Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's Aid

Have just updated the website with a pre-order link and a preview of our Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's aid. We have Women's Aid's official blessing and thank you, so we're good to go!

Our models have been chosen (the seven published cover girls and the next five) and we're trying to arrange another few photoshoots to get some new pictures for the occasion.

I'm going to re-post the info I posted to the website here, because it's important, and I'm just going to tell you the same thing, so:

Villains, Minions, Virgins of the Undead! The Antagonist is thrilled silly to present our 2011 Babes With Brains Calendar!

It's twelve months of full-colour, spiral-bound glory featuring twelve (and just maybe a top secret lucky #13) beautiful women chosen for their considerable intelligence and kindness of disposition!

All proceeds will be donated to Women's Aid to help them in their quest to end domestic violence.


Babes with Brains

Babes with Brains: a tongue-in-cheek title for an overdue concept. For those of you just joining us, the models featured on the covers and throughout the issues of The Antagonist are the Babes, women of all ages and walks of life chosen for their intelligence over their dress size, lovingly photographed in places and situations that are personal as they are playful. This project is attempting to show, one issue at a time, that all women are beautiful and that there is nothing sexier than a woman who can crush you with her mind (as if anyone needed convincing).

We've had the honour of photographing some incredible women over the past year and half, and now we're bringing them all together in a series of new pictures for a cause: to raise money for Women's Aid.

Domestic Violence is a serious problem that affects women, children, and men all over the world. One in four women in the UK alone will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Women's Aid is a charity that strives to put an end to the violence, raising awareness and protecting the affected, saving countless lives in the process.

It's an important cause, and that's why we're donating all of the proceeds of the calendar to help them in their mission.

Some of the models you know, and some of them will be new to you. We have stunning previously unpublished photos of Kitty Moran, Elizabeth T, Jen Sheehan, Lisa Ray, Emily V, and Ophelia from Issues 1 - 6, as well as some new faces including the lovely Liz Wride, Kylie R of Issue 7, and a special guest appearance from our personal rock star, Englane Read (see above).

The calendars are full-colour, spiral bound, designed from scratch by the Editor and include noteable dates (Pagan, Christian, and Antagonistic!) all year round. They are available by pre-order only, and you must place your order by midnight GMT on the 5th of December. They will be shipped to you anywhere in the world from the Headquarters, hot off the presses, in time for Christmas (or Yule). You can get them on the website or from our Squid Shop.

For more on Women's Aid, click here.

We'd like to remember those affected by domestic violence in the calendar. If you have anyone you'd like mentioned, please contact us.

American Means

Had an absolutely amazing time at The Crunch last night. It was a special American edition with D.E. Oprava as the featured poet, reading chapters from his latest book, American Means. Now, we thought that Vs. was great, but Oprava has really topped himself with American Means -- gritty, hopeful, beautifully formed, this 90-page poem is a modern epic that must be read. It had to be written, and no one could have done it like Oprava. It's not only required reading for American ex-pats, but brutally necessary for anyone needing a better understanding of what it really means to be American.

Hopefully there will be a book launch in Cardiff coming up, and I'll keep you posted. Hearing this work coming from the poet is an experience. Needless to say, I've got my copy, and you can get yours by visiting Grievous Jones here.

The above photo, in case you were wondering, is a blurry picture of Oprava with one of the Crunch's regular poets, James Angel, in a Grievous Jones t-shirt.

The Crunch was fantastic across the board. Adam provided hot dogs for everybody in keeping with the American theme, and all of the poetry was even better than usual. Some of the Antagonist's Minions were in attendance and in top form: Rhys Owain Williams' reading included a limerick that included the miraculous rhyming of the word "Oedipus", and Sarah Coles (writer: Bad Sex Awards 2009) read a lovely piece about her youngest daughter that almost moved this somewhat cynical so-and-so to tears.

Afterwards, myself and the Usual Suspects got up to no good, naturally. This involved climbing the massive hill to K & Jen's pirate ship (in the sky!) while brandishing chips etc. and gazing longingly at the food porn here. Seriously? Goldfish and Triscuits? AND Cheetos?! Be still my heart!

So somewhere between the fireworks and the poetry and the pirate ship (seriously, there was a flag and everything) me and Jen got to talking about photo projects. I mentioned I'd love to do a series of photos of men and Jen knew exactly what I meant & she's all for it. I'm not talking about leopard print pants & photocopiers (although now that you mention it...), I just fancy doing a series of interesting profiles. I mean, how else am I going to adequately communicate my appreciation for great noses?

Now you think I'm just making this up. I have a highly developed and somewhat eccentric vision of beauty and I'd like, in this series (if it ever gets made), to show that to other people. Tall order, maybe, but it's bound to fun. If you would like to volunteer yourself or someone you know against their will, you know where to find me!

PS - Hope you're all enjoying Issue 2. We've had 150 downloads in three days, so keep passing those links around! It's working! Spread the word, Minions! Issue 3 is also well under way and still taking submissions and listings, but I'm having a hell of a time picking just one picture of the lovely Jen S to use for the cover...

Superabundance of Babes with Brains

Had another fantastic photoshoot yesterday with Jen S. We went to Bute Park again because they turned out so nicely last time, and the lighting was lovely and there were leaves everywhere. I really enjoyed myself. Jen was wearing her purple corset for Damsel in this Dress and we wanted to take some photos to show it off, although these will also be used in the magazine.

Hoping to schedule a day in Swansea soon for an epic 3-girl photoshoot at Jen J's new place. Apparently there's a white chaise lounge, and I cannot WAIT!

Have also interviewed Razorblade Romance this week and very much looking forward to seeing Sonic Boom 6 in a couple of weeks. Going to let The Punk write the review for that one, but I'll take photos & post them ASAP. As for Green Day at the end of the month, well, that's not really for the magazine... that's just for me. ;)

Speaking of which, saw the music video for East Jesus Nowhere earlier. It's nothing like the others -- all live stuff spliced together -- but I like the song a bit more every time I hear it. I just like knowing it was inspired by something in Wisconsin. I never thought that happened! Anyway, after that there were a few other particularly weak music videos by especially forgettable landfill indie bands, including Weightless by All Time Low. Not only did the video come across as overly (and unjustifiably) critical but the music, although not actually offensive, was underwhelming at best. As for the band name, well, the jokes write themselves.

The Punk thinks we ought to record some of his songs. I'm obviously drumming and I asked if I can be the kind that plays half naked before/during/after getting pissed and starting fights. He's okay with that. I'm looking forward to it.

I hope we do actually record some of his stuff because it's just getting better. Everything he's written lately has been incredible and I wish I knew how he did it. I haven't been able to write anything I've liked since I finished my novel. I wrote five pages about feminism yesterday but I haven't been able to look at it to edit it yet. We'll see how it goes...

The Acid Flashback Set

Today's photoshoot was great, if weird. Jen and I went down to Bute Park (which was packed at 1 pm on a Saturday), found a dark corner and got up to no good. Was convinced we'd get some cat-calls like last time with Kitty Moran, but if the kids saw us, they were too freaked out to say anything. Just in case, I told her tell any rude passers-by that she was Death. Maybe I've been reading too much Sandman lately (if indeed there is such a thing), but the whole scene was positively Burtonesque. The light kept shifting, so the butterflies - yes, butterflies - and falling leaves took on a melancholic dimension in the relative gloom. Jen looked fantastic -- she had her black hooded corset and this black and white striped bustle skirt that did crazy things to my vision, leading me to call these "The Acid Flashback Set".

It was all a little surreal, and I kept saying so. I might have been talking to myself. These things happen. Jen climbed a tree and I handed her a tea cup and we got this:



Out of 244 photos, I don't think there was a bad shot. Had a great time, Jen's happy with the photos, and all of her friends are loving them on the 'book. I'm glad! We got October's cover sorted as well as a few fake adverts and I didn't even use the spare batteries. Excellent. Everyone's in favour of the calendar idea and picking their months, but I could still do with finding a couple more models. Any volunteers?

Afterwards we went to Nero's for chai and Rebel Rebel for henna, meeting up with LJ and Erin for a tour of Cardiff's many Starbucks, took the scenic route home, where we found the found The Punk celebrating The Mighty Arsenal's victory. Jen, Erin, and LJ headed back to Swansea, needing some recovery after Girl Party Mark II, McTizzle's Magic Birthday Edition, which included four previous cover models, a balloon fight, and a roasting of P.S. I Love You. Yeah, I was surprised, too. This yielded to us three Truths:

1. "Gerard Butler is useless to us in the dark."
2. Hilary Swank turned what could have been a genuine tear-jerker into a harmless waste of time in which we feel no sympathy for the protagonist, and
3. Jeffrey Dean Morgan can make ANY mess worth watching at least once.

The best part of that movie was watching The Punk's face contort as he struggled to hold back every sarky comment he thought of, and recieving high-5s when I said what he was thinking before he did.

Well, that and Kitty's amazing brownies. Yes, that's right. Not only is she gorgeous, intelligent, and hell-bent on global domination, but she can bake, too. At some point -- and I don't remember exactly when; there was a lot of sugar involved -- we decided that I can best be described as "a Stepford Wife is somebody ripped out the hard disk and replaced it with a Ramones CD". I'm happy with that. Road to Ruin's probably my favourite, but I bet it's Rocket to Russia.

As long as I'm doing this stream-of-consciousness thing, I might as well mention that I think I heard a busker playing "Famous Blue Raincoat" today. It could have been wishful thinking, but buskers have been getting better around here lately -- last week it was Pink Floyd and Buddy Holly, but hearing Leonard Cohen played (well) in the street could be the greatest thing EVER.

May have imagined it, though. Jen didn't hear it.

Here's another photo from today for you. Enjoy.

Graphic Novels and Super Models

Had an interesting experience earlier this week. I'm going to have to paraphrase a bit, but I was told by an editor that I should freelance my way into a little pile of cash and just publish The Antagonist for the rest of my life, because it's awesome. Also that I belong in the '70s. You don't have to tell me. I know.

It was good to hear that from a completely impartial stranger. Have spent the last couple of days thinking about where I want to take the magazine from here, and I'm beginning to formulate a plan. Well, less of a plan than a list of things I think would be cool. For example, I'm about to begin work on my first graphic novel and I'm looking for artists to work with me. I can draw, but I don't think I can create images dark enough for this particular piece. Anybody out there want to give it a go?

As I've mentioned before, I'm getting a lot more interest from potential models than anybody else. This is a wonderful thing! I'm loving the photoshoots (looks like I have another one scheduled for this weekend, and the next five covers are booked), and I'm happy to keep the Babes With Brains series going as long as there are models up for it. This is fun! It's looking like the magazine is going to be heading in a more visual direction, and I find that terribly exciting. But don't worry -- more pictures doesn't mean we'll be scaling back on the text anytime soon. We'll just make it bigger.

This weekend's photoshoot will be with our lovely make up columnist Jen Sheehan. Here's a preview:



We're also going to be looking into making an Antagonist calendar for 2010. Any thoughts?

Am also thrilled to announce that we've got another online column in blog form from Courtney in Chicago. A former model of ours and constant friend, she's also a fantastic writer. I especially loved her detailed description of getting her nipple pierced this week.
Check out The Court Rose: Adventures of a Curious Mind.

Submissions, ahoy!

Issue 2 is coming along brilliantly. A strange thing happened this morning: I checked my email, and there were about 10 submissions in my inbox. Fab! I have a stack of articles to edit now, and will hopefully have Issue 2 ready for print by early next week. That would be fab! Now we just have to get the money to print the second one.

Now, the magazine should be self-sustaining, but isn't yet because it's difficult to coordinate distributors, track down subscribers, and get all the month's cash back in one place before the next issue needs to be printed. Not great! So this month we're going to print fewer issues right away, and try to sell more colour PDFs. Unless, of course, a miracle happens and the bank finally calls me back. Irritating.

Nevertheless, the magazine is looking great. I have an epic interview with The Death of Chapman Baxter as well as a Q & A with Liam Shaolin Wolf + pictures, a column from Chris Samia, an article and a poem by Gemma June Howell, and part 2 of Amphetamine Logic! Also expecting a piece on Black Eyes & Neckties from Graham Isaac and a recap of the London Comic-Con from Kitty Moran and Jen Sheehan! You can also count on regular features like Punk John's politics column, the Teen Movie Experiment, and Totally American Reviews. Excitement!

This month Gemma's covering a poetry and photography exhibition held by Ceri Thomas and Deepa Praveen that took place in Swansea on International Women's Day. Here's a preview of Deepa's gorgeous photos:

Beer in a wine glass.

The sunset from a moving bus. Awesome.

Will be using a couple of other brilliant photos for the b & w printed copies as the loss of colour in these two would be a tragedy, but will still post our set on the website as an extra feature. Good stuff!