Watch out!

Here's a preview of part of a sketch I did yesterday. You may recognise the character, but whether you do or not, you'll be hearing about her soon. I'll post more news when the publisher reveals the details. I'm very pleased to be one of the people invited to contribute to this project.  

A time for happiness, not anger

I awoke the other day to the news that the American Supreme Court had ruled that same-sex marriage could be legal all across America. It's also been legal here in the UK for a while now too. As a straight man, this change in the law has made absolutely no difference to my life... except it has in one major way; it made me pleased for the happiness of others who have finally gained the equality they deserved. 

Of course, if my Tom Thug character was still around today he'd have hated it. I nicknamed him the 'Brainless Bully' and one of the most loathsome types of bully is the bigot. Tom would have kicked and screamed and had a tantrum and made himself look a right pillock with his impotent rage. So I thought I'd draw him doing that in the picture above, with him furious at the very thought of this act of equality. 

Happiness is far too elusive in this world, and finding a soulmate is even harder. I was never fortunate enough to find true love, and I've come to terms with the likelihood that I never will now, but I'm happy for those that have. If two consenting adults want to celebrate their love with the ceremony of marriage, good luck to them, whatever their gender or orientation. Life's too short to resent people's happiness.

My newest creation

My latest one-off strip for American publisher Dark Horse is out now. A cautionary tale for misogynistic dinosaurs and entertainment for the rest of us, here comes Sex Pest! (Don't worry; he gets his just desserts.) You'll find the loathsome insect on the back cover of the brilliant Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.6. Definitely not for family viewing. A comic strip about pubic lice. Have I gone too far? Let me know.

The main strip in the comic is Part 2 of Lady Danger, Agent of B.O.O.T.I. by Alex de Campi and Muele Jarvis. You'll find copies in your nearest comic book store and online. Go for it!  

The Dark Newt!

Although I've been working full time in British comics for over 30 years, one of the standout moments for me was creating a brand new character for one of my all-time favourite comics, The Dandy. I'd drawn other strips for the comic but The Dark Newt was the only one created from scratch by myself. A pondlife parody of Batman, The Dark Newt ran as a six part series in the summer of 2012. This episode is from The Dandy No.3592.

Will The Dark Newt and his sidekick Sarcastic Tadpole ever return? I don't know, but I'd certainly be happy to bring him back. There are a million tales still to tell about life in the small pond. Well, one or two anyway. It is only a small pond after all. 

Incoming Daftness

Doctor Who Magazine No.488 will be in newsagents this Thursday, 15th June, and it'll contain another Daft Dimension strip I did. (That's a close up of a section of one panel above.) That's just a small part of 84 paged pages of other material by other folks of course, including interviews, reviews, and the latest 12 page Doctor Who strip. Don't miss it! 

A drawing of me, by my Dad (1971)

As it's Father's Day I thought I'd share something that's quite special to me. It's a drawing my dad did of me for our amusement one evening in 1971 when I was 12 years old. I was always drawing and making my own comics right from childhood and this shows me at work with my 'tools of the trade' and a cup of Nu-Choc to keep me going. (I should mention that the cigarette lighter and ashtray were my dads.) This was around March or April but I was using parts of Christmas cards for some design elements in the comic. 

My dad wasn't an artist but he liked to doodle now and then. He passed away in 1974 so he never saw me become a professional cartoonist but I think he'd have been pleased.

To this very day I still use the pencil box that's shown in the drawing.

Below: My dad and me at Blackpool in 1962.

Sand Witch in Skegpool

The latest issue of Toxic sees the return of the Sand Witch to cause trouble for Team Toxic. The Sand Witch is a villain I created several years ago and I always like to bring her back for a Team Toxic summer strip. 

This time, she casts a spell to create a Seaweed Monster. What happens next? Find out in Toxic No.256, on sale now in newsagents and supermarkets for £2.99. (Bagged with several free gifts.) 

Official Toxic website: http://www.toxicmag.co.uk

'Tour Dates' 2015

For the benefit of those of you who read these posts via e-mail and don't see the sidebar of my blogs, here's the list of conventions I'll be at over the coming months. I'll be at these shows on the days specified, at my table doing character sketches for a small fee, selling signed copies of Brickman Begins for £6, and maybe some new prints of characters I own, and perhaps a new comic, when I get around to doing them. 

If you want me to sign comics you already own, I'll be happy to do that for no charge. I hope to see you at at least one of these events so drop by my table for a chat. 

17th to 19th JULY:

LONDON FILM AND COMIC CON

Olympia,

Hammersmith Road.

London

W14 8UX

http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

SATURDAY 15th AUGUST

SHEFFIELD FILM AND COMIC CON,

Motorpoint Arena,

Broughton Lane,

Sheffield

S9 2DE

(Two day event but I'm only there on Saturday).

http://www.sheffieldfilmandcomiccon.com/

AUGUST 29th / 30th:

BOURNEMOUTH FILM AND COMIC CON,

Bournemouth International Centre,

Exeter Road,

Bournemouth

BH2 5BH

http://www.bournemouthfilmandcomiccon.com/

SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER:

ICE (International Comics Expo)

The Studio,

7 Cannon Street (off New Street),

Birmingham

B2 5EP

https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/

Next stop: London

I had a very enjoyable day at the Collectormania event at Milton Keynes yesterday and you can read all about it over on my Blimey! blog here:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/cool-day-at-collectormania.html

The next show I'll be at will be the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia on 17th to 19th July. My name hasn't been added to the website yet but I can confirm I'm on the guest list. Having attended the London show in the previous two years I'm looking forward to that. 

You can find out more details and see the impressive guest list here:
http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ 

See you on Saturday!

Just a reminder that I'll be at the Collectormania event at Milton Keynes this Saturday! If you're going, drop by my table for a chat or to commission a sketch that I'll draw Before your very eyes. See you there!
http://www.collectormania.com/miltonkeynes/

All new! All daft! Combat Colin returns!

In the early hours of this morning I completed a brand new Combat Colin story and thanks to the wonders of technology it's now live online in the latest issue of Aces Weekly! (Vol.16 No.6)

The new three page complete story sees Colin and his loyal assistant Semi-Automatic Steve blast off into space to get to the bottom of a problem with an asteroid shaped like a butt! What is the secret of the Ass-Teroid? Find out by subscribing to the incredibly reasonably priced Aces Weekly where you'll not only see Combat Colin but a bunch of other new strips by top creators. And each volume of award-winning Aces Weekly costs just £6.99, - working out at a pound an issue. 

Aces Weekly, published by David Lloyd (co-creator of V for Vendetta) features creator-owned strips and no ads. We receive no fee up front but instead get a percentage of sales, so when you subscribe you're actively helping the creators not a big corporation. You may have seen David Lloyd at various comic events, where he tirelessly promotes Aces Weekly around the world! The comic is a joy to work for and, within reason, David lets us do what we like with our strips. Yes, it can only be read online, but that keeps the production costs down. A printed version of the comic would cost far more that £1 an issue. If you haven't tried it already, why not give it a go?
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk/ 

FOOM!

There are some excellent SFX fonts out there to buy but I've always enjoyed hand lettering my own sound effects on my strips. Here's an old-school sfx I've just done for a strip I'm currently drawing. What's it for? Find out soon! 

Convention on the coast

I'm pleased to announce another date for my summer convention schedule. Over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 29th and 30th I'll be a guest at the Bournemouth Film and Comic Con. 

The event takes place at the Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth BH2 5BH right on the coast of the popular seaside resort. 

I've never been to Bournemouth so I'm looking forward to it. The only other comic guest confirmed so far is John Wagner and I'm sure more will be added soon. Various guests from Doctor Who will also be present including Sophie Aldred, Katy Manning, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Dan Starkey (Strax), Bonnie Langford, Nicola Bryant and more. Other film and TV guests include Robert Englund, Jeremy Bulloch, Chris Judge and more. 

For more details including prices and travel information see the website here:
http://www.bournemouthfilmandcomiccon.com/

Come to Collectormania!

At time of writing this my profile hasn't been added to the website yet but I've been invited to be a guest at the Collectormania 23 event at Milton Keynes next weekend. 

The show runs to two days but I'll only be there for one: Saturday 13th June. If you're attending, please drop by my table for a chat (and possibly buy a sketch drawn while you wait). 

Here's the website with full details:

http://www.collectormania.com/miltonkeynes/

I know it's short notice but I hope to see some of you there! 

Super School - pencils and finished art

Back in 2007 Alan Digby, who was then the editor of The Beano, commissioned me to draw a new series he'd created about young superheroes. Initially it was to be called Ultras and was even mentioned as such in the book The History of The Beano but by the time the strip saw print the decision had been made to call it Super School, which I guess was more descriptive.

The strip proved to be an immediate hit and I really enjoyed drawing the series. I thought you might like to see my original pencil roughs of the first episode and my finished inked and colored version. (Prior to it being lettered in the Beano office of course.) This strip debuted in The Beano No.3454 in October 2008.

Poll results of Super School's debut week.