''The End Is Nigh'' was an annual British
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
edited by
Michael Molcher
Michael Molcher is a British journalist and magazine editor, who is originally from Leeds. He also produced the small press magazine ''The End Is Nigh''.
His current work is as a freelance features writer for '' 2000 AD'', the ''Judge Dredd Me ...
. It was launched at the Bristol
Comic Expo
The Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo, commonly known as Comic Expo or BCE, was an annual comic book convention held in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2013. The show was held once a year in Bristol in the spring. The organiser was Mi ...
in 2005 and, since becoming a semi-annual publication, each subsequent issue is also launched there.
It deals with the
End of the World, each issue dealing with differently themed
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
s. The contents range from
articles
Article often refers to:
* Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness
* Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication
Article may also refer to:
G ...
to
sequential art In comics studies, sequential art is a term proposed by comics artist Will EisnerWill Eisner, '' Comics and Sequential Art'', Poorhouse Press, 1990 (1st ed.: 1985), p. 5. to describe art forms that use images deployed in a specific order for the pur ...
, with contributors drawn from both comics and magazines.
Issues
Past, present and future issues include:
*Summer 2005 – the first issue was about
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s and zombidom. Cover by
Matt Timson
Matt Timson is a British comic book artist who resides in Leicester.
Biography
Timson has done a lot of work (especially covers) for British small press comics including ''Solar Wind'', ''The End Is Nigh'' and ''FutureQuake'', as well as worki ...
.
*Winter 2005 – the second issue had a war theme. It includes interviews with
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
and also with
John Wagner
John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...
and
Alan Grant (about their series ''
The Last American
''The Last American'' is a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Marvel's Epic imprint in 1990. It was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant with art by Mike McMahon.
Synopsis
Twenty years after a global nuclear conflict, one man, ...
)''. The cover is by
Boo Cook
Boo Cook (born 1972) is a British comic artist, whose work mainly features in the comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD''.
Career
Cook's art has appeared in the ''ABC Warriors'' and ''Judge Dredd'', as ''Asylum'' (written by Rob Williams (comics), R ...
.
*Summer 2006 – the third issue is on threats from space, including dangers from
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
s,
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
and includes an interview with
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...
. The cover is by Oliver Redding.
*October 2009 – the fourth issue is not themed and, in a break with previous issues, will be published through internet print-on-demand service
Lulu.com
Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles.
The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young. Lu ...
.
Contributors
The magazines includes work from artists and writers from the British
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
and magazine industry, for example ''
2000AD'' and the ''
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to 2 ...
'' as well as the
British small press comics
British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. They're comparable to similar movements internationally, such as American m ...
scene.
Contributors include:
*
Leah Moore
Leah Moore (born 4 February 1978) is a British comic book writer and columnist. The daughter of comics writer Alan Moore, she frequently collaborates with her husband, writer John Reppion, as Moore & Reppion.
Biography
Moore was born to comics ...
*
John Reppion
John Mark Reppion (born 1978) is an English comics writer. He is married to Leah Moore, the daughter of Alan Moore, and he has worked with both on the comic ''Albion''.
John Reppion and Leah Moore have co-writing credits on '' Wild Girl'', a 6- ...
*
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for ''White Trash: Moronic Inferno'', as well as several comic strips for '' 2000 AD'' and novels for ''Warhammer Fantasy''.
In May 2008, he announced he was leaving comics to concentrate f ...
*
Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving (born 1970) is a British comic book artist known for the series '' Necronauts'', published by the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. After breaking into the American market he has worked on a number of superhero titles, including a s ...
*
Jock
*
Cavan Scott
Cavan Scott (born 18 April 1973), is a New York Times bestselling comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both ''Doctor Who'' and ''Star Wars'', as well as comics and novels for ''Teen Titans'', ''Bla ...
*
Al Ewing
Al Ewing () is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for '' 2000 AD'' and Marvel Comics.
Career
Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the four-page ''Future Shocks'' format for '' 2000 AD'' and moved on ...
*
Jason Brashill
Jason Brashill is a British comic book artist.
Biography
He has worked for '' 2000 AD'', mainly on cover work (where he started in 1994) and the lead strip ''Judge Dredd'', as well as some British small press comics, like The End Is Nigh.
He, ...
*
Paul Scott
*
Edward Berridge
This is a list of cricketers who represented London County Cricket Club when it was officially designated a first-class team from 1900 to 1904. The details are the player's usual name followed by his name as it would appear on modern match scor ...
Press
On Monday 12 December 2005
Leah Moore
Leah Moore (born 4 February 1978) is a British comic book writer and columnist. The daughter of comics writer Alan Moore, she frequently collaborates with her husband, writer John Reppion, as Moore & Reppion.
Biography
Moore was born to comics ...
,
John Reppion
John Mark Reppion (born 1978) is an English comics writer. He is married to Leah Moore, the daughter of Alan Moore, and he has worked with both on the comic ''Albion''.
John Reppion and Leah Moore have co-writing credits on '' Wild Girl'', a 6- ...
and
Al Ewing
Al Ewing () is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for '' 2000 AD'' and Marvel Comics.
Career
Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the four-page ''Future Shocks'' format for '' 2000 AD'' and moved on ...
signed copies at OK Comics in Leeds, an event which made the
Yorkshire Evening Post
The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' is a daily evening publication (delivered to newsagents every morning) published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The paper provides a regional slant on the day's news, and traditio ...
.
Reviews
*''"This fat collection of articles and strips looks very slick and is terrific value for money"'' –
Comics International
''Comics International'' was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006, and then by Cosmic Publications Ltd. until 2010.
Over time, ''Comics Internation ...
No. 192
* ''"The second issue of this post-apocalyptic fanzine more than matches the standard of the first. This time the theme is war, and there are a lot of comic strips and features based around that, as well as some more general pieces of satire. The big thing of note is an exclusive interview with Alan Moore about all things apocalyptic, but overall this is about as professional a job as a fanzine can get – great layout, fantastic art and genuinely interesting, well-written content. Wonderful!"'' – ''
SFX magazine
''SFX'' is a British magazine covering the topics of science fiction and fantasy. Its name is a reference to the abbreviated form of "special effects".
Description
''SFX'' magazine is published every four weeks by Future plc and was founded in 19 ...
'' #140-page 10. Named Fanzine of the Month
Praise
''The End Is Nigh'' has garnered praise from comic industry figures including:
*''"Truly a book of revelations... although judging from the energy and enthusiasm crackling around this ambitious independent, the end is far from nigh. Highly recommended"'',
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
*''"I am *yet again* bowled-over at the sheer brilliance of this little gem. The amount of research, creativity and thought that's gone into it leaps off every page, and the sheer wealth of content means it'll continue to be my Bogside Browser of choice for months to come. Funny, intriguing, often surreal and genuinely informative. Swee-poib. "'',
Simon Spurrier
Simon "Si" Spurrier (born 2 May 1981) is a British comics writer and novelist, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller, and an art director for the BBC.
Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write h ...
br>
Origin of name
The phrase 'The End is Nigh' derives from a man who could often be seen walking up and down London's
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
wearing a sandwich board, or carrying a placard on a pole, bearing the phrase. The main meaning was purely religious – he was warning of the 'impending' Christian vision of
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
– but the phrase has since entered the popular consciousness as a slightly derogatory term for someone or something warning of impending doom.
External links
The blogThe MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:End Is Nigh, The
Apocalyptic literature
British small press comics
Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom
Fanzines
Magazines established in 2005
Magazines disestablished in 2006
Annual magazines published in the United Kingdom