The Atlantis Bookshop on London’s Museum Street will be holding an exhibition of original artwork from Martin Hayes and Roy H Stewart‘s graphic novel Aleister Crowley: Wandering the Waste, published by Markosia.
The exhibition opens as part of The Atlantis Bookshop’s annual Crowleymass celebrations on Sunday 1st of December, 2013 which runs from 2-5.00pm. Roy will be there talking about his art and process, and Martin will be there too, chatting and generally milling about.


Martin Hayes is the writer of, most recently, the graphic novels Project Luna: 1947 and Aleister Crowley: Wandering the Waste, along with the short story collection Get It Down and Other Weird Stories. You can read about some of the projects I’m currently working on here and catch up on things he’s already done here. He also has a tumblr which he uses as a notebook.
There will be over 80 pieces of framed original art on display, along with several grimoire-like sketchbooks which Roy put together while working on the book. Everything is for sale. Prices start at £25.
Meticulously researched, Aleister Crowley: Wandering the Waste – a book three years in the making – reveals the life and times of England’s most infamous son. Occultist, artist, poet, prophet, record-setting mountaineer, drug and free-love pioneer, spy, scholar, and legendary bad-egg. Summoner of demons and loser of friends. An explorer of many realms who conversed with gods and angels but ended his days labelled “The Wickedest Man in the World.. He’s been described as a foolish genius with a much maligned history… a wanderer of the waste.”
The novel, which includes a foreword by Crowley scholar Richard Kaczynski, has had critical acclaim since its release. “The ending really is something quite interesting and special,” feels Richard Bruton on the Forbidden Planet blog. “Hayes and Stewart finding a really involving, and yes, a magical way to end their tale, to end Crowley’s life. But the thing the graphic novel leaves us with, as it should, is that Crowley’s desire to transcend death, and to live in the imagination and the memory of the world, was accomplished. Death took the man, but his legacy lives on.”
“The impressionistic style often bleeds over into the real world scenes, kind of like how the world of magic often comes into the everyday life of Crowley,” says David Ferguson on Irish Comic News of Roy’s art. ” I enjoyed both styles but I particularly enjoyed the ‘Interlude’ chapter which was entirely in the first style and was a nice change of pace and break from the often haunting imagery of the impressionist style.”
The exhibition will run until the 24th of December, 2013.
• Exhibition: Roy H Stewart’s original artwork from Aleister Crowley – Wandering the Waste graphic novel – The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London WC1A 1LY. Web: www.theatlantisbookshop.com
• Martin Hayes’ official web site: www.paroneiria.com
• Roy H. Stewart’s official web site: http://rhsillustrator.daportfolio.com
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Graphic Novels, Events, Exhibitions