New British Comics 2

The second issue of New British Comics, an anthology published in both English and Polish, is out now to buy.

As well as featuring Spare Parts by myself and Tony Suleri (a jolly old romp through the sewers with severed limbs and cannibals aplenty!), there's a whole wealth of other comic strips and cartoons by some rather talented chaps and chapesses, including Dave Thomson, David Robertson, Paul O' Connell and Leonie O' Moore. It's 84 pages in size, comes under a terrificly English colour cover by Nelson Evergreen, and is rather marvellous stuff indeed!

Editor Karol Wisniewski had done a fine job of assembling the issue, and there's very few weak strips and plenty of black comedy which certainly kept me amused.

If you're interested in buying a copy, or learning more about the creators, more details can be located here: http://newbritishcomics.blogspot.com/

Back From The Depths!

What-ho, chaps!

Due to the supreme efforts of Malcolm Kirk, a free Scream influenced Halloween special cunningly titled 'Hallowscream' is now available to download as a 40mb PDF from the main Back From The Depths site.

It's a 72 page whopper of a comic, featuring the likes of Tim West, Mo Ali, Simon Mackie, Andrew Milne, Dave Windett and many more.

There's also a couple of strips from myself in there: Hell's Belles, illustrated by Chow, and Last Orders illustrated by Stuart Giddings.

Just follow this link...

http://backfromthedepths.ning.com/forum/topics/back-from-the-depths-presents

or right click the next link, and choose 'Save as'.

http://backfromthedepths.ning.com/forum/attachment/download?id=2158124%3AUploadedFi38%3A8224

Temple APA Issue 5 - Out Now!

Issue 5 of the Temple APA Digital Showcase is now available to download for free on the main site (http://www.templeapa.ning.com/).

It's quite a sizeable chap, being over 160 pages long and 80 megs, but there's quite a bit of quality comics material in there.

As well as featuring contributions from the likes of Stuart Giddings, Steve Tanner, Malcolm Kirk, Simon Mackie and Tony Suleri, there's also a 68 page feature on Insomnia Publications, showing previews of their upcoming projects, and containing a book list of everything they've got coming out.

You can download the PDF of issue 5 from the front page of the Temple website, or using the following link:

Right click this link and choose 'save as'

The next issue of the Temple is due out on 12th December, so if you're a comic artist or writer who'd be interested in contributing, just sign up on the main site. Both amateurs and pros are welcome!

No Beard Preview

Just before the DFC folded, I was working on quite a few projects as potential submissions. One of these was a jolly piece of pirate shennanigans that went by the title of 'The Fantabulous Adventures Of No Beard'.

Ian Alexander (or ENO as he's occassionally known) illustrated the first four episodes, all of which are two pages in length, and did a rather marvellous job.

With No Beard being a continuing adventure, we're both at a loss to think of another potential market for the strips. I've recently converted the script into a 22 pager, as part one of a potential mini-series, and might also rewrite the story as a kids novel with Ian providing illustrations.

Although Ian's going to be tied up for a while with some potential work as a Computer Game Concept Artist, we're both keen for the Beard to live again!

In the meantime, here's the first episode.

Preview of A Better Place

Here's a two page unlettered sneek preview of me and Stuart Giddings latest five pager, A Better Place, which involves a psychic cab driver with a psychotic hatred for advertising salesmen.

Stu's next request was for me to write a Terror Tale with a Haunted Knight in it, so we'll see how that goes.

Finished the Rascal!

Well, I haven't slept, ate, washed or shaved in the last six months, and I'm down to my last pair of comedy pants, but finally that pesky creative writing MA is over! This afternoon I handed 'Jellybean: Last of the Navel Navigators' to the binders, and should have it back on wednesday, two weeks ahead of the deadline.

The first two chapters of this childrens novel about a boy and his bellybutton got me a distinction for a previous assignment, so let's hope I'm still on the right tracks with the rest of the novel.

Once I've got that rotter of a birthday out the way, I should have plenty of time to get back to my comic projects. So look out for a few more previews of upcoming work, in the near future.

Right, I'm off to catch some well earned sleep, and scrub myself free of that pungent student aroma.

Temple 4 out now!

The latest issue of the Temple APA Digital Showcase is available to download here:

http://templeapa.ning.com/forum/attachment/download?id=827304%3AUploadedFi58%3A13688

It's a beast of an issue, and contains over 130 pages of UK comic creators work, including work from Steve Tanner, Simon Mackie, Tony Suleri, Jim Stewart, Dave Thomson and many more.

As well as a small press listings, this issue also contains a 35 page feature on Independent Comic Publisher Accent UK.

So, head along to the http://www.templeapa.ning.com site and download your free copy now!

If you're a comic artist or writer, whether professional or amateur, you're welcome to join.

Love and War Preview

Here's a page from me and Dave Thomson's latest comic strip - Love and War.

The story concerns the last survivor of the human race, waging war on the alien menace that destroyed mankind, in a rather unique way.

Dave's done a rather marvellous job on the artwork, and it went down well at the Bristol Comic Convention. We'll let you know where/when it's published.

Accent UK Western Anthology

I received my contributors copy of Accent UK's latest anthology 'Western' a few weeks back and it's a terrific read. You can find my review of the comic on Down The Tubes here.

I was lucky enough to 'sneak in the back door' a get a strip in there myself this time, thanks to Paul Harrison-Davies who was in need of a script. His only specifications were that it should be six pages long, silent, three panels a page, a done in a widescreen movie style.

Having searched through my fifty or so notepads of ideas I stumbled upon one from five years back, involving a lone cowboy finding a jewel encrusted boot, only to have its owner show up clad in the other boot and seeking revenge against the thief. I adapted the idea a little (as it was intended as a TV sketch), and changed the evil one-booted cowboy to an evil one-booted cowboy zombie at the very last second (it's only a shame that I didn't manage to fit an Elvis cameo in there somewhere).

I've also got a strip scheduled to appear in Accent UK's next anthology - Predators. So look out for 'The Exterminator' by myself and Tony Suleri next year.

Also, look out for the upcoming Accent UK Feature in the next issue of the Temple Digital Showcase, which'll contain previews from many of their anthologies and some of Accent UK's upcoming projects. The issue should be out at the end of June.

If you're going along to the Bristol comics convention, seek out the Accent UK table and pick up one of their mighty fine comics, or order them online here.

Ian Alexander's new blog

Ian Alexander, artist of the Eat Me series for Rokcomics.com, has just started a new blog where he'll be posting various pictures from the projects he's working on.

I've known Ian since he was about eleven, and have been able to watch his art style progress in the Temple APA over the years. He's certainly one to keep an eye on.

Myself and Ian have a large pirate related kids comic project in the works, which Ian's doing a fantastic job at illustrating. The challenge is finding the right comic publisher to send it to, now that the DFC has folded (as it's a continuous two page strip, rather than self contained stories). Suggestions would be welcomed!

Ian's new blog can be found here: http://epochofeno.co.uk/blog/

Way Of The Dead

A brief taster of me and Tony Suleri's next project; a three issue Kung-fu Zombie mini-series titled 'Way Of The Dead'.

If all goes well (finding a publisher would be a start!), we plan to follow it up with five more mini-series.

Cover image supplied by the ever amazing Stu Smith.

Keep your eyes peeled for more designs and updates as the project progresses.

Highway Robbery Complete!

Highway Robbery, the ‘almost weekly’ web comic from myself and Tony Suleri was finally completed last week.

The strip was started in June last year, and had been expected to end in December with page thirty, but Tony couldn’t resist throwing in a couple of extra pages for dramatic effect. Due to various other strips Tony found himself working on (including Reaper for the upcoming issue of Futurequake), fitting the final seven pages into his schedule has been a challenge, but it’s all done now!
It’s been a fun strip to work on, especially since there’s no actual script and neither of us had a clue what was going to happen from one page to the next. I was quite surprised that the end result actually seems to make sense (alright, there’s a few potential plot holes lurking beneath the surface, and the occasional page that has no real bearing on the story, but I won’t go into them in case no-one’s noticed and we’ve got away with it!).

Hopefully the last seven pages will appear on the Bulletproof website soon, so keep an eye out for them.
Myself and Tony are all set to embark on our next project (with the generous assistance of Stu Smith - the original creator of King Burger - as cover artist) which’ll be a lot more sizable, and although it won’t have any gun-totting monkeys or bovine Elvis impersonators in it, it’ll certainly have its fair share of kung-fu zombies.

Watch this space for more details!

Temple Digital Showcase 3

The third issue of the Temple APA, a showcase for UK comic artist and writers, is now available to download as a free PDF here

Compiled by John Kirkham, and containing the works of various small press creators (such as Adam Grose, Tony Suleri, Jim Stewart and Paul Eldridge) the third issue is one of the biggest yet, and has a lot of amusing offerings inside (Malcolm Kirk's mock 'sea zombies' ad being one of my favourites, along with Paul Eldridges marvellous front cover).

Not only is the PDF free to download, but all writers and artists (whether they're amateur or pro) are welcome to join up for free. Just sign up to the ning site here.

The Temple Showcase contains a Small Press Directory at the rear which is updated each issue. If you're a small press comic artist/writer/publisher who'd like to have their comic listed inside, then leave the details on the site and we'll try and include them next time (or, failing that, email details to me at purecrass@hotmail.com To see what details are needed, check out the most recent Temple PDF)

Toxic Comic Out Now!

Issue 137 of Toxic is out in the shops now, and comes with a free 'Crazy Comics' supplement.

In the back pages of the supplement you'll find a one page strip by myself and Paul Harrison-Davies, titled 'The Hoaxers'. It's about a child operated cover-up agency, that's funded by the government to hide all the bizarre goings on around england.

There's the chance to vote online for your favourite strip (there's nine to choose from, some of which are by some bloody talented chaps indeed!) at: http://www.toxicmag.co.uk/vote

The strip with the most votes may get a series out of it.

Anyway, I thought now might be a good time to share some of Paul's early Hoaxers concept sketches.

He's Behind You!

Award winning two minute movie 'Blood Over The Moon' has just been given a slight overhaul by director Roz Hall and musician Phil Palmer. The biggest changes are the addition of a new title, credits, and a tarted up soundtrack.

Feel free to check it out above, or at its official page here.

Opening Night: Dave Hailwood, Roz Hall, Phil Palmer, Flick Ansell

Toxic comic supplement

As Down the Tubes has recently reported, issue 137 of Toxic comic will have a 16 page comic supplement bundled with it, filled to the brim with brand new comic strips from a host of UK creators.

I'm fortunate enough to be one of those creators, and have a one pager titled 'Hoaxers' going in there. It's illustrated by the highly talented Paul Harrison-Davies (who I'm also working with on Bunk Mates for Bulletproof comics, and a whole host of other projects).

There's a lot of terrific artists and writers appearing in the supplement, including John Freeman, Laura Howell, Lew Stringer and Jamie Smart (creator of the superb Fish-head Steve for DFC comics).

So, come April 1st, nip along to WHSmiths or one of them newsagenty type places and pick up a copy!

Argh! Zombies!!!

After just having finished writing a 4,500 word short story about zombie shelf stackers for my Creative Writing MA, I was pleased to receive the first page of art for another zombie related project I'm working on with Neil Alexander.

It's a four pager titled 'Dead Beats' which involves a group of zombies sat in a pub, chatting about the good old days when it was all lurching and shuffling and there wasn't any of that silly old 'running around an' chasing folk' business.

Anyway, enjoy the preview.

New Marren Kane Strip

Just finished lettering a brand new Marren Kane strip, illustrated by Tony Suleri. Hopefully it'll be appearing in Bulletproof Issue 4.

This strips a bit darker than usual, since Tony was working from a script I'd written (rather than our usual Kane method, which is for Tony to draw all the art first, then send it to me to put some words on). Still, it has Death By Spoon in it, so there's plenty of light hearted moments in there too.

Hope you enjoy the preview, and I'll post some more art from other projects later in the week.

Temple Digital Showcase 2 Out Now!

A somewhat festive edition of the Temple Digital Showcase can now be downloaded as a free PDF on the main Temple APA website (http://www.templeapa.ning.com/)

Compiled together by freelance illustrator John Kirkham, and featuring 38 pages of comic strips and previews from various UK comics creators (such as Adam Grose, Tony Suleri, Jim Stewart and Malcolm Kirk), the showcase also contains a new Small Press Directory that lists the details of various small press comics for sale.

The collection is intended as a digital showcase of British comic writers and artists, both amateur and professional. It's free to join, and everyone from the UK is welcome to add their comics to the directory here: http://templeapa.ning.com/forum/topics/827304:Topic:10312

The next issue's deadline is March 22nd.