Harker news (i.e. where's issue 13?)

You might be a little concerned given how quiet it's gone on the Harker front the past couple of months, wondering if perhaps you'll see any more. Worry not, we'll be back before you know it! The current hiatus (as I mentioned in the editorial in issue 12) is due to ongoing negotiations with a major publisher that we hope will secure the long term future of the comic. Contract negotiations inevitably always take a while, so although Vince and I are busting to get to Book Three (the New York adventure currently called You Only Die Twice), we're holding on for the moment until we've finalised a deal. The colour pages I've included here should give you a hint as to what's currently under discussion.

More than that I can't tell you, but the minute we have firm news, I'll be announcing it here. Exciting times for us!

In the meantime we're keeping very busy here. I was asked at the Bristol Convention by half a dozen of you when the Harker novel The Murder Club will be out. I'm currently working on the third draft of the novel, editing and improving as I go, working on it every day. My target is currently to have it out through Ariel Press by late July (and I'll also be seeking a mainstream publisher for it), but that might drift into August, depending on how the rewrites go. Again keep an eye on the blog here for updates - theoretically I could release it as it is now, but I want it to be as good as it can be, so be patient and I'll have it with you in the next month or two, all being well. The story falls between Books One and Two (almost immediately after The Book of Solomon and just before The Woman In Black), and it features the same humour and repartee between Harker and Critchley, with a storyline encompassing five murders and a thrilling climax in the tower of Big Ben. I'm also hoping to twist Vince's arm into drawing a few illustrations for it. It'll be worth the wait, I promise!

We're also about to produce a one-off Torchwood strip (more details of that as soon as contracts are signed) and in the Harker hiatus, Vince and I are working on a three issue strip currently called 'Mad Girl'. Details for that project are so secret that we only ever speak about it in hushed whispers. The plan is to release it through Ariel Press in the Autumn, but that will depend on Harker - if we get the go-ahead for Harker, we'll put Mad Girl on a back burner, so again I can't give a firm timeline yet.

So lots of things happening behind the scenes that I can't talk about, but we're both very busy on all this stuff, so don't go too far, there's lots to come...