rich

Unseen Shadows and Jonathan Ross

2011-10-20T23:23:00.000+01:00

So, this is exciting!

I wrote a script for an anthology book called Unseen Shadows, based in the universe created by Barry Nugent for his novel Fallen Heroes.
Well, my story, which is drawn by the great Conor Boyle, and three others are being published in a collected edition that will be launched at this years Thought Bubble convention in Leeds, and Barry has just announced that there will be an introduction for the book written by non other than Johnathon Ross!
Cool!

On the Warren Ellis blog!

2011-08-24T18:22:00.002+01:00

There was a rather nice surprise today when I was directed to this post over on Warren Ellis' blog.

And he's right, it is a very nice image!

Talking about things I cannot talk about

2011-06-30T21:04:00.000+01:00

Okay, it’s been a couple of weeks, but I’m back!

Things have been busy, as always.
I have a number of different projects that I’m juggling at the moment with a number of different artists. I’d love to be able to talk about them- and actually, I probably could- but I don’t want to scupper anything that may or may not be being written and drawn with a specific publisher in mind when it comes to submission time.
Rest assured though, as and when I can talk about it, I will!

Things I can talk about:
I’ve finished a first draft of a novel, which has been ruthlessly but fairly dissected by the wonderful Michael Carroll. Now it goes on a back burner for a couple of months, while I concentrate on a few other things, before I make a stab at another draft.
Why the gap? Well, the main one if to give me some distance from the piece. AT the moment I can more or less remember everything I have written, and I need to be at a point where I forget what is there so that I can come at it with a fresh pair of eyes.

So, last week I did a first draft on a short comic strip for one of the above mentioned projects. I’m going to give it another run through and write at least one more for that particular book (there are a load of scripts to write for it, but this will do for now).
Then there is the second draft of a novella and starting in on a new GN, which I predict will be enormous fun for all involved!
No, seriously, I cannot wait to start writing this one- it has that magical confluence of elements that, when you come up with them, you cannot believe that nobody has thought of it before!

Oh- and Turning Tiger is out in print very soon! Here’s a review.

Clarence Clemons

2011-06-19T11:46:00.003+01:00

So, who would have thought I'd end up being forty-one years old and crying over the death of someone I have never met?

RIP Big Man.
The E Street Band have been part of my life from longer than anyone apart from my own family. I can't really articulate what their music means to me and how important it is.

It's getting harder to decide...

2011-06-17T12:36:00.001+01:00

...who to vote for.

Now, I'm a strong believer in the right to vote- I vote every single election. If you don't, then the way I see it, you have no right to complain about the government that you have.

Anyway...

I do not follow any party, although I would describe myself as 'liberal' with a small 'L'. I have in the past voted for almost every party (excluding the BNP and the like).

In NI, where they have a PR system, I even voted for every single party that was (at the time) pro the Anglo-Irish Agreement, including the UUP and Sinn Fein.
So, what is the point of this post, I'm sure you're wondering...

Well, recently those of you who read my Tweets and the Hi-Ex! Blog will have seen that we've had some words with a Labour MP called Tom Harris.
He did a great thing, in a way, in that he insured that I would never vote for the Labour Party again.
Not only that, I will be delighted for now on to tell people exactly why I will never vote for them.
I should add that I even gave the party a by-ball when I witnessed a drunken Labour Councillor trying to grope a woman at an official event.

No, Harris is in a class of his own when it comes to ignorance and arrogance.
I don't mind people saying something from a lack of knowledge, but when that person continues to spout their rubbish when they have had the real situation explained to them, then I can no longer take them seriously.
And this is exactly what this Labour MP did. Despite having the Comics course at Dundee explained to him and having been told exactly how his assumptions were wrong, he continued to come out with the same utter nonsense.

Remember when, just before he took us into an illegal war, old Tony Blairs said that he was all about 'Education, education, education'?
Well, it seems that this is no longer the position of the Labour Party, and the need to critise educational facilities, without allowing yourself to be educated, is the order of the day.

If Harris is the standard of MP we can expect from what is supposed to be a Socialist party, then god help them.

Then today came the rather poor show from Danny Alexander.
Now Danny- I get that we have to work longer. People are living longer and all that- I can accept that.
What I cannot accept are dark threats against unions warning of changes in the law if they protest. You're supposed to be a member of the Liberal Party, Danny- how about you start to act like one?

All of which leaves me with not much choice in the next election. The Liberals have shown clearly that we cannot trust them, and we already knew we could not trust the Tories... so, any good Independents out there?

Bristol Comic Expo

2011-05-19T21:29:00.001+01:00

I wrote this a few days ago, but as always, things get ahead of me and this blog is the first thing to suffer!
But look at me being a good boy and making the effort!

I’m still trying to sift through all the information about the Bristol Expo this weekend past.
There are many many people I should be giving a shout out to here, but I know that if I start then I’ll end up forgetting some of them- so I won’t bother and will just go for the cop out ‘You know who you are’ line instead.

The panels I was on went well (I think), but then, I do rather enjoy being allowed to announce my opinions of things to rooms full of people.

As usual, I didn’t manage to pick up many comics- in fact apart from some small press (whatever that is [in-joke for those who attended the panel]) I think the only thing I managed to get was Chimpanzee Complex Vol 3 from Cinebook. And talking of Cinebook, big thanks to Aldous for going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure the book arrived in my paws.

From the writing point of view, progress was made on the ‘main’ projects I have going on and things are getting moving on the next lot, as well as some tantalising possibilities for the future…

Forbidden Planet Blog

2011-05-12T20:08:00.000+01:00

So, Joe Gordon over at the Forbidden Planet Blog ask me if I would write something for their blog.
Well, as it's one of the best read genre blogs in the country (if not the world), how could I possible refuse?

You can read what I came up with here.

So, anyway...

2011-05-10T20:53:00.003+01:00

Okay, okay, I know I don’t post here much!
But in my defence, I do post almost every day on the HiEx Blog. However, I’m going to try to make an effort to post more often here- particularly as I have quite a few things on the go at the moment and there is an outside chance people may be interested and/or even look on the internet for this blog…

So- current excitements are:

I’ve just written a one-shot spin-off comic for Barry Nugent’s Fallen Heroes focused on the character Steph Connisbee, I’ve seen the first page of art for the book, and it really is astounding. More news as and when…

Turning Tiger will be out in collected print edition very very soon. I’ve just seen the final final proofs and it looks awesome.

I’m almost finished writing an adult horror novel, which I’m having a lot of fun with at the moment.

Kev Levell and I are cooking up a couple of new ideas that, if they come off, will be a lot of fun.

Oh, and the Bristol Comic Con is this weekend, so drop by the FutureQuake table and say hello- and by ‘say hello’ I mean ‘Buy Comics’.

Also, I'll be taking part in a couple of panels there on the Sunday afternoon.
I'm chairing this one:
Sunday - 3 pm - Panel Room 2 (orange room)
IT'S A "YES" FROM HIM, BUT IT'S A "NO" FROM ME.

What gives a book the Com.x-factor? A discussion on how to make the most out of your submission, how to improve the quality of your pitching materials and an insight into what floats our publishing boat!

Thoughts and comments from Com.x publisher Eddie Deighton & Jon Sloan and insights and anecdotes (i.e., inane ramblings) from creator of acclaimed graphic novel [Forty-Five]45, Andi Ewington.

And am on the panel on this one:

Sunday - 4 pm - Panel Room 1 (pink room)

Small Press, Big Ideas

With the falling cost of producing comics and the rise of the internet as a tool for marketing and distributing comics, it's becoming more and more viable for creators to publish mainstream, commercially viable comics by themselves. These books share little in common with the more artistically driven labours-of-love that are traditionally associated with the small press so is it right that they are all classed under the same banner? We will examine whether there is a difference between a true small press book and a mainstream book that is printed in small numbers. Is it damaging creators and limiting ambition by creating an artificial underclass of comics? Is it time for up and coming creators to abandon the term 'small press' and just make comics?

A Game of Thrones trailer

2010-11-30T20:57:00.002Z

So, there's anew trailer for the series based on my old mate George RR Martin's series of astounding Sone of Ice and Fire novels.
And by 'old mate' I of course mean, 'I was on a panel at a convention with him once.'
But never mind that! This looks awesome.

Clip Preview

So You Want to Write a Novel

2010-11-28T14:44:00.001Z

This is both hilarious and not funny at all at the same time.

Kev speaks!

2010-11-27T14:42:00.003Z

Okay, so I've been neglecting this again as I've been posting regularly on the HiEx blog.

We now have a hefty backlog of reviews written which should keep us going over the next few weeks, and another book of review has arrived this morning too.

We were at Thought Bubble last weekend, which was astonishingly good. Lisa and her team put on a wonderful show, and being a convention organiser myself, I can tell you that even to me , the amount of work she puts in is mind boggling.

And my friend and co-creator or Corvus, Kevin Levell has been interviewed about his piece in the book Sci-Fi Art Now now on their blog... I only deign to mention it because he name checks me a couple of times!

Mongrol SMUSH!

2010-11-08T13:12:00.003Z

After their rather splendid Tharg action figure last year, 3A Toys have just posted a preview picture of their model of the ABC Warrior robot Mongrol on their blog- and what can we say- it looks the business!

Time Travel and Charlie Chaplin

2010-10-30T11:53:00.002+01:00

Y'know- sometimes something is just designed to wind me up!

Fair dos for this fella for promoting him own film company in such an excellent way, but...

Time travellers with mobile phones?

Just think it through a moment guys... a mobile phone in 1921. Who is she phoning? Where the hell is the signal coming from? And why the hell would she wander onto a film set???

Agghhh!

Anyway, as I said, kudos to this fella- he's talking this up brilliantly on the youtube film.

Turning Tiger news

2010-10-27T18:21:00.002+01:00

So today I was sending out review copies of Turning Tiger, and it was a lot more nerve racking than I ever thought it would be, and when the first review went up, I thought I was going to have a stroke I was so nervous! Luckily, it was a rather good one- read it here.

Also today, I got an email from my editor for Corvus (which has since found a new and better home). It was all good, constructive stuff- now all I need to do is find the time to get some work done on it!

2000AD Twitter

2010-10-25T19:23:00.002+01:00

Artist Kev Levell and I have collaborated on a fun little thing.

Every month on the 2000AD message board, there is a just for fun are comp, and this month the theme was 2000AD mash-ups. Kev had the idea of doing a 2k Twitter feed, with a load of the characters chatting to each other and asked me to write some posts for them which I did.

It was terrific fun to do!

If I have done this right, you should be able to click below and open a full sized version of it, if not, follow the link to Kev's blog and he has done it right over there!

Marching...

2010-10-24T11:12:00.002+01:00

So, yesterday, Vicky and I went along to this.

Vicky was doing her bit with the Fire Fighter's Union, and I tagged along for the day out.

It got me thinking about my own personal politics, and I came to realise that I was even more oh a wishy-washy middle-of-the-road liberal (with a small 'L') than I had previously suspected.

I kept wanting to stop the speakers and say, 'Er, excuse me, but I have a question...' when they went off on one in a speech.

One speaker, for example, repeatedly mentioned Margaret Thatcher and how evil she was, and received applause each time she did so... fair enough, Maggie wasn't great...

But- no mention of Tony Blair? You know- like when he lied to Parliament and took the country into an illegal war, cost thousands of lives and billions of pounds? None of that ring a bell with anyone..?

I really don't understand when someone describes themselves as a 'life-long' Labour/Conservative/whatever supporter. To me they're saying that no matter what- even up to the point of lying to the country and killing people- they will still vote that party in...

Anyway- no point to that really, just my opinion.

Yesterday was good fun, lots of people walking along the street and being nice to each other. The cynical half of me thinks it'll make no difference, and the optimistic half was happy to see humans being polite and nice to each other.

Turning Tiger #2

2010-10-22T19:21:00.002+01:00

At long last, issue 2 of Turning Tiger is available for download!

You'll need to download the Graphic.ly platform for your computer, iphone or ipad, and you can buy it there for a mere 99c an issue!
Frankly, at that price, it's ludicrous not to!

You can also pick it up on the Renegade Arts Entertainment website.

You can see Alex's rather awesome cover for issue 2 above.

All being well, a print collection will be available before Christmas- which will include a spectacular range of extras!

Octocon

2010-10-21T21:40:00.002+01:00

(Yes, I shall post this as if I haven't neglected the blog for many months)

We were at Octocon last weekend, and brilliant fun it was too!
Great to meet old friends again, and find some new ones.
Vicky has done a report on it on her blog- including the rather marvellous picture of me on a panel with none other than George RR Martin!

Meanwhile- I've just finished writing a Harlem Heroes text story for an upcoming Irish 2000AD fanzine.

Woha... slow down there!

2010-04-15T09:18:00.003+01:00

I know, I know... I do post here too often and it's hard for all my many followers to keep up..!

As is traditional every time I post, I shall promise to do more blogging from now on.

So, since the last time:
I have finished writing Pinkerton and we're waiting for a yes or no from an artist (please make it a yes..!). I have seen a test page of art from it and it is something wonderful.
HIEX went magnificently well. We're still not fully recovered from it though- it is hard to communicate how utterly draining doing something like this is to both the physical and mental batteries. It's worth it though.
As for next year... we shall see...

I've not written any more Corvus for a while, I am ashamed to say! But that's because I've been doing some other stuff...
I've been writing some prose- a short story and a few sample chapters for a novel- that I'll be sending to a publisher soon. If I am successful then I'm sure I'll let you know!
Also, I've got another publishing deal! It's for a 4 or possibly 5 issue series. The incredibly talented artist is hard at work on issue 1 as we speak and, again, as soon as I get the nod, I'll let you know!

There are new issues of FutureQuake, Zarjaz and Dogbreath out now too, which feature a lot of stuff from me, making it look like I write a load of stuff for them, but in truth, this is only the way the strips fell. Some of them, like the Orlok strip in Zarjaz, were written well over a year ago.

I've recently written a few more strips for them- a couple of Dredd ones and a Deadlock strip for the ABC Warriors issue.

Hooray! I have Blogged!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-17T13:13:00.002Z

Hello all. Should I make it a resolution to Blog a bit more this year..? Nah.

So, what's been happening? I have written the fourth chapter of the Pinkerton book. It still needs a bit of tweaking, but overall, I'm pretty happy with it.
This one has been kind of difficult to write. It's set in and around Washington during the Civil War, and I've found myself reading some weighty stuff about Civil War intelligence and such like.

In other news, work continues apace on getting the next Hi-Ex together. We've had a bit of a hiccup with the poster over copyright issues from one comic company, but we're on track to have the finished design (hopefully) sometime this week.

Also, I have not the words to describe the disgust I have for this.
I shall spell it out here, lest anyone thing I am not being honest. Derek Acorah is a liar and a fraud. He and his ilk cannot- absolutely cannot- speak to the dead. What they do is disgusting and shameful in that they exploit the recently bereaved and lonely.

In which many things were resolved

2009-12-12T17:43:00.002Z

I keep saying it, but I really should do this more often!

Lots happening over the past couple of weeks!

First off, I urge you all to buy yourself a copy of Turning Tiger, whcih has just been made available for download on Myebook at the paltry cost of just 99cents- something like 60 somthing pence in real money, you really don't need to think about buying it, do you!?

It's very exciting indeed to see this up there, and I'll be interested to see how well it sells in the digital format...

In other news, as well as writing the Pinkerton book, Insomnia Publications have also accepted another graphic novel idea from me.
This one is a bit different.
It's a superhero tale set in Roman occupied Britain and is called Corvus- you can find details here.
Art is by the magnificent Kev Levell, just check out these concept sketches!

Many things...

2009-11-18T18:18:00.002Z

It's been a busy month.
Some genuinely hideous things are happening in Real Life which sometimes makes putting one foot in front of the other difficult.

But this is countered by other things like:
A new Forces of Geek column.

Work is progressing well on the Pinkerton book- I'm halfway though as we speak.

In other news, we're planning an ABC Warriors special for a future issue of Zarjaz and ideas for it are running thick and fast- and escalating the scope of the book into something very special indeed...

Superhero Facebook!

2009-10-10T15:26:00.001+01:00

This is genius.

Alternate cover!

2009-10-01T17:41:00.002+01:00

And here it is!
The alternate cover by Simon Coleby and Vicky Stonebridge

Simon has been a favourite artist of mine for more years than I care to remember, so hvaing him illustrate something of mine was a dream come true!
(Well, not mine exactly... my script pretty much says 'giant war robot', so everything that is cool in the design comes from artist Alex Moore

Cowboys and webcasts

2009-09-19T11:28:00.003+01:00

writing quite a bit!

I've all but finished the first chapter of the Pinkerton book, and after showing it to the editor, I'm going to make a few final tweaks to it.
I've also written the first draft of chapter two, and am mostly happy with it.
The first page in each chapter in this book is going to be something a bit different, and I'm not 100% happy with the one in this chapter, but think that I've come up with a better approach than the one I had tried, so I'm going to give that a go.

Also, each chapter in this book, because it's based in real life, will be backed up by notes at the end, and I've written a draft of the notes for chapter one. I enjoyed doing this a lot more than I expected to- and it's a good opportunity to let the reader know some of the stuff that there was no room to fit into the body of he strip.

Also in this weeks news, the review I did of the book Way of the Barefoot Zombie has went up on the 2000AD Review site.

I had great fun last week recording a podcast with Stacey and Lee for their Small Press Big Mouth show, which you can download and enjoy here.

Insomnia

2009-09-14T20:00:00.001+01:00

So, here we go!
This is the other piece of news I mentioned yesterday.

Needless to say, I am very excited bout this. I've been working on it for the past month or so- doing research and whatnot.
I started writing it this weekend, and it's been great fun so far. I love Westerns, so getting to write one as exciting as this is awesome!

More things that have happened

2009-09-13T11:59:00.002+01:00

So, as usual, my determination to post here regularly evaporated too soon!

But as I now have actual things to pimp, I think I should make more of an effort...
I've written my third piece for Forces of Geek, and will pimp it when it goes up.

There's also another exciting piece of news that I'll keep for a few days so I can have an excuse for posting here again.

Meanwhile, here's a rough of the cover for Turning Tiger #1, out soon from Renegade Arts Entertainment!

Stuff from my head

2009-07-19T14:04:00.000+01:00

So, now I'm writing a column too...

2009-07-14T21:02:00.002+01:00

Okay, latest news...

Back from a great weekend in Dublin and another brilliant concert by Bruce Springsteen.

At the moment, I'm working on what will, fingers crossed, be a rather exciting project.
And I can't believe I have neglected to plug this here!
http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/news/?p=220

2009-06-16T21:55:00.002+01:00

Yet again, it's been ages since I posted on this...

But lots has been going on.
Usually, after a con, there are a couple of weeks where the momentum keeps up and everything is 'Yeah- I can do that!' when it comes to pitching stories etc... then real life usually encroaches and the writing stuff is stuck on the back burner while work gets in the way or whatever. Not this time though- I'm still pitching like crazy- I've pitched another two books this week, so fingers crossed that, by simple attrition, one of them will be picked up!

Meanwhile, check out this superb trailer for the new series of Defoe in 2000AD:

Since last time

2009-05-22T18:53:00.004+01:00

We've been to the Bristol Comic Expo. It was great fun as always, and I've come away with some very exciting news that I can't tell yet.

We picked up a load of comics while we were there (obviously!), among them was Razorjack, the new GN from John Higgins.

It's brilliant stuuf- the art is, of course, second to none. For my money, Higgins is easily up there with your Quitelys and your Bollands. But where he excels is in his page layouts. I don't quite know how he does it- but they're always so much better than everyone elses.
If I had a problem with the book it would be the fact that so much is left hanging- and this is demonstrated in the short story 'extra' at the end of the book. There's a lot more to be told about these characters, and hopefully this will sell well enough to convince Mr Higgins to return to them.

I Feel Alright

2009-05-05T18:49:00.002+01:00

I love this song:

Steve Earle is easily up there with Dylan and Springsteen when it comes to talent as a songwriter, but for some reason he seems to get ignored by the public at large.
This song is brilliant, and I'll tell you why...

Picture a man on the back end of a heroin addiction that had cost him everything. He sold all his guitars and hadn't written music for years. He'd been sleeping rough. He'd just served time in jail.
He came out with his shit back together and released the album Train A Comin', but it was the next album, which really hit the mark, and answered any questions about Steve's attitude. Politically he hadn't softened- if anything, I think he's grown more left wing as he's got older.
But just check out the bitterness, the anger, the confrontation in the lyrics
Now some of you would live through me
Lock me up and throw away the key
Or just find a place to hide away
Hope that I'll just go away

You tell 'em, Steve!

Transformers 2

2009-05-02T11:20:00.002+01:00

This looks like it'll be as big, as dumb and as fun as it can possibly get!

It'll certainly be the best Big Robots Punching Each Other story you see... well, for the next month or so. AFter that... stay tuned is all I'm saying...

HiEx 2010

2009-04-29T19:37:00.001+01:00

Yes- we have announced the date for next years HiEx!

We shall, I trust, see you on the 27th-28th of March next year for the best comic convention you've ever attended!

http://www.hi-ex.co.uk/home.htm

Spinechillers

2009-04-23T21:31:00.002+01:00

Everyone should check this out:
http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/spinechillers/comic/#
It's a new weekly strip by the wonderful Ben Clark

Ben has a wonderful talent in that he can take something that is pretty mundane and everyday- like asking someone to lift their feet when your hoovering- and turning it into comedy gold!

Getting back to it

2009-04-19T10:45:00.002+01:00

So, I've been trying to write a children's book for ages now.
I'm determined to get it finished in the next month or two. Now, I hadn't been near it for many months (shameful I know- but y'know how it is... Other Stuff and all that) and I was worried that I'd not be able to get back into it when I eventually tried again.

Yesterday was that day- and I should not have feared! It was spookily easy to get into the groove again. The characters started to do their own thing as soon as I began to type and I have 2000 words in the sapce of a couple of hours!

Result... well, for that day. If I can manage to repeat this feat over the next few weeks, it should all be finished in no time!

Stuff that's ahppened in the past week

2009-04-18T11:17:00.002+01:00

So, it's been a busy enough week.
The brand new used car did it's job brilliantly and took us back home for the week.

We went to see Monstaers Vs Aliens in 3D, which was superb. The movie itself, if seen in old fashioned 2d, would be, I suspect, an average affair with some excellent jokes thrown in.
In 3D however, it was nothing short of spectacular. Is this the future of movies..? Probably not, but it is a major step forward in the technology used for this sort of thing.
The last movies I remember seeing in 3D were the Spy Kids one and (don't hate me for it) one of the Nightmare on Elm Street ones. They were more miss than hit and suffered from the picture being obscured, even when goggled up, by swathes of red and blue.

What else..? I got this yesterday. What is this? A new laptop, of course.
We then spent a number of hours yesterday trying to get it to hook up to the livebox, and managed to merely stop everything working.
But fear not- a quick call to a spookily able fellow in an Indian call centre sorted everything out.

The latest issues of FutureQuake, Dogbreath and Zarjaz were all locked down this week, and are going to the printers in time for the Bristol con in May.

I'm sure there's loads more, but this'll do for now...

This is everything that's wrong in the world

2009-04-10T14:33:00.001+01:00

Britain's got 'talent'..?

2009-04-08T20:51:00.003+01:00

I have just this evening 'enjoy' about 10 minutes of 'Britain's got Talent'.
10 minutes because that was all I could endure before having to go and wash myself.
What a bloody appalling programme. In turn disgustingly manipulative in a 'I'm doing it for my children' fashion and cruelly laughing at the fat people dancing and singing.
And then there are the judges... words fail me as to how odious they are.

I'm telling you- it's because of shows like this that people walk into schools with guns...

Hello again

2009-04-03T16:22:00.002+01:00

Right, it's been nearly two years!

Two years!

It's about time I got back on this blogging horse again, I think.

I mean, it's not as if nothing has happened over the past 24 months is it..? In fact, it's probably been the most eventful time of my life so far. So, I'll use that as an excuse for my not posting here.

Anyway- onwards and upwards- I shall be bloggin as best I can from now on- I promise!

2007-06-12T19:25:00.000+01:00

Going to see Chris Cornell next week!

Big Changes

2007-03-06T16:38:00.000Z

Life is a funny thing, innit?
I have been going through some momentous stuff in my life in the past number of months- those who need to know already do, and everyone else will find out in time, cause things are going to change in, frankly, awesome ways in my life in the next few weeks. And by hell, I’m looking forward to it!
But there’s stuff they don’t tell you when you go through changes in life like these. They don’t tell you, for example, that people you’ve had in your life for decades will suddenly stop coming round to visit, and you’ll be surprised by words of encouragement from the strangest of sources, as folk you barely know offer you support.
See, it’s weird. I’m kinda bursting to shout from the rooftops here, and I know that the one other person who knows probably wouldn’t mind at all. But like I say, you’ll all find out soon enough I’m sure.

So what was the point of this post..? I don’t know. I had a long rambling essay all planned out in my head, but when I started at the top of this page, this was what came out. It says essentially the same thing, but in fewer words. I suppose I’m saying that when things change, particularly enormous seismic life altering things- yes it’s scary, but in my case it’s a good kind of scary.

2007-01-23T16:54:00.000Z

The new series of Life on Mars begins soon, and this trailer for it has to be just about the best thing ever.

Life on Mars

2007-01-21T19:13:00.000Z

This was posted on the 2000ad board, and by PJ Holden on his blog. The word 'offensive' could have been created for this monstrosity:Captain Planet in Belfast

In other news, I was over in Scotland midweek, then brought Vicky and Ish back with me for the weekend. I can offically announce that the drive from Vicky's home to here is a very long one. Can't wait to do it again!

2007-01-14T21:06:00.000Z

The rockinist band in the world!!

2007-01-14T20:57:00.000Z

So today I bought myself an Xbox 360. Only had a few moments on it so far, but it's a pretty nice machine. Got a couple of games with it, including the Sonic Hedgehog one, which is lovely.
Haven't even thought about the online element yet, but I'm sure that'll be groovy once I get it figured out.

And a word of warning to you all out there. You know you've heard stories about folk sending texts to someone and it goes to the very person it should not go to..? Well... I had that very experience this evening.
On the one hand I say be careful who you text, but on the other... maybe you shouldn't be saying stuff like that about someone in the first place, eh..?

2007-01-13T20:19:00.000Z

So, what have I been doing since the last time I posted here?
Oh, loads of stuff. Been to a couple of conventions, Vicky and I were at Octocon in Dublin in October, where I had the rather surreal experience of being a guest.
Did a few panels and went for a couple of fantastic meals with Mike and Leonia Carrol and Harry Harrison.
Then we were at the new con in Birmingham last month. Great to meet up with Dave again, and finally got to meet the legendary Julie! And I was on a panel, waffling about Manga comics there.
At Brimingham we had the latest issues of Futurequake, Mangaquake and Dogbreath for sale, and things went rather well.

Oh! There's a thing- Dogbreath got a mention in Tharg's Nerve Centre intro.
Fingers crossed for the next issue too- if everything we hope for happens, it should be a bloody awesome one.

2007-01-12T20:50:00.000Z

It's a bit late, I know, but what the hell, I haven't posted here for ages!

Vicky and I did a one page Wendy strip for Christmas, and I'm rather happy with it, so here it is for you to enjoy or otherwise...
And special thanks to the splendid Dave Evans for kindly lettering it for us the night before he on holiday- what a guy!

2007-01-11T22:28:00.000Z

This is just... horrible.

'Thanks' to Simon Colbey for kindly drawing my attention to it...

2007-01-10T19:37:00.000Z

So yeah, I seemed to be going for the world record of time between posts, but have finally broken down and decided to say something.
And it's not as if nothing has happened in the past few months- I've had lots of interesting adventures, some of which I may post about in the next wee while. Then again, I may leave it another 3 or 4 months before posting again, who knows?

Writing stuff- senr off a new review to the Fortean Times yesterday, and have been fiddling around with an article for them too.
Done a few strips for various things, and a text story for the next issue of Dogbreath which I'm happy with.
Also scripted, if that's the right word for all I have done, an animation that Vicky is, as I type this, busy creating with her own fair hands.
There's also been major encouragement about my writing by a friend of mine, which has spurred me on to writing something major.

More later!

2006-08-20T18:14:00.000+01:00

Also while I'm here.
Had a wonderful time on holiday. So much so in fact, that I'm heading back again this week. Radiohead and Beck are playing in Edinburgh on TUesday, which should be nice.
But the holiday- fun camping on the North Coast. And I was kind of right. It was like Dog Soldiers (I was explained a second level to that joke I hadn't even considered- must mean I'm a genius or something). Only instead of a handful of big giant werewolves, we were besieged by a huge army of very tiny midges.

And this is all before I even get to the torture inflicted on my in a Guantanamo Bay stylee the following weekend. Kept awake all night by constant noise and light? Nae bother to me- dunno what those guys are complaining about..!

Things I Hate #6

2006-08-20T18:11:00.000+01:00

Things that are advertised with the endorsment 'As seen on TV'.
What the hell does that mean? And how is it possibly any kind of meter to how worthy the said item is?

I mean- Harold Shipman was seen on TV- so they're saying that their loo roll or dog tick remover or whatever they're whoring, is comparable to a mass murderer?

I'm off!

2006-08-03T19:30:00.000+01:00

No, I do not smell.
Any worse than usual, anyway. Nope, as of this afternoon, I'm off work for the next 9 whole days!
Tomorrow I shall hop over to Scotland, where I shall have the pleasure of camping in mystery spots around the north coast. I say mystery spots, cause I don't know where I'm going. I shall have to trust my travelling companion and driver.
Though I suspect it will probably end up being a bit like Dog Soldiers.

And you should all buy the album Come What(ever) May By Stone Sour. It bloody rocks. It rocks so hard, in fact, that folk my age can even pretend their young and have an 'attitude' when they're listening to it.

Tempted to go off on a rant about stuff here, but is it worth it..?
Let's just say that someone has really made me furious with actions that smack of hypocrisy recently. Shouldn't let it annoy me- but that sort of thing does.
ANYWAY! Not to go away on a downer! Have fun when I'm gone- and I may be checking up here at some point, as I think some places in Scotland have electricity.

2006-08-02T20:39:00.000+01:00

Here's a pic drawn but Bolt-01 and coloured by me for the 2000AD board.

2006-07-30T10:08:00.000+01:00

I had a lovely weekend away recently. A nice passing tourist offered to take a picture of my travelling companion and I, which I thought would be nice to share with you.

Syd Barrett

2006-07-11T18:41:00.000+01:00

It's not often the death of a 'celeb' would even register with me, much less make me care. But this was one of the few that made me upset.
It is all but impossible to overstate how important Syd was-still is, to rock music.
I'm sure it'll be said (and played)-and rightly so- over the next few days, but shine on you crazy diamond.

Things I Hate #5

2006-06-29T19:12:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since this popular series of rants was aired, so here's another one.

I hate those filthy scum who tell lies to me first thing in the morning. The TV weatherpersons (eh? dead PC I am). Oh yes, going to pur down today it is, blimmin rain all afternoon. So, I bring my coat with me, only it doesn't frikkin' rain, and it is in fact very very hot and sunny and I'm left to carry around a gigantic heavy raincoat in the heat- all because some freak lied to me on television.

Come on then...

2006-06-13T14:34:00.000+01:00

Hands up who saw that?

What's been happening to me then..?

2006-06-10T08:07:00.000+01:00

Oh you know, this and that...
Been a sort of eventful couple of weeks for me. Things come in threes, right?
Got a bit of a chest infection that still hasn't fully shifted, even with a course of anti-biotics.
Fell at work and sparined my ankle quite badly- had to take a week off work. Man it was bloody sore. But the week off gave me time to get a load of stuff written. DOne a few reviews for the Fortean Times, wrote a couple of scripts, which I'll have to get round to finishing- including a new Wendy story.
So, that's two things, innit?
For the third one... me and my wife seperating was the third event in the recent past.
So yeah, lots happening!

Bristol Con and after...

2006-05-18T21:45:00.000+01:00

Had a flipping great con. Probably the most enjoyable one I have attended so far. Everyone was preset and correct, save for Mark, who used work as a flimsy excuse to not mix with us non muscular comic types.
Wendy sold well, which was really nice, and pretty much all down to the awesome cover art.
Cover art also served us well on Futurequake and Mangaquake, both of which managed to attract passing trade with their respective covers. Really, all our titles went well. It was a fairly busy weekend, and had a lot more of a vibe to it than the Brighton.
Rumour at the moment holds that the Brighton con will not take place this year, which is a shame if it proves to be so. With a bit of tightening up here and there, it could easily reach the same standards as Bristol. Fingers crossed.
Coming back to real life is a bugger though. Been on a bit of a downer since coming back, if truth be told. Ah well, I'm sure once we get into the next issues of FQ and MQ I'll start to perk up again.

Pimping!

2006-05-06T11:28:00.000+01:00

Not long now to the Bristol convention. Next weekend in fact!
And so now is the time for all the small press guys to pimp their various wares round the comic sites.
So, here are a few of the books we're doing.
Mangaquake #2 has a spectacular cover, and in my opinion, better strips, than issue 1. Nothing to do with me not having a strip in it this time, of course...

Also coming up: Wild West Wendy! I'm really looking forward to seeing this one, I enjoyed writing it more than anything I've done in the recent past.

I'll post more stuff as the week goes on.

I Wonder..?

2006-04-16T20:47:00.000+01:00

How many blogs today used this quote as an easter message?

I've been traveling a lot lately. I was over in Australia during Easter. It was interesting to note they celebrate Easter the same way we do commemorating; the death and resurrection of Jesus by telling our children a giant bunny rabbit . . . left chocolate eggs in the night.

Bill Hicks

Stag Party!

2006-04-11T20:11:00.000+01:00

I was going to post this image, as a teaser for the strip.

But before I could get around to doing it, Wake, the webmaster of the 2000AD site had the strip up. So you can read it in all its glory here: http://www.2000adonline.com/?zone=input&page=thrillviewer&choice=stagparty

It's probably next to meaningless if you are not familiar with the message board over there, but hey!

Recently

2006-04-02T21:49:00.000+01:00

I'm now will into colouring Stag party, and hope to have it done this week, noe that most of the other stuff I've had to write is out of the way.
In the meantime, I wrote a short story, set in Mega City One a while ago to submit to the Megazine, which in fantastic timing by me, stopped printing short stories just as i sent it in.
So, I sent it to gavin over on the review site, and he's put it up there, along with some lovely images from Bolt-01.
http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/fiction/2006/bythepeople/forthepeople.shtml

Why it's great where I live

2006-03-17T19:12:00.000Z

Another occasional series where I will post pictures I've taken with my phone, demonstrating why it's great where I live.
Cetainly much better than living in a stinking city, where the only pictures you can take are of whores, tramps and used needles.

Here is a pic of Templecorran cemetery in Ballycarry.

This one is Gleno waterfall.

Mangaquake #2

2006-03-14T16:54:00.000Z

Here you go, people! A sneak preview of one of the strips in the next issue of Mangaquake.

This issue has, this very day, gone through something of an change, with an artist unable to finished their strip on time leaving us with a big hole in the middle of the book. BUT help just might be at hand, with the very strip prviewed here demading more space than the pages originally alloted to it.

Also, for your reading pleasure, my latest book review has been put up on the 2000adreview site.http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/reviews/extra/2006/books/anderson/anderson-fear-darkness.shtml

A book what I read

2006-03-12T14:55:00.000Z

Just this week I read a rather splendid book by a friend of mine.
'The Quantum Prophecy' by Michael Carroll is blimmin' great! It's an exciting and fast moving superhero story, written for the younger reader, but like all good books, will appeal to readers of any age. Mike has created a cast of awesome characters, and I cannot wait to meet the all agin when the second book is published.

Check it out at this site: http://www.iol.ie/~carrollm/qp/

Alright! Alright!

2006-02-23T18:57:00.000Z

Hello again!

Yes, I know I haven't done this for ages, but thanks to the relentless nagging of certain people, I have been forced to doing another post.
It's not that I haven't been posting because I've had nothing to say, but I've been kind of busy. Anyway, what's happened since the last post? Loads of stuff. Work continues on the next issue of Mangaquake, the next Futurequake and the first issue of our horror comic Something Wicked. Finished writing the Wendy book. Booked the hotel for Bristol.
I'll post something more interesting, with pictures or something, soon.

Loads of stuff...

2005-12-04T16:11:00.000Z

... since my last post.

Issue 2 of Zap came out recently, with another of my strips in it. Hopefully there'll be more in there shortly, but I'll obviously keep you posted.
Brighton went well, if a little slower that Bristol. But it's always great to meet everybody, which is the real reason for going to these things I guess. Had a bit of fun on the return journey, when we missed our flight back, had to transfer to a later one and have that delayed further by fog. Still, you have to laugh, don't you?
FQ and MQ both seem to have been received well. Work is already well under way on producing the next issues. The next Futurequake one is a horror special with a cover by... yeah, like I'm going to tell you... but it'll be alright, I think.
Mangaquake 2 will be out for next years Bristol convention. Unless many artists are telling me lies, we should have a terrific mix of strips and genres in the next issue.
Oh, and I'm in the middle of writing a full length Wild West Wendy adventure, which the delightful Vicky Stonebridge will once again be drawing.

Things I hate #4

2005-11-17T17:06:00.000Z

Spam on my blog.
Anybody who does this is evil scum and should be hunted down and shot, and their children shot and their parents shot, and everyone who knows them should be shot.

Anyway, I've turned on the word verification, so that'll hopefully keep most of it away now.

In other news, I'm off to Brighton ion the morning, so if anyone is passing the FutureQuake table, please stop and say hello.

And buy comics.

ZAP!

2005-11-03T17:07:00.000Z

Today is the publishing date for the first issue of Zap! magazine, which contains a strip I've written.
I got my comp copy yesterday, and very nice it looks too. But the whole thrill of the event was marred badly when I discovered that I hadn't got one of my free gifts! No Teen Titians doorhangers!! Apart from that crushing blow, it was great to see it in the comic, and the artist has done a super job on it.

Here's the cover, so you can all look out for it when next in a newsagents, and if you don't see it there, then ask!

The latest issue of FutureQuake, and he debut issue of MangaQuake have gone to the printers. There was a bit of excitement towards the end with MQ, when we had to scrabble a bit to juggle the pages, and with one minor niggle which cannot be helped, the comic's the best we can make it. Hopefully it'll do as well as we hope. There certainly seems to be a suprising amount of interest in it.

We'll find out at the Brighton con in a couple of weeks...

Bugger!

2005-10-02T20:50:00.000+01:00

I'd just written a fairly lengthy post here, and then deleted it by accident, so in summary:

This weekend I have been greyscaling a strip for Futurequake, and sent off a load of questions to the subject of my first interview for the Fortean Times website, Grant Morrison.

I can also show you the cover to Futurequake, by the brilliant Charlie Adlard, and coloured by me.
Not only that, here's a preview of Project 'X', a brand new title from FQP: Mangaquake!
And yes, the teaser says 48 pages, but it lies! You'll get a whopping 56 pages for only £2.50! It's so cheap I feel physically sick!

Dreddheads!

2005-09-28T17:55:00.000+01:00

This is a lovely little Judge Dredd fan strip that I was asked by the artist, Dave Evans, to colour for the 2000adreview site http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/fiction/2005/dreddheads/dreddheads.shtml

This week: Things are hotting up over at Futurequake, with an ashcan edition being printed up for this weekends Dreddcon, which I will not be attending... bugger!
I also did my very first interview this week, with Redeye for their website. It's about project 'X', which I'll be able to talk about soon.

Lara!

2005-09-14T20:05:00.000+01:00

I coloured a version of this some time ago, and thought I'd revisit it to see how far I've come on since the last time. The old version is here: http://richwriting.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_richwriting_archive.html if you're interested.

Back by popular demand!!

2005-09-13T18:58:00.000+01:00

I've had two people in the past few days asking, nay, demanding that I post here, so here I am.
Latest stuff... Another review up on the Fortean Times site: http://http://www.forteantimes.com/review/mutant.shtml and another to go up soonish. I've still another Graphic Novel to review for them, hopefully I'll get that done this weekend.
I have finished colouring a strip for dave Evans, which will go up on the 2000adreview site some time.
Oh, and I've just finished reading the latest Potter book. Which was very good indeed, with a spectacular ending that left me worried that JK has left herself a hell of a lot to do in the final volume. I was annoyed at what she's done with my favourite character. Then thinking about it, I'm not sure that she has done it... That won't make any sense if you haven't read it, and maybe little sense if you have.
There's a preview of the werewolf strip Dave and I are doing up on the Graveyard Shift blog: http://www.graveyardshift.co.uk/

And everyone should look at this: http://dcjproductions.blogspot.com/

This week I...

2005-08-31T19:39:00.000+01:00

Have been quite busy.
I did a couple of scripts for a forthcoming small press comic, I'm happy with them both, but one of them I think really hit the mark, and I thorougly enjoyed writing it.
Also, did a game review for thr Fortean Times and sent it off. Got a few graphic Novels through from their website to review too, the first of which is up here http://www.forteantimes.com/review/we3.shtml
I've just sent another through this evening, and have one more to write, and another GN on the way.

Things I Hate #3

2005-08-24T16:02:00.000+01:00

Those little grey plastic circular inserts in the lids of coke bottles.
Why?
Because when they're laying on the ground, they look like a 10p coin, and cause massive and crushing disappointment every time I realise I've bent down in the street for nothing.

Free stuff: For free!!

2005-08-18T20:32:00.000+01:00

This has been a good week.
I won a box set of the Scanners movies from 2000ad. Also, I'm waiting for a game or two for the Fortean Times to review. Finished reading the latest ABC Warriors book, and have written a first draft of the review for it.
This week I also got two very good bits of news. But I'm afraid I can't tell anyone what they are (yet). Project X stuff, you see...
I was planning to write a long rant about the situation on the West Bank, and maybe the murder of Brazilian electricians. But I can't be bothered right now.

A Great Idea I Had

2005-08-09T22:03:00.000+01:00

This might count as a Thing I Hate.
You know when you're driving, and there are cars parked either side of the road? And you'll maybe pull in and let an oncoming car through?
I hate it when you do this and the bastard in the other car doesn't wave his or her thanks at you. Or it's a taxi.
So my idea was for some sort of computer than can attach to the dashboard of the car, and record the registration of the cars that don't give you a wave, so that the next time you encounter them, it can warn you and you won't pull in and let then go first.
Then again, I may be thinking too much about this...

Evil has a new name

2005-08-08T21:50:00.000+01:00

And that name is Barry Scott.
I mean, just who the hell is he anyway?
'I'm Barry Scott!', as if that should mean something to me.

Mind you, I'm not sure if he's as evil as Lulu talking about her colesterol.

The strip I mentioned in the last post is one for a comic calle Loups-Garou, which is, obviously, a werewolf themed comic.
Here's the link to the blog: http://www.graveyardshift.co.uk/

Lap-a-de-do-da!

2005-08-03T20:09:00.000+01:00

At last! My laptop arrived today.
Now I'll be able to write and stuff in the comfort of the toilet, or in bed.
Finally, something entertaining I can do in the bedroom... erm... don't think my wife reads this...

I wrote a script this evening for a forthcoming Small Press publication.
Not being coy about what it is, it's just that it's not my news to announce.

Things I hate #2

2005-08-02T22:10:00.000+01:00

The phrase 'twentyfoutseven'.

Can't you just say 'all day' like a normal person!!?

Things I hate

2005-08-01T20:42:00.000+01:00

#1 in an occasional series.

Tins of food in the fridge.

People folding down the corner of the page in a book.

Russian Dolls.

It's all good news!

2005-07-31T14:29:00.000+01:00

Well, this week anyway..!

I've had to colour the cover for the next issue of Futurequake, which I was kind of nervous about, but it's turned out rather good.
You'll understand why I was nervous when you see it...

I've been off work all week, and have been busy, when not doing comic stuff, taking the children here and there. Fantastic Four was rather good, a lot better than I expected. Madagascar... not my cup of tea, but great if you're ten.

+++BIG NEWS+++

But, the big story this week, and one I haven't been able to mention for a month or so, is this one: '>href="http://www.futureplc.com/future/news/tradenews_story.jsp?type=news&ref=1893&year=2005&month=07">

A new boys comic from Future, which I'm writing a strip, called dr. Disaster, for!

It's been a long time

2005-07-24T20:53:00.000+01:00

Blimmin flip!

I haven't posted here for ages. Been busy doing a load of things, including a lot of overtime at work.
We recieved some stonking art for FQ this week, which, while I'd love to tell you about, will stay under wraps until nearer the time.
What else has happened since the last post here..? My birthday. Inflatable Dalek.
That's pure class that is!

Sticking it to The Man!

2005-06-23T19:16:00.000+01:00

Further on the car.
On investigation, we discovered that it was, in fact, the car people themselves, who had, for some reason, stopped lifting the payments from our account.
Imagine my pleasure when I phoned them today to inform them that the mistake was theirs all theirs?
Assholes.

Working to order and incompetent people.

2005-06-22T20:26:00.000+01:00

Had a fun time this week with writing a script for the next issue of Futurequake.
One of the artists wanted a particular type of story to illustrate, but coming up with the story, how do yoy do that?
So, we bounced a few ideas around, and Dave came up with a great one, I wrote a script and Ed took it and shaped it into something rather good. I think that is were my talent as a writer may lay: in taking an idea and building on it. But we'll see how it all turns out.

If there is one thing in the world that I hate more than anything it is incompetence. So imagine how mad I was this evening to find out that when we moved our bank account a couple of months ago, the bank moved all the direct debits etc across... except for the one that pays for the car. I was quite annoyed, to say the least. Can't wait until tomorrow to find out from the bank the reason for this, apart from the fact that they are arseholes, of course. I just hope that their multi-million pound funded cock-up has not affected our credit rating...

Loads of stuff...

2005-06-18T12:55:00.001+01:00

Has happened since the last post here.

Beck was great. In the same week as that I also saw Velevt Revolver, which was very loud and sweary. It was, and I do not mean this in a bad way, a textbook rock and roll performance. And for a change of pace, I saw Kris Kristofferson too. He was awesome, just him and an acoustic guitar.

I also got a rejection letter from 2000AD, which, rather annoyingly, when I considered it, was spot on in what it said.

Project 'X' is moving forward nicely. I've now pretty muched moved on from a state of panic to one of enjoying it totally, which is nice.

Beck and all

2005-06-05T16:58:00.000+01:00

Well, it's been a busy week.

I had a review printed in the new Fortean Times, and found out that I was in the Anderson strip in this months Judge Dredd Megazine. Not only that, but I'm a Judge in it too!
I've been working on a little something I shall call 'Project X' for Futurequake. After a bit of an unsure start, momentum appears to be building in it, so I'm hopeful. What has astounded me is the online community though. In the course of Project Z, I have posted on various forums, asking for help and advice. On some I have met with nothing more that the greatest of help, and on one inparticular have met astonishing hostility.
I can only imagine that the prospect of somebody actually doing something about their particular interest, rather that just sitting around talking about doing it, has put the shits up them in some way... oh well.

Off to see Beck in concert tonight. Which will be, at the very least, interesting.
Then on Wednesday it's Velvet Revolver, and then Kris Kristofferson next Sunday.
Rock and roll, eh?

Happy Birthday!

2005-05-24T19:06:00.000+01:00

I dunno if they do this anywhere else, but in our town, you sometimes get, when it's somebodys birthday, posters stuck up all over the town with a, usually cheesy, picture of the person on it and an announcement of their age.
I saw one this morning which said 'Happy Birthday XXXXXXXXXX(name withheld)' then there was a picture of him, and below the picture it said 'Beware! AIDS victim.'
Hell of a way for him to find out, I thought!

Bristol beyond

2005-05-18T19:39:00.000+01:00

Short version: great weekend!

Longer version: Bloody great weekend! Started off almost on the wrong foot, with an airplane delay, but seeing rehersals for an airshow, with Harriers and a very loud fast jet, made up for it. Also travelled over with PJ Holden, who never once complained about how bad his art is...
Many highlights. Getting a sketch from Alan Davis, meeting Inaki and Eva and a close encounter with Simon Bisley.
Best ting of all though, is meeting the guys you talk to all year on the interweb, and finding out that they really are that nice in real life.

Futurequake sold very well, better, I think, than we could have hoped. I don't know the exact figures, but I reckon we're on our way to breaking even.
If I saw you there, it was good to see you, if not why not? Cav?

Here's the cover:

Bristol time!

2005-05-13T09:03:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm leaving for the airport in a couple of hours, after going to the bank and trying to get the money to go...
Look for the Futurequake table, come and say hello.
And buy something!

John McCrea interview

2005-05-11T21:32:00.000+01:00

Gavin has just posted the interview up on he Review site.

http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/interviews/2005/mccrea/mccrea1.shtml
I don't know how to post a link here, so you'll have to make do with cut and paste

It reads quite well I think, I juggled a few bits about so that the conversation didn't wander like they do in real life. But what really helped it I think, was PJ being there. The other voice asking questions and adding comments lifts the whole thing

Bristol countdown

2005-05-09T19:15:00.000+01:00

Dave reports everything hunky dory on the good ship Futurequake. Can't wait to see a copy of the comic in real life this Saturday in Bristol.
And apart from that, I've stuff in a couple of other comics which it'll be nice to see in print.
I've just finished writing another couple of reviews for the Fortean Times, for the new Predator and Ghost in the Shell games. I'll send them in tomorrow morning, and at least one of them should appear in the next issue.

Sgt. Rock

2005-04-30T15:21:00.000+01:00

I found this Bolland drawing ages ago, and thought it was one of the best comic images I'd ever seen.

It's lay around for ages here until I figured I'd have a go at colouring it.

It's an awesome picture though, innit?

In other news, I've transcribed all of the John McCrea interview and greyscaled Dave Evans' strip for Solar Wind., ten, thinking I'd got to the top of the pile of stuff I had to do, I got another three 2000AD novels in to review. Man, life is hard.

I'll have to finish the book I'm reading at the moment first though, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, it's very good, but I get the feeling that Gaiman thinks he's a lot cleverer a writer than he actually is.

Rogue Trooper

2005-04-24T10:35:00.000+01:00

This is a Rogue pic done by Simon Penter, for the forthcoming Zarjaz teaser.

Simon's drawing a Rogue Strip I've written for Zarjaz, which won't appear until October or so, but he did this single page illo for the short teaser comic for Bristol. It's in black and white in the comic, but I thought I'd have a go at colouring it,

Grey/ McCrea

2005-04-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

Greyscaled a strip over the weekend for Futurequake. Looks rather good too, even if I say so myself.
Done a couple of short strips for David Knight.
Went to Belfast on Mobday, and met up with PJ Holden and John McCrea for an interview (them not me) for the review site. Hadn't met John before. He's a really nice guy, and it should be a good interview, when I get the tapes transcribed, hopefully in the next day or two.

Also, I've put a submission together for 2000AD, which I'm going to post today.

One week later.

2005-04-12T20:30:00.000+01:00

Just looking at the Star Wars colouring job again. That was only a week ago, and I reckon that even now, in this short space of time, I could do a much better job of it.
I've been colouring constantly (almost) for the past week. I'm doing a Dredd strip, the results of which may or may not see the light of day.
Also greyscaled the cover to Dave Evans' and Andrew Bartlett's 'Tales of the Contrary'... and I think I might have greyscales something else for Dave this week, but can't remember off hand what it was.

There's another strip for this issue of FQ needs doing too, so I'm going to do that as soon as I've finished the Dredd thing. I was hoping that that would be tonight, but I've had to do stuff in real life which has disturbed my carefully planned out scheme.

Still haven't mentioned the new Doctor Who yet. It rocks.

Here's the pic I promised

2005-04-06T20:42:00.000+01:00

I like bits of this. I think Watto's nose turned out very well.

Obviously this image is copyright of Lucasfilm.

What I have learned...

2005-04-06T19:58:00.000+01:00

Been greyscaling a strip from FQ#4.
I was doing it with tones rather than hatch patterns. Never tried anything like this before, but I quite enjoyed it.
It was daunting at first, as it was (as you'll see if you read the comic) pretty awesome art, which I don't think needed toned in the first place, but the artist wanted it, so who am I to argue?
On the colouring front, I've had a wee bit of a breakthrough. Just last night, it suddenly clicked in my mind... layers, gradients and how it fits together.

I'll stick a pic up shortly.