On sale this week...

I presume you're reading this blog because you like my work so hopefully you'll be interested in my latest strips that are in print this week. 

Wednesday 3rd May sees the publication of Toxic No.305 from Egmont that includes another two-page Team Toxic story. The Eye-Bot comes to Earth in a story I had to call Eye Robot! 

That same day sees Beano No.3933 published by D.C. Thomson, and this week Big Eggo meets Billy Whizz!

The following day, Thursday 4th May, Doctor Who Magazine No.525 (Panini UK) hits the shelves containing a new Daft Dimension strip featuring the Daleks. Admittedly they're Daft Daleks, but still Daleks!

All three publications will be available from newsagents and supermarkets all across the UK.

Any thoughts about these strips or my earlier work? Please leave a comment below. 

Fun-tastic Four!

Fed up with comics being grim, gritty, or full of long conversations and talking heads? Are you eager to find comics that are fast paced, fun, and a bit bonkers? Give my titles a try! From 32 to 40 pages in length and packed with comedy-action. You can order them directly from me at my web shop here:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

DEREK THE TROLL - Second printing

A second printing of my comic Derek the Troll has arrived this morning from the printers. Now it's back in stock I'll be bringing them along to all the conventions I attend this year, and you can also order them directly from my website here:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

This 32 page comic collects together some of my earliest professional work; all the Derek the Troll strips from Warlock and White Dwarf magazines, and the complete serial of Rock Solid, Space Hero that originally appeared in Swiftsure Nos.1 to 5. 

My thanks again to Stuart Gould at http://www.ukcomicscreative.co.uk for doing another great job printing them. 

Wigan Comic Con

My next convention appearance will be at Oldham Comic Con on 12th May, and after that it'll be Wigan Comic Con on 26th May. Here's the poster for the Wigan show, with my fat mush along with Nick Cotton from Eastenders and Boycey from Only Fools and Horses. Should be a fun event! Come along and meet us! Their Facebook page is here for all the info...
https://www.facebook.com/events/652224921633407

News about Combat Colin No.3

My thanks to all of you who have bought the first two issues of Combat Colin! It's doing well, and I'll be starting work on issue 3 soon. The plan was to bring out No.3 in mid-May, but I think it's more likely to be sometime in June now, with No.4 following later in the year.

You may be wondering why it takes so long just to do "a reprint comic" as one person dismissed it as. Well, for a start I can only work on the comic when I don't have deadlines for my mainstream work. (Combat Colin sells well for a small press comic, but it's Toxic, Doctor Who Magazine and the others that bring in the money to pay the bills.)

Each page has to be scanned from scratch, either from the original artwork (if I have it) or from the old comics. Then each panel has to be digitally cleaned up. Sometimes that can be done quickly but it depends on the quality of the page I've scanned from. 

Then, there's new cover art to draw and colour, and any text pages to write and design. When all's done and double-checked, the files are sent to the printers, which is usually a couple of weeks to turn around the order because the printer is a busy man and in demand 'cos he does such a fantastic job.

So... that's why I decided on doing an issue of Combat Colin only once every several months. I hope you don't mind the wait! 

As always, I'll be posting regular updates about the next issue as it develops, so stay tuned!

The Summer of '76

1976, age 17, Trafalgar Square, hair and flares.

People say "time flies", but this really does feel like all of its 42 years ago. This was the day I first visited a comic shop (Dark They Were And Golden Eyed, which was then in Berwick Street), and bought a load of comics fanzines which re-ignited my childhood ambitions to work in comics!

It'd take several years before I sold my first cartoon (in 1983, to Marvel UK) but all that time gave me valuable experience, producing fanzine strips, getting feedback and advice, quitting my old job, making new friends in comics, both fans and pros, etc. Happy days from long, long ago!

Summer of '76. Reading Jack Kirby's 2001: A Space Odyssey adaptation.

I'm a Scary Monster!

The latest issue of the American magazine Scary Monsters features a plug for me and my Blimey! blog. I'd given the mag a review several weeks ago and they were kind enough to reciprocate. A nice surprise, and a privilege to be featured in their magazine. 

If you haven't heard of Scary Monsters, it's a quarterly magazine devoted to classic monsters of film and TV. The current issue (No.108) looks back at The Outer Limits TV series of the 1960s, along with stacks of other articles in its 180 pages. If you liked classic horror mags such as Famous Monsters of Filmland, Monsters of the Movies, and suchlike you'll enjoy this! 

Available from Forbidden Planet and all good comic shops, or by mail order from eBay sellers and Hemlock Books:
http://www.hemlockbooks.co.uk/Shop/category/38

More about Scary Monsters Magazine at their website:
http://www.mymoviemonsters.com/store.php/mymoviemonsters/pg14663/scary_monsters_magazine

Wythenshawe Comic Con

I've been invited to quite a few conventions up North this year, including the first Wythenshawe Comic Con on 9th June. Looking forward to it! You can find out more info from the details on the poster above or visit their Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/wythenshawecomiccon/

It's Beano and Epic week!

On sale Wednesday 18th April is Epic No.145 featuring a new Hygiene High two pager written by Niall Murray and drawn by me. This time, the pongy pupils go to the school disco! Chaos is certain. 

The same day, Beano No.3931 will also be published, and the Bash Street Pups are back! Only as guest stars though! I always enjoyed drawing Pup Parade for the comic so this week I thought I'd put them into the Big Eggo strip. Never Be Without A Beano to find out what happens!

Thank you, Stoke-Con-Trent!

It faced competition from several other popular comics events taking place around the UK this weekend but Stoke-Con-Trent was a well attended show and good fun. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my table for a sketch or a comic, and thanks of course to organiser Adrian Tooth and his team for their hospitality and hard work running the show. Great to see comics pals Mike Collins, Lee Sullivan, and David Leach again, and to meet new people too such as Ben Krefta and Red Queen Art.

More confusion over who's who between Lee Sullivan and me. Not just because of a passing similarity in looks and choice of clothes, but other spooky coincidences. This time the hotel got our rooms mixed up. To simplify matters here's a photo for easy identification. I'm the one on the left... er, right.... I think.

Destination: Stoke-Con-Trent

Last reminder that I'll be one of the guests at Stoke-Con-Trent this Sunday (15th April) which takes place at Staffordshire University at (you guessed it) Stoke-On-Trent. Lots of artists will be there, including newcomers who could be the superstars of tomorrow! Come along and meet everyone!

STOKE-CON-TRENT
Staffordshire University
Sunday 15th April 2018
http://stokecontrent.co.uk

Here's the rest of the comics shows I'll be at this year....


OLDHAM COMIC CON
Saturday 12th May 2018
https://en-gb.facebook.com/oldhamcomiccon/


WIGAN COMIC CON
Saturday 26th May 2018
https://www.facebook.com/WigancomicconNWCCEvents/


STC25
Fab Cafe, Manchester
Sunday 3rd June 2018
https://www.facebook.com/stconline/


WYTHENSHAWE COMIC CON,
South Manchester
9th June 2018
https://www.facebook.com/wythenshawecomiccon/


MACC-POW! No.3
Saturday 23rd June 2018
Macclesfield.
http://maccpow.co.uk


To be announced:
27th - 29th July 2018
More info soon.


To be announced:
18th, 19th August 2018.
More info soon.


To Be Announced
1st/2nd September 2018
More info soon.


ICE 2018
Saturday 15th September
Birmingham.
https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com

New event for June!

Now that it's been announced on the convention's website I can reveal that I'll be a guest at STC25 on Sunday 3rd June, at the FAB Cafe in Manchester. The event celebrates the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Comic, a title I was a writer on during the 1990s. 

This will be the first Sonic event I've attended so I'm looking forward to catching up with friends from those days, as well as meeting readers who read it back then! Find out more details at the event's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/stconline/

Preview of TOXIC 304... and a few thoughts

There's a new issue of Toxic in the shops today, and that means a brand new Team Toxic adventure; Day of the Giant Bottoms!

Butt-Face is back with a new Ro-Butt... but Doc Shock creates a cheeky monster of his own to stop it! Find out what happens in Toxic No.304! Here's the polybag it's in to look out for...

Unfortunately, I've noticed there's an element of comics fandom (and even some pros) who have a sniffy attitude towards magazines like Toxic, rubbishing them as "bagged tat" and a blight on publishing. Most comics reviewers tend to ignore them, as though comic strips in these magazines somehow don't count. Perhaps they should bear in mind that Toxic and similar magazines often have more readers in the UK than most highly praised American comics do in the whole of the USA. 

Not that I'm advocating that DC and Marvel should bag their comics with water pistols and football stickers of course. Perish the thought! However, a less dismissive attitude towards modern British comics/magazines would be welcome. Toxic is aimed at children. No one is expecting adults to get the same kick out of it as a 7 year old would, but just to acknowledge that if its target audience is enjoying it (and that the mag has survived for 16 years so far) then it must be doing something right. 

Here endeth the sermon!

See you at STOKE-CON-TRENT!

This Sunday, 15th April, will see Stoke-Con-Trent 8 take place at Staffordshire University. There's a lot of guests appearing from the worlds of comics and entertainment and I'm pleased to say I'm one of them.

So... if you're interested in an exclusive sketch drawn to your request, or buying my comics, or just want to stop and chat, come along on Sunday! 

For more info and the full guest list, see the convention website:
https://www.facebook.com/StokeCONTrent/ 

Don't give up!

Here's just a few of the stack of rejection letters I accumulated in the years when I was breaking onto the business. I'm posting a photo of some of them here as an encouragement to those of you with ambitions and passions to keep following your dreams. I know how discouraging it can be to have knockbacks or, worse, if they don't reply at all, but perseverance and practice deliver results in the end! Keep developing, keep trying. Stick at it and good luck!

New gallery

I've added a new gallery to my website to show a few samples of my more recently published work. Take a look:
http://lewstringer.com/page8.htm

Preview: In print next week

Here's an advance look at a couple of my strips for the coming week. Wednesday 11th April sees Toxic No.304 hit the stands, and it'll include a new Team Toxic two pager by me featuring a rampaging Ro-Butt! Can Team Toxic save the day? 

Beano No.3930 will also be on  sale that day, which will include another Big Eggo strip I did. Terry Tuff is still chasing our affable ostrich, trying to capture him and bring him back to Beanotown Zoo. What happens next? Find out on April 11th.

Derek update

As mentioned a while back, I've now sold out of Derek the Troll but a 2nd print will be coming soon. I've just sent the files to the printers this morning. It'll be the same as the first printing, except for a few small tweaks such as adding my 'Lew Stringer Comics' logo to the cover and updating the ads for my other comics. The content remains the same, reprinting all the Derek the Troll strips plus the complete Rock Solid, Space Hero serial from the 1980s. Some of my earliest work!

If you missed out on the first printing, don't worry; I'll be announcing when the second print is available to order as soon as it's ready.

Also... there'll be a brand new Derek the Troll series this summer in a new digital comic! More news soon!

In print this week...

The Beano No.3929 will be out this Wednesday (4th April) and if they print the Big Eggo strips in the order I drew them the image above gives you a glimpse of this week's episode. One of the best things about working for the Beano is that all the characters live in Beanotown and can interact with each other. Fun for the readers and it also gives artists the opportunity to draw characters they wouldn't usually draw. Therefore I had Roger the Dodger and Danny and Toots of the Bash Street Kids cameo in this week's story.

On sale Thursday 5th April is the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine. We can't really use the 13th Doctor in the strips until Jodie Whittaker's series starts in the Autumn, so it gives me a good reason to focus on some of the other Doctors, such as the First Doctor in this month's Daft Dimension strip!

Both Doctor Who Magazine and Beano are on sale at all good newsagents and supermarkets.

Thoughts and updates...

If you have a smartphone with Location Services switched on you'll know that Google tracks you everywhere you go. Here's a map of everywhere Google tracked me in 2017 as I was out and about at various conventions and suchlike. You have no privacy when you carry a phone.

There's the thinking that "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear", so my conscience is clear but it's still an odd feeling to be monitored like this for advertising purposes or more sinister motives. 

Anyway, I'll be out and about even more this year, possibly with location services switched off. :) 

I'll be posting updates about my convention appearances soon, as there's a few more dates to add! I have a very busy summer ahead, and juggling shows with work means that I'll be making some changes. The most drastic that you'll notice is that I'll be updating my Blimey! blog far less than in previous years. I'll still post a couple of items every week, to keep it going, and I'm sure some weeks will be busier than others, but after 11 years of blogging about old comics I hope you'll appreciate that I've "done my bit" as it were. 

This blog will continue to be updated more often though, with news of my latest work, reflections on past strips, and thoughts about the comics industry. I hope you'll stick around!