Combat Rough!

I thought you might like to see what the cover to Combat Colin No.2 looked like in the pencil stage, compared to the finished version.

For a bit of fun, I've merged the two together here so you can see how the construction lines work...

Pencil: Primacolor Col-Erase 20068 Light Blue
Inks: Zig Mangaka Flexible Fine, UniPin Fine Line (various sizes).
Colour: Photoshop.
Lettering: Fonts bought from Comicraft.

Combat Colin No.2 will be out in a few weeks time and will be available directly from me at my online shop! More news soon!

Antimatter Hari set to return

Here's a sneak peek at the next episode of Team Toxic, which will see the return of enemy spy Antimatter Hari! Can the Team prevent her act of sabotage? Find out in Toxic No.301, on sale in a couple of weeks!

Ally Sloper

I thought I'd have a go at drawing the very first hero of British comics, that gin-sozzled old rent-dodger Ally Sloper (a hugely popular character in the 19th Century). Not completely happy with it as I need more practice drawing in this style but here you go anyway.

This weekend...

...deadlines beckon, and I'm staying in to draw monsters and... things I can't talk about yet. Can't even give you a clue, sorry. You'll find out what's what in March, but for now, here's a close up of another thing I'm working on today that's not related to the thing I can't talk about. 

Combat Colin's journey through cyberspace

I've just sent all the pages to the printer for Combat Colin No.2. Thanks to the miracle of technology, they've been sent electronically, so no need to parcel up the pages and carry them to the post office like in the old days!

Hopefully the completed comic will be ready by the end of the month, or more realistically early February. I'll announce more info here when it's available to order! 

Toxic No.300 is here!

Issue 300 of Egmont's TOXIC is in the shops now. An impressive achievement for a kids' mag to last so long and it's still going strong! It's been a pleasure to have contributed to it since issue No.1 way back in 2002. 
The publishers tend not to make a fuss about such anniversaries, but I think it's worth shouting about so I've posted a piece on my Blimey! blog about it today...
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/toxic-reaches-issue-300-today.html

Toxic No.300 is coming!

Egmont's Toxic magazine reaches its milestone 300th issue this Wednesday. A remarkable achievement for a kids' mag these days. The title began in 2002 and it's been a pleasure to contribute to every issue (apart from about 14 months when it went reprint, but even then they reprinted my material). 

I'll be posting more about Toxic No.300 on the day of publication, but, for now, here's a preview panel from my Team Toxic strip, with the gang having a slap-up feed in their own fashion.

Postman Prat in production (2010)

From 2010, a photo of a page of my original Postman Prat artwork and the colour version I was working on in Photoshop. No, I can't remember what the story was about either. Postman Prat appeared in The Dandy and was a real pleasure to draw. I later wrote episodes as well. He still appears in The Dandy Annual every year, but not next year I'm afraid. 

Preview: EPIC No.141

Here's a panel from my Hygiene High strip in the next issue of Epic magazine, No.141, on sale in supermarkets and newsagents from this coming Wednesday, 10th January. Script by Niall Murray, artwork by me, published by D.C. Thomson. 

Things to come...

A new year sprawling ahead is always unpredictable but here's a few things I can show you that I've worked on and will be arriving over the coming weeks...

January 10th sees the next issue of Epic (No.141) on sale, and the stinky kids of Hygiene High go for a swim! Script by Niall Murray, art by me. (Preview above.)

Comic collector Grumpy McGrumpychops returns in the Team Toxic story for the milestone 300th issue of Toxic, on sale Wednesday 17th January. More on this significant issue soon!

The following issue of Toxic, No.301, introduces the pompous new mayor of Spud City in the Team Toxic strip, and his plans for space!

There'll be no Daft Dimension strip in the next Doctor Who Magazine as it's been squeezed out for space, but it'll be back in the February issue.

Looking further into the year, I've written and drawn a few Keyhole Kate pages for The Dandy Annual 2019, which will be out around August 2018.

In case you missed the news earlier, Combat Colin No.2 is scheduled for late January, collecting the early Combat Colin strips from The Transformers comic of the late 1980s. More info about that here:
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/preview-combat-colin-no2.html

I've been invited as a guest to five conventions this year, with more to be added soon hopefully. The latest addition is Oldham Comic Con in May. 

BATH COMIC-CON

Saturday 17th March 2018

Bath Pavillion

Bath

https://www.facebook.com/bathcon/

To be announced:

24th/25th March 2018

More info soon.

OLDHAM COMIC CON

Saturday 12th May 2018

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

MACC-POW! No.3

Saturday 23rd June 2018

Macclesfield.

ICE2018 International Comic Expo

Saturday 15th September 2018

Birmingham

https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com

More dates added soon.

There's also a few things I can't talk about yet, but when I can, this blog will be the first to announce the news!

Thanks for following this blog. More updates soon!

Preview: COMBAT COLIN No.2

HAPPY NEW YEAR! If this goes as scheduled, this post should go live in the first moments of 2018. I hope you're all having a good evening wherever you are. 

Here's your exclusive first look at Combat Colin No.2, which I'll be sending to the printers this week and it'll be out later this month. As with the first issue, No.2 will have 40 pages packed with classic Combat Colin strips from the late 1980s. This issue starts with the ones when The Transformers and Action Force merged into one comic, and features over 70 half page strips running from February 1988 to well into 1989. 

You'll see Combat Colin and his sidekick Semi-Automatic Steve encounter villains such as Madprof and Mr.Magno for the first time, plus the return of the evil Aunt Arctic of the Antarctic, the secret of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, the introduction of the Giggly Sisters and much more!

©2018 Lew Stringer

Most of the strips have been scanned directly from my original artwork, and I've added dates to the foot of every strip so you know where and when it first appeared.

This issue also includes a letters page, Combat Correspondence, with your thoughts on issue 1.

Combat Colin No.2 will be published in late January and will be available to buy directly from me, either by mail order or at conventions I'll be attending in 2018. I'll post an update on this blog and on social media when it's available to order so don't worry, you won't miss it! 

©2018 Lew Stringer

The first issue (and my other comics) are still available from my online shop, and Combat Colin No.2 will be added when it's available:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Bookmark this blog for future updates, and if you're on Facebook, give a 'like' to my page there for updates too:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/lewstringercartoonist/

Thanks for following this blog and, again, a Happy New Year to you all!

P.S: As a special New Year bonus, exclusive to this blog, here's how my pencil roughs of the cover looked prior to a few alterations and inking:

©2018 Lew Stringer