The Name's... Bondish... James sort of Bondish...

Twenty years ago I drew a series of black and white spreads for Egmont's Know How! Magazine intended for readers to colour. A slightly different style for me, as they were action scenes. This one had a James Bond style theme. I'm selling the original artwork of this one now (it's A3 size) so if you're interested head over to this link...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555816505?hash=item2fa07a0e39:g:V18AAOSwQjhlY4fH

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Original CHRISTMAS comic art and MORE in this week's auction!

 This week's auction of my original comic art includes Christmas strips, a Viz page, a Robo-Capers strip, a Snail-Man strip and an action illustration. Here we go... click on each link to see the description and more photos of each item...

My original art for the Christmas with Tom Thug page from Buster (1991)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555767550?hash=item2fa0794efe:g:LPAAAOSwp5llY3v3

 

The art for the festive Pete and His Pimple page from the first Christmas issue of Oink! (1986)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555824659?hash=item2fa07a2e13:g:Xt8AAOSwWallY4mL

 

The original art for the Christmas Vampire Brats page from Buster (1990)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555776415?hash=item2fa079719f:g:eNgAAOSwAUFlY36N

A page of original art from Viz No.66 (1994) featuring my one off creation Streetcorner Sid "Three Lighters For A Quid"... (Mature readers only.)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555784945?hash=item2fa07992f1:g:VAsAAOSwZo9lY4BL

 

One of my earliest strips, original art of Snail-Man from Marvel UK's Spider-Man Comic (1985)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555790808?hash=item2fa079a9d8:g:ZrsAAOSwTnplY4IQ

 

One of the remaining few Robo-Capers that I have left to sell. This page is from Marvel UK's Transformers (1987)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555886736?hash=item2fa07b2090:g:dSUAAOSwxyBlY5a4

 

Original artwork for something different. A James Bond style action scene created as a colouring spread for Egmont's Know How! magazine in 2003...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555816505?hash=item2fa07a0e39:g:V18AAOSwQjhlY4fH

 

Bidding on these pages ends on Sunday 3rd December! Best of luck!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

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Happy 60th to Doctor Who!

At a comic con in Brighton in 2005.

 

It's 60 years to the day since the first episode of Doctor Who appeared on our TV screens. I'm not sure if I saw that first one at the time, but I definitely saw the first Daleks story which transmitted a few weeks later. Like most kids back then (I was 4 years old) it was the Daleks that hooked us onto the show. A year later and "Dalekmania" was the fad we all followed, with Dalek merchandise aplenty (or as much as our parents could afford). The Daleks was also my favourite comic strip when TV Century 21 launched in 1965.

A favourite Christmas present which I still have.

 

In the 1970s it was the Doctor Who strip in Countdown / TVAction that captivated my interest (and I'm currently re-watching the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who episodes on iPlayer.) 

Art by Harry Lindfield.

 

I'm very grateful to the official Doctor Who Magazine for publishing my Daft Dimension comic strip every issue for the past several years. A pleasure to contribute to a magazine that I bought from issue 1 back in 1979 when it was Doctor Who Weekly. Here's one of my favourite Daft Dimension strips that I did in 2016...

Doctor Who returns to our screens with the first of three weekly TV specials on Saturday 25th November starring David Tennant as the 14th Doctor.

The Christmas issue of Doctor Who Magazine will be on sale on Thursday 7th December.

I'm currently selling the original artwork of some of my Daft Dimension strips on eBay, which you'll find at this link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

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Ae you ready for Christmas with SGT.SHOUTY?

The77 Annual is coming soon, and I've completed a new Sgt.Shouty page for it. I couldn't resist doing a Christmas theme, keeping alive the comics tradition of a snow-topped logo (with holly, Christmas pud, and a party hat thrown in too). 

My story takes place a year after the events currently running in The77 comic, so it's a nice self-contained story for the festive season!

The Kickstarter campaign for The77 Annual has 11 days to go, so to ensure you get a copy of the book, please head over to their page and pledge! Here's the link...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/the77comic/the77-annual-no2

Here's a list of the great contents, and the cover by Duane Red!

Featuring strips from The77, BLAZER!, Pandora and This Comic is HAUNTED including 

• DIVISION'77 by Dave Heeley and Ade Hughes
• RED BY NIGHT, BLACK BY DAY by Jo Heeley and Rupert Lewis-Jones
• EXTINCTION 2040 by Paul Goodenough and Ian Stopforth
• SGT SHOUTY by Lew Stringer
• LAWLESS by a cast of thousands
• TRACKLESS DEPTHS by Dave Bedford and Gary Burley
• PENNY PENTAGRAM by David Thomas and Andrew Richmond
• MARTIAN LAW by Brendon Wright
• SAINTS V. SINNERS by Steve MacManus and Pete Western
• UNDERTOW by Joe and Jeremy Dunn
• PENNY PENTAGRAM by David Thomas and Andrew Richmond
• IMAGES OF A DEAD WOOD by Noel K. Hannan and Kevin A. Cullen
• FATES CHASE by Anna Everts and Darren Stephens
• TON-UP BOY by Ken Janssens and AZZA
• CROMP! by Marc Jackson

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It's DOCTOR WHO WEEK! CHRISTMAS SALE on original artwork!

With Doctor Who returning to our TV screens this Saturday I thought it appropriate to put a few selected items on eBay! Original artwork from Doctor Who Magazine plus an all-new sketch of the 14th Doctor - up for grabs!

There are six items in total; four Buy It Now pieces at a special Christmas sale price and two strips up for auction. Here we go... first, the two auction items which end on Monday 27th November...

My original art for The Daft Dimension comic strip that appeared in the Christmas 2019 issue of Doctor Who Magazine. It features Davros and several Daleks in a festive setting...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547793047?hash=item2f9fffa097:g:nsQAAOSwCCJlW4NH

The Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Magazine No.522 featuring the First and Twelfth Doctors...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547789366?hash=item2f9fff9236:g:paUAAOSwTGBlW4IC

Now the special Buy It Now pieces...

The Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Magazine No.527 (2018) satirising the way heated discussions took place between fans before the Internet...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547801131?hash=item2f9fffc02b:g:AhsAAOSwMCdlW4aK

The Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Magazine No.566 (2021) featuring The Master and a busload of familiar monsters...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547799316?hash=item2f9fffb914:g:07IAAOSwZ9plW4Xe

The Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Magazine No.569 (2021) again featuring The Master and a new nefarious plan...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547797378?hash=item2f9fffb182:g:hZIAAOSwEz1lW4Sg

...and a brand new A4 size sketch I did recently. My first drawing of the 14th Doctor...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204547805887?hash=item2f9fffd2bf:g:DscAAOSw~8xlW4ce

 

All items are open to buyers in Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK, although of course postage will be higher if you live outside the UK. I hope there's something there you'll want to add to your art collection. I'd really appreciate your support right now so thanks for your time!

All pieces will of course be well packaged to protect them in the post.

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45 Year Flashback: AFTER IMAGE No.1

It's been 45 years this month since my first self-published comic was launched. Back in 1978 I had started to contribute a few articles and spot illustrations to fanzines and decided to publish my own. The result was After Image, which I have to admit was very crudely drawn as you can see. This was in the days before desktop publishing of course, so I drew the logo by hand and the typography was added a letter at a time with Letraset rub-down letters. No room for error! At the time I didn't know anyone in comics apart from a few penfriends so I wrote and drew the entire issue myself. Published in November 1978 with a January 1979 cover date.

Back then I still hadn't decided which direction to pursue with my artwork; whether to try and aim towards adventure comics or humour titles. Clearly, I wasn't much cop at drawing the human figure or possessing the skills required to draw realistically, and I felt more comfortable drawing humour strips, so that's the path I soon embarked on. 

I'd been creating my own little comics since I was seven years old, but they had just been mini comics drawn in biro and never actually printed or distributed, so the only people who ever saw them were my immediate family. After Image was the first time I'd had multiple copies printed for a public audience. (Even then, I only had 100 or so printed.)

Reactions were fairly kind as I recall, but obviously my work wasn't anywhere near professional standard back then. It'd be another five years before I sold my first work to Marvel UK in 1983.

After Image only ran for three issues, over 12 months, adding a few more contributors such as Graham Bleathman and Martin Forrest as I went along. I created other fanzines and stripzines afterwards such as Metamorph / Fantasy Express and my Brickman mini-comics. These days, although mainstream comics work is my priority, I still enjoy publishing my own comics when I can, with Fanzine Funnies being the most recent.

Anyway, without further ado, here's a few sample bits from that first issue of After Image of 45 years ago. Read it while I cringe with embarrassment....

All artwork Copyright © 1978, 2023, Lew Stringer

There are some "jokes" in the Arthur Average strip I definitely wouldn't use now. (The '70s were another time, and I was only 19, - but should have known better.) If you want to read the entire issue, it's available as a free PDF as part of David Hathaway-Price's online archive of old fanzines here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz-VsUjOG2SiUXZBVmJOcGpLTVE/view

This article is a revised version of a blog post I did for the 'zines 40th anniversary.

*********************

The horror of it all!

I did some sketches for backers of the Kickstarter for This Comic Is Haunted No.3 so I thought you might like to see them. They'd all requested various horror-themed drawings; specially commissioned zombie versions of Brickman, Combat Colin, and Sgt.Shouty, plus a Frankenstein Monster. Here are the results!

The original art will be winging its way to those backers this week!  

If you didn't back the Kickstarter you can buy This Comic Is Haunted from this link (without the bonus sketches of course)...

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/ 

If you'd like to commission me to do a drawing, (doesn't have to have a horror theme if you don't want it) please message me or email me at lew.stringer@BTopenworld.com

I should be able to fit two or three in before Christmas, depending on how simple or complex they are.

*************

Christmas artwork in production

Blurred to avoid spoilers.

I'm currently working on the Christmas strips and the deadlines are imminent! I've pencilled and inked the festive Daft Dimension for the Christmas edition of Doctor Who Magazine (and will be colouring it tomorrow - Friday) and then it'll be straight on to a Christmas Sgt.Shouty page for The77 Annual, to be published next month!

*****************

 

FANTASY EXPRESS 5! Auction ends today!

It's 40 years old and it's very rare! ('cos I only had 150 to 200 printed.) My fanzine Fantasy Express from 1983 featuring one of the first (if not the first) interviews with Alan Moore back in his Warrior / Captain Britain days. This is an unsold, unread issue in as-new condition! Only a few hours to go and you can bid at this link...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204532240586?hash=item2f9f1250ca:g:ERcAAOSwv1ZlSn4K

Thank you to LONDON COMIC CON WINTER!

Big thanks to Tony Lee, Antony and Amy McGarry-Thickett and their superb team for London Comic Con Winter! A very nice weekend spent meeting the readers and catching up with friends old and new. An enjoyable way to round off this year's set of conventions! 

It was a pleasure to have the company of good friend Jessica Martin and her family as my table neighbours, and to meet up with comics pals David Leach, Lee Sullivan, Pau Scorpi, Gary Erskine, Yel Zamor, Kev F. Sutherland, Lee Townsend, Stephen Baskerville, Jeff Cummins, and (far too briefly) Jenika Ioffreda and Ant Williams. Special thanks of course to Jason Joiner and Showmasters for setting up the whole event!

LCC Winter was my final convention for 2023 but I already have several lined up for next year and will announce them in due course! It's been a very enjoyable year of comics events that have given me the boost I needed so I'm grateful to everyone involved, fans and pros alike!

I never get around to taking many photos at shows these days but here are a few from the weekend...

Early start on Saturday to catch the 6.24am train

Table set up and ready for action! :)

Jessica Martin drawing one of her commissions.

David Leach and his fine array of fun-packed publications

Doctor Who Magazine artist Lee Sullivan

Last minute addition to the guest list, Pau Scorpi!

The ground floor later on Sunday.

700 years of comics experience between us. :)

*************************

See you this weekend in LONDON!

It's London Comic Con Winter this weekend - Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th November, - and I'll be joining my comics pals in the Comic Zone upstairs on the first floor at Olympia in Kensington. (See floor plan below.)

Please drop by my table for a sketch or to buy comics or original artwork! This will be my final convention appearance this year and I don't have any more scheduled until May of next year (health permitting), so I hope you'll come along! See you there!

More info at their website:

https://londoncomicconwinter.com/

*********************

DWM Preview for the Anniversary Month

There's a new issue of Doctor Who Magazine out this week and it spotlights the upcoming TV specials celebrating the 60th anniversary of the programme. Amongst the previews and interviews there'a also the final episode of Liberation of the Daleks by Alan Barnes and Lee Suillivan plus a special Daft Dimension from me featuring all the Doctors so far! 

Doctor Who Magazine No.597 is out on Thursday 9th November from WH Smiths, supermarkets, and all good newsagents or you can buy it directly from this link:

https://doctorwhomagazine.com/

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VERY RARE! FANTASY EXPRESS NO.5 (1983) Early Alan Moore Interview!

Back in the late seventies and early eighties comic fanzines were plentiful and I self-published several of my own such as Metamorph, After Image and Fantasy Express. In February 1983 issue 5 of Fantasy Express featured a lengthy interview with Alan Moore, who was then fast becoming a rising star due to his work on Captain Britain and Marvelman. 

This was either the first or second interview that Alan had given, and considering that I only printed 150 to 200 copies of Fantasy Express this is very rare indeed. Recently I found an unread copy in excellent condition and it's currently up for auction on eBay. White pages, no rusty staples or other defects. Looks brand new. Exclusive cover by Alan Davis.

Interested? The auction ends on Tuesday 14th November and is open to bids from the UK and various countries abroad. Good luck!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204532240586?hash=item2f9f1250ca:g:ERcAAOSwv1ZlSn4K 

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THIS COMIC IS HAUNTED No.3 is here!

The third issue of the UK horror comic This Comic Is Haunted is out now from The77 Publications. It comes with a choice of two covers (by Simon Hall or Andrew Richmond) and features 40 pages of modern horror comics - mature readers only! 

I've contributed another Short Sharp Shocks full pager. This one is entitled Haunted Horse! (Preview panel above.)

Not available in newsagents but you can order it directly from the publishers at the website at this link...

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/

 

Covers by Simon Hall and Andrew Richmond