On the Road

Well folks, this will be my last blog post for a while as I get into gear ready for my impending road trip to Morocco! Yes, for the next 16 days or so I will be trundling through France, Spain in a Land Rover and ferrying across to North Africa, roughing it along the way and seeing some of the world and having an adventure. For someone who hates traveling, hot weather and roughing it, why am I doing it? Well I’m not entirely sure, but as some of you may know, I’m a  Christian and sometimes we Christians believe God calls us to do stuff and experience things which may be life changing. This is the result of a calling and sometimes it helps in terms of faith building to be uncomfortable for a bit. Who knows what it will bring and what God may reveal but it’s exciting none the less.

So what about comics? Thought I’d give you a quick round up of what’s to come in the next few weeks from me in The Dandy.

First up this weeks issue 3580 sees the continuing adventures of The Blundercats as they try once again to set off on the quest for the Book of Ho! This will be the fifth strip in the run so next week will be the last one! Everybody now… Awww!

©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd

Also this week sees the start of a new mini comic run for ‘The Incredible Sulk’!

©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd

Next up we have a new character appearing this month in Bushcraft & Survival Skills Magazine.
Tucker Bushman shares some sweet bush tucker tips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but by no means least, here is a sneak peek of my next Dandy series. I’m not giving away the title just yet, but it’s scheduled to appear soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd

So enjoy and behave yourselves while I’m away!

Art Heroes!

Can I draw your attention to the work of comic writer and artist team Daniel Clifford and Lee Robinson, collectively known as Art Heroes. These guys have set up a business to self publish all ages comics and organise and run comic art workshops to aid young people’s literacy development. This is something very dear to my heart and having held workshops myself, I know how worth while this work can be.

It’s fantastic to see new creators from the UK small press community opting to produce all ages comics. Comics need new readers and more younger readers!

Let’s have a look at Art Heroes’ first comic title, Halcyon & Tenderfoot. I ordered the comic from the AH website and was pleasantly surprised to see the guys had bundled in a black and white introductory Halcyon & Tenderfoot mini comic as well as the 1st issue. What also struck me immediately was the Pixar influence on the artwork. It’s obviously deliberate and I think this is an inspired move, Pixar’s ‘The Incredibles’ depicted the genre of Superheroes wonderfully, and Lee Robinson has emulated the style very well. The writing is also very good. The plot and pacing is well thought out and clear and the characters personalities come across well. Nice to see a really interesting and original rogues gallery lurking in the background ready to cause some mayhem in future issues. For an all ages comic I think Daniel and Lee have pitched this almost perfectly.

The lead characters are likeable and you can see their is some depth to them and that Daniel is a writer who is able to draw the reader in not only with action but with a strong narrative and on emotional level too. As Halcyon & Tenderfoot continues I’m sure the story could become a satisfying must read!

I have a few minor criticisms and I only mention them to spur the guys on. Firstly, if Halcyon and Tenderfoot is to attract younger readers I would suggest full colour art through out. The interior art is black and white ( in my experience kids expect colour ). I totally understand the implications of producing a full colour comic both in terms of time and cost, and I’m sure it would probably be preferable to the creators too. If the company do well we may see a move into colour soon. Another thing, the art at times can be a little too sketchy in places, but I will add that Lee’s loose line work captures the action and movement of the heroes brilliantly.

I do urge you to check out Halcyon & Tenderfoot and support the work of Art Heroes. Good comics need your support and this is a good comic and a great start by Art Heroes.

Visit: artheroes.co.uk      artwork © Art Heroes.

Stomp, Stomp, BARF!

Blundercats leap into action again in this weeks Dandy, and the strip ends in a gripping cliffhanger! The issue is bagged with some gifts and will be on the shelves for a few weeks over the easter hols which means… You’ve got to wait ages to find out what happens next to our heroes?

Here’s a little teaser clip

This issue also debuts Mega-Lo Maniacs the new strip by warped genius Jamie Smart (I don’t think he’ll mind me calling him that… will he?). The Maniacs feature on the cover and there is some great design work going on in this strip. Check out Jamie’s Blog to see some designs.

More soon!

Cat-astrophic Comics and more ROLF!

The Blundercats have invaded comic shelves across the country! The Dandy issue 3576 is out now.
And check out the cover! Not only my first cover art for The Dandy, but featuring my blundering heroes!

Great timing too because as of today Panini comics release a brand new Thundercats comic! So the two comics will share shelf space side by side!

Below is a short clip from the comic strip. I hope folks like it. I’ve had a lot of fun writing and drawing it!

I also have two more strips coming soon in The Dandy so more news on those soon.

Blundercats art ©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd

In other news, my twitter chum Louis Lloyd-Judson very kindly sent me his version of ‘Rolf on (F)Art‘ Here it is below. Thanks Louis,I really appreciate the time you spent drawing this, awesome job, Phoowor!

Blundercats HO!

Attention comics fans! This Wednesday sees the release of The Dandy issue 3576. Which will launch the start of my new full page series BLUNDERCATS!

As you can probably guess from the title, it’s a parody on the popular rebooted cartoon series, Thundercats. I’m having immense fun writing and drawing these strips, I hope the readers enjoy it too.

I’ll tease a few images over the next few days but first up is my original character sketch, which accompanied my initial pitch to the Dandy ed.

HO!

It shouldn’t be all work, work, work! Here’s some mud in yer eye!

You know what I’ve come to realise lately. I’m not reading hardly any new comics that I really want to read!

Yes I’m reading comics, but usually because it’s got something to do with work. Or I’m supporting a publication I work for, or want to work for. And yes I do enjoy them, but there is so much more out there to enjoy!

It’s time I started exploring the world of comics again. Not just devouring a Marvel Essential I got for Crimbo. I used to read loads of stuff. Small press, Indie, Comix, Graphic Novels (in the sense of the word. Not just trade paperback collections). European albums. Westerns, Noir, Sci-Fi, humour. Old comics, new comics, newspaper comic strips! I think you get the picture!

So this week I decided to get online and order some new titles. And first up I went for a new title by a creator I’m a big fan of. Paul Grist. I love Paul’s work and was first introduced to it by my brother who came home one afternoon with the first few issues of KANE, originally self published by Paul under the moniker of Dancing Elephant Press. Some of you may know Kane and one of his other characters Jack Staff are now published by indie comic big gun IMAGE COMICS.

I’ve got to say right off the bat that this was a great pick! The comic in question is MUDMAN #1.

Now if you’re already a fan of Paul’s work then you’re in familiar territory here, but it is no less refreshing to read. If you have never read a Paul Grist comic, then you’re in for a real treat.

I love the layouts in this book, typical Grist and wonderfully creative and in some cases stylishly minimalist. Easy to follow and accompanied by such natural dialogue, Mudman is a joy to read. It’s subtle, warm, charming and very british. I instantly liked the character Owen Craig, Mudman’s alter ego. I guess he’s the english seaside’s very own Peter Parker. Owen is very quickly thrown into a situation in issue 1, which sees him embrace his new found, but still misunderstood power. Donning a costume he discovers earlier in the book, we see him leap into action against a gunman. The issue leaves us with a fantastically intriguing cliffhanger. Much of the character of Mudman is still very much a mystery and I can’t wait read more. It’s good job I ordered issue 2 at the same time! As with a lot of Paul Grist’s work I can see some wonderful subplots are probably going to be weaved through this story, and I’m in no doubt we will be introduced to an interesting cast of supporting characters and villains. I highly recommended this comic if you’re looking for a fantastic, fun, fresh take on the superhero genre, check it out!

Mudman Artwork by Paul Grist © Image comics.

I also want to say that Paul Grist was and I guess still is incredibly inspirational to me. I took the plunge into self publishing around eight years ago, spurred on by the work of Paul and another indie unsung hero, Nabiel Kanan, whose comic, Exit I greatly enjoyed. See art below.

One day maybe I will return to self publishing. It is incredibly rewarding, not in monetary terms, but certainly artistically allowing a creator to truely express themselves with no restraints. I certainly didn’t produce anything close to what I believe I’m capable of as a creator at the time (2004). I’d like to see what I could dream up in the future. Maybe I will. and maybe I’d share it with you some day.

Big blog catch up!

Time for a bit of a catch up on the blogging front. It’s been a bit quiet around these parts of late. The reason being, I’ve been really busy. Putting in some long hours on various projects. So here I am ready to spill the beans on a few of the things I’ve been working on.

First up: Gimme a Burger.
I was fortunate enough to win the contract to design a mascot for a new Burger restaurant now open in sunny Florida, Gimme a Burger. The character we collectively arrived at was Jimmie deWolf.
This job quickly bloomed into a lot more work, as I found myself designing menus, adverts, poster boards and the website. Most fun of all was producing some comics to advertise the place. Here is the first comic below…

 

Artwork copyright ©Gimme a Burger

Next up was The Dandy Annual 2013 which has been an absolute blast to work on this time around. I’ve mentioned it briefly before on the blog and I still don’t want to disclose which characters I have been writing and drawing for. I will say that the book looks as though it’s going to be a real homage to the Dandy’s rich history and some real blasts from the past are set to return. One of the characters I’ve worked with is a real oldie in every sense of the word. None of this character’s strips have yet to be added to DC Thomson’s digital archives, and I had to ask for some scans of a few of the original strips to be emailed over to me to jog my memory about what the character was all about. I couldn’t find anything about him online at all!

The second Dandy annual character is a real classic and has appeared more recently. In fact he was in the 2012 annual although this is the first time I’ve got to work with him! I hope to do more it was great fun.

Anyway without giving away the characters identities (I know, I’m mean aren’t I!) I’ve included  a couple of sneak peaks…

This coming Wednesday The Dandy should carry a trailer for my next series for the weekly, which will start the following week. Can’t wait to talk about this one, it’s very exciting! The issue it launches in will also have the characters starring on the front cover!

So along with this new series and a couple more new strips in production I should be sticking around in The Dandy for a while now. If you haven’t checked the comic out yet then please do, it really is a cracking read. Very funny, fresh, bright and original. Available from newsagents and supermarkets (I get mine in ASDA!) or subscribe direct from DC Thompson online for only a pound per issue! WINNER!

So I should be back soon with news of that new Dandy strip later in the week. Stay tuned folks!

Artwork copyright ©DC Thompson & Co ltd.

In a Dandy daze!

Blimey! In my previous post I mentioned I was working on 3, 2 page strips for the Dandy Annual 2013. Well I’m pleased to say that I was later asked to take on another 3 strips, so 12 pages in all! I’ve had great fun writing for some real classics from the archives. Both characters I’m working on are new ones for me. I’m bursting to tell which characters but I’ll keep their identities under my hat for a bit longer.

I’ve really relished the opportunity to write these stories and I’m very proud of what I’ve done. Still got all the pages to colour but scripts and inked pages are complete and have been OK’d by Dandy ed Craig.

It’s been a great start to 2012 and I’m looking forward to following up this work with some new pitches which will hopefully see me back in the pages of The Dandy weekly very soon.

Laters!

 

Surviving Comics!

Happy New Year folks!

I’m really happy to be heading into 2012 with lots of exciting projects to work on.

 I’m currently writing and drawing 3 new comic strips for the 2013 Dandy Annual. I have the pleasure of bringing back a real oldie from the Dandy archives, and I’m having great fun. So thanks to Dandy Ed, Craig Graham for offering me the gig.

Another bit of comic news, something that may be of interest to Dandy fans and UK comic historians/archivists is the return of my bushcraft hero Ray Fears. Not to the pages of The Dandy though! Ray is embarking on a reprint run in the latest issue of Bushcraft & Survival Skills magazine.

And also joining Ray Fears is a new character created for the mag. Burp Grylls! Who will be guiding us through the more unpleasant aspects of bush tucker foraging and well… burping a lot!

All this and some up coming work on a new Book of Hope for UCB UK is keeping me busy, busy, busy.

Defining Hulk & Wolverine artist unleashes TOUGH GUY!

It’s a real pleasure to be able to announce the release of Tough Guy, the Graphic Novel.

Available now as a digital download. I illustrated the book last year, and I’m thrilled to say the book sports a brilliant cover drawn by Marvel comics legend Herb Trimpe, which I really enjoyed colouring!

The book is a great fun read for fans of the likes of The A-team and Action Man. It has a real Saturday morning cartoon vibe. Suitable for all ages.

You can see some pages from the comic here and here.

Read the official press release from Mohawk Media here.