August 15th, 2008 - The Long Patrol's 12th Anniversary
Today marks 12 years since HTML was first put to text file and The Long Patrol was born. I find that as more and more of these milestones roll around, none of the feelings of awe and gratitude go away-- they're only amplified. That this site has been able to attract such a loyal group of visitors who make it all worth while is humbling. That it has served as a gateway for me to interact with various creators who have worked on Redwall over the years is amazing-- something I know I didn't envision back in 1996.
On that note, we actually have an update for you today-- The Long Patrol's interview with Troy Howell is finished! Read it here.
Troy's been with Redwall since the beginning, giving him a unique perspective. My heartfelt thanks to Mr. Howell for taking the time for this interview. Be sure to check it out!
More updates are on the way. Thanks for your support over the past twelve years-- I hope you'll stick around for twelve more!
November 11th, 2007 - David Wyatt Interviewed
I've just posted the latest interview in The Long Patrol's series. This time we're joined by U.K. cover artist, David Wyatt!
Since his Redwall debut in 2002, Wyatt has drawn U.K. covers for Triss, Loamhedge, Rakkety Tam, High Rhulain, Eulalia!, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, The Angel's Command and Voyage of Slaves.
In the interview, we find out about David's background, what kind of work goes into producing the cover artwork for the novels (Brian gets involved in the process!), and the challenges of Redwall versus Castaways. You'll also see his Eulalia! cover from its start as a pencil rough all the way to the finished product. Read the interview here!
I want to thank Mr. Wyatt, once again, for taking the time to answer my questions. It was an incredibly enjoyable experience!
Check back in the future for our interviews with Troy Howell and Bret Blevins.
November 11th, 2007 - Updating Cover Art
I've been going through and updating the cover art sections in The Bookshelf. Primarily adding in the U.K. Audio Book covers, which mostly feature the same Sean Rubin artwork as their U.S. counterparts, albeit with different framing (which I thought warranted adding them).
As part of that batch, we've got four covers that haven't hit U.S. shores, though. There's Rubin's artwork for The Bellmaker and Outcast of Redwall (full versions of which are on his website) and a pair of non-Rubin covers for Castaways of the Flying Dutchman and The Angel's Command. I've added the CD versions below, but you can see more of the art on the cassette tape versions (which were also posted on the Bookshelf).
Another cover addition is the Blacksheep UK cover for The Bellmaker... or should I say, the second version of the Blacksheep UK cover. The cover was redone to make Joseph a hooded mouse. You can see the comparison for yourself below.
In all, you'll find new covers on Redwall, Mattimeo, Mariel of Redwall, The Bellmaker, Outcast of Redwall, The Taggerung, Triss, Rakkety Tam, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman and The Angel's Command. More on the way.
October 21st, 2007 - David Elliot Interviewed
I've just posted the next interview in The Long Patrol's series. Our subject this time around is none other than David Elliot!
David is the fifth (and current) Redwall illustrator, who took over with Triss in 2002. Since then he's illustrated four more Redwall books, as well as two from the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He's currently at work on the next Redwall book, Doomwyte (due out next year).
I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Elliot for taking the time for this interview! It was a wonderful experience!
Our next interview will be posted next week. Be sure to check back.
August 15th, 2007 - The Long Patrol's 11th Anniversary
It was exactly 11 years ago today that The Long Patrol first went online and if there's one thing I've noticed during that time, it's that the older you get, the faster the years go by. Too fast, in fact.
I've got a couple of essays sitting on my computer, about 70% completed, that I'd hoped to have for you today, but I'm afraid circumstances conspired (for clearly it was malicious on their part, those rotten circumstances ;) to keep me from getting them finished in time. I'll have them for you sometime this week, just not today. (I've also got a bunch of reviews to throw at you. Once I finish the coding and image-work, they'll start trickling in alongside the essays.)
Redwall fandom has changed remarkably in the 11 years I've been a part of it. I wanted to explore that a bit-- it even ties into (sort of) one of the essays-- but I'm running short on time, so it'll have to wait. Instead, I'll just take this opportunity to say a few words.
To the few of you who have been with us for all 11 years, words cannot express my gratitude towards you. Your support has meant a lot to me, it's helped make this site possible, and I hope you'll stick around for the next 11 years, too!
To those of you who have just stumbled onto the site, the "newbies", thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoy the site and that you'll be back for the essays later this week! Stick around!
And to everyone else who falls inbetween the two groups-- thank you, from the bottom of my heart! You're the lifeblood of any site-- the ones who came in at one point and decided it was worth sticking around for. Thank you!
Eleven years goes by in the blink of an eye. Happy Anniversary!
The next installment should be ready to go soon. Keep your eyes peeled.
May 28th, 2007 - Introducing The Liverpool Bookshelf
Things have been rather quiet since the last update. That's because I was hard at work on the section that's debuting today-- The Liverpool Bookshelf!
Prior to writing Redwall in 1985, Brian Jacques was very active on the Liverpool folk scene. He was part of the folk-singing group The Liverpool Fishermen, had his many monologues and stories about Liverpool life published, penned his own stage play (Brown Bitter, Wet Nellies and Scouse) which was performed at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, and he, ultimately, wound up with his own radio show on BBC Radio Merseyside, Jakestown, which ran until last autumn.
Next up is the record album Swallow the Anchor from his days as part of the group, The Liverpool Fishermen (complete with lyrics).
Finally, there's the record album A Gig wid Brig, a recording of a live show Brian, his wife Liz, and Tony Higham put on in Solihull in 1974 (also with lyrics).
There will be more additions to The Liverpool Bookshelf in the future, so be sure to keep an eye out!
The next interview should be ready for posting soon. Thanks for being patient.
April 15th, 2007 - The Long Patrol Interviews... Everyone!
Longtime visitors will remember when The Long Patrol first began interviewing members of the production staff of the Redwall Television Series-- still one of the coolest things I've ever been able to do for the site. Since that last interview in 2002, I haven't done much in that area, but that all changes today-- in a big way.
Today we begin a series of interviews with the various individuals who have worked on Redwall-- past, present, and future-- over its 20 years of existence. Among those who have generously agreed to be interviewed are (this list could very well grow as we've got requests in to a few more individuals, as well):
Stuart Moore, the comic book writer responsible for adapting Redwall into graphic novel form, due out October.
David Wyatt, the current U.K. cover artist (whose work can be seen one update down).
Troy Howell, U.S. cover artist and the only illustrator who has been with Redwall for all 20 years.
David Elliot, the current illustrator for both of Brian's series, 'Redwall' and 'Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'.
We thank each and every one of them for taking the time to answer The Long Patrol's questions!
The first interview to kick us off is with Stuart Moore, the writer responsible for adapting Redwall into graphic novel form. The interview was conducted before I'd been given the chance to see the finished product-- which is absolutely phenomenal!-- so there are quite a few questions about the structure of the story and the creators' approach. Also included: a five page preview!
Be sure to check back soon for the posting of the other exciting interviews!
April 13th, 2007 - The Art of David Wyatt
I posted these this morning on the LP Forum, but I thought they warranted an update here, too.
U.K. cover artist, David Wyatt, has been kind enough to send me the full, "widescreen" versions of the illustrations he did for Loamhedge, Rakkety Tam, High Rhulain, and the forthcoming Eulalia! (the full version of Triss had been posted by Redwall.org in 2002). These versions make the covers look even more stunning than they were before and we can't begin to thank Mr. Wyatt for sharing them with us!
And so, without further ado, here are all five of David Wyatt's covers, shown textless and "widescreen".
Just a quick plug today-- a new Redwall e-zine, The Myth's Magazine, has just started up. It's a pretty fun read, so head on over. (Beware of High Rhulain and Pearls of Lutra spoilers, though.)
March 30th, 2007 - Voyage of Rhulains
It's been a long time coming, but the reviews for bothHigh Rhulain and Voyage of Slaves have been posted! This means that, as far as novels are concerned, The LP's Bookshelf is once again current.
Of course, there are still more reviews on the way-- The Tale of Urso Brunov won't be long, followed by The Redwall Cookbook and A Redwall Journal. When those are complete, I'll have a few surprises in store for you all and will hopefully have the time to revisit the various companions and give Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales another read.
I've been quietly updating the Bookshelf all week, scanning in better versions of covers, adding the "medallion" releases that have been popping up in the UK for the past year or so, and generally sifting through my Redwall collection to find things to add (such as finally scanning in Listening Library's three-volume release of the Redwall Radio Play). More goodies on the way. Stay tuned.
It's been a long time coming, but the reviews for both