Tom Thug's Noo Yeer'z Rezolooshun (for 1991)

Just time for one last post this year, and for a couple of strips I did many years ago. These were published in Buster dated 29th December 1990, with Tom Thug and The Vampire Brats making their resolutions for 1991. 

Tom Thug has script, art, colouring, and logo design by me (and dialogue lettering by Jack Potter).

The Vampire Brats has script by Roy Davis, art and logo design by me, dialogue lettering by Jack Potter, and colours by the Buster staff. 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year for 2019!

Reflections on 2018

Click or tap on image to see it larger.

Firstly, a big thank you to all of you who have visited this blog over the past 12 months (and in previous years). Your interest in my work means a lot to me and I hope you've enjoyed your visits. 

It's been a steady year, in work and personal life. No huge changes, and thankfully no crisis. It was a great thrill and honour to be asked to create a brand new series of Big Eggo stories for The Beano's 80th anniversary year. Work on Toxic, Doctor Who Magazine, and Epic continued, I revived Derek the Troll for the digital comic Goof!, and I was able to publish three of my own comics; Combat Colin Nos.2 and 3 and Pedantic Stan, The Comics Fan. 

(If you're interested on ordering my comics you can get them exclusively from me:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm )

It was also a privilege to be invited to 13 comic cons this year. (It would have been 15 but I had to drop out of two.) Some were new to me, such as the excellent TFNation, STC25, and Nice Comic Con, and some were old favourites such as Macc-Pow!, London Film and Comic Con, and ICE. A good mixture, and varied locations all across England. My thanks to all the organisers for their hard work and hospitality, and to everyone who stopped by my table and/or came to a panel I was on.

My convention dates so far for 2019 are....

MANCHESTER COMIC FEST
27th April 2019
Wythenshawe Forum
www.facebook.com/manchestercomicfest/


To Be Announced:
Saturday 11th May 2019

To Be Announced:
Saturday 18th May 2019

COMICS SALOPIA
1st and 2nd June 2019
Shrewsbury
https://comicssalopia.com

To Be Announced:
22nd June 2019

ICE 2019
Saturday 31st August 2019
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Birmingham
B5 7QU
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ice-birmingham-2019-tickets-52230273153


To Be Announced:
28th and 29th September 2019

Thanks also to my editors, and to my friends in the comics industry, some I've known for 40 years, some I've only met this year. It's always good to spend time with people who have similar interests and outlooks, as well as being constantly amazed at their talent.

Last but not least, a big thank you to my friends outside of comics, for being good pals and for all the laughs. 

Next year...? I hope I continue to be busy but it's a precarious business and with Brexit on the way who knows what damage it will wreak. If people take a financial hit, comics are the last thing they'll be spending money on. Time will tell.

I do have one new project I'm about to start work on but I can't reveal anything about that yet. I'll post info here in a few months. 

I'll also be selling some of my old Fleetway art on eBay sometime over the next several weeks. 

Beyond that, I'm planning to publish Combat Colin No.4 in April, and No.5 around September. It will now be a six issue series, with possibly a smaller "No.6 and a half" issue to reprint the material that came after the Transformers stories. Again, more news will be posted here as it develops.

Finally, may I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Please keep following this blog for updates, and post your feedback in the comments section below. Best wishes for 2019!

Festive Flashback: CHRISTMAS WITH TOM THUG (1992)

For my final choice of my past Christmas strips, here's Tom Thug again with his festive story from Buster in 1992. Tom had proven to be one of the comic's most popular characters so he was awarded this double-length story for the Christmas edition! 

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and thank you for following this blog! 

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Festive Flashback: BRICKMAN (2005)

Brickman was a character I created for my fanzines in 1979 but appeared from time to time over the years in various publications. In 2005 Richard Starkings asked me to create a new Brickman series for a back-up strip in his prestigious Elephantmen comic for Image. This was the Christmas episode for that year.

One final Christmas strip later today! 

Festive Flashback: PETE AND HIS PIMPLE (1987)

Here's the Pete and his Pimple strip I did for the Christmas issue of Oink! in 1987! I really enjoyed doing this character. Created, written, drawn, lettered by me.

Also that issue, the Tom Thug Christmas fairy! Stick it at the top of your tree! 

Festive Flashback: SNOWMAN IN A BOX (2012)

Here's a page I did that appeared in The Dandy back in 2012. A "Mad Ad" spoofing those adverts you see for expensive tat in the back of magazines. every home should have one! 

Festive Flashback: THE VAMPIRE BRATS (1989)

The Vampire Brats were created by writer Mark Rogers for Buster in 1989 and I was assigned as an artist for the strip to replace Pete and his Pimple. After a few months, Mark sadly took ill and asked me to write the scripts temporarily.

Tragically, Mark never returned to writing as he passed away far too young. Later in the run, Roy Davis replaced me as scriptwriter, but this one from Christmas 1989 is one I wrote, drew, and lettered! 

Festive Flashback: POSTMAN PRAT (2011)

I'm glad I had the chance to work for The Dandy during its final two years. It was a privilege to be involved with a comic that was a favourite of mine as a child. Here's the Postman Prat page I did for the Christmas issue in 2011. Script by David Mason, artwork by me. 

Festive Flashback: ROBO-CAPERS (1986)

Here's my Christmas episode of Robo-Capers that appeared in Marvel UK's Transformers comic 32 years ago in 1986! 

If you'd like to read more about what was in this issue, Phil Boyce has covered it over on his Oink! Blog and Beyond here:
http://the-oink-blog.blogspot.com/2018/12/transformers-93-wrapped-up-robots.html

Festive Flashback: THE DAFT DIMENSION (2016)

You can see the latest Christmas Daft Dimension in the current issue of Doctor Who Magazine on sale now, but here's one I did two years ago! I fancied a go at drawing all 12 Doctors (and the War Doctor), - some worked out better than others but I had fun doing it. Hope you like it! as always, click on the image to see it larger. 

Festive Flashback: TOM THUG (1990)

Here's a Christmas Tom Thug page I did for the festive issue of Buster in 1990!

Festive Flashback: TEAM TOXIC (2008)

If I have time, I'll be posting some of my old Christmas strips on this blog on the run up to Christmas Day. As I've been in comics for 35 years and try to do at least one Christmas strip a year there are a lot to choose from! As I say, it depends on time, but hopefully I'll post two or three (or more) over the next few days.

This one is a Team Toxic strip from Toxic No.130, December 2008. Script and art by me, and back then Lorna Miller was the colourist. Lorna is an artist in her own right and did a great job colouring Team Toxic for the first several years of its run. 

Team Toxic is still running today in Toxic magazine (published every three weeks). These days I colour the strip myself. 

The five Team Toxic characters, and the name 'Team Toxic' are Copyright Egmont.

In the shops now!

As well as The Daft Dimension in Doctor Who Magazine No.533 (mentioned the other day) I also have two other strips in print this week. 

There's Team Toxic in Victory or Defeat in the latest issue of Toxic (No.315) in which the now-powerless Team must somehow defeat an invasion of their greatest villains!

Then there's a new Hygiene High story in Epic No.154, written by Niall Murray, drawn by me, which sees the stinky kids in a school dancing competition! 

Toxic, Epic, and Doctor Who Magazine are all available from newsagents and supermarkets across the UK. 

Thanks, Phil!

My thanks to Phil Boyce for his glowing review of Combat Colin No.3. 

"40 pages of mirth and guaranteed laugh-out-loud moments throughout, it's a bargain at only £3.50 and it brought back many happy memories of reading these strips every week in the pages of Marvel UK's Transformers, after Colin had made the transition from their cancelled Action Force title."

You can read his full review over on his Oink! Blog and Beyond site:
http://the-oink-blog.blogspot.com/2018/12/combat-colin-3-continuing-lewniverse.html

...and if you're intrigued enough to buy a copy you can order one from me here:
http://lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Christmas Doctor Who!

There will be a Christmas episode of Doctor Who after all this year! 

Well, as a comic strip anyway, not on TV. The next issue of Doctor Who Magazine features the regular Daft Dimension strip from me, and this time I decided to have the Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham celebrating Christmas Day! (There's a snippet from one panel above.)

See the full strip, and more in Doctor Who Magazine No.533, on sale Thursday 13th December!

The current season of Doctor Who concludes tonight on BBC One, and will be off our screens until the special on New Year's Day. 

Derek the Troll and the Christmas GOOF!

The Christmas issue of digital comic Goof! is now available, and I've done a seasonal Derek the Troll episode for it. 

As Derek's adventures are set in pre-history I couldn't do a Christmas story as such of course, but it does feature some festive elements and a winter setting. After all, I couldn't resist putting snow on the logo could I?

You can read more about Goof! on my other blog here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-christmas-goof-is-here.html

...and you can subscribe to Goof! here:
https://www.goofcomic.co.uk

Christmas Kate!

A last reminder that I have a few pages of Keyhole Kate in The Dandy Annual 2019 and that it's available in the shops now! A perfect Christmas present, as always! Don't wait until the January sales and risk missing it, - it's already discounted in supermarkets, and part of a special offer in WH Smith. 

I love creating new stories for Keyhole Kate, and being the latest in a line of artists who have drawn her adventures over the past 80 years! What's happening to Kate in the panel above? Find out by buying the book!