CHOMP!

Here's an advance preview of a panel from the Team Toxic two pager I've done for the next issue of Toxic. Doc Shock creates a monster to clean up the environment but it tries to eat everything! See the full story in Toxic No.268, on sale Wednesday 2nd March!

Back in The Beano

I haven't worked for the weekly Beano for nearly a year but I have a page in this week's issue. I was commissioned to do the artwork for a one-off advertorial for the book Superhero Street. As such I was asked to 'ghost' the style of the book's illustrator Sara Ogilvie as close as possible. It was a nice change to do something like this and I hope it turned out ok.  

To find out more about this great children's book by Phil Earle and Sara Ogilvie go to the Superhero Street website here:
http://www.superherostreet.co.uk

That page was a one-off but I'll be back in The Beano again soon with two new series reviving some traditional Beano strips. More news soon! 

See you at the weekend!

It's the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia this weekend. I have several deadlines coming up over the next few days so it's looking likely that I'll only be there on Saturday all day and will be leaving before the event ends on Sunday. I hope this doesn't inconvenience anyone but, if you get there after I've left, get in touch and I'll see if we can arrange something by post.

For those of you attending, see you there!
http://www.londonfilmandcomicconspring.com/

Get into Combat!

I'm sometimes asked "When is Combat Colin coming back?". The answer of course is that he's been back for several years, albeit not on a regular basis. So this is just a brief reminder that brand new full colour three page Combat Colin stories appear in these issues of online comic Aces Weekly:

Volume 1, No.1.
Colin and Steve confront new monsters The Zombie-Yeds!

Volume 8, No.7
Colin's Combat Trousers have been nicked by an old enemy! Guest-starring The Giggly Sisters!

Volume 16, No.6
Colin and Semi-Automatic Steve blast off into space!

Aces Weekly is an adventure/humour anthology comic and each issue features six strips by various creators with Combat Colin appearing in the three issues mentioned. I'll be doing another complete episode sometime soon. 
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk/

Don't forget that Combat Colin also guest stars in several pages of the Brickman saga in Brickman Returns, my self-published comic available by post directly from me:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

"This Land Is Mine!"

In the garden with my dog in the Summer of 1991.

Today was a good day. I've just been to the bank and paid off my mortgage! When I bought my house 25 years ago I imagined it might one day be a family home but that was not to be. Never mind. One thing I can be proud of is that I paid for my house on my own. Well, with the help of all the comics characters I worked on over the years of course. So thanks to Combat Colin, Tom Thug, Sonic the Hedgehog, Team Toxic, Suburban Satanists, Felix and his Amazing Underpants, The Pathetic Sharks, Super School, Rasher, and all the other strips that put money into my account over the years. I made some sacrifices along the way (no, not the Satanic kind) but if I can make a living out of comics, anyone can. So ignore the pessimists and grumpy gits and go for it! Thanks also to everyone who bought a piece of art or a comic from me. Now get orf moi laaand! 

Something new...

Well, great news for me anyway, and hopefully for you too if you like my work. (And if ya don't like my work what are you doing here?) I've just been commissioned by a popular comic to produce a new full page series. I won't reveal what it is yet but the first one is needed this week so I'd better get cracking! Have fun guessing! 

It's a very busy time at present so please forgive me if I don't update my blogs as often. Right, thinking cap on, let's go! 

Two weeks and counting...

Just under two weeks to go until the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia on Feb 27th/28th. I'm doing a lot of conventions this year and this is just the start of my 'road trip'. As you can see above, I'm in good company! I hope to see some of you there! 

Booking details etc:
http://www.londonfilmandcomicconspring.com/

Bits and bobs

I took a day off and went over to Birmingham today to browse the shops. A quick reminder that Nostalgia and Comics still have a few copies of my Brickman Returns comic left. You'll find it displayed alongside the comics produced by my good friends at Panini UK such as The Mighty World of Marvel and The Astonishing Spider-Man. 

Nostalgia and Comics is based at 14 - 16 Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham B5 4EN, just a few minutes walk from the new and impressive Central Station (the refurbished New Street Station).

Alternatively, if you're not visiting Birmingham, you can order the comic directly from me at this link (along with the earlier collection, Brickman Begins if you wish):
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

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I'm coming back to The Beano! I was recently commissioned to do six episodes of a strip. I've already drawn three. More news soon. 

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Finally, here's an old photo I found today which was taken back in 2002 at the Raptus Comic Festival in Norway. I'm afraid I can't remember who took it but they snapped me autographing a copy of Herman Hedning, the comic that featured my Suburban Satanists strip at the time. Fellow artist Dave Windett is facing us at the right of the photo. Good times! 

Stoke Con Trent!

I'm very pleased to add another event to the list of conventions I'm attending this year. On Sunday 17th April I'll be one of the guests at Stoke Con Trent! This will be my first visit to their convention so I'm looking forward to it. You can find out more info at their website:

http://stokecontrent.co.uk/

...and all the latest updates on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StokeCONTrent/

Work in progress 2007

Here's a photograph I took on October 9th 2007. On my drawing board was the Team Toxic strip in progress for that year's Christmas issue of Toxic. (I always draw my pages in two halves.) This was during a time when I was using a dip nib to ink my pencils, a practice I've long since abandoned in favour of uniPin fineliners and Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Felxible pens. 

I only used dip nibs for a couple of years I think. The results were always variable so I was always on the lookout to find better tools to suit my style. Before then, for many years, I inked with Rapidographs, doubling up the lines to give them weight and effect. (Most of my Oink!, Buster and Transformers pages were drawn with Rapidographs.) Then the type of Bristol Board I used became obsolete and I found the new stuff wasn't suitable for using Rapidographs on. These days I find the uniPin and Mangaka pens are ideal for use on Canson Bristol Board. 

Team Toxic preview

It's been a busy week and I have a busier few days ahead drawing the next Daft Dimension, plus the start of a new series for a certain comic, and a one-off job. (More details about those at a later date.) I won't have a lot of time for blogging so here's an advance preview of a couple of panels from next week's Team Toxic adventure. You'll find it in Toxic No.267, on sale Wednesday 10th February from newsagents and supermarkets everywhere!