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On Friday 4th July Alexandro Jodorowsky came over to London for the first time in three years to take part in the British Library’s Comics Unmasked season. We took a tour of the exhibition with his wife, Pascale (who also designed the costumes for his latest film, Dance of Realty) and one of the exhibition’s curators, Adrian Edwards. Jodo was surprised to see his quote, “Kill superheroes!!! Tell your own dreams.” on the wall, “Did I say that?!” but was pleased to see he was credited as “magician, film-maker and comics writer.” He particularly enjoyed seeing John Dee’s original magic books and Aleister Crowley's original manuscripts.

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The evening consisted of director Frank Pavich introducing his documentary, Jodorowsky’s Dune, followed by a screening. In the brief interval a slideshow of images from Jodorowsky’s many Humanoids titles was shown.

Then fellow author, film-maker and psychogeographer, Iain Sinclair interviewed Jodorowsky on stage about his life and work. The latter was in fine form and discussed everything from film-making, tarot cards, the nature of art and comics to creativity and cats!

He spoke at length of his bemusement at why famous people want to speak with him, from Marilyn Manson ringing him up at 3am to ask if they could collaborate on a movie, to meeting Kanye West and film director, Spike Jonze, in the South of France. He praised fellow comic creators, Stan Lee, “Lovely man, very clever” and Will Eisner, and was warm, personable, funny, charming and had the audience clamoring for more, even after a lengthy Q&A session.

Jodorowsky very graciously signed 60 copies of his new books Final Incal and The White Lama, which were snatched up in an instant!

Here is an extract of the Maestro talking (apologies for the sound quality).

The evening was topped off with a lovely meal with lots of fascinating people such as Dave McKean (who Jodorowsky wrote a forward for his tarot book), Melinda Gebbie, and Simon Boswell (the composer for Jodorowsky’s film, Santa Sangre). Also present was James Elphick, who is curating a big Jodorowsky exhibition due in London in early 2015. We’ll have more details on that nearer the time.

It truly was a memorable night in the company of a modest genius.

Humanoids returns to the biggest show of the year for the first time in almost a decade, San Diego Comic Con

Humanoids will be set up at booth #1707 and will be packed to the brim with all the titles you know and love, plus all the latest releases. We will have both editions of Final Incal (Oversized Deluxe & Ultra-Deluxe Coffee Table) on hand, but please note that quantities will be limited.

Joining us at San Diego Comic Con will be none other than José Ladrönn, artist on Final Incal. Ladrönn will be doing two signing sessions every day (and one session on Preview night). This will be the perfect opportunity to pick up a copy of Final Incal, if you haven't already, and get it signed by the artist.

San Diego Comic Con is renowned for its show exclusives, and Humanoids will be debuting our own exclusive for SDCC, with a unique pack of 10 Final Incal-inspired Tarot Cards (2.75'' × 4.75'' or 70mm × 120mm). These will feature iconic characters from The Incal universe, based on the art of José Ladrönn.

We will also have contests, sales, and freebies. Discounts will change daily, so make sure to stop by every day to see which of your favorite titles are on sale.

Ladrönn's signing schedule is as follows:

Wednesday - July 23 - 6-8PM

Thursday - July 24 - 10-11AM & 2-4PM

Friday - July 25- 10-11AM & 2-4PM

Saturday - July 26- 10-11AM & 2-4PM

Sunday - July 27- 10-11AM & 2-4PM

Sanctum is here. The new edition of the international bestseller from Xavier Dorison and Christophe Bec is available today from your local comic shop and from the Humanoids Store.

"The most striking thing about Sanctum is the amount of influences that come together to create one story. The monster and its origin are very Lovecraftian. It’s dark, demonic, ritualistic and very unknown." - GeekedOutNation.com

Check out pictures of the book below.

Sanctum arrives in stores tomorrow. Here's more behind-the-scenes concept art from artist, Christophe Bec. Click here to see the previous blog.

Sanctum arrives in stores this Wednesday. This lovecraftian SF tale is sure to appeal to horror and fantasy fans of all types. Xavier Dorison, the writer, closely collaborated with Christophe Bec, the artist, to bring this chilling story to life. What you see below are a handful of mock-ups and concept designs for pages and characters from the book.

Illustration of Xavier Dorison (right) and Christophe Bec (left) by Bec.

Sanctum is available July 16, 2014 for $29.95

Jerry Frissen is the author of the recently released, Unfabulous Five, as well as The Tikitis and The Zombies that Ate the World series. Not only has he written several comedic titles for Humanoids, but he also serves as the Senior Art Director and has a guiding influence in the production and design of every Humanoids book available.

1) For those of us in the States and other countries, that aren't familiar with your French work, would you mind sharing with us what got you into writing?

I don’t know, as long as I can remember I was always writing something. As a kid I wanted to be a comic book artist. I eventually spent a few years in art school but I hated the school so much that I gave up on being an artist and even stopped reading comics altogether. It took about 5 or 6 years to even step foot into a comic book store. The will to write came back slowly.

2) Based on The Tikitis and Unfabulous Five, one would assume that you have an affinity towards wrestling. Did the sport of lucha libre actually have any real influence on the stories?

No. I’ve never been into wrestling. What I do appreciate are wrestling fans. Lucha Libre is about that. People who are dreaming and trying to be heroes.

3) Can you elborate?

I’ve never been a fan of any sports, but I’ve always liked hearing people talk about it. Their passion is beautiful and fascinating, probably because I was never been able to feel the link between a team and myself. I was pretty much into everything about Mexican wrestling apart from the actual wrestling itself! When I considered writing about it, I though it was a better idea to talk about fans rather than actual wrestlers. The universe that we created became bigger than wrestling. There are a lot of monsters, strange people, aliens, creatures, etc.

4) What would you say are the main differences between The Tikitis and the Unfabulous Five?

Unfabulous Five is closer to the original idea I had. It’s more “in your face.” It’s about East Los Angeles, Latinos, California, wrestlers, and monsters. The Tikitis are a little bit different. It was a mix of those ideas and references from Franco-Belgian comic book culture. The Tikitis is also about older people. The main characters were all above 60 and part of the story was about old age and the physical problems that go along with getting older. The Unfabulous Five are much younger, some of them are overweight, but they’re still ready to fight.

5) What was it like working with Bill on Unfabulous Five?

It was great, of course. He was really able to get what I had in mind – but in a better way. He had an unbelievable way of understanding the places like East L.A. and Huntington Beach. He’s also amazingly good with body acting. All his characters’ behaviors are perfect.

6) Is there an artist that you would like to work with that you've been unable to thus far?

There’s a lot, but if I had to narrow it down to just one, it’d be Richard Corben. He’s one of the best. He’s a genius. I’d be ready to kill somebody just to work with him!

7) Who were your idols/heroes growing up?

Music: The Ramones!

Comics: Richard Corben.

Movies: David Cronenberg.

Books: Philip K. Dick.

Painting: Max Ernst.

8) Do you think the Lucha Libre universe would function well as a cartoon for teenagers/adults (FOX, Adult Swim, etc)?

I always though it’d be great as an animation series but if it hasn’t happened yet, it may be because I’m wrong.

9) Are there any other projects that you have in mind aside from Lucha Libre and Zombies that Ate the World?

Yes, I’ve been working on a big property for the last few years, but I signed a non-disclosure agreement so I can’t talk about it yet.

10) We've been told that not only have a huge book collection, but also have a vast encyclopedic knowledge of book design. Care to elaborate on this?

Yes. I've always had an appreciation of, and collected, books. Not just comic books, but a lot of other books too. I have to admit that I buy a lot of books because of their covers. I like illustrations, designs, typefaces, papers, etc. Since I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’m now quite familiar with how book design has evolved over the years. I probably have around 5,000 books at home. I even like the smell of old books. I’m a real book geek.

11) Any interesting stories from your time working on Unfabulous Five?

I guess my best memory was the signing tour we had a few years ago. We had to travel between Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. I never knew I could drive so many miles in such a short time without killing anybody.

12) Any other stories from your career in comics you want to share?

One day, I wrote what I thought was a great story. I was quite pleased with the plot and everything. At that time, I was really thinking that it was one of my best stories. A few months later, while I was watching old Seinfeld episodes, I realized that I ripped off the plot of an episode… Now, whenever I’m happy with something I wrote, I wonder where I stole it.

Thanks again to Jerry Frissen for sitting down with us and discussing the Luche Libre universe. Both Unfabulous Five and The Tikitis (US Only) are available wherever Humanoids titles are carried, as well as our own online store.

Sanctum

Story by Xavier Dorison, art by Christophe Bec

After receiving a distress call from another submarine off the Syrian coast, the crew of the USS Nebraska search a series of massive caverns, where they discover a 70-year-old shipwrecked Soviet sub, whose crew died under mysterious circumstances. While investigating this enigma, the Nebraska’s away team discover a massive underground sanctum dedicated to Môt, the ancient Ugarit god of death. Now, the crew must find a way to escape the death god’s prison without freeing him to wreak destruction upon the world.

Quicks facts about Sanctum:

• Xavier Dorison is a French writer of numerous graphic novels including The Third Testament, Ante Genesum, and The Tiger Brigades, the latter of which he adapted for the big screen.
• Christophe Bec is an award-winning comics creator, both writer and artist, and author of several Humanoids titles, including Pandemonium, and the upcoming The Shadows of Salamanca.
• Sanctum has and continues to be a critical and commercial success in its native France. The series has expanded itself to include an in-the-works prequel, as well as an episodic manga-esque adaptation, Sanctum Redux, which will be collected and released in 2015.
• Sanctum is currently in development as a feature film.
• Dorison was inspired by an illustration in artist Matthieu Lauffray's Némo.

Available below is the desktop wallpaper of Sanctum. Click the picture to choose your resolution.

Sanctum arrives in stores July 16, 2014 with an MSRP of $29.95