Development of my convention banner

Here's the artwork for the banner I use at conventions. Pencilled, inked, and finished stages. I've been using this banner since 2016 and will be designing a new one for future shows whenever they can, hopefully, resume.

 

Comics Salopia, Shrewsbury Castle, June 2019. Artist Aneke on the left.
Laura Howell's banner to the right.

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Bash Street from the board to the page

I thought you might like to compare a Bash Street Kids puzzle page I drew from the roughs to the published version. The photo of the version at the pencilled stage on my drawing board was taken on 10th August 2018. After inking and colouring it I emailed the art to the Beano offices on 13th August 2018. 

The published version (below) appeared on 26th September 2018 in Beano No.3954.

A six week gap between deadline and publication is the norm. Sometimes, in the case of specials and annuals, the gap is many months! For example I'll soon be drawing a Keyhole Kate page for The Dandy Annual 2022, which will be published in July 2021! 

Weekly comics pages are drawn 6 to 8 weeks in advance. Annual pages between 9 and 12 months in advance! Obviously we have no way of knowing if any calamity will be affecting society by the time the material is published (as is currently happening with COVID-19) but I like to think that the Dandy/Beano universe exists separately from ours in an escapist world where the worst things never happen.  

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Postman Prat: The origin

It's been ten years this autumn since The Dandy was revamped and I was invited to contribute. An exciting time, as the UK's longest-running comic was to be completely rebooted with a new look but taking it back to its roots as a comic. (It had previously been running as a magazine for a few years, titled Dandy Xtreme which didn't quite work.) 

The characters I did for the Dandy in 2010 were two concepts created in-house by the editors. Kid Cops, about two kids bringing justice to their neighbourhood in daft ways, and Postman Prat.  

I recently found a memory stick containing my Dandy strips so I thouyght I'd show you a couple of pieces. Above are my initial roughs for Postman Prat and his colleagues. I'm sure I must have submitted finished drawings too but I seem to have lost those. As you can see, Prat was originally a much shorter, chubbier character to the one he developed into. Not sure why I changed it. Perhaps I felt a leaner figure had more flexibility for slapstick. His proportions were a bit odd originally. Comic characters often evolve as time goes on, as you'll see if you look at early versions of Dennis the Menace or Buster for example.

Prat was still a fairly chubby character in the first episode, seen below. This is the art as I submitted it, with balloons and captions added later by the D.C. Thomson designers. Postman Prat was originally written by editor Craig Graham but he's had a few writers over the years. I write the stories myself these days for The Dandy Summer Special and Dandy Annual.

 

Sadly The Dandy didn't last too long in its final revamp. It had already lost many readers in previous years and never recovered from its declining sales. Ironically the final issue in 2012 sold so many copies it had to be reprinted to meet demand! Where were all those readers weeks before? Some said they weren't even aware it was still being published! Ah well, so it goes! 

Today, The Dandy survives in specials and annuals and Postman Prat appears in a new story in The Dandy Summer Special that's out now. He'll also be back in The Dandy Annual 2021, on sale in July! 
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/dandy-summer-special-2020

Below: Postman Prat as he appears today, in the upcoming Dandy Annual 2021. 

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The Dandy is back!

The sun's out and so is The Dandy Summer Special! 68 pages packed with vintage material from creators such as Dudley Watkins, Allan Morley, George Martin and more plus some brand new pages this time too! There's a new Postman Prat page by me in there, plus pages by Nigel Parkinson, Laura Howell, Andy Fanton, Alan Ryan, Nigel Auchterlounie, Steve Bright... and Mike Collins on Desperate Dan! Cover by Steve Bright. 

Available directly from DC Thomson at this link:
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/dandy-summer-special-2020

Cover art by Steve Bright.

Some of the Dudley Watkins pages from the 1940s are scanned from the original art, so the reproduction is perfect!  

Early Desperate Dan by Dudley Watkins.

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BATTLE returns this September!

Cover art by Nelson Daniel.

Rebellion have revealed some info about another of their 2020 Specials and this one is a 100 page giant! Here's the PR:

"Unveiling the cover by Nelson Daniel for the BATTLE Special - out 19 September with 100 pages marking the anniversary of the Battle of Britain, with brand new work by Garth Ennis, Rob Williams, Alan Hebden, Alex De Campi, Dan Abnett, Alan Grant, Karl Stock, Keith Burns, PJ Holden, Brett McKee, Staz Johnson, Jimmy Broxton, Glenn Fabry, and Tom Paterson!"

Why am I mentioning this on my art blog? Well, although it's not listed in the PR above, I have a four panel mini-strip in there as light relief to the wartime dramatics. Although the rest of the comic is all-new, my contribution is an old strip from the 1980s that I thought would be appropriate, so I dusted it off, remastered and coloured it. I won't say which strip it is yet (not Combat Colin) but you'll find out in September! I'm very proud to be in a comic alongside such industry giants!

You'll be able to pre-order the Battle Special nearer the time of publication from the Treasury of British Comics shop at this link:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/ 

Don't forget that the Cor!! Buster Easter Special (which includes six pages of art from me) is still available from the above link.

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The77 - Something to SHOUT about

I had my copies of The77 arrive this morning. It's a brand new creator-owned UK comic I've contributed to and it's all turned out very nicely.

With comic shops closed this might not be the ideal time to launch a new comic, but credit to editor Ben K Sy for sticking to his plan to get The77 published and copies are available to buy via mail order. Details at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/The77Comic/

The77 was funded via Kickstarter, ably supported by generous fans who were eager to see a new British comic published. Inspired by (but not imitating) the comics of a few decades ago, The77 dubs itself a "new retro anthology" and contains strips by a variety of creators, from newcomers to established pros. Here you'll find stories by Steve MacManus, Brendon T. Wright, Mal Earl, John Charles, Kek-W, Phil Elliott, Baden James Mellonie, Marc Jackson, and more. The youngest contributor is 11 year old Drew Marr, producing his strip Key Runners. 

As mentioned on this blog before, my contribution is a new creation, Sgt. Shouty of the Moon Force, and he'll be back in issue 2 as well. It's a parody of strips such as Valiant's Captain Hurricane and the SHOUTY dialogue from early issues of 2000AD. In subsequent chapters I'll develop Sgt. Shouty's supporting cast too. 

As with any new anthology venture some material is stronger than others but overall it's a good looking package and a nice chunky comic at 68 pages! Most of it is in full colour and I was pleased to see that the interiors are on matt paper, so you can read it in the sunshine with no irritation of it reflecting the light. 

The77 is a nice way to escape for an hour in these difficult times and it'll be good to see the comic grow. Give it your support!
https://www.facebook.com/The77Comic/

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Don't forget your COR!! BUSTER Special!

Just a little reminder that the Cor!! Buster Easter Special is still on sale, even though it's no longer Easter. It should be in selected newsagents until early June, or you can order it directly from the publishers, Rebellion, at this link:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue/RCS2052

For years, fans of UK comics gave been hoping the old characters would return and now they're back in a brand new 52 page special! Don't miss it! 

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