Telos Publishing Newsletter – 7th October 2012

Welcome to another newsletter from Telos Publishing. Time has a habit of getting away from us here at Telos Towers, and it seems that the last Newsletter was back in July! Where has the year gone!
Here’s details of the arrivals since last time:

The Comic Strip Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who in Comics: 1964 — 1979
by Paul Scoones

First launched in the pages of TV Comic in November 1964, the comic strip version of Doctor Who is just one year younger than the television series on which it is based. This is its story.

This volume chronicles the first 15 years of the Doctor Whocomic strip from its origin in TV Comic to just before the ongoing strip was launched as a regular feature in Doctor Who Weekly in 1979. During this time more than 200 comic strip stories were published in the pages of TV Comic, Countdown, TV Action,TV Century 21, The Dr Who Annual and the Dalek books.

Every strip is covered in depth, including plot details, continuity, points of interest and analysis. For the first time, details about the creation and development of the adventures are documented, alongside comments from some of the original writers and artists.

Follow the exploits of the Doctor in his first four incarnations alongside John, Gillian, Jamie, Sarah and Leela as he battles Daleks, Cybermen, Quarks, Kleptons, Trods, Sarracoids and the Ugrakks!

The Comic Strip Companion is your comprehensive guide to Doctor Whoin the comics.

Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=6#132

Early orders for this title have been very strong, and so if you’re interested in the Hardback edition, then get in soon as they are going fast!

There’s also a great review here: http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/10/01/the-comic-strip-companion-review/

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Zombies at Tiffany’s

by Sam Stone

Kat Lightfoot thought that getting a job at the famed Tiffany’s store in New York would be the end to her problems … she has money, new friends, and there’s even an inventor working there who develops new weapons from clockwork, and who cuts diamonds with a strange powered light. This is 1862, after all, and such things are the wonder of the age.

But then events take a turn for the worse: men and women wander the streets talking of ‘the darkness’; bodies vanish from morgues across town; and random, bloody attacks on innocent people take place in broad daylight.

Soon Kat and her friends are fighting for their lives against a horde of infected people, with only their wits and ingenuity to help them.

A steampunked novella of diamonds, chutzpah, death and horror from the blood-drenched pen of Sam Stone.

All copies ordered will be personally signed by Sam Stone.

We’re delighted to be publishing another story by Sam, as her work is always brilliantly written and evocative. Here’s what Sam said about the book: “It’s great to be back working with Telos again after the superb job they did with my horror collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings last year. The new novella is riffing on the famous Audrey Hepburn/Blake Edwards film and the novella by Truman Capote, but it’s not the same as either. I enjoy playing with the genres, and this time we have a steampunk Victorian adventure. With zombies. In the famous Tiffany’s store in New York. It’s a lot of fun, and I even have a Jewish zombie wandering around who can only eat Kosher brains – that’s a nod to the character of Shagal the Inn Keeper, brilliantly played by Alfie Bass in the Polanski filmThe Fearless Vampire Killers.”

The book has been receiving some cracking reviews … check out the following if you’re unsure:

‘[Stone’s] novel is fun, quirky, dark, and, although not written with the same majesty as science-fiction heavyweights like Moore and Wells, this is a brilliantly authored piece of steampunk literature, and then some.’ http://www.exquisiteterror.com/zombies-at-tiffanys

‘an effective, well-written and entertaining blend of genre that is sure to please the jaded zombiephile as well as fans of solid storytelling.’ http://hellboundtimes.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/zombies-at-tiffanys/

You can see a promo video for the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHKYuYGkNuI

Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=3#134

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The Barry Newbery Signature Collection

by Barry Newbery

Introduction by Stephen James Walker

For the 50th anniversary ofDoctor Who, Telos Publishing is pleased to announce The Barry Newbery Signature Collection, a beautifully designed and presented, lavish, full colour, coffee-table book featuring many of Barry’s own photographs of his sets and designs. The book is annotated with Barry’s own descriptions and memories of the work he undertook, and includes some set designs and sketches as well as many never-before-seen photographs in black and white and full colour, all cleaned up and colour corrected by the book’s designer, Paul Smith (who created the fan project The Wonderful Book of Doctor Who 1965 last year).

‘Barry Newbery is one of the true unsung heroes of Doctor Who,’ explains Telos’ David J Howe. ‘Without him, the stories he worked on would not be so rich and memorable, and it was his role as Designer on the original sixties stories which helped to establish the show as a visual feast. Back then, the designer did everything from the sets to the props to the monsters, and Barry’s visual flair brought us the lavishness of ‘Marco Polo’, ‘The Aztecs’ and ‘The Crusades’ as well as the science fiction stylings of ‘The Dominators’ and ‘The Invisible Enemy’, and the gothic splendour of ‘The Brain of Morbius’ and ‘Masque of Mandragora’. It’s been an enormous pleasure to have worked with Barry and Paul to bring this book to fruition. We hope it’s a fitting tribute to both the show and to one of it’s most significant contributors.’

Barry Newbery was the first set designer to work on the transmitted series of Doctor Who and is also one of the longest serving, his work featuring in stories spanning the eras of five Doctors across 20 years. He has designed adventures set around the world: from the Wild West, via Europe and the Middle East, to Dynastic China; and across the ages: from Man’s first fumblings with fire to the demise of the Earth billions of years in the future.

This book presents an extensive selection from Barry’s personal collection of photographs of his designs for Doctor Who ~ many published for the very first time ~ with insight into his ideas, influences and accomplishments in his own words. See Ancient Egypt, Renaissance Italy, volcanic Tigus, distant Karn and more exotic locations come to life through Barry’s meticulous and inventive designs.

Telos will be publishing this gorgeous, oversized, landscape 96 page book in two editions. There will be a paperback edition retailing at £24.99, and a deluxe, limited edition hardback at £39.99, which will come complete with a limitation signature sticker personally signed by Barry Newbery.
Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=6#138

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Ape-Man: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to 100 Years of Tarzan
by Sean Egan

In October 1912, readers of The All-Story magazine were enthralled by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ tale of John Clayton, an orphaned English lord given a simian upbringing in the African jungle who went on to reclaim his birth-right in civilisation while maintaining one foot in the savage land he had conquered. The character went on to appear in more than two dozen sequels by Burroughs as well as many adaptations.

This book traces Tarzan’s history in prose, film, comic strips, comic books, radio, stage, television, computer games and merchandise, charting the rise of one of the most popular and iconic characters in fiction. Included is the last ever interview with Danton Burroughs (grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs), plus exclusive comments from Michael Moorcock, Hugh Hudson, R A Salvatore and the oldest surviving screen Tarzan, Denny Miller, amongst many more. The book also examines the massive changes in public attitudes towards Africa, race, hereditary peers and wildlife conservation that may finally deal Tarzan the fatal blow that any number of sinister safaris and high priests of mysterious lost cities failed to.

A comprehensive exploration of one of the most famous icons of the last hundred years.

Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=2#128

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Telos Movie Classics: Hulk
by Tony Lee

From its 1962 comicbook origins in The Incredible Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, director Ang Lee’s classic movie Hulk (2003), updates and reinvents the story of how scientist Bruce Banner is transformed into a giant rage monster, and becomes a new antihero for the 21st century.

As a neurotic human changes into an unstoppable beast, Hulkoffers a study of dysfunctional family relationships alongside tank-busting, helicopter- crashing mayhem, that results in a final confrontation of cosmic proportions. A unique aesthetic spectacle, and an extraordinary makeover for Hollywood blockbuster cinema, Hulk is an impressive screen adaptation of a comic-book rediscovering the enduring legacy of a green-skinned ‘superhero’ without a costume.

This book reviews the movie’s narrative complexity and its varied genre elements – including science fiction, tragic drama, action thriller, doomed romance, and modern fairytale – and studies the mythological references, realised by an artistically innovative editing style and groundbreaking visual effects.

A series of guides to some of the most talked-about films ever produced.From classics and acclaimed features to lesser-known or overlooked works, but all deserving of critical appraisal. Telos Movie Classics are the perfect way to gain a greater insight into the films you love.

Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=2#127

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Arriving next is the following title:

Whostrology: A Time Traveller’s Almanac
by Michael M Gilroy-Sinclair
Illustrated by Deborah Taylor

Whostrology: an astrological system based upon the travels of a certain Time Lord. The mythic qualities of his tales of adventure form the basis for this book of daily readings that can help you shape your life and live in a truly Whovian way.

It has been said that the Doctor was born under the sign of the crossed computers. This could mean one of two things. It could be nothing more than a flippant remark to a passing local; or it could be a reference to the stars as seen from the Doctor’s home world. As any visible constellations are an arbitrary set of images fully dependant on the observer’s location in time and space as well as their cultural heritage, it can also be argued that some people have nothing better to do than make things up.

Whostrology is a book of daily readings, zodiac signs and explanations, and other Who-based astrological elements, designed to allow every Who fan to lead a life of peace and ordered calm.

This is an ideal Christmas book, quirky and fun, and perfectly illustrated by Deborah Taylor.

There’s a facebook page for it here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/Whostrology

Copies can be ordered from Telos here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=6#133

OTHER NEWS

Hopefully before the end of the year, we will have a new edition of THE TELEVISION COMPANION available. This will be re-issued in two volumes as the original book was at the limit of what could be bound in a single book, and will have new covers by the very talented Iain Robertson. We are currently reviewing the content to ensure that any rogue typos and other errors are cleared up, and as soon as we have it ready to go, then ordering will be added to the Telos site.

The book is widely considered the ‘bible’ to the Classic series of Doctor Who, and so we’re delighted to be able to make it available once more to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show in 2013.

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In other news, we’re pleased that Fantom Films have now released the final three audio-books in the Time Hunter range. These audios are tremendous, and the readers bring great life and vitality to the adventures in time and space of Honore Lechasseur and Emily Blandish. The final three are written by Dale Smith, R J Carter and Troy Riser, and George Mann and David J Howe.

They can be ordered from the Telos site here: http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=1

Or there are download and multiple order discount offers available from the Fantom Films website here: http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk

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Sam Stone’s acclaimed horror collection, ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK AND OTHER BLOODY JOTTINGS gets an audio release in time for Halloween from the good people at AudioGo. The stories in the collection are available individually or as a bundle, and are available on download from the AudioGo website (www.audiogo.com), Audible.com, and everywhere else that AudioGo’s products can be obtained from.

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Watch out for a feature on the new Barry Newbery photograph book in a future edition of SciFiNow magazine …

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TELOS ON FACEBOOK

If you’re on Facebook and fancy ‘Liking’ Telos publishing, then we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Telos-Publishing/22343509719

Please join and let us know what you think of the books, chat about the covers … anything that takes your fancy really. Often new covers are premiered on the Facebook group, and news and details of reviews and other items of interest across the Web are also shared there.

Until next time,

David, Steve and the Telos Team.

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