Daft Dimension for DWM 553 (Pencil stage)

I thought you might like to see one of my Daft Dimension strips as it was at its pencil stage. I took this photo a few weeks ago before I inked and coloured the strip. (As always, click or tap on the image to see it bigger.) You can see the finished result in Doctor Who Magazine No.553.... out now!

It's on! MACC-POW! this Saturday... LIVE ONLINE! (UPDATED.)

Macc-Pow is always one of the most enjoyable comic cons of the year and this year even Coronavirus can't stop it! Instead of the usual physical event, MACC-POW @ HOME will take place ONLINE this Saturday (the day it would have taken place in Macclesfield). Organiser Marc Jackson will be talking to guests live on INSTAGRAM TV throughout the day, and I'm proud to be part of it along with fab guests such as Rachael Smith, Charlie Adlard, Emmeline Pidgen and more! Tune in on Saturday 27th June for this free event!

More info...

https://www.facebook.com/maccpow/

UPDATE: I'm very sorry I let the side down with technical difficulties affecting my segment of the show. I could only broadcast in sound only for a few minutes then it dropped out altogether. Entirely a fault on my side. Perhaps my phone just wasn't up to it. I'm very dissappionted indeed. I hope you enjoyed all the other interviews though, and if you missed them you can see them on Marc's Instagram page.

This month's Daft preview

The only drawback with promoting a mini-strip is that if I show too much it'll give away the joke, so here's a cropped section of one of the panels from my next Daft Dimension strip. The printed size will be much smaller than this.

You'll see the full version in Doctor Who Magazine No.553, which will be on sale in supermarkets and (open) branches of WH Smiths and comic shops from this Thursday. 76 packed pages of news, features, and interviews including a feature on The Night Walkers, the final appearance of the 2nd Doctor from TV Comic back in 1969!

Summer can still be special

All new Postman Prat in the Dandy Summer Special.

These are stressful, worrying times but fictional escapism can always help whether we be young or old. It's good to see more comic specials being produced throughout this year and with shops beginning to re-open hopefully sales will still be good.

I do believe though that health should come first so if you don't feel safe venturing into shops just yet you can always order comics through the post. The Dandy Summer Special 2020 is still on sale and features 68 pages packed with classic reprints and some new material. Available now from WH Smith or you can order it by mail directly from the publishers at this link:

https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/dandy-summer-special-2020

Cover by Steve Bright.

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Unseen comics that could have been

For every comic title that was published there were often many that didn't get the green light by the publishers. Some only made it to the ideas stage, some made it to printed "dummy issues" but never seen by the public. Now, Hibernia Books tell the story of some of those comics that could have been (and in some cases should have been) in Fantastic Adventures. Here you’ll read about comics such as Eureka, Glory Glory, Zarjaz!, and one I contributed to, Oh No!! There are also other surprise features well worth reading so don't miss it!

Details in the link below on how to order your copy of this new bookazine that reveals all!

http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hibernia/?fbclid=IwAR3cnSz-uz_IPigLFKJ7dDkXxy4K-00hQIz_8DstXt84aFrIu_jcz0UNwRw

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SHOUTY RETURNS!

The Kickstarter campaign for the second issue of The77 is now live and has already passed its target... which means it's definitely going to happen! You can pledge to ensure your copy by following the link below. It'll contain loads of new strips including another SGT.SHOUTY page by me!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/the77comic/the77-the-summer-special

Blog Break

Not a lot of comics news to report these days I'm afraid and, like most of us, I'm finding these harrowing times a struggle, so I'm taking a break from social media to try and focus on my work. Take care everyone.

Is nostalgia good for us?

A perfect moment from 1966 captured forever.

Is nostalgia any good for us? Yes and no. Here are my thoughts on it...

It's quite common, especially amongst people with a passion for pop culture items, to be nostalgic about the past. After all, our interests in comics, film, music, or whatever tends to stem from our early experiences when we were children.

Other people are very rarely nostalgic, considering the past to be something to always move away from without any sentimental attachment. They consider nostalgia to be an uneccesary burden that should be left in the past.

Are they right? Is it unhealthy and time-wasting to be nostalgic? As with everything I think it's about moderation.

If one is yearning to be back in the past again on an obsessive level then I think that's unhealty. We can never return to childhood, or any point in our pasts, so hankering for that impossibility is absolutely pointless and a waste of the precious time we have remaining. However, I think most of us reflect on the past at times because it brings us comfort and happiness. We're still very focused on the present and the future but the past is what made us who we are, so it's important because it's part of us.

In terms of pop culture, I see no harm in enjoying a song, film, or comic from the past on an entertainment level or to appreciate the craft. In fact a lot of comics and movies I like are from *before* I was born, so that's not nostalgia. It's an appreciation of style. Besides, anything we haven't absorbed before is "new" to us, whether it be a day old or from 70 years ago.

We've all encountered the types who become so fixated on the past that they become embittered about modern culture being "not like it used to be". However, nothing was *ever* like it used to be. Pop culture has *always* evolved, and I think if we understand that we can appreciate it in its own historical context and learn from it instead of being angry that it no longer exists in that form.

Thoughts?

Yes, it's the same one from the first photo.

Shop early for Christmas! The 2021 annuals are coming this July!

The Dandy and Beano Annuals for 2021 are now ready for pre-order (published next month). I did quite a few pages for The Dandy Annual, and a few Lord Snooty mini strips for The Beano Annual. You can order them separately or together: https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/books/children-s/double-trouble-pack-2021

Covers by David Parkin and Nigel Parkinson.

It's at this point where some people always claim the annuals used to come out at Christmas. Nope, they were always published many months before. We associate them with Christmas because that's when we usually received them, but I remember my grandad treating me to a Wham! Annual on a day trip to Blackpool back in September 1971. I even still have the receipt inside the book! 
 

Go Barmy!

Another quick reminder that if you're missing comics during these strange times you can always download Barmy Comix No.1, a 32 page digital comic featuring a selection of some of my best bits.

It also includes an exclusive nine page preview of Combat Colin No.5! 

Get Barmy Comix at this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y5IH2SDBlpxbws_nqsndaLkZAgh1inzQ/view

It's free to download but if you want to donate a bit of spare cash I'd appreciate £2 if you can afford it, payable via PayPal to lew.stringer@BTopenworld.com

Thank you!

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Strange times

I hope everyone's OK in these difficult times when we're all struggling? No one saw this coming and I know it's very hard to adjust to what's happening across the world. I'm not going to pretend anything will improve soon, or treat this pandemic like a holiday as some people are, but I hope we all find our own ways to cope and survive.

Not a lot to report about work right now, so here's an old illustration I did back in 2001 for a charity deck of playing cards. It features three characters I created; Brickman, Tom Thug, and Combat Colin.

Stay safe and be good to yourselves and your loved ones.