Lords of Misrule - Redux and competition.

Back in 1992 I was fortunate enough to continue working with my Knights of Pendragon colleagues on a couple more projects at Kevin Eastman's new company Tundra. The first, Hypersonic, would eventually come out some seven years later through Dark Horse Comics but Lords of Misrule (written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson) managed a limited run at Tundra and remains a favourite work of mine still. There was some regret at the time of publishing that the original colour did not capture the dark brooding menace of this urban horror story. I resigned myself to including the black and white artwork in my portfolio and touring with the cherry pages at conventions.



Seventeen years later, Dave Elliot (now with Radical Comics) brought together the later Dark Horse series by Peter Snejbjerg and my original graphic novel for the first time. Dave allowed me to resize and open up the artwork for the release in a kinda redux fashion. Black borders were also added and the new painted colour by French artist Jean is particularly appropriate for this urban horror tale.



I have included some pages here. This also helps provide my prize for next month's Scotch Corner competition. A signed copy of the new hardcover will be given to the winner. A hefty volume with additional extras not found in the original series. A sketch will also be included of the Jack Goodfellow character as an inlay to the edition. A genuine one-off. Click here to enter.

Samurai and Geisha.

Something more restrained this week. A magazine illustration of a Samurai and Geisha done earlier this year. Was nice to work with the textures and designs on the kimono and the print behind the figures. There are several colour versions of this piece on my Facebook site but I thought the turquoise worked best (and brought out the gold of the dragon more)

Next time I would like to tackle the samurai armour (very much in the style of Kurosawa) and should hopefully be able to include it here in the very near future.

Flea - A Red Hot Chili Pepper.

Sometimes I paint. But not that often.

This effort from 1992 is a portrait of Flea inspired by the SPIN magazine photo set. I saw the cover and had to paint it. This is the first version. The second features on the back of my leather biker jacket and includes the rest of the band. Music always inspires me and keeps me company while working. Even when I took a forced sabbatical from comics tenyears ago I was fortunate enough to work in Broders Music epartment and had a quarter of a million accessible cds to listen too. That is certainly quite a playlist!

For this picture I used acrylics with coloured pencil for details. I would love to get back to painting again soon.

Retro post - Warheads character sketches.

After last week's Knights of Pendragon post I though I would return to the second series I worked on back in 1992. Warheads was part of the Mystech line of books brought out by Marvel UK in the early 90s and featured some sterling work from fresh talents like Dougie Braithwaite, Dermot Power, Liam Sharp and Gary Frank amongst others. It was an incredibly enjoyable time creatively and we were given pretty much free reign to 'go for it' as far as the art was concerned.

Paul Neary (the senior editor at the time) saw my convention sketches and had asked me if they could form part of the new Marvel UK series of books planned. Warheads was written by Nick Vince (the Hellraiser and Nightbreed actor) My original designs and sketches were tweaked to fit in with the story and vision of the book and work began in early 1992. Unfortunately a series of family events meant that I had to leave the series (my biggest regret) and although the book continued it eventually got cancelled further down the line. I only ever drew 30 pages of this series but it remains a very personal favourite work.

I have included the original convention sketch (completed the day before the 1991 UKCAC) and character sketches (Leona, Misha and Dean, their original names) As much as I like clean and unfussy artists' work such as Hugo Pratt, Mazzuchelli and Craig Thompson... there is an 'everything and the kitchen sink' aproach that I can't resist from my love of Geof Darrow, Otomo and Moebius. Most of the artists who dismiss this bludgeoning approach appear more concerned with the hard work and effort (and lost page rate) in producing a page like this than for any artistic or stylistic reason. It is what it is.

I always like the line from Se7en (later in the film when they are driving to the desert) when John Doe tells Detectives Mills and Somerset that 'Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.' I like that line and have it as a mantra (whenever possible) for my approach with my art. Not known for a quiet whisper, it has been a while since I last roared. Here's something to remind you...

Hypersonic.

Hypersonic was a book I worked on in 1992 for Tundra Publishing and was written by Dan Abnett and Steve White. It certainly played to my creative strengths (hardware and sci-fi crap) and was great fun to work on.

The story centered around the pilot Wesley Anger and was set in a near future war scenario. Our hero is captured by a covert military team and introduced to captured alien technology that allows pilots to be 'jacked in' to the craft forming a symbiotic link with the 'living' plane providing full 360 degrees vision. The hardwiring was similar to HDMI links and USB links we have now but we only could use audio and video cables of the day (primarily SCART and coaxial although the future intentions were there)

Really enjoyed this series. Dark Horse Comics eventually picked it up and we were given a sterling colour job by the talented Dave Nestelle. The environment he created for the characters and story was astounding and the seven year delay proved beneficial for the belated release. No collections as yet but I may pester Dark Horse with some new artwork to encourage them (after the success of the Lords of Misrule release last month!)

Knights of Pendragon.

Currently in Spain surrounded by the most amazing Gaudi architecture. Very inspiring.

This week I thought I would post up my new cover for the Knights of the Pendragon cover and give a little information about the process involved. Knights was the first book I worked on (some twenty years ago) and still remains a favourite with fans. Panini are now intending to publish the first nine issues in one single volume later this year with the remaining volume to follow next year.

I have also included some of the original sketches for the cover with this post. I found it difficult to return to the characters after so long away and the final design was limited by how much of the first half of the story we could reveal. The Red Lord and the Bain were later on in the series and could not appear on this first cover. The final climactic battle with the Green Knight (as great a cover image as that would have been) was also out of the question. The 'Ultimates' inspired group shot (although interesting) failed to excite and a late sketch proposal of a wrap round cover proved difficult for the production as the back cover design had already been approved. So many things to take into consideration.

With so many options in mind I took the decison to draw our heroes (and villian) individually to allow for re-sizing and positioning. This proved very helpful in choosing each character's prominence relative to Captain Britain who was always front and centre. Brady Webb at Panini and myself went through many ideas before settling on the final design shown here... our heroes charging defiantly towards the reader. A fairly simple idea (you may think) but a cover is the singular most important selling point of any medium (be it a cd, magazine or comic book cover) The cover has to be attention grabbing and instantly promote interest in the product and a desire to see more. You can see this logic on any newstand or comic shop shelf.



Very pleased with the final choice of design and thanks again to Brady Webb for his guidance and input and to James Offredi for his colour work.

Turning Point - Fall of Liberty trailer.

Drawing comics is not all I do nowadays. Occasionally there are opportunities to work with animation companies on storyboards or concept design. Recently I have been fortunate enough to work with the guys (and girls) at Axis Animation on trailers for console games. One of my favourites was the Turning Point - Fall of Liberty game trailer.

My comic book storytelling skills were definitely put to the test as there were constant revisions to the drawings from the original script. Working alongside Wiek Luijken$(the director and also an accomplished aviation artist) and Jonathan Kray (Lead Animator) made it easy for quick edits and approaches (especially as clients were always requesting changes on a daily basis) My 'on site' status also helped with some subtle 'blocking' for the fight scene. Watch the taxi driver beat up the Nazi paratrooper and you can hopefully guess which part I played. Wiek certainly didn't hold back with the punches or the kick to the stomach! All in a day's work for a freelancer! ;)

The six week turnaround flew by (my own part being the first week) and Axis showed me the finished job a couple of months later. The end result was stunning. Almost filmic. It is astounding for me to see my very quick short sketches turned into a full motion CGI mini-movie but with such talented animators and director and the award wining studio behind the project it couldn't fail. Always felt very welcome at the studio and look forward to working on new projects with them soon. See more of their work including the stunning Killzone trailers here.

You can see the HD version here (after a very short 10 second advert) Play it loud!

Dan Dare - Opening sequence.

Occasionally I use photo reference for my work (mostly for tricky fight choreograghy or character designs) and it proved especially helpful for Dan Dare. Garth Ennis had written a very subtle opening sequence and since this was the first look at Dan Dare for near fifteen years or so there was a certain worry about getting it right for the fans (old and new)

My partner Mhairi took the photos of me in similar poses to my initial sketches. It's always important to sketch the layouts first but sometimes you surprise yourself with a different angle and better storytelling. Best to go with it if that happens. Various pieces of reference (dogs, small village and cricket match) were found on the internet (a valuable and quick resource for any artist and script!) A few changes were made to the sequence in the final edit and inks but the end result is one I am very pleased with.



Here's the process for Dare... After the photo reference pictures are comped together I can start the pencilling process. This is generally done with pen as it gives me a first draft at the inks and I can sort out any problems there and then.



Once I am finished with the pencils then onto inks. Lots more detail and texture is added to the final picture. You will notice the birds in the background (a late addition to the script)



Once the inks are done then the final image is sent off to the colourist and returned as shown below. Absolutely gorgeous painted work by Parasuraman.



For Dare, the photo reference was also an essential part of the process to kick start me back into drawing for the already forward schedule. I was brought into the project later in the day and had to make up the time for an already agreed publishing date with Virgin. Hadn't drawn my own artwork for a couple of years so was a tad rusty and concerned that I had to catch up again on such an important book and character (the Dare Legacy carries a lot of weight) Impressing Garth Ennis was also not an easy task and we worked hard on this book.

I eventually got into my stride and the later issues were all drawn by hand (although there were still a couple of small sequences that required photo referencing) Very pleased with the end result and the Dynamite collection has more sketches and designs if you're interested in seeing another small part of the whole process of creating comics.

Demonic Angel.

Something from the vaults this week.

Here is a sketch I did way back in '95 or '96 at Gencon in Loughborough, England. I was invited down that year because of my work on Star Wars and Terminator which appealed to the sci-fi part of the convention. Unlike Jon Hogdson, I had little or no experience of fantasy work (or vampires) and most of the audience that week were looking for dragons or nymphs or Lestat. Boy, was I out my depth. No X-Wing requests or a metal-faced Arnie? What's a second rate Marvel artist to do?

Thankfully the crowd were very friendly (especially the toothy vampire set) and they helped me with some of the sketches. This photocopy is all that remains of one of my favourite sketches from the event. Can't remember exactly what kind of creature she was meant to be (definitely not a Harpie) but she did start out as the very different Star Wars related character Oola (coincidentally, the actress Femi Taylor was also attending the convention alongside the usual fan favourites)

Gencon was a tremendously enjoyable experience and I would look forward to attending more of these fantasy based events in the future. The crowd were incredibly enthusiastic and friendly.

Mystique?

Not really. But I couldn't resist adding this obligatory cheesecake image for my post. Still colouring here and there whenever the opportunity arises and decided to go for a simple girly pose.

Fairly simple process of drawing the lineart and scanning in to Photoshop. The line art is then saved as a floating layer and the colour is applied underneath. Very similar process to the old school approach of using an acetate sheet with the painted artwork below. I still use a mouse to colour (not easy) although I am considering learning to use the pen and digital pad that has been lying around new for the last couple of months in the studio. Yes, it has been a very busy month. Worked up some Grrrl textures for the top and gave her a blue tinged skin for effect.

Very pleased with the end result as this sort of pin-up style is not the sort of thing I get much of a chance to do.

Alien.

Always loved the original HR Giger design and was fortunate enough to see the Giger film exhibition in Frankfurt earlier this year. Some absolutely gorgeous designs on display, original art which was breathtaking and video features and sketchbooks from the man himself. A truly frighteningly creative man (and a bit scary too) They even had the actual Alien costume (possibly the stunt version?) suspended behind glass. The suit was a little worse for wear with some minor tears here and there but in not too bad condition considering it's age. Even behind glass it was an incredibly potent and startling design and the tail is a lot longer than you think it is. Mhairi certainly couldn't look at it long enough before moving on and that was in a stark white-walled gallery as opposed to a dark strobing corridor with sirens blaring! A missed opportunity for the gallery owners there?

This is my first (and at present, only) illustration of the Giger Alien. As much as I like the rest of the movies (yes, even the third and fourth for different reasons) the purity of the original design is something to behold (and draw) Especially the sleek long head that seemed to disappear to a more skeletal design in later incarnations. The Dog Alien in Fincher's part of the quadrilogy however was particularly interesting. Maybe a colour piece to follow?

This image is mostly drawing. Some quick Photoshop for background sky and form but no digital pad. Just pen and ink. Would love to do some more work on the character and property as it is a genre I am very much like and look forward to the Blu-Ray release of the Ridley Scott version later this year. A near perfect genre movie.

Samurai Jane preview.

In between the sixteen hour day shifts I get to work up some personal projects for my portflio. Usually high concept stuff. Tall girls with swords. And guns. And attitude.

Hardly anything new but the longer I take working up these ideas (in the background), the more similar ideas get out there before me. Regular Facebook Fan Page members will see a lot of my sketches online and I thought Thursday would be an opportunity to showcase this particular character.



Samurai Jane is a mixed media picture. My friend Claire modelled for me for a variety of poses and the final chosen photograph was comped together with a background image sourced from a book. Getting the right picture to work with and not against the main foreground character proved more difficult than expected and there was a lot of necessary processing and desaturating of the image before it was flattened. The layers were then filtered and digitally painted and decorative details were added to enhance the dress and sword. Really love putting all the elements together and hope to display the rest of the pictures from this set at a later date.

The character herself has a back story and there are tentative layouts for pace and story purposes. Finding the time to work on these personal projects is always frustrating as scheduled books have to take priority. Such is the freelancers life. I would hope to have Samurai Jane in a near completed form by the end of the year and wil no doubt feature more images in later posts.

Oh, and she kills zombies.

Earthfall 2009.

Earthfall was a series commisioned by Dark Horse Comics as part of their Zombieworld line back in 1998. Gordon Rennie and myself were lined up for this three part story and then the plug was pulled and the series was cancelled. Pity. It would have been really good. Great script from Gordon.

This is a new colour version of the proposed cover for the Dark Horse series. Who would have thought that in 1998 zombie comics would not sell? Resident Evil 2 was selling millions of copies on release but this comic series died. Permanently. It can be a very strange world sometimes. The writer Gordon Rennie went on to continue writing for comics and computer games. Still hopeful we can resurrect this project. The time is definitely right now.



The black and white lineart was done back in 98 and was the only work seen. I decided recently to colour up this image myself and rework some of the ideas slightly. The punctured suit and skewered arm still remain but the zombie face is replaced by a reflection on the helmet visor of the Las Vegas lights. The idea is to subvert the classic iconic Apollo and Neil Armstrong image, confusing the viewer with the neon sign reflection. Yes, this is on Earth!

I am still trying to find a balance between keeping the lineart clean and visible and having the overall feel and colour kept dark and ominous. Fairly pleased with the final result though.

Batman.

After the positive response to the Dredd piece I thought that Batman would be an appropriate follow up. The caped crusader profile was done on the same day as the Dredd colour test and was a direct response to the convention sketch version I have been doing for the last few shows. Again, for speed and reference, a couple of photos were taken and used as the base colour layer for this image. I worked up the texture of the leather cowl (still not quite right) and chiselled the chin into a suitablely heroic profile. Digital painting finished the piece off and overall I am very happy with the final composition. Not bad for a three hour turnaround.

Would a background help? Almost certainly, but too many choices confuse me and I would eventually spend longer deciding on a background than on completing the actual painting. Sometimes the simplest choice is the best. Having said that, next Thursday's post may well feature the Batman with a cityscape behind (same with Dredd!) Stay tuned...

The Tempest.

The Tempest is released by Classical Comics and was written by William Shakespeare. This graphic novel was scripted by John McDonald and pencilled by my colleague and friend Jon Haward. I provided inks on this book and after the award-winning success of the Macbeth release we are hopeful for similar interest in this edition. Nigel Dobbyn is the colourist and does some sterling work on the story.

As before with the Classical Comics releases there are three editions (for each reading level) PDFs are available on the site and will explain the available formats much better than I can do here. More books are planned and the future brings other classic authors to the graphic novel treatment soon.

You can see more of Jon Haward's art on his site here and includes a lot of his Panini Marvel Comics work too.

Scotch Corner - New Post!

Just a reminder to the thousands of regular followers of my blog (okay, maybe not that many) The Scottish artist blog Scotch Corner has a new post up from me. Demonic Angel is sketch I did at a previous Gencon. I was invited to the event because of my sci-fi work on Star Wars and Terminator but found myself completely out of my depth with the whole fantasy and vampire set attending.

That said, they were a friendly crowd and gave me some pretty decent advice on how to draw dragons, nymphs and other fantasy related characters. This particular sketch only survives with me as a photocopy now. Probably done later in the day and near the end of the event (when I started to find my feet a bit) this is still a favourite piece.

Click now and head on over to Scotch Corner to see the image and all the other lovely work by the Scottish collective.

Edinburgh Book Festival appearance Monday August 2009.

I will be attending the Edinburgh Book Festival again on Monday 24th August 2009 at 5.30pm for a How to Draw Comics class. It would appear that for the second time in a row the event has sold out! (yes, both tickets! ;) Sorry there wasn't more notice but you may well be able to follow up with organisers to see if they will acquire a different and larger venue for demand.

Looking forward to the Festival. Always fun and looking forward to Mark Millar's talk on the Tuesday. He wil definitely be sold out and will have sold a lot more than two tickets too!

Scotch Corner Blog competition.

The Scotch Corner blog (a bunch of Jocks who draw and collectively blog and post their wares online, myself included) are running a competition ever month to win a signed print, sketch or other for the winning comment. Pop by the site and have a look. Be kind. You are hardly likely to win if you slag us off, are you? A few kind words and a piece of artwork is yours.

Postage will be covered by ourselves (Scots are notoriously tight and stingy with money so we really are going some here!) Jon Hodgson's piece is the first up for grabs this month. Lovely signed Dragon Reign print.

Signing - Kingdom of Adventure Saturday 08th August 2009

This weekend I will be signing at the Kingdom of Adventure shop in Kirkcaldy. Pop along for sketches, some witty banter and a smile around lunchtime. Drop me a line before Friday if you are interested in buying artwork as I can only bring along a small selection of pages and cannot guess what may be of interest to fans. Prints are also available.

Looking forward to the event. Contact David at the shop for further details.

Edinburgh Book Festival appearance Monday August 2009.

I will be attending the Edinburgh Book Festival again on Monday 24th August 2009 at 5.30pm for a How to Draw Comics class. It would appear that for the second time in a row the event has sold out! (yes, both tickets! ;) Sorry there wasn't more notice but you may well be able to follow up with organisers to see if they will acquire a different and larger venue for demand.

Looking forward to the Festival. Always fun and looking forward to Mark Millar's talk on the Tuesday. He wil definitely be sold out and will have sold a lot more than two tickets too!

Dredd, Mega City vista.

Digital sketch for Mega City One referencing some familiar buildings and trying to capture the sheer scale of the city. The Sergio Leone close up of Dredd is a deliberate attempt to force a contrast of scale to image and there is more than a passing nod to Blade Runner, Fifth Element and AKIRA too. A bit of work trying to pull in all the seperate elements and lots of colour correcting but done for the day. Pleased with final version and not bad considering it was completed over a Saturday afternoon and early evening.

Scotch Corner - First blog.

Scotch Corner is a new blog featuring a collection of Scottish professional artists. They include Thomas Crielly, Andy Hepworth, Jon Hodgson, Graeme Neil Reid and myself. Every day there will be a new piece of art posted with each artist posting on a certain day. If the idea sounds familiar then we can reveal that the blog is shamelessly inspired and ripped off from the Eclectic Micks. Feel free to head on over and have a look. There will be surprises soon.

My first post is a personal image of Dredd done as a colour test. I have included it here and you can read all about it on the Scotch Corner blog. Thursday is my update day so bookmark me now!

Lords of Misrule: Redux.

Radical Comics have brought together the Dark Horse series by Peter Snejbjerg and the original graphic novel for the first time. Written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson this book was originally published by Tundra in 1992 and is a favourite early work of mine.

Dave Elliot at Radical has allowed me to resize and open up the artwork for this release in a kinda redux fashion. Black borders have also been added and the new painted colour by French artist Jean is particularly appropriate for this urban horror tale.

Lords of Misrule will be available in July.

V Festival Internacional de BD de Beja, Portugal.

On the 29th of May I will be attending the Fifth International Comics Festival of Beja in Portugal. Mhairi and I will be there for the whole weekend and look forward to meeting new fans and friends. This is our first trip to Portugal so we will be staying in Lisbon for a short holiday before the event. Really excited about the convention and gearing up for more foreign conventions this year.

London MCM Expo.

On the 23-24th May 2009 I will be heading to London for the MCM Expo at the ExCel venue. This is my first visit to this convention and am looking forward to a return to London events for years. Bring along your comics for signing and ideas for sketches. I will be at a desk for the whole weekend so it should be easy to track me down.

And no, I won't be in costume. Sorry.

Bristol Comic Expo signing.

I will be attending the Bristol Comic Expo on the 9-10th May at the Ramada Hotel. A smaller and more intimate venue than previous years but looking forward to meeting up with friends and colleagues and fans alike. Bring along any comics you wish to get signed and start thinking about your requests for sketches (hint, Batman is a favourite)

See you there!

New York Comic Con signing.

Next week I will be attending the New York Comic Con on the 6th -8th of February and will be signing at the DC Vertigo table with David Tischman (writer of Greatest Hits) at the following times.

FRIDAY 5-6pm: SIGNING - DC/Vertigo booth

SATURDAY 11am-12pm: SIGNING - DC/Vertigo booth

Come along and ask for a sketch or chat or make fun of my various protective hand measures. This is my first trip to New York and I am pretty excited about it. Look forward to seeing you there.

Captain America Theater of War - America the Beautiful.

January sees the release of Marvel's Captain America Theater of War - America the Beautiful. Written by Paul Jenkins this is my first full artwork with Marvel in over ten years. A great opportunity to team up with Paul after following his work for so long. Colour is by my favourite Chris Sotomayor. We have previously worked on Thunderbolts and Zemo and he has produced some lovely colour on my Dare and Transformers portfolio pieces and covers.

The third part of the Theater of War series chronicles the adventures that made Captain America the hero we know today, Paul Jenkins does what he does best, weaving a tale of war, brotherhood and legacy. From skinny Steve Rogers at boot camp to the Super-Soldier leading a battalion of men against the Nazis, this is the Captain America you thought you knew but you’ve never seen. And when the choice is between his country or his best friend, this is the decision he had to make.

Loved drawing the Omaha Beach landing sequence and Captain America. The story was particularly poignant and emotional to work on too. The last page will explain all.

Macbeth - Award winning book from Classical Comics.

My friend Jon Haward has been working on The Tempest for a summer release this year but his previous book Macbeth has won another award at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2008.

It was a great success for Classical Comics all round. The Original Text version of Macbeth was the winner of the Secondary Education category and was also Highly Commended (2nd place) in Literature; while Henry V (Quick Text version) achieved the shortlist for the Secondary Education category. The award for Macbeth, presented by Gyles Brandreth, marked a significant achievement - not only for the book itself, but also for the company as both gain recognition from the mainstream book industry.

Congratulations to Jon, Clive and the rest of the Classical Comics team. Here's to a very successful 2009.

Are you Manet enough for The Art of War?

Another glorious and edgy cover from Rick Veitch. This time he turns his attention to one of my favourite Impressionistic paintings. Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe by Édouard Manet. Some of you may well remember the Bow Wow Wow revision done in the eighties featuring a very young Annabella Lwin. Rick has done a wonderful job of keeping the essence of the painting alive while adding his own Army@Love twist. Brian Miller again provides the colour.

Is Rick Veitch Whistler's Mother?

Another new Art of War cover from Rick Veitch. This time he desicrates Whistler's Mother. Love it! Choosing my favourite cover gets more difficult with every page of pencils he send me. Praise too for Brian Miller's colours which are subtle but near perfect in capturing the original and still popping out from the shelves. Surely DC Vertigo could consider a release for these wonderful covers? Or a t-shirt?

More details can be found on my Facebook Fan Page here or my Creators Page here.

Facebook Fan Page.

Due to interest (and a backlog of friend requests) I have decided to set up a Facebook Fan Page. Unlike this blog, there will be more of a comic book skew with pages, previews, covers and sneak peaks going up on a regular business. Requests for older pages are welcome but give me a few days to dust off the Fedex storage boxes and search. Hardly as quick as Google to find an old Pendragon page!

There will also be some new projects showcased. Comments and feedback welcome.

Search for my mugshot on Facebook and join. Direct link here.

Edinburgh Book Festival 2008 appearance.

Just another reminder that I will be appearing at an interview session as part of the Edinburgh Book Festival 2008 on Friday August 15th. Event starts at 4.30pm and lasts an hour and there will be a sketching and signing opportunity afterwards in the bookshop area. Seats are free but limited so you would be best to get in touch with the organisers quickly to guarantee a place. Details are to be found here.

The interviewed will be conducted by Hanna Sommerseth and focus mainly on Dare and Vertigo work. We will also cover most of the last twenty years of my career and there will be a Q&A for any attendees wishng to hear some industry gossip. Should be fun and I hope to see you there.

This was a last minute event and doesn't show in the main printed programme. You will have to search the Edinburgh Book Festival site to confirm details.

Dark Knight on IMAX.

Finally saw the IMAX version of Dark Knight at the Glasgow Science Centre last week. Defintely recommended! The film features five sequences shot in the IMAX format while the rest of the movie is upconverted by the DMR process, maintaining a high quality throughout. If you haven't experienced a proper and pure IMAX feature (previous movies have been DMR processed only) then the Dark Knight is a must. The majority of the film is shot in a traditional 2.25 ratio with the IMAX sequences (or framing shots) in the full almost square format. Not as distracting as you may think. If anything, it opens out the picture so much as to extend beyond your peripheral vision and really draws you into the movie. Wonderful!

The opening bank heist is all the more stunning for it's attention to detail and clarity. Near 3D effect with the close ups. The city flyover establishing shots (Hong Kong in particular) are near vertigo inducing. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine get their 'moments' presented in the highest quality. The Batmobile/ Joker chase is a tour-de-force! A must see! For comic fans and film fans alike this is an amazing experience and the bonus opening trailer for Watchmen just rounds off a wonderful viewing opportunity.

Worth the extra price of a ticket? A resounding 'yes'! Just don't sit too close! Four rows from the front is terrifying! Especially with Heath Ledger's Joker face taunting you in close up.

Edinburgh Book Festival 2008.

I will be appearing at an interview session as part of the Edinburgh Book Festival 2008 on Friday August 15th. Event starts at 4.30pm and lasts an hour and there will be a sketching and signing opportunity afterwards in the bookshop area. Seats are free but limited so you would be best to get in touch with the organisers quickly to guarantee a place. Details are to be found here.

The interviewed will be conducted by Hanna Sommerseth and focus mainly on Dare and Vertigo work. We will also cover most of the last twenty years of my career and there will be a Q&A for any attendees wishng to hear some industry gossip. Should be fun and I hope to see you there.

This was a last minute event and doesn't show in the main printed programme. You will have to search the Edinburgh Book Festival site to confirm details.

Singapore Toy and Comic Convention 2008 photos.

A major success! The Singapore Toy and Comic Convention 2008 had a massive turnout by friendly and enthusiastic fans from all over Asia and from as far as Australia too. Mhairi and I had an amazing time and the whole experience was one we won't forget. We are already planning to return to Singapore next year and hope to spend a few more days around the event to enjoy the rest of the country.

Many thanks to everyone who helped out from Play Imaginative. Denise, Darren, Liyanna and Daphne who kept the convention running smoothly. To Winston and Bernard for keeping us going and getting us to the right place at the right time (almost! ;) To Mr Chang and his wife, and Richard the curator at the Mint Toy Museum for being the most gracious of hosts. The toy collection was very inspiring and the Dare section was impressive! Thanks also to Neil, Spencer, Jimmy, King Lee and Ben, and to everyone we met in Singapore, it was a great event! Here's to next year!

Public links to Facebook photos are below. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31410&l=c8467&id=668172360

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31414&l=8f091&id=668172360

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31420&l=a9c6b&id=668172360

Dan Dare original art auction!

I have an original piece of Dan Dare artwork up for auction as part of the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention. Featured works of art by myself, Pete Fowler, Tokidoki and DEVILROBOTS and Touma, both from Japan! The selected charity is the Club Rainbow (Singapore), a charity committed to helping children suffering from a range of chronic and life-threatening illnesses.

Details here at http://www.sgtoyandcomiccon.com/art_auction.html

Dan Dare Forbidden Planet signings in June.

I will be signing copies of the new Dan Dare hardcover at Forbidden planet in London on Saturday 14th and Newcastle on Thursday 19th of June. Details here. Come along and you may well get a sketch too.

This is the first of the Dan Dare appearances. The next is in Singapore at the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention at the end of the June. Anyone who makes the trip over for that one will get a free page of artwork! ;)

Dan Dare covers up on Facebook.

I have uploaded most of the Dan Dare covers on Facebook. The public link is here and you can enjoy work by Garry Leach, Dave Gibbons, Bryan Talbot and a host of other talented British artists. The album features the little seen variant edition covers too. Will replace the images with higher resolution ones when available.

Hope you enjoy the pics and remember to vote for Dan Dare and myself at this year's Eagle Awards. Last week of voting! Cast your votes here.

Panini covers!

Here are some Marvel covers for Panini Comics I inked recently. Pencils are by my friend Jon Haward (who I collaborated with in part on Macbeth for Classical Comics) The covers feature Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spiderman in all their retro glory. The books are available in all good bookshops (and maybe some bad ones? ;) The Hulk cover is my favourite but Spiderman is a close second. That web-slinging action always excites!



But to be honest I think everyone is geared up for the new Iron Man movie so I have included the classic Iron Man of my childhood.



See more of Jon's work here. His site features a variety of his work past and present and also contains reviews for the excellent Macbeth.

Second (and final) round of voting for Eagle Awards!

Thanks to everyone who voted for Garth, myself and Dan Dare in the first round of the Eagle Awards. We got shortlisted in the following categories!

Favourite New Comicbook – Dan Dare

Favourite Comics Hero – Dan Dare

Favourite Comics Artist: Inks – Gary Erskine

Now it is the second (and final) round and there is about a week left to vote. Only one vote per email address is allowed but feel free to ‘borrow’ your friends, partners and pets’ email accounts! You can vote here. The email address is only for validation so no worries there!

Results are announced in three weeks at the Bristol Comic Expo on Saturday 10th May. The nominations are great news for both Garth and me for the long hours and passion we put into this book and it would be especially good if Dan Dare (the Eagle Comic’s original son) were to win an Eagle Award (or two?) to celebrate his return. Here's hoping.

Singapore Toy and Comic Convention 2008 in June.

I have been confirmed as a guest at the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention at the end of June. Details here . Should be great fun and a terrific opportunity to travel to the Asias. My cousin teaches English in Bangkok so a short flight to Thailand is also on the cards. More news as it happens.

Dan Dare is Eagle Award nominated!

Dan Dare has been officially nominated at the Eagle Awards for Favourite New Comic Book and Favourite Hero. I have also picked up a nomination for Favourite inker which covers my work on Army@Love for DC Comics/ Vertigo and Dreamworks titles for Titan Books last year.

Voting is live here so you can now nominate Dan Dare and myself in the appropriate categories. Garth Ennis and I are very pleased with the series and it would be a particularly poignant win for Dan Dare as the Eagle Comic's favourite son. We are very passionate about the book and who knows what will come of it? Maybe a second series? Dare deserves to return as the Favourite British Hero!

Thanks to everyone who helped us win nominations. Vote now for Dan Dare at the Eagle Awards. Winners announced this May at the Bristol Comic Expo!

National Library of Scotland event in April and May.

I will be attending a selection of events at the National Library of Scotland's Local Heroes event in April and May. Details are included in the current What's On guide here. Cam Kennedy, Frank Quitely and Metaphrog are also appearing during the event and providing talks and workshops.

Watchmen the Movie - One year and counting...

I can't tell you how excited I am about this. A brilliant graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and inspiration to me and a lot of my fellow colleagues. The movie (from a visual point of view so far) looks impressive. Every released photo instills a little more confidence in the finished product. Zack Snyder has already shown himself to be a very visual director with Dawn of the Dead and especially 300 and his touch on this movie (along with the production team and Gibbons himself) is just right so far.

Keep up to date with the new Watchmen movie here. The costumes look great and the Comedian in particular stands out (although secretly we all want Silk Spectre as our desktop!)

Eagle Awards 2008!

It would appear that I have been included as a potential nomination for an Eagle Award (the comic Oscars) as Best Inker. It would have been nice to have been noticed for my pencilling work on Dan Dare too but you know how these awards go. It's all politics! ;)

Dan Dare and Garth Ennis are also up for awards so here is a gentle reminder to 'go vote!' for me, Garth and Dan Dare in all possible categories. The Mekon is also up for Best Villian! How could he not win that one? You might also wish to reward Rick Veitch's hard work on Army@Love where appropriate?

No pay-offs, no bribes, no cash in hand incentives or holidays. Just vote here.

Okay, maybe a free sketch at Bristol 2008.

Army@Love cover!

Love this cover!

Rick Veitch excels with this image for Army@Love #11. Simple but very effective. The colouring by Brian Miller also adds a richness without over-powering. Check out the issue and other brilliant covers here.

Dare #4 is out!

Dan Dare part four hits the US comic shelves today and hopefully this side of the pond tomorrow. Really enjoyed this one. Garth's writing hits a high note with this issue but I can't say any more than that. The blogs are going to be firing up in hours from now!

It's the last stand on Port Napier as Dan Dare and the colonists find themselves nearly overrun by the onslaught of Torr, vicious killing beasts. Trying to hold them off until they can be rescued, what they don't know is that the entire royal navy has been thrown into disarray by the disappearance of the Prime Minister back on Earth. As Peabody attempts to piece together the puzzle-and the government-Dan and Digby brace themselves for total annihilation, hoping for a miracle. There are some lovely shots of the new Starfire craft (more of that in later issues) and the Mekon is planning.

Enjoy the variant cover by Glenn Fabry and I will post the Garry Leach version when I have a better scan.

Tank-bustin' Transformers!

Robots in disguise. More than meets the eye! You know the words to the song. This month's issue of Transformers has a cover by me with colours by Chris Sotomayer. The toys and gifts on the front obscure most of the image but Titan always have a lovely pull-out poster version inside. Get a copy for your nephew or younger brother and put up on your wall. Here's a sneak peak.

Dare!

Not as tenuous a link as you may think to my current release. This album has been the soundtrack for Dan Dare through many an early morning shift last year. My continued love for all things eighties brought back this gem from the Human League. Dare! If you missed it first time round or were put off by the omni-present 'Don't You Want Me Baby' then give it another listen. The opening track 'Things That Dreams Are Made Of' is pure classic electropop and paves the way for a superb album. 'Seconds' is another favourite. Hearing it again reminds me of the fun I had on the Dare book and I appreciate the fans at Inverness asking about the music I enjoy while working! More recommends soon.

Hi-Ex success!

I am pleased to say that the Hi-Ex comic convention in Inverness was a complete success. The bad weather did prevent a few of the guests from travelling up but overall the fans and writers and artists were in high spirits and there was plenty to see and do. Joe Gordon writes a nice piece here on the weekend and has a couple of shots of me drawing Dare and 'entertaining' the fans with my MJ gloved hand. More Inverness photos here.

Thanks to all the fans, colleagues and new friends who made me feel very welcome and congratulations to Rich and Vicky for making their first convention a success! See you next year!

The Highland International Comic Expo!

I will be attending the Highland International Comic Expo on the 2nd and 3rd of February. This is the first convention for me this year so get in early! More details of guests and location here. The usual sketching, signing and selling at a table for the whole weekend. Any aspiring comic book artists should bring along their portfolios for a quick review too. See you there.

Macbeth graphic novel by Classical Comics.

My good friend Jon Haward's new graphic novel of Macbeth is due to be released next month. It is a stunning piece of work with a script by John McDonald and beautiful colours by Nigel Dobbyn. Jon has been working on this for over a year and it is his best work to date. Have a look over at the Classical Comics site and see what publisher Clive Bryant has to offer. A great selection of books including more Shakespeare plays and other literary classics.

Jon's next book is The Tempest and I have already seen pages from it. It promises to be as good as Macbeth with more imaginative and creative visuals and sumptious vistas. Clive's approach is to produce good looking graphic novels with great stories by established artists and the classic literature of Shakespeare is beyond reproach. Cleverly, he has produced three text versions of each play; one for schools with the original text, a standard edition in plain English and a 'quick text' version for the nervous, first time reader. Having tackled Shakespeare at school myself I think this is a good decision as it allows people of varying interests to enjoy the series and hopefully the 'quick text' readers will venture further into the world of the Bard with this helpful introduction?

You will find plenty of sample pages up online and a free download of the 2008 Key Stage 3 English Text for schools. It clearly shows what Classical Comics is trying to do with the series and highlights the other classic authors to be published later this year. John M Burns and Mike Collins are also part of the team and new talent Declan Shalvey is shining on Frankenstein. Will Volley is another name to look out for on his wonderful Romeo and Juliet. Enjoy the site!

Dan Dare interview by Wakefield Carter online.

Wakefield Carter interviewed me late last year about Dan Dare and his article is online here. This is the full un-edited version of Q&A's read in the recent interviews for Deathray magazine, SFX and The Independent. A good selection of colour and lineart only images are included too. Thanks must go to Wakefield for allowing me to put across a lot of Garth's ideas and letting me discuss the approach to the Dare book. So much to cover when dealing with the Dare Legacy. Enjoy!

Army@Love in Print Magazine.

The February Print Magazine has published an article on graphic novels covering war in a comic book medium and includes a mention of Army@Love written and drawn by Rick Veitch. Some nice pics shown but clearer images on my MySpace site in the Photo Album section. Go see!

Dan Dare in Deathray magazine!

This month's Deathray magazine has a feature and interview on Garth Ennis' Dan Dare. I haven't read it yet but I gather it appears to cover most of the Dare Legacy and quite rightly so. There will always be respect for Hampson's original and those who followed.

Army@Love trade out in the shops!

The first Army@Love trade paperback is out in the shops this month. Written and drawn by comics veteran Rick Veitch it collects the first six issues of the acclaimed Vertigo series. Criticial reviews from The Washington Post, Variety and the Military Times bode well for the book and are deserved for Rick. He is a rare talent and a pleasure to work with.