Top Nine: Watson's Choice
Rounding out the series in which Ninth Art contributors look back on their favourite comics, the third of 9A's founding editors reveals his nine picks, from DISEASE to SAVAGES, by way of a little UNDERSTANDING.
19 June 2006

Editorial: Camera Obscura - The Call
The ambition of most comic creators is to write supermen and mutants. The only way to make a living in comics is to write supermen and mutants. If these two things are true, says Alasdair Watson, then the industry has reached a dead end.
09 April 2004

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Whisky Business
Alasdair Watson visits a convention with a difference; one where they ply you with whisky from beginning to end. Oh, but it's got nothing to do with comics. He comes back with a few observations to share, and a hangover to keep.
08 March 2004

Editorial: Camera Obscura - The Soap Bubble
Chris Claremont established the soap opera formula for the X-Men family of titles, and it's never been able to escape from it. While the formula may have its strengths, says Alasdair Watson, there's no advantage in being slave to the soaps.
06 February 2004

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Messages In Bottles
Writing under the restriction of a post-New Year's hangover, Ninth Art's resident curmudgeon looks at how limitations can push creators to do their very best - and notes how rarely comic creators push themselves at all.
02 January 2004

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Nothing New
When an industry's in decline, isn't that a good time to take risks? There are talented writers out there with great stories to tell, according to Alasdair Watson, who will never get the chance if publishers continue to chase the same shrinking audiences.
05 December 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Oh, What A Lovely Bore
Hey, you! Yes, you! Do comics leave you feeling listless and uninspired? Is your reading matter flat, lifeless and dull? Well, tough, says Alasdair Watson. The first flush of love was bound to fade eventually.
07 November 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Serious Business
What will it take for the medium of comics to produce truly great works of art, and truly great artists? Alasdair Watson believes the potential is there, if only the business side would take the necessary risks to push the art form to the next level.
10 October 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Telling Tales
Alasdair Watson confronts the ultimate horror - bad storytelling - and considers how the constraints of the serial format have forced comics to go in limited directions while leaving other avenues unexplored.
12 September 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Pithy Remarks
A comics news site has stirred up a controversy by hiring a pseudonymous reviewer, and the comics clubhouse is outraged. But we need people like Jess Lemon, according to Alasdair Watson (if, indeed, that is his real name).
15 August 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Summertime Blues
It's summertime, and the heat is making Alasdair even grumpier than usual. And he's stuck at home while the rest of the editorial board are on holiday in San Diego. You've been warned.
18 July 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Café Society
A company that normally specialises in personalised T-shirts and mousemats is looking to move into the publishing sector - by letting customers publish their own books. Is this a revolution in the making for the mini-comics crowd?
20 June 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Punk As Folk
Never mind the mainstream; it's at the fringe that comics are likely to find a receptive market, and in that market, originality really counts. Alasdair Watson argues the case against cover versions.
23 May 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Surf Safari
The internet has opened up all sorts of new avenues for comics storytelling, most of which remain entirely unexplored. Alasdair Watson offers a few suggestions for exploring this untapped potential.
25 April 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - The Thinking Man
This month, Alasdair Watson's thoughts turn to thinking - and unthinking. Why aren't comics smarter? Why don't comics place more value on ideas? And why would anyone option THE GARGOYLE?
28 March 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Common Ground
Alasdair Watson takes a look at a possible path for the evolution of copyright, and how it might affect comics, and gives his thoughts on some of the mystery surrounding Marvel's new Epic line.
28 February 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura: Get Smart
It's all about alternatives with Alasdair Watson this week; alternatives to the comic culture, and alternatives to activism. Could push technology provide the shove that comic readers need?
31 January 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - The Magic Pencil
Alasdair Watson makes his bid to be this year's doomsayer for the comics industry. Plus, a look at the British Library's Magic Pencil exhibition, which profiles the work of such exceptional talents as Posy Simmonds and Raymond Briggs.
03 January 2003

Editorial: Camera Obscura - Superhate
Stand back, Superman. There's just one thing dominating Alasdair Watson's thoughts this month: His consuming hatred for that sexless, simplistic, immoral and inferior icon of a sci-fi subgenre: the superhero.
06 December 2002

Editorial: Camera Obscura - All Action
In the second of the new look Ninth Art editorials, Alasdair Watson looks at the action genre in comics beyond the familiar confines of the superhero subgenre, from Alan Moore's PROMETHEA to Greg Rucka's QUEEN & COUNTRY.
08 November 2002

Camera Obscura: Are You Experienced?
When it comes to engaging the audience, comics have a power to connect in tremendously complex ways. Alasdair Watson attempts to unravel the riddle of comics' great potential for communication.
04 October 2002

Camera Obscura: Design For Life
Coffee. It's cheaper than comics and it's got a better kick. Instead of just competing with each other, comics need to compete with the more affordable pleasures in life - and that means offering a spectacle that coffee beans just don't have.
09 September 2002

Camera Obscura: More Of The Same
There's always a call for more diversity in comics, but Alasdair Watson believes there's something to be said for seeing creators working over familiar ground - if they can find new angles.
28 June 2002

Camera Obscura: Under The Influence
The best comics can take you further than what's shown on the page, believes Alasdair Watson, while only the worst live in cultural isolation. Ideas are nothing to be afraid of.
31 May 2002

Camera Obscura: Quick To Condemn
Patience. Moderation. A willingness to reconsider. Are these things total strangers to the world of comic book discussion? Alasdair Watson says it's time to slow down and put things in perspective.
03 May 2002

Camera Obscura: Stop The Rock
Were there any television sets in the swimming pools at San Diego last year? Did anyone assault an air stewardess on their way to Angouleme? Comic creators aren't rock stars. And why should they want to be?
05 April 2002

Camera Obscura: Candid Camera
Comic book creator Warren Ellis has created a book of his own photography. Comic book publisher Larry Young has published it. Alasdair Watson asks, is AVAILABLE LIGHT a shameless big name cash-in or a bold creative experiment?
08 March 2002

Camera Obscura: The Press Pack
Alasdair Watson presents a reviews round-up of the small-press books that have been sent to the Ninth Art offices, including ARMS LENGTH, HARDLY THE HOG, RAVEN'S CHILDREN and VOGELEIN.
08 February 2002

Camera Obscura: Back To The Future
Sitting in a Starbucks that could be anywhere in the world, Alasdair Watson reflects on how the spreading stain of mainstream culture is pushing new discoveries ever further off the map.
11 January 2002

Pistolwhipped: An interview with Jason Hall and Matt Kindt
Ninth Art talks to PISTOLWHIP creators Hall and Kindt, the Lighthouse Awards winners for best debut and breakthrough talent, about noir, design, and the unique way that they got in to the industry.
07 January 2002

Camera Obscura: Charming The Snake
Several comic creators, including Grant Morrison and Alan Moore, take magic and the occult very seriously. Alasdair Watson looks at how it can influence and inform some of their greatest works.
14 December 2001

Camera Obscura: Standing In The Shadows Of Giants
Marvel isn't the only game in town; it's just the loudest. There are a number of publishers out there producing a diverse range of excellent comics; so why aren't they shouting about it?
16 November 2001

Camera Obscura: Big Brother Is Watching You
Alasdair Watson is Ninth Art's webmaster, so he knows what you people are reading. He knows what you people like. He knows your dirty little secret, and he's about to tell the world.
19 October 2001

Camera Obscura: Paperback Writers
Comics may have superseded the written pulp, but there are still plenty of writers out there with a pulp sensibility. Comics could be their natural home - if only someone would show them the way.
21 September 2001

Camera Obscura: Lessons From Hogwarts
Joe Quesada recently made a trip to Scotland to court J.K.Rowling for Marvel. Even if she never writes a comic in her life, she still has things to teach those who do.
24 August 2001

Camera Obscura: San Diego, Mon Amour
Writing live from the San Diego comic convention 2001, the usually curmudgeonly Alasdair Watson actually finds something to smile about.
23 July 2001

Camera Obscura: Blind Ambition
Which superhero have you always dreamed of writing? Is it Batman? Wolverine? Maybe Spider-Man or The Spectre? Oh dear. You're about to get a kicking.
29 June 2001

The Friday Review: Hellblazer: Hard Time
Brian Azzarello is the first American to write HELLBLAZER, a fact that put a lot of long term fans on their guard. Could a Colonial do Constantine? HARD TIME holds the answer.
15 June 2001

Camera Obscura: Comics 2001 Festival Report
Regular columnist Alasdair Watson commences with an on-the-spot report from Comics 2001, Britain's national comics festival.
28 May 2001

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