The Line It Is Drawn: Week 374

This week's The Line It Is Drawn theme was a fun one: mash-up superhero comic book characters with famous comic strips!

I chose BigMike20X6's suggestion for a Flash of Two Worlds cover homage starring Dennis the Menace (both the UK and US versions).

Here's my piece for The Line...


And here's the original cover from Flash #123...


Also Brian_Cronin suggested Spider-Man/Garfield, and I already had a strip that I drew a few years ago now which was pretty much that:



If you enjoyed these, definitely go and check out the other contributions to this week's Line over at CBR.com. It's one of my favourite ones in a while!

Blog-Me-Do Part 8: Odds and Ends

I'm coming to the end of my 2017 catch-up blogs and this last one is a bunch of random drawings I drew last year that didn't really fit in with any of my previous posts.

News hit late last year that Jodie Whittaker was going to play the first female Doctor Who, which caused a lot of debate (to put it nicely) online. It also gave me the idea for this drawing, based on the famous Rosie the Riveter poster from the 1940s:


The new Thor movie, Thor Ragnarok, hit cinemas towards the end of 2017. If you'd asked me about this film at the start of the year, it wasn't even on my radar, but fast-forward to after the first trailer showed up online and this film jumped straight to the top of my must-see list! The trailer had all the energy, action and humour that were missing from the previous Thor films, and they dynamic between Thor and The Hulk looked like being a real highlight. In particular, one line, Thor's line "He's a friend from work" about The Hulk, led to me scribbling down this little cartoon:


Aside from a PS1 when I was a teenager, my videogames taste has always been almost exclusively Nintendo-orientated from the NES to the SNES and N64, right up to the Wii, the slight hiccup that was the Wii U, and now the amazing Nintendo Switch, which I love. Anyway, during the summer, me and my brother swapped consoles so he could play Breath Of The Wild and I could play The Last Guardian on his PS4. I really loved it and drew this picture of Trico:


Here's a robot I drew in 2017:


Apropos of nothing, here's a picture of The Simpsons:


Finally, towards the end of 2017, I took part in The House of Illustrations' Illustrators' Christmas Fair in Kings Cross and designed this flyer to promote the event:


And that brings me to the end of my 2017 catch-up blogs. I've now managed to post all of the drawings I hadn't already posted from last year. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep more on top of posting images as I produce them in 2018, but let's see...

Hitachi Data Systems

A couple of years ago, I was commissioned to draw a series of single panel cartoons for Hitachi Data Systems, to be featured online in the run up to their attendance of VM World, a global conference for virtualization and cloud computing (whatever that means!).

And this year, I was commissioned to draw something new for them, a 6-panel comic to be featured online on their blog, ahead of this year's VM World...


[click to enlarge]

It's an interesting experience to be drawing something based around a subject that you don't really understand, but I'm fairly happy with the end result and thankfully, so was the client!

Graphic Shakespeare competition

I've been busy recently, working on a 4-page comic for a Graphic Shakespeare competition, part of the Elsinore Conference 2016 entitled Shakespeare: The Next 400 Years, which is being held in Kronborg Castle, Helsingor, Denmark in April. You could either adapt the scene of your choosing, or select one of five famous scenes designated by the organisers of the conference. One of the selected scenes was Act One, Scene 1 from Macbeth, which is one of my favourtie Shakespeare plays, so I decided to go with this one. I wanted to create a humourous take on the scene with the three witches that opens the play, and had the idea of one of the witches having to bring along her mobile phone obsessed neice: Three Witches And A Little Lady...

Blogs of Future Past (Part 2: Comics)

So continuing my catch-up of 2015 in the early days of 2016, here's a couple of comics projects I was part of last year which I hadn't got around to mentioning properly...

(Click on the images below to enlarge)

I contributed a page to A Bit Of Undigested Potato, Keara Stewart's anthology about bad dreams and nightmares, which is available to purchase from her online store.


I was also asked to contribute to Richy K. Chandler's second Tempo Lush anthology: Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox, the follow-up to Tempo Lush Tales which was released in 2014 and which I provided artwork to a 12-page story that Richy wrote. This time I was contributing to a collaborative comic with a dozen artists all illustrating a page of a comic based around the lyrics to a song Richy wrote called Bugleberry Tree.

Richy sent me the lyrics for the whole song and told me which verse he wanted me to illustrate, but that was it really in terms of direction. Everything else was up to me in terms of how I chose to interpret those lyrics and even how the main character should look. I didn't see any of my fellow creators' work until the book was all put together and it was fun to read through it all together. Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox also features a number of other stories and is available to buy from Richy's online store.

And I drew a one page comic for Frame By Frame, a free Film and Television zine put together by Steve Walsh and Shaun Richens from Gosh! Comics. I don't think there are any copies still available, but I drew a comic about Spoilers!


I'm hoping to have a lot more comics projects happening in 2016, so watch this space!

Thought Bubble 2015!

This weekend it's time for the Thought Bubble Comic Con, the culmination to this year's Leeds Comic Art Festival. I'll be exhibiting over the weekend at table 43 in New Dock Hall, and here's a handy map showing where to find me:



As well as selling copies of March Of The Penguins and Look What I Drawed..., I'll also be debuting my new comic book I Am Not A Dog!...



Jake is a vampire. Eddie is a werewolf. And definitely NOT a dog! But with a £1000 cash prize up for grabs at the local Dog Show, Jake is keen to persuade his furry friend to get in touch with his canine side...

Dirty Rotten Comics #4

I've got a one-page comic in Issue 4 of Dirty Rotten Comics, an alternative comics anthology, published twice yearly and committed to supporting small press artists from the UK.

Dirty Rotten Comics #4 will be released this Friday, 17 April 2015, priced at £4 and can be pre-ordered here: http://dirtyrottencomics.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-dirty-rotten-comics-4

Here's a sneak peak of my strip that the guys posted on Twitter the other day...

15 Minute Comic

On Tuesday night I went along to Karrie Fransman's Guardian Masterclass: "How to create successful comics and graphic novels". I was hoping for a bit of a creative kick up the backside and get some advice on how to approach publishers. Hearing Karrie speak about comics is always inspiring, and she has such a genuine love for the medium. I picked up lots of helpful advice, as well as reaffirming some things that I was already considering by myself. As well as going through the process of how she put together the pitch for her two graphic novels, The House That Groaned and Death Of The Artist, Karrie also set us some practical tasks throughout the evening, including drawing a 15 minute comic using different prompts that she called out as we went along – "Draw an angry character!", "And they choose a fancy dress outfit!", "Now they're going to a party" etc. It was certainly challenging, but fun to have to draw something quickly, without overthinking it too much.

Here's my (very scribbly!) finished comic! [click on the image to enlarge]

Happy Birthday Richy!

A New Year means New Birthdays...or at least the same birthdays as last year, but a year older! And my friend Richy K. Chandler kicked things off with a birthday on New Year's Day. I worked with Richy on a story for his Tempo Lush Tales anthology comic which he published last year, which he wrote and I drew.

Richy also has his own webcomic, Lucy The Octopus, which is updated weekly. The main character Lucy (who is an octopus) has a pet pufferfish called Puffy. Richy is also a big fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. These two things suddenly collided in my brain, and I drew Richy this picture with him coming up with the natural spin-off...



[EDIT] I was just clearing up the desktop on my computer and I found this initial sketch that I drew when I suddenly had the idea for Richy's card, so thought I'd share it here...

Process #21: Christmas Comics Creating Party

Process is a monthly comics workshop/discussion group, run by Steve Walsh, that takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at Gosh! Comics.

This month's event was a festive comics jam and we spent the evening making comics, eating Jaffa Cakes and Quality Street, drinking beer and being forced to listen to xmas songs.


(photo courtesy of Matt Duncan)

Steve provided a selection of basic materials, including felt-tip pens, stickers and a xmas stamp set. I decided to use some of these stamps to make my comic. There was also a range of inspirational material provided by Jess Milton, Cristian Ortiz, Daniel de Sosa, Matt Boyer, Anna Dowsland, Saul Taylor and Tempo-Lush Richy K. Chandler (Steve had asked me if I could draw something too, but sadly I ran out of time!). I took one of Saul Taylor's blank variant cover designs, complete with Steve's face in the corner box, and used it for the cover to my comic.

And here's what I drawed (partially fuelled by alcohol and e-numbers):









It was a fun night, and there was also a couple of comics jam pages being passed around during the evening, with each person tasked with completing the comic from the previous panel and passing it on. I don't have any photos of those, but if they turn up online, I'll add them here...

Thought Bubble 2014 Round-Up

So I thought I'd write a follow up post to my previous entry about the Thought Bubble Comics Art Festival.

Here's a slightly blurry photo from my phone of my table, all set up and ready to go on Saturday morning...



Fellow comics creator (and my hotel roommate for the weekend) Richy K. Chandler took this photo of me at my table on the second day of the Convention...



And here I am recreating the cover to my new comic Look What I Drawed..., which I was launching at this year's Thought Bubble (photo courtesy of Jess Cave)...



Although I was feeling a bit nervous about my first time with a table exhibiting my work prior to travelling up to Leeds, once I was there I really enjoyed myself. My comics sold quite well, and it was nice to see people's reactions to my work in person. One woman picked up a copy of my Haiku Comics book, read the first strip, laughed and said that it had passed the test and she'd have to buy a copy. There's such a great atmosphere at Thought Bubble and it's definitely my favourite show that I've been to, both as a spectator and now as an exhibitor.

I met a lot of great people over the weekend, some for the first time, and it was really inspiring to see such a wide selection of comics on display. As well as selling my own work, I did get a chance to go around and pick up a few things from other people...


(Clockwise-ish from top-left)
Last Days of Nobodies by Mike Medaglia. The first in a three part series looking at the days leading up to the deaths of three artists who were little known in their time. The first book focuses on Vincent Van Gogh.

The Cauliflower Fields by Enoki - One of the great things about going along to an event like this, is the chance to discover the work of someone you hadn't previously been aware of. Enoki's table was directly opposite from mine, and after looking over at the cover to her comic during the Saturday, I went over to have a look through the pages on the Sunday. And was very glad I did. Intended as the first part of a longer narrative, Enoki's artwork is intricate and detailed, but what really grabbed my attention was her use of page layout and space on the page which paces the story just right, as well as incorporating elements of animation in places as you turn the pages. Definitely somebody to watch out for!

Totoro print by Chibi-Shibby – I love this Risograph print of Totoro AND fifty percent of the sale goes to Cancer Research UK, so it looks good and does good too!

36,000 Feet by John Cei Douglas and Alessandra Genualdo - it was fun to be sharing a table with John and Alessandra for the weekend. This is a comic they created together with a really beautiful story, which Alessandra wrote and John drew.

Safe Place by André Pereira – another new discovery during the weekend was Kingpin Books who publish the work of Portuguese comic artists, like André Pereira. I had a flick through this comic and really liked the style of it, which felt both unique and familiar at the same time. They also had an anthology comic that I meant to go back and buy later, but never got the chance to...

Expecting To Fly by John Allison – I liked the format of this comic series by John Allison which is a two part tale, presented as two single issue comics. The fact that the covers featured videogame references encouraged me to pick them up...

It's A Bird by Matt Duncan - a fun mini comic focusing on the gathered crowds during a superhero fight that rewards repeat reads!

Turtles Fighters by Jack Teagle - pitch perfect Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parody.

I'm already looking forward to next year's Thought Bubble and also planning to exhibit my work at more comic shows during the year!

Thought Bubble 2014

Thought Bubble is the annual week-long Comic Art Festival held in Leeds, which culminates in a two-day comic fair this weekend. And for the first time, I'll be exhibiting with my own table, selling my comics! If you're going along, you'll be at table 65 in New Dock Hall sharing with John Cei Douglas.



I thought I'd give a quick summary of the comics I'll be selling this weekend...



Look What I Drawed..., as well as taking it's title from the name of this blog, is my latest comic and will be debuting at this year's Thought Bubble. It's a collection of various comic strips, single page comics and a couple of longer stories I've created over the last few years, including this two page story, The Orb, which I produced earlier this year...





Look What I Drawed... includes a wide range of comics, featuring vampires, werewolves, feline superheroes, Shakespearean penguins, and more!



March Of The Penguins was released earlier this year, and is a collection of comic strips featuring a pair of penguins who live alone in the middle of an isolated snow-covered wasteland. I originally produced these strips daily during the month of March, which is where the title comes from. What started out as an attempt to produce a comic strip about nothing, gradually evolved to develop more of a longer narrative, and I'd still like to come back and do something else with these characters at some point. Here's a sample of a couple of strips...







I'll also have two penguin badge designs on sale alongside the comic!

And finally, I'll also have a limited number of copies of my first self-published comic, Haiku Comics!



This was my final project for my MA Illustration degree, where I decided to adapt English translations of three-line Japanese Haiku poems into three-panel comic strips. Looking through these again now, this is also a project that I would love to return to. Here's a couple of sample strips...





So there you go! Now you know what I'll have with me and where to find me, so I look forward to hopefully seeing lots of you during the weekend! Do come and say hello!

COMICS!

Next month, I'm going to have a table at the Comica Comiket in London (1 November) and the Thought Bubbles Comic Art Festival in Leeds (15–16 November), selling my comics. I'll be blogging more about that nearer the time...

I'm currently busy putting together a new comic collecting various comic strips and one page comics that I've drawn in recent years, plus a couple of longer works. I've just finished an illustration for the cover, and really wanted to share it because I was so pleased with how it turned out (I'm allowed to blow my own trumpet every once in a while, right?)...



And for a quick bit of Process, here's the rough sketch I jotted down on my break at work on Friday evening, when I suddenly came up with the idea for the cover...

Culture Comic Guest Strip

I'm slowly catching up with stuff I didn't get around to posting, and a few weeks ago now I did a guest strip for John Riordan's excellent Culture webcomic which revolves around a couple of microbes in a petri dish discussing the latest cultural events. I got the idea for a strip based around the Marina Abramovic exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery, and John was kind enough to run it as a guest post on his blog...

[click to enlarge]

Adventures In Comics 4: The Orb

Marine Studios are based in Margate, Kent and responsible for Adventures In Comics an annual competition to produce a 2-page comic on a given theme, with a publication of the top 50 entries, and an exhibition of all the entries. This year's theme was "The Orb" and – just shy of the 7 March deadline – I produced the following comic...



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As an added behind-the-scenes bonus, here are my rough pencils for the pages...