Looking at it now, the style is crude and the gag very lame, but seeing it in print back in 1983 gave me a huge boost to my self esteem. At the time I was on the dole, having quit a dead-end office job, and had been trying to break into comics for a couple of years with no luck. (In retrospect it's understandable I made no initial headway because my work simply wasn't professional standard then.)
I'd been producing several fanzines and small press comics in order to gain experience and feedback, and Alan Moore (whom I knew from the Westminster Comic Marts and inevitable pub-meets) suggested I try Marvel UK with some ideas. He introduced me to Marvel editor Bernie Jaye in February 1983 and she asked me to submit some work. I soon came up with a variation on Marvel's "What If...?" series, sent in a bunch of cartoons, and at the April Westminster Comic Mart Bernie told me she'd be running them in The Daredevils from issue 7, published in June 1983. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day!
The rate was very low; £5 a cartoon. Not enough to enable me to get off the dole at that point (and yes, I did declare it) but what it gave me was far more important, - the encouragement to carry on. Prior to that, I'd been on the verge of giving up my ambitions to be a cartoonist, but the euphoria of seeing my work in print gave me the confidence and incentive I needed. It's true what they say; once you've been published it gives other editors the assurance that you can do the job. After that, more work swiftly followed and I went full time self-employed in February 1984. I've been fortunate to work for many publications over the years; Oink!, Beano, Dandy, Sonic the Comic, Viz, Buster, Toxic, Doctor Who Magazine and many more. All thanks to Alan Moore and Bernie Jaye for having faith in me back in 1983.
Most importantly, I'd also like to thank all of you who have supported my work over the years, and I hope you continue to enjoy what I produce.
I like the extra joke of steaming up... well done for working so long at something you love...and hat top comics you've worked for...
ReplyDeletelovely comic of fun legacy...
Glad your collected comic books are being well received too...shows your work is still funny today!
Keep up the good work...
loving your Doctor Who strip...and hope you get more work at The beano...a whole page :)
Thanks, Peter. That's not likely at the Beano unfortunately. Big Eggo ends in August and I've nothing lined up there to replace it. I'm still busy on other stuff though!
ReplyDeleteFrom the moment I picked up my first ever comic, #14 of Oink!, right through to the present day you've been a constant presence Lew! It got to the point as a kid that any new comic I picked up just didn't feel right if you weren't in it somewhere. An absolute pleasure to meet you last year in Enniskillen and hopefully I will again soon. It's great fun to chat away to you over instant messaging and to count you as a friend. Here's to many more years of your work to come!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Phil. That means a lot. It's a pleasure to know you!
ReplyDeleteRobo Capers immediately captivated me as a child, as did Combat Colin. Decades later the Colin reissues are entertaining me all over again. So interesting now to read Brick Man, and other things I missed out on back then. I still remember borrowing my brothers Sonics so I could read the ones you illustrated! You've done a lot of great work--I commend you sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks, D.D.! I really appreciate that. There'll be another old strip of mine back in print soon hopefully! More news next week, all being well.
ReplyDeleteI should point out that I never illustrated any Sonic stories though. I was a writer on that comic, never an artist.
Oh, well that's how I remembered it. It was the early 90s, perhaps different memories have congealed together. I remember your name would pop up in Sonic, and us making the Colin association.
ReplyDelete