The End Is Nigh
Encyclopedia
The End Is Nigh was an annual British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

 edited by Michael Molcher
Michael Molcher
Michael Molcher is a British journalist and magazine editor, who is originally from Leeds. He also produces the small press magazine The End Is Nigh....

. It was launched at the Bristol Comic Expo
Comic Expo
Comic Expo is the name given to the UK's largest comic book event. It is held twice a year: in Bristol in the spring and in Brighton in the autumn...

 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
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...

s. The contents range from articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...

 to sequential art
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

, with contributors drawn from both comics and magazines.

Issues

Past, present and future issues include (covers can be seen in the gallery lower down the page):
  • Summer 2005 - the first issue was about zombie
    Zombie
    Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

    s and zombidom. Cover by Matt Timson
    Matt Timson
    Matt Timson is a British comic book artist who resides in Leicester.-Biography:Timson has done a lot of work for British small press comics including Solar Wind, The End Is Nigh and FutureQuake, as well as working as a freelance illustrator.In recent years he has begun to get professional comics...

    .
  • Winter 2005 - the second issue had a war
    War
    War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

     theme. It includes interviews with Alan Moore
    Alan Moore
    Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...

     and also with John Wagner
    John Wagner
    John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...

     and Alan Grant (about their series The Last American
    The Last American
    The Last American is a four-issue comic book mini-series released by Marvel's Epic imprint in 1990. It was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant with art by Mike McMahon.-Publication history:Wagner wrote the first two parts and Grant the last two...

    )
    . The cover is by Boo Cook
    Boo Cook
    Boo Cook is a British comic artist, whose work mainly features in the comic 2000 AD.-Career:Cook's art has appeared in the ABC Warriors and Judge Dredd, as Asylum and Dead Men Walking .In 2005, Cook graduated to regular work on the flagship story on 2000 AD, Judge Dredd, mostly to scripts by...

    .
  • Summer 2006 - the third issue is on threats from space, including dangers from Meteorite
    Meteorite
    A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...

    s, Aliens
    Extraterrestrial life
    Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

     and includes an interview with Lembit Öpik
    Lembit Öpik
    Lembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...

    . The cover (right) is by Oliver Redding.
  • October 2009 - the fourth issue is unthemed and, in a break with previous issues, will be published through internet print-on-demand service Lulu.com
    Lulu.com
    Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...

    .

Contributors

The magazines includes work from artists and writers from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 comic
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 industry, for example 2000AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...

and the Fortean Times
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...

as well as the British small press comics
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. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to...

 scene.

Contributors include:
  • Leah Moore
    Leah Moore
    Leah Moore is an English comic book writer. She is the daughter of Alan Moore and Phyllis Moore, and is married to John Reppion. She has worked with both Alan and John on the comic Albion. She has also written for other comics and publications including Tom Strong and The End Is Nigh...

  • John Reppion
    John Reppion
    John Mark Reppion is a British writer. He is married to Leah Moore, the daughter of Alan Moore, and he has worked with both on the comic Albion.-Biography:...

  • Gordon Rennie
    Gordon Rennie
    Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....

  • Frazer Irving
    Frazer Irving
    Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...

  • Jock
  • Cavan Scott
    Cavan Scott
    Cavan Scott is a freelance author, journalist and editor best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who...

  • Al Ewing
    Al Ewing
    Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for 2000 AD.-Biography:Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the five-page Future Shocks format for 2000AD...

  • Jason Brashill
    Jason Brashill
    -Biography:He has worked for 2000 AD, mainly on cover work and the lead strip Judge Dredd, as well as some British small press comics, like The End Is Nigh....

  • Paul Scott
    Paul Scott (comics)
    Paul Scott, sometimes known as Paul von Scott, is a British comics writer who is very active in the British small press comics scene.-Biography:Paul attended the University of Birmingham, where he studied geology....

  • Edward Berridge

Press

On Monday 12 December 2005 Leah Moore
Leah Moore
Leah Moore is an English comic book writer. She is the daughter of Alan Moore and Phyllis Moore, and is married to John Reppion. She has worked with both Alan and John on the comic Albion. She has also written for other comics and publications including Tom Strong and The End Is Nigh...

, John Reppion
John Reppion
John Mark Reppion is a British writer. He is married to Leah Moore, the daughter of Alan Moore, and he has worked with both on the comic Albion.-Biography:...

 and Al Ewing
Al Ewing
Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for 2000 AD.-Biography:Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the five-page Future Shocks format for 2000AD...

 signed copies at OK Comics in Leeds, an event which made the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

.

Reviews

  • "This fat collection of articles and strips looks very slick and is terrific value for money" - Comics International
    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...

     #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 magazine
    SFX is a British magazine covering the topics of science fiction and fantasy.-Description:SFX magazine is published every four weeks by Future Publishing and was founded in 1995. The magazine covers topics in the genres of popular science fiction, fantasy and horror, within the media of films,...

    #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
    Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, 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 Spurrier
    Simon Spurrier is a British comics writer, 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 his own series for 2000 AD, like Lobster Random, Bec & Kawl, The Simping Detective and Harry...

     http://www.2000adonline.com/?zone=fan&page=messagethread&choice=17097

Origin of name

The phrase 'The End is Nigh' derives from a man who could often be seen walking up and down London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

 wearing a sandwich board bearing the phrase. The meaning was purely religious - he was warning of the 'impending' Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 vision of Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...

- 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 source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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