The Sunday Spotlight – The ‘You Teach Ethics?’ Edition

Time to relax, kick back, and enjoy a few moments browsing a little comics news… yes, it’s the Sunday Spotlight…

ELIZABETH SANDIFER’S THE LAST WAR IN ALBION RETURNS FOR BOOK 4: CHAPTER ONE: THE WAY OF IT ALL (ALAN MOORE AT IMAGE)…

After a long lay-off, Elizabeth Sandifer returns for Book Four of The Last War in Albion, with a new piece on Alan Moore‘s surprising move to writing for Image Comics in the 1990s, following the rather money-devouring decision to form Mad Love Publishing and to self-publish Big Numbers. Of course, as is the way with The Last War in Albion, Sandifer dives into things, bringing in the entire Miracleman saga into things, the legal ins-and-outs between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman, before giving us a complete run-down of Moore’s money-spinning 70+ issues of comics done for Image – it’s still a WTF moment when it’s pointed out that McFarlane paid Moore $100,000 for his work writing Spawn #8,  something he apparently knocked out one evening. It’s many, many thousands of excellently-written, funny, incisive, and eminently readable words that capture perfectly a time in comics.

If you didn’t know, Last War in Albion is described by Sandifer as, ‘An ongoing critical history of the British comics industry focused primarily on the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. Its primary narrative runs from the publication of Grant Morrison’s earliest professional comics work in 1978 through to the present day, although its style is characterized by frequent digressions both forwards and backwards in history.’

Seriously, not only an insightful history of so many of the main players in UK comics and US comics of the ’80s and ’90s, but a collection of really well-written and tremendously entertaining pieces, it’s a must-read. There’s a handy index of all things Last War in Albion here.

V FOR VENDETTA HBO SERIES FORTHCOMING?…

We got the news from Variety on 6th November that HBO are developing a V For Vendetta TV show. Now surely, I don’t need to tell you what V For Vendetta is, do I? The Alan Moore and David Lloyd series of a fascist Britain and the anarchist known only as V? Yes, you should know it. You should bloody well read it.

Of course, there’s already been the movie adaptation, starring Natalie Portman, released in 2005 and headed back into movie theatres for its 20th anniversary in 2026.

Will it be any good? Well, the movie was pretty good. Obviously, nowhere near as brilliant as the graphic novel, but pretty good nonetheless. As for the new TV show, the thing that was most obvious about the announcement from Variety was the timing. I mean, seriously, they couldn’t have run the news on 5 November?

SOMETHING FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE – EVAN DORKIN & ROBBIE BUSCH ON STEPHEN DESTEFANO’S DiECAH…

For your listening this week – nearly three hours of Evan Dorkin and Robbie Busch on the DiECAH show put together by Stephen DeStefano chatting all things comics, and, as this was recorded around Halloween, concentrating on horror comics. There’s also chat of their time working together on the Instant Piano series created by Evan, Robbie, Stephen, Kyle Baker, and Mark Badger, working at Dark Horse Comics, and plenty more.

Or, as Dorkin puts it:

‘I hung out and talked with two very old friends of mine, Stephen DeStefano and Robbie Busch – about horror comics and related subjects for Stephen’s YT video channel. Stephen, Robbie and I were three of the five cartoonists who put the Instant Piano series together, that’s the comic which debuted The Eltingville Club back in the day. It’s a long video/talk but if you’re into comics and cartooning we unload a lot of comics lore and history. Something to put on and listen to while staying up late inking comics. Special guest star: Winky The Pirate Cat shows up early on to get in my way while I’m trying to talk. As if anything could stop me from talking. I’ll keep talking for twenty minutes after I drop dead.’

Yep, an enjoyable rambling trip through comics history. Do have a listen. If you ever see copies of Instant Piano in your shop’s back issue bins, grab them and get ready for a grand laugh. Finally, as mentioned a couple of weeks ago in the Sunday Spotlight, a massive collection of Dorkin’s work, Nerd Inferno: The Essential Evan Dorkin, comes out in April 2026 from Dark Horse Comics.

ANGOULEME CRISIS AVERTED – PERHAPS?…

Dean Simons at the Comics Beat has been following and chronicling all the goings-on at Angouleme, the world’s biggest comics festival. It’s a story that’s worth following, and Simons has done a great job of covering it. Essentially, the troubles with the festival revolve around Angoulême International Comics Festival owner Association FIBD and the operator they’ve chosen for many years to run the festival, 9e Art+, run by Franck Bondoux. As Simons has been reporting, the festival’s been mired in scandals to do with 9e Art+, including politically contentious sponsors, misogyny, toxic work culture, financial irregularities. Then there’s the employee allegedly fired by Bondoux after reporting their own sexual assault at the festival’s 2024 event – the alleged sexual assault and the unfair dismissal cases are going through the French courts right now.

We’ve already had a statement co-signed by 20 previous Angouleme Grand Prix winners saying that it was time for 9e Art+ to be removed for the festival to move forward. The 2025 Grand Prix winner Anouk Ricard has confirmed that she intends to boycott the festival and will not be involved in the traditional Grand Prix winners exhibition in her name meant to be held at Angouleme 2026, between 29th January and 1st February. Additionally, over 40 publishers have withdrawn from Angouleme 2026.

The latest – and again, please go read Simons’ pieces on the whole thing – is that the Association of the Angoulême International Comics Festival Association announced that it will cancel the call for proposals to select the Festival organiser from 2028, which involved 9e Art+ and will launch a new call for proposals specifically excluding 9e Art+.

The press release talks of understanding ‘that the aim is to foster reconciliation with stakeholders in the world of comics, particularly authors, in order to preserve the leading event in their sector in both the short and long term,’ and that the festival ‘cannot continue to exist and thrive in a climate of tension,’ and that it wishes to ‘move beyond the numerous misunderstandings, and driven by a shared desire for reconciliation, it calls for the immediate establishment of a dialogue with public funders and a restored relationship with authors and publishers.’

So, that means what? Particularly, what does it mean for Angouleme 2026 and 2027? Well, that’s something we’ll find out as things develop. But the whole thing rumbles on, with the fate of Angouleme 2026 hanging in the balance right now.

A LITTLE TEASE FROM 2000 AD FOR JANUARY 2026 – DEATH OF A JUDGE…

Well, this popped up on social media. A little something to look forward to for 6 January 2026, under the treaser line – ‘Death of a Judge.’

Now,  there’s always the slightest possibility that 2000 AD will actually do the deed one day. After all, there is the thing in Dredd that the world, and the characters age in real time, one year older for 2000 AD is one year older for Dredd. Now, given that the first Dredd story from 1977 was set in 2099, where Dredd was 38, he’s now, technically, 87, albeit an 87-year-old who’s gone through re-juve many, many times, taking him back to a semblance of his physical prime. So, it’s going to have to be addressed sometime. Maybe this is it? Most likely not. After all, Dredd has ‘died’ a few times over the years, and surely they’re not going to end the comic’s lead character.

Whatever it is, I’m just hoping it’s something written by Dredd’s co-creator, John Wagner. If it is to be the end (and it’s probably not), it should be Wagner that writes it.

RIP – JIM HAMILTON – COMIC RETAILOR…

News came in this week that, sadly, Jim Hamilton has passed at the way too young age of 67. Jim was a comics retailer in the UK, co-owner of Edinburgh’s Science Fiction Bookshop and subsequently the Forbidden Planet International chain of stores with his business partner Kenny Penman.

The Edinburgh Science Fiction Bookshop opened in 1975 and was bought by Jim and Kenny in 1985. After this, they’d go on to join with Forbidden Planet to open a number of stores in the comic chain across the country, and in New York, before splitting into two firms in 1992/3, both confusingly named Forbidden Planet. Jim and Kenny were Forbideen Planet Scotland, later changing its name to Forbideen Planet International. The FPI chain has stores around the country, including the one I used to work at for a good chunk of my life, Nostalgia & Comics, now called Worlds Apart Birmingham. Sadly, I never met Jim, but I heard tell of his love for the medium in all its forms.

Between them, Jim and Kenny built a company that was founded on comics, and continues to champion the medium through their stores, including the flagship and rather huge and beautifully impressive Glasgow store. Jim was all about comics, and he’ll be much missed by all of us who shared in his vision.

Kenny wrote to staff telling them of the loss:

‘I’m very sad to have to let you know that my partner and fellow founder of the company, Jim Hamilton, passed away on Sunday. Both Jim and I came from pretty ordinary working class backgrounds, and despite not coming from wealthy families, both had happy childhoods, a big part of which was the escapism of the cheapest form of entertainment going – comics. It was our first passion, and for both of us, it never waned as we grew Forbidden Planet from one little shop on the backstreets of Edinburgh. We were a partnership; I had perhaps more of a business head, but Jim knew comics like no one else, and he was always the one guiding the product mix… 

‘When we started out, our ambition was that Science Fiction Bookshop would be the shop Jim, as a fan and collector, wanted to shop in. We worked hard to achieve that over the years, and I know he was very proud of the amazing shop that is our Glasgow store. There were always new things to be doing, but I think he felt we had nearly achieved what he set out to do, and more, by bringing all sorts of new fans into the fold, with the Sauchiehall St branch. If there was one thing we can all do to remember Jim, I think he would be more than happy if, by our love and application, we finally perfected his vision.’