Original comic art from the 1980s!

In this week's eBay auction I'm offering two items of my original artwork from the early days of my career. The first one is a really early strip; the second episode of Snailman, a character I created for Marvel UK's Spider-Man comic in 1985. Snailman was the first ongoing character I created for a mainstream comic. I'm holding onto the first episode for sentimental reasons so this is the earliest one you'll be able to buy. Bidding ends on Monday 7th April.

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205388955922?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R2PWSQ7D5C5CX7W4FX&hash=item2fd222c112:g:dhcAAOSwAA9n6ogg

The other page is a unique Pete and his Pimple story I did for Oink! No.52 back in 1988. Know Your Spot is a special feature I did that only appeared in that issue. "A helpful guide to identifying your acne affliction"! Impress your house guests by having this mounted on your wall! Bidding ends on Sunday 6th April.

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205391170004?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R24FPSM6YFVDCJ0A0N&hash=item2fd24489d4:g:iD0AAOSwvzln7A46

And for any Thunderbirds fans, I'm also selling this Thunderbirds Sticker Book from the 1960s... Bidding ends on Sunday 6th April.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205391220320?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R2J7GXQB7GCPK7ZX67&hash=item2fd2454e60:g:V8oAAOSwKBFn7Bko

All bids appreciated as always. Good luck!

Meet Mr. Ring-A-Ding in the latest Doctor Who Magazine!

I had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement when I was commissioned for this one, and my art had to be approved by the BBC, but now it's published I can talk about it!

Mr Ring-A-Ding is a character who'll appear in episode two of the forthcoming new series of Doctor Who. Jason Quinn, the editor of Doctor Who Magazine felt it'd be a nice idea to have a page in the latest issue based on the character, in the same way that TV Comic etc featured strips based on tv cartoons. 

So... Jason wrote a script for a Mr Ring-A-Ding comic strip, I drew it (based on character designs the BBC sent me), and it's in print today in Doctor Who Magazine No.615.

I wanted it to look a little different to my regular Daft Dimension strip in DWM so instead of hand lettering I used a dialogue font I'd created a while back that looked a bit like an old comic font. I chose not to give the speech balloons any borders so it'd look sort of similar to the old Gold Key comics of 60 years ago. For the same reason, I decided to leave the colours flat without shading. 

I hope it works OK and readers enjoy this unusual one-off. 

The magazine also includes another Daft Dimension mini-strip by me, this time bringing back the Zarbi, still worried about their public image problem. 

There's a wealth of other material in the mag too of course; interviews, news, reviews, previews of the first three episodes of the new series, and lots more, plus it's bagged with extra items!

Doctor Who Magazine No.615. In shops now!

https://doctorwhomagazine.com/doctor-who-magazine/doctor-who-magazine-615/

Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Saturday 12th April. The episode featuring Mr Ring-A-Ding will be shown on 19th April. 

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Just to clarify...

My thanks to all of you who wished me well in my semi-retirement. The messages on social media were much appreciated. I just want to clarify something though; several people thought I was retiring from comics altogether and walking away from my career. Not so! I'm simply scaling back to focus on publishing my own comics (such as Combat Colin). I'll also be continuing with The Daft Dimension every month in Doctor Who Magazine.

I suppose it was my fault for writing such a long post the other day for people to wade through.

So in short: I'm still self-employed, I'm still paying my taxes, but now I'm 66 and entitled to my State Pension it means I won't have the stress of deadlines all the time so I can work when I feel like it. 

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42 Years of Freelancing Fun... but now, the end?

My thanks to those of you who sent me birthday wishes yesterday, and now a little announcement. As I'm now 66 and eligible for my pension I've decided I'll be retiring from working for mainstream comics.

Frankly, work has been in short supply for the last few years and the financial stress it's caused hasn't been good for my physical or mental health, especially as I have hypertension, diabetes and incurable leukemia to deal with so I feel it's time to step back and take things easier as I do get more fatigued these days.

However... comics are still my passion and there's no "off switch" to creativity so in reality it'll be semi-retirement. I'll still be contributing my Daft Dimension mini strip to Doctor Who Magazine every month for as long as they want me, and I have some loose ends to tie up such as some overdue commissions, a strip for The Dandy Annual 2027 and some work for The77 and suchlike.

My main focus after that though, apart from relaxing and getting things in order, will be my self-published comics. I want to get the final issue of Combat Colin out this summer and hopefully some other comics after that. I won't be taking on any more commissions as yet, but I'll continue to sell my old artwork to collectors via eBay to help pay the bills etc.

I've had 42 happy years freelancing in the comics industry and now I'll simply be focusing on my own comics and creations and publishing those in my own time as it suits me. 

I'll also be attending comic cons if I'm fit and able to, as I don't want to lose touch with the many good friends I've made in comics over the past four decades! Although that depends on when treatment starts for my CLL.  

Thanks for reading this long post (if you've reached the end) and thanks for following my work over the years!

Above is a graphic showing all the professional comics (that I can recall) contributing to since 1983. (PLus a load of small press comics not listed.) That's a lot of ink! Click on the graphic to see it larger.

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Buy before postage goes up!

A reminder that postage rates are set to rise again in April and I'll have to reflect that in the prices in my online shop. If there are any comics of mine you're interested in, order before April to ensure you get them at current postage rates. (Obviously this won't affect the three digital comics Tough Guy, Barmy Tales, or Derek the Troll.)

Here's the link...

https://ko-fi.com/lewstringer/shop

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It's TED THE TED! (1987)

 

Who remembers Ted the Ted? Not many I'd guess, because I created this character as a one-off way back in 1987 for Oink! No.29 and he never appeared again.

As you may know, Oink! featured a mixture of ongoing charcters and some only intended to last one issue, and Ted the Ted's Top Tips for Trendy Teddy Boys was one of the latter. It's always been one of my favourites though, especially his meek reaction to being clobbered by a handbag (see panel above). But now it's time to "Let It Go" as the song says, and it's currently in my auction this week!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205361844062?itmmeta=01JPTJ36BKWRMM213QABRQR7SM&hash=item2fd0850f5e:g:hYMAAOSwfcVn2bX3

Click to enlarge to make it more readable.

I'm also selling a more recent piece; a complete Daft Dimension strip featuring the 13th Doctor, and it has a Christmas theme! It was published in Doctor Who Magazine No.533 in December 2018.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205361839756?itmmeta=01JPTJ36BK8H08FC8CDZFA5HH9&hash=item2fd084fe8c:g:zzkAAOSw2Lln2bRl

The auctions on both of these items end this Sunday night, 23rd March. All bids appreciated! 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

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The Smasher (2015)

It always felt a privilege being assigned to create new stories of the classic comic characters I'd read as a child. One such character being The Smasher, a strip that was drawn by Hugh Morren in the 1960s. Other artists had drawn him in subsequent decades including the great Brian Walker, and several years ago I was asked to create new Smasher stories for The Dandy Annual.

Here's a two pager I did for The Dandy Annual 2016, that I drew in 2015. Script, art and lettering by me, and I also did the logo which I digitally remastered from one of the 1960s Smasher logos. 

The Smasher was basically The Dandy's answer to Dennis the Menace, but I redesigned his appearance a little. Always favouring sci-fi, I came up with Smasher fantasising about a situation that enabled me to include aliens and a giant robot that I thought would lend some visual impact to the pages. I hope the readers enjoyed it. 

Click / tap on the image above to see it at a much larger, readable size.

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