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Murky Depths: Issue Three / Review
“The Quarterly Anthology Of Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction”

Contents: Title / Author / Artist

• What’s Yours Is Mine / Pike Stephenson / Dylan Williams
• Evention / Mike Webster / Lucas Hinchley
• The Suicide Bar / Montilee Stormer /Jag Lall & Denis Pacher
• Nine-tenths Of The Law / Edward Morris / Wayne Blackhurst
• In This the Era of the Great Wilting / Jeffrey Archer-Burton / Jason Beam
• Death and the Maiden 3 / Richard Calder / Richard Calder
• Shit New World / Martin Hayes / James Cameron
• Maimed / Hazel Marcus Ong / Glen James
• SPOIL / Stan Nicholls / Johnny Lee
• The Dark Gospel 2 / Luke Cooper / Luke Cooper
• Speak Ill Of The Dead / Ian Faulkner / Mark Bell
• Zombie Diva / Glynn Barrass / Lucas Hinchley
• The Love Ship Guide to Seduction in Zero Gravity / Steve Pirie / Denis Pacher

Non Fiction:

• Sprawl and Brawl: Five Reasons Why Cyberpunk Sustains (Article) / Matt Wallace
• An Interview with Stan Nicholls

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Murky Depths: Issue One / Review
“The Quarterly Anthology Of Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction”

Contents:

• Death and the Maiden / Richard Calder
• Looking In, Looking Out / Gareth D. Jones
• Come To My Arms My Beamish Boy / Douglas Warrick
• Paston, Kentucky / Jonathan C. Gillespie
• The Other Woman / Chris Lynch
• 67442 / Paul Abbamondi
• Supply Ship / Kate Kelly
• State Your Name / Jon Courtenay Grimwood
• Empathy / Luke Cooper
• Snowblind / Marcie Lynn
• Cyberevenge Inc. / Eugie Foster
• Today Is Not / Michael Sellars
• I Bleed Light / Edward R. Norden
• The Quality of Mercy / Ron Shiflet
• Naught But Ash / Anne Stringer
• The Pattern Makers of Zanzibar / Lavie Tidhar

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Illumination Extravaganza: Illumini

15 artists come together to create an extraordinary exhibition of light in an underground crypt.

Curated by Jane Webb
http://www.illuminievent.co.uk
Email: illumini@hotmail.co.uk

The Crypt, St Pancras Church
Euston Rd / Duke’s Rd, London, NW1 2BA (nearest tube Euston Station)

4th September – 17th September
Open daily 11am- 7pm Free Admission

Opening Night Thursday 4th September, 6pm – 9pm.
Free Admission.
All welcome.

ARTISTS : Mercedes Altuna, Madi Boyd, David Chalkley, Vincenzo Di Maria, Lewis Hayward, Caroline Lambard, Jayne Lloyd, Liz murfitt, Adrian Navarro, Silviu Pascalin, Suzan Swale, Matthew Swift, Andrea Tyrimos, Jane Webb and Deon Winter.

Illumini is supported by Mathmos, who will be displaying a range of their latest products also supported by Surelight Glowsafe and the Glass bar

An electrifying new exhibition with a difference, starting with a opening night on the 4th Sept, which is complimented with a full evening of free entertainment. Light shows, circus acts and performance artists, working with illumination taking place through out the crypt. This is no PV night, this is an evening where everybody is welcome, Illumini will not just showcase art it will entertain, introducing all communities that may not normally visit the arts to a different approach.
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Ever fancied trying out the closest vehicle to a Landspeeder we have in the 21st Century? Suspended a few inches above ground, putting the pedal to the metal and experiencing the thrill over all kinds of terrain?

Well, now you can, courtesy of Hovpod Surrey. They specialise in the luxury personal leisure hovercraft.

The Hovpod is an experience you won’t ever forget. You can use it to raise your profile and attendance at a promotional or corporate event (which we all know can be boring). It’s a fun, safe and exhilirating ride which uses a mechanism of a cushion of air (AVC - Air Cushion Vehicle) which enables it to navigate almost all surfaces.

For example, it can easily rocket over grass, gravel, tarmac, ice, water, snow, sand and mud. Land/Water transition is seamlessly smooth because, of course, the Hovpod is actually always sitting on a cushion of fresh air, floating 9 inches above whatever surface is below.

Today it is often in environmentally sensitive areas that the hovercraft shines the most. It won’t damage the ground. There’s no wheels to churn up the ground and no propellors to injure any marine creatures. A good example on their site is of the Hovpod being driven over eggs; they are untouched.

Imagine the look on student’s faces when the college or school hires one for educational purposes. They certainly never had anything like that when I went!

The hovpod will not damage the ground

And the reason is simple: If you look underneath the hovercraft skirt there’s nothing but fresh air. There are no wheels to churn up the ground, and no propellors to injure any marine creatures.

Darren, the coordinator, told us, “We were invited to a black tie dinner at a local rugby club. We gave experience rides from 6:30pm to 11:30pm. We tried to leave, but kept getting getting asked to stay. The organisers even turned on the floodlights for us to fly over their rugby pitches. And what was very impressive was women in their ballgowns wanting to experience the thrill in their twos!”

The Hovpod is a fantastic addition to any event, very safe, and certainly raises the profile. Hovpod Surrey also supplies owner support and hovpod maintenance.

It isn’t a Landspeeder exactly, but it’s probably the closest you’d get to with our current technology.

Landspeed digital 3D image used with kind permission of PerspectX - see more of these 3D images, which are available as 3D environment packages.

Cosmic Ceilings: Glow In The Dark 3D Effect Imagery

Grant Hicks is a painter with a slight difference, he paints Cosmic Ceilings, scenes from outer space onto mainly bedroom ceilings.

Using specialist glow paint (which is actually invisible during the day) he creates stars, shooting stars, blackholes and other such images. These ceilings can only be seen in the dark. They look truly amazing as they have a 3D effect, and you feel as though you are actually looking up to the stars.

He can also do themed ceilings such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and fantasy scenes (images of which you can see below).

He also trains people to do this for a living as self-employed ‘Startists’.

Images Of Ceilings Painted And Websites:
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Complete Fabrication

It’s What They Do
Whether you need an intergalactic space transporter or Artificial Intelligence to deal with the housework, a hostile environment movie set or a product prototype, we will have or can, invent the solution for you.

It’s In Their Blood
Under the direction their creative director Don Jack, we bring together blue sky thinkers, designers, artists, model makers and imagineers in a common goal to create a whole bunch of crazy stuff that hithero did not exist. You’ll see our work on photography and film, at visitor attractions, conferences, exhibitions and in corporate and private ownership.

Fiction Becomes Fact
Their esteemed client Dr. Bruce Davis (Intelligent Compliant Engineering Limited), the inventor of a new biomimetic robot technology robot system, renowned for its intelligent sensing and organic motion, recently took delivery of a new outer skin for his second generation Vorscht, funded by NESTA, the organisation which works to increase the UK’s capacity for innovation.

The site is a bit minimalist, and to be honest, doesn’t really say exactly it is that they do, but from what I gather, they will attempt to design just about anything you want (after initial talks, of course), and then, if the idea is do-able, they’ll construct it.

And based on some of the pictures they look scifi-ish. So ask ‘em for Termi-lek or a Da-minator! Exterm-back!!! I’ll-Be-Inate!!!!

How Would You Like To Hire A Travelling Scifi Exhibition?

Well here’s a site, Invasion, which contains everything you need, regardless of available space, to host a successful and engaging temporary exhibition.

It can be set up in one day and the ‘loan package’ as they call it, includes spectacular exhibits, display cases, plinths, large format photography and detailed show cards.

There’s also a promotional package which includes customisable poster art, press release flyers / press ads., high quality promotional material and ‘tested bolt-on event ideas’.

You also get an Invasion magazine, Invasion photography and Invasion merchandise.

You can see some of the exhibits here and more here.

Invasion’s range includes Stormtroopers, Jawas and Darth Vader from Star Wars; Robocop; The Terminator’s Chassis and Predator prosthetics.

From reading the press’ thoughts (pdf), the children have loved it (and I bet a fair few adults too), their smiling faces a testment to how they enjoy coming face to face with real-life movie-star-props. It would make a neat surprise birthday or christmas present or a kinky honeymoon addition for any budding scifi enthusiast.

Interzone Cover Artwork All In One Place

On and impluse, I did a search for old Interzone covers on google images, and came back with this site which holds most (if not all) the covers of Interzone from Issue 1 to Issue 199, which strangely enough is exactly where I started subscribing to it.

I particularly liked the way the cover changed slightly from Issue 1 to Issue 2, the total eclipse of the sun moving off centre and the colour changing. Very effective, if simplistic.

You can see how the artwork progressed, and the way in which ’sf’ is being portrayed through art is changing.

It’s also amusing to see how the Interzone logos change over the years, of which I prefer the newest. Although that’s not to say the older ones weren’t ‘cool’ in their day - they just look kind of dated now, which isn’t really true of the artwork itself, it’s stood the test of time.

My favourite is Issue 16 as it reflects the kind of stories I rate high on my list - a world which is similar to our own on the surface, but strange when examined closely.

Looking at the covers, quite a few names jump out. Most notably, J.G Ballard, Christopher Priest, Jonathan Carroll (which I never realised had written for Interzone), Ian Watson, Kim Newman, Greg Bear, Bruce Sterling,, Greg Egan, Eric Brown and William Gibson, to name but a few. Which goes to make an impressive lineup.

A great archive, which covers the covers of the world’s best, British and longest running, sf magazine, although, sadly, the names of the artists are missing.

Cybernetic Humanoid Cyborg Artwork: Luminaries: Et Cetra Gallery, Hackney, London

Click here for Jane’s 2008 Illumination Illuminati Cyborg Show

Jane Webb is an artist that is influenced by science fiction and fantasy. She has a series of cybernectic humanoids (cyborgs) and some alien casted glass work in an art exhibition from 26th July - 2nd August, entitled Luminaries.

Luminaries Venue:
Et Cetra Gallery
1a Darnley Road
Hackney
London E9 6QH

Price:
Free!

Nearest Rail Station:
Hackney Central

Timings:
Monday - Friday 12am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm.

Jane has been shortlisted a couple of times this year, of which, a list is below. She currently has some work entirled Cyborg DJ on display at the V&A Museum.

Even though Jane prefers to sculpture, she has taken time out to write about her work, explaining her love for creation, science fiction and the ‘not watching properly’ of fantasy and scifi movies.

She is influenced by a lot of science fiction and futuristic imagery from movies and other artists. The strangest thing is she doesn’t watch the movie and keep with the story line, she only watches for visual simulation. She gets too easily distracted by the props, costumes and effects, having a strong interest in mechanical and robotic imagery
going back to early days of the Metropolis movie.

More recently Jane has been working on cyborgs, which have been a strong influence on her work with a combination of lighting effects. United Artists collabarated with Massive Attack to produce an art installation called Volume, If you love the green coded lights on the Matrix, you’ll love this she says. Jane is also inspired by the works of the great H. R . Giger, as seen in the Alien films.

She works in many medias but prodemantly using glass, lighting, circuit boards and recycled computer components, most of which is found on the street. She strips down the components inside anything electrical, looking for interesting parts. Little know fact: the inside of a hair dryer makes a good cyborg eye. Then depending what she is working on, these get constructed with other media and extra wiring and some type of what she calls a wow factor, like lighting with a UV or a set of LEDs spinning on a fan in sequences.

Her glass work can range from her mirror light boxes with imagery, to fused glass. She did a series of an Alien embossed tile in glass and ceramics. This was a long process of mould making and experimenting in a kiln until the desired finished result was achieved. The black tile has been acid etched to give it more depth. If you love H. R. Giger’s work you will definitely love this. She often makes them for collectors on a commission basis.

The Luminaries show coming up is a joint show with artist and photographer John Williams.

Jane Webb is a glass and illumination artist using numerous Medias. This year Jane has been short listed for Pride in the House and Inspire by awards and currently has Cyborg DJ on display in the V&A Museum. Her more recent futuristic works of cybernetic humanoids sculptures and installations combine lighting, recycled computer and electronic components which are found littering our London streets.

These items are salvaged and transformed into cyborgs.

John Williams’ Info:
John Williams creates black and white photographic works in “free-form”. He does this by folding weaving, plaiting and even crushing light-sensitive papers into life size free standing and relief sculptures. Working in three dimensions allows him to exploit the normally forbidden spaces above and below the conventional darkroom focal plane.

Re-objectifying the subject into a physical structure that can be walked around and seen through, change expression as well as casting actual shadows.
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Aliens in Manchester and East Anglia. Roy Gray Investigates.

Alien Nation Exhibition
Saturday 17 March 2007 - Monday 7 May 2007
Closed Mondays except Bank Holidays
Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3JL
Then later at the Sainsbury Art Gallery, Norwich, October 2nd to December 9th 2007.

The official website states that the Alien Nation Exhibition:
“…explores the relationship between science fiction, race and contemporary art. Twelve contemporary international artists use science fiction and extra-terrestrial forms to explore racial difference as a metaphor for the threat of the outsider.”
“… presents the work of twelve contemporary international artists all of whom explore themes of ‘otherness’ and ‘difference’ through the language and iconography of sci-fi.”
… and “will also show a collection of original sci-fi film posters from the 1950’s to present day, … as well as extracts from contemporary and archive science fiction films…”
“… is an inIVA and ICA touring exhibition supported by the Arts Council England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.”

Manchester Art Gallery’s classical front end connects to a contemporary rear filled with more modern exhibits. ‘Alien Nation’ caps this latter building away from the Holman Hunt, Lowry, Rossetti, Canaletto etc paintings in the classical galleries.

The exhibition is dedicated to Nigel Kneale and his Quatermass and the Pit was running silently on a TV in the media gallery of the exhibition. Black and white 50’s SF movies (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, It Came from Outer Space, The Thing) were running on other screens in that space but the soundtrack overhead was Orson Wells’ 1938 radio broadcast of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. Colourful pulpish posters from Forbidden Planet, The Day the Earth Stood Still and similar 50’s movies filled one wall but where was the credit for the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s pulp magazine covers that predated, and surely influenced, the movie posters?

A second gallery contained a separate darkened room that echoed with the clacking of the five projectors of a, can I say, ‘avante garde’ 16 mm ‘film installation’, plus a video installation, objects, images, and murals.

Mario Ybarra Jnr’s giant mural Brown and Proud impressed me with its busy scenes benevolently presided over by Zapata on one side and Chewbacca in opposition. The exhibition programme suggests they are seen as partners, both rebels facing powerful empires, “whether galactic or earthly”. However for me the cigar smoking ‘Chewy’ prompted thoughts of Castro. I was puzzled by the letters ‘SMS’ in the lower right corner of this mural. Maybe it was a reference to texting but I immediately thought of the Interzone cover and SF artist SMS. The mural’s main female image toted a life and (male) pride threatening AK 47. As a Jim Burns Interzone cover she would bring a host of threats to cancel subscriptions.

Kori Newkirk’s Merck, a curtain maybe 3 metres high and at least a metre wide, made from coloured ponybeads threaded on braided hair was a very effective SF image of an American small town split by a strange vertical yellow beam.

My favourite was Hew Locke’s installation Golden Horde, a bejewelled and beweaponed space fleet, its large spacecraft reminiscent of both Star Wars and the ornate howdahs of a Raja’s wedding.

As an art critic I have serious failings so here are links to reviews by those with a better pedigree:
http://marcusdruen.blogspot.com/search/label/Hackney Sorry, no useful images.

http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/london/news/ART42204.html : Good images of the exhibition but not the space fleet.

In summary the gallery is well worth a visit and, while there or in central Manchester, you might as well look in on the Alien Nation exhibition but if you know the gallery and/or live a distance from Manchester then you won’t miss a lot if you can’t get there before May 7th.

See more information on the Alien Nation Exhibition.

The Adventures Of Prince Ziph

Ever imagined how Mars was millions of years ago when it had oceans flowing on its surface? And what about Martians? They were not green, they were … ehmm…different… And had such busy lives that life on Earth was later mostly their fault.

But that’s another story.

What about the meaning of life? Does God have a beard? Does it matter? And what does all this have to do with Area 51?

Who built the Face on Mars? Is Heaven a private club? Is life after death real? How boring is it?

Who runs the universe anyway and does this entity have weekends?

This and plenty of other stupid questions will be answered in this fantasy/scifi saga spread over a few volumes so the author can get some extra bucks, after two years making up all this stuff with watercolors, inks, acrylics and buckets of sweat.

Ziph Comics is certainly a bright, colourful and dazzling place. The comic (and site) is available in Portugese and English, with a French version coming soon. You can see the digital version of Prince Ziph, Part One online, and the printed version is available too, along with concept art and the backstory.

So, it’s a good a reason as any to spend surfing during your lunchbreak.

I’ll do a full review once I’ve bought a pair of shades…

Thanks to Roy for news of this interesting exhibition.

Alien Nation
Saturday 17 March 2007 - Monday 7 May 2007
Manchester Art Gallery
Admission Free

Tues-Sun, 10pm-5pm and 10am-8pm.

17/03/07 - 07/05/07
Manchester Art Gallery
Mosley Street
Manchester M2 3JL

information: +44 161 235 8888

Laylah Ali, Hamad Butt, Ellen Gallagher & Edgar Cleijne, David Huffman, Hew Locke, Marepe, Henna Nadeem, Kori Newkirk, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Eric Wesley and Mario Ybarra Jr.

Alien Nation explores the relationship between science fiction, race and contemporary art. Twelve contemporary international artists use science fiction and extra-terrestrial forms to explore racial difference as a metaphor for the threat of the outsider. The artworks include film, sculpture, photography and multi-media installations.

Much has been written about the connection between sci-fi cinema of the 1950s and ’60s and the Cold War, where fear of invasion, communism and nuclear war was played out in films that projected the anxieties of the present onto the future. In recent years many artists have similarly used science fiction and extra-terrestrial forms as a way of exploring racial difference and as a potent metaphor for the threat of the outsider.

Alien Nation presents the work of twelve contemporary international artists all of whom explore themes of ‘otherness’ and ‘difference’ through the language and iconography of sci-fi. The witty and provocative artworks on display expose a disturbing contemporary narrative in which the media perpetuate a terror of ‘invasion’ from immigrants, asylum seekers (indeed any racial, cultural or ethnic ‘other’) and position such ‘outsiders’ as the dominant threat to both family and national stability.

Mingling fact and fiction, science and art, Alien Nation will also show a collection of original sci-fi film posters from the 1950’s to present day, courtesy of The Reel Poster Gallery, as well as extracts from contemporary and archive science fiction films as part of this unique exhibition that reveals our innermost fears and fantasies about the outsider.

Alien Nation is co-produced by the Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA) and the Institute Of Contemporary Arts (ICA) touring exhibition supported by the Arts Council England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

http://www.iniva.org/season/winter/project_01
http://www.manchestergalleries.org/whats-on/exhibitions/index.php?itemID=23

Also on at (may go elsewhere as well.) Not sure if Manchester and Norwich on at the same time and can’t find anything else on the web.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ UK

01/10/06 - 09/12/07
information: +44 1603 593199

Murky Depths Promo Issue

Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction

As previously mentioned, Murky Depths is a brand new printed ‘zine which posits itself as something which brings together different storytelling techniques in a single magazine that will entertain its reader with its enjoyable, dark and thought-provoking fiction.

This demo issue has a mixture of graphically dark art strips, written fiction, poetry based on the artwork accompanying it - which was inspired by Richard Matheson’s ‘I Am Legend’, and one story which is a mixture of written fiction and graphical fiction.

First impressions: even though this is only sixteen pages long, it crams a whole lot in. And you have to remember that this is the promo issue, and that issue one will be around eighty pages. The pages are ‘american comic book’ size, which to me is neither here nor there, it works very well, and reminds me of Marvel and DC comics. On page sizing, as long as something printed is not too small it can’t be read, or too big it looks like you’re reading The Times, I don’t mind.

The quality of the paper is professional and it is non-glossy, which again, is perfect - it stops light reflecting off it and making it unreadable, or only readable at an angle. Binding is a couple of staples which is suitable for this small promo issue. The colour on the front and back cover is vivid and certainly stands out. I should mention the unusual front cover artwork ( By Les Edwards) which you can see in this review - it looks way better on the cover. And it is dark. And weird. And.. well, maybe not one for the kiddies.

Inside it is black and white, but don’t let this put you off. The eye catching black and white artwork (including the comic strips) throughout does well to complement the black text on white background, which again, means it’s easy on the eyes, and readable (non of this red text on a nice colour picture which looks totally unreadable).
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Speculative Fiction Gets An Addition

Terry Martin and his team are busy working on issue zero, the promo issue, of a new speculative fiction magazine entitled Murky Depths.

Their website has this introduction: Murky Depths is a new magazine with a difference, featuring top quality speculative fiction with sprinklings of horror and fantasy that push the boundaries of science fiction. Each story will be complimented with its own unique artwork. Alongside the straight prose will also be cutting edge graphic stories. Articles across the genres and mixed disciplines will add authority, humour and maybe a little controversy.

Terry also mentioned that it’s UK based, although half the team are over the other side of the pond, in the States. At the moment it’s print only (is this a bad thing!) and you can get more information from the Murky Depths site.

And of course, we’ll review it once it’s out.

Rogue Trooper

A Genetic Infantryman (G.I.), Rogue is one of an elite regiment of biologically-engineered clone troops, created to overcome Nu Earth’s hostile atmosphere and fight, unhindered, against the brutal Nort War machine. After witnessing the betrayal and annihilation of his entire regiment at the Quartz Zone Massacre, Rogue has gone AWOL, determined to hunt down the traitor general who sent his brothers-in-arms to their deaths.

I officially announce there should be a Rogue Trooper Movie. Hollywood take notice. UK Movie Studios take notice.