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Theocracies: Real and Imagined

6 days ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

Today, there seem to be more theocracies than ever. My family came from Ireland, which was a recognised cruel, evil and oppressive theocracy until fairly recent times. Among its numerous crimes were the treatment of young women in the Magdalen laundries and the restrictions on family planning. It even goes back to the time of the Great Hunger, where the ruling English Raj used and funded a Quisling Church, willing to carry out its commands.
Requiem Vampire Knight 10: Blood Bath

1 week ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

In this volume, we see the aftermath of Hiroshima. The three American ‘tourists’ being pulled in rickshaws are authentic and the image is based on a photo reference. But any consideration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki makes us think about the origins of evil. Whether there is a place such as Resurrection, where the perpetrators will be punished, which is what so many of us would like to see happen.
Small Things Like These (KAWK)

1 week ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

I've just watched Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy. It’s set in the 1980s and exposes yet more crimes of the nuns in the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. Crimes which, as far as I’m aware, no nun has served a prison sentence for. It’s valuable because it shows that Matriarchies can be just as evil as Patriarchies. Even if the nuns are a product of a patriarchal religion, they are certainly autonomous and powerful in the film.
Requiem Vampire Knight 9: Sources of Inspiration

2 weeks ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

I’ve often wondered what Olivier’s sources of inspiration for Requiem are. There’s the central character of Requiem himself, who may be visually inspired by Moorcock’s Elric. A couple of years back, Glenat, our publisher, asked Moorcock if he would write an intro to the Requiem series but, unfortunately, he was too busy. Then there’s the aerial city of Pirates on magnificent display in this volume – I have no idea where that might have come from.
Fat Comics

2 weeks ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

Apologies again for writing yet another post that isn’t Matriarchy versus Patriarchy. It will return!The definition of comic books comes up from time to time, so I thought I’d share my recollections of how comic books became ‘graphic novels’. I have reservations on that description of them. I believe Mick McMahon called them fat comics, or possibly fat comics with bits of cardboard around them, which still makes me chuckle.
Requiem Vampire Knight 8: Back to the Past

3 weeks ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

We’ve caught up with the future. Many of the dystopias and dreams of science fiction have been made manifest. Its triumphs and nightmares are all around us and there’s a case for thinking there’s nowhere left for them to go, despite Elon Musk’s implausible and scientifically bonkers boasts about missions to colonise Mars. The futuristic Concorde has been and gone. The moon landings have been and gone. Shanghai rivals the cities in Blade Runner.
The Secret of Speed Writing

3 weeks ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

I was amazed by the prolific nature of indie writers, the speed and the quality of their work, and their generosity at sharing their insights, at the recent Global Publishing Summit in Seville, so I’ve had to reflect on how they differed from the traditionally published ‘pulp fiction’ books we are all familiar with.
Requiem Vampire Knight 7: Rule Dystopia!

4 weeks ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

This volume – the Sisters of the Convent of Blood – is once again a visual feast for the eyes. In my opinion, the Requiem series – and especially this volume – is more colourful than Star Wars and other SF classic movies. Olivier’s imagination is in overdrive. And it has an original angle that generates the story and art concepts – namely: this is Hell where everything is reversed. So I’m always in awe when I look back over our past work together.
The Taste of Freedom

1 month ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

I’ll come back to my Matriarchy versus Patriarchy series shortly, but this week I simply had to write about a self-publishing event Lisa and I attended last week in Seville. And to encourage my readers who are also writers to visit the UK and Irish equivalents:The UK event is in London 25 to 26th June. https://selfpublishingformula.com/tag/james-blatchThe Irish event is March 2026 near Shannon.
Requiem Vampire Knight 6: The Great Beast 666

1 month ago | iconoblast.substack.com | Pat Mills

This volume has some of the most splendid art so far. It’s absolutely amazing – from the medieval battle on the ice which opens the story to the baroque splendour of the Hellfire Club. I believe Olivier told me he based the architecture on the Vatican. The character who dominates this episode is Black Sabbat, Aleister Crowley, ‘The Great Beast’. I researched him carefully, read everything I could find on him, and his own paintings feature in the story.