Quick update

Been busy beavering away on a few bits and bobs: abaove are four new Christmas card designs following up from last year's successful project: I personally hate the bear (drawn during a lunch break as time has been at a premium the past two weeks) but like the angel at the top. I was intending to properly shade this but time didn't allow so it's flat but I think the colours work.

The cartoon of the lady is a detail from a larger piece I was asked to do that I thought I'd colour just for fun (as it only took a few minutes) and I've completed the rear cover of Pjang. I need to reduce it before I can scan it in and I'm still undecided whether to shade it in pencil or on the computer in colour, but I think I might keep to flats to emulate the style it's homaging, I'll have to see.

Finally, click below to find a book that I did the illustrations for, with more to come (the second being written as we speak):

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Mans-Guidebook-Being-Engish/dp/1453862366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288545549&sr=8-1

Other than that, I have a few little things bubbling under, just depends howI feel...

Weeta BICS!

I've been quite busy this week so this post is a mite later than intended but anyway...

This year's BICS continued in the vein of last year's event in so far as being just a mellow affair. With no portfolio to show (I was too late submitting pages to be considered probably) and nobody of any great interest for me to grab a sketch from (I would have liked a Vess, Nicola Scott and even a Paquette but couldn't be doing with queueing) and no items i was eager to snap up, I floated happily throughout the event and watched a few panels. Despite early morning starts, it was an enjoyable weekend and was even something of a surprise in that Wendy bought more comics than me and Tone!

Anyway, highlights included:

* Not spending a fortune. Money's extremely tight at the minute so luckily there was very little to tempt me into parting with cash. A couple of Cinebook albums, two issues of Al Williamson Secret Agent Corrigan, a Wally Wood issue of Jungle Jim and a set of three European hardcovers for the bargain price of £10, a Blue Beetle keyring and that was about it.

* The Simon's Cat panel. I have to confess to have never heard of this and didn't see the interest in the books but when they started playing the animated version (available on YouTube), I did actually remember seeing one of the cartoons before. The cartoons are fun and made the panel enjoyable.

* The Walking Dead panel kicked off with exclusive clips that make me eager to see the series. I hope it's a success as it looks faithful, well acted and well produced. Plus Tone made the US TV exec smirk in the elevator...

* I managed to nab the very last of 180 tickets to attend the Jonathan Ross panel, which was very engaging. Lots of fun titbits (many involving Spider-man and Ditko) and behind the scenes info, including positive hopes for the new X-Men film based on a Professor X/Magneto fight Ross had seen on set.

I came away somewhat reinvigorated artistically and may soon make a return to drawing comic art, although I can't promise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuf61OjvoPQ&ob=av3e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsVTmCdnlsg

This Week I Have Mostly Been...

Drawing!!

As well as tidying up my retrieved files from my old hard drive, this week I've done more drawing the past week than I have in the past year or so! I found myself quite enjoying it again but still don't think I can concentrate enough to do sequentials yet...though having said that, I do have a story idea percolating that I want to get around to.

Anyway, have a gander above...I also half-inked the second of two covers for Pjang #5 but Rol can premiere them...

Inappropriate Comics

Came across a gallery of inappropriate comic covers and thought I'd crib the best here: strangely, there was a JSA cover (featured as one of my favourites) that for the life of me I can't see why it would be considered inappropriate...

Jeremy Kyle: What A See You Next Tuesday

At lunch time at work, I was checking my e-mails and saw the news story that Jeremy Kyle had been attacked by a guest. As a rabid hater of the moron-baiting Kyle, I immediately clicked on the video clip (thankfully I have no sound at work) and was a bit disappointed to find some chimp-faced chav not whacking Kyle but throwing an envelope at his head, eliciting a huddle of security guards around the guest (presumably to protect Kyle from the menance of a papercut) while Kyle steps forward to berate the guest as "immature" (according to the artcicle).

Hmmm.

Watch that clip again. Yes, the chav chucks the envelope at Kyle: but only after Kyle slams the envelope into the guest's lap! So, not only is Kyle hypocritical as he condemns his guest for retaliating in a like manner but it proves his bullying ways. Acting in a hostile way to his subliterate guest before restraining and taunting him while protected all the time by a bunch of underworld bouncers.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jeremy Kyle must die.

http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/news-extra/article/76671/guest-lashes-out-at-jeremy-kyle.html

Gatcha, man!

While (fruitlessly, I might add) searching online for a decent pic of Kevin Maguire's variant cover to Justice League: Generation Lost #1, something sparked my mind and I remembered a film project announced yonks ago. A quick Google later and look what I found (I'd have preferred Mark or Princess, but it's better than Tiny or Keyop)...

Comics On Film And Television Is Here!

Tone and (IIRC) Rol have been using Fallen Angel for printing recently so I thought it was about time to dust off my old book proposal regarding filmed adaptations of comics. I added a quick post script as the book was completed two years ago now and updating it properly would have taken ages but a proof copy indicated I had to renumber the contents page and make a few quick chops.

I ordered 10 copies, enough for me and a few friends who may be interested and with three copies left over, the plan is to see if they get any interest at BICS. Interesting, I've been asked if I want to do some talks or Q & A sessions at two comic Expos as a result and I've only handed one copy out so far!

It feels good just to be able to put this to rest now as my creative juices have slowly been boiling again and I have the desire to take my time and do a self contained graphic novel: I've got a number of ideas and I'm conscious that I owe plenty of art to other projects yet, but other than an upcoming cover and some cartoony pieces, I think this may be the next thing I start.

My PC went kaput recently and I thankfully managed to retrieve all my art from the old hard drive, most of which I don't actually like so I think I want to take my time and start percolating some ideas as "proper" drawing is still too much of a drain for me at the minute, although I'm looking forward to doing a cover next week...

Gundam It!!

While I was dipping my foot into the manga field for a while, my mind wandered back to the 90s and a mag called Manga Max that often had cool samurai-esque robots. The top brand of mecha was Gundam and so I found myself picking up a cheap Gundam model kit off eBay.

I only ever had three or four model kits as a kid and they were all disasters, glue, paint and decals plastered everywhere. These Gundams require no glue or paint (though they look a ton better with a lick of paint) but the visual diagram instructions are all in Japanese.

While going through a black period, I found building these to be quite therapeutic: building them completely distracted me from everything else going on and I had a cool fully articulated mecha at the end of it. As the months went by, I'd pick up a kit here and there and even splashed out on one of the larger kits (though not the largest: there are a number of scale ranges).

Above, in no particular order are the results of my work: I still haven't been brave enough to try some paints but have used a marker in spots and added panel lines. I had a power cut today and so mostly completed a kit I had stockpiled, with a more intricate kit of the original Gundam robot kept aside for when I have the time...