Category Archives: Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless in Woodchester

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This October we’re excited to be taking Hopeless, Maine to Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire.

The Mansion is a fantastic gothic building – never finished – but covered in gargoyles and home to many bats. The valley it stands in is haunted. Ravens nest near the building. It’s a perfect backdrop for doing Hopeless things, and an excellent place to visit in its own right.

We’re singing in the evening but not doing any of the shows. Even if you’ve been stalking us very thoroughly these last few years, there will be songs you haven’t heard us do before. We will of course have books. If there’s any original art you are interested in, please contact us ahead of time about it.

https://www.woodchestermansion.org.uk/ominous-folk/

Hopeless is leaking

September events

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We’ve got a lot going on in September and will be out as The Ominous Folk of Hopeless, Maine at a number of events. We will of course also have books with us. If you see us heading your way and want a particular thing – art, books, extra eyes… just let us know.

We’ll have our own flier for the theatre festival at some point. Also at time of posting, the last Gloucester event on the list has some spaces left for traders.

Hopeless is leaking, Hopeless Maine Artifacts

Salamandra’s Key

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Hello, again people! (and others)

It is the new year, and I hope it brings you many good things.

I have spoken before, I think about how, at the beginning, when we first imagined how things might go with Hopeless, Maine, that we thought one day we would work with artisans and craftspeople if there were to be any HM related artifacts. No factory made things or plastic tatt that would one day end up in a landfill. Well, it’s dream come true time. Matt Inkel (who I introduced to you, here) has begun working with us and the first fruit of this collaboration is Salamandra’s Key.

Here is my drawing of Sal’s Key and Matt’s finished prototype.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling I get seeing something from our story made real in the waking world. It’s a bit uncanny and utterly wonderful. For those of you who are having trouble recalling the significance of this key-

Those of you who have read the first book of Hopeless, Maine will recall that when Salamandra went to Annamarie for help with a very personal Demon, Annamarie gave her a key. She didn’t sort the problem for Sal but gave her what she needed to solve her own problem. That key was well, key to the resolution of that story and Sal still keeps it about her person. In real life, I drew the cover for that book in a fit of excitement before Nimue had even written the book. Sal was shown with a key around her neck clutching a teddy bear (in very poor repair. more of a frankenbear, really) and Nimue wrote these elements into the tale.”

This will be a limited edition sort of thing and very much handmade with great care by a ridiculously skilled artisan. (Look up Arcane Armoury to see more of Matt’s work) Here are some process photos that Matt has shared with us.

There is a preorder page on the Arcane Armoury Site here. Please do visit.

 

Hoping (as always) this finds you well, inspired and thriving.

Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless Sinners and other Oddities

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Hello again people (and others)

Hopeless, Maine Sinners has had a proper send off into the world at The Ale House in Stroud.  It was a grand evening, enjoyed by (almost) all. (There was a bloke who was convinced that we were somehow anti-Pope…? Not an audience member I should add.. For the record, no, we’re not. We don’t really think about the Pope that much at all, truth be known)

My personal takeaway from the event is that we are building a truly amazing creative tribe around the Hopeless, Maine stuff. Long may it continue and take on new forms and bring in more people! In times where it sometimes feels as though we are standing on shifting sand, this is a good and solid thing to hang onto.

Nimue enchants

Martin Pearson- The father of the Squid and Teapot (and also- Nimue)

The hero of the night was Madeleine Harwood. Despite personal difficulties, she came, brought and set up the PA and performed an utterly beautiful rendition of Nimue’s Lullabye for a Dustcat. (we all had goosebumps) There is a possibility that there may be more Hopeless, Maine music from her in future! Watch this space. Martin Pearson, the creator of (and writer for) The Squid and teapot performed with panache! Keith Healing (the creator of the Hopeless, Maine RPG) wrote and performed a poem which introduced people to the island (and the game) Keith Errington (The Keith OF MYSTERY) read, to dramatic and amusing effect, his recent addition to Hopeless, Maine lore, and a long-awaited tale from Rebecca Willson was read by the author, introducing doctor Headly Case to the island. (You will get to read the text this coming Friday- or if you are reading this later, it will be on the site already)  Nimue and I were masters of ceremony and Nimue told stories of how things had come to be and generally enchanted people. Robin Collins performed Daphne and the Dead Seagull (including the song contained within it, which will *have* to be recorded for posterity one day!) and Meredith Debbonaire read The Aunties (which is a tale that will make you think differently about the beginning of the Graphic novel series) The Hopeless, Maine sea shanty (written by Nimue) and “Magpies” were performed by a Cup of Tentacles (Which is James, Nimue, and I…currently)

The feeling, in the end, was that there should be more of this sort of thing. So, there will be! (and i’m very much looking forward to it)

 

 

Photos- thanks to Meredith Debbonaire

 

Hopeless is leaking, Uncategorized

The Perilous Life of a Reviewer

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A warning here (lavishly illustrated with photos) from the frighteningly brilliant Nils Visser. It may be wise to prepare to defend yourself (and your book) before sitting down to read Hopeless, Maine. Nils is the author of Amster Damned, (which I loved!) among other things, also,  he is apparently handy with a cutlass.

 

“Upon my first attempt to mind me own business and settle down for a good read of Hopeless, Maine SINNERS, I was blissfully unaware of the dangers posed…ere I knew it a slithering serpent with many rows of razor-sharp teeth materialised and attempted to snatch the graphic novel away from me. Fortunately, I’m skilled with a cutlass, and sliced the dastardly creature into sushi. I was given no chance to recover, however, as a first tentacle wrapped itself around the book, announcing the appearance of a far more dangerous creature. All I can say, never try to wrestle with an angry octopus. I have retreated, but have vowed: I’ll be back!”

Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless Sinners and Other Oddities. 

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Hello, again people (and others).

If you have ever had a book launch or attended one and are not Neil Gaiman or JK Rowling you will know that they tend to be sad affairs rife with disappointment and stale snacks.

For this reason (among others) we have decided that we will not ever, ever, do that to ourselves or our friends ever again-ever (at all-ever) Besides which, despite our gloom tinted work, we are generally in favor of fun. (I hope you were sitting down for that) So, we thought, what’s fun then? Pubs. Pubs are fun. Music is fun. Having our friends in a pub with music and stories and poetry would almost certainly be fun. So, basically a party. (well, our sort of party, at any rate) Some of our favorite people have agreed to perform including Martin Pearson (of the Squid and Teapot), Meredith Debonnaire who has written some of our favorite pieces for the Vendetta (and introduced singing snails to the island) and Madeline Harwood, who is one of the best singers in the world. (she *may* be singing about….Dustcats) also Robin Collins! (Who brought us hairy coffee and other wonders) and two Keiths! One who created the Hopeless, Maine RPG, and another you have not met yet who is quite simply one hell of a writer. A Cup of Tentacles will sing songs of the island and songs evoking it. Massively Chuffed to say that local poet- Gary Death will be performing his Vendetta poem cycle also. This…is going to be a great deal of our sort of fun.

If you are in the area, please do come and join us. If you are not, there will be photos!

Hoping, as always, this finds you well, inspired and thriving

Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless, Maine-The Town That Never Was?

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The Eldritch Hobbits have left the shire once again. This time in the company of the rather brilliant Keith Healing. We all journeyed to Blists Hill to the steampunk event- The Town That Never Was. This was the best imaginable setting for a steampunk weekend, being reconstructed Victorian town at a site that was important to the industrial revolution in England. The timing was perfect for us, as we had both a new volume of Hopeless, Maine to inflict on an unsuspecting world, and Travels in Hopeless (the Hopeless, Maine RPG) to show off and see what a collection of steampunks might think of it (Spoiler- There was much cooing and general excitement)

Copies of the latest volume of Hopeless, Maine (Sinners) came from our publisher (Sloth Comics) just in time, and happily on Nimue’s birthday! As we got to set up in the Boys Brigade Hut, we were able to bring lots of art and artifacts from the island and set up a bit of an exhibit. The people who put on the event, and the people attending, were all perfectly lovely and really the whole experience was pretty much all that one could possibly ask for. We may have also encountered the Cthullhu’s Witnesses who are clearly fellow travelers!

To round off the first day, we had a visit from  Genevieve Tudor and Allan Price! Genevive is pictured at the back of Sinners playing a Punked Hurdy-Gurdy (Which Gen may be learning to play in real life soon, partly because of this drawing. A normal Hurdy-Gurdy that is) This art is also for the impending Hopeless, Maine tarot deck which is in the works. Genevieve will be the Queen of Flames in this instance. We do not get to see the two of them nearly as often as we would like. (though we are making plans to address this!) I *think* it was their first steampunk event and I expect that it will not be their last. If you are one of the seven or eight people who do not yet know this, Gen is the host of the entirely excellent radio show – Genevive Tudor’s Sunday Folk on BBC Radio Shropshire. If it is not a regular part of your week (as it is ours) this can be addressed! You can listen anywhere in the world by clicking on this here link right….here.

 

Oh! Yes. And if you would like a copy of the latest Hopeless Maine, you could go here– (Or from your local comics shop if you are in the UK)

 

Until next time, I hope this finds you all well, inspired, and thriving.

 

 

Hopeless is leaking

The second Time Quake edition

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Hello people! (and others)

We now continue(and conclude)  our adventures at Time Quake. Part one can be found here.

Once the Mermaid puppet (which was made by the frankly rather amazing) Lou Pulford , she became the focus of much attention and affection. Here is photographic evidence of this.

Also, we were visited (as you can clearly see) by this utterly splendid steampunk R2-D2 which made friends wherever it roamed (and it roamed everywhere)

We also sang the songs of our people (By which I mean songs of Hopeless, Maine, or songs that would fit in there) Nimue has written a Hopeless, Maine sea shanty (during which I groan disconsolately ) and she is expanding our repertoire all of the time. (because she is amazing like that)

 

During a slow moment on Sunday, Nimue and I sat down and sketched for a bit. (with people watching, which always feels a bit like performing without a net) We had noticed that we had no woodland fauna for Hopeless, Maine and set about to remedy this.

I am particularly pleased with the Goblin Cup. It is a bit like a pitcher Plant in that it waits for things to fall into it and then digests them. With the appearance of people on the island, it became aware that it could easily be mistaken for a cup in the gloom and filled with things that were much to its liking (beer, for instance) Now, we get to imagine what a drunken Goblin cup might get up to! The Small Brown Bird features in the Hopeless, Maine book that Nimue is writing at present. It is an excellent mimic (at the worst possible times) The Tree Creeper has no legs to speak of, but rather long toes. It can not take flight from the ground, and so, must creep up a tree using its toes until it can reach a sufficient hight for take-off.  The Ur deer…I’m still not sure what’s going on there, but i’m sure we will find out in time! I am fairly sure that the Puff Bug has a detachable head.

 

As I said in the first installment, this was an utterly brilliant event and the first of its kind. It will be ongoing, and we can recommend it.

For more information, you might wish to visit, here.

 

Hopeless is leaking

Hopeless, Maine comes to Time Quake

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Last weekend, we had a bit of an adventure and brought Hopeless, Maine to Manchester (UK) We are basically hobbits (Eldritch Hobbits, naturally) and can only be lured away from our shire for the most excellent adventures. This was one such. Time Quake was a bold experiment put together by the same people who bring you The Asylum Steampunk Festival.  (Which is the largest, and my opinion, best steampunk event in the world) Thier involvement meant that this experiment was bound to be a success (Spoiler- it was)

We set up as the Hopeless, Maine tourist information stand and prepared to educate the unwary about life on our strange little island off the coast of Maine. We were armed with creatures, books, strange bunting, oddities, and the lovely tourist info posters drawn by the esteemed Cliff Cumber. Also- we had leaflets on island history and a piece by the mysterious Eldrich Bunting, explaining why you should choose Hopeless, Maine as your next vacation destination.  Here are some images from the event. I will be back after, for some more saying things to you.

Hello! I’m back! Wasn’t that fun?

At long last, we got to meet Lou Pulford and her lovely family!She has written some of our favorite Vendetta pieces and has written for the Hopeless, Maine RPG as well and…we are just massive fans of her in general. She presented us the amazing mermaid puppet shown above.

One of the things that draws us to these events is the chance to meet new people, be inspired by their creativity and to see people that we do not get to have time with otherwise. Two of these people are shown above. Dr. Geof is an actual genius and one of the loveliest people in the world at all ever. If you are part of the steampunk community, you are almost certainly aware of him. If you are not aware of him, click that link and your life will be improved. Pictured at the end is Ian Crichton. (sometimes known as Herr Döktor)  Any event is greatly bettered for us by getting to spend time with him. Like Geof, he is a genius and a lynchpin of the steampunk community, also an almost frighteningly charming and engaging chap. He makes things that can barely be believed.

This ends part one of the Time Quake vendetta. We hope (as always) this finds you well, inspired and thriving.

Hopeless is leaking, Views of Hopeless

Hopeless, Maine is leaking (part 1)

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Hello people! (and others)

I was looking at some photos a friend had taken recently not far from where we live in the UK and they were very…Hopeless, Maine-ish.  This lead me to wonder if in fact our strange island (Hopeless, not the UK. Erm) was not perhaps leaking out into the rest of the world. I logged onto my social media accounts and asked for evidence if that was indeed the case, and apparently, I was not wrong.

Our first evidence came from not far away (from us) These photos from Gary Lea establish the theme for this first installment, which is to say, trees.

Look at this tree. This tree is clearly surrounded by spirits and fed on unwholesome things.

Then we move closer… what are these strange danging obscenities?

Let us be brave (or foolish) and move closer still. Are those…eyes? Yes, undoubtedly hundreds of tiny eyes. *shudders*Hopeless, Maine has come to Gloucestershire.  There can be no doubt.

 

While we are on the subject of trees, Cliff Cumber (artist extraordinaire and all around excellent chap)  Bravely stood still long enough to capture this image of an eye in the trees in Maryland.

I am pleased to say that he lived to pass this along to us and tell the tale.

 

So, if you have you seen the hideous evidence of Hopeless, Maine leaking out into the rest of the world, comment here. This will no doubt be an ongoing exploration…