THE MANY - A NEW HORROR FANTASY SHOWING THE DARKER SIDE OF LIFE

Once upon a time in a silly society, there lived a reviewer who was struggling to write an introduction for his interview with the great artist, Charlie Gillespie. 'What the f*ck should I put down?' he yelped. 'Everything I seem to come up with sound's like sh*t' he continued. When suddenly, a voice from the back of his mind sharply said, 'Oi, T*sser! Stop messing about and get on with it!'. And that's what he did...

1) What are your own origins, Charlie? Plus what path did you take in life prior to getting to where you are today?   I started out as a 2000AD / Judge Megazine artist in the 1990's, after studying Illustration at college in London. I've been a jobbing artist most of my life, and have since been working at various computer games companies and media outlets where I learnt a lot of computer skills on route.

2) How did ‘The Many’ come about? It’s ‘secret origin’ so to speak.   'The Many' is one of those projects that's been bubbling around in the background whilst I've been battering along with other bill paying jobs. It's generally an outlet for my Darker side. The main character is a variation of a character I used to work on with my brothers when I was a kid. It's also wrapped in some themes and ideas that don't get addressed enough. 

3) In your own words how would you describe this story?   The story is a political horror / fantasy tale set slightly in the future that is a bit of a commentary on some of the things going on in the world today. A kind of utopian adventure attempting to escape neo-liberalism.

4) What song would you say best represents this project and why?   All the chapters in the book are names of songs, and I don't think just one would cut it. But at a push, 'Anarchy In the UK' would be the closest.

5) If you could get a celebrity – either living or dead – to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   Oh! This is a book for Bobby Gillespie I reckon, because he'd have to bloody well smile, wouldn't he?

6) What have you learnt about yourself through this endeavour? And were their any unforeseen obstacles you had to contend with along the way?   The main thing you learn is to keep on keeping on -- art for arts sake and all that.

7) During your time in this field, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   No matter whose field you are in always take the red pill, Ha!

8) If ‘The Many’ had a motto, what would it be?   It will get Darker before the Dawn!

So there you have it, dear reader. My mate Charlie and his new book, 'The Many'. When you have the time please click on over to his website of twitter stream for more information. Trust me. One click and you'd be dying to know more.