Great Unwashed review in Word magazine shout out!

Heralding the imminent arrival on bookshop shelves the world over, former drinking companion (one night down the Escape bar in the late 80s), ex-NME reviewer, and once disciple of the old Velocity mag (he quite liked it a bit), nice guy Andrew Collins (BBC 6 Music, Radio Times, et cetera) has penned a very favourable review of our eagerly awaited (over a year) anthology, The Great Unwashed from Escape Books in this month’s Word magazine (actually came out last month, but in the great scheme of Pleece scheduling, that was way ahead of time!)

Indie-trousered comic strip siblings get all anthologised

Emerging from a revitalised small-press UK comics scene 25 years ago, their doleful, monochrome strips found in magazines like Crisis, A1 and Escape (now a book publishing imprint), Brighton-based Gary and Warren Pleece chimed with the Oxfam-tailored, fanzines-in-Tesco-bags, C86 Indie culture. The Great Unwashed collects early, parochially low-key triumphs from under their 80s, Enterprise Allowance Scheme-funded Velocity umbrella with fighting-fit new collaborations. Warren’s fluid, minimalist inkmanship and geometric panelling give life to Gary’s understated, arch scripts (“several frames of inconsequentiality pass”), absorbing pop culture like a dual sponge with titles like Native New Yorkers, the wordless Dead Souls, Bertrand de Plastique and family saga The Higsons. Mixing seafront sleaze, the American nightmare and post-modern voyages into period drama, this one-stop shop is a joy, inducing dewy-eyed nostalgia in the grown-up comix fan who still pines for Los Bros Hernandez. With Warren now very much overground, it’s pleasing he and Gary have not “done a Gallaghers”. ANDREW COLLINS

Many thanks Andrew. The Garden club vouchers should be wending their way to you this very moment.

Keep a look out at this space and at Warren’s blog for momentous news regarding the actual realisation of this publishing venture in concrete form and a new weekly strip soon to air at warrenpleece.com

All to be revealed soon…

Warren signing Nelson @ Forbidden Planet, Thursday 24

I’ll be signing copies the excellent new book, Nelson at Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR tomorrow, Thursday 24 from 6-7pm. For anyone that doesn’t know by now (where have you been?!?), Nelson is the brand new book edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix, featuring over 50 artists telling the story of Nel, from birth to the present day, published by the excellent Blank Slate Books.

There’s a whole host of great artists (too numerous and great to list here) and, er, me, as well as great storytelling and all profits from the first 4000 books sold are going to the homeless charity, Shelter.

It’s had really good reviews from The Guardian and The Observer and is now on sale through the Blank Slate site and at all good comic and book shops.

There’s a load of events lined up to launch the book this week, details here, including a celebratory do at Gosh comics in London, on Friday night from 6. See you, who (?), there?

Unwashed Pleece Brothers @ Cartoon County!

Yes, it’s official. Those vaguely remembered purveyors of mischievous tales of yore (from the 80s and 90s?!), The Pleece Brothers, break their enforced silence to partake in beverage and comicy insight into their artistic processes, their forthcoming graphic novels (see below) and other such mealy-mouthed side-swipery, as is their want.

And if that doesn’t make any sense, you should come and hear them talk! 7.30 pm upstairs at The Cricketers in Brighton this Monday the 26th.

The Great Unwashed

Coming soon from Escape Books, the new anthology from those bad boys of British comics, the self-monikered Kray brothers of pen, ink and cheap newsprint, Gary and Warren Pleece. Featuring stories from the pages of post-mythical comic mag, Velocity, Crisis, Revolver and Escape magazines.

Watch this space for latest news, twits and free plastic give-a-way toy for first person to correctly send in the secret ingredients of classic lard based delicacy, Pig Custard.

Hugh Fearnley, eat your hearts out!

The Shipping Forecast

You can see the latest instalment from Montague Terrace, The Shipping Forecast, in full and online at Act-i-vate Comix now.

Radio Free Warren

Actually, I’ll be appearing on the Greg James drivetime show on Radio 1 this afternoon drawing DJ Greg as a superhero. Expect saggy spandex and alterno, bizarro superhero reinterpretation as I do my best Rolf Harris impersonation for the masses.

Pleece Brothers @ Newsarama

Here’s a link to the interview me and Gary did for Newsarama’s Chris Arrant recently http://www.newsarama.com/comics/040914-Pleece-Montague.html

And while we’re at it, a link to the latest instalment from Montague Terrace

If you haven’t been following the series yet, you can catch up anytime at Act-i-vate Comix and check out all the other gems at the same time.

Welcome to the Pleece Brothers’ blog site

Those rapscallions of the greying age of underground, over-ground wombling free, independent British comics are back! Legends in their own lifetime, creators of celebrated comics magazine Velocity, 70s Cop, Bottomley and many many more, the boys from Brighton return to give you Montague Terrace. A new mammoth monster of a series, now available to view here, at Warren Pleece’s wordpress page and at the the super comics collective Activate Comix.

You can also follow this link to the recent interview we did for Tim O’Shea at Comic Book Resources  for more background and info.