Monday 25 January 2010

You can't keep a good tale hidden.

Just before Chrimbo the above comic "Bomb Scare" arrived on me doorstep.
Nothing unusal in that you might say, comics are always being delivered in this household.
However, in this terror filled tome is a little tale that I completed a fair few years ago.
I wrote this tale, "In Loving Memory" about 15 or so years ago for a friend of mine Ben Dilworth.
Now in the late eighties I was writing a load of these short stories, mostly nasty shock ending tales and I wanted Ben to draw and ink it.
However, he couldn't get his head around it, tried for about six months and just couldn't get it to work. So he he gave it me back and started to work on something else I'd written (and a crackin' job he made of that,)
I decided to have ago at it and drew it in about 2 weeks, scripted it all up and promptly put it in a draw and forgot about it...
Until January last year when I was looking for something else, I found this strip.
Now I'd been inking digitally with illustrator for a while so I thought I have ago re-inking it.
The basic layout and pacing was fine I could improve some of the dodgy anatomy but I was never happy with my inks, so I thought why not.
It didn't take long to finish it off and of course the first thing I did was show me old mate Shane Oakley. Apparently it was always a favorite of Shane's but he thought my script was a bit week. and would I mind if he had ago re-writng the script.
I didn't mind at all, so he took it away and a couple of weeks later came back with a corker of a script. I lettered it up...then put it away.
We were trying to think of somewhere to submit it...but there didn't seem anywhere to place it.
A bit of surfing the old net later on in the year and I come across a small press publisher called Time Bomb Comics, and they were looking for some strips for their forethcoming anthology Bomb Scares. I submitted a new story I'd just written, but I didn't want to draw it as I hadn't the time, but they said no, they needed the story in 2 weeks.
One of those lightbulb moments and I sent them "In Loving Memory" and lo and behold they only want to print the bloody thing.
So after a looooong time it finally gets seen.
Not a bad little tale, with a crackin' new script, so whatcha waiting for, head yourselves over to timebombcomics.blogspot.com/ and check out all the good stuff that they're putting out including the anthology "Bomb Scares".
And just to whet your appetites, here's the first page of In loving Memory.
If you want to read Shane's script, then you're gonna have to order a copy.
A tad expensive at £4, but it's well worth it.
Well... whatcha expect me to say , Shane and I are in it, so it's gonna be good.

Sunday 24 January 2010

Carter's column

The image above is from last weeks CC, I didn't post it then cuz I was feeling sorry fer me self with a touch of the man flu.
Episode 4 has been posted so if'n you pop across now you can read two episodes fer the price of one. And it don't cost nothing, so it's a bargain then.
Just click the link on the left to the Birmingham Mail and it'll take yo straight to it.

Sunday 10 January 2010

Carter's Colunn

Second episode of Carter's Column goes live today at the Birmingham Post.
Catch it at blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/.
Once again I uploaded the coloured artwork above but, if'n you all want to know what they're all saying, then your gonna have to nip over to the web address above.
If you want more info on it, then just read the previous post where I rattled on about it fer ages.

Saturday 9 January 2010

Carters Column. 10 years in the making...ish

It's a funny old business this comic lark.
A fair few years ago, Paul Birch, a very good mate of mine, asked if I'd be interested in pencilling the 2nd story arc of a newspaper type strip that he was writing.
The first story arc "The Princess of Tsyzac" written by Paul, pencilled by John Royle, inked by Joe Ahern and John Hodgkins, lettered by John Robbins and coloured by MatsEngesten, was finished. Paul planned to get it published on the web and for a time is was to be seen on "Bulletproof comics" website.
I pencilled 15 page and Garen Ewing inked the first four.
Garen couldn't ink anymore because of his commitment to finish his wonderful "Rainbow Orchard" trilogy (and I can't recommend this book enough. It should be on everyone's list of comics to read.) so I inked the remaining 11 pages....
And then we stopped, in mid flow.
I'm not too sure if even the first arc was published on Bulletproof comics' website, I know that at least 3 of the 12 page strip were shown.
Anyway Paul didn't write any more script for me and I went on to do other stuff.
I thought that was it, that Carter and his cast of supporting characters had been relegated to the forgotten cupboard of unfinished strips and ideas... never to be heard of again.
But I had not counted on Paul and his unwavering vision to see Carter published weekly on the web.
So here we are again, Paul contacted me this year, gently hinting that he might have found a new home for his wayward reporter hero and would I be tempted to finish the story we started all those years ago.
Of course I said yes straight away and after a massive hunt Paul and I managed to find the artwork. I was suprised just how much we'd done, it was all inked and lettered and waiting to be coloured.
So Paul got out all his old notes and began to write the next few pages and quickly passed them on to me.
Now although I said yes, I was a bit swamped with all the other gubbins I was doing, so I couldn't start it straight away. Luckily Paul in his infinite wisdom had accounted for this.
The first story arc "The princess of Tsyzac" would finally be published in it's entirety, and then a short 5 pager "Seek and you will Find" pencilled by by Joe and Mats, lettered by Donald Jackson and coloured by Andrew Dodd.
And finally it would be my turn with "Shang Ra La La La".
So now here they are, the first two done and published and from last week my little tale has begun.
All these tales of adventure can be seen at blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/.
So why not have a quick look... I guarantee you'll be entertained.
I'm rather pleased with it, cuz it's me first colour work and I get to draw some yetis... but they'll be in later episodes.
And if you subscribe to their RSS feed you'll never miss an episode.
The image above is the first episode, but if you want to know what Carter and his cronies are saying you'll have to nip over to Birmingham Mail's Speech Balloon to find out.