trilogy that began with Salamander takes me.

Pete: Nick Kyme, thank you very much.

Nick Kyme was interviewed for Irregular magazine, and was published in the Summer 2010 edition.

Gav Thorpe is probably best known for his role as Lead Developer on the ground breaking narrative war-game Inquisitor, which revolved around the Inquisitor War first postulated in the Ian Watson novel of the same name. Gav later became a writer for Black Library, Games Workshop’s publishing arm for their licensed novels, before branching out into freelance writing as an independent author. He also apparently owns – or is owned by – a mechanical hamster called Dennis.

With his well-deserved reputation as a respected games designer, Gav Thorpe remains a keen gamer and self-confessed geek. Despite the interview running over an hour, I found Gav to be very forthcoming with both his time and his answers, which gave insight into how he became a game designer, and his decision to leave Games Workshop.

Pete: Firstly, can you tell me what first brought you into gaming?

Gav: I come from Stevenage, which is the most boring town in the world. There was one great thing about Stevenage, and that was that the indoor market had a hobby shop which sold toy soldiers and kits. It was my older cousin who got me into gaming, first with role-playing and later collecting miniatures. We started with first edition Warhammer, although we didn’t really play a lot, but there
was still lots of painting and collecting.

Pete: Was it the painting that first attracted you?

Gav: I was always a fan of fantasy as a kid; I loved Lord of the Rings and Airfix style toy soldiers, so there was immense satisfaction in finding these both together. I also enjoyed playing games, and I remember writing my first set of games rules at the age of ten. This basically involved me and a mate with our soldiers, where a six was a hit, with ranges for the guns. From there we would become more sophisticated and say “machine guns have three dice”. Actually it was probably one of the slickest systems I’ve written! I also had friends who were into American Football, so I persuaded them to play Blood Bowl. It’s cool being here in the Derby Assembly Rooms, as this was where I first played Second Edition Space Marine in a Games Day demo!

Pete: Have your tastes changed since you first got into gaming?

Gav: My preference is still for those free-form narrative based games, as I am in for the adventure role-play aspect rather than the competition. There’s always been a creative relationship in the gaming that I do. It is all about the adventure and the invention of it. Which is great as a Game Developer, as people pay you to do that. As for the gaming I do now, it’s back to my roots kind of stuff.

Pete: Have you seen a shift in the industry since you first started gaming?

Gav: It’s all quite slick these days with box-sets of pre-built armies, which is good in a way. But I think that free-form way of buying what you want for a game is great – having Ninja’s vs. Cowboys. Gaming is not about rigidity, but imagination.

Pete: How do you find current games?

Gav: It is strange, as I did a little bit of work for Battlefront, on their Flames of War booklet for the starter set. They sent me the rulebook and a copy of every sourcebook they had published. I looked at all of these books, but there was just so much there that I didn’t know where to start. With Warhammer you have the rulebook, and then you have all these army books which you think are great, but it is a hell of a lot to learn. This is the same with Flames of War, as where do you start? That moment made me feel how people walking into Games Workshop for the first time might feel, seeing all these games, and thinking “Great!”, then realising there were all these rules to learn. That is what puts me off games now, as I want to go back to that earlier stuff: where I’m going to have whatever I want on the table and I’m going to have fun. That was always the idea behind Warhammer 40,000, as the army lists were very flexible, but there has been a mentality that has come into the games about them being fair and balanced. There’s only so far you can go with fairness, as you have to balance versatility against restriction, and I will always go for versatility. My thinking has always been that if you want to play competitively, then everyone can abuse it equally. If you choose not then that’s fine, but that’s the environment you are playing in. I’m a laid back gamer, apart from Blood Bowl in which I am really competitive, as board games are very different. It is not because I am competitive by nature, but because board games are very defined and structured, and not about the adventure. I see board games as a tactical challenge which I have to figure out.

Pete: What games did you play when you were younger?

Gav: I had a real nerdalgia – moment of nerdy nostalgia – the other day when we were talking about D&D. So I dug out my original D&D, and the emotion I had of looking at the cover again: I remembered when my grandparents bought me and my brother this role-playing game out of the blue. Looking at the cover of the original D&D box sets brought back so many great childhood memories and the realisation that D&D was fantastic. No nonsense, just going down dungeons, kicking in doors, killing monsters, and stealing their cash; I mean, how cool is that? I immediately thought about calling around everyone to ask if they fancied a basic D&D Campaign.

Pete: Are you a fan of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons?

Gav: Role-playing games are a bit of an odd one, as you have the rules, a cool bit of background, and you do not need anything else. But the way the industry works, and has to work, is they have to sell you something: so here’s a Fighter handbook and Mage handbook and so on. AD&D became ever more sub-divided, where you could be a Half-Elf Mage-Fighter-Thief; but I don’t care. I just want to kick down doors, kill monsters and steal their treasure. Some of my role-playing is more sophisticated than that, but the basic nature of role-playing and gaming, and the merger between the two, has meant more rules are being written. I do not want rules on how to role-play; I want rules on how to resolve conflict. When you look at the books and ask “Do I really need all these books to play?” and while you may not, you still feel that you need to, because we all have the collector gene. I’ve managed to avoid 4th Edition far, as I wasn’t into AD&D. From what I have heard so far, it seems almost of a step-back to where it is foremost a game, which some people do not like and others do.

Pete: What spurred you to find a career within the Gaming industry?

Gav: It beats working for a living «laughs». I intended to be an illustrator originally, as I had studied art. There are quite a few games developers and publishers who come from art-based or engineering backgrounds, as there is the imagery side of gaming and the systems side of it as well. I realised early on I wasn’t good enough to be an illustrator, as I applied to a college who said I couldn’t do a foundation course and had to study a bridging course first. As I was also planning to study a three year illustration degree at Manchester Polytechnic, I found it was going to be another five years in school, which wasn’t for me.

Pete: So how did it happen?

Gav: I went to Games Day in 1993. I had written some Blood Bowl rules for Zoats and Centaurs – quadrupeds in Blood Bowl are great, as you have to work out how to scatter them from two different squares – and showed them to Jervis (Johnson – original developer of Blood Bowl) who asked me to send them to the studio. At the time I had this very boring job in an off-licence which left me with time on my hands, so I typed out all this stuff with a covering letter and sent it in. Fortunately I managed to find a job as assistant games developer, and stayed with Games Workshop for fourteen years.

Pete: You were a staff writer on Citadel Journal as well, weren’t you?

Gav: I worked on Citadel Journal for a year. The best thing of working on Citadel Journal was that we actually had to make the magazine. It was not just the writing, but we had to do all the photography and layout. This was a real grounding in the basics of design and production. I was also one of the first people in Games Workshop to have a copy of Photoshop, which I abused. As well as working on the Journal, I was a staff writer in White Dwarf, which was part of my assistant games developer contract. I stayed with White Dwarf for two years before returning to being a Games Developer. Although the title was “Staff Writer”, you did everything; this meant I came up with an article, wrote the article, took photography for the article, and laid out the article.

Pete: What were your highlights of working for Games Workshop?

Gav: Writing and working on Inquisitor was awesome, because it was my sort of game in the combination of narrative and wargame. Inquisitor was basically Rogue Trader but with big soldiers. The main driver was that Games Workshop wanted to do a cool range of 54mm soldiers, all collectable in their own right. So I borrowed a load of Wild West game rules from Jervis for inspiration, and decided to focus the game on a divided Imperium, so the relatively small range could be used by everyone.

Pete: Has Games Workshop changed over time since you’ve been there?

Gav: When I joined it was at the start of the big expansion, after the management buy-out. There was a lot of recruitment taking place and stores opening. Games Workshop has changed a huge amount in terms of organisation and business, but also the products as well. It has become very slick. The layout and production of White Dwarf and the miniatures and kits are the best they have ever been. When compared to the original stuff, it was quirky but a lot of that was because it was the first time, and now it is very refined. This maturity is reflected in the imagery that has also settled down. I can’t not mention Black Library, as I started working for Black Library when it was still Andy Jones sitting at a desk not far from me doing this magazine of short stories and asked if I wanted to write one.

Pete: What was the teamwork like on Inquisitor?

Gav: John (Blanche) would draw fantastic sketches, while Alan Merrett and I would come up with weird names for stuff. I would then sit down and bring all this stuff together, as well as delve into one of the coolest things of 40K, which was the Inquisition, and introduced the radical and puritan Inquisitors. I went back to the original Rogue Trader, and decided we were having D100 tables and would use web guns and other nonsense that you can’t have in your typical battle game. The archetype of Arcoflagellant was the bit that pleased me the most, as their concept encapsulated the game and atmosphere. Working with the rest of the Inquisitor team was amazing, as it was the pinnacle of creative teamwork. In fact, teamwork is probably the biggest thing I miss about Games Workshop. Being a freelancer is great as I do what I want, but it is just me sat at a keyboard.

Pete: What made you decide to leave Games Workshop?

Gav: One of the things I love about freelancing is that whilst I loved working with Games Workshop as I worked with some fantastic people there was also a safety net, as there is this huge organisation designed to not make you fail, but it was too safe for me. The last couple of years were for me quite difficult because the future was more codexes and army books, which for business and the game is great as it is focussed upon support, but for me where I might end up writing a third Dark Elf book I felt my time there was coming to a natural conclusion. I like to be out there breaking new ground. I also felt I didn’t need Games Workshop any more as I wanted the excitement of walking the tightrope without the net.

Pete: Do you have any regrets on leaving Games Workshop?

Gav: I miss that raw creative moment where you mutually have inspiration with an artist or sculptor. Afterwards you are then turning it into reality. This is the difference between dreamers who say they want to be writers and game designers who don’t do anything, and those who do. I wrote a dozen games before I joined Games Workshop. None of them were published, and were never intended to be, but I wrote games and stories. You do it because you enjoy it, and if you are lucky someone will later give you money to do it, and you’ll become better from that point on. Oh, and a regular salary too!

Pete: Where does your inspiration come from?

Gav: Books and games are slightly different, as games tend to be inspired by the schedule. With Inquisitor we realised we would have only a finite range of toy soldiers, so we developed a system everyone could use. We couldn’t have alien factions, as there would have been only two models for a race. The solution was to paint the Inquisition in shades of grey with competing factions. The Horus Heresy had the same pragmatic start, where we had Titans and Space Marines and needed to have them on both sides. We took a throwaway comment of the Horus Heresy, and expanded upon it to become The Horus Heresy, until it became the biggest thing in Warhammer 40000, and the most popular series in Black Library history.

Pete: How about books?

Gav: Inspiration comes in two forms. There is the personal inspiration. For example, I love the Eldar and have wanted to write about the Eldar for a long time. I decided to write my definitive Eldar trilogy, and show you why they are so cool. The other source is professional inspiration, such as for Angels of Darkness. It started when I was asked in the Games Workshop canteen if I wanted to write a Space Marine novel, and said no as “Space Marines were boring”. Walking away I started thinking “but I could write a great Space Marine story”. Space Marines are not boring, but the stories about Space Marines had been boring. By the time I had returned to my desk, I was thinking about which Chapter had the best back-story, and that was it. Being a Games Developer, you do not get to choose what you’re going to write about next week, so you have to find what you think is cool about your subject, and channel that enthusiasm into what makes them great for you.

Pete: Passion is the key?

Gav: You have to be enthusiastic on demand. White Dwarf could ask you to write a Battle Report for Orcs and Goblins versus High Elves. When you have not worked on them for two years, you have to reconnect with that race, and remember what you liked about them. That connection is the key, because if you do not write out of genuine passion, then it won’t show in your writing, and others won’t be excited. There is no substitution for passion, and later on experience.

Pete: What do you see in the future?

Gav: I have a long list of Black Library novels I am supposed to be writing. I also have my first non-Black Library novel, so will be seeing how that goes. At the moment it is all about writing lots of books, about three or four a year. I’d love to write a role-play game one day, mainly because I’d like to invent something fresh. Most of my world building has been based upon physical imagery and whether you can make a toy soldier of your idea, so it’s nice to do something without that restriction. I’ve also been tinkering with other miniature rules in my spare time which might see the light of day in the future.

Pete: What do you foresee for gaming?

Gav: You never know how it will change until it changes. There could be a shift, such as a huge license deal comes up, not necessarily for Games Workshop, which will change the playing field. Games Workshop will keep doing its thing with Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, Lord of the Rings, and whatever else comes along. In terms of miniature wargaming, plastic will be the material of choice as metal becomes more expensive, but there is not much else we can do. There is lots of cool stuff, but we do not have that surge in wargaming as we had in the 1980’s, unless it becomes mainstream – but that is unlikely.

Pete: Gav Thorpe, thank you very much.

Gav Thorpe was interviewed for Irregular magazine, and was published in Spring 2010 edition.

Nottingham Splendour Festival was to be the Fun Lovin’ Criminals first appearance, following the announcement of their new album Classic Fantastic later in the year, and I was keenly looking forward to the Criminals return to the scene.

The Fun Lovin’ Criminals emerged on stage in smart black suits. Huey, with a sly grin, promised to remain PG in deference to the children, and admitted to “being somewhat blue.” Whereupon the band launched into Tenth Street‘ efore merging seamlessly into Korean Bodega. With this early focus on previous material, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals indicated that they were here to remind us what they were about.

Their set included Mars, a teaser from their forthcoming album; as well as Where the Bums Go, Loco, and Smoke Em, but with variations not found on their studio albums. For these had been deliberately reworked for a faster tempo more in keeping with a live performance. Despite their hiatus, the response was phenomenal, with Huey extending I Can’t Get Wi’ That and King of New York, as the crowd sang along.

Frankie is the Fun Lovin’ Criminals drummer who has been with them the longest, and this shows in his seamless integration with the band giving a refined edge to their music and a stronger internal cohesion for the group. Huey proved that he was not only a great singer, but has developed even more as a great guitarist, performing an impressive series of guitar solos throughout their set. Likewise, both Fast and Frankie have remained incredibly skilled as both musicians and backing vocals.

Although I missed their usual adhoc re-enactments of crime movies between songs (this was probably because they were not the headlining act of the festival), Huey nonetheless chatted with the audience between songs. After encouraging the crowd to start a Mexican wave, he broke his promise of remaining PG with “Fuck it, let’s rob some banks”, before launching into the iconic Scooby Snacks. This quite possibly had to be the quote of the day and proved Huey still possessed his roguish charm.

Concluding with the self-titled The Fun Lovin’ Criminal this was a fantastic performance that proved the Fun Lovin’ Criminals can still – in Huey’s own words – “rock the house”.

Fronted by the iconic Shane McGowan whose reputation more than precedes him, the Pogues have a long history of being the pinnacle of Irish folk-punk. Perhaps I am in the minority, but I consider a band whose lead singer is only there part of the time to be a distinctly unfulfilling experience. This is, however, what happened when the Pogues went on stage as the penultimate act on the bill.

Musically they were incredibly competent, and their long history together showed, as the musicians complimented each other exceedingly well. The enjoyment of watching this on-stage chemistry was ruined by Shane McGowan’s drunken caterwauling, which we assumed were the lyrics. This was so inarticulate that we needed subtitles in order to understand what he was saying. The only time we (unintentionally) got them, however, was when McGowan was slurringly echoing what the other band members were saying between songs. Some bands sound better live, others sound no different, but the Pogues sound worse live than their studio albums.

Yet despite these criticisms of Shane McGowan’s behaviour, the Pogues had an undeniable energy that you could not help be swept along by, and most notably with Dirty Old Town. Perhaps it was the quality of the music, but their was a distinctly infectious beat to their sound, the strength of which was able to counter the majority of Shane’s distractions.

Although I have never been particularly enamoured of the Pogues, and Shane McGowan’s behaviour did nothing to alleviate this disinterest, I could not help but be impressed by the rest of the band.

The Nottingham Splendour 2007 review was written for Pennyblackmusic, and published in October 2007.

Most famous for his horror inspired glam-punk music, Wednesday 13′s latest Skeletons album was far more serious and darker in tone than his previous work, exploring his inner demons and ongoing fight with depression. Released at the same time on iTunes and more recently on CD was Bloodwork, his first EP, combining re-recordings, acoustic versions and a cover of a Tom Perry and the Heartbreakers classic Working On A Dream.

Wednesday 13 first began playing guitar with Psycho Opera in 1992, and later Maniac Spider Trash, before forming Frankenstein’s Drag Queens in 1995. Following the Drag Queens’ break-up in 2001, Wednesday 13 joined the Murderdolls (called The Rejects at the time), the band he is perhaps most famous initially as their bassist, and then after a year becoming their vocalist. Following their last show in January 2004, the Murderdolls went into indefinite hiatus, and Wednesday 13 began his solo career in which he has continued to prove his unique brand of horror themed tongue-in-cheek glam punk is undeniably catchy.

Wednesday 13 has always played a lot of shows, averaging four tours a year and for which he generally brings props for them to the stage. These are not on the scale of Rammstein’s pyrotechnics or Marilyn Manson’s stage burnings, where such visual spectacles can often eclipse the music; instead Wednesday 13’s prop add a visual element, such as having a zombie shuffling on stage for ‘I Walked with a Zombie’…

While many other artists have used science-fiction and horror movies as sources of inspiration for their music (Rob Zombie, most notably with More Human Than Human), Wednesday 13′s music is usually more satirical. Although his lyrics have negative connotations, they are delivered in such an irrepressibly enthusiastic manner, that you cannot help but bounce along. Despite his light hearted lyrics, this does not imply Wednesday 13 is any less than professional, for I managed to catch him at Nottingham’s Rock City, after he had spent over an hour performing a rigorous sound check.

Pete: You are just at the start of your European tour, so I have to ask how is it going so far?

W13 : Good, good. This is only the second day in the UK, but we have been touring for a while. We went from America to Japan, and from Japan to here. So we’re all pretty burned out, and trying to stay alive.

Pete: While Alice Cooper and The Addams Family were influences, what motivated you to become a musician?

W13 : I don’t know. It was one of those things, where I basically went from playing with GI Joes while watching Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, and Motley Crue on TV and thinking, “That looks cool” to it appealing more to me than being a policeman or a fireman, or anything like that. I don’t think I ever really said in my head, “This is what I want to do”. It just happened. I really, really, really loved music as a kid, and now that’s my life. I cannot imagine not playing music.

Pete: Horror movies are an obvious source of inspiration for you. What do you make of horror movies at present, compared to those when you started out?

W13 : I saw the new Friday the 13th, and thought that was cool. I thought The Strangers was pretty cool which came out recently as well. I mean a lot of the remakes are either hit or miss; they’re terrible or good. I don’t like everything, but I try to give it a shot if I can, if it entertains me.

Pete: With a career spanning seventeen years, what do you think of bands at present? How do you feel the music scene has changed during your career?

W13 : I’ve been doing this on a professional level, where I did not have a day job any more, from the time of the Murderdolls. The Murderdolls came in the fall of nu-metal, and that was kind of our punching bag. We wanted to be the band that came and said “fuck all that”, and I think we did pretty well on doing all that, and in the UK it really worked out.
We were the only band that came out which had an image, and Marilyn Manson had taken a break right before that, so when we came out we picked up a lot of his fans. But we definitely had more of a rock and roll punk vibe going on. So I saw the nu metal thing fall through, and now I’ve seen the rise of the emos and primos. Metal has really made a comeback.
But I can’t really name anyone right off that I listen to which is new or current. I’ve met a lot of these guys, and they’re friends of mine. I remember Lamb of God wanting to open for the Murderdolls when we were touring the UK, and we were like, “They’re too heavy”. But now they’re a fucking huge band. I’m friends with those guys too. But I can’t predict what will happen, as I’m just an old rock ‘n’ roll guy, and I like my old music.

Pete: You are obviously friends with a lot of bands. Are there any artists and musicians you’d like to work with?

W13 : You know, I have been really fortunate to play with a lot of my favourite bands. I just came back from Japan with Hanoi Rocks, and that was really, really cool. Not only did I get to play with them, but as a fan to listen to them play a two hour set every night, and got to know the guys: me, Mike (Monroe) and Andy (Christie) are really good friends now. Between shows we were hanging out and talking and saying, “Hey, y’know, we should do something together, either touring again, or another project”. It is the same thing with Alice Cooper. Over the years I have been able to get to know him, and become friends with him.

So working with any of my heroes would be great. Like Hanoi Rocks or Motley Crue, and Alice Cooper would be a dream come true. Five years ago I would have said that was completely impossible and never, but now it would just be a phonecall and, if the schedules worked out, it would be pretty easy to do that with a lot of those guys.

Pete: So what do you do when not being a musician?

W13 : Well, in the past couple of years, that is all I have done, and I never had time for anything else. Now I am just enjoying the time, and kind of getting into other peoples’ projects. So I am finding different ways. I also like so many different types of music. I have my own southern rock band, Bourbon Crew, and there is another project I am working on as well that I may end up doing later this summer, but it will be pretty different.

Pete: The Murderdolls are the band you are most famous for. Are the Murderdolls still going?

W13 : Yeah, I was on the phone to Joey (Jordison, guitarist for Murderdolls) before this tour started, and he’s definitely interested in doing in another record. It just depends on when he gets time away from Slipknot. So that is another possibility too, and we’ll see what happens. He’s up for it, I’m up for it, and so we’ll see what happens.

Pete: I loved your song American Werewolves in London. Is there a tour story behind the song?

W13 : Yeah, just listen to the lyrics, and it’ll all make sense.  We love that part of the UK, and our London adventures have been nothing short of insane. So that’s a song about all our times we have had down there in London with different band members in different situations, and the things that came up. It is pretty much a real story. It has nothing to do with the movie whatsoever.

Pete: Your latest album, Skeletons was a more serious and personal album than your previous releases, especially compared to Fang Bang. Is this the new Wednesday 13?

W13 : That was a complete accident. Every record I have ever done, I’ve never thought about it. When I write songs: I write songs with whatever title I come up with. When I write a bulk of songs, I think, “Okay, this is what I want to record”. But for Skeletons, not every song was personal, but a couple of tracks have to deal with personal stuff. So that was a cool thing to do for fans to see that I am not just the guy who sings about graveyards and zombies every five seconds. It was therapeutic to do a few songs like Skeletons and My Demise, as I’d had a weird year.
But as for continuing in that direction, it won’t ever be like that again. As far as I can say, the next record will definitely be not like that. I do not know what it will be like, but it won’t be like that. I’m happy with all my records, and the way Skeletons turned out, but now I’ve found other outlets to get out my personal stuff. But the Wednesday 13 stuff is definitely more my tongue in cheek, fun stuff. So I’m going to keep it that way from now

Pete: What is the story behind the recently released Bloodworks EP? Given the collection of songs, it seems as if it was designed to bridge/introduce the new album, Skeletons?

W13 : When I recorded Skeletons, I recorded all the songs at the same time, and when I was piecing Skeletons together into a track order, some songs didn’t really fit. So I just broke it apart and made an EP out of it. But that was really cool, as the year before I did not get to release a record, whereas last year I got to put out a full length, an EP, and a live DVD. I was able to get it all back as I was free from a label, and did not have anyone telling me what I could and could not do. It was my year of freedom, to say “Fuck you” to the labels and do whatever I wanted.

Pete: Your live DVD F*** It, We’ll Do It Live is unusual, as other bands live DVDs tend to be a patchwork of different concerts while yours is one continuous concert from start to finish.

W13 : Yeah, we have footage from all these shows, and could do that. I won’t say easily, but we could piece one together. We just don’t want to spend a whole lot of time on it, but maybe in the future we will do a full length DVD with footage from different concerts, and behind the scenes stuff. But this was something that we did in a really cool venue in which we played, and which had a really cool audience.

Pete: With nearly twenty tours in five years, I have noticed that you do tour a fair bit though, far more than usual?

W13: {shakes head, surprised) I had no idea; I really had no idea…

Pete: You have made a concerted effort for your concerts to be that “little bit more”, with props and stage hands walking on as zombies. It looks aamazing , but what inspired you to do that ?

W13 : Thank you. I think the show we have been doing as of lately is toned down compared to what I have done in the past. We are not using as many props as we used to. We just go out, and put on the most energetic show we can, and of course do the band visuals, make up, clothes, and stuff like that.
I think it was the same thing that got me into music in the first place. Seeing all these guys that looked over the top and larger than life, like Kiss and Alice, and all the bands like that. They had an image that just stuck out in my mind. Walking on stage in a pair of blue jeans for a rock ‘n’ roll show is not my idea of a rock ‘n’ roll show. But it works for some people. Look at AC/DC who I love, and for them that is their look and so it works for a band like that. But for me, it goes the other way.

Pete: Speaking of visuals, where DO you buy your hats, as they are certainly not what you would normally find?

W13 : Unfortunately, most of my hats that you’ve seen in shows, and videos, and stuff, they’ve all been stolen. My favourite ones have been stolen. Actually, I lost one in Australia on what was the Walk With the Zombie video. Somebody between the encores stole in from backstage. Then I had another really cool hat, that I got as a gift in Japan, and someone stole it in the UK. I think it was my bus driver. But he got fired.

Pete: I’ll watch out on E-Bay for you.

W13 : It ain’t on there. I’ve checked. But as for other hats, I usually find hats that look pretty normal, and then I take them home and shape them, and add things to them, so you can never tell what they looked like when I first got them.

Pete: Having a wife and daughter, how do you manage touring with having a family?

W13 : It has been pretty difficult. But it is also the thing that pays the bills back home. So it’s tough, and there have definitely been some hard times, but they all seem to work themselves out.

Pete: What is – for you – indispensable when touring?

W13 : I don’t know… And that’s a good question at this point in the tour, because I am so fucking burned out. I’m pretty exhausted, but I guess looking out at the audience and seeing the fans reactions to the songs.
The material I play in the show includes everything from all my records, including Frankenstein Drag Queens and the Murderdolls. It is like last night when I was playing a song by the Drag Queens, and looking out, seeing people sing along to it, and thinking I wrote this song when I was 21, back in 1996, and people are still reacting to it. I guess that is what keeps me going, seeing the impact I have made upon people with the imagery, and the fans giving back makes it seem all worthwhile, even though I may feel like a piece of shit during the day.

Pete: Wednesday 13, thank you.

Wednesday 13 was interviewed for Pennyblackmusic, and published in March 2009.

On a professional level, my writing has been similarly successful.  Ironically, this time last year I had considered ending my writing, as it did not seem to be going anywhere.  That was until I was first asked to write for OneMetal and later for the Huffington Post.

My work for OneMetal was focussed on Sci-fi/fantasy/horror fiction in its various mediums (books/films/tv).  The highlight of the year was attending the Aliens Anniversary weekend at the National Space Centre and interviewing Ricco Ross, Daniel Kash, and Cynthia Scott from Aliens.

Spinning off from my work with OneMetal, the author Mark Chadbourn (who I had previously interviewed) suggested I send a pitch to the Huffington Post for an article about his Will Swyfte novels.  The result of which was a reply confirming that not only was my pitch accepted but that I could write whatever I want whenever I wanted!

My work for Pennyblackmusic has also continued, with finally acheving my goal of meeting the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, prior to their storming gig in Sheffield’s Corporation.  The FLC’s reputation as the coolest guys in rock is entirely justified.  Unfortunately later in the year, I was forced to decline the offer to interview Wednesday 13, in part because I had many other commitments, but I had also previously interviewed this glam-punk auteur twice before.

With everything else that was happening in 2011, I never managed to complete all of my writing ventures.  My New Years Resultion for that year was to focus my fiction writing (as suggested by Kim Lakin-Smith) – and was not even remotely achieved.  Developments in the journalistic side of my writing took precedence given the opportunities that presented themselves. Also, an idea for Irregular gaming magazine, never came to fruition, due to a tragic start of the year for my friends.

So what does 2012 hold for me?  First up will be finishing off the aforementioned Mark Chadbourn article for the Huffington Post, as well as a starting a new series of articles for OneMetal.  Once the weather warms up a bit I will be following through on my promised article about LARPing for Irregular.

As for my New Years Resolution for 2012?  If I had to choose one, it would have to be finding professional – ie paid – writing work.  Wish me luck!

The welcome pack included a convention booklet that not only gave a synopsis of each game available, but a map of the convention itself (very useful), background on Derby and information regarding facilities close to the convention. Also included were a couple of articles on good convention playing tips and advice on running convention scenarios – whilst these were interesting, their length meant many would read them after the convention, and thus their usefulness was questionable.

The convention’s organisers were always to hand, and were easy to find with their white t-shirts identifying them. Credit must go to these gentlemen for their tireless enthusiasm and their unfailingly friendly demeanour that was always happy to help attendees with their questions – especially impressive when some had been there since 5:00AM.

The Assembly Rooms as the convention’s venue was ideal, an airy multi-roomed affair with a well-stocked bar for drinks and snacks. The door price was more than reasonable (£6.00 in advance – bargain!) for the space and amenities that the venue had to offer. Located in the centre of Derby, the convention was ideally positioned for people from out of town due to the short distance from the bus and train stations.

A car park located next to the venue was equally handy especially, I suspect, for many of the traders. My only criticism of the venue was due to its multi-roomed nature: after later finding the map in the welcome pack, I found that I had missed parts of the convention as they were in areas that seemed off-limits. I had not missed any of the trading or display stands, as these were located in the main rooms, but I feel in the future that signs indicating the different areas would be very useful.

My arrival at the convention was also the time that I learned one of the reasons why people come to gaming conventions – besides the obvious of gaming – which is to (re)connect with old friends. I was both stunned and delighted to bump into a friend I had not seen for thirteen years, and since Con-Quest we have arranged to meet up for more games.

I must admit that I was somewhat bewildered and overwhelmed when I first arrived. The convention layout was well planned in this regard, as one of the first things you see upon entering was the gaming boards, where attendees could sign up to the various games on offer. One thing I learnt was that arriving on time ensured you were able to play the game you wanted, as spaces went fast!

The selection of games on offer was simply staggering, in terms of number, genre, and system. The games ranged from serious to funny, from science-fiction to fantasy, from horror to comedy, from dice-less role-playing to complex board games. The selection was deliciously diverse, and even before the convention I was poring over the games listing on the convention’s website trying to decide which ones to play. I cannot deny the Burning Empires: Fires Over Omac sounded cool, as well as the Esoterrorist, Dr. Who/Torchwood, Halo, and Modern-day Cthulhu scenarios. What impressed me the most was not only the number of “official games” that had been arranged, as the day progressed I spotted a number of people playing impromptu Collectable Card Games, and generally having fun.

On the subject of having fun, one stand that stood out was that of the Fools and Heroes (AKA FnH) Live Role-Play, who were there to promote the organisation and sign-up new players. The members of FnH would regularly challenge attendees to duel their champions – in an area cordoned off in order to limit collateral damage to the innocent – for the honour of, well, duelling. The FnH stand added a lot of colour and character to the event as the members came dressed in their full regalia. Whist this may seem odd to normal people, the gamers here knew where the LARPers were coming from.

Con-Quest’s Con-Quest Guests of Honour were led by the inestimable Gav Thorpe, a veteran of Games Workshop and creator of their classic war-game/RPG Inquisitor. Also in attendance was Black Library editor, and author of Salamander, Nick Kyme; as well as Alessio Cavatore, the creator of Shuuro. All were incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about gaming, and more than happy to chat to people. Shuuro was especially intriguing as it is a war-game version of Chess.

Rounding out the compliment of games and guests was a diverse selection of retail stands. From the House Attreidies second-hand games stall (great for finding those out of print games) to Viva La Hates TV and Film memorabilia; from House of Dice’s staggering dice selection (including the awesome D10,000!) to Cubicle 7’s games stand. All of the stallholders I spoke to were more than happy to chat with me, as I hunted around for a specific game, especially as I could not remember the name of said game, and could only describe it to them – two stall holders actually went on-line to find the name for me. The bring and buy stand was a good idea, as it provided an excellent place to find the books you have been searching for that nobody else wants.

Mongoose Publishing deserves special mention for their fantastic range of role-playing games. It was not so much the settings that appealed to me, but how the game books were structured and formatted in a modular fashion. Each genre (fantasy and science-fiction) had their own core rules and setting (Rune Quest for fantasy, Traveller for science-fiction) and was indicated with plain black covers. The colour of the cover title indicated the type of book, be it core rules, equipment, character, or source material. This was a neat and well formatted system for searching “at a glance”. The rules system was also structured so that they could be adapted for specific settings, such as the Judge Dredd system, which was also colour coordinated. Needless to say, after the number of times I have spent rifling through my gaming bag for a specific book, I was impressed with the idea behind this modular system.

Wandering around the convention, the atmosphere was the right mix of informal and fun. People were here to game and have a good time. What I was surprised to find, whilst the convention was not family orientated, it was nonetheless child friendly. There was lots for children to be interested in – such as the impressive stand by the Derby Wargames Society – and be fascinated by, such as the number of demonstration games available. I was particularly impressed by the attitude of the Fools and Heroes stand who gamely allowed themselves to be repeatedly beaten over the head by various children who ganged up on their champions in the arena, including their president who had his ass whupped an eye watering number of times. Many such children often walked away, with a recognisable gleam in their eyes, inevitably asking their parents if they can go to their local LARPing group and hit more people with rubber swords.

With Con-Quest, Darran Sims and his fellow organisers created a truly excellent gaming convention. They employed an excellent venue to its fullest and found the right balance of games and stands that was complimented by an informal and friendly atmosphere that didn’t care whether you were a novice or experienced gamer. As for me, I am already looking forward to next year’s Con-Quest.

The Con-Quest:2010 review was written for the Summer 2010 issue of Irregular.

Since meeting Paul Kane, my initial impressions have been reinforced.  Paul is a writer who genuinely knows his stuff.  When I wrote about the forthcoming Hellraiser reboot/remake/whatever, it seemed justified to speak to Paul for his thoughts, especially as his book The Hellraiser Films And Their Legacy is regarded by many as the unofficial bible.

The appeal behind Paul Kane’s writing is that he sees beyond the gore of horror, and realises the true reason why we love the genre: themes of love, redemption, honour, betrayal, religion, and power (amongst others) are powerful icons and thus make great stories.  Paul’s insight into the genre is matched by his excellent writing.  Most recently, Paul Kane’s Arrowhead trilogy explored mythic qualities of a new Robin Hood in a post-apocalyptic setting.

So with no further ado, ladies and gentlemen I present: Paul Kane.

Pete: How did you first start your career as a writer?

Paul: Well, I started writing a few bits and pieces of fiction very early on in my life – before that I’d drawn little comics or used my toys to tell stories. The first dabblings would have been between the ages of about eleven and eighteen, but they weren’t good. I still dig them out every now and again for a chuckle. I then pursued a career in art, as I wanted to work in comics, but found I was getting good marks for my critical essays, so did a BA in History of Art, Design and Film. I followed this a few years later with an MA in Film Studies. As part of the first degree I took a ‘Professional Writing’ module, which forced us to get in touch with magazines and newspapers, like The Daily Mirror. After leaving Uni, I built up a freelancing career doing reviews and articles, then began to think about fiction again. My first acceptance in that department was a story called ‘The Cave of Lost Souls’ for a small press magazine my now good friend John B. Ford was putting out. My first appearance in the small presses, though, was a little before that – ‘Facades’ in Planet Prozac, October/November 1998. It all just came from there, really. But I’ve always kept a hand in the non-fiction side of things, as evidenced by the new interview book myself and my wife Marie have just had published: Voices in the Dark.

Pete:How did you become involved with Abaddon’s Afterblight Chronicles?

Paul:I’ve known Jonathan Oliver about ten years now, since I first started going to conventions and gatherings. So, when he was calling for submissions on the Abaddon site, I sent some ideas in. He liked one or two of them, got me to work up chapter breakdowns, but ultimately – and wisely – went with the Robin Hood one.

Pete: What was the inspiration for the Arrowhead Trilogy? Have you always been a fan of Robin Hood?

Paul: Yes, I’ve always loved the Robin Hood mythology. I’ve lived about twenty minutes away from Sherwood Forest since I was born and my parents used to take me there on bank holidays – I’d collect the little stickers of the Hood characters from the machines there (they still have them), see the statue of Robin and Little John fighting with the staffs, go through the museum with the dioramas and visit the Major Oak. It’s a magical place. But when I saw Richard Carpenter’s Robin of Sherwood in the 80s, and made that connection with Hood as a kind of ‘superhero’ figure linking to Sherwood’s mystical powers, that was it for me. You can see traces of Robin of Sherwood throughout the Arrowhead Trilogy, and I’m delighted that Richard liked the books too because his seal of approval meant a lot to me. It also meant I’d come full circle in a way.

Pete: Arrowhead displays your knowledge of the Robin Hood legends; what research did you perform when preparing for the series?

Paul: I already knew a fair bit about the mythology just because I’ve been interested in it for so long, but I read the original adventures and ballads and watched all the movies, TV shows from over the years just to see how I could try and do it differently. The main factor I knew I wanted was the post-modern aspect of the characters knowing they’re taking on the mantle of these legends, that things are slowly slotting into place yet won’t play out in the same way as before. I also visited the local places I wanted to use in the book, taking my video camera in some cases – like when we went on a private tour of Nottingham Castle. That kind of research was invaluable because it leant a sense of realism to the novel and its sequels. It’s essential if you want the reader to suspend their disbelief later on.

Pete: When developing the setting in Afterblight, did you study survivalism and the survivalist mentality?

Paul: The actual idea of the Afterblight was down to Simon Spurrier and Andy Boot, although the Britishness of the Arrowhead books is definitely all me. I essentially took their universe and created my own little bubble within it. I did do a fair amount of research into the survivalist aspect: how to live out in the wilds, trap your food, build lean-to’s and so on. But I also had the help of a good friend of mine, Trevor Preston, who not only gave me advice about that kind of thing he was also my ‘go to’ guy for the military and weapons info. Trevor really knows his stuff. We met during prep for a film he was the weaponry advisor on and just clicked. He’d tell me what I could and couldn’t do – especially helpful during the mammoth battle scene in Broken Arrow. I can’t ever thank him enough.

Pete: Given Hood’s journey, was it intentional for his path to follow Joseph Campbell’s Hero myth?

Paul: It wasn’t a conscious thing, but I do think the model Campbell came up with in The Hero With A Thousand Faces is a good one to follow. Hell, if it worked for George Lucas… I do like the idea of a hero starting out in the real world, then getting drawn into a strange and unusual one, coming back changed and affecting his surroundings and the people close to him or her. I use this a lot in my work actually, and I guess a lot of people in my field do too when you step back and think about it.

Pete: Your portrayal of magic in Arrowhead was very subtle, was this intentional?

Paul: Yes, mainly because it was a thing in the Afterblight bible that it had to be rooted in reality. I’ve definitely bent the rules in my three books, sometimes to snapping point, but things like Robert’s dreams of the future, the way he draws power from Sherwood, could all be explained if you wanted to: by the fact he’s been through such a trauma losing his wife and child, and at the end of the first book is certainly starting to believe he’s the Hooded Man, even if it’s only a secret belief and he’s actually fighting against his destiny. But at the same time I deliberately wanted to make the magical and supernatural stuff ambiguous, like John Connolly does in his Charlie Parker crime books – although that has become more overt in his recent novels. I wanted to leave it up to the reader to decide whether the Widow in Arrowland actually is a witch, for example, or just stark, staring mad.

Pete: Can you elaborate more on how you perceived magic in your Arrowhead novels?

Paul: I wanted to have some nods to magic and the supernatural in my Hood stories, and mainly took my cue from Richard Carpenter again. There’s a fantastic scene at the end of Michael Praed’s reign as Hood that shows what I mean. A Hooded figure frees the captured Merry Men, but then they learn Robin died earlier on up on that fateful hilltop; killed by the Sheriff and his men. The gap between series left you thinking it was maybe Hood’s ghost, but of course we later find out that it’s Jason Connery taking over as the new Hood, that he’s been called by Herne. It’s that ambiguity I was aiming for, where there could be a logical explanation, that these people are doing extraordinary things without any outside help – which in itself is quite a positive message about the human spirit – or maybe it really is magic. I leave it all up to the individual and am not going to say which side I come down on…

Pete: There were a couple of plot points left open at the end of Arrowland (i.e. Shadow’s fate and his prize), can we assume there will be more stories in the future?

Paul: Arrowland is a definite closing off of most plot-lines, but there’s always scope for future adventures, like what happens to Shadow. I suppose that all depends on how the latest book is received and what the publishers want to do in the future. I can’t really say at this moment.

Pete: What do you make of the last Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe, and the recently announced Hood by the Wachowski Brothers?

Paul: I loved the Crowe version, again because it did something different with the legend – where he takes on the persona of Robin of Loxley by accident. I always find twists like that very cool. The action and love story aspects were also handed extremely well. I’m always excited by news of a new version of Hood, so am looking forward to seeing what the Wachowskis do with an updated version – but can’t really say what I think until I’ve seen it. I do like the idea of Will Smith in the lead, though, as he’s one of my favorite actors.

Pete: Speaking of movies, is it true one of your stories has been optioned to be made into a film?

Paul: A few have, and are in various stages of development. I don’t really talk about stuff like that until it’s a done deal – like the Fear Itself episode. I didn’t announce that was coming until it had been filmed and had a timeslot in E.R.’s hiatus on NBC. I’m quite superstitious about things like that. If you’re talking about the Hood books, then all I’ll say is that there has been film interest, yes.

Pete: You are also a fan of Hellraiser, can you tell me how did you became involved in writing The Hellraiser Films And Their Legacy?

Paul: I started writing that in the late 1990s with an aim of selling it to the BFI as one of their Modern Classic short books, coming in at about 15,000 words. When that got nowhere, I placed it with another film book publisher, but they went the way of the dodo. I finally took it to McFarland, who said yes, but on the proviso that I wrote about all the movies and comics. It was a lot of hard work, but well worth it. The book ended up being 120,000 words in the end, so you can see the difference. As for my love of Hellraiser, I’m sure I’ve bored everyone enough with that story, but I fell in love with the mythos after reading The Hellbound Heart and seeing Hellraiser; as simple as that really. I just connected with the mythos… Not quite sure what says about me, but I’m very glad I did. I was delighted that Marie and I could give the public brand new Cenobite stories from some of the top authors in the business via our recent anthology Hellbound Hearts from Pocket Books.

Pete: What projects do you have planned for this year?

Paul: I’ve just finished compiling the stories for the new PS Publishing collection and sent that off to get an introduction from an author I really admire, so I’m very excited about that. There’s a collection of Dalton Quayle stories on the horizon from Mundania Press, and we’re working on the edits for that. Fantastic limited edition collectors, deluxe and lettered compilations of my first two books – actually tenth anniversary editions, with the title Shadow Writer – are coming out in February from Mansion House Books, who recently re-issued The Howling by Gary Brandner. For more details, visit their site at http://www.mhbpress.com/Shadow_Writer.html. A movie based on one of the stories from that book (‘The Weeping Woman’) has actually just been filmed, directed by the award-winning Mark Steensland and starring Fright Night’s Stephen Geoffreys, so that will make the MHB editions even more collectable. At the same time, Marie and I have the aforementioned interview book coming out, Voices in the Dark, featuring horror authors, directors and actors. It’s wonderful to have chatted with the likes of Clive, John Carpenter, James Herbert, Neil Gaiman, Rob Zombie, Betsy Palmer and Ron Perlman about the genre for that one. As for what I’m writing at the moment, I’m working on a novella for a publisher who contacted me around September time and I’m currently about 25k into that. I have a couple of short stories to complete when that’s done, and then I’m straight into a novel for another publisher. That promises to be something a bit special, too, as there’s already film interest in the mythology I’ve created. Watch this space, as they say, and keep checking my Shadow Writer site for news updates http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk

Pete: Paul Kane, thank you.

An epidemic has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of weeks, society has crumbled: there is no government, no power, no mail, no TV.  Rick Grimes finds himself as one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple of months ago he was a small-town cop who had never fired a shot and had only ever seen one dead body. Separated from his family, Rick must now sort through all the death and confusion to try to  find his wife and son.  Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead TV series was brought to life by director Frank Darabont, most famous for The Mist and Shawshank Redemption.

The story of Rick Grimes begins in the pilot episode Days Gone Bye waking in an abandoned hospital.  Although this seems reminiscent of Day of the Triffids or 28 Days Later, the coma allows both the viewer and Rick Grimes to be dropped in at the deep end without narration or exposition.  The flashback of events leading up to Rick’s hospitalisation act as an introduction to Rick and his friendship with his partner Shane, later contrasting with their new lives following the zombie apocalypse.

Several things stood out in the opening episode, which continued throughout the rest of the series, from the excellent choice of locations, to fantastically grisly make-up effects.  Another aspect I was consistently impressed by was Frank Darabont’s obsessive attention to detail – from buzzing of flies to stopped clocks – all of which added to a palpable atmosphere.  Sharp-eyed viewers will note subtle symbolism throughout series, such as General Custer’s emblem on military helicopters at the abandoned hospital.

The Walking Dead’s cinematography is par excellence, and would not be out of place in a feature film.  We have an intensely claustrophobic scene in Days Gone Bye set in a horde of zombies with them all reaching for you.  The debut episode’s closing shot was particularly evocative, where the camera pans out to show an increasing number of zombies surrounding a trapped Rick Grimes set to a background of urban desolation.

The following episode Guts directly followed on from Days Gone Bye, and I was delighted to note the same level of production values continued.  However, there were moments that seemed contrived, such as a key being dropped, which happened to fall down a drain.  Whilst events like this can happen, it was pushing credibility in that instance.

Original comic series creator and writer Robert Kirkman has previously commented that The Walking Dead is a soap opera, but with zombies added in order for people to pick up the comic, and this is indeed a fair assessment of the series – both comic and television alike.  Tell it to the Frogs was a prime example as well of this, as well as a change of pace being more character focussed, where we were properly introduced to the other survivors.  Like the original comic series, The Walking Dead is firmly entrenched in the zombie mythos, yet remained open for people fresh to the genre, as the story is based around the characters.

Frank Darabont made a concerted effort for the TV series to remain true to the comics.  This extended to Robert Kirkman being brought in as an executive producer, and writing the fourth episode Vatos.  I was surprised to find this episode was comparatively the weakest of the season.  Although the story was nonetheless excellent, with an abundance of zombie action, there was little character development that had ear-marked earlier episodes.  Yet, what may be considered the weakest episode of The Walking Dead is still far better than the best of many others.

One of the most moving sequences in the series was fellow survivor Amy’s passing in the fifth episode Wildstorm, where we morbidly watched Amy return to life as a zombie before her sister Andrea shoots her in the head.  Amy’s passing highlights one of the critical points of the series: no one is safe.  The survivors are whittled down one by one from relentless attacks by the undead.

I was impressed with how the series remained true to the characters, who following the undead’s attack, chose to move elsewhere.  Other shows limit production costs by having a season remain based in a single location, but not so in The Walking Dead.  This followed a brief road trip across a wasteland America, which I would have loved to have seen more of.  There was a poignant moment before they left where a little girl said goodbye to a friend and handed her doll to them to look after.  As with all things, it is the small touches that tell the story.

Although The Walking Dead TV series remains true to the comic series, there are some divergences to the story.  The most dramatic departure was the inclusion of CDC (Centre for Disease Control) in Wildstorm.  This was a deliberate choice by Frank Darabont who realised CDC headquarters are based in Atlanta (where The Walking Dead takes place) and would make sense for sheriffs to know this.

Having seen scores of Zombie movies, I was unsure about the introduction of CDC.  The Walking Dead is about survival and the cost of living.  I initially suspected the writers would explain the zombie epidemic and develop a cure.  Thankfully, this was not the case, and the episode gave us a stunning cliff hanger, although Rick’s impassioned speech felt clichéd given the shows realism (as realistic as you can be with zombies).

The final episode TS-19 opened with an awesome flashback sequence to when Shane witnessed soldiers storming the hospital in order to contain the pandemic.  Having shared Shane’s experience of what happened, we found ourselves more sympathetic to his character.  However, this newfound sympathy was contrasted when Shane attempted to force himself upon Rick’s wife Lori.

CDC’s continued presence in this episode was used to explain zombification to the uninitiated, and state for the record that there is no known cure/cause.  In retrospect the debut season of The Walking Dead is the hunt for a cure, but CDC’s fate (remaining true to their policy of containment) meant this storyline was finished.

TS-19 contained a beautiful scene between a survivor Dale and Andrea, where Dale admitted how much he cared for her after losing his wife and refusing to care for anyone else again.  We also said goodbye to Jacqui, a survivor often left in the background and somewhat forgettable, but who was still well played and made a bitter sweet conclusion.

The Walking Dead is blessed to have some excellent actors.  Andrew Lincoln is particularly impressive as Rick Grimes, and convincingly portrays his characters intensity and southern drawl without sounding contrived.

Jon Bernthal stood out for presenting Shane Walsh as someone you despised and loved in equal measure.  Shane is more subtly malign character here than in the comic series, and his affair with Lori was tinged with hints of an unhappy marriage.  Often it was Shane who presented a logical argument to Rick’s emotional response, adding subtle extra layer of conflict in their relationship.

Sarah Wayne Callies’s character Lori Grimes, seemed passive at first, due to the show’s focus upon Rick, but her character grew more assertive and balanced as the series progressed.  At first I was unsure about Steven Yeun as Glenn for he seemed wooden at first, but by the second episode’s conclusion his portrayal of Glenn seemed more natural, and quickly saw Glenn become the conscience of the group.  Jeffrey DeMunn seemed similarly wooden at first, but his down-played acting represented Dale’s reticent manner that hid a deep warmth he holds for the other survivors.

Despite core characters from the comic series being retained, there were some changes to secondary characters.  We gained Merle and Daryl Dixon (Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus respectively, convincingly portraying a pair of red neck brothers) and T-Dog (Iron E Singleton giving a well balanced performance), all of which fitted well within the series and setting.

One aspect which surprised me about The Walking Dead was how graphic the TV series was.  Whilst the violence and gore was explicit, it was never gratuitously so, and rang true to the circumstances.  To ignore consequences of their actions would have been untrue to the story.  Despite the premise and content, The Walking Dead retained a hopeful theme.

Whilst the characters are the focus of The Walking Dead – like all good stories are – what would a zombie apocalypse be without zombies?  The zombies are like those in the classic George Romero movies with their shambling gait (which increased to a lope).  At times they displayed a modicum of intelligence such as using rudimentary tools or turning a door handle, but more often than not these instances were used for the emotional impact.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U

A sense of abandonment permeates the series, helped by locations.  Watching The Walking Dead you have no trouble believing they are in an abandoned city.  The opening credits set the tone perfectly, where a sepia tone to the cast echoing the collapse of civilisation, with shattered picture frames and cracked glass – we are not in Kansas anymore Toto.

Whilst The Walking Dead is a bleak story, since the best the characters can hope for is a long struggle followed by a violent death, there were still moments of hope (necessary to contrast with the inherent darkness of the show).  These moments included Glenn’s glee at driving a bright red sports car down a deserted highway (with the car alarm blaring), or the sheer delight of a hot shower displays the simple pleasures we take for granted.  Daryl was well used in quipping “helpful” jibes, the most memorable was “Man, I’m gonna get shit-faced drunk again” when facing imminent death.

Whilst The Walking Dead is one of the best zombie apocalypse storylines, and is the first zombie TV series, it remains guilty of using story tropes common to the genre.  These tropes include siege storylines, dismemberment, group division, hospitalisation, and a generous helping of conflicting characters.  Thus it is credit to the actors and writers involved that the series remained fresh.

Despite the clichés and common story lines from the zombie genre, The Walking Dead remains one of the most intelligent, moving, and original TV series.  And it has zombies!

The Walking Dead: Season 1 review was written for Dominion Online in December 2010.