This is blog post asking for your support for a project that I’m involved in. I have written lots of blog posts like this. I’m normally shilling something, a new grahic novel, a new web site, or something else that I’ve created and now I’m hoping that you’ll adore. I normally want your money too, as well as your love.

Today, I’m taking a break from the normal self promotion to try and help out a project that is hugely important to a lot of other people too. The project is “Survival Stories”, and before I rattle on for too long, I’m going to let Peter Forbes pitch the project to you. He does it a lot better than I am about to.

Peter does a great job of navigating some of the thorny issues surrounding Insomnia at the moment. Insomnia made a big splash in the UK independent comics scene over the past two years, giving a lot of new talent a first shot at a publishing deal and giving a lot of more established creators a home for dream projects. Their tables are conventions were buzzing, and they reported great things. It seemed that the industry had a new and powerful player, one that creators were flocking to.

At the 2010 Bristol Comic Con however, things took a turn. There had been rumours circulating for some time amongst the creators that there were problems at Insomnia. There had been team changes, the loss of an investor/shareholder, and strange communications telling everyone “not to worry, and not to listen to the rumours”. Of course, there is no more terrifying pair of words in the English language than “don’t worry”, especially when you don’t know what you were supposed to be worrying about.

News was patchy at best, slowly breaking across news sites, via Twitter, and being emailed amongst creators. MegaComicsNews.com has a good collection of Insomnia Publications news articles that broke.

The end result was a publishing company that had disappeared in a puff a smoke, taking with it the hopes, ambitions, and dreams of a large number of writers and artists. For many, this was their break, their first opportunity to work with a known publisher and to bring their work to a wide audience. This was their weekends, their evenings, their nights. It was time that would have been spent with their families, their friends, and it was a million other tiny sacrifices all made in pursuit of the same dream. They just wanted to make good comics.

Of course, the comics still exist. There was no warehouse to burn down, no critical server lost. The problem facing the creators now is that their right to publish the work they have created is still tied, contractually, to the mouldering corpse of Insomnia Publications. In a ditch, somewhere, this decaying figure clutches to its breast sheaths of signed paper that give it, and only it, the right to publish what has been created under its auspice. No publisher will touch any of the material until the contracts are null and void and so, and the creators do not even have the right to self publish the material. The work is lost.

Sadly, this is not the first time a situation like this has occurred and so there are people who sacrifice their days, weekends, nights, and evenings in helping creators who find themselves caught in legal log jams. They’re called the COMIC BOOK ALLIANCE. They have offered their time and support to the surviving Insomnia creators, and they are working diligently right now to try and resolve things amicably. Their work is tireless and ultimately they will not profit from it one iota. They are simply good people, passionate about the same medium that we are passionate about, who want to help creators do what they do best … create. They are offering a chance to creators who will otherwise find themselves knocked back to square one, with anything up to two years of work lost in limbo.

You can help.

Your options are clear. Pre-order Survival Stories to support the creators and support the CBA because you find their plight moving. Pre-order Survival Stories to support the CBA because you might need them some day too. Pre-order Survival Stories because you want 192 pages of bloody good comics from creators who *just might* be the next generation of the UK comics industry. Pre-order Survival Stories so that you can say “I was there.”

Or, let another piece of the UK comics industry die and drag down with the hopes of a lot of good people. If you go for that option, remember that you chose it.

Geek Syndicate have scooped us all yet again with this year’s Bristol Comic Con and Bristol Small Press Expo’s Panels and Talks schedule.

I am very fortunate this year to be appearing on two panels, one at 12:00 and another at 13:00 on Saturday.

At 12:00, I will be taking to the stage alongside Gavin and Dan from The Sidekick cast for a panel called “Signs and Portents”, based loosely on my new graphic novel “The Dark”. The official blurb is as follows:

What do William Blake, symbolic code breaking, aura reading, Byron, Howard Hughes, numerology, World War Two poetry, and cutting edge science all have in common?

Find out as Gavin Jones and Dan Marshall (of The Sidekick Cast) probe the mind of Markosia word smith Chris Lynch and find out about his latest projects, including the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller “The Dark”, available in a limited edition Expo Exclusive edition this weekend.

Then, at 13:00, I will be sitting down for a “fireside chat” with the Orang Utan Comics crew and the inimitable Scott Grandison for the “Comic Book Outsiders” panel …

Orang Utan Comics and Monkeys With Machineguns are successful small press studios putting out high-quality content for the last five years. Join them as they discuss their experiences in the business so far, give advice to others looking to produce their own titles and their view of the future for small press and independent comics in a world where digital distribution is becoming increasingly important.

Hosted by Scott Grandison of the Comic Book Outsiders podcast.

I will be flying solo this year as Stu.Art, the taller and some say better looking half of MWM, isn’t able to make it to Bristol this year. Still, I’m sure I’ll hold my own!

I haven’t been on a panel since the very first Birmingham Comic Show when I sat on the Horror Comics Panel. Anyone who was at that event might remember be likening the realistic horror of The Walking Dead to Frank Butcher turning up naked on Pat’s doorstep in Eastenders. In context, I was talking about “the horror of the real” and how brilliantly I think Walking Dead portrays the reactions of the human survivors. I think Charlie Adlard is still avoiding me though.

If you want a sampler of the sort of nonsense that I try to pass off as intellectual discourse, even some kind of pseudo-science at a push, you can delve in to the archives of yesteryear with “An Evening with Monkeys with Machineguns” and my guest appearance on “The Orang Utan Comics Round Table” from Bristol 2009.

I apologise in advance to all concerned.

It had to happen eventually. After months, even years, of snubbing us in favour of unknowns like Paul Cornell and Tony Lee, Comic Racks have finally bitten the bullet and called down the thunder that is … the Monkeys with Machineguns Interview.

Thrill … as we talk about ourselves. Gasp … as we find out about Iz’s toilet habits. Be amazed … at our choice of favourite biscuits. Shrug and say “I thought as much” … when I call Stuart a “French Duke”.

Sadly, despite our best efforts, Iz and Stace have salvaged an almost sensible sounding interview out of our tomfoolery. Listen for the outtakes though (after that Cornell guy again), where you get a true taste of the pain that Iz and Stace went through to bring you this interview.

Happy 50th guys … you don’t look a day over 45!

Click here to listen to Comic Racks, Episode 50 … Part Deux!

After months of of top-secret work behind the scenes, we can finally reveal that The Dark has a new digital home … the Sony Playstation Digital Comics Network.

As of March 25th The Dark will available for download in four installments to your PSP. All of the installments have the same release date, so you will be able to pick up the equivalent of the entire trade from day one.The Dark is taking  pride of place alongside Markosia’s critically acclaimed “Dark Mists” as the first Markosia titles to launch on the platform. Markosia were also able to reveal today that The Dark is also one of two Markosia titles that have been signed up exclusively by Sony for the platform!

‘These are exciting times for us,’ says publisher Harry Markos, ‘there is no denying that the digital comic is here to stay and it will have a major say over the next year or two. We are delighted to be partnering with Sony in this venture and from what I have seen so far; this is very much an exciting step forward. The graphics look amazing on PSP, crystal clear and surprisingly user-friendly thanks to the Autoflow feature.’

For those who remember the early days of “The Dark” as a project, digital was always a key medium for us, and I’m delighted that Sony have put their weight behind us by signing the project exclusively.

I’ll see you all on the Playstation forums!

My interview with the Parsec award nominated Sci Fi Pulse Podcast is now available.

You can listen online via Blog Talk Radio or download for iTunes.

I heard from Ian at Sci Fi Pulse today that the interview is Blog Talk Radio’s “Pick of the Day”, which is great news and no doubt a testament to Ian’s editing skills!

I had a great time recording this, I can’t imagine how much effort went into editing my almost endless manic rambling down into something useful, but kudos to the guys at Sci Fi Pulse for managing it.

Next podcast from me will be a very cheeky interview with the ladies of Comic Racks, in which Stuart misbehaves himself a great deal.

The good, good people of Waterstones will be letting me loose in their Cribbs Causeway store on April 24th at 1pm.

This is the first time I have signed in a “mainstream” book store as opposed to a specialist comic store or a convention; I’m really looking forward to introducing some non-comics fans to The Dark as well as meeting up with any comics fans who come by.

There are some details of the signing up on the Waterstone’s website and, of course, there is a Facebook event if you want to sign up.

Many thanks to Dave at Waiting for the Trade (They like big books and they cannot lie) for featuring The Dark on the latest episode of the WFTT Podcast.

Dave will put a full review up on the website in due course, but for now I am more than happy to hear someone so exercised by the idea of Memetech and getting so engaged with the story. Hopefully Dave will be equally happy when he’s reached the second half and all of the secrets have been revealed.

Don’t take my word for it though, listen to Waiting for the Trade.

It’s that most vital of things … the home town signing! Chris will be Forbidden Planet, Cardiff, from 5pm to 6pm to sign copies of The Dark. Terror abounds as I face friends and family in my “professional” capacity as the mind behind the book, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Many thanks to the guys at Forbidden Planet for squeezing this into their busy signings schedule. If you are interested, please sign up for our Facebook Event so that they now how many people to expect. (Not that selling out in my home town would not be cool.)

For the hardcore, rumours abound of an  “after party” in one of Cardiff’s many fine hostelries … keep your ear to the ground for information on the night.

To celebrate the launch of “The Dark”, Markosia are producing a limited run of just 100 copies of the “Bristol Expo Special Edition”!

The official promotional text runs as follows:

To celebrate the launch of their new graphic novel, “The Dark”, Markosia are producing a special edition of the book exclusively for Bristol Expo visitors.

With a variant cover from series artist Rick Lundeen, there will be only one hundred of these individually signed and numbered editions available.

A great opportunity to read the graphic novel that critics are calling “highly original“, “a great, fast read“, “confident” and “some of Chris Lynch’s best work to date” as well as owning a piece of comics history. The Dark’s author, Chris Lynch, will be at the Markosia stand throughout Comic Expo!

The Bristol Comic Expo is an immensely important event for me as a creator. It is were I had my first self publishing experiences, were I first met most of the many good friends I now have in the comics community, were I first met Harry Markos and discovered Markosia, and were I first made the decision that this, this crazy comic book making thing … this was what I wanted to do. Forever.

It feels great to be bring the special edition of The Dark to the show were, for me, it all started. All that remains is for me to get on an sign and individually number every single one of them*.

* Yes, I know. I said in my interview with Comic Book Outsiders that I would never individually number anything by hand ever again. I think Harry Markos was listening, and this is his revenge.

Racuous, crazy, and great fun … at least until I turned up  … it’s Sidekickcast Episode 33.

Gentlemen … let’s play darts!

I had a fantastic time recording this with Bones and Dan, and I really think that comes through. These guys are always great value. Dan’s done a cracking job of editing some sense into what was several hours of comic book related madness.

If you want to hear a very different take on The Dark to other’s I’ve recorded, and also hear my head almost explode trying to crack this episode’s Secrets and Lies, don’t miss this episode of this always outstanding podcast.

The Sidekicks are also running a competition to win a mug featuring fantastic artwork by Rob Jackson and a cack-handed signature by me