Firstly, a reminder that Kieron is doing a signing for Phonogram tomorrow at Bristol Travelling Man, starting at about 1 or so. He’ll be there for (oooh) a couple of hours? Maybe more. He needs to buy a shirt so I don’t look like a tramp at San Diego Comic Con. A comic tramp, sitting behind the desk, looking jealously at people with action figures. Why isn’t there a Kid-With-Knife action figure, eh?

It’s a solo gig, as McKitten is off to San Diego earlier. Because he is very lazy. In terms of other good news, it seems we’ll have some more T-shirts to sell. S, M, L, XL and (for the very first time) XXL. This isn’t because we presume American reads may be chubbier. We presume they may be taller. We’ll also have the trade, McKelvie’s art and if you come anywhere near us, I’m sure Frazer will try and sell you something related to Gutsville.

A couple more reviews of the trade…
Humphrey Lee, Aint it Cool News: “Reason one why you should buy this? Well, because it’s good AND unique. More than half the time you’ll be hard pressed to find a comic on the stands that is either one of those, let alone both.”
Greg Oleksiuk, Popmatters: “Whether you are a fan of Britpop, stories’ involving magic, or a tale of re-living one’s youth, Phonogram: Rue Britannia is for you.”

Finally, for fans of discount comics online retailers, we notice that Khepri are now stocking the Phonogram trade. They ship to outside the US too, but only if you order more than twenty dollars worth of stuff.

“Inevitably, comparisons will be made to McKelvie’s and Gillen’s successful urban fantasy “Phonogram,” given the magic element of “Suburban Glamour” as well as its distinctly contemporary characters and graphic design-heavy sensibilities. However, McKelvie is prepared to defend his newest project as something markedly different from that previous success.

“For one, I think ‘Suburban Glamour’ is a lighter story,” McKelvie explained. “‘Phonogram’ is rich with reference and philosophy, which is great but for some people it didn’t make it an easy read. Which isn’t to say I’d want ‘Phonogram’ to be an easier read, it needs to be what it is. ‘SG’ on the other hand contains a lot of metaphor for the troubles of teenage life, but you can take it on a much more straightforward level.

“Also, there are fewer caption boxes.”

McKitten gets interviewed over at CBR about Suburban Glamour. Which you’ve pre-ordered, we’d hope, as otherwise McKelvie doesn’t get to eat. He doesn’t need to eat much, admittedly.

Some quick links? IGN reviewed the trade, and here’s one from Captain Blue Hen I don’t think I’ve linked to before. And I’d link to this really touching one from Livejournal, just to balance this other semen-obsessed one from Undress Me Robot (Though the comments does include one of the better descriptions of Kohl’s arc I’ve read). Anything else? Oh yeah - Herr Ellis links to our continuing Gillen and McKelvie show.

Finally, a quick reminder that McKelvie and I will be signing at Travelling man Leeds and York tomorrow at 1 and 3:30pm repspectively. Which means I have to get a train at stupid-o-clock to get up there. Which means that I probably shouldn’t go out for drinks tonight. Which means I’m going to be ignoring that probably shouldn’t. Oh man!