A brand spanking new website!

Well, crikey!  I've certainly been neglecting this blog, haven't I?  Mostly because I've been posting all my news on my other blog and forgetting about this little rascal.

In an effort to unify all projects/news/creative ramblings I've set up a lovely new website, complete with a blog that I regularly update.  You can check it out here:  http://davidhailwood.com 

That Mid Year Update Feeling...

Right then, here's a list of my latest creative endeavours.

Last week I finally finished writing The Last Of The Navel Navigators children's novel, which involves the adventures of a young Hillbilly with a magic bellybutton, who's travelling the universe with his goat, Brian (and was awarded a First, for my Creative Writing MA, a while back).

The comic version of Navel Navigators is also shaping up nicely, illustrated by the always awesome Brett Burbridge and lettered by Ken Reynolds.


I've also just released issue 13 of 100% Biodegradable, which has a mass of talented creators inside, including 2000ad's Kek-W, John Freeman, Tony Suleri and many more. It's available here for just 69p:

http://www.comicsy.co.uk/biomekazoik/store/products/100-biodegradable-issue-13-digital-download/


Then there's the Freaks, Heroes and Horrors comic bundle that I've just put together with the aid of some other hairy ne'er-do-wells (Neil Alexander, Chris Sides, Vince Hunt, Rob Jones and Jon Laight), and contains 18 comics for $3.50.

http://www.drivethrucomics.com/product/150414/Freaks-Heroes-and-Horrors-BUNDLE


After script editing Jimmy Furlong and Andrew Hartmann's first Shit Flingers Bestiary (which you can read a review about here) Jimmy has hired me to script edit the second bestiary, which is next on my agenda.

And now that the Navel Navigators novel is out of the way, I can finally finish off writing the last four chapters of Breaking Even (a sci-fi novel about an accountant on an overpopulated Earth who is discovered to have a planet growing in his head, which is just ripe for colonisation).

Considering everything gets a bit political in the last few chapters, there's plenty of real world shenanigans for me to draw upon for inspiration (it's actually quite cathartic, as I get to blow up Earth).

Latest Shenanigans.

Well now, since it's been six months since I posted anything on my blog, I best get on with some sort of update, eh?

Firstly, the British Showcase Anthology doesn't seem to be going ahead after all, so it looks like Meals on Wheels (Art by Tony Suleri and John Kirkham) won't be appearing in that one (though it'll probably appear in issue 10 of 100% Biodegradable).

Also, Indie Comics Quarterly, who were set to publish Living The Dream (art by Tony Suleri and John Kirkham), have been very quiet over the past 6 months, so I'm guessing it won't be appearing in their anthology any time soon (on the plus side, it'll be published in 100% Biodegradable issue 9, due out next month).

The good news is The Psychedelic Journal Of Time Travel is out now, featuring Everlasting Peace by myself, Tony Suleri and Ken Reynolds. 

You can find out more here:  http://thepsychedelicjournal.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/issue-5-is-live.html

Another project which is close to putting in an appearance is Mad Gods and Monkey Men, (by myself, Tony Suleri, John Kirkham and Ken Reynolds) for the upcoming Shit Flingers anthology. 

These medieval swashbuckling supernatural simians were created by Jimmy Furlong and Andrew Hartmann.  The Kickstarter will be coming soon, but for now you can check out some of the amazing art from a whole host of talented creators here:

http://shitflingers.tumblr.com

Slightly further on the horizon, I've had two strips accepted for the Steampunk Originals anthology (issues 7 and 8) from Arcana.  Since they've yet to publish issue 3 it might be a while before they appear, so here's a few panels from the strips in the meantime.

Time Waits by David Hailwood, Gary O' Donnell, Anne-Marie Woolley and Ken Reynolds

I'm also co-writing quite a few projects with John Freeman for his WarWorldz project (more on that at a later date), and editing my quarterly sci-fi comics anthology, 100% Biodegradable which is approaching its 9th issue.

So, rather busy then!

Biodegradable Birthday Bonanza!

This week marks the first birthday of 100% Biodegradable, the comic anthology that I edit and contribute to.

To celebrate, you can grab issue 1 for free on Comicsy until 1st December, or buy all 6 issues as part of a special DriveThru Bundle for less than $3.

Special thanks to all those readers, contributors, creators and reviewers who helped us get this far.  It's been hugely appreciated, and you've all really helped to make the comic a rather grand affair!

As of next year, Biodegradable will be going quarterly to allow me to focus on putting out a few one shots and mini series, and also attempt a print on demand collection of the best of issues 1-6.

But don't worry, there's still plenty of exciting material coming up next year.  In fact, have a quick peek at The Last Batch from Chris Sides and Dan Cornwell, for some hilarious booze-addled flesh munching action!

And keep your eyes peeled for issue 7, due out in December and featuring the likes of John Freeman, Alan Burrows, Chris Redfern, JT Pegg, Brett Burbridge, Tony Suleri and more!

Day Of Dredd

In support of Day Of Dredd, here's an old Dredd strip, illustrated by Stu Giddings and written by myself, which appeared in Zarjaz comic several years ago.

Other projects I'm working on.

So, as well as putting out plenty of my own comics, I've been submitting strips all over the bally shop!

I'm currently working on a ten pager (Mad Gods and Monkey Men) with Tony Suleri for Jimmy Furlong and Andrew Hartmann's delicately titled 'Shit Flingers' anthology.  The script has been accepted, and the art is in progress.  There's a hell of a lot of amazing creators involved in this whopper of an anthology (which involves swashbuckling supernatural simian shenanigans), so check out their Facebook page and give 'em a like.  With Tony having illustrated probably over 1,000 pages worth of monkey related carnage over the course of his comics career, he seemed a very natural choice to join the artists on this one!

They're still on the lookout for writers and artists, so if you're interested in getting involved, get in touch with Jimmy Furlong asap!

Artwork (c) Andrew Hartmann

I've also had a 'Meals On Wheels' strip accepted into issue 2 of Markosia's upcoming British Showcase Anthology (subject to approval of final coloured artwork), also illustrated by Tony Suleri.  There's still a day or so left to get in a script submission to editor Adam Cheal, if anyone fancies doing so.  Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Next years issue of The Psychedelic Journal Of Time Travel will also be featuring a four page strip from myself and Tony (subject to artistic approval), titled Everlasting Peace.  It's a brilliant anthology full of highly entertaining strips, so it's great to be a part of it.  My first draft of Everlasting Peace was initially rejected for 'Hippy bashing and overuse of quiche' which is a fact that I'm uncommonly proud of.

I'm also doing a few odds and ends for a couple of anthologies that Paul Birch is editing (which I'll mention more about when they're closer to release), and am currently working on a submission for Titan comics Lost In Space competition, to be illustrated by...Tony Suleri! (a huge surprise, I know...)

There's plenty more writing projects on the horizon, but I'm sure I've probably bored my one entire reader to tears by now so I'll mention them another time. 

Right, let's get back to the joys of lettering!

Work In Progress - the self published stuff

Since I'm involved in rather a lot of projects at the moment and we're at the mid-point of the year, I thought it was probably about time that I started mentioning a few of them on this blog.  I'll probably split this into several posts as there's so damn many of them, so let's get started with the self published comic stuff!

As well as putting out the bi-monthly sci-fi anthology 100% Biodegradable, which is gearing up for its fifth issue, I'm also working on a few one shots and mini-series with Tony Suleri.

We're just putting the finishing touches to the Highway Robbery anthology, which will be a 46 page full colour landscape orientated digital anthology, featuring simian bounty hunter Pubba Gintaro as he squares off against carnivorous bovine Elvis impersonator...King Burger!

The comic also features an eight page 'Faceless' backup strip illustrated by Dave Thomson, involving a headless psychotic robotic assassin with a liking for cartoons and chocolate bars (except Toblerone.  He's not too fond of that)

I'm also working with Tony Suleri on a one-shot Marren Kane comic, titled 'Matters Of The Heart'.  The artwork has been coloured and completed, and I just need to letter it all (whilst coming up with the script at the same time, since Marren Kane is always completely unscripted). 

It'll be nice to get this one finally out there, as the first nine pages were given out as a freebie at BICS in 2008.  The mighty Tim Perkins of Wizard's Keep even provided a few Marren Kane sketches for people who visited the Bulletproof comics stand (Marren was originally geared up to become Bulletproof comics flagship character, but unfortunately due to a change of editorial priorities the comic folded after issue 2.  Marren now appears regularly in a series of self contained adventures in the 100% Biodegradable anthology, which can be purchased here).  

(Photo of the marvellous Tim Perkins in action, by Lew Stringer)

Technofear is another large project with Tony Suleri that's been in the works for quite a while.  We self published issue 1 (of 3) probably ten or so years ago, and Tony has been patiently slogging away at parts 2 and 3 between his many other projects.  Part 2 is now completed, and once 3 is underway we shall look into relaunching the comic as a digital title.  The series features ape bounty hunter Pubba Gintaro as he undertakes a mission to bring a deadly Technomancer to justice, and comes up against zombies, cybernetic vampires, a bigoted police force and a whole host of lethal technology that's out to kill him.

Me and Tony are also working on a kung-fu zombie mini series; I'll mention a bit more about it when we're further into the project (the artwork for part one is almost finished, but I still have to write scripts for parts two and three).  For now, here's a teaser image.

Biodegradable Issue 4 Out Now!

Issue 4 of 100% Biodegradable - the digital comic anthology that I edit and contribute to - is now available to buy on both Comicsy and Drivethru for just 69p/$0.99.
It features hard boiled detectives, high speed car chases, brain harvesting aliens, adulterous martians and more!

With contributions from Jim Alexander (Judge Dredd, 2000ad, Planet Jimbot), Jon Haward (Judge Dredd, 2000ad, Tales Of The Buddha), Nigel Dobbyn (2000ad, Sonic The Comic, The Beano), Stewart Moore (Futurequake, Tin Man Games, The Solomon Kane film), Tony Suleri (Slumdroids, Cosmogenesis), Simon Mackie (The Temple Showcase, Satyr, Hallowscream), Paul H. Birch, Mats Engesten, Mike Parsons and David Hailwood.

The fantastic cover illustration was provided by Stewart Moore (with design elements by Assistant Editor, John Kirkham).

Issue 2 has also just become available to buy on Comixology (featuring Guided View mode for better viewing on Mobile Phones). 

If there's any talented artists and writers who fancy contributing to this bi-monthly anthology, then please get in touch at: biomekazoik@gmail.com

Temple Issue 16 Out Now!

Featuring a great B-Movie inspired cover from Ben Peter Johnson, the latest issue of the Temple Comic Showcase is available to download now.

The comic contains contributions from various Biodegradable regulars, such as Simon Mackie, Tony Suleri and Dave Hailwood, and is completely free (as are all the previous issues) and available from the following link:

 

http://www.comicsy.co.uk/templeapa/store/products/temple-apa-issue-16/

It's a great place for people who're looking to break into comics and want to get some of their strips out to an audience (some of the issues have been viewed by over a quarter of a million people!), so if you're interested in contributing to the next issue, pop along to the blog and follow the guidelines at the top:  http://templeapa.blogspot.co.uk/

The next deadline is 8th August, so get stuck in!

Biodegradable Issue 3

Issue 3 of the bi-monthly sci-fi digital comic anthology '100% Biodegradable', which I edit and write for, is out now!

Deep sea divers, deadly supernatural hell hounds, loved up aliens, and lashings of wondrous carnage and mayhem!

The comic is 30 pages, B/W and colour, featuring strips by Tony Suleri (Scar Comics, Futurequake), Mark Bertolini (Markosia, FUBAR Press) Carl Yonder (Action Lab Comics, Comixtribe) Dave Hailwood (Toxic, Strip Magazine), Dave Thomson (Strip Magazine, Dr WTF?) Simon Mackie, Mike Parsons and Denis Vermesse (cover by Carl Yonder, with design work by Assistant Editor John Kirkham)

All three issues of 100% Biodegradable were recently reviewed on the comic website A Place To Hang Your Cape and received an overall score of 8/10.  The reviewer, Robert Wallis, said a lot of positive things about the comics, and concluded with "Hailwood is a great economical storyteller and the artwork is consistently impressive. The standout story, however, comes in Issue 3: the images conjured up by Denis Vermesse “Life & Death” bring to mind Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman. The series is close to becoming a more-than reliable brand, and with, perhaps, a few more risks, it could be magnificent"

 So if you've got 69p/99 cents to spare, then please grab yourself a copy from DriveThru Comics or Comicsy

Bulldog Freebies

For World Book Day UK comic writer Jason Cobley has made all his ebooks free, including The Greatest Adventures Of Captain Winston Bulldog, The Extraordinary Exploits Of Captain Winson Bulldog, and Bulldog Clips.

I've always had a bit of a softspot for Captain Bulldog as the Bulldog Adventures Magazine was the first small press comic I ever brought (way back in the nineties!).  There's some mighty fine creators involved in these comics, and you'll find the likes of Garen Ewing (of Rainbow Orchid fame), PJ Holden (2000ad regular), Neill Cameron (highly popular artist for The Phoenix) and there's also a few contributions from myself and Paul Harrison Davies (my Bunk Mates and Hoodied Horror collaborations with Paul appear inside Bulldog Clips).

Anyway, enough waffle from me!  They may not be free for long, so pop along to Lulu and start downloading them now!  

 

 

100% Biodegradable 2 Now Available!

100% Biodegradable Issue 2 is now available to buy from Drivethru comics and Comicsy, at the ridiculously affordable price of 69p/$0.99. 

Issue 2 of the digital sci-fi anthology features work by Tony Suleri, Stuart Giddings, Simon Mackie, Dave Thomson, Mike Parsons, David Hailwood, Paul Harrison-Davies and Neil Alexander.

Wise cracking one-eyed mutants…dissectable clones…vengeful photocopiers from outer space and gay aliens in love…oh my, yes, there’s a little something for everybody! 

We've got a lot of great work coming up, with contributions from regulars, newcomers and seasoned pro's alike.  So stay tuned, and keep an eye out for issue 3 which will be available mid-March. 

https://www.facebook.com/biodegradablecomic

'Maintains the quality, with truly knockout art from Tony Suleri and wonderfully funny stuff from Dave Hailwood and Stu Giddings' - John Freeman, Down The Tubes.

Temple Showcase 15 Available now!

Temple APA comic showcase Issue 15 is now available to download as a free PDF and contains contributions from Simon Mackie, Malcolm Kirk, Tony Suleri, Ben Peter Johnson and myself.

The Temple is a showcase for amateur and professional creators who are active in the UK comics scene.  If you'd like to contribute or want more information, then check out the blog for more details (next deadline is likely to be early March).

Board Horde Stat Analysis

Hi folks,

I thought I'd round off the year by giving a brief analysis of the stats/views received for Board Horde since it's launch six months ago.



It seems that board games prove particularly popular around the November/December holiday period, as views started to pick up massively in November (going from 5 views a day to 100), and this month alone the game has had 4,500 views (which accounts for more than half the total views over six months!). 



For anyone interested in making HTML5 games, I'd strongly recommend use of Clay.io, as it gives you access to stats like this, gets you plenty of plays, and also allows other gaming sites to link to your game which can get you plenty more plays without any effort on your behalf (such as m.clickjogos.uol.com.br - a foreign site which has given my game over a thousand views)

Also adding a Gamemix banner to your game can add a small but steady trickle of users.

Oh yes, and the grand total of advertising revenue that I've made to date? $4! Finally I can buy that speedboat that I've always wanted!

All the best for the New Year, folks!

If you haven't played my game yet, check it out here: Board Horde

100% Biodegradable Anthology Out Now!

The first issue of the bi-monthly sci-fi digital comic anthology that myself and John Kirkham have been putting together is finally available to buy online, from either DriveThruComics or Comicsy (depending on preference).

100% Biodegradable contains a wealth of strips from comic creators across the UK, including Tony Suleri, Simon Mackie, Stuart Giddings and Dave Thomson.  Gigantic rampaging rodents...paranormal ice-cream salesmen...psychotic alien cab drivers...this one has it all, and is priced at £1 (or $1.61) for 30 pages of b/w and colour strips.

Although the bulk of the comic is written by myself, I'm hoping to bring on board more creators from the UK.  So if you have a sci-fi/action/horror strip of 1-8 pages (preferably self contained) then please send it to the Biomekazoik mailing address for consideration (biomekazoik@gmail.com).

Getting Post Apocalyptic at the BBC

At the end of March, myself and writing partner Frank Burton submitted an entry to the BBC Script Room (Bunk Mates; a post apocalyptic sitcom that was loosely based on a short comic strip I worked on some years ago with Paul Harrison-Davies).  Apparently a few other writer folks followed suit, as the BBC received almost 3,000 submissions (a third of which were also comedies). 

In July we were contacted by the BBC who informed us that our script was amongst the 5% that had made it to their long list.  In traditional English fashion, I put the kettle on and had a celebratory cup of tea and a biscuit (just the one biscuit, mind.  I didn’t want to overdo it at this stage).

The 150 scripts left were once again sifted through, and in August we were informed that Bunk Mates had made it to the shortlist along with 50 other entries (more celebratory tea for me, along with two biscuits - one of which was a chocolate hobnob).  We were given some useful feedback from one of the script readers, which stated (among other things) ‘Very funny and well written take on the 'post apocalyptic sitcom' – a theme that comes up often. Great opening with the postman, the juxtaposition of mundane and terrifying, which is then echoed in the script. The plot and pacing is well thought out and there are no lulls in the script.’

In October the BBC informed us that along with 25 other people we had made it to the final stage, and were invited to attend a development session at the BBC HQ in November. 

Anyway, we attended the session on Tuesday (if you look closely at the photo swiped from the BBC Twitter feed, you might be able to make out my bald spot in the foreground), and found it to be very informative and productive.  The most useful parts of the half-day were being given the opportunity to question producers from various BBC departments (such as radio, children’s tv, etc), and building up an action plan of where we want to go with our writing careers and how we intend to get there, with the aid of Development Producer Henry Swindell.

It was also nice to learn that all the comedy scripts have been sent on for further evaluation, which may in time lead to more feedback.  The chances of Bunk Mates actually getting developed at this stage are pretty slim (though not impossible), and it was repeatedly pointed out that the scripts should be considered more of a calling card of voice and talent. 

As Paul Ashton puts it on the BBC Blog: ‘The real danger for that 1% is that they might think they’ve made it and the pressure is off – but they haven’t, and it isn’t. It’s just the first step on a long road.’   So…the contacts are there, and the BBC doors have both me and Frank’s boots firmly wedged in them.  Time to write some stuff! (but first, the kettle beckons…)

New comic anthology launching soon!

Here's a quick peek at the cover of the brand new '100% Biodegradable' bi-monthly digital sci-fi/action comic anthology, edited by myself, designed by John Kirkham and containing the work of some rather marvellous people (including Simon Mackie, Tony Suleri, Dave Thomson and more).

Although I have enough of my own material to fill five or so issues I'd quite like to get a few more comic creators involved, so if you think you might have something suitable then drop me a line at biomekazoik@gmail.com (I also have a few spare scripts knocking around if any artists fancy illustrating them)

More details, such as the launch date, will follow soon!

Spod! Comic Anthology Kickstarter

Spod! The oddites from space comic anthology containing a collection of sci-fi shorts originally conceived as part of Mark Millar's Clint project is looking for funding on Kickstarter.

As well as containing the work of several Temple Apa members (including myself, Dave Thomson and Neil Alexander) there's a whole host of rather impressive looking strips from comic creators around the globe. And if you pledge at least a tenner, you will get an exclusive 16 page digital comic by me and Dave Thomson, which contains the making of Love and War, plus our first ever comic collaboration - The One Eyed Wench (pictured above).

Even if you don't have spare cash to spend you can help by spreading the word about the kickstarter, as without full funding it may never make publication.

Anyway, here' the link and thanks for your support:

Spod On Kickstarter

In space no one can hear you drool!

Temple member Paul Harrison-Davies has a brand new webcomic out, dedicated to the child friendly adventures of Astrodog! Updated with new material every monday and friday, the strip is well worth checking out. Paul's Astrodog strip has come close to getting professionally published on several occassions, but luck has never been on its side.

Hopefully the webcomic will draw more attention to Astrodog, so spread the word you happy shiny people!

Astrodog Website

Board Horde Released!

I'm happy to announce that the pesky fantasy board game I've been working on for the last six months has finally been finished, and is available to play online.

Since I've only been 'programming' since the start of the year I'm very happy (and somewhat surprised) with what I've managed to achieve.  The game changed quite a lot as I worked on it, and was originally going to be a homage to Paul Eldridges Gonad athe Barbarian board game, from issue 12 of the Temple apa.  I was quick to realise that doing a board game about a testicle shaped hero attempting to negotiate his way through Klunge valley would narrow my audience down a touch, and opted for something a bit more universal.

Here's a brief description of the game:  'Board Horde is a fantasy board game for one or two players (hot seat).  Navigate your way across six trap filled boards, kill monsters, die frequently and swear lots!  Play against your friends, family and loved ones - and annihilate them!  After all, there's points to be won and a spot on the Leaderboard to be earned.'

Board Horde can be played at the following places (completely free.  It's supported by ads):

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/616297 (desktop and some mobiles)

www.facebook.com/boardhorde (desktop only)

http://boardhorde.clay.io (desktop and mobile, though mobile may have audio issues)

Its also possible to embed the game on websites, so please let me know if you would like to do so (its as simple as pasting a small piece of html code onto your site).

Special thanks to Olivia Egbunike for the excellent music track, and my wife Jenny for providing some of the background art (and for those who tested the game, ta!).  John Kirkham also provided the company name and logo (It was a close call between Biomekazoik and We Demand Monkey Butlers) and will be getting involved with the next gaming projects. 

Anyway, please give the game a try and let me know what you think.  If you'd like to hire me for projects and Bar Mitzvahs then just give me a yell at biomekazoik@gmail.com