Sniffy the Cat!?!

Here's a preview panel from my next Pup Parade page. Sniffy decides he'd be more successful as a cat than as a dog. The other Bash Street Dogs beg to differ! See the full story in The Beano next week!

I must admit I'm really enjoying writing and drawing Pup Parade. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to draw a strip that was created in the 1960s, my favourite era. From feedback I've received online and at conventions it seems to be popular with the readers. I don't know how long it'll continue but I hope it carries on for a good while yet!

Anyway, I'd better get on with the latest page, in which Sniffy and 'Enry build a... wait and see in the weeks to come!

Bash Street on the Beach

Summer's here, so in this week's Beano, the Bash Street Dogs take to the beach, - with disastrous consequences for all around them. See what happens in my latest Pup Parade in The Beano No.3845, out now!

Also out today are Toxic No.275, also featuring Team Toxic at the beach, and Doctor Who Magazine No.502, with another Daft Dimension strip from me. All three of these titles are available now from newsagents and supermarkets.

Con Cancellation

With deep regret I'm afraid I'm unable to attend the London Film and Comic Con this coming weekend. I have to meet deadlines and I'm running behind schedule. I often take pages with me to events, to draw between meeting readers, but with the best will in the world I still wouldn't get as much done as I would if I stayed at home. 

With juggling so many events and deadlines this year I suppose it was inevitable that it'd affect things eventually. Work has to take priority in these situations and I couldn't risk being away for four days at the moment. My apologies to everyone who was hoping to see me there.

The next event I'll be at will be the Bristol Comic Expo on Saturday 6th August. A one-day event. For more info, see here:

https://bicsevents.wordpress.com/

By the way, if you're at the Manchester MCM con this weekend, my Beano pals Nigel Parkinson and Nika Nartova will be selling copies of my Brickman Returns! comic for me. Drop by and say hello.

Summer Horrorday for Team Toxic

It's the 275th issue of Toxic this week, and Team Toxic are off on their summer holidays! It starts off in Blackpool (as many of my summer strips have over the years) but the Team's demands to go elsewhere see Doc Shock pilot them into the depths of space. What happens? Find out in Toxic No.275, on sale Wednesday 27th July from newsagents and supermarkets.

It's another Daft Thursday this week!

Here's a preview of part of a panel for my next Daft Dimension strip that you'll see in Doctor Who Magazine No.502, on sale this Thursday. One good thing about the gap between seasons of Doctor Who is that the strip doesn't have to reflect the recent episodes. In this case, it gave me an opportunity to do a Daft Dimension with the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. 

Don't miss the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, on sale from 28th July. 

POSTMAN PRAT is back, and so are KID COPS!

Here's the final reveal of my contributions to The Dandy Annual 2017, which will be out in a few weeks. Postman Prat is back, and Kid Cops too, in all-new stories! Those characters were created for the 2010 revamp of The Dandy and proved to be popular with the readers so I was very pleased to be asked to revive them for this annual. Some scripts on Postman Prat are by David Mason, some by me.

There will be several full page Postman Prat stories in the book, and five Kid Cops mini-strips.

The characters join the other strip I've done for the annual that I've previously announced, The Smasher, along with many favourites from other artists and writers of course. (I can't give more info right now as I haven't seen the book yet.)

 The Dandy Annual 2017 will be available from 1st August.  

Cover by Ken Harrison.

KORKY returns! (Update: Or not.)

Here's another sneak preview of one of the strips I have in the upcoming Dandy Annual 2017. Korky the Cat is back, and it was a pleasure to write and draw one of my favourite British comics characters. I designed the logo too. See the full page strip when the annual goes on sale next month!
(UPDATE 1/8/2016: Unfortunately my page wasn't used in the finished book, and they chose to use a different artist instead. My apologies for jumping the gun. Lesson learned though; no more advance previews from me unless I'm sure the strips will be published.)

Hot dogs!

It's not every week that "comic timing" works out but this week's Pup Parade features the Bash Street Dogs searching for a way to cool down in a heatwave... in an issue published on the hottest day of the year! I wrote/drew this page several weeks ago, and considering how unpredictable British summer can be, it could very easily have been chilly and wet when it appeared. 

Don't miss The Beano, on sale now! This week's issue is bagged with several gifts including a Gnash-Attacker Glider, an all-new version of the sort of model 'plane they used to give away in comics 30 years ago. A real collectors item for the future! Who says classic free gifts are obsolete? 

Destination: Shrewsbury!

Is it pronounced SHREWSbury or SHROVESbury? I might find out this weekend for sure as I'm a guest at the Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival. As you can see from the photo above I'll be bringing along Brickman comics, postcards, and prints, and I'll be doing sketches too. I still have deadlines to meet so I'm not sure what time I'll be there on Friday afternoon but I'll definitely be there all day on Saturday and Sunday.

It's an open air event in Quarry Park, and you'll find us in a huge tent! Admission is FREE! Here's the floor plan of the layout...

For more details, check out the official website here:
http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/Shrewsbury-Comic-Art-Festival.htm

Shunned!

There's a new pet food shop in Beanotown, but it's refusing to allow The Bash Street Dogs anywhere near. Find out what happens next in an upcoming Pup Parade I did for The Beano! I think this one appears in this week's issue, out on Wednesday.

The SMASHER is back!

The Dandy comic ended in 2012 but the annual lives on! Here's the first preview of one of the strips I've done for The Dandy Annual 2017 that will be published next month! Yes, The Smasher is back again, doing what he's infamous for! 

I did five Smasher mini-strips for the book, along with strips featuring other characters (some mini-strips, some full pagers). I'll reveal what they are over the coming weeks so keep following this blog!

You can pre-order The Dandy Annual 2017 now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dandy-Annual-2017-Annuals/dp/1845356055

UPDATE: Shrewsbury Comic Art Festival now a FREE event!

As previously noted, the Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival on July 15th - 17th was to have been part of a large arts festival including top music acts. However, the Music Festival side of things has now been postponed, BUT the Comic Art Festival is still going ahead as planned and is now FREE! 

Guests include Howard Chaykin, John Wagner, Doug Braithwaite, John McCrea, Leah Moore, Jessica Martin, Robbie Morrison, Deborah Tate, Phil Winslade, Dylan Teague, and me, amongst others!

Here's the PR from organiser Shane Chebsy...

IMPORTANT STATEMENT!

The Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival is now a FREE EVENT!

With free access to our amazing guests and exhibitors for the general public all three days!

So bring all the family for free and enjoy a great day out with lots of other attractions including a fun fair for the kids.

The reason the event is now free is that the Music Festival we are attached to has now been postponed until September 16th.

You can find out more about this on their website at: www.shrewsburyfestival.com 

However if you have already bought tickets these will be valid for the new dates and you will also have access to special extra attractions at the Comic Art Festival for paid ticket holders only.

You can also get a refund and still attend the comic festival only if you prefere, but I'd urge you to take advantage of the situation and get yourself two great events for the price of one!! :-) 

The Free comic art festival will be open to the general public from 12 noon until 6pm all three days.

We look forward to seeing you there for what promises to be a very special weekend of comics.

Costumed characters very welcome!! :-)

To see the full guest list of superstar artists and writers that you will now be able to meet for FREE visit our website at: www.smallzone.co.uk/Shrewsbury-Comic-Art-Festival.htm

In TOXIC today...

There's a new issue of Egmont's Toxic magazine out today, and that means another two page Team Toxic funventure! This time, I had the Team meet The Wrestler from Space and you can see what happens next by rushing to your local newsagent or supermarket to buy a copy! 

Toxic No.274, 40 page magazine bagged with a Disc Shooter, Minecraft cards, Yo-Kai Watch stickers, a Lego Star Wars poster, and Tango sweets! All for £3.99.

(P)up-coming strips

I have a load of pages to draw over the coming week so if I don't update my Blimey! blog as often as I'd like you'll know why. This blog doesn't take up so much time though so here's a quick peek at an upcoming Pup Parade. I think this one will be in next week's Beano (on sale 6th July). 

Right, - back to the drawing board!