'DROONTOON' - BEHIND THE SCENES...

In Drowntown, modified rats - originally escapees from genetics labs - have combined enhanced intelligence with natural scavenging instincts to become a major force in the London underworld, operating as spies, pickpockets and fences for stolen property.

As the story unfolds, Leo Noiret - whose definition of a bad day at work is a lot worse than the rest of us - decides to recruit them to help in his investigation, completely forgetting that there's a little bad blood between him and the rodents.

Here's a script excerpt from the sequence - adapted slightly to fit the blog format - followed by Jim's beautifully expressive art for the same page. I've left out the speech balloons to show the artwork in all it’s fully painted glory:

PAGE 27

1. Big Pic, if possible: Slightly High Angle Shot, Noiret, stripped down to some extremely unflattering underwear, is stretched out in King Reggie's lair like Gulliver in the land of Lilliput, rats scampering over him, his body daubed with red paint to indicate where the prime cuts of meat are. His earlier assessment of the situation was obviously a little optimistic... 

King Reggie, a Fagin-like figure with delusions of grandeur, who dresses in the manner of a miniature Dickensian gentleman, stands on Noiret’s big belly, lecturing his subjects like a cordon-bleu chef & pointing out the tastiest parts of Noiret’s anatomy with a cane. 

The King’s lair is a large sewer cavern, lit by futuristic lamps & decorated with stolen paintings & missing museum pieces, some of them recogniseable works of art from old masters.

KING REGGIE: LECTURE TIME, LADS, SO KEEP THOSE EARS PEELED.

KING REGGIE: IF WE WANT TO CLIMB THE EVOLUTIONARY LADDER AND STOP SLOSHING AROUND THE SEWERS, WE NEED TO GET OURSELVES A LITTLE MORE SOPHISTICATION.

KING REGGIE: IT’S HIGH TIME WE STOPPED SNIFFING AROUND THE BINS AND EATING HUMANITY’S SCRAPS. WE DESERVE THE FULL, THREE-COURSE, CORDON-BLEU MEAL, SO I’VE GOT US A NICE BIG HUNK OF MEAT TO PRACTICE SOME RECIPES ON.

KING REGGIE: WE’LL SLICE HIM INTO A SUCCULENT SELECTION OF CUTS AND SERVE HIM UP WITH FRESH VEG AND A VARIETY OF FRAGRANT SAUCES.

2. King Reggie turns to face Noiret, who stares at him in exasperation, thinking hard. 

The rodent removes his hat in a mocking sign of respects & shrugs apologetically, as if he has no choice in the matter.    

KING REGGIE: HOPE YOU DON'T MIND, LEO. WE MIGHT BE SCAVENGERS, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T ASPIRE TO CULINARY EXCELLENCE.

NOIRET: LISTEN, EATING ME WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE...

3. King Reggie prods Noiret’s hairy flesh with his cane, as if confirming the poor quality of the produce. 

KING REGGIE: GRANTED YOU MIGHT NOT BE THE FRESHEST SPECIMEN ON THE PLANET, BUT I RECKON ALL THAT ALCOHOL YOU’VE SOAKED UP OVER THE YEARS WILL ACT AS A TASTY MARINADE.

'DROONTOON!'

Jim Murray and I will be talking about Drowntown in particular and our careers in general as part of Stripped at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. 

Jim's travelling all the way from Seattle - where he also works as a concept designer for Valve - and it's probably the only UK festival appearance he'll be able to make this year, so if you want to learn more about how he creates his stunning artwork, book your tickets now. 

We're at the Scottish Power Studio Theatre on Saturday August 24th, 5-6pm. For a wee bit more info and to book tickets, click right here. 

The event will be chaired by David Bishop, who in his former life as Tharg, Editor of 2000AD, first commissioned both me and Jim. 

And, on Sunday August 25th, we're taking part in 2000AD: Back to the Future, a celebration of the iconic UK science-fiction comic in which we started our careers. We're at the Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, 3-4pm, and will be joined by writers and artists such as Dan Abnett and Warren Pleece. Again, click the link for further details.   

Finally, in honour of the Festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, Drowntown will be officially renamed Droontoon from now until the end of August (which, to be honest, is how I usually say it anyway).  

SCRIPT TO ART: PAGE 1

For those who are interested in behind-the-scenes stuff and working methods, here's Page 1 of Drowntown - adapted slightly to fit the blog format - followed by Jim's groovy art for the same page:

PAGE 1

1. Close, Leo Noiret, battered and bruised, stares straight at us, raising an eyebrow with weary, seen-and-done-it-all-before nonchalance. Despite his downbeat, down-at-heel appearance and hangdog expression, he still exhibits the cool charm and poise of a Jean Reno or Robert Mitchum.

A half-smoked cigarette droops disdainfully from the corner of his mouth. The last cigarette of a condemned man...

The London skyline is visible in the distant background, though we don't see anything too futuristic for the moment, leaving the full sprawling splendour of the sunken city for the following pages.

TITLES: CHAPTER 1: HARD-LUCK HERO

TIMELINE: LONDON: NOW

BOX: Some people have a face that you'd die for.

BOX: Other people have the kind of face that you'd kill for.

BOX: Me? 

BOX: I've got the kind of face that gets you killed.

2. Slightly High Angle Medium Shot, Noiret, staring up at us, shrugs nonchalantly, the cigarette still drooping from his mouth. He is sinking rapidly into thick, quicksand-like sludge, the surface of which is littered with typical UK debris - discarded fish suppers, a copy of The Sun newspaper, a crushed can of lager, etc.

Up to his hips already, Noiret shows little sign of fear, as if this sort of thing happens to him all the time.

BOX: That's why I'm such a realist and always try to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, which isn't as easy as it sounds in this city.

NOIRET: GUESS THIS MEANS IT'S TOO LATE TO KISS AND MAKE UP...

3. Low Angle Shot, Noiret, back to us, sinking deeper, stares towards a metallic maintenance pier that rises out of the sludge ahead of him.

Grace Carter, an attractive, but hard-faced & ruthless-looking woman, gazes down at him contemptuously from the pier. Benny and Ray, two big, bulky enforcers with the look of prize-fighters running to fat, flank her protectively.

BOX: Grace Carter was a detective in the Serious Crime Squad that I used to get drunk with in the Stag's Head every now and again.

GRACE: KISS AND MAKE UP? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? DID WE...?

4. Close, Grace, Noiret's POV, outraged and exasperated, aghast at the thought he's just slipped into her head.

BOX: I used to console her about the pointlessness and futility of the job, until she stopped caring and started working both sides.

GRACE: YUCK! THAT JUST MAKES ME WANT TO KILL YOU EVEN MORE!

I can't help grinning every time I see the opening panel. As the writer, it captures Leo Noiret brilliantly. Everything you need to know about his personality - which will be fleshed out over the course of the book - can nevertheless be deduced from that one image. Just one of the benefits of working with a great artist...

DEVELOPMENT SKETCHES

Even when you're creating a fantastic, over-the-top location such as the flooded futuristic London of Drowntown, you still have to make sure it's believable and feels 'real'. 

Here're some of what I think are Jim's earliest development sketches for the hydro-bikes that feature in the book:

 I'd love to own one, though have a sinking feeling that my pilot skills would send me crashing into the side of an aqua-bus.

A FEW REVIEWS...

Drowntown has been out for about 3 weeks now and has (he typed with a sigh of relief) had some pretty good reviews, a few excerpts of which are listed below:

"Morrison quickly fleshes out characters and plot with aplomb while Murray’s gorgeous art ensures this is a thrilling no-holds barred adventure from start to finish…" - Down the Tubes, John Freeman. 

"A super read … Drowntown reaches high and achieves much of it, comedy, adventure, intrigue, entertainment and sumptuous art – I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything else quite like it for a while." - Forbidden Planet Blog, Zainab Akhtar. 

"Flooded civilisations have long been a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction. Few have executed their dystopian vision with quite as much panache as Robbie Morrison and Jim Murray do here." - SFX Magazine, Stephen Jewel.

"It’s not the first time noir has been merged with science fiction, but the execution is absolutely first class. Murray’s illustration is simply stunning … [Morrison’s] script is razor-sharp ... Together, Morrison and Murray have created a wonderful piece of cross-genre fiction, an homage to both noir and sci-fi, honing it down to a gritty but beautiful piece of work" - Grovel, Andy Shaw. 

"...breathtakingly illustrated neo-noir ... riffing on Chinatown and a hundred classic noir stories. This is a book to rival the best stories published by 2000AD, the kind of book that comes along once in a generation, often imitated but rarely matched. Buy it." - Starburst Magazine, PM Buchan.

"Jim Murray's gorgeous art is reminiscent in style of a toned-down Simon Bisley, and his attention to detail really brings this grimy, waterlogged world to life." - Henry Northmore The List.

"It is not often during the year that you read a graphic novel that you know will hit the “best of the year” lists in December. Drowntown is one such book – buy it now so you will understand just what they will all be raving about." - Down the Tubes, Jeremy Briggs.

THE DROWNTOWN LAUNCH PARTY!

The Drowntown Launch Party took place on Friday 21st June at GOSH! Comics, Berwick Street, London. Thankfully the evening didn't end up like this . . . 

In fact, as I'm sure you can tell from this normally dour Scotsman's sunny expression, the party went very well indeed. A big thank you to Josh, Andrew, Tom, Steve, Julia & the rest of the GOSH! team for all their hospitality.

(Photo: Steve Cook)

A number of comics luminaries turned up, including: Jonathan Cape publisher Dan Franklin, David Lloyd (V For Vendetta artist, founder of Aces Weekly), John Higgins (Watchmen colourist, RazorJack creator), Rian Hughes (Dan Dare, Yesterday's Tomorrows designer/artist), Dave Hine (Storm Dogs and The Man Who Laughed writer), Steve Cook (photographer and former Doctor Who and 2000AD designer), Geoff Senior and Simon Furman (Transformers comic artist and writer respectively), Laurence Campbell (Punisher, Wolverine artist), Deborah Tate (former Marvel UK'er and Sonic the Comic editor), Martin Griffiths (Thundercats & Ghostbusters artist), Giulia Brusco (Scalped and Saucer County colourist), Sally Hurst (colourist), and Julie Tait from the Lakes Comic Art Festival (www.comicartfestival.com). Also, thanks to Kevin Barnes and Ronnie Taylor for their support and for representing London's taxi drivers for the evening.

David Lloyd, John Higgins, Sally Hurst & David Hine.
(Photo: D Tate)

With Deborah Tate & John Higgins.
(Photo: Sally Hurst)

Rian Hughes & Wolverhampton Steve from The Cartoon Gallery.
(Photo: D Tate)

London Taxi Driver, Mr Barnes reveals his secret identity.

Laurence Campbell heads for the exit on hearing it's his round next.
(Photo: D Tate)

Same book, different party: Legendary artist Cam Kennedy
compliments Jim's art at the Derry 2D Festival earlier this month.
(Photo: D Tate)

Customers hailed from Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy and Spain, as well as the UK. A number of people commented that the style and format of Drowntown reminded them of Bande Dessine, the hardback albums that are prominent on the continent, and were definitely an influence when we were developing the book. 

Jim and I may have our names on the cover, but a number of individuals behind-the-scenes deserve a tip of our respective hats for the parts they played in helping to bring the book to life.

Firstly, thanks to Jonathan Cape Publisher Dan Franklin for taking Drowntown on, and to him and his dedicated team for putting together such a stylish book.

Thanks also to our smooth-talking agent Rob, for his hard work, support and truly indefatigueable enthusiasm.

I'd like to thank my fiancee for coming up with the title (Deb normally has a song in her head, and this time she pulled out Petula Clark's Downtown). Jim and I had trawled through dozens of dodgy potential titles prior to that, and the reject list probably deserves a blog entry of its own.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank artist extraordinaire Jim Murray, who unfortunately couldn't attend his own launch party. He's a good friend and one of the best artists I've ever worked with. Collaborating with Jim on Drowntown has been a fantastic experience and has resulted in what are certainly some of my favourite characters to write, and a brilliantly realised world that I think offers almost limitless scope for future stories. 

After GOSH! a fair few folk carried on the celebrations in the Blue Post pub, Soho. 

Transformers comic dynamic duo Geoff Senior & Simon Furman.

(Photo: D Tate)

Walking Dead fan Jackie Barnes, artist Vikki Hine & Deborah Tate

Robbie & Robo (-Cook, that is).
Photo: D Tate

Some shameless freeloader, a gruesome gatecrasher by the name of Leo Noiret, turned up to say a slightly slurred, but heartfelt 'Cheers!' to everybody who came along to lend their support and pick up a copy of the book.

'Cheers!'

Some characters will do anything for a free drink!    

PAGES 1 - 4: SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE (BAD) LUCK!

The opening pages of Drowntown exploded onto the Jonathan Cape Tumblr on Friday night - http://capegraphicnovels.tumblr.com/ - so it's only fair that they make a splash here as well.

Didn't I say things could only get worse for Leo Noiret? When in Drowntown, don't leave home without your snorkel...