Nigel Dobbyn

Many of us in the UK comics community were shocked and saddened to hear this morning that the comic artist Nigel Dobbyn has passed away. He suffered a sudden and unexpected heart attack last Saturday. He was just 56 years old.

The sad news was announced on the 2000AD website:
https://2000ad.com/post/5774?fbclid=IwAR0nIFUXhBev_n4YlS-OdxHws0SsFglw-EKN99ULk77YNIwJlQ50mhBCQuQ

I'd known Nigel for over 20 years as we'd met when freelancing for Sonic the Comic in the 1990s. A softly spoken and gentle man, Nigel was one of the nice guys in the industry and an incredibly talented artist. I was a writer on Sonic the Comic and Nigel illustrated several of my stories. He always did a fantastic job and I loved his art style and rich colour work. 

Here's one of the stories we worked on. Trapped in the Vortex was published in Sonic the Poster Mag No.9 in 1994. Script by Lew Stringer, Art/colours by Nigel Dobbyn, Letters by Elita Fell...

Trapped in the Vortex was one of my favourite stories that we did together.

Nigel also worked for many other comics throughout his career of course, including 2000AD, The Beano, Spider-Man and Friends and more. He had a great versatility to his work, able to adapt his style to suit the job. Down the Tubes has a fuller account of his career, which you can read here:
https://downthetubes.net/?p=110547

I'd occasionally see Nigel at various comics conventions and we last chatted at the Oldham Comic Con in May. Myself and his other friends and colleagues in the industry are stunned by this tragic news and tributes are pouring in on social media from creators and fans alike. 

A few years ago, Nigel drew this fabulous birthday card for me featuring my Brickman character. A fantastic surprise.

My deepest condolences to Nigel's wife Sue and the family for this awful loss, and to his many friends who always regarded him as a decent man and top talent. He will be sadly missed. 

Above: At the Birmingham International Comic Art Show in 2007. The Sonic the Comic team reunited. Left to right: Lew Stringer, Nigel Kitching, Richard Elson, Nigel Dobbyn. 

LOOK OUT! New design added

I've added a new design to my Redbubble store. LOOK OUT! is available on T-shirts, mugs, stickers, bath-mats, coasters and more! Check it out:
https://www.redbubble.com/people/lewstringer/works/40825887-look-out

Cor!! Buster! Don't miss out!

If you missed the Cor!! Buster Humour Special when it was in newsagents earlier this year you can still buy copies directly from the publisher! 52 pages featuring loads of brand new strips bringing back old favourites such as Sweeny Toddler, Faceache, Grimly Feendish, Gums, Ivor Lott and Tony Broke, Deadly Headley, Buster, Bad Penny, and more! 

Don't miss out! More info and ordering details at this link:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue//RCS1951

In print this Thursday...

I have work in two publications that will be in the shops on Thursday 22nd August. First up is the latest Daft Dimension that sees the Daleks go to Blackpool in Doctor Who Magazine No.542. Here's a preview. Find out what happens next when you buy the new issue! 

Also that day, Comic Scene No.7 will be published, and I've written a feature about one of my favourite 1960s comics, Pow!, the third (and most often overlooked) of Odhams' 'Power Comics' line. 

Doctor Who Magazine and Comic Scene are both available from WH Smith and comic shops, but if you have difficulty finding Comic Scene in your area you can subscribe directly at this link:
https://getmycomics.com/ComicScene

Doctor Who Magazine is also available in supermarkets and selected newsagents, but if you can't find it, you can subscribe here:
https://doctorwhomagazine.com/subscriptions/

Combat Colin comic orders update

Thank you to everyone who's ordered copies of my Combat Colin comics recently. I've had a few delays in sending them out (holiday, deadlines, and now a chest infection) but most have been dispatched and the rest are ready to go this week. Thank you for your patience! 

Several of you have ordered back issues too, which is great. This meant that Combat Colin No.2 had to go to a second printing, and it looks like issue 1 will have to go to a third printing soon too! The new printings all have matt-laminated covers so they look really nice. 

In case you'd somehow missed my previous plugs for these comics, I'm reprinting all my old Combat Colin strips that originally appeared in Action Force and The Transformers back in 1987 to 1991. We're currently at issue 4 and there'll be two more issues next year to complete the run. All the pages are scanned from my original art, where possible. (Sadly, some of my later pages went missing from the Marvel UK offices, or were inadvertently destroyed after use, so those pages will be scanned from the comics.) 

If you haven't ordered the comics yet, you can get them exclusively from me at my web shop at this link:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Combat Colin on his way

My apologies if you haven't received your issues of Combat Colin No.4 yet. I had far more orders than anticipated so between having a holiday last week and deadlines this week it's taking me a while to catch up. A stack of them were sent out today though, and more will follow throughout the week. 

My thanks for your patience, and for your support. Some of you have ordered back issues too, which is great! Seems that the word is spreading that those classic Combat Colin stories from the 1980s/90s are being collected in smart new comics. Four issues are now available, and issues 5 and 6 will follow next year! 

Here's the link where you'll find out more info and how to order them:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

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It's Derek the Bath Mat!

It's a crazy world and no mistake. Whatever next? Derek the Troll bath mats, that's what! Available from my Redbubble store now!
https://www.redbubble.com/people/lewstringer/works/38116881-derek-the-troll?asc=u&p=bath-mat&rel=carousel

Evolution of a panel.

Characters © D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.

Yesterday I sent off the latest Pup Parade to Beano HQ. I thought you might like to see a panel in its five stages. 
1: layout, 
2: pencils, 
3: inks, 
4: scanned into Photoshop to clean it up and add the solid blacks, 
5: colouring done in Photoshop. 

(Click on image to see it larger of course).

Lettering will be added by Beano staff from my script. Printed version will be in Beano No.4004, in shops on September 25th!

HIGH VIS poster revealed

Here's the poster/flyer for the High Vis Street Art Festival that takes place at the Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham, on Saturday 7th September 2019. Comics! Street Art! Live Music! It's all happening. I hope you'll come along and join us! 

More info at their website at this link:
https://ollymacnamee.wixsite.com/highvisfest

Everything is now

Me in 1974. The day the Marvel magazine style comics were first distributed in the UK.

Is the past important? I think so. While our main focus should always be on the moment and moving forward, it's our past that has defined us up to this point. I think nostalgia has its place as long as we don't let it cloud our appreciation of the present. Some people constantly bemoan that tv/music/comics/movies of today are vastly inferior to that of their youth... but objectively there was a lot of dross around then too! It's possible to appreciate both the best of yesteryear and the best of today. Forever hankering for "the good old days" only leads to misery and a blinkered view of today. 

Perhaps the best view, and some will think this is bonkers, is to consider all of time as "the now". Forget our definitions of past and present as segregated by nights and seasons. Imagine all of time as one day (a heck of a long day admittedly) and everything seems more closely connected.

(Just don't tell your editors and employers that. If they think you only invoiced them today they'll never pay up! ;-) )

Have you ordered your COMBAT COLIN No.4 yet?

I'll be sending out more packages of Combat Colin No.4 this week. I'm still catching up with orders as I was away in London last week and I came back to a lot more orders than I was expecting so thank you for your patience if you're still waiting. 

Each issue is signed by me, bagged and boarded, and sent in a card backed envelope. The comic is only available from me, either at conventions or from my website. Click this link to go to the order page:
http://www.lewstringer.com/page7.htm

Thanks for all your interest in my work! Let me know what you think of the latest issue!

Video tour around LFCC!

If you've never been to a comic con and wondered what it was like, this excellent video tour around the London Film and Comic Con last weekend is on You Tube. This was on the Friday morning not long after opening I think. I'm around the 39 minute mark if you're interested...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goolw3lAgTM