Fully Vaccinated!

It's Jab 2 - The Sequel! I had my second vaccine today so hopefully that's another step forward. Get your vaccines when you can, folks! It's the only way we'll get through this situation.

MACC-POW! at Home!

What's the next best thing to going to a comic con? Letting the show come to you! The much-missed Macc-Pow! event will be online again this year so you can see us yakking about comics in the comfort of your own home. As ever it'll be hosted by Marc Jackson who as well as being a brilliant cartoonist is an enthusiastic champion of the comics industry. Tune in to see us at the dates and times shown above!

https://www.facebook.com/maccpow

Go Daft this Thursday!

Here's a tiny preview of part of a panel from my next Daft Dimension strip. You can see the full mini-strip in Doctor Who Magazine on Thursday 27th May when it arrives in the shops. 

Here's the cover to look out for...

 

I'm currently scripting the next strip, and deadline for the finished art will be any day now so I'd better get cracking! 

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Freddy of The Bash Street Kids

Artwork I did for the Beano a few years ago.

According to The Sunday Post the Beano is changing the name of Fatty (from the Bash Street Kids) to Freddy. It's no big deal, and doesn't affect the stories at all, but hopefully it will avoid readers from considering "fatty" as a justified insult to use against their classmates.

However... the news has caused an uproar on some comics groups and forums. Middle aged men complaining that it's "another nail in the coffin of our childhood" and "our childhood stuff is being destroyed by the snowflake generation". (Actual quotes.) The Daily Express website blamed "Woke Britain" as though being considerate was a crime. These angry guys usually reveal that they stopped reading the Beano decades ago, but somehow they're now personally offended by changes to a children's comic as if it's any of their business.

Of course, the changes haven't destroyed their childhoods. The present can't alter the past. Their old Beano collections haven't been rewritten, and they can still collect back issues they've never seen to experience stories the way they like them.

It comes down to fear of change, and I suppose they feel lost in a changing world, but society has never remained static. There are certainly more important things for adults to get angry about than a name change to a character in a kids comic. Meanwhile, thousands of children still enjoy the Beano every week and long may they do so.

Link to the Sunday Post article:

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/bash-street-kids-fatty-freddy/ 

Article on Down the Tubes:

https://downthetubes.net/?p=127346

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The77 No.5 is here!

The villainous DOCTOR PLANK has a visit from the Moon Police.

The77 No.5 is out now so I thought I'd give it another plug! It's always good to see the print copy of this comic as the paper stock is really nice. They use a matt stock for the interior pages which I prefer far more than glossy stock that reflects the light. 

As mentioned before, this issue contains another Sgt.SHOUTY page by me, along with loads of other strips by Mike Collins, Paul Goodenough, Steve Bull, Ade Hughes, Bambos Georgiou, Andrew Sayers, Jo Heeley, Rupert Lewis-Jones and many more. It's a nice package of talents from newcomers to established professionals. 

You can order issue No.5 and any back issues from GetMyComics at this link:

https://getmycomics.com/The77 

 

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Bad Pets!

A while back I drew a mini-strip called Bad Pets (written by the Beano's brilliant Nigel Auchterlounie) for the new ANIMAL PLANET magazine, and it's in print today in issue No.4.

Our contribution is just a one off so far but I really hope there'll be more in the future as it was fun to do. Animal Planet is a great kids' mag, themed around (you guessed it) animals and the environment. In shops now. A bargain at 64 pages for £3.99.

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Sgt.SHOUTY Shouts Again!

The fifth issue of the anthology comic The77 is out this week where you'll find the next exclusive chapter of Sgt.SHOUTY of The Moon Force!

Will evil Dr.Plank's scheme to manipulate Shouty succeed? Find out inside!

My strip takes up one page but there are tons of other stories packing out this 64 page issue. Two of the highlights are Extinction 2040 by Paul Goodenough and Ian Stopforth and "I know the Secret of the Alien" by Mike Powell and Mike Collins. 

The front cover always features a name at the top as a nod to the days when newsagents would write the customer's names on comics they had reserved. This time it's a tribute to the well known and well respected collector Colin Noble, who sadly passed away recently.

The77 is one of the best indie comics around. A quality looking publication featuring emerging new talent alongside some of us who have been in the business for decades, so it's a nice mixture! All creator-owned material too! There's nothing quite like it out there so please give it your support. 

You can order The77 No.5 from their Big Cartel page here:

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/

Brilliant cover art by Neil Sims.