Latest artwork auction ends on Tuesday

Just a reminder that the auction of two pieces of my original art comes to a conclusion on Tuesday evening (2nd August). 

There's a Combat Colin from 1989, and a Daft Dimension from 2018. Thank you to those of you who have already placed bids and I hope a few more of you will be interested before the auctions end.

By the way, the Combat Colin page hasn't yellowed with age. The Bristol Board I used in the 1980s was slightly off-white compared to the bright white of today's Canson Bristol Board.

You can find my listings and more detailed photos of each item on eBay at this link:

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

Enjoy the summer... and summer specials!

Not much new stuff to report on of late. Due to the effects of Covid and other health issues I haven't even drawn anything for three weeks apart from the quick sketch I showed last week. However I am determined to get back on that horse, or in this case the stool by my drawing board and crack on with work today.

In the meantime, don't forget that The Dandy Summer Special is still available in shops (if you're lucky). I did a full page Keyhole Kate strip for it plus a half page illustration. There's a photo above of the illustration when it was on my drawing board back in early February.

You can order The Dandy Summer Special from the DC Thomson Shop at this link:

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

As we're fast approaching August now that means that the annuals will be out soon! Hopefully those of us who pre-ordered them will receive them over the coming days.

 

More artwork for sale!

I'm selling off some more of my original artwork. A Combat Colin strip from 1989 (Transformers, Marvel UK), and a Daft Dimension featuring Daleks from 2018 (Doctor Who Magazine). All bids very much appreciated. Auction ends next Tuesday (2nd August). Here's the link...

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

Flashback: On this Day 35 years ago...

On this day in 1987, Oink! No.33 was published which was a personal milestone for me as it featured the first cover I'd done for a mainstream comic. A bit rough and ready but it suited the subject matter. 

A few years ago I wrote an article on the process behind the cover so here it is again...

Back in 1987 I was commissioned to draw the cover to Oink! No.33 featuring my Tom Thug character. This was the first time I'd drawn a cover for a mainstream comic, so it felt quite a privilege. 

As with any cover for a comic, the editor wanted to see a rough first, to make sure it had the impact they were looking for. You can see my pencil rough above, and all the notes and suggestions added in blue biro by editor Mark Rodgers. Mark wanted the cover to be less "Whizzery", a reference to the comparatively pedestrian humour of Whizzer and Chips, and suggested the kids piling out of school should be "less cute" and "more punky / revolting". Mark also suggested barbed wire on top of the school wall, and a squashed teacher behind the gate that Tom Thug kicks open.

Bearing Mark's notes in mind, I set to work producing the finished art, and here it is...

Now, you'll notice that there are a couple of blobs in the sky. This photo is of the art after it was returned to me. What happened was that the Oink! studios had a leaky roof and after a torrential downpour one day some of the artwork got soaked! My cover was one of the pages that was fortunately salvageable, as the water damage would be covered up by the logo and topline (which were added onto an acetate overlay as shown below)...

...and here's the final result in print, from 35 years ago today...

in retrospect my style was still developing and there's parts I'd do differently now (and I think Photoshop colouring would improve it) but I was very proud to see my first cover on the shelves of newsagents all those years ago.

Contributing to Oink! was a very happy and productive time for me and I was in every issue. At the same time I was also doing Robo-Capers in The Transformers and Combat Colin in Action Force. Life was good back then.

If you want to see a peek at some of the other contents for this issue, then hop over to Phil Boyce's OiNK! Blog where he's reviewed this comic today...

https://oink.blog/2022/07/25/oink-33-summer-thug-life/

 

This Comic Is HAUNTED - Kickstarter launched

I'm contributing a page to a brand new independent horror comic - This Comic Is Haunted, - which launched its Kickstarter on Saturday. 

My strip will be a self-contained full pager and I'll reveal more about it at a later date. (I'm still fine-tuning the script at the moment, delayed because I was ill.) 

The comic is edited by Dave Heeley of The77 and other contributors include Alan Hebden, Bambos Georgiou, Jo Heeley, Andrew Richmond, Ian Stopforth and more.

Please support this new venture and visit the Kickstarter page to see the various pledge levels...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pandora1/this-comic-is-haunted

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The Dreaded Lurghi

As some of you know, two weeks ago I tested positive for COVID. That's the LFT photo above, with that grim dark line giving no doubt that I was positive. Symptoms always vary from person to person of course. First I had a really sore throat and lost my voice (in addition to feeling unwell), then after a few days my voice returned but I lost my senses of smell and taste and felt totally exhausted.

Now, the positive line has virtually vanished at last but I'm still without those two senses, have a cough, and feel woozy and get tired easily. I'll recover eventually no doubt, and I've fared better than many, but just wanted to say that Covid can definitely get a grip on the system. Yes, it is mild for some, but it shouldn't be dismissed as harmless for everyone.

Anyway, my apologies for not posting much about current work recently. I haven't actually done any drawing or scripting for two weeks as I didn't feel well enough to concentrate on it properly or achieve a standard that was satisfactory. It still feels like my antibodies are battling the Covid virus like a scene from Georgie's Germs in Wham! comic. (See my version of that below. The first drawing I've done in a fortnight.) That also means I haven't earned anything for a fortnight either of course. (No sick pay for the self employed.) I feel a little bit brighter today but it comes and goes so I'll focus on what I can this week and hopefully get back in the game!

Best wishes and good thoughts to others out there fighting this annoying virus. 

Alan Grant

Enniskillen, 2016. Me, Laura Howell, Alan Grant, Clint Langley, Sue Grant.

 

I'm very sorry to hear that the writer Alan Grant died this morning. His wife Sue posted the news on Facebook today.

A prolific and always entertaining writer on 2000AD, Batman, and numerous other comics over a long and very respected career. He was 73. 

Alan was also a familiar face at various comic conventions over the decades. The last time I saw him and Sue was in 2017 at the Enniskillen Comic Fest in Northern Ireland. 

I great guy who always had time for fans and fellow pros alike, Alan will be much missed by the comics community. My deepest sympathies to Sue, his family, and many friends.  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-62255222 

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