See you at the LONDON COMIC FESTIVAL this weekend!

It's time for my second (and possibly last) convention this year as I head off to London for the London Comic Festival which is part of London Film and Comic Con. 

Dates: Saturday 5th July and Sunday 6th July.

Venue: Olympia, Kensington. 

Where to find me: Lower Grand, Table 21 near the Comic Stage.

The layout looks somewhat different this year so please seek out my table. 

Here's my banner to look out for...

I'll be bringing along my comics plus doing commissioned sketches of any one character on an A4 sheet. (Preferably characters I've worked on, or other humour characters.)   

I'm also scheduled to be on a panel on Sunday morning with Nigel Parkinson, talking about our work. That's on the Comic Stage.

See you there!

More info:

https://londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ 

 

A memorable day at MACC-POW 2025

Being publicly awarded a figurine of myself, presented to me by someone dressed as one of my characters, sounds like something out of a mad dream after eating cheese before bedtime... but that's exactly what happened last Saturday afternoon! (The award, not the cheese eating.)

The place was Macc-Pow, Macclesfield's annual Comic art Festival which this year celebrated its tenth anniversary. The always-enjoyable event at Macclesfield Town Hall was busier than ever this time, and it was good to meet so many attendees, some familiar faces and some newcomers. 

Rachael Smith and David Leach

 

It was also good to catch up with my comics pals as this was my first comic con since last July! Great to see Rachael Smith, David Leach, Laura Howell, Mike Perkins, Abby Bulmer, Steve Tanner, Dave West, Kev F Sutherland, Shane Chebsey, Paul Gravett, Roger Langridge, and many more, including of course organiser / cartoonist Marc Jackson!

Marc Jackson and his old pal Ché Michaels

At the end of the show, Marc gathered everyone for an announcement. He said that when he was growing up reading Marvel UK comics there was one artist who's work inspired him the most. Surprisingly he was talking about me! He then invited me to come forward and receive the "Legend in Cartooning Award" for my 42 years in the business. The award was a one of its kind figurine. My own "Mini-Me"!

Brickman presents me with the award.

John D Payne, who last year had cosplayed as Combat Colin, had arrived this year as Brickman! I felt honoured that anyone would cosplay as my characters and John did a great job with getting it right. Even the fake brick looked real! Marc asked John to present me with my award as Brickman. I don't know if my acceptance speech made any sense as I was in a bit of a daze by the attention and surreal situation, but it was very much appreciated and a privilege to receive it. I'm very touched and grateful, and thankful to Marc Jackson and Macc-Pow for the award which I'll always treasure.

John D Payne as Brickman!

 

Last but not least, huge thanks must also go to the person who sculpted the figurine of course! Ché Michaels did a fantastic job of the likeness, which thankfully has a slimmer waistline than my own, so my target now is to lose weight to match the trophy! 

Ché Michaels, creator of the figurine

Mini-me!

Another piece of news was that the second GOOF summer special was launched at Macc-Pow. Edited by Marc Jackson, it gathers together numerous humour comics creators in one comic. Contributors include Tor Freeman, Hilary Barta, Rachael Smith, James Kochalka, Tom Scioli, me and more! You can buy it directly from Marc at his Ko-Fi page here:

https://ko-fi.com/s/5561c1b483

Cover by Marc Jackson

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Brick-tastic response!

A big thank you to those of you who swiftly ordered copies of Brickman No.1. (See previous post for more info.) I've practically sold out of the ones from my online store in 24 hours!

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

However, don't worry if my KoFi shop is out of stock. I'm having another 100 printed right now and they should be with me next week. Also, I'm taking some to the Macc-Pow comic festival this Saturday (28th June) and also to the London Comic Festival at Olympia on July 5th/6th if you want to buy them from my tables there.

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BRICKMAN revisited! Out now!

Something new for convention season. My oldest character Brickman is back again in the first of a three issue mini series that collects the Best of Brickman! 

I'm not reprinting the very early stuff from 1979 or the early 1980s as I consider those too crudely drawn so we kick off in 1986 with the three pager from Swiftsure No.6, followed by the 20 page Brickmania Caper from the Brickman special originally published by Harrier Comics back then.

That includes the guest pages that were part of the story so there's wonderful work by Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill, Mike Collins (inked by Mark Farmer), plus a Brickman and The Cloak pin up by Mike Higgs!

The stories were previously reprinted in the digest-sized Brickman Begins book 20 years ago, published by Active Images, but that's out of print now so I thought I'd re-present them in this format which is the size of an American comic. 

You'll notice it's labelled 'for Mature Readers'. Brickman was never aimed at children, although some kids did buy it. My inspiration for Brickman was Monty Python and the Airplane movies rather than the Beano. However, by 2025 sensibilities have changed and some jokes about body shaming, sexism, and images of bricks walloping into heads might not sit well with some parents. No nudity or bad language though! (Unless you regard "pillock" as bad language, in which case just buy the Daily Mail instead.) 

Brickman No.1, 28 pages (inluding covers), available from my table at Macc-Pow comics festival on Saturday 28th June (Macclesfield Town Hall), London Comic Festival (part of London Film and Comic Con) on July 5th/6th (Olympia, Kensington), or you can buy it from me via mail order from this link and it'll be posted first class:

https://ko-fi.com/s/8b6c65cd1a

Meet DEJA VU MAN!

 

Here's a brand new character coming your way. Deja Vu Man is his name and you'll meet him in a full page strip in Goof No.2, the sensational summer issue launching at the Macc-Pow comics festival next Saturday (28th June). 

Deja Vu Man is just one of the strips in the comic as it showcases a whole bunch of today's humour comics creators who have produced new material for you to laugh with! Tor Freeman is in the comic, as is Hilary Barta, Rachael Smith, Jim Medway and more! 

Cover by Marc Jackson.

Edited by Marc Jackson (who also did the cover), Goof No.2 will be available at the Macc-Pow comic festival at Macclesfield Town Hall on Saturday 28th June. After that, I understand it'll be available to buy by mail for those who couldn't make it to the show.

But I hope you will be there! Look at this staggering guest list for example!

For more info about the show, visit the website here:

https://maccpow.co.uk/

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The latest Daft preview!

Here's a non-spoilery snippet of my next Daft Dimension comic strip. You can see the full version in Doctor Who Magazine No.618 when it arrives in shops this Thursday, 19th June! 

And here's the cover to look out for that's sure to keep people speculating... 

 

See you at the LONDON COMIC FESTIVAL in July!

I'm very happy to announce that I'll be one of the guests at the London Comic Festival on July 5th and 6th (part of the London Film and Comic Con) at Olympia in Kensington. 

More info here:

https://londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

There will be lots of new faces from the world of comics there this year, as well as numerous actors, along with returning guests such as myself. Looks to be a great show!

At present, I'm only planning to do two comic events this year: Macc-Pow in Macclesfield Town Hall on June 28th and the London Comic Festival the following weekend on July 5th/6th. I have no plans beyond that yet as my next assesment regarding my leukemia is due in August. 

So... as it stands now, if you want to see me at a convention they're the only two I'm doing this summer. Hope to see you there! Any questions? Post a comment below and I'l get back to you.  

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