Daft preview!

Here's part of my latest Daft Dimension for Doctor Who Magazine No.515. You can see the full strip when the mag goes on sale on Thursday 27th July, which is either tomorrow, today, yesterday, or a lifetime ago, depending on when you read this post. 

Here's the cover to look out for. Don't miss it!

Brickman Begins is SOLD OUT

Published in 2005 by U.S. company Active Images, Brickman Begins! collected all my earliest Brickman strips from 1979 to 1996, along with a stack of all-new guest art pages by comics royalty such as Alan Davis, Tim Sale, Hunt Emerson and many more.

The 152 page book was sold worldwide in comics shops and online, and I had several hundred myself to sell by post and at conventions. As from today, Brickman Begins! is SOLD OUT. My thanks to all of you who bought a copy over the years! It's long out of print so no longer available from Active Images either.

I'll be honouring the orders I've received up to today of course with the few remaining books, but I've now deleted it from my online shop.

There's a possibility I may do a reprint of sorts at some time next year, via Amazon's Print On Demand service. There will be differences from the first printing though, as I won't imitate Active Images' design and bonus pages obviously as that was just for their edition. Any new edition I do of the book will just focus on the comic strip pages, but at present that's only a plan for the future. 

All my other comics are still available though! You can order those from my online shop at this link:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

30 year flashback

Thanks to Phil Boyce of the Oink! Blog for reminding me that it was 30 years today since my first cover for a mainstream comic appeared on the shelves, back in 1987. Oink! No.33, with Tom Thug leading the charge for the school break. 

See the white smudges in the top right that look like clouds? That was a result of the Oink! office roof having a leak and rainwater dripping onto the artwork. I was lucky, as the logo covered most of the damage, but I think some other pages suffered more water damage.

They were happy days, and Oink! was a great comic to work for!

Down the Tubes reviews Combat Colin

My thanks to John Freeman of the Down the Tubes comics news site for this glowing review of Combat Colin No.1!
http://downthetubes.net/?p=39213 

Where to find the comics guests at LFCC

Next weekend is the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia, a three day convention over 28th to 30th July. It's a huge event, so this handy floorplan that Showmasters have devised should help you find the comics guests. 

As you can see, we'll be on the first floor, just up the stairs (or lift) from the ground floor level. 

There will be at least 50 comics creators as guests, plus loads of stars from movies and TV, numerous authors, and even a few wrestlers! This is going to be a massive show!

For the full guest list and all the info, check out the LFCC website:
http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

I'll have a table selling my comics and sketches, and I think I may be on a panel too, but I'll post more information about that this week.

Dandy Annual preview!

The Dandy Annual 2018 is available to buy now from online booksellers such as Speedyhen, and will be in the shops next month. 112 pages, with all-new material from various creators. You can read my preview of it here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/the-dandy-annual-2018-is-here.html

I did nine pages for this book, comprising of two Kid Cops pages, two Postman Prat pages, and no less than five Keyhole Kate pages. I scripted six of them, with Nigel Auchterlounie writing the Postman Prat and Keyhole Kate pages that are part of the huge 33 page story at the back of the book. The Postman Prat page that Nigel wrote involved Prat meeting Desperate Dan, which was a privilege to draw!

The weekly Dandy folded five years ago but it's great that the annual keeps going. I'm currently writing/drawing pages for the 2019 edition. Living in the future!

COVER ART BY NIGEL PARKINSON.

COMBAT COLIN, - ready for action!

Combat Colin No.1 is selling very well but if you missed the news about it, here's the details again...

Combat Colin No.1 features 40 pages and collects the entire run of Combat Colin strips that were published in Action Force in 1987/88. (From issue 2 onwards, the comic will begin reprinting the Combat Colin strips from The Transformers.) At the moment it's only available directly from me, and you can order your copy here:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Originally published by Marvel UK, the Combat Colin strip ran from 1987 to 1991 and featured the comedy adventures of gormless-but-heroic Colin and his assistant Semi-Automatic Steve battling robots, monsters, alien warlords, and anyone threatening the peace of Wallytown and neighbouring Skegpool. When The Transformers comic ended in 1991, Marvel UK returned all rights to the character to me, and I've since featured Combat Colin in various comics over the years. 

Now, at last, he's in his very own title for a six issue series that will collect the original Marvel run and subsequent appearances. My intention is to publish two issues a year. (Issue 2 is currently scheduled for December 2017.)

The stories in issue one show the development of the strip from its early half-page gag strip beginnings to its evolution to full page serialised stories. You'll see Combat Colin encounter his first foe, Doctor Nasty, and other villains such as Aunt Arctic of the Antarctic! Colin's adventures take him from his back garden to the pyramids of Egypt and beyond, and this is just the beginning! 

The strips are scanned from the original artwork, where available, or from the actual comics. Although originally published in colour (with colours added by the Marvel UK staff) the collected strips will appear in black and white (or greyscale for the pages scanned from the colour comics).

To buy Combat Colin and/or any of my other comics by mail order, check out my online shop:

http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

You can also buy it from my table at the following comics conventions I'll be attending around the country:

LONDON FILM AND COMIC CON

28th - 30th July 2017

Olympia,

Hammersmith Road,

London

W14 8UX

http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

AYLESBURY COMIC-CON

5th/6th August 2017

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre,

Exchange Street,

Aylesbury,

Bucks.

HP20 1SL

https://en-gb.facebook.com/aylesburycomiccon/



INTERNATIONAL COMIC EXPO (ICE) - BIRMINGHAM

9th September 2017

Birmingham Conference and Events Centre,

(Part of the Holiday Inn),

Hill Street,

Birmingham

B5 4EW

https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com



T.B.A.

23rd September 2017

More info soon.



COVENTRY COMIC CON

1st October 2017

Sports Connexion,

Leamington Road,

Ryton On Dunsmore,

Coventry

CV8 3FL.

http://www.coventrycomiccon.uk



LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL

13th to 15th October 2017

Kendal,

Cumbria

https://www.comicartfestival.com



LOUGHBOROUGH COMIC-CON

22nd October 2017

Venue to be announced soon.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/loughboroughcomiccon2017/

T.B.A.

10th to 12th November 2017

More info soon.

READING COMIC CON

25th/26th November 2017

Rivermead Leisure Complex

https://www.facebook.com/readingcomiccon/

Epic laughs

There's a new issue of Epic out on Wednesday 19th July, and here's a quick preview of a couple of strips I have inside. Those mucky kids from Hygiene High are up to their tricks again, this time in the science lab. What could possibly go wrong?

Then there's Eric Fail, deciding to make a smoothie. What happens next? Buy Epic No.134 on Wednesday and find out!

Scripts by Niall Murray, artwork by me, published by D.C. Thomson. 

Aylesbury for August!

I'm pleased to say that I'm on the bill for the first Aylesbury Comic-Con, which takes place on two days, 5th and 6th August. 

Venue:

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre,

Exchange Street,

Aylesbury,

Bucks.

HP20 1SL

Hope to see some of you there!

Ticket info:

https://secure.atgtickets.com/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=3C79D182-3075-4252-A637-8E807518533A&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::promocode_access_code_url=DEMO10

Combat review!

Phil Boyce has posted a glowing review of Combat Colin No.1 over on his Oink! Blog and beyond. Thanks, Phil! I'm honoured.

See what he says about it here:
http://the-oink-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/combat-colin-1-semi-automatic-review.html

New event for August

I'm pleased to be able to announce that I'll be one of the guests at Aylesbury Comic-Con, a two day show on Saturday 5th August and Sunday 6th August. This is a new event for me (never even been to Aylesbury before) so I'm looking forward to it. 

More info on the convention Facebook page:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/aylesburycomiccon/

Combat Colin is on his way

I've just posted the first stack of orders for Combat Colin No.1 so hopefully some of you will receive your copies tomorrow. My apologies for the delay. It's been a busy week and orders had exceeded expectations so I'll be posting a stack like this every day for the next few weeks on a first come, first served basis. I hope you enjoy the comic when it arrives!

My gratitude to all of you who have bought the comic so far. There's still copies left, and when it looks like I'm getting down to the last box of 100 I'll have a second print done. Don't miss out! Copies are only available to order directly from me at present:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Next stop: Olympia!

Click to enlarge.

The next comics event I'll be at will be the gigantic London Film and Comic Con at Olympia. It runs across the weekend of Friday 28th July to Sunday 30th July; a three day event! 

I know some people criticise such shows as not being "real" comic cons, and it has to be said there are a lot of actors heading the bill, but just take a look at the huge list of comics guests! Personally, I've found that these multimedia shows attract some who wouldn't usually attend a comics-only event, and who are pleasantly surprised to meet creators of comics they remember from their childhood, or are intrigued to discover comics they won't find in newsagents.

Come along at the end of this month and join in the fun! Details here:
http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

TOXIC No.291 preview

You know when you go to the seaside, riding on the back of a giant robot rat and you forget it was programmed by a bad guy to shoot lasers out of its eyes? Well that happens in my Team Toxic story in the latest issue of TOXIC magazine, out now.

Macc-Pow! in the news

Photo by Irene Lea.

Today's Macclesfield Express carries a report on the Macc-Pow! comics event I was a guest at last Saturday. You can read it online, and see photos from the day, here:
http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/macclesfields-comic-convention-smash-hit-13281269

"Amongst the guests on the day was cartoon heavyweight Lew Stringer". Ha! Well that's accurate, but probably not in the way they intended! 

Catch up with the Lewniverse!

Thanks to all of you who have ordered copies of Combat Colin No.1 so far! I have a stack of orders to process and will be sending a pile of comics out every day to get through them. The first orders will go out tomorrow (Tuesday). 

The comic also sold well at Macc-Pow! last Saturday so I'm very pleased. (You can read more about that convention here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/a-successful-day-at-macc-pow.html )

For those of you who don't already have my previous comics I'm selling the three titles as a 'Comic pack' which works out cheaper than ordering them individually. You'll receive Brickman Returns, Derek the Troll, and Combat Colin No.1 together for £11 plus postage and you can order them from my online shop here:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

(I know a couple of you ordered the set before I updated my shop so I'll refund you on the extra postage.)

It's been a busy weekend and today I'm catching up with mainstream comics work on Toxic and Doctor Who Magazine.