A Snooty preview

The annuals might not be in the shops yet but they're now available to order from The Book Depository (and perhaps other online sellers too by the time you read this). While we're waiting for them, here's a preview panel from one of the three Lord Snooty pages I have in The Beano Annual 2016. Never Be Without A Beano... Annual. 

Rasher in production (Sept. 2013)

Those of you who bought The Beano Annual 2015 will have seen the Rasher mini-strips I did for it so I thought I'd show you this photo I took when they were in the pencil stage. This was back in September 2013, about 10 months before the books were published, so you can appreciate how far in advance we draw the strips for the annuals.

The deadlines on the weekly aren't so far in advance, - just a few weeks, - but the production time on annuals has always been many months ahead of publication. 

UPDATE: As soon as I'd uploaded this post I had a suspicion I'd posted this photo before, so I checked the archives and sure enough there it was back in July 2014 (here). Sorry about that! 

Work currently in print

A couple of people have asked me what work I have on the shelves at the moment so I thought I'd compile this little list. More details of each strip are available in previous posts. 

Comics 
Latest issues currently available from newsagents and supermarkets:

The Beano (Christmas issue).
Half page strip: Ivy the Terrible

The Beano Christmas Special 2014.
Puzzle pages:
Be A Christmas Prank-Star
Who Ate All the (Mince) Pies?

Doctor Who Magazine No.481. (Christmas issue).
Strip: The Daft Dimension

Toxic (Christmas issue).
Two page strip: Team Toxic

Available from comics speciality shops:

Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out No.1. Adults only.
Full page strip: Kung-Fu Cheesecake

Exclusive to the Supermarionation blu-ray box set:

TV21 No.243
Strip: Zoony the Lazoon

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Annuals
(available from bookshops):

The Dandy Annual 2015.
Strips: Keyhole Kate, The Smasher, Korky the Cat.
(12 pages in total).

The Beano Annual 2015.
Four mini-strips: Rasher

Toxic Annual 2015.
Strips: Team Toxic
(Four new pages plus two reprint pages).

Viz: The Dutch Oven.
Full page strip: The Pathetic Sharks (reprint). Adults only.

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Books:

You Are The Hero - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.
Strips: Derek the Troll 
(1 new full page strip, plus 1 and a half reprint). 

Brickman Begins! 
(Published 2005 but copies still available from my website here). 
152 pages collecting my old fanzine strips plus pages by guest artists. 

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Digital media:

Aces Weekly.
Strips: Two new Combat Colin three pagers. One in issue 1 (Vol.1) and the other in issue 7 of volume 8. 
http://www.acesweekly.co.uk/home

Stikkums. 
Behavioral reward app for children and parents for which I provided all the artwork. Available free on iTunes here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/stikkums/id915405551?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I think that's the lot although I've probably forgotten something obvious. Anyway, back to the drawing board now to draw strips for next year. 

Rasher in the raw

The new Beano Annual 2015 is out now and I have four Rasher mini-strips in there. Above is a photo I took last year of a couple of the strips when they were still in the pencil stage. You can also see part of my Rasher script, printed in red (for no other reason than my black ink cartridge had run out).

Below is part of the completed strip after I'd inked it and scanned it into Photoshop to colour. I thought you might be interested to see how it compares to the raw pencil version. 

The Beano Annual 2015 is available now (online for sure, if not in shops yet).

Advance annual previews

You can now pre-order The Dandy Annual 2015 and The Beano Annual 2015 directly from the publisher at the DC Thomson Shop, individually at £5.99 each or as a combined pack for just £10. Here's the link:

https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/our-brands/annuals-calendars/double-trouble-book-pack.html

I only have four Rasher mini-strips in The Beano Annual 2015, although it'll be packed with good stuff from many other artists of course. Above is a preview of a panel from one of the strips. Yes, Rasher and Bones in Blackpool, holiday haunt of many characters in my strips over the years. (And my annual holiday destination too as a child.)

I have about 12 pages in The Dandy Annual 2015, so here's a quick preview of a panel featuring Keyhole Kate, who embarks on a three-part adventure in the book. That's her uncle next to her (Blackhole Bert) who I created for this story. (Not the same Uncle who was the guardian of the Keyhole Kate of the 1960s.)

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Being a freelance comic artist is a solitary job. Most people I know who have lasted in the comics biz are grounded, modest, down to earth types who do their best, hoping that the work will go down ok with the readers, so it's encouraging when we receive positive feedback. Here's a nice exchange that appeared on Twitter earlier today...

Thanks folks! Much appreciated. Now I'd better get back to the drawing board!

The Dandy, - back on the shelves!

There's an all-new Dandy out right now, featuring Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat, Winker Watson and all your favourites. Well, in book form at least, as The Dandy Annual 2014 has just been published, along with The Beano Annual 2014. 

I have six pages in The Dandy Annual this year; three Smasher strips and three Keyhole Kate pages (the latter being written by David Mason who wrote some of the Postman Prat scripts for the weekly). 

For The Beano Annual I drew a two page Biffo the Bear story, written by Iain McLaughlin. It was an honour to draw such a notable Beano character for the comic's 75th anniversary volume. 

There's also tons of other strips in the books too of course by the UK's top comic artists including work by Nigel Parkinson, Laura Howell, Paul Palmer, Jamie Smart, David Sutherland and many more! 

The R.R.P. for the books is £7.99 each but you'll easily find them cheaper online and no doubt they'll be discounted in bookshops too. Yep, the annuals are out now! What are you waiting for, Christmas?