With the release of “Thompson Heller: Detective Interstellar” imminent*, the creative team on Team Heller have been fortunate enough to have some press coverage.
*NEW “HELLER” RELEASE DATE => NOV. 4th!
I’m afraid issue #1 “Thompson Heller” has been bumped back a week, like many indie comics, due to COVID19-related logistical issues. Thanks for your patience and apologies for the late notice.
News & Reviews
First, an excellent review by Christa Harader over at the COMIC BOOK YETI site. Haradar says “At once a blend of classic '40s hard-boiled crime/noir and intricate '70s sci-fi, Thompson Heller, Detective Interstellar delights with its keen attention to detail, intricate plotting and incredible world-building.”
Next, there’s a great roundup of the series at the Houston Chronicle, which can be read online here, but below you can see the print edition in the paper:
Radar Ping
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) is a brilliant 7-episode limited series about a precocious chess prodigy. It’s a period piece, set in the late 60s, with gender issues and cold-war intrigue. The series follows in Netflix’s “spare no expense” tradition (like The Crown) to convey authentic period detail. The costumes and production design are gorgeous, and the cinematography is at prestige feature-film levels. Anya Taylor-Joy is able to convey the subtle mental dynamics of a chess player with a mesmerizing, hypnotic portrayal. Scott Frank’s scripting and directing manage to render the chess match moves with pugilistic flair. And in a brief supporting role, Bill Camp is a force of nature to be reckoned with - I hope he gets some award nominations for this.
Superlative Tweets
New Podcast / Newsletter schedule
The initial plan for the Comics & Culture Radar was to do both a newsletter & podcast every week, but at the near future, we’re going to alternate weeks - both will become biweekly - but that means there’ll be something every week - a podcast next week, then a newsletter the following week, etc. etc. We have some exciting guests lined up for the podcast in the next few episodes.
Promotional appearances
I’ve recently appeared on a couple of phenomenal podcasts. First up, I was on the House of Indie podcast - a show that specializes in indie creativity - and had a great conversation with Joey Galvez - we got into a lot of great topics relating to comic creation and distribution. Joey’s also got a podcast called Two Scout Geeks where they discuss titles from the publisher Scout Comics. I highly recommend both of Joey’s podcasts - he’s got an infectious positivity and boosts the cause of comics any chance he gets!
I was also honored to be invited on to A CUP O’ TEA with An Englishman in San Diego, hosted by Leonard Sultana. Leonard covers a wide range of comics & entertainment topics, and he specializes in convention coverage, especially San Diego Comic-Con. We had a great chat about comics in general, and how COVID19 is affecting the convention circuit.