Keyhole Kate flashback

I really enjoyed my few years creating new Keyhole Kate stories for The Dandy Annual. A classic character who originated in The Dandy No.1 way back in 1937, so it was a privilege to put my spin on the legend. 

I haven't worked on the character for a while, and doubt I ever will again unfortunately but here's one of my pages that I did seven years ago for The Dandy Annual 2020. Hope you enjoy it! (I also designed the title banner.)

 

 

Dandy artwork for sale this week

 

It's been a while since I listed any original art for sale but I currently have two items on eBay this week. The auctions end on Sunday 19th April so not long to go!

There's a Keyhole Kate strip from The Dandy Annual 2021 and a Postman Prat (Christmas theme) one from The Dandy Annual 2023. As you know, I draw my strips traditionally, ink on Bristol Board, and scan them into Photoshop (or other software) to colour them digitally. So... the originals are still black and white but I thought you'd like to see the colour versions (above). 

Please bid if you wish to have a chance of winning these original pieces of comic art. Good luck! Just to clarify; it's the black and white original art you'll receive, not the digital colour versions.

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=graphite47 

Annual News

I had some good news on Friday in that I've been commissioned to be one of the contributors to the Dandy and Beano Annuals cover dated 2023! Those books will be out in August 2022 but we'll be drawing them this summer.

Usually, on weekly comics, we work about eight weeks ahead, but on annuals we work a year ahead! The reason? I'm not entirely sure but I think it's down to print schedules needing to be further ahead for books. 

The first script begins!

 

I'll tell you what I'm doing for the 2023 Annuals at a later date but in the meantime, there's The Dandy Annual 2022 to look forward to, which will be out this August. I wrote/drew four Keyhole Kate pages for that, plus a puzzle page, and you can pre-order it directly from the publisher at the DC Thomson Shop here:

https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/the-dandy-annual-2022

Julius Sneezer!

Back in 2012 I had the pleasure of being commissioned to draw three Julius Sneezer pages for The Dandy Annual 2013, written by editor Craig Graham. The character had originally appeared way back in 1946 in The Dandy, so it was great fun to revive him. 

D.C. Thomson sent me scans of the old strips for reference, which were drawn by Allan Morley. I interpreted the character in my own style but retained as much as I could of Allan Morley's design. To homage the old strips, I used the original logo from 1946 and cleaned it up in Photoshop.

It made a nice change to work on a different character and the three pages were good fun to draw. As that annual is long out of print now I thought I'd show one of the pages here for those of you who missed it. 

Comical continuity

Continuity has never been a major issue in humour comics. Characters rarely age and can stay static throughout the entire run of a strip. I always aged my Brickman character in "real time", and Tom Thug grew up, and left school in the later issues of Oink! (only for that to be retconned and have him to become a schoolboy again in Buster), but usually, humour characters are frozen in time.

In recent times however, Nigel Auchterlounie and Nigel Parkinson had fun with that by showing that the Dennis the Menace of the past is the father of the current Dennis in the Beano. More recently, I thought I'd suggest a similar thing in a Smasher strip I did for The Dandy Annual 2017 (in the shops now). Yes, Smasher's "grandad" is The Smasher of the early 1960s (as far as I'm concerned anyway).  

A few years ago, in The Dandy Annual 2015, when Keyhole Kate travelled back to 1937, I also showed that the original Keyhole Kate of the 1930s/40s was the Great-Great-Grandmother of the current Kate. Of course, such things can be retconned by future writers in an instant, but it's all a bit of fun for readers past and present. 

This week....

This week I'll be writing scripts for the pages I'll be drawing for The Dandy Annual 2018. Yes, the book that kids will be having for next Christmas! We work well in advance in Dandytown.

I'll also be drawing the first in the new series of Pup Parade (and another strip) that return to Beano in the New Year issue. Plus I also have stuff to do for other titles. Busy week!

Just Dandy!

The Dandy Annual 2017 is out now! There are three Postman Prat stories in there I've done (two written by David Mason), plus five mini-strips each for Kid Cops and The Smasher. There's also loads of new material by other cartoonists too of course, and you can read my review of the book over on my other blog here:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-new-dandy-annual-is-here.html

POSTMAN PRAT is back, and so are KID COPS!

Here's the final reveal of my contributions to The Dandy Annual 2017, which will be out in a few weeks. Postman Prat is back, and Kid Cops too, in all-new stories! Those characters were created for the 2010 revamp of The Dandy and proved to be popular with the readers so I was very pleased to be asked to revive them for this annual. Some scripts on Postman Prat are by David Mason, some by me.

There will be several full page Postman Prat stories in the book, and five Kid Cops mini-strips.

The characters join the other strip I've done for the annual that I've previously announced, The Smasher, along with many favourites from other artists and writers of course. (I can't give more info right now as I haven't seen the book yet.)

 The Dandy Annual 2017 will be available from 1st August.  

Cover by Ken Harrison.

KORKY returns! (Update: Or not.)

Here's another sneak preview of one of the strips I have in the upcoming Dandy Annual 2017. Korky the Cat is back, and it was a pleasure to write and draw one of my favourite British comics characters. I designed the logo too. See the full page strip when the annual goes on sale next month!
(UPDATE 1/8/2016: Unfortunately my page wasn't used in the finished book, and they chose to use a different artist instead. My apologies for jumping the gun. Lesson learned though; no more advance previews from me unless I'm sure the strips will be published.)

The SMASHER is back!

The Dandy comic ended in 2012 but the annual lives on! Here's the first preview of one of the strips I've done for The Dandy Annual 2017 that will be published next month! Yes, The Smasher is back again, doing what he's infamous for! 

I did five Smasher mini-strips for the book, along with strips featuring other characters (some mini-strips, some full pagers). I'll reveal what they are over the coming weeks so keep following this blog!

You can pre-order The Dandy Annual 2017 now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dandy-Annual-2017-Annuals/dp/1845356055

Keep a Dandy Handy!

Just a quick reminder that the 2016 annuals are out now! The Dandy Annual 2016 features 10 pages of my material, with several strips featuring The Smasher and Keyhole Kate! The weekly may be gone, but the annual survives, packed with all-new material with your old favourites! There's an extreme close up of one of my Smasher panels above. why is he out for revenge? Buy the book and find out!

Return of The Smasher

Here's another advance preview of work I did for The Dandy Annual 2016. Yes, The Smasher is back again, in three brand new stories that I wrote, drew, coloured, and lettered. As you can see from the preview panel, in one story he's in trouble with his teacher for not doing his homework. What's his excuse? Find out when the annual is published very soon! 

Bert's back

While we wait for the new Annuals to turn up in the shops, here's a panel from one of the Keyhole Kate stories I did for The Dandy Annual. I've reintroduced Kate's mad scientist Uncle, Black Hole Bert again, a character I created for last year's book. What's he up to this time? It's all to do with whatever he's hiding behind his back. Find out in The Dandy Annual 2016, on sale soon!

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

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

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.

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

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. 

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

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. 

Return of the original Keyhole Kate

In a story I did for The Dandy Annual 2015, now on sale, today's Keyhole Kate travels back in time to 1937 to encounter her ancestor... the original Keyhole Kate. It's one chapter in a three-part time travel story within the book, which I hope will appeal to Dandy fans old and new.

I noticed today that WH Smith currently have a special offer on annuals, - buy one, get another for £1, so this is the time to get 'em! 

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.)

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

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!

Smasher Preview

I sent off another couple of completed pages for The Dandy Annual 2016 today. Working on more tomorrow. And the day after that. And next week. I won't show you previews of those for a long time yet because the book won't be out for at least another 14 months! 

However, what I will show you is a panel (above) from The Dandy Annual 2015, which should be in the shops sometime in July of this year. As you can see, The Smasher is back again, and I'm pleased to say that I wrote/drew/coloured/lettered five pages of his smashing strips for the book. (Plus I illustrated an extra puzzle page featuring the character.) 

I have a few other pages in the book too, and I'll show you glimpses of those at a later date. 

The Dandy comic had a great 75 year run, and I'm sure we all miss it, but I'm happy that the annual is continuing. Long may it carry on. 

Looking ahead

Work on the comic annuals has always been done way in advance due to various scheduling reasons including printing. All the strips for the 2015 dated annuals were completed last summer, even though they won't be out until July to September of this year. 

Today, I was commissioned to produce a bunch of pages for the Dandy Annual 2016 and three for the Beano Annual 2016. Yes, 2016 cover dates, - books that won't be in the shops until late summer next year! Stories that many readers won't actually see until Christmas Day 2015, if they have the annuals as Christmas presents. 

I won't reveal any more at present as I've yet to write the scripts, then they have to be approved before I set to work drawing them. However, it's shaping up to be a very busy time over the next six weeks so if I don't get the chance to update my two blogs very often you'll know why. I'm sure you're as pleased as I am to hear that although the weekly Dandy was axed in 2012, the annual still survives.

In the meantime, above is a quick glimpse of Smasher, back in the next Dandy Annual! 

Through the Keyhole

We're only at the tail end of the summer of 2013 but myself and a load of other cartoonists are already feverishly working away on the annuals that will be out in 12 months time. Here's a snapshot of the pencil version of the opening to a Keyhole Kate page I'm drawing for The Dandy Annual 2015. Lettering, inking, and colouring to do next. It's all go!

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?