Halloween fun from 30 years ago!

Back when I was working on Buster comic I always liked to do a Halloween story every year. Here's the Tom Thug page that was in the issue for 1992. I did my own lettering for this one too, as I wanted it to look like Tom had written it in his scrawl. Hope you like it! Happy Halloween!

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Thank you Nottingham!

Thanks to Baden James-Mellonie for the photo.

 

Nottingham Comic Con was good fun. Although the huge MCM London show was on the same day attendance at Nottingham was steady and it was good to do a few sketches for people who dropped by. Thank you to those of you who bought a sketch and/or a comic. It's always good to meet the readers and I'm grateful to you for appreciating my work.

It was great to catch up with comics pals there; Marc Jackson, Ben Conan Cullis, Shane Chebsey, Roger Langridge, David Hichcock, Staz Johnson, Kev F. Sutherland, Emily McGorman-Bruce, Dan Whitehead, Baden James Mellonie, and (very) briefly see Ian Edginton, Paul McCaffrey, Matt Brooker, and others. Thanks to Kev Brett for organising the event and inviting me.

That's me done for conventions this year I think. I had to miss some for various reasons but the four I did attend (Bristol, Macclesfield, London, and Nottingham) were very welcome after two years of shows being on hold. I'd missed fellow comics people and meeting the readers. Here's to more in 2023! 

Thanks to Marc Jackson for snapping this photo.

 Some plugs for friends who were there....

The 77 Publications:

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/ 

Cartoonist Marc Jackson:

https://www.facebook.com/marcmakescomics/

Writer Dan Whitehead:

https://danwhitehead.net/ 

Scratch Comics:

https://www.facebook.com/ScratchComicsPublications/ 

Artist Staz Johnson:

https://www.artstation.com/stazjohnson

Cartoonist Emily McGorman-Bruce:

https://cowgirlem.com/

Writer Baden James Mellonie:

http://www.eighthcontinentpublishing.com/

Writer/artist Kev F Sutherland:

https://www.kevfcomicartist.com/

Cartoonist Roger Langridge:

http://hotelfred.blogspot.com/

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See you at Nottingham Comic Convention!

I'm loking forward to Nottingham Comic Convention tomorrow (Saturday 29th October) and hope to see some of you there. You'll find me on Lower Level 00 of the Nottingham Conference Centre and (above) is the banner to look out for. This will be the last time I'll be using this banner as I need to update it with a new design next year. 

I'll be bringing along my comics: Combat Colin 2 and 3, Derek the Troll, and a few remaining Brickman Begins! I've also found some spare copies of Buster from 1991, unread, so I'll be selling those too, signed, if anyone wants one. 

I'll also be drawing sketches on request if you're interested in original A4 sized art for your wall. I have a Zettle card reader so card payment or cash is fine. 

The show runs from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.

See you tomorrow!

https://nottinghamcomiccon.co.uk/

 

On this day in 2010...

It was on this day, 27th October, in 2010 that The Dandy had its final revamp, changing it from the magazine it had been for three years (Dandy Xtreme) back into a comic. Part of its new line-up was Postman Prat, a hapless postie conceived by the Dandy staff and designed and drawn by me.

The weekly Dandy is long gone, but Postman Prat is still around from time to time. You'll find eight new mini-strips featuring him and written/drawn by me in The Dandy Annual 2023 out now! 

I'm not sure where he'll turn up next. He won't be in The Dandy Annual 2024 but hopefully he'll be back again one day. He's a fun character to work on. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the current set of his strips in the latest annual. 

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This week on eBay...

I'm selling something a bit different on eBay this week. Back in February 1975 IPC launched Vulcan comic as a trial run in Scotland only, before it was relaunched across the UK later that year. I'm selling the scarce first issue of that Scottish trial run, complete with its unused free gift!

A tatty copy of this, without gift, sold for £175 last week so I'm hoping mine goes for more as it's in really nice condition. If you're interested in bidding or buying any of my other items such as my Combat Colin comics here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/graphite47/m.html?item=203554298786

The auction for Vulcan No.1 ends on Sunday. Good luck! 

UPDATE: It sold for £310 (or £269 after eBay take their cut, plus of course it's taxable income but all the same I'm very pleased with the result). 

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Out now! THIS COMIC IS HAUNTED No.1

I received a few copies of This Comic Is Haunted this morning, the new horror comic from The77 Publications. I'm really pleased with how the printing has turned out. The photos here don't do it justice but the colours on my strip in the comic are exactly as intended. 

As shown above, I wrote/drew the page Short Sharp Shocks which will be a complete comedy-horror story in every issue. 

This Comic Is Haunted is a 36 page independent comic featuring relatively new talent and a few seasoned veterans like Alan Hebden, Bambos Georgiou and myself. You can order it directly from the publishers and there's a choice of two covers by Ian Stopforth or Alex Ronald.

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/ 

 

Where to find guests and exhibitors at the Nottingham Comic Convention

The table plan for the Nottingham Comic Convention has just been released. You'll find my table L23 at the Lower Level 00, between my pals Marc Jackson and The77 Publications.

The event takes place next Saturday (29th October) at the Nottingham Conference Centre. You can check out the convention website for all the info and ticket details...

https://nottinghamcomiccon.co.uk/ 

The show will be on two levels, with other guests and exhibitors on Upper Level 01. 

From past experience of some other conventions, some attendees don't always realise there are more than one room to events but hopefully this one will be well signposted within the halls.

I'll be doing sketches on request, selling my comics, and signing comics if you wish. This is my last show for 2022 and I have nothing else scheduled for months so it'll be good to see you there!

 

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Nottingham Comic Con for October 29th

A reminder that I'll be one of the guests at Nottingham Comic Con on Saturday 29th October, just 8 days away. This will be my first convention since July, and may be my last this year, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I'll be doing sketches on request and bringing along some of my remaining stock of comics: Combat Colin 2 and 3, Derek the Troll, and Brickman Begins. Hope you can join us!

For tickets and other info see the convention website at this link:

https://nottinghamcomiccon.co.uk/ 

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DICE MANIAC 2 (OINK!, 1987)

On this day in 1987, one of the strips I had in Oink! comic No.39 was Dice Maniac! This was the second (and last) strip I did featuring the character. I can't recall exactly why I only did two. Most likely I felt the gimmick was already wearing thin, or, perhaps as the name was a spoof of Fleetway's Dice Man comic I felt it wouldn't be relevant when that comic suddenly ended. Or perhaps it was because I was very busy in 1987 and just never got around to it.

In retrospect my art was a bit sketchy back then. I'd only been in the business for a few years and was still developing. (Still am!) I was colouring with water colours in those days, not always with the desired effect. As I've mentioned before, I prefer colouring digitally far more and think it suits my style better.

Anyway, there's Dice Maniac's second and final strip above, taken from Phil Bryce's fantastic Oink! Blog where you'll find Phil reviewing the issue it was in. See this link:

https://oink.blog/2022/10/17/oink-39-game-for-a-laugh/ 

If you want to see the first Dice Maniac strip (from Oink! No.22) see this link:

https://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/2022/03/dice-maniac-1987.html 

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Doctor Who in Sainsburys

Good to see a prominent display of Doctor Who Magazine in my Sainsburys, right near the entrance and above the newspapers. A great location where everyone will see them. 

This issue is packaged with a 28 page supplement on the BBC, a large double-sided poster, and a Tardis diorama. The mag itself features news, interviews, previews, reviews, and my latest Daft Dimension strip. As it's a "boom issue" to boost sales I'm pleased that shops have ordered more copies than usual. I hope it pays off!

 

Daft Monsters Gather in the new DWM

There's a gathering of the Doctor's foes in my latest Daft Dimension strip for Doctor Who Magazine. See the full story in issue 583, on sale Thursday 13th October!

This issue comes packaged with extras; a 28 page supplement, a giant double-sided poster, and a TARDIS Diorama! The magazine itself features the latest news on the show along with interviews, previews, and reviews. 

If your local newsagent doesn't stock it, you can order it directly from Panini UK at this link:

https://www.panini.co.uk/shp_gbr_en/doctor-who-magazine-583-gbdrw583-uk02.html 

Doctor Who returns to our screens on October 23rd in The Power of The Doctor, Jodie Whittaker's final episode. Here's the trailer:

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Bash Street... MICE?

I was commissioned by the Beano to draw a joke page for this week's issue. The brief was to feature mice scurrying around the floor of the classroom and to make them resemble the Bash Street Kids. I thought I'd make them cheeky mice going after a bag of cheesy snacks that someone had left of their desk. 

It was a fun page to draw. The Beano supplied the mouse-themed jokes they're saying. I hope there'll be more work for Beano in the future as I miss working for them. They'll be working on the Christmas issue now though so unfortunately it doesn't look like I'll be in the comic again until next year at the earliest.  

Here's how my page looked during the inking stage on 21st August next to the script on which I'd scribbled a few character roughs. I completed the page the same day, coloured it in Photoshop, and emailed it to Beano HQ...

See the published version in Beano No.4157, in shops this Wednesday (12th October).  

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Combat Colin: Original art from 1989 at Buy It Now!

UPDATE: SOLD!

I thought I'd put one more piece of original art up for sale. I've listed it as 'Buy It Now' this time for a quick sale. Hope it's of interest. Grab yourself an original Combat Colin strip from 1989!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204115293492

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DEREK THE TROLL - Last few left!

I'm running low on my stock of the Derek the Troll special and it's unlikely to be reprinted anytime soon. When I restart self-publishing my priorities will be to get a new comic out and the long-awaited Combat Colin No.5. If I do ever reprint Derek the Troll it won't be for a few years yet.

The Derek the Troll comic has 32 pages and collects all the Derek strips I did in the 1980s for Games Workshop's Warlock and White Dwarf magazines.

The second half of the comic reprints the entire saga of Rock Solid, Space Hero that I did for Harrier Comics' Swiftsure way back in 1985. This is a prequel of sorts to my Sgt.Shouty strip that currently runs in The77.

If you've been thinking about buying the comic, now's your chance before they sell out! You can find out more about it in my eBay listing here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203681666160 

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This Comic Is HAUNTED - Now available to pre-order!

There's a brand new British horror comic coming this month. This Comic Is Haunted No.1 is published by The77 Publications and features 36 pages of all-new material from today's creators. I did a page for it too. Watch out for Short Sharp Shocks as I bring you Aagh! Zombie! in the first issue! Here's an exclusive preview of panel one, above!

Other contributors include Alan Hebden, Catherine Wild, Bambos Georgiou, Jo Heeley, Dave Heeley, Mark Marren, Gary Burley, Andrew Richmond, and Lee Milmore.

You can pre-order the comic from the following link. Simply choose which cover you want from the 'Select Option' list and add it to cart. You can choose from a cover by Alex Ronald (the zombie rock cover) or Ian Stopforth (the hooded hprror cover), or buy both collectable issues.

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/product/this-comic-is-haunted

See you in the spooky pages of This Comic Is Haunted - if you dare! 

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Just a Thank You...

...to those of you who placed bids on my recent art auctions. The pages from last Sunday's auction are all on their way now and should arrive soon hopefully! 

Not sure when I'll put more art up for auction. There are a lot of strike days coming up and I don't want the art to get stuck in a backlog for weeks. Let's see how it goes.

At the top of this post is a close up of a panel from the Tom Thug original art I recently sold. This was drawn way back in 1989 for Buster.  

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Auction ends tonight!

Just a last reminder that my latest auction of original artwork ends tonight (Sunday)! 

You can bid on pages from Viz and Buster and a strip from Doctor Who Magazine. The art will be posted out as soon as payment is cleared, and packaged securely for protection. 

Good luck! Here's the link with the listings...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/graphite47/m.html?item=203554298786

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Upcoming conventions

Comic conventions where you'll find me over the next few weeks...

October 29th:
Nottingham Comic Con,
Nottingham Conference Centre
https://nottinghamcomiccon.co.uk/

November 5th:
Preston Comic Con,
Preston North End Football Club
http://wonkyrocketevents.uk/preston/

 

I'll be bringing along some of the remaining stock of Combat Colin comics plus doing sketches on request. Hope to see some of you at these shows! Look out for the banner shown above.

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