Forward to 2015

The New Year issue of The Beano arrived in shops today and there's a half page Ivy the Terrible strip in there I drew, which was scripted by Stu Munro. As far as I know this is the final Ivy strip for now but I hope to work on the strip again one day though as it was fun to draw.

Two new mini-strips by me should hopefully be starting in The Beano soon. One is the return of an old favourite, and the other is a character I haven't drawn in his own strip before. I've no idea when these stories will begin, but they have quite a few strips in stock to use so it should be soon. 

Latest issue. Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

Beyond that, I don't know what I'll be doing for The Beano in the future but I hope I can continue working for it. So 2015 begins on a bit of an uncertain note in that regard.

I still have my Team Toxic strip in Toxic though, and The Daft Dimension in Doctor Who Magazine but more regular work would be welcome. This hasn't been an easy year although work did pick up considerably half way through with plenty of pages for next year's annuals and the commission to provide artwork for the Stikkums app. I enjoyed designing all the characters for that and would enjoy doing more work of that type.

I also have two more pages to draw for Grindhouse for Dark Horse, which will see print around May/June time. 

I'm also hoping to do plenty of comic shows, with the first one scheduled on April 18th for the Birmingham Comics Festival. 

I have a few other plans but they're dependent on how things go this year. 2014 was a bit of a dinosaur year; thin at one end, getting thicker in the middle, and thin at the other end. (Monty Python fans will get it.) I hope 2015 will be a better year.

Thanks to all of you for following this blog over the last year and for taking an interest in my work. It's very much appreciated. All the best for 2015!

New Toxic this week

The Christmas issue of Toxic is still on sale at the moment but this Wednesday (31st December) will see a new issue on the shelves. There'll be another all-new Team Toxic story in there by me, as the Team take on Bigfoot! There he is in a preview panel above.

Due to seasonal printing deadlines I had to get a few issues ahead recently and the following two issues are already drawn, which will be out in late January and mid February. I'll show previews of those closer to their publication dates. 

Toxic No.248, out on New Year's Eve! 

Persistent mice

Charlie Grigg's version on the left of course.

I've just noticed that the opening panel of one of my Korky the Cat strips in this year's Dandy annual is quite similar to a scene in the Dandy Book from 50 years ago by Charles Grigg. Subconscious influence, - or just inevitable given that cats chase mice?

Speaking of that Dandy Book from 1964, if you want to see more, take a look at my Blimey! blog here:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/christmas-1964-dandy-book.html 

Comic horror for Christmas Eve

The days of newsagents stocking American comics are long gone so I nipped into the nearest city today to pick up a copy of Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.2 from Forbidden Planet as it features my Snowmanic strip on the back cover. As the TV announcers say, "it might contain scenes that some viewers find upsetting" so I've indulged in a bit of self-censorship in the section I've shown above. 

To see the full, uncensored version in all its daft demonic horror, get a copy from your local comic speciality store for $3.99 (about £3.00 in UK comic shops). It's also available to buy in digital format on the Dark Horse App. 

Here's the front cover to look out for by R.M.Guéra...

You can read a free preview of the main strip by Alex De Campi and R.M.Guéra at this website:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=25028

••••••••••••••

By the way, if you follow Blimey!, my other blog, you might be interested in a blast from the past I've scheduled to go live there on Christmas Day.
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/

Merry Christmas!

SNOWMANIC!

Christmas Eve will see Dark Horse publish the second issue of Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out. The main story is Slay Ride Part Two, written by Alex De Campi and drawn by R.M. Guera. You can read a preview of the first few pages here:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=25028

...and on the back page of the issue is another one-off strip by me. This time it's a seasonal shocker I've called Snowmanic! featuring a snowman to give you nightmares. That's him at the top of this post. To reveal more would ruin the story, so be sure to pick up Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.2 this Wednesday from a comic speciality store near you! All-new winter horror for just $3.99.

Here's the cover to look out for, illustrated by R.M. Guera...

Work currently in print

A couple of people have asked me what work I have on the shelves at the moment so I thought I'd compile this little list. More details of each strip are available in previous posts. 

Comics 
Latest issues currently available from newsagents and supermarkets:

The Beano (Christmas issue).
Half page strip: Ivy the Terrible

The Beano Christmas Special 2014.
Puzzle pages:
Be A Christmas Prank-Star
Who Ate All the (Mince) Pies?

Doctor Who Magazine No.481. (Christmas issue).
Strip: The Daft Dimension

Toxic (Christmas issue).
Two page strip: Team Toxic

Available from comics speciality shops:

Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.1. Adults only.
Full page strip: Kung-Fu Cheesecake

Exclusive to the Supermarionation blu-ray box set:

TV21 No.243
Strip: Zoony the Lazoon

*************

Annuals
(available from bookshops):

The Dandy Annual 2015.
Strips: Keyhole Kate, The Smasher, Korky the Cat.
(12 pages in total).

The Beano Annual 2015.
Four mini-strips: Rasher

Toxic Annual 2015.
Strips: Team Toxic
(Four new pages plus two reprint pages).

Viz: The Dutch Oven.
Full page strip: The Pathetic Sharks (reprint). Adults only.

*************

Books:

You Are The Hero - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.
Strips: Derek the Troll 
(1 new full page strip, plus 1 and a half reprint). 

Brickman Begins! 
(Published 2005 but copies still available from my website here). 
152 pages collecting my old fanzine strips plus pages by guest artists. 

*************

Digital media:

Aces Weekly.
Strips: Two new Combat Colin three pagers. One in issue 1 (Vol.1) and the other in issue 7 of volume 8. 
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk/home

Stikkums. 
Behavioral reward app for children and parents for which I provided all the artwork. Available free on iTunes here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/stikkums/id915405551?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I think that's the lot although I've probably forgotten something obvious. Anyway, back to the drawing board now to draw strips for next year. 

Christmas Dalek

In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine I get to achieve a long held ambition and draw a Dalek for the official mag of the BBC series. I've liked Daleks since I saw them in their first TV appearance way back when 51 years ago so putting one in my Daft Dimension comic strip was something I had to do. 

You can see the full strip in Doctor Who Magazine No.481, on sale now for £5.99, bringing you 100 pages plus a giant two-sided poster. Here's the cover of the polybag to look out for below.... 

The Buster Index

Nearly 20 years ago I was asked to draw this cover for the Buster Index, a chunky softback A5 sized book published by A & B Whitworth. The book was aimed at the collector's market and only had a small print run but it provided a ton on information. Illustrated entries on every character to have appeared in the comic, with credits (where known) and how long each strip ran for. 

The book was by Ray Moore and Steve Holland, although I didn't realize the extent that Ray was involved at the time or I'd have credited him on the cover too. As well as providing the artwork I designed the whole cover. The word 'Index' is based on the Giggle comic logo (which merged into Buster in 1968). In retrospect the 'x' is too small and out of synch with the other letters, but other than that I was quite pleased with the cover. I enjoyed 'ghosting' the various art styles of the characters I chose to illustrate it. If you're not familiar with who they are, clockwise from the top they're Chalky, Charlie Peace, Faceache, Tom Thug, Master Mind, The Big One, Tin Teacher, Galaxus, and of course the lad himself, Buster (as he looked in the late 1960s) in the centre.

The background effect was done by using an old toothbrush dipped in blue ink and gently pulling a small piece of stiff card over the bristles to splatter the ink onto the board. (Masking off the areas not to be covered of course.) These days Photoshop makes such tasks far easier and less messy! 

As the book was photocopied rather than printed, the colours turned out a bit harsh in places but overall it looked okay I think and I felt honoured to illustrate it. Had we known that Buster would be axed at the very end of 1999 it might have been better for the publisher to wait a few years to do the book, but even by 1995 the comic's best years were behind it and this index still served as an excellent record of 35 years of great material. 

The holly and the Ivy

Actually there's no holly in it but here's a preview of the Christmas episode of Ivy the Terrible that appears in this coming Wednesday's festive snow-on-the-logo Beano! Ivy visits Santa's grotto. That's not going to end well for one of them is it? Script by Stu Munro, art by me. 

Terror in the toy shop

Here's a quick preview of this week's Ivy the Terrible in The Beano! Pick up the latest issue to see the full story. Script by Stu Munro, art by me. Next week it's the Christmas issue. More news soon. 

Christmas comes to Toxic

The Christmas issue of Toxic is out today and I did a festive Team Toxic two-pager for it. Christmas with The Pudding Heads sees Team Toxic fly into space to encounter beings who actually have Christmas puddings for heads. (I know. We've all met people like that, right?)

Christmas doesn't affect me much these days (I'll try and avoid it as much as possible) but it's always very enjoyable to draw the Christmas strips hoping that they'll amuse the readers. After all, it's following in a tradition that dates back to the beginnings of British comics. 

Toxic No.247 is out now, priced £3.99. For that you get a 48 page magazine plus a bunch of gifts...

...and as you'd expect it's packaged in a festive foil-effect bag, so here's what to look out for in the shops... 

Combat Colin card art

This is the artwork for a Combat Colin postcard that I did for the Malta Comic Con. I utilized an existing figure drawing and added a new background. Unfortunately I couldn't go in the end, but I hope the cards were still on sale at the event to raise a bit of money for the convention. 

Still gutted I couldn't make it as I haven't been abroad for 11 years but there you go.